ig a et el es ats oe Se = Fe pau sf ee. § ’ co) aa A telat ds 05 a ee mie if se Bier ee ae Z Pee eH Pe ee He amen ae ae ait ore po Pye aie 3h: aloe A A Pe oa) Z ats : te Na Die Che Cae La ve Ait eat fA THE ANNALS AND MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY, INCLUDING ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, ann 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, Barrt., F.L.S.—P. J. SELBY, Esa., F.L.S., GEORGE JOHNSTON, M.D., CHARLES C. BABINGTON, KEsa., M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., J. H. BALFOUR, M.D., Reg. Prof. Bot. Glasg., AND RICHARD TAYLOR, F.L.S., F.G.S. CFE hN/ VOL. IX. Sacus eee 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. 1842. ‘‘Omnes res create sunt divine sapientie et potentie testes, divitie felicitatis humane :—ex harum usu bonitas Creatoris; ex pulchritudine sapientia Domini; ex ceconomia in conservatione, proportione, renovatione, potentia majestatis elucet. Earum itaque indagatio ab hominibus sibi relictis semper zstimata; a vere eruditis et sapientibus semper exculta; male doctis et barbaris semper inimica fuit.”— LINN, CONTENTS OF VOL. IX. ‘NUMBER LY. I. Organographic and Physiologic Sketch of the Class Fungi, by C. Montacne, D.M. Extracted from ‘ Histoire physique, politique et naturelle de l’ile de Cuba,’ par M. Ramon pz xa Saara, and translated and illustrated with short notes by the Rev. M. J. Berxetey, M,A., FLs3 1s open cap aevuen santh salsa epepeyeseaits cad vaniehane stenereacdsone chewweetygdis II. On Hirudo geometra, Linn., and some other species of British Freshwater Leeches. By T, Bricutweit, Esq. of Norwich, F,L.S. (With a Pinto.) issscsncsasvbineds Ailoncitveds opdeasee sev ede sevccersedcoeveneveser III. Contributions to the Ichthyology of Australia. By Joun Ricu- arpson, M.D., F.R.S., &c., Inspector of Hospitals, Haslar .....+. eoeee IV. Descriptions of several new species of Nudibranchous Mollusca found on the coast of Northumberland. By Josnua Auper, Esq., and ALBANY HANcock, Baq. ..cysisecessivecessesgees Evocecessepeneceeses Seseveceeecs V. Insectorum novorum Centuria, auct. J. O. Westwoop, F.L.S.... VI. Description of two new species of Mammalia discovered in Au- stralia by Captain George Gate Governor of South Australia. By J. Bee GRAY 5 Meg Me Mes eg: ONG sin eeha eas cep savas ETON ae wie ep stale mses oe cath ak ; VII. Excerpta Botanica, or ‘elvuiced Extracts translated from the Foreign Journals, illustrative of, or connected with, the Botany of Great Britain. By W. A. Lerauron, Esq., B.A., F.B.S.E., &c. Spach—Revisio Populorum et Betulacearum ........seeeeeeeee VIII. Description of a new species of Ichneumon (Herpestes) dis- covered in Spain. By J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S., &e. ..escaee sseceseves New Books:—Histoire Physiologique des Plantes d’Europe, ou expo- sition des Phénoménes qu’elles présentent dans les diverses pé- riodes de leur développement, par J. P. Vaucher, Prof. & l’Acadé- mie de Genéve. ++ Transactions of the Berwickshire Naturalists’ Page 11 15 31 36 39 42 49 Club COS CSO ASE SSSEHOSETES AHO SHHSET SHEE HHES HEH HHHH TESTES HEEEE Poceecoce eeavee 50—54 Proceedings of the Zoological Society; Microscopical Society; Royal Society of Edinburgh; Botanical Society of Edinburgh ...... 54—72 On the partiality of Slugs for Fungi, by C. Recluz; University of Glas- gow—Botany ; Bust of Professor Jameson; M. A. De St. Hilaire on the Epochs of Vegetation in different countries; Mr, Westwood on Government Patronage of Zoology ; Mr, Hassall on Phospho- rescence; Cygnus Guineensis—Norfolk Birds ; Meteorological Ob- servations and Table ......seeseeees einsbied Wik X scenes tcksee caeee pene hae Bl 73—80 iv CONTENTS. Page NUMBER LVI. IX. Contributions to Structural Botany. By W. Hucues WILLsuIRE, M.D., M.B.S., Lecturer on Botany at Charing Cross Hospital ......... 81 X. On the separation of the Pomegranate as a distinct “Natural Order from Myrtace@. By Rosert Wieut, M.D., F.L.S., &e. ...... 86 XI. A Critical Examination of Mohl’s Views of the General Struc- ture of the Pollen Granule. By A. H. Hassatt, Esq., M.R.C.S.L., Corresponding Member of the Dublin Natural History Society ..... jens “OS XII. On Valerianella olitoria and V. gibbosa. By Cuar.ezs C. Ba- Bineton, 'Néq.; MiA.; BILS., BiGiS) ori. obese Ris. decease eases 104 XIII. Organographic and Physiologic Sketch of the Class Fungi, by | C. Montaene, D.M. Extracted from ‘ Histoire physique, politique et naturelle de l’ile de Cuba,’ par M. Ramon pe La Sacra, and translated and illustrated with short notes by the Rey. M. J. Berxerry, M.A., F.L.S. (Continued.) ...... Ries Seton bperbas chs STS Sosvaseveses ieee? eOr XIV. Note on Epilobium angustifolium and macrocarpum. By H. O. Steruens, Esq., with remarks by Sir W. J. Hooxer, V.P.L.S. ... 117 XV. Insectorum novorum Centuria, auct. J.O. Westwoop, F.L.S. 118 XVI. Contributions to the Ichthyology of Australia. By Joun Ricuarpson, M.D., F.R.S., &c., Inspector of Hospitals, Haslar ...... 120 XVII. On Mucor observed by Col. Montagu growing in the Air- cells of a Bird. From Wa. Yarre ct, Esq., F.L.S. ........ccccccssscees 131 XVIII. A List of Invertebrata found in Dublin Bay and its vicinity. BAA, Tass ce Bes MTC Sa ses acicatons to ca ntangoassouee: os eyes 132 XIX. Carabideous Insects collected by Charles Darwin, Esq., during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By G. R. Warernouss, Esq., Curator to the Zoological Society of London. (With a Plate.) ..........ceceeeee 134 XX. Description of a new species of Carinaria, a genus of Nucleo- branchiate Mollusks. By Mr. Loveti Reeve, A.L.S. (With a Plate.) 140 XXI. The Birds‘of Ireland. By Wma. Tuomrson, Esq., Vice-Pres. Nat. Hist. Society of Belfast. (Comtinwed.)...ccccccccceocsseccccccccecs oes 141 Proceedings of the Zoolog ical Society ; Botanical Society of Edin- Notices relative to Paleontology, by the Rev. Dr. Buckland, from his Anniversary Address to the Geological Society of London ; Expe- dition to Torres Straits and New Guinea; ' Meteorological Obser- vations and Table ...cccereccccsscesevee sh eebssenwhende cache nyhetaees 156—168 NUMBER LVII. XXII. The Physical Agents of Temperature, Humidity, Light, and Soil, considered as developing Climate, and in connexion with Geogra- phic Botany. By Ricuarp Brinstey Hinps, Esq., Surgeon R.N. ... 169 XXIII. Observations on the Progress recently made in the Natural History of the Echinodermata. By Prof. Acassiz XXIV. On the Natural Arrangement of Fishes. By W.S. Mac- CONTENTS. Vv Page Leay, Esq., A.M., F.L.S., in a Letter to J. M‘Clelland, Esq., dated Elizabeth Bay, near Sidney, N. S. W., September_12th, 1840 ......... 197 XXV. Contributions to the Ichthyology of Australia. By Joun Ricaarpson, M.D., F.R.S., &c., Inspector of Hospitals, Haslar. (Con- tinwed.) secre. Bae Sk cd att dla deiwled SEE els ats oedeck ens eee XXVI. On the genus Scarabus, a small group of Pulmobranchiate: Mollusks of the family Auriculacea, By Mr. Lovett Reeve, A.L.S. (With a Plate.) POeeeeeeHesese eee ESSETESeeeee eceseresecoe eeeee WSASesrsceseese se 218 XXVII. The Birds of Ireland By Wm. Tuompson, Esq., Vice- Pres, Nat. Hist. Society of Belfast. (Continued.) ...cccsscersers bE idpe ate 221 XXVIII. Organographic and Physiologic Sketch of the Class Fungi, by C. Montacne,.D.M.. Extracted from ‘ Histoire physique, politique et naturelle de l’ile de Cuba,’ par M. Ramon pz ta Sacra, and trans- lated and illustrated with short notes by the Rev. M. J. Berxexey, M.A., F.L.S. (Continued.) ...... epbhseueseess bs as kp eAkMNd ohpuneaass Ose saQeSEnk’s 521 LVI. A Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. By S. V. Woop, Esq., F.G.S. (With a Plate.) (Concluded.) ......... oss ood tuoavwalevdabessacs 527 LVII. Observations on the Structure of the Pollen Granule, consi- dered principally with reference to its eligibility as a means of Classi- fication. By Artuur Hivt Hassatt, Esq., M.R.C.S.L., Correspond- ing Member of the Dublin Natural History Society. (Concluded, with DIX SAOIE,) ces wecves scneewstdvewsnsbsccbaveounbacusseciieriecs bsN ok veedevetsécessis OFF Proceedings of the Geological Society .......+.+6. aa chsAdenih sdabbebhene papas 573 Ind6t s.s:.... adseutietes nvtsnses dseepey oaedane tiie aeeeee pe ee ioe seve 580 PLATES IN VOL. IX. Puate I. Reproduction of Leeches. . II. Carinaria gracilis and Mediterranea. III. Carabide from the Straits of Magellan. IV. New species of Scarabus. V. Fossil Shells from the Crag. VI { Phocon manillana. “\ Phoczena melas. vit} Structure of dotted Vessels. IX. X. > Fungi from South America. XI. XII. Vegetable Structure. XIII.) | Bsa ; to f serutur of the Pollen Granule. XVIII. , ERRATUM IN VOL. VII. We are directed by Mr. Blyth to notice an error in Plate V., Vol. VII., where the name Ovis Burrhel is attached to the ne of Ovis Nahoor, and vice versd. THE ANNALS AND MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. $6 vuneeee drevep cone per litora spargite muscum, Naiades, et circdm vitreos considite fontes : Pollice virgineo teneros hic carpite flores : Floribus et pictum, dive, replete canistrum. At vos, o Nymphe Craterides, ite sub undas ; Ite, recurvato variata corallia trunco Vellite muscosis e rupibus, et mihi conchas Ferte, Dew pelagi, et pingui conchylia succo.” Parthenii Ecl, 1. No. 55. MARCH 1842. —— 1.—Organographic and Physiologic Sketch of the Class Fungi, by C. Monraene, D.M. Extracted from < Histoire phy- sique, politique et naturelle de Pile deCuba,’ par M. Ramon DE LA Sacra, and translated and illustrated with short notes by the Rev. M.J. Berke EY, M.A., F.L.S. THE class Fungi is without doubt one of the largest of the vegetable kingdom, and the study of the productions of which it is composed is one of the most difficult in botany, whether on account of the infinitely varied forms and disguises which they assume, their small size requiring the aid of the micro- scope, or their obscure place of growth. = © Neglected by the older botanists, Fungi began to attract attention only towards the commencement of the last century. It is to the immortal Micheli that we owe the first just notions upon these vegetables; it is he who first made known the sporidia of Agarics, of which some modern mycologists claim the discovery, and those other organs which many, even at the present time, regard with Bullard as real anthers, but to which he assigned other functions. For him again was reserved the honour of placing beyond doubt the reproduc- tion of these plants by seeds or sporidia, which the greater number of botanists before his days believed to be the result of the decomposition of organized bodies, or of a spontaneous or equivocal generation. Gleditsch and Batarra followed, though at a distance, his footsteps, and fully confirmed his observations. Bulliard not only recognised the fact, previously Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. B 2 M. C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic announced by Micheli, that the sporidia of Agarics and Boleti are naked or exogenous, but he was the first to con- jecture that these organs, which the illustrious Florentine regarded as destined simply to keep the gills separate, were in fact equivalent to the stamens of higher plants. The very limited number of species known at that time did not require a great degree of perfection in the mode of classification. But mycology soon increased to such an extent as to re- quire some one to arrange its riches, and render them easily accessible. Persoon, a man of sound judgement and great talent for observation, accomplished with success the arduous task, in publishing in 1801 his excellent Synopsis, entitled by Fries ‘opus aureum,’ in which are arranged with peculiar tact all the species of Fungi then known. Link, in his new arrangement of the Gymnomycetes, and Nees von Esenbeck, in his ‘System der Pilzen und Schwamme,’ made valuable con- tributions to systematic mycology. Fries, the last in point of time, but in my opinion the greatest of all, who has passed half his life in the midst of forests, tracing the different phases of evolution of these frequently ephemeral productions, Fries, the worthy successor of Linnzus, has also made various and important emendations of the natural method of the illus- trious Nees von Esenbeck. If he is not altogether irreproach- able, especially as regards details of intimate structure, which demand imperatively the aid of good microscopes, and con- siderable skill in their use, not to mention the fact, that when his system was published the modern improvements had not been made, what mycologist will dare to compete with him in ‘loftiness of conception, immense learning, and especially in that genius which all his works exhibit, but more pecu- liarly his arrangement of the genus Agaricus, in the ‘Systema Mycologicum ?’ an arrangement perhaps more philosophic, certainly more calculated to lead to the determination of the species of this difficult genus, than the new method adopted by him in the ‘ Kpicrisis.’ As it is not my intention to give a history of mycology, I must confine myself to a few words. I. cannot therefore re- view the works of those who have contributed to its progress by local floras, monographs, or organographic, physiologic, or medical remarks on Fungi. 'To enable the student, how- ever, to have recourse to the fountain-head, and to consult the different materials scattered in scientific journals, or par- ticular treatises which have appeared since the time of Persoon, I shall give as complete a list as possible of the most import- ant works relating to this interesting class, reserving to myself the power of showing, in the general remarks which Sketch of the Class Fungi. 3 follow, the honourable rank which each has acquired by his labours *. Fungi then are agamous vegetables, formed of variously- shaped cells, destitute of epidermis, and consequently of stomata. They consist of a vegetative system (mycelium), formed of elongated, simple, or articulated filaments, concealed within the matrix, or creeping and expanded over its surface, from which, according to the different degrees of complication of the fungus, arise extremely varied forms of fructification. The modifications which the fruit receives, either from the mode of evolution of the mycelium, or from the stage at which it is arrested, are such, that we may readily consider as very distinct families the six natural divisions generally established in this class. * T shall confine myself here to indicating the sources from which a more or less complete knowledge may be derived of the structure, functions, nomenclature and classification of Fungi, without omitting those which re- late, to their useful or noxious qualities. In strict justice I ought to com- mence with Micheli, but I shall begin at a much more recent period. Bulliard, Hist. des Champign. de la France, 5 vol. 4to, Paris, 1791.— Paulet, Traité des Champ., 2 vol. 4to, Paris, 1793.—Sowerby, Eng. Fungi, 3 vol. fol. Lond. 1799.—Persoon, Synops. Meth. Fungorum, Gott. 1801, 8vo. Traité Champign. comest., 8vo, Paris, 1819. Mycol. Europ., tom. i. ii. iii, 8vo, Erlang. 1822—1828, not completed.—Link in Berl. Mag. 1809—1815, and in Spec. Plantar. Linn. ed. Willd., tom. v. vii—Nees von Esenbeck, Das system der Pilzen und Schwimme, 4to, Nurenb. 1817.—Fries, Syst. Mycol., 3 vol.8vo. Gryphiswald, 1821—1829.—Syst. Orb. Veget., 8vo, Lund. 1825. Elenchus Fungorum, 8vo, 2 vol. Gryphisw. 1828. Eclog. Fung. in Linnea, t. v. Epicrisis, seu Synopsis Hymenomyc., 8vo, Upsal, 1836—1838. —Adolphe Brongniart, Classif. nouv. des Champ. in Dict. class. hist. nat., tom. v. p. 155, &e.—Trattinick, Die Essbare Schwimme Césterreichs, Wien, 1830, 8vo (2nd edit.).—Vittadini, Monographia Tuberacearum, Mediol. 1831, 4to.—Krombholz, Naturgetreue Abbild. der Essbaren schadlichen und verdacht. Schwimme, Prag. 1831.—Roques, Hist. des Champ. comest. et vénén., 4to, Paris, 1832.—Unger, Die Exantheme der Pflanzen, Wien, 1833, 8vo, and Ann. Sc. Nat., 2 série, tom. ii. p. 193.—Secretan, Mycog. Suisse, 8vo, 3 vol. Genéve, 1833.—Dutrochet, Obs. sur les Champ., Ac. des Sc. Paris, March 3, 1834.—Klotzsch in Dietrich’s Flor. Reg. Bor., 8vo, Berol. 1834.—Corda sur les Anthéres de Micheli dans les Champ. charnus, Flora 1834, p. 118-116. Sur les Fibres Spirales des Trichiacées, 1. c. 1838, p.419. Ic. Fung., tom. i—iv. fol. Prag. 1837-40.—Berkeley, Fungi in Hook. Eng. F'., tom. v. p. 2. Lond. 1836, 8vo, On the Fructif. of the Pileate and Clavate tribes, &c., Ann. of Nat, Hist. i. On the Fructification of Phallus, Lycoperdon, &c., Ann. of Nat. Hist., translated by the author in Annales des Sciences Nat., 2 sér. tome xii. p. 160.—Léveillé, Rech. sur ’Hym. des Champ., |. ¢. t. viii. p.821. Recherches sur les Urédinées, |. c. t. xi. p. 5.— Trog sur la Végétation Fongique, Flora 1837, p. 609.—Philippar, Traité organ. sur la Carie et la Charbon, &c. 8vo, Versailles, 1837. [To which I must add, Sturm’s Deutschi. Fl., 3te Abth.—Ehrenberg in Nov. Act. Nat. Cur., tom. x. pars i. 1821; the excellent treatise just pub- lished in Ann. d. Se. Nat. by Tulasne on Elaphomyces, and Montagne pas- sim in Ann. Sc. Nat.—M. J. B.] cs 4 M. C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic These are, commencing with the most simple, 1. Conitomycetes ; 2. Hyphomycetes; 3. Gasteromycetes ; 4. Pyrenomycetes ; 5. Discomycetes ; 6. Hymenomycetes. The 3rd, 4th and 5th of these families have the fructifica- tion concentric or included (Fungi involuti); the remaining three eccentric or naked (Fungi evoluti). Fries gives the name of Cryptomycetes to the two first, reserving that of Phaneromycetes to the four last families. Coniomycetes, Nees von Esenbeck. The fungi of this group were, for the most part, known to the earlier botanists, who regarded them as mere exanthemata. Divided into Epiphytes and Entophytes, according as they are produced upon or beneath the cuticle of vegetables, their origin and nature are still matter of dispute. Some modern naturalists, and amongst them Unger, who has written a treatise on the subject, hold, as regards the latter, that they arise from a pathologic affection of the vegetable itself, or of the respiratory organs. More recent works, however, especially that of Léveillé upon Uredines, have successfully combated these two opinions. M.Corda, who had formerly contended for the German notions, has lately proved, in an admirable analysis of Puccinia gra- minis (Ic. Fung. iv. t. 3. f. 37.), that the sporidia, far from being a disease of the utricles, spring clearly from a mycelium whose threads are figured as scattered amongst the intercellular passages of the leaf. Even before these works of Léveillé and Corda, I had pub- lished a fact (Prodr. Fl. Fernand., Ann. Sc. Nat., 2 sér. tom. iii. p. 256) which appeared to me decisive on the poit, viz. the presence on the same leaf of an 4icidium and Uredo; and, what is more con- clusive, M. Corda has seen* Puce. graminis and Ceoma linearis united in the same stroma. In the species of this numerous family, the vegetative system is filamentous or cellular. In the first case, the mass of filaments of which it is formed is called hypothallus, hyphasma, or simply flocci. These threads are usually articulated, much branched, and entangled. In the second case it is called stroma or hypostroma. 'This is some- times discoid as in Tuberculariea, sometimes nucleiform and cellular, bearing the spores on its surface. Sometimes the sporidia spring rom very short threads ( flocci spurit), scarcely capable of being re- garded as a hypothallus. The mycelium, by its metamorphosis into spores, sometimes forms the whole plant, or it is so obliterated that the least trace is not visible, in which case it is probable that a mu- cilaginous medium has served as a matrix for the spores, as is the case in the parallel series of Phycee. Lastly, in more highly deve- loped forms, the mycelium produces a cellulo-membranous pouchf, * Philippar, however, is of opinion that these two species are identical. Uredo rubigo vera is certainly only a form of Puccinia graminis. See Hens- low’s Report on the diseases of wheat, 1840; and a paper on the specific identity of the fungi producing rust and mildew. . Journal of Roy. Ag. Soc., vol. ii. part ii, 1841.—M. J. B. + Corda refers these to his Myelomycetes,= in part Gasteromycetes, Fr. Sketch of the Class Fungi. : 5 which has been called peridium or pseudo-peridium, from the base of which spring sporidia in moniliform rows, as in Peridermium, Aici- dium, Endophyllum. The fungi of this order are, as stated above, Epiphytes or Ento- phytes. The former, which grow on dead vegetables, are frequently at first concealed under the epidermis, or amongst the woody fibres which they burst or displace in order to continue their morphosis externally. The Entophytes (Hypodermii, Fr.) pass through all the phases of their development* under the thin bark of trees, or under the epidermis of living or dead leaves, or of herbaceous stems. It is only at the moment of the dispersion of the spores, or a little before this epoch, that, rupturing the raised and distended cuticle which covers them, they. are exposed to the light, and receive from atmospheric influences the completion of their development. What- ever be the nature of the mycelium, its regular and normal morphosis ends always in the production of the spores, the only aim of nature in the formation of these singular productions, which have been com-- pared, and not without reason, to the Entozoa or intestinal worms of animals. The sporidia, whether they arise from the metamorphosis of the threads of the mycelium, or derive their origin from the matrix on which they are produced, become at length free. Their forms are numberless; they are simple or articulate, that is to say, formed of a single cell (Uredo), or several placed end to end (Puccinia, Phragmidium), or more rarely side by side in the same plane (77i- phragmium), constantly deprived of a common envelope (Corda, /. c. p- 10). The sporidia, whether sessile or borne by a peduncle (hy- popodium, Corda), and consisting of one or more cells, are, as regards each cell, formed of a simple membrane (episporium simplex), as in Uredo, or double (episporium duplex), as in Puccinia. In the latter case, the two coats of unequal thickness which constitute the epi- sporium are so intimately united, that it is impossible to separate them ; the outer is called exosporium, the inner endosporium. ‘The episporium is smooth, wrinkled, warty, hispid, &c., and encloses the nucleus in its cavity. This, according to Corda, consists of a gela- tinous fluid, in which are suspended a few oily globules, and in which swim some granules, endowed, during the life of the plant, with molecular motion, but which, as it approaches maturity, have a ten- dency to become concrete. It is superfluous to add, that it is upon the infinite variety of forms assumed by the sporidia and mycelium that the perhaps too numerous genera of this family are founded. In this respect I am of Fries’s opinion, who says, Inter hypodermios maximam partem (Coniomycetum) efficientes, typos nosse sufficiat, nisi singulorum mu- tationibus in singulis plantis observandis vitam velimus dicare (Syst. Myc. ill. p. 457). * Professor Henslow, who has lately paid great attention to the subject, has satisfied himself. that 4regma and Triphragmium are a more highly de- veloped state of certain so-called Uredines. ‘This too is probably the case with Xenodochus. 1 am myself convinced that many of the brown Uredines are merely an early stage of growth of certain Puccinie.—M. J.B. 6 M.C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic The Coniomycetes, which are real parasites, grow on dead or living vegetables ; in the latter case they attack in preference herbaceous plants, and rather the leaves than the stems, or the reproductive organs, which unfortunately are not always exempt from their ravages. It is in this class that the most injurious fungi are found, producing rust, bunt, mildew, &c.*, the scourge of farmers. It is not my intention to describe these here. It is among plants of this family that we observe that method of reproduction by division t (*‘ tomipare”), which we shall again notice in the following family. With regard to the mode of generation and propagation of Contomy- cetes, I shall make some observations in the general remarks on the class. Hyphomycetes, N. von E. This family is not distinguished from the foregoing { merely by. the presence of a vegetative system, as Fries supposes, for we have just seen that a great number of Coniomycetes possess one. We must then look for the difference in a higher degree of development, in a more complicated structure, and apedany in the free evolution of the mycelium and sporidia. It is divided into two grand sections, Asoo ab by a filament- ous stroma, but which differ in this, that in the one the sporidia are naked or merely clothed with the same coat as the matrix, while in the other they are at first contained in a sort of peridium, formed by the swelling of the end of the filaments, from which they escape when mature. The mycelium, though always free, is not alike in both these sections. In the first its filaments form a sort of floccose stroma on which the sporidia are fixed, or rather in the midst of which they are dispersed ; these filaments are called flocci. In Sporotrichacee§ all the filaments recline upon the matrix, and the spores, scattered amongst them, are in some degree covered by them, as by a veil, an organ which we shall find more decided in Phaneromycetes. Here then the mycelium is confused with the fertile or spore-bearing threads, or rather the whole plant consists of mycelium. But in the. Botrytidee these filaments are of two kinds; the one erect and fertile ( flocet fertiles), the other barren, reclining on the matrix (hyphasma or hypopodium). ‘These may be regarded as the vegetative system, from whence spring the former, * It is curious, that in England, rust, though often extremely abundant, is seldom considered injurious, except perhaps to some of the new wheats, though it appears to be very destructive in France. See Henslow, /. c.