£>. I DO

^3

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY,

INCLUDING

ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, and GEOLOGY.

(being a continuation of the 'magazine of botany and zoology,' and of
loudon and charlesworth's 'magazine of natural history.')

CONDUCTED BY

Sir W. JARDINE, Bart.— P. J. SELBY, Esq.,

Dr. JOHNSTON,

DAVID DON, Esq., Prof. Bot. King's Coll. Lond.,

AND

RICHARD TAYLOR, F.L.S.

LONDON:

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY R. AND J. E. TAYLOR.

SOLD BY S. HIGHLEY; SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL; SHERWOOD AND CO.; W. WOOD,

TAVISTOCK STREET ; BAILLIERE, REGENT STREET, AND PARIS :

LIZARS, AND MACLACHLAN AND STEWART, EDINBURGH.*

CURRY, DUBLIN : AND ASHER, BERLIN.

** Omnes res creatae sunt divinae sapientiae et potentiae testes, divitise felicitatis
humanas : ex harum usu bonitas Creatoris ; ex pulchritudine sapientia Domini ; ex
ceconomia in conservatione, proportions, renovatione, potentia majestatis elucet.
Earum itaque indagatio ab hominibus sibi relictis semper aestimata ; a vere eruditis
et sapientibus semper exculta; male doctis et barbaris semper inimica fuit." —
Linn.

CONTENTS OF VOL. VIII.

NUMBER XLVIII.

Page

I. Description of some Molar Teeth from the Eocene Sand at Kyson
in Suffolk, indicative of a new species of Hyracotherium (Hyr. Cunicu-
lus). By Richard Owen, Esq., F.R.S., &c 1

II. Remarks on the Horny Sponges, with proposed divisions of the
Order Spongice. By John Hogg, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S 3

III. Notes on the Zoology of the Outer Hebrides. By John Mac-
Giluvray, Vice-President of the Cuvierian Nat. Hist. Society of Edin-
burgh 7

IV. Researches on the Structure of Annular Vessels. By Hugo
Mohl. (With a Plate.) 16

V. Preliminary Reply to Mohl's Essay on the Structure of Annular
Vessels. By Dr. M. J. Schleiden , 25

VI. Report of the Results of Researches in Physiological Botany
made in the year 1839. By the late F. J. Meyen, M.D., Professor

of Botany in the University of Berlin. {Continued.) 27

VII. Indian Cyprinidce. By John M'Clelland, Assistant Surgeon
Bengal Medical Service 35

VIII. Notes on Birds. By T. C. Eyton, Esq., F.L.S 46

New Books: — Continuation of Wiegmann's Archiv fur Naturgeschichte,
by Dr. Erichson. — The Naturalist's Library : Mammalia. Vol. xi.
Marsupialia, or Pouched Animals, by G. R. Waterhouse, Esq. 47 — 55

Proceedings of the Royal Society ; Geological Society ; Zoological So-
ciety; Microscopical Society 55 — 74

Analogies of European and Indian Geology ; Suggestions for Experi-
ments on the Conservation of Vegetative Powers in Seeds ; Mete-
orological Observations and Table 74 — 80

NUMBER XLIX.

IX. Observations on the Rodentia. By G. R. Waterhouse, Esq.
(With a Plate.) 81

X. Observations on the Functions performed by the Hairs on the
Stigma in Campanulacees, Composite?, and other Plants. By Arthur

IV CONTENTS.

Page
Hill Hassall, M.R.C.S.L., Corresponding Member of the Dublin
Natural History Society 84

XI. On some species of European Pines. By Capt. S. E. Wid-

DRINGTON, R.N 87

XII. Diagnoses Algarum novarum a cl. Dre. Ferdinand Krauss in
Africa^ Australi lectarum, auctore Dno. Hering, Stuttgartiensi 90

XIII. Observations on the Structure of the Pollen Granule, consi-
dered principally in reference to its eligibility as a means of Classi-
fication. By Arthur Hill Hassall, M.R.C.S.L., Corresponding
Member of the Dublin Natural History Society 92

XIV. Indian Cyprinidce. By John McClelland, Assistant Surgeon
Bengal Medical Service. {Continued.) 108

XV. Notice of a hitherto undescribed character distinctive of the
Sexes in certain Lucanidte. By J. O. Westwood, F.L.S 121

XVI. Insectorum novorum Centuria, auctore J. O. Westwood 123

XVII. Notice of Migratory Birds which alighted on, or were seen
from H.M.S. Beacon, Capt. Graves, on the passage from Malta to the
Morea at the end of April 1841. By Wm. Thompson, Vice-Pres. Nat.
Hist. Society of Belfast 125

XVIII. Report of the Results of Researches in Physiological Botany
made in the year 1839. By the late F. J. Me yen, M.D., Professor of
Botany in the University of Berlin. {Continued.) 130

New Books : — Naturalist's Library : — The Natural History of Dogs,
vol. ii. ; The Natural History of Horses ; The Natural History of
Fishes, vol. ii j 137

Proceedings of the Zoological Society; Microscopical Society... 138 — 152

Mr. Schomburgk's return to George-Town ; Mr. W. S. MacLeay ;
Lieut. Tickell on the Natural History of the Hodesum (improperly
called Kolehan) ; Fossil Foraminifera in the Greensand of New
Jersey; A vast Stratum of Fossil Infusoria in the Tertiary Strata
of Virginia ; Mr. R. C. Taylor's Model of the Southern Coal-Field
of Pennsylvania ;. Meteorological Observations and Table... 153 — 160

NUMBER L.

XIX. Description of some new species of Ammonites found in the
Oxford Clay on the line of the Great Western Railway near Christian
Malford. By Samuel Peace Pratt, Esq., F.L.S., F.G.S. (With
Four Plates.) 161

XX. A List of Testaceous Mollusca collected in the Shetland Isles
during a few days' residence there in the autumn of this year, and not
noticed by Dr. Fleming in his « History of British Animals ' as indige-
nous to that country. By J. Gwyn Jeffreys, Esq., F.R. & L.S 1 65

XXI. Brief and Practical Instructions for the Breeding of Salmon
and other Fish artificially. By Sir Francis A. Mackenzie, Bart. ... 166

CONTENTS. \

Page

XXII. On Epilobium angustifolium, and species which have been
confounded with it. By Mr. H. O. Stephens 170

XXIII. A List of Flowering Plants found growing wild in Western
Norfolk. By the Rev. George Munford, Corresponding Member of
the Botanical Society of London 171

XXIV. Indian Cyprinidce. By John M'Clelland, Assistant Sur-
geon Bengal Medical Service. {Continued.) 192

XXV. Insectorum novorum Centuria, auctore J. O. Westwood ... 203

XXVI. On the names Promecoderus, Cnemacanthus and Odonto-
scelis, as applied to certain genera of Carabideous Insects. By G. R.
Waterhouse, Esq., Curator to the Zoological Society of London 205

XXVII. On the Eel, and on the Freshwater Fish of Austria. By
Capt. S. E. Widdrington, R.N 207

XXVIII. Information respecting Zoological and Botanical Travel-
lers 210

New Books: — A Manual of the British Algae, by William Henry Har-
vey, Esq 211

Proceedings of the Entomological Society ; Zoological Society ; Micro-
scopical Society 217—228

' Cyclostoma elegans, Lam., an Irish Shell, by W. Thompson, Esq. ;
Entophytes — Cryptogamous Plants developed on the internal sur-
face of the air-cells of an Eider Duck whilst alive — similar in-
stance in the Flamingo ; On some Mammalia, Birds and Fishes
lately observed in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, by Mr. J. Mac-
gillivray ; On the Common Hare of the Gangetic Provinces and
of the Sub-Himalaya, with a slight notice of a strictly Himalayan
species, by B. H. Hodgson, Esq., Resident at the Court of Nepal ;
The Hoopoe, Upupa epops ; The Hoopoe ; The Arctic Gull ; Re-
port on Ornithichnites, or Foot-marks of Extinct Birds ; Natural
History as a Branch of Education ; Meteorological Observations
and Table 228 240

NUMBER LI.

XXIX. Notice of a new genus of Mammalia discovered by J. Stuart,
Esq., in New South Wales. By W. S. MacLeay, Esq., F.L.S., &c.
(With a Plate.) 241

XXX. On two remarkable Marine Invertebrata inhabiting the
iEgean Sea. By Edward Forbes, M.W.S., For. Sec. B.S., &c. (With

a Plate.) 243

XXXI. On Epilobium angustifolium, Linn., and species which have
been confounded with it. By W. A. Leighton, Esq., B.A., F.B.S.E. 246

XXXII. Report of the Results of Researches in Physiological Botany
made in the year 1839. By the late F. J. Meyen, M.D., Professor of
Botany in the University of Berlin. (Continued.) 249

Vi CONTENTS.

Page

XXXIII. On the Phosphorescence of Zoophytes. By the Rev.
David Landsborough, of Stevenston, in Ayrshire 257

XXXIV. Remarks on the Fruit of the Natural Order Cucurbitacece.

By Robert Wight, M.D., F.L.S., &c 260

XXXV. Insectorum novorum Centuria, auctore J. O. Westwood,
F.L.S., &c 272

XXXVI. The Birds of Ireland (Family Fringillidce). By Wm.
Thompson, Esq., Vice-Pres. Nat. Hist. Society of Belfast. {Continued.) 273

XXXVII. Information respecting Scientific Travellers : — Dr. Can-
tor's collections in the Isle of Chusan ; Mr. Murchison's second Geo-
logical Survey of Russia 288

New Books : — Catalogue of British Plants (Part 1st, Flowering Plants
and Ferns), by Prof. J. H. Balfour, Glasgow; C. C. Babington,
Esq., F.L.S. ; and W. H. Campbell, Esq., Sec. Bot. Soc. — Arcana
Entomologica, or Illustrations of new, rare, and interesting Exotic
Insects, by J. O.Westwood, F.L.S., &c. — Naturhistorisk Tidskrift,
Copenhagen, 1840-41 294—297

Proceedings of the Entomological Society; Geological Society... 297—313

Three new species of Monkey, with remarks on the genera Semnopi-
thecus et Macacus, by B. H. Hodgson, Esq. ; Dr. E. Moore on
the Pilot Fish ; Vitality of Seeds ; Little Auk ; Birds of Kent ;
Durocher and Bowman on Glacial or Diluvian Phenomena ; Me-
teorological Observations and Table 314 — 320

NUMBER LII.

XXXVIII. On the Saxifrages of the Robertsonia or London-pride
group which are found in Ireland. By Charles C. Babington, Esq.,
M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., &c. (With a Plate.) 321

XXXIX. On doubts respecting the existence of Bird-catching Spi-
ders. By W. S. MacLeay, Esq., F.L.S., &c 324

XL. On the degree of Cold which the principal Mammalia of hot
countries are capable of enduring. By the Rev. Robert Everest, in
a note to J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S. &c 325

XLI. Report of the Results of Researches in Physiological Botany
made in the year 1839. By the late F. J. Meyen, M.D., Professor of
Botany in the University of Berlin 328

XLII. Additional Particulars respecting Antechinus Stuartii, a new
Marsupial Quadruped. By W. S. MacLeay, Esq., F.L.S., &c 337

XLIII. Notice of a hitherto unobserved Character distinctive of the
Sexes in certain Cetoniidce. By J.-O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S., &c... 338

XLIV. On the Phosphorescence of Zoophytes. By Arthur Hill
Hassall, Esq., M.R.C.S.L., Corresponding Member of the Dublin
Natural History Society 341

CONTENTS. VU

Page
XLV. Excerpta Botanica, or abridged Extracts translated from
the Foreign Journals, illustrative of, or connected with, the Botany of
Great Britain. By W. A. Leighton, Esq., B.A., F.B.S.E., &c.

No. 7. Notes on the genus Corylus. By Ed. Spach 344

XLVI. The Birds of Ireland (Family Fringillidce) . By Wm. Thomp-
son, Esq., Vice-Pres. Nat. Hist. Society of Belfast. {Continued.) 353

XLVII. Extracts from a Lecture by M. Dumas on the Chemical
Statics of Organized Beings 360

New Books : — A List of the Genera of Birds, with their Synonyma,
and an Indication of the typical Species of each Genus, by George
Robert Gray 367

Proceedings of the Zoological Society; Royal Society; Geological So-
ciety; Microscopical Society 376 — 394

Niger Expedition — Mr. Fraser ; Little Auk ; New Crustacean Ani-
mal ; Mus agrestis ; Disappearance of the Sylvia rubecola in parts
of Belgium and Germany ; Chair of Entomology ; Mr. Gould on
Menura superba; Anihus Richardi; Obituary— Professor Don,
J. E. Bowman, Esq.; Meteorological Observations and Table 394 — 400

NUMBER LIII.

XLVIII. On Epilobium angustifolium, Linn., and species which have
been confounded with it. ByW.A. Leighton, Esq., B.A.,F.B.S.E. ... 401
XLIX. Remarks on Lottia virginea. By Joshua Alder, Esq. ... 404

L. The Birds of Ireland (Family Fringillidte, Sturnidce, Corvidce).
By Wm. Thompson, Esq., Vice-Pres. Nat. Hist. Society of Belfast.
{Continued.) 406

LI. Descriptions, &c. of a few rare or undescribed species of British
Diptera, principally from the collection of J. C. Dale, Esq., M.A.,
F.L.S., &c 430

LII. On Mnium annotinum of Linnaeus. By Edward Forster, Esq.,
V.P.L.S , 433

LIII. On Bird-catching Spiders, with remarks on the Communica-
tion from W. S. MacLeay, Esq., upon that subject, in the January

number of the Annals. By W. E. Shuckard, Libr. R.S 435

LIV. On a new species of Araucaria from New South Wales; and

on Nuytsia floribunda. By H. Bidwill, Esq 438

LV. Information respecting Scientific Travellers : — Some account of
the Natural History of the Island of Chedooba, from the Report of
Edward P. Halstead, Esq., Commander of Her Majesty's Sloop

Childers. — Niger Expedition : Dr. Vogel 439 — 445

New Books : — On the Structure of the Cyst-worm, by George Gul-
liver, F.R.S. — Genera Plantarum secundum Ordines Naturales
disposita, auctore Stephano Endlicher. — Nomenclator Botanicus,
seu Synonymia Plantarum Universalis, auctore E. T. Steudel, M.D.

Vlll CONTENTS.

Page
— Enchiridion Botanicum exhibens Classes et Ordines Plantarum ;
accedit Nomenclator Generum, auctore S. Endlicber, M.D. 445 — 447

Proceedings of the Linnsean Society ; Entomological Society ; Geolo-
gical Society ; Zoological Society ; Royal Irish Academy ; Impe-
rial Academy of St. Petersburgh 447 — 471

Mr, Dale on the Fauna of Dorsetshire ; Mr. C. C. Babington on Ribes
petraum ; Cream-coloured Courser ; Rev. D. Landsborough on
the Longevity of Geese ; M. Petit on the questionable authenti-
city of names given to undescribed Genera and Species ; Nests of
the Hirundo riparia ; Some Notices of the late Professor Don, and
of his Father, Mr. George Don, formerly Curator of the Edinburgh
Botanic Garden ; Meteorological Observations and Table... 472 — 480

NUMBER LIV. SUPPLEMENT.
LVI. On a new genus of Fossil Bivalve Shells. By Mr. Samuel
Stutchbury, F.G.S., A.L.S., &c, Curator of the Bristol Institution.

(With two Plates.) 481

LVII. The Birds of Ireland (Family Corvidce, Picidce, and Cer-
thiadce). By Wm. Thompson, Esq., Vice-Pres. Nat. Hist. Society of

Belfast. {Continued.) 486

Proceedings of the Royal Society ; Geological Society ; Zoological

Society ; Botanical Society of Edinburgh 502 — 543

New Books ; — A History of Infusoria, living and fossil, arranged ac-
cording to ' Die Infusionsthierchen ' of C. G. Ehrenberg ; con-
taining coloured engravings illustrative of all the Genera, and De-
scriptions of all the Species in that work, with several new ones,
by Andrew Pritchard. — Supplementary remarks on Mr. G. R.

Gray's ■ Genera of Birds,' by H. E. Strickland 543—545

Dr. Martin Barry on Fibre 545

Index 547

PLATES IN VOL. VIII.

Plate I. Structure of Annular Vessels Seepage 26

II. Skulls, &c. of Rodentia 84

HIT

v ' V Ammonites from the Oxford Clay 165

Vl'J

VII. Antechinus Stuartii, from New South Wales 242

VIII. New Marine Animals described by Mr. E. Forbes 243

IX 1

x * V Pachyodon, a new genus of Fossil Bivalves 482

XI. Saxifrages of Ireland 322

XII. Infusorial Animalcules 543

Erratum, p. 278, 1. 10, for " Switzerland, to the height of 11,000 feet," read, " Switzerland, and

to the." &c

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

No. 48. SEPTEMBER 1841.

I. — Description of some Molar Teeth from the Eocene Sand
at Kyson in Suffolk, indicative of a new Species of Hyra-
cotherium (Hyr. Cuniculus). By Richard Owen, Esq.,
F.R.S., &c.

IN the Eocene sand underlying the red crag at Kingston or
Kyson in Suffolk, from which the remains of Quadrumana,
Chiroptera, and Marsupialia have already been obtained*,
Mr. Colchester, the discoverer of those mammalian remains,
has recently transmitted to me through my friend Mr. Lyell
a second collection of fossils, including the teeth of small
mammalian animals, some of which are referable to the small
Pachydermal extinct genus Hyracotherium, established on a
nearly entire cranium obtained by Mr. Richardson from the
London clay near Heme Bay, in 1839f.

The teeth from Kyson are three true molars and one of the
false molars, all belonging to the upper jaw. The crowns of
the true molars present the same shortness in vertical extent,
the same inequilateral, four-sided, transverse section, and
nearly the same structure, as in Hyracotherium leporinum ;
the grinding surface being raised into four obtuse pyramidal
cusps, and surrounded by a well-developed ridge, produced at
the anterior and outer angle of the crown into a fifth small cusp.

These teeth are, however, of smaller size, as will be seen
by the subjoined figures of a corresponding molar
from the Hyrac. leporinum, fig. 1, and Hyrac. Cu-
niculus, fig. 2. The true molars of these two spe-
cies further differ in a point not explicable on the
supposition of their having belonged to a smaller
individual or variety, for the ridge which passes
transversely from the inner to the outer cusp is developed

* See Annals of Natural History, vol. iv. No. 23, Nov. 1839.
t Geological Transactions, 2nd Series, vol. vi. p. 203.

Ann. fy Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. B

2 Mr. Owen on some Fossil Teeth from Suffolk.

midway into a small crateriform tubercle in the teeth of the
Hyracotherium leporinum, but preserves its trenchant cha-
racter in the Hyrac. Cuniculus, even in molars which have the
larger tubercles worn down.

The premolar, or false molar, in the series of detached
teeth from Kyson, which is either the third or fourth, pre-
sents the same complication of the crown which distinguishes
the Hyracotherium from the Cheer opotamus, but with
the same minor modification which distinguishes the 3
true molars of the Kyson species from those of the
Hyrac. leporinum of Heme Bay ; i. e. the two ridges
which converge from the two outer tubercles towards 4 ffji
the internal tubercle are not developed midway into W
the small excavated tubercle, as in the Hyrac. leporinum, fig. 3,
but are simple, as in fig. 4.

The disparity of size between the true and false molars ap-
pears to be greater in the Hyrac. Cuniculus than in the Hyrac.
leporinum. This discovery of a second species of the genus
Hyracotherium, which, hitherto, has been found only in the
London clay, tends to place beyond doubt the equivalency of
the Kyson sand, underlying the red crag, with the Eocene
deposits at the estuary of the Thames, and corroborates the
inference deducible from the previously described mammalian,
ornithic and ophidian remains of the London clay, that it was
deposited in the near neighbourhood of dry land.

I may add, that the collection of teeth and other small or-
ganic fragments from the Kyson clay, which included the
molars of the small extinct Pachyderm above described, like-
wise included several vertebrae of a serpent, agreeing in every
respect, save size, with those of the Palceophis toliapicus, re-
cently described by me, from the Isle of Sheppey. The Ky-
son serpent must have been about seven feet in length : that
of Sheppey exceeded ten feet ; but I have lately had submitted
to me for examination, by my friend Mr. Dixon of Worthing,
vertebrae of a distinct species of Palceophis from the Eocene
clay at Bracklesham, corresponding in size with those of a
Boa Constrictor of upwards of twenty feet in length.

Fig. 1 . Grinding surface of the crown of the last true molar, right side, up-
per jaw, of Hyracotherium leporinum, from Heme Bay.

Fig. 2. Ditto, of the corresponding molar of the Hyracotherium, Cuniculus,
from Kyson.

Fig. 3. Grinding surface of the last false molar (the fourth counting back-
wards), left side, upper jaw, of Hyracotherium leporinum, from Heme
Bay.

Fig. 4. Ditto, of the corresponding tooth of the Hyracotherium
Cuniculus, from Kyson.

Fig. 5. Last true molar, left side, upper jaw, of Hyracotherium '
Cuniculus, from Kyson.

Mr. J. Hogg on the Horny Sponges. 3

II. — Remarks on the Horny Sponges, with proposed divisions of
the Order Spongiae. By John Hogg, Esq., M.A., F.R.S.,
F.L.S., &c.

To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

Gentlemen,
Mr. Bowerbank having published some very interesting
c Observations on a Horny Sponge from Australia/ at p.
129 of the < Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist/ for April 1841, I
am induced to trouble you with a few remarks upon them.

The author there writes, " that, contrary to received opi-
nions, they 5 ' (horny sponges) ei are furnished with siliceous
spicula." This opinion, however, which seems to me to have
originated from Dr. Grant's examinations of some of our Bri-
tish horny sponges, and from the statement which he has
made in the 'Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal' (for 1827,
p. 122), where he says — "I have never observed any kind of
spiculum in the horny species," is incorrect as far as it relates
to all the horny, or subcorneous, sponges. Because, by re-
ferring to M. Lamarck's c Hist. Nat. des Anim. sans Verteb.,'
torn, ii., edit. 1836, p. 538, it will be seen that M. Milne
Edwards distinctly mentions some sponges which were de-
scribed by M. Savignyand figured in the plates of his superb
work on Egypt, as having " la disposition du reseau come et
des spicules qui constituent en quelque sorte la charpente de
ces corps."

Now, since M. Milne Edwards has in the preceding page
(537) expressly said that iC on ne connait pas d'especes qui
en presentent conjointement avec des epines calcaires et des
fibres cornees," it is quite certain that the " reseau corne' et
des spicules" spoken of, and which were described by M.
Savigny, must signify the skeleton of a horny net-work with
siliceous spicula. Thus Mr. Bowerbank, by his late investi-
gations, has fortunately confirmed this fact ; and has disco-
vered the presence of siliceous spicula in some other species
of the horny sponges, which species were previously sup-
posed to be entirely destitute of them. But as it was like-
wise generally thought that the siliceous spicula seldom or
never put on more than two simple forms, it is of importance
to find from that author's paper that he has proved the sili-
ceous spicula in the horny sponges which he examined to
exist under several different forms, some of which he has re-
presented in the accompanying figures, (Plate III. Vol. vii.)

The next objects worth especial notice in that paper are,
first, the reticulations of the transparent membrane. These,

B2

4 Mr. J. Hogg on the Horny Sponges.

indeed, strongly resemble those of the membrane of the Spon-
gilla fluviatilis, which I have described at p. 386 of the 'Lin-
naean Transactions/ vol. xviii., and the second, the fixed spo-
ridia; — the actual existence of these bodies in any of our Bri-
tish sea sponges I have never yet been able to witness, and
which I account for from my not having examined them in
their native localities at the proper season of the year. Al-
though previously figured in Donates work and in the ( Zoo-
logia Danica/ the fixed sporidia were first distinctly pointed
out by Dr. Ehrenberg, as having been seen by him in many
sponges of the Red Sea.

The reticulated transparent membrane and the fixed spo-
ridia, then, fully confirm the general description of the Spongiae
Marina which I gave at p. 400, * Linn. Trans./ vol. xviii., in
these words : — " The sea sponges are furnished with a skeleton
of fibres interlacing, crossing, and anastomosing with them-
selves ; generally also strengthened with those singularly
crystallized particles termed spicula ; with a parenchymatous
soft portion or jelly ; with a fine and transparent enveloping
membrane ; with numerous minute pores ; and frequently
with larger orifices or oscules, which are more sparingly and
irregularly dispersed over their surfaces ; with passages or
canals communicating through the pores and oscules one with
another, along which tbe water finds a ready course or circu-
lation, and affords nutriment to all the inner parts of the
masses ; with locomotive sporules ; and in some species with
fixed sporidia/'

JMr. Bowerbank has however omitted to say whether these
sporidia were softish or hard, and whether the parenchyma-
tous portion or jelly was composed of minute globules or not ;
nor has that author given us the names of the species which
he has described. Next, if we examine Mr. Bowerbank's
plate, we see the fixed sporidia well drawn at fig. 8 in their
natural position, but he has neglected to magnify any of them
separately. Fig. 7 gives a representation of the reticulated
transparent membrane, which, I believe, is quite new, and
has never yet been figured in any engraving of the sponges.

Again, Mr. Bowerbank in the abstract of his paper, which
was communicated to the Microscopic Society, and published
in No. 1 (for March last) of the ' Microscopic Journal/ men-
tions some of the horny sponges of commerce that were re-
ceived from the Mediterranean, in which spicula were like-
wise discovered ; but the vascular tissue surrounding the fibres
there described, I am strongly inclined to agree with Dr.
George Johnston in thinking " as of no more than specific
importance/'

Mr. J. Hogg on the Horny Sponges. 5

Also, it becomes me to correct the following passage from
that Journal : — " Dr. Grant's observations were limited prin-
cipally to the British species of sponge having siliceous or
calcareous spicula ; the true horny species not having up to
that period been found on our coast. Sowerby, in his ' British
Miscellany/ has subsequently figured the Spongia pulchella
obtained from the southern and western coasts of England."
Now Dr. Grant published his observations in the ' Edin-
burgh Philosophical Journal' for the years 1825, 1826, 1827,
whereas Sowerby's e British Miscellany/ vol. i., was published
long before— in fact, in the year 1806; in which volume, at
p. 87, Sowerby described the S. pulchella as a new species,
specimens of which had been sent to him by Mr. Brown from
Ireland about the year 1800, and by the Rev. Hugh Davies
from North Wales in 1802. I may here add, that I have
found this beautiful species on the coast of Durham, where
however it is rarely met with. Having already observed upon
the similarity of the spicula with r aphides*, I perfectly coin-
cide with Prof. Jones in accounting the crystalline needle-like
particles which so abundantly occur in many sponges, as
being analogous to and most resembling those crystalline se-
cretions of plants ; and I must confess that I do not see any
facts detailed in the papers of Mr. Bowerbank to lead me to
alter my opinion respecting the vegetable nature of sponges.

The objectionable word ' keratose' has, I am glad to see,
called forth a just remark from the Editor.

I have been in the habit of using the word e subcorneous * in
my own attempted arrangement of the Spongiae, in which I have
distributed many species without adopting the new generic
names of Calcispongia, Grantia, Halichondria, Halispongia,
Tethya, Tethium, part of Alcyonium of Lamarck, etc. ; since I
thought it better to consider the whole under the new genus
Spongilla, and the old genus Spongia of Linnaeus and Mon-
tagu.

The Order Spongia I some months ago separated for my
own convenience into the following divisions : —

Division I. Spongice Subcornece. The Subcorneous Sponges. — Having
fibres of a somewhat horny substance without any spicula.
Example of a British species : S. pulchella (Sow.).

Division II. S. Subcorneo-silicea. The Subcorneo- siliceous Sponges.
— Fibres composed of a somewhat horny substance with nume-
rous siliceous spicula.
No species hitherto discovered in Britain.

Division III. S. Subcartilagineo-calcarice. The Subcartilagino-calca-
* See Linn. Trans., vol. xviii. p. 398.

6 Mr. J. Hogg on the Horny Sponges,

reous Sponges. — Fibres of a somewhat cartilaginous substance,
with the spicula calcareous, or consisting of carbonate of lime.
Examples : S. compressa, S. botryoides, &c.

Division IV. S. Subcartilagineo-silicea. The Subcartilagino-siliceous
Sponges. — Fibres composed of a somewhat cartilaginous sub-
stance, with siliceous spicula.
Examples : S. tomentosa, S. palmata, and Spongilla fluviatilis.

Division V. S. Subereo-silicece. The Subereo-siliceous Sponges. —
Fibres of a corky substance, with long siliceous spicula.
Examples; S. verrucosa (Mont.) and S.pilosa (Mont.).

At present, as far as I am aware, no sponges have been dis-
covered either with horny fibres and calcareous spicula, or
with corky fibres and calcareous spicula. The other parts of
the sponges, such as the membrane and gelatinous portion, are
of too fugacious a nature to afford any useful characters for
the arranging of the Order ; the skeleton itself, consisting of
fibres as well as spicula (which exist in so many sponges),
clearly offers the best characters for that purpose. The pre-
ceding divisions I did in part derive from M. Milne Edwards's
observations in his edition of M. de Lamarck's e Hist. Nat. des
Anim. s. Vert./ torn. ii. pp. 535 — 541. And, inasmuch as no
better arrangement of the Spongia has yet appeared, I am in-
duced to think the preceding attempt may prove of use, and
assist the observer in rendering perfect a general classification
of them. But this cannot be effectually accomplished until
further investigations shall have been made on the Sea Sponges
in their natural state ; and for the purpose of urging those
who have the opportunity to do so, I will here repeat the re-
marks which I have before made in a note at p. 406, vol. xviii.
of the ' Linn. Trans.' : — " The difficulty of preserving sponges,
even in bottles filled with rectified spirit of wine, is so great,
that no one who has not the means of examining them in a
fresh condition and in their native element, can ever expect
to throw much light on their variously-formed structures.
The dried masses of fibrous skeletons, devoid of their true
natural forms and colours, without their parenchymatous jelly
and enveloping membrane, &c. as exhibited in our museums,
can but little assist us in obtaining a correct knowledge of
their natural history."

I remain, Gentlemen, yours truly,

John Hogg.

London, May 1st, 1841.

Mr. MacGillivray on the Zoology of the Hebrides. 7

III. — Notes on the Zoology of the Outer Hebrides. By John
MacGillivray, Vice-President of the Cuvierian Nat.
Hist. Society of Edinburgh.

The only account of the Natural History of the Outer He-
brides that has yet been published is that of Professor Mac-
Gillivray*, and it being now upwards of twenty years since
that gentleman visited the district, I have been induced to
arrange a few notes relative to the species observed during a
residence there in the summer of 1840. Several additions to
his list are here noticed, and a few errors corrected — errors
which the state of British Zoology at the time he wrote ren-
dered altogether unavoidable.

Before proceeding further, it may be proper to mention that
I was landed in Skye in the end of April 1840, was conveyed
to North Uist, which I crossed, and established myself in
Berneray, a small island in the sound of Harris. From this
central point, excursions, sometimes of several days' duration,
were repeatedly made to all the neighbouring islands, to Har-
ris, the southern portion of which was traversed in all direc-
tions, and to North Uist. On the 29th of June I left for St.
Kildaf? and was absent eight days ; on my return I set off for
South Uist, traversing Benbecula, and remaining upwards of
a week. On my return I again visited Harris and the adja-
cent isles, spent some time in North Uist, and finally crossing
to Skye in the end of August, walked through the west high-
lands to Edinburgh, which I reached after an absence of four
months.

Mammalia.

The Otter, Lutra vulgaris, is sparingly distributed along
the whole of the rocky coasts of the Hebrides. It is found
chiefly among the loose blocks of stone by the shore, but oc-
casionally frequents the inland lakes, especially in South Uist.
The otters of the Hebrides belong exclusively to the dark
variety, considered by Mr. Ogilby as specifically distinct,
which, though said to be smaller than the other, is yet not al-
ways so ; for one shot in the island of Vallay measured five
feet, and another seen at Scolpig about nine inches less, being
still above the average size. Phoca vitulina, Common Seal,
is extremely abundant in the sound of Harris and the neigh-
bouring inlets of North Uist, but less so elsewhere. The
young are born about the beginning of June, and immediately
follow their mother. One only is usually produced at a birth,

* Edinb. Journ. of Nat. and Geograph. Science, vol. ii. pp. 161 and 321.
f An account of which will appear in the October Number of the ' Edinb.
New Philos. Journal.'

8 Mr. J. MacGillivray's Notes on the

but in a single instance two cubs were observed following one
female. During a storm I have seen them throwing them-
selves forwards, half out of the water, which movement they
repeated several times in succession. Two individuals of
Phoca grcenlandica, Harp or Greenland Seal, were observed by
Mr. D. MacLellan and myself, on a small rock in the Atlantic,
off the west coast of South Uist, in the month of July. They
were seen through a telescope, at a distance of not more than
300 yards, as we were watching the strange movements of a
large schooner which sunk in deep water a few minutes after-
wards. Being then in the habit of daily seeing numbers of
seals, I could scarcely have mistaken so marked a species for
either of the two others. Halichcerus griseus, Nilss., Great
Seal, as determined by me from the examination of several in-
dividuals, also of two crania, and numerous skins, is equally
plentiful with the Common Seal, from which it differs greatly
in habits. It seldom enters the shallow sounds like the Ph.
vitulina, with which it never associates, but frequents the open
sea, upon the western or Atlantic coasts of the islands, where
alone I have observed it. It breeds in November, leaving its
young one upon the rock, and suckling it at each tide. The
most noted places of resort of this species are the rocky islands
of Haskir, twelve miles off the west coast of North Uist, and
Gaskir, at a similar distance from the Harris coast. In the
beginning of November a large boat filled with men leaves
North Uist under night, and generally arrives at Haskir soon
after daybreak. The men land upon the island armed with
long clubs and separate into two bodies, one of which attack
the seals upon the shelving rocks upon which they are found
lying with their cubs, while the other cut off their retreat to
the water. A short but fierce struggle then takes place ; a
few of the animals escape, the rest are killed by repeated blows
about the root of the nose, their only vulnerable spot, and the
rock is soon covered with the dying and the dead. About
seventy are thus annually procured, but the number varies
considerably, as many as 120 having sometimes been obtained.
Many of them are of large size, one which I measured at Vall-
ay being 7^ feet in length, exclusive of the head, and indivi-
duals of much larger size are not unfrequently met with.

Mus Musculus, Common Mouse, is of common occurrence :
M. decumanus, the Brown Rat, was observed to feed on shell-
fish and Crustacea in the uninhabited islands of the sound of
Harris, the sea-banks of many of which I have seen perforated
in all directions with their burrows.

Lepus Cuniculus, the Rabbit, has been introduced into
South Uist and Barray, where it has multiplied prodigiously.

Zoology of the Outer Hebrides. 9

The Red Deer, Cervus Elaphus, of the Outer Hebrides is
much smaller than individuals from the mainland of Scotland.
By being carefully preserved, the deer are still plentiful in
the forest of Harris and the interior of North Uist; in the
latter situation they betake themselves to the water on being
pursued, and easily find shelter among the numerous islets of
the lakes.

Various Cetacea were occasionally seen during my nume-
rous boating excursions, both in the Minch and upon the west
coast ; but the only species, besides the Porpoise, Delphinus
Phoccena, that I could identify is the Grampus, D. Orca, con-
spicuous by its peculiar dorsal fin. On the beach at Pabbay
may be seen numerous gigantic bones, the remains of a drove
of eighty grampuses which were driven ashore by the islanders
about twenty-five years ago.

Birds.

The two species of Eagles, Aquila Chrysaetos and Haliaetus
albicilla, were occasionally observed, the latter by far the
most frequently. As the eyries are well known in their re-
spective neighbourhoods, and a reward offered for the destruc-
tion of both old and young, the number of these birds is
annually diminishing. The Sea Eagle, though usually build-
ing upon the maritime cliffs, in one instance was found breed-
ing on a small flat islet in one of the numerous lakes of North
Uist, and two eggs were procured from the locality in ques-
tion. When sitting on the grass upon the summit of Ben
Mhore in South Uist, a magnificent bird of this species
alighted on a neighbouring pinnacle, which I had previously
observed to be strewed with its down and feathers. I crawled
to within a few yards of the spot, and with a telescope lei-
surely examined the noble bird, as he stood erect and almost
motionless, occasionally casting quick glances all around ; on
being disturbed he quickly unfolded his broad wings, launched
into the mist below, and was soon lost to view. It being a
Sunday I had no gun with me, else I could easily have pro-
cured him, but the fine sight made ample amends for my dis-
appointment. The only breeding-place of the Golden Eagle
visited by me, was an isolated promontory stretching far into
the Atlantic, and forming the hill of Northtown. Before
reaching the spot I had unfortunately scared away the eagles
by firing at some cormorants upon the rocks, and had to
content myself with a distant view. An uncle of mine, who
for a long time resided in the neighbourhood, was in the ha-
bit of occasionally descending into their eyrie by means of a
rope, and in this way took many eggs and destroyed several

10 Mr. J. MacGillivray's Notes on the

young birds. One of the old birds was also shot by my father
from a covered pit in which he lay concealed, the bird being
enticed by a hen fastened by a string at a little distance.

Falco peregrinus, the Peregrine Falcon, breeds in St. Kilda,
and I believe in various other localities, and was occasionally
observed in several of the islands. In the end of July, while
crossing the moors of North Uist on horseback along with
three companions, a male Peregrine flew past us with a Lestris
Richardsonii in its talons, and another, probably the mate of
the murdered bird, in hot pursuit, uttering incessant cries. A
splendid specimen of the Jer Falcon, F, islandicus, was shot
in North Uist a few years ago by my friend D. Arbuckle,
Esq., and another was seen in the adjacent island of Pabbay
by Mr. Nicholson (Berneray), but was not procured. F. Tin-
nunculus, Kestril, occurred not unfrequently ; F. JEsalon, the
Merlin, once or twice ; and the Hen Harrier, Circus cyaneus,
was rather abundant, especially among the bogs of the two
Uists, where it breeds.

Hirundo rustica is the only species of Swallow that I met
with in the Hebrides, where it did not arrive till the end of
June. About a dozen were observed at the landing-place of
Pabbay on the morning of my departure for St. Kilda ; and a
single individual had been caught alive in the school-house of
Berneray and brought to me a few days before. That rare
bird the Hoopoe, Upupa Epops, extends its occasional visits
to the Hebrides ; for I was informed by my friend Dr. M'Leod
of a bird previously unknown in that part of the country,
which, from description, was immediately recognised as the
species now mentioned. An individual was found in an ex-
hausted state lying by the road- side near Balelone in North
Uist, after a long-continued easterly gale, and died shortly
afterwards.

The Wren, Troglodytes europaus, is pretty common ; the
Robin, Erythacus Rubecula, and Hedge Chanter, Accentor
modularis, occurred only in the glen of Rhodil, where alone,
in all the Outer Hebrides, is there wood in any quantity.
Of Saxicola Rubetra, Whinchat, a solitary pair was observed
at Ob in Harris, where the nest was found ; S. (Enanthe, the
Wheatear, arrived in the beginning of May (in Skye about the
end of April), and soon became very abundant throughout the
range. I have sometimes found as many as three or four
nests in the walls of a single hut. A nest of the Redwing,
Turdus iliacuSf was found by Mr. Bullock many years ago in
the glen of Rhodil ; but although I visited the spot repeatedly,
I failed in again meeting with the bird. The Song Thrush,
T. musicus, is plentiful everywhere, and identical with speci-

Zoology of the Outer Hebrides, 1 1

mens from the south, although eggs brought by me from
Harrris are certainly smaller and darker than usual, and the
nest is different. The Common and Shore Pipits, Anthus
pratensis and aquations, are both common ; the nest of the
latter I have frequently found at a distance from the sea.

The Raven, Corvus Corax, is generally distributed, but is
nowhere numerous, unless when attracted by a stranded whale
or drove of grampuses. Although it generally builds in lofty
rocks overhanging the sea, from which I have taken the young,
yet I know of a nest in the island of Berneray at an eleva-
tion of certainly not more than fifteen feet, but still quite in-
accessible from above, and nearly so from below. The owners
of this nest made great havoc among the poultry in the neigh-
bourhood, and I have known one of them to kill a full-grown
duck and partially devour it. C. Comix was the only other
species noticed, though both C. Corone and C.frugilegus are
met with in Skye. The Hooded Crow is very plentiful, espe-
cially in St. Kilda, and, like the Raven, approaches the huts
early in the morning, searching the dunghills for offal of every
kind. It lives chiefly on shell-fish and Crustacea ; but when in
South Uist in the end of July, I daily observed large flocks
of this bird feeding on the larvae bred in the putrid sea-weed
collected into small heaps for manure. In the Hebrides it
breeds in rocks, chiefly maritime ; but in the neighbouring
island of Skye, I have taken the nest in a tree by the road-
side, at the head of Loch Snizort. The Starling, Sturnus vul-
garis, is very common, beginning to collect into large flocks
in July, and remaining thus till the end of April.

Fringilla domestica, the Common Sparrow, I found in only
a single locality — among the ruins of Ormaclate Castle in
South Uist, of old the family-seat of Clanranald ; F. codebs, the
Chaffinch, occurred only in the glen of Rhodil, along with
Coccothraustes Chloris, the Greenfinch. Linota Montium, the
Twite, is abundant, and the only Hebridian species of the ge-
nus. Emberiza Miliaria, the Corn Bunting, is plentifully di-
stributed over the whole range ; E. Schozniclus, Reed Bunting,
is rare, and E. Citrinella, Yellow Bunting, was seen only at
Rhodil. Plectrophanes nivalis, Snow Bunting, I found so late
as the middle of May, when I shot a pair on the sand-hill of
Berneray. The Skylark, Alauda arvensis, is common.

Cuculus canorus, the Cuckoo, was seen and heard occa-
sionally, especially in North Uist, about Loch Maddy, and
elsewhere. The Rock Dove, Columba Livia, breeds in great
numbers in the maritime caves and fissures, and nowhere
more abundantly than in the island of Pabbay. During sum-
mer its food consists almost entirely of Helix ericetorum and

12 Mr. J. MacGillivray's Notes on the

Bulimus acutus, shells very abundant among the sandy pas-
tures.

The Red Grouse, Lagopus scotticus, is abundant ; and the
Ptarmigan, L. cinereus, occurs sparingly upon Ben Mhore
and Hecla in South Uist, and Ronaval in Harris, but more
plentifully upon the summits of the Forest Hills. A single
individual was seen in St. Kilda a few winters ago by the mi-
nister, who informed me of the circumstance, which seems al-
most incredible, the nearest land being fifty miles distant,
from which it looks a mere speck upon the ocean. Yet birds
apparently less capable of enduring continued flight, as the
Corncrake and Wheatear, annually visit St. Kilda.

Charadrius Hiaticula, the Ringed Plover, is very plentiful,
as is also C. pluvialis, Golden Plover ; the latter congregates
into vast flocks about the end of July, which betake them-
selves to the shore at low water ; and I have seen the " ebb "
of Berneray, a curious reef of bare stones extending upwards
of a mile, in many places completely covered with their dense
masses. Vanillus cristatus, the Lapwing, is very abundant
in several of the islands, as Ensay, Killigray, and Toroway, as
well as the two Uists and Benbecula. The Oyster Catcher,
Hcematopus ostralegus, is plentifully distributed, breeding in
almost every maritime situation, as well as by the inland
lakes ; the nest varies considerably, according to the locality.
It is extremely probable that the Turnstone, Strepsilas colla-
ris, breeds in the Hebrides, at least occasionally ; for I have
seen it in pairs so late as the middle of June in the island of
Ensay, and shot it in the end of July and beginning of Au-
gust upon the reef of Berneray. Numenius arquata, the Cur-
lew, is common, but I did not find it breeding ; N. Phceopus,
the Whimbrel, was first seen on the 2nd of May, and had dis-
appeared by the end of the month, hence the vernacular name
of May-fowl. It is very plentiful, and usually met with in small
flocks of about twenty or so, and on its arrival is very tame,
but soon becomes more wary. It chiefly frequents the pas-
tures, but occasionally resorts to the shore at low water ; none
remain to breed, for I never heard of any being seen after the
end of May. Tringa variabilis, the Dunlin, is very common,
leaving the coast for the heaths in May, and returning in the
end of July along with the young of the year. The Sander-
ling, Calidris arenaria, I have observed so late as the middle
of May ; hence it may possibly breed in some part of the di-
strict. Totanus hypoleucos, Common Sandpiper, occurs by
the margins of most of the lakes, where it breeds. T. Calidris,
the Redshanks, was shot in Berneray in the end of May, and
found in pairs on the island of Toroway in June, and at Vail-

Zoology of the Outer Hebrides. 13

ay in August, but was not observed elsewhere, nor was the
nest found. When crossing the sand fords between South
Uist and Benbecula in the end of July along with Mr. D.
MacGillivray, we fell in with a large flock and several smaller
ones of Limosa rufa*, Bar- tailed Godwit, which allowed us to
ride up sufficiently close to enable me to identify the species ;
they were probably on their way southward, after breeding
in high northern latitudes. Scolopax Gallinago, the Common
Snipe, is abundant in all the bogs ; Rallus aquations, the Water
Rail, occurred in North and South Uist ; Crex pratensis, the
Land Rail, was plentiful during the summer, frequenting at
first the dense patches of Iris Pseudacorus in the marshy
grounds, and resorting to the corn when that is tall enough to
afford shelter. Gallinula chloropus and Fulica atra, the Water
Hen and Coot, are both pretty common in such of the lakes
as have the margin furnished with aquatic plants. Lobipes
7iyperboreus, the Red-necked Phalarope, occurs in small num-
bers about Scolpig in North Uist, and in the adjacent island
of Vallay. In the latter situation it may usually be found
about the drains and ditches in the neighbourhood of the
Manse, where it was first observed by Mr. D. Macrae.

Anser brachyrhynchus, the Pink-footed or Short-billed
Goose, breeds in great numbers in the small islands of the
sound of Harris, as well as those of the interior of North Uist.
This bird was seen in flocks so late as the beginning of May,
was observed in pairs among the islands in the sound about
the middle of the month, and had the young fully fledged and
strong upon wing about the end of July ; it had again col-
lected into flocks by the beginning of August, for late in the
night of the 8th of that month, as I was riding in great haste
to overtake the ferry-boat for Berneray, while crossing the
sandy margin of a shallow pool, I came suddenly upon a flock
of geese amounting to several hundreds, judging from their
cries, which startled my horse, and I may add, myself also.
A large flock of Brent Geese, Bernicla Brenta, passed over
head from the southward on the 2nd of May, while I was en-
gaged collecting Crustacea on the reef at Berneray : this is
the latest date of their occurrence, for I could never hear of
any remaining to breed. Tadorna Vulpanser, the Shieldrake,
breeds in all the islands of the sound of Harris, with the ex-
ception of Berneray, Pabbay, and Shellay, and is plentiful in
many parts of Benbecula and the two Uists. The eggs at
first have a slight tinge of pink, which they soon loose. Anas

* The supposed species L. Meyeri, Leis., is plentiful along the Frith of
Forth in many places ; I shot several specimens last autumn at Mussel-
burgh.

14 Mr. J. MacGillivray's Notes on the

Boschus, Mallard, is not uncommon ; and the Seal, Querque-
dula Crecca, has been known to breed in South Uist, but I
never observed it there. The Eider Duck, Somateria mollis-
sima, breeds in small numbers on some of the less frequented
islets of the sound of Harris, as Skerry-vore, Shellay, and
those between Killigray and Ob. The island of Haskir is the
chief breeding-place of this bird, the numbers there found
being represented as truly astonishing. Harelda glacialis, the
Long-tailed Duck, was observed in pairs in the sound of Har-
ris so late as the beginning of May, but none remained du-
ring the summer.

The Goosander, Mergus Castor, is pretty common, breed-
ing by the larger lakes and occasionally by the sea, as near
Loch Maddy in North Uist. M, Serrator, the Red-breasted
Merganser, I have seldom observed inland, like the preceding ;
a few remain during the summer, and I took the nest with
eggs on a small island between Killigray and Ob, in the sound
of Harris. The Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo, is rather
plentiful, breeding along with the next in St. Kilda, Shellay,
and Towhead. P. cristatus, the Shag, is much more plentiful
than the last, and may be found in most of the maritime
caves, where it is so tame that I have several times seen them
killed with stones thrown from above. Among many which
I shot at Northtown, beside a cave which in days of old
sheltered for a time one of the fugitives from Culloden, Mr.
M'Leod of Berneray has one of a light brown colour : this
being in the month of June, it could not be one of the young
birds of the year, which are well known to have their first
plumage of that colour. The Gannet, Sula Bassana, may be
seen coasting along the headlands and entering the bays with
the first dawn of morning, and retiring in the evening in long
strings towards St. Kilda, where alone it breeds. When gorged
with fish it is sometimes scarcely able to raise itself from the
water, and I have seen it taken by the hand when asleep in
this state. The Common Tern, Sterna Hirundo, was first ob-
served on the 14th of May, and found breeding a few days
after in company with the Arctic Tern, St. arctica, which is
much more plentiful. On several of the smaller and less fre-
quented islands on which I landed, many hundreds of their
eggs were taken in a few minutes, and in some places one
could hardly move without treading upon them ; a loose cloud
of terns of both species hovering about uttering incessant
cries, and darting down to within a few feet of the invaders of
their peaceful territory. The Laughing Gull, Xema ridibundum,
is abundant in the marshes of the two Uists and Benbecula,
also near Rhodil and in Berneray, breeding in all these situ-

Zoology of the Outer Hebrides, 1 5

ations. Rissa tridaclyla, the Kittiwake, breeds only in Haskir
and St. Kilda ; in the latter place in large colonies. Larus ma-
rinus, the Great Black-backed Gull, is plentiful ; its nest was
found only on the small island of Shellay, at Lowhead, and
in the interior of North Uist, among the small lakes. L. fus-
cus, the Lesser Black-backed Gull, is not so common as the
others of the genus, but was found breeding in the same
places as the preceding. Large colonies were noticed on se-
veral of the islets of North Uist, upwards of a mile from the
sea. L. canus and L. argentatus, the Common and Herring
Gulls, were equally abundant; the latter was never found
breeding in the interior as the former occasionally was. Lestris
Richardsonii, Richardson's Skua, breeds in several spots in
the interior of North Uist, and a few stragglers might now
and then be observed upon the coasts, chacing the terns and
smaller gulls. The Fulmar, Procellaria glacialis, breeds in
astonishing numbers upon the terrific cliffs of St. Kilda, but
was not observed elsewhere, except when at sea in very
gloomy weather ; also in the evening and at daybreak, when
I have seen them following in the wake of the boat, but sel-
dom for any time. In St. Kilda I have taken them alive upon
the rocks, but never observed them eject oil from their nostrils,
as mentioned in ornithological works, though they vomit that
fluid most [copiously on being wounded or roughly handled.
Such as I dissected had the stomach filled with clear oil,
mixed with the horny mandibles of some Sepiadce, on which,
and not the "flesh of whales," as stated in books, the St.
Kilda Fulmar may be presumed to subsist. Puffinus Anglo-
rum, the Shearwater, was seen occasionally at sea, but on land
only in St. Kilda, where it nestles in excavations formed by
itself: like the next, it seems to be in great measure a noc-
turnal bird. The Stormy Petrel is extremely plentiful about
St. Kilda, whence it issues about an hour before sunset : as
to the species I am not quite certain, as I did not procure a
single specimen ; for although they sometimes came about the
boat in great numbers, this happened only in very rough
weather, when, as every one who has faced the Atlantic in an
open boat during a heavy gale will readily imagine, shooting
was rendered exceedingly difficult, and picking up the dead
birds next to impossible.

The Dobchick, Podiceps minor, occurred in almost all the
lakes of North and South Uist. The Eared Grebe, P. au-
ritus, in the latter only, chiefly about Ormaclate. The North-
ern Diver, Colymbus glacialis, was plentiful until the begin-
ning of June, when they all disappeared, and had not again
returned when I left the country. C. septentrionalis, the Red-
throated Diver, was observed on several of the lakes ; and C.

16 M. Mohl on the Structure of Annular Vessels.

arcticus, Black-throated Diver, was ascertained to breed in
North Uist. I did not however find the nest of the latter
bird, but mention the fact upon the authority of several of my
friends who did so and know the species well — among others,
Lieut. Macdonald of North Uist. The Guillemot, Uria Troile,
was observed with the Razor-bill in vast numbers in the end
of April, while crossing the Minch in the Uist packet, and
that too during the whole extent, or about thirty miles. Uria
Grylle, Black Guillemot, was found on all the rocky coasts,
but was nowhere very numerous. The first young bird fully
fledged was shot on the 14th of August. Of the Puffin, Mor-
mon arcticus, I saw countless myriads in St. Kilda*, where
they far outnumber all the other species. Alca Torda, the
Razor-bill, is also very plentiful in St. Kilda, and, with the
Puffin, breeds also in Haskir, but in far smaller numbers.
When in St. Kilda I was told by some of the fowlers, that
the Great Auk, Alca impennis, is still seen occasionally, but
that none had been procured for many years back.

IV. — Researches on the Structure of Annular Vessels.
By Hugo MoHLf.

[With a Plate.]

Dr. Schleiden lately published some observations on the
spiral formations in the cells of plants in the { Flora 5 (see An-
nals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. vi. p. 35), which interested me
the more by reason of my having recently directed attention to
the same subject (Flora, 1839, pp. 81-142), and especially as
the result of his researches coincided with my own in all es-
sential points concerning the structure of the cellular mem-
brane of vegetables. His opinion principally differs from
mine in two points, viz. the order of development of the se-
condary membranes and fibres in the woody fibre of Taxus
and allied organisms, and the formation of the annular vessels.

I must wait for a more favourable opportunity to examine
the first point ; but, as regards the second, 1 will state the
reasons which induce me to adhere to my former opinion,
notwithstanding Schleiden has set forth a new theory respect-
ing the development of the annular vessels.

Long ago (see c Flora/ 1838, p. 378,) have I been opposed to
the hypothesis, which is devoid of all foundation, although ge-
nerally received even in the present day, that annular vessels
owe their origin to the disruption of the spiral fibres of spiral
vessels whose fragments become afterwards united in the form

* Where I procured a nearly white variety of this species,
t From the Flora, 18,39, p. 673.

M. Mohl on the Structure of Annular Vessels. 1 7

of rings. On the contrary, I have explained the formation of
annular fibres as a mere modification of spiral fibres, founded
upon the fact, that the ascension of a spiral fibre, which can,
on the one hand, be extended so far as to take a, longitudinal
direction, may, on the other hand, be diminished to such a de-
gree that its direction may transversely cross the longitudinal
axis of the vessel; the consequence of which must necessarily
be, rings returning into themselves instead of spiral fibres.
On the contrary, Dr. Schleiden thinks that, in the secondary
membranes of the utricles of plants, we can, without any
exception, demonstrate a spiral disposition of the fibres ; and
that annular vessels are formed by spiral vessels which have
a constant tendency to unroll themselves, the coils of whose
fibre become united here and there by two and two, so as to
form perfect rings, which subsequently become isolated by
the absorption of the interposed portion of the fibres. This
development, he assures us, may be observed in an examina-
tion of the annular vessels in their earliest stage.

The solution of the question as to which of these two the-
ories is the true one, will appear to many, in general, more
simple and easy than it really is. It might be supposed that
by means of a good microscope, used with the necessary skill
and patience, the difficulties of research arising from the mi-
nuteness and softness of the vessels in their primary develop-
ment would be easily surmounted. Such is in fact the case,
though, nevertheless, this is not sufficient to place the matter
in a clear light ; for the principal difficulty in researches on
the development of a vegetable organ arises, in the present
as well as in most other cases, from the organ whose develop-
ment is to be studied not presenting the same structure under
all circumstances, but, on the contrary, presenting in the dif-
ferent cases subjected to examination greater or less deviations
from the normal type. It is this circumstance which fre-
quently hinders us from deciding whether we have a normal
development before us, or only an accidental though persist-
ent deviation. The observer, not seeing the successive deve-
lopment of an organ effected before his eyes, but having to
establish his opinion on isolated facts observed at different
stages of development, is often induced to consider some ac-
cidental and unimportant circumstance of greater interest
than it really is, and thus founds upon these exceptions, al-
though accurately observed, a theory entirely false. Only by
researches frequently repeated can such errors be avoided.

Before passing to the examination of annular vessels, I
shall offer some remarks on the fibre of spiral vessels.

Ann. $ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. C

18 M. Mohl on the Structure of Annular Vessels,

Whoever has examined the development of spiral vessels
and spiral cellules, and recognised their constant analogy
with each other and with the dotted cellules, will not doubt
for an instant that he sees in the fibre of spiral vessels, not
a particular and independent organism, but rather the se-
condary membrane of the vascular utricles, divided in a spi-
ral direction into one or more parallel bands. As regards the
organization of this pretended fibre, I refer therefore to my
work on the organization of the cellular membrane, because
all that can be said on the structure of the membrane of the
spiral cellule is equally applicable to the wall of the spiral
vessel. But as respects what I have to say concerning annu-
lar vessels, it is necessary to examine with care some points
relative to the spiral fibre.

In the memoir above quoted I have detailed their striae,
their great facility of tearing in a spiral direction, the hollows
and furrows lying in a similar direction, and more especially
the slits, which entirely penetrate the thickness of the cellular
membrane, as the reasons which favour the opinion that the
secondary cellular membranes possess a fibrous structure.
All these phaenomena, which are so frequently seen on the
parts of the cellular membrane situated between the dottings
on the cells, are also observable on the fibres of the unrollable
spiral vessels ; but are not so often recognised in the latter,
either on account of the narrowness of the spiral fibre, or that
frequently, even under the highest magnifying powers, the
spiral fibre appears homogeneous. When, on the contrary,
the fibre is of a considerable width, so that it rather resem-
bles a flattened ribbon than a semi-rounded or quadrangular
thread, it does not, in most instances, present a homogeneous
aspect, but furrows more or less deep are observable in it in
the direction of the fibre, either in one row or side by side, and
in this last case they give to it a retiform appearance (Plate I.
fig. 2. and 3, Commelina tuber osa). In other cases these fur-
rows penetrate through the entire thickness of the fibre, which,
at different points, is divided into two or more fibres placed
side by side. These fibres either take a parallel direction, or
the detached fibre at a greater or less distance reunites with
the other, or else one of the fibres arising from division, leaving
the other part, which continues in its primary direction, rises
in a more oblique spiral direction, until it reaches the adjacent
coil of the fibre into which it merges. Thus, in short, we
observe, that almost all the modifications of form found in the
secondary utricular layers result from the close union of all
the constituent parts of the fibre, from their more or less de-

M. Mohl on the Structure of Annular Vessels. 19

cided separation into isolated threads, from deviations in the
course of these from that of the main-thread, or from a reticu-
lated union of the isolated threads.

The direction in which the spiral fibre is wound has, indeed,
no direct connexion with the organization of the vessel ; never-
theless I think it necessary to make some remarks on this sub-
ject, because several erroneous statements, partly founded upon
an imperfect knowledge of the spiral, have been advanced by
some authors. I have elsewhere said that the great majority
of spiral vessels were wound to the right ; that is, the volution
of the fibre is such, that, to an observer placed in the axis of
the cylinder around which the spiral line rises, the fibre ap-
pears to mount from left to right, as shown in the vessel repre-
sented at figure 5. Like most other phytotomists, Schleiden
says that the spiral fibre is wound sometimes to the right,
sometimes to the left ; and he thinks it possible to admit pro-
visionally, as a general rule, that in spiral organizations (i co-
temporaneously" developed, those which are situated imme-
diately side by side in the direction of the radius have similar
directions (homodromes), whilst those placed side by side in
directions parallel to the periphery have different directions
(heterodromes) ; and in proof of this law he relies on the con-
stant crossing of the pore-like fissures in contiguous parenchy-
matous and ligneous cellules when observed in sections made
parallel to the medullary rays. I must confess my inability to
conceive how Dr. Schleiden can allege the crossing of the porous
fissures in support of the volution of the fibres in different di-
rections, since it proves quite the contrary. This crossing is
seen when two vessels or cellules furnished with pores are su-
perposed, and the adjacent parietes wound in opposite direc-
tions ; but it is evident that this last case is only possible when
the winding in the two vessels is homodromous *. It is quite
true that we generally see the porous fissures crossing each
other in a section parallel with the medullary rays ; which
proves that the different layers of cells visible in such a section
and placed one under the other, are wound in a homodromous
direction ; but as at the same time the cells of every such
layer are homodromous with each other, it clearly follows that,
generally speaking, all the cells of a plant are homodromous ;
and this, in fact, will be found to be so on an examination of
different sections of the same plant.

Without doubt spiral vessels exist which are wound to the
left; but although I have latterly found them more fre-
quently than formerly, I must still persist in asserting them

* [This illustration may be easily verified by applying two quills toge-
ther, with equidistant homodromous or heterodromous spirals scratched upon
them.— En.]

C2

20 M. Mohl on the Structure of Annular Vessels?.

to be much rarer than those wound to the rights and that they*
should rather be considered as exceptions to the rule, since,
in most plants, we find a hundred spiral vessels wound to the
right for a single one wound to the left. Doubtless it is true
that these proportions vary in different plants, and I cannot
yet say whether the finding in them more frequently spiral
vessels wound to the left be a fact peculiar to certain species
or only to certain individuals : generally they are, as I have
said, wound to the right. The volution to the right or to the
left, in spiral vessels, is quite independent of the organization
of the surrounding parts, as is proved by the fact that, in cer-
tain cases, not only the fibres of two superposed utricles of
the same vessel are wound in opposite directions, but some-
times even in the same vascular utricle (as I have seen in
the Gourd) the parts of the spiral fibre separated from each
other by rings are wound in an opposite direction (Plate I.
fig. 9).

When we examine the fibre of the perfectly developed an-
nular vessel (for which researches I have been accustomed to
use the Commelina tuber osa), we find its organization per-
fectly analogous to that of the spiral fibre, in the rings being
composed* sometimes of an apparently homogeneous sub-
stance, and* sometimes exhibiting traces of a determinate
structure.

In the broad fibres, as in the Commelina tufierosa, the fibre
frequently exhibits a great number of shallow linear furrows
or perfect fissures, forming a net-work of very narrow and
elongated meshes (fig. 1, 3). More frequently still these fis-
sures are found in an uninterrupted line in the medial line of
the fibre, or they become confluent, and thus divide the ring
into two superposed rings (fig. 4 a, a, Commelina tuberosa)*
When this latter division takes place, it generally recurs on
every ring of a vessel. Frequently, however, this does not
occur ; but divided and undivided rings alternate in an irre-
gular manner, the undivided rings being sometimes of equal
size, sometimes of half the size of the divided rings, and
sometimes of a size very inconsiderable in comparison with the
divided rings (Plate I. fig. 1, Commelina tuber osa).

The direction of this line of division is parallel to the lateral
edges of the ring, so that, by this fissure, the ring is divided into
two superposed rings, which sometimes touch and sometimes
are placed at a little distance from each other. According to
Schleiden, this line of division proceeds from the coils of the
spiral fibre being more or less completely soldered together,
and always in pairs. We easily perceive that, in this case, the
line of partition should be directed spirally from one edge of
the ring towards the other, and that it should not be parallel

M. Mohl on the Structure of Annular Vessels. 21

to its edges ; but as the latter is constantly the case, we must
reject this explanation of the origin of the line of partition.

In the developed annular vessel, the rings are either en-
tirely isolated, or two or three are joined together in different
ways. It not unfrequently happens that the line of partition
does not divide the ring throughout the whole of its circum-
ference, but that the two superposed rings are united for a
space variable in extent ; in which case the parts separated
are removed to a greater or less distance from each other, and
are placed obliquely to the axis of the vessel. (Plate I. fig. 6,
Commelina tuberosa : the same form is often met with in the
Canna indica.)

In other cases, and this is the habitual organization, the
rings are removed to a greater or less distance from each other,
and are separated by a regular spiral fibre, which, according to
the distance of the rings, describes one or more volutions,
and frequently even a great number. Of this there are several
modifications : very generally from a ring will proceed a spi-
ral fibre of the same width as the annular fibre, the distance
of whose coils is nearly equal to that of the rings in the
portion of the vessel which exhibits this structure (fig. 9, of
the Gourd) ; the other extremity of the fibre being similarly
annexed to a complete ring, followed by rings, either isolated
or again reunited by spiral fibres.

Very frequently also the spiral fibre placed between two
rings does not proceed to a junction with the rings, but its
extremities become attenuated and terminate at some distance
from the ring. In the stem of the Gourd this is nearly as
frequent as the preceding case (fig. 2 a y Commelina tuberosa ;
fig. 9, Gourd).

Often also, from two diametrically opposite points of a ring
proceed two fibres in a continuous parallel direction.

Cases are sometimes met with, although rarely, where two
rings are united by fibres slenderer than the annular fibre,
which generally form a single coil, or at least only a small
number of coils (fig. 1, 7? 8, Commelina tuberosa). This
occurs in a very evident manner in the vessels whose rings
are not homogeneous, but where the spiral fibre is divided
by several fissures into threads united in net-work, as in
the vessel represented in figure 1. The width of the fibres
uniting the different rings presents no exact proportion to the
width of the annular fibre, being sometimes about the half of
it (fig. 8), sometimes considerably less (fig. 1). The point of
union of the spiral fibre with the annular fibre is especially
deserving of consideration. When examined with a sufficient
magnifying power, we sometimes find (fig. 7> 8) that a part
of the annular fibre separates itself to ascend in a spiral di-

22 M. Mohl on the Structure of Annular Vessels.

rection ; but that, in general, at the point of junction of the
two fibres the annular fibre does not become thinner, the
spiral fibre being attached only to the lateral edge of the an-
nular fibre, which preserves an uniform thickness throughout
its entire extent (fig. 1, 9, 10). There are even instances in
which this union does not take place in the direction of the
spiral, but where the spiral fibre terminates in two divergent
branches (fig. 10 a, Commelina tuber osa) separating right and
left, and confluent with the annular fibre.

An examination of the proportions above mentioned, be-
tween the annular fibres and the spiral fibres which unite
them, must excite doubts of the accuracy of Schleiden^s
theory of the origin of annular vessels. In fact the division
which takes place in many rings is, as we have seen, nothing
less than a proof of the ring being composed of the two
united fibres of a spiral fibre ; whilst, on the other hand, the
direction of this division parallel to the edges of the rings
is quite opposed to Schleiden's theory, and shows us that, in
these more or less divided rings, we see a transition from the
simple ring to two rings, situated at considerable distances
from each other. An organization entirely analogous is also
found in the spiral fibre, for there are spiral vessels traversed
in the middle by a narrow fissure (fig. 4, 6, Commelina tube-
rosa), by which the decomposition of the simple spiral fibre
into two fibres placed at certain parallel distances is indicated.

What chiefly militates against the formation of rings by the
united spiral coils of a spiral vessel, is the proportion which
the rings bear to the spiro'id fibres which unite them. And
first, when the organization of the vessels is very regular,
the rings and the fibres are generally of Jhe same width
(fig. 4, 9), which could not be the case if the rings were com-
posed of a double twist of the fibre. If then the spiral fibres
which unite the rings are slender, the width of these fibres
bears no exact proportion to the width of the rings and of
the divisions perceived in them (fig. 1) ; moreover, the fibres
are sometimes soldered to the rings, and sometimes separated
from them. The spiral fibres, when they are united to the
rings, cannot be considered in certain cases, and according
to the form of the point of union, as a part of the fibrous mass
which forms the ring, this part separating from the ring, and
continuing in a spiral direction.

I have thought it right to explain these considerations, in
the first instance, upon the annular vessels in a state of com-
plete development, because observations made on developed
vessels are necessarily more precise and certain than those
made on young vessels ; not so much on account of the larger
size of the developed vessels, but because, in consequence of

M. Mohl on the Structure of Annular Vessels. 23

the greater thickness of their fibres, of the greater distance of
these organs from each other, and of the absence of the mu-
cilage with which the young vessels are gorged, these de-
veloped vessels present a much clearer contour, and the or-
ganization of their fibres is more easily observed. Doubtless
it is true that we ought not to infer from the structure of a
developed organ the mode of its development ; but the exami-
nation of this structure is nevertheless of very great importance
in studying the manner of its development, since we always
thence obtain the means of proving the truth of any theory
propounded on the history of development, a theory which
ought not to be in contradiction with the results of an exa-
mination of the developed organ. Now in the present case
this contradiction assuredly exists between the structure of
the developed annular vessels and the theory of Schleiden.

Let us now see what information the examination of the
young vessels gives us of the mode of their development. At
first I selected the stems of different plants, especially of
Tradescantia tuherosa, because Schleiden announced that he
had remarked the metamorphosis of spiral vessels into annu-
lar vessels in the youngest internodes of subterranean and
ascending stems. The results have not been favourable to the
theory of Schleiden. For this examination it is not proper
to select vessels placed at the interior angle of the vascular
bundles, because these pass too rapidly through the phases of
their development, and their diameter is also too small ; the
coils of their fibres being moreover at first too close together
to allow any observations made upon them to be considered as
conclusive. The larger vessels, placed more towards the exte-
rior, present less difficulties in these respects, though here also
an unfavourable circumstance occurs, viz. that the rings in the
course of their development, in consequence of the feeble lon-
gitudinal growth of the vascular utricles, remain very close
together, which may, in some cases, render the distinction of
the annular and spiral formations in the fibres difficult, and
which, in all cases, makes it rather hard to decide whether
there does or does not exist between each pair of rings a
slender spiral fibre which is subsequently absorbed. However
I think I have observed with certainty, that from the begin-
ning, and so soon as I could distinguish the fibres on the in-
terior surface of the vascular utricle, under the form of thin,
more or less narrow, diaphanous edges, they were not abso-
lutely spiral ; but that, as in the developed vessels, they formed
either complete isolated rings, or rings intermixed with spiral
fibres ; so that, with the exception of the thinness of the fibres,
and of the small distance of the rings from each other, there

24 M. Mohl on the Structure of Annular Vessels,

is no essential difference observable between them and the
perfectly developed vessels.

The examination of the vessels of the stem not havings how-
ever, furnished me with a perfectly satisfactory result, and
my former researches on the roots of Palms and other mono-
cotyledonous plants having shown me the greater facility of
studying the development in this organ than in the trunk, I
submitted the roots of Tradescantm to a very attentive exa-
mination, the results of which I consider to be quite conclusive.
The examination of the roots presents this great advantage
over that of the stems, that in the larger vessels, placed nearer
to the centre, the fibres are not developed until a sufficiently
late period, when their longitudinal growth is already termi-
nated. At the period when the fibres of the vascular utri-
cles are developed, these utricles have not only already
attained to a considerable size, but the fibres in them are
also, from the beginning, arranged at greater distances from
each other, and their successive development may be fol-
lowed in detail step by step, from one end of the root to the
other. This examination is rendered easier in consequence
of the vessels being deposited in a very transparent cellular
tissue. In these researches I have recognised with the great-
est clearness, and with a perfect conformity to what I had
previously observed in the roots of Palms, that, from the time
when the fibres make their appearance, and when they are
still so tender, narrow and transparent, that it is often only
possible to see them with a faint light, they already present
all the different modifications of form which are observed in
the perfect vessels. We then find, as at a later period, the
same alternation of annular and spiral and reticulated fibres ;
but I have never seen the least trace of the formation in all
vascular utricles of a spiral fibre whose coils would unite in
pairs, and the portions of the spiral fibre serving as the means
of union be absorbed ; and I consider it as perfectly impossible
that this transition of spiral vessels into annular vessels, if it
existed, could have escaped me, because in a great number
of roots 1 have followed the vessels from the moment when
the utricles presented closed cells with thin parietes_, and en-
closed a nucleus.

Hence it results that the development of the annular ves-
sels agrees with the observations made on the perfect vessels.
Researches into these two organs show that annular, spiral,
and reticulated vessels afford three different forms, very inti-
mately connected, and passing frequently one into the other ;
but that they must not be considered as temporary degrees of
metamorphosis of the same vascular utricle. It is true that

^HJi, &Jfa$ A^fJfts? Vol 8. PI I

Structure ofAnsu/la-r Vefse7,s.

Schleiden in reply to Mohl on Annular Vessels. 25

a spiral organization is the ordinary and normal state in the
secondary layers of the vessels ; but it is not the only state
to be found there. Annular organization occurs as a pri-
mary formation, and presents in some degree an intermediate
form between the spiral wound to the left and that wound to
the right. Moreover, reticulated organization is also found
primitively, sometimes more nearly resembling the pure spi-
ral, and sometimes the annular form.

Consequently, my researches on annular vessels afford op-
posite results to those of Schleiden. Nevertheless, I am far
from pretending that he has observed badly ; on the contrary,
he appears in these researches as a skilful phytotomist, and
as one experienced in the use of the microscope ; but I think
his interpretation of what he saw to be far from exact, inas-
much as he has considered accidental though persistent vari-
ations of form as normal, transitory and necessary stages of
the metamorphosis.

V. — Preliminary Reply to MohPs Essay on the Structure of
Annular Vessels. By Dr. M. J. Schleiden*.

M. Mohl has answered my challenge more speedily than I
could have expected, and published his remarks in opposition
to my late treatise. These relate only to my views regarding
the origin of annular vessels. It is to two points especially
that I purpose at present to call attention.

I am almost ashamed to mention the first, viz. MohPs cor-
rection of my notion, that the crossing of the pore-like fis-
sures depends upon the apposition of oppositely turned spi-
rals. The thing is so simple, that I scarce understand what
demon of thoughtlessness possessed me when I entertained
the notion ; and, in spite of the mortification of being caught
in so marvellous an hallucination, I thank him from my very
heart for having in so friendly a way rid me of this goblin.
I should scarcely deem it necessary to mention the matter at
all did I not consider it the indispensable duty of every con-
scientious inquirer to retract openly and expressly every
known error, as the so doing is the only surety that he is in-
deed anxious for truth.

The other point concerns the main subject itself. The hi-
story I gave of the development of annular vessels respected
only the simplest case, that of rings arising from a single
thread ; and I feel confident that I have not deceived myself
in the cases alleged, since my researches were made on ves-

* Translated from Flora, 1840, p. 1. Communicated by the Rev. M. J.
Berkeley.

26 Schleiden in reply to Mohl on Annular Vessels.

sels which, when mature, are purely annular ; so that I could
not but believe that I had before me not mere persistent mo-
difications of structure, but really stages of transition, even
though I could not have regarded the observed forms as ac-
tually detected in the act of development ; not to mention,
among other circumstances, that the persistent ring is distin-
guished by the sharpness of its outline, the firmness and
clearness of its substance, from the yellowish gelatinous trans-
itory portion with its eroded and defaced margin observed in
the moment of dissolution. I trust now that Mohl himself
will be convinced of the rectitude of my assertions in these
particular instances.

As regards the other forms, as they are figured by Mohl
f. 1 — 6, 10 (PI. I.), they do not come under the notion of annu-
lar vessels as defined by me in my treatise, but under that of
reticular formations, whose reference to one or more deformed
spirals is as easy or even easier than in porous organizations.

But, in general, I might pronounce the conclusion as to
the mode of development from the perfect form as highly im-
proper, for it cannot have escaped Mohl, that, after the forma-
tion of the original spiral, in many cases secondary threads
are developed as members of union, which consist of quite
a different substance, since they are soluble in boiling alkali,
yet apparently do not differ from the spiral, and make the
perfect comprehension of the fundamental spiral extremely
difficult. I consider the part of MohFs figure 10 marked (a)
as of this nature. The formation of such secondary threads
is frequently observable in reticulate vessels and in some forms
of scalariform vessels. They occur, however, in the most re-
markable degree in the large purely spiral vessels of the stems
of Scitaminete, as in Hedychyum coronarium, Canna, &c, when
on their gradual decline they are filled with cells. Such a pe-
culiar luxuriance of the threads then takes place that the ori-
ginally pure spiral vessel is only distinguished from a porous
vessel by the perfect regularity of the pores. Moreover what
moves me especially to adhere still to my views, is the philo-
sophic necessity, in a faithful investigation of nature, to limit
the number of principles of interpretation so long as the im-
possibility of referring a phsenomenon to an old principle does
not imperatively require a new one.

As such in point of fact, as respects the present state of
science, must I now freely regard Mohl's discovery of the
primary development of annular organisms ; and nothing now
remains but to let both modes of origin stand separately by
each other. I by no means, however, think that such will al-
ways be the case. The conciliation of this schism will then

Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany, 27

only be effected, when the solution of a far greater puzzle, viz.
the construction of the spiral and its peculiar genesis, shall be
achieved ; and I would beg Mohl to direct his attention to
this, as I myself have done long since. Heartily should I re-
joice with him should it fall to his lot to solve this problem
as he has already done in so many other cases.

VI. — Report of the Results of Researches in Physiological
Botany made in the year 1839. By F. J. Me yen, M.D.,
Professor of Botany in the University of Berlin.

[Continued from vol. vii. p. 471.]

0?i the Evolution of Heat by Plants.

A very beautiful series of experiments on this subject has
been published by MM. G. Vrolik and W. H. de Vriese*; they
have continued their researches on the evolution of heat in
the spadix of Colocasia odora ; they were published at the end
of 1838, but we received the journals too late to be able to in-
sert them in our former Report.

The above-mentioned observers express their astonishment
at the explanation given by M. Raspail of the evolution of
heat in the spadix of the Aroidece, but add that their new ob-
servations were not made in order to disprove Raspail's view,
for that is not necessary. The first observations were made
with the spadix of Arum italicum ; they were made in the
open air, and no rise of temperature was observed : in the in-
terior of an orangery another flower exhibited a considerable
increase of warmth, and also when the light was shut out and
the spatha removed, still an increase of temperature took
place, as was to be expected. Moreover experiments were
made with the spadices of Colocasia odora under similar cir-
cumstances, both when the spadix was cut away and when
only turned back ; the maximum difference between the tem-
perature of the air and the interior of the spadix was 19|°
Fahr.

Moreover interesting experiments were made on the phe-
nomena exhibited by the spadices of Colocasia in different
gases, for which purpose a very excellent apparatus was con-
trived. The rise of temperature in two perfectly similar spa-
dices which happened to be in perfection at the same time
was observed, one in the common air and the other in the
above instrument in an atmosphere of oxygen. The latter in

* Tijdschrift voor NatuurL Geschieden. en Phys., vol. iii. pp. 190 — 230 ;
also in Wiegmann's Archiv for 1839, p. 135.

28 Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany,

half an hour exhibited a temperature 4° higher than the one
in the air. Oxygen was passed into the apparatus from time
to time ; it was confined by means of water, which also ab-
sorbed the greater part of the carbonic acid produced by the
inflammation (verbrennung) of the spadix. In nitrogen no
rise of temperature was observed, and it could not be seen
that any gas was absorbed ; all vital activity, and even the co-
lour, were lost.

M. de Vriese* has also communicated some observations
made by a M. C. Hasskarl, in Java, on the spadices of Colo-
casia odora ; he found 22° Fahr. as the greatest difference be-
tween the temperature of the spadix and that of the external
air, and this in the morning at eight o'clock ; the next morn-
ing there was only a difference of 10° Fahr.

M. Dutrochetf observed the evolution of heat in the spadix
of Arum maculatum by means of a thermo-electric instrument,
which MM. van Beck and Bergsma (vide former Report, p.
83) also employed ; he found the highest temperature ex-
actly at the time when the spatha opens, and this exceeded
the temperature of the air by from 11° to 12° C. In another
note % of the 1 1th of May, M. Dutrochet mentions, that during
the night the temperature of every part of the spadix of Arum
maculatum decreases, and increases again by day ; it reaches
its maximum early in the day, then diminishes, and disappears
altogether in the night.

In the sitting of the Parisian Academy § of the 10th of June,
M. Dutrochet's researches on the temperature of plants (which
had been delivered in on the 1st of July, 1838) were read. He
says — plants possess a peculiar warmth; but this is com-
pletely absorbed by the evaporation of the sap, by the evolu-
tion of oxygen by day and of carbonic acid by night. It
rather seems that, in the natural state, plants possess the pro-
perty of producing cold, for they almost always have a lower
temperature than that of the surrounding air. If however the
evaporation is prevented, it becomes easy to observe the pro-
per temperature of plants ; for this purpose M. Dutrochet
used a thermo-electrical apparatus. For the sake of compa-
rison the experiments were made both with living and dead
plants ; the latter acquired the temperature of the surrounding
medium, the former the same, with the addition of that which
was hindered or destroyed by the evaporation ; the latter M.
Dutrochet reckons in maximo at \° Cels. ; it is often only £°,

* Tijdschrift, &c, 5. iii. pp. 230—233.

t Comptes Rendus de 6 Mai 1839, p. 695. J Ibid., p. 74J.

§ Ibid., 10 Juin 1839, pp. 907—911.

Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany. £§

or even ^ or T ^°. The proper heat of young twigs and leaves
vanishes during the night, or in general in the dark, and ap-
pears again under the influence of light. The higher the ex-
ternal temperature, the greater is the vegetable warmth. That
part of the heat of plants which is carried off by the evolution
of oxygen cannot be determined quantitatively.

M. Dutrochet had probably given the above researches into
the safe keeping of the Academy, in order to secure to him-
self the priority of the discovery ; however, the proofs that
plants possess a peculiar heat resulting from their vital acti-
vity have been long since published in Germany j and in the
second part of my e Physiology/ published in the beginning
of the year 1838, I have proved that an evolution of heat is
exhibited not only by germinating seeds and by the fresh
fruits of Areca Catechu when lying together, but also by
leaves and herbs in general; " singly they do not exhibit any
warmth on account of the evaporation, but so much the
more when they lie together in masses/' It must not be
believed that I state this as a simple idea or theory, for I
have convinced myself of its correctness with the thermo-
meter in my hand ; I have several times experimented w T ith
fresh-cut grass and fresh spinach leaves*. At the same time I
showed, that those botanists who wished to prove or disprove
the existence of vegetable heat could not choose a worse part
for their experiments than the wood. The very low degree of
warmth mentioned by M. Dutrochet is not sufficient to prove
the existence of vegetable heat ; for in my first Report ( Wieg-
mann's Archiv, 1835) I have mentioned some experiments, ac-
cording to which bad conductors, as for instance, the wood of
chairs and tables in my room, exhibited an excess of heat of
2° R. above that of the air, etc. A note which M. Dutro-
chet has added to the above letter on the 6th of June 1839,
states that his new researches confirm the former ones. In
the stem of Euphorbia lathyris he saw the vegetable heat
amount to ^° C, but only so long as it was in a verdant state.
He also remarked the heat in the roots, fruits, and even in
the embryos. Complete exclusion of light totally prevents
the rise and fall of temperature, but this does not always take
place the first day; M. Dutrochet remarked the change of
temperature by night and by day even on the second day of
the experiment.

From some remarks on the above treatise of M. Dutrochet f
made by M. Becquerel, it appears that he had used the thermo-
electrical apparatus for determining the heat of plants two

* Is not the accession of heat in this case the result of fermentation ? — Ed.,
f Comptes Rendus de 17 Juin, p. 9.39.

30 Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany.

years ago. The observations were made in company with M.
Mirbel in the botanical garden on the twigs of an Acacia : ob-
servations on dead and living boughs gave directly the most
striking differences of temperature. In the following year
M. Dutrochet wished to institute similar experiments, and
made use of the advice and experience of M. Becquerel*. In
the sitting of the Academy of 1st of July, M. Dutrochet re-
plied to the statements of M. Becquerel, and endeavoured to
show that his observations by no means proved with certainty
the existence of a peculiar heat in plants.

MM. Bergsma and van Beckf 5 in consequence of Dutro-
chet' s researches, have sent a letter to the Academy at Paris,
in which they describe their new experiments on the heat of
vegetables, by which it is clearly proved that the transpira-
tion is the cause of the difficulty in measuring the peculiar
temperature. They chose (in January 1839) a hyacinth
growing in a glass for their experiments. The glass was put
into another vessel containing water of a higher temperature,
in order in this manner to increase the activity of the roots.

The needles of the thermo-electrical apparatus were then
inserted into the external parts of the flower-stalk, and in-
stead of an increase of temperature, they observed a fall ; the
apparatus exhibited, viz. 17*5° C, while that of the water was
28*5°. The experiment was repeated several times with like
success, as also with the pedunculus of Entelea arborescens,
R. Br. This phenomenon is explained by the powerful eva-
poration which is caused by the increased activity promoted
by the warm water. When the needles were inserted into the
middle of the flower-stalk of the hyacinth, the temperature of
the interior was found to be 1° higher than that of the sur-
rounding air.

All the above treatises of Dutrochet, Becquerel, Bergsma,
and van Beck, are to be found in the August number of the
e Annales des Sciences Naturelles/

On the 21st of November M. Dutrochet J communicated
to the Academy some new observations which he had made
during the previous summer on the heat of vegetables ; he
states generally that plants possess a peculiar heat, which is
principally located in the green parts. This heat exhibits a
daily periodicity; it reaches its maximum towards midday, and
its minimum during the night. M. Dutrochet communicated
his special experiments on different plants, from which the
daily variations of temperature may be recognised, e. g. in

* Comptes Rendus de 1 Juillet, p. 4 7. t Ibid., 2 Septembre, p. 328.
J Ibid., 18 Nov., p. 613.

Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany. 31

Euphorbia lathyris, L., which exhibits a considerable heat,
which vanishes completely during the night, whilst in other
plants traces of it remain. The hour at which plants reach
their maximum temperature is the same for each single plant,
but different for different plants ; thus for instance, Rosa ca-
nina at I0 h , Allium Porrum at ll h , Borago officinalis at mid-
day, Euphorbia lathyris at l h , Sambucus nigra at 2 h , and As-
paragus offic. and Lactuca sativa at 3 h . The greatest heat is
in the neighbourhood of the principal bud, and in woody
plants often only in the green extremities. Other experiments
confirm the fact, that plants growing in the dark lose their
vegetable heat, but experiments on different fungi showed
that these also possess a daily periodicity ; Boletus ceneus ex-
hibited a heat of |° C.

Finally M. Dutrochet* has published a short note on the
heat of the spadix of Arum maculatum. The spadix exhibited
the greatest heat in the first day of blossoming, and by its in-
fluence the rapid opening of the spatha was produced ; on the
second day the maximum was not so high, and was situated
principally in the male flowers, by which the dispersion of the
pollen was effected. What Arum maculatum here exhibits on
the large scale is also seen in the young twigs of all other
plants.

On the Odours of Plants.

The Academy of Sciences of Brussels has given as a prize-
question for 1838, "The production of odours in flowers,"
which, as it remained unanswered, was repeated for 1839. As
an answer to this question, M. Auguste Trinchinetti de Monga,
formerly Professor at the University of Pavia, has sent in a
memoir, which has been rewarded with the silver medal ; and
M. Morren has, in the name of the Academy, delivered a cir-
cumstantial report of this work, from which we shall here
select the most important parts.

The work is divided into two sections ; the first treats of the
odours of flowers in general : the author speaks of the differ-
ence between the odours of the flowers and of the other parts
of plants, of the organs of flowers which exhale the odours or
from which they proceed, of those in which they are prepared,
of the chemical characters of these substances, of the manner of
exhalation, and lastly, of the function of odours. In the second
part he treats of the odours in respect to their intensity, their
quantity at different periods of the development of the flower,
and in respect to the hours at which they are perceptible ; he
at the same time gives methods to investigate them, and speaks

* Comptes Rendus de 16 Dec, p. 781.

32 Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany.

principally of intermitting odours. There is found, says M.
Trinchinetti, in all the parts of plants a certain odour arising
from resinous or camphorous substances, as in the Laurinece,
Labiatce, Umbelliferts, and Hesperidea ; on the contrary, the
odours of flowers are the effects of a particular function, by
which a simple evaporation of the secreted substances is pro-
duced. [This, as well as most of the other statements, which
are disproved by already existing observations, have been
proved incorrect by the reporter M. Morren.] In general, the
principal residence of the smell is in the upper surface of the
corolla ; if there is only a simple perigonium, the smell comes
from its inner surface. The filaments have a smell similar to
that of the corolla ; the anthers, on the contrary, have a sper-
matic odour; the female organs are rarely odorous, as in saffron.
The organs which evolve the odorous substances are, accord-
ing to the author, always glands, which are said to have often
escaped the observation of physiologists ; however, M. Morren
states that the author has applied the name of glands to some
formations which certainly cannot be so called, e. g. he has
held the resinous globules for glands, which I first discovered
in the petals of Magnolia grandifiora ; indeed M. Trinchinetti
considers the papillae on the petals to be organs in which these
odoriferous matters are secreted. In relation to the chemical
theory of the formation of odours, the author has only given
that of Fourcroy and Couerbe ; and he explains the exhalation
of the odoriferous substances by a simple evaporation through
organic and inorganic (?) pores, which takes place on the epi-
dermis of the inner or upper surface of the flowering organs.
If this upper surface be covered with wax, the result is said
to become weaker ; if the under surface be covered it remains
the same, and turgescence increases the exhalation.

The question, " For what purpose do flowers smell ?" is an-
swered by M. Trinchinetti as follows : — It may be that the
smells of plants were destined as a source of pleasure for
mankind, and by these they exhibit their medicinal proper-
ties. However, nature strives doubtlessly to effect more than
one object by these odours, — they are evidently intended to
assist the sexual functions of the flowers; for M. Trinchinetti
believes that the sexual organs are nourished by a sap which
is prepared in the petals. The odorous exhalations of flowers
exert a physical influence on the sexual organs, inasmuch as
they diminish the tension of the steam which is so very inju-
rious to the pollen which is burst by it, and thus fertilization
cannot take place. He states that the flowers are surrounded
by an odoriferous atmosphere which defends the sexual or-
gans from the injurious influence of the aqueous vapours ;

Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany. 33

hence it comes, that flowers in which the sexual organs are
much closed do not smell ; on the contrary, other flowers
smell strongest exactly in the dampest hours of the day and
night.

In the second part of the treatise M. Trinchinetti considers
the odours in detail ; he says, that flowers which become odo-
rous towards the end of their existence, as for instance Asperula
odorata, produce this smell by the commencement of decom-
position, and that it is not a product of vitality ; that there are
flowers which, when pressed, evolve a different smell to what
they do in their natural state, e. g. Allium moschatum, Sambucus
ebulus, &c. Flowers which only smell in the morning, evening,
and night, lose their smell during the day by the action of the
light and heat, which dissipate the odorous principle ; but to
this M. Morren answers, that these plants do not even smell by
day when inclosed in a damp, dark place. Finally, the author
attempts to answer the question as to the cause of intermitting
odours : flowers which exhibit this phaenomenon either open
and shut at fixed periods, or they remain always open, and
only the smell is intermittent : thus the inquiry is divided into
two parts ; in the first the phaenomenon is brought in con-
nexion with the cause of the opening and shutting of the
flower, and in the second a peculiar physiological cause as
producing it is assumed. In the first case flowers are either
shut by day and open and odorous by night, or vice versa. In
the second part those plants are mentioned which are always
open, but possess an intermittent smell ; here are also two di-
visions, the flowers smell either by day or by night. In Oes-
trum diurnum the smell is much weaker by night. Coronilla
glauca smells only by day, and Cacalia septentrionalis is said
to lose its smell when protected from the rays of the sun. Pe-
largonium triste begins to smell about five in the afternoon ;
in the night the smell becomes stronger till about five in the
morning, whereupon it diminishes, and disappears entirely at
seven. The surfaces of these odorous petals are said to ex-
hibit in the evening shining corpuscles (cells filled with sap)
which are not seen in the day. If the plants were kept the
whole day in the dusk, the smell made its appearance later
than usual and was also much weaker. Moist air produced no
smell in the plants during the day ; on the contrary, Oestrum
nocturnum, kept in the dark and in a moist atmosphere, exhi-
bited a slight smell.

On the Formation of Colours in Plants.

M. Eisner has drawn attention to the fact, that in the year
1832, in a treatise in Schweigger-Seidel's Annual of Chemistry
Ann. $ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. D

34 Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany.

(lxv. p. 165 — 175), he had already proved the identity of the
red colouring matter in the flowers of the Iridece, Labiata,
Rosacea, Ranunculacece, Geraniaceee, Cannacece, Malvaceae,
Leguminosm, Papaveracem, Myrtaceae, &c. ; and that the red
colour in the bracts of Melampyrum arvense, in the leaves of
Caladium bicolor, in the fruit oiPrunus cerasus, Ribes rubrum,
Sorbus ancuparia, is similar, and that the identity extends to
the red matter which colours the leaves in autumn.

From M. Morren* we have received anatomico-physiological
researches on the appearance of indigo in Polygonum tincto-
rium ; the work had been read to the Brussels Academy be-
fore the appearance of a similar one by M. Turpin, which was
mentioned in the former Report, and is therefore to be con-
sidered as cotemporary with it. The views of MM. Turpin
and Morren on the production of the indigo differ from each
other. The former found this substance in the sap-globules
of the cells which were coloured green by chlorophyll, but
M. Morren believes that the indigo is produced in the inter-
cellular sap (by which is meant the ordinary cell-sap). I may
here state with certainty, from my own observations, that the
blue colouring matter in Polygonum tmctorium is formed out
of the previously green-coloured cell-sap globules. Whether
however, in the colourless cell-sap of that plant, a substance is
contained in solution which changes into indigo (as appears
from M. Morren's statements) I cannot say, having made no
decisive observations, and this is not at present the time for it.

The expressed sap of the leaves ought to be perfectly fil-
tered and then treated for the formation of indigo, by which
the question would be settled. Indigo is formed in all parts of
Polygonum, but principally in the leaves ; here it is found in
the parenchym and also in the nerves, and only the " tissu
fibro-vasculaire" does not contain a trace.

M. Morren directs attention to the regular position of the
adventitious roots in this plant, which, as is so often the case
with the genus Polygonum, grow out of the nodes.

M.Hunefeldfhas communicated some more of his continued
researches on vegetable colours ; he has also found that there
is not the same similarity between the colours of the different
parts of plants, as for instance, the roots, leaves, flowers, and
fruits, as would seem from outward appearances, and as some
botanists have asserted. Very few changes of colour in plants
are produced by the action of acid or basic substances. More-
over M. Hunefeld has published a long series of experiments

* Mem. de PAcad. Royale des Sc, &c, de Bruxelles, tome xii.
f Beitrage zur Chemie der Pflanzenfarben. — Erdmann & Marchand's
Journal fur prakt. Chemie, 1839, 1 Bd. p. 65—80.

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 35

which he made on the behaviour of vegetable colours to se-
veral liquids, more especially aether, oil of turpentine, and some
others, in the course of which several curious facts have been
brought to light ; the conclusions which M. Hiinefeld has
drawn, and which may interest us, are — the pigments of red-
dish yellow, or of rco/-yellow flowers, are probably all of an
extractive nature.

For the examination of these colouring matters aether is a
very useful solvent. The variety of colouring of a flower or
leaf frequently arises from the deposition of one pigment over
the other, or from their mixture. [On this subject better in-
formation is to be had from the newer phytotomic works. —
Mey.~\ The principal change which the colours suffer in
withering, etc. appears to be, that the assimilation of carbon
only ceases by suppressed vegetation, while the absorption of
atmospheric oxygen becomes excessive ; for the easily oxidi-
zable extractive matters, and tannin in oxidized extractive
matter, become metamorphosed into gallic acid and into sub-
stances approaching more and more to humic acid, which
then destroy the pigments.

M. Hiinefeld* has also made a series of experiments to learn
whether the formation of certain colours depends on iron con-
tained in the plant. Quantities (one or two ounces) of the
most different-coloured flowers were reduced to ashes. Some
of these flowers contained evidently iron and manganese,
others only iron, and traces of copper were found in the flow-
ers of Sambucus nigra, which had already been noticed. The
twigs and leaves of Sambucus nigra are said to contain no
copper, but a considerable quantity of iron. Traces of man-
ganese were found everywhere when sufficient quantities were
burnt. As these metals, says M. Hiinefeld, are found also in
white flowers, and their quantities stand in no relation to the
colours of the flowers, it seems that Meissner's theory is not
correct. There is probably no vegetable which does not con-
tain iron, and perhaps all the iron found in the human body
is derived from this source.

[To be continued.]

VII. —Indian Cyprinidae. By John McClelland, Assist-
ant Surgeon Bengal Medical Service f.
Dr. Patrick Russell published in 1803 an account of 200
species of fishes found chiefly on the coast of Coromandel ;

* Beitrage zur Chemie der Pflanzenfarben. — Erdmann & Marchand's
Journal fur prakt. Chemie, 1839, 1 Bd. p. 84—87.

f From the ' Asiatic Researches,' vol. xix. part ii. p. 217; having been
presented to the Asiatic Society of Bengal on the 5th of September 1838.

D2

36 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

there appears to be no copy of his work in Calcutta, nor
have I been able to meet with it in India ; but his collection
appears to have embraced few Cyprinida, and scarcely any of
those afterwards found in Bengal by Dr. Buchanan*. The
fishes of Ceylon, as well as those of the Bay of Bengal, have
recently excited the attention of naturalists f? while those of
the Sunderbuns and the vicinity of Calcutta have long been
objects of interest to collectors for the museums of France and
the other parts of the continent where alone ichthyology seems
to have been cultivated as a philosophical branch of zoology.

2. Dr. Buchanan appears to be the only author who has
devoted his attention to the freshwater fishes of Bengal, and
his success seems to have left little for others to do in the way
of discovering new species. His i Gangetic Fishes/ published
in Edinburgh in 1822, contains descriptions of no fewer than
eighty Cyprins, of which number he has only given figures
of twenty-one. And unfortunately, Cuvier appears to have
adopted such only as were figured in that work, leaving the
rest as doubtful materials, which, from their extent, and the
deficiency of the details connected with them, perhaps deterred
him from the task of entering into, or finishing, his account
of the Carps, in the hope of receiving further particulars re-
garding them from India.

3. It was partly with a view, of supplying this deficiency
that I devoted the time we spent on rivers, during our journey J
to Assam in the winter of 1835-6, to the examination and
figuring of species. The obscurity of Buchanan's specific
descriptions, which with few exceptions are chiefly composed
of characters of generic value, rendered the task of identifying
his unfigured Cyprins most difficult and uncertain. Never-
theless it appeared to me to be a desideratum that must be
accomplished sooner or later by some one, and at length, after
perseverance for the better part of three years, occasionally
giving it up in despair, I succeeded in identifying most of the
species unfigured by Buchanan, as well as in having made two
series of finished drawings of them, one set for England and
one for India. After all this, and after the present paper had
been ready for publication in April last, my notice was, for

* Afterwards Dr. Buchanan Hamilton. As most of his publications have
appeared under the name of Buchanan, authors should follow the example
of Cuvier in the ' ilegne Animal ' and < Histoire Naturelle des Poissons ' in
referring to the author of the ' Gangetic Fishes' by the name by which he
is best and will be universally known, in proportion as his vast works on
Indian statistics and natural history transpire.

t Mr. Bennett and my friend Dr. Cantor.

\ I allude to the deputation of Dr. Wallich, Mr. Griffith, and myself to
Upper Assam.

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 37

the first time, attracted by a remark of Buchanan, in conse-
quence of which I thought it necessary to make inquiry for
certain drawings alluded to, ' Pise. Gang/ p. 316. I had heard
of drawings at the Botanic Garden, but never saw them, and
always supposed them to be merely the originals of published
figures ; but I confess I was quite unprepared to receive at
that time a collection of drawings from Dr. Wallich, amount-
ing to 150, beautifully executed, and including nearly all the
unpublished species on which my painters had been so long
employed, with the specific names in Buchanan's hand-wri-
ting marked under the figures, so as to leave no doubt or dif-
ficulty in referring them to corresponding descriptions in the
' Gangetic Fishes/ I am not prepared to state how many un-
figured species this interesting collection contains, except in
the particular family which is the subject of this paper. Along
with these drawings I received intimation from Dr. Wallich,
that two folio volumes of manuscripts and drawings on gene-
ral zoological subjects, by the late Dr. Buchanan, still remain
at the Garden. The descriptions alluded to may probably serve
as a key to Hardwicke's e Illustrations/ into which I perceive
several figures of Cyprinidce have been accurately copied, ex-
cept in the colouring, from Buchanan's drawings ; and as no
descriptions of the plates of Hardwicke's work have been yet
to my knowledge published, the source from whence the
figures in question came does not transpire, and there is no
allusion to it on the plates ; at any rate it is unfair to General
Hardwicke, as it is to Dr. Buchanan and to all who are en-
gaged in pursuits connected with the natural history of this
or any other country, to have the unpublished works of any
man shut up for twenty-two years in a library that is not open
to the public*.

* Buchanan's Researches regarding the fishes of India commenced on his
arrival in the country in 1794, and ended with the publication of the ' Gan-
getic Fishes' in 1822. Anything that tended to lessen the value of a work
that occupied so much of such a life is to be regretted. It is stated in a
biographical notice of Buchanan in Chambers's • Lives of Scotchmen,' that on
his departure from India he was deprived by the Marquis of Hastings of all
his extensive drawings and papers relating to every branch of natural hi-
story, particularly botany ; " although to me," quoting his own words to the
Edinburgh Philosophical Society, " as an individual, they were of no va-
lue, as I preserve no collections, and have no occasion to convert, them into
money, but I was merely desirous of seeing them safely deposited in the
India House." In deciding that Buchanan's papers should be retained in
India, it may be presumed that the object was, that they should here be
rendered more useful to the country than they could be in England. It
could scarcely have occurred to the Marquis of Hastings that these works
would be consigned to oblivion, and the author in consequence supersede.il
by his successors.

38

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

The following are the names of the unpublished figures of
Cyprinidm in this collection of drawings*.

Cyprinus Gugani, Buck.

Gorachela, id.

Joya, id.

Cachius, id.

Loubuca, id.

Phula, id.

Bhola, id.

. Gora, id.

Borelio, id.

Rerio, id.

Dangila, id.

Balibola, id.

Bukrangi, id.

Loya, id.

Phulchela, id.

Titius, id.

Terio, id.

— Sutiha, id.

Phutunio, id.

Gelius, id.

Kanipunte, id.

' Casuatus, id.

— Cursis, id.

Cursa, id.

' Chola, id.

Conchonius, id.

Jogia, id.

Shakra, id.

• Barna, id.

Vagra, id.

Cyprinus Borila, id.

Anjana, id.

Bata, id.

Bangana, id.

Pangusia, id.

— Sarana, id.

Kunta, id.

Tor, id.

Sada, id.

Lati, id.

Gohama, id.

Godeyava, id.

Dheno, id.

Jauyali, id.

Paungsi, id.

Bimaculatus, id.

Sucatio, id.

Balitora, id.

Cobitis Gongota, id.

Balgara, id.

Cucura, id.

Guntea, id.

Botea, id.

Pangia, id.

Biltura, id.

Turia, id.

Scuturiginum, id.

Savona, id.

• Corica, id.

* But although they seem to have been withheld from Buchanan himself,
the following drawings from his original collection of unpublished figures of
fishes have found their way from the Botanic Garden into Hardwicke's
* Illustrations,' without any acknowledgement to point out from whence they
were derived.

Tab. 84. Hypostomus sisor, Buch. ; Sisor Rabdophorus, id., Gan. Fish., two

drawings.
Tab. 85. Malopterus Kazali, Buch. Two figures : name changed to

' Malopterus (J ilia) Bengalensis* Gray, in the pirated figures.
Tab. 86. fig. 1. Cyprinus angra, Buch. Pirated figure disguised under bad

colouring, and named ' Cyprinus Hamiltonii,' Gray. — Fig. 2. Cyprinus

goha, Buch. Colouring much exaggerated. There are two figures of

each species, so that this plate has been taken wholesale from Buchanan.
Tab. 87. fig. 3, Cyprinus chedra, Buch. A good copy of a very beautiful

drawing in Buchanan's collection.
Tab. 89. fig. 1. Syngnathus carce, Buch. (Khar/ce, id., orig. draw.) Note

— an error in spelling the generic name of this species, as written by

Mr. J. M'Clelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 39

4. An examination of the viscera connected with the digest-
ive organs, together with the form of the mouth, suggested
the possibility of identifying something on which the natural
arrangement of fishes might be founded. In those Carps
whose mouths are constructed for the collection of vegetable
food, I found, as might be expected, the greatest development
of intestinal canal ; in these the mouth is invariably either
horizontal or directed downwards, as in the Cirrhins : all such

Buchanan on the original drawing, is preserved in the pirated copy.
Fig. 4. Syngnathus deokpata, Buch.
Tab. 91. fig. 1. Mystus chilol, Buch. Colouring much exaggerated in the

pirated copy.
Tab. 93. fig. 1. Cyprinus mosal, Buch. Two figures, and two of Cyprinus
morala, id. The coloured copy of this last is so badly executed, that
the characteristic marks of the species, though well depicted in the ori-
ginal by the obscure transverse streaks crossing the sides, are quite
omitted in the copy.
Tab. 94. fig. 1 . Cyprinus tileo, Buch.

Tab. 95. fig. 1. Ophisurus boro, Buch. This species is referred to Bucha-
nan's manuscripts, but nothing is said to point out from whence the
drawing was obtained ; but it is so accurately traced from Buchanan's
original, as to remove any doubt on that score. — Fig. 2. Ophisurus ha-
rancha, Buch. By mistake on the part of the plagiarists in numbering
the figures, the details of the first are given to the second species. — P'ig.4.
Murcena raitaborua, Buch., disguised under the names of Rataboura
1 Hardwickii,' Gray ; thus not only depriving Buchanan of the honour
of figuring but also of naming a new species. As an instance of the
little reliance to be placed on those who thus appropriate the works of
others, it is necessary to observe, that the outline figure representing
the lower parts of Murama raitaborua is transferred to Ophisurus bora,
in return for that of the last having been given on the same plate to
Ophisurus harancha. In other plates not numbered, forming the 19th
and 20th parts, are pirated as follows : —
Holocentrus? Kalkaya, B. MS., two figures, name changed to • Pterapon
trivittatus.' — Coitus chaka, B. MS., name changed to • Platycephalus
chacca,' marked • natural size.' — Checlodipterus Bhutibue, B. MS., name
changed to ' Checlodipterus Butis,' and the species referred to ' Hamilton/
but nothing said of the source of the two figures. — Cyprinus morar, B. MS.,
two figures, and Cyprinus gora, B. MS., forming an entire folio plate ; the
name of the latter changed to ' Cyprinus cora.' — Clupanodon chapra, B. MS. ;
pirated figure called ' Alosa chapra, N. Indian Ocean:' what the latter
terms mean I cannot say, as the figure is from Buchanan's unpublished
drawings of Gangetic species ; like the remark ' natural size' annexed to
Cottus chaka, it is certainly calculated to impress the reader with the belief
that the author had seen the specimens from which the drawings were made.
Neither of the remarks in question appear on the original drawings, which
are characterized in Buchanan's hand-writing.

Buchanan died in 1829. The work to which so much of his labour has
been transferred was published in 1833 ; and although no descriptions of the
plates have yet appeared, it is no excuse for having suppressed the source
from whence so many of them at least were derived, especially when it was
thought necessary to acknowledge the source of other figures in the same
work. These circumstances induced me to visit the Botanic Garden, with

40 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

types I have included under the head of Paeonornince or herbi-
vorous Carps, of which the Gudgeons and Gonorhynchs are
the most remarkable.

5. In the last-mentioned genera the mouth is situated com-
pletely under the head, and is constructed in the Gudgeons
for bruising soft vegetable substances, such as are found in

the view of ascertaining if all the other plates in Hardwicke's • Illustrations,'
as well as those of fishes, were derived from the two folio volumes stated to
be in the library of that institution. The following memorandum, which
was made on the occasion, n ust be interesting to all who are in any way
connected with zoological pursuits.

"Botanic Garden, 3rd September 1838. — Having obtained the requisite
permission, I inspected Buchanan's zoological MSS. for the first time; they
seem to contain descriptions and figures of the following animals : —

" Five species of Simla, one recently described by Dr. Harlan in the Ame-
rican Phil. Transac. as Simla Hoolock.

" Five species of Fellnce, one grey above and spotted beneath, a Fells-
leopardus alb us, and an Ursus.

" Six Cervldee ; a Cervus niger, Buch. Several species of Mus, two bear-
ing Buchanan's specific names ; also an Ichneumon and a Hyslerix opelgura,
Buch. ; three species of Capra bearing his specific names, as well as several
species of Tortoises, two species of flying Foxes, two Lacertce, and two Pa-
radoxuri.

" Of birds I observed about sixty species of Falconldce, about 150 Inses-
sores, and about 74 Grallte, including many rare Tantalldce, and the species
of Ciconla recently described as C. crlstata, which appears to have been
named nearly thirty years ago by Buchanan Ardea crlnlta ; all which, in
addition to the fishes, are drawn in duplicate, thus amounting to about
900 drawings." Although Buchanan was professedly a botanist, his re-
searches appear to have extended fix all branches of natural history except
entomology, His volumes on Gangetie Fishes, published at his own ex-
pense, under the disadvantage of being deprived of the greater part of his
figures, are the only part of his zoological labours that are known, yet his
inquiries in other branches of zoology were equally extensive, and equally
entitled to publicity. It now appears that two quarto volumes of MSS.,
written with his usual erudition, have been retained in the library of the
Botanic Garden since 1815 ; while every periodical that has since appeared
deprived him of some portion of those claims to priority which his papers
ought to have secured to him had they been placed in proper hands, or de-
posited in an institution where their existence could have been known or
appreciated.

Had such an injury to the advancement of information resulted from an
oversight in an ordinary public office, the circumstance would excite less
surprise ; but that the works of a naturalist should be so treated in a public
institution expressly intended for the promotion of science, is so unaccount~
able to me, that I cannot presume to express an opinion on the subject. But
as the case stands, perhaps the best remedy that can now be applied, injus-
tice to Buchanan as well as to others who are still engaged in scientific pur-
suits, would be to give a complete edition of his labours, botanical and
zoological, to the public ; at the same time it is right to say, that no atone-
ment can now make amends for the injury that has been inflicted on Bu-
chanan as a naturalist, or for the time that has been lost in allowing others
to go over unnecessarily the ground which he investigated, instead of be-
ginning where he left off.

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 41

stagnant waters ; and in the Gonorhynchs for tearing and up-
rooting certain kinds of confervoid plants, which form a short
slimy covering to the rocks on which they grow in clear moun-
tain streams.

6. The true Cyprins (Cyp.proprius, Cuv.), together with the
Barbels, Cirrhins and Labes, subsist less exclusively on a ve-
getable regimen. Their mouths are invariably small, and
either directed downward or situated low in the head ; and as
far as my inquiries have extended, it is on such modifications
of the mouth that we find the length of the intestines and
the habits of the different groups to depend.

7. In the Gudgeons the mouth is formed simply for re-
ceiving a kind of food that is obtained in abundance without
any effort, and which requires no prehensile teeth or other
organs for its collection or preparation before it is submitted
at once to the process of digestion. The mouth is conse-
quently small, and is opened and closed chiefly by the mus-
cular structure of the snout ; the jaws are weak, and the lips
hard and cartilaginous, without sensibility or muscularity, and
their intestinal canal varies from eight to eleven, and even
twelve lengths of the body, including the head and caudal
fin : except in the Hypostomi, Lacep., among fishes, Ostrich
among birds, and perhaps some of the ruminants, such de-
velopment of the abdominal canal is rare, a circumstance
which it will be necessary afterwards to recollect when speak-
ing of types.

8. In the Gonorhynchs the muscular power of the snout is
greater than in the Gudgeons ; the mouth is smaller, and si-
tuated further back in the lower surface of the head ; the lips
thicker, and though defended externally by a hard insensible
cartilage, are formed for very powerful muscular action. In
this genus the length of the intestinal canal is usually about
eight lengths of the body, and exceeds that of all other Cy-
prins except the Gudgeons.

9. The development of the intestinal canal in Cyprinidce
differs with the habits of species, so as to afford something like
a basis for true distinctions between the different genera, and
is fortunately connected with such peculiarities of form and
colour as to render it easily available as a guide to an improved
method of classification.

10. The philosophical views of Mr. MacLeay regarding
the circularity of groups, left it almost certain that the law
which applied to other classes might be also applied to fishes ;
and as the essence of that law consists in the tendency of the
contents of natural groups to form a circle, it became highly
probable, that as strictly herbivorous Carps were known, so, on
the contrary, carnivorous species might be expected also to

42 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

exist*. This is exemplified by a comparison of typical with
subtypical groups, as Quadrumana with Ferae in the orders of
Mammalia, and Insessores with Raptor es in the orders of birds;
as this is true with regard to higher groups, it should be just
as applicable to the lower assemblages when they happen to
be equally complete in their parts.

11. The above inference, whether its principles be just or
not, has proved to be perfectly correct, notwithstanding the
remark of Linnaeus, that Cyprins are perhaps the least carni-
vorous of the whole class of fishes, " feeding chiefly on seeds,
grass, and even mud ;" and the observation of Cuvier, " that
they are the least carnivorous of all fishes/ 5 Those who have
since written on the subject have for the most part adopted
the views on this point of the great authorities just named.

12. A close investigation of our Indian species has led to
very different results, and enabled me to form Cyprinidce into
three subfamilies. First, the Paonomince, or herbivorous Cy-
prins, already adverted to, which consist of species whose ha-
bits accord with the views of Cuvier and Linnaeus ; and Sar-
coborinae, or carnivorous Cyprins, consisting of several natural
genera, and Apalopterinae, including the Cobitince or Loaches,
the Pceciliance. Cyprinodons, and other genera, which in the
'Regne Animal 5 appear to have little connexion with the fa-
mily, as well as some new forms peculiar to India.

13. As the peculiarities of the first subfamily, consisting
in the form of their mouth and digestive organs, have been
pointed out, I shall now proceed to notice the characteristics
in structure and habits of the several groups of Sarcoborince,
Two of the most remarkable genera of this subfamily are the
Perilamps and Opsarions ; the first consisting of small insec-
tivorous fishes remarkable for the brilliancy of their colours,
always disposed in streaks. The second are lengthy, hand-
some species, larger than the Perilamps, though still of small
size, and very bright in their colours, which are however dis-
posed in cross-bars ; — these are exclusively carnivorous, and
remarkably voracious.

14. The Perilamps (Perilampus) form the connexion be-
tween the Systoms and Leuciscs. The mouth is placed in a
directly opposite position from that which it occupies in the
typical forms of the Pmonomina ; the jaws are directed up-
ward, and their apices are placed on a level with the back or
crown ; their intestine is short, and in no instance exceeds
the length of the body ; and their food consists of insects only,
which they derive by springing from beneath the surface of

* I here refer particularly to what Mr. MacLeay calls affinity of transul-
tation, or that relation which the opposite points of a circle of affinities bear
to each other.

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 43

the water, thus forming a direct contrast to the Gonorhynchs
and other Pceonomince, whose food is exclusively derived from
sandy, rocky, or muddy bottoms. Eleven or twelve species
of this new genus are described in this paper.

15. The Opsarions (Opsarius) differ from herbivorous Cy-
prins still more widely in their ceconomy and habits. The
body is long, the mouth widely-cleft and horizontal, and
though without teeth, the symphysis of the lower jaw is armed
with a sharp hook in the more characteristic, but which is
blunter and less prominent the further we pass from the most
typical forms ; but this hook, more or less developed, is cha-
racteristic not merely of the Opsarions, but of the subfamily
(Sarcoborinae) to which they belong. It is received into a cor-
responding depression in the apex of the upper jaw when the
mouth is closed. The back is straight ; the dorsal is placed
opposite to a long anal, both fins being situated near the cau-
dal extremity, by which the power of darting or springing is
rendered most perfect*. The abdominal cavity is long, and
is chiefly occupied by a straight stomach of equal length,
which is divided by a strangulation from a short fleshy intes-
tine connecting the stomach directly with the vent, without
any convolutions or elongation of the tube.

16. "The energies of nature," to use the words of Mr.
Swainson, " are here concentrated as it were to the production
of that form most adapted for one especial purpose," that of
springing on their prey like the Felince or Cats, which they
seem to represent. It is no uncommon thing to find an Op-
sarion so overgorged that the tail of its prey remains protru-
ding from the mouth, to be swallowed after that portion which
is capable of being received into the capacious stomach is suf-
ficiently digested to admit of the introduction of the re-
mainder f.