— M. J. B. + Compare the observations of Mohl and others on the formation of cells. —M.J. B. t It would be better perhaps to pince this family first, at least if we adopt a circular or reticulate system. There would then be a natural transition on the one side to Hymenomycetes through Jsaria, and on the other to some of the more obscure Pyrenomycetes through Stilbospora, &c. This is of course on the supposition that Gasteromycetes be entirely reviewed.—M. J. B. § It.is however to be remarked, that most species of Sporotrichum are spurious. Zrichothecium roseum is in reality a Dactylium, &c.—M. J.B. Sketch of the Class Fungi. 7 which bear the fruit. It is amongst the barren filaments that the granules called conidia occur, analogous to the gonidia of Lichens, and which must be cautiously distinguished from true sporidia*. In proportion as the structure is more complex, these filaments, erect or decumbent, which were at first free, or only more or less loosely interwoven, are closely united, especially at the base, so as to form a stem-shaped stroma, the extremity of which, at a greater or less distance, supports the sporidia. We see this disposition in the genera Coremium and Jsariat, which M. Corda refers to Hyme- nomycetes. In the second section, composed of Mucorine, the erect tubular filaments, whether springing or not from a mycelium or decumbent threads, swell at their free extremity into a vesicle. By observa- tions which throw a brilliant light on the morphosis of these plants, Corda (Ic. Fung. ii. p. 19. t. 11. f. 75.) has proved that the vesicle or sporangium, at first in connexion with the cavity of the stem, 1s soon separated by a columella or septum which is hemispherical, campaniform, &c., of which he has been able to follow the develop- ment, and upon which the spores, most frequently united like neck- laces, acquire at length the degree of development necessary for the reproduction of the species ¢.- This vesicle, which is termed peridio- lum, opens regularly or irregularly. In two genera (Pilobolus and Chordostylium), analogous forms to which we shall find in the Gasteromycetes, the peridium separates entire from the summit of the simple filament which bears it, and is thrown to a distance by an elastic force. . Persoon and Corda, per- haps with reason, place them in the following family. The fertile filaments of Hyphomycetes, extremely variable in their form, are simple or branched, continuous or articulate, hyaline or dusky, &c. Their mode of ramification varies with the species and genera; it is dichotomous, verticillate, virgate, &c. Indehiscent, and in themselyes generally colourless and pellucid, they owe their various hues to the juices which they contain. In Dematie, the fertile filaments, besides being usually destitute of mycelium, or having one of a crustaceous nature, are remarkable for their rigidity, and their olive, dingy or black hue; they are sep- tate, and bear sporidia adhering to the sides or tips of the threads * They often abound in the mycelia of Hymenomycetes, which are in consequence described as Sporotricha.—M. J. B. 7 As regards the first at least, Corda’s notion is quite untenable, for it is more than doubtful whether its species be not mere modifications of Pe- nicillia. Isaria most beautifully unites Hymenomycetes with Hyphomycetes through Typhula.—M. J.B. { On the strength of these observations, Corda has separated from true Llyphomycetes this second section, in order to unite it to the following family, changing its name into Myelomycetes. Ought we however to place more reliance on the presence of a peridiolum than on the filamentous structure and mode of vegetation? The same might be said of Zcidium, at present included in the foregoing family, and of which the same naturalist, in consequence. of the presence of a peridium, has likewise changed the place in the system. 8 M. C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic and their branches; they are usually termed fibres (fibre). We still observe in them reproduction by division ; that is to say, in Cladosporium, for example, the septate extremity of the principal filament or branch is changed into sporidia which separate from it and fall successively. The sporidia are simple or compound. The first are formed of a single hyaline membrane (episporium), sometimes marked with a hilum, and always containing a sporaceous, variously coloured mass, which is termed nucleus. They enclose also, though more rarely, granules which have been considered as sporidiola*. ‘Though fre- quently isolated, they are sometimes heaped about the tips or sides of the filaments which support them. At other times, they form, as it were, necklaces whose grains are cither contiguous, or separated by a connecting band (desmos) interposed between each of them. The compound sporidia are observed only in Dematie, where, ac- cording to Corda, they present the same structure as that which I described after him in the spores of Puccinia. As to general form, they are spherical, ovoid, oblong, elliptic, reni-, pyri-, or clavi-form. They are smooth, angular, scabrous, wrinkled, papillary, rough, with hairs or prickles. Their colour is extremely variable, with the exception of deep green and bluet. In the greater number of the species of this family, the sporidia originate clearly from the granular sporaceous mass, suspended in a viscid or watery fluid which circulates in the tubes of the continuous filaments. Fries has seen an ascending current in the fluid of Asco- phora Mucedo. I have confirmed the fact in my experiments on Muscardine, without being able to decide whether this motion be vital or molecular. But at the same epoch I lave certainly seen in Botrytis Bassiana the sporidia, or globular cells which did not seem to differ from them, rise incessantly in the tube, from the base to the summit of the filament, at the time when the reproductive bodies are formed, that is to say, the second day from the evolution of the flocci on the outside of the body of the silk-worm. But whatever be the mode of formation of the sporidia inthis family, their mor- phosis or evolution is not the same in both the sections. In the one they issue, or appear to issue, from the extremity of the filament, and are grouped after a peculiar manner predestined for each genus and species. In the Sporotrichacee they are free and dispersed among the filaments ; in [sari they are acrogenous, or adnate on the summit of a branch; in Botrytidee united usually in spherical heads of greater or less size, around the tip of the principal thread or its branches. This grouping takes place successively, as I have con- vinced myself in tracing from hour to hour the evolution of Botrytis * It is probable that they are not, properly speaking, sporidiola, at least if we may judge by what takes place i in the germination of compound spo- ridia of the fourth family, where a shoot is given off opposite to each globule. See Mont., Ann. Sc. Nat., t. xiv. pl.19. fig.6 7; and Berk., Ann. of Nat. Hist., vol. vi. tab. xi. fig. 8b.—M. J. B. + The nearest approach is in Phycomyces nitens and the Brazilian Mu- cor virens and cyanocephalus.—M. J. B. : 4 Sketch of the Class Fungi. 9 Bassiana: My belief was, that the spores, formed in the tube of the principal filaments or branches, issued from their tips, carrying be- fore them the extremity of the thread like a cul-de-sac, which formed their second coat or episporium, and in the end adhered at the point of their passage*. In some genera, instead of being grouped in this manner in more or less fertile heads, the sporidia (monzliformiter con- catenata) form necklaces which crown the digitate, fasciculate, or verticillate branches of the plant (e. g. Penicillium, Aspergillus, &c.). In the genus. Torula, these same chains or necklaces of sporidia constitute almost all the fungus, and Oidium is formed of filaments which are changed almost completely into spores. In Mucorine this morphosis takes place in quite a different way. It is between the kind of columella with which we have seen most of the species are furnished, and the peridiolum which arises from the dilatation of the tip of the filament, that the sporaceous mass, accumulated at first by the ascent of the juices, passes successively through a multitude of changes, extremely well indicated by Corda (Ic. Fung. ii. p. 19), before arriving at the state of spores, and ac- quiring their perfect maturity T. . We must not forget that the sporidia of Mucedines are capable of being developed in liquids, and giving rise to confervoid productions which have often been taken for Alge{. They show the analogy, or, as it were, the link between these productions; but they are easily distinguished by the absence of all fructification so long as they remain submerged; it is only when they reach the surface of the liquid that the evolution of the spores can take place. The genus Leptomitus and many others offer examples of these barren mycelia; they are,°as regards liquids, what the genera Hypha, Himantia, Byssus, &c., are to piaces deprived of light. A multitude - of species in the work of Biasoletti (Di ale. Alg. Microsc., ‘Trieste, - 1832) have no better origin. I believe that the same may be said of the transformation of the globules of milk into Penicillium glaucum §. * This is perhaps one of the most important questions in the physiology of Fungi. If the learned ‘author himself has not leisure to repeat his observa- tions, which unfortunately I know to be the case, it is greatly to be wished that some competent and unprejudiced naturalist would undertake the task. In Hymenomycetes the spores are gradually produced at the tips of the ‘spicules, and certainly are not developed within the threads; and this is. the case with Botrytis parasitica and its allies. I am not aware that the memoir itself has ever been published. The only account I have seen of it is in ‘Comptes Rendus.’—M. J. B. + It is necessary to mention that the author is not responsible for the correctness of statements like the present. They are given on the faith of the respective authors, it being impossible to verify every observation. t Schimper imagines that the greater part of freshwater Conferve ori- ginate from an analogous cause, viz. the anormal development of the spo- rules of Mosses; and that each species of moss corresponds to a species of conferva, &c. See Soc. Hist. Nat. Strasb., 3 December 1833. § Consult on this subject, Fries, Syst. Orb. Veg., p. 42.—Dutrochet sur Vorigine des Moisissures, Ann. Sc. Nat., 2 sér. tom. i. p. 30, &c.—Berkeley on a conferv. state of Mucor clavatus in Mag. of Zool. and Bot., tom. ii. p. 351, and Meyen’s remarks on this paper in his Jahresberichte. 10 M. C. Montagne’s Sketch of the Class Fungi. There is still a remarkable fact which we must not omit. Tham- nidium elegans, Lk. (Ascophora elegans, Corda, Ic. Fung., iii. p. 14. t. 2. f. 43.) has presented to Corda two sorts of fructification*, as is the case with all other agamous plants. The verticillate ramuli are terminated by reproductive gemme, while the main thread is tipped by a true sporigerous peridiolum. The little plants which form this family are worthy of the great- est attention, especially in a physiological point of view. They are not less capable of exciting in the highest degree the curiosity of the naturalist, whose pleasure it is to contemplate the wonders of creation. If they less attract the vulgar eye, it is because without the micro- scope to it they scarcely exist. What a new world do we owe then to this instrument! The Mucedines, for example, which rival in elegance some of our prettiest articulated hydrophytes, form some- times in the space of.a square inch an immense forest of trees from one to two lines high, varied, but always elegant in their ramification, bearing at the extremities of their whorled, umbellate, or panicled branches, bunches or heads of seed producing the. most exquisite effect. Sometimes they are-less branched, and have their uncinate, clavate, umbellate or shrubby tips loaded with fruit. Nature, in compensation for their brief existence, reproduces them everywhere, so that it is always easy to find individuals for examination. The Hyphomycetes grow on vegetable or animal substances in the course of decomposition+. In general they are not difficult in their choice, though some species are confined to particular habitats. The most common of all, Penicillium glaucum, grows on all sorts of substances, and in all latitudes. On the one side the Hyphomycetes approach the Coniomycetes, the lower individuals in the series differing only in the free develop- ment of-their hyphasma; on the other side they touch upon the Gasteromycetes, by those Mucorini which have a separable peridium, (e. g. Pilobolus). Fries compares them to his Ulvacee (Fl. Scan. p- 357), our subfamily Zoosperme, and remarks that, like these, they have both their inarticulate and septate representatives. In the two families which I have just examined, the individuals of which have little use in the ceconomy of nature, except to hasten the decomposition of animal and vegetable substances, or to furnish nutriment for a multitude of insects, the threads at the extremity of which the sporidia grow may be called erecto-divergent; in the following families these same filaments, variously woven and en- tangled, end always, except in the Pyrenomycetes, in becoming erecto- convergent. [To be continued. | * Something of the kind is exhibited by 4g. racemosus. The lateral heads have the structure of Stilbum.—M. J. B. ; An account has lately been published in Ann, Sc, Nat. 1841, of a mould developed in the stomach of a living bird. A fact of the same kind has been described before, in Dr. Valentin’s Repertorium fiir Anatomie und Physiologie, bd. 1. 1886.—M. J. B. ae ACR >» a is ; 2 ra% c| Sewn Ann. 4 Mag Nat. List NA9 P11. go F Pee Len Sowerby, fe Mr. T. Brightwell on Hirudo geometra. 11 IJ.—On Hirudo geometra, Linn., and some other species of British Freshwater Leeches. By T. Brigurwe.u of Nor- wich, F.L.S. Earuy in March of the present year (1841), about twenty specimens of a small leech were taken from the back fin of a roach caught in the river Wensum. ‘They agreed generically with the characters given by Savigny of his genus Hemocharis, viz. body cylindrical, composed of indistinct articulations, terminated by large flattish circular* discs or suckers; head without any toothed tubercles; eyes four: These leeches were from one to two inches long, slender, cylindrical, diminishing in size from the tail to the head; an- terior disc or sucker smaller than the posterior; colour light brown, with broken rings of a darker colour; posterior disc with eight or nine small dark spots and brown longitudinal streaks. These characters are nearly those of H. pisciwm or geometra of authors, the only described species of this genus. These leeches being placed with a gudgeon in water, in- stantly attached themselves to the edge of the fins or lip, and remained fixed some days. Being placed by themselves in a glass vessel, and having fresh water put to them every morn- ing, several instances of sexual connexion were observed to take place immediately after the fresh water was added, one of the leeches suddenly twisting itself round the neck of another, and closing upon a longitudinal opening which at this time was very conspicuous in the neck of each. During this union a white substance could be perceived on each side of the part where the bodies were connected. They continued united generally several hours, and in one case during the whole day. When the leeches separated, a white filmy substance was detached from. the parts where they had been united, which in one case had the appearance of an egg, but from subsequent observation was found to be part of the film in which the eggs are enveloped. Within twenty-four hours after the union took place eggs were deposited, and were found firmly attached to the sides of the glass vessel. By an experiment made with a pair which were kept separate for that purpose, twelve eggs were found to proceed from two individuals. These eggs were semitrans- parent, of a reddish brown colour, oblong-oval, with one end truncated ; they were covered with a white filmy web-like se- cretion, and had longitudinal elevated ridges on’ the sides. The shells of the eggs were found, on dissection, to be ex- tremely hard, * Oblique is the character given by Savigny. 12 Mr. T. Brightwell on Hirudo geometra, On the thirtieth day after the eggs were deposited the first young leech made its appearance. Each egg produced only one leech—this was ascertained by detaching an egg and keeping it in a glass by itself, when one leech only proceeded from it. The young leeches were the size of a small thread, about one-third of an inch long, and appeared perfectly formed; the brown annular markings of the body, the longi- tudinal lines upon the posterior disc, and the four eyes in the anterior disc or sucker being clearly visible. They were very active and vigorous, and exceedingly beautiful little animals. One of the young leeches being placed in a small cup of water with a tadpole, instantly fixed itself to the edge of the tadpole’s tail, and remained so for some hours; but several tadpoles being placed in the vessel where the young leeches were, they had all disappeared on the following morning, the tadpoles having probably devoured them. The adult leeches all became faint and died, afew days after they had deposited their eggs. These leeches were rarely, if ever, observed to move in the geometrical manner which is described by Linneus and others, and from which character the trivial name geometra was given to them. Our species all moved in the same manner as the common medicinal leech, and often swam about in the undulating manner of that species. Both the young and the old ones also, frequently, after attaching themselves firmly by the posterior disc only, assumed a rigid appearance, and flung their bodies about as if eagerly seeking some object to fix themselves to, which they did, if any object presented itself, in a moment, and were very difficult to detach. Cuvier (or rather Latreille), ‘ Régne Animal,’ vol. v. p. 215, describes the genus Hemocharis as never swimming; but if our species be of this genus, this must be incorrect. M. de Blainville seems of opinion that the Hirudo cephalotes of Ca- rena is of this genus ; but this species is not only described as never swimming, but also as viviparous; characters which will not agree with our species, and from which those in Cuvier and other authors may probably have been taken. The figure given of H. geometra in the ‘ Encyclopédie Mé- thodique,’ pl. 51. fig. 12—19, which professes to be copied from Rosel, differs much from our species both in the form of the discs or suckers, the situation of the eyes, and the mark- ings. We add a few general observations on the freshwater leeches occurring in our neighbourhood, Hemopsis sanguisorba (Sav.), the common horse-leech. This species is common in our ponds and ditches. We have not been able to determine and the reproduction of Leeches. 13 whether it be oviparous or not, though there is little doubt of its being so. We have found its young, in an early stage, in the same places as the adult, but never adhering to the pa- rent.. We have in our possession a singular variety of this species, which has the posterior part and a large spot on the abdomen of a pale flesh-colour. Sanguisuga medicinalis (Sav.), the medicinal leech. This species is occasionally found in our neighbourhood, but is by no means common. A dealer in Jeeches, residing in Norwich, keeps a stock of about 50,000 leeches in two large tanks of water, floored with soft clay, in which the leeches burrow. On examining these tanks we found many capsules or ova de- posits of the leech, which the owner (ignorant of their nature) stated to be, at times, very numerous, but which he had neg- lected and generally destroyed. The Austrian variety he keeps in a separate tank, as he says it destroys the others. Nephelis vulgaris (Sav.). This species abounds in all our fresh waters, and the brown capsules containing its ova may constantly be found on the underside of the leaves of water plants among the ova of the freshwater helices. We have kept several of this species through the summer, and the following are our notes as to the deposit of the ova and the development of the young :—On the 2nd of June H. vulgaris deposited one capsule containing ova; on the 5th another; on the 10th an- other ; and on the 15th two more, each of them containing from seven to ten eggs. On the 22nd young appeared in the capsule deposited on the 2nd, and on the 13th of July they emerged from the capsule, so that in three weeks the young were seen alive in the capsule, and in six weeks were fully developed and left the capsule. Examining the young of this species under a power of about sixty linear, we detected a Cypris and four specimens of a common rotiferous animalcule in its stomach, one of the ro- tifera being still alive. Nephelis tesselata? In June last we captured in the river at Costessey in this county a single specimen of a leech which nearly agrees with the descriptions given of this species. It is described by Blainville as follows :—“ Body elongated or oval, eighteen lines long, with eight eyes in a double longitudinal series ; ash-coloured, with orange or whitish-coloured spots above, the sides marked with white or partly gray and partly orange-coloured spots; the abdomen gray, with two round spots in the middle.” Our specimen is nearly cylindrical, about an inch long, the posterior dise larger than the anterior ; eight eyes, in two rows of four each; colour green, with two indistinct, whitish, lon- 14 Mr. T. Brightwell on Hirud6 geometra. gitudinal series of spots above and two spots underneath ; the whole body, magnified, appears studded with small, dark, ir- regular spots. Miiller says the female is sometimes filled with 300 young ones. The abdomen of our species was, when captured, co- vered with young, which adhered solely by the posterior disc. We kept this specimen from the 24th of June to the 28th of August, when it died. ‘The young remained attached to the parent during all this time, and we took some pains to ascer- tain their exact number, and found they amounted to 143. We never saw the parent or the young ones take any food. The young differed altogether in colour from the parent, the latter being a deep green, the former a light ash-colour: the eyes of the parent could scarcely be discerned with a lens; the eyes of the young were very conspicuous, and could be seen with the naked eye. The motion of this species is geo- metrical, and it never swims. The abdomen of the parent had no pouch, but was much expanded by the adhesion of so nu- merous a progeny, so much so as to make the form appear very different to the young. Clepsina (Sav.). This genus or family of Hirudinide (which comprises the leeches furnished with a retractile proboscis) does not appear well understood. They are found adhering to the undersides of the leaves of the larger aquatic plants, where the small helices (upon which they feed) abound ; they are also found adhering to stones in running waters. The proboscis is rarely seen exserted. C. complanata. We have kept many of this species during the whole summer, and never saw the proboscis unless we compelled the animal to protrude it, which it may be made to do by a glass compresser.. We have seen it devour one of the common Planorbes, which it did by thrusting itself up the shell of the snail and sucking the body of the animal. The five-lobed stomach of the leech and of several young ones ad- hering to it, were, when it left the shell, filled with a clear dark red fluid, which, contrasting with the transparent straw- colour of the rest of the animal, gave it a very unique and beautiful appearance. The ova of this species are first ob- served to proceed from the ovary in two longitudinal rows to the abdomen, which is dilated and drawn up into a kind of pouch or bag to receive them. 