17. Two other genera of this subfamily remain to be no-
ticed, viz. Systomus and Leuciscus. The first is made up
chiefly of small species named Pungti by the Indian fisher-
men. If we were merely guided by their general appearance
and the form of their fins, the only principle of division hi-

* The principal instrument of progressive motion in fishes is the caudal
fin ; other fins, as shown by Roget, are mere auxiliaries, serving to balance
the body while it receives propulsion from the tail. Vide ' JBridgewater
Treat.,' i. 286. This is correct in regard to fishes in general; but in the
Opsarions and Perilamps, the dorsal and anal, from their position and size,
contribute greatly to their velocity, being also situated on or near the tail ;
thus increasing the caudal surface, which, as Roget justly observes, operates
as an oar does in sculling.

t I have seen Opsarions so often in this state, that I presume they are
easier caught in it than in any other. A similar power of deglutition is re-
corded of sea-gulls by Blumenbach.

44 Mr. J. M'Clelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

therto adopted in this family, they might be brought into the
several subgenera, Cyprinus proprius, Cirrhinus, &c. of the
c Regne Animal/ Buchanan, who published his ' Gangetic
Fishes * cotemporaneously with Cuvier's system, had not an
opportunity of consulting its divisions, while those of Lace-
pede, Bloch, and previous writers were not reconcilable to In-
dian species ; Buchanan therefore formed temporary groups
for his own convenience, applicable to the local features of the
family in this country. The Pungti, like all his other groups,
were formed according to native opinions of their habits un-
shackled by artificial views, and being better marked than
most genera, Buchanan^ Pungti have more or less affinity to
each other.

18. The stomach and intestine of the Systoms are in none
of the species I have examined more than thrice the length
of the body, and the former, which is thick and fleshy, usually
contains the remains of insects. The mouth is small, and
when opened the intermaxillaries project so as to form a nar-
row tube, — hence their generic name.

It is in the Systoms we first perceive a tendency to the
hook or prominence on the apex of the lower jaw after quit-
ting the herbivorous genera ; and for this reason, as well as
other peculiarities which appear to point them out as a typical
or most perfect group, they are placed first in the list of car-
nivorous genera.

19. The Leuciscs, or white fishes, succeed the Perilamps.
In this genus the prominence on the lower jaw is more di-
stinct, and I have restricted the genus to such as possess this
character, having at the same time the dorsal and anal small —
the former placed anterior to the latter. They are all carni-
vorous, but not constructed for leaping above the surface like
the Perilamps, nor for springing like the Opsarions ; although
the shortness of the intestines, size of the stomach, and pro-
minence of the tooth on the lower jaw prove them to be
scarcely less rapacious, yet I am not sure as to the accuracy
of separating them from one or other of the preceding genera
merely on account of the size and position of the dorsal and
anal fins, particularly as the dental hook is only of import-
ance in distinguishing them from some of the Paeonomince.

20. After this outline of the structure of Sarcoborina, a few
remarks regarding their colours will be necessary, as embra-
cing another principle on which the divisions have been
formed. The whole of the subfamily Pteonomince are remark-
able for their uniformly plain colours, consisting of olive-
green, bluish grey, or brown, extended along the back, and
softened off on the sides, so as to leave the lower surface of the
body an impure white, partaking more or less of the colours of

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 45

the back. The fins partake of the sober hues of the adjoining
parts of the body, the pectorals and ventrals, as well as the
branchial membranes and irides, usually displaying after death
a slight blush of red, caused by the capillary effusion of blood
in those parts. Of the species with which I am acquainted
not one possesses a brilliant spot of any pure colour ; but
when we approach the limits of the next group, we begin to
find in the Gonorhynchs obscure dark spots on either side of
the tail of some of the species, as G. bimaculatus.

21. But, on the other hand, as soon as we cross the verge
of the herbivorous group and enter the carnivorous, we find
such spots as those alluded to become brighter and more nu-
merous, and the opercula and fins to be stained with yellow
and red in deep and natural tints. To Systomus, the first ge-
nus of this group, the Gold-fishes*, commonly called Golden
Carp, belong. The intestinal tube of the Systoms, though only
thrice the length of the body, or half the length of the abdo-
minal tube in those herbivorous species in which it is short-
est, is nevertheless twice the length of the same organ in any
of the other Sarcoborince. As we advance in this subfamily
from the Systoms towards the Opsarions, we find, as has been
shown, the abdominal tube diminishing in length ; and in pro-
portion as this takes place, and the habits of species become
more carnivorous, we observe the brilliancy of the colours be-
comes more remarkable.

22. The Perilamps, as already stated, are followed by the
Leuciscs. In these the diversity of colour is not great, but is
compensated for by the metallic brilliancy of the nacre, or sil-
very pigment with which the scales and opercula are covered,
and from which the genus has derived its name, Leuciscus,
Albus, or white fishes, though not applicable to all the species ;
for there is one which is marked on each side with the bright
longitudinal streak of the Perilamps* and, like the blending of
the markings already observed between the P&onomince and
Sarcoborince, the species in question, Leuciscus lateralis^,
seems to unite the white fishes with the Perilamps.

23. The Perilamps in their structure naturally follow the
Systoms, and present numerous bright longitudinal lines of
various colours, but particularly blue on their sides. They are
all small species, of little or no direct utility to man ; nor is it
possible to account for the peculiar brilliancy of their colours
in any other way than as an instance of that inscrutable de-

* Cyprinus auratus auctorum.

f Cyp. Daniconius, Buch., which appears to me to be identical with Cyp.
Anjano, id. ; but if not, the latter species, on account of certain peculiarities
about the mouth which seem to be wanting in the former, must be referred
to the Perilamps.

46 Mr. T. C. Eyton's Notes on Birds.

sign, by which it would seem that, in pursuit of aquatic insects,
on which they subsist, along the surface of waters, they be-
come the better marks for Kingfishers, Skimmers, Terns, and
other birds which are destined to keep the number of fishes
in check, especially in deep waters beyond the reach of the
Waders*.

[To be continued.]

VIII.— Notes on Birds. By T. C. Eyton, Esq., F.L.S.

No. IV.

Psophodes Crepitans, Vig. and Horsf.
Tongue nearly the same as in Menura Lyra. Trachea largest at the
upper extremity, but gradually contracted towards the inferior
larynx ; the tube bound firmly down in the angle made by the rami
of the os furcatum. The inferior larynx furnished with five pairs of
muscles of voice, as among the Crows and Warblers ; the sterno-tra-
cheales weak, the other pairs of muscles connected with the trachea
moderately developed. (Esophagus of moderate size, largest at the
upper extremity, narrowed near the middle, and again slightly swell-
ing above the proventriculus, which is of moderate size. Gizzard
filled with the remains of insects, muscular, and of moderate size.
Intestinal canal of large diameter in proportion to the size of the
bird, largest a little below the duodenum ; rectum short, about
equal in diameter to the duodenum ; caeca rudimentary ; cloaca
rather large.

Length of intestinal canal from stomach to cloaca 9^ inches.
Length of rectum 1^ inch. Sternum rather elongated, and straight
on the posterior margin between the fissures, which are two in
number, one situated near each lateral margin, nearly closed poste-
riorly, deep, oval, and large. Keel shallow, nearly straight on its
inferior edge, traversed by raised bony ridges as in Menura ; the an-
terior edge of the keel and the manubrial process also resemble in
shape those portions in the above-named genus.

Os furcatum long, without any process at the point where it joins
the sternum ; the rami rounded, and bending slightly inwards, so as
to approach each other near the middle ; coracoids, pelvis, ribs, sca-
pula, and caudal vertebrae also as in Menura. The numbering of the
vertebrae is

Cer. 11 ; Dor. 7 ; Sac. 11 ; Caud. 6 ; Ribs 8, 5 true, 3 false.

Remarks. — In the structure of the soft parts and tongue
Psophodes comes very near to Menura ; the trachea however
differs in not having the muscles of voice so strong, and in
their being disposed as among the Warblers and Thrushes.
Menura and Psophodes also agree in the form and length of the
coracoids, scapula, and ribs, showing in these parts an affi-
nity to Scansores, though not so strongly marked as in Me-

* See remarks on P. perseus in a subsequent part of this paper.

Bibliographical Notices. 47

nura and Pleroptochos. The bones forming the pelvis ap-
proach very nearly in form and disposition to those of Menura,
differing in no particular except in their smaller size. The
sternum is broader in proportion to its length than in that
genus, and agrees in the # form of its posterior margin with the
Thrushes and Shrikes, generally not having the portion be-
tween the lateral fissures produced as in Menura. The os
furcatum agrees with the last-named genus in having the
rami rounded, and in being destitute of a process at the ex-
tremity approaching the sternum ; but in having the rami
bent laterally inwards near the middle, so as to approach
each other, it agrees with the Shrikes and Thrushes.

Not having been able to obtain a specimen of the South
American genus Thamnophilus to dissect, it is of course
merely conjecture, when I state that I believe the anatomy of
that genus will be found to approach very nearly to that of
Psophodes ; referring to the external characters, although the
bill differs much in form, the nature of the plumage and the
form of the tail and wings are very similar.

Craticus Tibicen, Vieill.
Trachea, muscles of voice, tongue, and oesophagus as among the
Corvid<e generally. Intestinal canal of moderate length ; caeca scarcely
more than rudimentary ; cloaca large ; gizzard of moderate size,
oval, flattened, muscular, interior surface (epithelium) hardened,
transversely rugose, filled with the remains of insects.

Length of oesophagus 4 inches.

Length of rectum ^ „

Length of intestine 20 „

Length of caeca £ ,,

The skeleton of Craticus Tibicen, like the soft portions, does
not differ materially from the general structure found among
the Corvidce ; the scapula, however, is rather broader near t\(fj
hinder extremity than in the middle, and the sternum pro-
portion ably larger than in any other Corvidm with which I
have had an opportunity of comparing it. The number of
the vertebrae are
Cer. 12 ; Dor. 8 ; Sac. 12 ; Caud. 8; Ribs 8, 5 true, 3 false.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

Wiegmann's Archiv fur Naturgeschichte. Seventh Year. Parti.
1841. Berlin.

We have already apprised our readers of the intended continuation
of this valuable journal, (established and so ably conducted by our
friend the late Prof. A. Wiegmann of Berlin,) under the superintend-
ence of Dr. Erichson, in conjunction with Dr. Grisebach in Gottingen,

48 Bibliographical Notices.

Prof, von Siebold in Erlangen, Dr. Troschel in Berlin, Prof. A. Wag-
ner in Munich, and Prof. Rud. Wagner in Gottingen. The abun-
dance of excellent original articles in the first number which has just
appeared, convinces us that no pains have been spared that this perio-
dical should maintain its station among the first-rate journals de-
voted to Natural History. In the plan nothing has been altered ; it
will, as usual, be accompanied by annual reports ; that on botany, so
well executed by the late Prof. Meyen, has passed into the able hands
of the celebrated Link. Many of the papers we shall from time to
time place before our readers, but for the present we must confine
ourselves to merely indicating the contents with a few extracts.

The first paper by Dr. Erichson is entitled ' A glance at the Clas-
sification of the Evertebrate Animals.'

The second paper by Sars is ' On the Development of Medusa au-
rita and of Cyanea capillata* This article confirms the beautiful ob-
servations of Von Siebold on the younger stages of Medusa aurita.
The author had likewise observed that Strobila is merely a young
state of this Acalephe. The results which the study of the develop-
ment of these animals has led to are too important not to be no-
ticed in this place, and we trust some of the lovers of natural science
who dwell near the coast may be induced to lend their assistance in
the investigation of this branch of science, in which so much still
remains concealed. The author has given at the end of the memoir
a summary of the results of his investigations, which we subjoin.

1st. The oval or ovaU cylindrical young escape from the eggs con-
tained in the ovaria provided with vibratile cilia : on the eggs are
observed the Vesicula Purkinji and the Macula ( Vesicula) Wagneri ;
the yolk exhibits the usual partitions or furcations. The young col-
lect in the cotemporaneously developed marsupial pouches appended
to the four oval tentacula.

2nd. They soon quit the mother, and swim, like Infusoria, about for
a time, at last adhere to some foreign body, to which they fix them-
selves with their unbranched end ; at the other free end a mouth
opens, around which a circle of tentacula is gradually formed.

3rd. In this polypoid condition, which may fairly be termed a larva
state, they already multiply, and indeed in the usual manner of Po«
lypes, by means of buds and so-called stolones. The new animals
thus produced resemble perfectly the larva.

4th. Lastly, after the lapse of a still undetermined time, the larva
voluntarily divides into a number of diagonal pieces, all of which
become new animals. These do not resemble the larva, but are dis-
coid creatures, which swim about freely ; their periphery is divided
into eight rays, bipartite at the extremity ; and they have a quadran-
gular, tubular, pendent mouth. Gradually, as they grow, the rays
become shorter, the spaces between them where the marginal ten-
tacula issue forth grow larger, the mouth divides and changes into
four oral tentacula — in short, these animals become perfectly identical
with the original mother (the Medusa or the Cyanea). It is, there-
fore, not the larva or the individual developed from the egg which
is converted into a perfect Acalepha, but its progeny, originated

Bibliographical Notices. 49

by diagonal separation. Among known facts none can be com-
pared better with this mode of development than that of the Salpce,
although even here it differs considerably. The numerous observa-
tions which I made last autumn on the Salpce have shown that
Chamisso (who had to hear so many ill words on his upright re-
searches from several naturalists because they did not accord with
their systems) observed in general their development correctly. The
Salpce agree with the Acalephce in this, that it is not the larva, but its
progeny, which is developed to the perfect animal : it is not the in-
dividual, but the generation, which has become metamorphosed.

The author observes in conclusion, that Graham Dalyell's obser-
vations (' Edinb. Philos. Journ.' vol. xxi. 1836), with which he was
only partially acquainted from what had appeared in Wiegmann's
' Archiv' and the ■ Isis,' may serve in part to confirm his observations.
" His (Dalyell's) Hydra Tuba appears to be the above-described poly-
poid Acalepha-larva, on which he also noticed buds ; he moreover
observed the diagonal separation by which the radiated Acalephce
(Strobila) originate. Of these latter he has figured one with eleven
and one with eight rays ; in general I have found eight. The qua-
drangular column, of which Dalyell incorrectly asserts that it pro-
jects on the convex side, is the pendent mouth, at the base of
which four organs are mentioned by him (the fold-circles with their
tentacula). But in the explanation of the observed phaenomena, his
views differ from mine. In February and March," he says, " the sur-
face or disc, of some Hydrce are furnished" with a pendent flexible
prolongation of an inverted conical form, &c, which is developed
into 20 to 30 layers, which gradually separate and become free Aca-
lephce. But whence this prolongation arises, and in what con-
nexion it stands with the Hydra, he does not state. One might al-
most be inclined to think that he ascribes to the polype viviparity.
According to my observations, it is the animal itself, the polypoid
larva, which separates into diagonal pieces, beginning above and gra-
dually descending towards the base. How the tentacula of the polype
disappear, and after all the diagonal pieces have become free, what
becomes of the lower part of the stalk, I have, it is true, not yet been
able to see. That the polype again fixes itself, as Dalyell maintains,
after the disappearance of the prolongation, acquires new tentacula,
and again adopts its former form, is opposed entirely to my observa-
tions, and appears to be founded upon an erroneously conceived ob-
servation." This paper is accompanied by 4 plates containing 64
figures.

3. ' On the curious motion of the Colour-cells (Chromatophores)
of Cephalopods,' by Rudolph Wagner. " If everything does not
deceive me, these observations lead to a new series of phenomena of
motion in organized nature. A new class of active motions appears
here together with the ciliary motion of the sap in a rotatory course
in cells, and the motion of the Spermatozoa, which has nothing to
do with muscular motion."

Ann. $ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. E

50 Bibliographical Notices.

4. ' On Stinging Organs of the Medusa, and the occurrence of
peculiar formations in Evertebrate Animals, which appear to consti-
tute a new class of locomotive organs,' by Rud. Wagner.

5. * Zoological Notices,' by Dr. A. Philippi. These we shall
subsequently give in continuation of those which have already ap-
peared in the ' Annals.' We will now enumerate the various heads :
1. Fossarus, a new genus of Mollusks. 2. On the genus Eulima,
Risso. 3. On the genus Truncatella, Risso. 4. On Tornatella. 5.
Onchidium nanum, n. sp. 6. Euplocamus laciniosus, n. sp.

6. ' Contributions to a systematical knowledge of the Larvae of In-
sects,' by Dr. Erichson. 1st part : The Larvae of the Coleoptera.

7. ' Grouping of the Genera of the Rodentia into Natural Fami-
lies, with descriptions of some new Genera and Species,' by Prof. A.
Wagner. The first part of this paper consists of a review of the
literature on this subject, in which great praise is bestowed on the
labours of Mr. Waterhouse*, to whose classification, however, it is
objected, that not all families are reduced to their proper limits, and
that some have been discarded which must be re-established. The
author divides the Rodentia into twelve families, founded not merely
on external habits, but chiefly on the structure of the skeleton and
the dentition ; in some cases the intestines have likewise been con-
sulted.

I. Pedimana. Digiti anteriores longissimi, pedes posteriores pol-

lice instructi ; cranium rotundatum, orbitae postice clausae.
Only one genus belongs here, Cheiromys. Hab. Madagascar.

II. Sciurina. Pedes anteriores digitis 4 et verruca hallucari,

posteriores 5-dactyli, cauda dense pilosa ; dentes molares 4 ;
ossa frontalia dilatata, processu postorbitali distincto instructa ;
foramen infraorbital angustissimum.
Genera : Sciurus, Pteromys, Tamias, Spermophilus, Arctomys.
This family is represented in all parts of the world with the ex-
ception of New Holland.

III. Myoxina. Pedes anteriores digitis 4 et verruca hallucari, pos-
teriores 5-dactyli, cauda elongata villosa ; dentes molares f ,
ossa frontalia valde coarctata, processu postorbitali privata ; in-
testinum caecum nullum.

M. Wagner has separated the only genus of which this family
consists into the four sub-genera, Graphiurus, Eliomys, Glis and
Muscardinus. Geographical distribution confined to the Old World.

* Mr. Waterhouse's paper, ' Observations on the Rodentia,' &c. Mag. Nat.
Hist. 1839, pp. 90, 184, 274 and 593 ; and ' On the geographical distribution
of the Rodentia,' Annals of Nat. Hist. No. 33. (1840) p. 418 ; and Proc.
Zool. Soc. for Nov. 1839 ; see also ' Observations on the skulls of the Ca-
viida and Chinchillidce,' Proc. Zool. Soc, April 1839, and ' Observations on
various Rodents in the Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle.'

Bibliographical Notices, 51

IV. Macropoda. Artus distincte saltatorii, anteriores brevissimi,
posteriores longissimi ; cauda longa pilosa ; foramen infraorbi-
tale magnum.

The four genera belonging here are divided into two sections.

a. Dentes molares irregulariter incisi.

Dipus ; Scirtites, mihi (Alactaga, Fr. Cuv.) ; JacvJus, Wagl.

b. Dentes molares ab uno latere partiti. (Meriones, F. Cuv.) Pe-
detes.

Geog. distrib. Over Asia and a small part of European Russia,
Africa, Northern America, and one occurs on New Holland.

V. Chinchillina. Auriculae magnae j'scelides antipedibus subduplo

longiores ; cauda producta, supra et ad apicem longius setosa ;
vellus molle ; dentes molares ^ e laminis 2-3 parallelis com-
posite

Three genera : Eriomys {Chinchilla), Lagidium (Lagotis), Lago*
stomus.

Geog. distrib. South America.

VI. Psammorycttna. Habitus murinus, artus proportionales, au-
riculae mediocres (rarius magnae), foramen infraorbitale magnum,
mandibulae angulus in cuspidem elongatum excurrens, dentes
molares -J .

a. Habrocoma. (3. Capromys.

Octodon. Aulacodus.

Psammoryctes. Loncheres.

(Nelomys and Echimys.)
Cer corny s.
Dactylomys.
Petromys.
Confined principally to South America.

VII. Cunicularia. Corpus crassum, cylindraceum, caput obtusum,
oculi minuti aut tecti, auricula et cauda nullae aut parvae, artus
anteriores posterioribus robustiores, pedes 5-dactyli, dentes pri-
mores exserti, lati, truncati.

o. Ungues anteriores breves. (3. Ungues anteriores longissimi.

Ommatostergus . Siphneus.

Spalax. Ascomys.

Chtonoergus. Thomomys.

Rhizomys. Geomys.

Georhycus. Bathyergus.

Ctenomys. Haplodon (Aplodontia,

Richardson) .

Geog. distrib. South-eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Ame-
rica.

VIII. Murina. Oculi distincti, auricula et cauda plus minusve
exsertae, artus posteriores anterioribus longiores, pedes ante-
riores digitis 4 et verruca hallucari, posteriores 5-dactyli, cauda
nuda aut minus pilosa ; foramen infraorbitale longitudinale,

E 2

52

Bibliographical Notices,

supra dilatatum, infra angustatum ; mandibula3 angulus rotun-
datus, dentes primores inferiores acuminati.
a. Molares f .
Hydromys.

b.

Molares §.

a. M.tuberculati. ft. M.plani, opposite y. M.alternatira incisi.

Mus.

Cricetus.

Dendromys.

Akodon.

Hapalotis.

Pseudomys.

Mystromys.

Rhombomys.

Psammomys.

Meriones.

Euryotis.

c. Molares %.
Sminthus.

d. Molares |.

i fSigmodon.

g I Neotoma.

bX)

^ Elimodon.
Reithrodon.
bo [_Ctenodactyh

4! f My odes.
'"p < Hypudaus.
•£ [Fiber.

a. M. tuberculati.
Per ognat hits*.
Distributed over the whole earth.

M. plani, incisi.
Saccomys.

IX. Castorina. Corpus robustum, magnum, pedes 5-dactyli, pos-
teriores palmati ; dentes primores validi, cestiformes, molares J
complicate latere altero triplicate altero implicati.

Castor, Myopotamus.

Geog. distr. Northern & temperate districts of Old & New World.

Myopotamus belongs to the southern half of South America.

X. Hystricina. Corpus aculeis teretibus validis, setis intermixtis

vestitum; foramen infraorbitale maximum; clavicular incompletae;
dentes molares | complicati.

a. Philogsea. ft. Philodendra.

Hystrix. Erethizon.

Atherura. Cercolabes.

(Synetheres and Sphiggurus.)
Southern Europe, Asia, Africa and America.

XI. Subungulata. Corpus pilis tectum, cauda brevissima aut nulla,
ungues subungulaeformes, foramen infraorbitale permagnum,
clavicular incompletae, dentes molares J.

a. Molares complicati. b. Molares compositi.

Dasyproct-a. Hydrochcerus.

Coslogenys. Cavia.

Confined to South America. Kerodon.

XII. Dtjplicidentata. Dentes primores superiores duplicati, foramen
infraorbitale parvum, foramina optica conjuncta, palatum osseum
singulariter coarctatum, clavicular partim incompletae, partim
completae.

Lepus, Lagomys.

Distributed over the whole earth with the exception of NewHolland.

* Dipodomys, Gray (see vol. vii. p. 521), will perhaps be placed here.

Bibliographical Notices, 53

The new genera and species described are : —
Rhombomys. Dentes primores superiores sulcati ; molarium lami-
nae obtuse rhomboidese, medio dilatataa ; os interparietal trans-
versim coarctatum ; habitus murinus, cauda longa crassius-
cula, dense et breviter pilosa, apice subfloccosa. This genus is
founded on Meriones robustus. Fr. Cuvier's Gerbille ind&er-
minee (Trans. Zool. Soc. ii. 2. p. 143) belongs decidedly here.
Rhombomys pallidus. Rh. supra pallide navidus, subtus albido-
lutescens, auriculis parvis ; cauda crassiuscula, supra isabellina,
infra lutescente, apice nigro-fasciculata ; dentibus primoribus
superioribus bicanaliculatis.

Body 5" 6"' Tail without hair 5" 1'"

Projecting hair. 6 Length of ear .. . 6

Hinder foot to apex of the claw 1 5

Hab. South-eastern Russia.
Mystromys. Dentes primores laeves haud sulcati, molarium la-
mellae (2-3) medio anfracta?, parte altera paululum post alte-
ram posita; auriculas pilosas amplas, cauda breviter et dense
pilosa, mediocris, apicem versus attenuata.
M. albipes. M. subbrunneo-griseus, nigro irroratus, subtus griseo-
albidus, pedibus albis, cauda supra fusca, infra albida.
Body, in straight line . . 4" 11'" Body curved. . 5" 3'"

Tail 2 4 Length of ear . 9 J

Hinder foot with claw .0 11| Breadth of ear 7
Hab. South Africa.
Euryotis pallida, Wagn. E. supra flava, nigro inter mixta, lateribus
subtusque e lutescente albida; auriculis mediocribus; cauda
supra nigra, basi flavida, subtus lutescente ; dentibus primori-
bus superioribus bisulcatis, inferioribus unicanaliculatis.
The length of the largest specimen in a straight line is 5" 9"',
curved 6" 1'"; of the tail, the apex of which is wanting, 2" 7"' ; of
the smaller specimen, the body curved = 5" 3"', tail 2" 6"'.

Hab. South Africa.
Dendromys pumilio, Wagn. D. fulvus, subtus albus.

Body in straight line 2" 8"', curved 2" 11'"; tail 3" 8'" ; ear
0" 5'" ; front foot with claw 0" 4£'" ; hinder foot 0" 8'".

Hab. South point of Africa.
Pteromys aurantiacus, Wagn. Pt. supra aurantio-fulvus, subtus al-
bidus, sparsim ochraceo-lavatus ; patagio prope carpum in an-
gulum acuminatum excurrente, cauda plana, disticha, castanea.
Body 5" 10'"; tail somewhat mutilated 4" 3'"; ear 0" 5'".
Hab. Island of Banca.
Lepus Mediterraneus, Wagn. L. timido multo minor, auriculis capite
longioribus, medio nudiusculis, apice nigris ; nucha artubusque
ochraceo-rufescentibus, cauda supra nigra, infra albida, stria
alba post oculos.

Body in straight line 13" 6'" Curved 15" 5'"

Head 3 5 Ears 4 3

Tail with hair about 3 Ear-fissure . 3 8

Hab. Sardinia, Gibraltar ?

54 Bibliographical Notices,

8. *■ On the Genera and Species of the Comatula,' by Joh. Miiller,
which terminates the present part.

In concluding this notice, we may express the wish that the va-
rious parts may appear with more regularity than heretofore.

W. Francis.

The Naturalist's Library : Mammalia. Vol. xi. Marsupialia, or
Pouched Animals. By G. R. Waterhouse, Esq., Curator to the
Zool. Soc. Lond.

The eleventh volume of this valuable and deservedly popular work,
containing a history of the ' Marsupialia, or Pouched Animals,' has
just appeared. The confusion in which the Marsupials have been
hitherto involved, renders a volume exclusively devoted to them pe-
culiarly interesting ; the author of the work being an able naturalist
and possessing abundant facilities for the successful prosecution of
his labours, of which he has availed himself with great acumen and
industry in the execution of his task.

Mr. Waterhouse commences by an Introduction, in which a con-
cise review is taken of the history of the Marsupialia from the time
of Linnaeus to the present day, in which the views of various natu-
ralists are examined, — a preliminary step to an exposition of the
principles by which he is guided in the arrangement of these singular
mammals. The point at issue between some naturalists of great
eminence — namely, whether the Marsupialia constitute a natural
group, of which the component parts are linked together by such
bonds of structural relationship as cannot be dissolved with pro-
priety, or whether the group is unnatural, its assumed component
parts belonging, in truth, to other orders — is discussed with great
clearness.

Cuvier, Geoffroy St. Hilaire, De Blainville, and Owen, celebrated
no less for anatomical than for zoological knowledge, insist upon the
former position. Among their opponents are Storr, Illiger, Swainson,
and Ogilby. After detailing the arguments of these scientific men,
and giving the results of his own analysis of the Marsupials, which he
considers as forming a natural order, Mr. Waterhouse, alluding to
Mr. Swainson's erroneous assertions, " that nearly all our leading
naturalists have acknowledged the artificial nature of the assem-
blage," thus writes : " I think we might, on the other hand, say with
safety, that all the most eminent anatomists (these being at the
same time zoologists) agree in uniting them I could wish, how-
ever, that this important question should not rest upon authority ; —
but to go through the train of reasoning by which the anatomists
have arrived at their conclusions, would require more space than can
be spared in a volume like the present."

" It has often been stated that the Marsupiata consist of animals
of most dissimilar organization, and are united together only by a
single peculiarity ; however little weight some zoologists may attach
to this single peculiarity, its value was almost immediately appre-
ciated by the anatomists and physiologists. But I will now proceed

Royal Society, 55

to show that the animals under consideration are united by many pe-
culiarities, these serving to distinguish them from all other quadru-
peds ; whilst the rich collections now in the British Museum, and in
that of the Zoological Society, show that the most dissimilar forms
of marsupial animals are linked together by species exhibiting the
intermediate grades of structure."

Mr. Waterhouse next enters into an examination, brief but still
satisfactory, of their structural peculiarities, in which he refers to
the labours of Professor Owen and others who have thrown so much
light upon them. With respect to the mode in which the species
are worked out, we cannot speak too highly. In the instances (and
they are not few) where a confusion of synonyms has perplexed the
inquirer, we find the knot unravelled ; and though, in many cases,
names given by modern naturalists to old and previously described
species must sink, we feel assured that the imposers themselves of
these names will rejoice, so that science be but benefited. The de-
scriptions are full and clear ; nearly all of them, indeed, says the
author, were " carefully drawn up by myself from the original speci-
mens contained either in the museum at Paris, the British Museum,
or that of the Zoological Society*."

We cannot conclude our notice of the present really valuable con-
tribution to natural history without referring to the plates. These,
to the number of thirty-four, are faithful delineations of the species
represented, and are at once effective and artistical.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ROYAL SOCIETY.

May 20, 1841. — The following papers were read, viz. —

1. "Catalogue of Geological Specimens procured from Kergue-
len's Land during the months of May, June, and July, 1840."

2. " Catalogue of Birds collected on board Her Majesty's Ship
Terror, between the Cape of Good Hope and Van Diemen's Land."

3. " Description of Plants from Kerguelen's Land, collected in
May, June, and July, 1840."

The above papers are by John Robertson, Esq., Surgeon of Her
Majesty's Ship Terror, and were presented to the Society by the
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and communicated by the
President of the Royal Society.

4. "On the Fossil Remains of Turtles discovered in the Chalk
Formation of the South-East of England." By Gideon Algernon
Mantell, Esq., LL.D., F.R.S.

In this paper, the author gives a description, accompanied with
drawings of a remarkable fossil Turtle, referable to the genus Emys,
and named from its discoverer, Mr. Bensted, the Emys Benstedi,
which has been lately found in a quarry of the lower chalk of Kent,

* And here it may be observed, that the number of species at present
known, all of which are described in the volume before us, amounts to ninety-
seven. Desmarest, in his < Mammalogie' ( 1 820), has characterized only forty-
three.

56 Geological Society.

at Burham, which is situated near the banks of the Medway, between
Chatham and Maidstone. The specimen discovered consists of the
carapace or dorsal shell, six inches in length and nearly four inches
in breadth, with some of the sternal plates, vertebrae, eight ribs on
each side of the dorsal ridge, a border of marginal plates, and one
of the coracoid bones. It is adherent to a block of chalk by the
external surface of the sternal plates. The marginal plates are
joined to each other by finely indented sutures, and bear the impress
of the horny scales or tortoise-shell with which they were originally
covered. The expanded ribs are united together throughout the
proximal half of their length, and gradually taper to their marginal
extremities, which are protected by the plates of the osseous border.
Mr. Bell considers the species to which it belonged as being closely
allied in form to the common European Emys, and as possessing a
truly fluviatile or lacustrine character. The plates of the plastron,
however, as also the coracoid bone, resemble more the corresponding
bones of marine than of freshwater turtles.

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Dec. 16, 1840. — A paper " On the Relative Connection of the
Eastern and Western Chalk Denudations," by P. J. Martin, Esq.,
F.G.S., was read.

The author advances this as the first of a series of papers on the
construction of that part of the country usually considered as
appertaining to the great chalk denudation of the Weald, or more
properly, the upburst of the secondary formations between the
tertiary of the respective basins of London and Hampshire.

In venturing on this field of inquiry, he professes also to take up
the subject where it was left by him in two former memoirs, one
published in 1 828 under the title of a ' Geological Memoir of Western
Sussex, with some Observations on Chalk Basins and the Weald
Denudation,' the other in the ' Philosophical Magazine ' for Fe-
bruary 1829 ; and to extend the number of demonstrative facts that
bear upon the theory of denudation by disruptive violence and con-
temporaneous aqueous abrasion, there brought forward as a corollary
to Dr. Buckland's theory of ' Valleys of Elevation.'

In pursuance of this object, he begins by an examination into the
arrangement of the great chalk dome of Hampshire and Wiltshire, —
the Patria of the chalk of Pennant and Conybeare ; its anticlinal
lines of disturbance or upheaval, and their connections with those
of the Weald and the smaller western denudations of Pewsey, War-
dour and Warminster.

He finds that six great anticlinal lines are the main instruments
of the upbearing of this abraded chalk ; that the three which
characterize the smaller anticlinal western valleys are projected
onward, and in a manner decussate three others which emanate
from the western extremity of the greater valley of the Weald, the
vale of Wolmar Forest, from whence he starts his inquiry ; and that
these lines do not inosculate or enter into each other ; approxima-
ting, indeed, but little in any part of their course ; severally dying

Geological Society, 57

out, and their respective synclinal lines playing off into each other.
Their course is rather irregular, and their force exceedingly varia-
ble ; but their general parallelism is maintained throughout, their
progress being E. and W., with a point to the N.

The Pewsey line, after passing through the valleys of Ham and
Kingsclere, is traceable between Woolverton and Hannington, on
towards Monks Sherborne, and fades away at Old Basing, apparently
without entering the tertiary beds of the London basin*. This
meets in synclinal relation with a line projected from the north-
west corner of the Wolmar valley from Pease Marsh, near Guildford,
through Farnham and the high chalk range of Froyle, Shaldon,
Dummer and Popham, and appears to fade away in the country
west of Andover, where it is lost in the greater swell of the Burs^h-
clere Hills, and the more dominant power of the Pewsey upheaval.

The anticlinal line of Wardour, left by Dr. Fitton (in his ' History
of the Beds below the Chalk' f) at Harnham Hill, S. of Salisbury,
Mr. Martin finds traceable eastward, north of Dean Hill, and east of
the Avon, to the banks of the Test, where it dips under the tertiary
beds between Michaelmarsh and Romsey, and appears to fade away
between the above-mentioned river and the Itching. In synclinal
relation this line is also met and passed by a very remarkable anti-
clinal, traceable in strict approximation with, and by-and-by to be
proved to be the proximate cause of, the whole line of the South
Down escarpment (with a small exception between Lewes and Poy-
nings) from Beachy Head to East Meon. In the vicinity of this place,
at Langrish, it enters the chalk, passes through the anticlinal valley
of Chilcomb near Winchester and that city, and is lost in the Bos-
sington Hills, pointing towards, but not satisfactorily traced into,
the Warminster line.

The details of all three lines of elevation are made out in the
Ordnance Map, and sections given of the most illustrative points :
and Mr. Martin adds some observations respecting the entrance of
the great central line of elevation of the Weald into the chalk at
Selborne, and its progress westward between the lines of Pease-
marsh on the north, and of Greenhurst or the South Down on the
south, till it fades away in the great plateau of Salisbury Plain.

The author concludes this paper with some reference to the sub-
ject of transverse fractures in these several longitudinal fissures, and
the cross drainage, to which, like that of the Weald, he proposes to
return, in extension and emendation of the disquisitions formerly
published by him, as above alluded to, and which will be adduced
as illustrative of the strong probability, if they do not amount (in
connexion with the phenomena of drift) to absolute proof, of the

* The author thinks, that although this line fades away as it enters the
tertiary beds at Old Basing, it is probable that, after passing silently along
the London basin, it is revived again in the Isle of Thanet, which is a
chalk outlier, by protrusion; in the same way that the parallel line of
Portsdown Hill, High-down, near Worthing, and the Seaford Cliff (figured
by Dr. Mantell) does on the southern coast.

f Geol. Trans., Second Series, vol. iv. p. 244 et seq.

58 Geological Society .

close relation of the acts of upheaval and violent aqueous abrasion.
This necessarily implies the belief that the date of these lines of
disturbance is posterior to that of all the stratified beds of the south-
east part of England, as maintained in the author's former essays,
but into the full discussion of which he declines to enter till the
whole subject is before the Society.

Jan. 20, 1841. — A paper was first read, " On the Teeth of Species
of the Genus Labyrinthodon {Mastodonsaurus Salamandroides, and
Phytosaurus (?) of Jiiger) from the German Keuper and the Sand-
stone of Warwick and Leamington," by Richard Owen, Esq.,
F.G.S., F.R.S.

The Warwick sandstone having been considered by some geolo-
gists to be the equivalent of the Keuper*, and by others of the
Bunter Sandsteinf, and as its true position remains to be deter-
mined, Mr. Owen, in the preliminary remarks to his memoir, points
out the assistance which the discovery of reptilian remains in the
Warwick sandstone of the same generic characters as those of fossils
obtained in the Keuper of Germany, may afford in determining the
question.

Before he proceeds to describe the fossils forming the immediate
object of his paper, Mr. Owen shows that the genus Phytosaurus
was established on the casts of the sockets of the teeth of Masto-
donsaurus ; and that the latter generic appellation ought not to be
retained, because it recalls unavoidably the idea of the mammalian
genus Mastodon, or else a mammilloid form of the tooth, whereas all
the teeth of the genus so designated are originally and, for the
greater number, permanently of a cuspidate and not of a mammil-
loid form ; and because the second element of the word, saurus,
indicates a false affinity, the remains belonging, not to the Saurian,
but to the Batrachian order of Reptiles. For these reasons, and be-
lieving that he has discovered the true and peculiarly distinctive
dental characters of the fossil, he proposes to designate the genus by
the term Labyrinthodon.

The only portions of the Batrachian found in the Keuper of Ger-
many, which have hitherto been described, consist of teeth, a frag-
ment of the skull, and a few broken vertebrae ; and in the Warwick
sandstone of teeth only. In this memoir, therefore, Mr. Owen
confines his attention to a comparison of the dental structure of the
Continental and English remains. The teeth of the Labyrinthodon
Jaegeri {Mastodonsaurus Jaegeri, Meyer) of the Keuper are of a
simple, conical form, with numerous fine longitudinal striations ;
and the teeth transmitted to Mr. Owen from the Warwick sandstone
by Dr. Lloyd, bear a very close resemblance to them. Their external
characters not being sufficient to establish either specific or generic
identity, Mr. Owen had sections prepared for microscopic examina-
tion of portions of teeth of the Labyrinthodon Jaegeri forwarded to
him by Prof. Jager, and of the English reptile ; and though, from
his previous examination of the intimate texture of the teeth of the

* See Proceedings, vol. ii. p. 453. f Ibid, vol. ii. p. 565.

Geological Society. 59

Plesiosaur, Megalosaur, as well as of the Crocodile, Monitor, and
most recent Lacertians, he did not hope to detect such modifications
of structure as would obviously mark specific or even generic iden-
tity, yet the slices exhibited such decided characters, and those of
the German fossils agreed so intimately with the sections obtained
from the Warwick specimen, that Mr. Owen was enabled not merely
to separate these fossils from all known reptilian animals, but to
establish a generic community of character in the Keuper and sand-
stone remains. It was not, however, until he had caused sections
to be made in various directions, and had studied them attentively in
comparison with the teeth of true Saurians, Batrachians, and other
animals, that he was enabled to comprehend the principle of the
singular cerebriform convolutions which pervade the dental struc-
ture of this remarkable reptile. The base of the tooth of the Ich-
thyosaurus approaches most nearly in character to the peculiarities
of nearly the entire tooth of the Labyrinthodon. It is impossible to
convey clearly without illustrations the structure alluded to. It
may, however, be stated, that in the fang of the tooth of the Ichthy-
osaurus vertical folds of the external layer of cement (the enamel
ceasing at the base of the crown) are inflected inwards, at pretty
regular distances around the circumference of the tooth, towards
the centre to a distance about equal the breadth of the interspaces
of the inflected folds ; the interspaces being occupied by correspond-
ing processes of the dentine, which radiate from the central mass
of that substance. The thickness of this interblended cement and
dentine, surrounding the pulp-cavity, is about one-eighth of the dia-
meter of the tooth.

The plan and principle of the structure of the tooth of the Laby-
rinthodon are the same as those of the tooth of the Ichthyosaurus,
but they are carried out to the highest degree of complication. The
converging vertical folds of the external cement are continued close
to the centre of the tooth, and, instead of being straight, simple la-
mellae, they present a series of irregular folds, increasing in com-
plexity as they proceed inwards, and resembling the labyrinthic an-
fractuosities of the surface of the brain ; each converging fold is
slightly dilated at its termination close to the pulp- cavity. The
ordinary laws of dental structure are, however, strictly adhered to,
and every space intercepted by a convolution of the folds of the
cement is occupied by corresponding processes of the dentine.
These characters were presented by a transverse section of a frag-
ment of a tooth of the Labyrinthodon Jaegeri from the German
Keuper, which included about the middle third part of a tooth,
and Mr. Owen considers that the entire length of the tooth might
be 3^ inches, and the breadth at the basis 1 \ inch.

The external longitudinal grooves, which correspond to the in-
flected folds of the cement, extend upwards from the base of the
tooth to about three-fourths of its height, decreasing in number as
the tooth diminishes in thickness, and disappearing about half an
inch from the summit of the tooth. Each fold of cement penetrates
less deeply as the groove approaches its termination ; and Mr. Owen

60 Geological Society,

conceives that the structure of the upper part of the tooth may be
more simple than that of the lower, but he has not yet been able
to extend his investigations to it.

The dentine consists of a slender, central, conical column or
" modiolus," hollow for a certain distance from its base, and radi-
ating outwards from its circumference a series of vertical plates,
which divide into two, once or twice, before they terminate at the
periphery of the tooth. Each of these diverging and dichotomizing
vertical plates gives off throughout its course narrower vertical
plates, which stand at nearly right angles to the main plate, in rela-
tion to which they are generally opposite, but sometimes alternate.
Many of the secondary plates, which are given off near the centre
of the tooth, also divide into two before they terminate. They par-
take of all the undulations which characterize the inflected folds of
the cement.

The central pulp-cavity is reduced to a line, about the upper third
of the tooth ; but fissures radiate from it, corresponding in number
with the radiating plates of the dentine. One of these fissures is
continued along the middle of each plate, dividing where it divides,
and penetrating each bifurcation and process ; the main fissures ex-
tend to within a line or half a line of the periphery of the tooth ;
the terminations of these, as well as the fissures of the lateral pro-
cesses, suddenly dilating into subcircular, oval, or pyriform spaces.
All these spaces constitute centres of radiation of the fine calcige-
rous tubes, which, with their uniting clear substance, constitute
the dentine. The number of these calcigerous tubes, which are the
centres of minor ramifications, defies all calculations. Their diameter
is the ^Q^th of a line, with interspaces equal to seven diameters of
their cavities.

Mr. Owen then compares the structure of the section of a tooth
procured in the sandstone of Coton-End Quarry, and lent to him by
Dr. Lloyd of Leamington. The tooth nearly resembles in size and
form the smaller teeth of Labyrinthodon figured by Prof. Jager. All
the peculiarities of the labyrinthic structure of the Keuper tooth are
so clearly preserved in this specimen, that the differences are merely
of a specific nature.

At the upper part of the tooth a thin layer of enamel*, besides a
coating of cement, is inflected at each groove towards the centre of
the dentine ; but about the middle of the tooth the enamel disap-
pears, and the convolutions consist of interblended layers of cement
and dentine. Thus, on the supposition that the tooth of the Laby-
rinthodon of the German Keuper be capped with enamel, its extent
must be less than in the tooth of the Warwick sandstone.

The inflected folds are continued for a greater relative distance
before the lateral inflections commence than in the German species,
and the anfractuosities are fewer in number, and some of the folds

* Mr. Owen has subsequently ascertained that this is not true enamel,
but a layer of firm dentine, separated from the rest by a thin stratum of
fine calcigerous cells.

Geological Society, 61

are reflected backwards from near the central pulp-cavity for a short
distance before they terminate.

The modifications of the complex diverging plates of the dentine
hardly exceed those of a specific character, and the dentine itself is
composed of calcigerous tubes of the same relative size and dispo-
sition as in the Labyrinthodon Jaegeri.

In a section taken from the middle of a smaller and relatively
broader and shorter conical tooth from the Warwick sandstone, Mr.
Owen found that the anfractuosities were more complicated, with
numerous secondary and tertiary foldings, and the external layer
of cement was relatively thicker than in the Lab. Jaegeri.

The generic identity of the Reptiles, indicated by the teeth from
the Warwick sandstones, with the Mastodonsaurus of the German
Keuper, Mr. Owen believes to be fully established by the concord-
ance of their peculiar dental structure above described. And in con-
clusion, he says, if, on the one hand, geology has in this instance
really derived any essential aid from minute anatomy, on the other
hand, in no instance has the comparative anatomist been more in-
debted to geology than for the fossils which have revealed the most
singular and complicated modification of dental structure hitherto
known ; and of which not the slightest conception could have been
gained from an investigation, however close and extensive, of the
teeth of existing animals,

A paper by C. Lyell, Esq., F.G.S., was afterwards read, " On the
Freshwater Fossil Fishes of Mundesley, as determined by M.
Agassiz."

In a memoir on the boulder formation and associated freshwater
deposits of Eastern Norfolk*, Mr. Lyell stated, on the authority of
Mr. Yarrell and the Rev. L. Jenyns, that the scales arid teeth of fishes
which had been then procured in the fluviatile beds of Mundesley
belonged to the Esox lucius, to a trout or an undeterminable species
of Salmo, to a carp, probably the Cyprinus carpio, and to a distinct
species of Perca.

This collection, with some additions recently sent to the author
by Mr. Wigham, was examined by M. Agassiz during his late visit
to England. The decision of Mr. Jenyns with respect to the distinct-
ness of the perch, M. Agassiz fully confirmed ; but he was of opinion
that the pike differs from the Esox lucius, and that the supposed carp
is a species of Leuciscus ; and that the trout is not truly a trout, al-
though one of the same great family.

From this examination, therefore, Mr. Lyell says it is apparent that
these remains belong to species not identical with any European
freshwater fishes hitherto described; but that they nevertheless be-
long to an ichthyological fauna, more modern and more nearly re-
sembling the recent than any other with which M. Agassiz is ac-
quainted in a fossil state.

Similar remains have been found by Mr. Lyell at Runton, near

* See Proceedings, ante, p. lfl.

62 Zoological Society.

Cromer, but both there and at Mundesley the associated testacea all
belong to living freshwater species ; even the Paludina minuta (Strick-
land), which Mr. Morris has pointed out to the author to be iden-
tical with the P. marginata of Michaud, a living French species.
It is a question therefore, the author states, whether these unknown
fishes may not still inhabit the rivers and lakes of the more northern
parts of Europe or America, especially as M. Agassiz is at present
unacquainted with the freshwater fishes of Norway, Sweden, Spitz-
bergen, Iceland, Greenland, Labrador and Canada, and even of the
northernmost parts of Scotland and the Shetland Islands ; and in
conclusion Mr. Lyell says, it seems natural to look northward for
types analogous to the Mundesley fishes, because the beds in which
they occur were deposited contemporaneously with the drift accu-
mulated by the agency of floating ice.

ZOOLOGICAL, SOCIETY.

Nov. 24, 1840. — William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

A paper by W. J. Broderip, Esq., was read, in which the author
proceeds with his descriptions of the new species of shells collected
in the Philippine islands by H. Cuming, Esq.

Helix (Cochlostyla) Ticaontca. Hel. testa subpyramidali, trun-
catd, anfractibus 5 ventricosis, ultimo longe maximo, apice sub-
complanato, lineis incrementi subobliquis, levissime striato; aper-
turd modicd.
Var. a. Brunnea, strigis oblique longitudinalibus latis albis picta;

apice subpurpureo ; aperturd albidd ; labii limbo subpurpureo.
Var. b. Brunnea, strigis oblique longitudinalibus albis creberrimis

fucata; fascid basali latd obscurd; labii limbo subpurpureo.
In this variety the broad white stripes of the body- whorl are so
frequent, that they run into each other, leaving only brown inter-
stices here and there.

Var. c. Brunneo -nigricans, strigis latis et maculis irregularibus albis

rarioribus ornatis; labii limbo subpurpureo.
In this variety, the stripes, so far as they go, are very distinct ;
but on the last part of the body- whorl they are broken up and inter-
rupted so as to form spots. The ground-colour of the body- whorl
is very dark chestnut-brown, with a darker, but very obscure, broad
basal band.

Var. d. Flavescens strigis albis fucata, fascid latd basali brunneo-

nigricante ; labii limbo purpureo-nigricante .
Var. e. Ex albido flavescens seu subvirescens ; anfractibus 2 ultimis
strigis latis albis ornata ; anfractu basali lineis transversis basa-
libus interruptis subobscuris vittato ; aperturd albd ; labii limbo
ochraceo-rubro ; apice roseo.
Var. /. Ex albido flavescens seu virescens; anfractu ultimo strigis
latis albis interdum subangulatis ornato ; fascid basali brunneo-
lineatd, latd ; aperturd albd ; labii limbo vix ochraceo-rubescens.

Zoological Society. 63

In this variety hardly any stripes are visible, except upon the
body- whorl.

Var. g.- Ex albido pallide et obscure virescens, fascid basali lineatd

lata; aperturd albd ; columelld violaceo-subpurpured ; labii limbo

vix pallidissime rubente.
Var. h. Sordide virescens lineis transversis obscuris vittata ; fascid

basali sordide brunned laid ; aperturd albd ; columelld violascente;

labii limbo pallide rubente.
Var. i. Cinerascens; fascid basali latd, lineatd, brunned; aperturd

sordide albd ; labii limbo brunneo-nigricante.
The ground-colour beneath the epidermis is rich brown, which is
exposed where the epidermis is abraded.

Habitant varietates a, b, c, d, e,f g, h, et i, in insula Ticao.

Legit H. Cuming in sylvis.

Var. k. Grandior, ex albido cinerascens lineis transversis obscure

brunneis cincta ; fascid basali lineato-vittatd brunned latd; aper-
turd albidd ; labii Umbo purpurascente.
In this variety the ground-colour is brown: the riband-like,
broad basal band is dark brown.

Var. /. Productior, e brunneo cinerascens, vittis brunneo-nigricanti-

bus cincta ; fascid basali latd brunneo-nigricante; aperturd obscure

purpurascente ; labii limbo nigricante.
The ground-colour of this variety is brown, which becomes deeper
on the lower whorls, and is exposed where the epidermis is abraded.
Habitant varietates k, et I, in insula Masbate.
Legit H. Cuming in sylvis.

In none of the varieties do the markings appear before the third
whorl, and in several only on the two last.

This species varies in size from about 2J inches long by 2 broad,
to 1§ inch long by 1J inch broad. (W. J. B.)

Bulinus Guimarasensis. Bui. testd obovatd, nitide glabrd, anfrac-
tibus 5 subventricosis ; lineis incrementi oblique longitudinalibus
striatd; aperturd et labii limbo albis.
Var. a. Ex-albido-subvirescens ; fascid basali obscuriore ; apice sub-

roseo.
Var. b. Anfractibus super ioribus, fascid suturali, ultimo fascid sub-

basali castaneo cinctis ; apice castaneo-roseo.
This species is nearly allied to Bulinus citrinus, but differs from it
in many points. B. Guimarasensis is without transverse stria?, and
the whorls are comparatively ventricose. In B. citrinus all the
striped varieties which I have seen are marked longitudinally.

The var. b. of Bui. Guimarasensis has a narrow chestnut trans-
verse line very near the suture of the body- whorl, the base of which
body- whorl, below the transverse band, becomes greenish. A brown
stripe adjoins and borders the columella.^
Var. a. is 2^ inches long by If inch broad.
Var. (3. is less.
Hab. in insula Guimaras.
Legit H. Cuming in sylvis. (W. J. B.)

64 Zoological Society.

Bulinus camelopardalis. Bui. testa productd, gracili, subpupi-
formi, subdiaphand, anfractibus 6 hand ventricosis, ultimo cceteris
longiore ; aperturd subovatd, mediocri ; lineis incrementi creber-
rirrie substriatd ; ex albido flavescente, strigis fulvis, distinctis
sublongitudinalibus ornatd ; aperturd albidd, labii limbo nigro-
castaneo.

Long. 2 poll, circiter; lat. J poll.

Hab. ad Sibonga in insula Zeba.

Legit H. Cuming dumis adhserentes. (W. J. B.)

Bulinus Diana. Bui. testd valde productd, subdiaphand, anfracti-
bus 7 haud ventricosis, ultimo cceteros interdum hand cequante,
pallide flavd strigis albidis creberrimis fucatd ; aperturd et apice
albis.
Var. a. long. 2§ ; lat. 1 poll.

Var. b. Flava haud strigata, aperturd et apice albis.
Legit H. Cuming.

The first variety was found by Mr. Cuming on the leaves of bushes
at Tanhay in the isle of Negros.

The second or unstriped variety was taken by him in the island
of Siquijor on leaves of trees. Among the latter, some faintly-
striped individuals show the transition from one variety to the other.
The young of the striped variety have stripes ; but the young of
the unstriped variety are of a uniform pale yellow. (W. J. B.)

Bulinus Calista. Bui. testd diaphand, anfractibus 7 subventri-
cosis pallide flavd albido strigatd; apice subroseo vel roseo-cas-
taneoj labii limbo castaneo-purpurascente.

Var. a. long. 2^ ; lat. 1 J poll.

Intervals in the whitish epidermis leave the yellow ground-colour
in sufficiently well-defined longitudinal irregular stripes, which are
often zigzagged. Found on bushes.

Var. b. Gracilior, nana. Long. 1£ ; lat. ^ poll.

The shell of this variety is rather thicker. Among them some
occur with the lip barely tinged with ochraceous red and a white
apex. Found on the leaves of trees.

Var. c. Flava; apice roseo, labii Umbo castaneo.

Long. 2; lat. j-^ poll.

Found on the leaves of bushes. Some have an obscure narrow
transverse band on the body- whorl.

Var. d. Subflava, epidermide albo-cinerascente ; fascid basalt nitide
flavd ; apice et labii limbo albis.

Long. 1J; lat. 1^ poll.

Found on the leaves of bushes. Among these some occur which
still retain the coloured lip and tinged apex. In the very young
state the shell is perfectly transparent.

Hab. ad Tanhay in insula Negros.

Legit H. Cuming.

The last variety bears a strong resemblance to Bulinus Diana; nor
should I be at all surprised to see some intervening varieties that

Zoological Society. G5

would lead to the conclusion that Bulini Diana and Calista belong
to the same species. (W. J. B.)

Bulinus Calypso. Bui. testd diaphand, subventricosd, subpyra-
midali, anfractibus 5, lineis incremenli levissime striatis ; co-
lumelld subangulatd, albidd, taniis virescentibus cinctd ; apice et
labii limbo roseo-purpurascentibus .
Long. lj; lat. J poll.
Hob. ad Tanhay insula? Negros.
Legit H. Cuming in sylvis.

A dark rosy-purplish stripe borders the columella, which is itself
tinged with red. I have seen but two specimens, one with an in-
jured lip, and in that the columella is not subangulated as it is in
the more perfect one. (W. J. B.)

Bulinus Dactylus. Bui. testd valde product d, attenuatd, anfrac-
tibus 7, ultimo cceteros aequante, brunned, epidermide cinerascente ;
aperturd ovatd, earned vel albidd; labii limbo castaneo -purpuras -
cente.
Long. 2J; lat. 1^ poll.
Hab. in montibus Tayabas insula? Luzonia?.
Legit H. Cuming foliis arborum adhserentes.
Through the ashy epidermis the brown ground-colour appears in
most of the specimens in the shape of obscure longitudinal stripes :
in very old specimens scarcely any striping is apparent. The brown
ground-colour is well shown near the aperture, where the attrition
of the animal has exposed it. Very old shells are all but opake :
younger ones are subdiaphanous. There is in all that I have seen an
obscure brown fillet towards the base of the body- whorl. (W. J. B.)

Bulinus Boholensis. Bui. testd elongatd, graciliore, subdiaphand;
anfractibus 6, lineis incrementi oblique striatis ; ochraceo-cine-
rdscente strigis longitudinalibus angulatis distinctis ornatd; labii
limbo castaneo -nigricante.

Var. a. Gracilis strigis valde distinctis anfractuum parte superior e
suturam juxta castaneo-nigricante punctata.

Long. 1^; lat. J poll.

Hab. ad Loon insula? Bohol.

Var. b. Gracilior, strigis creberrimis valde angulatis.

Long. 1$; lat. § poll.

Hab. cum pra?cedente.

Var. c. Ventricosior, strigis valde distinctis, subangulatis.

Long. If; lat. 1 poll.

Hab. ad Loboc insula? Bohol.

Var. d. Strigis rarioribus obscurioribus.

Long. 1J; lat. | poll.

Hab. ad Baclayon insula? Bohol.

Legit H. Cuming arborum foliis adha?rentes.

The brown ground-colour appearing through the ochraceous-
cinerascent epidermis produces the stripes of this elegant shell. A
small portion only of the ground-colour is exposed by the attrition

Ann. $ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. F

66 Zoological Society.

of the animal near the mouth of the shell, which is whitish or bluish-
white, bordered with the dark chestnut of the lip. (W. J. B.)
Bulinus Bullula. Bui. testd ovato-rotundatd, diaphand, albidd,
anfractibus 4 ventricosis, lineis incrementi oblique striatis; aper-
turd magnd, subumbilicatd.
Long. 1^; lat. 1 poll.
Hab, in insula Mindoro.
Legit H. Cuming.
A milk-white line runs round the sutures. (W. J. B.)

Mr. Gould resumed the exhibition of his new species of Austra-
lian birds, and characterized the following species : —

Ephthianura tricolor, Ephth. vertice, pectore, tectricibusque
cauda coccineis ; gutture albo.

Male. — Crown of the head, upper tail-coverts, breast and abdo-
men bright scarlet ; lores, line above and beneath the eye, ear-co-
verts, occiput and back dark brown ; wings brown, each feather
margined with brownish white ; tail dark brown, each feather having
a large spot of white on the inner web at the tip ; chin, throat and
under tail-coverts white ; irides straw- white ; bill and feet blackish
brown.

Female similar in colour, but having only a slight wash of the
scarlet colouring, except on the upper tail-coverts, where it is as
brilliant as in the male.

Total length, 3£ inches; bill, •&>; wing, 24; tail, lj; tarsi, f.

Hab. ?

Myzantha obscura. Myz. fronte flavescente-olivaceo ; gutture,
uropygio, et corpore subtils cinereis, — plumis pectoralibus lunula
apicem versus notatis, et ad apicem pallide cinereis.

Forehead yellowish olive ; lores, line beneath the eye and ear-
coverts black ; head and all the upper surface dull grey, with an
indistinct line of brown down the centre of each feather, giving the
whole a mottled appearance ; wings and tail brown, margined at
the base of the external webs with wax-yellow, the tail terminating
in white ; throat and under surface dull grey, becoming lighter on
the lower part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts ; the feathers
of the breast with a crescent-shaped mark of light brown near the
extremity, and tipped with light grey; irides dark brown; bare
skin round the eye, bill, and bare patch on each side of the throat,
bright yellow; legs and feet dull reddish-yellow; claws dark brown.

Total length, 9£ inches; bill, 1^; wing, 5 \\ tail, 4f ; tarsi, 1£.

Hab. Western Australia.

Ptilotis sonorus. Ptil. loris et strigd per oculos ductd, ad colli

latera, nigris plumis auricularibus flavis, — et pone has, notd sor-

dide alba ; — gutture et abdomine pallide flavescenti- cinereis , fusco-

striatis.

Crown of the head and all the upper greyish olive ; wings and

tail brown, margined on their external webs with greenish yellow ;

lores, space around the eye and broad line down the sides of the

Zoological Society. 67

neck black ; ear-coverts pale yellow, behind which is an obscure
spot of greyish white; throat and under surface pale yellowish grey
striated with light brown ; irides dark brown ; bill black ; legs and
feet greenish grey. The female like the male in colour, but smaller
in all her dimensions.

Total length, 7 J inches; bill, 1; wing, 3§; tail, 3|; tarsi, 1.

Hab. South and Western Australia.

Ptilotis cratitius. Ptil. vertice cinereo, — loris, strigd super ocu-
lari, et plumis auricularibus nigris, — infrh et pone has, penicillo
angusto, et flavo; a rictu per gulce later a duct a appendice nudo,
corneo, ad marginem inferiorem libero, et belle e gilvo ccerulescente.

Crown of the head grey ; all the upper surface olive-green ; wings
and tail brown, margined with greenish yellow; lores, a large space
surrounding the eye and the ear-coverts black, below which is a
narrow line of bright yellow ; from the gape, down each side of the
throat for five-eighths of an inch, a naked fleshy appendage, free at
the lower end, of a beautiful lilac colour and very conspicuous in
the living bird ; anterior to this is a tuft of bright yellow feathers ;
throat and under surface olive-yellow ; irides and eyelash black ;
bill black ; feet blackish brown tinged with olive.

The female is similar to the male, but smaller.

Total length, 7 inches; bill, J; wing, 2£; tail, 3^; tarsi, J.

Hab. Interior of South Australia and Kangaroo Island.

Glyciphila albifrons. Glyc. facie albd; gutturenigro, albo mi-
nute adsperso ; vertice nigro, plumis albo anguste marginatis.

Forehead, lores and a narrow ring round the eye, and a narrow
line running from the angle of the lower mandible white ; crown of
the head black, each feather slightly margined with white; ear-
coverts silvery blackish gray, behind which an irregular line of white;
all the upper surface brown, irregularly margined with white, pro-
ducing a mottled appearance; wings and tails brown, the primaries
margined externally with yellowish green ; chin and throat brown-
ish black, the former minutely speckled with white ; under surface
of the wing buff; chest and abdomen white, striped with blackish
brown on the flanks ; irides dark brown ; bill black ; feet blackish
brown.

The female is like the male in plumage, but smaller in size.

Total length, 5f inches; bill, f ; wing, 3£; tail, 2f ; tarsi, J.

Hab. Western Australia.

Meliphaga mystacalis. Mel. vertice et gutture nigris ; strigd

superoculari angustd, albd; plumis auricularibus densis, albis,

et penicillum postice acutum efficientibus.

Head, chin and throat black; over the eye a narrow line of white;

ears covered by a conspicuous tuft of white feathers, which are

closely set and terminate in a point towards the back; upper surface

brownish black, the feathers edged with white; under surface white,

with a broad stripe of black down the centre of each feather; wings

and tail blackish brown, conspicuously margined with bright yellow;

irides brown; bill black; feet blackish brown.

F 2

68 Zoological Society.

Total length, 65 inches; bill, 1; wing, 3; tail, 2J; tarsi,

Hab. Western Australia.

Nearly allied to Meliphaga sericea.

Platycercus Adelaide. Plat, vertice, pectore, abdomine medio,
crissoque coccineis ; lateribus viridescenti-flavis ; uropygio sor-
dide olivaceo-flavo.

Fully adult male. — Crown of the head, lores, sides of the neck,
breast and all the under surface scarlet, passing into pale greenish
yellow on the flanks ; cheeks and wing- coverts light lazuline blue ;
primaries deep blue, passing into black at the extremity ; back of the
neck yellowish buff; back black, each feather broadly margined
with greenish yellow, some of these marginations tinged with blue,
others with scarlet ; rump and upper tail- coverts dull greenish yel-
low, the latter tinged with scarlet; two centre tail-feathers greenish
blue; the remainder deep blue at the base, gradually becoming lighter
until almost white at the tip ; irides brown ; bill horn-colour ; feet
grayish brown.

Total length, 13J inches; wing, 7; tail, 8; tarsi, \.

Hab. South Australia.

This species is subject to great change from youth to maturity ;
during the first few months it is almost wholly green, and this gra-
dually gives place to scarlet on the head, rump, under surface and the
margins of the back-feathers.

Aquila morphnoides. Aq. capite cristd suboccipitali brevi, or-
nato ; facie nigrescente : corpore subtus rufo : plumis et pectoris et
abdominis strigd centrali nigrd notatis.

Face, crown and throat blackish brown, tinged with rufous, giving
it a striated appearance, bounded in front above the nostrils with
whitish; feathers at the back of the head, which are lengthened
into a short occipital crest, back of the head, back, and sides of the
neck, all the under surface, thighs and under tail-coverts rufous,
all but the thighs and under tail-coverts with a stripe of black down
the centre of each feather ; back, rump and wings brown, the centre
of the wing lighter ; primaries brownish black, becoming darker at
the tip, and barred throughout with grayish buff, which is conspicu-
ous on the under surface, but scarcely perceptible on the upper, except
at the base of the inner webs ; under surface of the wing mottled
with reddish brown and black ; tail mottled grayish brown, crossed by
seven or eight distinct bars of blackish brown, the tips being lighter ;
cere and bill lead-colour, passing into black at the tip ; eye reddish
hazel, surrounded by a narrow blackish brown eyelash ; feet and toes
very light lead- colour.

Total length, 21| inches; bill, lj; wing, 15 ; tail, 9J; tarsi, 2j.

This species is very robust, and although but a small bird, is in
every respect a true Aquila. It is nearly allied to, but much stouter
than Aquila pennata.

Hab. Yarrundi on the Upper Hunter, New South Wales.

Buteo melanosternon. jB. rostro grandi, et elongato : guld,pec-

Zoological Society. 69

tore et abdomine nigris ; primariis ad basin subtus albis ; caudd
cinered.

Crown of the head, face, chin, chest and centre of the abdomen,
deep black, passing into chestnut-red on the flanks, thighs and un-
der tail-coverts ; back of the head chestnut-red, becoming black in
the centre of each feather; shoulders whitish buff; all the upper
surface deep brownish black, margined with chestnut-red ; primaries
white at the base, deep black for the remainder of their length ; cere
and base of the bill purplish flesh-colour, passing into black at the
tip ; irides wood-brown ; feet white tinged with lilac.

Total length, 22 inches; bill, 2j; wing, 19£; tail, 8j; tarsi, 2f.

This species is nearly allied to the Red-tailed Hawk of North
America, and the Buteo Jackal of South Africa, but from both of
these it may be distinguished by the jet-black colouring and by its
more lengthened bill. During flight the white at the base of the
primaries is very conspicuous, and is strikingly contrasted with the
black of the chest and the brown of the other part of the wings.

Hah. Interior of New South Wales.

Falco hypoleucos. Fal. corpore superne cinereo-fusco : singulis
plumis margine dilutiore cinctis : corpore subtus albo; plumis strigd
fused apud apicem in maculam latam desinente, ornatis.

Head and all the upper surface grayish brown, the feathers of the
head having a fine stripe of black down the centre, the remainder
dark brown in the centre ; chin and all the under surface white, with
a fine line of black down the centre, passing into a spatulate form
near the tip ; outer webs and tips of the primaries brownish black,
the extreme ends being whitish ; their inner webs whitish, crossed
by numerous narrow bars, fading into a point as they approach the
edge ; tail gray, obscurely barred with brown, and tipped with
buff.

Total length 17 inches; bill, lj; wing, 12f ; tail, 1\ ; tarsi, If.

Considerably smaller, but closely allied to the Jerfalcon, Falco
Islandicus.

Hab. Western Australia.

PODARGUS BRACHYPTERUS Or MACRORHYNCHUS. Pod. rOStrO pr<B-

grandi {ad magnitudinem corporis ratione habitd) et producto ;

colore corporis obscuro, et minute punctulato.
Crown of the head and all the upper surface finely freckled gray
and brown, with a stripe of black down the centre of each feather,
the light colour predominating on the scapularies ; feathers between
the eyes and the nostrils chestnut-brown, sprinkled with black and
tipped with white ; shoulders and lesser wing-coverts deep reddish
brown ; some of the feathers tipped with a white spot, freckled with
red in the centre ; greater coverts and secondaries mingled gray and
reddish brown, the former tipped like the lesser coverts ; primaries
reddish brown, regularly barred with buffy-white on their outer webs,
and with interrupted tawny bands on their inner webs ; tail light-
brown, freckled with black and gray, and crossed by numerous irre-
gular, narrow, dark-brown bands, freckled with gray ; all the under

70 Zoological Society.

surface grayish white, each feather crossed by numerous fine and
irregular bars of tawny and with a stripe of brown down the centre,
the latter colour becoming chestnut and forming a semilunar mark
down each side of the neck ; thighs black ; irides light yellow ; bill
and feet brown.

Total length 15 inches ; bill, 25 ; wing, 9 ; tail, 7 ; tarsi, 1£.

In its general appearance this bird closely resembles the Podargus
humeralis, but is even smaller in size than P. Cuvieri, while at the
same time the bill is fully equal in size to that of the former species ;
it also projects much farther from the face than in any other species
inhabiting Australia.

Hab. Swan River, Western Australia.

Malurus melanotus. Mai. vertice, guld, abdomine, humeris, cau-
dceque tectricibus lazulino-cceruleis ; loris, nuchd, vittd pectorali
et dorso imo nigris.

Male. — Crown of the head, crescent- shaped mark on the back,
upper tail-coverts, throat and under surface rich metallic lazuline
blue ; ear- coverts metallic verditer-blue ; lores, collar round the back
of the neck, line from the base of the lower mandible down the sides
of the neck, band across the breast and lower part of the back jet-
black ; wings brown, margined with pale green ; tail greenish blue,
tipped with grayish white ; irides, bill and feet black.

Female. — Lores rufous; head and all the upper surface rufous
brown ; all the under surface brownish white ; tail bluish green,
tipped with grayish white ; bill rufous ; irides blackish brown ; feet
brown.

Total length, 4 j inches ; bill, \ ; wing, 2 ; tail, 2^ ; tarsi, £.

This beautiful species may be distinguished from the Malurus
pectoralis by its rather smaller size, and by the black band across
the back.

Hab. Western belts of the Murray in Western Australia.

Colluricincla brunnea. Coll. corpore superne fusco ; sic et cor-
pore subtus, at colore multo dilutiore ; rostro nigro.

All the upper surface pale brown ; primaries and tail the same,
but somewhat lighter ; all the under surface brownish white, be-
coming almost pure white on the vent and under tail-coverts ; thighs
grayish brown ; bill black ; feet blackish brown.

Total length, 9£ inches ; bill, 1£ • w ing, 4 j ; tail, 4£ ; tarsi, 1£.

The sexes are alike in plumage.

This species rather exceeds in size the Colluricincla cinerea, Vig.
and Horsf., and has a more curved, longer and stouter bill.

Hab. The north-west coast of Australia.

Colluricincla rufiventris. Coll. corpore superne intense cinereo,
olivaceo leviter tincto ; abdomine imo, crissoque rufis.

Lores grayish white ; crown of the head and all the upper surface
deep gray, slightly tinged with olive ; primaries and tail dark brown,
margined with brownish gray ; throat and under surface darkish
gray, passing into buff on the vent and under tail- coverts ; all the

Zoological Society. 71

feathers of the under surface have a narrow dark line down the cen-
tre ; thighs gray ; irides dark brown ; bill black ; feet dark brown.

Total length 8^ inches ; bill, 1 ; wing, 5 ; tail, 4£ ; tarsi, 1 J.

The sexes are alike in colour.

About the size of Colluricincla cinerea, Vig. and Horsf., from which
it may be distinguished by the uniform colouring of the back and
the buffy tint of the lower part of the abdomen and under tail- coverts.

Hab. Swan River, Western Australia.

Pachycephala rufogularis. Pack, mas : corpore superne fusees-
centi-cinereo ; guld et corpore subttis rufis ; pectore vittd fusees -
centi-cinered obscure notatd.

Foem. a mare differt corpore subtus albescenti-cinereo haud rufo.

Male. — Crown of the head and all the upper surface deep brown-
ish gray ; wings and tail dark brown, the feathers margined with
grayish brown ; lores, chin, throat, under surface of the shoulder and
all the under surface reddish sandy brown, crossed on the breast by
a broad irregular band of grayish brown; irides reddish brown; bill
black ; feet blackish brown.

Female. — Differs from the male in having the throat and under
surface grayish white, the chest being crossed by an obscure mark
of grayish brown and with a line down the centre of each feather.

Total length, 7 inches; bill, f ; wing, 4£; tail, 3^; tarsi, 1.

This species is somewhat allied to P. pectoralis, but niay be di-
stinguished from it by the rufous colouring of the throat, and by the
band across the chest being grayish brown instead of black.

Hab. South Australia.

Pachycephala inornata. Pack, olivaceo-fusca, abdomine palli-
diore; plumis corporis inferioris strigd fused centrali leviter no-
tatis.

All the upper surface grayish olive ; wings and tail brown, the
feathers of the former broadly margined with lighter brown ; all the
under surface brownish gray, becoming nearly white on the vent and
under tail-coverts, with a fine stripe of pale brown down each fea-
ther ; irides dark brown ; bill blackish brown, fleshy towards the
base ; feet blackish brown.

Total length, 7 inches; bill, |; wing, 3| ; tail, Sjj tarsi, 1.

This bird has somewhat the appearance of the young or female of
P. gutturalis, but its larger size and shorter and more robust bill
distinguish it from that species.

Hab. Belts of the Murray in South Australia.

Zosterops chloronotus. Zos. dorso olivaceo-viridi ; gutture et
crisso virescenti-flavis.

Lores black ; crown of the head and all the upper surface olive-
green ; primaries and tail feathers brown, margined with olive-green ;
throat and under tail- coverts light greenish yellow; breast and under
surface gray, tinged with brown on the abdomen and flanks ; irides
wood-brown ; bill brown, lighter on the under mandible ; legs and
feet dark- gray.

Total length, 4£ inches; bill, -f$\ wing, 2£; tail, If; tarsi, £.

Hab. Western Australia.

72 Zoological Society,

December 8. — W. H. Lloyd, Esq., in the Chair.

A paper by G. B. Sowerby, Esq., was read, in which the author
continues his descriptions of the new shells collected in the Philip-
pine Islands by H. Cuming, Esq.

Helix Monticula. Hel. testa suborbiculari, subconicd, tenui, pal-
lescente, Icevi; spird brevi, subpyramidali, obtusd ; anfractibus
quatuor tenerrime {lineis increment!) striatis, depressiusculis, ulti-
mo magno, obtusissime angulato, antice depressiusculo, viridi ; aper-
turd subtrapeziformi, ungulis posticis acutiusculis ; peritremate
angusto, tenuiter reflexo, albo ; columella alba.
Long. 0*9 ; lat. 0*9 poll.

Hab. supra foliis arborum apud Lallo, provinciae Cagayan insulse
Luzon, Philippinarum.

All the varieties of this pretty species are green in front, and the
apex appe'ars to be always colourless. The following six varieties
occur : —

a. Yellow above ; circumference orange-yellow ; front green.
From Lallo.

b. Yellow above ; circumference orange-yellow, with a dark brown
slightly interrupted band ; green in front. From St. Jaun, in the
province of Cagayan.

c. Yellowish white above, with a narrow dull yellowish green
circumferential band ; green in front. From Gattarang, in the pro-
vince of Cagayan.

d. Volutions banded in the following order : band next to the su-
ture yellowish white ; then a pale green broader band ; then a yel-
lowish white band ; then a dark brown circumferential band, with
jagged edges ; then another yellowish white band, and then green in
front. From Lallo.

e. Small ; pale yellowish, with a light band, consisting of short
dark brown lines near to the suture ; a dark brown circumferential
band ; front dull yellowish green. From St. Jaun.

/. Antesutural band consisting of irregular dark brown lines ar-
ranged side by side ; then a yellowish white band ; then a broad,
dark brown, somewhat mottled and interrupted band ; then another
yellowish white band, and then the green front. From Abulug, in
the province of Cagayan.

Helix Coccomelos. Hel. testa subglobosd, tenuiusculd, leevi, an-
fractibus quatuor rotundatis, lavigatis, striis incrementi solum in-
sculptis, ultimo maximo ; aperturd suborbiculari, peritremate re-
flexo ; labio columellari albo, declivi, obtuso, depressiusculo.
Long. 1-3 ; lat. 1*4 poll.

Hab. supra foliis arborum ad insulam Tablas dictam Philippinarum.
In general this species bears a great resemblance to a plum, for
which reason I have called it H. Coccomelos. Several varieties may
be distinguished.

a. Apex dark brownish red, softened off gradually to a pale yellow-
green, which becomes gradually darker, until the body of the last
volution is of a fine dark green : lip white.

b. Similar to a, only dark brown instead of green.

Zoological Society. 73

c. Of a uniform very dark chocolate-brown, except the second
and third volutions, which have a rather paler central band : lip
chocolate.

d. Apex dark chocolate-brown ; upper part of the spire of a pale
dull yellowish colour, becoming darker and greener toward the last
volution, where the ground-colour is olive-green ; an antesutural
dark red-brown broad band ; a circumferential band of a rather darker
colour, but rather narrower, and the columellar lip surrounded by
a broad dark band, which is softened off into the dark olive-green
ground-colour.

e. Of an uniform pale yellow-brown, becoming very dark near the
back of the lip, where it is nearly black : lip chocolate. From Cal-
bayog, island of Samar : found on leaves of trees.

f. Similar to e, but having two narrow dark brown bands : lip
nearly black behind ; white in front. From Calbayog.

Helix intorta. Hel. testa suborbiculari, subdepressd, tenui, l<evi,
anfractibus A\, ventricosis, tenuissime striatis, plerumque palles-
cente-flavidis, fasciis tribus castaneis ornatis ; aperturd sublunari,
peritremate tenui, tenuiter rejlexo ; labio columellari rectiusculo,
extus inclinqto, obtuso.
Long. 1 ; lat. 1 '5 poll.

Hab. Supra foliis fruticum ad Loboc, insula? Bohol, Philippinarum.
Several varieties of this beautiful species occur ; most of them are
marked with two brown bands, and have the circumference of the
columella of the same colour ; one is of an uniform pale brownish
colour, and another is almost entirely of a very dark chocolate colour :
a white line may be observed close to the suture in most of the va-
rieties. The following are the most distinct varieties : —

a. Ground-colour pale yellowish ; antesutural band very dark
chestnut-brown; circumferential band of the same colour, and a
broad band of the same surrounding the columella. From Loboc.

b. Similar to a, but considerably larger, and having a broader
circumferential band. From Loboc.

c. Ground-colour of a pale brown hue ; bands the same as in a.

d. Smaller than a. : ground-colour pale greenish brown ; bands
nearly the same, but very dark and brilliant. From Loboc.

e. Ground-colour pale yellowish brown ; antesutural band softened
off in front ; in other respects like a.

f. Ground-colour pale yellowish; bands pale chestnut-brown.
From Loboc.

g. Ground-colour pale yellow ; bands increasing in width toward
the back of the mouth, where they unite, and where the brown colour
extends from front to back of the shell : the peritreme is entirely
white, and the circumference of the columella also. Found on leaves
of trees on the island of Siquijor.

h. Ground-colour very pale yellowish ; antesutural band very nar-
row and indistinct ; circumferential band broad, pale, and rather ir-
regular ; lip and circumference of the columella white. From the
island of Siquijor.

i. Shell entirely of a pale lemon-yellow, except only a narrow an-

74 Miscellaneous.

tesutural dark brown band, which becomes broader towards the lip.
Found on leaves of bushes at Tanhay, in the Isle of Negros.

k. Ground-colour very pale yellow-brown ; a brown circumferential
band, which is only perceptible on the latter half of the last volution.
From Loboc.

/. Shell of an uniform pale brownish colour. From Loboc.

m. Apex reddish-brown ; upper part of the shell pale yellowish
brown, increasing rapidly in intensity, so that nearly the whole of
the last volution is of a dark chocolate-brown ; columella white ; lip
nearly black. From Loboc.

MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY.

At a meeting of the Microscopical Society held July 21st, J. S.
Bowerbank, Esq., in the Chair, a paper was read from the Rev. J.
B. Reade, M.A., F.R.S., on the process of charring vegetable tissue,
as applied to the examination of the stomata in the epidermis of
Garden Rhubarb. The author, after mentioning the great advantages
derivable from charring objects for the microscope, which he first
suggested, goes on to state that it is peculiarly advantageous for ex-
hibiting delicate membranes, which cannot from their transparency
be well seen by the ordinary method of viewing objects, in water
between glasses. It having long been a disputed point with bota-
nists, whether the stomata in plants were open or closed by a mem-
brane, the author was led to examine the subject, and for this pur-
pose took the cuticle of the common garden rhubarb, which was
obtained by macerating the sheaths investing the flower- stalks for
a few days in water and then charring it ; from his observations he
arrives at the following conclusions : That the application of the
process of charring proves beyond a doubt, that the stomata in this
tissue of the rhubarb are distinct openings into the hollow chambers
of the parenchyma of the leaf ; that the perforation is the rule and
not the exception in the structure ; and that the exception, where it
exists, i. e. where the stomata are closed, proves the existence of the
overlying membrane discovered and described by Dr. Brown. Some
discussion then followed, in which Messrs. Gray, Lindley, and
Quekett took a part.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Analogies of European and Indian Geology. — " Notwithstanding
the difficulty of establishing the identity in remote quarters of the
world, of rocks so vaguely characterized as the saliferous marls, yet
when we have coal-measures affording a certain fixed point, or land-
mark to guide us, we cannot be very far out in fixing upon the green
marls, or often friable sandstone, which extend along the lower
ridges of many parts of the great Himalayan chain, immediately ad-
joining the plains of Hindostan, as the Indian equivalent of the beds
in question. Along the southern side of Assam we have the same
rocks as well as brine-springs, and an earthy limestone, probably

Miscellaneous. 75

equivalent to the English lias. On the face of the Cherra mountain
the green marl rests unconformably on old red sandstone (or that on
which the coal formation rests), and gives support to the deposits of
sand in which the marine remains are contained. It is here by no
means destitute of fossils as in other localities ; on the contrary, we
found in it six species of univalve shells, a small species of Echinus
and a large spined Cidaris. In a note which we made on the cha-
racters of a fragment of rock brought away from a submerged reef
near Arracan, by the hull of a ship which struck upon it, we pointed
out the resemblance between its appearance and that of the green
conglomerates in question*.

" A description of the salt formations at the head of the Indus, and
their relative position to the coal-measures recently found there by
Mr. Jameson, will be the means of casting much important light on
this subject in regard to India, and we have fortunately in the gen-
tleman alluded to a geologist near the spot, fully alive to the import-
ance of this and other questions of a similar nature. Another equally
important question is the situation of the great repositories of salt in
the vicinity of Ajmeer and other situations in Central India, where
salt lakes abound. Lieut. Fraser, of the Engineers, we recollect,
sent us a fragment of rock-salt, which was found imbedded in a ba-
saltic rock when sinking a well at Mhow, about three feet from the
surface. We have not heard that this curious fact has led to any
further discovery or research in the neighbourhood alluded to.

" It would be extremely important if we could establish good distin-
guishing characters between the limestone of the coal-measures and
that of the more ancient formations, but this, if a matter of difficulty
in England, is at least an equally difficult thing in India. It is true,
the subject has here been as yet little investigated, but we cannot
place the least confidence in those practical men who employ names
without thinking of their meaning, and speak confidently of lias,
and carboniferous limestone, primitive limestone, &c, according as
they happen to suppose any particular specimen they meet with in
India to be one or other. The limestone so abundant in Kemaon,
as to form the greater portion of that mountainous district, is so much
like the limestone of the coal-measures at Cherra Ponji, that no one
unacquainted with the peculiar relations of the two rocks would sup-
pose them to be at all different. The geologist, however, perceives
the vast difference between them at once : the one reposes on clay-
slate, the other on sandstone ; the one occurs in thick continuous
beds, the other alternates with shale ; the one abounds in fossils,
which scientific men alone would think of looking for, and in the
other the geologist alone would know that he might look for fossils
in vain. Speaking of the difference between the limestone of the
Silurian system and that of Coalbrook dale, Mr. Murchison says, that
the organic remains, which are in great profusion in the latter, con-
sist of shells and corals which are characteristic of the carboniferous
limestone in many other parts of Great Britain, and never occur in
* Journ. Beng. As. Soc. 1838, p. 936.

76 Miscellaneous.

the inferior limestones of the Silurian system. Among these the
most prominent are the large Productus hemisphericus, and many co-
rals, including Lithodendron sexdecimale (Clodocora of Ehrenberg),
which is so abundant that it constitutes the greater part of the layers
of black calcareous shale which divide the beds of limestone. The
black limestone in which these remains are found is overlaid by a
sandstone which separates it from the productive coal-beds, and is
underlaid by strata belonging to the lower limestone.

" Mr. Murchison particularly alludes to a specimen of Lithosortion
floriforme, a species of coral two feet five inches broad by one and a
half high, which appeared in a quarry to retain the original position
in which it grew, and conveyed the impression that it had remained
undisturbed beneath the sea, while fine red sand at one time, and
mud at another, were deposited around it.

" These corals are also found in the limestone of the Cherra Ponji
coal-measures ; and in a large heap of limestone collected by Mr.
Inglis of Chattack, for the purpose of burning for lime, I found
the first fossil I had observed in a similar rock in India, thus indi-
cating the presence of a coal district. The object of the journey
would not, however, admit of my visiting the quarry, but there can
be no question that the rock alluded to is connected with the nume-
rous indications of coal formations that have been found in that vici-
nity. One other corresponding character may be mentioned between
the Cherra Ponji coal-beds and those of Coalbrook dale, namely, that
the coal-measures do not graduate downwards into the older rocks.
The limestone of Cherra, which alternates with beds of sandstone and
shale, seems to rest immediately on the old red sandstone, as in the
Coalbrook dale beds. Mr. Murchison observes, that the carboniferous
limestone has not in Coalbrook dale any regular downward passage
into the old red sandstone, as in other districts ; on the contrary, the
old red terminates at the southern end of the tract, and has never
been found beneath the coal-measures. On the north bank of the
Severn the underlying stratified rocks throughout the productive coal-
field consists of various members of the Silurian system.

" Mr. Murchison concludes his observations on this coal-field by a
notice of the faults and dislocations occasioned by trap rocks. The
district affords proofs of having been raised up from beneath the sur-
rounding new red sandstone in separate wedge-shaped tracts, the
most remarkable dislocation being that which bounds the coal-field
to the east. The coal-measures along this line are not less than
1000 feet thick, and as some of the lower seams of coal are thrown
up to the level of the overlying strata of new red sandstone, the
upcast is thus shown to have exceeded 1000 feet, though to what
further extent has not yet been ascertained. It will be recollected
that we formerly explained the elevated position of the Cherra coal-
measures in precisely the same way that Mr. Prestwich and Mr.
Murchison now account for the great upcast of the Coalbrook dale
field*, the only difference in the two cases being, that in India the

* See Report of a Committee for investigating the Coal and Mineral Re-
sources of India. Calcutta, 1838, p. 24.

Miscellaneous. 77

dislocation is not confined to the coal-measures, but extends to the
old red sandstone, the whole series of which, with the coal-measures
reposing on them, having been at Cherra Ponji thrown 3000 feet
above those which have been recently found by Major Lister and
others at the bottom of the same mountains. It is of much import-
ance to draw comparisons between geological phenomena of this na-
ture in remote parts of the earth, as tending not only to put our
theories to the test, but also to correct and give confidence to our
views, which, however complicated they may appear when derived
from a narrow field of observation, become gradually simplified and
important in proportion as our data become general." — M'C lei land's
Calcutta Journal of Natural History.

Suggestions for Experiments on the Conservation of Vegetative
Powers in Seeds, circulated by a Committee of the British Asso-
ciation. — These experiments are intended to determine the follow-
ing questions : —

1. What is the longest period during which the seeds of any plant
under any circumstances can retain their vegetative powers ?

2. What is the extent of this period in each of the natural orders,
genera and species of plants ? and how far is it a distinctive cha-
racter of such groups ?

3. How far is the extent of this period dependent on the apparent
characters of the seed ; such as size, hardness of covering, hardness
of internal substance, oiliness, mucilage, &c. ?

4. What are the circumstances of situation, temperature, dryness,
seclusion from the atmosphere, &c. most favourable to the preser-
vation of seeds ?

To answer these questions satisfactorily will require the accumu-
lation of a large mass of facts ; and although there are many diffi-
culties in the way of such an investigation, and many years may
elapse before it can be brought to maturity, yet it is desirable that
the British Association should commence the collection of materials
for the purpose. It is proposed then to invite botanists and others
to undertake the following series of experiments, and to communi-
cate the results to the British Association.

These experiments are either Retrospective or Prospective.

A. Retrospective Experiments.
1. By collecting samples of ancient soils from situations where
vegetation cannot now take place, and by exposing these soils to air,
light, warmth, and moisture, to ascertain whether any, and if any,
what, species of plants spontaneously vegetate in them.

N.B. — Care must of course be taken that no seeds obtain ad-
mittance into these soils from external sources, — such as the
air or water introduced to promote vegetation.
These ancient soils are either natural or artificial deposits.
The natural deposits belong either to past geological periods or
to the recent period.

a. The deposits of past periods are either secondary or tertiary.
N.B. — There seems, every reason to believe that the age even
of the latest of these deposits is far beyond the maximum

78 Miscellaneous.

period through which vegetative powers can be preserved ;
yet as many accounts are recorded of seeds vegetating spon-
taneously in such soils, it would be well to set these state-
ments at rest by actual experiment.
In such experiments, state the formation, and describe the geolo-
gical phenomena of the locality, together with the depth from the
present surface at which the soil was obtained.

b. Natural deposits of the recent period may be classed as fol-
lows : —

Alluvions of rivers.

Tidal warp land.

Shell marl.

Peat.

Surface-soil buried by landslips.

Ditto ditto by volcanic eruptions.
In these cases, state the nature of the soil, the depth from the sur-
face, &c. ; and especially endeavour to obtain an approximate date
to each specimen of soil, by comparing its depth from the surface
with the present rate of deposition, or by consulting historical re-
cords. It would be well to submit to experiment a series of samples
of soil taken from successive depths at the same locality.

c. Artificial deposits are as follows : —

Ancient tumuli.
Ancient encampments.

The soil beneath the foundation of buildings.
The soil with which graves, wells, mines, or other excava-
tions have been filled up.
Ridges of arable land, &c.
In these cases, state, as before, the depth from the surface, and
ascertain from historical sources the approximate age of the deposit.
2. By trying experiments on actual seeds which exist in artificial
repositories. These are, —

Seeds in old herbaria and botanical museums.

Seeds obtained from mummies, funereal urns, at Pompeii,

Herculaneum, &c.
Dated samples of old seeds from nurserymen and seedsmen.
In these cases, state the circumstances in which the seeds have
been preserved, and their date as nearly as it can be ascertained.

B. Prospective Experiments.
In this department of the inquiry, it is proposed to form de-
posits of various kinds of seeds under different conditions, and to
place a portion of them at successive periods under circumstances
calculated to excite the process of vegetation. In the case of cer-
tain species or families of plants, it would perhaps require many cen-
turies to determine the limit of their vegetative powers, yet it is
probable that a very few years would suffice to fix the maximum
duration of the greater number, and that many interesting results
might thus be obtained even by the present generation of botanists.
It is proposed then to form a collection of the seeds of a great
variety of plants, (including, wherever it is possible, at least one
species of every genus,) and to pack them up (carefully labelled)

Meteorological Observations. 79

either alone, or mixed with various materials, as sand, sawdust,
melted wax or tallow, clay, garden mould, &c. in various vessels, as
glass bottles, porous earthen jars, wooden boxes, metal cases, &c,
placed in various situations, as under-ground, in cellars, dry apart-
ments, &c. At certain intervals increasing in extent, — say at first
every two years, then every five, every ten, and, at the lapse of a
century, every twenty years, a small number (say twenty) of each
kind of seed, from each combination of circumstances, to be taken
out and sown in an appropriate soil and temperature, and an exact
register kept of the number of seeds which vegetate compared with
those which fail.

Should it appear desirable for this project to be carried out by
the British Association, they might most effectually accomplish it
by committing a collection of seeds, formed on the above plan, to
some qualified person, whose duty it should be, in consideration of
a small annual stipend, to take charge of them, and at stated periods
to select portions for experiment, keeping an accurate register of
the results.

In this manner it is believed, that in regard to the large majority
of plants, the limit of their vegetative durability would be deter-
mined in a very few years, and that a large mass of vulgar errors on
this subject, which now pass current for facts, would be cancelled
and exploded.

N.B. — The most effectual way of exciting vegetation in seeds
of great antiquity, is to sow them in a hot-bed, under glass,
and in a light soil moderately watered.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR JULY 1841.

Chiswick. — July 1. Overcast. 2. Hazy: overcast and fine: slight rain. 3.
Hazy and mild : very fine. 4, 5. Very fine. 6. Rain : fine. 7. Fine : rain.
8. Fine: clear. 9. Very fine. 10. Fine: rain. 11. Overcast. 12. Cloudy
and mild. 13. Cloudy. 1#. Showery. 15. Heavy thunder-showers : constant
heavy rain. 16. Cloudy. 17,18. Fine. 19. Very fine. 20. Heavy rain. 21.
Overcast : rain. 22. Cloudy. 23. Cloudy and fine. 24, 25. Cloudy. 26, 27.
Light haze: fine. 28. Cloudy. 29. Cold and dry: cloudy: slight rain. 30.
Fine but cool. 31. Rain : cloudy. — The quantity of rain which fell on the 15th
was unusually great, amounting to nearly an inch and a half in the course of
the twenty-four hours.

Boston. — Julyi. Rain. 2. Cloudy. 3. Fine. 4. Cloudy: rain p.m. 5.
Cloudy. 6. Rain and stormy: rain early a.m.: rain p.m. 7. Cloudy: rain p.m.
8. Fine. 9. Cloudy: rain p.m. 10. Fine: rain early a.m. 11. Cloudy. 12.
Fine: rain p.m. 13. Cloudy: rain p.m. 14. Fine. 15,16. Fine: rain p.m.
17. Fine. 18. Cloudy: rain p.m. 19. Fine : rain p.m. 20. Rain: rainy day.
21. Cloudy : rain p.m. 22. Cloudy : rain p.m., with thunder and lightning. 23.
Cloudy : rain p.m. 24 — 28. Cloudy. 29. Cloudy and stormy : rain a.m. and
p.m. 30. Fine. 31. Cloudy : thunder and lightning p.m.

Applegarth Manse, Dumfriesshire. — July 1. Fine: one shower. 2. Fine and
fair, but cloudy. 3. Sunshine and rain. 4. Slight showers. 5. Rain all day.
6. Fajr and fine. 7. Cloudy a.m.: fine p.m. 8. Fine: one shower. 9. The
same. 10. Wet afternoon. 1 1 . Slight showers. 1 2. Slight showers, but heavier.
13. Heavy showers : thunder. 14. Incessant showers. 15. Heavy rain till noon.
16. Fair and fine. 17. Fair but threatening. 18. Fair and warm: thunder.
19. Fine with a few drops. 20, 21. Rain p.m. 22. Slight showers. 23. Cloudy
but fair. 24. Fine all day. 25. Remarkably fine. 26. Showers. 27. Showers
p.m. 28. One slight shower. 29. Fair throughout. 30. Fair but threatening.
31. Fair with a few drops.

•aiiqs
-saujumQ

00

• 6 •

ih

I 4« |

* Z

£ S *

■ w *

► & * £ fe fe z *

CJ u o w o u

I J3 • JB . J3 S J3 J3 S . . ^. . * J ' S * . . • ■

OO o ooooo "^ o O ~

•uo^soa

« 9 :

. co i>.co<o

; O CI O H

. <0>O . O Tf . COt^

: 9 oi : 9 9 : 9 t 1

:

. . CO .

l>

•jpiMSiqo

9 9 9

. CSCO00 — i

: «P9 9 9

. o . OI OI t^^o -i .
: co : 999^9 :

.tNOiOd-" .
; 9 OI -* OI 9 ;

: :'

1:9:?

<0

•urd i
jptMSiqQ

si * £ i i * i * *ii**i * * » i * i i * Hi Hi b i ►

-uoisog

-n~

-i coioiooo(NONioioi>vnooo»i^oo\iHCTMao\i-trt h t^Hoo»ooo

HH iniefrtJM ^-, ^ ^

•^in^'n<a\'>toict>.io^ooM^HHr)t^iOTt'!foo(NW(N>ovncoo(00
vo^ovovo io<o io<o mminrtiomwcowio^oto iovo o oo *o o io^o^o

ipip ip in uo io

cMoi^o^o^oopoo^txjxoo^c^Ttoia^co^ovrjtxj^cib — ioqo^

o\o tocor^oi com ■<* cs <o "* oi lo — ■ t*osoo -*t uo ■<* — < coo >-* co om^oo ao ■**

U0<O ^lOtOi/SiO^^^^^^Tjio^^^tOU^U^iOtOiOiOtO"^''^''*"'*"'*

co SyOfCjiio o« t^-,t^. -H -o^oowoo(Micinconi>i>'^oa)ciOMio< v 5ci

op 900 ON©o^i>i>(Nrp^t»p>pi>opi>-i>*ocoTt't^ci9 9 eiOinTTTtip

OIOOIOIOIOIC^OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOICOCOOIOIOIOIOIOI

O00 tCO t^ 00 U0C5iOOM^CO<^«300^O iDOO O^Os CO *0 OI lO^Ooo lOCO^O OMO

r-o^o>qo <yi 109 <o r^<o oi -*t ^ ip »o ap ap 99 ^ co »oqp 9 9 91 op 'P T^T 1- ^

OIOIOIOIOIO»OIOIOIOiOIOICIOIOIOIOICIOIOIOIOIOlCOCOOI M

1 OI OI OI OI OI

i>-oi 00 moc^h o Tt^Mntnin© o corfo iooi^o aiioiciomo oio co
^ip^cpip9cpoi7t , ^r^9i^oi7"7t , ^cico^o^7<co99»pT} , oi9^<9
dcsO'i^osciCsO'iO^csoo ^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^osoo o^o^o^o^o^oso^o^o^o^

OlOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOICNtNOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOI

o\<& o\ co cmo as 01 osci <o oo o o<o^o rj< m n os ^c m « -- oi co-^toi «io
^oooouooi coco-^} , co<^^oi>-ot-'<*c^oi noNO>o<N —"oo r^oi -rrt^oi (N t—
9 9 9>9>9>99t^9i-rfoi ip*p»p9apao9r^^t , yt , r-'9 > i9 9 9 om^-i>.i©vo

© C <^^Os6^<^<^^0^^^<^^^C^OS<3 > >0 > ><^OSCS<^0 O O <3> (^ O^i 6^ <5>i
COCOOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOICOCOCOOIOIOIOIOI

o co^o <^Tt<inincc on>o oi •^o>^o oi c^cooi coostooo ascoc^-^o o>o tnoi
ooc«c^o^ooco^^oit^<o^^oi^t^^->^^criOoio>cooic^cricoo^oi
9 T 1 T 1 9 l 99P c ? 5<:: iP 9>9> u o i ot^i>-r^o^9 r^.009900 Oi^- •■* o 9190 tp-90

O O O OiO O^^CsOSf^O^^^iCTN^OsO CsOsCTsOs<^<^0 O O O^iCTiONO^O^
COCOCOOICOOIC^OICTOIOIOIOIOIOIOICOOIOIOIO'OIOICOCOCOOIOIOIOIOI

o 005

OJ3 . .

-<(N nTClOOt^OOOiO

o

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

No. 49. OCTOBER 1841.

IX. — Observations on the Rodentia. By G. R. Waterhouse,
Esq., Curator to the Zoological Society of London.

[With a Plate.]
[Continued from p. 600, vol. iii., N. S., of the Mag. Nat. Hist.]
Family VI. Bathyergid^e.
This family appears to be entirely confined to Southern Africa,
and is composed of but few known species, and these consti-
tute the two genera Bathyergus of Illiger and Orycterus of F.
Cuvier.

The situation which the Bathyergidm should occupy among
the Rodents is difficult to determine. They agree with the
Hystrices, Capromys, Echimys, &c. in having the descending
ramus of the lower jaw thrown out from the outer side of the
alveolar portion ; but in the genera just mentioned the de-
scending ramus is of a triangular form, and the posterior
angle is produced and pointed. They moreover always have
a large ant-orbital opening, the palate is almost always deeply
emarginated behind, and the malar bone is deep and com-
pressed. These and other characters which I shall have to
notice in my next paper, I seek for in vain in the Bathyergidce ;
and on the other hand, when I turn to the Murine or Sciurine
groups, I do not find a single example in which, combined
with other characters peculiar to those groups, the descending
ramus of the lower jaw is not thrown out from the under side
of the alveolar portion. Of the Bathyergidce I am acquainted
with but four species*, and of only two of these have I had
an opportunity of examining the skulls, viz. Bathyergus ca-
pensis and Orycterus maritimus.

Their chief characters are as follows : —

Dentition. — Incisors broad; molars |~ or ~^, subrooted,
small, equal, or very nearly equal, in size, and the series on
each side of each jaw parallel.

In Bathyergus the incisors of the upper jaw are less curved
than in most Rodents, and remarkable for their great length,

* Bathyergus capensis, Desm., B. ccecutiens, Licht. (which is the B.
Hottentotus of Lesson and Garn., and the B. Ludivigii of Dr. Smith), B.
Damarensis, Ogilby, and Orycterus maritimus.

Ann. §• Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. G

82 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on the Rodentia.

being extended backwards behind the last molars ; they are
destitute of longitudinal grooves. The molars are f^f- ; the
entering folds of enamel are very simple, there being but one
external and one internal deep fold to each tooth.

In Orycterus the upper incisors are shorter and much more
curved, and are furnished with a deep longitudinal groove in
front ; those of the lower jaw are destitute of grooves, are very
deep from front to back, and slightly concave at the sides.
The molars are |^, nearly cylindrical, but their anteropos-
terior diameter is the shortest, excepting in the front molar
of the lower jaw. In the skulls before me the teeth are worn,
and exhibit scarcely any trace of folds of enamel entering
into the body of the tooth.

In both genera the enamel of the incisors is colourless, and
the incisors of the lower jaw are extended backwards to the
condyle.

The skull of the Bathyergidce is rather broad, much con-
tracted between the orbits, and (as in other Rodents which
live for the most part underground*) the cranial cavity is pro-
portionally small. The nasal bones are narrow and elongated.
In Orycterus they are nearly of equal width throughout,
whilst in Bathyergus capensis they are considerably broader
behind than before. The anterior root of the zygomatic arch
is formed entirely of the superior maxillary bone, and incloses
a small ant-orbital opening : the lower boundary of the zygo-
matic process of the maxillary is slightly concave, so that the
anterior portion of the zygomatic arch is slightly thrown up
from the plane of the palate. This is more decidedly the case
in Bathyergus Capensis, in which the ant-orbital foramen is
rather larger. The malar bone is of moderate size, and is ex-
tended backwards so as to enter into the composition of the
glenoid cavity. The portion of the palate situated between
the molar teeth is remarkably contracted, and this part de-
scends below the level of the anterior portion of the palate,
and is continued some distance beyond the last molar. The
incisive foramina are very small, and there are no openings in
the posterior portion of the palate. The glenoid cavity of the
temporal bone is very broad. In Orycterus the posterior por-
tion of the malar bone forms a longitudinal ridge, which no
doubt tends to restrain to a certain extent the lateral motion
of the condyles of the lower jaw, but in B. capensis this ridge
is wanting. The auditory bullae are of moderate size — larger
in Orycterus maritimus than in B. capensis. In the former
animal the upper surface of the skull forms nearly a straight

* Compare the skull of the burrowing Marmots with that of their con-
geners the Squirrels, and that of Spalax with the Rats.

Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on the Rodentia. 83

line in the longitudinal direction, being but slightly arched, and
the plane of the occiput is vertical ; whereas in B. Capensis
the plane of the occiput is slightly oblique, receding from the
upper part.

Lower Jaw, — The lower jaw has the descending ramus (a)
Plate II, thrown out from the outer side of the alveolus of the
inferior incisor (b).

In Bathyergus Capensis the descending ramus approaches
somewhat to a semicircular form : its greatest extent is in the
longitudinal direction of the jaw, and its greatest depth is be-
neath the condyle ; in front it is curved suddenly upwards
and inwards so as to form an obtuse angle at (c).

In Orycterus maritimus the descending ramus is thrown
much more boldly out from the alveolar portion of the jaw,
and is of very great extent ; the lower part is curved inwards,
and the posterior part is produced far beyond the line of the
condyle, becoming gradually narrower towards the extremity.

The coronoid process is small in these tw T o genera, and situ-
ated in a line with the last molar. The condyloid process is
short, and the articular surface is large and rounded.

As regards the characters furnished by the skull and lower
iaw, the present group is very isolated. In the structure of
the molar teeth and in the contracted form of the palate be-
tween them, Bathyergus approaches most nearly to Spalax?*,
but in other cranial characters there is a wide difference.

The skull of the animal figured by Dr. Ruppell under the
name Bathyergus splendens agrees in most of its characters
with that of Spalax, and in some respects links that genus
with Rhizomys ; here the ant-orbital foramen is of moderate

* I was induced, owing to the remarkable form of the lower jaw, to place
Spalax near to Geomys, but upon re-examination I fear I have given too
much weight to that character. This genus I have no doubt will prove an
aberrant form of the Muridce, and I think it will be more correct to regard
the Arvicolidce as constituting a subfamily of that group than as a section of
equal importance. Since the publication of the former parts of this paper I
have had an opportunity of examining several skulls belonging to species of
these sections which I had not before seen. The skull of Rhizomys I was
only acquainted with through Temminck's figure ; the skull itself I have now
examined, and I am quite satisfied that the animal belongs to the family
Muridce. The skull of Ascomys mexicanus I find agrees in all essential
characters with that of Geomys (see fig. 71. p. 596, Mag. Nat. Hist. vol.
iii. New Series). The differences between Ascomys, Geo?nys, Diplostoma
(Richardson) and Pseudostoma are, it appears to me, not of sufficient im-
portance to entitle them to rank as distinct genera. These genera or sub-
genera form a very natural little section of the Arvicolidce, differing from the
more typical species of that group in having -- ~- molars, and these small
and of very simple structure, and also in the absence of any ant-orbital fo-
ramen for the transmission of a portion of the masseter muscle : the very
small slit foundat the root of the zygoma in these animals evidently serves
only to admit the passage of the ant-orbital nerve.

G 2

84 Mr. H assail on the Functions performed by the Hairs

size and opens obliquely upwards, the coronoid process is
long as in Spalax, the lower incisor runs backwards and out-
wards, and the thin layer of bone covering its base forms a
protuberance (d) on the outer side of the condyle (e), in this
respect resembling both Rhizomys and Spalax. The descend-
ing ramus springs from the under side of the alveolus of the
inferior incisor, and not from the outer side, as in the true
Bathyergidae, The posterior part of the descending ramus
is not directed outwards, as in Spalax ; but is on the same
plane as the horizontal ramus, as in Rhizomys. The molar
teeth agree closely with those of Spalax, as well as with Ba-
thyergus, being nearly cylindrical, of equal size, and having
but one external and one internal fold of enamel ; the incisors
are proportionally broader than in Spalax.

The great difference between the skull of Bathyergus splen-
dens and that of Spalax typhlus consists in the form of the
occiput, it being vertical in the former, or very nearly so ; but
I very much suspect that the peculiar form of occiput which
we observe in Spalax typhlus (which is the only species of the
genus the skull of which I have seen) does not constitute a
character indicative of affinity. I think it very likely to vary
in the different species of the genus.

On the whole, it appears to me, that the animal called Ba-
thyergus splendens by Ruppell should be removed from the
genus in which he has placed it, and might be arranged either
with the species of Spalax or perhaps between that genus and
Rhizomys, and I think it probable Rodents may hereafter be
found connecting the Bathyergidae with these genera.

EXPLANATION
Fig. 1. Skull of Orycterus mariti-
mus.
1 a. Under side of do.
1 b. Under side of lower jaw.

a, a. Descending ramus.

b. Alveolus of incisor.

1 c. Lower jaw viewed from above.
1 d. Side view of do.
Fig. 2. Bathyergus capensis.

OF PLATE II.

Fig. 2 a. Lower jaw of Bathyergus ca-
pensis, viewed from beneath.

2 b. Side view of do.

Fig. 3. Bathyergus splendens of Rup-
pell.

3 a. Side view of skull.

3 b. Lower jaw, view from above.

d. Termination of incisor.

e. Condyle.

X.— Observations* on the Functions performed by the Hairs
on the Stigma in Campanulaceae, Composite, and other
Plants. By Arthur Hill Hassall, M.R.C.S.L., Corre-
sponding Member of the Dublin Natural History Society.

I have read with much interest some observations by M.
Adolphe Brongniart on the ! Functions of the Hairs on the

* The principal of these observations were written during the summer of
last year.

*/////.,*• J/*,/. A',//. //;.<■/ VdL&FLH.

' W*»l Iwn

.ZD.C, ^werAv/ru??,.

on the Stigma in Campanulaceae, fyc. 85

Stigma in the Fecundation of Campanulaceae/ contained in
a recent Number of the e Annals/ and translated by W. A.
Leighton, Esq. To this subject, previously to the appearance
of these remarks, I had paid some attention. I do not, how-
ever, concur in all the conclusions arrived at by that able in-
vestigator.

If the flower-bud of any of the Campanulas be examined a
day or two prior to the expansion of the corolla, the sta-
mens will be observed to envelope and conceal the whole sur-
face of the pistil. If it be again examined, about the period
of the unfolding of the blossom, the anthers may be seen to
open and disclose their contents. As soon as this has oc-
curred, the stamens having performed the office allotted them,
begin to wither away, in consequence of the juices destined
for their nourishment being now directed into a new channel.
The pistil, immediately on the dehiscence of the anthers, in-
creases rapidly in size, carrying with it in its upward pro-
gress, (as by a brush) by means of the hairs upon its surface,
the pollen granules. This increase, amounting frequently to
thrice the original length of the pistil, arises, partly, from the
excitation of the new action now set up in it, but mainly from
the accession of the nutriment formerly sent to the stamens,
but now no longer required by them.

These hairs are found in all the Campanulaceae, save only
the small genus Petromarula, extending from the base of the
style to the apex of the stigma, externally, and arranged in
lines, corresponding in number and position with the sta-
mens ; they are directed horizontally and slightly curved at
their extremities. Their surface is lubricated by a secretion,
or perhaps, I should rather say, an exudation, serving to
retain the pollen in contact with them. The office per-
formed by these hairs is undoubtedly purely mechanical,
acting, first, as collectors of the pollen, and subsequently, as
props, to sustain it in contact with the fecundating surface —
entangled amidst the hairs it is not readily scattered or dis-
turbed. Adolphe Brongniart's account of the anatomy of the
hairs I consider to be satisfactory ; although I do not deem
his comparison of their retractile movements to that of cer-
tain Annelides, or the tentacula of snails, to be at all analo-
gous, the phenomenon in the latter cases being voluntary and
vital, the result of complex organization ; and, in the former,
merely mechanical, presenting nothing peculiar or extraor-
dinary in its nature, but arising simply from the absorption
or drying up of the fluid contained in the hair itself, and in
the expansion at its base*.

* The retraction of the hairs does not take place until some days after
the application of the pollen, the greater part of which then falls offin con-

86 Mr. Hassall on the Stigma in Campanulaceae, fyc.

M. Brongniart states, "that the pollen grains undergo no
modification either during their application to the hairs or when
drawn along with them in their retractile movement, and con-
sequently no connexion exists between them and the interior
of the style I* From this it follows, that fertilization can only
take place through the medium of what are considered to be
true stigmas, viz. the internal surfaces of the three (occasion-
ally four) diverging rays on the top of the style. This state-
ment is wholly opposed to the result of my investigations.
The outer of the mass of pollen grains adherent to the hairs
certainly suffer no material change ; but if those in contact
with the style be examined, a single pollen tube of consider-
able length may be observed to pass from the greater number
of the granules, apparently losing itself in the tissue of the
style, which I believe it to penetrate through the interspaces
between the hairs. This view of the matter is further sup-
ported by the following corroborative evidence. 1st. The
great mass of pollen collected on these hairs, contrasted with
the small quantity, or even occasional absence of it, on what is
called the true stigmatic surface. 2ndly. The structure of the
surface itself — it being covered with papillae resembling the
hairs themselves in all save length. 3rdly. That this surface
sometimes does not expand, and when it does, frequently
but to a small extent, and this only when the process of fertili-
zation is evidently far advanced, and the flower itself some-
times even beginning to fade.

From the observation of these facts, I have come to the
conclusion, that not only the surface of the true stigma, but
more particularly of that portion of the style itself which is
covered with hairs, is essentially concerned in the fecundation
of Campanulaceae.

These collecting hairs are by no means peculiar to the Cam-
panula?, but exist in the whole of the family Compositae, and
in many genera of other orders. I have observed them in Col-
lomia grandiflora, Veronica chanuedrys, Hyacinthus orientalis,
Ixia maculata, Haworthia radula, Godetia rubicunda, and
Epilobium hirsutum. In the Compositae they are admirably
adapted to the office they are destined to perform, viz. that of
harrowing up the pollen grains, being all sloped upwards and
terminating in a sharp point. These hairs in Haworthia ra-
dula cover the true stigmatic surface, are longest near the cir-
cumference, and become mere papillae towards the centre of the
stigma. In Veronica chamcedrys they also cover the stigmatic
surface, but a depression is to be observed in the middle free

sequence of the loss of their support. — Adolphe Brongniart speaks of this
retraction of the hairs as presenting a phaenomenon unexampled in the
vegetable kingdom.

Capt. S. E. Widdrington on European Pines. 87

from hairs, while in Iocia they are arranged along the edges of
the stigmata. It is however to the structure of the stigmata of
Epilobium hirsutum and Godetia rubicunda that I would par-
ticularly call attention, conceiving them to confirm in the
strongest manner my opinion that the stigmatic function in
the Campanulaceae is not limited to that part which is usually
considered to constitute the proper stigma. These are quadri-
partite, and each division of their true stigmatic surface is
covered with hairs precisely resembling those of the Campa-
nulaceae.

I am about to try an experiment, the issue of which will
determine the truth or fallacy of my deductions, as far as the
Campanulaceae are concerned. As each flower of Campanula
pyramidalis comes into blossom, I intend to cut away the
whole of the true stigmatic branches, leaving only the lower
portion of the style covered with hairs and pollen. Should
perfect seeds ripen upon this plant, the question will, I think,
be satisfactorily decided.

August 1841.

XI. — On some species of European Pines. By Capt. S. E.
Widdrington*, R.N.

In a paper which was read before the British Association at
Newcastle (Ann. Nat. Hist., vol. ii. p. 163), the two species of
P. austriaca and P. Pumilio were not fully described, nor
their places in the system as to elevation assigned. This de-
ficiency, which was caused by my not having seen these spe-
cies growing in their natural sites, a recent tour in Austria
and Upper Germany has enabled me to supply.

The Pinus austriaca of the English, P. nigrescens of the
German botanists, partly covers, as it no doubt once did en-
tirely, the plain of Austria to the south and east of Vienna.
There is an extensive remnant of it between Neustadt and the
foot of the Semering range, which divides Austria and Styria.
It also partly clothes the hills near Baden ; but in ascending
the range it soon disappears, and is replaced by the spruce
and Scotch firs. I am not aware of its being seen to the north
of the localities I have mentioned, nor in the northern pro-
longation of the range, there called the Wiener Wald. In
Styria I never saw it to the north of the river Muhr ; but it
ranges to the south of Styria, forming a sort of link between
the European pine series and that of the Caucasus and of
Asia. On considering the elevation and geography of these ha-

* Late Cook. Read in the Section of Zoology and Botany at the meeting
of the British Association, Plymouth, and communicated by the Author.
See his paper on Pinus and Abies, Ann. Nat. Hist., vol. hi. p. 296.

88 Capt. S. E. Widdrington on European Pines.

bitats, it must undoubtedly be placed in the zone below P. syl-
vestris. At the same time there is no question that it is suffi-
ciently hardy to resist any cold to which it is liable to be ex-
posed in these islands. The thermometer at Vienna fell last
winter to 19° of Reaumur, and in 1830 to 22°, or nearly 18°
below zero of Fahrenheit, a degree I believe seldom, if ever,
seen in Britain, at least in modern times.

This species is very nearly connected with P. taurica or
Pallasiana ; the foliage is scarcely to be distinguished ; but on
comparing the cones of the two species, as grown in the Bota-
nical Garden at Vienna, I was struck with a difference in the
form of the scales, and had the satisfaction of being imme-
diately told that the same remark had been made by Mr. Brown,
who had examined them. As, however, experience has shown
me the mistakes which are made by judging of pines from spe-
cimens grown in gardens, and especially in nursery grounds,
where the treatment sometimes entirely alters the habit of the
tree, I made application for, and was promised by the en-
lightened director of the botanical department, Mr. End-
licher, cones of both species taken from the natural forests at
the proper season, which will probably enable the question of
their identity or distinctness to be decided.