'The young are gradually de- veloped, and when excluded remain adhering, by their whole length, for many weeks to the body of the parent. C. stagnalis. ‘This little species is said to be common, but we have never met with it; all the leeches we have seen of this family having six eyes, whereas this species is described Dr. Richardson on the Ichthyology of Australia. 15 as having only two. C.complanata varies much in size, and we have seen a specimen full of ova as small as C. stagnalis is described to be. C. hyalina? We have taken a single specimen of a leech of this family, which nearly agrees with the descriptions of this species. It was more than twice as large as any other in- dividual of this family which we have seen, being about an inch long, of a yellow-brown colour, with two rows of longi- tudinal dark lines upon its back. The whole body was re- markably hard and tough. We saw the proboscis of this ani- mal well developed ; it had no ova or young attached to it. REFERENCE TO PLATE I. Fig. 1. H. geometra, a pair united, mag. nat. 2. The fore-part of the same, magnified. @, a. White substance. 3. Eggs, mag. nat. 4. Young, idem. 5. Eggs, highly magnified (about 150 linear). 6. Lid of the egg whence the leech escapes. 6. Anterior disc or sucker of the young, free, highly magnified. 8. The same attached. 7. Posterior disc attached. Fig. 9, 10, 11. Eggs or capsules with ova of Nephelis vulgaris. 9. Mag. nat. 10,11. Magnified. 12. The same, the ova near hatching. 13, 14. The same, with the young in the egg just before they come out. Fig. 15. Nephelis tesselata? mag. nat., with the young adhering. 16. The same, upper side. 17, One of the young, highly magnified. Fig. 18, 19. Clepsina complanata, mag. nat., with the ova attached. Fig, 20. C. hyalina? mag. nat. IIl.— Contributions to the Ichthyology of Australia. By Joun Ricuarpson, M.D., F.R.S., &c., Inspector of Hospitals, Haslar. Mr. Gou.p having had the kindness to place in my hands for examination a collection of fish, procured by his assistant Mr, Gilbert, at Port Essington, on the north coast of New Holland, I purpose in the following paper to give a summary of my observations thereon, together with a few remarks upon some drawings made by Lieutenant Emery, R.N., of fish captured on the north-west coast of the same country. I shall also introduce several notices of species from Van Die- men’s Land and New Zealand, now existing in the museum at Haslar, with the view of enumerating as many Australian fish as the materials in my possession enable me to do. Mr. Gilbert’s specimens, numbered from 1 to 37, are all dried skins of one side of the fish. The colours of most are consequently altered, and in a few instances the vomerine and 16 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to palatine bones have been cut away, but in other respects they are in excellent condition. Lieut. Emery not being an ichthy- ologist, has sometimes omitted to portray the minute ser- ratures of the opercular pieces, and has not always distin- guished the spinous from the articulated rays. On this ac- count it is difficult to fix the genus of the undescribed species ; but the drawings exhibit no mean share of artistical skill, and, judging from the few known species among them, are correct representations of the recent fish, and consequently valuable records of their real tints of colour. In preparing the follow- ing notes, I have availed myself as often as my professional avocations and residence at a distance from London would allow, of the valuable collection of drawings made in Cook’s first and second voyages by Parkinson and Forster, now in the Banksian library. Many of these figures are referred to in the posthumous edition of Bloch by Schneider, and also in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons’; and it may be advantageous to mention, that the mode in which the fin-rays are noted in pencil at the bottom of the drawings, viz. by putting the number of spinous rays as the numerator, and the whole num- ber of rays of each fin, both spinous and articulated, as the denominator of a fraction, has sometimes led the authors of the works just named into error, the denominator being quoted as the amount of the soft rays alone. In most instances, however, the quotation is correctly made. Mr. Gould destines his collection for the British Museum. ApoGon APRION (Nob.), Rough-tongued Apogon. No. 11. Mr. Gilbert’s list. Mr. Gilbert states that the aborigines name this fish ‘ Mun- duruk,’ and that it is a very local species, having hitherto been seen only in King’s River (near Victoria, Port Essing- ton), and not in the other very similar and closely adjacent streams. The species seems to differ from all those described in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons,’ in the total absence of serra- tures on the preoperculum, and in the presence of a small cluster of teeth on the tongue. It is more compressed than the 4. rermullorum, but does not differ much from that fish in the general form of its profile. Its height in the middle is contained three times and a half in the total length, caudal included.. The length of the head exceeds the height of the body, and the thickness is greatest at the gill-covers, being there equal to about half the height behind the ventrals. The muzzle is also wide at the preorbitars. The preoperculum has the raised acute edges posteriorly and inferiorly, proper to the genus; there is a less conspicuous ridge on the foremost border of the operculum, the Ichthyology of Australia. 17 and they are all perfectly smooth. The operculum exhibits no ves- tige of a spine, but its broad membranous border is supported by a thin, narrow, cartilaginous rib, which runs out from the subopercu- lum. The teeth form pretty broad and densely villiform bands on the jaws, the posterior ones near the symphysis being a little longer, but all are short. On the vomer and palatine bones these teeth are very short, and there is a small cluster in the middle of the tongue which is just perceptible to the naked eye, and very sensible to the finger. ‘The pharyngeal teeth are not longer than those in the jaws. Rays :—B. 7 —7; D. 5|— 1|10; A. 219 : C.154; V.1|5; P.11. The branchiostegous rays are very slender. The dorsal commences over the anterior third of the pectorals, and rather before the middle of the ventrals. The first spine is very short and acute; the second is the longest and strongest, and tapers suddenly at the top, which is slightly curved; the third is a little shorter, and the fifth is half the length of the second. This fin has a smaller number of rays than is ascribed to any other species in the ‘Histoire des Poissons.’ They are alike in our two specimens. The spine of the second dorsal is not quite half as long as the soft rays. The first anal spine is barely perceptible, and the second spine and soft rays are shorter than those of the second dorsal. ‘The ventrals are scarcely shorter than the pectorals, and are attached a little further forwards. ‘The spie is one-third shorter than the soft rays. The caudal is rounded ; it has fifteen forked rays and four graduated, simple, jointed ones above and below. The collection contains two specimens—one dried, the other in spirits, neither of them retaining much of their original colours. There are no traces of any stripes on the body, or caudal spots having ever existed. The upper parts appear to have been dark in colour, gra- dually softening off towards the belly. The specimen in spirits ex- hibits faintly the hue of the grounds of Port wine, which probably was diffused over the head and upper part of the body. The fins appear dark. These traces of colour agree with the tints of Ap. ni- gripinnis or vinosus, but the number of dorsal rays is different. The only previously known New Holland species is banded (Mullus fas- ciatus, White). The scales are orbicular or widely oval, with about twenty furrows and corresponding marginal crenatures on the basal half of the circle,, radiating from towards the centre, but not reaching it, and a narrow chequered border with very minute teeth exteriorly. The lateral line has nearly the curve of the back, and changes to a straight course through the tail very gradually. It is composed of forty scales, each having a simple but rather uneven elevated tube on its surface. There are two scales on the base of the caudal, beyond the termination of the lateral line. The two central rays of the caudal diverge rather more at their bases than the other rays, thus dividing the fin into two parts. There are five rows of scales above the lateral line, and about thirteen below it, under the first dorsal. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. C 18 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to DIMENSIONS, inches. lines. Length from intermaxillary symphysis to extremity of caudal. 6 0 base of caudal ...... 4 QF ANS TH, cechesisness sae ee. first dorsal ......... 2 .3 tip of gill-flap ..... oR ads edge of orbit ......... 0 53 Didmetsr.OF ORDIE sbi scckebecs deqnesadsenepeabsnmbanes aay Came eNY chet i's O° 5% Length of second spine of first dorsal ..........seecseceecseeeeeeees 0 8 rays of soft dorsal ....0.-.coseseeseeees Sichiacke wash sea Toe rays of anal ......-2+.++. fadeperceesdpssiobadececsseastsepee 0 10 pectorals ....c. Be tip of gill-cover...... 1 8% Height of body at beginning of dorsal ..........4+. ie shebiccnaskhe 1 33 Thickness there, ..ssi-sbbarehenss cope seohiey seabiune kb>agds eamink tens Qvie8 Height of tallest dorsal spine .......s.cereceseeereee waavet= hale conic Boi a SERRANUS URA (Cuv. & Val.?), The Ura. No. 27. Lieut..Emery’s drawings. Ura, a Japanese name (Cuv. & Val. ii. p. 332). Lieut. Emery’s portfolio contains a drawing of a Serranus captured at Depuch Island, which agrees tolerably well with the account of S. ura in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons.’ The species was discovered by M. Langsdorf in Krusenstern’s voyage on the coast of Japan. In Lieut. Emery’s drawing the body is represented as fuller and higher, and the dorsal spines as decreasing more in height as they approach the articulated portion of the fin, than in the other species closely allied to the merra. 'The depth of the body is equal to one- third of the total length, caudal included: the head forms one-third of the total length, caudal excluded. The middle opercular spine only is indicated in the drawing, and we therefore conclude that the others were inconspicuous in the recent fish. ‘The third dorsal spine is the tallest, and is fully twice as long as the eleventh; it is about equal to one-third of the height of the body. The soft dorsal is one- fifth part higher. The second anal spine is stouter, but not so long as the third one. All the fins are rounded. Rays :—D. 1114; A. 3|7; V. 1)5 ; &e. It is possible that one or two soft rays may have been omitted in the drawing, as Lieut. Emery was not aware of the importance of enumerating them correctly. The general colour of the fish is gamboge-yellow, which fades to white on the middle of the belly. The fins are a paler lemon-yellow. Yellowish-brown spots, roundish, but not very regular in form, are evenly distributed over the head, body, and fins. There are about six in a line between the gill-cover and caudal. On the fins and middle of the belly the spots are paler, and they are not so numerous on the pectorals, head, and under jaw as elsewhere. -On the anterior part of the operculum they unite, to form an irregular blotch. The length of the individual from which the drawing was made was seven inches. the Ichthyology of Australia. 25 SERRANUS CRAPAO (Cuv. & Val.), The Crapao. Serranus crapao, Cuv. & Val. iii. p. 494. Crapao, Malagese name. (Ditto.) No. 1. Mr. Gilbert’s collection. Mr. Gilbert states that “this fish inhabits the shallow parts of Port Essington.” The specimen possesses the characters ascribed to the S. crapao, which was taken by M. Reynaud in the roadstead of Batavia. In general it bears a close resemblance to S. Gilberti, having the same very small scales on the under jaw, snout, and cheek. There exists, however, a cluster of minute scales on the maxillary, which I could not detect in S. Gilberti; the opercular scales are somewhat larger than in that species, and the under jaw is a little longer. ‘The preoperculum is rather more rounded at the angle, there being no distinct lobe there, but merely a slight change in the curve embra- cing the five lower teeth. The upper limb is finely denticulated, the teeth becoming gradually larger towards the angle. Some very slight crenatures may be perceived on the lower limb. The middle opercular spine is flat and scarcely pungent, and more than its own length distant from the tip of the gill-flap. The upper and under spines are buried among the scales, and are but just perceptible. The interoperculum and suboperculum are perfectly entire. The spinous dorsal is even, and rather lower than the soft portion of the fin. The third and six following spines are of the same height; the two last are but very little shorter, and they are a little taller than the second, which is twice as high as the first. The second anal spine is rather stronger than the third one, but it is not so long by about one-eighth part. The vertical soft fins and the pectoral are about as much rounded as in the S. merra. . The scales on the fins are like- wise the same, but those on the body are rather more strongly ciliated. The dental surfaces of the jaws are more strongly brush-formed, form- ing pretty broad bands towards the symphysis; but on the limbs of the intermaxillaries the teeth are short, curved, and not very slender, and there is an exterior even row of short conical ones, not rising above the lips. On the limbs of the lower jaw the teeth are all curved, and longer and stronger than in merra, and there is no ex- terior row of conical ones. There are two or three canine teeth near the symphysis, above and below, not much stronger than the rest. The vomerine teeth are similar to those of the upper jaw, short, curved, and moderately strong. The palate bones have been cut away. The colours of the dried skin have evidently faded greatly ; but the whole body, the gill-covers, cheeks, and lower jaw appear to have been marked with dark spots, generally roundish, but not very ex- actly defined, nor disposed in any regular order. Their diameter is less than half that of the spots of S. stellans, and they are much less crowded. Four irregular blotches, of considerable size, range along the base of the dorsal. The anal and ventrals appear dark towards their tips, and traces of vertical bars or dark blotches are visible near the distal extremity of the caudal. There are also some dark shades on the top of the head and ascending limb of the pre- 26 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to operculum. ‘Traces of spots remain on the vertical fins, but the spinous dorsal does not appear to have been tipped with black as in S.merra and stellans. Rays :—D. 11/14; A. 3|8; C. 153; P.17; V. 1|5. Dimensions. inches. lines. Length from intermaxillary symphysis to end of caudal ...... 12° 4 base of ditto ......... 10 3 GQNUB oho eseeccecete dies 6*6 tip of gill-cover 3 10 Lengdlt of pectorals | 4s :i4s.6> snd saongs schwag ytavabinie dtobawerssaveae. 2 0 Were ALS 05 .iiL evs tiviavedbueedimmaebanerievarcwdle db cabicc 1 6 hanes CHUA! nae cdsns ne on Glide shodbbevs dheancdbtendee Uscinwhesdin se 2 Oo Height of third dorsal spines... co. ae & | sinnaincnniads SOLE ANGE’ i cas w/alpaweh Wake pw edeeaap le vacedcdvere cocdecndc 1 ie, * No. 22, Serranus punctulatus, and No. 24, Serranus margi- nalis, of Mr. Gilbert’s collection, were procured at Copang, in the island of Timor, and do not therefore come within the scope of this paper. MESOPRION YAPILLI (Cuv. & Val.), The Yapilli. Yapilli, Russell, pl. 95. No. 21. Mr. Gilbert’s list. This fish is stated by Mr. Gilbert to be common in all the rocky parts of Port Essington, but he did not ascertain its appellation among the aborigines. The specimen was taken at the Tamar rock in November 1840. The short characters of the Mesoprions noticed in the ‘Histoire des Poissons’ being strictly comparative, and turn- ing much on the patterns of colour, are of difficult application when the naturalist has only a single species before him, and especially when the specimen is, as in the present instance, a solitary dried skin. All the particulars, however, which are mentioned in the work in question of the Yapilli are to be found in our specimen, and the resemblance of the fish to Russell’s figure is very close. The length of the fish is twenty inches, caudal included. The preoperculum has a slightly arched under-edge continuous with the rounded angle, which appears toproject solely from the existence of the re-entering curve above it. ‘The vertical limb is minutely toothed to within one-fourth of its upper end. The teéth are more acute in the sinus ; and on the rounded angle and under edge of the bone, the teeth, though short, are wider, and are separated from each other by obtuse sinuses: two or three of the anterior ones are slightly inclined forwards. The thickening of the interoperculum opposite the pre- opercular sinus is very slight. The bony operculum ends in a flat, tapering, but obtuse lobe, whose lower margin is not concealed by the scales; a re-entering angle above its base forms the rounded upper corner of the bone into a minor and much shorter lobe. The mem- branous flap which tapers from the point of the operculum, but is the Ichthyology of Australia. 27 not acute, is supported by a cartilaginous prolongation of the sub- operculum. ‘The two rows of large supra-scapular scales are ren- dered very conspicuous by each of them being bounded anteriorly by a patch of small scales. ‘he semioval projecting limb of the supra-scapular is minutely undulated on the margin. The edge of the humeral bone is entire. ‘The pectoral has the pointed and tapering sparoid furm, and reaches back nearly to the anal fin. The dorsal spines are strong, much compressed and acute, and the membrane is attached alternately to their right and left sides. The third anal spine is longer, and fully as strong as the second one; the first one is short, tapers suddenly to an acute point, and is furrowed anteriorly: these spines are also right and left. The soft dorsal and anal fins are rounded ; their bases are scaly, and fillets of scales run between the rays for one quarter of their length: very short fillets of scales recline against the base of each spinous ray. The caudal is crescentic on the margin. Scales.—There are about fifty furrows running to the basal edge and part of the adjoining lateral margins of each scale, the alternate ones being short, and the longer ones reaching nearly to the middle. The exposed surface of the scale is smooth to the touch, and its margin looks to be thin andmembranous; but when examined through a lens the surface appears to be shagreened, or reticulated by minute obtuse eminences, and some very small and irregularly placed teeth may be discovered on the edge. Each scale is palé on the border and dark towards its middle, the dark tint occupying nearly the whole exposed surface of the scales above the lateral line, and becoming proportionally smaller and fainter on the sides, so as to be scarcely perceptible at the level of the pectorals. They produce longitudinal lines on the sides corresponding to the number of rows of scales. Teeth.—Each limb of the upper jaw is armed with an even row of about twenty conical teeth, which are so short as to be concealed by the lips; and there are also two conspicuous canines close to each other near the symphysis. Behind these, on the whole length of the concave surface of the jaw, there is a narrow stripe of very short irregularly crowded teeth, which must have been almost concealed by the soft parts in the recent fish. Through a lens each of these minute teeth appears blunt, and answers better to the term ‘ dents grenues,’ used in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons,’ than to that of villiform. Each limb of the lower jaw is furnished with about eight strong co- nical teeth of unequal heights and unequally distributed, as if some had dropped out and were not yet replaced. The lateral ones are rather the tallest, but they do not equal the two upper canines, though they are much larger than the upper lateral teeth and project beyond the lip. The minute teeth of the lower jaw are restricted to a very small and not crowded cluster near the symphysis. A por- tion of the vomer which remains, and the edge of the anterior half of the palate bone, show a few microscopical teeth just protruding from the bone, which is however roughened by minute pits, appa- rently the sockets of teeth which have dropped out. ‘The soft parts are entirely gone. 28 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to DIMENSIONS. Inches, lines. Length from intermaxillary symphysis to end of caudal ......... 20 6 base of ditto ......... 16 4 MVWBiisensibpe tone ntaderse 10 2 beginning of dorsal... 6 11 tip of gill-flap ......... 6 3 centre of orbit......... ate PISAMIOLOR OF OTT Gis 5 chan icceseacscbegyapeccephae es eaumeoemywsenen ees bsents 1 0 Length of pectoral ......... dpsscceadopvend sabmacesccuauemerscpeoee sec ds 5 2 ————- ventrals ......... bass a Sdb SO EI RGEH Te SONU ISITE SS 3.4 Matsa sii tii si doe lSU Aa a BL ae, 8.10 spinous part of dorad]...scnvissbse siish}s res acabavencwemee es 5 6 articulated: part. of dite ipagwiapesesdedvepe’ dacsidersbacres nnn 3.4 BOL fF isk wes nrdaic ee dbake cia Radiata sad bolmiae abeash pecip'smalad hs 2 4 — AMAL isis vy nabeo «igen hiab amend BWAh staedsvedl vente seees of 4°°2 Height of tallest dorsal spine (the 4th) ............ssessseeeeeseeeos 2 6 second and tenth spine of dorsal ..........sccseeeseeee aa BONG ———— — soft dorsal ........sccsceccscscccceccees sdeseresebossuttedeee 2:3 third anal spine ....... PPS ere Eer OTP rite ty ot Meer s 1 10 Soft thal liids bin cdpearsaden dep teanns sitedadabenss bb Wisi b Dine 2 5 Length of space between anal daydh sigan nishccgledegldsduonitestes cs 1; 0 aial And CAUGAL: trace cheese vespanarereieges 2. 9 Govmal ANG CamGAl |» sceneiserenass dense ches 1 10 Height of, head at. th MARC: :.ssnssnconahhs benupstneeysananspoabandes eds 4 6 Mesoprion CARPONOTATUS (Nob.), The Mungundju. No. 20. Mr. Gilbert’s list. The native inhabitants of the shores of Port Essington call this fish ‘ Mungundju,’ and it frequents the deep water in rocky places at the entrance of the harbour (Mr. Gilbert). Cuvier mentions the resemblance between his Mesoprions and fish of the genus Dentex in external form. In the Mun- gundju the sparoid likeness is carried to the utmost by the rounded operculum, the almost entire preoperculum, and the dark spot at the base of the pointed pectoral. Indeed, until I had softened and extended the branchiostegous membrane so as to show its seven rays, and discovered some microscopical teeth on a small part of the edge of the palate bone, I had supposed that this fish might be the Dentex cynodon of the ‘ Histoire des Poissons.’ As the Yapilli of the preceding ar- ticle is the only Mesoprion that I have access to for the pur- pose of comparison with the Mungundju, the following de- scription has reference throughout to that species. — Form.—Having a close general resemblance to that of Yapilli; but the lips, which in that species form a broad reverted fold on both jaws, are not so much developed in the Mungundju. ‘There are no pores on the lower jaw of either, the integument being very smooth and nacry. The preorbitar in both has a perfectly even edge; and in Yapilli the thick integument passes so evenly from the surface of the bone, over the row of large scales which encircle the lower half of the orbit, as greatly to increase the apparent size of the bone: in the the Ichthyoloyy of Australia. 