From the quick growth of this tree, the great beauty of its
foliage, which is long, thick and tangled, and of the deepest
green, as well as the great value of the timber, which the
Austrian woodmen consider superior to that of P. sylvestris,
it cannot be too strongly recommended to the attention of
planters. It is equally fitted for the forest or the park, for use
or' for ornament, and its deep tints would form an admirable
contrast with the light and transparent foliage of the elegant
Pinus hispanica. The country is very much indebted to Mr.
Lawson of Edinburgh, who first introduced this interesting
species, and it cannot be too generally used with the Laricio,
a congener, as a substitute for the Pinaster, which has rather
unfortunately been tried in some parts of the West of England,
the timber being comparatively valueless, and in every other
respect very inferior to the species we are now considering.
It cannot be too strongly urged on those who have the care
of making fir plantations for future utility, to plant the ever-
greens, which are to remain, at the requisite distances, and to
have the fillings-up entirely of larch. By adopting this method
several advantages accrue. The woodmen make no mistakes
in selecting, during the process of thinning, and no spaces
are left too open or too close. The evergreens, which require
more or less care when young, are more readily looked after,
and their places supplied where necessary, in case of failure.
The larch should be planted a year or two before the ever-

Capt. S. E. Widdrington on European Pines. 89

greens, by which time the grass is grown, and affords a shelter
and protection against the destruction of game,, &c. The tri-
fling difference in the shelter between the evergreen and deci-
duous species is more apparent than real, and is more than
compensated by the superior value of the larch thinning and
the additional fertility imparted to the soil by the fall of the
spiculae. By having only a definite number of evergreens,
the landlord can afford to have better sorts, and expend more
care upon the rearing and looking after them.

On Pinus Pumilio.

I have found the difficulty of obtaining information respect-
ing this curious tree so great, that if, from the inspection of
the beautiful specimens at Dropmore and in some other col-
lections, I had not been quite satisfied of its being a distinct
species, I might have been incredulous, and in the words of
the schools, asked, " Quid est Pumilio ?" or in the summary
mode of writers and compilers who treat on trees they never
saw in their natural forests, set it down as a u mountain va-
riety" of some other species. All doubt however on the sub-
ject my late tour in Upper Germany has completely enabled
me to set aside, and more satisfactorily than I could possi-
bly have anticipated. I first met with it, though sparingly,
in Upper Styria. In the Saltzkammergut it is abundant,
though high up, and above the Scotch and spruce, which
form the mass of the forests in that beautiful region. By far
the largest portion was met with in the Bavarian Alps, which
it inhabits from the base almost to the summit, and in every
sort of ground ; an extensive swamp or morass adjoining the
Chiemsee, the principal lake of Bavaria, is covered with it,
and the effect of its dwarf and even surface a few feet above
the ground is curiously contrasted with the lofty forests of
spruce and Scotch fir which surround the marsh wherever the
ground is sufficiently dry to bear them.

Although it flourishes in this strange locality, where no
other fir or scarcely any other tree can exist, marshy ground
is by no means its only or favoured habitat. In the neigh-
bouring mountains, where it is extremely abundant, I found
it at the base of the chain, in the dry gravelly beds of the tor-
rents, and it gradually creeps up the arid limestone to the
very summit of the range which separates Bavaria and the
Austrian Tyrol, living above its congeners of the forest and
to the very limits of arboreal vegetation. When seen in these
situations from below, it could not, by the unpractised eye, be
distinguished from furze or gorse.

The peculiar form of this tree consists in its having no

90 M. Hering on new Alga

regular leader. Immediately above the ground it divides into
a number of smaller stems and branches, which either sweep
along the ground, their extremities pointing upwards, or rise
at once at an angle of 30° to 45°, according as the neighbours
or the locality have permitted it to expand. Very rarely —
amongst countless thousands I did not see above one or two
examples — one tree makes an attempt to grow straight and
throws up a single stem, but the failure of attaining size or
elevation shows in these instances the creeping, true habit of
the tree. The height attained is rarely above 5 or 6 feet,
the diameter of the largest trees being from 20 to 25 feet ;
though this size is rare, and the appearance is so regular, that
in looking over an extensive level planted with it, it is quite
as even as the surface of a gorse cover.

The foliage in form and colour resembles that of P. unci-
nata, but the spiculae are shorter, though -standing out in the
peculiarly rigid manner of that species. The cones are small,
dark-coloured, and differ from both P. sylvestris and P. un-
cinates.

From the localities it inhabits it must be placed very high
in the series, by the side of P. Cembra and P. uncinata. I
have been the more particular in describing this singular spe-
cies, in order to guard those who may not have the opportu-
nity of seeing it in situ from confounding it, as so many who
ought to know better have done, with the stunted individuals
of P. Cembra, P. sylvestris and P. uncinata, which are always
found at the summit of their respective zones in the high
Alps and Pyrenees, and have been called and compiled un-
der the general name of Pumilio.

As to the oeconomical uses of this tree, it is clear they
amount to very little, its wood being only used for inlaying
for furniture, such as parts of chairs and the like. To those,
however, who possess extensive parks, by planting them
fifteen feet apart, and taking care of them during their early
growth, they would be curious and useful covers for game.

XII. — Diagnoses Algarum novarum a cl, Dre. Ferdinand
Krauss in Africa Australi lectarum, auctore Dno. Hering,
Stuttgartiensi*.

Conferva natalensis, Hering. Pilis simplicibus tenuissimis, articulis
diametro sesquilongioribus, superioribus sequalibus. Conferva
implexa, Dillw. proxima. Port Natal.

Dasya tenella, Hg. Fronde continua, tereti, vage ramosa, ramulis
bipinnatis, divaricatis.

* Communicated by Mr. Daniel Cooper.

collected in Africa by Dr. Krauss. 91

Frons vix uncialis, crassitie capillari, hyalina ; granula angulata,
coccinea, in fronde hyalina seriatim digesta ; ad Port Natal, ste-
rilis.
222*. Bryopsis setacea, Hg. Pilis setaceis, subramosis, apice phi-
mosis.
Fila tenacia, nitida, 2 — 3-pollicaria, setacea, simplicia vel rarius
ramulo laterali instructa, apice ramentis brevibus, simplicissimis,
lanceolato-pinnata. Color obscure viridis, chartse arete adhseret.
Bryops. Balbisiance proxima. Hab. ad Port Natal Point, Africa? me-
ridionalis, scopulis littoralibus insidens.
Caulerpa filiformis, Hg. Frondibus planis, linearibus, subdichotomis,
integerrimis.
Surculus cylindricus, filiformis, stramineus, inferne emittens radices
nbrosas, fasciculatas ; frons spithamsea, adscendens, basi cylin-
drica, annulato-rugosa, deinde plana, linearis, integerrima, sub-
dichotoma, lineam lata ; color gramineus, substantia membra-
nacea.
Synon. Amphibolis filiformis, Sch.
Var. /3. Fronde latiore ligulata.
Var. y. Fronde breviore palmata. Forsan distincta species Caulerpa

palmata nominanda.
Ad Cape Lagullas, Africa? meridionahs, in arena reperis.
Alsidium ericoides, Hg. Fronde tereti, continua, filiformi, ramosa ;
ramentis brevibus, subarticulatis, subulatis, dense imbricatis ves-
tita.
Radix callus exiguus, frons spithamsea, teres, ramosa, pyramidata,

ramenta obtusiuscula, zonis obscurioribus notata.
Hab. ad Port Natal. Sub Rhodomela ericoides in collectione
signata.
Sphcerococcus (Chondrus) scutellatus, Hg. Fronde compressa, dicho-
toma, segmentis linearibus ; capsulis sphsericis in margine disoo-
que ramulorum sessilibus, scutellatis.
Habitus Sphceroc. crispi var. linearis ; frons cartilaginea, bipolli-
caris, vix lineam lata, segmentis superioribus cuneatis, obtusis ;
color exsiccati atro-purpureus.
Sphcerococcus (Gigartina) nodiferus, Hg. Fronde cartilaginea, tereti,
subdichotoma, segmentis irregulariter dentatis, obtusis, denti-
bus apice capsuliferis.
Color purpureus, frons crassiuscula.
Ad Port Natal, spec, manca.
Sphcerococcus (Gelidium) aculeatus, Hg. Fronde cartilagineo -cornea,
ramosa, verticillato-aculeata.
Radix callus exiguus, frons cartilagineo-cornea, 4 — 6-pollicaris,
inferne teretiuscula, nuda, mox bi- vel trichotoma, lineam crassa,
compressa, vel tri- aut quadrangularis, aculeata ; aculei oppositi,
terni aut quaterni verticillati, lineam longi, basi dilatati, subu-

* The numbers prefixed to the species refer to the numbers in Dr.
Ki'auss's Fasciculi of Natal Specimens. A series of the species here described
has been forwarded to the Herbarium of the Botanical Society of London,
where they may be consulted on application.

92 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule.

lati, horizontales, interstitia bilinearia. Fructus ignoti, color
coccineus; exsiccatus rigidus, chartae minime adhaerens.

Hob. ad Port Natal.
272. Martensia, gen. nov. Frons plana, areolata, avenia, margine
fenestrata ; fructus duplex ; sphserospermia longitudinaliter in
reticulo simplici serie disposita; capsular sphaericae, reticulo
affixae, sporidia subglobosa foventes.
M. elegans, Hg. Fronde tenuissima, lobata, segmentis cuneato-rotun-
datis.

Frons basi affixa, semi usque pollicaris, tenerrima, tenax, cellulis
angulatis areolata, margine demum fructificante, clathrato -fene-
strata. Color amcene roseus fugax. Chartae arete adhaerens.

Port Natal ad lapides.

In memoriam amicissimi Georgii de Martens, auctoris Florae Wiir-
tembergicae, algarum maris Mediterranei scrutatoris indefessi.
— Hering.
197. Nemalion Natalense, Hg. Fronde filiformi, ramosa, ramis elon-
gatis, villosis, villis articulatis.

Color olivaceus, chartae arete adhaerens. Hab. ad Port Natal Point,
Afr. meridionalis.
Fucns minimus, Hg. Fronde plana ecostata, lineari, dichotoma, in-
tegerrima.

Vix pollicaris, fronde semilineam lata, spiraliter torta.

Port Natal.

XIII. — Observations on the Structure of the Pollen Granule,
considered principally in reference to its eligibility as a
means of Classification. By Arthur Hill Hassall,
'M.R.C.S.L., Corresponding Member of the Dublin Na-
tural History Society.

It has often been a matter of surprise to me, that no one of
the numerous and gifted votaries of those bright and beau-
tiful creations, flowers, which are scattered with so profuse a
hand over moor and mountain, on hill and through dale,
should have fully investigated the structure of the pollen gra-
nule in the various tribes of plants, with a view to ascertain
whether it could be rendered available for the purpose of clas-
sification.

Much has indeed been written upon its general anatomy ;
but the characters of the granules, as they occur in each ge-
nus of plants, appear to have been scarcely at all considered in
this country, and almost the only figures which we possess of
individual pollen grains are contained in Lindley's e Introduc-
tion to Botany/ and were derived from a work of Purkinje on
the subject*.

* These figures are but little more than mere outlines, and even in this
single particular are generally very far from being correct.

Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule, 93

On the Continent entire works have been published upon
the pollen, accompanied by numerous figures : I allude parti-
cularly to Purkinje's work, c De Cellulis Antherarum fibrosis/
&c. ; to that by Fritzsche ; and to a memoir by Mohl in the
e Annales des Sciences Naturelles,' all of which have appeared
within, I believe, the last ten years.

With the opinions contained in these works I am only
acquainted in so far as they are given us by Lindley, as I
wished, before consulting them, to form a separate and in-
dependent opinion, so that all I shall advance in this paper
is to be regarded only as the result of my own investi-
gations, and rests upon my own responsibility. It is my
intention to publish, from time to time, a series of papers
upon the subject of the Pollen, in some of which I shall give
the opinions of the authors to whom I have referred more
at length ; thus my not doing so at present will be of but little
consequence.

Although I do not anticipate that the results of this inquiry
will be very considerable in a practical point of view, I yet
feel that I ought not to be deterred from the pursuit because
I am not at once able to perceive any great utility attached to
it ; the subject is one of much interest in itself, and may ul-
timately lead to more than is at present looked for.

I could have wished that an investigation of such nicety
and extent had fallen to the lot of some individual of greater
capability and experience in microscopical research ; but as
this is merely an essay, and as I shall advance nothing but
what I have fully made out, I trust that the inquiry will not
suffer by reason of my comparative inefficiency for the task
I have undertaken.

Conceiving then that the want of an accurate knowledge of
the form and structure of the pollen grain in the different ge-
nera of plants constituted a desideratum in botanical science,
I commenced the investigations the results of which I am
about to detail early in the spring of last year, continued them
throughout the greater part of the summer, and the small
amount of time which I have this season been able to spare
from professional pursuits has been employed in correcting
and confirming the conclusions previously arrived at.

I shall divide my subject into three heads. Under the first
head, the pollen generally will be spoken of; under the se-
cond, the individual peculiarities of the pollen granule will be
noticed ; and lastly, the pollen will be considered with a view
to ascertain whether it can be rendered available as a means
of classification.

First then, of the pollen generally :

94 Mr. H assail on the Structure of the Pollen Granule.

The structure, form, and size of the pollen granule varies
considerably in different tribes of plants.

There are, however, certain types of structure and of form
which occur more frequently than others. Of these, the cy-
lindrical and elliptical are by far the most common ; and next,
in frequency of occurrence, are those granules of either a tri-
angular or circular form, which are met with in nearly an equal
proportion. A great variety of other forms are to be noticed,
which it is the object of this paper especially to describe.

The term cylindrical is applied to all those grains which are
more or less of an elongated form, are somewhat triangular,
and taper towards each extremity, which exhibit a furrow
along their upper surface, and are furnished with three pollen
tubes ; while the word elliptical is used to designate those
granules which agreeing somewhat with the former in their
lengthened shape, having also a line upon their surface, yet
possess but one pollen tube.

On the application of any fluid to pollen of an elongated
form, of less density than the fovilla contained in the cells, a
remarkable alteration of shape takes place with great quick-
ness. Each grain of pollen, prior to the contact of the
liquid, lies on the object-glass of the microscope with its long
diameter placed horizontally ; immediately on its touching it
the position of the long diameter is changed, it becomes ver-
tical, and the pollen grain, losing in length, dilates and becomes
of a triangular or circular form ; and this change of form,
which is here produced by the direct application of the water,
occurs also naturally previous to the* emission of the pollen
tubes, arising partly from the absorption of fluid from the
tissue of the anther, but mainly from the imbibition of the
stigmatic secretion. But if a fluid of greater density than
that within the cell be applied, no such change is seen to
occur, a contraction of the pollen grain and an exudation of a
portion of its contents taking place.

This alteration of form, in both instances, is very satisfac-
torily explained by a reference to the principle of end osmosis
and exosmosis, which is most beautifully exemplified in the
interesting though minute subjects of the present inquiry,
and all the varied phenomena of which are referred by Du-
trochet to capillary attraction.

Each pollen grain consists of a turbid fluid called fovilla,
containing numerous active molecular particles ; and this fluid
is enclosed, according to most observers, in at least two mem-
branes, the outer being called extine, the inner intine, and
this is of a highly extensible nature. The only exception to
this, according to Mohl, is the pollen of Asclepiadaceous

Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 95

plants, which has but one envelope ; but Fritzsche has asserted,
according to Lindley, that these plants have both an extine
and intine. Fritzsche also states, that in Cauliniafragilis, Zan-
nichellia pedunculata, Zostera marina, and Naias minor, the
pollen has really nothing but the intine present.

That there really are two coatings to the great majority of
pollen granules does not admit of a doubt ; while a third mem-
brane, intermediate between the extine and intine, has been
noticed, first by Mohl and subsequently by Fritzsche, who calls
it exintine. Mohl observed it in the pollen of Taxus, Juni-
perus, Cupressus and Thuja ; and Fritzsche finds it not only in
these plants, but also in Pinus, Cucurbita Pepo, and Tigridia
Pavonia ; while Mr. Giraud* states (in the third volume of the
( Annals and Magazine of Natural History/ p. 127) that he
has noticed it in the pollen of Crocus vernus. To these I may
add the pollen of the different species ofBanksia and Dryandra
as possessing a third membrane, as well as the following list of
plants, Fuchsia fulg ens, F. cylindrica, F. thymifolia, F. gracilis,
and F. coccinea, Stachytarpheta mutabilis, Tilia americana,
Calothamnus villosus, Zizyphus Paliurus, and probably also
Grevillea linearis; Hakia pedunculata, Erythrina laurifolia,
Didiscus cceruleus, Fumaria officinalis, and all other species of
Fuchsia. It is necessary to observe great caution in deciding
upon the presence of a third membrane, as an appearance is
frequently observed which might mislead ; it arises from the
entrance of water within the sac of the intine, separating the
fovilla from it, forcing it inwards, and giving it a very denned
margin.

At the commencement of this inquiry, I was induced to con-
sider that the reticulation observable on the pollen of Pancra-
tium, Armeria, Statice, Passiflora, &c. constituted the basis of
a distinct membrane, and in the figures of these 'which will
follow it is so represented. To this opinion I was led by no-
ticing the raised appearance which it presents, especially
round the circumference of the granules, as well as from the
circumstance of the ends of each grain of pollen in Pancra-
tium being destitute of the reticulation ; but it is more cor-
rect, perhaps, to regard this reticulated appearance as pro-
duced by the apposition of the cells of which the extine is
formed in these instances.

Fritzsche also speaks of a fourth coat, which is next the ex-
tine, and which he calls intextine, as belonging to the pollen
of Clarkia elegans and other Onagrarice. Of the existence

* Mr. Giraud, in the same communication, mentions having seen small
opake particles on the surface of the pollen grain of Polemonium cceruleum,
which exhibit a peculiar motion when the granules are placed in water.

96 Mr. H assail on the Structure of the Pollen Granule.

of this membrane in Clarkia I have but little doubt, and I
believe that it is also present in those species of Fuchsia
which I have mentioned as possessing a third tunic, as there
are in the pollen of these precisely the same appearances upon
which the opinion of its presence is founded in Clarkia elegans.

The pollen granules of Saponaria viscida present, when
viewed through the medium of oil, a very remarkable appear-
ance, which I am only able to explain by supposing that it
depends upon some peculiar inversion or pitting of the ex-
tine. It conveys the idea of a membrane of a circular form,
smaller than the extine, being placed within it, and pollen
tubes to the number of ten escaping through apertures in it
and extending to the margin of the outer membrane. I refer
to this appearance here in the hope of directing the attention
of other observers to it, who may perhaps be able to afford
a more particular explanation of its nature.

In the long axis of those granules to which the terms
cylindrical and elliptical are here applied, as well as of many
others, a line or furrow, as has been already remarked, is
noticed, concerning the nature of which various conjectures
have been hazarded, and none of which afford the true expla-
nation of the phenomenon. Malpighi compared granules of
pollen of this kind to grains of wheat, on one side of which a
furrow exists ; but this does not account for the furrow being
visible in every grain at the same time; Guillemin, attempt-
ing to account for the constant presence of the line, says that
it exists on both sides of the grain. He further supposes
this furrow to be a slit intended to facilitate the admission of
water into the interior of the granules, and the emission of
their contents ; neither is this explanation more satisfactory.
Fritzsche states it to be a thin part of the extine where the
sides of the pollen grain are contracted and meet, producing
the appearance of a furrow ; while Mr. Giraud regards this
line as a mere furrow in the extine which disappears on the
application of moisture, in which opinion Professor Graham
coincides * ; but neither of these gentlemen offer any expla-
nation either as to its origin or use.

The true explanation of the nature of this furrow, about
which there are so many opinions, is, that it is a deficiency
in the external membrane of the pollen grain, intended to
facilitate the egress of the pollen tubes, one of which may be
distinctly seen to issue from each ; and the fact of its being
seen at the same moment in every grain of pollen is accounted
for by reference to the form of these granules. Those grains

* See Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist, already referred to, and Prof. Graham's
Third Annual Report, read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh,
March 1841.

Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 97

of pollen to which the term cylindrical is applied, are, as
has been already noticed, more or less of a triangular or
trilobate form, and at each angle, or between each lobe, a
furrow exists ; so that, as each granule, from its shape, must
rest upon one or other of its sides, one angle and one line
will necessarily be presented to the eye of the observer. But
another explanation is requisite to account for its constant
presence in those granules to which the term elliptical is as-
signed ; these, though of an elongated form, like the others,
are rounded in their short axes, except on one side, which is
slightly flattened and indented. In this indenture the single
furrow possessed by these granules is placed ; hence it results
that each must rest either on its flattened surface, with the
furrow looking downwards, as most frequently happens, in
which case it will still be apparent through the body of the
granule, owing to its transparency; or it will fall on the
rounded surface opposite the furrow, which now looks di-
rectly upwards. Thus, in whichever way the grain rests, the
furrow will still be apparent. Should it alight upon its side
it will not remain in this position, but will roll over to the
convex surface, which constitutes its centre of gravity*.

The pollen grain of Crinum amabile is flattened and broad
on two surfaces, differing in this particular from the pollen of
all other Amaryllidacece which I have examined, down each
of which a furrow is placed ; and from this form also it fol-
lows that one line will ever be opposed to view, as the granules
rest upon one of their broad surfaces. And again in Citrus
aurantium, Ranunculus acris and Rubus fruticosus, the gra-
nules are somewhat elongated, and consist of four lobes, be-
tween which the fissures are placed ; and as they most gene-
rally lie on two of the lobes, the other two, with a fissure be-
tween them, will, as a matter of course, be turned upwards.

Lastly, many kinds of pollen, as of 'the Polyg alee, Crucianellce,
Labiatce, &c, are furnished with a number of furrows, some of
which, in all postures, will be visible. A careful examination
of the pollen granules of Convolvulus arvensis, Lilium longi-
florum, Crinum amabile, and Ranunculus acris, will convince
any one of the correctness of this explanation ; both of the
nature of these lines, and of the reasons for their invariable
appearance in each granule at the same moment.

In most elliptical pollen, covering each of the fissures, an
oval piece of membrane is to be observed, the use of which I
conceive to be to prevent the pollen tubes from escaping too

* Malpighi's comparison of granules of this form to grains of wheat is by
no means inapt, but still without the above explanation it is incomplete, in-
asmuch as it does not account for the constant appearance of the furrow.

Ann. $ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. H

98 Mr. H assail on the Structure of the Pollen Granule.

readily from the extine, to which it does not appear to be
organically united, as on the application of water it is seen
to curl up and fall off the granules. It is also met with in
Centaurium, Scolymus, Dipsacus, Scabiosa, and some allied
genera ; in these instances it sometimes has an attachment to
the extine.

The extine, or protective membrane of the pollen grain, on
which its shape depends, is of much greater substance than
the intine, which is so fine, that rarely can any appreciable
thickness of it be detected. It is seldom, if ever, a simple ho-
mogeneous membrane, being most generally formed by the
apposition of a number of cellules held together by " organic
mucus," which give to it a reticulated appearance, very obvious
in many of the Liliacea, as well as in a great variety of other
plants. In most hispid pollen, where the same reticulated
structure may be traced, from the centre of each cell of the net-
work, either one of the numerous spines which cover this form
of pollen grain may be seen to arise, or, where this is absent,
an aperture for the passage of a pollen tube will be apparent.

If this view of the structure of the extine be correct, then
must it consist of two layers, as each cell forms a shut-sac.

By some observers the external tunic of the pollen grain is
said to present a granular structure. It often presents a gra-
nular appearance, which is deceptive, and which I have found
to arise from the circumstance of the particles in the fovilla
being visible through their transparent coverings.

It has been matter of doubt whether the extine be exten-
sible or not ; that it really is so in some cases to a consider-
able extent, is apparent from the following fact, the only one
with which I am acquainted which distinctly proves it. The
surface of the pollen granule of Canna indica is covered with
numerous points, having their free extremities perforated.
When the pollen is immersed in water the spines disappear,
leaving small apertures on the surface of the now smooth ex-
tine ; each granule at the same time having enlarged to about
thrice its original size. This change occurs with greater ra-
pidity if a dilute mineral acid be used instead of water. All
kinds of pollen appear somewhat larger in water, but this de-
pends upon the magnifying power of that liquid. The intine
does not expand in an equal proportion with the extine ; but
being pressed upon equally on all sides by the water which
is imbibed by the extine, is forced inwards, and a large space
filled with fluid is left between the two membranes.

After diligent and repeated search, I have at last succeeded
in making out the plano-convex bodies (Zunschenorpern) de-
scribed by Fritzsche as being particularly visible in some Mai-

Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 99

vacete, in a species of Hibiscus, H. africanus. He represents
them as existing in most hispid pollen, the apertures in which
for the passage of the pollen tubes they close, being placed
between the extine and intine, with their convex surfaces rest-
ing upon the latter. If the pollen of the above-named species of
Hibiscus be allowed to remain in water for a short time, the
pollen tubes will be seen to have emerged some distance from
the intine ; and upon the extremities of many of them those
pieces of membrane will be noticed, which are however more
frequently concavo-convex than plano-convex. Although I
have not seen these bodies closing the apertures in the extine,
it may be inferred with tolerable certainty that they perform
the office ascribed to them, from their position at the termi-
nations of the pollen tubes. Those who may wish to observe
them will not experience the same difficulty that I have
done, knowing the species and the manner in which to look
for them. They are not present in the pollen of the Ipo-
mceae.

The surface of all pollen is covered with a thick tenacious
matter, which, according to Mohl, is most abundant upon that
which is hispid ; but it is at least as much so on the pollen
of many species of Liliacece, which are not hispid, but reti-
culated. If this viscid substance is to be regarded as a se-
cretion, then must the extine be provided with glands, or
some other peculiar organization for its formation ; for a true
secretion can only result from organization of some kind or
other, and, in the vegetable kingdom, may be defined to be
a new product, eliminated from the sap through the instru-
mentality of glands or other structural media. My own
opinion is, that it is a secretion, if not formed by the external
membrane of the pollen grain itself, derived from the cell in
which it is originally developed. I was at first inclined to
consider it as a mere exudation, consisting of the thinner
parts of the fovilla ; but its appearance and consistence differ
so much from this, that I believe the opinion to be scarcely
tenable. This secretion fulfills an important indication in
preventing the too easy dispersion of the pollen granules,
which it slightly holds together, and which would be scatter-
ed far and near, wide of its destined mark, by every breath
of wind.

Pollen granules, though usually separate, are occasionally
found united. This union is either temporary, the medium
which retains them in contact with each other being either a
tenacious secretion, or filaments of the cellular tissue derived
from the breaking up of the cells in which the granules are
originally developed ; or it is permanent and organic. We

H 2

100 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule.

find the first mode of union in the pollen grains of the Epi-
lobia*, Salpiglossis atropurpurea, and in Lechenaultia formosa?
while the second is met with in all the genera of the natural
order Ericaceae which I have had an opportunity of exami-
ning, in the Acaciae, Mimosa, Junci, many species of Orchi-
daceae, and in Oxyanthus speciosa. Some of these grains,
though they usually are permanently attached, are yet ca-
pable of separation ; but others of them again, as the Eri-
caceae, &c, are so intimately joined, that they never become
separated. The number of pollen grains thus united together
is definite, being either four, or multiples of four up to sixteen,
but the first number is of the most frequent occurrence; thus
there are four in the Ericaceae, Epilobia, Junci, Orchidaceae,
Oxyanthus speciosa, and Salpiglossis atropurpurea, Lechenaul-
tia formosa and Mimosa mexicana. In Acacia rigens there
are eight, disposed on the same plane ; in Acacia decipiens
twelve, six being disposed on the same plane, while three are
placed in the centre, on either side of the flat figure so formed j
and in Acacia linearis there are sixteen, eight upon the same
plane and four on either side. It is to be observed, that dark
lines run between every four grains, indicating either their
original separation or their tendency to become so separated.
When the union of pollen grains occurs in fours, they are
either disposed upon the same plane, as in the Epilobia and Le-
chenaultia formosa, or they appear as if one was placed upon
the other three, all the granules bearing precisely the same
relations to each other, and whichever one is uppermost, the
rest being similarly circumstanced in reference to it. One ex-
ception occurs to the law of the union of pollen grains in fours
in Epilobium roseum, where they generally unite in threes.

As a rule, but one mode of arrangement prevails among
the pollen grains of the same species.

Pollen grains are often held together by a thready sub-
stance, supposed to be derived from the rupture and breaking
up of the cells in which they are primarily formed, in the
meshes of which they become either entangled, or to which
they are attached by the secretion which covers their surface.
It appears to me that neither the origin nor use of these
threads are rightly made out. They are found in great abun-
dance in the pollen of the Ericaceae ; Fuchsia, (Enotherae, and
other Onagrariae.

The size of the pollen granule differs as materially as does
its form and structure, as will be obvious from a perusal of
the following table of relative sizes, although in the same

* The granules in Epilobium angustifolium are not united, resembling
much more those of the Clarkias than the Epilobiums.

Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 101

species and in genera of the same family it is pretty uni-
form.

The micrometer employed was a glass one, and divided in
the ratio of 249,000 spaces to the inch.

Cobaea stipularis

Lavatera acerifolia

Geranium sylvaticum
Fuchsia fulgens . . . .

Lilium tigrinum

Viola tricolor

Length

Breadth

Length

Breadth

Salvia patens

Anagallis arvensis

Length

Breadth

Bauera rubioides

Myosotis palustris
Mimosa marginata

_249,000

249,000

: H

249,000

2
249,000

A 3.
249,000

f
249,000

H
249,000

3

_i

249,000

249,000

j

249,000

_i

249,000

Tff
249,000

249,000

249,000

The colour of the pollen is extremely various and often bril-
liant. In Gilia achillecefolia and Petunia violacea it is of a
dark blue. In Collomia rosea it is of a bright caerulean blue ;
deep red in Cleome spinosa ; of a reddish brown or maho-
gany colour in Lilium tigrinum ; and scarlet in Huchera
americana and Verbascum Thapsus. In Papaver Rhceas and
Tulipa Gesneriana nearly black. In Convolvulus sepium opake
white ; and yellow, the most common colour of the pollen, in
Lilium album and longiflorum, owing to the dense yellow-
coloured secretion with which the granules are covered. Dr.
Lindley says that the pollen occasionally assumes every co-
lour except green ; it is however perfectly green in Pentstemon

102. Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule.

pentaphyllum, Bessera elegans and Ly thrum Salicaria ; in this
last it is curious to notice, that while the pollen of the upper
stamina is green, that of the lower ones is of a bright yellow.

Pollen tubes are prolongations of the intine, and are filled
with the fovilla, which passes into them by gravitation. They
vary much in number, size, and arrangement; they issue
either through fissures or apertures in the extine, and where
there are three envelopes, through similar provisions in the
second also. Except in some few instances, I have not been
able to discover any provision in the extine for the escape of
the pollen tubes. These exceptions occur in the genera Canna,
Strelitzia, Roscoea and Hedychium, all of which belong to
closely-allied orders, and in which the extine, which is of great
thickness, forms a shut-sac. If water, and more quickly if
dilute nitric acid, be applied to the pollen, the granules are
seen to enlarge a little, and the extine to crack irregularly,
but often separating into three unequal pieces; while the
intine, having undergone no change except a slight increase
of size, and still containing the fovilla, frequently disengages
itself from its envelope and floats away from it. This cracking
of the extine is assuredly the natural means by which the
pollen tubes are afforded an outlet ; and it is not necessary
that the intine should be denuded at any particular spot, for
wherever it is so it possesses the power of elongation, or ra-
ther growth. In one or two cases the apertures are provided
with valves, as in the different species of Passiflora, as first
noticed by Purkinje. Fritzsche has described one valve in
the grasses, two in the nettle, four in the orange, and six in
the primrose. Although I have searched with care for these
valves, I have not been able to detect any trace of them, and am
strongly inclined to deny their existence in any of these plants.

The primary form of the pollen of the orange precludes the
possibility of its being furnished with regular valves, the
pollen tubes issuing through fissures and not circular aper-
tures ; while had a valve been present in the grasses, I think
I must have detected it in the pollen of the Zea Mays,
which is of a very large size, and in which the apertures for
the escape of the pollen tubes are very visible. The nettle I
believe to possess three pollen tubes.

The emission of the pollen tubes is produced, artificially,
by the action of the mineral acids and water, and naturally,
partly by the rarefaction of the contents of each pollen gra-
nule by the sun's heat * (the rarefied fovilla distends the shell

* The effect of heat upon the pollen has occasionally been demonstrated
when I have been examining it under a strong reflected light of the sun,
by the emission of the pollen tubes, and even rupture of the intine.

Mr. H assail on the Structure of the Pollen Granule, 103

of the pollen grain, which produces pressure upon its contents,
and assists in forcing them out in the only direction in which
they can issue, namely, through the openings provided for
the purpose), partly by the granules imbibing a portion of
the stigmatic secretion, some of which gets between the outer
and inner membranes, producing pressure upon the latter,
and partly by the stimulating effect of that secretion.

Pollen tubes are supposed to be elongated by means of the
distension or stretching of the intine. This opinion appears
to me to be erroneously entertained. It is difficult to con-
ceive any membrane to be endowed with such immense
powers of expansion as would be required for it to afford a
covering to the whole pollen tube, lengthened as it often is to
such a great extent in its passage through the style. Thus
in Crinum amabile the pollen tube has to pass through a space
1875 times the diameter of the pollen grain before reaching
the ovarium. In Cleome spinosa 2719 times. In Oxyanthus
speciosa 4489 times the diameter of the pollen grain, and in
Colchicum autumnale 9000 times. Pollen tubes are frequently
met with of considerable length on parts of the flower distant
from the stigma, proving that the stigmatic fluid is not essen-
tial for their growth, although it doubtless favours it.

I am of opinion, therefore, that pollen tubes are growths and
not mere elongations of the intine ; and that as they grow a
vacuum is formed within them, into which the fovilla passes.
At the same time, I do not mean to deny the fact of the in-
tine being extensible ; it is no doubt highly so, as proved by
the great length of the pollen tubes emitted under the action
of dilute nitric acid in some cases.

Were pollen tubes but mere extensions of the intine, it
might with reason be expected that the size of the granules
and consequent extent of the intine would bear some relation
to the distance which they have to travel through the stig-
matic tissue before reaching the ovary, and that the greater
the distance the larger would be the pollen grains ; but no
such relation exists.

I am at present inclined to regard the active molecular
bodies in the fovilla, which have attracted so much the inter-
est and attention of physiologists, as nothing more than par-
ticles of that fluid which have become separated into little
masses or globules. The fluid nature of these particles is
proved by their great diversity of form and size, by their
transparency, and by their trailing, or " tailing *," as they

* " Tailing " is a term used by druggists to signify the elongation of
form which the globules of impure quicksilver undergo in passing over
paper.

104 Mr. H assail on the Structure of the Pollen Granule.

pass along the surface of glass. Again, the internal mem-
brane of the pollen grain of Strelitzia humilis, when denuded
of the extine, presents a cellular appearance, which is owing
to the presence of numerous globules of various sizes contain-
ed in the fovilla, of which, in this instance, it appears to be
entirely composed, and which are seen through its transpa-
rent envelope. I could not detect any other bodies but these
globules, which I regard as fluid for the reasons just given.
The application of iodine to the fovilla, contrary to expecta-
tion, produced no effect, and a solution of potash but little
apparent results.

I look forward to another opportunity of making more ex-
tended observations upon the nature of these so-called mole-
cules.

Being anxious to ascertain whether stimuli would produce
any effect upon the pollen, various solutions were applied
with a view to determine this point. The results following
the various applications employed were as follows : — solutions
of the mineral acids, whether sulphuric, nitric or hydrochloric,
all occasioned, with more or less degree of force, the protru-
sion of the pollen tubes. Their mode of action is not very
clear ; but it may be that they produce some astringent ef-
fect upon the outer coating of the pollen grain, so as to cause
the principle of endosmosis to operate with greater power.
Sometimes these acids, and more particularly the dilute sul-
phuric acid, rupture the inner membrane, and then the
fovilla escapes from its interior ; but most frequently the pol-
len tubes are emitted, covered by the intine, which remains
entire, and it is to explain this protrusion of them that the
above explanation is offered. The concentrated sulphuric
acid almost always destroys the intine, and frequently also
blackens and chars the extine. A solution of the nitric acid,
in the proportion of two of the strong acid to three of water,
is perhaps the best application for occasioning the emission
of the pollen tubes ; but it is as well to have solutions of all
the acids of various strengths, for where one fails another will
often produce the desired effect. The action of the hydrochlo-
ric acid is weaker than that of either of the others. Solutions
of aether and sal volatile produced a marked effect. When
either of these were allowed to fall from a glass on the pollen,
its granules became distinctly agitated and moved about with
considerable velocity, sometimes for the space of two or three
minutes. A like effect, but to a much less extent, resulted
from the employment of tincture of cantharides, tincture of
capsicum, proof spirit, solution of nitrate of silver in proof
spirit, and essence of ginger, while liquor ammoniae and po-

Mr. H assail on the Structure of the Pollen Granule, 105

tassae produced no result. It is to be remarked, that all those
applications which occasioned any motion of the pollen con-
tained a greater or less proportion of spirit in them, and that
the most volatile liquids, aether and sal volatile, gave rise to the
most marked effect. This very obvious motion of the pollen
granules is certainly not to be referred to any action of the
irritants employed upon them, but to currents in the fluids.
That this is the real explanation to be given of the phaeno-
menon is satisfactorily proved by the two following facts :
1st. If a small quantity of either aether or sal volatile be al-
lowed to remain for a few minutes in a watch-glass and the
pollen be then added, no motion will follow, the more volatile
portion of these liquids having evaporated ; and 2nd, the
particles of flour will be equally affected by the applica-
tion of the before- mentioned solutions. Water also will some-
times cause the emission of the pollen tubes, the principle of
endosmosis being called into operation. This emission of the
pollen tubes is not the act of an instant, but occupies an ap-
preciable time, producing the impression on the mind of some
continuous force operating in occasioning it, such as that of
endosmosis already referred to.

The extreme care taken by nature to ensure the fertilization
of the seed, a process so essential to the well-being and al-
most the existence of man, is very striking, and some of the
beautiful provisions by which this important effect is so con-
stantly brought about, it is my intention now to notice. First,
then, the lining membrane of the anther, as pointed out by
Mirbel in 1808, is composed of cellular tissue of a fibrous
character, which forms an innumerable quantity of little
springs* which are highly elastic, and when dry contract and
pull open the valves of the anther, allowing the pollen to
escape. This elastic tissue is deprived of its fluid by means
of the endosmosis carried on by each individual grain of pol-
len, and this exhaustion of its fluid is only completed at the
period of the maturity of the pollen. Thus by this unerring
contrivance, not alone is the precise period of the opening of
the anther, viz. at the perfection of the pollen, provided for
and determined on, but it results from it also, that the pollen
only should be exposed in the weather most suitable for the
performance of its function, that is, in dry weather. The in-
jurious effect of a continuance of rain in destroying the ferti-
lizing power of the pollen is well known, and is to be ex-
plained by the rupture of the granules from the great quan-
tity of water imbibed by endosmosis ; and this consequence of

* This peculiar arrangement of the fibres of the lining membrane of the
anther is very plainly seen in the common nettle.

106 Mr. H assail on the Structure of the Pollen Granule.

wet would be attended with more serious results were it not
for another wise and effectual provision. The individual flow-
ers composing a bunch, as well as the different bunches of a
plant or shrub, come into blossom at successive intervals, the
order of their expansion depending mainly, I believe, upon
the position of the flower, whether it be in a more direct line
or not for the accession of sap, on the size of the peduncle, as
well as on the order of the development of the flower buds
themselves* : thus, if the pollen at one period be destroyed, it
is soon replaced by the unfolding of more blossoms and burst-
ing of anthers : this constitutes the second means by which
the efficiency of the pollen is ensured. We find a third in the
position of the stamens in reference to the pistil, which they
often surround, embrace, or overhang, so as to render the ap-
plication of the pollen to the stigmatic surface a matter of
certainty.

Again the filaments of some anthers are furnished with
elastic joints, which at a certain period, that is, when the
pollen and stigma are in a fit condition, contract and start
towards the pistil with a jerk, dispersing the contents of the
anthers around them by the suddenness and violence of the
motion. I may perhaps under this head refer to two instances
of irritability, which I have never seen mentioned in books,
and which are certainly not generally known. The first oc-
curs in Cornus canadensis : the corolla of each flower, a num-
ber of which are contained in a common involucrum, consists
of four segments ; these for some time are folded over the
other floral organs and meet in a common central point,
where they cohere by means of some secretion. Towards
their tips, on what is the upper surface, while thus closed,
arises a long spine or hair. The stamina are also four in num-
ber, and arise from the top of the calyx in the intervals be-
tween the petals, and at about half their length are bent in-
wards towards the pistil at a very acute angle, being retained
in this position by the corolla which infolds them. The base
of each petal, as well as the angle of inflection of each fila-
ment, are furnished with an elastic joint, so that if one of the
spines be slightly touched, not only does each segment of the
corolla fly back, but the stamina, the restraint being removed
from off them, start up, scattering the pollen of the anthers
around them, some of which, it is beautiful to observe, in
viewing this phenomenon under a low power of the micro-
scope, invariably alights upon the stigma, and is there re-
tained by means of the secretion with which it is furnished.

* The cause of the irregular ripening of many kinds of fruits and seeds
admits of a similar explanation.

Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule.. 107

If the joint of the filament be touched where it protrudes
between the petals, no such effect as I have described will
be produced, but the moment the hair is touched it takes
place j now the presence of these hairs affords a very inter-
esting instance of design. They are connected with the joint
of each petal by means of a raised line of elastic tissue which
runs along their centre, and which doubtless serves to convey
the impression or shock, imparted to the hairs most frequently
by means of insects, to the joint, causing it to contract ; the
dispersion of the pollen and consequent fecundation of the
ovule being thereby rendered more certain.

The second instance to which I shall refer is witnessed in
the common stinging nettle, Urtica dioica : the number of
stamina in this plant is likewise four ; these are inclosed in a
chalice or cup composed of four sepals, and the filaments are
coiled inwards ; on the reflection of these sepals, or on the
occurrence of any shock, the filaments disengage themselves,
and not merely straighten, but turn as much outwards as they
were previously coiled inwards, the pollen being scattered, as
in the former case, around them. If the filament of each sta-
men be examined with the microscope, one surface of it, that
is, the one which formed the concavity before its disengage-
ment, but after, the convexity, is observed to be ringed, in the
same way as the elastic spring of the sporangia of Ferns. An
analogous instance of irritability occurs in Parietaria, an al-
lied genus*.

The stigmata of some plants, as for example of Pavetta
Caffra, the Campanula &c, extend so much beyond and
above the anthers, that it is difficult to conceive in what way
the pollen can reach them ; but observation affords an expla-
nation of the means : at the time of the bursting of the anthers
the stigma is on a level with them, and, apparently stimulated
by contact with the pollen grains, subsequently rises up, carry-
ing with it in its progress a quantity of the pollen.

Moreover, the application of the pollen to the stigma is ren-
dered more certain by a cause, which, when not rightly consi-
dered, may appear trifling, but which, in its results, is far from
being so. I allude to the agency of insects, and of these,
especially to the Aphides, and our benefactor the Bee, that
busy labourer for man, who in rifling a flower of part of its
sweets, yet in doing so confers upon it the means of its per-
petuity by dispersing the pollen around, some of which never
fails to reach the stigma. To many insects the pollen doubt-

* I now know that this second example of vegetable irritability or elasti-
city of tissue is alluded to in Lindley's ! Natural Arrangement,' and also
in Henslow's ' Descriptive and Physiological Botany.'

108 • Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

less forms an important article of food, as does also the honeyed
secretion found in so many flowers, and are both the induce-
ments which bring them so many visitants. The chief use of
honey in the oeconomy of a plant I conceive to be to allure
insects for the purpose referred to.

The last provision to which I shall advert, consists in the
amazing number of pollen granules produced by most flowers.
In a single blossom of Leontodon Taraxacum I counted no
less than 243.600 pollen granules. A flower of Paeony fur-
nishes on an average 174 stamina, each containing 21,000
granules; these multiplied together give a total of 3,654,000 ;
and in an entire Rhododendron plant the pollen grains amount-
ed to the wonderful number of 72,620,000. This last result
was arrived at by computing the number of anthers in each
flower, with the contents of one, and the number of flowers
and bunches. Great as these amounts are, they sink into
comparative insignificance when contrasted with the myriads
produced by a single forest tree. A bulrush gave 14-4 grs. by
weight of pollen. Immense as the quantity of pollen is, pro-
vided for the fertilization of each flower, it is yet all necessary,
so much being destroyed by various instrumentalities, to en-
sure the certainty of a process, the failure of which would be
attended with such calamitous results. Nature is seldom
uselessly prodigal of her resources.

It is interesting to observe the relation which frequently
exists between the quantity of pollen and the more or less di-
rect means of its application to_the stigma ; this relation, how-
ever, is modified by the number of ova to be fertilized. Upon
this subject I hope shortly to make some detailed observa-
tions.

Various particulars referred to in the foregoing pages will
be exhibited in the figures which are to accompany the second
portion of this communication.

[To be continued.]

XIV. — Indian Cyprinidae. By John McClelland, Assist-
ant Surgeon Bengal Medical Service.

[Continued from p. 46.]

24. The Opsarions are Cyprinida that live upon other spe-
cies of their own class ; they are no less remarkable for the
peculiarity of their colours than for their remarkable structure
and habits. Instead of the longitudinal stripes of the Peri-
lamps, they are characterized by transverse bands or spots,
having a tendency to form cross bars on the sides. The ana-
logy between the structure and character of the Opsarions

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 109

and Felina has already been referred to (16.). Why the former
should present similar external markings to those which be-
long to the most destructive types of quadrupeds and birds,
cannot well be accounted for on other principles than those of
symbolical representation, by which an uniformity of design
appears to extend throughout all the infinite forms in the ani-
mal kingdom. As an ignorant confidence in this or any other
doctrine would be as absurd as a denial of anything else with
which we are imperfectly acquainted, the only way in which
we can evince our respect for those who have opened so vast
a field for inquiry is, to imitate their industry, leaving our
views to be slowly formed and matured with the progress of
inquiry — the only way in which sound or useful results ever
were or can be elicited in scientific pursuits*.

Green appears to be the characteristic colour of the mark-
ings on the sides of Opsarions, as blue or purple forms those
of the Perilamps ; and those Opsarions that are not either
marked with transverse green bars, or oblong spots of the
same colour transversely placed with regard to the body, are
covered with a silvery pigment similar to that of the Leuciscs.

25. In consequence of the important connexion between
colour and structure here pointed out, I am in some doubt as
to the nature of four small species described by Buchanan f,
and figured in the collection of his drawings at the Botanic
Garden. Two of them have been figured in the e Gangetic
Fishes/ and one a second time in Hardwicke's tf Illustrations';
but in the published figures, the peculiarity of the colours to
which I allude, and which seems to have been preserved in
the original drawings, has been overlooked. They have the
form of Cirrhins, but they are each marked with a dark spot
at the end of the tail, and the colours of the back descend
partially across the sides in bars as low as the situation of the
lateral line. I have added the species in question to the
Cirrhins as Cirrhinoids, until we know something more of
them. Should they prove, from the length of the abdominal
canal, to belong to Sarcoborina, as their colours indicate, they
will occupy a place between the Opsarions and the Loaches.

* Nothing is more easy, or more common because it is easy, than to an-
nounce as discoveries the startling results of immature inquiry into obscure
subjects ; yet when we consider the comparatively small amount of real dis-
covery solely attributable to Newton, compared with the extent of his appli-
cation, and how seldom a Newton appears, we should always receive with
suspicion the supposed discoveries of persons, who, from their frequent ap-
pearance in public, and the number of their occupations, argue a sad defi-
ciency in all those qualities essential to the promotion of any science.

f Cyp. Dero, Buch. Gang. Fis., pi. xxii. f. 78. Cyp. Morula, id., pi.
xviii. f. 91. Cyp.joalius, id. op. cit. 316. Cyp. Pausius, id. loc. cit.

1 10 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

26. The third subfamily, Apalopterinae, consists of the old
Linnaean genus Cobitis, the Anableps, Pcecilia, Lebias, Fun-
dulus, Molinesia and Cyprinodons, as well as two other genera,
Platycara * and Psilorhynchus, to be described in a subsequent
part of this paper. These fishes are all remarkable for their
long cylindric bodies, covered with a slimy mucus, the absence
of spines in any of the fins, and the shortness of their aliment-
ary canal.

Mr. Gray has recently separated the Loaches with subor-
bitar spines from those that are without these singular or-
gans. I have endeavoured to find further reasons to strengthen
this division, a single character being insufficient to distin-
guish a natural group without some more general reference
to habits and structure. Not having been successful, I am
obliged to resort to another arrangement, which appears to
be more natural, and at the same time equally obvious, the
caudal of the one subgenus (Cobitis propria) being entire,
and that of the other (Schistura) bifid, or divided into two
lobes, as in the ordinary Cyprins. Colour is here a no less
important guide than we have found it to be in Sarcoborince.
Green, disposed in bars and zones crossing the body, charac-
terizes all the Schistura except a single species (Botia grandis,
Gray), in which the colour is green, with oblong light yellow
spots, or rather short interrupted streaks, irregularly disposed
in all directions.

The true Loaches (Cobitis prop.), on the contrary, are all
brown, inclining in different species to red or yellow, disposed
in nebulous blotches or obscure bars having a transverse
tendency.

27. The structure of the digestive organs in the Loaches
and Schistura does not appear to be very different ; but in the
latter the intestine seems to be somewhat longer than in the
former, exceeding in the one genus the length of the body,
while in the other it falls short of this. In both the stomach
is a small lunate sac, placed crosswise with regard to the
body, with both orifices in the front, thus differing in this
peculiarity from all other Cyprinida that I have examined.
The mouth is small, and placed in the lower surface of the
head, and surrounded by minute cirri. Besides the differ-
ence in the caudal fins, length of intestine, and colour, in the
two subgenera of Cobitince, the body in Schistura is often
arched above and below, and compressed, the same as in
Cirrhinus and the generality of Cyprins ; but in Cobitis pro-

* Named by Mr. Gray as Buchanan's Balitora, which rather corresponds
with my Psilorhynchus ; Psil. variegatus being Buchanan's Cyprinus Ba-
litora.

Mr. J. M'Clelland on Indian Cyprinidae. Ill

pria, or true Loaches, it is almost cylindrical, and generally
very long. Some of the Schisturce are possessed of an air-
vessel, placed as usual in the upper part of the abdomen, of
an oval shape, and divided into two lateral cells by a longitu-
dinal septum ; but in Cobitis prop., or Loaches with entire
caudal, I have not found any trace of that organ in the ordi-
nary position : but in different species that I have dissected,
it is placed in a small bony case over the entrance to the oeso-
phagus ; this case consists of a single subglobular cell, al-
though in the European species it has been found to be bilo-
bate. In those Schisturce, on the other hand, which are with-
out the abdominal natatory bladder, I find the organ situated
over the entrance to the oesophagus, as in Cobitis prop., but
formed of two small globular cells, joined together by an in-
termediate tube.

28. Having thus explained the general principles on which
I have subdivided the family, it may be useful to examine
how far the results are likely to correspond with those laws
that have been laid down as the basis of natural classification.
With this view we should first of all endeavour to ascertain
the denomination of the family, or its relation in point of rank
to fishes in general ; but as this could only be done after ana-
lysis of the whole class, we can only attempt to form an esti-
mate on the subject by comparing Cyprinidce with what seem
to be analogous groups in other classes, to which the philo-
sophical views of Mr. MacLeay, Mr. Swain son, Mr. Vigors,
and other writers on the natural system, have been extended.

29. It might be unnecessary, in a communication of this kind,
to offer any remarks on the general principles of the natural
method of arrangement, as these are fully expounded in po-
pular introductions that ought to be universally read, as well
as in several papers that have been published within these last
twenty years in the Transactions of the Linnaean and other
learned societies ; I may however remark, that in addition to
those affinities by which animals are immediately connected,
there are more remote relations, called relations of analogy, by
which they typify or represent each other, " a principle which,"
as Swainson observes, "was in some degree perceived by
Linnaeus when he compared ruminating quadrupeds to galli-
naceous birds*, both of which evince the greatest intelligence,
docility and contentment under the domestication of man."
Appendages to the head, whether in the shape of horns, crests,
or fleshy protuberances, and the property of affording whole-

* Such analogies were, as Mr. MacLeay has shown, known to Aristotle,
by whom, however, as well as by all subsequent writers up to the time of
Mr. MacLeay himself, they were mistaken for affinities.

112 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

some and nutritious food, and otherwise contributing to the
ease and support of man, are, according to Swainson, the chief
attributes of the type to which the above analogy refers.

30. The Elephant, horned cattle, domestic poultry, &c,
are common instances of the type alluded to ; and if we com-
pare their properties in their respective circles with the Cy-
prinidce in the order of abdominal Malacopterygians, we may
venture perhaps to look upon that family as the equivalent
in its circle to other rasorial groups in theirs.

31. The mouth of Cyp.Calbasus,Buch., is small,and directed
downwards ; the anterior lip is compressed by a pendulous
muscular snout, to which four short muscular cirri, different
from the nervous filaments of Siluridte, are attached*, and the
posterior lip is fixed to the ligamentous union of the trans-
verse apophyses of the lower jaw. In the Cirrhins the lower
jaw is composed of two short branches or bony limbs, ob-
liquely inclined towards each other from their articulation to
the blunt apex of the jaw, where they are united by ligaments
instead of symphysis at the approximation of a slender apo-
physis from each side. Figs. 4, 5, 20, 21, plate 54, show the
under side of the right ramus of the lower jaw (natural size)
of four species ; a, being the point of approximation with its
fellow at the chin, and b, the articulating extremity behind.

32. This structure is evidently adapted to the habit of col-
lecting fruits, seeds, and other soft substances from the muddy
and sandy bottoms of indolent streams, in which loose de-
tached objects of the kind are most likely to occur, and where
they may be easily collected, without bodily effort, by means
of these soft pendulous and prehensile organs attached to the
lips. If to these characters we add the great size of the spe-
cies compared with the rest of the family, and the plain dusky
colour of the Cirrhins, their analogy to the proboscidian
types of quadrupeds seems almost complete. But there are
still other remarkable points of resemblance between the
Cirrhins and rasorial forms among the quadrupeds, in the de-
ficiency of teeth, and the weakness of the union of the two
limbs of the lower jaw.

33. In the Elephant this jaw is only formed for grinding such
substances as are introduced to the mouth by the proboscis ;

* The cirri of Cyprinidce are soft, and capable of being contracted and
elongated, as well as the loose muscular appendages of the snout to which
they are attached, particularly in the genus Cirrhinus i Cuv. ; but in Pime-
lodus aor, Buch., and most of the Siluridce, I find the cirri are flat and car-
tilaginous, with a groove on either edge for the protection of a large nerve,
an artery, and a vein. A cirrus so constructed is incapable of muscular ac-
tion, and is strictly an organ of sense only, and not of prehension as in Cy-
prinidce, and ought to be called a filament.

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 113

there are no cutting teeth, the use of these in gathering food
being superseded by the trunk. In all animals possessed of such
an organ, prehensile and cutting teeth appear to be less pro-
minent according to the degree of its development ; of this we
have instances in the Tapirs and Edentates. In the Sarco-
borince the incisors and prehensile teeth are represented by a
formidable knob on the symphysis of the lower jaw ; and in the
Pceonomince, where even this symbol is wanting, we find such
of the genera as are without strong muscular appendages to
the snout, furnished with a cartilaginous rim to the mouth,
which in some, as the Gonorhynchs, is confined to the edge
of the lower lip, as a covering or defence when employed in
detaching their peculiar food from the rocks to which it is
fixed, and may for this reason be considered as the last sem-
blance of a structure equivalent to cutting teeth* ; but in the
Cirrhins even this is quite deficient. Nor does the analogy
between these fishes and proboscidian quadrupeds end here :
the presence of cutting teeth implies a strong solid union of
the two bony limbs of the lower jaw at the symphysis for their
insertion ; but in the Edentates and Elephants the symphysis
is remarkably feeble, the two sides of the jaw being nearly
separated by a deep fissure, almost detaching its limbs from
each other, as actually occurs in the Cirrhins, with which I in-
clude Labeos, which are also furnished with similar prehensile
organs in the form of thick pendulous lips. So many corre-
sponding circumstances between animals so remote from each
other in the scale of affinity cannot be referred merely to co-
incidence, but rather to a law of symbolical representation, by
which the same type appears throughout an infinity of forms
in the several classes.

34. If Cyprinidce be a rasorial group, as the above analogies
of their most perfect forms with rasorial quadrupeds would
seem to indicate, the same relation should appear on contrast-
ing them with other classes, the corresponding points beco-
ming more striking or faint in proportion as the groups with
which they are compared are contiguous or remote from them ;
therefore, as birds are nearer to fishes than quadrupeds, the
comparison of analogous types between these classes should
afford more striking results than those I have cited.

* Mr. Evans pointed out to me a peculiarity, for which he could see no
object, in our skeleton of an Indian Rhinoceros, consisting of two minute
incisors scarcely larger than those of a Rabbit, and hardly projecting from
the alveolar ; yet these teeth, so small as to be utterly unfit for any useful
purpose, are found in every individual of the species. We can only regard
these, and all such organs, of which the animal kingdom presents innume-
rable examples, as the characters by which nature distinguishes her various
types.

Ann. $ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. I

114 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

The most remarkable characteristic of rasorial birds is their
shortness of wing, terrestrial habits, and consequent strength
and size of their legs, which are formed for the principal sup-
port of the body, and in some almost supersede the use of
wings. It may be thought difficult to find among fishes a
terrestrial type ; but as water is the natural element of this
class, so the ocean is its metropolis ; and those kinds that are
confined to rivers and the interior of continents may be safely
looked upon as more terrestrial than the rest, and consequently
so far equivalent in their habits to rasorial birds ; and while
there is no instance of rasorial birds possessed of aquatic habits,
or, as Swainson observes, " frequenting water or even its vici-
nity */' so no species of Cyprinidce is known to belong to the
sea. In India the Cyprinidce are exclusively confined to fresh
water, mostly keeping beyond the influence of the tides ; thus
evincing a propensity for land analogous to that of Rasores.

35. There is perhaps no point better settled in comparative
anatomy, than that the pectorals of fishes represent the upper
extremities of the higher classes of animals ; short pectorals
may therefore be said to be equivalent to short wings in birds ;
but it is a question of much interest to determine fully how
this applies to the case before us, and if it is to be relied upon
as a true analogy.

In the Frog and several reptiles the scapula has been found
by Cuvier and Geoffroy to be composed of two osseous pieces,
agreeing with the two upper bones of the posterior frame or
jamb of the branchial aperture in fishes ; and a third or lower
bone assists in forming a girdle to which the pectoral fins are
fixed in Siluridce and most fishes of the same order, with the
exception of the Cyprinidae, and particularly the herbivorous
section of the family (Pceonominae). These bones were found
by the most satisfactory analysis to represent the humerus, or
bone which gives support to the third row of quill- feathers in
birds. Below this bone there is a stylet, which in Cyprins is
merely rudimental. It was found by Cuvier to represent the
ulna and radius, or in other words, to be equivalent to the cu-
bitus or bone which sustains the secondary quills in the wings
of birds.

36. Thus two bones, which in birds constitute the larger
portion of the wing, may be said to be almost deficient in her-
bivorous Cyprins, though they are more developed in many
species of the carnivorous section of the family, and still more
complete and uniform in other families of the same order, as
Siluridae.

37. It is hardly necessary to enter into further analysis to

* Geog. Dist. and Class, of Animals, p. 259.

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 115

prove that the pectorals of Cyprinidae in general, but particu-
larly of herbivorous Cyprins, are less complete than those of
neighbouring groups, for we are at once struck with the fact
on observing the small size of the pectoral fins in all our
Pceonomince, and the slenderness of the rays of which they are
composed ; while the large clumsy rays of the ventrals, and
the strength of these fins, are circumstances that cannot be
overlooked, and which, when viewed in comparison with the
strong and fully-developed legs of Rasores (34.), supply all that
is essential in the analogies between the groups in question.

38. In the most carnivorous species of Sarcoborince, on
the other hand, and especially in some of the Opsarions, as
0. polio oous and O. photic ephalus*, remarkable instances are
observed of excessive development in the pectoral fins ; and
this is always, as far as I have seen, attended with a pro-
portionate want of size in the ventrals, which are so slen-
der and small in this genus, and their structure so delicate,
as to render it hardly possible to conceive that they can
be of much use in aiding the movements of the body.
Now the widely-cleft mouth or beak, great breadth of wings
or pectorals, obsolete ventrals or feet, are common to Opsa-
rions and Fissirostres, so that the first would thus appear to
be a natatorial type of Sarcoborince, corresponding with that
type in the order of perching-birds. To this, however, there
is some objection ; for if the Sarcoborince represent the Ferce,
the most carnivorous genus of the subfamily (which Opsa-
rions would seem to be) ought to represent the Falconidce, in
which there is only one genus (Gypaetus) remarkable for
short feet and great breadth of wing ; but the cruel habits
and voracious appetite of the Opsarions go to establish this
last as the true analogy ; this, however, as well as many other
points, must remain to be decided by further inquiry. In the
mean time we may be justified in the conclusion, that the
Ferce among the Mammalia, and the Falconidce among birds,
have their representatives among the Cyprinidce, and that the
same type in each of the three groups seems to possess cer-
tain corresponding characteristics which may distinguish them
from all adjoining groups, and that in describing these cha-
racters the same terms are as applicable to the one as to the
other, which is quite sufficient to prove their corresponding
analogies.

39. It may be objected to by those who have not paid much
attention to the subject, that detached comparisons of this
nature are of little value ; still they are important, as the
means of directing attention to characters that would other-

* Tab. 47, f. 2, 3.
12

116 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinida?.

wise be liable to be passed over unobserved ; I am therefore
disposed to pay little regard to such objections. The number
of species and groups are now so much multiplied in every
department of natural history, that detached descriptions are
daily diminishing in value ; and besides, it is so easy to make
a new genus if not required to show our reason for doing so,
that we need not be surprised that it should now have become
a regular trade, and that many acquire a temporary fame with
the unthinking part of mankind by the practice.

40. The first test of a natural group is the circularity of its
contents. To ascertain whether the affinities of the Cypri-
nidce are circular, it is necessary to recollect that the herbivo-
rous Cyprins are characterized by their plain colours and great
length of intestinal canal, which varies from six to twelve
lengths of the body in the different groups $ those with the
shortest intestine (the Barbels) being in the centre of the sub-
family, it follows that the two extremes must meet, or show a
tendency to approximate or close. The herbivorous Carps
are united to the Sarcoborince by means of the Gonorhynchs
and Systoms, and show, like the last, a tendency to form a
circle of themselves, though it is probable that the group
is yet far from being complete. The Sarcoborince and the
Loaches are united by two new types, the Platycara and Psi-
lorhynchus; and the Schistura, in addition to approximating
to the Platycara, unites, or shows a tendency to unite, both
in form and habits, with the Pceonominte, the group with which
we set out ; thus exemplifying the first principle of natural
classification, namely, that every natural series of beings, in
ifs progress from a given point, either actually returns, or
evinces a tendency to return again to that point, thereby
forming a circle*.

41. The second test of a natural group relates to the num-
ber of its types. On this point there exists some difference
of opinion among writers on the natural system, which their
profound inquiries are now doing much to remove. It is a
question which, to understand sufficiently for practical pur-
poses, requires an extensive knowledge of natural history, and
a mind somewhat more imbued with the spirit of philosophy
than has hitherto been considered requisite in those who ven-
tured to name new genera. It has already been said that the
lower jaw of the [Labeos agrees with that of the Cirrhins, in
being formed of two bones articulated behind to the anterior
process of the preoperculum, and that in front a transverse
apophysis is given off on either side, so as to meet nearly
in the middle, where they are united by ligaments and muscles
at the chin, which is square, with a fissure in the middle.

* Swains. Nat. Class, and Geog. Dist. Anim., p. 224.

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 117

The lower jaw of the Barbels is composed of two longer
limbs (fig. 6, plate 54) articulated behind as in the Cirrhins,
but without transverse apophyses in front, where the two
bones are united by symphysis, or close union, firmly ce-
mented as it were with cartilage.

In the Gudgeons the chin is rounded horizontally, without
the depression in the middle observed in that of the Cirrhins,
or the acute lengthened apex of the Barbels, and is composed
of a solid bony rim, formed of a transverse process directed
from each corner of the mouth to the centre, where it is firmly
united to its fellow by symphysis at the chin ; at the corners
of the mouth these transverse processes turn backwards at
right angles (as in Cyp. bata, Buch., fig. 3, plate 54), and some-
times at still greater angles, as in (fig. 2, plate 54) Cyp. mri-
gala, Buch. This last process is articulated behind to the
anterior process of the preoperculum, and corresponds with
Cuvier's angular bone in the Perch.

42. The angular transverse processes in this last form have
every appearance of being two distinct pieces (c and d, fig. 2,
plate 54), consolidated in adults by a bony union at the comer
of the mouth, yet formed from distinct centres of osseous de-
posit. Now as these three forms are each attended with pe-
culiar traits of character in regard to the nature of food and
the manner of obtaining it, as well as in the structure of their
digestive organs, we may be sufficiently justified in regarding
them as characterizing three types, which, if we like, we may
term primary. This view is further supported by the fact,
that to one or other of the three forms in question, variously
modified, the lower jaw of all the Cyprins of this country may
be referred. In Cyprinus semiplotus (fig. 1, plate 54) the an-
gular process is merged into the transverse, the first being
only distinguished by the pterygoid process (c, fig. 1, plate
54), which we know, from all the other species examined, to
belong to the angular limb (d, fig. 2, plate 54), and not to the
transverse process on which it is in this species placed ; while
the analogy to the type of the Gudgeons is preserved by an
additional transverse bone being placed parallel to and in front
of the first (e, e, fig. 1 and 2, plate 54). Of the positive value
of these characters, I may mention that Cyprinus mrigala,
Buch., is indicated by Cuvier as a Cirrhinus, but proved
by this method of analysis to belong to the Gudgeons {Gobio
prop., J. M.), having, as well as the peculiar affinity here
pointed out, the lengthened alimentary canal of that genus.

Cyprinus prop., Cuvier, I suspect will be found, according
to these principles, to agree in its natural affinities either with
the Barbels or Cirrhins, as the length of the dorsal and the

118 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidse.

presence or absence of a spinous ray are scarcely sufficient
distinctions even for a subgenus ; and the Catastomi and La-
beos of America will, I presume, be found to arrange them-
selves naturally with the Cirrhins.

The lower jaw of the Gonorhynchs is composed of two
limbs placed nearly parallel to each other, and, as in the Cir-
rhins, not united in front, but with this peculiarity, that the os
hyoides is prolonged to the chin, at which situation the ante-
rior extremities of the three bones are tied together with li-
gaments*.

In the Opsarions, and generally throughout the Sarcobo-
rince, the second form of jaw prevails, with the addition of
being more acute at the symphysis ; this form also seems to
prevail in the Cobitince, but in these the bones of the jaw are
soft and flexible. The limbs of this organ are round and slender
in Cobitis prop., but firmly united in front by means of two
expanded apophyses ; while in Schistura they are flat and ob-
liquely inclined to each other, so as to form, by means of their
inner edges, a lengthened symphysis.

43. Thus we appear to have three primary types : the first
distinguishes the Cirrhins, Labeos, and probably Catastoms ;
a second is peculiar to the Barbels, Opsarions, and numerous
other genera ; and a third is seen in the Gudgeons. From
these three types being so prominently developed in the Pteo-
nomince, while one principle chiefly seems to run through all
the Sarcoborinae, it is perfectly legitimate to conclude, even
from this circumstance alone, that the former should be the
most perfect group of the two, and that its species should con-
sequently be endowed with more diversified instincts ; hence,
although a vegetable regimen is the great characteristic of the
Pceonomincs, still many of the species are omnivorous, and this
is to be expected, especially among the Cirrhins and the true
Carps (Cyprinus prop., Cuv.). The Barbels, however, as well
perhaps as the Breams, which appear to be peculiar to Europe,
seem to partake more of carnivorous habits, and therefore
must be held as the subtypical, while the Cirrhins are the ty-
pical t; and the Gudgeons and Gonorhynchs, from their pos-
sessing in the greatest perfection the single instinct for a ten-
dency to which the Pceonomince are most remarkable, viz. sub-
sisting exclusively on a vegetable regimen, are as unques-
tionably the aberrant forms of Pceonomina : on the other hand,
the rapacious habits of the Sarcoborince mark them so con-

* Vide Journ. As. Soc. Beng., 1835, p. 40, where I described this struc-
ture iu Gonorhynchus petrophilus.

f The Cirrhins being the most perfect forms of a typical group, are
strictly, in the language of Mr. Swainson, pre-eminently typical.

Mr. J. M'Clelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 119

spicuously as a subtypical group, corresponding as they do
with the habit of that group in devouring other animals, that
it is unnecessary in this place to offer a remark in support of
a fact so plain.

44. The consideration of the third or aberrant group in
Cyprinidae involves some points which will not be so clear to
those who have not studied the principles of natural classi-
fication. This group should possess three types, and these
should be so related as to form a circle of affinities among
themselves. This property has suggested the following pro-
position to Mr. Swainson, which tends to reconcile some di-
versity of opinion that formerly prevailed as to the number of
primary types : — "The primary circular divisions of every
group are three actually, or five apparently '? The three
aberrant types are named by Mr. Vigors (' Linn. Transac./
vol. xiv.) from the corresponding groups in ornithology, na-
tatorial, suctorial, and rasorial*. The third type I find to be
represented by the Loaches ; but before we enter into a consi-
deration of that part of the subject, it is necessary to point out
the two first types, which I have already only alluded to ; this
I must do by entering into more particulars than may seem
to be necessary.

45. Buchanan, in defining his ninth division of the old ge-
nus Cyprinus, which is composed of Gonorhynchs, as I have
already pointed out, gave them the barbarous name of Garra,
and compares their habits to those of the Loaches, and ob-
serves that they are called Balitora, or sand-diggers, by the
natives ; a name, I may observe, which in Assam, and I pre-
sume also in Bengal, is applied to Loaches only. Indeed the
Gonorhynchs, or Garra of Buchanan, are peculiar to moun-
tains, from whence they are driven down during floods, and
do not extend beyond the rapids that skirt their base ; so that
they can scarcely be said to be entitled to any Bengal name.
In this group Mr. Gray detected a new genus, to which I wish
he had given a more appropriate name than Balitora ; for in-
dependently of the species being different from any of those
described by Buchanan, and supposed by him to be the Ba-
litora of the natives, Mr. Graves genus is peculiar to moun-
tain-torrents, the beds of which are usually rocky rather than
sandy : for this reason, as well as from the fact of the Balitora
of Gray forming a new type, distinguished by a flat head and

* As these terms have been applied conditionally by Mr. Swainson to
Mammalia, I need make no apology for following the example of so good
an authority in applying them to fishes. Indeed I have been guided en-
tirely by the views of Mr. MacLeay, as exhibited in the ' Linnaean Transac-
tions,' and the works of Mr. Swainson, from beginning to end of this paper.

120 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidse.

other remarkable characters, I propose for it the generic
name Platycara*. Several specimens of this genus, corre-
sponding, I suspect, with the spotted species of Gray, P. macu-
lata, plate 49, fig. 2 f, were brought down from Bouton by Mr.
Griffith, but they were unfortunately in such a decayed state
when opened that we have been unable to obtain from them
a very full specific description. I have however, from these
specimens, been able to satisfy myself on other points con-
nected with their structure, and find not merely that they are
distinct from the Gonorhynchs [Garra, Buch.), in consequence
of their short fleshy abdominal tube, which does not, inclu-
ding the stomach, exceed the length of the body, while that
of the Gonorhynchs is equal to eight lengths of the body ; but
that their broad and blunt head is more like that of a Silurus
than a Cyprinus. Their character is rendered still more re-
markable by the great breadth and position of the pectorals,
situated almost beneath the eyes, and the fleshy pedicles or
arms on which they are placed are decided analogies to nata-
torial forms. If we compare the characters of the Platycara
with those of the natatorial types in the other classes, we are
struck with the analogy — " a blunt truncated muzzle, an ob-
tuse head with strong jaws for seizing animal food." The
short intestines of the Platycara prove their habits to be car-
nivorous ; and though the mouth is not very large, the jaws
are remarkably strong, composed, as in the Gudgeons, of two
limbs soldered in the middle, but much stronger than in the
instance referred to. Among birds, the Owls, the natatorial
group of Raptores, and the Fissirostres in the circle of perchers,
as well as most of the Natatores, are distinguished above other
birds for their breadth of wing, and the blunt or flattened
form of the rostrum or the head, as has been proved by the
philosophical analysis of the class by Vigors and SwainsonJ.
46. For the next cr suctorial form (plate 50, fig. 1, 2) we are

* From plains, broad, and kara, the head.

f From the importance here givenjfc these species as forming a new
type, I have transferred the two figures from Hardwicke's ' Illustrations,' in
which there is no description of |hem, to plate 49.

Since the above was writteX^ie collectors employed by my friend Mr.
Griffith in the Kasyah mountains have obtained an additional species ; and
as their liberal employer has no object to serve beyond the interest of sci-
ence, he has freely permitted me to make use of this or any similar object
of zoological interest contained in his collections. The species alluded to,
P. nasuta, is described in Prinsep's Journal of the Asiatic Society for No-
vember 1838, plate 55, fig. 2. See also plate 57, fig. 2 of this paper : in this
species the pectoral pedicles are very slightly developed.

\ The Pceciliance, Schn., to which I have added a subgenus Jplochelus,
as well as the adjoining genera with flat heads and teeth, 1 also refer to the
same type, plate 42, fig. 2, 3, plate 55, fig. 4.

Mr. West wood on the Sexes in certain Lucanidae. 121

indebted to two drawings in Buchanan's collection, which are
marked " Stolephorus ;'* but the Stolephore {Engraulis, Cuv.)
or Anchovies belong to the Clupeidce, a. family remarkable
for its narrow or compressed forms. The two figures referred
to are not compressed nor sharp beneath, so that they could
not belong to the genus Buchanan had in view when he named
them on the drawings ; and this mistake he seems afterwards
to have corrected, as the same two species appear unquestion-
ably to be those described in the ( Gangetic Fishes/ p. 347-8,
under the names of Cyprinus Sucatio and Cyp. Balitora*,

The muzzle of these species is remarkably flattened and
thin, but there is nothing remarkable about the pectoral fins ;
and the eyes, instead of being placed on the upper surface of
the head, as in Platycara, are situated on its edges ; the mouth
is remarkably small, placed far behind the long and thin
muzzle, without any appearance of cirri, as in the Loaches, to
which Buchanan supposed them to bear a resemblance. This
genus, which appears to be the suctorial type, I propose to
name Psilorhynchusf. The peculiarities just noticed, as well
as the position of the eyes, which are far back in the head, as
we see in the Moles, Ant-eaters, and other analogous types
among quadrupeds, together with their well-formed and fully-
developed fins, are indicative of pow T ers of rapid motion, such
as distinguishes the Humming-birds, Cinnyris, Waders, and
other suctorial types in the same class. Unfortunately we are
not acquainted with the habits of the two interesting species
under consideration, further than that they were obtained by
Buchanan in the northern parts of Bengal, to w T hich they have
been probably swept from the mountains. The information
to be derived from their intestines is however of the less im-
portance as affecting their type, as they w r ould be equally suc-
torial whether they derived their food from the juices of plants
or from shell-fish or ova.

[To be continued.]

XV. — Notice of a hitherto undescribed character distinctive
of the Sexes in certain Lucanidae. By J. O. Westwood,
F.L.S.

During the late visit of Professor Burmeister to London, he
mentioned to me, whilst looking over my collection of ento-
mological drawings, that a Brazilian insect therein represented,

* It was probably Buchanan's descriptions of these species Mr. Gray had
in view when he bestowed the name Balitora on the genus which I now call
Platycara.

t From psilo, thin or attenuated, and rhynchus, a snout or beak.

122 Mr. Westwood on the Sexes in certain Lucanidae.

and which had been regarded by the Rev. F. W. Hope as a
species of Pholidotus (Ph. irroratus, H., Trans. Zool. Soc.*),
and by myself as constituting a subgenus of Pholidotus (Scor-
tizus, W., in Ann. d. Sci. Nat., 2nd Ser. t. i. p. 119), was na-
turally referable to the group of Lucanidce typified by Figulus,
MacL. (consisting of the genera Figulus, Nigidius, Cardanus,
W., and Ceratognathus,W.), being, like those genera, furnished
with a corneous hook at the extremity of the mando or in-
ternal lobe of the maxilla?. My drawings comprised a repre-
sentation of the maxillae, and exhibited this hook ; but in the
plate published in the £ Transactions of the Zoological Society '
the figure of this organ was omitted.

The existence of two other Brazilian species of Lucanidce
closely allied to Scortizus, but of a narrower form, approach-
ing that of the Figulides, and which also possessed a similar
hook, appeared to confirm Dr. Burmeister's views, although the
general form of Scortizus irroratus, and especially the par-
tially squamose surface of the body, seemed equally to bring it
into connexion with Pholidotus,

Having years ago discovered that the females of Pholidotus
possess a similar hookfj although it is wanting in the males,
it appeared to me that this circumstance gave a more direct
clue to the solution of the question than any other that could
be offered. The unique specimen, however, in Mr. Hope's
collection being a female, it became necessary to examine the
other sex, and fortunately the valuable collection of Brazilian
insects of Mr. Miers afforded an example of both sexes ; and
on dissecting the male, I found, as I had anticipated, that its
liiaxillae were destitute of any corneous hook, thus proving
the relationship of Scortizus and Pholidotus. Being further
anxious to ascertain whether this sexual distinction might
not also exist amongst the Figulideous species, the specimens
of which hitherto dissected might possibly have been females
alone — whilst the males hitherto undissected might have been
destitute of such hook, which latter is in fact the character
assigned by Mr. MacLeay to his genus Figulus in the ( Horae
Entomological/ — I submitted all my exotic Lucanidce (except
those of the genus Lucanus) to the test of dissection, and the
result has been the discovery of the existence of a similar sex-
ual distinction in the genus Lamprima ; whereas in Nigidius
and Ceratognathus, W., the males of which are at once recog-
nisable by the increased size of the mandibles, I found the

* Lucanus maculatus, Klug, in Nova Acta.

f Mr. MacLeay formed the female of this genus into the genus Casignetus
in the ' Horse Entomologicas,' overlooking however this curious character,
but suggesting its generic identity with Pholidotus.

Mr. Westwood on new Insects. 123

maxillse in this sex furnished with the hook as well as in the
females. All my specimens of Figulus and Cardanus, W., are
also similarly provided with the hook, but I have not distin-
guished between the sexes ; so that I cannot affirm, although I
fully believe, that both sexes of those two genera are also fur-
nished with a hook, and consequently that the description
of Mr. MacLeay of the genus Figulus is erroneous.

The genera in which I have found neither sex furnished
with the hook are Ceruchus, Platycerus, Ceratognathus, W.,
Syndesus and Rhyssonotus.

In Lepidodes, W., a new subgenus of Lucanus which exhi-
bits several of the characters of Pholidotus and Rhyssonotus,
I found the unique female in Mr. Melly^s collection to be de-
stitute of a tooth.

I also found the females of Chiasognathus and Sphenogna-
thus similarly destitute of the hook, although, from their close
relationship with Pholidotus, I fully expected to find that they
possessed it.

XVI. — Insectorum novorum Centuria, auctore
J. O. Westwood, F.L.S.

Decadis primce Coleopterorum Synopsis*.

Carenum, Bon. ; C. Spencii. Subopacum, nigrum ; tibiis anticis
valde palmatis, elytris excavationibus rotundatis numerosis tri-
plici serie (in utroque elytro) ordinatis; spatiis intermediis ele-
vatis. Long. corp. lin. 9. Nova Hollandia. Mus. Melly.

Helota, MacL. ; H. Thibetana. ^Enea, lateribus cupreo-tinctis,
valde rugosa et punctata tuberculisque oblongis distincta, elytris
guttis 4-elevatis fulvis, antennis piceo-luteis, femoribus fulvis,
apicibus aeneis, tibiis fulvo piceoque annulatis. Long. corp. lin. 4.
Habitat Thibet. Mus. Melly.

TRiPLATOMAf, Westw., in GrifF. An. K. ; T. apicalis. Nigra, lsevis,
prothoracis lateribus luteis macula oblongo-ovali nigra ; elytris
fascia valde angusta ante medium alteraque pone medium (in
medio interrupta) et subobliqua luteis ; apicibus apiceque ab-
dominis runs. Long. corp. lin. 9J. Habitat Africa tropicali.
D. Raddon. Mus. nostr. Elater ccecus, Fabr., Pal. B. Col. pi.
7. f. 4. valde affinis.

Sternotomis, Perch. (Sternodonta, Dej., Lap.) ; 5. amoena. Nigra,
opaca, pronoto maculis duabus mediis lateribusque, scutello,
maculis lateribusque elytrorum viridi-lacteis, maculis duabus in

* Figures and detailed descriptions of these insects are prepared, and will
be published hereafter.

f Krotylidae oblongoe, palpis maxillaribus simplicibus.

124 Mr. Westwoo(Fs Century of new Insects.

medio elytrorum maximis ; alterisque duabus posticis elongatis
et valde angustis. Long. corp. lin. 11 — 16. Habitat Africa
tropicali. D. Raddon. Mus. Melly, nostr.

Saperda, Fab. ; S. carissima. Brevis, opaca, supra viridi-lactea,
pronoto vittis tribus brunneo-fulvis, elytris fascia lata irregulari
(in medio interrupta) ex humeris fere ad suturam ducta, macu-
laque magna communi discoidali, brunneo-fulvis; his etiam ma-
culis 10, nigris rotundatis ornatis. Long. corp. lin. 5. Habitat
Africa tropicali. Mus. Raddon.

Paristemia, Westw. (n. g. Longicorn. Lophonocero et Pteracanthae
Newm. affinis). Antennae breves, crassae, caput parvum, pro tho-
rax utrinque obtuse spinosus, elytra lateribus rotundato-dilatatis,
apicibus simplicibus. Palpi breves. — P. platyptera. Nigra, pro -
thorace rufo, utrinque striga e capite ad angulos posticos ducta
nigra, elytris fascia latissima postice angulata et fere ad apicem
extensa rufa. Long. corp. lin. 12§; Habitat Africa tropicali.
Mus. Raddon.

Lucanus, Linn. ; L. Dux. Ater, elytris nitidis, capite utrinque rugose
punctato, pronoto tenuissime punctato, mandibulis longitudine
capiti et thoraci aequalibus, valde curvatis, intus (dentibus
tribus subapicalibus exceptis) inermibus ; capite pone oculos
utrinque obtuse spinoso, prothorace utrinque bispinoso, angulis-
que posticis acutis, tibiis anticis apice externo 3-dentato ; 4 pos-
ticis inermibus. Long. corp. cum mandibulis unc. 4, lin. 2.
Habitat Manilla. D. Cuming. In Mus. Brit. Affinis L. belli-
coso, Lap., at major, et mandibulis basi intus inermibus. Vix
varietas D. Alcidis.

Lucanus DeHaanii. ^Eneo-rufescens, elytris pedibusque fulves-
centibus, capite maximo antice latiori ; oculis vix septatis ;
mandibulis elongatis, dente uno ante, alteroque pone medium
tribusque subapicalibus intus armatis ; antennis valde elongatis,
clava 4-phylla, l mo articulo clavae maximo ; pronoto postice
angustiori, pedibus longis, tibiis anticis in medio 1-spinosis,
4 posticis inermibus. Long. corp. cum mandibulis lin. 19. Ha-
bitat Borneo. Mus. Melly. Conf. L. metallicus, Bdv. Voy.
Astrol.

Lucanus. (S. g. nov. Lepidodes. Corpus punctatum punctis albi*
do-squamosis, caput $ magnum quadratum ; mandibulis eras-
sis, porrectis subrectis intus et ad apicem valde dentatis, protho-
rax subrotundatus lateribus crenulatis ; oculis omnino septatis,
antennarum clava 3-phylla ; tibiae anticae 5-dentatae, 4 posticae
inermes. L. (Chalcodi) aerato proximus.) L. (L.) rotundicollis.
Purpureo-fuscus, subnitidus, capite thoraceque dense punctatis,
punctis albido-squamosis ; elytris tenuissime punctatis et squa-
mosis. Corpore infra ut supra colorato et squamoso. Long,
corp. lin. 10 — 14. Habitat Nova Hollandia. Mus. Curtis et
Melly.

Passalus, Fab. ; P. fronticornis. Niger, nitidus, subcylindricus ;
clypeo in cornu longitudine capitis apice emarginato porrecto,

Mr. W. Thompson on migratory Birds. 125

mandibulisque porrectis, apertis, longitudine cornu clypei, intus
ad basin multi-dentatis, pronoto serie punctorum margine antico,
parallela, punctisque duobus majoribus versus angulos posticos.
Long. corp. 1 unc. Habitat Thibet. Mus. Melly.

XVII. — Notice of migratory Birds which alighted on, or were
seen from, H.M.S. Beacon, Capt. Graves, on the passage
from Malta to the Morea at the end of April 1841. By
Wm. Thompson, Esq., Vice-Pres. Nat. Hist. Society of
Belfast.

Having been favoured by my friend Capt. Graves, R.N.,
with an invitation to accompany him during the projected
government survey of the island of Candia, I, with Mr. E.
Forbes (who had received from the Admiralty the honorary
appointment of Naturalist on the occasion), left Malta in
H.M.S. Beacon on the 21st of April. The first port we sailed
for was Navarino, for the purpose of watering the ship. The
passage occupied seven days. It being just the period of the
year when many species of birds which make Europe their
abode only in the more genial seasons, were, after having
passed the winter in Africa, crossing the Mediterranean to
their summer quarters, we were often gratified by a sight of
them, either passing, resting briefly on the rigging, or re-
maining sometimes so long as a day or more about the ship.

The following notes were made upon the subject. The
prevailing wind of the day is set down : the progress noted is
what we had made at sunset.

April 22.— AVind W., forty miles E. of Malta. An Owl
alighted on the vessel and remained a short time. I saw it
very well and near, but could not be certain of its species.
Looking over the collection at the British Museum and refer-
ring to Gould's c Birds of Europe' since my return, have not
satisfied me on the point. Other examples of the same spe-
cies were seen on the passage, and afterwards in the island of
Paros. It seems to be the most common of the small migra-
tory owls to the south of Europe, and I have little doubt is
the species noticed by Sibthorp in his papers on Greece (pub-
lished in Walpole's Memoirs) as the Strix passerina. — Blue-
headed Wagtail (Motacilla neglecta, Gould) : two of these
birds, both females, were about the vessel all day, and very
tame ; one of them flew into our cabin. It was amusing to
see them fly-catching on the deck, where they appeared to
great advantage, and met with considerable success. Their
manner is, poking out the neck most ludicrously, opening

126 Mr. W. Thompson on migratory Birds

wide the bill, and then — making the unerring dart at their
victim*.

Common Swallow (Hirundo rustica). Two remained some
time about the ship, perching on the rigging, and hawking
over the deck in pursuit of flies.

April 23.— Wind S.E., 80 miles from Malta, and 50
from Cape Passaro, the nearest land. A Lesser Grey-shrike
(Lanius minor), of which I had a near view several times ; a
Whitethroat (Sylvia cinerea), a Willow-Wren (Sylvia Trochi-
lus), and a Black-headed Buntingf (Emberiza melanocephala),
flew on board. Two individuals of the Motacilla neglecta re-
mained for some time in the vessel, as did a Wheatear (Sax-
icola (Enanthe) all day. A House Marten (Hirundo urbicd)
flew into the cabin and was found dead shortly afterwards :
it had not met with any molestation on board. The officers
of the Beacon have frequently known birds of different spe-
cies when crossing the Mediterranean thus fly into the cabin,
secrete themselves and die. A Quail (Perdix Coturnix) was
captured on board, and appeared to be dying at the time.

April 24. — Wind S.E., 90 miles E. of Sicily: Syracuse
the nearest land. Several of the Motacilla neglecta flew on
board ; one of them entered "the cabin very boldly, and enter-
tained us much by its familiarity. Persons passing in and
out of the room frighted it not from fly-catching, in which it
succeeded by running, leaping, or taking short flights at its
prey : this bird even alighted on ourselves and picked flies off
our clothes.

Two or three Hoopoes (Upupa Epops) came on board,
tested for a short time, and proceeded on their flight ; a Tur-
tle Dove (Columba Turtur) did the same.

A flock consisting of twelve Ibises (Ibis falcinellus, Temm.)
were seen first at a distance coming from the south-west, flew
close past the vessel, and continued directly in the same course,
or towards the north-east, until lost to view.

April 25. — Wind N.E., 58 miles from Calabria, the near-
est land : 135 miles from Mount Etna at sunset, when it
was visible. A Scops- eared Owl (Strix Scops) was knocked
down and captured just as he had clutched a Lesser White-
throat (Sylvia Curruca), of which species two or three indi-
viduals came on board. A Shrike (Lanius ), which from

* When, on the 16th of April, on our passage from Marseilles to Malta,
and about twenty miles southward of the most southern point of Italy, two
of the Motacilla neglecta, both males, flew on board the steam-packet; they
were very tame, and remained in the vessel for half an hour.

t A continental species, and not the bird — Emberiza Schceniculus — known
in some parts of the British Islands by this name.

seen on the passage from Malta to the Morea. 127

the height it generally kept at I could not see well enough
to distinguish its species, seized a Sylvia Trochilus, all of
which it eat except the bill : of the latter species, one which
was taken by ourselves met with better treatment, and perch-
ing quietly on the finger was so carried about to feed on flies,
which, when taken near to, it seized, never leaving the hand
if the fly could possibly be captured from it. A female Golden
Oriole {Or'iolus Galbula), a Redstart (Phcenicura ruticilla),

and a Lark (Alauda ), of what species I could not be

certain, came on board — the Redstart was caught. Several
of the Hirundo rustica about the ship. A Wryneck {Yunx
torquilla) was captured, and on being taken within reach of
flies, at once picked them up*. When turning about its neck
in the manner peculiar to the species, this bird was compared
by some of the officers to a particular species of snake found
in Greece, and which, like it, has a dark band on the head
and neck.

Two or three of the Upupa Epops and a Columba Turtur as
yesterday flew on board, but did not remain long. a Large
and small hawks" were reported to me as seen about the ship ;
but the Goatsucker and Cuckoo might, from their general ap-
pearance and mode of flight, be not improbably looked upon
as " small hawks ."

April 26. — Wind N.E., 86 miles from Zante, the nearest
land : 130 miles from Navarino. A fine male Woodchat (La-
nius rufus), a White-collared Flycatcher (Muscicapa albicol-
lis), and one of Natterrer^s Warblers {Sylvia Natterreri) were
caught on board.

A Sylvia Trochilus and a ChifF-chafF {Sylvia rufa) were
found dead in my cabin ; they had not been caught or in-
jured in any way on board, and must, I think, have died from
fatigue : want of food could hardly have caused their death,
as there were plenty of flies in the cabin. A Sylvia Curruca,
a Sub-alpine Warbler {Curruca leucopogon, Gould), a Saxi-
cola (Enanthe, a Whinchat {Saxicola Rubetra), a Pied Wheat-
ear {Saxicola leucomela), and an Alauda, of the same species
as noticed yesterday, flew on board, as did two or three indi-
viduals of Motacilla neglecta. Several of the Hirundo rustica
about the vessel during the day, and some remained, perching
on one of the boats, throughout the night. Three Bee-eaters
{Merops apiaster) came from the south, and flew close past
the ship without alighting. I saw four of the Columba Turtur
come from the south today ; two of them singly, the other two

* The birds which, in addition to the Wryneck, fed freely on flies, when
taken within reach of them immediately after capture, were Sylvia Trochilus,
Motacilla neglecta, Hirundo rustica, and Hirundo urbica.

128 Mr. W. Thompson on migratory Birds

in company : one only alighted on the ship, and in the even-
ing was caught when asleep.

April 27. — Wind N., 45 miles from Zante, the nearest land,
and in sight : 60 miles W. of the Morea. A Kestrel (Falco
Tinnunculus) flew close past the ship, and a U much larger
hawk," which did not come under my own observation, was
stated to have been seen.

Two females of the Oriolus Galbula which flew on board
were captured. Two or three males of the Muscicapa albi-
collis visited us today, and as many females either of this spe-
cies or the Pied Flycatcher {Muscicapa luctuosa), but most
probably the former.

A Baxicola Rubetra and a Motacilla neglecta came to the
ship. About a dozen of the Hirundo rustica, which rested last
night on the rigging, went off this morning. Throughout the
afternoon and towards evening many more arrived, and con-
tinued flying about the ship in considerable numbers.

A few of the Hirundo urbica appeared this morning and re-
mained through the early part of the day, confining their
flight to the lee-side of the ship : in the afternoon still more
were seen hawking about in company with Hir. rustica ; as
flies were numerous, they probably obtained plenty of food : at
four o' clock p.m. all of this species were gone.

In the morning a Merops apiaster z coming from the south-
west, alighted for a moment on the vessel and then flew to-
wards Zante or in a north-east direction : soon afterwards a
flock consisting of fifteen came from the same quarter, hawked
about the leeward side of the vessel for a short time, and then
proceeded north-east : an hour after their departure (ten
o'clock) a flock of eight appeared, and alighting on a rope
astern the ship, remained there for nearly an hour ; they were
perched close together, and so low down on the rope, that by
its motion the lowest one was more than once ducked in the
water, but nevertheless did not let go its hold or change its
position for a drier one. These birds were but a few yards
from the cabin- windows, and looked so extremely beautiful,
that they were compared by some of the spectators to paro-
quets, and on account of their gaudy plumage not very in-
aptly. After these left us, others were seen throughout the
day, but generally singly ; they rarely alighted : all flew in the
same course*.

A few Goatsuckers (Caprimulgus Europceus) appeared about
the ship today and alighted ; they were all single with one ex-

* When not very far to the westward of Cape Matapan on the 1st of May,
a flock of twenty-nine of the Merops apiaster flew close past the ship to-
wards the Morea.

seen on the passage from Malta to the Morea. 129

ception, when two were seen in company. A few individuals
of this species were likewise seen within the last two or three
days. A couple were shot this afternoon. Throughout today
the Columba Turtur was observed coming from the south, and
generally singly : very few alighted.

All the birds seen on migration bore right on in the course
they had come, whether they rested temporarily on the vessel
or otherwise. They all came from a southerly direction,
either due south, S.W. or S.E. The wind was moderate, the
weather fine and dry during the whole passage, so that all the
species we saw were in the ordinary course of migration, and
none driven to the ship by any stress of weather.

Although not coming within the title of this communica-
tion, inasmuch as it had already taken up its summer quar-
ters, I shall here mention the Alpine Swift (Cypselus melba),
which upon our entering the fine bay of Navarino on the
morning of the 28th, appeared in great numbers careering
high overhead. Of the Hirundines generally, it may be re-
marked, that from our arrival in France on the evening of the
1st of April, we did not see any of the species until the 9th,
when going down the Rhone from Lyons to Avignon. About
half-way between these places several of the Cyp. melba were
seen flying over the river, and likewise at all suitable places
from where they first appeared until we reached Avignon,
Hirundo rustica and H. urbica were likewise seen several
times between Lyons and Avignon, but were nowhere nu-
merous. The first I saw of these species (but which of them
could not be determined from the distance) was a small flock
flying northwards, evidently on migration. All indeed which
were seen today were I think only temporarily here, and
would, after having got sufficient rest and food, move north-
wards. A very few Sand Martens {Hirundo riparia) v/ere also
seen about the Rhone today. At Malta, on the 17th of April,
we first met with the Common Swift (Cypselus murarius),
where, together with the three species of Hirundo just men-
tioned, numbers were flying low and in company, wherever
we walked about the island ; the day was very fine and warm :
all four species were about as numerous as in their most fa-
voured haunts in the British Islands.

On the 18th of April, when walking in the neighbourhood
of Valetta (Malta), six Little Plovers (Charadrius minor) in a
flock alighted very near us apparently to rest, and after a
short time proceeded in their course, which was in a north-
west direction.

Ann. fy May. N. Hist. Vol. viiL K

130 Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany,

XVIII. — Report of the Results of Researches in Physiological
Botany made in the year 1839. By F. J. Meyen, M.D.,
Professor of Botany in the University of Berlin*.
[Continued from p. 35.]

Anatomy of Vegetables,
M. DECAiSNEf has published a short notice on the structure
of the wood of the Misseltoe : he could not confirm the state-
ment of M. Dutrochet, who says that the woody body is
wanting in the articulation (Gliederung) between the inter-
nodes, and is only connected by a cellular layer of pith, so
that, properly speaking, the internodes are connected together
solely by the bark. According to M. Decaisne r s observations,
it is exactly in the internodes that the vessels of the bark are
separated ; and he says, that on this fact the articulation of
this plant depends, but not on the separation of the fibres of
the wood. The wood of Viscum exhibits no vessels (hereby
is meant simple spiral tubes. — Mey.), and only in the pith
were seen annular tubes ; the nerves of the leaves did not
possess any spirals. The number of the vascular bundles
(Holzbiindel) in young twigs is regularly eight, seldom seven
or nine, and each is surrounded, both inwardly and out-
wardly, with a bundle of bast cells.

M. Dutrochetf attempted to demonstrate to the Academy
that his former statements were correct.

Already in 1838 M. Morren§ had made some physiological
observations on a new plant named by him Malaxis Par thorn,
which, however, I have only lately seen. M. Morren indicates,
that a colouring matter similar to indigo must be contained
in the leaves of this plant, as in the flowers of Calanthe vera-
trifolia and in the leaves of Mercurialis perennis, &c. The
presence of indigo in the Orchidea was however discovered
years ago by M. Marquart in Bonn. The air-rootlets which
were examined by M. Morren Were covered with a quantity
of very fine hairs, consisting of single transparent cells, the
walls of which were very thin, and exhibited within a rotation
(cyclosis). [The universal appearance of these rotating
streams in the root-hairs of Phanerogams I have already
proved. — Mey.~\

M. Morren observed, that in some of these hairs the glo-
bules collected together in masses and formed a kind of par-
tition, by which the cyclosis was prevented ; indeed he be-

* Translated and communicated by Henry Croft, Esq.
f De la Structure ligneuse du Gui. Comptes Rendus 1839, p. 204.
j Comptes Rendus, p. 215.

§ Notice sur une nouvelle espece de Malaxis, &c. Bull, de l'Acad. de Sci.
de Bruxelles, torn. v. No. 8.

Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany. 131

lieves that this is as it were the commencement of the forma-
tion of partitions, which are observed to appear in Conferva,
&c. for the increase of the cells. I cannot agree to this hy-
pothesis, for these partitions are formed in quite a different
manner, and the appearance of a partition by which the cy-
closis within a utricle is divided into two parts is quite an
accidental and rare phenomenon. I myself observed it in the
Char (2 in 1825 (Linnaea, 1827, p. 66), and saw that thereby
two streams were produced, which lasted until the obstruction
was carried away. M. Morren observed spiral fibrous cells
of various forms in the enlargements of the base of the stalk
of this new Malaxis.

M. Morren* has published an interesting paper e On the
Discoid Pith of Plants/ which had been observed by Grew in
Juglans regia, by M. Mirbel in Nyssa aquatica and Phyto-
lacca decandra, as well as by DeCandolle in Jasminum offici-
nale. M. Morren thinks it very probable that this structure
of the pith may occur in many other plants ; he himself found
it in plants belonging to the families Santalacece, Juglandece,
Phytolacce®, Jasmine®, and Bignoniacece; but he remarks, that
some species of a genus exhibit this formation, while others
do not. The figures which accompany this treatise of M. Mor-
ren were drawn from Begonia argyrostigma, Juglans regia,
Jasminum fruticans ,and Phytolacca decandra; the pith in these,
as in many other plants, exhibits in the earlier periods of
growth a homogeneous mass of cells, in which, finally, more
or fewer horizontal clefts (slits) make their appearance. These
slits are placed in regular order above one another ; they in-
crease gradually, and are finally separated merely by mem-
branous dissepiments. M. DeCandolle believed that these ca-
vities arose from a rupturing of the cellular tissue caused by the
extension produced by the growth of the plant ; but M. Morren
has shown that they arise from a regular separation of the
cells, and are therefore to be compared to the air-passages.

Mr. Patrick Keithf has made some observations on pith, in
order to settle the two following questions : — 1st, Does the pith
appear in any part of the root ? and 2ndly, Are the dimen-
sions of pith changed after it is once fully developed ? With
respect to the first question, observations made on the roots
of young plants of Acer pseudoplatanus, Fagus sylvatica, and
Corylus Avellana, showed him that the principal root is also
furnished with pith. The second question Mr. Keith answers
by the examination of a three-year-old ash stem which was

* On the Discoid Pith of Plants, Ann. of Nat. Hist, Oct. 1839, p. 73-88.
t Of the Pith of Plants, Ann. of Nat. Hist., Ap. 1839, p. 77.

K2

132 Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany.

almost 9 feet high. The last sprout, or shoot, was §ths of an
inch in diameter, and had a pith of £th of an inch in diameter
in the thickest part ; the middle shoot was T 7 ^ ths of an inch
thick, and had a pith of £th of an inch in diameter ; the oldest
and lowest twig had £ths of an inch in diameter, and the pith
was -j-^th of an inch thick. In the same twig the pith was
not found to be of uniform thickness, but became thinner
from the upper towards the lower extremity.

Of the beautiful anatomico-botanical plates which have
been published by M. Link*, we have now received a third
number, in which a great many of the most various and
well-chosen objects are represented. In this number we see
the great advances which the artist, M. C. F. Schmidt, has
made as to execution ; some of the plates, particularly tab. viii.,
may be said to belong to the most successful of their kind.
Most of the figures show the structure of the roots of plants,
and exhibit the difference therein between root and stem. On
tab. viii. is found the anatomy of prickles and thorns, of which
we had as yet scarcely any delineations.

M. Korthalsf has communicated some remarks on the glan-
duliferous hairs of Drosera, with which my own observations
do not agree. These hairs are said to consist of fibres or ex-
tended cells, which are covered by a scarcely developed epi-
dermis, and support on the end a small red globule, which in
old age falls off, but is also covered by the epidermis. The
fibres of the hair extend into the cavity of the apex, but be-
fore their entry are somewhat widened. In the interior of this
cavity the fibres form a small, egg-shaped, projecting body,
and round this columella are found a quantity of small, red,
angular particles, &c.

As in my paper on the organs of secretion of vegetables I
have given a description and figures of the glanduliferous hairs
of Drosera which are totally different from the above, it is
necessary to enter very fully into the subject ; but before I
attempt to interpret the statements of M. Korthals, I must
state, that I do not know what he understands by u epi-
dermis :" this is unfortunately the result of the change and
supposed improvement of old, well-known names. In the
above memoir I have shown that the hairs of Drosera have a
very complicated structure ; the hair itself exhibits in its in-
terior a spiral tube which penetrates deep into the apex of the
gland, but there is no trace of a cavity in this so-called gland-

* Ausgewahlte anatomisch-botanische Abbildungen. Berlin, 1839.
f Remarques sur les poils du Drosera. Bull.des Sci. &c. en Neerlande,
p. 49, Rotterdam, 1839.

Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany, 133

head. The hairs which form the stalk of the gland are not
here, as in most cases, simple excrescences of the upper walls
of the epidermal cells, but true excrescences of the substance
of the leaf, and appear very early, and therefore one may cor-
rectly say, that the whole hair and the head is covered by the
epidermis. In quite young organs of this kind it may be
seen very distinctly that the gland-head is nothing more
than the apex of the compound hair which at a later period
thickens, and then stalk and head are still covered by a uni-
form epidermis. Afterwards the stalk (that is, the hair) ex-
tends to a great length, and thereby all the cells obtain a
lengthened form, and the outer layer does not differ from
those beneath it.

But with the gland-head it is quite different ; the epider-
mis still retains its small cells, is generally filled with red-
coloured sap, and exhibits the red angular bodies which M.
Korthals mentions. With good microscopes one may see di-
rectly under this small-celled epidermis ten or twelve large,
elongated, columnar cells, which form the axis of the gland-
head ; in their completely developed state they often exhibit
in their interior very plain spiral fibres, and let the spiral
tubes of the stalk run between them. Even in transverse
sections there is nothing to be seen of a cavity in the gland-
head, and that no\ie such is present may be better seen in
those glands which are found on the edges of the leaves of
Drosera rotundifolia. These gland-hairs are (I do not know
whether they are similarly formed in other species of Dro-
sera) much larger than the others ; the stalk is widened at
the extremity like a spoon, and on the side of this spoon sits
the glandular organ which effects the secretion.

It is peculiar to the glanduliferous hairs of Drosera (and
herein they agree with the similar organs in Nepenthes), that
here and there on the stalks are found small simple glands
which consist of two adjoining vesicular cells ; they are filled
with green-coloured sap-globules, while the other cells of the
stalk generally contain a red sap. It is as if these little glands
took the place of the two semilunar cells of the cuticular
glands ; sometimes one sees real single cuticular glands with
stomata ; in Nepenthes, it is true, the structure of these ac-
cessory organs is different.

I* had the opportunity of procuring a couple of stems of
Musa paradisiaca, the flower-stalks of which are (as I have
already noticed, when at the Sandwich Islands) so very rich

* Verhandlungen des Vereins zur Befovderung des Gartenbaues in den
Preuss. Staaten. xiv. 2tes Heft. Berlin, 1839, p. 187.

134 Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany,

in unrollable spiral fibres. The fibres were extracted from the
flower-stalks of the above stems with all possible care ; and
this was best effected by breaking the stalk into short pieces,
drawing the ends about an inch or an inch and a half asunder,
and then taking away the extracted fibres with a pair of
wooden pincers, and throwing them directly into water, in
order to free them in the first place from the adhering mucus,
and secondly, from the tannic acid, from the presence of which
they acquire a brown tinge when exposed to the air. The
wool obtained in the above manner is equal to the finest
sheep's wool, and surpasses it in whiteness, as also in the finer
and more regular curling of the single filaments. The quan-
tity obtained from the two stems was so considerable, that an
artisan wished to make a glove out of it ; and therefore it could
not be difficult to obtain such large quantities of this material
in the tropics (where every year thousands of pisang stems
are cut down in some localities) as to be able to prepare va-
luable stuffs ; indeed, shawls made of the fibres of the pisang
could not be so expensive as the Persian ones.

MM. P. Savi and G. B. Amici* have made some communi-
cations concerning the stomata of plants. The observations
of M. de Cesati on the stomata of Ambrosinia Bassii, which
have not been confirmed by MM. Savi and Amici, were the
cause of the research. M. de Cesati thought that he had ob-
served a very peculiar structure in the cuticular glands and
stomata of Ambrosinia Bassii ; he speaks of a glandulous
matter of which the outer edge of the stoma consists, which
thereby presses apart the sides of the four inclosing cells.
The real cleft is destined for the evaporation alone, whilst one
of the two glandulous pads or circles is destined for the sepa-
ration of carbon, the other for that of oxygen, &c. M. Savi
examined Ambrosinia as far as regards its stomata, and found
them similar in structure to those of other plants, as is shown
by the figures ; the stomata are usually formed by two semi-
lunar cells, but they are covered by a second cuticula, which
also exhibits a longitudinal cleft ; even in the figure of a trans-
verse section through the middle of such a stoma, this cuticle
is represented with its slit. M. Amici also, in his answer to
M. Savi, has confirmed the above statement with respect to
the structure of the stomata of Ambrosinia. Finally, M. Amici
proves that the priority of the discovery of the stomata in the
bottom of the deep pits on the lower surface of the leaves of
Nerium belongs to him, inasmuch as he communicated this

* Osservazioni sulla struttura ed esistenza degli stomi in alcune plante,
&c. Mem, della R. Acad, delle Sc. di Torino, Serie ii. torn. ii. p. 49.

Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany. 135

discovery in a letter to M. Mirbel in August 1830, and this
letter has been used by M. Brongniart, although the observa-
tion is rejected. [The presence of stomata in the hairy pits
of the Nerium leaves was first published by M. Krocker, jun.
of Breslau, in his dissertation ' De Epidermide Plantarum/
1833.— Mey.~]

M. Morren* has examined anatomically several species of
Hedychium, and has recorded his observations and accom-
panied them with figures. We receive information concern-
ing the cells and their contents both in young and old leaves,
as also on the occurrence of crystals in these different ages of
the species of Hedychium ; also several forms of crystals are
mentioned as having been observed in these plants.

On the walls of the air-cells M. Morren found peculiar cells
Which were provided with green-coloured sap-globules, were
of various forms, but very often corniform and hamate, some-
times symmetrical, sometimes umsymmetrical ; they are said
to be similar to the stelliform hairs of the Nymphace, in which
however I cannot agree, for these cells are nothing else than
more or less regularly formed stellar-shaped cells, as they
generally occur in the Scitaminece. M. Morren also thinks
that he has found that evaporation does not assist the forma-
tion of crystals in plants, inasmuch as it is exactly in the dry
and peripheric parts of plants that crystals are not found. The
other communications only confirm that which had been here-
tofore observed in Hedychium, or in other similar plants.

From M. Morren f we have received a similar work on the
genus Musa : in it the formation of the stellar-formed cellu-
lar tissue is fully described, and some remarks are made on
the acicular crystals found in the Musce and other plants.
The observations on the formation of the above-mentioned
tissue confirm my former statements, viz. that those cells are
produced from ordinary parenchym-cells. M. Morren saw
the molecular motion in several cells of Musa, and after he
had observed single parts of the plant in different stages of
development, he arrived at the conclusion, that substances in
the interior of the stellar-shaped cells make their appearance
in the following order : — first appear self-moving gum or fe-
cula-globules, then motionless chlorophyll (i. e. globules co-
loured by chlorophyll, Mey.), and then free globules and cry-
stals : all these matters are formed successively. When
considering the crystals which are found so frequently in the

* Bull, de l'Acad. Royale de Bruxelles, t. vi. no. 2.
t Observations sur l'Anatomie de Musa. — Bullet, de l'Acad. Roy. de
Bruxelles, t. vi. no. 3.

136 M even's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany.

parenchymatic cells of Musa, M. Morren observes, that the
crystal-bearing cells, which M. Turpin has called Biforines,
decidedly require a peculiar name, and that in the case of
Caladium rugosum, where they exhibit only one opening, they
must be called Uniforines ; and that from the same reason it
is necessary to call the other cells, without openings, which
contain acicular crystals, by a determinate name, and he pro-
poses for them destines (from /cXeios).

I have shown in the former reports that there is no suffi-
cient existing reason for giving these cells a distinct name as
M. Turpin had done ; but I can still less approve of these new
appellations Uniforine and Clestine, because, if one examines
the Caladia in regard to these cells, it is soon evident, that in
different parts one and the same kind of cells is found in one
place as Clestines, in another as Uniforines, and in others as
Biforines, and the latter appear always as simple cells when
in a young state : the different names would only lead us to
suppose that there was here some actual difference. The
opening of the so-called Biforines is evidently a purely phy-
sical phenomenon, as was proved in the former Report (p. 110).
M. Morren remarks, that in the Clestines of Musa he had ob-
served a gummous mass, an appearance which I myself have
observed in other plants. The treatise is accompanied by
good figures.

M. S. F. Hoffmann * has continued his observations on the
hairs in the air-passages ; he found them in all the species of
Limrianthemum he examined, but without dots, and he con-
vinced himself that they do not exist in Villarsia. Among
the Nymphcece, the genus Euryale (ferox) exhibited such dotted
hairs as are found in the air-cavities of the different organs of
the genera Nymphcea and Nuphar.

M. Hoffmann treats of the same subject in the last part of
the Tijdschrift of v. d. Hoeven and de Vriese for 1839, p. 269-
271. In the same volume, p. 257-269, M. Hoffmann gives
the results of his new researches as to Lemna arrhiza being a
distinct species, as also anatomico-physiological observations
on the formation of buds in the different species of Lemna :
these communications are, however, only to be considered as
the forerunners of a larger work which M. Hoffmann had sent
to the press, and has just appeared in the first number for
1840 of Wiegmann's f Archiv fur Naturgeschichte ;' we shall
therefore review it in our next Report.

* Nachtragzu des Beobachtung der Luftrohrenhaare bei Limnanthemum,
Gmelin, and Villarsia, V. — Limiiea, xiii. pp. 294, 296.

Bibliographical Notices. 137

M. Hoffmann* examined fresh peduncles of Nelumbium lu-
teum and speciosum, the air-passages of which have diaphragms
composed of a stellar-formed cellular tissue, but do not con-
tain any such hairs as in the Nymphcea. M. Hoffmann found
however that the sides of the air-cavities of these plants were
covered with groups of crystals, which during their increase
tear asunder the membranes of the inclosing cells, and in this
manner project into the cavities, as in Pontederia cor data and
Myriophyllum, &c.

[To be continued.]

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

Naturalist's Library : — the Natural History of Dogs, vol. ii., and the
Natural History of Horses.

These two volumes are from the pen of Lieut. -Col. Chas. Hamilton
Smith, so well known for his valuable contributions to the volumes
on Mammalia of Griffiths's edition of the ' Regne Animal.'

The author includes in the family Canidce, or Dog tribe, the three
genera Canis, Hycena, and Proteles. The first of these genera he di-
vides into numerous sections, the characters of which, in many in-
stances, are far from being satisfactory.

In a former volume Col. Smith treats of the Canidce which are
diurnal and have round pupils to the eyes, constituting his subgenus
Chaon, which includes the Wolves and Jackals ; these the author sub-
divides into no less than ten sections.

The present volume contains an account of the Domestic Dogs,
the Foxes, the Hyaenas, and the curious genus Proteles.

The Domestic Dogs Col. Smith does not consider have descended
solely from a species of Wolves or Jackals, " but from genuine Wild
Dogs of more than one homogeneous species." The grounds upon
which this opinion is founded are discussed in the first volume.

Although we suspect naturalists will not adopt Col. Smith's nu-
merous new subdivisions of the Canidce, still we feel sure his volumes
on the Dogs, as well as the volume on Horses, will be regarded by
them as most valuable contributions to their branch of science — the
great research displayed by the author in the treatment of his sub-
ject has rendered them such.

Col. Smith combats the opinion expressed by some authors, that
the aboriginal region where the Wild Horse was first subdued was
Africa ; and enters into a long argument to prove the original habi-
tation of the Domestic Horse, considered as a single species, "should
be sought in High Asia, about the fortieth degree of latitude, the
table-land whence riding and charioteer nomads have incessantly is-
sued, penetrating to the east, the south, and the west, from periods
evidently anterior to historical record almost to our own times ; that
from Central Asia, northward and westward, and including, to the

* Tijdschrift, &c, 1839, p. 271—274.

138 Zoological Society.

south, Bactria, the valley of the Oxus, Northern Asia, Chorasmia,
and probably the whole of Europe, constitute the great primitive ha-
bitation of the Horse. Far to the north the species has no congener,
but soon the Hemionus is known to be its companion ; and further to
the south, the Wild Ass extends eastward across the Indus to the
Bramaputra, and west into Africa, far up the banks of the Bahar-el-
Abiad and Atbara. Other congeners there are on this side the
equator, but they are not sufficiently known, nor is their precise lo-
cation determined."

The author however inclines to the belief that the nations who
first subdued horses derived each their own race from the wild stock
in their vicinity, observing in the descriptions by the poets and histo-
rians of antiquity, the uniformity of colours and characters recorded
of the primitive breeds, such as the pied variety in the central moun-
tains of Middle Asia, the dark bay southwards of the banks of the
Jyhoun or Jaxartes, the dun more westward, as far as the Caspian,
the white on the north shore of the Euxine, and the sooty and black
in Europe. " We shall find," observes Col. Smith, " among these,
races always clouded of two colours, others constantly marked with
a black streak along the spine, often cross-barred on the joints, with
dark or black extremities ; and again, another, where circular spots,
commonly clearer than the ground-colour, occur— whether they be
bay, blackish ashy, or gray ; the durability of these distinctions, not
obliterated even in our time, during more than 3000 years of perpe-
tual crossings of breeds, affords another and a strong argument in
favour of an aboriginal difference of species in the single form of the
Domestic Horse."

The ' Natural History of Fishes,' vol. ii., by J. T. Bushnan, M.D.,
&c, forms an introduction to the other volumes, belonging to the
series, on this group of animals, treating of Fishes in relation to
other animals, their natural habitat, structure, locomotion, &c. — the
^economical and commercial uses and advantages arising from our
fisheries are also dwelt upon. The plates are selected for illustration
of these various subjects, and therefore do not follow in any order of
classification, as in the volume on Perches already published. Such
a volume as the present one was much wanted, and has been ably
executed by Dr. Bushnan.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL, SOCIETY.
December 8, 1840 — W. H. Lloyd, Esq., in the Chair.
Mr. Gould completed the exhibition of his fifty new species of
Australian birds, and characterized the following new species : —

A newEntomyza interesting as being the second species of that form.
Mr. Gould received this bird from Port Essington, and believes that
it there supplies the place of E. cyanotis, which is common on the
eastern coast. Its distinguishing characteristics are its rather larger
size, the markings of its throat being more strongly defined and the

Zoological Society. 139

basal half of the primaries being white ; for which reason he proposes
to characterize it as

Entomyza albipennis. Ent. corpore suprd, et alls e viridi au-
reo-olivaceis ; primariis fuscis ; pogoniis internis per dimidium
basale niveis.

Crown of the head and back of the neck black ; lower part of the
face, chin and centre of the chest slaty black ; a crescent- shaped
mark at the occiput, a line from the lower mandible passing down
each side of the neck and all the under surface pure white ; upper
surface and wings greenish golden olive ; primaries brown, the basal
half of their inner webs snow-white; tail feathers brown, tinged with
golden olive, all but the two centre ones tipped with white ; bill,
bare space surrounding the eye and feet in all probability the same
as in E. eyanotis.

Total length, 12 inches; bill, 1|; wing, 6; tail, 4f- ; tarsi, If.

Hab. Port Essington on the northern coast of Australia.

Nearly allied to E. eyanotis, but always distinguishable from that
species by the white basal half of the primaries.

A new Myzomela differing from all the other members of the genus
in its pied colouring and the black band across the chest, which sug-
gests the specific name of

Myzomela pectoralis. Myz. gutture et corpore subtus albis,
pectore fascid angustd nigrd transverslm notato.

Forehead, crown of the head, the upper surface, wings, tail and a
narrow band across the chest, black ; throat, upper tail-coverts and
all the under surface white ; bill and feet black.

Total length, 4 \ inches; bill, f ; wing, 2£; tail, If; tarsi, £.

Hab. North-west coast of Australia.

A second example of the genus Dasyornis, inhabiting Swan River,
which I propose to call

Dasyornis lOxVGirostris 1 . Das. colore ut in D. Australi; differt
autem staturd corporis minore, rostro grandiore.

All the upper surface brown ; wings, tail-coverts and tail rufous
brown, the latter indistinctly barred with a darker tint ; under sur-
face gray, gradually passing into the brown of the upper surface ;
irides bright reddish brown ; bill and feet dark horn- colour.

Total length, 7| inches; bill, J; wing, 2$ ; tail, 4; tarsi, J.

Hab. Western Australia.

This is a somewhat smaller bird, but has a longer bill than D.
Australis.

An entirely new form, belonging to the family Saxicolinee, and
nearly allied to Petro'ica, I propose to make the type of a new genus,
Dry modes, signifying a lover of woodland places : —

Genus Drymodes.
Characteres generici. — Rostrum rectum, ad latera apicem versus paulo
compressum, fere longitudine capitis, apice leviter denticulato,
basi vibrissis parce instructa. Alee mediocres, rotundatre, re-

140 Zoological Society.

migum primo brevissimo, quinto longissimo. Cauda mediocriter
elongata, pauld rotundata. Tarsi longi, graciles, antice superficie
Integra. Digiti mediocres, externus horum quam internus paulo
longior, posticus cum ungue quam digitus intermedius cum ungue
brevior.

Drymodes brunneopygia. Dry.fusca; primariis apud pogonia
interna albo transverslm striatis ; uropygio tectricibusque caudm
rufo-fuscis.

Head and all the upper surface brown, passing into rufous brown
on the upper tail- coverts ; wings dark brown, the coverts and pri-
maries edged with dull white ; primaries and secondaries crossed near
the base on their inner webs with pure white ; tail rich brown, all
but the two middle feathers tipped with white ; under surface grayish
brown, passing into buff on the under tail-coverts ; irides bill and
feet blackish brown.

Total length, 8 inches; bill, J; wing, 3J; tail, 4£; tarsi, l£.

Hab. Belts of the Murray in South Australia.

This bird, although of a large size and so sombre in colouring, is
nearly allied to Petro'ica.

The next is an extraordinary form among the Muscicapidte, differ-
ing from all the other known members of that group in having the
bill compressed laterally, for which reason I propose to constitute it
the type of a new genus, with the following name and characters.

Genus Piezorhynchus.
Characteres generici. — Rostrum quam caput longius, altius plusquam
latum, fere cylindraceum, lateraliter compressum, apicem versus den-
ticulatum. Nares parvae, rotundatae, basales. Alee breves, remige
primo mediocri, quarto longissimo. Cauda aliquanto brevis et rotun-
data. Tarsi mediocriter elongati et paulo debiles. Digitus ex-
ternus et medius inter se connexi usque ad articulum primum, ex-
ternus longissimus.

The only specimen I possess was forwarded to me by E. Dring,
Esq., surgeon of H.M.S. Beagle, by whom it was procured on the
north-west coast of Australia. From the glossy nature of its plu-
mage I propose to name it

Piezorhynchus nitidus. Piez.fulgide virescenti-niger.
All the plumage, including the wings and tail, rich deep glossy
greenish-black ; bill and feet black.

Total length, 7J inches; bill, 1J; wing, 3£; tail, 3J; tarsi, f.
Hab. North-west coast of Australia.

This very curious bird belongs, I conceive, to the Muscicapidce,
and is somewhat allied to Seisura.

A new Praticola, common on the plains round Adelaide, and form-
ing the second example of the genus, is

Praticola campestris. Prat, fronte et plumis auricularibus rufis ;
gutture albescente ; corpore subtus et lateribus ex arenaceo luteolis
fusco striatis.
Forehead rufous, passing into the reddish brown of the crown and

Zoological Society, 141

upper surface, with a stripe of blackish brown down the centre of
each feather ; wings sandy brown ; internal webs of the primaries
dark brown ; two centre tail-feathers reddish brown, the remainder
reddish brown at the base, crossed towards the extremity with a broad
band of brownish black and broadly tipped with white ; over the eye
a line of white ; ear- coverts mingled rufous and white; throat white,
gradually passing into the buff of the under surface ; all the feathers
of the under surface with a stripe of brownish black down their
centre ; bill blackish, lighter at the base of the under mandible ;
irides rufous brown ; feet blackish brown.

Total length, 4 \ inches; bill, f ; wing, 2£; tail, 2; tarsi, J.

Hab. South Australia.

Closely allied to but much smaller than Calamanthus striatus.

A new Acanthiza as

Acanthiza inornata. Acanth. corpore suprci, alls cauddque oliva-
ceo-fuscis, hdc nigrcscenti-fusco late fasciatd ; corpore subtus pal-
lida luteolo.
All the upper surface, wings and tail olive brown; primaries dark
brown ; tail crossed by a broad band of brownish black ; all the
under surface light buff; irides greenish white ; bill and feet black.
Total length, 3£ inches; bill, J; wing, l£; tail, l£; tarsi, |£.
Hab. Western Australia, particularly the neighbourhood of Swan
River.

A new species from Swan River, which, with the Muscicapa ma-
croptera of Messrs. Vigors and Horsfield, I propose to erect into a
new genus under the name of Microzca.

Genus Microica.
Characteres generici. — Rostrum quam caput brevius, depressum, ad
basin latum, gonyide recto, apice incurvo et leviter denticulate
Nares rotundatse, ad basin rostri vibrissis validis instructam
positse. Al<e longae et fortes, remigum primo brevi, tertio lon-
gissimo. Cauda aliquant6 brevis, et fere quadrata. Tarsi medio-
cres, debiles. Digiti debiles ; externus quam internus valde lon-
gior.

As the species now exhibited closely assimilates to the M . ma-
croptera, I propose to designate it as

Microuca assimilis. Mic. superne, cauda rectricum externorum po-

goniis inter nis per partes tres longitudinis a basifuscis.
All the upper surface brown ; primaries dark brown ; tail brown-
ish black, the tips and the terminal half of the external margins of
the two outer feathers white, the three next on each side are also
tipped with white, the extent of the white becoming less upon each
feather as they approach the centre of the tail; the four middle
feathers without the white tip ; throat, centre of the abdomen and
under tail-coverts white, passing into pale brown on the sides of the
chest and flanks; irides reddish brown; bill and feet blackish brown.
Total length, 4f inches; bill, -fa; wing, 3|; tail, 2^; tarsi, -fy.
Hab. Western Australia.

142 Zoological Society.

Nearly allied to but much less in size than Muscicapa macroptera,
Vig. and Horsf., and from which it may also be distinguished by
the base of the outer tail-feather being brown.

Myiagra latirostris. My i. corpore supra, alis cauddque intense
caruleo-cinereis ; capite et nuchd fulgide virescentibus ; gutture
et pectore arenaceo-lutedlis ; abdomine albo.

All the upper surface, wings and tail dark blueish gray, with a
shining greenish lustre on the head and back of the neck ; throat
and chest sandy buff; under surface white; bill much dilated la-
terally and black ; irides blackish brown ; feet black.

Total length, 6 inches; bill, f; wing, 2j; tail, 2j; tarsi, f .

Hab. North-west coast of Australia.

From the collection of Mr. Dring.

Hirundo leucosternus. Hir. dorso medio, gutture et pectore
albis ; abdomine, uropygio, alis cauddque nigris et chalybeio-caru-
leo-nitentibus.

Crown of the head brown, bounded with white ; back of the neck
brown ; centre of the back, chin, throat and chest white ; the re-
mainder of the plumage black, slightly glossed with steel-blue ; bill
black ; feet brown.

Total length, 1\ inches; bill, / B ; wing, 3|; tail, which is deeply
forked, 2 J; tarsi, 1 7 ^.

Hab. Interior of Australia.

The only specimen of this bird that has ever come under my
notice, was given me by Mr. Charles Coxen, who informed me it
was shot by one of his men while flying in company with another
over a small pool on the banks of the Namoi.

A small bird inhabiting the scrubs of the River Murray. It is a
new form, nearly allied to Acanthiza. The generic term is suggested
by the ruddy colouring of the throat.

Genus Pyrrhol^emus.

Characteres generici. — Rostrum quam caput brevius, ad latera paulo
compressum, ad apicem denticulo vix notando, vibrissis parvulis
ad basin, naribus linearibus et operculo tectis. Aim breves, rotun-
datse, remigum primo perbrevi, tertio longissimo. Cauda brevis,
rotundata, concava. Tarsi mediocres ; digitus externus quam in-
ternus longior.

Pyrrhol^emus brunneus. Pyrrh. superne brunneus; gutture rufo.
Lores greyish white ; all the upper surface and wings brown ;
tail brownish black, the three lateral feathers on each side largely
tipped with white ; centre of the throat rufous ; the remainder of
the under surface brownish grey, passing into sandy buff on the
flanks and under tail-coverts ; bill and feet blackish brown*,
Total length, 4 \ inches; bill, \; wing, 2J; tail, £; tarsi, |§.
Hab. Belts of the Murray in South Australia.
The female differs in having no red on the throat.
A highly interesting Pigeon from the north-west coast, which, as
it differs from all the other forms of its family, and is said to inhabit

Zoological Society. 143

the rocks, I propose to make the type of a new genus, with the
name of

Genus Petrophassa.

Characteres generici. — Fere ut in Peristera. Ala autem et rotun-

datae sunt et admodum breviores ; deest etiam color metallice

seneus. Cauda magis rotundata.

Petrophassa albipennis. Petr. superne fusca ; gutture albo-
guttato; primariis ad dimidium basale albis.

Crown of the head and neck grayish brown, margined with sandy
brown; all the upper surface, chest and tail rufous brown, the
centre of each feather inclining to gray ; lores black ; abdomen and
under tail-coverts chocolate brown ; throat clothed with small fea-
thers white at the tip, black at the base ; primaries dark brown at
their tips, the basal half pure white ; bill and irides blackish brown ;
feet reddish brown.

Total length, 10J inches; bill, J; wing, 5£; tail, 5; tarsi, J.

Hob. Western Australia.

Allied to the members of the genus Peristera.

Eudromius Australis. Eudr. colore cervino vel luteolo ; abdo-
mine medio castaneo ; parte inferiore nee non crisso albis.

Forehead and all the upper surface light sandy buff, the centres
of the feathers being brown ; primaries brownish black with sandy
buff shafts, and all but the first four broadly margined with the
same ; throat buffy white, below which a crescent-shaped mark of
blackish brown ; chest, flanks and under surface of the wing buff,
passing into reddish chestnut on the abdomen, beyond which the
vent and under tail-coverts are white; tail brownish black, the cen-
tre feather margined with buff, the outer ones with white; bill
dark olive brown ; feet yellowish brown.

Total length, 1\ inches; bill, J; wing, 5^; tail, 2\; tarsi, If.

Hub. Interior of South Australia.

This is a highly interesting species, since it is the only bird ap-
proaching the form of the British Dottrel found in any part of the
world. This rare species has been sent me by my friend Captain
Sturt, who procured it during his late expedition into the interior
of Australia, behind Adelaide.

Rhipidura istjra. Rhip. corpore supra sordide fusco ; caudee rectri-

cum utrinque externd albo extrinsechs marginatd et late termi-

natd, proximd albo ad apicem notatd, iterumque prowimd apicem

versus lined albd tenuissimd.

All the upper surface dull brown ; wings and tail darker brown,

the outer feather of the latter on each side margined externally and

largely tipped with white, the next having a large irregular spot of

white at the tip, and the next with a minute line of white near the

tip; chin and under surface buffy- white, with an indication of a

dark brown band across the chest ; bill and feet black.

Total length, 8 inches; bill, f ; wing, 3f ; tail, 3£; tarsi, f£.

Hab. North-west coast of Australia.

In the collection of his Excellency Captain Grey and Mr. Dring.

1 44 Zoological Society,

Rather a large species, and is distinguished from the other mem-
bers of the genus by the sombre hue of its plumage and the square
form of its tail.

Psilopus culicivorus. Psi. abdomine crissoque albis; rectricibus
Cauda, duabus intermediis exceptis, albo ad basin late fasciatis .

All the upper surface olive-brown ; wings brown margined with
olive ; two centre tail-feathers brown ; the remainder white, crossed
by an irregular band of black and tipped with brown, the band upon
all but the external feathers, so blending with the brown at the tip
that the white between merely forms a spot on the inner web ; lores
blackish-brown ; line over the eye, throat and chest light gray, pass-
ing into buff on the flanks, and into white on the centre of the ab-
domen and under tail-coverts; irides light reddish yellow; bill and
feet black.

Total length, 4J inches; bill, £; wing, 2£; tail, If; tarsi, £.

Hab. Western Australia.

A new species and new form, which I first saw in the streets of
Adelaide, where it was hopping about and presenting the appearance
of the Sparrow in London. For this new bird I propose the generic
and specific terms Xerophila leucopsis.

Genus Xerophila.
Characteres generici. — Rostrum breve, semiconi instar, ad basin ro-

bustum, ad apicem haud denticulatum, basi vibrissis antice ductis

parce instructa; naribus rotundatis et plumis minutis obtectis.

Ala mediocres, remigum primo brevi, tertio et quarto longissimis,

tertiariis latis et pauld elongatis. Cauda mediocris, ad apicem

quadrata, et aliquanto concava. Tarsi robusti ; digitus posticus

validus, digiti antici debiles, horum externus longissimus.

Xerophila leucopsis. Xer . facie albd ; corpore supernefusco.

Forehead and lores white ; upper surface olive brown ; wings and
tail brown, the latter passing into black near the extremity and
tipped with white; all the under surface pale buff; bill and feet
black.

Total length, 4 inches; bill, §; wing, 2£; tail, lj; tarsi, j.

Hab. South Australia.

Licmetis pastinator. Lie. albus, loris coccineis; remigum pogoniis
internis necnon caudce rectricum sulphureis, colore quam in L.
nasico intensiore cui speciei magnitudine corporis L. pastinator
magnopere prastat.

Lores scarlet; general plumage white ; the base of the feathers of
the head and front of the neck scarlet, showing through and giving
those parts a stained appearance ; the basal half of the inner webs of
the primaries, the inner webs of all the other feathers of the wing
and the inner webs of the tail-feathers beautiful brimstone yellow ;
naked space round the eye greenish blue ; irides light brown ; bill
white ; feet dull olive gray.

Total length, 17 J inches; bill, If ; wing, 12 ; tail, 7 ; tarsi, 1.

Hab. Western Australia.

Nearly allied to Licmetis nasicus, but of a much larger size.

Zoological Society. 145

Numenius uropygialis. Num. vertice fusco, lined luteold angustd
et inaquali per medium current e ; uropygio et tectricibus caudte
fusco alboque fasciatis .

Crown of the head brown, with a narrow irregular stripe of bufiy
white down the centre ; lores and line behind the eye brown ; line
over the eye, neck and breast buffy white, with a brown line down
the centre of each feather, the brown colour predominating ; centre
of the back and scapularies dark olive spotted on their margins with
light buff; wing-coverts the same, but lighter and presenting a mot-
tled appearance ; primaries blackish brown with white shafts ; rump
and upper tail-coverts barred with brown and white; tail pale brown
barred with dark brown ; chin, lower part of the abdomen and under
tail-coverts white ; bill blackish horn-colour, fleshy at the base ; feet
grayish black.

Total length, 15 inches; bill, 3; wing, 9|; tail, 3; tarsi, 2^.

Hab. South coast of Australia.

Nearly allied to N. Phceopus but distinguished from that species
by the brown colouring of the rump.

Numenius minutus. Num. uropygio tectricibusque caudte intense
fuscis ; marginibus plumarum albo-guttatis ; corpore subtits luteolo.

Forehead dark brown mottled with buff; lores and line behind
the eye buff; back, sides and front of the neck buff, with a fine line
of brown down the centre of each feather ; all the upper surface
blackish brown, with a series of triangular spots round the margins
of the feathers of a sandy buff; shoulders, primaries and secondaries
blackish brown, the latter with white shafts ; rump and tail- coverts
dark brown spotted with white on the margins ; tail grayish brown
barred with black ; chin white ; under surface light buff ; flanks and
under surface of the wing deep buff, regularly barred with arrow-
shaped marks of brown ; irides black ; bill fleshy at the base, olive
brown at the tip ; feet bluish flesh-colour.

Total length, 12 inches; bill, If; wing, 7; tail, 3; tarsi, lj.

Hab. New South Wales.

This is one of the smallest species of the genus. I never but
once saw a flock of this bird ; out of which I killed two, on the race-
course at Maitland on the Upper Hunter.

Porphyrio bellus. Porph. capite, collo et corpore subtiis intense
cteruleis; facie, gutture et pectore virescenti-cceruleis ; dor so, alis
cauddque e fusco nigris.

Head, neck and all the under surface deep blue; sides of the face,
front of the throat and chest greenish blue; back, wings and tail
brownish black ; shoulder and edge of the wing and outer margins
of the primaries greenish blue ; under tail-coverts white ; irides
bright red ; bill red ; legs grass-green, except the knees, lower part
of the tarsi and inside of the feet, which are dark greenish gray.

Total length, 18 inches; bill, If; wing 10^; tail, 4£; tarsi, 3£.

Hab. Western Australia.

Otis Australasianus. Ot. vertice et occipite nigris ; capitis la-
teribus, collo et pectore e cinereo-albis fusco adspersis ; singulis
Ann. §■ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. L

146 Zoological Society.

plumis crebre lineis transversis fuscis et tortuosis velfractis stri-
atis ; pectore fascid nigrd hand aquali ornato.

Crown of the head and occiput black ; sides of the head, the neck
and breast grayish white, each feather crossed by numerous fine zig-
zag bands of brown, giving those parts a freckled appearance ;
wing- coverts black largely tipped with white ; all the upper surface,
wings and upper tail- coverts brown very minutely freckled with
reddish brown ; some of the feathers towards the hinder parts of the
body tinged with gray ; tail gray, crossed near the centre by an in-
terrupted band of white, minutely freckled with white, margined
with brown and slightly tipped with white ; chest crossed by an ir-
regular band of black, beyond which the under surface is white ;
under tail coverts grayish black tipped with white ; irides brownish
buff, brown predominating near the pupil; eyelash pale olive yellow;
bill straw- white with olive and black culmen ; legs and feet straw-
yellow.

Total length, 40 inches; bill, 4; wing, 25; tail, 10; tarsi, 1\.

Hab. Plains of the interior of Australia generally.

Anas n^vosa. Anas intense fusca, plumis albo irroratis et longi-
tudinaliter notatis.

The whole of the plumage dark brown, minutely freckled and
spotted with irregular oblong marks of white in the direction of the
feathers ; the under surface the same, but lighter and tinged with
buff ; wings without a speculum ; primaries plain brown ; irides light
brown ; bill greenish gray, becoming much darker at the tip ; legs
bluish green.

Total length, 17 inches ; bill, 2 \ ; wing, 9 ; tail, 3 ; tarsi, 2.

Hab. Western Australia.

The above is the description and measurements of a female.

Sula Australis. Sula primariis alarum et secondariis necnon
rectricibus caudce duabus intermediis fuliginoso-fuscis ; tar sis antice
digitisque viridi-flavis.

Crown of the head and back of the neck beautiful buff; the re-
mainder of the plumage white, with the exception of the primaries,
secondaries and four centre tail-feathers, which are fuliginous brown
with white shafts ; irides olive white ; bill brownish horn-colour
slightly tinged with blue ; space round the eye leaden blue ; bare
skin at the base of the beak and down the centre of the throat nearly
black ; front of the tarsi and toes sickly greenish yellow ; webs
brown.

Total length, 32 inches ; bill, 5£ ; wing, 19 ; tail, 10 ; tarsi, 2.

Hab. The Tasmanian Seas.

The specimen exhibited is from the River Derwent. Like the
jother members of its family, this species will allow of its being taken
with the hand. Some of my specimens were so taken on a rock on
the Actseon Islands.

The circumstance of being enabled to bring an entirely new Al-
batros before the notice of the Society is a source of great gratifica-
tion to me, since the group to which it belongs had already been

Zoological Society. 147

paid much attention to by our early voyagers and later naturalists.
The present bird differs from all the other species in the extreme
caution with which it avoids rather than approaches the neighbour-
hood of vessels at sea. It is rather abundant in Bass's Straits and
in all the seas off Van Diemen's Land.

From its shyness, I propose to name this species

Diomedea cauta. Diom. vertice albo ; faciei colore e margaritd
cinereo ; dorso, alis cauddque cinereo-fuscis ; rostro pallide vinaceo-
cinereo ; culmine, ad basin prcesertim, flavo .

Crown of the head, back of the neck, throat, all the under surface,
rump and upper tail- coverts pure white ; lores and line over the eye
grayish black, gradually passing into the delicate pearl-gray which
extends over the face ; back, wings and tail grayish brown ; irides
dark vinous orange ; bill light vinous gray, or bluish horn-colour,
except on the culmen, where it is more yellow, particularly at the
base ; the upper mandible surrounded at the base by a narrow belt of
black, which also extends on each side the culmen to the nostrils ;
base of the lower mandible surrounded by a belt of rich orange,
which extends to the corners of the mouth ; feet bluish white.

Total length, 31 inches ; bill, 4 J ; wing, 21^ ; tail, 9 ; tarsi, 3.

Hab. Bass's Straits.

The above are the dimensions of a female ; the male is considerably
larger.

Nearly allied to, but larger than D. melanophrys.

Thalassidroma Nereis. Thai, gutture pectoreque fuliginoso-
cinereis ; dorso, uropygio tectricibusque cauda cinereis ; abdomine,
lateribus et crisso albis.
Head, neck and chest sooty gray ; lower part of the wing- coverts,
back, rump and upper tail- coverts gray, each feather very slightly
margined with white ; wings grayish black ; tail gray, broadly tipped
with black ; under surface pure white ; irides, bill and feet black.
Total length, 6 \ inches ; bill, -^ ; wing, 5 J ; tail, 2 J ; tarsi, 1 J.
Hab. Bass's Straits, on the south coast of Australia.
This beautiful fairy-like Storm Petrel is about the size of Thai.
Wilsoni, and is remarkable as differing from most of the members
of the group in having no white on the rump and in the pure white
of the under surface.

Mr. Gould exhibited to the Meeting a new species of Hypsiprym-
nus, from Swan River, which he characterized under the name of
Hypsiprymnus Graii. Hyps.fusco-cinereus; corpore subtus al-
bescente ; caudd mediocri, fused, flavo lavatd, ad apicem albd ;
pedibus pallide fuscis ; auribus mediocribus rotundatis.

unc. lin.
Longitudo ab apice rostri ad caudse basin. ... 18

cauda 11 6

tarsi digitorumque (sine unguibus) . . 4 3

ab apice rostri ad basin auris , . . . 2 4

auris 1 1

L2

148 Zoological Society.

This species most nearly resembles the Hypsiprymnus rufescens of
Mr. Gray, but differs in being of an ashy brown colour above, and
in having the hairs which clothe the back of the ears of the same
general colour as those of the head, instead of black, as in the spe-
cies just mentioned. The fur is long, and soft to the touch ; the
hairs both on the upper and under parts of the body are of a palish grey
colour at the base ; those on the under parts are dirty white exter-
nally, and those on the back are dirty white (inclining to ash- colour)
near the apex, and tipped with brownish black : on the sides of the
head and body a very faint yellowish hue is observable. The ears
are sparingly clothed within with small yellowish hairs ; externally
they are clothed with fur, like that on the head. The feet are of a
very pale brown colour. The tail is brown, tinted with yellowish,
excepting the apical third, which is covered with longish white
hairs.

December 22. — William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

A letter from Mr. Frembly, R.N., Corresponding Member Z.S.,
was read. It is dated Gibraltar, November 28th, and refers to two
species of Shark which that gentleman had forwarded for the So-
ciety's Museum.

The following paper, being a continuation of Mr. Broderip's de-
scriptions of Mr. Cuming's new shells, was read : —

Helix (Cochlostyla) Daphnis. Hel. testa ovato-pyramidali an-
fractibus 5 ventricosis, ultimo cceteros conjunctos excedente ; labii
limbo castaneo-nigricante, aperturd albidd vel purpurascente.

Var. a. Ochraceo-albida, anfractibus 2 ultimis vittis angustis serie
duplice dispositis, nigricantibus, cinctis ; fascia sub-basali vittis
albido-ochraceis interruptd nigricante ; aperturd cceruleo-albidd.

Var. b. Sordide albido-flava vittis fuscis creberrime cincta ; aperturd
albidd.

Var. c. Sub-ochracea, vittis raris distantibus rubro -nigricantibus or-
nata, anfractu basali fascia lata centrali, rubro -castaned ochraceo
subinterruptd cincto ; aperturd subcceruleo-albidd.

Habitant varietates a, b, c, ad Argao in insula Zebu.

Var. d. Sordide ochracea lineis 3 fuscis, medio maximo clariore,
cincta ; aperturd albidd.

Hab. ad Sibonga in insula Zebu.

Var. e. Albido-flava strigis obliquis fulvis creberrimis ornata, et
fascia basali latiore cincta ; aperturd albidd.

Var. f. Albens strigis obliquis creberrimis nigris ornatq et maculis
magnis nigris inter dum fucata ; fascia basali angustd nigra; aper-
turd c&ruleo-albente.

Habitant varietates e, etf in insula Siquijod.

Var. g. Sordide ochracea, strigis obliquis raris castaneo -nigricantibus
fucata ; basi nigricante ochraceo sordide fucata ; aperturd purpu-
rascente.

Var. h. Anfractibus 2 primis albidis, tertio et quarto fuscis ; ultimo

Zoological Society, 149

Sordide albido strigis rarissimis obliquis nigricantibus vix notato ;
aperturd rubro-purpurascente.
Habitant varietates g, et h, ad Argao in insula Zebu.
The general size of this fine species is about 2 \ inches long by 1 J
broad. All the varieties were found by Mr. Cuming in deep forests,
on the leaves of trees. In none of them hardly do the markings
commence before the fourth whorl. — W. J. B.

Helix (Cochlostyla) Faunus. Hel. testd clongato-subpyrami-
dali, fused, anfractibus 6 subventricosis ; labii limbo nigricante ;
aperturd cceruleo-albidd.
Var. a. Fusca, strigis obliquis e castaneo -nigricantibus creberrimis
subobseurioribus ornata, lineis nigricantibus obscurioribus cincta ;
fascia lata basa'li nigricante.
Var. b. Fusca, lineis creberrimis obscuris cincta, strigis brevibus

raris subobliquis juxta suturam notata.
Long. 2 ad 2| ; lat. l£ poll.
Hab. ad Sanctum Nicolam in insula Zebu.

The variety a. is the shortest. The third specimen is deprived of
its epidermis, or nearly so, and the ground-colour is exposed. The
first four whorls are chestnut, gradually deepening in colour, and the
last whorl is of a rich purple brown : the shell is obscurely banded,
especially on the last whorl.

Mr. Cuming found this species on the leaves of trees. — W. J. B.

Helix (Cochlostyla) Satyrus. Hel. testd subpupiformi anfrac-
tibus 5 subventricosis, purpureo-castaned, epidermide fused ; aper-
turd ovatd, albidd ; labii limbo purpureo- castaneo.

Long. 2 ; lat. 1^ poll.

Hab. in insula Tablas.

Obscure oblique stripes and bands occur in some of the individuals
of this species, which, though it approaches the last, differs from
it in many points, especially in the form of the apex and the shape
and structure of the aperture.

Found by Mr. Cuming on leaves of trees. — W. J. B.

Bulinus.
Bulinus ^Egle. Bui. testd fulvd ; anfractu ultimo juxta suturam
fascia angustd et juxta basin fascia lata medio pallidiore ornato ;
diaphand, lineis incrementi obliquis creberrime striata ; labii limbo
castaneo -nigricante ; aperturd albente.
Long. If; lat. 1^.
Hab. ad Casan in insula Mindanao.

The first four whorls are very pale, but the last is deep fulvous :
a white line runs round the suture of the body- whorl.

Mr. Cuming found this species in a dense forest, on the leaves of
trees.

Bulinus partuloides. Bui. testd pyramidali, nitidd, aperturd
ovatd, columella basi subplicatd, labii limbo complanato, latissimo,
refiexo, albo.

Long. l\; lat. f poll.

150 Zoological Society.

Var. a. Flava, castaneo -vittata.

In this pretty variety a single chestnut band borders the base of
each whorl, and on the body-whorl there is in addition a broad, sub-
central, chestnut band.

Var. b. Castanea, albo vittata.

In this variety the rich chestnut is relieved by a white band that
borders the upper part of the last two whorls, near the suture.

Var. c. Castanea, fusco vittata.

In this variety the upper part of each whorl near the suture is
banded with brown.

Hab. in insula Tablas. — W. J. B.

Plekocheilus.

Plekocheilus gracilis. *Vl. testa elongatd, gracili, anfractibus 4,
ultimo longissime maximo, subdiaphand, anfractu basali trans-
versim corrugato, strigis angulatis irregularibus longitudinalibus
creberrime fucato ; anfractibus cceteris subroseis ; aperturd sub-
aureo-flavd ; labii limbo lato, reflexo, albo.
Long. If ; lat. £.
Hab. in insulis Feejee dictis ?

Hitherto this form has only been discovered in the Western World.
Mr. Cuming received the specimen above described from a captain
of a ship, who said he had got it from a native of one of the Feejee
Islands. A glance at the western species will satisfy the observer
that the species above described is distinct. — W. J. B.

Mr. Waterhouse exhibited two new species of Birds from the So-
ciety's collection, and pointed out their distinguishing characters.
The first is a small species of Picus, believed to be from the north-
west coast of South America, and is remarkable for the absence of
spots and markings, and the brilliant red colour of the upper parts
of its body and wings : this red colouring commences on the back of
the neck, and is continued to the tail, as well as over the whole of
the wings ; that is, over the visible portion of each feather, the inner
shafts being of a brown colour. The whole of the upper surface of
the head is of a brown-black colour ; the sides are pale brown ; the
throat is pure white ; the chest and whole of the under parts of the
body are of a dirty white colour, indistinctly tinted with yellowish.
The tail is of an uniform blackish brown colour, with the exception
of the two outer feathers on each side, which are pale brown ; on
the apical half of the external feather. there is a very obscure indi-
cation of bands. The beak is of a very pale horn- colour.

The principal characters may be thus briefly expressed : —

Picus callonotus. Pi. capite pallide fusco, supra, fuliginoso ;

corpore supra alisque sanguineis ; guld,pectore abdomineque albes-

centibus ; caudd obscure fused ; rostro albescente.

In size and general form this species agrees very closely with the

Picus minor of Europe, but its beak is rather longer in proportion,

being nine lines in length.

The second new species is one of the Icterine group, and in most

Microscopical Society. 151

of its characters agrees with that division to which the term Cassicus
is applied : it has the same stout conical bill, the upper surface of
which is broadly expanded at the base, and encroaches on to the
forehead : the apex is pointed. This bird, however, differs from any-
other species of the group to which it belongs, in the great length of
its wings, which extend considerably beyond the tip of the tail, which
is of |poderate length, broad, and slightly rounded. The colouring
of the plumage is also remarkable, and particularly the texture of
the feathers, those of the body having a velvet-like appearance, whilst
those of the wings have a distinct gloss, such as we see in the plu-
mage of the Crows. No doubt, according to the views of many or-
nithologists, this bird would be regarded as a new genus or sub-
genus ; the sectional name Ocyalus is therefore proposed, from
&2x va ^ os > i n allusion to the swiftness \tf4th which it is to be presumed
a bird with such wings would move.

Subgenus Ocyalus.
Characteres ut in Cassico, alee autem longissimce, et caudce apicem

transeuntes.
Cassicus (Ocyalus) Popayanus. Oc. niger, corpore purpureo
relucente ; alls nitore viridi ; capite nuchdque supra castaneo tinc-
tis ; caudd flavd, rectricibus quatuor intermediis in toto nigris, sic
et apicibus reliquorum; rostro pallido.
Long. tot. 11 unc. ; rostri, l£ ; lat. ad basin, 6j lin. ; alee, 8£ unc. ;
caudce, 4.

Hab. Popayan.

MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

At a meeting of the Microscopical Society, held August 18th,
R. H. Solly, Esq., F.R.S., in the chair, a paper was read from Dr.
Thomas Williams, in continuation of that of the Rev. J. B. Reade,
on the Stomata of Plants, wherein the author states, that by having
recourse to the process of charring, as described by that gentleman,
he satisfied himself that the stomata in plants were closed by a pel-
licle ; but from other experiments he infers, that this pellicle is
formed by the air contained in the intercellular spaces and cells of
the stomata, carrying before it, in its dilatation, a bubble of gelati-
nous mucus, with which the interior of the stomata are covered. The
summit of the vesicle thus produced, when raised into contact with
the heated glass, becomes carbonized, and being upon the same plane
with the common surface, from the pressure of the plate of glass it
appears as belonging to the epidermis, and extending from one edge
of the aperture to the other. He concludes by stating, that the na-
tural condition of the stomata is that of patency ; but in consequence
of the inspissation of the organic mucus, under certain circumstances
and in certain genera of plants, a pellicle is generated over their
orifices.

The Secretary, Mr. John Quekett, then read a paper by himself
on the Anatomy of four species of Entozoa of the genus Strongylus

152 Microscopical Society.

from the common Porpoise. The author stated, that the subjects of
his paper were, with one exception, all found in the lungs of the Por-
poise. Two of them had been long known, and had been described
by Rudolphi and many others under the names of the Strongylus in-
flexus and minor ; whilst a third, from the circumstance of its being
found with the inflexus, had, by all others except Kuhn, been described
as a younger specimen of that species, but by him as the Strongylus
convolutus ; whilst the fourth appeared hitherto either to have escaped
notice, or else to have been confounded with the last ; but his exa-
minations of this Entozoon led him to consider it as a distinct spe-
cies, and from the circumstance of its being inclosed in a sheath or
case, he had named it the Strongylus invaginatus, at the suggestion
of his friend Dr. Willis. The Strongylus inflexus was the largest of
the Entozoa, and it occurred most abundantly in the bronchial tubes,
and in such numbers as almost to close them up ; but many speci-
mens were found in the right auricle and ventricle of the heart, and
in the principal blood-vessels of the lungs as well. The average
length of the male is about seven inches, whilst that of the female is
nine inches. The next species was found in common with the last,
being twisted together in a knot around them both in the bronchial
tubes and blood-vessels ; it has been noticed as the young of the in-
flexus, but, on comparison, the author finds that the difference be-
tween the two is so marked as to leave no doubt of their being di-
stinct species : Kuhn has named it the Strongylus convolutus. The
third species is the smallest of the whole, some specimens not much
exceeding an inch in length, and from this circumstance has been
named the Strongylus minor. It occurred in the venous sinuses of
the head and in the cavity of the tympanum, and some of them were
of a reddish hue, probably owing to their living in blood. The fourth
species, the Strongylus invaginatus, was found in small cysts in the
lungs not connected with the blood-vessels, to the number of five or
six in each cyst, which were easily extracted when the cyst was
opened : the male was very much shorter than the female, and both
were inclosed in a transparent sheath or case, which was in contact
with the body of the worm only at the head and tail.

After describing the anatomy of each species, the author then pro-
ceeded to some interesting peculiarities connected with their ova, in
which the gradual transition from vitelline globules to the perfect
worm was beautifully seen. He then alluded to the curious fact of
the Strongylus inflexus and convolutus living in blood and in air, and
concluded with mentioning some other interesting points connected
with these Entozoa, and the probable effects they produced in the
ceconomy of the animal. The paper was accompanied with draw-
ings and illustrative diagrams.

Mr. Ross exhibited to the Society a new form of the Microscope,
in which strength, durability, steadiness, and cheapness were com-
bined ; it was capable of exhibiting the usual test-objects, and the
price only 12/.

Miscellaneous. 153

MISCELLANEOUS.

George-Town, July 30.

'• The industrious traveller, Mr. Schomburgk, arrived in town this
morning from his first surveying expedition." — Guiana Times.

We are glad to see a very pleasing and faithful likeness of our es-
teemed friend, with a memoir of his life, in the 3rd volume on Ich-
thyology in the Naturalist's Library, which we have just received.

Mr. W. S. MacLeay writes from Sydney, April 28, 1841, that
he is much occupied with Natural History, and making large addi-
tions to his collection. He gratifies us with good accounts of the
health of his excellent Father, who is always most affectionately
remembered here. — R. T.

Mr. W. Francis writes to us from the Tyrolese Alps, where he
is collecting plants and insects.

ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HODESUM (IMPROPERLY CALLED
KOLEHAN). BY LIEUT. TICKELL.

Singbhoom, including the Kolehan, lies between 21° 30' and 23°
north latitude, and 85° and 86° east longitude; it is bounded to the
north by Chota Nagpoor and Patkoom ; to the east by the Jungle
Mehals and Baumunghatte ; to the south by petty states, or tuppahs,
subservient to Moherbunj, and by Keonjur; and to the east by
Gangpoor and Chota Nagpoor. These limits comprise a fine open
tract of country, in most parts exceedingly productive, in others
stony and barren, and separated from the circumjacent countries
above enumerated by rocky hills and jungles. Singbhoom Proper
consists of an extent of fine open arable land, to the north of the
Kolehan, above 45 miles east and west, and about 18 in breadth,
comprising the talooks of Khursawa, Kera, and Seryekela, also a por-
tion of similar land, about 20 miles square, to the north-east, called
Koochoong, attached to Seryekela, and along the west of the Kole-
han, an imperfectly defined extent of mountains and jungles, inclu-
ding Porahaut and Anundpoor.

The Kolehan, as now constituted, comprehends a tract of open un-
dulating country, averaging from sixty miles in length north and
south, from thirty-five to sixty in breadth. It is divided into two
departments by a step about 500 feet high, running east and west
across it. The southern part is rich in soil, and beautiful in appear-
ance ; but an absence of inhabitants and proper culture gives it an
air of desolation. This happily is becoming fast remedied by the re-
turn of large families of Bhooians, former inhabitants, who had been
expelled by the Hos. The lower country north of the step is exceed-
ingly populous, but in many parts stony and barren. The westerly
Peers are situated among hills and vast jungles, containing a few
fertile valleys ; and Sarnda, in the far south, is one mass of moun-
tains, clothed in forests, where the miserable inhabitants, few and
solitary, can scarce struggle for mastery with the tiger.

The whole of this country is traversed by numerous streams of
great beauty, but useless as water-carriage, being almost dry in the
hot weather, and rapid torrents in the rains. The Sunjye, separating

154 Miscellaneous.

the Kolehan from Singbhoom, rises to the north-west of Porahaut,
and enters the Kurkye near the junction of that river with the Soo-
bum-rekha ; the Roro, twelve miles south of the former, a narrow but
deep and swift stream, and the Eeleegarra and Toorul still further
south, take a like course above the step ; the Des Nye runs west-
ward and falls into the Kolekaro, near its confluence with the Ko'il ;
and near the southern limits of the Kolehan, the different streams
take a south and west direction, falling into the Bhundun and By-
turnee, which last, running through vast and lonely forests, separates
the Kolehan from Jushpoor and Rorwan in Moherbunj, and Kalka-
pershaud in Keonjur. There are two water-falls on the borders of
the Kolehan, which I have never visited, but which, by the descrip-
tion of the natives, must be well worth seeing. The Bunnye, run-
ning between Sonepoor and Singbhoom, is said to roll its waters
into a profound cave, from which spot it pursues its course under-
ground, and is supposed to join the Kole Karo. The fall is called
Paraa-ghag, and is a tiruth, but so remote from habitation and buried
in such deep woods as to be seldom visited, except by the Sonepoor
Koles and Bhooians of Porahaut and Bundgaon. On the confines of
Baumunghattee also is a singular cascade, described to me as a single
thread of water pouring down a wall-like precipice of 200 or 300 feet
in height. It is called by the Baumunghattee Oorias, Muchkandnee
Jhurna ; and by the Koles, Hakoo-yamdah, meaning in either lan-
guage, " The fall of the weeping-fish," from some whimsical story
of the fish complaining of the impossibility of scaling the cataract, to
emerge from the dreary abyss, through which the stream winds below.
The peculiar distribution of the hills in this country, running in
parallel ranges, precludes the formation of lakes, which are unknown.
These ranges are not of very great height, the loftiest, which are
in Saruda, not appearing above 1000 feet above the plain. They are
however intersected in parts by profound valleys, which give the
hills, from that side, an appearance of great magnitude. They are
chiefly quartz, in all stages of decomposition, permeated by limestone
rocks ; smaller detached ranges, issuing at right angles to these, are
commonly of micaceous slate. From Chyebassa, proceeding easterly
into Koochoong, are low ridges perfectly parallel, about half a mile
to a mile apart, gradually increasing in height till the series is closed
by the Choivria hills in Koochoong. They are composed of loose
rocks, resembling (if they are not) clink stone ; but the larger ridge3
are of coarse granite. The northern part of the Kolehan consists in
a great measure of sterile plains, scattered with quartz boulders,
stones, and pebbles, some crystallized. The beds of the nullahs are
a shingle composed of jasper (of all hues), green-stone, quartz peb-
bles, and flint. The bed of the Byturnee is lined with flattened peb-
bles and lumps of jasper of bright yellow, red, purple, and black,
disposed in parallel streaks or ribbons, as if artificially inlaid. The
corundum is found in great quantities at Juggernathpoor on the up-
per step of the Kolehan, and several nullahs run through beds of ar-
gillaceous earth, from the brightest scarlet to pure white, which are
highly in request among the natives. The whole of these streams
wash down more or less gold, but the Koles know not how to eollect

Miscellaneous. 155

it. In Singbhoom a tolerable quantity is gathered by Hindoos, but
of a third- or fourth-rate quality, also excellent iron ; of coal I never
found any traces.

The open parts of the Kolehan are here and there scattered with
a scrub-jungle, composed chiefly of the Polass and Assun, on which
latter the tusser silk- worms are bred. The southern parts, where not
cultivated, are covered by extensive plains of grass, interspersed with
bushes ; entirely along the west boundary are forests of saul trees,
small and meagre on the hills, but reaching in the low rich valleys
to a size perfectly prodigious. In Anundpoor, towards Gangpoor,
are tracts covered entirely with the wild plantain, and many of the
hills are clothed densely with bamboos. In marshy spots a strong
serviceable species of cane or ratan is found. The wild mango tree
is also very common in these forests, yielding a fruit far preferable
to the common kind found in the " topes" throughout India; it is
small, round, and full of juice, as sweet as honey. The date and
palm trees are not cultivated by the Koles, but are to be found near
Hindoo villages in Singbhoom ; cheretta, wild indigo, and arrow-root
are very common in the jungles. But to enumerate all the beautiful
flowers which enrich these green retreats — the fruits and roots, to
every one of which the natives attach some specific virtue or harm ;
the inexhaustible variety of plants, shrubs and fungi, ferns, creepers,
&c. which clothe, in all varieties of fantastic imagery, the shady dells ;
or the cool banks of foliage- canopied streams, — would be a task far
exceeding my powers or the limits of this memoir.

The animals found in the Kolehan are the same as in other parts
of Central India, but not nearly so abundant as in better- watered
jungles ; besides which, the Koles and Oorias are inveterate hunters,
and their attacks on game of all kinds are pursued on an extermina-
ting scale.

The elephant, which is numerous in parts of the Jungle Mehals,
comparatively close to Medneepoor, is, strange to say, unknown
among the remote and wild regions of West Singbhoom ; the gow£r is
common in this latter region — two species are described by the na-
tives, a red and a black kind ; the urna and smaller wild buffalo are
very numerous about Anundpoor ; great varieties of deer haunt the
hills, the saumur (C. rusa), neelgye (Damalis picta), spotted deer
(C axis), barking deer or Muntjac (C. muntjac), chikerac or four-
horned deer (C. chicquera) : all these species, though so shy when
sought after as to be seldom met with, must be tolerably numerous,
from the depredations they commit on the fields of gram, boot, moong,
oorid, &c. which are planted near the jungles. The memina, a spe-
cies of mouse deer, is also found among rocks and underwood. The
antelope is confined to the wide open plains of Chynpoor in Sing-
bhoom, and very limited in number. Tigers and leopards abound.
Bears infest almost every clump of rocks throughout the plain ; they
are all of the long-lipped species (Ursus labiatus). Hyaenas inhabit
similar localities, but are rare. There are no wolves, but there ap-
pear to be two distinct species of the jackal (C. aureus), one of which
is much larger, stouter and ruddier than what I remember of the
jackal of Bengal. The cry also is different, and is a wailing sound,

156 Miscellaneous.

not much unlike, though infinitely louder than, the mewing of a cat ;
at all events the Koles distinguish the two animals, calling the large
kind (from its cry) Tow Koola, and the common jackal Kurmcha.
The little Bengal fox or corsac (Cynalopex insectivorus) is very nu-
merous, yapping all the clear nights long during the cold season.
The Indian badger or ratel (Ratelus melivorus) is found in the woods,
but rarely. Porcupines (Hystrix) are numerous, but being nocturnal,
are seldom seen. The short-tailed marus (M. crassicaudata) is met
with among rocks, but is one of the rarest animals known. There
are three kinds of squirrels, the common palm- squirrel (Sciurus stri-
atus), the great red squirrel {Sciurus macrourus), and a large gray
flying squirrel, peculiar, I believe, to the Kolehan and the Jungle
Mehals. This last is exceedingly rare, as it lives on lofty trees in
profound forests, and only moves forth at night. The wild dog
(Canis primcevus) , Koohia and Sona-kookoor of the Oorias, and Tan-
nee of the Koles, roams through the jungles in packs, occasionally
visiting the flocks and herds on the plains. Their ferocity, speed and
cunning have gained them a superstitious veneration among the
Koles, and dread of their retaliating on their cattle deters the vil-
lagers from killing them. Of these also there are said to be two
kinds ; a large dog, in shape and colour like a Scotch greyhound or
lurcher, which hunts by sight ; and a smaller, red, bushy-tailed dog,
which follows the other in packs of five to twenty, is less speedy and
hunts by scent. The hare is larger than that of Bengal, inhabits
gravelly ravines in scrub-jungle, and never takes to grass. Of
monkeys there are only the two common species, the Lungoor and
Makor or Bunder (Sara and Gye of the Koles) ; the former live
among rocks, the latter in dense thickets. Wild hogs are very nu-
merous in some parts, but so wary as to be seldom killed. The rhi-
noceros is not known.

Birds of all kinds are scarce and wild, especially those fit for food,
on account of the keenness with which the Koles pursue, trap, hawk,
and shoot them. The double- spurred partridge is found among rocks,
but is one of the most difficult birds to shoot, as it seldom takes wing,
but creeps into caves and fissures. The deep moist woods afford im-
mense varieties to the ornithologist.

Being a dry and stony country, the Kolehan is peculiarly prolific
in snakes of all varieties : the covra is not so common as another
species, the Siarbinja of the Oorias, and Pago jarras of the Hos
(Cophias Russelii), which is supposed to be equally deadly and far
more vindictive ; it is a subgenus of rattle-snake (without the rat-
tle). A large and beautiful snake, coloured with black and yellow
rings, the Sakom bing (Pseudoboa fasciata) , is met with in ploughed
fields ; a long thin green whip-snake infests the rank grass-jungles
at the bottoms of hills ; the hartoo, a slender agile species, coloured
like a ribbon with yellow and coppery purple, infests trees : all
these are venomous. The Python or Ujgur (Toonil bing) is found in
every jungle ; it attains to dimensions which I have heard described,
but which would sound too marvellous to be recorded without better
proofs. Throughout Singbhoom, Chota Nagpoor, and the surround-
ing countries, a belief is current of a monstrous species of snake, the

Miscellaneous. 157

Garra Ung, infesting rivers swollen by torrents, which destroys
both men and cattle should they venture in. I mention it, as the
opinion is so general ; but it is probable that the sudden and myste-
rious deaths which occur in these mountain-torrents are occasioned
by what seamen call the " under tow " and " back water," caused by
the violent passage of water over rocks and deep holes. The body of
a person thus carried away is never seen again, at least in the neigh-
bourhood, and this total disappearance naturally strengthens the idea
of his having been swallowed up by some huge animal.

An entomologist would find an exhaustless field of research and
discovery in the jungles of this country. The decayed saul trees are
tenanted by magnificent species of Prionus and Cerambyx ; the rocks
contain endless beautiful varieties of Coleoptera ; the deep woods,
everywhere during the rainy season brilliant with odoriferous flowers,
are enlivened by Lepidoptera of the gaudiest colours, and numberless
varieties of grotesque shapes in the Mantides, Phyllia and Grilli, in-
fest every thicket ; while tribes of ants, bees and wasps attract at-
tention by the beauty and ingenuity of their habitations and nests in
the forests. Of the former, one of the commonest species is remark-
able for traversing the jungles, and marching along the paths in pro-
cession two or three abreast, and of prodigious extent. Scorpions
and centipedes are fearfully common ; of the former, a species infests
caves and fissures in rocks, and attains such an enormous size, that
had I not heard the animal described by several people (of different
classes), and had reason to be satisfied of the general truth of their
assertions, I should have looked upon the whole as a chimaera. In
dry, konkerous soils, the white ants are a scourge ; they appear, in
woods, to be a kind of vegetable scavenger, reducing to powder the
logs which lie on the ground in a short space of time.

Fish are abundant in every largish stream, retiring in the dry
season to the deep pools, which are left when the main channel has
run dry ; but the Koles, by poisoning the water, destroy inordinate
quantities. The mahseer, and the little fly-taking Cyprinus, mis-
called " trout" in Upper India, are not found in these lower latitudes.
Doubtless these running jungle- streams produce many undiscovered
varieties of fish, but unfortunately, to this branch of natural history
I turned no attention during my stay in the country.

The climate of the Kolehan has been found to be on the whole
healthy, although the station of Chyebassa, which was unfortunately
selected hurriedly, and without sufficient examination and compa-
rison with surrounding spots, is not a favourable sample, situated
on a barren, gravelly plain, interspersed with brushwood, and near
piles of bare rocks. The heat during the day is excessive, but the
nights are invariably cool, and the air invigorating and exhilarating,
in spite of the temperature, owing probably to its peculiar dryness.
A mile only to the south-east, at the village of Tambore, the coun-
try rises in undulating meadows, beautiful in appearance as an En-
glish park, and infinitely cooler than Chyebassa. These advantages
in forming the cantonment were either overlooked or thought of less
note than the nearer vicinity of water, Chyebassa being on the banks
of the Roro. The Hos are more free from disease than any other

158 Miscellaneous.

people, in consequence of the precautionary measures they take —
their nutritive food and drink, and the open airy positions they build
in. As a guard against infection or fire, their villages are small and
scattered, and on the first appearance of any epidemic they leave
their houses and flee into the jungles, living apart from each other.
Singbhoom, on the contrary, from the obverse manners of the Oorias,
is yearly scourged by cholera, fevers and small-pox. This latter dis-
ease, propagated by the Bramin inoculators, has within the last year
spread with fearful havoc into the Kolehan, and most unfortunately
simultaneously with the introduction of vaccine, to which the evil
has alone been attributed. The rains are not heavy in the Kolehan,
but the monsoon is accompanied by violent storms of wind from the
north-west, with severe thunder and lightning, causing many fatal
accidents. None of that sultry oppression incident to Bengal is felt
at that time of year. The cold season is truly luxurious — *' a nip-
ping and an eager air" without fogs or mists. March, April and
May are generally the only unpleasant hot months of the year ; du-
ring this period not a drop of water falls occasionally for upwards of
six weeks ; the aspect of the country loses every trace of verdure,
and the dried stony soil reflects with unbearable force the rays of the
sun. Vegetation is vigorously restored on the commencement of the
rains, and as these are not accompanied by the gloomy sky and un-
ceasing torrents which fall in the plains of India, the landscape is
pleasingly chequered by passing showers, and the tender foliage of
the forests glistens alternately with golden breaks of sunshine or
mellowed shades of green. To the south and east of Singbhoom,
and in the most dreary and deserted parts of the country, are re-
mains indicative of the former presence of opulent and industrious
people, but so decayed by time, and engulfed in the labyrinths of
untenanted forests, as to be unmarked by any record or history, save
that they must have been of prior origin to the first known Bhooians
of the country. — Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, No. 19.

Fossil Foraminifera in the Greensand of New Jersey. — Prof. J. W.
Bailey, in a recent visit to the cretaceous formations of New Jersey,
has brought to light the interesting fact, that a large portion of the
calcareous rock defined by Prof. H. D. Rogers as the third formation
of the upper secondary, is made up, at the localities where he exa-
mined it, of great quantities of microscopic shells, belonging to the
Foraminifera of D'Orbigny, which order includes those multilocular
shells which compose a large part of the calcareous sands, &c. of
Grignon and other localities in the tertiary deposits of Europe.
Since the minute multilocular shells above alluded to were discovered,
Dr. Torrey and Prof. Bailey have together examined specimens of
limestone from Claiborne, Alabama, and have found in them Fora-
minifera, of forms apparently identical with those occurring in New
Jersey. None of this order except the genus Nummulite have here-
tofore been noticed in our greensand formation. In this connexion
we may also announce the interesting discovery recently made by
Prof. Wm. B. Rogers, of

A vast Stratum of Fossil Infusoria in the Tertiary Strata of Vir-

Meteorological Observations. 159

ginia. — It occurs about twenty feet in thickness, beneath Richmond,
and is found to be filled with new and highly interesting forms of
marine siliceous Infusoria. — Sillimans Journal, July 1841.

Mr. R. C. Taylor's Model of the Southern Coal-Field of Pennsyl-
vania. — At the Second Annual Meeting of American Geologists, held
in April last, Mr. Richard Cowling Taylor, F.G.S., exhibited a highly
interesting model in plaster of the Dauphin and Lebanon coal region,
embracing altogether an area of seven hundred and twenty square
miles, showing the range of the mountain elevations, with their re-
lative height and position ; also their elevation above tide level ; the
dip of the rocks, the position of the coal-seams, and much other
useful information.

Mr. Taylor accompanied this exhibition with remarks explanatory
and statistical in relation to this coal region, and made some obser-
vations on the importance of this mode of exhibiting the geological
features of a country, expressing the hope that the day would come
when models of this kind, representing the several states, and even
the whole United States, shall be constructed. He also enlarged
upon the propriety of following as closely as possible the actual con-
formation of the country in drawing sections, and of adopting uni-
form modes of illustration by colours, &c, and the importance of an
equal scale of extension and elevation as far as practicable in such
sections. — From Sillimans Journal, July number, where the remarks
are published entire, with a coloured section.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR AUG. 1841.

Chiswick. — August 1. Slight rain : cloudy and fine. 2. Fine with clouds : rain.
3. Hazy: cloudy and mild : rain. 4. Cloudy and fine. 5. Fine: slight rain.
6, 7. Fine. 8. Rain : cloudy and fine. 9. Very fine. 10. Very fine : rain.

11. Stormy and wet. 12. Fine. 13. Cloudy. 14. Rain: showery: clear at
night. 15—17. Cloudy and fine. 18. Hazy: fine. 19, 20. Very fine. 21.
Cloudy. 22. Cloudy : slight rain. 23. Rain : cloudy and fine. 24. Showery:
clear. 25. Drizzly. 26. Hazy and mild. 27. Heavy dew : cloudy and hot.
28 — 30. Foggy in the mornings : very fine : evenings clear. 31. Overcast and
fine.

Boston. — August 1. Fine: rain p.m. 2. Fine. 3. Cloudy: rain p.m. 4. Fine:
rain early a.m. 5. Cloudy : rain p.m. 6. Cloudy and stormy. 7. Cloudy : rain
p.m. 8,9. Cloudy. 10. Fine. 11. Cloudy: rain early a.m. : rain p.m. V2.
Stormy. 13. Cloudy. 14. Cloudy: rain early a.m. 15, 16. Cloudy. 17.
Fine: rain p.m. 18, 19. Fine. 20. Fine: thermometer 77° half-past two p.m.
21. Fine: rain a.m. 22. Fine. 23, 24. Fine: rain early a.m. 25. Rain:
rain early a.m. 26. Cloudy : thermometer 75° three-quarters past two p.m. 27.
Fine : thermometer 75° quarter .past eleven a.m. 28, 29. Fine. 30, 31. Cloudy.

Applegarth Manse, Dumfries- shire. — August 1. Fair, but cool and cloudy.
2. Fair and fine. 3. Wet a.m. : cleared and was fine. 4. Fair and fine. 5.
Rain all day. 6. Wet a.m. : cleared and was fine. 7. Wet, slightly. 8. Fine
though showery: thunder. 9. Wet a.m. : became fine. 10. Showery. 11. Fair.

12. Showery all day. 13. Partial showers. 14. Wet a.m. : became fine. 15.
Fine till p.m.: then rain. 16. Wet a.m. : cleared p.m. 17. Fair throughout.
18. Fair a.m. : wet p.m. 19. Fair and warm: air electrical. 20. Wet nearly
all day : thunder. 21. Wet p.m. : flood. 22. Fine and fair. 23. Occasional
slight showers. 24. Wet p.m. and evening : thunder. 25. Showery. 26. Rain
early a.m. : cleared. 27. Fine : one shower a.m. 28. Wet morning : cleared.
29. Fine but cloudy. 30. Wet all day. 31. Pair and fine.

■

i

m

P

B j
Bu|

1

3 .jg

rig*

^f »0 CTi GO *•* l>- f* C7\ t>- 1© C\ — VO GO OM>0 O t» C\ C3 VO I^-GO ' ~* rf £3\N O oo

d

Sgo

c
'3

«

•aiiqs
-saujuinQ

t~» CO o <©

:::::: T* ::::::<?•:::::: 9 :::::: o« :: :
2* 6 ci £ • • •

a g»

E 8

•uojsog

. »p .to . vo .i-i . .Hin .to . . . ** . . . ci co "*>-<

:9 : go : o : o ; : ^f 1 ■?* : <?• : : :9 : : -hhoin : • '• ' - '

to

CO
CI

I 4 -

Ed ii

*5(01MSIIJ3

cicoco ,-ii> ,-*-hwo .O'* . . . .co^Hcrst^. <s
999 :99 :9999 :99 • • • • • • :"P9 , r9 : : : : :9

01

3!«

U^LOt^^O .OOOOtX . .I^OOOIOh ©CJOHrt ....

lOOt^O • O GO O • • t^CO ■-< i-« COp- . : . . . Inn^lOH . . . .

9909 -999 • '(N99CI99 ^9^99 • • • •

• CO

as

CO CI

o gl

S

C « «>

B « S

* i i * w & i i £ i l i « & * * * * « *' ^ « &' 1* £ ►' ^ fe ii £ *

w

CO

O

J it J .•«>• s ,• j fe «-,:>• fe b s . s s . s a * * s a s s s s

8 « § OT ? 8 2 <" ^ 5 88 ^3 S M 5 *88 * ;z 'S'S Slsl S

o «

si

fS

•urd j

i a S £ * i ►' ^ - ** » i 1 - ii*i * i ^ - * ^ S £ 1" ^ i" a 1

Pi

O Offl
MB

i il*i * * i i i i; ^ : if| H i t* i j \ i i i * \ i *

4*

1!
■11

£

Qi

a>

B
o

g

11

a

d

C\TtOn cn-^CM toOGO lOrtcN COiOiOrfrocOGO CTvQO CT>i-t O VO^O 'ct'rtVO O

to
6
to

■h|« Ha H« H« -' 1 « H«^ l « ^Iw

IS

*uo}sog

»p «p ip 1/3 ip to W5 »p

CO

5

1

o

a

s

000 t^t^ot^ooc^OMCO" ■<*Tt , cianoor — iXTfTcmoN^fN'-it^io
TfioioinicinioiOTi'iC'^'tinioiininicin^in'^vn'^'^c^oin'Oio© -rf

iO

1*

K

1

io t^t^*o©*o t^VO I>-<0<00 t^I>.C^t^t^l>.I>00 i>-vo t^-<ovo c^co rococo l>

fO

CI

i

I

c
o

1

b d

1*

99^909^^9009109099^99009100009090
o^ooSodbocSiooooHHt^NO 6ob(o©crn6i>6(Ni^ih6>6>6o
tntn^o «o^o too mioioioinio ioto«o^o mmio>0'0'0'-ovn»o | o mioioio

CI

»o

ei9op9999T) , 99 9 999icnp999999999knoioiDOo

IS

if

99009 9if>9 999T) i (S9 9999t^99i^9 99 9'NNi>Ti'ioi>
ioio©io*o*o»owvniooio | o*ooo©oo>oo^oioinio>oio(o>o«no

CI

£

£
o

i

1
1

3

Q

£

a.
-*•

CO

mix»o->inOH»a)io^H^w(M^TtiO'*(saiooTtooon'noo
t>.ip9© w 9 9^<99 9i>0'Tj | io r»cA9o\*f9Tt , t^ciei^9 9cp(oco

C?^O^cy^CTlCT^O^C^O^c^CTlC^<^C^c^C^O^O^O C^iC^iCTiC^iC^iCyiCTiO o O O^icVicVi

l>.

CI

s

aiot^nci ^o>MO\OAeiO tooM^fNnooiAirKoo^ciot^^wMa
*or*9 9 7t999 97)"^h-«9^ | Nt^9 9N99 9aia)o oo»t^o
c^cVicr»cV»cVio>c^c^o^cyiC>c^c^cViC^c>cyiO o^ 0^ 0^ o\ 0^1 iy^i cVicVvcVi

C*C^C^C^C^C«C<C^C^C^C^C^C^C^C^C^C^COCOC^C<C^C^C^C^<^COCO

GO
VO

CI

CI

a\

CI

II

B5oo

9'?T <l ?"r9 9'r9 9 q ? i r 5 997'9r 5l ? t ?9?9 < ] 9T , ' 1 P9 lou,t '5 rt
o^cticTigo cy>c^o , »<3 > icy>cyiQO ocV>c^c^cyiC^c^c7iC^cy^CTic^c^c^c^cViC^^<o>

4i ^

1

d

O iOf-iOCTiCOQO O>i<O00C0G0CIOM>.~ 00>0 C7M^O t^GO 0\H(NlOOOC?l

c^^o-oo ooo>iHOM>inco i^oicomto'rfo <nc?\oo\tjho(»tj<ci(n^'(n
i^^^9«ci^9ip9^cpi>99(»9H9«3i^Qpt>9 9H-4rto>a) t>
cy\cyicyic^c^<^c^c^c^^cyic^^cVi0^cVicyiO ctno^ctic^o cV\cr^cV>

co

CI

§1

1

fjN- iow--wo^o^noo > \WHVoor^^n-tjTt^c > iio^ao^oo'<*
<Nroo^ooTfioc?i-ccooooiX'-^(Niot^c > icioi>ooc^c^oi'^»ino>'*

GKO^ip V^tr^CO GO t^O CO VO ^Gp ^.^919 "71 -71 t^C^GO GO 9 9 CI <N r-> p-i o>GO

^cy^s^c^^^c^oNo^c^cViCTicyvcV>cV>o>o cVncVi<5>cV>o c^cVi
c<c^c^c<c<c<c<c<c<c<c<c<c^c^c^c*cocococ<c^c<^oococococ^c<o^

CI

cVi

CI

c 8 j

C >»«

OCtNl WWC0CIC0^^C<00C0>OlO0C)C0OWlOTl'00rtTtC0 00 0l'^©Tj<(O

cpo^^^^^^9^^^^0Gp90^9l<Ol>■o^90I<N oipo^os^r-irxcprxc* oco
^c^c^^a\c^^^c^^c^^c^^cV)c>6 6 6 om^cSo 6 6 6 o^

CI
CI

1
5

CI

1

c

5 js . .

5 ti "■* bo

i3 = «

- <n ci ■* 10 t^od c> d -' c^co^u^^r^Goc^o'^oifO'rr'io^dr-lGOc^o'pH

O J* O «

i

8

- //(#:£ May , VatMtf: Vol : 8 II JL

V /-J W&Mtaty.'Ity:* 0-Jck.otftirAoy.

Jtotu & .May: Mvt. HwZ: Vol 8 PI . IV

WUJSaUj/ cfeCctLith,

Jwi.lMag. Mtt.Msb V0I8 PI. V.

tJVood. Sl&&.

WMM^ihf dcLet LcCh

Awi.&MagJVal Husb Vol:8. Tl.VL

?'. f htfth deLUZith

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY,

No. 50. NOVEMBER 1841.

XIX. — Description of some new Species of Ammonites found in
the Oxford Clay on the line of the Great Western Railway
near Christian Malford. By Samuel Peace Pratt, Esq.,
F.L.S., F.G.S.

[With Four Plates.]

The cuttings for the Great Western Railway between Chip-
penham and Wootton Basset having been almost entirely in
the Oxford clay, and having exposed nearly the whole of that
deposit, numerous fossil remains have been discovered, inclu-
ding many new species. The Oxford clay, in this neighbour-
hood, forms three distinct beds, viz. the upper and lower blue
clays, separated by the ferruginous Kelloway rock ; and each
division has its distinct fossils, although several species are
common to each of the three divisions. Besides the undescribed
species, many have been founcL throughout the series which
had hitherto been considered as characteristic of either higher
or much lower beds ; thus Ostrea deltoidea and Gryphcea vir-
gula are numerous in both the upper and lower beds, though
formerly considered to be {Con fined to the Kimmeridge clay ;
and several shells belonAig to the inferior oolite, as Astarte
modiolaris and Lima pr^bpscidea, with some others, are found
in the upper beds nea^ Wootton Basset. In the neighbour-
hood of Christian Malford, about four miles from Chippen-
ham, the site of the Kelloway rock appears to be represented
by a bed of gravel a few feet in thickness, which, besides the
usual fossils of that J>ed, contains also numerous rolled spe-
cimens from the neighbouring hills of coral rag and calca-
reous grit. Bones of the Elephant and other mammalia hav$
also been found in it. Beyond the gravel to the N.W., in the
direction of the rise of the strata, the clay assumes a slaty
character, and contains numerous fossils, chiefly peculiar to
the spot, such as ten or twelve species of Ammonites, more
than half of which are undescribed, several species of Belem-
nites, Sepise, Fishes, and numerous shells, which although
much compressed are beautifully perfect.

The Ammonites are remarkable for having the aperture in
Ann. §• Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. M

162 Mr. S. P. Pratt on some new species of Ammonites.

a nearly perfect condition, but from their flattened state it
is often difficult to determine their distinctive characters ; this
has however been attempted in the following descriptions,
which have been drawn up after an inspection of several
hundred specimens ; and of a few individuals, which, having
fortunately been found in indurated nodules in the clay, and
thus preserved from compression, exhibit characters which
the usual state of the fossils do not afford. The specimens
described are partly from the author's collection, and partly
from that of the Bristol Institution, which possesses an ex-
tensive series of fossils found in the same locality, collected
by the zeal of Mr. S. Stutchbury. Some apology may seem
necessary for having employed proper names so extensively
in the designation of the species ; but in a genus, the general
characters of which are so similar, and in which the species
are so numerous, it is difficult to find characteristic distinc-
tions : this genus has also, by almost general consent, been
adopted to commemorate the names of individuals, who have
distinguished themselves either by their discoveries in the
science, or by their love and patronage of it.

1. Ammonites Elizabeths. PL III. fig. 1, 2, 3, 4.

Shell angular, arising from a series of spines on each dorsal
edge, and two rows of tubercles on the sides of the vo-
lution, one near the middle, another smaller and com-
pressed near the inner margin ; radiated, the rays varying
very much in number and elevation, curved or undulated,
but becoming angular near the aperture of the adult shell,
which has on each side a long, narrow, spatulate projec-
tion, the prolonged rays forming waves or loops on its
surface ; volutions six or seven, about frds exposed ;
back narrow, concave, the rays passing over it and form-
ing low obtuse ridges ; siphunculus not visible.

The number and length of the spines and tubercles, and the
mode in which they are combined with the rays, appear to
indicate several distinct species, but on closer examination it
is seen that all the varieties pass into each other, the same
specimen sometimes containing more than one form.

The spines and rays vary from sixteen to upwards of sixty
on the last volution, and they are large and elongated in pro-
portion to the smallness of their number; in the simplest
form, a single irregular ray, terminated on the dorsal edge by
a long sharp spine, connects it with the tubercles, scarcely
reaching the inner one in others ; two, three, and sometimes
four rays arise from the spine and unite in the middle tu-

Mr. S. P. Pratt on some new species of Ammonites. 163

bercle. The prolongation of the aperture appears to depend
upon the growth of the shell, and it varies from a slight pro-
jection to 1^ inch long; it is concave externally and convex
internally.

2. Ammonites Comptoni. PI. IV. fig. 1.

Shell discoidal, radiated, the rays alternately two short and
one long ; the long rays proceeding from the dorsal to
the inner margin, where they become thickened, the two
short rays not passing beyond the middle of the volu-
tion ; they are curved backwards near the dorsal edge : in
the young shell the rays are close, sharp, and slightly
elevated; when full-grown the last volution has a few
obtuse undulations, but is nearly smooth ; back rounded,
with a slight depression in the middle, formed by the
nearly meeting rays ; the whole shell without spines or
tubercles; volutions 6 or 7> frds exposed; aperture ter-
minated on each side with a spatulate projection about
1^ inch long when fully grown, and of similar characters
with Am, Elizabeths.

3. Ammonites Stutchburii. PI. IV. fig. 2 and 3.

Shell discoidal, radiated; the rays curved, very regular, form-
ing raised lines which reach from the dorsal edge to about
the middle of the volution, where they meet a row of
small, compressed, distant tubercles, beyond which is
another row near the inner margin ; these tubercles vary
much in number and relative size ; volutions frds ex-
posed; aperture forming a projecting beak, with waved
striae on its surface ; back narrow, marked by the rays
passing over it, and terminated on each edge by a range
of serrated sharp points formed by the termination of the
rays; volutions exposed, showing both ranges of tu-
bercles.

4. Ammonites Sedgwickii. PL V. fig. 1.

Shell discoidal, nearly smooth on the last volution, but having
a row of tubercles upon the inner margin ; the spaces be-
tween them twice as large as the tubercles : in the young
shell sharp raised lines proceed from the rounded back
to about the centre of the volution, but do not reach the
tubercles ; they become indistinct towards the aperture ;
volutions ^th exposed, the last about half the diameter
of the shell ; aperture not projecting, forming a well-
defined twice-curved termination.
M2

164 Mr. S. P. Pratt on some new species of Ammonites.

5. Ammonites Lonsdalii. PL V. fig. 2.
Shell discoidal, radiated (when young) with numerous waved,
well-defined, raised lines, which become more obtuse and
fewer as the shell increases in size ; near the aperture
they pass into fine striae ; the rays rise from the dorsal
edges, and scarcely reach the middle of the side ; the
aperture forms a regular concave termination, except on
the inner edge, where it bends back like the handle of a
sickle ; volutions ^rd exposed, the last more than half the
diameter of the shell.

6. Ammonites fluctuosus. PL VI. fig. 1 and 2.
Shell discoidal or lenticular, radiated (when young) with nu-
merous sharp raised lines, which are alternately long and
short ; the short combining in twos or threes with the
longer ones about the middle of the side^ some remain-
ing distinct : as the shell advances in age the inner half
of the long rays becomes much thickened, until they
form obtuse elevated ridges, with broad, concave, smooth
spaces between, the short rays gradually disappearing ;
volutions numerous, frds exposed ; shell reaching 6
inches in diameter, without any appearance of projecting
aperture.

7. Ammonites Brightii. PL VI. fig. 3, 4.

Shell discoidal, nearly smooth, but having several flat, obtuse
ridges arising from the dorsal edge, which combine a
little beyond the middle of the volution into a com-
pressed elongated tubercle which reaches the inner mar-
gin ; the tubercles are about one-third as numerous as
the ridges, and meet them in a rounded right angle : in
the young shell they are hardly visible, and also become
obsolete near the aperture, the sides of which suddenly
contracting to about one-third, again expand into a trans-
verse oval projection, finely waved or striated ; the back
of the shell also projects in a point, and forms with the
sides a concave arch ; a sharp ridge on the back marks
the siphunculus ; volutions about 7, f rds exposed.

8. Ammonites Gulielmi, Sowerby, Min. Con., pi. 311.
This species differs considerably from the description given
by Sowerby, although there can be no doubt of its being the
same shell ; when fully grown to about 5 inches in diameter,
the inner thickened rays form strong, elevated, compressed
spines or tubercles.

Mr. Jeffreys on the Mollusca of Shetland. 165

Ammonites sublcevis, Am. lenticularis, and Am. mutabilis,
and some other indistinct species, are also found in the same
locality, generally compressed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.

All the figures are of the natural size, with the exception of Fig. 1. PL VI.,
which is about one-half.
Plate III. Fig. 1, 2, 3. Am. Elizabeths.

1 . Simplest form.

2. Most usual character.

3. An uncompressed specimen.

4. Exhibits characters proving the specific identity ©f

Figs. 1, 2, 3.

Pxate IV. Fig. 1. Am* Compt-cmi.

2. Am. Stutchburii.

3. Part of the aperture of ditto.

Plate V. Fig. 1. Am. Sedgtuickii.
2. Am. Lonsdaiiu

Plate VI. Fig. 1. Am.Jtucluosus, half the natural size.

2. Ditto young.

3. Am. Brightii.

4. Ditto uncompressed.

XX. — A List of Testaceous Mollusca collected in the Shet-
land Isles during a few days' residence there in the autumn
of this year, and not noticed by Dr. Fleming in his * History
of British Animals ' as indigenous to that country. By J.
Gwyn Jeffreys, Esq., F.R. & L.S., &c.

1. Helix alliacea (var.). At Lerwick, under stones near the sea-

shore.

2. Rissoa purpurea (n. s.). At Scalloway.

3. Pyramidella (?) interstincta [Odostomia interstincta, Fleming'].

In Lerwick Sound, among coral.
4. — (?) insculpta [Odostomia insculpta, Fleming']. With

the last.
5. (?) pallida [Phasianella pallida, Fleming]. With the

last.

6. Eulima Donovani [Phasianella polita, Fleming]. Lerwick Sound:

not uncommon.

7. Natica Helicdides. Dr. Johnson in Trans, of Berwickshire Nat.

Hist. Society. One specimen (the second which appears to have
been recorded) was found by me while dredging in Lerwick
Sound ; it presents some generic differences (particularly in
the aperture and umbilicus) from Natica. The figure in the
Transactions of the Berwickshire Natural History Society is
erroneously represented as reversed, and in other respects does
not give a good idea of the shell.

usus albus (n. s.). In Lerwick Sound ; a single specimen, but
very distinct from any of its congeners.

166 Sir F. A. Mackenzie on the Breeding

9. Trichotropis acuminatus. Jeffreys in ' Malacological and Concho-

logical Magazine,' No. II. p. 36. In Lerwick Sound : not un-
common. I found one specimen of the Chiton albus which was
half an inch long.
Pecten obsoletus, var. omnino alba. In Lerwick Sound ; only one
specimen.

10. Crenella elliptica, Brown [Mytilus decussatus, Montagu] . In
Lerwick Sound : not uncommon.

11. Area fusca^ In Lerwick Sound : a single valve.

12. Montacuta substriata, Turton. Lerwick, attached to the ventral

spines of the Spatangus purpureus, its usual habitat.

13. ■ ferruginosa, Turton. Scalloway; a single valve.

14. Lucina lactea. At Scalloway : rare.

15. spinifera [Venus spinifera, Montagu]. In Lerwick Sound :

rare.

16. Cyprina minima, Turton. In Lerwick Sound: not uncommon.

17. Astarte} triangularis [Mactra triangularis, Montagu]. In Ler-

wick Sound ; one specimen only.

18. Venus Virginea and var. Sarniensis, Turton. Lerwick: not un-
common.

19. Anatina prcetenuis . Lerwick and Scalloway : rare.

20. — — intermedia. Jeffreys in ' Malacological and Conchological

Magazine,' No. II. p. 45. In Lerwick Sound : not uncommon.

21. Psammobia florida. In Lerwick Sound : not uncommon.
Swansea, Sept. 1841.

XXI. — Brief and Practical Instructions for the Breeding of
Salmon and other Fish artificially. By Sir Francis A.
Mackenzie, Bart.

In the autumn of 1840, having chosen a brook flowing ra-
pidly into the river Ewe, a hollow spot adjoining to it was
selected and cleared out, of the following dimensions : length
23 yards, breadth from 12 to 18 feet; and all large stones ha-
ving been taken away, the bottom was covered 1 foot thick
with coarse sand and small gravel, the largest stones not ex-
ceeding the size of a walnut. A stream from the brook was
then led into this hollow, so as to form a pool of about 8 inches
in depth at the upper and 3 feet at the lower end, thus giving
it one uniform gentle current over the whole pool ; whilst the
supply of water was so regulated by a sluice as to have the
same depth at all times, and a strong stone wall excluded all
eels or trout, so destructive both to spawn and fry.

On the 13th of November, four pair of salmon, male and
female, were taken by net from the Ewe, and carefully placed
in the pool ; on the 18th they showed a disposition to spawn,
but on the 20th the whole were carried away by some ill-dis-

of Salmon and other Fish artificially, 167

posed persons, and on examining the pool, only a small quan-
tity of ova appeared to have been deposited. On the 23rd of
November four pair of salmon were again caught and placed
in the pool, which w r ere observed to commence spawning on
the day following ; — caught them carefully, — squeezed gently
about 1200 ova from a female into a basin of water, and then
pressed about an equal quantity of milt from a male fish over
them ; stirred the two about gently, but well together, with
the ringers, and after allowing them rest for an hour, the whole
was deposited and spread in one of the wicker baskets re-
commended by Professor Agassiz, having about 4 inches of
gravel below them and 2 or 3 inches of gravel above. A si-
milar quantity of ova, treated in the same way, was also de-
posited in one of the copper wire bags, as used by Mr. Shaw,
and both were then immediately placed under water in the
pool ; a little of the ova was buried in the open gravel at about
3 inches in depth. In another basket, and also in another
copper wire bag, 2 or 3 inches of gravel were placed over the
bottom of each, and both basket and bag laid in the pool,
covered with about 4 inches of water. The ova of a female
and milt of a male were then successively squeezed from two
fish on the gravel in both basket and bag, and spread over it
regularly with the hand one after the other ; and after leaving
them exposed, in this state, to the water for a few minutes,
the whole was covered with 2 or 3 inches of gravel and left in
the pooh These four pair of fish afterwards emitted volun-
tarily a small quantity of spawn which had been left with
them, and on the 1st of December they were all turned out
into the river. On the 3rd of December, caught three pair of
salmon which had already partially spawned in the Ewe; — used
another basket and also another wire bag, treating the spawn
in the same manner as last described ; these fish were then
also allowed to deposit voluntarily the little spawn of which
they had not been deprived, and afterwards turned out into
the river. On the 19th of February examined the ova, and
life was plainly observed in the baskets, wire bags, and unpro-
tected gravel, both where placed artificially and where depo-
sited by the salmon themselves.

19th of March, the fry had increased in size and went on
gradually increasing, much in proportion to the temperature
of the weather.

22nd, the eyes were easily visible, and a few of the ova had
burst, the young fry having a small, watery, bladder-like sac
attached to the throat.

18th of April, the baskets and bags were all opened; the
sacs had become detached from their throats, the fry measured

168 Sir F. A. Mackenzie on the Breeding

about three-quarters of an inch in length, and they swam
about easily, all marked distinctly as Par. The baskets re-
commended by Professor Agassiz proved superior to the wire
bags of Mr. Shaw. In the latter only about 20 per cent,
came to maturity, whilst in the former not above 10 per cent,
proved barren, and in the baskets used 5th of December not
above 5 per cent, was unproductive. It is impossible to say
exactly the proportion of ova which came to life either of that
artificially impregnated and deposited in the open gravel, or
of what was spawned by the fish themselves naturally, but so
far as could be judged, they succeeded equally well with that
in the baskets. Perhaps the baskets may have a preference over
the other methods tried, as affording more certain protection
to the spawn during winter ; and it is proper to state, that
the last-described mode of depositing the ova and milt was
most successful. There can be no doubt, from the success
which has attended these experiments, that the breeding of
salmon or other fish in large quantities is, comparatively
speaking, easy, and that millions may be produced, protected
from every danger, and turned out into their natural element
at the proper age, which Mr. Shaw has proved by repeated
experiments on a small scale to be when they have attained
about two years of age. When the par marks disappear they
assume the silvery scales of their parents, and distinctly show
a strong inclination to escape from confinement and proceed
downwards to the sea.

Professor Agassiz asserts, and I fully believe with truth, that
the ova of all fish, when properly impregnated, can be con-
veyed in water of a proper temperature even across the At-
lantic, as safely as if it were naturally deposited by the parent
fish; so that any quantity of salmon or other spawn can
(after impregnation on the banks of a river) be carried to other
streams, however distant, which may be favourable for hatch-
ing. It may be right to observe, that as the fry are to remain
two years in the artificial pools where hatched, fresh places
must be used every second year for the spawn, as even one-
year-old fry will destroy spawn, or their more infantile brethren,
if left together ; old spent salmon are also destructive both to
spawn and fry.

It can only be ascertained by experience what kind or
quantity of food will be required for the fry. Carrion hung
at the top of the pool in which they are, would, in the opinion
of Professor Agassiz and Mr. Shaw, supply them with mag-
gots ; but in this there are difficulties, and when tried by
me this season, a few of the fry were found dead round the
carrion given to them. The droppings of cattle allowed to

of Salmon and other Fish artificially, 169

rest till half dry, and occupied by worms and the ova of insects,
appear to suit them best. About the 1st of September last,
when on an agricultural tour of Belgium, I visited an esta-
blishment belonging to King Leopold, and adjoining his
new palace of Ardennes, on a much more expensive scale
than that now described, where the breeding of trout had
been tried for the three previous seasons, though with but
little success. A very few small trout bred 1839-40 were
still alive, but the ova of 1841 were a complete failure, chiefly
from not properly covering the spawn with gravel, and other
errors. Bread made of brown and white flour mixed was the
food found best suited to the few living, who, judging from
their shape as seen swimming about in a small pool, were in
excellent condition. The trout-breeding establishment of
Ardennes, however, proves that their spawn, if treated in the
same way as that of salmon above described, will produce the
same successful results, and that any one possessing a con-
venient pond or stream may stock it with the best kinds of
trout or other fish in one or two years, and by good feeding
have them in high condition. Where trout already exists of
small size and inferior quality, I would recommend wholly
destroying the breed by saturating the water with quick-lime
or any other mode more advisable, and procuring spawn or
fry from lakes where the best kinds of trout are found, in
Scotland or elsewhere. The same may be said of grayling,
pike, or any other kind of fish suited to ponds or brooks and
rivers as may be desired by their owners, which renders the
discovery now made known of value to all, and in all quarters,
as well as to salmon-fishing proprietors. In conclusion, I
hope that the above brief account may not only be well under-
stood, but that the ease and comparatively trifling expense
at which the breeding of fry can be accomplished may induce
many this season to try this novel but successful mode of in-
creasing our stocks of salmon and other fish, and consequently
adding largely to the wealth of our country. — F. M.

Should any further information be wanted, Sir F. will
gladly reply to such inquiries ; and he now expresses a hope,
that those who may be successful in spring 1842, or after
years, will communicate to him any account of improvement
on the mode of breeding, feeding, &c. now described; as,
though perfectly satisfied with the results of his own expe-
riments, Sir F. is ready to acknowledge that there exists no-
thing so perfect devised by man as not to admit of improve-
ment.

Cohan House, Ross-shire, Oct. 1st, 1841. ]

170 Mr. Stephens on Epilobium angustifolium.

XXII. — On Epilobium angustifolium, and species which have
been confounded with it. By Mr. H. O. Stephens.

To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

There appears to be two species of Epilobium confounded by
British botanists with E. angustifolium, Linn. ; one is proba-
bly indigenous, the other certainly so. I shall endeavour to
furnish discriminating characters.

1st. Epilobium angustifolium, Linn. Leaves scattered, rather
broadly lanceolate, veined, smooth ; inflorescence subspicate ;
petals unequal ; genitalia declined ; stigma large, club-shaped ;
capsule short, turgid. Species Plantar. 493 ; Aiton, Hort. Kew.,
torn. ii. p. 4 ; Smith, Eng. Flor., torn. ii. 212 ; Eng. Bot., tab.
1947; Hooker, ed. iii. 182; Lindley, 108. E. spicatum, DeCan-
dolle, Prodrom., pars iii. p. 40. Lysimachia speciosa, &c,
Raii Synop., 310. Chamaenerion, Ger. Emac, p. 477- fig« 7«

This is the common plant of the gardens, and is figured in
6 English Botany/ The leaves are of a very dark green colour,
rather broadly lanceolate, distantly and faintly serrated, in
general outline resembling those of Salix alba. The upper
part of the stem, towards the spike of flowers, very obscurely
angular ; flowers deep crimson ; capsules short and very turgid.

2nd. Epilobium macrocarpum. Leaves scattered, linear-
lanceolate, veined, smooth ; inflorescence subspicate ; petals
unequal ; genitalia declined ; capsule very long, linear.

This plant is of a lighter and more elegant habit than the
former ; the flowers are of a paler shade, inclining to rose-co-
lour ; upper portion of the stem, towards the inflorescence, of
a coral-red, and acutely angular. Stigma much smaller than
in E. angustifolium, barely club-shaped. Leaves very pale
green, narrow, lanceolate, distantly and faintly toothed, in ge-
neral outline resembling those of Salix viminalis. Capsule
very long, exceeding three inches in length, quite linear, with-
out the least turgescence.

This plant differs from Epilobium angustifolium, Linn., in
the leaves being narrow-lanceolate, of a very pale green, in
the smaller stigma, paler flowers and more angular stem ; but
the specific difference consists in the very long linear capsule,
totally unlike the short and turgid seed-vessel of E. angusti-
folium, Linn. Modern British botanists deny (unnecessarily,
I think,) E. angustifolium to be a native plant ; it was consi-
dered as such by Gerarde and Ray; and as it abounds in
Sweden in situations much like those in which it is found
here, this strengthens the supposition of its nationality. How-
ever this may be, there can be no doubt that the second spe-

Flora of Western Norfolk. 171

eies, E. macrocarpum, is indigenous ; it cannot have escaped
from cultivation, because the plant so common in gardens is
E. angustifolium.

Discovered by my friend Mr. G. K. Thwaites in the lower
portion of Leigh Wood, Somerset, in a coppice which had
been cut two years ago, a situation very distant from any ha-
bitation.

Henry Oxley Stephens.

Bristol, 3 Terrill Street, Aug. 26, 1841.

XXIII. — A List of Flowering Plants found growing wild in
Western Norfolk. By the Rev. George Munford*, Cor-
responding Member of the Botanical Society of London.

The tract of country embraced by the hundreds of Freebridge
Lynn, Freebridge Marshland, Clackclose and Smithdon, and
which forms the western side of the county of Norfolk, con-
tains the remarkable district called Marshland — a part of the
great level of the Fens, and the higher ground bordering on
the Wash, which lies between the counties of Norfolk and
Lincolnshire.

From the extent and variety of this field, it will easily be
seen that the botanist will find in it ample space for the ex-
ercise of his favourite pursuit.

Local advantages, derived from a residence of almost twenty
years in the principal and central town of the district, maybe
supposed to enable the compiler of the following list to cor-
rect, in some few instances, the errors into which others, not
residing on the spot, may have fallen ; and perhaps to point
out here and there a new locality for some of the rarer plants
growing in the neighbourhood.

It is with this view that, with the kind assistance of two or
three botanical friends also residing on the spot, the attempt
has been made to give, as far as possible, a correct and per-
fect list of the plants that are found growing wild in Western
Norfolk.

As little more has been done than to collect into one place
what was previously known, but scattered throughout several
published works, it may appear that labour and pains have
been unnecessarily expended ; but the employment itself has
served to fill up, and very agreeably to amuse, many a leisure
hour, and will tend to refresh the memory when the power of
searching for these favourite objects of pursuit in the place of
their growth shall no longer exist.

* Read before the Botanical Society of London, Gth August, 1841.

1?2 The Rev. G. Munford's List of Flowering Plants

The English Flora contains about 1500 vascular and 2800
cellular plants : 722 vasculars are here enumerated as grow-
ing wild in the district which forms the western side of the
county of Norfolk. The writer's acquaintance with the cel-
lulars is too limited to admit of his attempting to give any ac-
count of them in this paper. A catalogue of the plants grow-
ing in the neighbourhood of Yarmouth, on the opposite side
of the county, has been published by Mr. James Paget, in
which are found 725 vasculars and 450 cellulars ; and the
Flora of Central Norfolk, by Mr. R. J. Mann, is printed in the
( Magazine of Natural History/ New Series, vol. iv. No. 44 ;
and in the 7th vol. of the ' Annals and Magazine of Natural
History,' No. 43, an addenda by S. P. Woodward, Esq.
These two lists contain together 708 vasculars and 121 cel-
lulars. They are confined to the neighbourhood of Norwich,
and embrace but a small portion of what may be called central
Norfolk ; so that the greater part of the county may yet be
considered as unbeaten ground.

All the plants previously admitted into works of established
authority as having been found wild in Western Norfolk are
included in this list. To all these, and to others which I have
not myself seen growing, the authority on which they are in-
troduced is given ; while for every species and locality not
thus marked the compiler is responsible.

The arrangement made use of is that of Professor Lindley
in his e Synopsis of the British Flora/ as best agreeing with
the advanced state of botanical science in England ; and the
nomenclature is for the most part that of Sir W. J. Hooker
in his e British Flora/ which is generally acknowledged to be
the best authority in the present day for determining the
plant intended.

The geography of plants is of much interest to the bota-
nist, and every attempt to promote the knowledge of this
branch of the science is worthy of observation. It is now
universally admitted, that the geological character of every
district exercises very great influence over its vegetation. An
attempt has therefore been made to mark, as nearly as pos-
sible, the substratum of soil on which the rarer plants in the
following list are found. Where the place of growth is not
added, the plant may generally be considered as distributed
throughout the district.

By a reference to Woodward's Geological Map of Norfolk,
published in 1833, it will be seen that, proceeding eastward
from Lynn, which is situated on the alluvium, we meet with
a narrow strip of the Kimmeridge clay and oolite that runs in
a direction north and south nearly the entire length of the di-

found growing wild in Western Norfolk.

173

strict. This is followed by a much wider portion of the car-
stone, running in the same direction; and parallel with this
lies about the same quantity of chalk marl. The indentations
of the eastern side of the district extend into the hard and
medial chalk, but embrace only a small portion of the latter
towards the north.

The annexed tabular view will show, as nearly as possible,
the geological character of the several habitats in which the
rarer plants are found. G. M.

Lynn Regis, 1840.

Alluvium.

Kimmeridge
Clay and Oolite.

Carstone.

Chalk Marl.

Hard Chalk.

MedialChalk.

Babingley.

Bawsey.

Bilney.

Ringstead.

Barton-Bendish.

Berwick.

Burnham.

Blackburgh.

Congham.

E. Walton.

Beechamwell.

Bircham.

Gaywood.

Castle-Rising.

Crimplesham.

Boughton.

Brancaster.

Hard wick.

Denver.

Dersingham.

Caldecot.

Docking.

Heacham.

Downham.

Fincham.

Castle-Acre.

Fring.

Lynn.

Fordham.

Hilgay.

Gayton.

Stanhoe.

N. Lynn.

Middleton.

Hillington.

Hunstanton.

S. Lynn.

Mintlyn.

Ingoldisthorpe.

Leziate.

W. Lynn.

Roydon.

Pentney.

Marhara.

Outwell.

N. Runcton.

Shouldham.

Massingham.

Reffley.

S. Runcton.

Stradsett.

Narborough.

Runcton-Holme.

Stow.

E. Winch.

Narford.

Setch.

Thorpland.

Sedgeford.

Snettisham.

Wallington.

Shingham.

Terrington.

Watlington.

Tilney.

Wimbotsham.

Titchwell.

Wormegay.

W. Winch.

Woolferton.

N. Wootton.

S. Wootton.

Class I. VASCULARES.

Subclass I. DICOTYLEDONES.

Division I. DICHLAMYDEiE.

Order RanunculacejE.

Thalictrum minus ; Ringstead, Marham, Shouldham, Burnham, Nar-
borough : not common.

> flavum ; Setch, Barton-Bendish : not common.

Adonis autumnalis ; by Denver Sluice, Mrs. Plestow in Eng. Bot.
No longer found : perhaps it should be erased, as it was probably
thrown out from a garden : Miss Bell.

Anemone nemorosa ; Castle- Rising Wood : abundant.

Myosurus minimus-, Hard wick, Wimbotsham, Runcton-Holme, Bough-
ton : not common.

Ranunculus Flammula ; Castle-Rising, Thorpland, Denver, Wimbots-
ham, Barton-Bendish, Fincham.

1 74 The Rev. G. Munford's List of Flowering Plants

Ranunculus j3. reptans ; Barton-Bendish, Fincham : Mr. Dawson Tur-
ner.

Lingua ; N. Runcton : not common.

Ficaria, sceleratus, bulbosus, hirsutus, repens, acris ; very-

common.

arvensis ; N. Lynn, Thorpland, Hard wick, Barton-Ben-

dish, Beechamwell.

parviflorus ; Gt. Bircham, Burnham, Rev. K. Trimmer.

— hederaceus ; Hardwick, S. Wootton, Denver: not common.
aquatilis; very common.

Caltha palustris ; very common.
Helleborus viridis ; plentiful in a plantation at Ingoldisthorpe : Miss
Bell.

fcetidus ; castle-hill, Castle- Acre.

Aquilegia vulgaris ; thicket behind the Red Mount, Lynn : rare.
Delphinium Consolida ; W. Winch, Docking, Barton-Bendish : rare.

Berberide^e.
Berberis vulgaris ; Narborough, Barton-Bendish : rare.

Nymph^eace^e.
Nymphaa alba ; Lynn, E. Walton, Shouldham: common.
Nuphar lutea ; Lynn, E. Walton, Shouldham : common.

Papaveracejs.
Papaver hybridum ; Barton-Bendish, B. G. ; Burnham, Miss Bell.

Argemone, dubium, Rhceas ; common.
somniferum ; borders of Castle-Rising Wood.

Glaucium luteum ; Heacham beach.
Chelidonium majus ; Gay wood, Congham.

Fumariace^.
Corydalis claviculata ; Woolferton Wood, Bawsey, Blackburgh.
Fumaria officinalis ; common.

Crucifer.e.
Cheiranthus Cheiri ; Grey Friar's Tower, Lynn : not uncommon.
Nasturtium officinale ; plentiful.

syJvestre ; banks of the Ouse, Stow Bridge, Downham

Miss Bell.

terrestre ; Middleton, Stow.

amphibium ; N. Runcton.

Barbarea vulgaris ; very common.

Arabis thaliana; Castle-Rising, N. Runcton.

hirsuta ; S. Gates, Lynn, walls at Downham.

Cardamine hirsuta, pratensis ; very common.

amara ; Reffley Wood, Pentney : not uncommon.

Draba verna ; very common.
Cochlearia anglica ; very common.

Armoracia ; Outwell, on the banks of the Wisbeach canal.

Thlaspi arvense ; S. Wootton, Mr. Wardall : not common.

found growing wild in Western Norfolk. 1 75

Teesdalia nudicaulis ; Castle-Rising, Wimbotsham, E. Winch.

Iberis amara ; E. Winch : Mr. G. Cooper in N. B. G.

Cakile maritima ; abundant on Hunstanton beach.

Hesperis matronalis ; Castle-Rising* E. Winch, Ingoldisthorpe : rare.

Sisymbrium officinale, Sophia ; very common.

Alliaria officinalis ; very common.

Erysimum cheiranthoides ; Hardwick, Stow, Wimbotsham, Runcton-

Holme, Downham, Denver : not uncommon.
Coronopus Ruellii ; very common.
Capsella Bursa Past oris ; very common.
Lepidium latifolium ; found at Magdalen a few years ago : Miss Bell.

ruderale; N. Lynn, S. Lynn.

Isatis tinctoria ; in a field at Barton-Bendish, where it is never known

to have been cultivated : B. G.
Brassica Napus, Rapa, campestris ; naturalized.
Sinapis arvensis, alba, nigra ; common.

tenuifolia ; walls by the gas-works, Lynn.

Raphanis Raphanistrum ; common.

VlOLACE^E.

Viola hirta ; Marham, Mr. Crowe in Eng. Ft. ; Shingham, Mr.

Dawson Turner.

odorata ; not uncommon.

palustris ; Rev. W. Allen found it at Lynn some years ago :

not now on that spot.
canina, tricolor ; common.

Cistine,e.
Helianthemum vulgare ; Hunstanton, Grimstone, Barton-Bendish,
Beechamwell.

Droserace^e.
Drosera rotundifolia ; Royden Fen, Dersingham, Marham Fen.

longifolia ; Rising Heath, Dersingham, Barton-Bendish,

Marham Fen.

anglica ; Barton-Bendish, Shouldham, Roydon, and Marham

Fens.

Frankejstiace^e.
Frankenia Icevis ; salt-marshes, Titchwell, Rev. K. Trimmer : rare.

Polygale^e.
Poly gala vulgaris ; Hardwick : common.

Malvaceae.
Malva sylvestris, rotundifolia ; common.

moschata; S. Wootton, Mr. Wardall : very rare.

Althaea officinalis ; Tilney, Terrington, and throughout Marshland.

Hypericine^e.
Hypericum quadrangulum ; Rising Wood, Mr. Wardall.

perforatum; N. Runcton, Barton-Bendish : common.

dubium ; not unfrequent about Stow and Wimbotsham ;

Miss Bell in N. B. G.

1 76 The Rev. G. Munford's List of Flowering Plants

Hypericum humifusum ; Rising, Wimbotsham, Wallington.

pulchrum ; Middleton, Heacham, Mr. Wardall.

elodes ; bogs on Rising Heath, Dersingham.

CaRYOPHYLLEjE.

Dianthus deltoides ; Swaffham Heath, near Barton-Bendish : B. G.
Saponaria officinalis ; W. Bilney, Hillington : not common.
Silene anglica ; Runcton- Holme, Miss Bell.

inflata ; Grey Friar's Tower, Lynn : common.

maritima ; Hunstanton, Brancaster.

noctiflora ; near Stow, Miss Bell ; Barton-Bendish, Fincham,

Mr. Dawson Turner.
Otites ; between Swaffham and Narford by the old road- side,

Mr. Wardall ; Barton-Bendish, B. G.
Lychnis Flos Cuculi, dioica a. red, /3. white ; common.
Agrostemma Githago ; common.
Spergula arvensis ; common.

nodosa ; Castle-Rising.

Sagina procumbens, apetala ; common.
Mcenchia erecta : Burnham, Miss Bell.
Arenaria peploides ; Hunstanton beach.

trinervis ; Wallington, N. Runcton, Miss Bell : frequent.

— — serpyllifolia ; common.

tenuifolia ; Barton-Bendish, B. G.

rubra, marina ; common.

Cerastium aquaticum ; Stow, Miss Bell ; Barton-Bendish, by the Car,

Mr. Dawson Turner.

vulgatum, viscosum ; common.

semidecandrum ; walls at Stow, Miss Bell.

arvense ; W. Winch, Magdalen, Narford.

Stellaria uliginosa ; common.

media ; very common.

' Holostea ; very common.

graminea ; common.

glauca ; S. Wootton, banks of the Ouse : common.

Line^:.

Linum usitatissimum ; Hunstanton, Downham.

perenne ; Wisbeach, Fincham, Barton-Bendish.

catharticum ; Barton-Bendish, Shouldham, Hunstanton, Wal-
lington, Stow.
Radiola millegrana ; Rising Heath, Runcton-Holme.

Acerine^e.
Acer Pseudo-platanus ; not very common.
campestre; Reffley Wood, hedges : very common.

Geraniace^e.
Geranium sylvaticum ; Leziate, Mr. Crowe in B. G.

robertianum, molle, pusillum ; very common.

— — pyrenaicum; E. Winch and W. Bilney, Mr. Crowe in

Eng. Fl.

found growing wild in Western Norfolk, 177

Geranium dissectum ; common.

columbinum ; Hunstanton, Snettisham.

Erodium cicutarium ; common.

OxALIDEjE.

Oxalis Acetosella ; Reffley Wood, Stow.

Illecebre^e.
Herniaria glabra ; Caldecot, B. G ; Beechamwell, Miss Bell.

PoRTULACEiE.

Montia fontana ; W. Winch, Hardwick, N. Runcton, Stow Bridge.

Crassulacejs.
Tillcea muscosa ; Roydon, Dersingham Heath.
Sedum Telephium ; N. Runcton, Wimbotsham.

acre ; common.

reflexum ; roofs of cottages at Setch, Rev. J. Bransby.

Sempervivum tectorum ; roofs of cottages, &c, but not very common.

Saxifrages.
Chrysosplenium oppositifolium ; Reffley, Rising.
Adoxa Moschatellina ; Middleton, Stow Wood.
Parnassia palustris ; Roydon Fen, Barton Car.
Saxifraga granulata ; W. Winch, N. Runcton, Wimbotsham.
— — — — tridactylites ; walls and roofs, Lynn, Stow.

SaLICARIjE.

Peplis Portula ; N. Runcton, Wimbotsham.

Lythrum Salicaria ; Babingley, Stow, Denver, Barton-Bendish.

RhAMNEjE.

Rhamnus catharticus ; Burnham, Miss Bell.

Frangula ; Blackburgh, Miss Bell ; Barton-Bendish, Mr.

Dawson Turner.

Ilicines.
Ilex Aquifolium ; Castle-Rising : not common.

Celastrines.
Euonymus europaus ; Middleton, Stow : rare.

Leguminoss.
Ulex europceus ; abundant.
Genista tinctoria ; Stow, Miss Bell.

anglica ; Stow, N. Runcton : not unfrequent.

Cytisus scoparius ; common.

Anthyllis vulneraria ; Hunstanton, Shouldham, Barton-Bendish :

common.
Ononis pro currens, spinosa ; frequent.
Astragalus glycyphyllos ; old hedges by the church at Shouldham,

B. G.

hypoglottis ; Marham, Barton-Bendish, B. G.

Ann. fy Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. N

178 The Rev. G. Munford's List of Flowering Plants

Melilotus officinalis ; S.Lynn: not common.
Trifolium repens-, abundant.

5— subterraneum ; Hardwick, Burnham : not common.

ochroleucum ; Runcton-Holme, near the river, Miss Bell.

pratense; abundant.

maritimum ; Snettisham beach, Eng. Fl.

arvense ; sandy fields : common.

scabrum; Wimbotsham, S. Runcton, Miss Bell; Snettis-
ham beach, Mr. Crowe in Eng. Fl.

fragiferum ; salt-marshes : very common.

procumbens ; not uncommon.

-filiforme ; N. Runcton : common.

Lotus corniculatus ; very common.

major ; Stow, Denver, &c. : very common.

Medicago lupulina ; N. Runcton, Stow.

maculata ; salt-marshes : not uncommon.

minima ; Narborough : rare.

Ervum tetraspermum, hirsutum ; common.
Vicia Cracca, sativa ; common.

angustifolia ; Denver, and in a gravel- pit at Wimbotsham,

Miss Bell.

lathyroides ; Wimbotsham Mill Hill, Narborough.

sepium ; Castle-Rising Wood, Mr. Wardall.

Lathy rus pratensis ; common.

Ornithopus perpusillus ; common.

Hippocrepis comosa ; Shouldham, Mr. Dawson Turner ; Marham,

Eng. Fl.
Onobrychis sativa ; Heacham : rare.

Rosacea.
Spircea Filipendula; Castle- Acre, Westacre, Mr. Wardall; S. Runcton,
Miss Bell ; Barton-Bendish, Beechamwell, Mr. Dawson Turner.

Ulmaria; common.

Prunus spinosa ; very common.
insititia ; Burnham, Miss Bell.

Cerasus ; Newbridge Wood, Snettisham, Mr. Wardall ; N.

Runcton, Crimplesham, Miss Bell.
Rubus suberectus (nitidus) ; Blackburgh Thicket (Mr. Mackay doubted

this being R. suberectus), Miss Bell in N. B. G.

fruticosus ; very common.

corylifolius ; Stow, Runcton-Holme, Miss Bell.

ccesius; very common, Miss Bell.

idaus; S. Wootton, Barton Car, Blackburgh.

Fragaria vesca \ Reffley, Castle-Rising and Wootton Woods.

Poientilla anserina ; very common.

' argentea \ W. Winch, Middleton, Wimbotsham, Walling-

ton, Denver, Barton-Bendish : not common.

reptans; very common.

fragariastrum ; Stow Wood, Miss Bell.

Comarum palustre ; common in fresh marshes.

found growing wild in Western Norfolk. 179

Tormentilla officinalis ; common.

Geum urbanum ; very common.

var. intermedium ; Stow Wood, Wallington and Woolferton

Wood.

rivale ; Reffley and Woolferton Woods : plentiful.

Agrimonia Eupatoria ; not uncommon.

Rosa rubiginosa ; S. Lynn, Middleton, N. Runcton.

canina ; common.

arvensis ; Stow, Miss Bell.

Alchemilla arvensis ; Middleton, Mr. Wardall ; Stow, Wimbotsham,
Miss Bell.

Poterium Sanguisorba ; Barton-Bendish, Marham, Mr. Dawson Tur-
ner ; Heacham, Mr. Wardall.

Pomaces.
Mespilus Oxyacantha ; very common.
Pyrus Malus ; not uncommon.

GrOSSULACEjE.

Ribes rubrum ; Stow Wood, Miss Bell ; Castle-Rising Wood, Mr.

Wardall.
grossularia ; Stow Wood, Miss Bell.

Onagrari^e.
Epilobium hirsutum ; very common.

parviflorum ; Gay wood, Mr. Wardall ; Runcton-Holme,

Miss Bell.

montanum ; Castle-Rising Wood, Mr. Wardall ; Stow,

Miss Bell.

tetragonum ; S. Lynn, Mr. Wardall ; Wallington, Denver,

Miss Bell.
palustre ; Stow, Miss Bell.

ClRCEACEiE.

Circtea lutetiana ; Refiley Wood: common.

HALORAGE.E.

Myriophyllum spicatum ; common.

Hippuris vulgaris ; Gay wood River : common.

Umbellifer^e.
Daucus Carota ; common.
Caucalis daucoides ; Fincham, Mr. Dawson Turner ; Marham, Mr.

Crowe.
Torilis Anthriscus ; common.

infesta ; S. Runcton, Miss Bell.

nodosa ; common,

Pastinaca sativa ; Castle-Rising, banks of the Ouse.

Heracleum Spondylium ; very common.

Angelica sylvestris ; Stow Bridge, Miss Bell ; Castle-Rising Wood,

Mr. Wardall.
Silaus pratensis ; S. Lynn, Stow : rare.
Fceniculum vulgare ; Hunstanton : abundant.

N 2

180 The Rev. G. Munford's List of Flowering Plants

JEthusa Cynapium ; not uncommon.
(Enanthe fistulosa ; common.

pimpinelloides ; near Lynn, B. G.

peucedanifolia ; Runcton-Holme, Miss Bell.

Phellandrium ; very common.

Bupleurum tenuissimum ; banks of the Nar, near Lynn, Mr. Wardall.

Bunium ftexuosum ; Wallington, Shingham, RefHey, Hardwick.

Pimpinella saxifraga ; Barton-Bendish, Mr. Dawson Turner ; Wim-
botsham, Miss Bell.

Slum latifolium ; Barton-Bendish, Mr. Dawson Turner.

angustifolium ; Stow, Denver : common.

Helosciadium nodiflorum ; common.

repens ; Stow, Denver : common.

inundatum ; Watlington, Miss Bell.

Carum Carui ; marshes north of Lynn.

Apium graveolens ; very common.

^Egopodium Podagraria ; Barton-Bendish, Stow,Wimbotsham, Cong-
ham, Horsley's Chace, Lynn.

Anthriscus vulgaris ; very common.

Char ophy Hum sativum ; W. Winch.

sylvestris ; S. Lynn.

temulum ; common.

Scandix Pecten- Veneris ; common.

Conium maculatum ; common.

Eryngium maritimum ; Hunstanton beach .

Sanicula europaa ; Reffley Wood : plentiful.

Hydrbcotyle vulgaris ; Rising Heath, Barton-Bendish.

Stellate.
Galium cruciatum, palustre ; common.

Witheringii ; Wallington, Miss Bell.

saxatile; N. and S. Runcton, Miss Bell.

■ uliginosum ; common.

erectum ; Middle ton.

■■ tricorne ; Barton-Bendish, B. G. ; Fincham, Mr. Dawson
Turner.

verum ; common.

parisiense ; on a wall between Fincham and Lynn, B. G.

Aparine ; very common.

Mollugo ; Burnham, Miss Bell.

Asperula cynanchica ; Shouldham, Ringstead Yards : rare.
Sherardia arvensis ; common.

Caprifoliace^.
Lonicera Periclymenum ; Blackburgh, Stow, Wallington, &c.
Viburnum Lantana ; Cars, E. Winch.

Opulus ; E. Winch, Stradset, Wimbotsham, Barton-Ben-
dish.
Sambucus nigra ; common.
Cornus sanguinea ; common.
Hedera Helix ; common.

found growing wild in Western Norfolk, 181

CUCURBITACEJE.

Bryonia dioica ; common.

Vaccines.
Vaccinium Oxycoccos ; Roydon and Dersingham Fens, Bawsey-Bot-
tom.

Campanulace^e.
Campanula hybrida ; Stow, Sedgeford, Fincham, Shouldham ; not
common.

rotundifolia ; very common.

Trachelium ; W. Winch.

glomerata ; Fincham, Miss Bell ; Barton-Bendish, Mr.

Dawson Turner.

Lobeliace^:.
Jasione montana ; Castle-Rising, S. Runcton, Beechamwell.

VALERIANE2E.

Fedia olitoria ; Town- walls, Lynn.

dentata ; Stow, Wimbotsham, Miss Bell.

Valeriana dioica ; Reffley Wood, Stow.

officinalis ; near the Red Mount, Lynn, Wormegay, Stow,

Dipsace^e.
Dipsacus sylvestris ; frequent.
Scabiosa succisa ; Middleton.

columbaria ; Hunstanton, Snettisham, Fincham.

Knautia arvensis ; Hunstanton, Stow.

Composite.

Eupatorium cannabinum ; Babingley, Wormegay, Barton-Bendish.

Pulicaria dysenterica ; very common.

Aster Tripolium ; abundant.

Erigeron acre ; Hunstanton, Barton-Bendish, Beechamwell : not
common.

Solidago Virgaurea ; Gay wood, Shingham : rather rare.

Gnaphalium rectum ; Wimbotsham, Miss Bell ; Barton-Bendish, Mr.
Dawson Turner.

— — — uliginosum ; common at Stow, Wimbotsham and Denver,
Miss Bell.

minimum, germanicum ; common.

Senecio vulgaris ; very common.

tenuifolius ; Holme-near-the-sea, Rev. Mr. Sutton in Eng.

Bot.

Jacobtea ; very common.

Tussilago Farfara ; W. Lynn, Downham, &c.

Petasites vulgaris ; Wimbotsham, Miss Bell ; Fincham, Mr. Daw-
son Turner.

Bellis perennis ; everywhere.

Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum; Reffley, Barton-Bendish, Blackburgh.

segetum ; N. Runcton, Bilney, Barton-Bendish, Wor-
megay, &c. : common.

Pyrethrum Parthenium ; Castle- Rising.

182 The Rev. G. Munford's List of Flowering Plants

Pyrethrum inodorum ; N. Runcton, Middleton.

Artemisia maritima ; river-bank, Lynn, Brancaster.

Absinthium ; Stow Bridge, Miss Bell.

vulgaris ; common.

Tanacetum vulgar e ; common.

Anthemis Cotula ; common.

arvensis ; Gayton, Mr. Wardall.

Achillea Ptarmica ; N. Runcton, Stow, Fincham : not common.

Millefolium ; very common.

Bidens tripartita ; N. Runcton, Castle-Rising, Stow, Stradset, Bar -
ton-Bendish.

cernua ; N. Runcton, Watlington, Barton- Bendish.

Onopordum Acanthium ; common.

Cnicus lanceolatus ; Mr. Wardall.

palustris, arvensis ; common.

pratensis ; Roy don Fen, Barton-Bendish : rare.

— acaulis ; Ringstead Yards, Beechamwell.

Carlina vulgaris ; Shouldham, Castle- Acre, Castle- Rising : rare.

Arctium Lappa ; common.

Carduus marianus ; Hard wick, Wimbotsham.

Centaur ea nigra, Cyanus ; common.

Scabiosa ; Castle-Rising, Heacham.

Calcitrapa ; Downham Bridge : rare.

Carduus nutans ; common.

acanthoides ; Denver : not uncommon ; Miss Bell.

tenuiflorus ; road- side between Stow and Lynn, Miss Bell.

Sonchus arvensis ; Mr. Wardall.

oleraceus ; very common.

Lactuca virosa ; Castle- Acre, Miss Bell.

Prenanthes muralis ; road from Narborough.

Lapsana communis ; very common.

pusilla ; Wimbotsham Mill Hill, gravel- pits and corn-fields

at Stow, Miss Bell.

Leontodon Taraxacum ; very common.

Barkhausia foztida ; Barton-Bendish and Beechamwell in several
places, B. G.

Crepis tectorum ; very common.

Picris echioides ; common.

Hieracium pilosella ; very common.

■ paludosum ; Hunstanton.

umbellatum ; wall in Wimbotsham, hedge-banks between

Stow and Wimbotsham, Miss Bell.

Hypochceris glabra ; Mill Hill, and in a planted gravel-pit at Wim-
botsham, Miss Bell.

radicata ; N. Runcton, Mr. Wardall ; Stow, Runcton-

Holme, Wimbotsham, Miss Bell.

Tragopogon pratensis ; common.

Thrincia hirta ; grass-plot, Stow, Miss Bell : common.

Apargia hispida ; N. Runcton, Mr. Wardall; Stow, Miss Bell.

. autumnalis ; Stow, Miss Bell.