29 Mungundju the posterior extent of the preorbitar is defined, and the large suborbitar scales partly hidden by a band of small scales which runs under the orbit and covers their bases. There are only six rows of scales on the cheek of the Yapilli beneath the large subor- bitar row, and all the convex surface of the preoperculum is naked : in the Mungundju there are seven rows of scales on the cheek and concave side of the preoperculum, and two rows of smaller ones on the middle of the convex limb of the bone, similar to those which exist in Dentex vulgaris; but in neither of the Mesoprions are the con- vex and concave faces of the preoperculum divided from each other by a distinct ridge, as in the Dentex. The whole surface of the inter- operculum is clothed by four rows of small scales. In the Yapilli this bone exhibits only a single row of scales, which are larger than those on the cheek. ‘the opercular scales are also larger than the cheek ones in this species; but in the Mungundju the difference between their sizes is scarcely perceptible. In the Yapilli, the scales of the suboperculum, which form a single row, gradually diminish in size as they approach the tip of the gill-flap, and thus expose the lower edge of the lobe of the bony operculum; but in the Mungundju all the scales of the row are of equal size, and they are tiled by the lower row of opercular scales so as to conceal the junction of the bones entirely. The two rows of large nuchal scales are rendered less conspicuous in the Mungundju by the patches of small scales before them being more extensive and encroaching over their bases. ‘Ihe scaly surface in this species also extends to opposite the middle of the orbit, while in the Yapilli it ends at the posterior angle of the eye, and does not come so far as the vertex. The lower edge of the preoperculum is much shorter than in Yapilli, and is quite entire ; the angle is rounded and projects slightly, the ascending limb being undulated slightly without any distinct re-entering curve. T'wo or three irregularly scattered teeth are with difficulty discovered by the aid of an eye-glass about the middle of the vertical limb, and on the upper half of the rounded angle. The interoperculum is perfectly destitute of the very slight thickening which the Yapilli shows in the site of the tubercule of the Diacopes. The operculum is rounded, as in the sparoid family, with a shallow re-entering are which di- vides the margin into two obtuse lobes, neither of them so wide as the arc itself. The membranous edge of the gill-flap is very narrow, and the tip of the suboperculum is not prolonged into an angular flap beyond the operculum. The supra-scapular has one small notch on its edge; the edge of the humeral can scarcely be perceived among the scales. Rays:—B. 7; D. 10/15; A. 310 ; C. 154; P..14; V.-1/5. The pectoral is pointed, but more suddenly acuminated, and con- siderably shorter than in the Yapilli; its point falls short of the anus. The spines of the dorsal are more slender, and the soft part of the fin is longer, not so high, and much less rounded than in the Yapilli. The last ray, both of the dorsal and anal, is small, and may be only a branch of the preceding one, so that fourteen and nine may be respec- tively enumerated ; but as they are both distinct, and the fact cannot 30 Dr. Richardson on the Ichthyology of Australia. be ascertained without removing the scales from their bases, they have been set down as 15 and 10. The anal is also lower, and its spines considerably softer than those of the Yapilli: the soft part is more obtusely rounded than in Yapilli. The caudal is slightly crescentic on the margin. The ventrals resemble those of Yapilli, but they are not so long, and the triangular scaly folds outside their bases are much smaller and less acute. Scales.—The scales are smaller than in Yapilli, and more densely and less regularly tiled. The structure of the lateral line is alike in both. Each scale is roundish or quadrangular, with the corners rounded off: the exterior margin is finely toothed, the adjoining sur- face rough, and the basal half marked by about eighteen furrows, which produce crenatures on about one-third of the margin of the scale. There are about sixty-eight scales in a longitudinal row be- tween the gill-opening and caudal fin. Short fillets of scales recline against each dorsal spine as in Yapilli, and the bases of the articulated parts of the dorsal and anal, and of the caudal, are scaly, precisely as in that fish. Teeth.—The dentition is very similar to that of Yapilli. There are three canines crowded on one side near the symphysis, and about fourteen short conical ones in the exterior row beneath the lip. The minute teeth on the concave surface of the jaw are more acute, and merit the name of villiform better than in Yapilli: the cluster of minute teeth near the symphysis of the lower jaw is longer and more crowded. The eight outer conical teeth in that jaw exist as in Yapilli, but they are followed by five smaller and closer ones in the same row, which are not present in that species. ‘The vomer has been cut away ; but a small projecting lobe of the edge of the palate bone is rough with minute setaceous teeth, which may be readily felt with the finger, yet cannot be seen by the unassisted eye. Colour.—The back of the dried specimen has a darkish and some- what clouded tint, which gradually fades on a level with the upper edge of the pectorals into the pale and spotless under surface. All the fins are pale and unspotted, and seem as if they had been yellow or orange-coloured when fresh. The remains of a yellowish tint prevails on the caudal and extends to its scaly base. A dark spot girdles the base of the three upper pectoral rays, and there seems to have been another on the lower lip, near the symphysis. Dimensions. inches. lines. Length from intermaxillary symphysis to end of caudal ......... 14 0 base of ditto............ 2 9 - anus...... dowded edward ett 7 6 beginning of dorsal... 4 11 tip of gill-flap......... 3 107 centre of orbit......... 2.2 Diameter of orbit,............0secsesses SAUD USCC MEETS WA's in oh'00'bbo Sata 0 103 Length: of pectamal : 602.0650 inc, oii. 2 anchedddvoosdentscaetens eases eves 2 10 emcee MOTULIME 4 5 0 40'd as 6 o.0:0'4o dad 6g sn oagbth olgbOGERGME ApKbwonbeecsdacsens 2 10 whole dorsal .........ssssscseeoes shaions ltt ¢pipew Seahaye ti 5 8 spinous part of ditto ...........seee00: Shids sense ehast uote 3.3 futicninted part Of Gite s54: ines docevecssonsccnveecevsges 7 a Mr. Alder and Mr. Hancock on new Mollusca. 31 inches, lines. Length OF Qik eer ied eae ieantpeeases’ bob sacsccccpeenconers ill Caudal ...........cecececcecccecseceneceseeetscececceessenenenes 2 9 Height of tallest dorsal spine (4th) ...........seseseseeereeeereeeees 4 —— SECON. PING: ; inisisie ce auido s vas HaemMagiann sod hoserssior oadonpener Lg (lh tenth dorsal spine . ,.scc-vnssssasnrenedceroenrtaeressenerence 0 9% ———-—— 80ft COrsal ......--cnvccsceccbenncrorensncasertsnceresenceses ies PREME bap cscs spies iuanebafaneremsnapagers bas inne dese onbeee 1° 4 thin aval’ spitie 316.1 iigetaes’ Vows ese ewdsceewevncaucs 0 8 Length of space between anus and anal fim ...........sesesesseeees 0 9% Stal ANd COAGAL vos. hdc aly elk. iio deci £9 dorsal and caudal | .siiy.rsseecsecobsccacee Ia Height of head at nape ....,...ssccsoconrsevecncssecsecncscvestecsoress 3.4 [To be continued. | IV.—Descriptions of several new species of Nudibranchous Mollusca found on the coast of Northumberland. By Josuvua ALDER, Esq., and AnBANy Hancock, Esq. Durine two short periods of residence at Cullercoats last summer, we devoted some leisure time to an examination of the Nudibranchous Mollusca of the coast, for the purpose of ascertaining the number of indigenous species, and of ob- serving the habits and ceconomy of these little-known ani- mals, In the former respect our success was beyond our most sanguine expectations. Although our researches were confined to a very small portion of the coast, not exceeding two or three miles, in the immediate neighbourhood of Cul- lercoats, and without the assistance of a dredge in collecting the deep-water kinds, we succeeded in obtaining thirty-four. species, a number nearly equal to what has yet been recorded as inhabiting the whole of the British seas. Of this number about one half are entirely new. Careful drawings of the whole have been made while in a living state, which, together with more full descriptions than are now offered, may be given to the public at some future time, when further investigation shall have enabled us to clear up some points in their history of which we are at present in doubt, and perhaps to increase the list by the discovery of additional species. In the mean time we take the liberty of sending for insertion in the ‘ An- nals’ short characters of seventeen species which appear to be undescribed. — The most interesting point of physiology that we have ob- served in this tribe is the existence of eyes in Doris and Go- niodoris, genera that have hitherto been described as entirely devoid of these organs; they can be most distinctly observed in young individuals, where the skin is very transparent. In this state we have succeeded in detecting them in Doris re- panda and Goniodoris nodosa, situate behind the dorsal ten- J 32 Mr. Alder and Mr. Hancock on new Mollusca. tacula, as in other genera of the same order. The greater opacity of the skin generally prevents their being observed in older individuals. In what degree the faculty of vision may be possessed by these animals in different stages of their growth, or whether the full-grown animal may in some in- stances be deprived of a sense enjoyed during youth, it may be difficult to determine. From the feeble development of these organs the sense is no doubt at any time very imper- fect ; but the fact of their existence is interesting, as showing a greater unity of structure in the whole of the Nudibranchous order. DoRISs ASPERA. Body depressed, white or yellowish, semitransparent. Cloak filled with spicula running in all directions, covered with large obtuse tubercles, interspersed with a few smaller ones, not crowded ; firm and rough to the touch. Dorsal tentacula long, slender, white or yellowish. Branchiz consisting of nine small, simply pinnate, trans-_ parent white plumes. Foot, when in motion, extending beyond the cloak behind. Length ;4ths of an inch. Common among the rocks at Tynemouth, Cullercoats and Whitley. D. DEPRESSA. Body much depressed, transparent, of a pale sandy colour, spotted with orange or reddish brown. Cloak covered with delicate pointed papille, and having strong imbedded spicule arranged transversely across the back and diagonally at each side. Dorsal tentacula pale yellow. Branchie consisting of ten or eleven very short, simple, transparent white plumes, arranged in a horse-shoe form round the vent. Foot broad, truncate anteriorly, of a pale grayish pink colour. Veil above the mouth large, semicircular. Length ;%,ths of an inch. Under stones at low-water mark, Whitley ; very rare. D. REPANDA. Body depressed, of a waxy semitransparent white. Cloak widely expanded, covered with minute, opake-white, granular tubercles, irre- gular and rather distant ; a row of sulphur-yellow or opake-white spots extends down-each side. Dorsal tentacula ovate-oblong, strongly lamellated, without sheaths. Branchiz small in proportion to the size of the animal, of four or five broad, tripinnate, transpa- rent white plumes. Foot narrow, showing the cloak much beyond, which appears veined on the under side. Length ;8ths of an inch. Among the rocks near low-water mark at Cullercoats; not uncom- mon. : D. sIMIuis. Body rather convex, transparent white. Cloak regularly covered with numerous conical, opake-white papille. Dorsal tentacula large, swelling in the middle, yellowish white, issuing from short denticu- lated sheaths. Branchie of nine narrow transparent white plumes, tripinnate, with a strong denticulated central rib. Veil above the Mr. Alder and Mr. Hancock on new Mollusca. 