Cichorium Intybus ; Hunstanton, Barton-Bendish ; common.

found growing wild in Western Norfolk. 1 83

BoRAGINEjE.

Echium vulgare ; very common.

Lithospermum officinale ; Babingley, Wallington, Shingham : not
common.

arvense ; Hunstanton : common.

Symphytum officinale ; Outweil, &c. : common.
Borago officinalis ; Hunstanton ; common.
Lycopsis arvensis ; Castle-Rising : common.
Myosotis palustris, arvensis, versicolor ; common.
Cynoglossum officinale ; common.

CoNVOLVULACE^E.

Convolvulus arvensis, septum ; very common.

Soldanella ; beach at Hunstanton.

Cuscuta Epithymum ; Rising Hill; rather rare.

PlANTAGINE^E.

Plantago major, media, lanceolata, maritima, Coronopus ; very com-
mon.

Plumbagine^e.
Statice Armeria, Limonium ; very common.

■ reticulata ; Holme -by-the- Sea : rather rare.

spathulata ; Norfolk coast, Rev. K. Trimmer.

Oleineje.
Ligustrum vulgare ; N. Runcton : not common.
Fraxinus excelsior ; common.

EltICE.dE.

Calluna vulgaris ; Rising Heath : abundant.
Erica Tetralix ; Rising Heath : abundant.
cinerea ; Dersingham Heath : abundant.

Pyrole^.
Pyrola rotundifolia ; Roydon Fen : very rare.

Apocyne^s.
Vinca minor, major ; Newbridge Wood, Snettisham, Mr. Wardall.

Gentiane,e.
Erythraa Centaurium ; Hunstanton : not uncommon.
Menyanthes trifoliata ; Rising Heath, Fincham.
Villarsia nymphioides ; plentiful in the Downham Canal.

Solanejs.
Datura Stramonium ; N. Runcton, Mr. Wardall.
Hyoscyamus niger; not uncommon.

Verbascum Thapsus, var. /3. ; Barton-Bendish, Mr. Dawson Turner in
Eng. Fl.

pulverulentum ; Brancaster, Burnham, Castle- Acre : rather

rare.

nigrum ; S. Wootton, Mr. Wardall ; Beechamwell, Mr.

Dawson Turner.

184 The Rev. G. Munford's List of Flowering Plants

Verbascum pulverulentum, var. j3. nigro-pulverulentum, Eng. Fl. ;
Beechamwell, Mr. Dawson Turner.

Blattaria ; near Lynn, Hon. F. Howard in Eng. Bot.

Solarium Dulcamara, nigrum ; common.

Atropa Belladonna ; Reffley, Castle- Rising, Stow Bridge : not un-
common.

PrIMULACEjE.

Centunculus minimus ; Rising Heath.
Glaux maritima ; common.
Primula vulgaris ; common.

elatior ; Crimplesham, Barton-Bendish : rather rare.

veris ; common.

Lysimachia vulgaris; N. Runcton, Barton-Bendish: not common.

nemorum, Nummularia ; common.

Hottonia palustris ; common.
Anagallis arvensis ; common.
c&rulea ; I found a single specimen in the Lighthouse lane at

Hunstanton in 1832, G. M. ; I found a single specimen by the

road side, Stow, Miss Bell.

tenella ; Rising Heath : wet places.

Samolus Valerandi ; not uncommon.

Lentibulari^e.
Pinguicula vulgaris ; bogs on Rising and Wootton Heaths, and on

Roydon Fen, between Barton and Fincham.
Utricularia vulgaris ; Roydon Fen.
minor ; E. Walton : common.

SCROPHULARINE^E.

Veronica serpyllifolia, Beccabunga, Anagallis ; common.

scutellata ; S. Wootton, Mr. Wardall.

officinalis ; S. Runcton, Stow, Miss Bell.

Chamcedrys, agrestis, polita, hederifolia, arvensis ; common.

triphyllos; Mill Hill, Wimbotsham, and several sandy fields

at Wimbotsham and Stow, Miss Bell ; fields at Barton-Bendish

and near Swaffham Heath
Rhinanthus Crista- g alii ; common.
Pedicular is palustris, sylvatica; common.
Bartsia Odontites ; common.
Euphrasia officinalis ; common.
Linaria Cymbalaria ; walls of the White Friar's precincts at Lynn,

chalk-pit at Burnham.

Elatine ; Hunstanton, Miss Bell.

vulgaris ; very common.

minor ; Heacham, Mr. Wardall ; Shouldham, Miss Bell.

Antirrhinum majus ; on the walls of the Alms-house at Castle-Rising.
Orontium ; Stanhoe, Rev. K. Trimmer ; Wimbotsham,

Miss Bell ; Fincham, Mr. Dawson Turner.
Digitalis purpurea ; Mintlyn, Bawsey, Middleton, Blackburgh : not

uncommon.

found growing wild in Western Norfolk, 185

Scrophularia nodosa ; Little Massingham.
aquatica ; very common.

Orobanche^e.
Orobanche major ; Heacham, Mr. Wardall.

elatior ; Snettisham, Mr. Wardall.

minor ; Stow, Miss Bell ; Congham, Rev. J. Bransby.

ramosa ; Outwell, Eng. Fl.

MELAMPYRACE.E.

Melampyrum arvense ; once found at Barton- Bendish by Rev. Mr.
Forby, Eng. Bot., 5£ miles from Lynn towards Gayton ; road-
side, Mr. Wardall.

Verbenace^e.

Verbena officinalis ; Hunstanton, Wormegay : not common.

Labiate.

Salvia Verbenaca ; common on and about town-walls, and in church-
yards.

Lycopus europeeus ; not uncommon.

Ajuga reptans ; Reffley Wood : abundant.

Teucrium Scorodonia ; Rising Heath : very common.

Scordium ; Stow Bridge, one specimen, Miss Bell.

Leonurus Cardiaca ; Ingoldisthorpe, Heacham, Ringstead New Road,
Mr. Wardall ; Wimbotsham, and near Stoke Ferry, Miss Bell.

Glechoma hederacea ; very common.

Mentha sylvestris ; Runcton-Holme, Wimbotsham, Miss Bell.

piperita ; ditch at S. Runcton ; I think escaped from a gar-
den, Miss Bell.

hirsuta; Rising Wood: very common.

arvensis ; Gaywood, Tilney, Mr. Wardall ; Barton-Bendish,

Mr. Dawson Turner.

Pulegium ; Shouldham Thorpe, formerly, Miss Bell.

Ballota nigra ; very common.

Marrubium vulgare ; Castle Hill, Castle- Acre.

Stachys sylvatica ; common.

palustris; Gaywood, Mr. Wardall; Stow, Miss Bell; Barton-
Bendish, Mr. Dawson Turner.

Galeobdolon luteum ; woods at Stow Bardolph, Miss Bell.

Lamium album, purpureum ; very common.

amplexicaule ; N. Runcton.

Nepeta Cataria ; C. -Rising, Mr.Wardall ; Runcton-Holme, Miss Bell.

Galeopsis Ladanum ; Ringstead, Hunstanton.

Tetrahit; Gaywood, N. Runcton, Barton-Bendish.

versicolor ; W. Winch, Watlington, Denver, Stow, Barton-
Bendish.

Scutellaria galericulata ; Gaywood, Marham Fen : common.

Thymus Serpyllum ; Ringstead Yards.

Acinos ; Marham, Downham, Miss Bell ; Fincham, Mr. Daw-
son Turner.

Calamintha ; Castle Hill, Castle- Acre.

186 The Rev. G. Munford's List of Flowering Plants

Thymus Nepeta ; Snettisham, Mr. Wardall ; Barton-Bendish, Mr.

Dawson Turner.
Prunella vulgaris ; common.
Clinopodium vulgare ; Burnham and on the Norfolk coast, Miss Bell ;

Shingham, Mr. Dawson Turner.
Origanum vulgare ; Hillington, Miss Bell ; Shingham, Mr. Dawson

Turner ; Green lane between Narford Hall and the road from

Narborough to Swaffham leading to Marham, Mr. Wardall.

Division II. MONOCHLAMYDE.E.
Santalace^e.
Thesium linophyllum ; Limekiln Hill, near Shouldham, Rev. Mr. Forby
in Eng. Bot.

Thymele^e.
Daphne Mezereum ; in a wood at Little Berwick, far from houses,
Rev. K. Trimmer.

POLYGONEJB.

Rumex maritimus ; road-sides, Great Bircham, Wormegay, Miss Bell.

palustris ; road leading to Downham Bridge, Miss Bell.

pulcher ; road between Stow and Wimbotsham, near Stow

Bridge, Denver, Wimbotsham and N. Runcton, Miss Bell.
. obtusifolius, acutus ; S. Lynn, Mr. Wardall; Stow, Miss Bell.

sanguineus, var. viridis ; Stow, Denver, Miss Bell.

crispus ; very common.

Hydrolapathum ; banks of the Ouse, Miss Bell.

Acetosa, Acetosella ; common.

Polygonum amphibium ; common.

— ■ Persicaria ; Fring, Rev. J. Bransby.

■ lapathifolium ; Stow, Miss Bell ; Barton-Bendish, Mr.

Dawson Turner.

— ■ Hydropiper ; common.

i minus ; Wormegay, Miss Bell.

. — Bistorta ; Runcton-Holme, Miss Bell.

arviculare ; common.

Fagopyrum ; Castle-Rising, Narborough.
. Convolvulus ; Castle- Rising, Blackburgh.

Chenopode^e.
Salsola Kali ; Hunstanton beach.
Salicornia herbacea ; river-banks.

— . procumbens ; Holme-near-the-Sea.

. radicans ; Holme-near-the-Sea, Dr. Sutton in Eng. Fl.

Chenopodium Bonus -Henricus, urbicum, rubrum; common.

— murale; Gaywood, Mr. Wardall; Downham, Miss Bell.

album ; Gaywood, Mr. Wardall.

olidum ; Mill Fleet, Lynn.

■ maritimum ; salt-marshes.

fruticosum; Heacham.

Beta maritima ; sea-bank, Lynn.
Atriplex portulacoides ; sea-bank, Lynn.

found growing wild in Western Norfolk. 187

Atriplex laciniata ; Brancaster, Miss Bell.

— patula, angustifolia ; Hunstanton.

littoralis ; salt-marshes.

— - pedunculata ; east-bank of the Ouse just below Lynn, Dr.
Smith, 1778, in Eng. Bot. ; Plukenet in Eng. Fl.

ScLERANTHE-E.

Scler ant hits annuus ; common.

perennis; Snettisham, Mr. Crowe in Eng. Fl.

Urtice^e.
Parietaria officinalis ; S. Gates, Lynn, C. -Rising castle.
Urtica urens, dioica ; common.

Humulus Lupulus ; Castle-Rising Wood, N. Runcton, Stow, Gay-
wood, Shingham.

RESEDACEuE.

Reseda Luteola, lutea ; common.

EUPHORBIACE.E.

Euphorbia Helioscopia ; Ingoldisthorpe : common.

exigua, Peplus ; common.

Mer cur talis perennis ; Reffley Wood : common.
annua ; new burial-ground, Lynn : rare.

Ceratophylle^:.
Ceratophyllum demersum ; Stow, Miss Bell : common.

Ulmace^e.
Ulmus campestris ; common.

Division III. ACHLAMYDEiE.
Amentace^e.
Betula alba ; RefHey Wood.
Alnus glutinosa ; common.
Salix nigricans ; Wormegay Fen, Mr. Crowe in Eng. Fl.

Helix ; Runcton-Holme, Miss Bell.

< Forbiana ; Rev. Mr. Forby in Eng. Bot. ; osier-grounds near

Lynn, Mr. Crowe in Eng. Fl.

Croweana ; Cranberry Fen, E. Winch, Mr. Crowe in Eng. Fl.

fcetida, var. (d. ; E. Winch and Wormegay Fen, Mr. Crowe in

Eng. Fl.

fusca ; E. Winch and Wormegay Fen.

caprea ; Stow, Runcton-Holme, Miss Bell.

Cupulifer^e.
Quercus Robur ; common.

sessiliflora ; Snettisham.

Corylus Avellana ; Reffley Wood.

Myrice^e.
Myrica Gale ; Rising and Dersingham Heaths.

188 The Rev. G. Munford's List of Flowering Plants

CaLLITRICHINEjE,

Callitriche verna ; very common.

Subclass II. MONOCOTYLEDONES.
Division I. PETALOIDEjE.

AltOIDEiE.

Arum maculatum ; common.

TyPHACEjE.

Typha latifolia, angustifolia ; Wormegay, Stow.

Sparganium ramosum ; common.

simplex ; Denver Sluice, Miss Bell.

Fluviales.
Potamogeton densus, pectinatus, pusillus, gramineus, crispus, perfo-
liatus ; Stow, Miss Bell.

lucens ; Fordham, Hilgay, Miss Bell.

natans ; Hunstanton, Miss Bell.

Zoster a marina ; Burnham, Miss Bell.
Ruppia maritima ; Burnham, Miss Bell.
Zannichellia palustris ; Burnham, Miss Bell.

PISTIACE.E.

Lemna trisulca ; N. Lynn : not common.

minor ; very common.

gibba ; N. Lynn : rather rare.

polyrrhiza ; Stanhoe, Rev. K. Trimmer.

JUNCAGINEJJ.

Triglochin palustre ; marshes, Lynn, Marham.
— — — maritimum ; salt-marshes, Lynn.

Alismace^:.
Alisma Plant ago ; very common.

ranunculoides ; Roydon : not common.

Sagittaria sagittifolia ; common.

Hydrocharide^e.
Stratiotes aloides ; Lynn, Wimbotsham, Fordham : not common.
Hydrocharis Morsus ranee ; common.

Iride^e.
Iris Pseud-acorus ; common.

OrCHIDEuE.

Neottia spiralis; Fincham, Miss Bell.

Listera ovata ; N. Lynn, Stradset, Reffley.

Epipactis palustris ; in a moist meadow near E. Walton, Rev. J.

Bransby.
Orchis Morio ; Stow, Miss Bell ; plentiful at Barton-Bendish, Mr.

Dawson Turner.

mascula ; common.

ustulata ; Shouldham lime-kiln : very rare, B. G.

found groioing wild in Western Norfolk. 189

Orchis latifolia, maculata ; common.

pyramidalis ; Barton-Bendish, Mr. Dawson Turner ; Runcton-

Holme, Miss Bell.
conopsea ; Barton-Bendish, Mr. Dawson Turner ; Gayton,

Rev. J. Bransby.

bifolia ; Dersingham Moor, Watlington, Shingham.

Ophrys apifera ; Ringstead, Snettisham, Barton-Bendish, Stradset :

rather rare.
Herminium monorchis; in a great chalk-pit at Marham, 1779, Eng.

Fl. ; near Snettisham, B. G.

Amaryllide^e.
Narcissus Pseudo-narcissus ; Ingoldisrhorpe.

Asphodele^e.

Allium oleraceum ; in a corn-field at Fincham, Rev. Mr. Forby in

Eng. Bot.

vineale ; N. marshes and town-walls, Lynn.

ursinum ; Refney and Rising Woods : abundant.

Ornithogalum nutans ; Wallington : (I have no doubt naturalized from

the old garden,) Miss Bell.
Hyacinthus non-scriptus ; Refney Wood, &c.

Smilace^e.
Convallaria majalis ; Woolferton Wood : plentiful.
Tamus communis ; N. Runcton, Stow, Denver, Wimbotsham, Shing-
ham.

Butome^:.
Butomus umbellatus ; common.

JUNCE.E.

Juncus acutus ; Brancaster, Eng. Fl.

maritimus ; salt-marshes, Heacham.

glaucus, conglomeratus, effusus ; common.

squarrosus ; S. Wootton, Mr. Wardall.

compressus, bufonius ; common.

uliginosus ; Hunstanton, Stow.

acutiflorus ; N. Runcton, Mr. Wardall.

lampocarpus ; S. Wootton, Mr. Wardall.

obtusiflorus ; Marham.

Luzula campestris ; N. Runcton, Mr. Wardall ; Stow, Miss Bell.

congest a ; N. Wootton, Mr. Wardall.

Narthecium ossifragum ; Rising Heath, Marham.

Division II. GLUMACE^.
Cyperace^:.
Rhynchospora alba ; west side of Roydon Fen, Mr. Wardall ; Der-
singham, Miss Bell.
Schcenus nigricans ; E. Walton : common : Mr. Wardall.
Eleocharis palustris ; Gay wood.
ccespitosa ; common.

190 The Rev. G. Munford's List of Flowering Plants

Scirpus lacustris ;

maritimus; very common.

Eriophorum vaginatum ; Bawsey Bottom.

angustifolium ; Stow, Rising, Dersingham, &c.

Cladium Mariscus ; Marham Fen, Mr. Wardall.
Isolepis setacea.

Heliogiton fluitans ; Dersingham, Rev. K. Trimmer.
Carex dioica ; Castle-Rising.

pulicaris ; Dersingham, Miss Bell.

stellulata ; Middleton, Wallington, Bawsey.

curt a ; S. Lynn.

ovalis ; N. Runcton, Stow.

remota ; Gaywood.

arenaria ; Rising Heath, Burnham.

intermedia ; N. Runcton.

divisa ; Runcton- Holme, Miss Bell.

muricata ; E. Winch, Wallington.

divulsa ; Stow Wood, Miss Bell.

vulpina ; Lynn, Stow.

teretiuscula ; Wormegay, Miss Bell.

paniculata ; Wormegay.

sylvatica ; Reffley Wood, Stow Wood.

Pseudo-cyperus ; Gaywood, Wallington.

limosa ; Cranberry Fen, E. Winch, Mr. Crowe in Eng. Bot.

flava; Runcton- Holme.

(Ederi ; Wet Common at Runcton-Holme, Miss Bell.

distans : N. Runcton, Stow Bridge.

prtecox; E. Winch, S. Runcton.

pilulifera ; Runcton-Holme, Miss Bell.

panicea ; N. Runcton, Runcton-Holme.

recurva ; Runcton-Holme, Miss Bell.

caspitosa ; N. Runcton.

stricta ; Stow, Miss Bell.

acuta ; N. Runcton, Wormegay.

paludosa ; Stow, Miss Bell.

riparia ; Lynn, Runcton-Holme, Stow, &c.

vesicaria ; Pentney, Wormegay.

ampullacea ; Pentney.

hirta ; Middleton, Stow.

filiformis; near Stoke, Rev. Mr. Forby in Eng. Bot.

Gramine^;.

Rottbollia incurvata ; Heacham, Runcton-Holme, and banks of the

Nar.
Lolium perenne ; Hardwick, &c. : very common.
Nardus stricta ; N. Runcton.
Hordeum murinum ; common.

pratense.

maritimum ; sea-bank, Lynn.

Elymus arenarius-, Hunstanton.
Triticum junceum ; Hunstanton.

found growing wild in Western Norfolk, 191

Triticum repens ; very common.

caninum ; corn-fields, W. Winch, Mr. Wardall : scarce.

Digitaria sanguinalis ; sandy fields between Barton and Moundeford,
B. G. Mr. Borrer has reason to believe that the species in-
tended is humifusa, not sanguinalis : see ' British Flora. '

Alopecurus pratensis ; common.

■ agrestis ; Runcton- Holme, Wimbotsham.

geniculates ; common.

Phleum arenarium ; Narborough, Messrs. Woodward and Crowe in
Eng. Fl.

— pratense ; N. Runcton.

— Boehmeri ; Narborough, Messrs. Woodward and Crowe in

Eng. Fl. ; Marham, B. G.

Phalaris arundinacea ; common.

Ammophila arenaria ; Hunstanton beach.

Agrostis Spica-venti ; Runcton- Holme, Miss Bell.

— canina, vulgaris, alba ; Gay wood, Roydon Heath.

Calamagrostis lanceolata ; in a run of water by Rising Mill : not
plentiful : Mr. Wardall.

Arrhenatherum avenaceum.

Holcus lanatus, mollis ; common.

Anthoxanthum odoratum ; very common.

Cynosurus cristatus ; very common.

Air a aquatica ; N. Wootton : common.

— — f prcecox; very common.

caryophyllea ; Narborough, Mr. Wardall ; Wallington, Miss

Bell.

Melica carulea.

Avena flavescens.

Setaria viridis ; Barton-Bendish, B. G.

Arundo Phragmites ; common.

Dactylis glomerata ; very common.

Triodia decumbens ; boggy grounds, S. Wootton, Mr. Wardall; Runc-
ton-Hplme, Miss Bell.

Bromus secalinus ; Stow, Miss Bell.

mollis, asper, sterilis ; common.

Festuca ovina, duriuscula ; common.

bromoides ; walls and sandy spots about Wimbotsham, Miss

Bell.

Myurus ; Wimbotsham, Miss Bell.

gigantea ; Stow, Miss Bell.

pratensis; common.

Poa fluitans, rigida, aquatica ; common.

— compressa ; Gay wood, Mr. Wardall ; Wimbotsham, Miss Bell.

— trivialis, pratensis, annua ; common.

— distans ; banks of the Nar near Lynn, Mr. Wardall.
Briza media ; common.

192 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

XXIV. — Indian Cyprinidae. By John McClelland, Assist-
ant Surgeon Bengal Medical Service.

[Continued from p. 121.]

47. It remains to notice the analogical relations of the
Loaches, an exceedingly numerous group in India, many spe-
cies of which are common in every pond throughout Bengal
and Assam. In these fishes we shall find the characters of
rasorial birds as well as quadrupeds so strongly depicted as to
leave no doubt of their forming an equivalent type among
Cyprinidae.

When noticing the difference between the true Loaches
(Cobitis) and Schisturce, I omitted to mention, that in the dis-
sections of five species of the former — all I have had an oppor-
tunity of examining — I could find no natatory bladder ; while
in the only species of the latter which I have been able to in-
spect, I found that organ, though small and peculiar in its
form, yet sufficiently developed to lessen considerably the
specific gravity ; enabling the Schisturte to swim with facility,
though perhaps with less buoyancy and ease than other Cy-
prinidce*. But if a natatory bladder exists at all in the true
Loaches (Cobitis prop.), or those whose caudal is entire, it
must be in the manner described by Schneider, very small,
and inclosed in a bony bilobate case which adheres to the
third and fourth vertebrae ; but even in this rudimental shape
I have been unable to find an air-vessel in any Indian spe-
cies yet examinedf.

This peculiarity, together with their small and weak fins,
as well as lengthened and cylindric form, approaching to that
of the Murcenida, afford satisfactory evidence that they are
less adapted for swimming than any other Cyprinidae, and
may therefore be said to be more terrestrial in their habits,

* Schistura dario and geta have a membranous air-vessel placed in the
upper part of the abdomen, as in ordinary Cyprins, but it consists only of a
single lobe. S. dario, Buch., is the only species of the Linnaean genus
which I have found to frequent deep waters in the open channels of the
Ganges and Bramaputra.

f Since this was written, I have found the air-vessel in all these species
situated in a small bony case immediately over the entrance of the oesopha-
gus from the mouth. Plate 56, fig. 5, is a magnified representation of the
organ (which is not larger than the head of a pin) as it occurs in Cobitis
guntea, Buch., and other neighbouring species of the same subgenus. Fig. 4,
plate 56, represents the same organ in several of the smaller Schisturce, in
which it is also placed over the entrance of the oesophagus, and in both cases
probably answers the purpose of the branchial or pharyngeal teeth in the
Pceonomince, especially as the external surface of the bony crust which sur-
rounds the air-vessel is, as represented in the figures, studded with minute
spines.

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidaj. 193

living chiefly on sandy and muddy bottoms, or in jeels amidst
aquatic vegetation.

How nicely does all this correspond with the character of
rasorial birds and quadrupeds given by Swain son ! " Their
toes are never united so as to be used for swimming, a pecu-
liarity which confines them to dry land or to climbing among
trees." " This is the type," says the philosophical observer
just alluded to, " so remarkable for the greatest development
of tail, and for those appendages for ornament or defence
which decorate the head. If we went through the whole class
of birds and selected those beginning with the Peacock,
wherein the tail was most conspicuous either for its size or
for the beauty of its colours, we should unknowingly fix upon
those birds which analysis has already demonstrated to be ra-
sorial types. The same results would attend a similar selec-
tion of quadrupeds and of winged insects ; all these collec-
tively would furnish many hundred proofs by which the uni-
formity of this type is preserved : appendages to the head,
whether in the shape of horns, crests, or fleshy protuberances,
are no less a prevalent character of the group now before us*."

48. These peculiarities will be found exactly to apply to
Colitis prop., which I shall now prove.

First with regard to tail, the Loaches are the only group of
Cyprinida in which the caudal is not bifid or divided by a fis-
sure into two lobes, reducing its size and power as an organ
for propelling the body forward ; and on the tails of several,
especially Cobitis pavonacea, J. M.fj we have even the zoned
or eye-like spots exactly resembling those of the Peacock,
although no instance of the kind is to be found in any other
group of Cyprinidce : and in all Loaches the caudal is barred
and otherwise ornamented, while that of every other species
in the same family is perfectly plain J.

Next, as to soft appendages to the head, the Loaches sur-
pass every other group in the same family in the number and
uniformity of these appendages ; and lastly, the Loaches and
Schisturce present the very extraordinary relation to the tribe
of Ruminants, and especially to the Cervida, or Stags, in hav-
ing articulated to the orbitar process of the frontal bone on
either side, a formidable horn which can be raised at pleasure

* Geog. Dist. and Class. Quad., p. 258. f PI. 52. f. 1.

X This as well as all similar analogies afforded by the structure of Cypri-
nidce were developed in the course of my examination of species, before I had
ventured to form any general views on the subject, and even before I had
studied those of Mr. MacLeay, or perused the works of Mr. Swainson,
which have taught me the importance of characters, which although noted,
I felt totally at a loss how to use.

Ann. §• Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. O

194 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

from a suborbitar sinus analogous to the suborbitar sinus in
Antelopes, the use of which in them is conjectural. The horn,
which is concealed in this sinus in the Loaches, appears to be
equivalent to the suborbitar chain in the Perch, and to the
corresponding plates in the ordinary Cyprinidae ; it is some-
what flattened or palmated, as in many of the Deer tribe,
ending in a sharp point which is directed forward : on the an-
terior margin, and near the base of the horn, a strong antler
is given off; this is also very sharp, and turned forward like
the point of the horn itself.

49. I have shown that Cyprinidae is a natural group, that
it is circular* in its affinities; that, for instance, in setting out

* " They might as well be called oval or square." " Why not linear? "
The researches of zoologists during the last twenty years have fortunately
left me nothing original to say in reply to this criticism, which perhaps de-
serves notice as coming from a member of the committee of papers, Mr.

C . Speaking of describing natural objects in the order in which they

succeed each other in nature, Cuvier and Valenciennes observe, " He alone
could build up such a pretension who would attempt to place animated na-
ture on a single line, a project which we have long since renounced as one
of the most false that could be entertained in natural history." — Histoire
Naturelle des Poissons.

On the same subject another authority observes : — " The day is now hap-
pily gone past when zoologists thought that the infinite variety of animals
which inhabit this globe owed their origin to the unsuccessful efforts of na-
ture before she could attain the human structure as her term of perfection."
— MacLeay, Linn. Transac.

l{ As to the rule of natural progression, is it linear ? The idea of a simple
scale in nature had long been discussed and finally abandoned."— Swain-
son's Discourse on the Study of Natural History.

As all natural objects have three relations of affinity, it is clear the chain
that connects them cannot be straight, and not being straight, the next sim-
plest form is circular; but there is no objection to the progression of affini-
ties being square or oval, provided they can be proved to be so ; it is less
the form than the circumstance of the opposite extremes of a natural series
meeting that is insisted on.

Some notion of circular affinities appears to have existed from an early
date. Hermann, in his ' Tabula Affinitatum Animalium,' published in 1783,
as Mr. MacLeay points out, refers to an earlier writer, who like himself
seems to have had a glimpse of the same truth (' Linn. Transac.', vol. xiv.
p. 49). M. Lamarck detected the existence of a double series, which setting
out in opposite directions from a given point, met together in another. Un-
acquainted with the result to which Lamarck had been led, Prof. Fischer, in
1808, perceived a tendency in the series of affinities to form a circle; but
these obscure intimations were first established by analyses in the ' Horae
Entomologicae ' of Mr. MacLeay, published in 1819. Since then Mr. Vigors
submitted a general analysis of the whole class of birds to the Linnaean So-
ciety, in all the groups of which he found the affinities to confirm what had
been observed by Mr. MacLeay during his examination of insects, as well as
the views contained in a subsequent publication recorded in the ' Linnaean
Transactions,' in which the same principles were applied by Mr. MacLeay to
the whole animal kingdom. The birds of New Holland were subsequently
examined by Messrs. Vigors and Horsfield with the same result (vide ' Lin-

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 195

from the Gonorhynchs, we pass through a succession of spe-
cies connected together by direct relations, and after arriving
at an opposite point (Opsarius), at which the forms, habits,
and structure differ totally from those with which we set out,
we are led back again through a succession of different forms
from those through which we passed at first, to the point
from which we started.

It has resulted from Mr. MacLeay's views applied to the
analyses of the classes of birds, quadrupeds, and insects, that
" the contents of such a circular group are symbolically (or
analogically) represented by the contents of all other circles
in the animal kingdom f but as such analyses have not yet
been carried through fishes and reptiles, the conclusion just
quoted has been submitted rather as a proposition by the
distinguished author of the i Geography and Classification of
Animals/ whose next proposition is, " That the primary divi-
sions of every group are characterized by definite peculiarities
of form, structure and oeconomy ; which, under diversified
modifications, are uniform throughout the animal kingdom,
and are therefore to be regarded as the primary types of * nature"
I shall now merely copy from the work referred to one of the
tabular views of the parallel relations of well-known groups of
Mammalia and birds, adding in the first column what appears,

naean Transactions,' vol. xvi.), and the whole of these observations have
since been confirmed and their results more fully made out by Mr. Swain-
son, who also has extended his views to the Mammalia. About the same
period with the publication of the ' Horse Entomologicse/ the progression of
affinities began to acquire additional interest among botanists. M. Agardh
and M. DeCandolle both published their views on the subject, the first in his
' Botanical Aphorisms,' and the second in the ' Memoires du Museum ; ' when,
without knowing what had been done by Mr. MacLeay, Mr. Fries an-
nounced the same results in the Fungi, attained by a different form of
analysis. Similar views have since been more extensively applied to plants
by Professor Lindley, in the last edition of his c Introduction to the Natural
System.'

Writers on natural history in the present day may be divided into three
classes ; first, those who recognise no rules but such as appear to be laws of
nature, and taking nature as their guide, form their views according to the re-
sult of observations which are not confined to external characters, but embrace
all that concerns natural objects. The second class consists of naturalists
who pursue the easier course of following authorities, but their works con-
sist chiefly of technicalities derived from external characters indiscriminately
applied to genera and species ; their higher groups are consequently con-
structed according to rule rather than nature. The third class comprises
describers of species, whose books are only remarkable for their size and
expense. Nor can I altogether overlook upon this occasion another class of
persons, who, though they are not naturalists, and scarcely even allow us
to call them writers, yet exercise but too often an influence in societies de-
trimental to the objects of such institutions and the real advancement of
science.

02

196

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

from my analysis of Indian Cyprinidae, to be equivalent groups,
and thus show at once how far this family of fishes is calcu-
lated to exemplify the great leading principles of analogy dis-
covered by Mr. MacLeay.

Fam. of
Cyprinidae.

Paeon ominae...

Orders of the
Mammalia.

i

Analogical Characters.
Typical.
Pre-eminent in their"]
powers of prehension, (
and in general organi- )>Quadrumanag
zation; claws, spines or |

Orders of
Birds.

Tribes of
Insessores.

Insessores. Conirostres.

nails not acute.

Subtypical.

f Rapacious, feeding upon")

Sarcoborine. J live animals ; claws or I

> other organs of torture f

L acute. J

Aberrant.
Natatorial.

rHead or rostrum flat and!
lartrp • nnfprinr pvfrp- I

•Ferae Raptores. Dentirostres.

Platycara and

large ;

i , mities more developed v C * etacea
Pcecilianae A in proportion than the f
posterior — habits car- j
L nivorous. J

Suctorial.

/"Size diminutive; upper"]

Natatores. Fissirostres.

Psilorhynchus

J jaw, mandible or snout
"S prolonged ; run, fly, or
L swim very fast. J

VGli

ires Grallatores. Tenuirostres.

Rasorial.

f Head ornamented either"]
j with horns or soft ap- I

Cobitinae < pendages — habits gra- >Ungulata

| nivorous or herbivo- j
(_ rous. J

Rasores. Scansores.

50. It would be too much to expect from the materials of
one zoological province to demonstrate satisfactorily all the
properties of natural groups in the minor divisions of this fa-
mily. That its typical and subtypical groups are circular is
plain enough, from the diminution in the length of the intes-
tinal canal we experience in passing from the Cirrhins to the
Barbels ; and again, from the Barbels through the Gono-
rhynchs to the Gudgeons that canal becomes longer, indi-
cating an union between the latter and the group from which
we set out.

The same thing is observed in passing from the Systoms
through the Opsarions, Perilamps and Leuciscs ; a tendency

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 197

between the former and latter to unite is indicated, thus form-
ing the subtypical group (Sarcoborince) into a circle.

A similar thing may be seen in the aberrant group (Apa-
lopterince), in which the Schisturm form one extremity and the
Platycara the other, the intermediate space being occupied
with the Pceciliana, Psilorhynchi, and true Loaches. The en-
tire caudal of the former points out their relation to Cobitis
prop. ; but until analysis be extended to all known species, ■
European and American, the attempt to reduce the smaller
groups to anything like precision would be difficult and un-
certain, from the greater chance there is of the series being
less complete than in the higher groups, of which we might
always hope to possess at least a specimen of each genus.
I shall therefore content myself with having submitted the
preceding tabular view r of the principal group, referring to the
elucidation of genera for further details, in the confident ex-
pectation that what has already been demonstrated will induce
naturalists to investigate the subject from the materials of
other countries as well as of this.

We are far from being prepared to point out the most cha-
racteristic types even of our Indian groups of this family. In-
deed there may yet be some unexpected forms unknown to us,
the discovery of which would necessarily derange any attempt
we could now make to trace in further detail the parallel rela-
tions of the minor groups among themselves. Six species
collected in the mountain-streams at Simla by Dr. MacLeod,
and obligingly submitted to me, have proved to be all unde-
scribed, and one of them affords the type of a new genus,
Oreinus, or Mountain Barbels, of which I had before received
from Mr. Griffith a species from Boutan (O. guttatus) ; but as
there was but one specimen in Mr. Griffith's collections, and
that considerably injured, I hesitated to form from it alone the
characters of a new group*. This genus has the form of
Gonorhynchus ; the mouth is situated in like manner under
the head, but the alimentary canal is considerably shorter,
and the dorsal is preceded by a spine, as in the Barbels.

51. I am uncertain as to the habits of the European Breams,
not having examined them myself; but from all that I can
glean on the subject, they appear to be insectivorous, and in
the best figures I can find of them the mouth appears to be
directed upward, and the anal fin to be long : these charac-
ters may prove to be analogies rather than affinities to the
Perilamps ; and until the point be decided, the parallel rela-

* Ci/prinus Ricliardsonii figured in Hardwicke's ' Illust.,' tab. 94, fig. 2,
is an Oreinus, and may be appropriately named 0. punctatus.

198 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

tions of the two groups cannot be made out. The only Indian
Bream I am acquainted with (Cyp, cotis, Buch.) has the cha-
racter of the Perilamps both in the form of its mouth and
length of its alimentary canal ; while, on the other hand, the
old genus Leuciscus is not a natural group, some of the Euro-
pean species, as Cyprinus cultratus, being doubtless an Op-
sarins*, while others are certainly herbivorous f, and might
perhaps be referred to the Gudgeons ; but until all these
points be settled, it would be idle to dwell further on the par-
allel relations between the typical and subtypical groups.

52. Cyprinidae, of all fishes of equal importance, are those
that appear to have occupied least the attention of naturalists ;
a circumstance the more curious, as, in consequence of their
being peculiar to fresh waters, they are more universally dis-
tributed in the interior of continents, where they ought to be
more familiar and useful to man than any other family of the
same class.

Regarding their distribution, little has hitherto been made
known. It would not appear that there is any one species
common to Europe and America ; it is not however to be sup-
posed that we are yet prepared to form an accurate compari-
son between the Cyprinidce of the Old and New Worlds, since
the majority of species in either seems as yet to be but ill
defined. Nor is it to be supposed that ichthyology has yet
been prosecuted in America to an extent at all likely to make
us acquainted with the numerous species that must inhabit
the extensive lakes and rivers of that continent. Of African
species, few only are referred to by Cuvier, while the Nile is
known to present some species that are not found in the south
of Europe. The Chinese species may yet be said to be al-
most unknown, with the exception of a few determined by
Cuvier from the very doubtful data aiforded by paintings;
although it is seldom that so favourable an opportunity is
afforded for collecting information on any branch of natural
history as that which the British embassies in China pos-
sessed for investigating the peculiarities of the freshwater
fishes of that empire, from the length of time they passed in
boats on some of the principal rivers. Nor is anything what-

* Leuciscus cceruleus, Yavrell, and L. erythrophthalmus, Cuv., appear to be
Perilamps; L. doublet,, L. Lancasirietisis, Yarr., and L. alburnus are also
insectivorous. I have mentioned this in a letter to Mr. Swainson in October
last, and I have no doubt the hint will be sufficient to direct the attention
of this philosophical naturalist to an examination of the whole of the English
species.

f Leuciscus vulgaris, L. idus and L. rulilus are probably herbivorous, and,
according to the length of their intestine, may either be added to one or
other of the groups here indicated.

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae. 199

ever known, as far as I am aware, of the existence of Cyprins
in New Holland, or any of the Polynesian Islands*. In India
the fishes of several of the great rivers yet remain to be in-
vestigated, as those of the Irrawaddi, the Indus, and the Ner-
budda. A collection of drawings of the fishes of the Indus,
prepared during a scientific mission under Capt. Burnes, has
recently been deposited in the museum of the Asiatic Society ;
and Mr. Griffith, to whom every branch of science is as dear

* This and other blanks in our knowledge of the animals of New Hol-
land are now about to be supplied by Mr. MacLeay himself, who, in Au-
gust last, embarked with the intention of pursuing researches in every de-
partment of the natural history of New Holland. On his departure from
England, Mr. MacLeay intimated his desire to receive at Sydnej', where he
may remain for three or four years, insects, Crustacea, and other neglected
objects of a similar nature from India, in exchange for the productions of
New South Wales, which he would be happy to supply. Few who enter-
tain a just pride for the scientific character of our country, which Mr. Mac-
Leay has been the means of elevating, would require the stipulation pro-
posed to induce them to forward the views of one of our countrymen who
has already been the means of exalting zoological pursuits to the highest
place among intellectual occupations. Considering the intimate intercourse
now established between Calcutta and Sydney, it is to be hoped that an ap-
peal to India from such a quarter will not have been made in vain, and that
all who are interested in the advancement of natural history will collect and
forward whatever objects their particular localities may afford, with a view
to facilitate the researches of the illustrious author of ' Horse Entomologicse.'
Mr. MacLeay writes from London, 12th August 1838 : " I am now on the eve
of embarking for Sydney, where I intend to remain for the next three or
four years ; and what I would ask of you is, to exchange invertebrated ani-
mals, collected in India, as the Annelida, Annulosa, Cirripedes, Radiata,
and Acrita, for other objects collected in New Holland ; insects, spiders,
and Crustacea of India I at present desire above all, and shall feel obliged
by any notes on their metamorphosis or ceconomy. With regard to such
notes, I need not say I shall bear in mind the axiom l Suum caique.' If you
will point out your particular desiderata in natural history, I will endeavour
to add to your collections."

Mr. Swainson also writes as follows : — " At present I am engaged in
ichthyological volumes, but as these will be published before you would
have time to render me any assistance, I will rather entreat your aid in the
class of Insects, which will next succeed in the ' Cabinet of Natural History.*
My cabinet is remarkably deficient in the entomology of India, particularly
among the smaller and less showy species. The best way of preserving
beetles or coleopterous insects, as well as spiders, is by putting them into
spirits ; all other insects should be stuck upon cork. Common bazaar spirits
answers the purpose of preserving insects very well, if it be strong enough
to burn, which it would be well to try always before trusting to it; and in-
stead of cork, remarkably light and convenient trays may be made of a com-
mon species of jEschynomene, called in Bengal Sola, and may be made so
that a number of them fit into a box. The paste with which the Sola is
fastened might be poisoned, and a little camphor rolled up in thin paper
placed in each tray as a security against ants. I shall be happy to afford
my aid to any friends of science in India, by forwarding any collections that
may be entrusted to me for the eminent persons who have applied to us."

200 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

as the one in which he is fast rising to the highest station, is
now engaged in making extensive collections of, and obser-
vations on, the fishes of the same river. The museums of
Paris must already be well stored with Indian species col-
lected by Messrs. Duvaucel, Jaquemont, and DeLessert, but
I doubt if any of our British museums contain many of the
commonest species of the Ganges.

Natural history is now assuming a station so important in
the highest scale of intellectual pursuits, that any remarks at all
calculated to impress on the minds of those who are connected
with missions into new countries a lively sense of the inter-
est that attaches to its most minute details, will not, we may
be assured, be taken amiss. Information, however carefully
collected on such occasions as those referred to, becomes com-
paratively useless when unaccompanied with specimens of the
things to which it relates. We should ever recollect, that
the easiest and best way to promote our own fame, and con-
tribute at the same time to the advancement of natural history,
is by making collections ; nor are we without examples of the
highest awards having been, though somewhat prematurely,
conceded to collectors. Nevertheless, to render collections of
the highest degree of real value in the present advanced state
of science, those who make them should gather at the same
time as much information as possible regarding the circum-
stances under which the various objects comprised in them
live or occur; and it is in this that the intelligence of the na-
turalist may be best and most profitably displayed during his
journeys in new countries.

53. The following tabular view of the distribution of Cypri-
nidce, though avowedly imperfect, will serve to show how the
leading groups are generally dispersed. Cirrhins, for instance,
appear to be peculiar to India, or at least to the tropical parts
of Asia, and the Catastoms to America ; while both are repre-
sented in Europe by the true Carps. From the number of
Gangetic species, the Barbels, like the Cirrhins, would seem
to have their metropolis in India, from whence the genus is
extended over the Caspian Sea and the Nile into Europe.

The Gonorhynchs would also seem, as a group, to be na-
tives of the East, one species only having been found in South
Africa, none in Europe, and eleven in India.

The greater part of the Sarcoborince are probably also East-
ern fishes, with the exception of the Breams and Leuciscs,
although some of the European forms set down under the
latter genera may be found to belong either to the Perilamps
or Opsarions.

The small subgenera of Pcecilia appear to be equally distri-

Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

201

bitted in all parts of the world, one having been already found
in Africa, two species in India, where a few more may be ex-
pected, seven species in America, and seven in Europe ; but
in every case the species of one continent have been found to
be distinct from those of another.

The Loaches (Cobitis prop., Linn.) afford another instance
of the concentration of numerous species in India, while three
only are found in Europe, and none whatever in America.
The annexed table exhibits the general distribution of the fa-
mily.

s
I

si

8

'3

•a

Sub-
family.

Genus.

Subgenus.

&

o

1

1

s

5
<

Asia.

i

d

1
S

a

"i

09

13

5

19
18

4

14?

18

1
11
12

7

12
26?

12
4
4
7
1
6
3
1
3
2

15

11

229

2
s

4
.5
S

B
f

a

o W

§^

B

if

5 SZ

12

N

3

•Csi

§•5

Ph

f Cirrhinus, Cwi?

13

1

2

19

4

6

2

1

11
4

4?
16

...

2

l

•
Cyprinus prop., Cuv.

Oreinus, M'Clell. ..

4?

Gonorhynchus, Gron.

10
12

1

osit

12

9

12

i

Rhodeus, J(/ass.~\
• Apius, Jgass. J ' '
Perilarapus, M'Clell. .

5

ine<

1

lep

Fossil genera in the lacustr

of

Ei

injj

-en

13?

1?

"Pcecilia,af«Cfe».

j Platycara, M'Clell. ...

I" Pcecilia prop., Schn. . . .

1
5?

2

4

2
1
4

3

J Fundulus, Lacep

1 Molinesia, Leseur

Cyprinodon, Lacep. ...
[Aplochelus, M'Clell. ...

3

1

3

2

12

11

139

Psilorhynchus , flf' CM.

"

J Cobitis propria, M ' Clell.
{Schistum, M'Clell.

Totals

3

42

37

"

...
4

2

4

1

The American species of this family referred to in the
* Regne Animal' only amount to thirty-three; but Dr. Richard-
son, in his report on North American Zoology, mentions
nearly as many more, imperfectly indicated by Rafinesque-
Schmaltz and other writers as belonging to the rivers and
lakes of the New World* ; still however the preponderance of

* I have not yet seen the volume of ' Fauna Boreali- Americana,' by Dr.
Richardson, which is devoted to ichthyology, the volume on birds being the
only part of that important work which has reached India.

202 Mr. J. McClelland on Indian Cyprinidae.

species in favour of India is so remarkable, that it is only by
extending our consideration to other genera of the order
Malacopterygii abdominales, that we find the equilibrium re-
stored in the distribution of freshwater fishes. Thus the
Salmonidm, which form a large proportion of that order in the
rivers of both Europe and America, are in India quite un-
known ; not one species of that extensive family having yet
been found in this country, where the blank appears to be
filled up by the excessive development of the Cyprinidce.

54. One species of Tench*, four Leuciscst, and one Gud-
geon {, are enumerated among the fossils of (Eningen by
M. Agassiz, who also describes two new genera §, Rhodeus
and Apius, nearly allied to, but distinct from, the Perilamps
and Systoms. They are distinct from the first by the
dorsal and ventral margins being equally arched, and the
caudal and anal fins being less developed ; and from the
second, by the absence of spines in either of the latter fins :
both belong however to Sarcoborinae, and will serve to render
that group far more complete than it appeared to me to be
before I saw M. Agassiz's splendid work. Two fossil species
of Cobitince are also found in the same locality ; one of these,
C. cephalotus, Agass., belongs to Schistura. The marlstone
in which these remains are found is justly considered by M.
Agassiz to be a lacustrine deposit, and supposed to be coeval
with the molasse of Switzerland and the sandstone of Fon-
tainbleau, and consequently to correspond with the miocene
or early tertiary period.

55. That the external covering of animals indicates the
medium in which they live, we know by the hairy coat of the
Mammalia, the feathers of birds, and the scales of fishes and
Amphibia; nevertheless there are several families of fishes
without scales, and many terrestrial Mammalia that are sup-
plied with them instead of hair. In the naked fishes the
body is defended by a copious oily mucus, which saves it no
less effectually than scales from the abrasive influence of the
dense medium through which they are destined to move ;
while their habits and form render the necessity for a scaly
armour less essential to their safety, being capable of con-
cealing themselves from enemies in sand and mud, as the

* Tinea leptosoma, Agass., ' Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles/ vol. v.
t. 51.

f Leuciscus papyraceus, Agass., vol. v. t. 36 ; L. leptus, Agass., vol. v.
t. 57 ; L. pusillus, id. 1. c; L. CEningensis, id. and L. heterurus, id. 1. c.

% Gobio analis, Agass., t. 57.

§ Rhodeus elongatus, Agass., t. 54, and JR. latior, id. 1. c. Of the genus
Apius, M. Agassiz describes A. gracilis and A. Brofigniarti, vol. v. t. 55 ;
but the latter, as well as Leuciscus papyraceus, are from the lignites of
Menat.

Mr. Westwood on new Insects. 203

Rays {Rata) and Eels {Murcena), or are of such a formidable
character as to render any security against the injuries of
their class unnecessary ; such are the Squalidce or Sharks,
which may be said to be predominant among the fishes of
the ocean, and the Silurida, which maintain a corresponding
place in freshwater lakes and rivers. Notwithstanding this
diversity, M. Agassiz has turned the external covering of
fishes to a happy account in the study of fossil species, of
which the scales alone are often the only vestiges that remain;
thus a knowledge of eight hundred extinct species has been
attained that could not have been characterized by ordinary
means. Although the researches of M. Agassiz have added
largely to the science of zoology, they have done still more if
possible for geology, by "introducing a new element" into
our calculations*; no one however is more aware than M.
Agassiz himself, of the error into which some are led in sup-
posing the lepidermal system to be based on principles that
are in any way at variance with the natural classification of
animals. By that system M. Agassiz has extended our know-
ledge of the natural characters of species, and introduced to
the calculations of the zoologist as well as geologist a new
element by which we must be guided in the study of fossil
fishes, rather than a principle opposed to the classification of
these or other animals according to their structure and habits.

XXV. — Insectorum novorum Centuria, auctore
J. O. Westwood, F.L.S., &c.

Decadis secundce, ex ordine Coleopterorum, Synopsis.

1. Cicindela cupreola, W. C. nigro-cuprea, purpurascenti tincta,

sericans, capite magno, inter oculos striatulo ; prothorace sub-
cylindrico lateribus vix rotundatis, antice et postice parum con-
stricto, elytris concoloribus immaculatis subvariolosis, punctis
nonnullis majoribus aureis, lateribus nitidis, lineaque obliqua
mediana in singulo quasi elevata et magis cuprea ; pedibus
fuseis, femoribus articuloque l mo antennarum luteis, labro^
inermi, $ tridenticulato. Long. corp. lin. 4. Habitat in insula
Mauritii, D. Desjardin. Mus. Westw.

2. Cicindela (Megalomma, W. S. g. nov. Caput maximum, oculis

valde prominentibus. Labrum magnum, antice integrum. Man-
dibular dentibus duobus inter apicem et dentem magnum basa-
lem. Palpi labiales articulo penultimo valde inflate-. Antennae
et pedes longissimi. Prothorax capite multo angustior subglo-
bosus, antice et postice constrictus. Elytra subbrevia. Tarsi

* Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater Treatise, p. 270.

204 Mr. Westwood on new Insects.

antici $ articulis 3 bus basalibus subtus setis clavatis obsitis.)

C. (M.) vigilans, W. Nigro-senea ; capite inter oculos purpu-
rascenti longitudinaliter striatulo, prothorace nitido seneo, an-
nulo postico et elytrorum basi subaureis, elytris obscuris punc-
tatis postice magis seneis, antennarum articulo l mo , supra et
subtus albido, palpis albidis articulo ultimo nigro, pedibus fuscis,
femoribus ad basin coxis mandibulisque albidis, harum dentibus
piceo-nigris. Long. corp. lin. 4. Habitat in insula Mauritii,

D. Desjardin. Mus. Westw.

Obs. C. viridula, Quens., Sch. 1. 243, ex India orientali valde af-
finis : differt imprimis tibiis tarsisque luteis.

3. Goliathus {Eudicellus) Ignitus, W. Viridi-cupreo micans ;

capite <$ tricorni, cornu medio capite plus duplo longiori, por-
recto recurvo bifido luteo-brunneo, ramis divergentibus apice
tuberculatis, elytris concoloribus immaculatis, tibiis castaneis,
tarsis antennisque nigris. Long. corp. (corn, capit. excl.) lin.
17£. Lat. ad basin elytr. lin. 8. Habitat Gold Coast, Africa
occid. Mus. Raddon.

4. Goliathus {Eudicellus) auratus, W. Lsete viridi-aureus ; an-

tennis et clypei marginibus nigris ; hujus margine antico $
subrecto ; elytris maculis duabus parvis triangularibus hume-
ralibus alterisque duabus apicalibus nigris ; marginibus fulvo-
aureis, tibiis tarsisque aureo-viridibus. Long. corp. lin. 16|.
Lat. ad basin elytr. lin. 8. Habitat Cammaroons River, Africa
occid. Mus. Turner.

5. Goliathus {Eudicellus) frontalis, W. Lsete viridis, subaureo ni-

tens; capite <$ tricorni, cornu medio fulvo, capite paullo longiori,
basi crasso ante medium in ramos duos subparallelos lateribus
serrulatis apiceque recurvis, diviso elytris flavo-circumdatis, ma-
culisque duabus humeralibus alterisque duabus apicalibus nigris ;
clava antennarum fulva, $ clypeo antice fere recto fulvo. Long,
corp. <$ (corn. cap. excl.) lin. 17, $ lin. 16. Habitat Gold
Coast, Africa occid. Mus. Turner.

6. Parastasia, W. (gen. nov. Asiaticum ! Rutelidarum). Corpus

breve crassum valde gibbosum ; clypeo bifido mandibulisque an-
gulo supero in dentem porrectum abienti ; maxilla? dentibus
acutis armatse ; tibiae anticae 3-dentatae, dentibus 2 bus basalibus
inter se approximatis, apicali remoto ; unguibus inequalibus, uno
bifido. — P. canaliculata, W. P. nigra nitida, elytris fulvo-va-
riegatis, plagis duabus elevatis obliquis utrinque (canali divisis)
versus scutellum positis. Long. corp. lin. 9^. Habitat in in-
sulis Philippinarum, D. Cuming. Mus. Hope.

7. Alurnus, Fabr. ; A. Cassideus, W. Niger, pronoto utrinque luteo

setoso, elytris fere cordiformibus parum convexis luteo-fulvis,
margine tenui nigro, plaga maxima triangulari e basi ad medium
extensa et cum fascia transversa (postice 4-furcata), media, con-
nexa. Long. corp. lin. 12. Habitat in Mexico. Mus. Melly.

8. CASSiDA(Ca/a5/?/efea,Hope); C.Alurna,W. Nigra, pronoto in medio

Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on names of Carabideous Insects. 205

parum carinato, elytris parum convexis, fere rotundatis, medio
nigris areolatis ; lateribus late luteo-fulvis, intus irregularibus,
maculis 5 vel 6 rotundatis nigris in utroque, margineque tenui
nigro. Long. corp. lin. 10. Habitat Mexico. Mus. Melly.
Obs. Hsec duo insecta sese mutuo singulariter reprsesentant.

9. T^iNonEMA, Laporte., Erichs. ; T. cincla, W. Cseruleo-nigra, pro-

noto 3 -carinato, abdomine nigro segmentis 1 — 4 fascia lata in
margine postico rufa (in medio interrupta) segmentoque apicali
rufo, labro in medio fisso, scutello elongato-triangulari articulo-
que 4 to , tarsorum posticorum magno. Long. corp. lin. 10^.
Habitat Brasilia. Mus. Melly.

10. AMPEDUs,Meg.; A.perpulcher,W. Fulvo-rufus, leviter punctatus,

scutello et elytris laete caeruleis tenuissime punctatis, tarsis an-
tennis (articulo basali fulvo excepto) abdomineque nigris tarso-
rum articulis 3 US basalibus subtus laminiferis, antennis articulis
2 et 3 minutis. Long. corp. lin. 10. Habitat Africa tropicali.
Mus. Melly.

XXVI. — On the names Promecoderus, Cnemacanthus and
Odontoscelis, as applied to certain genera of Carabideous
Insects. By G. R. Waterhouse, Esq., Curator to the
Zoological Society of London.

To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

Gentlemen,
You will oblige me by inserting in the f Annals' the follow-
ing observations upon some remarks contained in the c Revue
Zoologique.' In that periodical I am accused of adopting a
generic name given by one of my own countrymen in prefer-
ence to one previously given to the same group by a French
entomologist. It is stated that " M. Waterhouse, par un
esprit national que nous devons respecter, a adopte le nora de
Odontoscelis, Curtis, de preference a celui de Cnemacanthus,
Brulle, quoique ce dernier fut bien anterieur."

This is the first time I have been accused of this esprit
national, which M. Reiche considers ne serait rien moins
que respectable*. These remarks I should not have noticed,
but the editor of the e Revue' has inserted a kind of defence
of my proceedings, giving me an opening for escape on the
score of ignorance of certain facts, which facts however,
strange to say, were first pointed out by myself in the very
paper in which I am supposed to have committed myself.

It would be supposed from what has been stated, that the
name Cnemacanthus originated with M. Brulle ; it so happens

* M. Reiche endeavours to exonerate me from the charge, for which I
owe him many thanks, though I do not consider he has succeeded in the
attempt.

206 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on names of Carabideous Insects.

however that that name has never been given by that author
to any genus of insects, but was adopted by him by mistake
— he supposing that certain Carabidce of South America be-
longed to the genus Cnemacanthus, founded by Mr. G. Gray
upon an insect which proves to be a native of Australia, which
insect had previously received the generic name Promecode-
rus by Dejean. But in the notice in the e Revue/ before men-
tioned, M. Guerin seems to think I may be excused, u ne sa-
chant pas que le Cnemacanthus figure par M. Gray ejtait un
vrai Promecoderus*." Now I will venture to assert that the
author of those remarks learnt those very facts from my paper,
for they were there pointed out for the first time ; and in the
6 Magazine de Zoologie ' he describes several species of Odon-
toscelis as members of Mr. Gray's genus Cnemacanthus. To
make the matter more clear, I may mention that, according to
the views of Dejean and Brulle, the genus Cnemacanthus or
Promecoderus (these being synonymous) belongs to the fa-
mily Harpalidce, having the intermediate as well as the ante-
rior tarsi dilated, and the genus Odontoscelis belongs to the
family Feronidce.

We will call the first of these genera A, and the second B.
In 1829, Dejean names the genus A, Promecoderus, and in
1832 Gray names the same genus Cnemacanthus. In 1835
Brulle uses the name Cnemacanthus (quoting Gray as his au-
thority for that name) for the genus B; and in 1838 Guerin
follows Brulle in using the name Cnemacanthus (also quoting
Gray as his authority for the name) for genus B, neither of
these entomologists being aware that the insects they described
belonged to a different section to that described by Gray under
the name Cnemacanthus, though they might have suspected
as much from the difference of habitat given.

In 1838 (published in 1839) genus B receives a name for
the first time, viz. Odontoscelis f.

* To show how ignorant I was of this fact, I will quote two passages from
my paper — "Cnemacanthus of Gray (which is the Promecoderus of Dejean)."
Again, " Cnemacanthus gibbosus of Gray appears to me to be the Promeco-
derus brunnipes of Dejean, which is from Van Diemen's Land,* and perhaps
from some other parts of Australia, and not from Africa, as has been stated.
The genus Cnemacanthus of Guerin and Brulle, being synonymous with Mr.
Curtis's genus Odontoscelis, the species of which are from South America,
must not be confounded with Cnemacanthus of Gray."

f I was not aware, when my first paper was written, that the name Odon-
toscelis had been previously used for a genus of Hemipterous insects (not
that this in any way affects the question at issue) ; this fact I however soon
afterwards had pointed out to me by Mr. White, and in my next paper
I called Mr. Curtis's attention to it, and begged of him to propose some
other name in its stead. To this request Mr. Curtis paid no attention ; I
shall therefore propose that the name Scaritidea be used to designate the

Capt. S. E. Widdrington on the Eel. 207

In 1840, Mr.Waterhouse having some new species of genus
B to describe, characterized them under the name Odontoscelis,
and did not call those insects Cnemacanthus simply because
they did not belong to that group.

In 1841 Mr. Waterhouse is accused of partiality for his
own countrymen's names, in adopting the term Odontoscelis
instead of Cnemacanthus (a practice allowed to be of most per-
nicious consequences to the science) ; but both of these names
being given by his own countrymen, the accusation is absurd.

Yours, &c.

G. R. Waterhouse.

XXVII. — On the Eel, and on the Freshwater Fish of
Austria. By Capt. S. E. Widdrington*, R.N.

On the Eel.
In his accoimt of this genus, Mr. Yarrell quotes a writer who
appears to have paid some attention to the subject, and who
states that its susceptibility of cold prevents its inhabiting
various northern rivers, amongst others the Danube. Not-
withstanding this high authority, being aware of the habits of
the fish of burying itself in the mud during the winter, I con-
fess I was not quite satisfied with this theory, and considered
that if they were wanting in the Danube, some other cause
must be found than the one assigned.

During a recent tour in Germany I was surprised to see eels
put upon the table at Wurtzburg, which is high up the Mayn,
and in a very cold country, during winter. I was subsequently
informed that they are abundant at Hanau, lower down the
same river, the waters of which must be at least as cold as
those of the Danube.

On arriving at Vienna I mentioned the circumstance to
Professor Heckel, who has charge of the ichthyological de-
partment, who informed me that great numbers were brought
to Vienna from Ulm, which is high up the river, but that they
had never been seen lower down. Subsequent inquiry, and
having ascertained the very great pains which have been taken
in investigating the natural history of the river, satisfied me
that this account was true, and that it is next to impossible
they should not have been detected had they frequented the
Lower Danube.

genus of which I published a monograph, under the name Odontoscelis —
unless M. Guerin is willing to use his sectional name Cnemalobus in a ge-
neric sense for the same group.

* Late Cook. Read in the Section of Zoology and Botany at the meeting
of the British Association, Plymouth, and communicated by the Author.

208 Capt. S. E. Widdrington o?i the Eel,

The fish-market at Vienna is held on the river, well-boats
being moored to the shore, whence the inhabitants of that
luxurious capital are supplied with the most delicious fish
brought from all sides. These people informed me that they
drew part of their supplies of eels from Ulm, but that the
greater part came from Bohemia, consequently from the head
waters of the Elbe, which ought to be a still colder river
than either the Rhine or Danube ! This winter the thermo-
meter was at 19° at Vienna, whilst at Dresden I was told it
fell to 24° Reaumur.

Now, assuming the case to be as I have stated, that the ha-
bitat of the genus is confined to the upper streams of the Da-
nube, we have the fact, that migration is not necessary to
them*, although it is certainly their habit in this country. It
must be remembered that Ulm is in a very cold country,
being considerably higher than Vienna. There can be little
doubt that the eels there hybernate in the mud. But why
do they not remove to the more genial region, and to the
admirable locality of the delta of that great river ? The reason
I take to be the following : the waters of the Danube may be
divided into three classes ; first, those of the Black Forest and
that vicinity, and those which fall into the river from the
left, towards Bohemia. These waters are more or less rich
and fat, and of the description which afford the most abun-
dant nutriment to fish, especially of the genus we have under
consideration. Below Ulm, however, a change soon becomes
visible ; the great tributaries from the Alps begin to pour in,
and soon alter the character of the water. These Alpine
streams may be divided into two classes, those which proceed
at once from the glaciers and the upper valleys, without meet-
ing with large lakes to filter and purify them, like the Rhine,
Rhone, and some others : these waters are charged with the
comminuted particles of the rocks they have passed over, and
are not only rapid, but have a peculiar strength and rawness,
which I consider, combined with the want of food, renders
them uninhabitable by the eel and by many other sorts of
fish ; even the trout are scarce and of bad quality which are
taken from them, and the only good trout in the Alps are
those from the lakes or the streams of the plains, where better
nourishment is afforded to them. The second class of Alpine
waters are those which have passed through and been purified
by the lakes, from which they issue clear, softer and warmer
than those we have mentioned. Even these rivers are not fa-
vourable to the propagation of fish in general, and I was sur-

* A paper by Chr. Drewsen, on the Migration of Young Eels, is to be
found in Kroyer's Tidskrift, vol.i.

and on the Freshwater Fish of Austria. 209

prised to find, that in the country so eloquently described by
Sir H. Davy, and which I expected to find teeming with fish,
that it was scarce and dear, though full of the most beautiful
lakes and rivers.

I was first struck with the difference of these filtered and
unfiltered waters at Geneva, by bathing successively in the
Rhone and in the Arve, and have often experienced it since
in alpine travelling, where the difference is very sensible in
fording the torrents. In descending the Danube, after the
Ivar and some minor torrents have joined it, the Inn rolls in
its magnificent stream, of the true alpine character. The vo-
lume is so great, that it is the true, or as the Arabs would
have termed it, " the great river," and with the assistance of
the Traun, Inn, and some minor streams, the Danube arrives
at Vienna so completely alpine in its character, that any one
unacquainted with the geography, but familiar with the moun-
tain-streams, would immediately pronounce it to be an alpine
river at no great distance from its sources.

Lower down the Save and Drave add their waters to this
mighty stream, which although probably rather warmer, are
exactly of the same character as those of the northern Alps.

It is this vast volume of alpine water, which is not only un-
favourable to, but I really believe uninhabitable by the eel, not
from the temperature, but from the want of food and the ra-
pidity of its current, which I conceive to be the cause of the
fact I have stated, and that the genus is unwilling to encoun-
ter the inconvenience of the long passage to the comparatively
genial coast of the Black Sea, where the locality would appear
to be perfectly suited to their production to any extent.

The same character of water applies to the Rhine, which is
completely alpine until it has received the Moselle and other
tributaries of a lower country ; and it will afford a curious sub-
ject for investigation, whether the eels of the Mayn migrate or
remain in the upper country during the winter. The Elbe is
quite different, not receiving a true alpine stream during its
whole course ; and it is equally desirable to ascertain whether
the tribe remain stationary in Bohemia, or visit the shores of
the North Sea like their congeners on the other side of it.

On the Freshwater Fish of Austria,
Allusion has been made to the care which has been taken
to investigate the ichthyology of the Danube, and which I have
great satisfaction in announcing has been extended to every
part of the Austrian dominions. Some idea may be formed
of the variety of this family, when it is mentioned, that in the
Danube no less than seven species of Sturgeon have been
Ann. $ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. P

210 Information respecting Travellers.

made out, all different from the Acipenser, that of the North
Sea, and that last year a new genus was discovered in Dal-
matia. In fact, the extent of the rivers and lakes, and the
variety of climates and situation in the Austrian monarchy,
probably make it the richest country in freshwater ichthy-
ology in Europe. Nearly one hundred species have been
made out, and are on the point of being made known to the
public, by M. Heckel, to whose zeal and intelligence the
science will be deeply indebted. The genera and species
which have not been figured elsewhere are given with a
degree of accuracy which it is impossible to excel, and which
will form an epoch in designing.

The figures are drawn by a sort of pantograph, of M.
HeckePs own invention, which performs its office with a minute
precision I believe hitherto unknown, especially for the de-
tails of the scales. The more common species are given sim-
ply in outline, and the work, which is far advanced, is of ex-
traordinary low price.

XXVIII. — Information respecting Zoological and Botanical
Travellers,

Private letters from Demerara, of date 18th of August, inform us
of the return of Mr. Schomburgk in safety from his first expedition.
That gentleman writes, " The object of my last journey was to mark
the boundary between British and Venezuelan Guiana, and in this
object I have succeeded ; but with regard to scientific researches, very
little has been done. We had the most unfavourable weather ; rain
every day, and the rivers having inundated their banks contributed
to our ill success. My brother is just about to despatch to Berlin
such collections as he has made, viz. 220 species of birds, 800 in-
sects, and 288 species of plants, with about 200 different objects in
spirits."

" I procured" (he continues) " today a skin of that scarce animal
the Black Tiger, Felis nigra ; it is unfortunately much mutilated by
the Indian who shot it, the tail and legs being cut off ; bad as it is,
it is another proof of the existence of that animal, of which we pos-
sess such uncertain knowledge. The skin measures from the nose
to the insertion of the tail 4 feet 5 inches ; at first sight the colour
appears a glossy black ; but on inspecting it closer, it will be observed
that the ground-colour is a dark brown, covered with a number of
spots of a shining jet, which are closer to each other than I have ob-
served in any of the American Feliiue. These dark spots, which are
of a less size than a shilling, extend still closer from the eyes to the
region of the shoulders. On the abdomen and interior of the thighs
the colour is lighter, and a slight admixture of strong white hairs is
observed. To judge from the length of the skin, the animal it came
from must have been approaching in size the greater Jaguar. I have

Bibliographical Notices, 211

a skin of the latter before me, which measures from the nose to the
tail 4 feet 5 inches, the width of the skin being 2 feet 8 inches ; while
that of the Black Tiger, which is half an inch less in size, measures
in width 2 feet 10 \ inches. This may arise from the skin being more
stretched ; it proves nevertheless the strong make of the animal. I
do not observe the tawny spot above each eye mentioned in my de-
scription of a skin from a similar animal given in the * Annals' (iv.
p. 325) ; this spot may vanish with the more advanced age of the
animal."

The next journey which our traveller, at the date of his letters, was
about to undertake, would last for a period of from eighteen months
to two years, the expedition proposing to winter at Pirara.

Mr. Forbes. — Letters received from Mr. Forbes, dated Paros,
Sept. 26th, inform us that he is successfully prosecuting his inves-
tigations among the Greek islands.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

A Manual of the British Alga, By William Henry Harvey, Esq.
London, 1841. 8vo. Van Voorst.

We hail with pleasure another of Mr. Van Voorst's excellent publi-
cations on natural history — A * Manual of the British Algae,' by Mr.
Harvey. The author remarks in the Introduction, p. 53,

" The want of a work in the English language, entirely devoted to the
British Algae, in which fuller descriptions should be given than the scope of
Hooker's ' British Flora* admitted of, and in which all the known species
should be included, has long been felt by lovers of this branch of botany.
Had my friend Dr. Greville completed, as was once his intention, his ad-
mirable c Algae Britannicae,' no room would have been left for my humble
labours, nor should I for a moment wish to take the subject out of such able
hands. But his work unfortunately stopped short with the ' inarticulate '
tribes, nor has he at present any intention of resuming it. The task has
consequently fallen on my shoulders, and my object will be gained and my
ambition fully satisfied, if, in the following pages, I have succeeded in af-
fording any assistance to the researches of my fellow-students. I could have
wished, and indeed had intended, that the work should be illustrated with
figures, at least of the genera ; but my limited stay in Europe did not afford
time to prepare them, and it does not now appear desirable to delay the
publication till they could be got ready. However they might have added
to the beauty of the book, the student will experience little loss by their
omission who takes this Manual for what I wish it to be, a companion to
the ■ Alg;e Damnonienses, published and sold by Mary Wyatt, dealer in
shells, Torquay ;' a most important work, now extending to four volumes,
with a Supplement, composed of specimens of 234 species, beautifully dried
and correctly named. These volumes furnish the student with a help, such
as no figures, however correctly executed, can at all equal — Nature's own
pencil illustrating herself."

Mr. Harvey's Manual is got up in the style and typography of the
• English Flora' of Sir J. E. Smith, and will range with it as a sup-
plementary volume.

That a work such as the one now before us, embodying all the
species added to our catalogue since the publication of the 2nd vol

P2

212 . Bibliographical Notices.

of the ' British Flora' (or ' English Flora,' vol. v. part 1.), the ' Flora
Hibernica,' and Berkeley's ' Gleanings of British Algae,' was very
much required, will at once be evident when we enumerate the great
accessions made to this most attractive department of our native bo-
tany. These are really most surprising, when it is considered that
the works just named have all been published within the last very
few years.

We have in this Manual thirty species described for the first time
— these are, three Ectocarpi, a second species of Myriotrichia, a
Nitophyllum, a Polysiphonia, a Ceramium, four Conferva, a Scytonema,
a Calothrix, three Palmellte, a.Nostoe, ixMeloseira, &Styllaria, a Gom-
phonema, seven Schizonemte, and three Cymbella.

Eleven species before known only as foreign, and belonging to as
many genera, are for the first time added to the British flora, —
they are Laminaria fascia, Ag., Mesogloia moniliformis, Griff. (M.
, attenuata, Ag.), Polysiphonia formosa, Suhr., Callithamnion barba-
tum, Ag., Thorea ramosissima, Bory., Conferva refracta, Ag., Hydru-
rus Ducluzelii, Ag., Hygrocrocis Rosce, Ag., Meloseira varians, Ag. ?,
Styllaria bidentaia, Ag., and Schizonema ramosissimum, Ag. Ten
species, announced in different scientific periodicals since the pub-
lication of the three works just alluded to, here for the first time,
in a consecutive work on the British Algae, fall into the ranks in
systematic order. The genera Thorea and Hydrurus are published
for the first time as British, whilst Aphanizomenon and Anabaina
make their earliest appearance in a systematic work upon our
Algae. A new genus which he calls Eutomia is proposed by the
author for the Echinella rotata, Grev., and Ech. oblonga t Grev. ; and
he proposes to substitute Helminthocladia for Trichocladia of the
' Flora Hibernica,' in consequence of the latter so nearly approach-
ing Trichocladus in sound. The much-disputed plant lastly named
Delesseria alata, var. /?. angustissima (' Brit. Fl.' vol. ii. p. 286), is
raised to the rank of a species by the name of Gelidium ? rostratum,
but it still remains a desideratum to what genus it belongs !

What will perhaps be almost equally interesting to many of the
lovers of this delightful portion of our flora, will be found in Mr. Har-
vey's volume in the additional localities enumerated for species with
which they have already become familiar ; and here we particularly
mark the progress that has been made since the excellent introduc-
tion to Greville's ' Algae Britannicae' appeared — genera and species
there particularized as known only to the British Islands, from being
found on the southern shores of England, being now ascertained to
range to the northern coasts of Ireland.

We are greatly pleased with the comprehensive manner, the en-
tireness with which the general subject of Algae is brought before us
in the Introduction. This extends to fifty-seven pages, and affords
a most gratifying illustration of the addition made to our know-
ledge as the stream of time rolls on. Already in our language have
Dr. Neill in his Encyclopaedia article on Fuci, and Dr. Greville
in the introduction to his ' Algae Britannicae,' treated admirably of
the general subject ; but here we have it brought down to the pre-
sent period, and by a botanist, than whom perhaps no one living is-

Bibliographical Notices. . 213

better suited to the task, both in regard to his having been of late
years the chief describer of the collections of Algae brought to this
country from all quarters of the globe, and to his study of the living
plants in a subtropical as well as a temperate climate. At p. 15 of
the Introduction we have the personal observation of the author on
the Sargassum or " Gulf- weed." He remarks : —

<l I have made the voyage three times, and only once met with sea-weed
in sufficient quantity to claim any attention. It did not then occur in strata
resembling fields, but rather in ridges, from ten to twenty yards broad and
of great length, stretched across the sea. The species invariably found in
these was S. bacciferum. Of a large quantity that we dredged up for se-
veral successive days, not a particle belonged to «S". vulgare ; and I am much
inclined to suspect that most, if not all, of the stories related by voyagers as
of that species, belong to S. bacciferum, a plant which has never been found
in any other situation than floating about in the deep sea ; whereas S. vul-
gare (the Fucus natans of Turner) is well known in many tropical countries
to grow on the rocks, within the reach of the tide, like others of the genus.
It is therefore much to be regretted that the name of natans was not re-
tained for *S\ bacciferum, to which it is chiefly, if not only, applicable.
Authors who have written on this Fucus have much disputed, both respect-
ing its origin and whether it continues to grow whilst floating about. No-
thing at all bearing on the former question has yet been discovered ; for
though species of Sargassum abound along the shores of tropical countries,
none exactly corresponds with S. bacciferum. That the ancestors of the
present banks have originally migrated from some fixed station is probable,
but further than probability we can say nothing. That it continues to
flourish and grow in its present situation is most certain. Whoever has
picked it up at sea, and examined it with any common attention, must have
perceived, not only that the plants were in vigorous life, but that new fronds
were continually pushing out from the old, the limit being most clearly de-
fined by the colour, which in the old fronds is foxy-brown, in the young
shoots, pale, transparent olive. But how is it propagated? for it never pro-
duces fructification. It appears to me that it is by breakage. The old
frond, which is exceedingly brittle, is broken by accident, and the branches,
continuing to live, push out young shoots from all sides. Many minute
pieces that I examined were as vigorous as those of larger size, but they
were certainly not seedlings, and appeared to me to be broken branches, all
having a piece of old frond, from which the young shoots sprung. As the
plant increases in size it takes something of a globular figure, from the
branches issuing out in all directions as from a centre. On our own shores
we have two species analogous to S. bacciferum in their mode of growth,
namely, Fucus Mackayi, and the variety (S. sub-costatus of Fucus vesicu-
losa (F. balticus, Ag.). Neither of these has ever yet been found attached,
though they often occur in immense strata ; the one on the muddy sea-shore,
the other in salt-marshes, in which situations, respectively, they continue to
grow and flourish ; and it is remarkable that neither has ever yet been found
in fructification, in which respect also they strikingly coincide with S. bacci-
ferum. And if it be hereafter shown that F. Mackayi is merely F. nodosus,
altered by growing under peculiar circumstances, may it not be inferred that
S. bacciferum — which differs about as much from S. vulgare as F. Mackayi
does from F. nodosus — is merely a pelagic variety of that variable plant 1"

That Fucus Mackayi is a legitimate species, or anything more than
a remarkable variety of F. nodosus, we never could believe, and have
been further strengthened in this opinion by finding near one of the

214 Bibliograj)hical Notices.

localities noted for F. Mackayi, an equally anomalous state of that
plant (at least, as we considered), when it appeared growing in
dense round balls of various size, but generally such as could be
spanned by the hands — the fronds were extremely narrow, vesicles
generally, and receptacles entirely wanting.

At p. 44 (Introduction) it is remarked, under the head of " uses" of
Algse, that — " On many of our coasts, as along the west coast of Ire-
land, the poorer classes are almost entirely dependent for the culti-
vation of their potatoes on the manure afforded by their rocky shores
and frequent gales of wind." Of this we had a notable example
when at the town of Gal way some years ago. Turf-boats were dis-
charging their cargoes of sea- weed (Laminarieee) at the quay ; and on
inquiring whence it was brought, we learned, from Slyne Head, a
place distant between fifty and sixty miles, and that some of the pur-
chasers were, for the purpose of manure, about to convey it inland
thirty miles !

At p. 36 the author observes, with reference to a passage extracted
from the 'Algae Britannicae ' — " Several of these [species] , it is worthy
of remarking, which are in England confined to the coasts of Devon
and Cornwall, are found in Ireland along the shores of Clare and
Galway, where the Land Flora, it will be remembered, contains se-
veral species otherwise peculiar to the South of Europe." There is,
however, this important difference to be noted ; that, while the Land
Flora of the west of Ireland produces a few of the south European
species which are not found elsewhere in the British Islands, and are
their most northern stations, the Marine Flora has not presented us
with any one of the southern plants which are not found upon other
parts of the British shores. Mr. Harvey is silent upon one point which
we could have wished he had adverted to, namely, the causes of the
comparatively gigantic size that species attain in particular localities.
At p. 41 it is remarked that — " The Delesserice appear in greatest
perfection about 52° and 53°, those from the north of Ireland being
much larger than individuals of the same species from the southern
coasts of England." And again — " The Nitophylla are also chiefly
northern, six being found in the Atlantic basin, and in greatest per-
fection on the north coast of Ireland." Now we cannot believe (and
perhaps the author does not intend that we should) that the mere
difference in latitude between the south of England and north of
Ireland, or more strictly speaking, the county of Antrim, can so
affect the size of these plants. We are instead rather disposed to
attribute the magnitude which they attain in the latter locality, at
least in part, to the limestone or chalk on which they grow, corrobo-
rative of which it may be mentioned, that on the different geological
formation of the neighbouring coast of Down, the same species do
not exceed one-third of the size. We have remarked too, though in
a less degree, a difference of the same kind between the northern
and southern shores of the Isle of Wight, the chalk of the latter pro-
ducing examples of the same species incomparably finer and larger
than the different formation of the other portion. The influence
of different rocks upon Algae, as affecting their distribution, growth,

Bibliographical Notices, 215

&c, is a highly interesting inquiry, which has not yet met with the
attention it deserves. It would be a pleasure to us to comment on
many parts of Mr. Harvey's Introduction, but we must spare our
readers, and refer them to what will be found much more to their
taste — the book itself. Here they will find the subject amply dis-
cussed under the different heads — definition of Algae ; their colour
and its characteristics ; structure ; propagation ; geographical distri-
bution ; uses ; the species resorted to for human food, for medicine,
the fine arts, &c.

We have evidence of the care bestowed by the author upon the
work, in now for the first time separating plants hitherto overlooked
as identical, and again, bringing others together which had no claim
to rank as distinct species. In both respects we are much gratified
to find our own views very generally confirmed. We will look to
some of these points. The second species of Myriotrichia we are
pleased to see, having been long under the impression, (but without
critical examination,) that the form now described as M . filiformis was
distinct from M. clavaformis. Nitophyllum punctatum and N. ocel-
latum are judiciously brought together — in the same specimen we
occasionally find both united. Rhodomenia ciliata and R. jubata run
so into each other, that we are not satisfied of the propriety of keep-
ing them distinct. The different seasons at which they are said to
bear capsules — the former in winter, the latter in summer — seems a
good reason for so considering them ; but this is not a constant cha-
racter, as we have found typical examples of R. ciliata, with fronds
three-fourths of an inch in breadth, producing fruit plentifully
throughout the month of August. These were procured on the
southern coast of the Isle of Wight, where the species grows in re-
markable luxuriance. Rhodomenia sobolifera we can hardly consider
otherwise than a form of R. palmata : we have gathered it in pro-
fusion in two British localities, in one of which, both on stones, stems
of Laminarice, &c, it takes the place of the ordinary R. palmata,
which is nowhere to be found. Ceramium Agardhianum, or rather
C. Deslongchampii (see note to p. 100), now for the first time noticed
in a British work, has always seemed to us so different from C. dia-
phanum, particularly that of ' English Botany,' that we kept them se-
parated in our herbarium. Mr. Harvey believes them however not
to be specifically distinct.

Need we dwell on the unparalleled advantages our " island home"
presents for this attractive study, or observe, that whilst many of our
flowering plants are unfortunately, when dried, but " mummies/' as
has been well observed, of their former selves, and generally in beauty
yield to those of warmer climes, most of our Algae retain in the
Hortus Siccus their pristine loveliness, and in delicacy of form and
splendour of colouring rival those of any country on the globe ? Torn
from their places of growth, and scattered abroad by the waves, they
inspire

" A rapture on the loneliest shore."

But it is in their natural places of growth that they are especially to
be admired. How beautiful to gaze upon the variety of foliage

216 Bibliographical Notices.

waving in the basins of the rocky coast, when rendered approachable
by the retiring tide ! and here we shall occasionally perceive the fronds
of the Chondrus tipped with a "paly flame" of bluish phosphoric
light. A little deeper, we may sail over beds of Cystoseira ericoides
clothed with iridescence so as strongly to resemble a tract of heath
with its dew-drops presenting the hues of the rainbow at early sunrise.
Still deeper appear the woods, as they may comparatively be called,
of the Laminurice with numerous fishes moving gracefully about, or
quietly sheltering beneath their palm-like umbrage ; whilst amid
hosts of M creatures of the element," the beautiful sea-urchin conspi-
cuously presents itself, moored to their stems or leaves. Even from
their annihilation, from the smoke of the kelp-fire, the wild marine
landscape occasionally derives its only image of softened beauty.
Often on the lofty mountain's top, when enraptured with the ma-
jesty of nature, has the column of smoke, rising at a distance above
the bleakest and least frequented shores, pointed out to us the pre-
sence of man and his labours, when none else was visible.

But it is not necessary to go to the sea for Algse. In the fresh-
water and on the land — nay, within our houses — they are likewise
to be found.

" The stream that with a thousand crystal bubbles
Bursts from the bosom of the desert rock
In secret solitude,"

displays them on the first pebbles that it moistens ; and in all our
waters, from the petty drain to the expansive lake, do they occur, and
many species are of considerable size and beauty. But the most
minute sometimes enact the greatest part, as appears in former vo-
lumes of these ' Annals.' Glaslough (or Green-lake) in Ireland derives
its name, according to Dr. Drummond, from a minute Oscillatoria
that colours it* ; and more recently Mr. Thompson has shown that an
Alga belonging to a different tribe, and whose full length is but one-
fortieth of an inch, is distributed in such quantity through a lake
near Belfast, as to impart to the whole of its waters a dull green hue
for a portion of every yearf .

The reputation of Mr. Harvey as a botanist, and one who has
especially studied the class of plants which forms the subject of the
volume before us, is so high, that it would be quite supererogatory to
dwell upon the excellent manner in which every part is executed.
Again do we hail with sincere pleasure the appearance of this Manual,
the first work which, containing full descriptions of every species, has
been devoted solely to the British Algae. A work upon our Mosses —
* Muscologia Britannica' — reached a second edition long since : one
treating of our Fungi has been some years in existence ; and we hope,
that at no very distant day, the volume at present under considera-
tion will be followed by one illustrative of our native Lichens.

* Annals of Nat. Hist., vol. i. p. 1. f Td-> v °l- v « P< ? 5 -

Entomological Society. 217

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

March 1st, 1841.— W. W. Saunders, Esq., F.L.S., President, in
the Chair.

Mr. Parry exhibited a variety of new Coleoptera, especially several
fine Cetoniidce, from New Holland.

Mr. Westwood exhibited dried specimens of a Chinese larva, from
the back of the neck of each of which a slender fungus, twice as long
as the body of the insect, had been produced. This insect, when
thus attacked, is esteemed of great efficacy as a drug in China, where,
from its very great rarity, it is only used by the emperor's physicians ;
and an extract from Du Halde's History of China was read, in which
its virtues are elaborately detailed, being especially serviceable in cases
of bodily debility, particularly when a small portion of it is boiled in the
body of a duck. The Chinese philosophers consider it as a herb during
the summer season, but as soon as winter appears it changes into a
worm. It is named Hia Tsao Tong Tchong in Du Halde's Gen. Hist,
of China done into English, 8vo, 1736, 4 vols., vol. iv. p. 41-42;
the first two names meaning summer-herb, and the last two winter-
worm. In Rees's Cyclopaedia it is called Hiastaotomtchom ; but its
proper name (according to Mr. Reeves, who had forwarded a number
of specimens to the Linnsean Society from Canton) is Hea Tsaon
Taong Chung. It is brought to Canton tied up in small bundles,
each containing about a dozen individuals, and where it is better
known under the name of Ting Ching Hea Tsam, which seems but a
transposition of the former name. The parasitic plant (which is
analogous to that which infests the larva? sent from New Zealand,
of which notices have been brought before the Society on farmer
occasions) is the Clavaria Entomorhiza.

Mr. Westwood also exhibited two remarkable moths from Assam,
collected by Mr. Griffith, and forming part of Mr. R. H. Solly's
collection, which had all the appearance of black species of the genus
Papilio with red spots (Epicopeia Polydora and Philenora, W., in
Arcana Entomol., No. 2, pi. 5.).

A letter was read from Dr. Cantor, addressed to the Rev, F. W.
Hope, from Sincapore, dated May 21, 1840, giving an account of his
proceedings and travels.

A communication was read from the Rev. F. W. Hope, relative to
the formation of committees for undertaking the investigation of the
entomology of various regions of the globe ; but as he was not pre-
sent, the consideration thereof was deferred until his return to En-
gland.

A letter was read, announcing that the next meeting of the Italian
naturalists would be held at Florence.

The completion of Mr. Westwood's memoir on the Linnsean Sta-
phylinidce was read.

A memoir was also read, containing descriptions of the species of
the Curculionideous genus Pachyrhynchus, Sch., collected by H.

218 Entomological Society,

Cuming, Esq., in the Philippine Islands. By G. R. Waterhouse,
Esq., V.P.E.S.

Sp. 1. Pachyrhynchus venustus, W. Niger, Icevis ; capite maculd
unicd inter oculos, thorace maculis duabus supra), maculdque und
ad utrumque marginem, elytris viginti-duobus ovatis ornatis ; his
a squamis auratis, vel aureo-cupreis, effectis.

Var. j3. divert elytris maculis octodecim ornatis.

Var. y. differt elytris maculis sexdecim ornatis. Long. corp. lin.
10i;-7f.

Sp. 2. Pachyrhynchus gemmatus, W. Niger vel cupreus, Icevis ;
capite suprd maculis duabus, thorace supra tribus, infrd, duabus, et
elytris sexdecim (duabus apud suturam) ornatis ; his maculis a
congerie squamarum metallice splendentium effectis ; squamis cen-
tralibus nitide viridibus, circumgyrantibus aureo-rubris, et inde
ocellos efficientibus .

Var. /3. differt elytris maculis viginti-duobus ornatis.

Sp. 3. Pachyrhynchus perpulcher, W. Niger, Icevis ; thorace
maculis (subocellatis) supra quatuor, subtits duabus, elytris octo~
decim ornatis ; his a squamis metallice viridibus et cupreis effectis.

Sp. 4. Pachyrhynchus Cumingii, W. Splendide cupreus ; elytris
leviter punctato-striatis ; rostro notd transversd basali, capite
maculis oblongis tribus, harum und interoculari, und utrinque
suboculari ; thorace lineis marginalibus , et suprd lineis tribus, et
und transversd interruptd, notato ; elytris lined marginali, li-
neisque duabus longitudinalibus dorsalibus, necnon lined transversd
per medium excurrente, at que lineis duabus abbreviatis et ad an-
gulos basales et ad subapicales ; his lineis maculisque pallide
cyaneo -viridibus. Long. corp. lin. 6j.

Sp. 5. Pachyrhynchus speciosus, W. Splendide cupreus, vel niger ;
elytris punctato-striatis ; capite lineis tribus longitudinalibus no -
tatis ; thorace annulis tribus elongato-ovatis ; elytro utroque fasciis
duabus transversis humeralibus ad marginem elytrorum externum
confluentibus et prope suturam ; duabus centralibus et ad sutu-
ram et ad marginem externum ductis necnon confluentibus ; et lined
aream semilunarem circumdante apicali, ornato.

Sp. 6. Pachyrhynchus decussatus, W. Ater, lined transversd
apud thoracis medium et pone hanc lineis tribus longitudinalibus,
necnon margine externo aureo -viridibus ; elytris, lined centrali
transversd, lineis quatuor ad basin longitudinalibus, et pone trans-
versam, lineis duabus longitudinalibus, his lineam parvulam incur-
vam lateralem emittentibus ; lineis omnibus sic et marginibus elytro-
rum splendide aureo -viridibus. Long. corp. lin. 1\.

Sp. 7. Pachyrhynchus phaleratus, W. Ater, lined transversd apud
thoracem medium, ad utrumque latus in duos ramulos divisd spa-
tium incequale circumdantes ; pone transversam, lined centrali Ion-
gitudinali ; elytris lined medid transversd, lineis duabus ad basin
longitudinalibus, et pone transversam tribus longitudinalibus ; his

Entomological Society. 219

sic et marginibus externis et basalibus, aureo-viridibus . Long,
corp. lin. 7J.
Sp. 8. Pachyrhynchus Schcenherri, W. Splendide cupreus ; capite
maculis tribus, earum und inter oculari, und utrinque suboculari ;
thoracenitido, dorso binotato, ad latera lineis duabus ; elytris octo-
decim punctis, (duobus apud suturam) ornatis ; his notis, lineis
maculisque pallide viridibus. Long. corp. lin. 5^.

Sp. 9. Pachyrhynchus Erichsoni, W. JEneus ; capite maculis
tribus, earum und interoculari, und utrinque suboculari ; thoracis
dorso binotato, lateribus bimaculatis ; elytris maculis sexdecim
ornatis ; maculis omnibus colore fiavo. Long. corp. lin. 6.

Sp. 10. Pachyrhynchus Eschscholtzii, W. Ater, nitore violaceo ;
thorace maculis duabus ; elytris maculis quatuor rotundatis ad
basin ; sex ad medium, sex prope apicem, duabusque ad apicem,
albescentibus.

Sp. 11. Pachyrhynchus striatus, W. Ater; elytris profunde
punctato-striatis ; capite maculd inter oculos ; thorace supra tri-
maculato ; elytris duodecim maculatis ; maculis aureis ; illis ely-
trorum ad basin quatuor, et ad apicem quatuor elongatis, ad me-
dium quatuor, scilicet duabus externis rotundatis, et duabus dorsa-
libus transversis. Long. corp. lin. 6.

Sp. 12. Pachyrhynchus roseomaculatus, W. Niger; elytris dis-
tincte punctato-striatis ; capite maculd inter oculos ; thorace supra
trimaculato ; elytris undecim maculatis ; his maculis roseis ; pie-
risque oblongis ; maculd und suturali obcordatd. Long. corp.
lin. 6£.

Sp. 13. Pachyrhynchus jugifer, W. Ater ; capite maculd viridi
inter oculos, et alterd utrinque sub oculos ; thorace medio lined
transversd, et pone hanc lined longitudinali a transversa usque ad
marginem. posticum thoracis excurrente, his e squamis purpureo-
aureis effectis, quibus latera quoque thoracis obtecta sunt ; elytris
squamis purpureo -aureis indutis, ared majusculd rotundatd prope
scutellum, etfascid transversd in medio elytrorum, ad latera et ad
suturam dilatatd, necnon lined per suturam a fascid transversd
ad notam apicalem currente, his notis denudatis.

Sp. 14. Pachyrhynchus reticulatus, W. Niger; capite lineis tri-
bus longitudinalibus notatis ; thorace elytrisque lineis splendide
viridibus vet cupreis areas polygonas circumdantibus reticulate
ornatis.

Sp. 15. Pachyrhynchus multipunctatus, W. Ater; capite maculis
tribus, earum und interoculari, und utrinque suboculari ; thorace
nitido, dorso binotato, ad latera lineis duabus ; elytris punctis plu-
rimis ornatis; his lineis punctisque viridibus.

Sp. 16. Pachyrhynchus inornatus, W. Ater; elytris leviter punc-
tato-striatis.

Sp. 17. Pachyrhynchus moniliferus, Esch.

Sp. 18. Pachyrhynchus chlorolineatus, W. Ater; thorace medio

220 Entomological Society.

lined transversa, et pone hanc lined longitudinali ; elytris lined
transversd centrali, lineis duabus longitudinalibus , et lined margi-
nali, his viridibus, nonnunquam splendide aureis, vel cupreo-viri-
dibus.

Sp. 19. Pachyrhynchus orbifer, W. Niger ; thorace medio lined
transversa, et pone hanc lined longitudinali a transversd usque ad
marginem posticum thoracis excurrente, his e squamis cceruleo-
viridibus effectis ; elytris squamis caruleo -viridibus indutis, areis
rotundatis denudatis.
This species I suspect, as well as that described under the name
P. chlorolineatus, is but a local variety of P. moniliferus. In speci-
mens from some localities, the scales forming the markings are of a
beautiful golden green colour. I have before me individuals in which
the scales on the elytra arrange themselves into bands — one at the
base of the elytra, one in the middle, and one near the apex ; the
first and last of these bands are curved. Such specimens make an
approach to the P. moniliferus, but differ in the bands being much
broader. Again, there are specimens connecting this intermediate
variety more closely on the one hand with the P. orbifer (where the
elytra are covered with scales with the exception of three circular
areas arranged in a transverse line near the base of the elytra, three
a little behind the middle, and one near the apex), and on the other
with the moniliferus.

Sp. 20. Pachyrhynchus rugicollis, W. Ater ; thorace distincte
rugoso-punctato, punctis squamis viridibus ornatis ; elytris rufo-
piceis, vel piceis, leviter punctato-striatis et ad apicem quasi squa-
mis viridibus pulverulentis.

April 5th. — W. W. Saunders, Esq., President, in the Chair.

The President exhibited various splendid species of moths from
Northern India.

Mr. Bainbridge exhibited several species of insects found in cigars,
including a small species of Latridius and a species of Haltica,
which Mr. Waterhouse stated to be very similar to a unique Bri-
tish species. Some masses of excrement, apparently of a Lepido-
pterous larva, were also found. Mr. Gutch stated that it was che-
roots and not Havannah cigars that were attacked by these insects.

Mr. Westwood exhibited some singular Coleopterous insects from
the collection of Mr. Melly, including Acropis tuberculifera, Burm.,
and a new genus allied to Lyctus with remarkable antenna?, &c.

Some larvae of Trogosita Caraboides were forwarded to the Society
by Messrs. Norton, Kilburn, and Co., which were found among some
China raw silk recently imported from Manilla, to which they had
caused considerable injury, the silk having been eaten or gnawed in
many places, by which the value of some bales was depreciated to
the extent of twenty-five per cent.

An extract was read from a letter addressed to Mr. Westwood by
Mr. James Duncan, relative to a silk cocoon which is attached by
a long peduncle to the twigs of trees in India, and suggesting the

Entomological Society. 221

great advantages which would result, in a commercial point of view,
from the discovery of a chemical solvent for the gum, by which the
silk threads of the cocoons of various large species of exotic moths
are glued together. Mr. Westwood added, that the cocoon of the
Indian Phalcena Paphia, described and figured by Roxburgh in the
Linnaean Transactions, agreed with the description given by Mr.
Duncan.

A memoir was read by Mr. G. R. Waterhouse, containing de-
scriptions of various Coleopterous insects brought from the Philippine
Islands by Mr. Cuming.

Section Lamellicornes.
Mycteristes, Laporte, Hist. Nat. Ins. ii. p. 162. [Philistina, MacL.]

M. Cumingii, W. Viridis nitore resplendente ; elytris pedibus et

corpore subtus jiavescente lavatis; capite <$ cornu erectum exhibente

ad apicem latum et subemarginatum ; thorace convexo, anticepor-

recto in cornu validum ad apicem bifidum suprcL caput pendens ;

tibiis $ scopuld pilorum subtus instructis et externe haud denticu-

latis*. Long. corp. <$ lin. 121, <j> li n . 9-1.

Mr. Waterhouse considers this insect as allied to the genus Ma-

cronota (and not to Goliathus), approaching nearest to M. Rhinophyl-

lus, and that it forms the type of a distinct subgenus (especially

from the difference in the structure of the feet), for which the name

of Phosdimus is proposed.

Lomaptera cupripes, W. Viridis, elytrorum marginibus pedibusque

cupreis. Long. corp. lin. 14-15.
" This approaches very nearly L. valida, G. and P., but the club
of the antennae is black and not yellow, as in that species."

Lomaptera nigro-aenea, W. Nigro-anea, corpore subtus, antennis

pedibusque nigris. Long. corp. I unc.
" Like L. cupripes in form, but of a smaller size and aeneous black
colour."

Macronota Philippinensis, W. Nigra; antennis, palpis, tibiis tar sis-
que piceo-rubris ; capite lineis duabus, thorace lineis tribus, scu-
tello elytrorumque maculis 5 lineisque duabus auratis.

Macronota nigro-caerulea, W. Nigra nitida, indistincte cceruleo-

tincta. Long. corp. 1 unc. 1 lin., lat. 6 lin.
" This species is remarkable for its uniform bluish black colour, and
is rather larger than M . Diardi, G. and P."

Section Longicornes.
Family Saperdid.e ?
Doliops, W, Caput quam thorace angustius, paulo productum et
postice cylindraceum, oculi reniformes , palpi mediocres articulis ter-
minalibus oblong o-ovalibus et subtruncatis ; antenna 11 -articulated
breves et graciles articulo basali elongato, 2do brevi, 3tio perlongo,
et ad apicem dilatato articulis reliquis mediocribus. Thorax sub-

* Figures of both sexes of this fine insect, with details, have been published
by Mr. Westwood in the 'Arcana Entomologica,' pi. 1.

222 Zoological Society.

globosus postice constrictus. Elytra perbrevia valde convexa,
humeris prominulis. Pedes paulo grandes femoribus in medio
crassescentibus, tibiis latis compressis ; tarsis brevibus latis.

Doliops curculionoides, W.* Obscure viridi-ceneus, indistincte cce-
rulescens, capite lined albd longitudinali ; elytris 14 guttis flaves-
centi-albis adspersis corporeque subtils eodem colore maculato.
Long. corp. lin. 5 J.
The resemblance which this insect bears in size, form and colour-
ing to a species of Pachyrhynchus (one of the Curculionidce) , which
Mr. Cuming found in the same locality, is remarkable. From the short
ovate form of the body it seems at first sight allied to Dorcadion, but
in the form of the head, slender antennae and feet, it appears to ap-
proach certain Saperdce, and especially to Colobothea.

Mr. Cuming, who was present, stated that the ladies in Manilla
keep specimens of the splendid Agestrata luzonica in cages, feeding
them upon sugar-cane.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Jan. 26, 1841. — W. Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.

Prof. Owen read his description of a new genus and species of
sponge, which he proposes to name Euplectella Aspergillum.

"Mr. Cuming has entrusted to me for description," says the author,
"one of the most singular and beautiful, as well as the rarest of the ma-
rine productions with which his researches in the Philippine Islands
have enabled him to enrich the zoological collections of his native coun-
try. This production is, however, a member of the very lowest class of
the animal kingdom, if even it be permitted to rank in that division
of organized nature. After repeated examination and much reflec-
tion, I can arrive at no other conclusion than that the object about
to be described is the skeleton or framework of a species of sponge
belonging to that division of the class called Horny, in opposition to
the calcareous and siliceous groups, and to the Alcyonoid family. It is
a hollow, cylindrical, slightly conical, and gently curved case or tube,
resembling a delicate cornucopia, with the apex removed. It
measures eight inches in length, two inches across the base, and one
inch and a quarter across the apex, which is truncated. The base
or wider aperture of the tube is sub-elliptical, and is closed by a cap
of coarse and somewhat irregular network, gently convex externally,
the circumference of which is divided from the walls of the cylinder
by a thin projecting plate, standing out like a ruff or frill. This
marginal plate varies in breadth from one to three lines. The pa-
rietes of the circular cone consist also of a network of coarse fibres,
but these exhibit the greatest regularity of disposition, and intersect
each other at definite and nearly equal distances throughout the
course of the cone. They consist of longitudinal, transverse, and
oblique fibres, the latter being of two kinds, winding spirally round

* A. figure of this remarkable insect has been published by Mr. Westwood
in the ' Arcana Entomologica,' pi. 15, fig. 1.

Zoological Society. 223

the cylinder, but in opposite directions. The strongest fibres are
the longitudinal and transverse ones, which are arranged at intervals
of about a line and a half, and mark out regular square spaces
of the same diameter : these spaces are kept of pretty equal size
throughout the cone, from the circumstance of the longitudinal fibres
diminishing in number as the cone decreases in size ; the mode of
diminution is not, however, by abrupt termination, but by the gra-
dual convergence and final interblending of two contiguous longitu-
dinal fibres, and the regularity of the interspaces is therefore disturbed
at the intervals of such converging fibres. The fibre resulting from
this union of two fibres bears a proportionate thickness to the addi-
tional material entering into its composition. The nature of such
material is demonstrated at the apex of the cone by the resolution
of the longitudinal fibres into their component filaments, each of
them dividing at about two-thirds of an inch from their extremity
into a fasciculus or pencil of extremely delicate, stiff, glistening,
elastic threads, resembling the finest hairs of spun glass. The trans-
verse fibres, in like manner, are resolved at the truncated apex of
the cone into their component filaments, which intersect those pro-
ceeding from the longitudinal fibres, as well as similar pencils from
the oblique filaments, the whole forming an irregular silky tuft, which
almost closes the apical aperture of the cone.

" The longitudinal fibres are external to the transverse ones, to
which they are connected by both the spiral fibres, and by smaller and
less regular intersecting fibres at the angles of the squares ; the area of
each square is thus reduced more or less to a circular form : at about
one or two inches from the apex, these connecting reticulate fibres
begin to rise in the form of narrow ridges from the general surface
of the network, and sooner on the convex than on the concave side
of the bent cone. These ridges at first are short and interrupted ;
they are then more extended, but irregular in their course, some
being transverse, others undulated or curved ; but as they approach
the base of the cone they are continued into broader ridges, which
follow, with more or less regularity, the course of the oblique spiral
fibres ; the broadest of these ridges would measure two lines and a
half. Their structure presents an extremely fine and irregular net-
work, disposed, for the most part, in two plates, which converge as
they recede from the general wall of the cone, and terminate in a
sharp and well-defined edge. The component fibres of these reticu-
lations, like those of the main network, are resolved into the fine
silky filaments above mentioned. The fibres of the coarse irregular
network which closes the basal aperture of the cone, and which con-
stitutes the main characteristic of this Alcyonoid sponge, appear to
be directly continued from, and, as it were, to include all those which
enter into the composition of the longitudinal, transverse and ob-
lique fibres of the wall of the cone ; the frill-like ridge above de-
scribed defining the line of transition from the one to the other.
The inner surface of the reticulate parietes of the cone is even ; not
interrupted by any ridges or processes like those on the outer sur-
face. The number of the longitudinal filaments at the base of the

224 Zoological Society,

cone is 60 ; that at the smaller end, where they begin to resolve
themselves into their constituent filaments, is 30. The diameter of
the longitudinal fibres is about ^th of an inch ; that of the trans-
verse fibres is somewhat less. The oblique fibres, where they are
most regular, average ^th of an inch ; the longitudinal fibres, where
they begin to resolve themselves into their component filaments, ex-
pand in the direction of a line passing to the centre of the cone, and
not in the direction of the plane of its circumference ; maintaining, in
the latter respect, nearly the same breadth to their entire unraveling ;
whilst in the other dimension they equal one line in breadth before
they are wholly decomposed. Small portions of a finely reticulate
plate were loosely attached to some parts of the internal surface.
The fibres of these pieces consisted of minute filaments, irregular in
their course, branching, anastomosing, and sending off abrupt pro-
cesses like thorns. The component filaments of the parietal fibres
are of two kinds ; the one simple, cylindrical, and smooth ; the others
barbed at pretty regular distances through their whole course, like
the hair of certain caterpillars. I have also observed a long filament,
simple at one extremity, and becoming barbed at the other. They
consist of material like the dried gluten of marine plants, containing
a small proportion of azote, and burning away to a charry residuum.
" If the basal aperture of the cone were open, the resemblance to
many of the beautiful reticulate Alcyonoid sponges would be very
close : its closure by the reticulate convex cap, in the present in-
stance, establishes the generic distinction ; and in the exquisite
beauty and regularity of the texture of the walls of the cone the
species surpasses any of the allied productions that I have, as yet,
seen, or found described."

A letter from G. T. Vigne, Esq. was read. In this letter, at the
request of the Society's Curator, Mr. Vigne furnishes the following
list of Birds constituting part of a collection this gentleman had formed
during his travels in Thibet, Cashmere, &c.
Aquila Bonelli, Gould. Cashmere and Lower Himalaya.

Buteo ? Cashmere.

Accipiter fringillarius , Ray. Cashmere.

Falco biarmicus ? Temm. 1 Common in the plains under the Alpine

Chicquera ? Lath. J Panjab.

Athene Cuculo'ides, Gould. In the Alpine Panjab.
Caprimulgus Asiaticus, Lath. Plain of Attok.
Merops Apiaster, Linn. Cashmere and Persia.
Alcedo Bengalensis, Gmel. Cashmere.

Smyrnensis. Alpine Panjab.

Phcenicornis brevirostris , Vig. lb.
Muscipeta castanea, Temm. lb.
Turdus atrogularis, Temm. lb.
Oriolus galbulo'ides, Gould. lb.

Ixos leucogenys (Brachypus leucogenys of Hard wick and Gray's ' In-
dian Zoology'). Cashmere.

Note. — An allied species, differing in having red instead of yellow
under the tail, is found in the plains of India.

Zoological Society. 225

lunthocincla variegata, Gould. Alpine Panjab.
Petrocincla saxatilis, Vig. lb.

Pandoo, Sykes. lb.

Enicurus maculatus, Vig. Cashmere.

Phoenicura leucocephala, Vig. lb.

Motacilla lugubris, Pall. lb.

Coccothraustes Ictero'ides, Vig. Alpine Panjab.

Pastor Mahrattensis ■. lb.

Garrulus lanceolatus, Vig. lb.

Fregilus graculus, Cuv. Himalaya tops ; Little Thibet.

Nucifraga hemispila, Vig. Cashmere.

Cuculus micropterus, Steph. Cashmere.

Dendrocopus Himalayanus. Alpine Panjab.

Picus nuchalis, Wagl. lb.

Chrysoptilus squamatus, Swains. lb.

Bucco grandis, Linn. lb.

Tichodroma phoenicoptera, Temra. Cashmere, Alpine Panjab, and

Little Thibet.
Columba leuconota, Vig. Thibet mountains.
Turtur auriius, Ray. Alpine Panjab.
Phasianus Stacei, Vig. Chumba.

albocristatus, Vig. Alpine Panjab.

Pucrasia, Vig. lb.

Lophophorus Impeyanus, Vig. Cashmere and Himalaya.

Tetraogallus Nigellii, Gray. Snow range, Cashmere and Little Thibet.

Pterocles arenarius, Temm. Plains of Panjab.

Francolinus vulgaris, Gould. Alpine Panjab and Indus.

Perdix Chukar, Lath. Thibet.

Coturnix Sinensis. India and Panjab.

Ardea cinerea, Lath. Panjab.

Ibis Falcinellus, Cuv. Little Thibet.

Scolopax rusticola, Linn. Dodah, near Cashmere,

Note. — A second species, nearly allied to the Scolopax major, Linn.,
is found in Cashmere.

Totanus ? Thibet.

Parra Sinensis, Lath. Cashmere.
Querquedula Crecca, Steph. lb.
Fuligula Nyroca, Steph. Little Thibet.

Mr. Vigne's letter also contains the following notes, relating to a
species of Hare from Little Thibet, which was exhibited to the Meet-
ing, and which he had presented to the Society : —

" The Hares of Little Thibet, which is a barren country, are found
almost exclusively within, or within reach of, sandy valleys, through
which a stream flows, creating on its flat banks just verdure enough
for them to feed upon. They lie in forms, under rocks and stones ;
sometimes, when pursued, will take to any natural hollows beneath
them, and are occasionally, and, in fact, frequently, sheltered by the
thick bushes of Tartarian furze, with which the valleys of Little Thibet
abound, more or less. They do not burrow, but scratch away a
deep form under a stone or rock. In some respects this species re-

Ann. $ Mag, N. Hist. Vol.v'm. . Q

226 Zoological Society,

sembles the Alpine Hare, but the latter has a small ear, whilst the
present animal has a very large, broad, and open ear. I never heard
that these Hares were gregarious, excepting from the necessity of
seeking the same places in quest of food, and those being few and far
between. The nature of the country would prevent any migration,
such as that of the Alpine Hares.

" I never heard it utter any peculiar cry, and should think it not
unlikely that the varieties said to exist in Tartary by Bewick, and
to whistle sharply, like the chirping of a sparrow, must be the large
Drun (?) or Thibetian Marmot, of which Jacquemont says he received
a skin, and of which I and Dr. Falconer also have seen plenty. I
had the skeleton of one, but unfortunately lost it."

Mr. Vigne moreover observes, that there are no Hares in Cashmere,
though it is a country which appears to be particularly fitted for
them ; neither are there any gray or black Francolins, though all are
found within four or five days' march of the Valley.

The Hare exhibited, Mr. Waterhouse observed, was an undescribed
species*, and he proceeded to characterize it under the name of

Lepus Tibetanus. Lep. cinereus, pilis flavescenti-albo nigroque
annulatis ; abdomine albo ; pedibus supra sordide albis, subtiis sordide
flavescenti-fuscis, pilis densis indutis ; caudd mediocri, alba, supra ni-
gricante ; auribus longis, ad apicem nigricantibus : nucha sordide alba,
indistincte fulvo-lavatd.

unc. lin.
Longitudo ab apice rostri ad caudae basin. ... 18

— cauda 4 6

tarsi 5

— <— auris 4 6

ab apice rostri ad basin auris .... 3 8

The Thibet Hare, compared with most other species of the genus, is
most remarkable for its pale grayish colouring, and the almost total
absence of brown or yellow tints in its fur. On the upper parts of
the body the fur is of a pale gray hue next the skin ; the hairs are
blackish beyond the middle, and at the point, and broadly annulated
with white or cream colour near the point ; but interspersed with the
ordinary fur on this part of the body are numerous hairs which
are white at the base, though annulated like the others on the apical
portion. The fur on the chest is also pale gray at the base, but ex-
ternally it has a faint fulvous hue, though it might almost be de-
scribed as dirty white, and the occiput and back of the neck are of
the same hue. On the belly the fur is white, even next the skin.
The legs and feet are almost white ; a slight ashy tint is observable
on the outer side of the hinder pair ; they are rather densely clothed
with fur, and that on the under side is of a yellowish-brown hue, but
not very dark. The ears are very large, and well clothed with hairs ;
on the outer part, in front, these hairs have the same colouring as
those on the back of the animal, but on the hinder part they are
w r hite, or nearly so, and the apical portion of the ear is broadly mar-
gined with black.

* At p. 234 we give Mr. Hodgson's description of this animal from the
Journal of the Asiatic Society, dated 'February 1841.

Microscopical Society. 227

The skull, compared with that of the common Hare, differs, in
being much smaller, and proportionally narrower; the upper in-
cisors have the groove rather more near the middle of the tooth.
Following are the principal dimensions of the skull : —

in. lin.

Total length 3 4

Width 1 7 £

Width between orbits 1

Length of nasal bones 1 5

Width at base 8

Length of bony palate 1 2J

Mr. Gould exhibited and characterized a new species of Himan-
topus, which he had received from New Zealand.

Himantopus Nov^: Zelandi^e. Him. fuliginoso-niger, dorso, alls
cauddque nitore virescente tinctis. Ewempla, f route, loris, niento,
collo antice, et ad latera, sic et pectore crissoque albis, nonnunquam
obveniunt.

The whole of the plumage sooty black, with the exception of the
back, wings and tail, which are glossed with green : examples some-
times occur with the forehead, lores, chin, front and sides of the
neck, chest, and under tail-coverts white ; bill black ; feet pink-red.

Total length, 16 inches; bill, 3 ; wing, 9J; tail, 3| ; tarsi, 3 J.

This bird is interesting, not so much for its beauty, but as adding
another species to the very limited genus Himantopus, of which,
until lately, only one was known. Mr. Gould regretted that no other
information accompanied the specimens than that they were killed
at Port Nicholson. From the great difference in their colouring it
might be supposed that they are distinct, but he inclines to believe
that they are either the result of age or season ; in all probability
the black plumage is that of summer.

MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY.

At a meeting of the Microscopical Society, held October 20th,
Richard Owen, Esq., F.R.S., President, in the Chair. The Secre-
tary, Mr. John Quekett, read a paper by himself, '• On the Minute
Structure of Bat's Hair." After alluding to the great beauty of the
hairs of different animals, as developed by means of the microscope,
the author described briefly the formation and mode of growth of
hairs generally, and stated that his attention was directed to those
of the Bat tribe, in consequence of having on more than one occa-
sion used a knife to separate them from the skin ; and on examination
subsequently it was seen that the curious markings on their sur-
faces, which render these hairs so interesting, were destroyed in some
parts, but were still present in others. By repeating the scraping
process it was found that minute scale-like bodies were detached,
which were not unlike in shape the scales on the wing of a butterfly,
but were very much smaller, and presented no trace of striae on their
surfaces ; and it was on the arrangement of the scales, and on their

Q2

228 Miscellaneous.

being more prominent in some species than in others, that tfie beau-
tiful appearance of Bat's hair depended. The scales might be pro-
cured either by scraping the hair with a knife in a direction from the
apex towards the root, or more easily by pressing them between
glasses previously moistened by the breath. Many of them ap-
peared to terminate in a quill, like that observed on the butterfly's
scale; some few were flat, whilst others were curved, so as to fit the
shaft of the hair, and presented a serrated edge. The scales were
absent near the bulb, but abounded in all parts of the shaft situated
above the skin ; and when removed from many of the larger hairs,
the fibrous nature of the shaft and its cellular interior were well dis-
played. He spoke of the hair of an Indian Bat, of which a small
portion had been given him by Mr. Powell, in which, without any
preparation, the scales could be beautifully seen, both detached and
still adherent to the shaft ; and he was led, from repeated observation,
to consider a Bat's hair as composed of a shaft invested with scales,
which are developed to a greater or less degree, and vary in the mode
of their arrangement in the different species of these animals ; and
concluded by stating that Bats resembled quadrupeds principally in
their mode of reproduction, and birds in their mode of progression,
but resembled both in the structure of their hair.

Some discussion followed the reading of the paper, in which the
President and others took a part.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Cyclostoma elegans, Lam., an Irish Shell. — In my catalogue of the
Land and Freshwater Mollusca of Ireland, published in the 6th vol.
of the ' Annals,' it is considered that there are not sufficient data for
ranking Cyclostoma elegans with our indigenous species. I have lately
seen a number of specimens of this shell, and am now enabled to an-
nounce it as such, although not so satisfactorily as could be wished.
These were found by Mrs. W. J. Hancock washed up by the tide
upon the strand at Mullaghmore, near Bundoran, on the western
coast. Whether the Cyclostoma tenants the neighbouring sand-hills,
or is brought from a distance by rivers to the ocean and then cast
upon the beach where the examples here mentioned were obtained,
is yet to be learned. Fully a hundred of them were collected in
one day.

In reference to a Cyclostoma which Dr. Turton stated had been
found in the west of Ireland, I troubled Mr. Jeffreys with some
queries, which were replied to as follows, in a letter dated Swansea,
Aug. 30, 1841 : — "The specimen of Cyclostoma productum (Turton)
which I received from Mr. Clark as forming part of the late Dr. Tur-
ton's collection is well figured in his ' Manual,' but it does not agree
with the figure or description of C. sulcatum of Draparnaud, to which
Dr. Turton doubtfully referred it. I have no doubt that it is an
exotic shell, and that Mr. Gray's account of it (in his edition of Tur-
ton's Manual) is correct." — Wm. Thompson.

Belfast, Sept. 1841.

Miscellaneous, 229

Entophytes. — Cryptogamous Plants developed on the internal surface

of the air-cells of an Eider Duck (Anas mollissima) whilst alive.

From a letter of M. E. Deslongchamps to M. V. Audouin (Comptes

Rendus, 1841, June 14).

The growth of Cryptogamous vegetables upon living animals has
been placed beyond doubt by the researches of MM. Audouin and
Bassi on the disease of Silk- worms called Muscardine, and which
those naturalists have shown to be attributable to the metamorphosis
of the fatty tissue of the insect into the radicle or thallus of a new
cryptogamic plant, which M. Audouin has named Botrytis bassiana.
Some analogous facts have since then been collected*. M. Deslong-
champs had occasion to open an Eider Duck, which having been taken
by some fishermen in nets placed on the coast of the Channel, was
in a certain degree tamed, and lived some months in a poultry-yard
in company with domestic ducks. It died after having for near a
month appeared to suffer greatly from an increasing difficulty of
breathing. M. Deslongchamps found the air-cells lined within by
large patches of mould. Those of the left side exhibited mould of
long standing and in full maturity, for the sporules were fully deve-
loped, of a deep dull green, and united in capitula supported upon
straight filaments. In those of the right side the mould appeared
recent, and without a green tint. They appeared under the micro-
scope as transparent filaments, not articulated, little or not at all
branched, forming a felting which appeared more compact the nearer
they were to the false albuminous membrane which served to support
them, and where their diameter was exceedingly small. A great
quantity of minute globular or oval vesicles appeared everywhere in
this felted mass, of the same diameter as that of the filaments, and
which are doubtless the sporules. They were sometimes white,
sometimes of an ashy greenish colour. In the mould-spots of the
longest standing were some erect filaments, isolated from the felt,
some of them supporting at their extremity a rounded agglomeration
of greenish sporules, others terminated by a flat margined disc, which
appeared to be the state of the filament after the fall of the sporules.

It seems that this fact of the presence of Moulds in the air-cells
of a bird, satisfactorily proved as it appears to be by the observations
of M. Deslongchamps, must often occur in domestic poultry that live
in places where these vegetable productions are abundant, and de-
vour bodies that are covered with them, and whose respiratory or-
gans must often be exposed to the contact of sporules suspended in
the air. But it is very possible, as the author himself remarks, that
the phenomenon is less rare than it appears to be ; and that if it has
escaped observation till now, it has arisen from the circumstance that
in general no interest is taken in investigating the cause of the death
of domestic fowls, and that it will probably be by chance if a similar
case to that discovered by M. Deslongchamps should be met with.

The above is the abstract given in the ' Bibliotheque Universelle '
of M. Deslongchamps's letter in the * Comptes Rendus,' a transla-

* See the notice of fungi on insects in our present Number, p. 217.

230 Miscellaneous.

tion of the whole of which will be found in Jameson's Edinburgh
New Phil. Journ. vol. xxxi. (No. 62.) p. 371. But the writers are
mistaken in supposing that this phenomenon had hitherto escaped
notice, as a similar fact observed in the Flamingo was communicated
to the Zoological Society by Prof. Owen in 1832. As it appears
that the dissection of the Eider Duck was performed almost before
it was cold, the doubt suggested in the Editor's note, whether the
mucor may not have formed after death, is obviated, especially as a
part of it was found in full maturity.

" August 28th, 1832. — Mr. Owen read some Notes on the Ana-
tomy of the Flamingo, Phoenicopteris ruber, Linn. : they were de-
rived from the examination of an individual which died about three
months since in the Society's menagerie.

" The principal diseased appearances were in the lungs, which
were filled with tubercles and vomica. I was much struck with
finding the inner surface of the latter cavities, and that of most of
the smaller ramifications of the bronchial tubes, covered over with a
green vegetable mould, or mucor. As the individual was examined
within twenty-four hours after its death, it seemed reasonable to
conclude this mucor had grown there during the life-time of the
animal. Thus it would appear that internal parasites are not ex-
clusively derived from the animal kingdom, but that there are En-
tophyta as well as JEntozoa."

[" The fact here stated must be regarded as a very interesting and re-
markable one : there is no reason, a priori, why Entophyta should not
exist; but in the case now before vis, — as a certain number of hours did inter-
vene between the death and the examination of the Flamingo, and we have
reason to believe that mucor will occasionally form very rapidly on dead
animal substances, while the vomica and bronchial tubes of the animal must
have contained matter in a high degree susceptible of being organized
(whether by seeds and ova or otherwise) into either mucor or animalcula, —
it is equally probable, perhaps, that the formation of the mucor did not take
place until after death. — Edit."]

Philosophical Magazine, Jan. 1833, New Series, vol. ii. p. 71.

On some Mammalia, Birds and Fishes lately observed in the neigh-
bourhood of Aberdeen.— Danbeiitoris Bat, Vespertilio Daubentonii,
Leisl., lately added to our Northern fauna by my father (Edin.
New Philos. Journ., October Number), occurs plentifully in the Ca-
thedral here ; a few weeks ago I found two clusters of about eighty
individuals attached to the roof, since which time they seem to have
retired to their winter quarters. Specimens from the locality in
question will shortly be exhibited in the British Museum. An ap-
parently undescribed Nycteribia was parasitical upon the bats, but
seemed to be rare : an Acarus infested the wings, in which I have
often found its nidus. Three species of Shrew have occurred this
summer. Sorex remifer was taken but once ; S. tetragonurus, Herm.,
and S. rusticus, Jen., more frequently, and in about equal numbers.
Seven specimens of the two latter were procured from the stomach of
a Short-eared Owl, which I lately shot in this neighbourhood. It may
here be mentioned, that the owl alluded to was infested with an

Miscellaneous. 231

Ornithomyia differing from all the Eproboscideous insects hitherto
described as British.

On the 25th of September I met with a pair of the Lesser White-
throat, Sylvia sylviella, at Don-Mouth, and shot one; it seems to be
a very rare bird in Scotland, though plentiful further south. On the
same day (after an easterly gale) I found on the beach a Pomarine
Jager, Lestris pomarinus, a young bird of the year, with the central
tail-feathers scarcely projecting beyond the rest. The Little Tern,
Sterna minuta, is common here, there being a breeding-place of this
species a few miles to the north of Don-Mouth. The only other lo-
calities in Scotland where I have observed it are Guillon Point and
Tyne-Mouth, in East Lothian, where it occurs in small numbers.

A Shark 1\ feet long was lately taken from a bag-net at the end
of Aberdeen Pier, and was publicly exhibited for a few days. It
seemed to me to differ in several respects from the Porbeagle, Lamna
cornubica, and to agree best with the Beaumaris Shark of Pennant,
which however is by many considered as a variety of, or even iden-
tical with, the species first named. The teeth, for example, were not
serrated as they are in the Porbeagle*, and the snout was less elon-
gated, being short and obtuse. Along with the shark was displayed
an enormous Fishing Frog or Angler, Lophius piscatorius, which the
fishermen say is not uncommon upon this coast. — John Macgil-
livray.

On the Common Hare of the Gangetic Provinces, and of the Sub-Hi-
malaya ; with a slight notice of a strictly Himalayan species. By
B. H. Hodgson, Esq., Resident at the Court of Nepal.

(Lepus macrotus et Oiostolus, nobis.)
It has often been remarked, that the ordinary type of the genus
Lepus in the Gangetic provinces differs materially from that of En-
gland, and it has been further alleged, that the Hare of the Sub-Hi-
malayan ranges of hills is not similar to that of the plains below
them. No one however has, I believe, heretofore been at the pains
to verify or refute these allegations, which I therefore now propose
to test, and to show that the former is sound, the latter unsound. I
have specimens of the ordinary Hare of the plains and of the hills
now before me, and after the most careful comparison, can discern
no difference between them in size, proportions, or even in intensity
of hue in the colours, further than as such everywhere varies with
age, health and seasons. The type therefore of this genus in the
mountains and in their subjacent plains (on this side the Ganges at
least) is the same ; and of this species, which we shall call macrotus
(from the large size of its ears), the females are, as usual, somewhat
larger than the males, being from snout to rump 19 to 20 inches,
with an average weight of 6 lbs. and a maximum of 8^ to 9, whilst
the males fall short by 1 inch or more of this size, and seldom sur-
pass 5 lbs. in weight. The general structure and proportions are
those of Lepus timidus, but the size is much less, the English hare

* See Dr. Johnston's description in Parn ell's ' Fishes of the Frith of
Forth,' probably taken from Yarreil's standard work.

232 Miscellaneous.

being ordinarily 8 lbs, and frequently reaching 12 lbs. ; and if I may
trust my notes, as well as the fresh specimens now on the table be-
fore me, the females of macrotus invariably have six teats, of which
two are placed on the very top of the thorax, and four remotely from
them in a parallelogram in the central part of the abdominal region.
This is a noticeable circumstance, if the six to ten mammae of authors
be ascribed to the genus with sufficient care, and if timidus, or the
European type, may be thence presumed to have ever more than six.
If so, the invariably restricted number of mammae in macrotus will
form one feature of specific independency ; another will be deduced
from its inferior size ; and a third from the greater length of the ears
as compared with timidus, to which, in its general proportions and
colours, it certainly bears a close resemblance ; even in colours how-
ever, there is at least one material and constant difference ; that
whereas the dorsal aspect of the scut or tail in timidus is black, in
macrotus it is of similar hue with the back, but paler. Nor do I
notice in macrotus any peculiarity of structure in the hair (towards
tips enlarged, acuminate, and recurved) such as is ascribed to that
of timidus. The general colour of the Indian Hare is a deep cin-
namon-red, copiously mixed with black on the body superiorly, but
unmixed upon the limbs and front of the neck and chest, and also
on the nape and dorsal aspect of the neck near it ; pure white upon
the head and body below, as well as upon the insides of the limbs near
it, upon the genital region, posterior margin of the buttocks, and
whole inferior and lateral surfaces of the tail. The front of the up-
per lip, the margin of the mouth, a circle round the eye, and a line
thence to the nostril are always pale, rufescent, hoary, or purer
white, and so also the bases of the ears dorsally, and a strip thence
continued towards the shoulders, and bounding the purely ruddy hue
of the soft nape. The superior margin of the ears on both sides is
black, but the general hue of the fur on the ears anteriorly is similar
to that of the head, whilst posteriorly and interiorly the ears are nearly
nude. The mustachios (which are not undulated) are half black and
half white, and though the arms or cubits are usually unmixed with
black, yet this is not always the case, the animal in very high fur
having the cubits, like the tibiae (externally), powdered with black.
The fur in general is very rich, full and soft, both the woolly and
hairy portions, the former of which seldom exceeds an inch in length,
whilst the latter varies from 1^ to 11 inch. The hair has mostly
four rings from the base, thus — bluish hoary, black, red and black.
The wool wants the terminal black ring everywhere, and is for the
most part white, but ruddy apically : the hair wants it on the purely
red parts of the animal, such as the abdominal aspect of the neck
and the limbs ; and both wool and hair are devoid of all rings, and
wholly white upon the belly and parts adjacent, as well as upon the
inferior surface of the head. Some hairs are wholly black or dusky
on the back ; but in general, besides its bluish hoary base, every hair
on that surface of the animal has two black rings divided by a red
one, which latter is of a deep cinnamon hue, almost exactly, or if the
reader pleases, brownish red. The buttocks posteriorly are less dashed
with black than the middle of the back, which in fine furred animals

Miscellaneous. 233

is very dark ; but the ordinary dorsal colouring of the hair and wool
prevails on the buttocks, as well as on the dorsal aspect of the tail,
both parts being like the back, though somewhat paler. Occasionally
the wool and base of the hair are dusky rather than hoary, and the
intensity of the red hue, as well as the quantity of black tipt hairs, de-
pend on health, age and season, both in the hills and the plains. There
are of course five digits on the fore extremities and four on the hind
ones, but the thumb consists of a nail only, and the other anterior
digits are gradated, as in our hand ; whilst in the posterior extremi-
ties the central digits are equal, and of the laterals the interior is the
longer. The mustachios are ample, extending much beyond the
base of the ears, not harsh, nor adpressed, nor undulated as in ti-
midus, and of many lengths. Above the eye are four to six lesser
bristles, and two or three longer ones below it on each cheek. Eyes
remote, and much nearer to the ears than to the snout ; ears consi-
derably (or ^th) longer than the head, so that when pulled forward
they may be extended from 1| to 2 inches beyond the tip of the
nose. Head compressed, and arched entirely along the vertical line.
Scut without the hair extending only half way from the knee to-
wards the heel of the straightened leg, and with the hair falling con-
siderably short of the os calcis.

The following dimensions will complete the illustration of this
species as found in the mountains and plains : —

Plains. Hills.

Mas. Mas. Fcem.

Snout to base of scut 1-6 1-6 1-7

Snout to occiput straight 4 4 4^

Ditto ditto, by curve 4| 4| plus 4J

Snout to fore angle of eye 2 less 2 plus 2

Thence to anterior base of ear ... . 1^ l^ i^

Ears, length from skull 4J 4| 5

Ditto, ditto from anterior inner base 3^ 3|^ 4 J

Width between eyes 1| li 1^-

Scut only 3£ 3f 3f

Scut and hair 4£ 5 5

Olecranon to carpus 3f£ 3-}§ 3-j^

Thence to tip, long finger (not nail) . 2 2 2^

Tibia or knee to os calcis 4|f A\^ 5^-

Thence to tip long toe (not nail) . . 4^ 4 4£

Girth behind shoulder 9£ 9| 10£

Weight (very thin) A\ lbs. 4± lbs. 5 lbs.

The following specific character may perhaps serve to distinguish
our animal :

Lepus macrotus, with black tipt ears longer than the head. Ge-
neral colour full cinnamoneous red, shaded above with black ; tail
dorsally concolorous with the buttocks ; head below and belly pure
white ; in size less than timidus. Snout to rump 1 8 to 20 inches,

234 Miscellaneous.

and weight 5 to 7 lbs. Head (straight) 4. Ears 5 inches. Habitat.
Gangetic plains and Sub-Himalaya.

Of the Tibetan species I possess only some wretched remains,
which enable me however to indicate the species thus : —

Lepus Oiosiolus*, with fur consisting almost wholly of wool, consi-
derably curved, and interspersed rarely with very soft hairs. Slaty
gray-blue for the most part and internally, but externally fawn-
tinted above, and whitish below and on the limbs : some hairs on the
back tipt with black beneath a subrufous ring. Tail white, with a
gray-blue strip towards the back. Apparent size of the last. Ha-
bitat, the snowy region of the Himalaya, and perhaps also Tibet.

Hares of the first species are exceedingly abundant in the Nepa-
lese Tarai and British districts near it, but less so in the mountains,
though there also they may be found in most districts wherein the
declivities of the mountains are not very precipitous nor wholly co-
vered with dense forests. Hares love the lower and more level tracts
within the mountains, where grassy open spots are interspersed with
copsewood, under which they may safely rest and breed ; for in the
mountains the hare never resorts to holes or burrows ; nor, I believe,
voluntarily in the plains, though I have heard the assertion that it
does so. In the plains, patches of grass interspersed with cultivation
are the favourite resorts of this species, or Jhow shrubberies fringing
the banks of nullahs, where occasionally the animals congregate in
numbers wholly unknown to the mountains. The Indian Hare, or
macrotus, breeds frequently during the whole year, and produces
usually two young ones at a birth. The young are born with the
eyes open, and furnished with teeth. In June 1835 I took two
from the left horn of the uterus (none in the right) of a female ; and
these young, though unborn, had the eyes open, and the fur quite
perfect. In fact, the young follow their dam as soon as they are
born.

Cathmandoo, February 1841.

Nepal, March 1st, 1841.

The account of the Hares which I sent you was written currente
calamo, and without my being at the trouble to look (shame on me !)
at my own Catalogue of Mammals apud ' Linnsean Transactions,'
where the Hare of the plains is named Indicus, and that of the Hi-
malaya (Emodius. These names might do, and changes are bad ; but
tropical appellations are objected to, and in the plains there is another
Hare, nigricollis, wherefore the names affixed to my paper with you
should perhaps stand ; but a note at the foot of the page should
identify them with Indicus and (Emodius respectively of the Catalogue :
thus, " These species are named respectively Indicus and (Emodius
in my published Catalogue. Nor perhaps was it worth while to drop
the local appellations, though nigricollis constitute a second species
in the plains of India." — B. Hodgson.

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. ix. p. 153.

* As the Tibetan Hare had previously been described by Mr. Water-
house, we presume that Mr. Hodgson's name O'iostolus must give place to
Tibetanus. See p. 226 of the present Number. — Ed.

Miscellaneous. 235

THE HOOPOE. TJPUPA EPOPS.

A fine specimen of the Hoopoe was shot at Longton, not far from
Preston, on the 23rd of September last. I saw the bird in the hands
of a bird-stuffer in Preston, therefore there can be no mistake re-
specting its identity. I never heard of one being taken before in
these parts*. John Skaife.

8 Union Street, Blackburn, Lancashire,
Oct. 21, 1841.

THE HOOPOE. THE ARCTIC GULL.

On September 25th last, a specimen of the Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
was shot near Great Rolbright, Oxon ; it had been seen in the
vicinity three or four days, and when shot was very wild ; first start-
ing up from a wet furrow in a wheat- stubble field, and settling on a
bare space in a turnip-field adjoining, where it would not suffer an
approach near enough to be shot, but flew to a sainfoin ground ad-
joining, where, at a long distance, it was brought down on the wing.

On the 28th of the same month a young individual of Lestris pa-
rasiticus, Arctic Gull, was shot in this neighbourhood, which I have
preserved. — T. Goatley.

Chipping Norton, Oct. 20, 1841.

ORNITHICHNITES, OR FOOT-MARKS OF EXTINCT BIRDS.

At the first meeting of the Association of American Geologists,
founded in Philadelphia, on the 2nd of April 1840, (Prof. Hitchcock,
Chairman, and Prof. Beck, Secretary,) among other proceedings,
specimens were presented of the sandstones of Massachusetts, ex-
hibiting the fossil foot-marks, so called f, and observations made
in regard to them. This subject was of so much interest as to induce
the Association to appoint a committee to visit the localities and to
report their conclusions. These were delivered at the next meeting,
April 7, 1841.
Report on the Ornithichnites or Foot-marks of Extinct Birds in the

New Red Sandstone of Massachusetts and Connecticut, observed and

described by Prof. Hitchcock, of Amherst.

The undersigned, forming the committee to whom the subject of

* We have recorded two instances of its occurrence in the course of 1840 :
— in May, near Swansea, vol. vi. p. 236 ; and in September, near Halifax,
ib. p. 159.— Ed.

f On the subject of these fossil foot-marks see Prof. Hitchcock's paper
entitled " Ornithichnology," in Silliman's Journal for January 1836, vol.
xxix. art. xx., and the plates by which it is illustrated j also for April 1837,
vol. xxxii. p. 175.

The account of Mr. Cunningham's and Sir P. G. Egerton's communica-
tions to the Geological Society, Nov. 21, 1838, (see 'Philosophical Maga-
zine ' for Feb. 1839, p. 148,) relative to the impressions at the quarries of
Storeton Hill, near Liverpool, had been thus noticed in Silliman's Journal
for July 1839, p. 394 : — " We have recently received from Prof. Buckland
fine copies of these impressions, and it is no more possible to doubt the
genuineness of their originals, than those of the most recent impression of a
foot made in any yielding surface of the present hour. The same is true of
the impressions of Prof. Hitchcock, whatever doubt may have been felt by
some persons who have never examined them."

236 Miscellaneous.

the origin of the bird-tracks of Prof. Hitchcock was assigned, beg
leave to present the following brief report :

It may be well previously to state, that the object of the meeting
in appointing this committee was founded solely upon the desire to
produce, if possible, unanimity of opinion, there being a few of the
members who dissented from the views published by Prof. Hitch-
cock. In our country, the subject, as it undoubtedly ought, had at-
tracted considerable attention. It had been very favourably received
and republished in Europe, and from its great importance to Palaeo-
zoic geology, an attempt should be made to settle the question ; for
were the views of our highly respected member correct, we were
made acquainted with the earliest period in which biped animals ex-
isted whose foot-marks were analogous to, if not identical with, those
of the tread of birds. On the contrary, if wrong, we were presented
with another class of facts, which show that certain appearances, sup-
posed to belong solely to animal life, were held and presented by the
vegetable kingdom likewise.

We shall now state, in a few words, what we suppose are the ge-
neral facts upon which Prof. Hitchcock's views were founded, and
then the facts of those who assumed the opposite opinion.

The first and most obvious impression upon the mind, on looking
at the indentations or marks, is their thin tripartite form, resembling
the tread or foot-mark of those kinds of birds which show three toes,
the fourth one being rudimental, and are referable to no other known
kind of animal. The tracks or foot-marks in several localities are
arranged in a determinate order, like those of a bird or fowl moving
in a straight line, the toes or marks in all such cases being alternate ;
that is, if the right foot be presented on the rock, the left would next
follow, and thus right and left in regular succession, sometimes with
many repetitions. In other instances the foot-marks presented no de-
terminate direction or order, as might naturally be supposed of a bird
or any other animal having no particular place or object in view.

In all cases where a succession of tracks was observed, there was
an uniform correspondence as to size, and considerable regularity as
to distance between the tracks. Whatever deviations were observed,
they were not greater than might be supposed to take place in ani-
mals possessed of voluntary motion.

On some surfaces, not unfrequently one or more different kinds of
track were exposed, belonging, as was reasonably conjectured, to dif-
ferent species and genera of ornithichnites.

That the slaty material of the rock showed that the impressing
body possessed force or weight, for frequently the thin layers or la-
minae were bent downwards for an inch or more, and that the mud
of which the slate was formed was of a highly adhesive or tenacious
character.

In all cases the foot-mark, or part impressed, was the fixed part
of the rock ; the part removed when the lower side was turned up-
wards showed the cast, or what corresponded with the toes or foot.
That no trace of any organic matter could be perceived occupying the
cavity or mould, the cast or part in relief being in all respects like
the material of the rock of which it formed a part.

Miscellaneous. 237

Finally, that the foot-marks belonged to a group of rocks which
must be considered to have been produced by the same general causes
which gave rise to the new red sandstone of Europe, and referable
only to that sandstone. This sandstone presents foot-marks in many
localities, though comparatively but a few years have elapsed since
attention has been called to them. Some of the specimens have
reached this country, and had they not, the information is well given
by Dr. Buckland in his Bridgewater Treatise. The most remark-
able of these foot-marks is that of the Chirotherium from the quarries
of Hessberg, near Hildburghausen in Saxony, and greatly resembles
a fleshy human hand. These, in the drawing and in the specimen
which we have seen, are alternately right and left. Other foot-
marks have been observed by Mr. Linse in the same sandstone,
having made out four species of animals, some of which are con-
jectured to belong to gigantic Batrachians. Near Dumfries, the
foot-marks of animals, probably tortoises, were obtained from the
same sandstone, but as yet no tracks like those of New England
have been discovered.

The facts, &c. which led to a different conclusion are these. First,
that the forms assumed by fucoidal plants were numerous and imi-
tative, some resembling the tail of a rooster, the cauda galli; another,
which was like a large claw or paw, and which may have been a lusus
nature ; and the two specimens on the table of the Association, which
present in relief a distinct tripartite form. As these all appertain to
rocks of great antiquity in comparison with those of New England,
it appeared more reasonable to believe that there might be resem-
blances as perfect, as the fossils with a tripartite character were ap-
proximations to the forms in question.

That no trace of organic matter could be discovered by the eye in
the greater number of the Fucoides. In some, such as the Harlani, they
have been seen to be made up of small pebbles, presenting no little
difficulty, not to the manner only in which the organic matter was
replaced, the external form being complete, but the nature of this
material, which could make so definite an impression and preserve
its form entire.

There were other facts which showed resemblances, such as that
the part in relief was the part removed when the Fucoid was at-
tached to the sandstone at its upper part. It may also be stated,
that the appendages to the heel of some of the New England tracks
might have been caused by a bird whose legs were feathered, but
not a wader ; and they favoured their vegetable origin, for the ap-
pendages might readily be conceived to be either leaves or radicals,
or both.

From a comparative examination of the facts on both sides, your
committee unanimously believe, that the evidence entirely favours
the views of Prof. Hitchcock, and should regret that a difference had
existed, if they did not feel assured it would lead to greater stability
of opinion. To liken things to what we know, is the nature of mind ;
the error from this tendency increases with ignorance, and dimi-
nishes as knowledge increases ; so that he that knoweth all things, as
is self-evident, can commit no error when following this instinct of

238 Miscellaneous,

his being. The discoveries of Prof. Hitchcock were published at a
period when the minds of those who embraced the negative side of
the subject were pre-occupied with the anomalous vegetation with
which many of the Silurian rocks of New York abound, and to which
provisionally the name of Fucoides had been given. From this imi-
tative character, and from finding a few specimens presenting a tri-
partite or trifurcate form, &c. it appeared not only possible but pro-
bable, that the impressions from Massachusetts and Connecticut
were with greater propriety referable to fucoidal bodies, than to those
which Prof. Hitchcock had assigned them.

We may here remark, how essential it is that truth, or the facts
which make manifest any truth, should first be presented to us ; so
readily is the mind impressed when not pre-occupied ; and when a
strong impression is made, be it ever so false, it is no easy matter to
free ourselves from it. From this circumstance we can readily foresee
the advantage which future generations will possess over those of
the present and especially those of former times. As the progress
of knowledge is certain, each day will lessen error and enlarge the
domains of truth ; and should man be true to his permanent interests,
error finally will cease to have existence.

(Signed) Henry D. Rogers, Lardner Vanuxem, Richard C.
Taylor, Ebenezer Emmons, T. A. Conrad.

[Note. — "We have just seen an engraving of a large Fucoid which
has very lately been found by Mr. Cunningham in the same Store-
ton quarry that has afforded Labyrinthodon and Rhyncosaurus foot-
marks, plainly showing how little resemblance an actual Fucoid bears
to the Ornithichnites. — Edit.]

natural history as a branch of education.
To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

Dear Sirs, — It may be interesting to some of your readers to know,
that the importance of Natural History as a branch of education* for
the Christian ministry, has been recognised by the different Presbyte-
rian bodies of this part of the empire. To the Reformed Presbyte-
rian Synod (the Covenanters) belongs the honour of being the first
to assign to this study a place in the College curriculum of its stu-
dents. By a letter from the Natural History Society of Belfast, the
subject was brought before the General Assembly of the Presbyte-
rian church in Ireland at its late annual meeting in this town ; and
their College Committee, to whom the matter was referred, passed
a resolution strongly recommending the students under its care to
make themselves " extensively acquainted with Natural History in
its several departments, not only on account of the great importance
of the science, but of its special bearing on the sublime sphere of
the Christian ministry."

The same subject was, in like manner, brought under the consi-

* [Mr. Patterson's Pamphlet on Natural History as a Branch of Educa-
tion will be found reviewed in the preceding volume of the Annals, p. 498.
—Ed.]

Meteorological Observations. 239

deration of the Association of Irish Non- subscribing Presbyterians,
at their recent triennial meeting held in Newry ; and a Committee
of that body was appointed to consider and suggest to the proper
authorities any improvements in the Undergraduate course which
may appear desirable ; and directions were given, that in the contem-
plated improvements, the study of Natural History should not be
fogotten.

When the sober-minded Presbyterians of the north of Ireland are
thus giving their deliberate testimony to the importance of the study,
may we not hope that a time may yet come when it shall be univer-
sally introduced as a regular branch of education both in our schools
and colleges ? I am, your very obedient,

Belfast, 27th Sept. 1841. Robert Patterson.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR SEPT. 1841.

Chiswick. — Sept. 1 . Very fine. 2. Slight fog : very fine : clear. 3. Very
fine : showery : heavy rain. 4. Stormy and wet. 5. Cloudy and fine : rain :
cold fog. 6. Dense fog : hazy : foggy at night. 7. Foggy : rain. 8. Fine.
9. Overcast. 10,11. Foggy : very fine. 12,13. Very hot for the period of the
season. 14. Dry haze : very fine. 15. Very fine : rain at night. 16 — 20. Very
fine. 21. Hazy: very fine. 22. Rain: very fine. 23. Heavy rain. 24. Cloudy :
rain. 25. Showery. 26. Showery : stormy with rain at night. 27. Fine : light-
ning and very heavy rain at night. 28. Rain : boisterous. 29. Boisterous :
clear at night. 30. Boisterous, with rain : clear and fine.

Boston. — Sept. 1. Foggy : rain yesterday p.m. 2. Fine. 3. Rain : heavy rain
p.m. 4. Cloudy : stormy, with rain p.m. 5. Cloudy : rain p.m. 6. Fine. 7.
Cloudy : rain p.m. 8. Cloudy. 9. Fine. 10. Cloudy : thermometer 74° three
o'clock. 11. Cloudy. 12. Fine : thermometer 80° half-past eleven o'clock a.m.
13. Fine: thermometer 74° three o'clock p.m. 14. Fine. 15. Cloudy. 16. Fine :
rain a.m. 17. Fine. 18. Foggy. 19—21. Cloudy. 22. Cloudy: rain a.m.
23. Rain a.m. 24. Cloudy: rain early a.m. 25. Fine. 26. Cloudy: rain
early a.m. : rain p.m. 27. Fine. 28. Stormy : rain early a.m. 29. Stormy. 30.
Cloudy : rain early a.m.: rain p.m.

Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire. — Sept. 1. Fair till p.m., then rained. 2.
Continued rain p.m. 3. Fair and fine. 4. Fair and fine, but cloudy a.m. 5. Fair
and fine. 6. Fair and fine: hoar-frost a.m. 7. Cloudy a.m: rain p.m. 8. Wet
a.m.: cleared up. 9. Wet nearly all day. 10. Wet throughout. 11. Cloudy
a.m.: wet p.m. 12. Hot sun : fiery wind : thunder. 13. Clear: fiery wind :
thunder. 14. Showery a.m.: wet p.m.: thunder. 15. Cloudy, but fair:
thunder. 16. One shower. 17. Fair and clear. 18, 19. Fair and fine. 20,
21. Fair and fine, though windy. 22. Shower in the afternoon. 23. Fair and
fine. 24, 25. Showers. 26. Wet a.m. : cleared and was fine. 27. Fair but
threatening. 28. Heavy showers. 29. Heavy rain all day : thunder. 30. One
or two slight showers.

Sun shone out 26 days. Rain fell 15 days. Thunder 5 days. Frost, hoar, 2
days.

Wind North-north-east 1 day. North-east 1 day. East-north-east 1 day.
East 7 days. East-south-east 4 days. South-east 4 days. South-south-east 1
day. South 4 days. South-south-west 2 days. South-west 2 days. West-
south-west 1 day. West-north-west 1 day. North-west 1 day.

Calm 9 days. Moderate 9 days. Brisk 4 days. Strong breeze 8 days.

Mean temperature of the month 53 o, 90

Mean temperature of Sept. 1840 53 -30

Mean temperature of spring-water 50 *80

1 ^J

P c
a, ._

J*. 8

fl|2

io»o>om>r5rj<iOioioiovoovovoovo to >o to<o o o 10 ko ic >o >o m o 10

c

•ajiqs
-saujuina

t^ CM to to

: : : : : :**> : : ; : : :© : : : : : :© : : : : : : <^> : :
6 ~ 6 ~ * *

cp

CO

ss§

• to ■<* o • ^h

• o

1>-CI <© 00 O t-»00 00 <©
00 O <© to GO <N CO 00 O
O^OCO'-hOCO'^OCO

» F

It J

b b a a «

a *

« « " g w S " * "

CS Ctf S uj

o u o

J s J .

'tf 'eS '« >

o u o

J i Js J3 . j= j3 j js js j= . . rtfi rti ...a

oooo gfliOBBj ( jo Bg o_

•uojsog

CO

.o-*«to .CO . .

tO . .

. . . Ttn , o>n<M (?i .©

. - . •<* O f- © 9 CO -CM

CO

CO

•jpittsiqo

:

.oo <m "^ . t-» . . .

; rfCO 9 J -H ; ; ;

. . .«©** . . '.

: : : 9 9 : : :

;»-COC<CNCOC ; l»P7'9 :> T

CO

•urd i
jpiAvsiqo

co B= £ w »3 tn Bj-

to I 5 « w H • « Be « w S t4 « « I I "» Be

CO /S CO «0 w «co« toco ^

3S W

* .1

5J > CO J (A £

h | i. w h | * » fc •» g h I j =o* I » g >

CO «5 fi

Sic

•UTB?8

uojsog

B c

£S

to
coi^<© 6

to to to VO

lOtOtOtO^t'^'^toiOtOtO^OcO^OiOVOto^iOiOtOtOtOtOiOtotOtOtOtO

op r*qp ■<*<© cor^o co-^trft^toco^o <o r-ci t^9 c* -**c« 009 ^r^oo -j*
(N 1^ cV> <o i>- 10 ob c* do r-»dwdb »b ^ coom^"© ab 6 t^£> & cocoes rtib -^

C^C* COt^-CN tOt^C--CO0000 T* CO 00 t^d COlr^tOtOCO^tC^COtO<M00 CM CM t^

oooiO^oono^o-aoinaiiofNCLOoooo
10 -<3<<o<oio^o cor^t^c—oo c^t-*c^*o t^oooo o —•

tooco^oooooocoo<otocy.voot^cooicri00oo

•rtoo t^QOQOooi> | ooa)Qoa\oo tNTj">*(S(s^ONO

~c*c^^cor*<Nr-^c^to<oootocr>t^©coei<N<c©cooo oaw^ ot^c«
ei io co Tjno o 00 -m* t^o^i-too -<t <n ^ o> t^ 10 o h t^x o\<n t^-i^ot^
<^^7^^i^^>pt^<p > i9>cp^tpqp ipop 00 OM» a>9 ^"9 f 5 1* 9 T* T 1 * ^ 7 1 ■"*

o»cNO«CNc^cac^c^c^c^cNc^c^cac^c<c^c<c<coo»cNcic<c^cac^oic^

?S CO—" tOCOtO^t— OiOl CM COCOCO^O^O r^COt^CTiCM^r^-vo 11 o t^ — 1 c^co

o>ri>OM^(Ncsoin-oioc<i ^ooot^iooooo(Ni-o<»oooano-
ooooi^aoi^i^^©©99>qp»opop9^^97'^99^^^»pcpoi'ri<

COC<C^C^C^C^t>IC^COCOCOC^CN<NCN04C<C^COCOC^C<C^C^C<C^C^C^(NOI

£1 z$

voc^Tt , "tfi>.vo©©r^ , ocN — coc^i^o — co^or^co«-criOOr^vo©-«* , ©iO'^'
9api^»popi^oo<»997'99^Qp^^9o^9'7H999tp^^»p^oic>i

© o-\0\o*iO^G\G\&\C> © © © aoio^^o cy>© © © ©\c^i<yio©M^c^cri£r>

COC^C^C^C^C^C^C^COCOCOCOC^CMCN<NCOC<tOCOCOC^C>IC<C<ClCNCNCNCI

—' cJ <o "<* to ^© r^ 00 o^ ©' — " ci co

O h

'to«3 r^odo ; »©*'-CNco-^io<o i>-oo o^©*

— — -<-< — <N«M(NOICN(NCNCM(M<NCO
• « O

!

Tj

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

No. 51. DECEMBER 1841.

XXIX. — Notice of a new genus of Mammalia discovered by
J. Stuart, Esq., in New South Wales. By W. S. Mac-
Leay, Esq., &c. &c.

[With a Plate.]

During a residence of two years in this colony, the expe-
rience of each day shows me that as yet but little is known
of the productions of New Holland. The natural history of
the interior of this vast island may indeed be considered as
altogether unknown ; and with respect to the coast, we can
only be said to be in a considerable degree acquainted with
the birds and phaenogamous plants of certain of its particular
districts. An animal lately discovered by Sir T. L. Mitchell,
and called Charopus ecaudatus, appears to connect the genera
Perameles and Hypsiprymnus. Being so singular in the
dentition and the structure of its feet, this animal may lead
us to imagine the sort of novelties that exist inland ; but it is
also very sure that the neighbourhood of Sydney still offers
the discovery of many new quadrupeds to the research of an
active collector. The marsupial called by the colonists " the
Red Shrew Mouse," and which has been supposed by Sir
T. L. Mitchell to be a Myrmecobius, proves now to be a
new and minute species of Perameles ; that is, if I may be
allowed to judge from the feet of the two stuffed specimens
in the Colonial Museum, the only ones I have seen*. Al-
though not giving much attention to the study of the species
of Mammalia, I hear frequently of the occurrence of small
Marsupials, which I suspect will prove, when described, en-
tirely new to zoologists. One thing is certain, that many
small Rodents remain undescribed, from their having been
confounded with the rats and mice imported from Europe ;
and I think sufficient reasons will be given in the present
notice for believing that a new insectivorous quadruped is to
be found in the immediate vicinity of Sydney. The cause of
the small quadrupeds having so long escaped notice appears
to be, that they are all, whether marsupial or not, in their
habits nocturnal ; but the truth also is, that few persons here
have leisure to look for them. Birds, however worthless for

* The teeth are not visible in either of the specimens.
Ann. fy Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. R

242 Mr. W. S. MacLeay on a new Quadruped.

the table, afford practice and amusement to the sportsman ;
but these minute Mammalia are despised even by the native,
who moreover, from his custom of suspending all chase of
game after dark, is little likely ever to fall in with them.

J. Stuart, Esq., is a surgeon in the army, who has been
frequently employed by the Colonial Government in super-
intending the quarantine to which vessels arriving unhealthy
in Port Jackson are subjected. On entering between the
heads of this noble firth, every vessel is boarded by the
medical officers, and if found in a sickly state, instead of sail-
ing up to Sydney, a distance of about seven miles, she is
carried off to the right, and enters Spring Cove, where the
passengers are landed at a Lazaretto, established on the
north shore. Here they remain under the care of a surgeon
for the necessary period ; and Mr. Stuart, who has often un-
dertaken this painful charge, has, by means of his admirable
skill in drawing objects of natural history, and his powers of
accurate observation, been enabled to employ to the advan-
tage of every department of science those spare hours, which
otherwise, in the midst of contagion and disease, would have
proved so dreary.

From among several great novelties which I have found in
his collection of drawings, I have selected the representation
(natural size) here given, PL VII., of a quadruped which I shall
call Antechinus Stuartii, and of which Mr. Stuart killed one
male specimen at Spring Cove in August 1837. As this
specimen has been unfortunately lost, and I have never seen
it, I am obliged to describe it from his notes, hoping that the
attention of naturalists will be drawn to the animal, and that
some further knowledge may soon be acquired with respect
to the habits and structure of the species.

Genus Antechinus.
Dentes incisores g-; canini^-j ; pseudomolares |^ ; molares ~ = 44.

Caput elongatum, rhinario valde producto. Aures grandes ad apicem
angustiores obtusse. Oculi raediocres prominuli. Corpus pyri-
forme antice angustius. Cauda teres pilosa gracilis. Pedes
digitis liberis plantigradi ; antice pentadactyli ; digitis tribus
intermediis longioribus ; postice pentadactyli digitis secundo
et tertio longioribus, pollice brevi, unguibus brevibus acutis.

Antechinus Stuartii.
Antechinus fulvus abdomine artubusque subtiis albescentibus, cauda

fere corporis longitudinem sequante.
Long. tot. usque ad apicem cauda? 9^ unc.

This genus appears, in its system of dentition, to approach
Phascogale, but it differs from that and all other carnivorous
Marsupials in the formula of the incisors ; for those carnivo-

7-6. jfyiihUt />w t&* j;s/ssr//.S></.

r>--72.J////r7///<' fhom 7J'.'

jnCJoterfyA

Mr. E. Forbes on new Marine Animals. 243

rous Marsupialia of which the dentition is known, have all
more incisors in the upper than in the lower jaw. In the
number of incisors and canines, Ant echinus agrees with
Centenes among Insectivora, and with the Ursidce, Canida,
and Felidce in general. From its number of teeth and general
aspect, I conceive it will, when better known, be indubitably
assigned to the group of Insectivora.

XXX. — On two remarkable Marine Tnvertebrata inhabiting
the JEgean Sea. By Edward Forbes. M.W.S., For. Sec.
B.S., &c*

[With a Plate.]

The harbour of Nousa, in the island of Paros, though of
small extent, is extremely rich in marine animals, abounding
in Fish of various kinds, Mollusca, Annelida, and Radiata.
As the surveying ship Beacon, Capt. Graves, has made this
bay its summer quarters, I am enabled to examine its zoology
under very favourable circumstances ; and, through the kind
assistance of the commander and his officers, especially Lieut.
Freeland and Mr. Sprat, a number of rare and interesting
animals undergo a careful examination daily.

The depth of the bay generally is from seven to ten fathoms ;
the bottom sand and weed, chiefly Zoster a ; at the entrance
there is deeper water, from seventeen to thirty fathoms, with
a bottom of corallines. The animals are different, according
to the bottom and depth. The coast is generally of rock ; in
some places mica-slate, in others white marble. There are
also a number of sandy bights, which in places where streams
run in are crowded with Cerithia, in others are inhabited by
sand-burrowing bivalves. Mixed with the sand are great
numbers of minute Testacea and Foraminifera. In these
sandy nooks live two animals, the one an Annelide, the
other a Polype, so remarkable on account of peculiarities of
form or habit that I have thought it might prove interesting
to transmit this short notice of them to the Association, re-
serving the general natural history of the bay for a connected
view of the marine zoology of the Cyclades, which I hope to
submit to the Association at a future meeting.

The animals in question are, 1st, a Zoophyte of the family
Actiniadce which is free and vermiform, and which lives in a
tube of its own constructing, a combination of characters, as
far as I know, hitherto unnoticed among the Helianthoid Po-
lypes ; and 2nd, a tubicolar Annelide which lives in a strong
gelatinous tube, bearing a remarkable analogy to the sac of
certain Entozoa.

* Read in the Section of Zoology and Botany at the Meeting of the British
Association, Plymouth, and communicated by the Author.

R2

244 Mr. E. Forbes on two remarkable Marine Invertebrata

I notice them together, as, in each case, the peculiarity of
the organization and habit is the result of a similar adaptation
of form in two very distant tribes to a similar locality.

The body of the Actinia is cylindrical, terminating poste-
riorly in an obtuse extremity, anteriorly in a disc, in the cen-
tre of which is a circular mouth surrounded by numerous,
rather short, linear tentacula, which spring from its internal
margin. Round the margin of the disc is another circle of
tentacula, thirty-two in number, very long, tubular and sim-
ple, resembling the tentacula of an ordinary Actinia or An-
thea. These tentacula cannot be drawn within the mouth,
but are highly contractile, and can be shortened to small di-
mensions. The disc and oral tentacula are white, the mar-
ginal tentacula are banded with yellowish brown ; the neck or
upper part of the body is white, and the remainder to the
extremity yellowish brown. The body can be greatly length-
ened, so as to assume the form of a worm or Holothuria. It
is protected by a membranous tube, which is itself strength-
ened by an incrustation of gravel and shells in the manner of
a Terebellum. In this tube the Actinia can. move up and
down freely; and when kept for some time in sea- water,. the
tube being injured, it came out of it altogether, and moved
about, twisting its body in the manner of some Annelides.
On being supplied with sand and gravel it proceeded to con-
struct another tube, rolling itself in the sand, and secreting
glutinous matter for the membranous lining. It eats vora-
ciously, and attacks other animals that come within reach of
its tentacula. It lives buried in sand, in places a few inches
below the sea-level. Internally its structure is similar to that
of others of its tribe. There are eight yellowish ovaries ter-
minating in as many long, contorted threads.

In its habit of protecting itself by sand and gravel it resem-
bles Actinia viduata and some other species, none of which,
however, construct a regular tube. In its being free, and
having no adhesive disc at its posterior termination, it re-
minds us of Iiuanthos, a genus of Actiniadce which I dis-
covered three years ago on the Scottish coast, and which I de-
scribed and figured in the * Annals of Natural History/ vol. v.
p. 181. It is evident the animal I now describe fills up an
important gap among the Polypes, and leads to analogical
considerations of great interest to the philosophical zoologist.

Whether the second animal I would notice, the tubicolar
Annelide, be described, 1 do not know, but have reason to
think it is not. It is one of the most beautiful creatures in a
beautiful but much-neglected family. It lives in sand where
the sea is three or four feet deep, and its position is indicated
by funnel-shaped cavities. At times, in sailing over their ha-

inhabiting the JEyean Sea. 245

bitat, the sea-bottom seems studded with dark brown sea-ur-
chins ; but, on touching these supposed sea-eggs, they in-
stantly shrink into the sand. These are expanded tufts of
branchiae which adorn the head of the animal. It lives in a
tough gelatinous case of its own construction, which case is
smooth within and without, and of considerable length and
thickness. The inhabitant is quite free within, and moves up
and down with facility ; but the hinder part of the case, which
tapers into an acute tail, is solid for some way, and probably
is so in consequence of the creature filling it up as it grows
older and larger. The worm has a highly extensile body,
composed of above 140 rings, blunt anteriorly and tapering
posteriorly. The rings are of a reddish brown hue, the belts
between paler, and there are two very narrow pale lines on
the margins of each. They are very contractile. Each of
them is furnished with a minute tuft of bristles on each side,
serving as feet. There is no well-defined head, nor eyes, nor
tentacula ; but there is a broader and more prominent whitish
band at the junction of the branchial funnel with the body
than elsewhere. The funnel consists of two fasciculi of long
setose filaments, about twenty-eight in each bundle ; each of
these filaments (which are all webbed together, saving near
their extremities,) is furnished with a comb of long finer fila-
ments on the inner margin, which project into the interior of
the funnel, and define its shape very prettily. Up and down
the funnel currents of water may be seen flowing with great
rapidity. These are caused by the cilia which cover the se-
condary filaments, and which are of considerable size. The
secondary filaments are notched at regular intervals, and are
very flexible, twisting about like worms when separated from
their origin.

In the absence of works of reference, though I believe both
these forms to be new, generically as well as specifically, I have
abstained from naming them at present.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE VIII.

Actinia.
Fig, 1, 2, 3. Attitudes of the animal freed from the tube.
Fig, 4. The animal in its tube.
Fig. 5, The animal leaving its membranous case.

Annelide.
Fig. 6. The animal within its tube.
Fig. 7. Head and branchiae expanded, protruded from the tube in tlie

sand.
Fig. 8. Animal out of the tube extending itself.
Fig. 9. Animal contracted.
Fig. 10. Segments magnified, showing the feet.
Fig. 11. One of the pinnated branchiae.
Fig. 12. A pinna magnified, showing the cilia and the joints.

246 Mr. W. A. Leighton on Epilobium angustifolium.

XXXI. — On Epilobium angustifolium, Linn., and species
which have been confounded with it. By W. A. Leighton,
Esq., B.A., F.B.S.E., &c.

Without wishing to derogate in the most remote degree from
the merit of Mr. H. O. Stephens and Mr. G. K. Thwaites as
the discriminator and discoverer of Epilobium macrocarpum,
I deem it but an act of simple justice to mention, that Mr.
George Jorden, of Bew dley, has for very many years past ob-
served two Epilobiums growing wild in the Shropshire portion
of the Forest of Wyre, which he has always considered as speci-
fically distinct ; one, a large-flowered plant with a short stout
capsule, and the other with smaller flowers and a very long
capsule, which he considers an undescribed species. From the
acute and careful observation to which Mr. Jorden has sub-
jected these plants in the constant opportunities he has availed
himself of in studying their habits and structure in their na-
tive localities, his opinion of their being distinct species is en-
titled to very considerable weight, more especially as he has con-
firmed it by the experience of long cultivation. He writes : —
" To me the specification of plants is not very clear and defi-
nite : those plants which are distinct in their Generation ought
to be considered Specifically distinct, which, I believe, these
two plants ever have been and ever will remain, and likewise
in their structure, in the greater size of the flowers and seed-
vessel. If I rightly understand the true meaning of Variety,
it is the differing of a plant from its parent, and such differ-
ence not hereditary. Nature will not be shackled by rules nor
bound by systems. I have grown these two plants between
thirty and forty years in a highly manured soil, and regularly
compared them with specimens growing in their native lo-
calities, but never found any perceptible difference in their
structure, except that last year the stamens ran into petals
from excess of nutriment. I suspect the large-flowered plant
is not indigenous to this country by not producing fertile
seeds, and its not being found but in few places except gar-
dens ; probably it is a continental plant, the plant \E. angus-
tifolium] of Linnaeus. The small-flowered plant [E. macrocar-
pum\ is undoubtedly indigenous, and propagates itself by seed
abundantly. This latter plant is grown, I find, in gardens
in the neighbourhood of London : I never find it in gardens
here, but only the large-flowered plant [E. angustifolium],
probably furnished from the very old locality near Bewdley,
and considered wild by botanists."

In July last Mr. Jorden kindly sent me living specimens
and roots of these two plants, from which I then drew up the

Mr. W. A. Leighton on Epilobium angustifolium 247

following descriptions, which although agreeing in all essen-
tials with Mr. Stephens's characters, will perhaps afford a few
additional particulars not altogether uninteresting, as evincing
the very close approximation of the two plants in everything
except size of the flowers and the form and size of the capsules.
Their chief differences are marked in italics.

E. angustifolium, Linn.

Stem 3 — 4 feet or more high, roundish, glabrous, shining, simple,
virgate, branched. Leaves alternate, on very short petioles, linear,
acuminate, more or less rounded at the base, mucronate, shallowly
but distinctly calloso-denticulate, with a strong central rib, from
which smaller lateral ribs are given off in an oblique direction,
which again unite in curves at a short distance from the margins,
dark opake green and wrinkled with veins on the upper sur-
face, pale glaucous green beneath, glabrous. Racemes terminal
and axillary, simple, leafy, smooth, slightly pubescent above.
Flowers solitary, on simple densely pubescent peduncles about
equal to the germen, lower ones in the axils of the upper leaves
which diminish upwards into bracteas, arcuate in flower, more
or less erect afterwards. Flower -buds linear- oblong, obliquely
acute. Sepals 4, linear, acute, one-third shorter than petals, spread-
ing, pubescent externally, glabrous within, purplish-red, 5 — 7-
nerved. Petals 4, spreading, orbicular, suddenly contracted into
a short claw, emarginate, wavy or wrinkled at the margin, pale
pinky purple with darker veins. Filaments dilated and converging
at the base, declined, upwards, thickened immediately beneath
the anther. Pollen triquetrous, occupying four divisions in
length on a micrometer of n&rath °f an inch, pale whitish green.
Capsule scarcely an inch long, linear -oblong , subattenuate at both
ends, slightly curved, subpatulous, distinctly tetragonous. Pistil
filiform, dilated upwards, hairy above the base, at first as long as,
afterwards one-third longer than, the stamens, decurved, 4- cleft;
segments circinato-revolute.

E. macrocarpum, Steph.

Stem 8 — 4 feet or more high, roundish, glabrous, shining, simple,
virgate, branched above. Leaves alternate, on very short petioles,
linear -lanceolate, acuminate, somewhat attenuate at the base, acute,
entire, obsoletely calloso-denticulate, with a strong central rib,
from which numerous lateral ribs are given off in a nearly hori-
zontal and very slightly oblique direction, which are again united
in curves at a short distance from the margins ; dark opake green
and wrinkled with veins on the upper surface, pale glaucous
green beneath, glabrous. Racemes terminal and axillary, simple,
leafy, smooth, slightly pubescent above. Flowers solitary, on
simple densely pubescent peduncles shorter than the germen,
lower ones in the axils of the leaves, which gradually diminish
upwards into bracteas, arcuate in flower, more or less erect

248 Mr. W. A. Leighton on Epilobium angustifolium.

afterwards. Flower-buds obovate, somewhat attenuate at the base,
suddenly contracted at the apex into a compressed curved point.
Sepals 4, linear-lanceolate, attenuate into an acute point, as long
as or slightly longer than the petals, spreading, pubescent on the
exterior, purplish red, glabrous within, 3-nerved. Petals 4,
spreading, subrotundo-obovate, subattenuate into a short claw,
emarginate, wavy or wrinkled at the margin, bright and deep
rose-colour with darker veins. Filaments dilated and conver-
ging at the base, declined upwards, thickened immediately be-
neath the anther. Pollen triquetrous, occupying three divisions
in length on a micrometer of y^L ^th of an inch, pale, nearly
white. Capsule about 1\ inches long, linear, straight, erect, nearly
parallel with the stem, tetragonous, the angles rounded and nearly
obsolete, covered with pale dense minute pubescence. Pistil fili-
form, swollen upwards, with a few hairs a little above the base,
at first shorter than, afterwards as long as, or slightly longer
than, the stamens, decurved, 4-cleft; segments at first erect,
finally revolute.

Some of these fresh specimens I forwarded with my de-
scriptions to Mr. Borrer, who replies, (August 11, 1841,) "I
have been used to the sight of a larger and a smaller E. an-
gustifolium, the former in gardens and the latter in our Sussex
forests, but it never came into my mind to compare them. I
now find the latter to be your No. 1. [macrocarpum] ; the
former I have no doubt is your No. 2. [angustifolium], but I
am not aware that it is in any Henfield garden. In my own
I have the wild one only lately brought in. It agrees, as do
my dried specimens, with your No. 1. in every respect, except
that the flower-bud has not the remarkable pinched point, or
in a few flowers only and in a very slight degree, and the se-
pals have traces, varying in distinctness, of a second lateral
pair of nerves. I have a dried specimen of No. 2. from Mr.
Dalton, labelled by him e E. angustifolium/ without any men-
tion of the place it came from. Upon the whole, notwith-
standing the very remarkable *, 1 cannot persuade myself
that the plants are specifically distinct. I suspect that we
have No. 2. [angustifolium] wild in the west of Sussex, which
I must take the first opportunity of ascertaining/ 5

It would be very desirable that the plants in the Linnaean
Herbarium should be ascertained. The synonomy of conti-
nental botanists will be difficult to be determined by reason
of the form of the capsule not entering into their characters,
at least in such writers as I have means of consulting.

W. A. Leighton.

Shrewsbury, Nov. 1, 1841.

* Hiatus in Mr. B.'s letter.— Ed.

Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany. 249

XXXII. — Report of the Results of Researches in Physiological
Botany made in the year 1839. By F. J. Me yen, M.D.,
Professor of Botany in the University of Berlin*.

[Continued from p. 137.]

M. Schleiden t> in a treatise on the spiral formations in the
cells of plants, has collected together the results both of former
observations and also of his own. His views respecting the
metamorphoses of the spiral tubes are certainly for the most
part correct : he says, " The layers which are deposited upon
the primary structureless cellular membrane have in every
case, at their first appearance, a regular arrangement which
may be made evident in different ways, and a spiral band or
fibre as their foundation, and from this basis all the different
forms of the walls of the so-called vessels and cells are de-
veloped 5 but the one cannot be considered as a stage of trans-
ition to the others." M. Schleiden then gives a view of the
phaenomena which occur during the growth and metamor-
phoses of the cells of plants. In the first period, the simple
membranes which form the cell increase throughout their
whole substance by true intersusception ; but whether the
same kind of growth takes place at a later period could not be
determined, although in some cases it cannot be denied that
it is so. Now the deposition of new layers on the inner sur-
face which follows is in the form of one or more spiral closely
wound bands, and M. Schleiden thinks that from some as yet
imperfect observations, he may conclude that originally two
such bands at least occur, which correspond to the ascending
and descending streams of the gummous formative substance.

According to M. Schleiden' s views, it is from these second-
ary deposits that all the various formations of the walls of
cells and vessels proceed according to the influence of the
following causes : —

1. Either the cell has or has not reached its full extension
when the secondary deposits commence, and upon this ap-
pears to depend the production of the spiral vessels and of
the porous formations. Then are mentioned the different
cases which may occur during the formation of the spiral
fibres, and from this is derived the production of different
forms of simple and metamorphosed spiral tubes. Here how-
ever many statements are put forward, which partly contra-
dict existing observations, and which partly open a wide field
for discussion.

* Translated and communicated by Henry Croft, Esq.
f Flora von 1839, pp.321— 334 and 337— 344. Translated in our Journal,
vol. vi. p. 35.

250 Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany.

2. A circumstance which need only be cursorily mentioned
here is the form of the cells in the different intervening steps
in combination with the actual perforation of the primary
membranes by resorption.

3. Another circumstance is more important. Generally
several spiral deposits appear, and the rule is here that the
succeeding deposits are arranged conformably with the pre-
ceding ones ; however some exceptions are known, as for in-
stance, after the first spiral deposit has become changed by
the extension of the cell, a new layer is deposited over the
•whole inner surface and assumes the porous form. The dif-
ferent metamorphoses which are exhibited in such a striking
manner by the spiral tubes in the fibro-vascular bundles of
Monocotyledons, are explained by the author as resulting from
a different extension of the several single elementary organs
of these bundles. The distant banded annular vessels are said
to be formed first, and in the form of spiral vessels ; by the
extension of the internodium the development is said to ex-
tend towards the exterior, and therefore the outer spiral tubes
are wound so closely because the extension of the cells longi-
tudinally is already nearly completed when the spiral depo-
sits take place.

M. Schleiden comes next to the explanation of the produc-
tion of the annular ducts, concerning which there has been so
much written and disputed : he thinks that he has observed
that the annular vessels are the cells in which the spiral de-
posits are earliest formed.

By drawings from the bud of Campelia Zannonia, Rich., M.
Schleiden endeavours to explain the production of the annu-
lar ducts ; they are formed out of spiral vessels : two whole
whorls of the spiral fibre grow together and form a per-
fect ring, while the connecting ends of the fibre are corroded
and at length completely absorbed by the cell ; all the stages
of transition are often visible in one and the same vessel, but
in more advanced vessels the connecting volution is wholly dis-
solved. This is M. Schleiden* s new hypothesis ; I have read
it through several times, but am not able to form an idea
how rings can be produced from spiral volutions, if the free
(eroded, or torn off, or absorbed) ends of the single whorls of
the late spiral fibre do not join together. In the porous cells
of the Coniferce M. Schleiden thinks he has seen, in Pinus syl-
vestris, even in the latest zones, the cambium-cells before the
formation of pores divided by fine black lines into narrow spi-
ral bands, and these vanish when the pores are formed ; of
course, adds M. Schleiden, the primary wall of the cell being
perfectly homogeneous. [I may be allowed to ask here, how

M even's Report for 1 839 on Physiological Botany. 25 1

M. Schleiden convinced himself of the homogeneousness of
this membrane. I formerly made known, that in old coniferous
wood there is often ah actual splitting of the entire walls of
the cellular membrane, always in the direction of the juncture
of the spiral bands of which the walls are composed, and that
these clefts, which are often very large, always pass through
the pores.]

The reticular figures on the bast-cells of the Apocynea, M.
Schleiden derives from the superposition of two very fine lay-
ers which consist of oppositely wound spirals ; and finally, he
makes some remarks on the direction of the windings of spi-
rals. M. Schleiden has laid down the following rule : — Of all
spiral formations which are developed simultaneously, those
which lie together in the direction of the radius are homodro-
mous, those which lie together in the direction of the parallels
to the periphery are heterodromous. As exceptions are men-
tioned the annular and spirally fibrous cells of the Cacti ; but
as confirmatory of the first statement, the general crossing of
the pore-clefts of neighbouring cells, which was first observed
by me, is brought forward.

M. Mohl* has endeavoured to disprove some of the views
of M. Schleiden with which he does not agree, particularly
that one, as M. Mohl says, which has extended to the present
time, but is perfectly false, viz. that the annular vessels are
produced from spiral vessels. He says, that even since the ap-
pearance of Schleiden' s new theory, he still adheres to his
former statements with regard to their origin.

M. Mohl first gives some descriptions of the structure of
the spiral and annular fibres in their perfect state, in order to
make clearer some points which M. Schleiden in his observa-
tions on the formation of the annular tubes had stated incor-
rectly ; he describes particularly the lines and grooves which
are often seen on the broad fibres of the Commelinece. Some-
times these lines and grooves penetrate the whole thickness
of the fibre, so that it is divided in some places into two or
three fibres, and these either proceed in their course parallel
to each other, or then join again after a longer or shorter
course, or one of these fibres passes in a more perpendicular
direction than the others, and joins the next whorl of the fibre.

The direction of the winding of the spiral fibre is next
spoken of: he had formerly shown that the spiral vessels are
generally wound to the right, and he states that he cannot
agree with M. Schleiden and other phytotomists who main-

* Flora von 1839, p. G73 — 685, &c. Translated at p. 1(5 of our present
volume : see also Dr. Schleiden in reply at p. 25.

252 Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany.

tain that spiral vessels are indifferently wound either right or
left. He finds left-wound vessels so extremely rare, that they
may rather be regarded as exceptions to the rule. In a vas-
cular tube in a gourd, M. Mohl saw that the different divi-
sions of the spiral fibre which are separated from each other
by rings were wound in opposite directions.

M. Schleiden demonstrated his new view of the formation
of the annular ducts principally by means of the young shoots
of Campelia ; M. Mohl found, however, the roots of Commelina
tuberosa much better, and gives excellent figures on the sub-
ject. All the modifications which have been observed under
which the rings appear in the vascular tubes of this plant are
fully described, and their connexion with the spiral fibre ex-
plained. According to my idea, M. Schleiden had quite cor-
rectly stated that the line of division in the broad spiral fibres
of the Commelinece is caused by two whorls of the fibre grow-
ing together, or in other words, that those spiral fibres con-
sist of two fibres which lie close and parallel to each other ;
however M. Mohl makes objections to this, but which I can-
not quite clearly understand.

M. Mohl found, as others have done, that the rings in the
annular tubes are generally quite unconnected with each other,
but that the connecting fibres of the rings (when such exist)
do not stand in any determinate relation to the breadth
of the annular fibres. [This is however in general the case
only in the broad and compound spiral fibres of the Comme-
linece. — Mey.~] During the formation of the annular tubes in
the stem of Commelina tuberosa, M. Mohl thinks that he ob-
served distinctly that these tubes at their first appearance
were not spirally wound, but that the fibres formed, as in the
perfect vessels, isolated rings of different breadths, or else rays
between which were seen some spiral fibres, so that, with ex-
ception of the small thickness and the short distance between
the rings, there was no difference between these young ves-
sels and the fully developed ones. This formation could be
still better followed, step for step, in the roots of the Comme-
lina ; and from these observations M. Mohl draws the conclu-
sion, that annular ducts, spiral vessels, and reticular vessels
are three very nearly related forms which pass into each other,
but that they cannot be regarded as temporary grades in the
metamorphosis of the same vascular tube.

Much has been said in the former reports concerning this
metamorphosis of the spiral into annular fibres, and it is to be
hoped that the discussion will soon be ended ; all that M. Mohl
has brought forward against the new theory of Schleiden I
myself can fully confirm, if that were necessary, both by former

M even's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany. 253

and also by new observations, and I have often declared that
no one has ever seen the tearing of the spiral fibres ; but that
the reticular spiral tubes are produced from developed annu-
lar tubes, I think I may positively assert ; Imp aliens Balsa-
mina, and the flower-stalk of Musa, showed me this very
plainly.

In the cells of the outer layer of the capsule of Hepatica,
where rings only are almost always found, and interrupted,
inasmuch as they do not extend over the outer wall of the
cells, one can see that they are really original, and are not pro-
duced by the resorption of isolated ends of the spiral fibres *.

M. Decaisnef has laid before the Academy at Paris a trea-
tise on the structure of the beetroot, on which M. Brongniart
has given a report. M. Decaisne observed the development
of the beet from the germination of the seed up to its perfect
state ; he saw that the beet consisted as rt were of two parts
of distinct origin ; the upper part formed out of the enlarged
stipes, the lower out of the rootlets of the embryo. The se-
paration of both parts may be seen in sections of the root by
means of the pith, which is continued in the form of a cone as
far as the commencement of the root, but is wanting in the
true root. Round about the pith are true spiral tubes, but
in the true root there are only reticular tubes.

The vascular bundles stand in regular circles, and their
number increases toward the exterior ; outwardly they are sur-
rounded by fine elongated cells which represent the woody
tissue of plants. In the beet there are three different tissues :
1. Parenchyma, which is colourless in the common beet, but
in others is filled with a red or yellow sap. 2. The reticular
spiral tubes. 3. Elongated cellular tissue, which is very fine
and transparent, and accompanies the spiral tubes, but is ge-
nerally deposited towards the exterior.

This tissue represents, by the position it occupies as well as
by the lacteous vessels it contains, both the ligneous tissue and
the bast of the bark. That the parenchyma of the beet con-
tains little or no sugar is well known ; it may be distinguished
by the taste alone, that the cellulo-vascular parts of the beet
are sweeter than the others. M. Raspail's hypothesis, that
the sugar is found in the spiral tubes, is, as might be expected,
completely disproved by M. Decaisne's researches, and he con-
cludes that the sugar is formed principally in the fine tissue
which surrounds the spiral tubes. The upper part of the root

* Vide Muller's Archiv, 1839, tab. xiii. fig. 47.

t Rapport fait a l'Academie par M. Ad. Brongniart, Janv. 14, 1839. —
Annates des Sciences Nat., xi. p. 49.

25 4 Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany.

which projects out of the earth contains the smallest quan-
tity of sugar, but often exhibits a large number of crystals,
which are also very commonly found in the leaves of this
plant.

In the report published in Berlin, 1838, p. 21, we an-
nounced M. Decaisne's excellent work on the Lardizabalece,
which has now appeared*. M. Decaisne speaks at large on
the anatomical structure of the stem of the Menispermece and
the Aristolochice, in order to show that the arrangement of the
natural families cannot be effected by means of the structure
of the plant. The porous tubes of the Coniferce and Cycadece
have been found in Gnetum and Tasmannia, &c. ; he more-
over shows that Prof. Lindley made a great mistake in stating
the structures of the Menispermece and Aristolochice to be
similar, and that the want of zones in the stems which he ex-
amined led him to consider the Menispermece as standing in
the middle between the Mono- and Dicotyledons. M. Decaisne
then describes the structure of the wood of Aristolochia la-
biosa, Ar. sypho, Ar. clematitis ; the latter is exactly similar to
the first. He also examined Menispermum canadense and
Cocculus lauri/olius, and draws the following conclusions : —
1. That the Menispermece are developed differently from the
other Dicotyledons : annual zones are not present ; each lig-
neous fascicle remains simple, and the bast when once formed
does not visibly enlarge. 2. That the single ligneous fascicle
of the Menispermece cannot be compared with those of the
Monocotyledons, as is done by Prof. Lindley, for they increase
annually, and are placed regularly around the pith ; moreover
the bast takes no part in their formation. 3. Some plants, as
for instance Cocculus lauri/olius and Cissampelos Pareira, have
a very anomalous structure ; and M. Decaisne here describes
that of the stem of Cocc. lauri/olius, which is quite similar to
that of Cissampelos which I have described in my ' Physiology/
vol. i. p. 374. In Cocc. lauri/olius, as in the Dicotyledons,
a layer of spiral tubes the fibre of which could be unrolled
was found only in the first deposit of wood, and close to the
pith. Finally, 4. M. Decaisne declares that the Aristolochice
cannot, on account of their structure, be so strictly classed
with the Menispermece : their ligneous fascicles divide towards
the bark ; and the bast, which in a young state forms a circle,
divides afterwards into two nearly equal parts, and these di-
vide and subdivide again as the diameter of the branch in-
creases ; but the bundles of bast always bear a relation to

* Archives da Museum d'Hist. Nat., i. Paris, 1839, p. 143.

Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany. 255

the number of the ligneous bundles which have been formed
by the above-mentioned division.

M. Schleiden has published ' Botanical Notices ' (Wieg-
mann's Archiv, i. p. 211), in which several points of anatomy
and physiology are treated of; 1 must refer the reader to the
original treatise.

Observations on the presence of certain assimilated and secreted
substances in Plants.

M. Morren* has published a short memoir on the presence
of fatty and volatile oils in the cellular tissue of different
plants, wherein attention is directed to several new facts.
The author first gives a view of the results of observations on
this subject, extracted from my works, and mentions that fatty
or fixed oils are only formed within the cells, while the aethe-
real oils make their appearance in peculiar, more complicated
organs, as in glands, oil-channels, &c. M. Morren says, that
from this one might believe that the aethereal oils, on account
of their many peculiarities, are more perfectly elaborated, and
therefore require peculiar organs for their formation, while the
simple fatty oils are produced in the common cells. However
these statements are not complete, for in my ' Physiology/
vol. ii. p. 493, it is stated expressly, " The secretion of these
volatile oils takes place in peculiar glands, either simple or
compound ; but in greater quantity in the internal glands.
In general however the volatile oil is deposited in the common
cells of the different parts of the plant, where it appears in the
sap more or less plainly in the form of small oily drops or even
in large masses. This is almost always the case in the petals,
and it is very rare that the oil is secreted in internal glands. 5 '
M. Morren observed the presence of drops of an aethereal oil
in the cells of the epidermis of the stamens of Sparmamiia
africana, where it was first yellow and afterwards became
red, and it is stated, that during the formation of this oil, the
walls of the cells became thickened. Also in the cells of the
epidermis of the upper surface of the leaf of Ophrys ovata, M.
Morren found an aethereal oil, but it appears that it is only
there during the time the plant is in blossom. [In another of
the Orchidece, namely, in Pleurothallis ruscifolia, in the cells
of the upper epidermis of the leaves, I have observed an oil,
which had some similarity with a fatty oil. — Mey.~\ For at a
later period M. Morren could not discover it, and therefore
he says that these observations prove to a certainty that the
aethereal oil is formed in the cells and preserved there some

* Bulletin de l'Acad. Row de Bruxelles, vi. No. 6.

256 M even's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany.

time, until it is absorbed in order to grease the cuticle (le
derme), so that it may not be wetted by the rain. As yet, it
has always been believed that the bluish wax-like substance
which is found on plums executes this office ; however he now
begins to believe that it is the aethereal oil which is formed
in the cells and then exudes.

In the epidermal cells of the leaves of Colchicum autumnale,
M. Morren also found an oil (in spring), which did not move
in water as the oils in the two above-mentioned plants did,
and therefore it is probably a fatty oil ; M. Morren thinks that
this also exudes through the walls of the cells to the cuticle
and protects it from rain. In the oily seeds of Linum austri-
acum, Papaver spectabile and Brassica campestris oleracea, it
appeared to M. Morren that the oil was between the cells,
and that within them there was no trace of it. Finally M.
Morren mentions the large-stalked glands of Passiflora foetida
as secreting an aethereal oil on the surface. This is however
by no means uncommon, and is the case more or less with all
such stalked compound glands, and I have described the
same in the simple glands on the surface of Melissa offici-
nalis.

In a short memoir M. Morren* has described the circum-
stances under which gum is found in the reservoirs in the
leaf-stalk of the Cycadea ; he remarks, that when one cuts off
the frond (wedel) of this plant so that more or less of the leaf-
stalks remain on the stem, the gum exudes on this surface
from the gum-passages ; and that from this it follows that the
gum ascends from the stem into the frond, but does not, as
physiologists have up to this time believed [? ?], descend from
the leaves into the stem. If the stumps of the leaf-stalks are
only two or three inches long, the gum exudes in the form of
a long vermicular body ; M. Morren observed it two or even
above four centimetres long ; in all experiments the gum was
seen to proceed upwards, but not downwards. I have repeated
several of these experiments and certainly found them to be
correct, but I have also made some others which perhaps like-
wise explain the phaenomenon. If a strong frond be bent into
pieces six to eight inches long, and these inverted in water, the
exudation of gum from the openings of the reservoirs is ob-
served ; but here it passes downwards, and it seems to me that
it may be explained by assuming an absorption of water by
which the gum is expanded, and thus a quantity is forced out of
the upper opening. When the gum exudes from the stumps left
on the stem, one may suppose that a quantity of the nutritive

* Bulletin de l'Acad. Roy. de Bruxelles, vi. No. 8.

On the Phosphorescence of Zoophytes. 257

sap of the stem is absorbed by the gum which thereby ex-
pands and at length exudes from the openings ; but it appears
to me that the facts with which we are as yet acquainted do
not allow us to assume an actual motion of the gum in the
containing vessels.

M. Morren assumes that this gum is formed by the meta-
morphosis of the amylum in the interior of the stem, and that
it thence passes into the frond. Although this assumption
appears to me as yet groundless, still I can myself bring for-
ward an observation which shows that a very large quantity
of gum is contained in the interior of the pith of the stem of
Encephalartos Frederici Gulielmi. A cavity had been formed
in the interior of the pith into which the amylum metamor-
phosed into gum flowed from the neighbouring cells, and was
collected in a considerable mass, which gradually increased
the size of the cavity.

M. Morren describes moreover the position of the gum-pas-
sages in the frond of Cycas revoluta : they are found both in
the centre and in the circumference in considerable numbers,
and may easily be seen by means of a simple microscope in
every transverse section of the leaf-stalk.

In the leaves these passages are found only on either side
of the nerve. M. Morren saw the ramification of a gum-pas-
sage in the leaf-stalk ; in the bark of the stem it was already
known. The former statements concerning the production
of the gum- vessels and on the structure are also confirmed.
Finally, M. de Coninck has examined chemically the gum from
the leaves of Cycas revoluta, but for this purpose he could not
obtain a perfectly pure substance : the incinerated leaves con-
tained 4*95 per cent, of inorganic substances consisting prin-
cipally of carbonate of lime, which was probably produced
from the oxalate ; moreover free oxalic acid was found in the
leaflets.

[To be continued.]

XXXIII. — On the Phosphorescence of Zoophytes. By the
Rev. David Landsborough, of Stevenston, in Ayrshire.

In Dr. Johnston's ' History of British Zoophytes/ he quotes,
in his description of Sertularia pumila, the following passage
from Stewart : — " This species, and probably many others, in
some particular states of the atmosphere, gives out a phos-
phoric light in the dark. If a leaf of the above Fucus serratus
with the Sertularia upon it, receive a smart stroke with a
stick in the dark, the whole coralline is most beautifully illu-
Ann. $ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. S

258 The Rev. D. Landsborough on

minated, every denticle seeming to be on fire." I have lately
discovered that it is not only probable that many others ex-
hibit the same phenomenon; but that it is absolutely certain
that they do so. I had thought that in making the experi-
ment it would be necessary to put the sea-weed to which the
Sertularia was attached into a vessel of sea-water, but I find
that it can be made with less trouble.

About two months ago I brought from the shore in a
pocket vasculum or tin box, some Zoophytes attached to sea-
weeds, and laid the vasculum on the lobby table till I should
have leisure to examine them. When night came I put my
hand into the vasculum to remove some of the Zoophytes for
inspection, and on moving them I found to my surprise and
delight that they began to sparkle. Remembering what I had
read in the extract given above, as I took them up, I gave
them a hearty shake, and they instantly became quite bril-
liant, like handfuls of little stars or sparkling diamonds. To
ascertain what were the Zoophytes that emitted this phos-
phorescent light, it was necessary to take them up singly by
candle-light, and afterwards to make the experiment in the
dark. The first I tried was Valckeria cuscuta, with which I
was successful. From Sertularia polyzonias and Cellularia
reptans little light arose ; Laomedea geniculata was very lumi-
nous, every cell for a few moments becoming a star ; and as
each polype had a will of its own, they lighted and extin-
guished their little lamps, not simultaneously, but with rapid
irregularity, so that this running fire had a very lively ap-
pearance. Flustra membranacea also was very beautiful,
though very different from the former ; for as the cells are so
closely and regularly arranged, it exhibited, when shaken, a
simultaneous blaze, and became for a little like a sheet of fire.
With Flustra pilosa I was very successful. That variety of
it which is spread on a flat surface, and which, from the form
that the polypidom assumes, is the Membranipora stellata
of Thompson, on being bent or shaken, became doubly enti-
tled to the name of stellated, for every polype in its cell
lighted up a very brilliant little star, and for a short time the
polypidom became like an illuminated city.

After some days, I repeated the experiment with other
Zoophytes, and with similar success. A third time I brought
home a well-filled vasculum ; but as I happened to be other-
wise occupied, it was allowed to lie unopened for five or six
days, when, thinking that the Zoophytes would be dead, I cast
them out along with the sea-weeds to which they were ad-
hering. They lay in the open air for a night and a day, and
as it rained heavily during the whole time, weeds and Zo-

the Phosphorescence of Zoophytes. 259

ophytes were constantly drenched. When the second night
had set in, I thought I would try whether there were any
symptoms of remaining life. I shook Laomedea geniculata,
but its tiny fires were quenched. Membranipora stellata
lighted up just one bright star ; and Flustra membranacea
shed one faint gleam of light, and refused to repeat the fire,
however much shaken.

About a week after, I brought home a fresh supply ; and
on repeating the experiment, not only did the Zoophytes
sparkle, but my fingers in handling them became brilliant,
being adorned with little stars.

The next time I made trial of these ee minims " was in the
end of October, when a very frosty morning had been suc-
ceeded by a very sunny day. On that occasion Sertularia po-
lyzonias, Cellularia reptans, Flustra membranacea, and Mem-
branipora stellata would emit no light. As the specimens
had lain for hours on the shore exposed to the morning frost
and the midday sun, it is probable that the polypes were dead.
Laomedea geniculata was taken up quite moist and fresh, ha-
ving been covered with sea-weeds ; and when the darkness of
evening came, not only did they brightly sparkle when roughly
handled, but they emitted a strong smell of phosphorus. On
being allowed to rest, they immediately ceased to be luminous ;
and though on being shaken or pressed with the fingers
they shone forth again, if often repeated the light became
fainter.

On this occasion I made an experiment with a creature
belonging to another department. Having found a very large
specimen of Botryllus Schlosseri, one of the Mollusca tuni-
cata, I subjected it to the experimentum cruets by shaking it
roughly in the dark, and I had the satisfaction of seeing that
it was as much disposed as the Zoophytes to resent the in-
sult. In this case, however, it was not the sparkling wrath of
a pigmy multitude, but the overspreading glow of one massy
creature, which all shone, though with a lurid and sullen-
looking fire.

The last time I repeated the experiment was in the begin-
ning of the present month of November. I tried Sertularia
pumila, the Zoophyte mentioned by Mr. Stewart as phospho-
rescent ; but though roughly shaken, it remained dark. I was
equally unsuccessful with several others ; but the tiny polypes
had lain for hours on the shore, under a November sky, and
the spark of life I suppose had become extinct. A specimen
of Laomedea geniculata, which from being covered was quite
fresh, was as brilliant as usual, and emitted as formerly its
phosphoric odour. I tried for the first time the elegant Pin-

S2

260 Dr. R. Wight on the Fruit of the

mularia cristata, and though it had been too long exposed to
the cold air, it emitted, on being shaken, a little light. Only
a few of the denticles sent forth their stars, and they were
very minute, and of a darker red.

From these experiments, may we not surmise that the
power of emitting phosphoric light is more generally pos-
sessed by the inhabitants of the deep than we are apt to
imagine ? We are not yet at liberty to say that it is pos-
sessed by all marine Zoophytes ; but certain it is that it is
by many. Neither are we entitled to say that it is possessed
by all Mollusca tunicata ; but we know for certain, what I
think was not known before, that it is the property of one of
them; and what is possessed by one, may also belong to
more. As little are we entitled to say that it is possessed by
all the little Medusa which as transparent jellies abound in
the sea ; but as it is known that it is possessed by some of
them, may they not in general be phosphorescent when agi-
tated ? And as they are at times very numerous in the sea,
may not the beautiful phosphorescence of sea-water at certain
seasons, when put in motion, be owing to them and to marine
Infusories, which in numbers numberless are found in the
deep? And is it certain that it is not possessed by some
fishes ? The first time I spent a summer night at sea was in
the herring fishing season ; and the sailors showed me how to
ascertain whether the herring shoals were near at handv
When a smart blow was given to the vessel, the percussion
was communicated to the deep, and immediately a flash of
light was seen at a considerable depth, and this the sailors as-
sured me was from the shoal of herrings. If this was phos-
phoric light emitted by these finny wanderers, then is this
phosphorescent quality possessed by Zoophytes, Medusae,
Mollusca tunicata, and fishes. D. L.

XXXIV. — Remarks on the Fruit of the Natural Order Cucur-
bitaceae. By Robert Wight, M.D., F.L.S., &c*

The order Cucurbit acece is perhaps one of the most curious
and inexplicable in the system of plants, and though at differ-
ent times much studied by several eminent botanists, is still
imperfectly understood ; at least if we may judge from the
fact, that no two writers on the distribution of plants accord-
ing to their natural affinities seem to agree as to what families
are its nearest allies. It is not now my intention to examine

* From the Madras Journal of Literature and Science, No. 28, p. 43.

Natural Order Cucurbitaceae. 261

this question, for which, indeed, I have not at present leisure,
even supposing I possessed the requisite materials, which I
do not ; but merely to offer a few observations on the general
character of the family and fruit, introductory to a Conspectus
of the genera of the order, with which Dr. Arnott kindly
favoured me, and at the same time permitted me to place on
the pages of the [Madras] Society's Journal, should I deem
that desirable. Deeming the conspectus really a most desi-
rable addition to our Indian botanical literature, I have much
pleasure in submitting it for that purpose, in the hope that
the Society may be of the same opinion.

The Cucurbitacece are a tribe of plants so very unlike the
rest of the vegetable kingdom, that I think I may safely say,
no one having the slightest knowledge of family likeness
among plants could ever mistake so far as to refer one of
them to any other family. Though thus isolated from all
around, and without a single near relation with whom they
can be justly compared or confounded, they yet stretch their
more remote affinities on all sides ; hence the difficulties which
systematic writers find in decisively referring them to any one
place, more than another, in the series of orders. Nearly all,
however, now agree in placing them among orders having pa-
rietal placentae, that is, among plants the ovary of which is
one-celled.

To any one who will take the trouble to look attentively at
a slice of a young cucumber this must appear strange, but is
yet not the less true. In one of the latest and best introduc-
tions to botany in the English language, Dr. Lindley's, a pe-
ponida, the peculiar fruit of the order, is thus defined : —
" One-celled, many-seeded, inferior, indehiscent, fleshy ; the
seeds attached to parietal pulpy placentas. This fruit has its
cavity frequently filled at maturity with pulp, in which the
seeds are imbedded ; their point of attachment is, however,
never lost. The cavity is also occasionally divided by pro-
jections of the placentae into spurious cells, which has given
rise to the belief that in Pepo macrocarpus there is a central
cell, which is not only untrue but impossible."

Dr. Arnott, in the article Botany, i Encyclop. Brit./ ed. 7?
gives a different account of it, but still, it appears to me, far
from a correct one, namely, — ie A pepo or peponida is a fleshy
inferior fruit, either indehiscent or bursting irregularly, and
consisting of about three carpels, each of which is divided into
two cells by its placentiferous margin, being so introflexed as
to reach the dorsal suture. The sides of the carpel, and even
sometimes the introflexed portion, usually become extremely
thick and fleshy, forming the great mass of the ripe fruit, so

262 Dr. R. Wight on the Fruit of the

that by losing the general character of dissepiments they
might almost be said to disappear ; and thus at first sight a
pepo would be said to be, and has been so described, a one-
celled, fleshy, indehiscent fruit, with parietal placentae, that
send out sometimes false dissepiments towards the axis, as the
cucumber and gourd."

This view, therefore, is essentially different from Dr. Lind-
ley's ; for, according to Arnott, the placentae are virtually
central, not parietal ; the only difference between a pepo and
an apple being, according to him, that the place ntiferous
margins of the carpellary leaf are introflexed, and extend out-
wards nearly to the parietes of the fruit, in place of remain-
ing in the axis. Lindley, on the other hand, views a pepo
simply as a one-celled fruit with parietal placentae, the cavity
being occasionally divided into spurious cells by projections
of the placentae. Neither are altogether consonant with ap-
pearances, though that of Arnott appears the most so ; but
both, in common with all others that have yet been promul-
gated, are incorrect both as to theory and fact.

While our ideas of the structure of the most essential or-
gan of the plant, with reference to natural affinities, are thus
vague, can it be matter of surprise that we are unable to trace
its relations, and determine its affinities in the system of
plants ?

What then is a peponida ? I have said above that it is
neither a one-celled fruit with parietal placentae, nor a three-
celled one with introflexed central placentae. But before I
can say what it is, and point out the difference between it and
a fruit of the usual construction, it is necessary to state what
the usual structure is. This I shall do by means of a short
extract from Lindley's c Key to Structural Botany/

" 354. A Carpel, is formed by a folded leaf, the upper sur-
face of which is turned inwards, the lower outwards ; and the
margins of which develope one or a greater number of buds,
which are the ovules.

"355. When the carpels are stalked, they are said to be
seated upon a thecaphore, or gynophore; Ex. Cleome,Passiflora.
Their stalk is analogous to the petiole of a leaf.

"355 a. When the carpels are all distinct, or are separable
with facility, they are apocarpous ; when they all grow into a
solid body, which cannot be separated into its constituent
parts, they are syncarpous.

"356. The ovary is the lamina of the leaf.

"357. The style is an elongation of the midrib (174.).

"358. The stigma is the denuded, secreting, humid apex of
the midrib.

Natural Order Cucurbitaceae. 263

" 359. Where the margins of the folded leaf, out of which
the carpel is formed, meet and unite, a copious development
of cellular tissue takes place, forming what is called the pla-
centa.

"360. Every placenta is therefore composed of two parts,
one of which belongs to one margin of the carpel, and one to
the other.

"361. As the carpels are modified leaves, they necessarily
obey the laws of arrangement of leaves, and are therefore de-
veloped round a common axis.

" 362. And as they are leaves folded inwards, their margins
are necessarily turned towards the axis. The placentae, there-
fore, being formed by the union of those margins, will be in-
variably next the axis."

From this we learn, in few words, that the carpellary leaf is
always so folded that its midrib is towards the circumference,
or forms the dorsum of the cell or carpel, while the placenti-
ferous margins are placed in the axis ; that the difference be-
tween a one-celled and many-celled fruit merely consists in
the placentiferous margins of the carpellary leaves of the
former not extending inwards to the axis, but stopping in the
circumference and bearing their ovules attached to the walls
of the cell — hence parietal. This position of the carpellary
leaf is so constant, that the possibility of an inversion of this
order of things in a pepo seems never to have entered into
the calculations of any one of the numerous botanists who
have given their attention to the investigation of the structure
of this curious fruit ; and yet such is simply the case. In a
pepo the normal position of the midrib of the carpellary leaf
is reversed, that is, is placed in the axis, and the placentife-
rous margins towards the circumference. That such is actually
the case requires no argument to prove ; we have only to cut
the ovary of any true cucurbitaceous plant to be made sen-
sible, at a glance, that it is so ; though I confess that in none
have I seen it so clearly made out as in Coccinia indica, owing
to the carpels of that species remaining distinct, merely held
together, not as usual by cohesion between the respective car-
pels, but by the tube of the calyx in which they are enclosed.
Did I wish to illustrate the theory by means of a diagram, I
could not devise one more perfect than a simple section of the
ovary of that plant, merely extending the natural divisions,
by dividing the calyx, so as to allow each of the carpels to be
slightly separated in the representation, to facilitate the de-
monstration. This, however, is I think even unnecessary, for
with the clue to the true structure which this species fur-
nishes, there can no longer be any difficulty in understand-

264 Dr. R. Wight on the Fruit of the

ing it from the examination of any genuine species of the
order*.

What effect this new exposition of the structure of the ova-
rium may have on the determination of the affinities of this
order, I am, up to the present time, quite unprepared to say;
but of this I feel certain, that, in so far as structure is con-
cerned, they are as far removed from all their now reputed al-
lies, as their peculiar habit removes them from all the parietose
families, except Passiflorae, among which Bartling, Endlicher
and Lindley have placed them. This very unusual structure,
in short, marks them as a peculiar order, the affinities of which
have still to be sought for.

I am equally unprepared to say to what extent this unlooked-
for structure may influence our views in regard to other ano-
malous orders, especially those with solitary carpels ; since,
having established the fact that the usual structure may be
inverted, it will naturally lead to new investigations, which
may prove that the solitary carpels of Leguminosa are not, as
now supposed, necessarily the result of constant abortion of
one of two carpel! a, but may be explained on some other
theory more consonant with the almost invariably observed
structure in that large and interesting order ; which, like Cu-
curbitacea, stands an isolated family in the system of plants,
through this one remarkable peculiarity, — a peculiarity so
constant, in this tribe, that it goes far to prove the existence
of that botanical nonentity, a terminal leaf. But, being un-
prepared to offer any matured opinions on these points, I for-
bear further speculation, and shall at once proceed with the
Conspectus ; trusting however, ere long, to be able to re-enter
more at large on the consideration of this interesting inquiry.

The subjoined remarks I copy from the article Cucurbi-
tacece in my forthcoming Number of the 6 Illustrations of In-
dian Botany/

" The following explanatory extracts from the letter which
accompanied the Conspectus may not inappropriately be in-
troduced.

" ' I have lately been revising our East Indian Cucurbit acece,
in consequence of Schrader's paper in the c Linnaea/ vol. xii.
At first I was inclined to consider it worse than useless to sub-
divide old genera, especially Bryonia, as he has done ; but

* After this paper was in the printer's hands, it was suggested that some
illustrations were desirable to render the verbal description more easily un-
derstood. The accompanying figures representing the three different forms
of ovaries — one- celled with parietal placentae, several-celled with central
placentae, and a peponida — were therefore prepared.

Natural Order Cucurbitaceae. 265

when I came to consider his sectional characters, and that the
form and position of the stamens and anthers and stigma and
fruit are really the only characters hitherto employed for ge-
nera by other botanists ; and that all Schrader has done, is to
keep only those species in their old genera that agree with the
character, and turning out and making new genera of those
that do not, then I felt inclined to go great lengths towards
adopting his views. I intend here to give you a Conspectus,
or abridged generic characters, which I have drawn up, not
only for the Indian, but also for the whole world, which I shall
not object to your publishing as c abridged characters of the
genera of the tribe Cucurbitece of Schrader/ '

"At the conclusion of the Conspectus he continues, —
( These seem to be all the genera known that truly belong to
Cucurbitece ; they have all unisexual flowers. Gronovia has
them bisexual, but is otherwise very closely allied. Allasia
cannot be of this order unless we suppose the description
quite erroneous ; and if so, Loureiro may have had before
him, in part at least, the Telfairia pedata ; Myrianthus cannot
belong to Cucurbit acea.

" c Thladianthus Runge is imperfectly described as to the
stamens, but may perhaps form a seventh tribe.

" ( I have laboured under great difficulty in making out
these characters, partly because the published descriptions
were very imperfect, partly because I had not several of the
genera, and partly from the extreme difficulty of examining
the anthers after being dried and pressed. I would therefore
suggest to you and other Indian botanists to re-examine all
the Indian ones on living plants, and have drawings made,
paying particular attention to the representation of the anthers.

" e At first you may, as I did, confuse section 7 with section
9 ; but if you will compare the flower of Citrullus, Momordica
or Lagenaria with Cucurbita or Coccinia, you will readily see
the difference. In section 7 the connectivum is lobed, and the
anther-cells are placed along the edge of the lobes ; in sections
8 and 9 the connectivum is not itself lobed, but the anther-
cell is bent (it winds upwards and downwards along the back
of the connectivum)/

" Warned by the concluding paragraph of the difficulty at-
tending the description of these plants from dried specimens,
I took occasion, as opportunity offered, to compare some of
the sectional characters with recent specimens, and feel dis-
posed to think the sections too numerous and not sufficiently
distinguished. I have not yet succeeded in comparing the
whole, but would suggest the following alterations, which I
think would improve the arrangement.

266 Dr. R. Wight on the Fruit of the

" Section 6 might with advantage be suppressed, and its
only genus referred to section 5. Sections 7 and 9 would be
better united, the anthers being the same in both ; transfer-
ring, however, Cucurbita to section 8, on account of the an-
thers, which are similar to those of Trichosanthes, making the
insertion of the filaments a matter of secondary consideration
— a generic, not a sectional distinction.

ei The difference between sections 7 and 8 would then be,
not that in the former the anther is lobed and in the other
entire, but that in section 7 the back is traversed by an ele-
vated gyrose ridge, on the top of which the longgyrose anther
is placed ; while in section 8 there is no such elevation, the
anther-cell being sunk into the substance of the connectivum,
not elevated on a ridge with a deep furrow between each bend.
To this may be added, that the connectiva in section 8 are
elongated ; hence, from the union of the three, a cylinder re-
sults, while in the other their union produces a sort of capi-
tulum.

" Bryonia Garcini, doubtfully referred to Bryonia, is a new
species of Pilogyne : Bryonia leiosperma, I find, from the ex-
amination of dried specimens, is a second species of Mukia,
with which it agrees well in habit.

" Notwithstanding these differences of opinion, it is not my
intention to alter the Conspectus, but print it simply as it
reached me, the few additions I have to make being included
within brackets — thus [ ] . Before proceeding further it may
be well to explain what is meant by the term tri-adelphous, as
applied to this family, which is of such frequent occurrence in
the following characters. The normal structure of Cucurbi-
tacece is to have five stamens, in place of which we usually
find only three ; but when these are carefully examined, it ap-
pears that two of them are twice the size of the third, and are
actually made up of two united : each set is then called an
adelphia or brotherhood, and the three together, tri-adelphous.
This structure is readily seen in the Pekunkei (Cucumis acu-
tangulus, Ainsley), where the anthers do not cohere. In those
where they do cohere it is not so clearly seen, as they then
require to be separated artificially before it can be made out.

" In some genera the anthers are described as being one- or
two-celled : these characters require to be used with caution,
as being generally of very difficult application in practice.
Theoretically every anther is two-celled ; and here, in exami-
ning a number of instances with particular care, under a high
magnifier, I have found most of them actually two-celled,
though on less careful examination they appeared only one-
celled. If such is the case when examined with fresh speci-

Natural Order Cucurbitaceae. 267

mens, how much more liable to error must we be when work-
ing with dried ones !

CONSPECTUS, OR ABRIDGED CHARACTERS OF THE GE-
NERA OF THE TRIBE CUCURBITE^E * OF SCHRADER.

§ 1. Filaments 5, inserted on the throat of the corolla ; anthers
distinct or 3-adelphous, anticous, straight ; fruit baccate, few-
seeded.

1. Coniandra (Schrad.). Corolla 5-partite; connectiva conniving,

oblong, conical ; fruit beaked. South Africa.

2. Cyrtonema (Schrad.). Limb of corolla 5-partite ; filaments 5,

incurved; connectiva incrassated, 3-adelphous; anthers fixed
laterally under the apex. South Africa.

§ 2. Filaments di- or tri-adelphous, inserted on the tube of the
corolla; anthers lateral, straight, 2 — 3-adelphous.

3. Sicydium (Schlecht). Corolla 5-petaled, petals undivided; fila-

ments 3-adelphous, dilated and incurved at the apex ; anthers
without a beak. Mexico.

4. Bryonopsis (Arn.). Corolla 5-partite ; lobes obovate, entire, un-

dulated ; filaments 3-adelphous, inserted on the throat, straight ;
anthers pointless ; stigma fringed ; berry few-seeded. Fast
Indies — Courtallum.

5. Achmandra (Arn.). Lobes of the corolla undivided ; filaments

tri-adelphous, very short ; anthers anticous, inserted along the
margins of the connectivum, linear, oblong ; connectivum pro-
longed into a short beak beyond the anther ; fruit baccate (al-
ways ?) beaked. East Indies. Bryonia epigcea, rostrata, del-
toidea, and an undescribed species from Malabar.
Obs. Perhaps this and the two last genera might be joined to
Melothria.

6. Melothria (Linn.). Lobes of the corolla undivided, denticu-

lated ; filaments 3-adelphous ; connectivum pointless ; fruit bac-
cate, not beaked. America.
Obs. Schrader notices an East Indian one, but that may perhaps
be an Achmandra.

7. Ceratosanthes (Schrad.). Lobes of the corolla linear, bifid ;

filaments 3-adelphous. America.

8. Anguria (Linn.). Lobes of the corolla entire; stamens di-adel-

phous ; fruit somewhat 4 -angled. America.

§ 3. Filaments 3-adelphous, inserted on the top of the tube; anthers
all cohering by means of their connectiva, and applied at the
back along the margins of the connectiva, sigmoid. 2-celled. (?)

9. Schizostigma (Am.). Style simple ; stigma peltate, fleshy, cleft

» This tribe contains all the East Indian genera except Zanonia.
Schrader refers Erythropalum of Blume to Cucurbitece, but that genus is
very closely allied to Mackaya (Arnott in Jardine's Mag. of Zool. andBot.,
vol. ii.), and does not belong to the order.

268 Dr. R. Wight on the Fruit of the

into 10 — 12 radiating linear lobes. Andes of Mendosa. (Cucur-
bita asperata, Gill.)

§ 4. Filaments distinct or 3-adelphous, inserted on the throat of
the corolla ; anthers 6- or 3-adelphous, gyrose, anticous.

10. Sphenanthe (Schrad.). Mexico.

§ 5. Filaments 3-adelphous, inserted at the base of the corolla;
anthers lateral, straight, 3-adelphous.

11. Pilogyne (Schrad.). Calyx campanulate ; segments of the co-
rolla patent, mudh longer than the calyx ; anthers 1 -celled ;
style entire; stigma 1, pileate ; fruit baccate, few-seeded, ob-
tuse. South Africa. [East Indies — Bryonia Garcini ?]

12. Zehneria (Endl. ?). Lobes of the corolla quite entire ; style

trifid ; stigmas 3, flabelliform, quite entire ; fruit baccate, few-
seeded, blunt. South Africa, East Indies, and ? Norfolk Island.
— Bryonia Mysorensis, B. Hookeriana.
Perhaps this is only a subgenus of Pilogyne.

13. Karivia (Arn.). Calyx urceolate; corolla scarcely exserted ;
lobes minute, quite entire ; anthers 2-celled; style entire ; stigma
pileate, 3-fid ; fruit a peponida, many-seeded, blunt, or with a
short thick beak. East Indies, Bryonia umbellata. B. amplexi-
caulis.

14. Rhynchocarpa (Schrad.). Lobes of the corolla denticulate,

ciliated ; style trifid ; stigmas 3, jagged and toothed ; fruit with
along slender beak. Guinea.

§ 6. Filaments tri-adelphous, inserted at the base of the corolla;
anthers all cohering, posticous, linear, straight.

15. Mukia (Arn.). Style entire ; stigmas 3, more or less cohering,

erect; anthers distinct, 1 -celled, lateral: [connectivum pro-
longed, forming a projecting point : a globose abortive ovary in
the bottom of the calyx.] East Indies — Bryonia scabrella. [B.
leiospermaJ]

§ 7. Filaments 5- or 3-adelphous, inserted at the base of the co-
rolla ; connectiva toothed or lobed ; anthers applied at the back
along the margins of the connectivum, and therefore flexuose,
gyrose, or anfractuose.

16. Bryonia (Linn.). Corolla 5-cleft; anthers tri-adelphous, 1-
celled ; style trifid ; stigmas subreniform or bifid ; fruit ovoid or
globose, baccate, few-seeded. Europe and East Indies — B. la-
ciniosa, India. B. alba, B. dioica, Europe. Perhaps also B. Gar-
cini and leiosperma, but of these I have no male flowers by me
to examine. [B. Garcini. Stamens tri-adelphous, 1 -celled; cells
linear, marginal, not sigmoid, anticous ; style one ; stigma di-
lated, peltate ; ovary few- seeded ; pepo inverse, reniform, 2-
seeded. This is probably a new genus ; but if not, seems to be-
long to Pilogyne rather than any other here. It cannot pos-
sibly belong to Bryonia, ,]

In the European plants, the type of the genus, there are two ovules

Natural Order Cucurbitaceae. 269

iri. each of the three cells of the ovary : nearly all Blume's spe-
cies belong to other genera.

17. Citrullus (Schrad.). Corolla persistent, 5-parted, subrotate ;
anthers tri-adelphous, bilocular ; style trifid ; stigma obcordate,
convex ; fruit a fleshy or dry and fibrous, many- seeded pepo-
nida. Africa, East Indies — Cucurbita Citrullus and Cucumis co-
locynthis.

18. Ecbaliam (Rich.). Corolla 5 - cleft ; anthers tri-adelphous;
ovules in 2 rows in each cell ; stigmas 3, 2-horned ; fruit an
elastically and irregularly bursting peponida. Europe — Momor-
dica Elaterium.

19. Momordica (Linn.). Petals 5, adnate to the base of the calyx,
deciduous ; anthers all cohering ; ovules in a single row * in
each cell ; stigma 2-lo"bed ; fruit a capsular, elastically bursting,
3-valved peponida. East Indies, South Africa and America.

To this genus seem to belong Muricia, Loureiro, and Neurosper-
mum, Raf.

20. Luffa (Cav.). Petals 5, inserted in the base of the calyx, de-
ciduous ; anthers all distinct or di-tri-adelphous ; style 3-fid ;
stigma reniform or bipartite ; fruit a peponida, at length dry and
internally fibrous, usually opening by a terminal lid, rarely in-
dehiscent. East Indies and Arabia. There are three sections
of this genus.

1st. Stamens distinct, Luffa pentandra, acutangula, and Kleinii.
2nd. Stamens 3-adelphous. L. amara, Roxb., and nearly all the

species of Turia, Forsk.
3rd. Stamens di-adelphous — L. tuberosa, Roxb.

21. Benincassa (Sav.). Corolla (yellow) 5-parted, patent; anthers

3-adelphous ; style undivided, very short; stigma large, thick,
irregularly lobed and plaited; peponida fleshy, indehiscent.
Asia.

22. Lagenaria (Ser.). Corolla (white) 5-petaled; anthers 3-adel-
phous ; style almost none ; stigmas 3, thick and 2-lobed ; pepo-
nida fleshy and indehiscent. India, South Africa.

§ 8. Filaments 3-adelphous, inserted on the tube of the corolla ;
connectiva entire ; anthers 3- or mon-adelphous,posticous, linear,
bent upwards and downwards ; calyx long, tubular.

23. Trichosanthes (Linn.). Segments of the corolla lacerated and
fringed ; anthers 3-adelphous ? or all united ; style trifid ;
stigmas oblong, subulate ; fruit a peponida, many-seeded. East
Indies.

[In all the species I have had an opportunity of carefully examining, the
anthers are mon-adelphous or united. The style is not trifid, nor pro-

* This, though practically correct, is not theoretically so, the carpellary
structure being the same here as in others ; each margin has its placenta and
ovules : and though at any one section only one row appears, we do not find
the ovules always attached to the same line of placenta on slicing the ovary
successively from end to end, but sometimes on the one, sometimes on the
other side of the cell ; such, at least, I find it in Momordica Charantia.

270 Dr. R. Wight on the Fruit of the

perly speaking the stigmas subulate, as they cohere nearly to the apex
by their central face, though the stigmatic surface extends for some di-
stance outwardly, and presents a somewhat subulate outline.]
I reunite Involucrarea to this as a mere section depending on the
bracteas, the character taken from the anther not holding good,
at least T. cucumerina has frequently the anthers all united, and
I suspect also T. anguina ; perhaps they only become tri-adel-
phous after fecundating.
[In T. anguina they are never tri-adelphous, the anthers cohere to the
last as represented in the accompanying figure. This last species, with
T. globosa and trifoliata, Blume, and Involucrarea, Serange (?'. Wal-
lickana), form a very characteristic section, perhaps a subgenus, distin-
guished by their curiously bracteated male flowers. — R. W.]

24. Gymnopetalum (Am.). Calyx constricted at the mouth; co-
rolla (yellow) 5 -parted; segments quite entire; anthers all
closely cohering ; fruit baccate, ovate, beaked, few- seeded ;
seeds large, roundish, with a blunt margin. East Indies. There
are two species : —

1. G. Ceylanicum (Arn.). Leaves deeply 5-lobed ; perianth gla-
brous. Bryonia tubijlora. W. and A.

2. G. Wightii (Arn.). Leaves 3 — 5, angle-lobed ; perianth hairy.
Courtallum.

§ 9. Filaments usually tri-adelphous, inserted at the base of the
perianth ; connectiva entire, unless when produced into append-
ages beyond the anthers; anthers linear, posticous, bent up-
wards and downwards (calyx campanulate or rarely infundibu-
liform) .

25. Cucumis (Linn.). Corolla 5-parted ; anthers tri-adelphous, or
all of them slightly cohering, with appendages at the apex !
Peponida fleshy, indehiscent, or rarely irregularly dehiscent, po-
ryspermous ; seeds ovate, compressed, sharp-edged. Asia,
Africa and America.

26. Cucurbita (Linn.). Corolla campanulate, 5 - cleft ; filaments
tri-adelphous at the base, or quite mon-adelphous ; anthers all
cohering, without appendages ; peponida fleshy, indehiscent,
polyspermous ; seed with a slightly thickened edge. Asia and
America.

27. Elaterium (Linn.). Petals scarcely united at the base ; fila-

ments mon-adelphous ; anthers all cohering ; style thick ; stigma
capitate ; fruit a coriaceous, 1 -celled, few-seeded capsule, burst-
ing elastically by two or three valves. America.

28. Schizocarpeum (Schlch.). Corolla infundibuliform, quite en-
tire ; filaments 3-adelphous ; anthers all cohering ; peponida
many- seeded, bursting by several valves that cohere by their
apex. Mexico.

29. Coccinia (W. and A.). Corolla campanulate ; segments acu-
minated; filaments mon-adelphous; anthers tri-adelphous, conni-
ving, without appendages ; peponida somewhat baccate, many-
seeded. [Usually of an oblong oval shape, and bright red when
ripe.] East Indies.

Natural Order Cucurbitaceae.

271

30.

Fig.

Fig.
Fig.

Fig.
Fig.

§ 10. Filaments mon-adelphous, connate into a column, which is ca-
pitate at the apex, and then bearing the gyrose posticous anthers.
Cephalandra (Schrad.). South Africa.

EXPLANATION OF THE FICxURES.

1. A tricarpellary 1-celled ovary ; that is, the placentiferous margins

of the carpellary leaves meeting in the circumference, and bearing
their ovules on the walls or parietes of the cell.
a. Supposed position of the midrib. b. Placentae parietal.

2. A tricarpellary 3-celled ovary, the laminae of the carpellary leaves

folded inwards until they meet in the axis, and there produce
ovules.
a. Supposed position of midribs. b. Placentae axillary.

3. An imaginary section of a pepo explanatory of Dr. Arnott's theory

of its construction ; copied, but with some modification, to render
it more explanatory, from his figure in the Encycl. Brit.

a. Supposed position of the midrib.

b. The placentiferous margins represented introflexed, reaching nearly

to the dorsal suture, dividing the carpel into two cells.

4. Section of the ovary of Coccinia indica ; the calyx divided in the

line of the partitions of the carpella, by which they are permitted
to fall apart.

5. Section of the same; the parts in situ.

Obs. — The original is also accompanied by dissections of Mo-
mordica Charantia, Trichosanthes anguina, Cucurbita maxima, Coccinia
indica, Lagenaria vulgaris, and Mukia scabrella, prepared with the
view of showing that sections 7 and 9 are not distinguishable by the
characters assigned, the anthers being lobed or entire ; and that, by
taking our characters rather from the form of the anthers than the
insertion of the filaments, Trichosanthes and Cucurbita might be ad-
vantageously placed in the same section, leaving the character taken
from insertion available as a generic distinction between them.

272 Mr. Westwood on new Insects.

XXXV. — Insectorum novorum Centuria, auctore
J. O. Westwood, F.L.S., &c.

Decadis tertice, ex ordine Dermapterorum, DeG., Synopsis.

Familia Mantid^e.

Vates (Burm. = Theoclytes, Serv.) Ashmolianus, W. Fuscus, ca-
pitis vertice rotundato, antennis gracillimis, prothorace longis-
simo angusto, lateribus serrulatis; hemelytris et alis abdomen
haud tegentibus, cercis analibus latis foliatis, pedibus 4 posticis
brevibus, femoribus ad apicem 3 -foliatis tibiisque ante medium
supra parum foliatis. Long. corp. unc. 4^ ; (prothor. unc. If.)
Habitat ? In Mus. Ashmol. Oxon.

Toxodera (Serv.) tenuipes, W. Fusca, tegminibus brunneis postice
pallidis, alis infumatis, nigro fasciatis cyaneo-iridescentibus,
coxis anticis longis antice lobatis et spinosis, femoribus anticis
basi vix crassioribus, femoribus 4 posticis longis apice subtus
foliolis duobus minutis instructis, supra inermibus, cercis anali-
bus latis foliatis, ut videtur 6-articulatis. Long. corp. unc. 5.
Expans. tegmin. unc. 4£. Habitat in Senegallia. Mus. Hope.

Familia Locustiu^e.

Mastax vitrea, W. Fusca, facie fulvescente abdomine medio palli-
dum, pedibus fuscis, femoribus posticis pallidius fasciatis, tegmi-
nibus et alis hyalinis parum infumatis. Long. corp. unc. 1.
Expans. tegmin. unc. 1|. Habitat in insula Java. Mus. Hope.

Mastax apicalisiW . Lutea, capite supra, thoracis et abdominis dorso
nigricantibus, hoc fascia pone medium apiceque extremo luteis,
pedibus luteis nigro-maculatis, tegminibus et alis hyalinis, ad
apicem tenuiter fusco-coloratis. Long. corp. unc. j. Expans.
tegmin. unc. If. Habitat in insula Sumatra, D. Raffles. Mus.
Soc. Zool. Lond.

Mastax guttata, W. Nigricans, subtus paullo pallidior, facie ge-
nisque luteis vertice angulato ; abdomine $ ad apicem valde
clavato, femoribus posticis fulvo oblique bifasciatis, tegminibus
fuscis, nitidis, guttis duabus versus apicem hyalinis, postica
majori et ad marginem posticum extensa ; alis hyalinis margine
postico fusco. Long. corp. lin. 7. Expans. tegmin. lin. 14£.
Habitat in Sumatra, D. Raffles. Mus. Soc. Zool. Lond. ; et in
ins. Philipp., D. Cuming. Mus. Britann.
Obs. Genus Mastax, antennarum articulis paucis capiteque elevato
Proscopiam approximat.

Opsomala gladiator, W. Luteo-fusca, virescenti pariim tincta, ca-
pite antice in rostrum (prothorace fere duplo longius) producto,
antennis gracilibus, rostro brevioribus, prothorace carina mediana
fere obliterata, tegminibus pallide fuscis, angustis, alis hyalinis
vix incoloratis, abdomine longissimo, pedibus 4 anticis brevissi-
mis, posticis vix abdomine longioribus. Long. corp. unc. 3^.

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 273

Long, capitis ante oculos, unc. f. Expans. tegmin. unc. 3|.
Habitat in Sierra Leone. Mus. Hope.
Tetrix laticeps, W. Fusca, capite lato, oculis valde prominentibus,
facie carina elevata, antennis longioribus 10-articulatis, nigris,
articulo ultimo albo, prothorace abdomine multo longiori apice
gracili parum recurvo, dorso (supra thoracem) in folium mem-
branaceum elevato, lateribus inter pedes 4 anticos in spinam
utrinque productis, pedibus posticis scabris, supra dentatis tarsis
articulo basali et basi articuli ultimi albis. Long, ad apicem pro-
thoracis, lin. 7. Habitat in Brasilia. Mus. Westwood.

Tetrix ensifer, W. Fusco-ferruginosa opaca, prothorace supra ca-
put in rostrum compressum (dimidii abdominis longitudine) por-
rectum apice subbifido ; dorso longitudinaliter carinato, parte
postica abdomine longiore, supra abdomen oblique carinato, apice
acuto, femoribus posticis supra tuberculatis. Long, ad apicem
prothoracis, lin. 9. Habitat in insulis Philippinensibus, D. Cu-
ming. Mus. Britann. Variat rostro prothoracico subtus in
spinam, faciem impendentem, producto, dorsoque supra abdo-
men impressionibus variis ovalibus, magnitudine decrescentibus.
Long. lin. 10.

Tetrix dimidiata, W. Fusco-ferruginosa opaca, prothorace sub-
compresso, dorso fere recto acuto, supra caput parum porrecto,
apice antico deflexo, apice postico dimidium abdominis haud su-
perante, subtruncato, femoribus posticis supra vix tuberculatis.
Long, ad apicem abdominis, lin. 9. Habitat cum pnecedente,
D. Cuming. Mus. Britann.

Tetrix areolata, W. Fusco-arenosa rugosa opaca, setis brevibus
fuscis induta, prothorace supra caput cucullato, margine antico
biemarginato, dorso acute carinato carina subsinuata, parte pos-
tica (supra abdomen in areas angulatas, lineis elevatis divisa ;
lateribus supra basin pedum posticorum puncto pallido margi-
nali) ad apicem abdominis extensa, extremo apice subbifido, fe-
moribus tuberculatis. Long, ad apicem prothoracis, lin. 8.
Habitat cum prsecedente, D. Cuming. Mus. Britann.

Obs. Figures and detailed descriptions of the insects described in
this Century are already prepared, and will be published hereafter.

XXX VL— The Birds of Ireland {Family Fringillidse). By
Wm. Thompson, Esq., Vice-Pres. Nat. Hist. Society of
Belfast.

[Continued from vol. i. p. 195.*]

The Skylark, Alauda arvensis, Linn.,
Is common throughout Ireland. Judging from works in
which this bird is treated of, its song, recommenced in the

* Bohemian Wax-wing. An example of this bird killed in Ireland, is
here erroneously stated to be in the collection of Dr. R. Graves, of Dublin.
Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. T

274 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

autumn, would seem to be continued further into the winter
in this island than elsewhere, a result attributable to the hu-
midity and mildness of the climate. Its song may be heard
as frequently in fine bright days during the month of October,
and in the bird's most elevated haunts in the mountain pas-
tures about Belfast, as at any other season. One note may
be given on this subject : under the date of November 7, 1835,
the following appears in my journal — I never heard more sky-
larks singing at any period of the year than in the early part
of this day in the high pastures bounded by the heath in the
Belfast mountains. The day was very fine and bright ; the
ground very wet from continued rain throughout the days and
nights of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, early part of the 5th, and oc-
casionally since, up to this morning. The skylark is gene-
rally noticed by authors as singing merely upon the wing, but
it not very unfrequently does so when upon the ground, and
an intelligent observer mentions that he has often seen it
perched on whins when pouring forth its song. Montagu
remarks, that this bird is ce rarely seen on the extended moors
at a distance from arable land," and later British authors re-
peat the observation. This may be of general application to
England, but in Ireland the wild mountain pasture is a fa-
vourite abode, and there, as mentioned in the following note,
the "most sweet voice" of the skylark may occasionally be
heard at a rather late hour mingling with the bleating of the
snipe: — June 22, 1840. When at half-past seven o'clock
this evening on the highest part of the old road from Belfast
to Crumlin (perhaps 850 feet above the sea), larks were bu-
sily engaged in singing on every side at the same time that
snipes (Scolopaa? Gallinago) were bleating and giving utter-
ance to their other calls. The mingling of their notes, which
are so very dissimilar, had a singular but very pleasing effect.
In hard winters our indigenous larks congregate in large
flocks, which remain with us unless the weather become ex-
traordinarily severe, when they move more or less southwards :
even when the winter is mild in the north of Ireland, these
birds, generally in small or moderate flocks, migrate hither
from Scotland, and have repeatedly been seen crossing the
Channel by my friend Capt. Fayrer, R.N., during the several
years that he commanded the government mail-packet which
plies between Portpatrick and Donaghadee. Although the
autumn of the year 1832 had been very fine and mild, so
early as the 1 7th of October I saw a very large flock of larks,
which had doubtless migrated to this country. In the winter
of 1837-38, larks remained in flocks to a late period — on the
24th of March I remarked not less than sixty congregated.

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 275

An observant friend has on different occasions known several
circular holes to be made by pairs of these birds, before fixing
upon one for their nest. The skylark occasionally exhibits
variety in its plumage, though less frequently than some
others of our small birds. The collection of my friend Wm.
Sinclaire, Esq., of Milltown, near Belfast, contains one of a
black colour, which was shot in a wild state among a flock,
and a white one is reported to me by a corresponded as in
his possession. The stomachs of several larks which I exa-
mined, especially in winter, contained seeds and the remains
of other vegetable matter, with an occasional insect-larva :
they all exhibited fragments of stone.

As a sporting friend was shooting upon his moors in Ayr-
shire in the month of October, a lark pursued by a merlin
(Falco JEsalon) came from the distance of about a hundred
yards directly towards him and his servant, and alighted near
their feet, apparently for safety — when it reached the ground,
it is represented to have been so exhausted as to be unable
to close its wings. A lark which had its liberty within the
green-house of a relative, lived eight years there, and was
eventually lost to him, by effecting its escape.

Nowhere perhaps is the skylark more sought for as a
cage-bird than in Ireland, and the song given forth "right
merrilie " from the little patch of green-sward within its pri-
son seems to imply that the bird bears confinement well.
Nevertheless, it is always with regret that we see the lark,
whose nature is to pierce the clouds when singing, so circum-
scribed, and we cannot but wish for its own sake that it had
the freedom of "fresh fields and pastures new;" yet we do
not, like a class of persons in the world, think only of the
skylark. To the poor artisan in the town this bird is of
great service in enlivening him with its song, associated with
which in his mind are doubtless scenes in the country, the
love of which is instinctive to the human breast. The lark
too is generally treated with affectionate care, and the first
walk of its master in the very early morning before the day's
task begins, has for its object the providing of a " fresh sod "
for his pet bird*.

* The following anecdote, communicated by my venerable friend Dr.
M'Donnell of Belfast, shows the high value once put upon a skylark : —
" A rather poor chandler in Belfast, called Huggart, had a lark remarkable
for its song. Mr. Hull, a dancing-master and great bird-fancier, going into
his shop one day, said, he came to purchase his bird. • Indeed,' replied the
other, ' I do not think, Mr. Hull, you are likely to get home that bird, which
delights all my neighbours as well as myself.' ' Well, I think I am/ Was the
reply : ' here are five guineas for it.' The sum was instantly refused, when
ten guineas were offered, but also rejected. He was then told, < It is now

T2

276 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland,

Late in April in the present year I saw the skylark about
Navarino, and at the end of the following month observed it
near Smyrna.

The Woodlark, Alauda arbor ea, Linn.,

Is one of those unobtrusive species which is little known
except to the lover of nature, and by him perhaps valued the
more on that account. In flocks it is not at all to be met
with, like the skylark. It is so very choice in the place of
its abode as to be quite a local species, and in the counties of
Down and Antrim frequents districts where the soil is warm,
the country well cultivated and wooded, or scenery, which,
like its song, is of a sweet, soft character; — cold clay districts,
though equally improved and sheltered, cannot, so far as
known to me, claim it for a tenant. In its favourite localities
here, the Woodlark may be heard singing almost daily, and
chiefly in the morning from September to June.

This species is enumerated as one of the birds of Dublin
in Rutty's Natural History of that county, and has a similar
place in Smith's c History of Cork/ In the latter county, Mr.
R. Ball informs me that it is not unfrequent, and being much
prized for its song, is greatly sought after by bird-catchers.
A friend living near Belfast kept woodlarks for a year or more
in his aviary in company with other birds, but they never sang.

The Snow-Bunting, Emberiza nivalis, Linn, (genus Plec-
trophanes, Meyer.),

Is a regular autumnal migrant to the more northern parts of
Ireland. Towards the south it becomes gradually scarcer,
and in the extreme portions of that quarter, although the
highest mountains in the island are situated there, it can only
be called a rare and occasional visitant*. Its numbers are
stated similarly to decrease from the north to the south of
England. The island of Achil should perhaps, from its far
western position, be particularized as being regularly visited
by this bird — a fact communicated by my friend W. R.Wilde,

the fair-day, and the market full of cattle : go and purchase the best cow
there, and I shall pay for her:' but Huggart still declined, and kept his
lark."

* In a catalogue of the birds of the south favoured me by Dr. Harvey of
Cork, the snow-bunting is noticed merely as having been met with at Duns-
combe Wood, near that city. Dr. Burkitt, of Waterford, in a list of the na-
tive birds known to him obligingly sent to me since this paper went to press,
notices it only as shot in the neighbourhood of that city in January 1832.
To Mr. T. F. Neligan of Tralee, it was unknown as a bird of that quarter
in 18.37, but Mr. Wm. Andrews of Dublin informs me that specimens were
obtained near Dingle during the last winter, 184C-41.

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 277

Esq. Early in the month of October, snow-buntings make
their appearance in the north of Ireland, and occasionally re-
main until the end of March. Their haunts in mild weather
are chiefly the mountain-tops, whence one night's severe frost
has been known to drive them to the nearest roads for food.
Occasionally in the lower grounds and even on the sea-shore
they may be met with when there is neither frost nor snow :
to the last they are obliged to resort when the weather sets
in very severe. During the great snow-storm of March ] 827 3
flocks appeared in the outskirts of the town of Belfast; and
such numbers were killed on the sea-shore in its vicinity,
that they were purchased by Mr. Sinclaire as the cheapest
food he could procure for his trained peregrine falcons. Al-
though of regular passage to the Belfast range of mountains,
snow-buntings are much more numerous in other and less
frequented mountainous districts in the county of Antrim, as
about Newtown-Crommelin and Clough. At the former of
these places, where the Rev. G. M. Black was several years
resident, he always observed them during the winter in very
large flocks, and in which not more than one in twenty were
adult individuals. From the other locality, examples have
been brought to me by Mr. James Garret, who also supplied
the following note under date of January 4, 1834 : — " When
shooting today about two miles from Clough, I met with an
immense flock of snow -buntings, out of which I killed thirty
at one discharge as they flew past me. Their call resembled
the chirping of the grey-linnet, and the number of wings
made a considerable noise, as the flock consisting of several
hundreds swept by : some were nearly white, and others of a
dark brown colour/ 5 In any of the flocks which have come
under my own observation, the adult males bore only a small
proportion to the females and immature birds, but, except in
very small flocks, were always present throughout the win-
ter*. This species, under the name of Cherry- chirper !, is
mentioned in Rutty's 'Natural History of Dublin' as "found
on our strand in December 1747 and kept in a cage until
December 1748, and fed with oats, hemp-seed and cuttlings."
—Vol. i. p. 317.

Wilson, Audubon, and Dr. Richardson give most interest-
ing notes upon this bird from their personal observation in
North America, and the last author had the gratification of
meeting with it in its breeding-haunt in that continent. Mr.

* In some of the latest works on British ornithology, the adult birds are
stated to appear in Great Britain only late in the winter, or when the wea-
ther is very severe. On the 23rd of October I once received a fine adult
male bird, which was shot on the Belfast mountains.

278 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

Selby too gratifies us with the result of his observations on the
species in the north of England. The snow-bunting is truly
a most attractive bird, not only from its pleasing form and
finely-varied plumage, but as one of the very few species met
with in the depth of winter on the mountain-top, where, as it
flits overhead uttering its pleasingly wild chirp, it brings be-
fore the mind the far-distant region within the arctic circle,
whence it may have come.

In ascending in the month of July above the perpetual snow-
line in the Alps of Switzerland, to the height of 1 1,000 feet, the
greatest elevation I have reached, the snow-finch [Fringilla
nivalis), a bird which at a little distance, in size, marking, and
note, reminded me of the snow-bunting, was almost ever-pre-
sent ; and its little voice, with occasionally that of the Alpine
Accentor {Accentor alpinus), seemed, in one sense, strangely
out of unison with the stern grandeur of the scenery, where
rarely any other sound broke upon the ear than the rent of
the glacier or the distant fall of the avalanche.

The Common Bunting, Emberiza Miliaria, Linn.,
Is found throughout the island, and is permanently resi-
dent. On reading the opinion expressed by Sir Win. Jardine
some years ago (in his edition of White's e Selborne'), that
there is a migration of buntings to Great Britain in winter,
I thought it might be likewise applicable to Ireland ; but on
subsequent consideration, did not see good reason to believe
that there is any increase to the numbers of these birds bred in
the country. The change from the summer to the winter haunts
of the bunting might lead to such a supposition, as about the
time that our winter birds of passage are arriving, flocks of
buntings make their appearance in localities — often hedges
along road-sides — which frequenting through the winter,
they leave on the genial approach of spring : so late as the
end of March they occasionally remain congregated. Their
song may be heard in the north throughout the greater part
of the year, including occasionally the months of November
and December.

My observation is quite in accordance with that of White,
who in his ( History of Selborne' remarks of the bunting, that
— " in our woodland enclosed districts it is a rare bird." It
is rather an inhabitant of simply arable than of the rich and
wooded parts of the country, and where some little portion of
wildness still exists, such as is implied in the common name
it bears in the north of Ireland of Briar- Bunting. The ditch-
bank run wild with " briars n or brambles has more charms
for this bird than the "neat trim-hedge," and within the shelter

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 279

of such humble underwood it nestles. In severe frost and
snow, buntings not only betake themselves to the roads for
subsistence, but at such times may be seen in the less-fre-
quented streets and stable-yards of the town of Belfast. The
plumage of this species is very liable to be varied with white
or cream-colour, and when with the latter, some examples
which I have seen were of a very rich and handsome appear-
ance. On opening some of these birds killed in winter, I
have generally found them filled with grain ; — the species is
sometimes called the Cor^-Bunting.

The Reed or Black-headed Bunting, Emberiza Schce-

nieulus, Linn.,
Is a resident species distributed over the island, which
from the prevailing humidity is peculiarly well suited to it.
The reed-bunting is one of those birds which is nowhere
numerous, and owing to the places of its abode — among the
shrubby underwood and herbage in moist places and at the
edge of waters — is not very commonly or popularly known.
It is particularly interesting from being an inhabitant of lo-
calities in which comparatively few other birds are to be
seen : — it has often been highly pleasing to me to observe a
few of these birds gathering in to roost for the night upon
the exposed roots of alders or willows that overhung the
gently-flowing stream, and in a vicinity unsuitable to any of
their congeners. Like them, however, reed-buntings will
betake themselves during the snow-storm to the public roads
for food.

In different parts of Ireland, the reed-bunting still has
the undue reputation of being a sweet songster of the night,
and is believed to be the veritable (e Irish Nightingale," a
name bestowed on the mysterious bird, be that what it may,
which sings through the summer night, but which, in strict
justice, may be claimed by the sedge-warbler. Montagu,
with his usual acuteness, long since accounted for this error,
and in the following words : — " It is somewhat extraordinary
that the manners and habits of so common a bird should re-
main so long in obscurity ; even modern authors tell us it is
a song-bird, that it sings after sunset ; and describe its nest
to be suspended over the water, fastened between three or
four reeds. There can be no doubt, however, that the nest
as well as the song of the sedge-warbler have been taken
and confounded for those of this bird ; for, as they both fre-
quent the same places in the breeding-season, that elegant
little warbler is pouring forth its varied notes concealed in
the thickest part of a bush; while this is conspicuously

280 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

perched above, whose tune is not deserving the name of
song ; consisting only of two notes, the first repeated three
or four times, the last single and more sharp*." Reed-Spar-
row and Black-cap are the names commonly bestowed on
this bird in the north of Ireland.

Yellow Bunting, Emberiza Citrinella, Linn.
This handsome bird, differing from the last-noticed species
in being a constant resident about the farm and the precincts
of the rural dwelling, is very well known in Ireland, over
which it is diffused in suitable localities. Its monotonous,
and to my ear, mournful song, is heard in mild weather
throughout much the greater part of the year. The nest,
from being placed in an open hedge or rather bare grassy
ditch-bank, is often easily discovered ; but a person who from
practical observation is well versed in the sites chosen by
birds for their nests, remarks, that he has more frequently
found that of the yellow bunting in whins than elsewhere.
In a friend's garden near Belfast, a pair of these birds built
their nest at the edge of a gravel-walk, and brought out four
young, three of which were soon destroyed. In consequence
of this, the nest containing the fourth was for greater safety
placed in a bank a few feet distant, and the single young one
was so well provided by its parents with food as quickly to
grow to an extraordinary size. A similar fact in the case of
the redbreast is mentioned in one of the preceding papers
of this series ; but in that instance the young one died, it was
presumed, from over-feeding. The stomachs of such of these
birds as have come under my observation in winter, generally
contained grain. Yellow Yorlin is the common name be-
stowed on this species in the north of Ireland.

The Chaffinch, Fringilla Coelebs, Linn.,

Is a common resident species throughout the cultivated
and wooded parts of Ireland. It frequents the squares and
gardens of the town, where occasionally its song is heard.
The beauty of the nest of this bird, with lichens and moss
intermingled in its formation, has often been commented on,
and truly it is a very picturesque object; but the lichen is in
many localities of necessity left out, and the moss becomes
externally the component material. Particular notes of seve-
ral nests are before me, all of which, except one that was built
in a whin, were placed on the branches of trees : one other
only is worthy of special notice. This came under the ob-
servation of my friend at Cromac, who reports it to have
* Ornithological Dictionary.

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 281

been built against the stem of the common pine, and resting
on one of the branches, to which it was bound with a piece
of fine whip-cord, both ends of which were firmly interwoven
in the material of the nest : the cord was taken but once
round the branch.

Chaffinches feed chiefly on seeds and grain through the
winter, as testified by my opening many specimens. Early
in the month of May, when a choice of food was before them,
I have on different occasions remarked these birds suddenly
dart from the branches of trees after flies in the manner of
the spotted flycatcher. During the winter and early spring,
a flock consisting of both sexes was observed by a young
friend regularly to frequent a merchant's yard situated on
one of the quays of Belfast for the purpose of feeding on
flaxseed, of which there was always some scattered about the
place. Chaffinches sometimes congregate in large flocks be-
fore winter actually sets in : at the end of October I have
thus remarked them, and occasionally in company with
green-linnets. There has been much written from actual
observation both on the Continent and in Great Britain, and
from Linnaeus to the present time, on the subject of the se-
paration of the sexes of chaffinches in the winter. Montagu,
writing from Devonshire, says, the sexes do not separate with
us, and Mr. Knapp makes a similar remark with reference
to Gloucestershire. In Hampshire, White frequently ob-
served large flocks of females about Selborne. In Northum-
berland, Mr. Selby has noticed the females as keeping apart
from the males, and Sir Wm. Jardine remarks respecting
the south of Scotland, that young males are intermixed with
the females. In the north of Ireland I have seen very large
flocks in which there were no males, and once during frost
in the month of December, killed nine out of a flock, all of
which proved to be females. Again, I have observed flocks
of moderate size consisting of a fair proportion of both sexes,
and which I have always believed to be our indigenous
birds. The others, from never having met with flocks of male
birds, I am disposed to believe have migrated to this island
from more northern latitudes and there left their mates be-
hind them : — in the north of Europe, associations consisting
of males only have been observed during winter.

In July 1840, Mr. R. Davis, jun., of Clonmel, forwarded
to Belfast, for my inspection, a bird shot in that neighbour-
hood, which he remarked had been sent him as a white
chaffinch. It had frequently been seen in company with
this species, along with some of which it had been shot in
the preceding month of May. This individual was singu-

282 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

larly and beautifully marked : it is thus described in my
notes : — " This bird is of the full adult size of the chaffinch
in every measurement. The prevailing colour of its plumage
is pure white, but the head is tinted with yellow ; the entire
back is of the richest canary-yellow ; wing- and tail-coverts
are likewise delicately tinted with canary-yellow. A few
blackish-gray and cinnamon-brown feathers appear as fol-
lows : one or two on the head, some on the back, and some
very few on the wings and tail, but altogether they are in-
conspicuous ; these are the ordinary chaffinch feathers. The
primaries and the long tail-feathers, together with their
shafts, are pure white. The plumage altogether partakes as
much of that of the canary as of the chaffinch."

The description of this species and its propensities, as ob-
served by the author of the ( Journal of a Naturalist/ is ad-
mirable.

The Mountain Finch, Fringilla montifringilla y Linn.,
Is a species, which, from personal observation, and notes col-
lected from various quarters, I could not have announced as
a regular winter visitant to Ireland. The Rev. G. M. Black,
however, informs me, that for several winters successively
he has remarked a few at least of these birds on the
mountains about Newtown-Crommelin, but in mid-winter
only ; they were occasionally in company with chaffinches.
Almost every winter for many years past I have been
aware of their occurrence in the north in very limited num-
bers, and have learned from correspondents in all quarters of
the island that they are everywhere of occasional, but ge-
nerally unfrequent occurrence, and have been met w T ith in
the most southern parts. On the 18th of October I once re-
ceived a mountain finch which was shot in the neighbour-
hood of Belfast, and in November the species has been seen
here associating with green-linnets and chaffinches, when
for some time before and after the weather had been mild. Such
birds had evidently come hither in the ordinary course of mi-
gration 5 but that others have been compelled to visit this island
by severity of weather, I in one instance had interesting
circumstantial evidence. This was a day or two before the
very great snow-storm in the beginning of January 1827*
when one of these birds, which was secured and sent to me,
alighted on the Chieftain steam-packet when on the passage
from Liverpool to Belfast. This had most probably been
the forerunner of the many which, during the deep snow
immediately following, were seen about the last-named
place. The snow-storm as usual had commenced earlier in

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland, 283

an easterly direction than in Ireland, which to birds flying
before it westerly would be the last place of resort in its lati-
tude in the eastern hemisphere. In like manner, mountain
finches may have crossed the Irish Sea in the very severe
weather early in the present year (1841), as Mr. R. Davis,
writing to me from Clonmel, states, that a flock of them were
seen near that town, and several shot on the 5th of February*
— he had not known them as visitants to that neighbourhood
before. I have seen specimens of this bird which were shot
during frost in the spacious yard of the Royal Society House,
Dublin ; and by T. W. Warren, Esq., of that city, have been
assured, that at the most inclement period of the severe winter
of 1837-38, some of these birds took shelter in the houses in
the town of Dundalk. A pair of mountain finches kept in
a very large cage with other species in a greenhouse attached
to the dwelling of a relative near Belfast, screamed so con-
stantly throughout moonlight nights as to disturb the family,
and consequently they had to be expelled the place.

The House Sparrow, Fringilla domestica, Linn.,

Is common in Ireland. This bird is in some places much
persecuted by individuals, who, knowing only the injury com-
mitted on the grain-crops and in the garden, are yet ignorant
of the great benefit it confers by the destruction of caterpillars,
&c. A notable illustration of a sparrow-destroying order
which was given forth in our juvenile days may here be men-
tioned. An old soldier, who had been in the Peninsular War,
was selected from the farm-labourers as being of course the
best shot. With plenary instructions to destroy all sparrows,
he spent day after day in going about the corn-fields for the
purpose of shooting them. Although reports of the gun were
frequently heard, there appeared no testimony to convict him
of the shedding of blood. We spent one day with him, and
whenever he saw .that two or three sparrows had alighted
together on the standing corn sufficiently near to him, and
this was by no means seldom, he fired at them. Often as he
did so, we can attest that not a bird fell, though how much
of the grain was thereby sacrificed we cannot take upon our-
selves to say, for it could not be missed. The shooter would
not believe that this was owing to his want of skill, and more

* When lately at Freshwater Bay, in the Isle of Wight, I saw several
stuffed specimens of the mountain finch on sale at the " Museum," as it
is called. I learned that they had been shot in the vicinity during the
frost and excessive cold above noticed, when many of them made their ap-
pearance, a circumstance of such rare occurrence that their species was un-
known.

284 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

than once trampled down the grain to look after the fallen
birds, which were then rejoicing afar off at their escape. When
the wages of this sportsman and the value of ammunition he
expended, together with the grain destroyed by him, are consi-
dered, there can be little doubt that the amount of damage
which the sparrows could have done (and nevertheless did
in this case do) must be trivial in comparison. Doubtless
there have been similar cases. Many well-attested accounts
have been published of the destruction of crops by insects in
consequence of small birds, and sparrows in particular, being
destroyed for their pilfering propensities ; and when lately in
France I was made acquainted with a recent instance of this
kind. In the fine rich district of Burgundy lying to the
south of Auxerre, and chiefly covered with vineyards, small
birds had been some time before destroyed in great numbers.
An extraordinary increase of caterpillars, &c. soon became ap-
parent, and occasioned such immense damage to the crops,
that a law was passed prohibitory of the future destruction of
the birds.

The boldness and impudence of sparrows in obtruding
themselves everywhere are somewhat redeemed by the comi-
cality of their manners. Every one must have remarked in-
stances of this. I was once much amused by observing a
sparrow literally ec dancing attendance " on a pet squirrel,
during his breakfasting on bread in the wheel of his cage ;
the sparrow hopping about all the while and eagerly picking
up the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table.

The freedom from all fear on the part of sparrows is par-
ticularly manifest in their feeding close to animals of all
kinds in zoological gardens. They make themselves quite at
home too in the company of the most gorgeous-plumaged
birds : I recollect them regularly breaking through the meshes
of a net (merely large enough to admit their bodies) covering
over an _ aviary in which a friend kept a number of golden
pheasants, that they might feed along with them. Under
date of June 27th is a note in my journal to the effect that
the cock-sparrow has quite gained on my affections of late
by the assiduity with which he feeds his progeny. I have
observed several of them on the highway attended by their
young, generally three in number, and which, with quivering
wings, besought and followed them for food, and never in
vain. The parents too, by their fine erect carriage — which
even cock-sparrows can assume — evidently showed much
pride in their progeny.

The sparrow, though not an early rising bird, is awake be-
times, and as a colony will keep chattering for perhaps an

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 285

hour about their roosting-place before retiring for the night,
so in the morning do they make known their "whereabouts"
by the same means, some time before they show themselves
to the day: — I once noted on the 11th of June, and likewise
a few mornings previously, that on awakening at ten minutes
past three o'clock, a colony of these birds frequenting the
ivy which covered a town-house were heard loudly chatter-
ing, and that for half an hour afterwards none stirred out.

Loud complaints have been reported to me from the pro-
prietor of the nearest fields of grain to Belfast on one side of
the town and a mile distant from it, which are attacked when
ripening by hosts of town sparrows that go there early in
the morning, and after satisfying their appetites at his ex-
pense, return and spend the day in town. In our own gar-
den, these birds were for a number of years very destructive
to growing peas, almost living upon and amongst them
(perching on the pea-rods), and with their strong bills break-
ing through the pods to get at the peas, which alone they
eat, and just when they were in perfection for the table. I
have several times seen sparrows in chase of the large white
garden-butterfly (Pontia brassier), whose caterpillars are so
destructive, and once remarked an individual fly against the
stem of a dandelion and weigh it to the ground that it might
feed upon the seeds.

These birds sometimes prove very annoying, especially in
lofty houses, by choosing the spout for their nestling-place,
where the base of their domicile stops the course of the
rain. From a country-house whence their nests were always
torn for this reason, they resorted to the adjacent trees, to
erect there, their large and untidy, though domed nests, and
preferred for this purpose the branches of the Balm of Gilead
and Spruce Firs, which naturally offered a firmer and more
compact basement than those of the deciduous trees : when
the latter were resorted to, the Larch-Fir was generally
chosen. At this place they were much persecuted, and I
have more than once known nearly fifty to be killed at a
single shot. It need hardly be remarked, that they fre-
quently build in rookeries, as well as occupy the nest of
the house marten. This is generally noticed by authors as
a very dishonest proceeding ; and though it is not my de-
sire to be the apologist of any of the manifold errors of the
sparrow, still justice has not been done to the bird ; for the
" pendent bed " of the marten is generally tenantless when
taken possession of, and the sparrow may have no anticipa-
tion of the rightful owner coming across the seas to claim his
property. In like manner, the sparrow occasionally takes

286 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

possession of the burrow of the sand marten before the ver-
nal return of this species to the place of its birth ; and cer-
tainly the intruder, perched at the entrance of its neigh-
bours burrow, peers about and chatters with as much confi-
dence as if the domicile were its own by " right of descent."
But few writers on natural history would seem to have ob-
served the sparrow in such jsituations, but I have frequently
done so, and when the sand-bank was in the close vicinity of
trees and houses.

On account of the propensities heretofore alluded to or il-
lustrated, the sparrows are perhaps the most amusing of our
small common birds ; but all bounds of propriety seem to be
exceeded, when, so out of character with the scene, they, all
begrimed, squat and chatter, and take up their abode on the
stupendous cathedral of St. Paul's in London, under the ca-
nopy of which the ashes only of the mightiest among our-
selves find a domicile.

Examples of this bird partly and altogether white some-
times occur ; and a friend informs me that he once saw three
white individuals in one nest. In his ' Catalogue of the Birds,
&c, of Donegal/ Mr. J. V. Stewart remarks — " I have had
a milk-white sparrow in confinement for two years ; it was
taken from the nest, is very sprightly and a female. At its
moults there has been no change in the colour of its plu-
mage : it has got the eyes of all albinoes *." Mr. R. Davis,
jun., of Clonmel, mentions in a letter, that in February 1841
he "got a singularly deformed female sparrow, in which the
upper mandible is slightly twisted to one side, the lower one
nearly two inches long and turned down like that of a cur-
lew : the bird was seen to feed by laying the side of its head
to the ground."

In his e Familiar History of Birds/ the Bishop of Norwich
treats very pleasantly of the sparrow, as in the e Journal of
a Naturalist ' does Mr. Knapp in his usual graphic manner.
Bewick too waxes warm and eloquent in its defence against
the sweeping denunciation of ButTonf.

The Grosbeak or Hawfinch, Fringilla Coccothraustes,

Linn, (genus Coccothraustes, Briss.),
Is an occasional winter visitant to Ireland. A fine exam-
ple in the collection of my friend, Wm. Sinclaire, Esq., of
Milltown, near Belfast, was shot some years ago in the neigh-
bourhood of Hillsborough, county of Down. The Rev. G.

* Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. v. p. 583.

\ Fringilla montana appears in Templeton's ' Catalogue of Irish Verte-
brate Animals ' as " a doubtful native." To my ornithological friends and
myself it is quite unknown.

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 287

M. Black has informed me, that in the winter of 1832-33 ? he
for a long time witnessed a pair of these birds feeding upon
the haws of some old thorn- trees at his seat Stranmillis, near
Belfast ; — he managed to approach within about fifteen paces,
so as to see them very well. In his paper on the Birds, &c.
of Donegal, Mr. J. V. Stewart gives an interesting account of
two of these birds which he killed and examined anatomically.
A portion of his observations are to the following effect. The
communication is dated from Ards House, December 4, 1828 :
" I shot a pair of these birds a few days ago, in fine plu-
mage. * * * A few hours after they were dead, I took a
strong pair of scissors and a knife, using them as levers to
force open their bills, and found the muscles had so firmly
contracted, that, to effect my purpose, I had to use a wedge ;
a forcible proof it will be allowed of their strength. Their
bills alone, however, are formed as a pair of nut-crackers, as
the muscles of the neck, unlike those of the woodpeckers,
are not strong*/' Dubourdieu, in his f Survey of the County
of Antrim,' observes, that "the grosbeak (Loxia), like a green-
linnet, but larger, often resorts to the wooded farms in its
neighbourhood [Lough Neagh] in winter." The crossbill is
most probably here alluded to, and not the species under con-
sideration. That the latter cannot be so, at least correctly,
seems to me sufficiently evident from the circumstance that
Mr. Templeton knew and corresponded with Dubourdieu,
and in his catalogue of our native birds, he makes no mention
whatever of the grosbeak. The Phoenix Park, Dublin, where
there are literally woods of venerable hawthorns, has, above
all places in Ireland, produced examples of this bird. Notes
of its occurrence there in the following years are before me —
in 1828-29, when the first individual (as I learn from Dr. J.
D. Marshall) was obtained on the 6th of November, and
about a dozen more altogether at various dates through the
winter : in 1830 ?, when numbers were killed and supplied to
my informant, a bird-preserver in the metropolis, who pur-
chased them for a shilling each: in 1831, when the Rev. T.
Knox records three individuals from this locality f: in 1832-
33 I have been made aware of several having been killed;
T. W. Warren, Esq., alone received four examples: and
lastly, in January 1837. The Phoenix Park — the natural
beauty of whose scenery is admirably depicted by Lady Mor-
gan in her e O'Briens and O'Flahertys ' as a prelude to its
being the scene of " The Review " — is very well adapted to
be the permanent residence of the grosbeak ; and although

* Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. v. p. 582.
t Ibid., p. 734.

288 Information respecting Scientific Travellers.

the greater portion of it may be too much frequented for so
shy a bird as this is reported to be*, still it may be a plea-
sing task for some of the resident members of the Natural
History Society of Dublin to ascertain whether, in any of the
most retired glades or other portions of this spacious park
which would afford freedom from molestation, such a remark-
able and attractive species may not " increase and multiply."
By the late T. F. Neligan, Esq., of Tralee, I was informed
that a grosbeak was shot near Milltown, in the county of
Kerry, at the latter end of October 1830 (?).

XXXVII. — Information respecting Scientific Travellers.

DR. CANTOR'S VISIT TO CHUSAN.

To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.
Gentlemen,
By the last Indian mail I received a letter from my friend Dr. Can-
tor, a part of which relating to the natural history of Chusan seems
to me so highly interesting, that I take the liberty of making the
following extract for your pages.

" Immediately on my return from Chusan I sent you a roughly
drawn up catalogue of my collections f. Owing to my severe ill-
ness there and tedious recovery, I have been obliged to work much
slower than I used to do. You know that I was sent to China with-
out being allowed time to procure one single article necessary for
collecting, yet I succeeded in getting something, and that truly in-
teresting. Up to this moment I have finished descriptions in sections
of a few new forms of Animalcula ; the rest are identical with
European and Indian. Of terrestrial and freshwater Mollusca, from
twenty to twenty-five new forms, and interesting as links, were pro-
cured : Benson has undertaken to describe them. The Reptilia are
new, and of tropical forms totally distinct from the Japanese. The
Batrachia are European, Rana esculenta and R. temporaria, Hyla arbo-
rea. The Fishes, with which I am now occupied, are new, and mostly
tropical forms. The Insects I have sent to London. Of Mammalia and
Birds I have very few, as already mentioned in the catalogue. With
the Plants Griffith is at present engaged. The zoology of Chusan
(30° N. L.) is, notwithstanding the vicissitudes of the climate, deci-
dedly tropical or Indian. The flora appears to be Himalayan with
European forms. Theo. Cantor."

Calcutta, Sept. 26, 1841.

It is gratifying to learn that such prompt measures have been taken
by Dr. Cantor for making known the results of his collections in
Chusan, though from the briefness of his stay, and bad health when
there, these must necessarily be but limited. — Wit. Thompson.

Donegal Square, Belfast, Nov. 15, 1841.

* See an excellent account of the species by Mr. Doubleday in vol. i. of
the Mag. Zool. and Bot.

f This I am sorry to say has not been received.

Information respecting Scientific Travellers. 289

MR. MURCHISON'S SECOND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF RUSSIA.

To Richard Taylor, Esq.
Dear Sir,

It was my earnest wish to have complied earlier with your
request when I left this country, to send you from the spot
some account of my distant wanderings; but the desire to
avoid communicating early conceptions which might be mo-
dified by subsequent observation, induced me to stay my pen
until I could offer something worthy of a place in your An-
nals. The short sketch which follows was written at Moscow
near the close of the journey, and is, with some very slight
alterations, the translation of a letter addressed to M. Fischer
de Waldbeim, the venerable and respected President of the
Society of Naturalists of that metropolis. Since then, besides
the official report to the Minister of Finance, the Count de
Cancrine, 1 have submitted to His Imperial Majesty, a tabu-
lar view of all the formations in Russia, accompanied by a
general map and a section from the Sea of Azof to St. Peters-
burgh. These documents, which will be engraved in the
course of the winter, are to be considered only as the prelude
to a long memoir with full illustrations of the organic re-
mains, mineral structure and physical features of the country,
which will be laid before the Geological Society of London,
as soon as, with the assistance of my fellow-labourers, I shall
have prepared the materials for the public eye. In the mean
time the friends of science must be happy to learn, that the
Emperor, his ministers and officers have powerfully and kind-
ly contributed to these results by every possible aid and
support which geologists could receive. Desirous that this
inquiry should be rendered as perfect as circumstances will
admit, His Imperial Majesty has graciously authorized the Mi-
nister of Finance, the Count de Cancrine, to permit Count
Keyserling to visit this country during the winter, to coope-
rate with myself, whilst General Tcheffkine, the chief of the
Staff of the Mining Corps, and so well known to many of my
English friends, has obtained permission for Lieut. Koksharoff
to be among us for a season, to complete his studies, and ac-
quire a correct knowledge of those British strata with which
the deposits of our ancient allies and kind friends have been
compared.

I remain, dear Sir, yours most faithfully,

16 Belgrave Square, Roderick Impey Murchison.

Nov. 5, 1841.

Ann. fy Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. U

2 ( J0 Scientific Travellers.

Letter to M. Fischer de Waldheim, Ex-President of the Society
of Naturalists of* Moscow.

{Translation.)
My DEAlt Sir, Moscow, Oct, 8, 1841.

As you have taken a lively interest in the success of the
geological expedition which I have just completed, accom-
panied by my friends M. de Verneuil, Count de Key sel-
ling, and Lieutenant Koksharoff, I hasten to communicate to
you some of its chief results; and I do so with real pleasure,
because in requesting you to present them to the Society ot
Naturalists of Moscow, I acquit myself of a duty towards a
distinguished body which has done me the honour of placing
my name in the list of its foreign members.

The wide extension in the North of Russia of the Silurian,
Devonian and Carboniferous Systems, as proceeding from the
last year's survey, by the same observers and our friend the
Baron A. de Meyendorf, is already known to you from the
abstracts of memoirs communicated to the Geological Societies
of London and Paris. Our principal objects this year were, —
1st. To study the order of superposition, the relations and geo-
graphical distribution of the other and superior sedimentary
rocks in the central and southern parts of the empire. 2nd.
To examine the Ural Mountains, and to observe the manner in
which that chain rises from beneath the horizontal formations
of Russia. 3rd. To explore the carboniferous region of the
Donetz, and the adjacent rocks on the Sea of Azof.

Our last year's survey had pretty nearly determined the li-
mits of the great tract of carboniferous limestone of the North
of Russia. On this occasion we have added to its upper part
that remarkable mass of rock which forms the peninsula of the
Volga near Samara, and which, clearly exposed in lofty, vertical
cliffs, and charged with myriads of the curious fossils Fusilina,
constitutes one of the striking features of Russian geology.

The carboniferous system is surmounted, to the east of the
Volga, by a vast series of beds of marls, schists, limestones,
sandstones and conglomerates, to which I propose to give the
name of " Permian System," because, although this series re-
presents as a whole, the lower new red sandstone {Rohte todte
liegende) and the magnesian limestone or Zechstein, yet it can-
not be classed exactly (whether by the succession of the strata
or their contents) with either of the German or British sub-
divisions of this age. Moreover the British lithological term
of lower new red sandstone*, is as inapplicable to the great

* See Silurian System, p. 54.

Scientific Travellers. 291

masses of marls, white and yellow limestones, and gray copper
grits, as the name of old red sandstone was found to be in re-
ference to the schistose black rocks of Devonshire.

To this " Permian System" we refer the chief deposits of
gypsum of Arzamas, of Kazan, and of the rivers Piana,
Kama and Oufa, and of the environs of Orenbourg; we also
place in it the saline sources of Solikamsk and Sergiefsk, and
the rock salt of Iletsk and other localities in the government
of Orenbourg, as well as all the copper mines and the large
accumulations of plants and petrified wood, of which you have
given a list in the s Bulletin' of your Society (anno 1840). Of
the fossils of this system, some undescribed species of Producti
might seem to connect the Permian with the carboniferous
sera; and other shells, together with fishes and saurians, link
it on more closely to the period of the Zechstein, whilst its pe-
culiar plants appear to constitute a Flora of a type intermediate
between the epochs of the new red sandstone or " trias " and
the coal-measures. Hence it is that I have ventured to consi-
der this series as worthy of being regarded as a " System."

The overlying red deposits which occupy a great basin in
the governments of Vologda and Nijni Novogorod, have not
as yet been found to contain any organic remains except minute
Cyprides and badly preserved Modioli ; but when we take into
consideration their thickness, geological position, and mineral
characters, we are disposed to think that they may at some fu-
ture day be identified with a portion of the " Trias" of German
geologists. I am strengthened in this opinion by Count Key-
serling's discovering, during our tour at Monte Bogdo, certain
fossils which are unknown in other parts of Russia, but which
are associated with the Ammonites Bogdoanus already described
by Von Buch, and which that distinguished geologist refers to
the type of the muschelkalk.

True lias does not exist in Russia, as Von Buch had de-
cided from an examination of fossils sent to him, but the Ju-
rassic or oolitic series is divisible into two stages. The lowest
of these, which is much more developed than the upper, never
occupies any considerable tract of country, being either dis-
tributed in patches, or hidden by newer accumulations. From
the eastern flanks of the Ural chain in the 64° of N. latitude to
the Caspian Sea, it preserves nearly the same mineral and fos-
sil characters. This formation represents the inferior and mid-
dle oolite. The ferruginous sands, calcareous grits, and black
schists of the Moskwa are of this age ; and also those beds
which we examined last year on the Volga between Kostroma
and Kinshma, at Makarief upon the Unja, as well as those
shales and sands which we have seen this year in many other

U2

292 Scientific Travellers.

localities, particularly between Arzamas and Simbirsk, between
Syzran and Saratolt, at Saragula, and on the river Ilek near
Orenbourg.

The upper oolitic group occurs in several situations along
the Donetz, where it was first recognized by Major Blbde.
It is calcareous, often oolitic, of light yellow colour, and
contains many Trigonia?, Nerincce, &c, which enable us to
compare it with the upper Jura of the Germans, or Port-
land and Coral rag division of my own country.

The cretaceous system, though composed of very different
beds of marls, white chalk, sands and grits (sometimes green),
offers for the most part the fossils of the white chalk of Eu-
rope, such as the Inocerami (Catillus), Belemnites mucro-
?iatus, Ostrcea vesicularis, Terebratula carnea*.

Above the cretaceous system, we have not been able to dis-
cover in any part of Russia, except in the Crimeea, the " num-
mulite limestone" which there sets on, and acquires a great
importance in its range through Georgia, Egypt, and the
Mediterranean basin.

The equivalents of the lower tertiary formations (Eocene of
Lyell) seem to exist in one part only of your country (S. of
Saratoft). On the other hand, the middle and upper ter-
tiaries (Miocene and Pleiocene) cover large surfaces on the
Lower Volga, in Podolia, Volhynia, and also along the shores
of the Sea of Azof and the Black Sea, where the youngest of
these strata, very much resembling the "upper crag" of
Norfolk, are beautifully displayed.

I have not time to enter upon the numerous and inter-
esting phaenomena of the Ural Mountains, the examination
of which occupied us nearly three months. We there studied
alternately the wonders of the gold alluvia, the sites of the
entombment of your great mammalia, and sought for the causes
of the astonishing metamorphism of the sedimentary rocks
of that chain. For an explanation of the last class of phaeno-
mena, the works of Humboldt and Gustaf Rose must always
be consulted. I will on this occasion simply say, that far from
being primitives as was supposed, this chain, with the excep-
tion of its eruptive masses, is entirely composed of Silurian,
Devonian and Carboniferous rocks, more or less altered and
crystallized, but in which nevertheless we have been able to
recognise in a great number of localities my own Pentamerus

* After this letter was written, we found in the collection of Professor
Eichwald at St. Fetersburgh, a line specimen of Exogyra and other fossils
in a green sandstone from the Lower Volga, sent to him from a locality well
known to us, which leaves little doubt of the existence also of a true re-
presentative of our greensand.— R. I. M.

Scientific Travellers. 293

Knigktii*, and many fossils which clearly define the age of
the other strata. These rocks, though much broken up, are
arranged in parallel bands, the mean direction of which in
the North Ural is from N. and by W. to S. and by E.,
whilst in the South Ural, trending N. and S., they assume a
fan-shaped arrangement, spreading out towards the southern
steppe of the Kirghis, where, interlaced with porphyries and
other trap-rocks, they are often converted into the far-famed
jaspers of this region.

Still less can I now pretend to treat of the great carbonife-
rous region of the Donetz; for without entering into details
concerning this southern tract, so valuable to the future in-
terests of Russia, I cannot render it the justice which it merits.
Still I may say to you as a geologist, that its numerous beds
of coal (bituminous and anthracitic), with its grits and shales,
are completely subordinate to the mountain limestone series,
and represent in no sense the coal-fields of Great Britain, Bel-
gium, and France.

In concluding, however, I must tell you of a very inter-
esting discovery we made in returning from Taganrog to
Petersburgh. Count Keyserling took the line of Voroneje
and the Don, and M. de Verneuil and myself that of Koursk,
Orel and the river Oka, and on meeting at Moscow our results
completely agreedf. It was, as you know, generally believed
up to this moment, that central Russia presented a regular
succession from older to younger deposits as you proceeded
from north to south. This is not the case. A great axis of
Devonian rocks or old red sandstone, having a width of at
least 120 miles, rises in the heart of the country around Vo-
roneje and Orel, and stretches to the W. N. W., in which
direction it probably connects itself with deposits of the
same age in Lithuania and in Courland. This discovery
seems, indeed, to have an intimate relation to one which we
made in entering Russia early in the spring, near to Schavli
in Lithuania, of much red ground and a band of upper Silu-
rian rocks. In fact it also explains the cause of the great
difference which exists between the deposits of the carbonife-
rous basin of the Donetz and those of your Moscow region,
now proved to constitute a vast basin. For as the two seas, in
which these deposits were accumulated from high antiquity,
were separated by the ancient lands in question, so must we
infer that the conditions and nature of their shores, their rivers,

* Silurian System, p. 615.

t Colonel Helmersen, so distinguished for his geographical and geologi-
cal researches in Russia, also examined the tract near Orel in the course of
the summer, and had come to the same conclusions as our party. I wa
however unacquainted with his opinion when I wrote this letter. — R. I. M

294 Bibliographical Notices.

their currents and bottoms (on which of course the nature of
marine deposits depend), must have been essentially different.

This discovery also proves the symmetry of the opposite
edges of the Moscoxv basin ; since in advancing from the
governments of Tula and Kaluga on the south, we see the
same ascending order as that which we before described
in the Waldai Hills on the north. In both tracts the De-
vonian or old red rocks, with Holoptychius nobilissimus, and
many fishes and shells of that system well known in the Bri-
tish Isles*, pass under the lowest strata of the carboniferous
sera, and serve as a base line to those thin beds of poor coal
associated with Unto sulcatns and Productus gigas (hemispheric
cus, Sow.), which are at present the subject of new researches
on the part of the Russian Government.

The enormous space we traversed and examined, in all
between 13 and 14 thousand miles, might well astonish you, if
I did not assure you, that the arrangements for this journey,
undertaken under the auspices of the Minister of Finance,
Count de Cancrine, were admirably prepared by General
Tcheffkine, whose clear directions, united to that spirit of hos-
pitality which characterizes all Russians, and above all the in-
habitants of the Ural and Siberia, rendered every enterprise
feasible, and enabled us to overcome every obstacle.

I shall communicate to you at a later date, and before our
large memoir is prepared, the general table of the order of su-
perposition of all the formations of Russia, with sections f.

Accept, dear Sir, the assurance of the affection and esteem
of your devoted servant,

Roderick Impey Murchison,
President of the Geol. Society of
London.

To His Excellency M. Fischer de Waldheim.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

Catalogue of British Plants {Part 1st containing the Flowering Plants
and Ferns). By J. H. Balfour, M.D., Reg. Prof, of Botany, Glas-
gow ; C. C. Babington, Esq., M.A., F.L.S. ; and W. H. Camp-
bell, Esq., Sec. Bot. Soc. Second Ed. Printed for the Botanical
Society of Edinburgh, 1841.

The names of the distinguished botanists to whom the Botanical
Society of Edinburgh have delegated the task of preparation, are an
abundant guarantee for the patient care, skill, and critical accuracy

* See Silurian System, p. 599.

t These documents, which were laid before His Imperial Majesty in
MSS., are now in the hands of the engraver.

Bibliographical Notices. 295

which have been exercised in the compilation of this excellent Cata-
logue, which for usefulness and comprehensive completeness very
far exceeds the former edition, and indeed every other existing cata-
logue. It is, in fact, a perfect Manual of British Botany. The ar-
rangement is alphabetical, each genus having its authority appended
with the Linnaean Class and Order, and the Natural Order according
to the classification of Dr. Walker-Arnott in the article ' Botany,'
in the new edition of the ■ Encyclopaedia Britannica.' The species
are similarly arranged, with the additions of the authority, nature,
habit, duration, periods of flowering, and their relative scarcity or
abundance and condition in the flora of Edinburgh. In the deter-
mination of the nomenclature it has been the aim of the compilers to
make that of our British plants correspond, so far as possible, with
that adopted by the best continental writers, which has necessarily
rendered many important alterations necessary. In these amend-
ments they have been chiefly guided by the works of DeCandolle,
Koch, Nees von Esenbeck, Kunth and Leighton. To render con-
fusion impossible in consequence of such changes either in genera or
species, reference is constantly made to the names under which they
appear in the 4th edition of Sir W. J. Hooker's ' British Flora.' The
sources whence new species are derived are indicated by references
to the works from which they are taken, and when they are still un-
published as British plants they are marked as additional species.
The works thus referred to are ' Supplement to English Botany,'
Babington's ' Primitiae Florae Sarnicse,' Leighton's ' Flora of Shrop-
shire,' and ' Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh/

By far the most important feature of the Catalogue is the informa-
tion which it affords to us of the accelerating progress of British bo-
tany. The number of Phanerogamous plants enumerated are, genera,
523 ; species, 1594 ; varieties, '230 : and of Ferns, genera, 22 ; species,
55 ; varieties, 9 : giving a total of genera, 545; species, 1649 ; va-
rieties, 239. Of these more than 70 species are not included in the
last edition (4th) of Hooker's 'British Flora,' published in 1838 (we
mean bond fide additions not arising from mere change of name), and
among them are 24 species which are new and unpublished as British
plants, and consequently not comprised in any other lists of our na-
tive flora. These new plants are as follows : — Alyssum calycinum,
Linn. ; Car ex irrigua, Sm. ; Centranthus Calcitrapa, Dufr. ; Cerastium
pumilum, Curt. ; Echinospermum Lappula, Lehm. ; Epilobium lanceo-
latum, Seb. ; Eranthis hy emails, Salisb. ; Erysimum virgatum, Roth. ;
Galium insubricum, Gaud. ; Gentiana Germanica, Willd. ; Linaria pur-
purea, Mill. ; Malcolmia maritima, Br. ; Melissa officinalis, Linn. :
Nasturtium anceps, Reich. ; Oxalis stricta, Linn. ; Pinguicula longi-
cornis, Gay ? ; Ranunculus circinatus, Sibth. ; Ranunculus fiuitans,
Lam. ; Scirpus parvulus, R. et S. ; Scrophularia Ehrharti, C. A.
Stev. ; Teucrium regium, Schreb. ; Trifolium Bocconi, Sav. ; Urtica
Dodartii, Linn. ; and Vicia gracilis, Lois.

The typography, which is very free from material errors, is re-
markably clear and distinct, and by its admirably contrasted variety
and disposition all confusion is avoided, the eye at once alighting

296 Bibliographical Notices.

upon that which it is in search of, a most material assistance in re-
ference. We do not quite coincide with the compilers in all their
rejections and admissions of species and varieties ; but where there is
so much to commend generally, it would be invidious to point out
what may appear to us (and perhaps only to us individually) a few
minor faults. We could however have wished that the indication of
the relative scarcity or abundance and condition of the species had
been extended to the whole kingdoms, and not confined to the flora
of Edinburgh. In conclusion, we cordially anticipate that this ad-
mirable Catalogue will be the standard one in use with all botanists,
whether as an index to the herbarium or for correspondence.
Arcana Entomologica, or Illustrations of new, rare, and interesting

Exotic Insects. By J. O. Westwood, F.L.S., &c. Nos. 2, 3,

and 4.

Since our former notice of this work three more numbers have made
their appearance, at intervals of two months, and fully keep up the in-
terest of the first number in the beauty and singularity of the insects
represented. Amongst them we may particularize two splendid
moths from Assam, contained in the collection of R. H. Solly, Esq.,
of large size, having all the appearance of species of the true genus
Papilio ; some curious Tenthredinida from New Holland and tropical
Africa ; a gigantic walking-stick insect ; several new species of Pa-
pilio, chiefly from India, and a figure with details of that most ano-
malous animal the Hypocephalus armatus, accompanied by a series of
observations from the pen of Dr. Burmeister on its affinities. The
last number also contains a monograph of the Dipterous family Mi-
dasidce, containing descriptions of not fewer than fifty species, nearly
half of which are new, and of which a great number are figured.

Naturhistorisk Tidskrift, edited by Henrik Kroyer. Copenhagen, Vol.
III. 1840-41.

The volume which we have just received contains the following
articles, — and as some are continued through successive Numbers,
the pages are added.

C. Staeger, Systematic Catalogue of the Diptera found in Denmark,
pp. 1, 228. — J. W. Hornemann, Essay towards a Catalogue of Plants
not cultivated, but which have been introduced in Denmark in former
times, and of those of which the origin is uncertain, pp. 59, 113. — Re-
view of new zoological works, p. 85. — Lund, On the ancient animals
of the Brazils before the last revolution of the world, pp. 85, 214.
(From the * Acta' of the Royal Society of Copenhagen.) — Eschricht,
Cirrhoteuthis Mulleri, a new species of Cephalopod, p. 95. (From
the 'Nova Acta Acad. Nat. Cur./ vol, xviii. p. 11.) — G. Schiodte,
Ichneumonidarum ad Danise Faunam pertinentium genera et species
novse, p. 96. (From Guerin, ' Magazin de Zoologie, d'Anatomie com-
pared et de Paleontologie, 1839.') — T. Cantor, Spicilegium Serpen-
tina Indicorum, p. 100. (From the ' Proceedings of the Zoological
Society, 1 839.') — Eschricht, On the Porpoise and its Entozoa, p. 220.
— Eschricht, On the Salpa cordiformis, p. 223. (From the 'Acta' of
the Royal Society of Copenhagen.) — H. Kroyer, Bopyrus abdominalis,

Entomological Society. 297

pp. 102, 289. — F. Boie, On the history of the Reptiles of Denmark
(Pelias berus, L. ; Coronella austriaca, Gra. ; Lacerta crocea, Wolf. ;
Lacerta agilis, L. ; Bufo variabilis, Pallas ; Molge cristata, Hyla ar-
borea, L.). — Reinhardt, On new Greenlandic Fishes, p. 225 (Micro-
stomus grcenlandicus, Cottus bicornis). — H. Kroyer, On the metamor-
phosis of the Pycnogonides, p. 299 {Pycnogonum littorale, Nymphon
grossipes, L. ; Phoxichilus femoratus.) — J. H. Bredsdorf, Some re-
marks on the System of Plants by Reichenbach, p. 307. — F. Boie,
Entomological Contributions, p. 315. — J. C. Schiodte, On the De-
velopment of Azote in some warm springs in Iceland, p. 329. — J. C.
Schiodte, A Journey in the mountains of Iceland in the summer of
1840, p. 331. — V. Strom and J. Lange, Communications on Natural
History, p. 395. — S. Drejer, Some additions to the Danish Flora, p.
409. — S. Drejer, Revisio critica Caricum borealium in terris subim-
perio Danico jacentibus inventarum, p. 423. — H. P. C. Miiller, Re-
marks on the genus Limacina, Linn., p. 481. — Steenstriip, Notes on
the manner of living of Danish animals and the places where they
are found, p. 490 (Bufofuscus, Podiceps auritus and cornutus, Lat.,
Fuligula cristata (Anas fuligula, L.), Merops apiaster, Sorew pygmceus,
Pallas). — S. Drejer, Some additions to the Danish Flora, p. 496.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

May 5th, 1841. — W. W. Saunders, Esq., President, in the Chair.

Mr. Samuel Stevens exhibited a monstrous specimen of Harpalus
rufimanus, taken by Mr. Bond, in which one of the hind femora was
furnished with two anomalous appendages.

Mr. Westwood exhibited several portable cases formed by the
larvse of a large species of Chlamys (a splendid Brazilian genus of
Chrysomelida:) , from the collections of Messrs. Hope and Miers.
These nests are composed of a short cylindrical curved tube, having
a constriction at the hinder extremity which terminates in a globose
knob ; the other extremity is open and very oblique : at a short di-
stance in front of the constricted part there arises a thin appendage,
of similar materials with the rest of the case, which is dilated on each
side into a very large and conical hollow mantle, fitted however to
the mouth of the case, which thus exhibits a singular appearance.
It is within this case that the larvse undergo their transformations.
Dr. Burmeister had described the nest of another species of Chlamys,
which, like the present, is formed of the excrement of the insect, but
had not noticed the peculiar bipartite structure observable in those
now exhibited, and of which it is difficult to conceive the mode of
construction.

Mr. Westwood also exhibited, from the collection of Mr. Miers,
several nests formed by the larvae of the equally splendid Brazilian
genus Lamprosoma. These nests had been found attached to the
bark of the Bombax trees, and closely resemble in appearance the

298 Entomological Society.

dead bud of a tree ; they appear to be constructed of the same ma-
terial as the nests of the Chlamys. The insects undergo these changes
within the nests, the larva fastening the orifice to the stem of the
tree, and then turning itself round so as to escape (when arrived at
the imago state) from the opposite end. In one of these nests a
number of parasitical Ichneumones adsciti were found.

A note was read from the Rev. R. A. Cox, relative to the appear-
ance of immense numbers of minute black caterpillars on the surface
of pasture grounds in the parish of West Camel, Somerset, to the
extent of twenty acres. The caterpillars were regarded by Mr.
Stephens as those of a species of Melitcea, which are known occa-
sionally to congregate in great numbers.

The following memoirs were read :

" Description of a new genus of Carabideous insects from tropical
Africa," by G. R. Waterhouse, Esq.

Disphericus, W. Caput elongatum, labrum brevissimum s antice
emarginatum, labium apice subemarginatum, palpi articulo externo
• obtriangulari, antenna longce, subcrassiores, thorax valde convexus
fere globosus. Femora antica crassiora, tibia intus emarginatce.

Disphericus Gambianus, W. Ater nitidus, thorace globoso ; dorso
canaliculato, elytris ovatis valde convexis profunde striato-punc-
tatis interstitiis convexis. Long. corp. lin. 8, lat. 3. Habitat
in Africa tropicali, Gambia. In Mus. D. Melly.
This insect is remarkable for the spherical form both of the thorax
and abdomen, and is considered by Mr. Waterhouse to be the con-
necting link between Cychrus and Potamophilus.

" A monograph of the genus Panorpa, together with descriptions
of species of various allied genera," by J. O. Westwood, F.L.S.

After alluding to the recent monograph of Dr. Klug upon the
family Panorpida, the author gives the following monograph upon
the typical genus Panorpa.

A. Species Europaese.

1. P. communis, Linn. Fusco-nigra, meso- et metathorace linea
media lata lutea, abdominis apice rufo ; alis ad apicem subacutis,
hyalinis, vents, fasciis, maculisque nigris, stigmate elongato ; vena
\ma longitudinali pone stigma, terfurcata.

2. P. Germanica, Linn. Fusco-nigra, meso- et metathorace linea
media lutea, abdominis apice rufo-luteo ; alis ad apicem rotundatis,
hyalinis, venis, fasciis maculisque nigris, stigmate breviori, vena
\ma pone stigma, bis furcata.

3. P. rufo- stigma, W. Fulva, thorace luteo, lateribus nigris, alis
hyalinis fusco-maculatis apiccque fusco, stigmate magno rufo, vena
\ma longitudinali post stigma, bis furcata. Exp. alar. lin. 13.
Habitat in Albania. D. S. S. Saunders. An var. P. Ger-
manics ?

B. Species Asiaticsc.

4. P. appendiculata, W. Nigra, capite thoraceque fulvis, abdo-
minis segmento 2do in $ appendiculo tenui valde elongato, alis

\

Entomological Society. 299

nigrisalbo variis. Exp. alar. 1 unc. Habitat in Madras. D.
W. Elliott. In Mus. Britann. $ ? .

5. P. Javanica, W. Nigra, thoracis dbdominisque lateribus rufes-
centibus, alis sublatis, hyalinis, fascia parva, postice dentata ante
medium alee, fascia altera lata postice furcata pone medium, api-
ceque lato nigris. Exp. alar. lin. 13}. Habitat in insula Java.
D. Horsfield.

6. P. angustipennis, W. Nigra, rostro rufo, lobis later alibus tho-
racis luteis, alis valde elongatis basi angustis, fascia tenuissima ante
medium alter aque versus apicem postice furcata, apice lato, postice
abbreviato nigris $ . Habitat in insula Java, vel " Tennasserim
Coast."

7. P. furcata, Hardwicke in Linn. Trans.

8. P. Charpentiertf Burmeister Handb. d. Ent., ii. 958.

9. P. Japonica, Thunberg.

C. Species Americans.

10. P. rufa, G. R. Gray in Griff. Ann. K. (P.fasciata, Klug.)

11. P. lugubris, Swederus. (P. Scorpio, Fabr.)

12. P. nebulosa, W. Obscure luteo-fulva, abdominis segmento 5to
£ inermi, alis subcinereo-hyalinis, puncto magno nigro ad basin

stigmatis, venisque brevibus transversis nebulosis. Exp. alar. lin.
11. Habitat in America boreali. D. Doubleday.

13. P. punctata, Klug.

14. P. terminata, Klug.

15. P. Americana, Swederus. (P.fasciata, Fabr.)

16. P. venosa, W. Obscure fulva, meso- et metathoracis lateribus
obscuris, abdomine obscuro, linea dorsali pallidiori, alis pallide
flavo-luteis, venis transversis, fasciis apiceque nigricantibus $ .
Exp. alar. lin. 12. Habitat in Georgia.

17. P. confusa, W. Fulva, alis luteo-hyalinis, venis nigricantibus,
venis transversis fusco-tinctis, fasciis apiceque tenuibus nigrican-
tibus, abdominis segmento 5to £ supra spina longa armato, 6to ad
basin haud inciso <$ $ . Exp. alar. lin. 11. Habitat in Massa-
chusetts.

18. P. debilis, W. Luteo-fulva, abdominis basi supra nigro, seg-
mento 5to, cornu brevi obliquo armato, 6to basi supra emarginato,
alis pallidis fasciis apiceque fuscis. Exp. alar. lin. 11. Habitat in
America septentr.

19. P. sub furcata, W. Obscure fulva, capite magis rufescente, ab-
domine supra ad basin obscuro, segmento 5to, cornu brevi dorsali
armato, alis fusco-fasciatis, vena pone stigma ad apicem vix fur-
cata £ $ . Exp. alar. lin. 11-13. Habitat in Nova Scotia.

Euphania, W. Caput prothorace haud occultatum infra in probos-
cidem longitudine mediocri productum. Antenna longitudine alis
aquales. Ala longa elongato-ovatce, anticcE costa dilatata haud
areolata, disci venis longitudinalibus fere ut in Panorpa dispositis.

300 Entomological Society.

Ungues tarsorum acuti basi tantum serrulati, pulvillo mugno in-
termedio.

1 . Euphania luteola. Fulva, antennis nigris basi fulvis, meso- et
metathorace piceis ad later a rufescentibus, abdominepiceo, segmcn-
tis 4 apicalibus fulvis pedibus piceis, femoribus fulvis , alis pallide
luteis, ad basin magis fulvis, venis discoidalibus fuscis, basalibus

fulvis, stigmatefusco. Exp. alar. lin. 15£. Habitat ? In

Mus. Britann.

Merope, Newman.

Merope tuber, N. in Ent. Mag., v. 180. Habitat "Trenton
Falls," Amer. septentr.

Bittacus, Latreille.

1. B. affinis, W. Testaceus, abdominis apice tarsisque posticis
obscurioribus, alis pallide fusees centibus, stigmatefusco, venisque
parumfusco-tinctis. Exp. alar. lin. 19 J. Habitat in Brasilia.

2. B. punctiger,W. Fulvescens, femoribus setispaucis nigris e guttis
minutis fuscis prodeuntibus, armatis ; alis paullb latioribus nitidis
flavido-hyalinis, stigmate fere concolori guttisque numerosis paullb
obscurioribus. Exp. alar. lin. 20. Habitat in Georgia America?.

3. B. pallidipennis, W. Totus fulvo-luteus, tibiarum summo apice
nigricanti, alis pallidissime luteis, unicoloribus , stigmate vix ob-
scuriori. Exp. alar. lin. 16|. Habitat ?

4. B. pilicornis,W. Pallide fusco-luteus, pedibus lutescentibus, alis
hyalinis, stigmate vix colorato, antennis long e pilosis. Exp. alar,
lin. 18|. Habitat in America septentr. D. Doubleday.

June 7th. — W. W. Saunders, Esq., President, in the Chair.

The Rev. F. W. Hope exhibited a variety of new and splendid Co-
leopterous insects obtained by him during a recent visit to Paris. He
also exhibited a piece of iron-stone, forwarded by Wm. Stephenson,
Esq., Surgeon, Donnington, exhibiting impressions somewhat resem-
bling those of the wing of a butterfly, but which the President con-
sidered to be the leaf of one of the fossil ferns (Holopteris ?),

the veins being quite unlike those of any insect.

Mr. S. Stevens exhibited a small collection of Indian Coleoptera
which he had recently acquired, including three species of Paussidte,
Platyrhopalus denticornis, P. aplustifer, W., and a new species, since
described by Mr. Westwood in the Proceedings of the Linnsean Society
under the name of Paussus Stevensii. Mr. Stevens also exhibited
living specimens of several rare British Coleoptera, recently taken in
Hainault Forest, namely, Leptura scutellata, Calosoma Inquisitor,
Elater balteatus, &c. He also brought for distribution amongst the
Members a number of living specimens of Trichius nobilis.

Mr. Marshall exhibited a portion of the comb of the honey-bee
entirely destroyed by the larva of Achroia alvearia, which had now
arrived at the perfect state, and observed, that the cocoons, when first
formed, are of a pure white silk, but are soon afterwards found to be
coated over with black particles of excrement. He noticed the diffi-
culty which he experienced to account for this, unless, as he believed

Entomological Society. 301

was the case, the larva leaves a hole open at the end of the cocoon,
and is in the habit, before its transformation, of going out at this
aperture in order to deposit its excrement. He also noticed the ex-
treme rapidity with which the moth vibrates its antennae.

Mr. A. White exhibited some cocoons of an insect from Hon-
duras, one end of which was furnished with a flat trap-door, fastened
by an admirably contrived hinge, and which he conceived was formed
either by a Coleopterous or Cimbicideous insect. He also exhibited
a drawing, made by Mr. Angers, of a splendid Papilio in the collection
of the British Museum, which, if new, he proposed to name Papilio
Iswara.

The completion of Mr. Westwood's memoir on the Panorpida was
read.

July 5th.— The Rev. F. W. Hope, V.P., in the Chair.
Mr. J.F. Stephens exhibited specimens in illustration of the natural
history of Nematus Ribesii, St., which had this year committed great
devastation upon currant-trees in the neighbourhood of London,
stripping trees entirely of their leaves, and being in some places so
numerous that not a single currant-tree has escaped. The female
deposits its eggs upon the veins of the leaves, upon which the larvae
feed as soon as hatched. He had counted as many as fifty- seven
upon a single leaf : so rapid was their consumption of the leaves,
that he had had a currant-bush completely stripped in a single night.
They had first appeared in May, and the larvae now exhibited were
the third brood this season. The larva forms its cocoon on the sur-
face of the ground.

Mr. S. Stevens exhibited several nests of Apoderus Coryli which
he had found upon oak-trees.

Mr. Westwood exhibited a new species of (Estrus from India,
and a new genus of Mantida with conical eyes from Senegal, the
latter from the collection of the Rev. F. W. Hope.

Mr. Walton exhibited a living specimen of Monochamus Sartor P,
taken in a new house at Islington, and two specimens of Hylobius
Abietis found crawling in the parlour of his own house, the floor of
which had been newly laid down, from which he supposed they had
escaped. Likewise a species of Micronyx, Sch. (a Curculionideous
genus not hitherto introduced into the native lists), which had been
described by Mr. Curtis in the ' Annals of Nat. Hist.' vol. v. p. 280.
as a species of Pissodes (P.pygmceus). He also exhibited a new Bri-
tish species of Tychius.

Mr. White exhibited some exotic species of Arachnida and Cimi-
cidec, including a new species of the genus Agapophyta from the
collection of Mr. James Wilson, and also some new species of Cur-
culionidce found in Scotland by Mr. Greville, namely, Magdalis phleg-
maticus, Little, Ceutorhynchus viduatus, a new species near C. polli-
naris, and Anthonomus pubescens.

Mr. F. Bond brought for distribution amongst the Members a
number of specimens of Callidium violaceum, taken by himself from
an old larch post near Kingsbury, Middlesex.

Mr. Westwood mentioned the destruction committed by the larvae

302 Entomological Society,

of Tenthredo testudinea upon young apples, devouring the interior of
the fruit, being the only instance yet known of such habits amongst
the Tenthredinidce, although the larvae of Nematus intercus and some
allied species inhabit the interior of galls upon willow-leaves, upon
the substance of which they subsist. The larvae of the former insect
emit a very powerful scent, similar to that of the bed-bug, and quit
the apple as soon as it is fallen to the ground, in order to undergo
their transformations in the earth, the eggs being deposited on the
young fruit whilst the trees are yet in flower.

The following memoirs were read : —

11 Descriptions of some nondescript Lamellicorn beetles in his col-
lection," by the Rev. F. W. Hope, F.R.S., &c.

1. Nigidius grandis, H. Niger auriculatus martdibulis brevibus ro-
bustis, cxterne in cornu luniferum elevatis , elytris fortiter sulcatis ,
thorace sparsim excavato punctatis. Long. corp. lin. 10. Hab.
Sierra Leone. D. Strachan.

2. Lucanus Burmeisteri, H. Niger, mandibulis capite thoraceque
longioribus dentibus binis ad apicem minoribus tertio fere in medio
multo fortiori, capite antice elevato, thoracis lateribus in medio
acuminatis, elytris castaneis, ad basin triangulo nigro variis,femo-
ribus tibiisque inermibus. Long. corp. (mandib. incl.) 3 unc. 4
lin. Hab. Mysore, India.

3. Dorcus Darwinii, H. Atrofuscus, mandibulis dentatis nigris,
capite postice lato, subspinoso, thoracis disco in medio elevato,
elytris convexis multipunctatis , tibiis anticis denticulatis , 4posticis
in medio unispinosis. Long. corp. lin. 1\. Hab. Chili.

4. Valgus argillaceus, H. Fuscus, capite fiavo-tomentoso, thorace
antice subcornuto denticulato, postice angulis rotundatis, ano gra-
nulifero tomento asperso, corpore infra argillaceo, tibiis binis an-
ticis dilatatis. Long. corp. lin. 3J. Hab. India orient.

5. Gnathocera Natalensis, H. Smaragdina, capite fere quadrato,
marginibus elevatis nigris, thorace viridi varioloso, elytris viridi-
opalinis crebrissime punctulatis, podice postice aureo, tarsis piceis .
Long. corp. lin. 7. Hab. Natal.

6. Dicheros ornatus, Burmeister's MSS. Niger, capite medio
excavato, postice tridentato, thorace nigro, fascia obliqua rubra fere
interrupta, elytris nigris, macula lata flava, basi apice suturaque
nigricantibus, pedibus nigris , femoribus rubro-corallinis. Long,
corp. lin. 8. Hab. India orient, Mysore.

7. Caelorrhina concolor, Burmeister's MSS. Smaragdina aut
viridi-opalina, clypeo antice valde emarginato, elytris concoloribus
striato -punctatis humeris nigricantibus, corpore infra viride, seg-
ments abdominis medio opalinis. Long. corp. lin. 12. Hab.
Sierra Leone.

8. Schizorhina succinea, H. Flava, capite antice luteo, postice ni-
gricante punctulato, thorace fusco-favo maculis duabus discoidali-
bus, elytris succineis, pectore nigricanti, femoribus flavis, tibiis

Entomological Society. 303

tarsisque atro-piceis. Long. corp. lin. 9^. Hab. Nova Hol-
laridia.

9. Cetonia Indra, H. Rubro-punicea, clypeo subemarginato, thorace
quadrimaculato, elytris acuminatis atro-puniceis macula irregulari
ochraceo-flava in medio disci alteraque minori fere ad angulum
externum; corpore infra rubro -puniceo , pectore segmentis abdo-
minis utrinque ochraceo maculatis. Long. corp. lin. 12. Hab.
Manilla.

10. Agestrata Withillii, H. Nigra nitida glabra, thorace binis
foveis parum distinctis fere ad scutellum positis, corpore infra
atro pectore segmentisque abdominis aurantio maculatis. Long,
corp. lin. 19. Hab. Bombay.

11. Agestrata Gagates, H. Nigra nitida, thorace lobato subcon-
vexo glabro, corpore infra atro-nitido, segmentis abdominis utrinque
aurantio maculatis. Long. corp. lin. 16. Hab. India orient.,
Travancore.

12. Macronota vittigera, H. Nigra, capite linea media aurantia,
thorace trivittato vittis aurantiis, elytris bivittatis vittis ante
apicem abbreviatis, podice in medio nigro lateribus flavis . Long,
corp. lin. 13^. Hab. India orient., Mysore.

13. Pachytricha, H. Corpus magnum obesum convexum ; labrum
porrectum bifidum ; antenna 10 - articulates ; maxilla apice valde
penicillata ; mandibular recta apice obtusa ; mentum apice valde
emarginatum ; ungues intus dentibus duobus instructi.

This genus is regarded by Burmeister as intermediate between
Glaphyrus and Chasmatopterus .

P. castanea, H. Picea, capite valde acuminato, thorace antice utrinque
spinoso, scutello piceo, elytris castaneis, podice brunneo, pedibus
piceis. Long. corp. lin. 15. Hab. Nova Hollandia.

A memoir was also read by Mr. Westwood, " On the Australian
genus Cryptodus, and upon Parastasia, the Asiatic representative of
the Rutelida." m

After noticing the singular character of the genus Cryptodus, and
its location by Mr. MacLeay, at first in the family Trogida, and lat-
terly, in Dr. Smith's African Researches, as one of the primary forms
of the Cetoniida, including Cremastocheilus, Genuchus, &c. as its sub-
genera, the author institutes a comparative examination of its struc-
ture in detail with the last-named groups, as well as with the Tro-
gida, and also with the Phileurideous Dynastida, which last are re-
garded by him as the true affinities of Cryptodus. The nine-jointed
antennae, upon which so much stress has been laid by Mr. MacLeay,
is proved to be only a specific character, Mr. Westwood describing
a new species with the following characters.

Cryptodus Tasmannianus, W. Niger, nitidus, oblongus, punctatus,
antennis 10-articulatis, mento basi recte truncato , prosterno an-
tice producto , mar gine antico fere recto. Long. corp. lin. 9^.
Hab. Terra Van Diemenii. Mus. Westwood, &c.

Parastasia, W. Gen. nov. Asiaticum ! e familia Rutelidarum.

304 Entomological Society.

Corpus valde gibbosum, pedibus brevissimis ; caput antice bitubercu-
latum ; antenna 10 -articulate; mandibulce cornea ad apicem extus
curvatce, angulo externa in dentem subrecurvum prominentem pro-
ducto ; maxilla lobo externo producto tridentato.
This genus appears to be confined to the islands of the Indian
Ocean, especially those of the Philippine range. It is the first in-
stance on record of a Rutelideous insect found in that quarter of the
globe.

Sp. 1. Parastasia canaliculata, W. Nigra, nitida, elytris fulvo-va-
riegatis plagis duabus elevatis, obliquis utrinque versus scutellum.
Long. corp. lin. 9£. Hab. Philippine Islands, Cuming. Mus. Hope.

«*r Sp. 2. Parastasia bipunctata, W. Nigra, prothor ace rufo, nigro-
bipunctato, elytris nigris, basifulvis, singuli maculis duabus nigris.
Long. corp. lin. 8^. Hab. Philippine Islands, Cuming. Mus.
Brit.
3.M Sp. 3. Parastasia discolor, W. Nigra, prothor ace rufo, elytris
castaneo-rufis, bast scutelloque obscurioribus. Long. corp. lin.
7J. Hab. Philippine Islands, Cuming. Mus. Brit.

33H" Sp. 4. Parastasia nigriceps, W. Luteo-fulva, capite, prothoracis
maculis duabus alterisque duabus ad basin elytrorum tarsisque
nigris. Long. corp. lin. 5J. Hab. Philippine Islands, Cuming.
Mus. Brit.

B.M" Sp. 5. Parastasia confluens, W. Nigra, prothor ace in medio rufo
et impresso, elytris obscure rufis, singulo maculis duabus luteis
ovalibus contiguis ante medium positis. Long. corp. lin. 5j.
Hab. Philippine Islands, Cuming. Mus. Brit.
Sp. 6. Parastasia binotata, W. Nigra, elytrorum singulo macula
magna, pr ope scutellum fulva. Long. corp. lin. 8 J. Hab. Java.
Mus. Melly and Curtis.

3^t Sp. 7. Parastasia Westwoodii, Waterh. MSS. Piceo-brunnea,
sordide opaca, thorace utrinque plagis obliquis fasciaque obscura
iSS&fcifri&u ii<t\*sin medio elytrorum nigris antennis basi femoribus tibiisque lucidi-
oribus. Long. corp. lin. 5|. Hab. Sumatra. Mus. Zool. Soc.

BJCsC Sp. 8. Parastasia Horsfieldii, W. Nigra, elytris postice piceis.
Long. corp. lin. 9^. Hab. Java, Horsfield. Mus. East Ind. Comp.

$.1£ Sp. 9. Parastasia bicolor, W. Nigra, prothor ace miniato. Long,
corp. lin. 6. Hab. Java, Horsfield. Mus. East Ind. Comp.
Mr. West wood also exhibited figures of many new Lamellicorn
groups, which he had for some time past been preparing for publica-
tion.

Professor Burmeister (who was present) stated, in confirmation of
Mr. Westwood's observations on the relation of Cryptodus with the
Dynastidce, that he had observed that the tarsi and ungues in that
genus were dissimilar in the sexes, as in some of the aberrant Dy-
nastida, and that the genus Trionychus of Dejean appeared to him
the nearest relation to Cryptodus, which he considered to be in no
wise related to the Cetoniida, as regarded by Mr. MacLeay.

Geological Society. .305

A note was also read by Mr. Tulk on the habits of a large toad
which he had found confined in a hole, out of which it was impossible
for it to make its escape, and the intestines of which he found filled
with the remains of various Carabidce, especially 'Steropus madidus,
which had sought shelter in the same place, and which had scarcely
undergone any change whilst in the stomach of the toad. This in-
duced Professor Owen to observe, that an examination of various
kinds of Coprolites of animals analogous to the toad would probably
lead to the discovery of many extinct species of insects of which we
are now ignorant.

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Feb. 24, 1841. — A paper entitled "Description of parts of the
Skeleton and Teeth of five species of the genus Labyrinthodon,
from the new red sandstone of Coton End and Cubbington Quar-
ries ; with remarks on the probable identity of the Cheirotherium
with that genus of extinct Batrachians," by Richard Owen, Esq.,
F.G.S., F.R.S.

In a paper read on the 20th of January, Mr. Owen described the
peculiarities in the structure of the teeth of the Labyrinthodon ; and
having been favoured by Dr. Lloyd, since that paper was written,
with the loan of all the reptilian remains obtained from the new red
sandstone of Warwick and Leamington, deposited in the Museums
of those towns, and having been liberally permitted by the Com-
mittees of the Institutions to examine the teeth by the microscopic
test, he gives, in this paper, a minutely detailed description of the
fragments submitted to his examination, and points out their rela-
tive connexion to each other, and the laws by which he has been
enabled to determine that they all belong to the genus Labyrin-
thodon, and [are] confirmatory of the Batrachian nature of the
Wurtemberg fossil.

The specimens which Mr. Owen has examined are referable to
five species, to which he has applied the names, — 1 . Labyrinthodon
salamandroides, 2. L. leptognathus , 3. L. pachygnathus, 4. L. ven-
tricosus, and 5. L. scutulatus ; and he describes successively the cha-
racters exhibited by the bones assignable to the 2nd, 3rd and 5th
species.

Labyrinthodon leptognathus. — The remains which Mr. Owen con-
siders as portions of this species, consist of fragments of the upper
and lower jaws, two vertebrae, and a sternum. They were found in
the sandstone quarries at Coton End, near Warwick.

The portions of the upper jaw show that the maxillary or facial
division of the skull was broad, much depressed and flattened, re-
sembling the skull of the gigantic Salamander and of the Alligator ;
and the outer surface of the bones was strongly sculptured, as in the
Crocodilian family, but of a relatively larger and coarser pattern.
The fragment described contains the anterior moiety of the single
row of small teeth, or 30 sockets, and the base of one of the great
anterior tusks. The bases of the serial teeth project directly from

Ann. $ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. X

306 Geological Society.

the outer wall of the shallow socket, there being no alveolar ridge
external to it. The large anterior fang is three times the size of the
first of the serial teeth, and the size of these gradually diminish as
they are placed further back ; the length of the common-sized being
about two lines, and the greatest breadth one-third of a line. The
apical two-thirds of each tooth is smooth, but the basal third is fluted,
and anchylosed to the outer wall of the socket. The breadth of the
upper jaw, opposite the middle of the dental series, was two inches
six lines; in proceeding backwards the jaw gradually expands to
three inches, and in proceeding forwards narrows, but in a less
degree towards the anterior extremity, and then slightly widens or
inclines outwards on account of the large tusks. Where the upper
jaw is entire, a portion next the median suture, four lines in breadth,
is separated from the maxillary bone by a longitudinal harmonia,
and corresponds with the position of the nasal bone in the Crocodile.
On comparing the structure of the cranium of the Labyrinthodon
with the Batrachian condition of the same part, Mr. Owen shows
that an important difference will be found to exist. In both the
caducibranchiate and perennibranchiate species, the upper maxillary
bones do not extend horizontally over the upper surface of the skull,
but leave a very wide interval between the maxillary and nasal
bones ; and the palatal processes of the former contribute as little to
form the floor of the nasal cavity : in the Crocodiles, on the contrary,
the palatal processes of the maxillary bones extend horizontally in-
wards, and meet at the middle line of the roof, forming an unbroken
floor to the nasal cavity. In the Labyrinthodon the superior max-
illary bones, as already shown, extend inwards to the nasal bone,
constituting with it a continuous roof to the nasal cavities ; but the
palatal processes, instead of reaching to the middle line, as in the
Crocodiles, are very narrow, as in the Batrachia. The osseous roof
of the mouth is principally composed of a pair of broad and flat
bones, analogous to the divided vomer in Batrachia, but of much
greater relative extent, approaching, in this respect, those of the
Menopome, and defending the mouth with a more extensive roof of
bone than exists in any Lacertian reptile : " physiologically, there-
fore," observes Mr. Owen, " the Labyrinthodon, in this part of its
structure, comes nearest to the Crocodile ; but the structure itself,
morphologically, is essentially Batrachian." In the Menopome and
gigantic Salamander, a row of small teeth extends transversely
across the anterior extremity of the vomerine bones : and the occur-
rence in the Labyrinthodon of a similar row, consisting in each
palatine bone of three median small teeth and two outer larger ones,
marks most strongly its Batrachian nature ; and from the outer-
most tooth a longitudinal row of small and equal-sized teeth is con-
tinued backward along the exterior margin of the palatine bone.
The whole of this series of palatal teeth is nearly concentric with
the maxillary teeth.

In Lacertine reptiles the examples of a row of palatal teeth are
rare, short, and situated towards the back of the palate, upon the

Geological Society. 307

pterygoid bones, as in the Iguana and Mosasaur. In Batrachia the
most common disposition of the palatal teeth is a transverse row
placed at the anterior part of the divided vomer in Frogs, the Meno-
pome and gigantic Salamander, and at the posterior part in certain
toads. In the Amphiume, on the contrary, the palatal teeth form a
nearly longitudinal series along the outer margin of the palatine
bones. The Labyrinthodon, as already shown, combines both these
dispositions of the palatal teeth. The posterior palatine apertures
are more completely circumscribed by bone than in most Batrachi-
ans, occupying the same relative position as in the Iguana. The
posterior margin only of one of the anterior apertures is exhibited
in this specimen, but from its curve Mr. Owen infers that the two
apertures were not confluent, as in the Crocodile, the Frog, or the
Menopome, but that they were distant, as in the Iguana.

From the physiological condition of the nasal cavity Mr. Owen
is disposed to believe that the Labyrinthodon differed from the Ba-
trachians and resembled the Saurians, in having distinct posterior
nasal apertures surrounded by bone, and that its mode of respiration
was the same as in the higher air-breathing reptiles. In the shed-
ding and renewal of the maxillary and the transverse palatal teeth,
Mr. Owen shows that the process took place alternately in each
row, as in many fishes, whereby the dental series is always kept in
an efficient state.

The author then describes a portion, sixteen inches long, of the
left ramus of an under jaw from the Warwick sandstone, and con-
sidered to belong to the same species as the bone just described. It
is slender and straight, and the symphysial extremity is abruptly
bent inwards, and it presents, Mr. Owen says, almost as striking a
Batrachian character as any of the bones just mentioned. The an-
gular piece is of great breadth, extending on both sides of the jaw,
and is continued forward to near the symphysis, forming the whole
of the inferior part of the jaw, and extending upon the inner as far
as upon the outer side of the ramus, the inner plate performing the
function of the detached os operculare in the jaw of Saurians. The
dentary bone is supported upon a deep and wide groove along the
upper surface of the angular piece, which also projects beyond the
groove, so as to form a strong convex ridge on the external side of
the jaw, below the dentary piece. This character, which in the
large bull-frog (Rana plpiens) is confined to the posterior part of the
maxillary ramus, is in the Labyrinthodon continued to near the an-
terior extremity. The teeth are long and slender, gradually dimi-
nishing in size towards the anterior portion of the jaw, and the
fragment presents a linear series of not less than fifty sockets, placed
alternately a little more internally ; and at the anterior inflected
part of the jaw is the base of the socket of a large tooth. The an-
terior portion of the jaw being broken off, it is uncertain if the serial
teeth were continued externally to the anterior tusk, a remarkable
ichthyic character noticed in another species of Labyrinthodon.

The sockets of the teeth are shallower than in the upper jaw ; the
outer wall is more developed than the inner, and the anchylosed

X2

308 Geological Society,

bases of the teeth more nearly resemble, in their oblique position,
those of existing Batrachia. Mr. Owen then describes the micro-
scopic structure of the teeth, and he shows that, between the apex
and the part where the inflected vertical folds of the cement com-
mence, the tooth resembles, in the simplicity of its intimate struc-
ture, that of the entire tooth of ordinary Batrachia and most rep-
tiles ; and in the lower or basal half of the tooth the structure
described in the previous memoir commences, and gradually in-
creases in complexity. From the long and slender character of this
ramus, Mr. Owen shows that the length of the head, as compared
with the breadth, approximates more nearly to Crocodilian propor-
tions than to the ordinary Batrachian ones ; but that among existing
Batrachia it resembles most nearly the Amphiume.

A dorsal vertebra from Coton End, which is next described, pre-
sents still further evidence of the Batrachian nature of the Laby-
rinthodon, in having concave but not deep articular cavities at the
extremities of the body, a condition now known among existing rep-
tiles only in the Gecko, and in the lower or perennibranchiate divi-
sion of Batrachians. The body of the vertebra is elongate and sub-
compressed, with a smooth extended, but not regularly curved sur-
face, terminating below in a slightly produced, longitudinal, median
ridge ; and it exhibits the same exceptional condition in the Repti-
lian class as do the vertebrae of existing Batrachians, in having the
superior arch or neurapophysis anchylosed with the centrum. From
each side of the base of the neural arch extends obliquely, outwards
and upwards, the remains of a thick and strong transverse process ;
and from their strength and direction Mr. Owen gathers indications
of a necessity for an expanded respiratory cavity, and that they sup-
ported ribs.

A symmetrical bone, resembling the episternum of the Ichthyosau-
rus, is also described. It consists of a stem or middle, which gradu-
ally thickens to the upper end, where cross-pieces are given off at
right angles to the stem, and support on each a pretty deep and wide
groove, indicating strongly the presence of clavicles, and thus point-
ing out another distinction from Crocodiles, in which clavicles are
wanting.

In concluding the description of these remains of the Labyrintho-
don leptognathus, Mr. Owen says, that they prove the fossil to have
been essentially Batrachian, with striking and peculiar affinities to
the higher Sauria, leading, in the form of the skull and the sculptu-
ring of the cranial bones, to the Crocodilian group, and in one part
of the dental structure, in the form of the episternum, and the bi-
concave vertebrae, to the Ichthyosaurus ; while in the bony palate
there is a deviation from the Batrachian character, and a resemblance
to the Lacertian type. Another marked peculiarity in this fossil is
the anchylosis of the base of the teeth to distinct and shallow sockets,
by which it is made to resemble the Sphyraena and certain other
fishes. From the absence of any trace of alveoli of reserve for the
successional teeth, Mr. Owen believes the teeth were reproduced, as
in many fishes, especially the higher Chondropterygii, which formed

Geological Society. 309

the Amphibia natantes of Linnaeus, in the soft mucous membrane
which covered the alveolar margin, and subsequently became fixed
to the bone by anchylosis, as in the Pike and Lophius. No remains
of the locomotive organs of the L. leptognathus have yet been found.
Labyrinthodon paehygnathus. — In detailing the remains of this spe-
cies, consisting of portions of the lower and upper jaws, an anterior
frontal bone, a fractured humerus, an ilium with a great part of the
acetabulum, the head of a femur, and two unguial phalanges, Mr.
Owen dwells on further Batrachian characters and certain peculi-
arities of structure, and shows the points in which it agrees with the
L. leptognathus. A portion, nine and a half inches long, of a right
ramus of a lower jaw is first described ; and in addition to the cha-
racters common to it and the fragment of the lower jaw of the
L. leptognathus, in the structure of the angular and dentary pieces,
the author shows that the outer wall of the alveolar process is not
higher than the inner, as in Frogs and Toads, the Salamanders and
Menopome, in all of which the base of the teeth is anchylosed to the
inner side of an external alveolar plate. The smaller serial teeth
are about forty in number, and gradually diminish in size as they
approach both ends, but chiefly so towards the anterior part of the
jaw. The sockets are close together, and the alternate ones are
empty. The great laniary teeth were apparently three in each sym-
physis, and the length of the largest is considered to have been one
and a half inch. A section through the base of the anterior tusk
above the socket exhibits the structure described in Mr. Owen's first
memoir ; but a section of the second tusk, also taken above the socket,
exhibited a very simplified modification of the labyrinthic arrangement,
presenting a disposition closely analogous to that at the base of the
teeth of the Ichthyosaurus. The apical half of the tusks has a smooth
and polished surface, and the pulp-cavity is continued, of small size,
into the centre of this part of the tooth. In the serial teeth, which
in other respects, except size, correspond with the preceding descrip-
tion of the tusks, the central pulp-cavity is more quickly obliterated,
but the alveoli are large, moderately deep and complete : the texture
of the teeth is dense and brittle. The base of each tooth is anchy-
losed to the bottom of its socket, as in Scomberoid and Sauroid
fishes ; but the Labyrinthodon possesses, Mr. Owen says, a still
more ichthyic character in the continuation, preserved in this speci-
men, of a row of small teeth anterior and external to the two or three
larger tusks. A double row of teeth thus occasioned does not exist
in the maxillary bones, either superior or inferior, of any Batra-
chian or Saurian reptile ; in Mammalia it has been noticed only in
the upper jaw of the hare and rabbit, and in Fishes only in the
lower jaw.

A fragment of the superior maxillary bone is also described, and
its chief deviation from the Crocodilian type of structure is the con-
tinuation of the palatal plate of the intermaxillary bone for about
an inch to the outer side of the base of the external plate or pro-
cess ; while in the Crocodiles the external wall of the intermaxil-
lary bone is united by the whole of its outer margin with the

310 Geological Society.

maxillary, and is thence continued along the whole outer contour
of the intermaxillary bone. Now in the Labyrinthodon the inter-
► maxillary bone presents the same peculiar modification of the Ba-
. trachian condition of this bone as in the higher organized Batra-
chia, the palatal process of the intermaxillary extending beyond the
outer plate both externally and, though in a less degree, internally,
where it forms part of the boundary of the anterior palatal foramen,
whence the outer plate rises in the form of a compressed process
from a longitudinal tract in the upper part of the palatal process ;
it is here broken off near its margin, and the fractured surface gives
the breadth of the base of the outer plate, stamping the fossil with
a Batrachian character conspicuous above all the Saurian modifica-
tions by which the essential nature of the fossil appears at first
sight to be marked.

In the anterior frontal bone, Mr. Owen says, there are also indi-
cations of Crocodilian structure. Its superior surface is slightly
convex, and pitted with irregular impressions ; and from its poste-
rior and outer part it sends downwards a broad and slightly con-
cave process, which the author considers the anterior boundary of
the orbit. This process presents near its upper margin a deep pit,
from which a groove is continued forwards ; and in the correspond-
ing orbital plate of the Crocodile there is a similar but smaller fora-
men.

From these remains of the cranium of the Labyr. pachygnathus,
it is evident, Mr. Owen states, that the facial or maxillary part of
the skull was formed in the main after the Crocodilian type, but
with well-marked Batrachian modifications in the intermaxillary
and inferior maxillary bones. The most important fact which they
show is, that this Sauroid Batrachian had subterminal nostrils,
leading to a wide and shallow nasal cavity, separated by a broad
and almost continuous palatal flooring from the cavity of the mouth ;
indicating, with their horizontal position, that their posterior aper-
tures v/ere placed far behind the anterior or external nostrils ;
whereas in: the air-breathing Batrachia the nasal meatus is short
and vertical, and the internal apertures pierce the anterior part of
the palate. Mr. Owen therefore infers that the apparatus for
breathing by inspiration must have been present in the Labyrintho-
don as in the Crocodile ; and hence still further, that the skeleton of
the Labyrinthodon will be found to be provided with well-developed
ribs, and not, as in the existing Batrachia, with merely rudimentary
styles. Since the essential condition of this defective state of the ribs
of Batrachia is well known to be their fish-like mode of generation
and necessary distention of the abdomen, Mr. Owen likewise
directs attention to the probability that the generative economy of
these fossil reptiles may have been similar to that of existing cro-
codiles.

A fragment of a vertebra presents analogous characters to the
vertebra of the L. leptognathus previously noticed.

Of the few bones of the extremities which have come under Mr.
Owen's inspection, one presents all the characteristics of the corre-

Geological Society. 311

sponding part of the humerus of a toad or frog, viz. the convex,
somewhat transversely extended articular end, the internal longi-
tudinal depression, and the well-developed deltoid ridge. The length
of the fragment is two inches, and the breadth is thirteen lines.
The ridges are moderately thick and compact, with a central medul-
lary cavity. In its structure as well as in its general form, the
present bone agrees with the Batrachian, and differs from the Croco-
dilian type.

Again, in the right ilium, about six inches in length, and in the
acetabulum, there is a combination of Crocodilian and Batrachian
characters. The acetabular cavity is bounded on its upper part by a
produced and sharp ridge as in the frog, and not emarginate at its
anterior part, as in the crocodile. Above the acetabulum in the frog
the ilium gives off a broad and depressed process, the lower ex-
tremity of which is separated from the acetabulum by a smooth con-
cave groove, both of which are wanting in the crocodile, there being
only a slight rising of the upper border of the acetabulum. These
characters, however, are well developed in the Labyrinthodon : but the
process, instead of being depressed is compressed, and its internal
extremity is pointed and bent forwards? representing the rudiment
of the long anterior process of the ilium in the Batrachia anoura ;
but it does not attain in the Labyrinthodon the parallel of the an-
terior margin of the acetabulum, and the bone terminates in a
thick truncated extremity a few lines anterior to the acetabulum ;
an essential feature of resemblance to the Crocodiles and difference
from the Batrachians. But the most marked difference in this fossil
from the crocodile is the length of the ilium posterior to the aceta-
bulum, in which it agrees with the analogous portion of the frog
and other tailless Batrachia; while, on the contrary, there is an
agreement with the Crocodilian type in the mode of articulation to
the vertebral column. In the frog a transverse process of a single
vertebra abuts against the anterior extremity of the produced ilium.
In the crocodile the transverse processes of two vertebrae are thick-
ened and expanded, and joined to a rough, concave, articular surface
occupying the inner side of the ilium, and a little posterior to the
acetabular cavity. In the Labyrinthodon is a similar well-marked,
rough, elongated, concave, articular surface, divided by a non-arti-
cular surface, and destined for the reception of the external extremi-
ties of two sacral ribs. The Labyrinthodon likewise agrees with
the crocodile in the lower part of the acetabulum being completed
by the upper extremity of the pubis, the anterior and inferior part
of the ilium offering an obtuse process at the posterior part of the
lower boundary of the acetabular cavity.

As the fragment of the ilium was discovered in the same quarry
as the two fragments of the cranium and the portion of the lower
jaws, Mr. Owen thinks they may have belonged to the same animal ;
and if so, as the portions of the head correspond in size with those of
the head of a crocodile six or seven feet in length, but the acetabu-
lar cavity with that of a crocodile twenty- five feet in length, then
the hinder extremities of the Labyrinthodon must have been of dis-

312 Geological Society.

proportionate magnitude compared with those of existing Saurians,
but of approximate magnitude with some of the living anourous
Batrachia. That such a reptile, of size equal to that of the reptile
whose remains have just been described, existed at the period of the
new red sandstone, Mr. Owen says, is abundantly manifested by the
remains of those singular impressions to which the term Cheirothe-
rium has been applied. Other impressions, as those of the Cheiro-
therium Hercules, correspond in size with the remains of the Laby-
rinth'odon Salamandroides, which have been discovered at Guy's
Cliff. The head of a femur from the same quarry in which the
ilium was found, is shown to correspond in size with the articular
cavity of the acetabulum. The two toe- bones, or terminal phalanges,
are stated to be strictly Batrachian, presenting no trace of a nail,
and from their size are referred to the hind-feet of the L. pachygna-
thus.

Thus, observes Mr. Owen, all these osseous remains from the
Warwick and Leamington sandstones agree in their essentially Ba-
trachian nature, and, in this interesting conclusion, with the fossils
of the German keuper ; and he concludes this portion of the memoir
with some observations respecting the so-called Cheirotherium foot-
steps. He has long believed that they were the foot-prints of a Ba-
trachian, and most probably of that family which includes the toad
and frog, on account of the difference of size in the fore and hind ex-
tremities ; but, in consequence of the peculiarities of the impressions,
he has always considered that the animal must have been quite
distinct in the form of its feet from any known Batrachian or other
reptile. Now then, he observes, we have in the Labyrinthodon
also a Batrachian reptile, differing as remarkably from all known Ba-
trachia and from every other reptile in the structure of its teeth : both
the footsteps and the fossils are, moreover, peculiar to the new red
sandstone ; and though the generic name Labyrinthodon may be
susceptible hereafter of being expanded to the appellation of a family,
yet, he asks, may it not be justifiable to consider the term Cheiro-
therium as one of the synonyms of Labyrinthodon ?

Labyrinthodon scutulatus. — The remains, to which this specific
designation has been applied by the author, composed a closely
and irregularly aggregated group of bones imbedded in sandstone,
and manifestly belonging to the same skeleton ; they consist of four
vertebrae, portions of ribs, a humerus, a femur, two tibiae, one end
of a large flat bone, and several small osseous, dermal scuta. The
mass was discovered in the new red sandstone at Leamington, and
was transmitted to Mr. Owen by Dr. Lloyd in the summer of
1840.

The vertebrae present biconcave articular surfaces similar to those
of the other species. In two of them, the surfaces slope in a parallel
direction obliquely from the axis of the vertebrae, as in the dorsal
vertebrae of the frog, indicating an habitual inflexion of the spine,
analogous to that in the humped back of the frog. The neurapo-
physes are anchylosed to the vertebral body. The spinous process
rises from the whole length of the middle line of the neurapophysial

Geological Society. 313

arch, and its chief peculiarity is the expansion of its elongated sum-
mit into a horizontally flattened plate, sculptured irrregularly on the
upper surface. A similar flattening of the summit of the elongated
spine is exhibited in the large atlas of the toad. The body of the
vertebrae agrees with that of the L. leptognathus . The humerus
is an inch long, regularly convex at the proximal extremity, and
expanded at both extremities, but contracted in the middle. A
portion of a somewhat shorter and flatter bone is bent at a sub-
acute angle with the distal extremity, and resembles most nearly
the anchylosed radius and ulna of the Batrachia.

The femur wants both the extremities ; its shaft is subtrihedral
and slightly bent, and its walls are thin and compact, including a
large medullary cavity. The tibiae are as long, but thicker and
stronger than the femur. They had lost their articular extremities,
but exhibited that remarkable compression of their distal portion
which characterizes the corresponding bone in the Batrachia: they
likewise have the longitudinal impression along the middle of the
flattened surface. The length of the more perfect shaft is 2 inches
1 line. The precise nature of the broad flat bone, Mr. Owen had
not determined.

With respect to the osseous dermal scuta, Mr. Owen remarks,
that though they form a striking instance of the Crocodilian affinities
of the Leamington fossil, yet as these detached superficial bones are
the most liable to be separated from the fragmentary skeleton of the
individual they once clothed, the negative fact of their not having
been found associated with the remains of the Labyrinthodon in
other localities proves nothing in regard to a difference of dermal
structure between the Leamington and Warwick species. Indeed
no anatomist, he says, can contemplate the extensive development
and bold sculpturing of the dermal surface of cranial bones in the
Labyrinthodon pachygnathus and L. leptognathus without a suspi-
cion, that the same character may have been manifested in bony
plates of the skin in other parts of the body. Admitting for a
moment this structure to be proved, to what extent, asks Mr.
Owen, does it affect the claims of the Labyrinthodon to be admitted
into the order of Batrachians, in which every known species is
covered with a soft, lubricous and naked integument, without scales
or scuta ? In reply, he says, that the skin is the seat of variable
characters in all animals ; and, apart from the modifications of the
osseous and dental systems, and other intimate organs, is apt to
mislead the naturalist who is in quest of the real affinities of a
species : and he instances the Trionyx, as an example of a soft-
skinned animal among Chelonian reptiles. Lastly, Mr. Owen
shows, that, previously to the discovery of the fossils described in
this memoir, the only Batrachian remain which had been found in
beds anterior to the epoch of the Molasse is the fragment of a
skull, on which Prof. Jaeger founded his Salamandroides giganteus.

314 Miscellaneous.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Three new species of Monkey ; with Remarks on the genera Semnopi-
thecus et Macacus. By B. H. Hodgson, Esq.

Whoever has occasion to refer to the family of the Simiada in
works of zoology, will, I think, be struck with the fugitive and
doubtful manner in which several proximate forms are generically
separated from each other ; and this impression is peculiarly likely
to arise, if the reference be made with a view to classifying the ordi-
nary Indian species. Are the larger ones (Langoors) Semnopitheci
or Cercopitheci ? Are the smaller ones (Bander) Macaci aut alium
quid ? It is universally laid down, that the Semnopitheci and Cerco-
pitheci both have cheek-pouches ; yet is there not really any trace
whatever of these pouches in their prototypes, the Langoors of India,
not at least in those of Nepal : and whilst Cuvier's type of the former
genus has andromorphous canines, Horsfield's has these teeth as
formidably developed as in the true Carnivora ; the difference in this
case being consequent only on nonage or feminity, though insisted
on by authors as essentially diagnostic of separate types or genera.

Again, what animal exhibits the typical characters of Macacus ?
If Rhesus, then are our Indian Banders not Macaci, as generally al-
leged, for they have neither the elongated snout nor the very short
tail of that species : nor are their canines longer than in the Lan-
goors, to which they bear a strict likeness in the outline of the pro-
file and in the facial angle ; the only differences in these respects
being caused by the greater dip between the brows at the base of
the nose, owing to the superior saliency of the orbital bones, and by
the shortness of the round terminal nares.

Without further preface, I shall now proceed to give a summary
description of our Nepalese species of Langoor and of Bander, pre-
fixing to each an amended indication of the generic character, for the
reasons above assigned.

SlMIADfi.

Genus Semnopithecus.

Generic character. Facial angle 45 to 50 ; face flat; nose short,
with long, narrow, lateral, nares; head depressed ; limbs long; thumbs
small, remote ; callosities large ; no cheek-pouches ; fifth tubercle
on the last molar present or absent (a trivial idle mark) ; canines va-
riable, large only in grown males, for the most part ; stomach sac-
culated and banded as well as intestine ; tail very long, commonly
tufted, and usually exceeding the length of the animal. Very agile ;
grave deportment ; gregarious ; not docile.

Species new. Schistaceus hodie (Nipalensis of Catalogue) . Habit
of Maurus. Dark slaty above ; below and the entire head, pale yel-
low ; mere hands and feet somewhat darkened or concolorous with
the body above ; a pencil of black hairs radiating upwards from the
brows, concolorous ; tail longer than the body, and more or less
tufted ; skin black ; nude on face, and on last phalanges of anterior
digits ; hair on the crown short and radiated, on the cheeks long,

Miscellaneous . 315

directed back, and hiding the ears ; piles or fur of one sort, nor harsh
nor soft, more or less wavy, three to five and a half inches long on
the body, closer and shorter on the tapered tail ; thirty inches long :
tail without the hair, thirty-six ; hand, six and a half; foot, eight and
a half. Females smaller, with shorter canines.
Hab. Tarai forest and lower hills, rarely the Kachar also.

Genus Macacus.
Pithex {TMQitt, antiq.) nobis.

Generic character. Facial angle 50. Muzzle not elongated ; cal-
losities large ; buttocks often nude ; structure compacter, but gene-
rally resembling that of Semnopithecus, only that the thumbs are
larger, the orbits more salient, the head rounder ; cheek-pouches
distinct and large ; the canines similarly variable, being large and
grooved in grown males only ; the nares short, round and terminal ;
the stomach simple, though the caecum and rectum be sacculated ;
and, lastly, the tail shorter, though usually equal to half the length
of the animals. Agile, lively, gregarious, familiar, intelligent, and
very docile in confinement.

1st. Species, new: Oinops ((nvw\p) nob. (Nipalensis* of Catalogue),
Tail, without the hair, half the length of the entire animal ; ears par-
tially exposed ; buttocks posteally nude, and like the face, carneous
red ; colour of fur a full brownish yellow-red or deep rusty, passing
into slaty grey on the anterior quarters, and purpurescent slaty in-
ternally. Twenty-two inches long. Tail, without the hair, ten ;
hand four and a half ; foot six ; pile or fur of one sort, as in the last,

Head of Macacus Oinops.

and of like quality and set generally : two to three and a half inches
long on body, shorter on the tapered, untufted tail, and not radia-
ting on the crown of the head. Females smaller, with less canines.
Hab. Tarai and lower hills.

2nd. Species, new : Pelops (nriXbs et &\p) nob. Structure and aspect
similar to the last. Colours more sordid or purpurescent, slaty, par-
tially merged in rusty ; buttocks posteally (except the callosities)

* Topical names dropt, as seldom appropriate.

316 Miscellaneous.

clad ; face nude and dusky, flatter than in the last. Twenty inches
long. Tail, less hair, nine and a half ; hand four and a quarter ;
foot five and seven- eighths. Hab. Northern region of hills exclu-
sively. Fur fuller and more wavy than in Oinops.

N.B. In all the above three species the digits are basally con-
nected by membrane, which in the posterior extremities reaches for-
ward beyond the first phalanges. In the first, the thumb scarcely
reaches the base of the metacarpus ; in the second and third species,
it extends only half way down the first phalanx of the index. In the
posterior extremities the same digit has a size and strength, espe-
cially in the Macaci, more analogous to those of the thumb in our
hand. In Semnopithecus this digit extends a little beyond the base
of the metacarpus ; in the Macaci to the end of first phalanx of
proximate digit. — Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. ix.
p. 1211.

Nepal, March 1841.

PILOT FISH.

To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

Gentlemen,- — As an illustration of natural history, I send you
an account of a Pilot-fish {Naucrates ductor) which I obtained No-
vember 8th, to which a singularity attaches, in its having been
caught in fresh water. The person who sent it to me was passing
Plympton St. Mary Bridge, in this neighbourhood, and observed se-
veral individuals vainly endeavouring to catch a strange fish in a
shallow part of the river (Tory-brook, a branch of the Plym), but
which vigorously evaded their efforts ; he instantly cut a rod from the
hedge, and after some time succeeded in spearing it. I got it the
same day, quite fresh, and observed that it displayed several variations
from Mr. Yarrell's description (' British Fishes/ vol. i.), not sufficient
however to constitute specific differences : thus, the circular bands
did not appear to surround the body of the fish, being not at all di-
stinguishable on the back, which was a fine purplish black ; on a side-
view the bands scarcely reached above the lateral line ; the iris, in-
stead of being of a golden yellow, was a fine deep brown, and the ex-
treme points of the pectorals, ventrals, and tail were white and trans-
lucent ; the fish was 12 inches long, 1^ high, 7 inches round at the
vent, and weighed 11^ ounces. In a day or two however, as the
colours faded, the beautiful metallic blue of the abdomen turned to
a dull iron-gray, the bands became easily distinguishable all round
the fish, and the brown- coloured pigment of the iris gradually con-
tracted, leaving beneath a shining yellow circle ; I therefore infer
that Mr. Yarrell's account was taken from a specimen not perfectly
fresh.

The Pilot-fish is by most writers stated to be rare among us, but
of all the Mediterranean species I think it is the most numerous.
Mr. Yarrell (' Brit. Fish.') mentions instances of several being ob-
tained here in 1831 and 1833, in addition to which I have notes of
several others ; thus, in July 1835, two were caught, one of which is
in the museum of the Plymouth Institution. In October 1838, two
followed a ship into Catwater, one of which I caught myself ; and

Miscellaneous. 317

another, obtained in 1839, is in the museum of the Natural History
Society here.

1 have observed that these fishes are generally to be found when-
ever mackerel, herrings or pilchards abound on the coast, at which
time it is known that the various species of sharks (the companions
of the Pilot-fish) are to be met with : this is the first occasion how-
ever that I have known of its occurrence in fresh water, the spot, at
which it waa taken being a narrow stream rising from Dartmoor,
and \\ mile above the highest point of the Plym at which the tide
reaches. No doubt this was an accidental deviation from its usual
element, which would soon have occasioned its death, as on dissec-
tion I found nothing in the stomach but a glairy mucus.

Your obedient servant,

Edward Moore, M.D., F.L.S.,
November 13, 1841. Secretary to the Plymouth Institution.

[The drawing sent us agrees with the best representations of the
fish.— Ed.]

VITALITY OF SEEDS.

Gentlemen, — Should the following instance of tenacity of life in
the seeds of Sambucus niger be considered interesting and well at-
tested, it may be desirable to notice it in the Magazine of Natural
History.

The subjects of remark were derived from the dregs of some elder
wine; and were strewn as manure over a flower border, where hun-
dreds of them germinated. The plants I saw myself.

I know intimately the lady with whom it happened, and respect
her love of truth : from her 1 learned that they had twice been boiled
in making the wine ; had been present during the vinous fermenta-
tion ; at the end of which the wine was drawn off, but the dregs re-
mained bunged up in the cask* till next wanted, a period of twenty
months, and, it would appear, without sustaining any material harm.

220 Regent Street, November 18th, 1841. W. Hemingway.

LITTLE AUK.

A specimen of the Little Auk {Alca Alle) was taken alive in this
town on the 14th inst., but died shortly after its capture.

Thinking the above communication might interest some of your
numerous readers, 1 have sent it for insertion if approved of.

Ipswich, Suffolk, November 15, 1841. Charles T. Townsend.

BIRDS OF KENT.

Margate, Sept. 24, 1841.
Gentlemen, — I have to record the capture of the Little Ringed
Plover, Charadrius minor. This rare bird I shot on the 22nd Septem-
ber, at a place called Newgate Gateway, about a mile from Margate ;
it was in company with another, which unfortunately I could not
procure. On dissection it proved to be a female ; it is a beautiful
specimen. I have also captured a specimen of Montague's Harrier,
Buteo apivorus, Jenyns ; this is a young female ; also a very fine
Hen Harrier, Buteo cyaneus, a young male ; several Pigmy Curlews,

* It is a common notion that this practice keeps the barrel sweet.

318 Miscellaneous.

Tringa subarquata : these, as well as the Knott, Tringa canutus, are
very plentiful at this season of the year. On their first arrival they
are very tame, and fall an easy prey to the fowler.

I have seen a pair of the Common Skua, Lestris Cataractes, but
was not able to procure either of them, though I followed them in a
boat for several hours.

As soon as time will allow me, I will send you an account of my
journey to Orkney. At present, as the season is now coming on
for collecting aquatic birds, I shall be occupied in supplying the
wants of any of my correspondents.

November 14, 1841.

I killed on the 8th of this month, a beautiful specimen of Arctic
Skua (Lestris parasiticus), about two miles from hence, on the road
to Kingsgate ; it was alone in a ploughed field, and allowed me to
approach within thirty yards before it offered to rise. According to
Mr. Jenyns it is apparently of rare occurrence in this country. Mr.
Thompson says it has repeatedly occurred in the Bay of Dublin and
near Belfast. I have seen them on three occasions about Sandwich
flats, but never been able to obtain one before. My bird is a young
female, with the central tail-feathers projecting about two inches.

On the 12thinst. I obtained a splendid specimen of the Common Skua,
(Lestris Cataractes) ; it was shot near Sandwich flats, where it was
in company with another. Though numerous in the Shetland Islands,
it is rare in the southern parts of Britain. A short time since I saw
five, and have often heard of their being seen by fishermen, who call
them Dung-birds, from their habits of pursuing other birds and com-
pelling them to disgorge their food. During the late windy wea-
ther, on the 28th of October, I obtained three specimens of the Com-
mon Rotche (Mergulus Alle). One was taken alive, at Newgate, about
half a mile from Margate ; it was found in a hole in the cliff, and
did not show the least inclination to fly ; another was found dead on
the rocks near the Reculvers. They are good specimens.

On ihe 18th of October, whilst out near Richborough Castle, about
two miles from Sandwich, suddenly there got out of the lonely grove
a beautiful specimen of the Golden Oriole (Oriolus Galbula). It
immediately alighted on some neighbouring trees, and by a little of the
manoeuvring which is requisite in collecting, I succeeded in shooting
the bird. It is a male, and forms a good pair to the one I procured
last spring for the Margate Museum.

November 21.

I have now to add the capture of another rare species, — Richard's
Pipit (Anthus Richardi), shot near Birchington, about a mile from
the spot where I shot one last year, as mentioned at p. 398 of your
6th volume, and, from its extreme youth, I have every reason to
believe it was bred at no great distance. I am certain that it was
not able to take a long journey, for, as the bones were very soft and
not perfectly set, and many of the quills or stubs are not passed
into feathers, I am sure it was not more than ten weeks old ; I shall
therefore look closely after the parent birds. In spring I intend to
visit the Shetland Islands for the purpose of collecting.

3, Bath Road, Margate. S. Mummery.

Meteorological Observations, 319

DUROCHER AND BOWMAN ON GLACIAL Oft DILTJVIAN PHENOMENA.

The remarkable appearances which have been ascribed by Seft-
strom (Taylor's Scientific Memoirs, Part IX.) to diluvial and by
Agassiz to glacial action, have engaged the attention, among others,
of Mr. Bowman and M. Durocher.

M. Durocher states, as the result of an examination of the great
valleys of the Pyrenees, of the Ariege, the Garonne, the Adour, &c,
that he has observed in their diluvian phenomena the three kinds of
fundamental facts that characterize the diluvium of the North, and
that of the Alps ; viz., polish of the rocks, accompanied with streaks
and furrows, the transport of erratic blocks, and the deposition of
gravel on the sides of the upper parts of the valleys, and in level
terraces as they descend to the plain. — Comptes Rendus, Nov. 2.

Mr. Bowman has also been engaged during the summer in an
examination of the valleys of the Dee and the Conway, with a view
to the investigation of similar phenomena in Wales, the result of
which he has published in the ' Philosophical Magazine.'

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR OCT. 1841.

Chiswick. — October!. Thick haze : cloudy. 2. Very fine. 3. Cloudy: rain.
4. Fine : rain at night. 5. Cloudy : rain. 6. Fine : cloudy : clear at night.
7. Fine : rain. 8. Overcast: slight rain. 9. Cloudy: rain. 10. Overcast:
rain. 11. Very fine: rain. 12. Heavy showers. 13. Fine: stormy with rain
at night. 14. Boisterous. 15. Heavy rain. 16. Rain : densely clouded : rain
at night. 17. Overcast: stormy. 18. Clear and windy: rain at night. 19.
Cloudy: fine. 21. Clear: frosty at night. 22, 23. Overcast: rain at night.
24. Cloudy. 25. Overcast : foggy. 26. Foggy : stormy with rain at night. 27.
Boisterous with very heavy rain. 28 — 30. Rain. There were only four days in
the month on which rain did not fall, leaving a proportion of wet days perhaps
unequalled in the neighbourhood of London.

Boston, — Oct. 1. Fine : rain yesterday p.m. 2. Fine. 3,4. Fine: rain p.m.
5 Rain : rain early a.m. 6. Cloudy : rain early a.m. 7. Fine. 8. Fine : rain
p.m. 9. Fine. 10. Cloudy: rain p.m. 11. Fine. 1 2. Cloudy : rain early a.m.
13. Fine: rain p.m. 14. Cloudy. 15. Cloudy: rain early a.m. 16. Rain:
rain early a.m. 17. Rain : rain early a.m. : stormy night. 18. Stormy. 19.
Cloudy: rain early a.m. 20. Stormy: rain at night. 21,22. Fine. 23. Rain.
24. Cloudy : rain early a.m. 25, 26. Fine. 27. Cloudy : rain p.m. 28, 29.
Stormy: rain early a.m. 30. Stormy : rain early a.m. : rain p.m. 31. Cloudy.

Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire. — Oct. 1. Rain for an hour. 2. Fine clear
sunshine. 3. Dull, cold and rainy. 4. Fair but dull. 5. Showery afternoon.
6. Wet nearly all day. 7, 8. Dropping day. 9. Fair but threatening. 10. Wet
all day. 11. Wet afternoon. 12. Heavy rain a.m. : cleared up. 13, 14. Heavy
rain p.m. 15 — 17. Showers. 18. Fair throughout. 19. Showery afternoon:
frost a.m. 20. Very heavy rain. 21. Fair and frosty. 22. Frost a.m. : cloudy
and moist p.m. 23. Showers. 24. Fair but cloudy. 25. Fair and clear. 26
— 28. Fair and bracing. 29. Fair and bracing : frost. 30. Fair a.m., but
showers p.m. 31. Slight showers.

Sun shone out 26 days. Rain fell 19 days. Frosty mornings 4 days.

Wind north 2 days. North-north-east 2 days. North-east 6 days. East-
north-east 1 day. East \\ day. East- south-east 1 day. South-east 2 days.
South-south-east 2 days. South 1 day. South-south-west 2 days. South-west
4 \ days. West 2 days. West-north-west 1 day. North-west 1£ day. North
north-west 1^ day.

Calm 3 days. Moderate 9 days. Brisk 10 days. Strong breeze 6 days.
Boisterous 2 days. Stormy 1 day.

•ajtqs
-saiymna

OCOt^fO'f( v 3C<-OOMS^I^COfOO

•uojsog

•jpiMSiqD

© co . in cn m co c* t-~ .oci^o . <n -h co . c— . ©>

h(1 • -> C« <N © © © • -^ CO^t "O^O '^ *0

O .

vo o as oo oi

V© COO LO CM
© ©i© © —

3'C!e

* ii-fp*

to W 55 ft

ft

M ; fj I g s »' gj i * i *i | j m e s ' 1 g *j

a s a s s s a a „• a s • > | . a a 3 J . .a . .bb^

1JlJ^lJg1ggl3£gggalPlJ^g^g*ljB*'glJ*

. . w w w Ed
X ft ft fc ft

a h » »
ft ft ft ft

S J k* ■* I? to* a* It k 6* to* 3* fe fe k k £ fe w* .i fe * to' « w W

•urd i

fc to

„ W W a3

g 55 ft ft » ft g

f*2

ft g ft ft ■ B t«

w to *"" t«

| to | si k" '« g to' > k* k* <» to' w «* 2* <» to* ft ft ft ft

* W 15 »

SIS
s ■

o

COCO^f

lO<M COCI COO rfTf'rfiou^co^t^COCI CO CO (N C*

ioioto©inioioioio»oinicinioioiotnu5ioio

■ vo <o ov

1 ^C tp ^f '

•we ^8
'uojsog

moo do

>rN-»oico^ur>iocio»^)

lTMO(MOm)«MOcO-«<NOOcO«r^ 1
-" if) lO I 1 ^ Tf rj CO C5

5 S

lOO^C0l>OtO00»OtSr5OQ0C»9l3pipO(N^^O(p9«OCINOO

coosi^^^^dbcoobobc^asi<^^o^6^co6i^6<co4ti^6i^^oo

cooqp7*tooor^.cooic<i>-o r^op i^esi<»oco^o©mcpoopc*c«o»pij
^^6cc6obasasob^oo6ma^co6obc<o^m<^mdbme^^66>6<:

£S

t^COiO ©iCM cocot^t^cooo t^c^corfoo r^m cpop r-«cp op CO CM 00 lOOO r^i>-co
uo co cm -rpcoc-i co cm 6 ^f co cm ©> ac £> -"■< •"* cm o i"-» cm -*h co ©>■**©> i*>. o <o ib ©>

OOt^LC— MOiOQO- O'-<00t^iO<.'5O00OliOt^t^O00OtCC0c0(Nc0iC'-

rtr^^Ttop r^Oicp^p <n nriTt 1 ^ >p ^fcp^p »poqp<pGpap fXJG. t>-a\cxx> t^-
(^^ONO'idbobfio (^cyMOiCs6>CTsOM3M3>oo a\o^oso > ia>acao om3m^6s6 os^

C^C^C^C<C<C^C^C^(NC^C^C^C^C^C^C^C^C^(NC^C^C<(NC^C^C^(NOICOCio<

cV

'cor^oor^©co<otnco©in^co©<No
# --rf^oop--ii>9rtr-op.©o^
©>cti©s©noooo o^c^o^o^d^DOsoso^diCNO^CiOsd^osososo^dsoso © o\

C^C^C^dC^C^C*OIC^(NC^C^C^C^<NC^C^C^C^C^C^OICNCN(NCirNCOCOOI

IS

00 OSOM^GOOOOOOO lOiC^OOOO OM3>COOOOOOO OiONOvOm^OOOOOO 0>O\0\O\0>

-h(SOMZ)(M 0>C\^T)<- Qd^ Tf tC ^. oo(0 h lO rn 00
-'#OmO\0*'«J<0^(N-H(Or»5(SOHOOO(NC?\

^-corrintn^oaooo © o^© co-rfo t^r^-t^

**© tcasoooo ■; t^(N

(NcO-^CNGCCasCl

COTCNGC©©^ — -<'^ 4 ©>O0'
■ja" t>» t^ CO 00 00 OS © !>■ ^O T& CM 00 *0 -^r «-"J T"jujy uj iaj w y^y v v "^r >*^ i^» i^» i">»
©^O^C^©^©^<0^a^^C^©^©^O^O^C^^O^O^©^a^<^<^o^o^<^a^a^^
C^OIC^C^C*C^C^C<C<C<C^C^C^ClC^C^C^C^C^C^C^<NC^C^C^CI(NCNOJCirN

oococ^co-^moo^cim^o^oco^csoasasci — oi'stas^-^omcoo^or^

0>t^OSO(N(Nn(Nt^naiOM^(SOMS>-i(NlO'-^0(NTl<2r3>OlOPI-*CNt%

io t^i>» t^— * ©s© cnoooo kpioasoo r>-ip»poo osos"^ ■* ^tcscN ^r^f op op r^op

C^C^C^WC^C^O^C^CN<NC^C^C^C^C^C^C^(NC^C^COC0C^C<C<C^C^<N(NC^C^

(M©©rl'(0^)'00'OUD©OTl<GO(N©(NOO'!tOO

c<io>ot^-o<N<NO x ii>mi , CMn(o tj«^qoo
•^oooo" i>"-^ ob © oi t^-oo^o c< ©>oo ip-rf>pi^ l p ?^°P t* T' , 9 >l ? , *P T^^P °P C^9P
o^c^ascrsosob ©S ©> ©> ©s O^i o> ©s <5> <©*> ©> o> ©^ ©> O^ ©> O ©i00 3>©>©><N ©sO^©\
0<C^C^C^C<C<C^C<C^C^C^C^C^OIC^C^C^C<C^C^C<COC^C<C^C^04C<OI(NOI

Hi

-"(Nt'j^uiidt^Qoaio'- cJ co -4 io <o r^.oo" ©s ©' -* cm* co >4 io vd !>■ oo* o> ©* —

j<« „,-,„---.-< — -hp^ — CSICSCNOICSOICNCMOICSCOCO

^ # ^ O

■J„„.i .!/„«.. VaiJIist Vol 8PI.X1
\

/J

cuss <&?

.//;//. v/V//^

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY,

No. 52. JANUARY 1842.

XXXVIII. — On the Saxifrages of the Robertsonia or London-
pride group which are found in Ireland. By Charles C.
Babington, Esq., M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., &c

[With a Plate.]

Having been induced to state, in rather a positive manner,
my opinion that Saxifragaumbrosa is a native of Ireland*, I
think it due to Mr. Bree, and also to the readers of these c An-
nals/ now to publish the residts of an extremely careful study
of the Robertsonia group of Saxifrages which I had the satis-
faction of making during the month of July last in the county
of Kerry. In that county I gathered the four plants consi-
dered as species by Mackay (Fl. Hibern. 64 and 65), and it
will perhaps be the best plan to take each of these separately
and note the results of my examination of the growing plant.

1. S. umbrosa. — I saw no plant in Kerry that would agree
well with the Linnaean character for this species, " foliis ....
cartilagineo-crenatis," nor with specimens from the Pyrenees,
nor with the figure in Reichenbaclr's e Iconographia/ t. 620,
made from a Pyrenaean specimen. These specimens and that
figure correspond well with the Linnaean description, and the
form of their leaves will be seen in my fig. I. (Plate XI.) taken
from a Pyrenaean specimen. In it the leaves are obovate, with
large blunt crenations and a very decided cartilaginous margin.
My fig. 2. and 3. represent the leaves which most nearly ap-
proach to those of the true plant ; and it will be observed that,
although they have the cartilaginous margin, still their cre-
nations (if crenations they can be called) are acute, or are
rather, in the words of Smith, ce sharp cartilaginous notches."
Fig. 2. is a rare form gathered some years since at Delphi in
Mayo. Fig. 3. is also rare, and was obtained from Connor
Hill, near Dingle, Kerry, and in Cunnamara, Galway. Fig.
4. and 5, from the lower part of Turk Mountain, near Kil-
larney, are very common in that county. In this form the
leaves are always nearly round, and have deep, sharp, tooth*
* Vol. vii. p. 47.

Ann. $ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. Y

322 Mr. Babington on the Saxifrages

like serratures ; they are also nearly erect, or at least ascend-
ing, not prostrate and placed in a rose-like manner as is the
case in the preceding forms ; their foot-stalks also are consi-
derably longer. This is the var. punctata of Don, and pro-
bably the S, punctata of Linnaeus ; it is well represented by
tab. 622. and 623. of Reichenbaclr's e Iconographia/

Fig. 6. from Turk Mountain, and fig. 7. from the Gap of
Dunloe, are remarkably common in the neighbourhood of
Killarney : in them the leaves are always oval, with deep, acute,
tooth-like serratures ; they are erect or ascending, and have
usually long foot-stalks. This is the var. serratifolia of
Mackay, figured by Reichenbach in his tab. 624.

All the preceding I consider as forms of S. umbrosa, al-
though in punctata and serratifotia the cartilaginous margin
is scarcely observable. In all of them the leaves taper off into
the dilated flat foot-stalks, which are remarkable for being
quite flat above and scarcely convex even below (fig. a.).

2. S. elegans. — We have here a plant which I can scarcely
persuade myself to consider as a species; and yet, if not one,
it is very difficult to say to which of the species it should be
referred. Mr. Don considered it as a form of S. Geum ; but
from that its truly round leaf (fig. 8.) and its foot-stalks, which
are flat above and convex below (fig. b.) 9 but not semicylin-
drical, appear to separate it. From S. umbrosa it is distin-
guished by its leaves not contracting into their foot-stalks and
by the convex under-side of the latter. In cultivation and in
" exposed situations" its foot- stalks are about as long as the
leaves and spread in a " stellate form," but when growing, as
w r as the case with my specimens obtained from near to the
summit of Turk Mountain, in the hollow of a rock, the foot-
stalks are often twice as long as the leaves, all of which turn
themselves towards the light. Upon the whole, it appears to
me to be better to consider this as a species until further ob-
servation may have determined the value of its claims to that
rank. It is figured in tab. 625. of Reichenbaclr's 'Icono-
graphia. 5

3. S, hirsuta. — This again is considered as only a variety
by many botanists, in which case it is always referred to S.
Geum; but it has so very different an aspect when growing, and
its oval leaves (fig. 9, 10.), with linear foot-stalks which taper
slightly from below, present so manifest a character, that I
cannot do otherwise than consider it as a species. Its foot-
stalks (fig. c.) are semicylindrical and channelled above and
very hairy. I have gathered it in the Gap of Dunloe and on
Connor Hill. «

4. S. Geum.— This is a very marked species, characterized

of the London-pride group found in Ireland. 323

by having transversely oval or somewhat kidney-shaped leaves,
never contracted below and never longer than broad, com-
bined with semicylindrical hairy foot-stalks which are chan-
nelled above. Several varieties are recorded, depending upon
the presence or absence of hairs upon the surfaces of the
leaves, or upon their under-side being reticulated with purple,
but they appear to be scarcely worthy of separate description.
Fig. 11, 12, 13, and d. represent the leaves and foot-stalks of
this plant, which is very common in Kerry, and found but
rarely in Cunnamara.

Reichenbach states concerning all these plants, viz. S. punc-
tata, S. serratifolia, S. elegans, S. Geum, and S. hirsuta, " haec
. . . . e seminibus sine mutatione eductae."

The following are what I consider as their respective spe-
cific characters : —

1. S. umbrosa (Linn.). Leaves obovate, with cartilaginous crena-

tions, or sharp notches tapering at the base into dilated flat
foot-stalks; panicle racemose; capsule superior, a. crenata,
leaves bluntly crenate, spreading (not a native of Britain), fi.
crenato-serrata, leaves acutely crenate or subserrate, spreading,
y. punctata (Don), leaves nearly round, acutely serrate, erect.
$. serratifolia (Mackay), leaves oblong, acutely serrate, erect.
Eng. Bot., t. 663; Reich. Iconog., t. 622, 623, 624.— Found in
Mayo, Galway, and Kerry, Ireland. Var. a. introduced from
the Pyrenees. This variety may have been found wild in En-
gland, but I believe it to have always been an escape from cul-
tivation.

2. S. elegans (Mackay). Leaves round, smooth, shining, acutely ser-

rate ; foot-stalks broad, flat above, convex below ; panicle race-
mose ; capsule superior. Reich. Icon., t. 625. — Grows on the
summit of Turk Mountain, near Killarney, in very small quan-
tity.

3. S. hirsuta (Linn.). Leaves oval, acutely serrate ; foot- stalks linear,

semicylindrical, channelled, hairy ; panicle racemose ; capsule
superior; foot-stalks slightly tapering upwards. Eng. Bot., t.
2322 ; Reich. Icon., t. 621.— Gap of Dunloe and Connor Hill,
Kerry.

4. S. Geum (Linn.). Leaves transversely oval or reniform, acutely

crenate or serrate ; foot-stalks linear, semicylindrical, chan-
nelled, hairy ; panicle racemose ; capsule superior. Eng. Bot.,
t. 1561 ; Reich. Icon., t. 628. Leaves always rather broader
than long, usually hairy, sometimes glabrous, often beautifully
reticulated with purple beneath. — Plentiful in Kerry, rare in
Galway.
St. John's Coll., Cambridge, Nov. 29, 1841.

[See vol. vi. pp. 217, 314, 401 ; and vol. vii. p. 48.— Ed.]
Y2

324 Mr. W. S. MacLeay on Bird-catching Spiders*

XXXIX. — On doubts respecting the Existence of Bird- catch-
ing Spiders. By W. S. MacLeay, Esq., F.L.S., &c.

To Richard Taylor, Esq.

Dear Sir,

Some time in the beginning of 1840 I observed here, in the
grounds of Elizabeth Bay, a young bird suspended in the
geometrical web of an enormous spider which belongs to the
same section as the European Epeira diadema. Although
very common in the neighbourhood of Sidney, it remains as
yet an un described species. The bird was the Zoster ops dor-
salis (of Vigors and Horsfield), which is so destructive to fruit
in the gardens of this colony, and from the state of its feathers
was evidently just flown from the nest. It was, when observed,
already half-eaten, and the spider was in the act of sucking
its juices. It appeared to have been dead two or three days.
On recounting the circumstances to my father, he told me
that he had already been witness of 'a similar fact. Having
occasion about that time to write to Mr. Shuckard on another
subject, I mentioned the fact to him, being anxious, from the
love of truth, to retract a remark which I had made in a paper
of mine printed in the Transactions of the Zoological Society
some years before, namely, that " I disbelieved the existence
of any bird-catching spider."

I have long desisted from noticing mis-statements of what
I have published ; because I now always hope that a reference
to my publication will enable unprejudiced persons to arrive
at the truth of my meaning. It is very different however with
respect to my private letters ; and I find, on a perusal of Mr.
Swainson's late volume on Entomology in Lardner's Cyclo-
paedia, that Mr. Shuckard, in referring to the above-men-
tioned private letter, has so singularly misunderstood my
meaning, as to leave me no other resource than to request of
you to publish in your e Annals' the following correction of
his mistakes.

Mr. Shuckard (page 382} says, that f. the fact of Mygale
catching birds in their nets and feeding upon them has been
doubted; but the probability of this has been substantiated
and confirmed by a communication recently received from
W. S. MacLeay, Esq., who informs us, that in the vicinity of
Sidney he has met with a true bird-catching spider ; ha-
ving himself found one of the Epeiridce actually devouring the
young of a Gasterops that had no doubt lately flown from the
nest ; and which is not a solitary instance, as his father had
previously observed a similar fact. He therefore retracts his

Power of Quadrupeds to endure cold. 325

observations upon Mygale in the Zoological Transactions."
Now this passage is, I grieve to say, a tissue of mistakes,
which perhaps might have been avoided by a reference to my
paper in, the Zoological Transactions, and by a more accurate
reading of my letter. In the first place, the bird was a Zoster ops,
not Gasterops ; and in the second place, the only words in my
printed paper on Mygale which I ever meant to retract, when
I hastily mentioned what I considered to be a curious fact to
Mr. Shuckard, were the following : " I will even go so far as
to add my utter disbelief in the existence of any bird-catching
spider." How Mr. Shuckard should imagine that I meant
to retract all my observations on Mygale I know not; but I
beg here to declare that I retract none of them, except the
above-mentioned disbelief. I deny that the tale of Mygale
catching birds is either " substantiated or confirmed" by an-
other spider of totally different habits having been observed to
catch them. Mygale is a subterranean spider, and makes no net.
In short, my conviction is, that Madame Merian has told a
willful falsehood respecting Mygale, or rather has painted a
falsehood ; and that her followers have too hastily placed con-
fidence in her idle tales. My conviction is, that no Mygale
can catch birds in its net ; for, as I have said in the paper
printed in the Zoological Transactions, it makes no geome-
trical net. Nay, further, I have proved that the genus Ne-
phila, which lives in a geometrical net, does not catch birds
either here or in the West Indies ; and moreover, I have ascer-
tained that birds are not the proper food of this New Hol-
land Epeira, but that the observation of my father and my-
self is an exception to the general rule of its insectivorous
habits ; an exception indeed so rare, that as far as I can learn,
no other person here has ever yet witnessed the fact in ques-
tion but ourselves. I acquit Mr. Shuckard of course of any-
thing like an intentional misrepresentation ; but I must ex-
press my regret, that when he referred to my private letter he
did not use the words of it, although I dare say they were
hastily written. I am, dear Sir, &c,

Elizabeth Bay, neanSidney, W. S. MacLeAY.

8th July, 1841.

XL. — On the degree of Cold which the principal Mammalia
of hot countries are capable of enduring. By the Rev. Ro-
bert Everest, in a Note to J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S., &c.

Dear Sir,
Having always taken an interest in the much-vexed geo-
logical question of " climate," I looked forward to a winter

326 The Rev. R. Everest on the power of enduring Cold

residence in the Himalaya as a means of enabling me to de-
termine the extremes of cold which the principal Mammalia
of a hot country were capable of enduring.

I dwelt in a lonely house in the middle of the oak-forests
which overlooked the broad valley of the Dehra Dhoon, about
4000 feet perpendicular below. It had been the head-quarters
of the Surveyor General, and its height above the sea had
been most unexceptionably determined trigonometrically and
barometrically at about 6800 feet. The N. lat. was 30° 26'.
The mean temperature in the month of December observed at
sunrise was 37*7j? and at half-past two for the same period, 45.
For the month of January for the same times it was 35*9
and 42*5, making the general mean for the two months 40*3
Fahr.

Snow generally falls there late in November or early in De-
cember; but the season I was there we had none till Christmas,
after which we had several falls, and on the northern slopes
the ground remained covered with it until I left, early in Fe-
bruary.

Flocks of the large Monkey of the plains (the Hunaman of
the Hindoos, and the Semnopithecus Entellus of naturalists)
inhabited the oak-woods around, feeding upon the acorns,
of which they appeared very fond. In the severest weather
they seemed quite as much at their ease as at other times, and
made no effort to descend to the warm valley of the Dhoon
beneath, though such a change would have cost them but little
exertion. I left this spot for the interior of the Himalaya
early in February, and, late in that month, near the sources
of the Touse, met with a large flock of these animals. It was
on the northern slope of the valley. The cold was very severe,
and full three foot of snow upon the ground. They were in
a forest of Deodar and Morinda, busily feeding on the seeds
of the fir-cones. The height above the sea could not have
been less than from 8000 to 9000 feet.

The common Leopard* of the plains (Felis Par dies anti-
quorum) was also numerous in the oak-forests during Decem-
ber and January. I caught one in a trap, and saw the tracks
of them constantly on the snow following those of the Ghooral.
While near the sources of the Touse in February and March,
I also observed their tracks at great heights, indeed above
the limit of forest, i. e. near 12,000 feet above the sea, follow-
ing those of the Wild Goat or Taare (Capra Jemlica).

The Tiger is very scarce in the Himalaya, even in summer-

* Mr. Everest has very kindly presented the specimens mentioned to the
British Museum collection. — J. E. Gray.

in the Mammalia of Hot Countries. 327

time, being too large and unwieldy an animal to follow the
Caprine races over the precipitous ground. I however met
w r ith their tracks on the snow near my house ; and while
shooting in the oak-forest, from 5000 to 6000 feet above the
sea, had one of my people carried away by one. They can go
wherever the Stag (Cervus Hippelaphus) can obtain a footing,
and remain on a mountain north of Massoori (Nagtiba, near
10,000 feet in height) all the year round. They live princi-
pally on stags and also bears.

The Hyaena is very rare in the Himalaya, and I only once
saw one. It was early in March, about 6000 feet above the
sea.

The common Wolf is numerous in the plains, but I have
never seen or even heard of them in the Himalaya.

The Jackal is rare there, and I have never met with them
but in the low and warm valleys.

The Fox of the Himalaya is much larger than the dimi-
nutive fox of the plains, and greatly resembles the English
one.

The Wild Elephant is not found beyond the base of the
hills, but the slopes there are so steep that it would be im-
possible for so heavy an animal to obtain a footing. However,
at a village called Burkote, about twenty miles from the source
of the Jumna, young elephants are reared for the Rajah of
Tisee. The spot is within the limit of Deodar Forest and also
that of winter snow. The animals remain in an open shed
during the year.

Before concluding, I will not omit calling your attention to
the high temperature of Dehra in the Dhoon, which, in N.
lat. 30° 19 r , and 2380 feet above the sea, has a mean annual
temperature of 70° to 71° Fahr., being the same as that of
the summit of the hill on the island of Penang in N. lat.
5° 15', and at nearly the same height above the sea, viz. 2280
feet.

This may be attributed to three causes : — 1st, the situation
of Dehra at the foot of the southern slope of the Himalaya,
screened from the -iiorth by enormous mountains ; next, its
position, several hundred miles from the sea, and its conti-
guity towards the south to very wide sandy plains which are
intensely heated by the sun ; and lastly, the circumstance that
almost all the rain there falls during the summer-time. The
south-west monsoon blows nearly from the equator, and brings
with it aqueous vapour at a high temperature, which is depo-
sited and soaks into the ground very deep, communicating its
temperature to the soil.

Be the causes what they may, the circumstance of the tern-

328 Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany.

perature of the year being the same in the sixth degree of N.
lat and the thirty-first is remarkable, as showing the great
extent to which climate may be modified by locality.

Robert Everest. 'I

XLI. — Report of the Results of Researches in Physiological
Botany made in the year 1839. By F. J. Me yen, M.D.,
Professor of Botany in the University of Berlin*.

Observations on the presence of certain assimilated and secreted
substances in Plants, continued from p. 257.

M. HuNEFELDf has with great diligence attempted to prove
the presence of amylum in the flowers of plants ; he found it
in the flowers of Calendula officinalis, in which plant it has
been already proved to exist by other chemists. M. Hiine-
feld then mentions thirty other plants in whose flowers he
discovered amylum with more or less distinctness; whether
however, he adds, the amylum of flowers always becomes blue
by iodine, he must still leave undetermined ; in the flowers of
Calendula it becomes blue, but in the others the colour was
more of a dark green. It appeared probable to M. Hiinefeld,
that it was the yellow colour of the flowers only which caused
this green tint ; but he has left this important point undeter-
mined, although it were easy to settle by a good microscope.
He contradicts himself in his statements, for globules in
the flowers which are not coloured blue by iodine cannot
be considered as amylum. Amylum, even that from mosses,
is always coloured blue ; and even when it becomes brown by
iodine, it is modified amylum. M. Hiinefeld mentions Tro-
pceolum majus as one of the few plants which contain amylum
in the stem ; this however is a tolerably common phenomenon.
Decoctions of the flowers of Calendula, Tropceolum, Helianthus,
&c. exhibited no trace of amylum, which is easily explained
by the microscopical examination of the parts thus treated ;
the amylum swells within the cells, but does not pass through
their walls.

M. P. SaviJ of Pisa has published some observations on
the physical phenomenon seen in the leaves of Schinus Molle

* Translated by Henry Croft, Esq., teacher of Chemistry in London.

f Erdmann's and Marchand's Journal fur praktische Chemie, 1839, l er
band, p. 87—90.

% Memorie Valdarncsi per cura del Dott. Corinaldi. Pisa, 1839, p. 42 —
48.

Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany. 329

when cast on water, in order to prove the falsity of DeCan-
dolle's (' Phys. Veget.' i. p. 38.) view of this subject. M. Savi
says, when small pieces of the green organs of Schinus, or of
any other of the Terebinthaceae, are thrown upon water, they
are seen to move quickly, and as it were backwards, for a de-
terminate time on a short space, and in a direction constantly
opposite to their fractured surface ; and at the same time is
observed near this fractured surface an intermittent expansion
of a fluid which extends over the surface of the water in fine
circular iridescent rings, and drives away all small bodies
floating on its surface.

M. DeCandolle supposed that the intermittent emission of
the volatile oil out of the leaves of that plant might be pro-
duced merely by some contraction of the cells containing the
sap, but M. Savi correctly states that the peculiar sap emitted
[It is a liquid resin. — Mey.] is, in the case of Schinus, con-
tained, not in cells, but in vessels. By vessels M. Savi under-
stands the resin-passages, which I have found to be very si-
milar, both in their structure and course, in Schinus and other
Terebinthaceae, to the resin-passages of the Coniferae. They
are long canals which run lengthways, both in the bark of the
leaf-stalk and of the stem, and also in the leaflets, and now
and then give off branches ; in the bark particularly they are
of so large a size, that the efflux of the still liquid resin is
quite natural.

If, says M. Savi, we examine a fine section of the bark of
Schinus, the peculiar vessels are seen therein as fine indefi-
nitely long tubes with complete thick and very transparent
walls [i. e. a whole layer of cells. — Mey.], in which (if by the
section they have not already emptied the sap which they
previously secreted and contained) the sap is seen in the form
of different- sized globular drops, but closely packed together,
which flow slowly out at the sides where the vessel has been
torn and where the evacuation takes place. From this one
may conclude : 1. That if the phenomenon were an effect of
the contractility of the tissue, the action could not be ascribed
to the walls of the cells, because the exuded sap is con-
tained in vessels [Harzgangen, Mey.']. 2. That the reaction
against the force with which the liquid streams out of the
leaves is not the cause of their rapid and intermittent motion,
for the exudation takes places very slowly and regularly.
3. That the fibres of the bark of Schinus consist of proper
vessels ; a fact which may serve as a confirmation of MirbePs
hypothesis, viz. that the bast of plants consists of proper
vessels and parenchym. [I cannot ratify the above statement
of M. Savi. — Mey.] 4. That the sap of these vessels in Schi-

330 Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany.

nus is mixed with water [to which I also cannot agree. — Mey.~\,
and thereby the drops are prevented from coalescing into one
single mass. From this fact one might also conclude that the
juices which separate within these vessels are of two different
kinds, or that the sap, by its action on the plant, is changed
partially into one more liquid and transparent, which has ex-
actly the appearance of lymph. 5. Lastly, that the walls of
the vessels press, by their elasticity, on the sap which they con-
tain and drive it towards the opening, just in the same man-
ner as a bladder or a gut which is filled very full with water,
lets it escape as soon as a puncture is made in its side. M.
Savi proceeds to say, that the second phenomenon above-
mentioned is easily observed when a small quantity of the
resinous sap of Schinus is poured on the surface of water ; we
see directly that the sap expands with great celerity into a
thin plate or layer ; if small pieces of the dried leaves of any
plant be then thrown on this thin oily plate, they are seen
to be driven about as by strong impulses, and to move back-
wards from the spot on which they were thrown. This pro-
perty of expanding itself is common not only to the liquid
resin of Schinus, but also to all the Terebinthacece, Euphor-
biacea, Urticea, Asclepiadea, and also, according to Carradori,
to the fatty and volatile oils. The latter ascribes this pro-
perty to the attractive force which is exerted upon the above
fluids by water, by which each drop of the liquid on the sur-
face is forced to extend itself as far as the cohesive power of
the fluid will allow. M. Savi speaks at length on this point ;
but the existing facts are quite sufficient to prove that this
motion of the Schinus leaves on water is not to be explained
by a contractility of the tissue. Finally, I must remark, that
the phenomenon with the green parts of Schinus does not
always show itself, but only when the plant is in luxuriant
growth.

A paper by Prof. Lindley * was read before the Linnean So-
ciety on the anatomy of the roots of the Ophrydece, in which he
shows, that salep which is prepared from the roots of certain
Ophrydece does not consist chiefly of amylum, as is generally
supposed by authors of the present day (?), but that it is com-
posed of a substance like bassorin. After Dr. Lindley has
mentioned the opinions of the most recent authors, he gives
the results of his own microscopical investigations ; from which
it appears that the tubes of the Ophrydea universally contain
long cartilaginous nodules of a mucilaginous substance which
is not coloured by iodine, and also some amylum globules

* Phil. Mag., vol. xiv. p. 462.

Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany, 331

which are contained in the parenchym surrounding the no-
dules. The tubers of several South American Ophrydea when
dried have the appearance of a bag filled with pebbles, or as
if the epidermis had contracted over the hard interior body.
A transverse section of a fresh root of Satyrium pallidum ex-
plains the above appearance : the hard nodules, as transparent
as water, are mingled together with the soft parenchym, and
they are twenty times as large as the neighbouring cells.
These nodules are easily separable, and appear as hard as horn;
on section they appear perfectly homogeneous j cold water has
scarcely any effect upon them, but in hot water they become
tumid, and are partly changed into a transparent jelly. An
aqueous solution of iodine has no visible effect on them in their
natural state. On charring some slices of salep, Dr. Lindley
found that these apparently homogeneous nodules consisted
of very minute cells, filled with a substance of the same re-
fractive power as themselves. Finally, Dr. Lindley declares,
that the error of considering salep to consist chiefly of starch,
arose from the mode of preparation. The tubers of the
Orchidea are first parboiled and then dried; by this means
the starch which surrounds the nodules is dissolved, and on
drying is precipitated upon their surface, and hence they be-
come blue when treated with iodine. Dr. Lindley's state-
ments with regard to the structure of these roots are so very
peculiar, that I felt it necessary to examine the subject my-
self. The examination of two kinds of salep-roots, as also
comparative observations of a fresh tuber of Orchis milita-
rise soon showed, that in the structure of the Orchideous
roots there is nothing differing from the general rule. Those
hard horny nodules are nothing more than hardened masses
of tragacanth gum which fill the individual cells, which in this
case are often of a large size ; Berzelius had already referred
the salep mucilage to tragacanth gum, and in different Orchi-
dea this substance appears to differ only according to its
several degrees of hardness. In the cells of the roots of Or-
chidece is universally observed the presence of a cellular nu-
cleus, and round this is formed a thick mucilaginous mass, as
also a greater or smaller number of minute, nearly round glo-
bules, which are generally coloured yellowish brown by iodine,
but sometimes bluish. The mass of this thick mucilage, as
also that of the globules, continually increases within the cells,
and in those tubers which can be advantageously used for the
preparation of salep, the contents of the single, often very
large, cells assume a gelatinous consistency, and on drying
become as hard as horn, and may then easily be mistaken for
nodules. I have now before me some sections of dried salep-

332 Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany.

roots which contain within this hardened mucilage a large
quantity of starch, for the whole substance is coloured violet
by iodine, and indeed throughout the whole mass, which does
not accord with Lindley^s observations. All the cells are filled
with balls of tragacanth gum ; some of them are ten or fifteen
times larger than the neighbouring ones, but there are no
cells which contain solely amylum grains ; but out of a great
number of sections, single large gum nodules may be found, in
which the globules, similar to those of starch, may be easily
distinguished lying round the old nucleus in the interior of
the nodule.

Very remarkable is the fact, that most of the walls of these
large cells containing gum appear as if composed of smaller
cells, by which these membranes often assume a very beautiful
appearance ; on closer examination I found that this apparent
net of cells consisted of superficial deposits, similar to the cell-
like formations on the surface of pollen grains. Even in very
young tubers traces of these formations may be seen on the
inner surface of the membranes of those large parenchym cells
which are rich in gum.

M. E. Meyer* read a paper to the Physico-CEconomic So-
ciety of Konigsberg on the 18th of September, 1839, on amy-
lum, in which he explains fully the appearance and structure
of the amylum grains according to former observations, and
mentions their use ; he, however, incorrectly states that it is
not yet clearly determined whether the layers of the globules
are deposited from without, for the genesis of the globules
with which we are acquainted shows this quite clearly. M.
Meyer communicates an interesting fact, viz. that in the
summer of 1838, on account of the excessive moisture in that
part of the country, that rare malformation, the production
of tubers on the parts of the potatoe plant which are in the
air, was very abundant ; this malformation extended itself over
whole fields, and M. Meyer saw some specimens which were
covered to the top with tuberculous swollen sprouts, and were
partly covered with real tubers. The statement, that potatoes
possess the largest grains of starch yet known, is probably
only a slip of the pen ; but it is a curious statement, that the
pith of plants never contains amylum, as also that the stems
of Palms and Cycadece never have pith, whence it would re-
sult that sago could not be prepared from their pith.

M. Fr. Tornabene Casineset has written a treatise on the

* Frorieps Neue Notizen, Nos. 253, 254, Nov. 1839.
f Sull'humore crystallino nelle foglie seminali delle piante. Memoria sopra
alcuni fatti di anatoraia e fisiologia vegetalc. Catania, 1838. 4to, p. 3 — 28.

Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany. 333

"crystalline moisture " or fluid in the cotyledons. He says
he has observed, that at certain hours in the day, as also
about midday, a transparent fluid of a silvery lustre is found
on the surface of the cotyledons, which he calls the " crystal-
line moisture." The drops of this fluid are so small that they
are only to be seen by the microscope, sometimes, however,
by the naked eye. These shining points are not to be con-
founded with those described by Saussure, nor with the glands
of other authors, &c, but this crystalline moisture is a liquid
which is found on all cotyledons, as on the species of Mesem-
bryanthemum, and particularly on M. crystallinum.

The spiral tubes are destined, according to M. Casinese, to
allow the descent of a fluid, which, by means of the enlivening
action of light, is drawn by the leaves through the stomata.
The spiral tubes are therefore organs of respiration ; and from
the meeting of the saps of these descending and other ascend-
ing vessels which takes place in the leaves, a chemical process
ensues, L e. the oxygenized part or oxygen becomes free, and
makes its appearance on the transparent silvery epidermis,
and this is the " crystalline moisture "II M. Casinese says
a great deal concerning this moisture, as also about the func-
tions of the different elementary organs of vegetables ; how-
ever, it is evident that he has commenced his study of vege^
table anatomy by the help of some old, and, at the same time,
very bad books; among the writings tof later authors, those of
Turpin seem to have interested him most, and he therefore
calls him " The Immortal."

M. Fr. Gobel* has given a very valuable chemical ex-
amination of the principal Halophytes of the Caspian steppe
with regard to the quantity of potash and soda they contain :
the research was undertaken, partly in order to learn whether
the quantities of potash and soda vary with the age of the
plants, and partly to settle the question whether plants are
capable of converting the one alkali into the other. The prin-
cipal results are as follows : —

The young plants give a much larger quantity of impure
soda than the old fully developed ones, but the substances so-
luble in water contained in the rough soda do not differ much
from one another in quantity.

In the case of Halimocnemis crassifolia it appears that du-
ring growth a part of the chloride of sodium is converted
into carbonate and sulphate of soda, as is seen by analysis.
The young plants of Salsola clavifolia contain no chloride of

* Reise in die Steppen des siidlielien Russlands, von Gobel, Claus und
Bergmann. Dorpat, 1838. 4to. Zweiter Theil, p. 108 — 138.

334 M even's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany,

sodium, but considerable quantities of chloride of potassium ;
while in the old plants there is less chloride of potassium, *but
a nearly equivalent quantity of chloride of sodium. The quan-
tity of carbonate of soda is nearly equal in both young and old
plants. The young plants of Salsola brachiata also contain
less chloride of sodium than the old ones, while the quantity
of carbonate of soda remains the same.

M. Gobel thinks it is perfectly immaterial whether young or
old plants are used for procuring soda, for the quantity of car-
bonate of soda is the same in both cases. The plants might
therefore be burnt at any time, and the value of the impure
soda would not materially differ. The analyses of Halimo-
cnemis crassifolia, Salsola clavifolia an&brachiata, both in their
young and old state, show " that the quantity of soda has
remained nearly constant in all." The quantity of potash is
always greater in the young plants than in the old ones, and
strikingly so in Salsola clavifolia ; so that one might really be
led to believe, " that in the course of the vegetative process
potash is metamorphosed into soda, or, at least, is got rid of
in some manner or other." If this were correct, it would cer-
tainly be a wonderful discovery, but I may be allowed to pro-
pose a question which is not answered in M. Gobel's treatise :
Were the old specimens of the three above-mentioned plants
(which M. Gobel did not collect himself) from exactly the
same spot as that from Which, in the same manner, M. Gobel
gathered the young ones ? Probably this was not the case,
and as all these salts are extracted from the soil, a difference
therein will of course make a change in the results of the ana-
lyses. We must therefore consider this metamorphosis of
one substance into the other as yet unproved. M. Gobel also
states, thflt in other plants the quantity of potash is larger in
the young than in the old ones. With respect to the relative
value of the Halophytes for the fabrication of soda, M. Gobel
gives the following list: — 1. Salsola clavifolia, young dried
individuals, 42 per cent. ; 2. Halimocnemum caspium, young
specimens, 22*9 per cent. ; 3. Salsola Kali, young specimens,
25 per cent.; 4. Kochia sedoides, old specimens, 9' 16 per
cent.; 5. Salsola brachiata, young specimens, 33 per cent.;

6. Halimocnemis crassifolia, young specimens, 30 per cent. ;

7. Tamarioc laxa, young specimens, 33*6 per cent. ; Anabasis
aphylla, young specimens, 19 per cent., &c.

On the movement of Saps in Plants,
The so often advertised prize-essay of M. C. H. Schultz *

* Extv. des Mem. de l'Acad. des Sciences, torn. vii. des savants Strangers.
1839.

Meyen's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany. 335

has at length appeared ; it is written without any regard to
the literature which already exists on this subject, so that pro-
bably many persons who are not so perfectly acquainted with
the literature of vegetable physiology may be deceived by the
supposed novelty of the numerous observations here brought
forward.

The work would certainly have been very valuable if it had
been printed directly ; but now, at a time when the more deli-
cate anatomy has made such great advances, and since the ge-
nesis of almost all the elementary organs of plants is tolerably
well known, we look in vain in this treatise for all those true
improvements of our science ; but, on the other hand, the
number of the actually incorrect observations (which may
easily be shown) is so very large, that I might fill whole pages
with an enumeration of them. M. Schultz has purposely se-
parated all the vessels which are figured from the plants by
maceration, and of course there must thus arise a great num-
ber of mistakes in the figures ; indeed several of them must be
considered as ideal sketches, not as representations of nature.
The purpose of this treatise is — to prove the existence of a
peculiar vascular system in plants in which the circulation 01
a peculiar sap, viz. the lacteous sap (Milchsaft) or latex, takes
place : M. Schultz denominates this circulation " Cyclosis,"
but every one who is acquainted with the subject will proba-
bly find this new name quite unnecessary.

On the existence of this circulation of the latex it is well
known there has been much discussion, and my readers will
remember that the subject has often been mentioned in the
former Reports * ; there are however, unfortunately, but few
botanists who regarded the observations on this subject with
an impartial eye, and I believe that M. Schultz and myself are
the only ones who have always endeavoured to prove its ex-
istence. In different notices I have circumstantially described
how the experiment is to be made with a good microscope, in
order to discern the circulation in uninjured plants ; but some
elder botanists, who saw clearly that Schultz's view was not
correct, would not see this movement ; indeed the opposition to
the new theory went so far, that when one wished to show it
them they made off, and for several days were not visible.

M. Schultz has in this treatise done all in his power to
prove that the latex moves in a peculiar system of vessels,
like the blood of animals in the capillary vessels, and he has
given a quantity of figures from different plants to illustrate
their mode of anastomosing. Notwithstanding all this, one may
read, in the Regensburg Botanical Journal of 1839, p. 277*

* See Mr. W. Francis's translation, London, 1839, p, 33.

336 M even's Report for 1839 on Physiological Botany.

that this subject was talked over at the meeting at Freiburg,
and that several botanists, as M. Treviranus, Von Martius, &c.
declared that they had seen this motion of the latex only in
injured plants. M. de St. Hilaire, who was present, was asked
whether the members of the French Academy had convinced
themselves of the correctness of M. Schultz's statements, and
he replied, that " For the present they had only translated the
paper, but had as yet formed no judgement thereupon."

Rather contradictory to the above are several of the state-
ments made by M. Schultz in a late paper on the results of
his work, in which, among others, he very modestly says,
" We will satisfy ourselves with having made the beginning,
and with having pointed out the principles of a determinate
direction of the science, the further development of which the
judgement of the French Academy will promote not less than
the publication of the memoir."

There are two things which it appears to me, from my own
observations, M. Schultz has represented very incorrectly, viz.
the three hypothetical stages of development of the vessels of
the latex, the contracted (vasa laticis contracta), the expanded
(vasa laticis expansa), and the articulated (vasa laticis articu-
lata) ; and moreover the bringing together of the most differ-
ent formations under the common name of the latex-vessels,
or " vessels of the vital sap."

The contracted latex-vessels are said to form the youngest
state of the vessels, and in them there is the greatest vital ac-
tivity ; they possess (it is said) the power of expanding and
contracting themselves, and indeed to such an extent, that
they almost disappear [!] . In the expanded latex- vessels the
expansion predominates, but they still possess a contractile
power. At a later period, by means of the interrupted con-
tracted parts of the latex- vessels, they become articulated, and
the contracted and expanded parts have now become perma-
nent.

From my own observations, I must declare the whole de-
scription of the different stages of development of the latex-
vessels to be entirely false : the latex-vessels can neither con-
tract nor expand ; and that the articulation is not caused by
contraction, may be seen by a simple observation of such cells
as lie one above the other and are filled with latex. Indeed
the whole description is so strange, that I did not know for se-
veral years what M. Schultz meant by his contracted latex-
vessels, until he published the remarkable treatise mentioned
in the former Report, p. 74. Herein it was seen that M. Schultz
had denominated "contracted latex- vessels" those fine cur-
rents of gum which are so often seen in the cells of plants,
both in the Fungi and the Phanerogams, and which are to be

Mr. W. S. MacLeay on his Antechinus Stuartii. 337

classed together with the rotating currents of the Chara, Val-
lisneria, &c. This treatise, under the title of e Nouvelles ob-
servations sur la circulation dans les plantes/ is printed as an
appendix to the above prize-paper; and, in the 'Botanical
Register ' for 1839, p. 48, there is an extract from this im-
portant work of M. Schultz, under the title of e Circulation of
the blood in plants.' The author of this extract is anonymous,
probably because he very well knew that in this subject he was
not capable of forming any judgement ; the title alone shows
evidently that he knows nothing at all about the matter.

The second point in this prize-paper to which I cannot
agree, is the bringing together of the most different formations
under the one name of latex- vessels. M. Schultz believes
that he has discovered that the bark as well as the wood con-
tains a peculiar vascular system, which forms the central point
of every development. In the ligneous fascicles of the mono-
cotyledons, M. Schultz considers the soft long cells which
are filled with a mucilaginous fluid, and which Mohl calls
vasa propria, as latex-vessels ; though it is so very easy, even
in succulent plants of this kind, to observe the true latex-
vessels near the ligneous bundles, and which have no simi-
larity to those in the interior of the bundles. M. Schultz even
considered the small cells of the ferns which are filled with
starch as latex-vessels ; they surround the fascicle of spiral
tubes, and are deposited on the inner surface of the bast-
tubes, &c. M. Schultz has by no means correctly understood
the peculiarity of the latex- vessels of the Euphorbiacea, which,
as I have long since shown, possess the structure of the bast-
tubes of the Apocynece and Asclepiadeae, and also occupy the
place of the bast-tubes (which are wanting in the Euphor-
biacece), and still contain latex, while the bast- tubes of the
Apocynece, which do not ramify, contain but very little latex ;
but here there is a true vascular system a little on the outside
of the bast-tubes, whose stems exhibit anastomoses, and con-
tain only a little opake latex.

[To be continued.]

XLII. — Additional Particulars respecting Antechinus Stu-
artii, a new Marsupial Quadruped. By W. S. MacLeay,
Esq., F.L.S., &c.

To Richard Taylor, Esq.
Dear Sir,
Since I wrote you* concerning what I had reason at that
time to think might possibly prove to be a new quadruped
* See our preceding Number, p. 241.
Ann. $ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. Z

338 Mr. Westwood 071 the Sexes in Cetoniidae.

belonging to the group of Insectivora, I have had an oppor-
tunity of examining a skeleton, now in the possession of
Major Christie, and which Mr. Stuart himself had prepared
at the time the animal was killed. This skeleton, by the pre-
sence of the marsupial bones, distinctly shows that the qua-
druped in question belongs to the group Marsupialia. It also
demonstrates that there was an important error in the dental
formula as given me in the MS. of Mr. Stuart, — the very
error, indeed, which led me to think that the animal might
eventually be found to belong to the Insectivora. The true
dental formula, as taken by me from the skeleton, is as fol-
lows : —

Incisors -~| + canines J5f -I- pseudomolars |~ -f- mo-
lars -i=f = 46.

Now this formula is that of Phascogale, from which genus
our animal however differs in the three lateral incisors of the
upper jaw being of equal size, and also in the pseudomolars
being all of equal size. I am however in hopes of soon pos-
sessing a specimen from Spring Cove, when I shall be able to
determine how far this animal differs from the genus Phasco-
gale, or whether it may not be safely assigned to it.

I remain, &c.
Elizabeth Bay, near Sidney, Aug. 9th, 1841. W. S. MacLeAY.

XLIII. — Notice of a hitherto unobserved Character distinctive
of the Sexes in certain Cetoniidae. By J. O. Westwood,
Esq., F.L.S., &c.

In a short notice published in these e Annals' for October last,
I communicated the curious discovery, that whilst the females
in certain groups of Lucanidae possess a short horny tooth at
the extremity of the basal or internal lobe of the maxillae, their
males are destitute of this character. I have now to announce
the existence of precisely the same sexual distinction in cer-
tain groups of Cetoniidae. Until very recently the maxillae of
the species in this family have been described as possessing
entirely membranous lobes, with the exception of Cremasto-
cheilus, in which this organ is horny, and armed in both its
lobes with strong curved corneous teeth. More recently Gory,
Percheron, and MacLeay have detected corneous teeth in the
maxillae of other Cetoniidae, which character has accordingly
been employed, especially by the last-named author, to cha-
racterize many of the groups which he has proposed in his
quinarian arrangement of the family, published in Dr. Smith's
et African Zoological Researches/

Mr. Westwood on the Sexes in Cetoniidae. 339

None of these authors were however aware that the pos-
session of a corneous tooth in the mando or inner lobe of the
maxillae is in some cases a sexual character ; and consequently,
as they have omitted to notice from which sex their descrip-
tions have been derived, the characters of all their groups will
require a careful revision before they can be considered as
satisfactorily established.

Having some years ago, whilst making the dissections of the
typical Goliathi for the * Coleopterist's Manual/ ascertained
the remarkable dentation in the maxillae of the types of that
group, which differ so materially from all the other Cetoniidae
in this respect, I have carefully examined these organs in
the other allied Cetoniidae, especially as I had determined to
figure some of the more curious forms in my * Arcana Ento-
mological For this purpose I made, in the spring of the pre-
sent year (1841), drawings of several species and of their ana-
tomical details, some of which were published in the first
number of the work just mentioned, which appeared on
the 1st of May. We here find the maxillae of Mycteristes
rhinophyllus, male, armed on the upper lobe with several
teeth ; and the same is the case in both sexes of M. Cumingii ;
the maxilla of the female of that insect being like that of the
male, I did not figure it. In Dicronocephalus Hardwickii S
the lower lobe of the maxillae is quite simple, and the upper
lobe corneous, straight, and acute at the tip. So far, it is true,
no sexual variations were observed ; but on dissecting the male
Goliathus (Eudicellus) Morgani, of which Mr. Hope possesses
both sexes (in April 1841), I observed that the maxilla was
destitute of any tooth on the lower lobe ; whereas I found the
females of G. (E.) frontalis and aurata, in Mr. Melly's cabinet,
armed with a strong tooth on this part ; and on returning to
town from Liverpool (which I had visited in company with
Dr. Burmeister, in order to study Mr. Melly's collection), I
found the same character in the female of G. (E.) Morgani in
Mr. Hope's collection*. I likewise detected the same character
in the mando of the female of G.polyphemus in Mr. Turner's
collection, and also in the female of G. torquatus in Mr. Hope's ;
whereas in the male of the latter species, as Prof. Burmeister
informs me, the inner lobe of the mando is unarmed.

Since Dr. Burmeister's departure from England, I have
been much engaged in dissecting the majority of the genera
and a great number of the species of the Cetoniidae, with the
view of investigating the natural classification of that family,

* I have recently received a letter from Prof. Burmeister, dated Nov. 14,
1841, in which he mentions his having discovered this sexual distinction in
Got.. {Eudicellus) Daphnis, Smithii, and the species allied thereto.

Z2

340 Mr. Westwood on the Sexes in Cetoniidae.

and have discovered analogous differences in several other
species. In Stephanorrhina (Burm.) guttata, Oliv., the male
has the mando unarmed, whilst it is furnished with a short
acute horny tooth in the female.

In Jumnos Roy Hi [Cetonia R. } Hope, in Prof. Royle's work
on the Himalaya), the male* has the apex of the inner lobe of
the maxilla scarcely produced beyond a straight line ; whereas
in the female it is armed with a strong curved tooth. In the
Rhomborrhince [Cetonia opalina, Mellii, &c.) the males have the
lower lobe almost unarmed, whilst in the females it is strongly
hooked. In Cetonia [Coryphe) elegans both lobes of the
maxillae are obtuse in the male, but much more acute in the
female; whilst in C. [Trigonophorus, Hope) HardwicHi the
apex of the lower lobe is much more acute in the female than
in the male, although conical and corneous in the latter.

In Goliathus [Dicronorrhina, H.) micans, on the other hand,
the lower lobe is unarmed in both sexes ; and the same may
be said to be the case in the three fine African species unknown
to Gory, Percheron, and MacLeay, which constitute a small
group, to which I have given the name of Tmesorrhina (Arc.
Ent., pi. 19), except that in the females the mando is slightly
produced into a small point. In Coryphe MacLeaii the mando
is produced in both sexes into an angulated point, rather more
acute in the female than in the male ; but in Coryphe umbonata
and Diceros bicornuia, I have not found any distinction in the
maxillae of the opposite sexes. The same is also the case in
the interesting African Schizorrhina cyanea, Oliv., only here
the maxillae are of different form.

To those who have investigated the structure of the trophi
of insects, a difference of the kind, mentioned in this and my
former notice as occurring in some Lucanidce, will be consi-
dered interesting, because, of all the organs, none exhibit so
constant an uniformity of structure as the maxillae. " Maxil-
lam constantissimam invenimus, vix in congeneribus variat" —
and " Maxillae et labium tunc constantissima, semper simil-
lima," observes Fabricius ; and Mr. MacLeay places it in the
least variable position in his table of the variation of the or-
gans of insects ( f Horae Ent.,' p. 5). The only notice I have
found of a sexual difference in this part is in the genus Ne-
mognatha, belonging to the Heteromerous Coleoptera, where
the upper lobe is exceedingly elongated, which character has
been surmised to be sexual (K. and S., Introd., vol. iii. p. 317).

The discovery of this sexual distinction will render neces-

* The male of this insect agrees with Jumnos Ruckeri<$ , as figured in
the Transactions of the Entomological Society, in the curious toothing of
the fore-tibiae. It is the female which is figured in Dr. Royle's work.

Mr. Hassall on the Phosphorescence of Zoophytes. 341

sary a careful investigation of the structure of the maxillae in
both sexes of the types of the different subgenera and genera
of Cetoniida, in order to learn their natural relations. Beyond
this, however, there are various other particulars which are
requisite to be determined before we can introduce a single
species of Melitophila into its natural position with respect to
the others. It will be serviceable to give these in the words
of Burmeister's letter : — " In the first place, it is necessary to
determine whether the specimen under description be a male
or female ; the former sex may be known by the channelled
ventral surface of the abdomen, the convex perpendicular py-
gidium, and the anterior tibiae, which are often narrower and
toothless, whilst the female has two or three teeth on the out-
side. The maxilla must then be examined to determine
whether the galea or upper lobe be corneous, arcuated, trigo-
nate, with simple or cleft apex ; or membranous, arcuated, or
truncated at the apex, and of smaller size. In like manner
the lower lobe or mando must be examined to determine whe-
ther it be armed with a tooth or unarmed, according to the
sex : — the form of the clypeus, the mesosternum, prosternum
(whether it possess a spine in front of the coxae or not) ; the
tarsi (whether longer or shorter than the tibiae) ; the tibiae, de-
termining the number and position of the teeth according to
the sex ; the emargination of the elytra above the coxae, whe-
ther very deep as in Schizorrhina, or very feeble as in Golia-
thus. The form of the under lip is also very important in the
Cremastocheilida." Besides these characters, the form of the
mandibles, the outline of the prothorax, and the existence of
onychiae between the ungues of the tarsi ; and lastly, the va-
riation in the form of the antennae, according to the sexes,
must be noticed.

Unless such particulars as these are attended to, we may as
well content ourselves with the Linnaean or Fabrician state of
the science, instead of doing our utmost to give to it a higher
and more philosophic tone.

XLIV. — On the Phosphorescence of Zoophytes. By Arthur
Hill Hassall, Esq. M.R.C.S.L., Corresponding Member
of the Dublin Natural History Society.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

Gentlemen,
On reading the Rev. D. Landsborough's paper on the Phos-
phorescence of Zoophytes in your last Number, p. 281, I am
led to refer to my paper read before the Natural History
Society of Dublin, November 6, 1840, and published in your

342 Mr. Hassall on the Phosphorescence of Zoophytes.

journal for June last, as detailing similar observations made
three mon ths before the reading of the paper.
The passage is the following : —

"I have ascertained that all the more transparent Zoophytes,"
(under which title I include the marine orders of the Hydroid, As-
teroid, and Ascidian classes, which embrace all the species indivi-
dually noticed by Mr. Landsborough) " possess highly luminous pro-
perties. This fact I first discovered in a specimen of Laomedia gela-
tinosa, and subsequently in a great variety of other species. If a
portion of it, adhering to the sea-weed to which it is attached, be
taken from the water and agitated, a great number of bright phos-
phorescent sparks will be emitted ; these sparks proceed from each of
the denticles of the coralline containing polypi, and the phenomenon
is equally apparent whether the specimen be in or out of water.
The imagination could scarcely conceive a more beautiful spectacle
than would be furnished by the shining of countless myriads of these
tiny lamps, lighting up the dark recesses and caves of the ocean."

" The fact of the phosphorescence of one species of Sertularia,

S. pumila, was, I have lately learned, discovered by Stewart some
time since ; but the announcement of it did not, it appears, lead to
further inquiries into this interesting subject."

From a perusal of the above account, to which I shall add
some additional observations, it is manifest that priority of
upwards of a year, of the discovery of the general phospho-
rescence of Zoophytes, is due to me, and not to Mr. Lands-
borough.

I have stated that the phosphorescence is equally apparent
whether the specimen be in or out of water, that is, in air or
water ; and this is the fact, the only requisite in either case for
its development being the friction of motion.

Numerous friends, among others G. J. Allman, esq., of
Bandon, can bear witness to the exceeding brilliancy of the
phosphorescent light emitted by a great variety of species
which I was frequently in the habit of exhibiting to them.
Once each week I received from the master of a trawling ves-
sel on the Dublin coast, a large hamper of Zoophytes in a re-
cent state ; in the evening these were taken into a darkened
room, and the spectators assembled ; I then used to gather
up with my hands as much of the contents of the hamper as
I could manage, and tossing them about in all directions,
thousands of little stars shone out brightly from the obscu-
rity, exhibiting a spectacle, the beauty of which to be appre-
ciated must be seen, and one which it has been the lot of but
few persons as yet to have looked upon. Entangled among
the corallines were also numerous minute luminous Anne-
lides, which added their tiny fires to the general exhibition.

Provided the Zoophytes had not been exposed to wet or

Mr. Hassall on the Phosphorescence of Zoophytes, 343

frost, which destroys their vitality, the same appearance could
be repeated on the second and third night, but with dimi-
nished brilliancy.

With respect to the phosphorescence of some Fishes, Mol-
lusca tunicata, and the Medusa, spoken of by Mr. Landsbo-
rough, instances of it in all these are I believe on record ; and
of the phosphorescence of the latter distinct mention is made
by Professor Rymer Jones in his ' Outlines of the Animal
Kingdom ;' and indeed it is to the Acalepha, the animals com-
posing which class vary in size from particles almost imper-
ceptible from their transparency to creatures exceeding a foot
in extent, that the ocean is principally indebted for its lumi-
nous properties. I well remember the admiration, not un-
mixed with wonder (for then I knew not to what agencies the
power by which water seemed suddenly to kindle and glow, as
though turned to liquid fire, was to be attributed), which I felt
when first I viewed the beautiful phosphorescence phenomenon
of the ocean. Beautiful as this spectacle is even in our own seas,
in warmer latitudes, and in the Mediterranean, it is far more
splendid ; but to be seen at all it is necessary that the water
should be disturbed in some way — the slightest breeze curling
the surface of the tranquil ocean, calls forth from its waters a
flash of phosphorescent fire as it sweeps along — the wave, as it
falls from the vessel's side and breaks into ten thousand pieces,
reveals innumerable globes of animated fire suddenly called
forth from the darkness which enveloped them — each stroke
of the dripping oars scatters thousands of living gems around
them, unequalled in brilliancy by the glittering of a kingly
diadem — a golden path of light, increasing in breadth as the
distance becomes greater, follows, like an attendant comet,
the wake of the vessel urged onwards by the impelling wind
— and the fisher's net, just raised to the water's edge, and
laden with spoil collected from the secret beds and hiding-
places of the great deep, seems converted into a golden frame-
work set with precious jewels, by the presence of numerous
zoophytes entangled in its meshes. Indeed, in whatever way
the water is agitated, the same beautiful appearance follows ;
if a little be placed even in the palm of the hand, and shaken,
bright scintillations will be emitted ; but, of course, the phae-
nomenon will be more striking in proportion to the quantity
of water put into commotion.

Arthur Hill Hassall.

Cheshunt, Herts, Dec. 8th, 1841.

[Note. In publishing Mr. Landsborough's paper, we might, with
great propriety, have taken occasion to direct the attention of our
readers (and it was perhaps an oversight on our part to have omit-
ted it) to that passage in Mr. Hassall's, in which he had detailed his

344 Excerpta Botanica.

interesting observations of the luminous properties of Zoophytes.
At the same time, it does not appear that Mr. Landsborough, in com-
municating his observations, has laid any claim to priority. Not
having seen Mr. Hassall's paper, his record of phenomena of the same
class which have come under his personal notice has still its indepen-
dent value. The observations of each of our correspondents will be
most acceptable to the lovers of natural history ; and the degree of
originality which they may possess will no doubt be duly estimated
by those who are most extensively acquainted with what has been
written upon the subject. Both agree in stating that the inquiry was
suggested to them by the remark of Mr. Stewart. — Ed.]

XLV. — Excerpta Botanica, or abridged Extracts translated
from the Foreign Journals, illustrative of, or connected with,
the Botany of Great Britain. By W. A. Leighton. Esq..
B.A., F.B.S.E., &c.

No. 7* Notes on the genus Corylus. By Ed. Spach. (Ann.
des Sc, Nat. n. s. xvi. 98.)

Generic Characters.

Flores monoici, hiemales, foliis multo praecociores : masculi 5- ad 8-
andri, aperianthi, in amenta squamosa, ebracteolata, cylindracea,
gracilia, multiflora, jam sestate praeteriti anni nascentia moxque
perulis denudata dispositi; fceminei perianthio adnato praediti,
staminibus (imo rudimentariis) omnin6 orbati, in glomerulos
parvos sub-multifloros, sub anthesi gemmaceos sessiles perulis
(per acta anthesi tandem deciduis) obtectos, post anthesin de-
mum in ramulum foliatum excrescentes aggregati, singuli in-
volucrati.

Amenta mascula lateralia v. lateralia terminaliaque (in ramulis prae-
teriti anni), e singulis gemmis ad rachin breviusculam nunc
gemina (rar6 solitaria), nunc 3 ad 6-spicata, jam virginea pen-
dula. Squamae staminiferce pluriseriatim imbricatae, uniflorae,
concavae, unguiculatae, haud peltatae, subverticales, subcoriaceae,
ciliolatse, staminibus longiores, cuneato-obovatse, mucronatae,
antice appendicibus 2 (squamae subconformibus et paulo longi-
oribus) inferne cum ungue confluentibus instructae. Stamina
secus squamarum basin inordinatim inserta. Filamenta brevia,
capillaria, indivisa, aestivatione recta. Antherae monothecae,
ellipticae, 2-valves, dorso affixae, apice barbataa. [Filamentis
indlvisis, antheris monothecis, staminibusque igitur quasi di-
midiatis, Corylus a caeteris affinibus generibus omnibus differt.]

Glomeruli fceminei solitarii, sub anthesi laterales (ad ramulos praeteriti
anni, nunc ex iisdem axillis ac amenta mascula, nunc ex axillis
inferioribus, semper autem ex aliis gemmis), squamosi. lnvo-
lucra (sub anthesi minima, perulis obtecta, setulis rigidis si-
mul ac ovaria densissime vestita) subcampaniformia, varie divisa,
in rachi brevissima spicata, imbricata, geminatim inserta, plera-
que postea abortientia ; par quodvis bractea solitaria herbacea

Excerpta Botanica. 345

persistente accrescente stipatum. Ovarium (sub anthesi inovu-
latum, vix conspicuum, intus solidum) deraum triloculare (nunc
3-loculare) (loculis contextu celluloso-carnoso omnino repletis),
limbo perianthino minuto marginiformi coronatum. Ovula ana-
tropa, in quovis loculo solitaria, secus dissepimenti apicem ap-
pensa. Stigmata (sola pistilli jam sub anthesi pars rite evoluta)
2, exserta, filiformia, colorata, divergentia, marcescentia, basi
in stylum brevem confluentia.

Involucrafructifera subcampaniformia v. tubulosa, nunc monophylla,
nunc 2- v. rar6 3-partita, segmentis v. limbo plus minusve aut
dentatis, aut laciniatis, foliacea (basi incrassata, carnosa, rugosa),
monocarpa, ad apicem pedunculi incrassati (ramulum foliatum
plus minusve elongatum terminantis) solitaria, aut gemina, aut
plura (nunc fasciculata, nunc glomerata), bracteis multiformibus
involucrisque abortivis stipata.

Nux subexserta v. involucro obtecta, istius fundo inserta, subcom-
pressa, v. obscure 3- v. 5-gona, v. subcylindrica, ossea, laevi-
gata, plus minusve striata, evalvis, obtusiuscula, ecoronata,
(limbo perianthino demiim subobsoleto), basi derasa, abortu 1-
locularis et 1-sperma, demiim sine involucro decidua.

Semen nucis cavitati conforme, inadhaerens, crassum, exalbumino-
sum, dissepimenti reliquiis affixum. Integumentum tenue,
membranaceum, venosum.

Embryo rectus, carnosus, oleosus, albidus ; cotyledones magnae, co-
haerentes, piano- convexae, haud plicatae, subovales, basi et apice
rotundatae, germinatione hypogeae ; radicula supera, brevis, co-
nica, obtusa, ex toto immersa.

Arbores v. frutices dumosi. Gemmae distichae, perulatae ; masculi-
florae aphyllae ; fceminiflorae simul foliigenae. Ramuli subcylin-
drici, flexuosi, epidermide subreticulatim rimuloso, mox deci-
duo. Folia -2-stipulata, disticha, breve petiolata, annotina,
tenuia, conspicue penninervia, plicata, plus minusve rugosa,
dentata v. crenata simulque saepius angulosa v. inciso-angulosa
(variatione nonnunquam pinnatifida), variiformia (in quovis in-
dividuo) basi aequali v. inaequali, saepius cordata. Petiolus cy-
lindricus v. subtrigonus, ecanaliculatus. Stipulae laterales, ca-
ducae, forma variabili. Amenta mascula elongata. Squamae
staminiferae luteo et fusco variegatae, sub anthesi laxiusculae.
Antherae virgineae purpureae, sub anthesi citrinae. Stigmata
purpurea.

The generic characters ascribed to Corylus, even in the
most recent works, are in many points more or less faulty.
Some authors regard the appendages of the staminiferous
scales in this genus as a perianth of two leaves adnate to the
scale ; but as these appendages also occur on the floral scales
of the male catkins of the Betulacea, which, moreover, possess
a true perianth, this view is manifestly incorrect. The num-
ber of stamens is variable and not constantly eight ; they are
inserted without any apparent order towards the base of the

346 Excerpta Botanica.

scales, and not superposed in two regular series. The brac-
teas at the base of the female involucres, far from being always
oval or entire, are on the contrary various in form, sometimes
entire, and sometimes more or less cut. These bracteas are
persistent and accrescent, whilst in the nearly allied genera
Carpinus and Ostrya they are deciduous shortly after flower-
ing. The female involucres are constantly one- and not two-
flowered, not sometimes one- and sometimes two-flowered.
They are not aggregated without order, but are always in-
serted in pairs in the depressions (fossettes) of a very abbre-
viated rachis, each pair being accompanied by a bractea. The
limb of the perianth of the female flowers is never completely
obliterated, but is always perfectly visible on the young fruit
under the form of a subapicular, pubescent, undulated, or ir-
regularly denticulate swelling. The inferior flowers of each
cluster are almost always abortive, as is also the case with a
greater or lesser number of the superior flowers; consequently
the fruit borne on one peduncle are very variable in number,
and frequently reduced to one or two. Lastly, the fructife-
rous involucres are neither always tubular nor always bipar-
tite.

The hybernal flowering, the appendages of the staminiferous
scales, the single-celled anthers, the accrescence of the brac-
teas of the female flowers, and the hypogeal cotyledons, con-
stitute, conjointly with the female inflorescence and the struc-
ture of the fructiferous involucre, the chief essential characters
by which Corylus is distinguished from the two nearly allied
genera Ostrya and Carpinus. In these latter genera the
flowering is vernal, the staminiferous scales are without ap-
pendages, the anthers two-celled, either completely disunited
or at least parted in the middle. The whole, or greater por-
tion of the female flowers are fertile, and produced in large
pendent spikes. Their accompanying bracteas are fugacious,
and the cotyledons are developed into seminal leaves.

Sectio I. AVELLANA, Spach.

Involucrum fructiferum inerme, 2-partitum (rarb S-partitu?n, non-
nunquam uno latere tantum usque ad basin fissum), subcampani-
forme; segmentis inciso-dentatis, v. palmatis. Nux involucro
longior v. brevior.

1. CORYLUS COLURNA, Linn. Wats. Dendr. Brit., tab. 99.—
Corylus byzantina, Seb. Mus. 1 . tab. 27. fig. 2. — Corylus byzantina
et Corylus Colurna, Hortul. Arborea, corticis stratis exterioribus
in lamellas crassas deciduas solubilibus. Involucris fructiferis
(ssepissime 2-partitis) nucibus subduplo (plusve) longioribus :
segmentis conniventibus, multifido v. multipartito-palmatis.

Excerpt a Botanica. 347

Hub. in Thracia (ex auctoribus antiquioribus) ; in Bannatu Hun-
garian (ubi, ex cl. Rochel, sylvas extensas efficit) ; in Italia su-
periori (ex cl. Reichenbach. Flor. Germ, excurs.).

This species is thus characterized by Willdenow : — " C. sti-
pulis lanceolatis, acuminatis ; calyce fructus duplici : exteriore
multipartita, interiore tripartite, laciniis palmatis ; foliis sub-
rotundo-ovatis, cordatis." By Poiret (Encycl.), " C. stipulis
linearibus, acutis ; calycibus profunde dissectis ; fructu raax-
imo :" and by Reichenbach, a C. nuce abbreviate ; calyce
fructus patentissimo, duplici : exteriore multipartite ; interiore
tripartite ; laciniis palmatis ; foliis subrotundo-ovatis cordatis
inciso-angulatis." Many of these characters are incorrect,
and none of them sufficiently constant for specific definition.

The fructiferous involucres, or calyx of the above-cited au-
thors, is in this, as in all the other species, simple ; that which
has been incorrectly taken for an exterior involucre or calyx
being nothing more than the involucres of the abortive flowers
and the bracteas of the fertile ones, which are equally found at
the base of the fruit in the other species. The involucres of
the abortive flowers always remain very minute. The form
and size of the bracteas vary infinitely in all the species, and
afford no good character. According to Reichenbach, the
fructiferous involucre of C. Colurna is very patulous ; but that
distinguished botanist appears to have fallen into error from
the examination of badly dried specimens, since the involucre
is constantly straight and connivent up to the summit or
nearly so, as we have determined from an examination of a
great many different varieties in a living state. This struc-
ture of the fructiferous involucre is in fact the sole character
by which the fruit of C. Colurna can be distinguished from
that of certain varieties of C. Avellana; for although, in general,
the segments of the involucre of C. Colurna are much more
deeply laciniated than is ordinarily the case in C. Avellana,
still there are some varieties of the former which have the
segments split only to one-third, or at most to one-half, and
some very common varieties of C. Avellana which have the
involucral segments very deeply palmatifid. The involucre of
C. Colurna is sometimes nearly glabrous, sometimes more or
less pubescent, sometimes almost cottony, and often bristled
with hairs or glandular bristles. Its size is as variable as in
C. Avellana, or rather as in all the species. The straps (la-
nieres) of its segments are very entire, or jagged, or inciso-
dentate, or bi- or tri-furcate, more or less acuminate, or only
pointed, very frequently more or less divaricated at the sum-
mit, generally narrow, being either linear, linear-lanceolate,
de mi-lanceolate or subfalciform, less frequently very broad and

348 Excerpta Botanica.

falciform, or demi-lanceolate, or oblongo-lanceolate. Accord-
ing to Willdenow and Reichenbach, one of its distinctive cha-
racters was the tripartite involucre ; but an examination of a
large quantity of the fruit has demonstrated that this is only
an accidental variety which occurs also in C. Avellana, and
which is very much rarer than the normal condition, in which
the involucre is divided to its base into two nearly equal seg-
ments. Another variety, much more common both in Co-
lurna and Avellana, has the involucre divided only on one side
down to its base, as in that of Carpinus.

The nut, as in all the species, is either more or less com-
pressed, or subcylindrical, or obscurely 3- or 5-gonous, some-
times subglobose, sometimes obovate, oval, ovoid or oblongs
whilst in size it is equally variable. The number of fruits
borne on each peduncle affords no distinctive character, being
in all the species either solitary or aggregated, from 2 — 7 or
rarely more.

The male catkins of C. Colurna are generally longer than
those of its congeners, but in other respects their structure is
similar. This is not the case however with the fertile flowers.

The most variable organs of Corylus are undoubtedly the
leaves and stipules ; and their different modifications of form,
size, and pubescence are so inconstant on each individual, as
to render it vain to employ them even as characters of va-
rieties.

The leaves of most species are generally suborbicular or
ovali- orbicular, though frequently oboval, oval, oval-oblong,
elliptico-oblong or oblong ; in general they are suddenly termi-
nated in an acute, more or less elongated point ; less frequently
they are obtuse or gradually tapered into a point. Their base
is cordate (sometimes slightly so, sometimes more or less
deeply so) ; less frequently rounded, rarely pointed, some-
times nearly equal, and sometimes more or less unequal.
Their margins, from base to summit, are doubly or unequally
dentate, or crenulate, or jagged, often moreover more or less
strongly angular or incised, or sometimes even pinnatifid;
sometimes plane, and sometimes undulated or crisped. Both
surfaces are sometimes more or less pubescent, sometimes so
only on the under surface ; sometimes, though very rarely,
glabrous on both surfaces, except the axils of the nervures of
the inferior surface, which are always more or less strongly
bearded. The petiole is cylindrical or obscurely trigonous,
not channelled, more or less short, hairy, pubescent, hispid or
glabrous. The hairs or bristles sometimes glandulose, some-
times not so. These variations of pubescence occur also on
the stipules, young shoots and peduncles.

Excerpta Botanica. 349

The stipules are very variable in form and sizej in all the
species and on each individual, according as they pertain to
the leaves of the flowering branches or to the leaves of the lux-
uriant shoots (pousses gourmandes) [barren shoots ?]. Those
of the floral branches are very fugacious, membranous, sub-
scariose, chiefly liguliform; those of the luxuriant shoots
(pousses gourmandes) being on the contrary less^ caducous,
subherbaceous, oval, ovali-oblong, ovali-lanceolate, oblongo-
lanceolate, oblong or sublinear, obtuse or pointed, or acumi-
nate.

Certain modifications of the fructiferous involucres of C, Co-
lurna, having been found to be very constant, appear sufficiently
remarkable to establish the following varieties, though it is not
pretended that intermediate varieties may not exist as well as
other varieties equally distinct. Those here noted, with the
exception of one form referred to, that figured by Watson,
were observed on six trees in the Jardin du Roi.

a. brachycarpa, Spach. — Corylus Colurna, Wats., Dendr. Brit., tab.
99. Involucre (1 \ — 2 inches long) three times longer than nut,
pubescent (not setiferous) ; segments divided beyond the middle
into linear-lanceolate or demi-lanceolate straps (lanieres), very
acuminate, generally very entire.

ft. trichochlamys, Spach. Involucre (15 — 18 lines long) one-
half longer to twice as long as nut, hispid, glandular ; segments
divided beyond the middle into linear-lanceolate or subfalciform
straps, rather broad, acuminate, some bi- or tri-furcate at the
summit, others very entire or dentate.

y. macrochlamys, Spach. Involucre (2 inches long) 2 — 3 times
longer than nut, downy, not setiferous ; segments divided for
^rd into linear- lanceolate or falciform straps, acute, unequal,
slightly jagged.

1. leptochlamys, Spach. Involucre (about 1 inch long) J — J longer

than nut, not hispid, cottony ; segments divided nearly to their
base into denticulate or dentate or very entire or 3 -furcate
straps, acute, generally linear and narrow.
e. avellanoides, Spach. Involucre (about 15 lines long) ^rd longer
than nut, downy, glandular, not hispid ; segments divided for
^rd into mostly broad, oblongo-lanceolate, acute, inciso-dentate
lobes.

2. CORYLUS AVELLANA,Linn.— Corylus americana, Mich.! Flor.

Bor. Amer. (et auct. Americ. plurimis*). — Corylus Avellana et

* This pretended species is absolutely identical with C. Avellana of Europe.
Michaux distinguished it by its amplified (i. e. much longer than the nut)
involucre, unequally multifkl, bristled with glandular hairs ; but this struc-
ture of the involucre is equally very frequent with the European C. Avel-
lana ; and moreover we have seen specimens of this same species gathered in
the United States, in which the involucre was perfectly similar to that of

350 Excerpta Botanica.

Corylus americana, Victor, plur. (non? Willd.*). — Corylus hetero-
phylla, Fisch. ! \. — Corylus Turtschaninovii, Bess, in Flora, 1834,
Beybl. vi. — Corylus bulbosa, Turtsch. (ex Bess., /. e\). — Corylus
alba, C. americana, C. arborea, C. Avellana, C. barcelonensis, C.
bicarpa, C. corymbosa, C. crispa, C. glomerata, C. grandis, C. he-
terophylla, C. laciniata, C. maxima, C. minor, C. nana, C. ovata,
C. pedemontana, C. pumila, C. rotunda, C. rubra, C. striata, C.
subconica, C. sylvestris, C. tenuis, and C. urticcefolia, Hortul.
Fruticosa, dumosa, v. rarius subarborescens et unicaulis. Cortice
laevigata v. demum rimuloso, nunquam deciduo. Foliis ssepiiis
suborbicularibus v. ovato-subrotundis. Involucris-fructiferis (sae-
pissime bipartitis) nucibus subbrevioribus, v. paulo longioribus
(rarius subdimidio longioribus) ; segmentis inciso-dentatis v.
palmatifidis, demum plus minusve patulis.

The characters generally attributed to this species are, sti-
pules oval or oblong, obtuse ; leaves cordiform, orbicular,
acuminated; fructiferous involucre inciso-dentate, and spread-
ing at the summit. This definition, with the exception of
the inconstant characters, is no otherwise defective than in
seeming to indicate that the fructiferous involucre of C. Avel-
lana is not bi- or tripartite as that of C. Colurna, and that
this structure of the involucre constitutes the difference of
the two species ; but, as before mentioned, the involucre of
C. Avellana differs essentially from that of C. Colurna in its
segments being more or less patulous and not connivent ;
for in the most usual, and consequently the normal state,
the involucre of C. Avellana is likewise divided to the base
into two nearly equal segments; less frequently this involucre
is divided to the base on one side only, as in the Yoke-Elms,
(Charmes); and very rarely it is divided to the base in three
unequal segments. As to the other pretended distinctive cha-
racters of C, Avellana, they are as inconstant as those of C. Co-
lurna, and consequently are valueless as specific distinctions.
We shall therefore merely repeat, that the leaves, stipules and
nut of Qi Avellana present all the variations of form and size
above described ; that its fructiferous involucre varies in pu-
bescence like that of C. Colurna, and the hairs of the invo-
lucre, petioles, peduncles, and young shoots are in like man-
one of the commonest varieties in our woods, viz. with an involucre scarcely
as long as the nut, slightly or not at all glandulose, and slightly inciso-den-
tate.

* The C. americana of Willd. (Spec.) has been since considered by its
author himself as a distinct species from C. americana, Mich., and he has
named it C. pumila. This is unknown to us, but, judging from the definition
of its author, it can scarcely be anything else but a new synonym of C. Avel-
lana.

f We cannot detect any difference between C. heterophylla, Fisch., and
the ordinary C. Avellana.

Excerpta Botanica. 351

ner either terminated by a gland or not ; that the involucre is
sometimes shorter than, sometimes as long as, and sometimes
longer than the nut ; that nevertheless it rarely exceeds the
nut by more than one-third, whilst in C. Colurna the nut is
often two to three times shorter than the involucre ; and lastly,
that the segments of this involucre, slightly inciso-dentate in
certain varieties, are, on the contrary, more or less deeply
palmatifid in other varieties, not only in those in cultivation,
but also in those which are very common in woods ; and in
this latter case the secondary segments (lanieres secondaires)
are sometimes equal, sometimes more or less unequal, very
entire, or jagged, or inciso-dentate, or pinnatifid ; in form sub-
linear, or linear-lanceolate, or lanceolate, or semi-lanceolate,
or oblongo-lanceolate, or suboval, or deltoid, and sometimes
acute, sometimes acuminate.

The more notable modifications of the fructiferous invo-
lucre afford the following varieties : —

a. brachychlamys, Spach. — Corylus Avellana sylvestris et Corylus
Avellana ovata, Willd. — Involucre a little shorter or a little
longer than the nut ; segments irregularly inciso-dentate ; nut
obovate, or oval, or oblong; involucre pubescent, or hispid,
glandular, or non-glandular. This variety appears to be com-
moner than all the others in the woods.
(3. schizochlamys, Spach. — Involucre generally as longas, or about ^rd
longer than the nut ; segments palmatifid as far as the middle or
beyond ; straps (lanieres) chiefly jagged or inciso-dentate. Nut
variable in form. Involucre sometimes hispid and glandular,
sometimes only pubescent with or without glands. This variety
is common in the woods in the environs of Paris,
y. macrochlamys, Spach*. — Corylus Avellana glomerata, Hort. Kew.
— Corylus Avellana maxima, Audib. Cat. Involucre large (often
about 18 lines long and as many broad), one-half longer than
the nut ; segments palmatifid ; straps (lanieres) inciso-dentate,
or subpinnatifid, broad, acute. Nut large, subglobose. Culti-
vated variety.
I. cylindrochlamys, Spach. — Corylus Avellana grandis, Hort. Kew. —
Corylus Avellana maxima, Willd. Involucre (15 — 1 8 lines long)
subcylindrical, a little longer than the nut ; segments inciso-
dentate atthe summit. Nut obovate or subglobose, or ellipsoid,
very large. Cultivated variety known by the name of Filbert,
Of the numerous variations of the leaves of this species, the
two following alone merit special notice : —

Corylus Avellana urticafolia, Audib. Cat. — Corylus laciniata et Co-
rylus urticcrfolia, Hortul. Leaves deeply sinuato-pinnatifid ;
segments acute, inciso-dentate.
Corylus Avellana crispa, Loud. — Corylus crispa, Hortul. Leaves
inciso-angular and crisped.

352 Excerpt a Botanica.

Sectio II. TUBO-AVELLANA, Spach.

Involucrum fructiferum inerme, monophyllum, ultra nucem in tubum
nunc bijidum, nunc trifidum, nunc uno latere tantum fissum, ore
clausum, apice dentatum v. laciniatum productum.

3. CORYLUSTUBULOSA,Willd. Guimp.etHayn.Deutsch. Holz.
tab. 152. — Corylus maxima, Mill. — Corylus arborescens, Duroi ;
Mcench. — Corylus rubra, Borkh. — Noisetier franc, Poit. etTurp.
Arbres fruitiers, tab. 12. Fruticosa, dumosa, v. rarius sub-
arborescens. Cortice laevigata v. demum rimoso nunquam de-
ciduo. Foliis ssepius subrotundis v. ovato-subrotundis. Invo-
lucris-fructiferis conoideis, nucibus nunc paulo, nunc subdimidio
longioribus.
Hab. in Austria, Hungaria, Italia superiori (Reich. Fl. Germ, ex-
curs.), nee non in austral iorib us Europae regionibus.

{3. purpurea. — Corylus tubulosa purpurea, Audib. Cat. — Corylus

purpurea, Hortul. Foliis involucrisque purpureo-fuscis. Va-
rietas hortensis.

The C. tubulosa, known under the name of the true Filbert
(Noisetier franc), has been considered by many authors as
only a variety of C. Avellana ; but it appears to us incontest-
ably distinct, from the structure of its involucre, although we
have been utterly unable to discover other differences between
these two species. The leaves and stipules vary as in C. Avel-
lana, The fructiferous involucre is l± — 2 inches long, downy
or hispid, generally glandular, sometimes bi- or trifld, some-
times divided on one side only, and irregularly inciso-dentate
or laciniated at the summit. Nut oblong, or oval-oblong, or
oval, more or less compressed, sometimes violet, sometimes of
a brown-red colour. The integument of the seed is purple
or white.

4. CORYLUS ROSTRATA, Hort. Kew. ; Willd. Arb. tab. 1. fig. 2.
Corylus americana, Walt. Carol. — Corylus cornuta, Duroi. Fruti-
cosa, pumila. Foliis ssepius oblongis v. oblongo-obovatis, du-
plicato-serrulatis (vix aut ne vix angulosis). Involucro-fructi-
fero basi subgloboso, superne longe cylindraceo-tubuloso, nuce
mult6 longiore, sa?pius hispidissimo. (V. s. sp.)
Hab. in American septentrionalis montibus Alleghanies.

This species, according to the authors of the ( Flora of
North America/ does not rise to more than three or four feet.
The leaves are much smaller than those of the preceding
species, slightly cordiform at the base. The tube of the
fructiferous involucre is in length about eighteen lines,
slender, ordinarily bifid as far as the middle, with laciniate
segments.

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 353

Sectio III. ACANTHOCHLAMYS, Spach.
Involucrum fructiferum, 2-partitum, segmentis laciniatis, spinosis.
5. CORYLUS FEROX, Wall. Plant. Asiat. Rar. tab. 87. Arborea.
Foliis saepius oblongis, acuminatis. Nuce durissima, compressa,
involucro duplo breviori (Wall. I. c).
Hob. in Nepaliae raontibus.

A tree twenty foot high and two foot in circumference.
Branches slender, smooth, brownish. Leaves three to four
inches long, pubescent on both surfaces, hairy on the ner-
vures, similar to those of the elm. Fruit aggregated in pen-
dent heads. Involucre hairy. Nut with a very thick shell.
{Wallich, I. c.)

XhVl.—The Birds of Ireland. By Wm. Thompson, Esq.,
Vice-Pres. Nat. Hist. Society of Belfast.

[Family Fringillid^e, continued from p. 288.]

The Green Grosbeak or Green-linnet, Fringilla Chlo-
ris, Temm. (Genus Coccothraustes, Briss.), is common and
resident in suitable localities throughout Ireland. This bird
is generally described simply as found in cultivated districts,
but this gives no correct idea of the true haunts of the species
or of its partialities. These I have seen set forth with the nice
discrimination and fullness which are so desirable, in one work
only — the e British Birds 3 of Sir Wm. Jardine.

This author remarks on the green-linnets "frequenting cul-
tivated districts in the vicinity of gardens and limited planta-
tions. During winter they congregate in large flocks, feeding
on the stubble ground on various small seeds, and resorting
towards night-fall to the vicinity of the plantations or ever-
greens surrounding some mansion * * *. In spring, when
paired, they resort to the garden and shrubbery" The words
in italics mark the nice discrimination alluded to, and are in
entire accordance with my own observation on the favourite
haunts of the green-linnet, and to it alone will they strictly
apply. By the plantation of shrubberies, I have known this
handsome bird to be attracted to a rather wild district in
which it had hitherto been a stranger, and soon become plen-
tiful, the Portugal Laurel with its dense foliage being its
favourite resort. This species is usually described as a late-
breeding bird ; but in the locality just alluded to, and which is
at a considerable elevation, a journal-note of April 4th, 1832,
mentions busy preparations for nestling going forward in
glen, shrubbery, and garden. A nest of this species, found
in a beech-hedge, was so tastefully lined as to be considered

Ann. fif Mag. N. Hist. Vol. viii. 2 A

354 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

worth preserving. Outwardly it was constructed of roots
interwoven with mosses, but in the lining of the nest, mixed
with black and white hairs, were swans-down and thistle-
seed, this last evidently made use of on account of its plumed
appendages, all of which remained attached to the seed. It
was late in the autumn when this nest was observed, so that
the period at which the thistle-seed was obtained is unknown.
A correspondent remarks, that he has removed nests contain-
ing the young to a considerable distance without their being
forsaken by the parent birds. My friend at Cromac supplies
a note to the effect that he once took all the eggs, three in
number, out of a green-linnet's nest and put in their place a
similar number of those of the titlark : the next morning he
found that a fourth egg had been laid by the green-linnet,
which he afterwards saw several times on the nest, but further,
the result is unknown to him.

That green-linnets collect into flocks, and remain so for the
winter is well known, and I have so remarked them about
Belfast feeding in the highest cultivated fields adjoining the
heath of the mountain-top, and again in low-lying tracts some-
what distant from any plantation or place where they would
roost for the night. In summer likewise they are occasionally
congregated. Two excellent observers have noticed them as
follows — one, in the vicinity of the town just mentioned, re-
marked a flock of not less than thirty, feeding on a moun-
tain pasture on the 27th of June; and the other saw them
come in numbers at the same season to meadows at the
sea- side when ready for cutting, and he conjectured, for the
purpose of feeding on the seed of the dandelion [Leontodon
Taraxacum), which plant was there very abundant — both
localities were near to tilled ground and plantations of trees
and shrubs.

A correspondent mentions, that by placing one of these
birds in a cage-trap he has caught numbers. I have known
some, when taken young and caged, and after being so kept
for some little time, to be given their liberty every morning,
when they returned to their cage in the evening to roost as
regularly as in a perfectly wild state they would have done to
their favourite tree or shrub.

The only food which I have found in the stomachs of a
number of these birds killed during winter was grain and
seeds of different kinds.

The Goldfinch, Fringilla Carduelis, Linn., though
found over the four provinces of Ireland, is by no means ge-
nerally distributed, and in some extensive districts which seem
in every respect most favourably circumstanced for it, is not

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 355

to be found at all, or only as an occasional visitant. Of all our
indigenous birds, the beautiful goldfinch seems the most ca-
pricious. In one instance it is known to me as entirely de-
serting a part of the country which it had regularly fre-
quented, after a small portion of a mountain-side covered with
thistles from time immemorial had been reclaimed and planted
with forest trees. From other localities too, I have known the
goldfinch without any apparent reason flit away, and, unlike
many other birds, never revisit the place of its nativity. As
the country around Belfast has become more populous, their
number has decreased. The romantic neighbourhood of Cush-
endall, about forty miles distant, is now their stronghold in
this quarter, and there the goldfinch is the most common bird.
It is pleasing to witness the social manner in which they feed,
several being often engaged regaling upon the seed of a single
thistle ; and on a moderate-sized plant of the more humble
knapweed (Centaurea nigra) I have seen four of them thus
occupied at the same time — the seed of the ragwort or rag-
weed (as it is called in the north of Ireland) is a favourite
food. They are very easily alarmed when feeding, and fly off
hurriedly in little companies uttering their pleasing and lively
call.

Although this species will frequent gardens and well-kept
grounds, especially for the purpose of nestling, it seems to
prefer such parts of the country as are in some degree wild,
and its visits to the farm are certainly not to be considered as
complimentary to the owner, for when most out of order and
run to weeds it is most attractive to the goldfinch. During
snow, these birds have been taken in trap-cages baited with
flax-seed, and sometimes in company with chaffinches. For
two years successively, goldfinches nestled in a cherry-tree
within ten paces of a house in which I lived, when they and
their young (in each instance four in number) proved most
interesting— I have seen their nests in willows and pear-trees,
and in one of the latter of moderate size, the goldfinch and
thrush at the same reared their broods, both of which in due
time escaped in safety. One correspondent mentions his ha-
ving had their nests in the elder, and another, in noticing apple-
trees in which he had observed them, remarks that they were
generally placed on the outer portion of the branches.

In addition to seeds of various kinds found in the sto-
machs of examples killed in the months of January and Fe-
bruary, I have observed the remains of coleopterous insects,
but only very rarely. The goldfinch is treated of in a very in-
teresting manner in the 6 Journal of a Naturalist/

Siskin, Fringilla spinus, Linn. — Templeton, in his c Cata-

2 A 2

356 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

logue of the Vertebrate Animals of Ireland,' calls this bird a?
" rare visitant/' and to my ornithological friends and myself
it is known only as a winter bird of passage resorting at un-
certain intervals to this island. Rutty, in his ' Natural History
of Dublin' (1772), says, that siskins " come to us in the be-
ginning of winter and go away the beginning of spring," im-
plying their regular periodical appearance. That they may
occasionally even breed in some parts of the county of Wick-
lb w, and certain suitable localities in the north, is not im-
probable.

I first saw this species in a wild state in the neighbourhood
of Belfast, in the winter of 1826 or 1827, probably the latter,
as in that year siskins were met with (and for the first time)
by Sir Wm. Jardine in Dumfries-shire. On November 22,
1828, my brother shot one near Belfast when feeding on a
thistle, and in March 1829, he saw about eight of these birds
in our Botanic Garden very busily engaged in feeding among^
the branches of some larch-firs then partially in leaf. Early
m the winter of 1835 many — both old and young — taken
alive about the town of Antrim, were brought to Belfast for
sale, and an example was shown to me which had been killed
with a stone out of a flock consisting of from twenty to thirty
individuals near Bally mena in the same county. On the
Christmas-day of that year, an intelligent observer saw about
twenty feeding together on thistles in the county of Down r
on the 25 th of February 1836, I met with a couple, one of
which was an adult male, on the wooded banks of the river
Lagan near Belfast, where the alder predominates, and so late
as the 6th of April, saw one which had been then obtained in
the last-named county; — during the winter of 1835-36 these
birds were unusually plentiful from the north of the island to
the neighbourhood of Dublin, where, and in the adjacent
eounty of Wicklow, large flocks were seen and numbers killed :
examples were likewise procured that season in the county of
Cavan. Early in the winter of 1836-37 some of these birds
were shot in the counties of Dublin and Wicklow, and again
in the winter of 1829-30. A friend who has numbered nearly
eighty years and knows the siskin well, recollects its visiting
the north of Ireland occasionally throughout his life, and its
frequenting in some numbers a large garden attached to a
store in the town of Belfast to feed on flax-seed, of which some
was always strewn over one of the walks. The same gentle-
man saw several of these birds about Ballantrae in Ayrshire,
a few days before Christmas 1839.

Of those before mentioned as brought alive to Belfast, some
were purchased by my friend Wm. Sinclaire, Esq., who thus

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 357

reports upon them : " The siskin is a very pleasing cage-bird ;
it is extremely lively and active in all its movements ; its song,
though not a highly finished performance, is very varied and
continuous, yet not too loud for a room. When several are
in one cage they all sing together in a most rambling and dis-
cursive manner."

The Lesser Redpole, Fringilla Linaria, Linn., is found
from north to south of Ireland. Late in May or early in June,
it has been seen by Mr. R. Ball on the banks of the river
Blackwater in the county of Waterford, where he presumes
that it nestles; and Mr. R. Davis, jun., of Clonmel, informs
me that it breeds in his neighbourhood ; — in the north of En-
gland only is it said to do so. Although resident over the
island, it is more plentiful in the north, but from the nature
of its haunts is not very commonly known like the grey-lin-
net. Here in summer it chiefly frequents the picturesque and
wooded glens, building commonly in the Conifers ; but in a
friend's garden contiguous to such a locality, an humble
gooseberry-bush once sufficed for this purpose, and the nest
is stated to have been lined with feathers. A person conver-
sant with the species reports his having had its nest in a
thorn-tree, that the eggs were very small and of a blue colour,
with the markings described by Selby. In winter the lesser
redpole is dispersed -very generally, and often in rather small
flocks, about twenty in number, over plantations from the
highest on the mountain-side to those which are but little
elevated above high-water mark. The late John Montgomery,
Esq., of Locust Lodge, near Belfast, informed me that he had
remarked this bird in winter engaged in feeding upon the
seeds of the tree-primrose {(Enothera) and crown-imperial
(Fritillaria imperialis) in his garden.

It were idle to dwell longer on this interesting bird — its
partiality to the seed of the alder ; the varied and graceful
attitudes all so full of animation and life assumed by a group
when feeding ; and the indifference shown to the close prox-
imity of man at such times ; for these points have been fully
expatiated on by Mr. Selby.

The Common or Grey-linnet, Fringilla cannabina^
Linn., is one of the most common birds throughout Ireland
at every season. In nearly all kinds of localities, except the
lofty mountain-ridge, it is to be met with. This species, keep-
ing generally by itself or associating with the other linnets
(Linaria) (though I have seen many in company with chaf-
finches), is partial to neglected pastures or other grounds
where " weeds" are permitted to flourish, and where it ren-
ders the farmer a great service by feeding on their seeds. The

358 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland.

cultivator of flax in the north of Ireland, by placing no value
on the home-grown seed, unwittingly presents a rich autumnal
treat to the grey-linnet. After this plant has been subjected
to steeping, the seed parts freely from the stem when the
bundles are flung out of the pool upon the neighbouring
banks, and here these birds may be seen congregated to feed
upon it so long as any seed is left. The linnet has always
seemed to me to have a predilection for deserted quarries (espe-
cially of limestone), doubtless for the sake of the seeds of
the various plants which spring from the debris — and also for
the borders of the sea- shore unaffected by cultivation, where
many hundreds may often be seen associated together. So
early as the 10th of July I once saw several flocks, some con-
taining fifty individuals, on the marine sand-hills at Portrush,
near the Giant's Causeway : one of these birds which fed
within six paces of me was regaling on the seed of a dande-
lion, which it extracted with great rapidity ; on rising from
the ground its call was uttered and repeated for some time on
the wing*. Under date of September 21, the following note
appears in my journal : — For some time past I have daily seen
flocks of from two to three hundred grey- linnets about the
rocks at the sea-side near Bangor, county of Down. When
perched today (which was very fine) on low rocks whose bases
were washed by the sea, they kept up a pleasing concert, re-
minding me of that produced by an assembled multitude of
redwings (Turdus Iliacus) on fine days in the early spring. —
On the shore of Belfast bay I have seen this bird at the end
of April perched on the top of fucus-covered stones — the le-
gitimate haunt of the rock pipit — singing most vigorously,
though whin-covered rocks, a favourite resort of the species,
were quite contiguous. When in the month of June visiting
low rocky islets in the sea, the breeding-haunts of terns
(Sterna), I have met with this bird. Occasionally in
autumn as well as spring, the true song of the linnet may be
heard trilled forth by individuals which form part of a large
flock. On the 1st of September I have remarked the red
upon the breast to be as bright as in June. To witness a flock
of grey-linnets feeding is a very pleasing and interesting
sight. Several may be seen in different attitudes busied in
extracting the seed from a single thistle or ragweed, which
all the while keeps moving to and fro with their weight. The
ear too is at the same time gratified with the lively call, which
is constantly uttered by one or more of the party. When two

* In this respect the lesser redpole is said by Mr. Selby to differ from the
grey-linnet, which he considers to be silent on the wing, but in the north of
Ireland there is not this distinction between the species.

Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 359

or three are engaged on the petty surface of a ragweed-
top, and others fly to it, some of the first comers, apparently
on the principle that the world is wide enough for all, gene-
rally move off and leave it to the later guests ; occasionally,
indeed, the interruption produces a little buffeting, but which
soon terminates, and in this respect is unlike the general me-
lee of the sparrow, where the row, originating with a pair,
soon becomes general ; or the regular " stand-up fight" of the
robin, a couple of which, when feeling u blown" after a set-to,
literally stop to take breath, after the approved manner of the
Fives-Court, and this done, are at it again as hard as ever,
until the victory is decided.

Sir Wm. Jardine has very pleasingly remarked in a note to
his edition of Wilson's ' American Ornithology/ that " every
one who has lived much in the country must have often re-
marked the common linnets congregating towards the close
of a fine winter's evening perched on the summit of some bare
tree, pluming themselves in the last rays of the sun, chirrup-
ing the commencement of their evening song, and then burst-
ing simultaneously into one general chorus, again resuming
their single strains, and again joining, as if happy, and re-
joicing at the termination of their day's employment." In
one locality where I had daily the gratification of thus ob-
serving them, the effect was heightened by the trees — black
Italian poplars, stunted from growing in a retentive clay — on
which they alighted and dotted with their numbers to the very
apex, having pyramidal-formed heads, and accordingly pre-
senting several pyramids of birds, each giving forth its peal of
music. When this ceased, the birds descended to roost in fine
large Portugal laurels growing beneath and around the trees.
The time, &c. of their resorting to these poplars was noted on
a few occasions during one season, thus — on February 16th,
a great number appeared at four o'clock ; on the 9th of March,
kept up their strain until half-past five o'clock ; March 30th,
did the same until half-past six o'clock, and though their num-
bers have become much thinned, 120 were reckoned on this oc-
casion. So late as the 5th of May some came in flocks to roost ;
this evening fifteen were observed in company. The whin is
the grey-linnet's favourite plant for nestling in, and next to it
the hawthorn may be ranked, whether in a hedge or growing
singly. This is a favourite cage-bird in the north of Ireland,
where it is consequently much sought after by bird-catchers,
who call it simply grey.

The Mountain-linnet, Fringilla montium, Gmel., is one
of the least known of our indigenous Fringillidae, and was be-
lieved by Mr. Templeton to be only a " winter visitant." But

360 M. Dumas on the Chemical Stalks of Organized Beings,

it nestles in the heath-clad mountains of at least the more
northern parts of the island*, and from its occurrence to me
in such localities in mid -winter, I am disposed to believe that
severity of weather only drives it from such haunts. It is di-
stinguished in the north of Ireland from the other linnets (Li-
narice) by the name of "Heather-grey" A friend frequently
before alluded to, remarks that he has seen these birds every
winter for some years past In large flocks about Clough, in the
county of Antrim, where they chiefly frequent the stubble-fields
in the neighbourhood of the mountains. A person conversant
with this species states, that he has frequently had its nests
among heath on the top of the Knockagh, a mountain near
Carrickfergus : in this plant they were generally placed, but
in some instances were built in dwarfed whins which grew amid
the heath. A venerable sporting friend has always met with
these birds about their nests (which he remarks were placed
in ie tufts of heather") when breaking his dogs on the Belfast
mountains preparatory to grouse-shooting. From the county
of Fermanagh I have had specimens of this bird. Mr. R. Ball
includes it among the species found in the neighbourhood of
Dublin.

[To be continued.]

XLVII. — Extracts from a Lecture by M. Dumas on the Che-
mical Statics of Organized Beings f.

If, in the dark, plants act as simple filters which water
and gases pass through; if, under the influence of solar light
they act as reducing apparatus which decompose water, car-
bonic acid and oxide of ammonium, there are certain epochs
and certain organs in which the plant assumes another, and
altogether opposite part.

Thus, if an embryo is to be made to germinate, a bud to be
unfolded, a flower to be fecundated, the plant which absorbed
the solar heat, which decomposed carbonic acid and water, all
at once changes its course. It burns carbon and hydrogen ;
it produces heat, that is to say, it takes to itself the principal
characters of animal life.

But here a remarkable circumstance reveals itself. If barley
or wheat is made to germinate, much heat, carbonic acid and
water are produced. The starch of these grains first changes
into gum, then into sugar, then it disappears in producing
carbonic acid, which the germ is to assimilate. Does a potato

* Since the above was written, Mr. R. Davis, jun., of Clonmel, has in-
formed me that it is common and breeds in the county of Tipperary.

f The lecture from which these are extracts has appeared in the Philo-
sophical Magazine for November and December 1841.

M. Dumas on the Chemical Statics of Organized Beings. 361

germinate, here also it is its starch which changes into dex-
trine, then into sugar, and which at last produces carbonic
acid and heat. Sugar, therefore, seems the agent by means
of which plants develop heat as they need it.

How is it possible not to be struck from this with the
coincidence of the following facts? — Fecundation is always ac-
companied by heat; flowers as they breathe produce carbonic
acid. They therefore consume carbon ; and if we ask whence
this carbon comes, we see in the sugar cane, for example, that
the sugar accumulated in the stalk has entirely disappeared
when the flowering and fructification are accomplished. In
the beet root, the sugar continues increasing in the roots until
it flowers; the seed-bearing beet contains no trace of sugar
in its root. In the parsnep, the turnip and the carrot, the
same phenomena take place.

Thus at certain epochs, in certain organs, the plant turns
into an animal ; it becomes like it an apparatus of combus-
tion; it burns carbon and hydrogen; it gives out heat.

But at these same periods, it destroys in abundance the
saccharine matters which it had slowly accumulated and
stored up. Sugar, or starch turned into sugar, are then the
primary substances by means of which plants develop heat as
required for the accomplishment of some of their functions.

And if we remark with what instinct animals, and men too,
choose for their food just that part of the vegetable in which
it has accumulated the sugar and starch which serve it to
develop heat, is it not probable, that, in the animal oeconomy,
sugar and starch are also destined to act the same part, that
is to say, to be burned for the purpose of developing the heat
which accompanies the phenomenon of respiration?

To sum up, as long as the vegetable preserves its most ha-
bitual character, it draws from the sun heat, light, and che-
mical rays. From the air it receives carbon, from water it
takes hydrogen, azote from the oxide of ammonium, and dif-
ferent salts from the earth. With these mineral or elementary
substances, it composes the organized substances which accu-
mulate in its tissues.

They are ternary substances, ligneous matter, starch, gums
and sugars.

They are quaternary substances, fibrin, albumen, caseum,
and gluten.

So far then the vegetable is an unceasing producer; but if
at times, if to satisfy certain wants, the vegetable becomes a
consumer, it realizes exactly the same phsenomena which the
animal will now set before us.

An animal in fact constitutes an apparatus of combus-

362 M. Dumas on the Chemical Statics of Organized Beings.

tion from which carbonic acid is continually disengaged, in
which consequently carbon undergoes combustion.

You know that we were not stopped by the expression
cold-blooded animals, which would seem to designate some
animals destitute of the property of producing heat. Iron,
which burns vividly in oxygen, produces a heat which no
one would deny ; but reflection and some science is necessary
in order to perceive, that iron which rusts slowly in the air
disengages quite as much, although its temperature does not
sensibly vary. No one doubts that lighted phosphorus in
burning produces a great quantity of heat. Unkindled phos-
phorus also burns in the air, and yet the heat which it de-
velops in this state was for a long time disputed.

So as to animals, those which are called warm-blooded
burn much carbon in a given time, and preserve a sensible
excess of heat above the surrounding bodies; those which
are termed cold-blooded burn much less carbon, and conse-
quently retain so slight an excess of heat, that it becomes
difficult or impossible to observe it.

But nevertheless, reflection shows us that the most constant
character of animal existence resides in this combustion of
carbon, and in the development of carbonic acid which is the
result of it, beginning also in the production of heat which
every combustion of carbon occasions.

Whether the question be of superior or inferior animals ;
whether this carbonic acid be exhaled from the lungs or from
the skin, does not signify ; it is always the same phenomenon,
the same function.

At the same time that animals burn carbon, they also burn
hydrogen; this is a point proved by the constant disappear-
ance of hydrogen which takes place in their respiration.

Besides, they continually exhale azote. I insist upon this
point, and principally in order to banish an illusion which I
cannot but believe to be one of the most prejudicial to your
studies. Some observers have admitted that there is an ab-
sorption of azote in respiration, but which never appears un-
accompanied by circumstances that render it more than doubt-
ful. The constant phenomenon is the exhalation of gas.

We must therefore conclude with certainty, that we never
borrow azote from the air; that the air is never an aliment
to us ; and that we merely take from it the oxygen necessary
to form carbonic acid with our carbon, and water with our hy-
drogen.

The azote exhaled proceeds then from the aliments, and it
originates from them entirely. This, in the general ceconomy
of nature, may in thousands of centuries be absorbed by

M. Dumas on the Chemical Statics of Organized Beings. 363

plants, which, like Jerusalem artichokes, draw their azote di-
rectly from the air.

But this is not all die azote which animals exhale. Every
one gives out by the urine, on an average, as M. Lecanu has
proved, 230 grains of azote a day, of azote evidently drawn
from our food, like the carbon and hydrogen which are oxi-
dized within us {que nous briilons).

In what form does this azote escape? In the form of am-
monia. Here indeed, one of those observations presents it-
self which never fail to fill us with admiration for the simpli-
city of the means which nature puts in operation.

If in the general order of things we return to the air the
azote which certain vegetables may sometimes directly make
use of, it ought to happen that we should also be bound to
return ammonia, a product so necessary to the existence and
development of most vegetables.

Such is the principal result of the urinary secretion. It is
an emission of ammonia, which returns to the soil or to the air.

But is there any need to remark here, that the urinary
organs would be changed in their functions and in their vi-
tality by the contact of ammonia? the contact of the carbo-
nate of ammonia would even effect this ; and so nature causes
us to excrete urea.

Urea is carbonate of ammonia, that is to say, carbonic
acid like that which we expire, and ammonia such as plants
require. But this carbonate of ammonia has lost of hydro-
gen and oxygen, so much as is wanting to constitute two mo-
lecules of water.

Deprived of this water the carbonate of ammonia becomes
urea; then it is neutral, not acting upon the animal mem-
branes; then it may pass through the kidneys, the ureters,
and the bladder, without inflaming them ; but having reached
the air, it undergoes a true fermentation, which restores to it
these two molecules of water, and which makes of this same
urea true carbonate of ammonia; volatile, capable of ex-
haling in the air; soluble, so that it may be taken up again by
rain ; and consequently destined thus to travel from the earth
to the air and from the air to the earth, until, pumped up by
the roots of a plant and elaborated by it, it is converted anew
into an organic matter.

Let us add another feature to this picture. In the urine,
along with urea, nature has placed some traces of albuminous
or mucous animal matter, traces which are barely sensible to
analysis. This, however, when it has reached the air, is there
modified, and becomes one of those ferments of which we find
so many in organic nature; it is this which determines the
conversion of urea into carbonate of ammonia.

364 M. Dumas on the Chemical Statics of Organized Beings.

These ferments, which have so powerfully attracted our
'attention, and which preside over the most remarkable me-
tamorphoses of organic chemistry, 1 reserve for the next year,
when I shall give you a still more particular and full account
of them.

Thus we discharge urea accompanied by this ferment, by
this artifice, which acting at a given moment, turns this urea
into carbonate of ammonia.

If we restore to the general phenomenon of animal com-
bustion that carbonic acid of the carbonate of ammonia which
of right belongs to it, there remains ammonia as the charac-
teristic product of urine.

Thus, By the lungs and the skin, carbonic acid, water, azote ;
By the urine, ammonia.

Such are the constant and necessary products which exhale
from the animal.

These are precisely those which vegetation demands and
makes use of, just as the vegetable in its turn gives back to
the air the oxygen which the animal has consumed.

Whence come this carbon, this hydrogen burnt by the
animal, this azote which it has exhaled in a free state or
converted into ammonia? They evidently come from the
aliments.

By studying digestion in this point of view, we have been
led to consider it in a manner much more simple than is
customary, and which may be summed up in a few words.

In fact, as soon as it was proved to us that the animal cre-
ates no organic matter; that it merely assimilates or expends
it by burning it (en la brillant), there was no occasion to seek
in digestion all those mysteries which we were quite sure of
not rinding there.

Thus digestion is indeed but a simple function of absorp-
tion. The soluble matters pass into the blood, for the most
part unchanged ; the insoluble matters reach the chyle,
sufficiently divided to be taken up by the orifices of the chyli-
ferous vessels.

Besides, the evident object of digestion is to restore to the
blood a matter proper for supplying our respiration with the
ten or fifteen grains of coal, or the equivalent of hydrogen
which each of us burns every hour, and to restore to it the
grain of azote which is also hourly exhaled, as well by the
lungs or the skin as by the urine.

Thus the amylaceous matters are changed into gum and
sugar ; the saccharine matters are absorbed.

The fatty matters are divided, and converted into an emul-
sion, and thus pass into the vessels, in order to form depots
which the blood takes back and burns as it needs.

M. Dumas on the Chemical Statics of Organized Beings. 365

The neutral azotated substances, fibrin, albumen and ca-
seum, which are at first dissolved, and then precipitated, pass
into the chyle greatly divided or dissolved anew.

The animal thus receives and assimilates almost unaltered the
azotated neutral substances which it finds ready formed in the
animals or plants upon which it feeds; it receives fatty matters
which come from the same sources ; it receives amylaceous
or saccharine matters which are in the same predicament.

These three great orders of matters, whose origin always
ascends to the plant, become divided into products capable
of being assimilated, fibrin, albumen, caseum, fatty bodies,
which serve to renew or recruit the organs with the com-
bustible products, sugar and fatty bodies which respiration
consumes.

The animal therefore assimilates or destroys organic mat-
ters ready formed ; it does not create them.

Digestion introduces into the blood organic matters ready
formed ; assimilation employs those which are azotated ;
respiration burns the others.

If animals do not possess any peculiar power for producing
organic matters, have they at least that special and singular
power which has been attributed to them of producing heat
without expenditure of matter ?

You have seen, while discussing the experiments of MM.
Dulong and Despretz, you have positively seen the contrary
result from them. These skilful physicists supposed that an
animal placed in a cold water calorimeter comes out of it with
the same temperature that it had on entering it ; a thing abso-
lutely impossible, as is now well known. It is this cooling of
the animal, of which they took no account, that expresses in
their tableaux the excess of heat attributed by them and by all
physiologists to a calorific power peculiar to the animal and
independent of respiration.

It is evident to me that all animal heat arises from respira-
tion; that it is measured by the carbon and hydrogen burnt.
In a word, it is evident to me that the poetical comparison of
a rail-road locomotive to an animal is founded on a more se-
rious basis than has perhaps been supposed. In each there
are combustion, heat, motion, three phaenomena connected
and proportional.

You see, that thus considering it, the animal machine be-
comes much easier to understand; it is the intermediary be-
tween the vegetable kingdom and the air; it borrows all its
aliments from the one, in order to give all its excretions to
the other.

Shall I remind you how we viewed respiration, a phseno-
menon more complex than Laplace and Lavoisier had thought,

366 M. Dumas on the Chemical Statics of Organized Beings,

or even Lagrange* had supposed, but which precisely, as it
becomes complicated, tends more and more to enter into the
general laws of inanimate nature?

You have seen that the venous blood dissolves oxygen and
disengages carbonic acid ; that it becomes arterial without
producing a trace of heat. It is not then in becoming arterial
that the blood produces heat.

But under the influence of the oxygen absorbed, the soluble
matters of the blood change into lactic acid, as MM. Mit-
scherlich, Boutron-Charlard and Fremy observed ; the lactic
acid is itself converted into lactate of soda ; this latter by a real
combustion into carbonate of soda, which a fresh portion of
lactic acid decomposes in its turn. This slow and continued
succession of phaenomena which constitutes a real combustion,
but decomposed at several times, in which we see one of the
slow combustions to which M. Chevreul drew attention long
ago, this is the true phaenomenon of respiration. The blood
then becomes oxygenized in the lungs ; it really breathes in
the capillaries of all the other organs, there where the com-
bustion of carbon and the production of heat principally
take place.

To sum up, then, we see that of the primitive atmosphere
of the earth three great parts have been formed :

One which constitutes the actual atmospheric air; the se-
cond, which is represented by vegetables, the third by animals.

Between these three masses, continual exchanges take place:
matter descends from the air into plants, enters by this route
into animals, and returns to the air according as these make
use of it.

Green vegetables constitute the great laboratory of organic
chemistry. It is they which, with carbon, hydrogen, azote,
water and oxide of ammonium, slowly build up all the most
complex organic matters.

They receive from the solar rays, under the form of heat
or of chemical rays, the powers necessary for this work.

Animals assimilate or absorb the organic matters formed
by plants. They change them by little and little, they de-
stroy them. In their organs, new organic substances may
come into existence, but they are always substances more sim-

* The reader will no doubt admire how entirely M. Dumas passes by
all English philosophers, — even him with whom these trains of investigation
originated. " This beautiful discovery [of the chemical action of light, heat,
and the component parts of atmospheric air upon plants], for the main prin-
ciples of which we are indebted to Dr. Priestley, shows a mutual depend-
ence of the animal and vegetable kingdoms on each other which had never
been suspected before his time." — Sir J. E. Smith's Introduction to Botany,
see p. 162—170.

Bibliographical Notices. 367

pie, more akin to the elementary state than those which they
have received. By degrees these decompose the organic mat-
ters slowly created by plants ; they bring them back little by
little towards the state of carbonic acid, water, azote and am-
monia, a state which allows them to be returned to the air.

In burning or destroying these organic matters, animals
always produce heat, which radiating from their bodies in
space, goes to supply the place of that which vegetables had
absorbed.

Thus all that air gives to plants, plants give up to animals,
and animals restore it to the air, — an eternal circle in
which life keeps in motion and manifests itself, but in
which matter merely changes place.
The brute matter of air, organized by slow degrees in
plants, comes, then, to perform its part without change in ani-
mals, and serves as an instrument for thought ; then van-
quished by this effort and broken, as it were, it returns brute
matter to the great reservoir whence it came.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

A List of the Genera of Birds, with their Synonyma, and an Indica-
tion of the typical Species of each Genus. By George Robert
Gray. Second Edition. Svo. London, 1841.

Mr. Gray's ' Genera of Birds ' is a systematic catalogue of all the
generic groups which have been proposed by ornithologists, with
their synonyms, and a reference under each genus to some one well-
ascertained species by way of type. Having on a former occasion
(see Annals of Nat. Hist., vol. vi. p. 410, vol. vii. p. 26) published
a commentary on this work when it first appeared, I am induced to
offer a few further remarks on this new and improved edition. If
the former work was deserving of high praise as a first attempt to
introduce order and system into a chaotic mass of scattered observa-
tions, this edition may be still further commended on the ground of
the great additional accuracy and completeness which it exhibits.
In these days of hasty and superficial book-making, it is rare to
meet with a work in which so much labour and research is con-
densed into so small a space, and as a tabular index of the present
state of ornithology, it is one of the most complete works ever pro-
duced in any branch of zoology.

A work of such a nature is well adapted to supply statistical re-
sults. The actual number of genera enumerated in it amount to
1119. To these genera no less than 1961 Latin or systematic names
have been given by different authors, so that 842 superfluous generic
names have already been introduced into the science of ornithology.
Yes ! it is a humiliating fact, that into this most fascinating portion
of Nature's Eden, no less than 842 weeds have been deliberately
planted by the hands of those who professed to be the cultivators of

368 Bibliographical Notices.

the soil ; weeds which, though they may be rooted out of the syste-
matic arrangement, must yet, in the shape of synonyms, continue
for ever to choke up the writings and load the memories of ornitho-
logists, throwing a dusky veil of human mystification over the fair
face of Nature. Does not this fact prove the necessity of naturalists
agreeing upon some general rules and principles to be followed in
constructing their nomenclatures ? It is not, I think, asserting too
much to say, that if ornithologists had had a good code of laws for
their guidance, and had not in many cases yielded to personal vanity
or to an indolent neglect of the labours of their predecessors, nearly
the whole of these 842 useless generic names might have been spared
to the science, and would have been available in other departments
of zoology, from which they are now for ever excluded. Mr. Gray's
work, if diffused as widely as it deserves to be, will, it may be hoped,
go far in checking the daily growing evil of multiplying words with-
out multiplying facts ; and we may hope that this work will have
many imitators in other branches of natural history, some of which
are even in a more chaotic state than ornithology.

The principle of priority which Mr. Gray has followed in select-
ing his nomenclature is now daily gaining ground among judicious
naturalists, but there are one or two points in which I think he has
carried his principle too far, on which I now proceed to remark.

In his former edition, Mr. Gray extends the law of priority (with
a few exceptions) no further back than 1760, the date of Brisson's
work, but in the present edition he gives the benefit of this law to
Mcehring's * Genera Avium,' published in 1752, and to the first edi-
tion of Linnaeus' ' Systema Naturae,' in 1735. Now if this arrange-
ment had worked well there would have been no good ground of ob-
jection to it, but it happens unfortunately that these two works
have lain almost dormant from the time of their publication till
1841, when Mr. Gray has drawn them from their dusty shelves. In
the mean time, many of the generic names found in these old works
have been used in totally different senses by later authors, and have
been now current for thirty or forty years. To these later genera
Mr. Gray gives new names, and restores their former names to the
old genera of Mcehring and of Linnaeus's first edition, from which
they have been so long removed. For instance, he foll