33 mouth extended. at the sides into two leaf-like appendages. Foot extending a little beyond the cloak behind. Length ths of an inch. . At low-water mark and from deep water, Cullercoats ; very rare. Approaching very nearly to D. pilosa, but differing in the stouter papille, and in the number and form of the branchial plumes, which are also entirely devoid of the stellated appearance of that species. POLYCERA OCELLATA. Body greenish black, varied with chestnut and yellow, and co- vered with irregular ocellated spots of a pale yellow or fawn-colour, capable of being raised into tubercular points. Veil denticulated, short, yellowish white, interrupted in front, continued along the sides of the head and back in an elevated ridge with scalloped edges, and terminating in two or three irregular lobes or tubercles on each side behind the branchiz ; the two lines approach each other in the middle of the back so as to form an imperfect figure of 8. Tentacula two, dorsal, large, club-shaped, strongly lamellated towards the tips. Branchiz consisting of three or four large flocculent plumes, tripin- nate, pale greenish black with light margins. Foot yellowish, in- clining to red, mottled with black. Length ;4,ths of arf inch. Under stones at low-water mark, Cullercoats and Whitley ; rather rare, The Triopa Nothus of Dr. Johnston may be the young of this spe- cies. At present however we prefer considering them distinct, not having been able to detect any spicula in our animal. _ TRITONIA FELINA. Body slender, rather opake, firm to the touch, compressed at the sides and slightly rounded-on the back, rough with small warts ; richly spotted and marked with dark red or reddish brown, and speckled with white tubercular spots. Tentacula yellowish, lamel- lated, issuing from long, cylindrical, rather tight sheaths, divided at the top into five short branches. Veil consisting of about four un- equal branched appendages on each side. Branchiz stout, two or three times branched and warty; six on each side of the back, the hinder ones very small. Foot transparent white, slender. Length nearly an inch. On corallines from deep water, Cullercoats. This may. prove to be the 7’. arborescens of British authors, but it is surely distinct from that of Cuvier. T. PULCHELLA. Body slender, soft, transparent, pale rosy flesh-colour, with mi- nute, opake, yellowish tubercular spots. Tentacula strongly lamel- lated, issuing from branched, deeply divided sheaths; the tubular part rather short. Frontal veil consisting of four slender branched appendages, with four intermediate linear ones: Branchie slender, transparent, flesh-coloured, spotted with opake yellow; five pairs, the last very short. The front ones consisting of three branches Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. D 34 Mr. Alder and Mr. Hancock on new Mollusca. divided into smaller ones. Foot transparent white, tinged with rose- colour. Length nearly half an inch. Among the rocks at low-water mark, Cullercoats ; very rare. Much more delicate, transparent and graceful in its proportions than the preceding, to which it is nearly allied. MELIBGA ORNATA. Body slender, pale yellow or buff, with pink streaks and spots. Tentacula filiform, issuing from wide sheaths much produced ante- riorly. Veil truncated in front, extending into points at the sides. Branchie, six pairs, large, elliptical, pedunculate, papillose, the pa- pillze much produced and each terminated by a dark red spot, set in three circles of four to seven each, and a terminal one at the apex, Foot slender, transparent white, tinged with yellow. Length ;4ths of an inch. _ On corallines from deep water, Cullercoats. Very much resembling M. coronata, Johns., from which it differs in the form of the veil and in the more produced papille. It is al- together a more slender animal. EOLIS ROSEA. Body rather broad, pointed behind, watery white, tinged with rose-colour and buff on the back. Dorsal tentacula short, linear, obtuse, tinged with rose-colour. Oral tentacula short, white. Two pale lines proceeding from the latter terminate in a point near the dorsal tentacula, as in E. papillosa. Branchie numerous, short, ovate and pointed, of a bright rose-colour, pale towards the edges, and thickly sprinkled with opake white; arranged in fifteen or sixteen close-set transverse series, five or six in each, on the sides of the back. Foot watery white, broad and truncated in front, obtusely pointed at the sides. Length upwards of ;3,ths of an inch. At Cullercoats, rare. This comes very near to E. papillosa, but differs in size, colour, and the number of branchial papillae. EK. OBTUSALIS. Body rather short and thick, of a uniform ochry yellow with red- dish brown blotches on the head and back. Dorsal tentacula short, eylindrical, reddish brown. Oral tentacula short and wide apart, yellowish. Branchize numerous, very short and obtuse, ovate, yel- low, thickly set in about twelve rows on the sides of the back. Foot transparent, rather broad, capable of being extended into a very slender tail behind. Length ;4,ths of an inch. One specimen only has occurred, from deep water at Cullercoats. This species is also very nearly allied to H. papillosa, from which it differs in size and colour, and is much more obtuse in all its parts. E. AURANTIA. Bedy rather stout, buff-ccloured, transparent. Dorsal tentacula orange, approximating, conical, annularly wrinkled, Oral tentacula Mr. Alder and Mr. Hancock on new Mollusca. 35 rather shorter than the dorsal ones, lineal, depressed. Branchiz numerous, stout, elliptic-oblong, orange-coloured above with an in- termediate circle of white, and of a warm purple-brown below ; set in ten or eleven close transverse rows of five or six each on the sides of the back. Foot transparent, the front angles blunted and not much produced. Length ;$;ths of an inch. Under large stones near low-water mark at Whitley, rare. E. OLIVACEA. Body pale yellow, sprinkled with white and orange-red or brown, Dorsal tentacula approximating, linear, obtuse, with a central red- dish band. Oral tentacula shortish, linear and obtuse. A streak of red runs on each side of the head between the oral and dorsal ten- tacula, extending behind the latter a short way down the back. Branchie few, thickish, elliptic-oblong, set in six or seven rows, three or four abreast, on each side of the back, of a pale olive-brown colour, the interior of a granular appearance. Foot watery white, broadish and rounded in front, extending to a fine point behind. Length ;4,ths of an inch. Under stones at Whitley and Cullercoats, rather rare. It is the most soberly coloured of the genus. EK. Hystrix. Body slender, white, with olive-brown spots on the back, and a row of large blotches of the same along the sides. Dorsal tentacula linear, approximating, white with an olive-brown band in the centre. Oral tentacula rather shorter than the dorsal, banded in the same manner. Branchize elliptic-oblong, pointed, white, with three cir- cular olive-brown bands set in'six or seven distant transverse rows of four or five each on the sides of the back, diverging. Foot trans- parent vee: rounded in front and slightly produced at’ the sides. Length ;4,ths of an inch. Among the rocks at low-water mark, Cullercoats ; rare. EK. VITTATA. Body slender, pale buff speckled with fawn-colour. Head rather large and truncated in front. Dorsal tentacula slightly conical, wrinkled, fawn-coloured, with pale tips. Oral tentacula rather shorter than the dorsal ones and of the same colour. Branchie somewhat clavate, long, with obtuse terminations, very pale fawn- coloured, with three darker bands of the same colour; set in six or seven distant rows down the sides, largest in front, four to seven in each row. Length ;3,ths of an inch. On a coralline from deep water, Cullercoats; one specimen only found. This species differs from the last in the shape of the head and branchiz. EK. PALLIDA. Body transparent white with a tinge of yellow, spotted with opake white and bright rose-colour on the back and head. Dorsal tenta- D2 36 Mr. Westwood on new Insects. cula slender, slightly conical, obtuse, transparent white with a band of rose-colour. Oral tentacula short, thickish. Branchie large, ovate, inflated and terminating in a slender white point, transparent, sprinkled with opake white ; placed in a crowded manner down each side of the back, of various sizes, smallest near the foot, and very large and much inflated towards the back. Foot milk-white, broad and rounded in front, and not much produced behind. Length 4 of an inch. Among the rocks at low-water mark on the north side of Culler- coats sands ; very rare. Remarkable on account of its large central branchie, which have a leaf-like outline. K. MINUTA. Body minute, pellucid, of a yellowish white. Dorsal tentacula long, slender, transparent. Oral tentacula very short. Branchiz few, clavate, orange, with white apices of various sizes arranged irregularly down the back, forming about two imperfect clusters, two or three papille in each cluster being larger than the rest. Foot broad and rounded in front, the angles expanded into curved points. Length not quite =4,ths of an inch. One specimen found at Whitley under a stone at the lowest spring tide. EK. NANA. : Body yellowish, rather depressed. Dorsal tentacula linear, smooth, - approximating. Oral tentacula shorter than the dorsal ones, linear, transparent. Head produced at the sides beyond their insertion. Branchiz subclavate, rose-coloured, inclining to orange, the central mass of a minute granular appearance ; apices white, disposed in seven or eight close-set rows of seven or eight each down the sides, leaving a broad space on the back. Foot transparent white, short- ish, rounded in front and produced into obtuse angles at the sides. Length ;4,ths of inch. Under stones near low-water mark at Cullercoats and Whitley, «rather rare. ’ Newcastle, January 20, 1842. V.—Insectorum novorum Centuria, auctore J.O. Westwoop, F.L.S., &c. Decadis quarte, ex ordine Lepidopterorum et genere Papi- lionis, Synopsis. Paritio Bodtes, W. Alis nigris valdé elongatis; posticis spa- thulato-caudatis, harum disco plagé media alba vena nigra in duas partes divisd, macula ad angulum analem, lunulis tribus submarginalibus rufis; incisionibus pallidé marginatis, cauda- que bimaculata ; alis subtis similibus at pallidioribus ; omnibus plaga magna basali rufa; maculis lunulisque rufis majoribus, capite, collo et corpore infra rufo. Expans. alar. unc. 5. fab. Sylhet in the East Indies. Allied to P. Philowenus. Mr. Westwood on new Insecis. 37 Pariuio Astorion, W. Alis elongatis angustis, posticis subsinuatis ecaudatis ; omnibus cyaneo-nigris immaculatis ; anticarum di- midio apicali subttis obscuré griseo-nigricanti venis strigisque intermediis nigris ; capite anticé cum lateribus colli thoracis et abdominis coccineis. Expans. alar. unc. 43. (Hab. Sylhet. Paritio Chara, W. Alis anticis latis apice rotundatis, anticis basi nigris apice sensim infuscatis anguloque anali albido, venis strigisque intermediis nigris, alis posticis cyaneo-nigris margine sinuatis ecaudatis ; capite anticé et lateribus colli, thoracis et abdominis coccineis. An femina precedentis? Expans. alar. une. 54. {Hab. Sylhet *. Paritio Castor, W. Alis latis anticis apice subacutis posticis si- nuatis ecaudatis ; omnibus supra fuscis, anticis venis strigisque intermediis nigris ; margine punctis minutis albis, posticis ma- culé magna discoidali (versus angulum externum extensa) alba, in 5 partes irregulares divisa, sinubus albo marginatis ; anticis subtts macula parva ad apicem arez discoidalis, serie submar- ginali punctorum (apicem haud attingenti) punctisque margi- nalibus albis; posticis fascia pone medium e maculis 7 albis magnitudine varlis, serieque submarginali lunularum parvarum sinubusque albo marginatis, corpore albo punctato. Expans. alar. unc. 43. [Hab. Sylhet. Paritie Polluz, W. Allis latis posticis sinuatis ecaudatis; omni- bus supra fuscis, puncte ad apicem arex discoidalis, serie sub- marginali et marginali punctorum ad apicem extensis albidis ; plagisque duabus versus angulum internum ; posticis fascia lata albidé pone medium, serie lunularum submarginali, sinubus- que albo marginatis ; alis subtis similiter coloratis at fulvo pul- verosis, lunulisque submarginalibus posticarum majoribus ; cor- pore albo punctato. Expans. alar. unc.43 — 53. Variat mag- nitudine macularum. [Habd. Sylhet t. Paprizio Arcturus, W. Alis nigris viridi-atomosis, posticis obtuse dentatis et laté caudatis; anticis strigd interrupté macularum ex atomis viridibus formata, ex angulo postico ad partem:dimi- diam alarum ducté et cum margine subparallela ; posticis supra... * This species stands in the cabinet of the British Museum with a manu- script name attached, which I have not adopted, on the principle that in a national museum no name ought to be attached to a species until it has been published. The opposite practice implies a right to appropriate what is public property. The case is altogether different in a private collection. [Others of our correspondents maintain, on the contrary, that, by the rule generally acknowledged, according to the custom of Cuvier, Temminck, Lich- tenstein and others,—a name attached toaspecimen in a public or national collection is regarded as published, and is in fact quite as much so as if pub- lished in abook. But see at p. 481. vol. viii. some observations of Mr. Stutch- bury, on species named in museums and catalogues, and not described :—also the remarks of M. Petit, p. 474.—Ep.] + I am indebted to the Rev. J. Stainforth for an opportunity of figuring and describing this and the four preceding species. They have subsequently passed into the collection of Mr. E. Doubleday. P. Astorion is also in the cabinet of the Entomological Society. 38 Mr. Westwood on new Insecis. plaga magnitudine mediocri versus angulum externum leté cerulea strigaque ejusdem coloris ex ejus apice ad marginem alarum extensa; lunulis tribus sanguineis maculaque ocellari (medio nigro) et linea transversé sanguineis ad angulum ani, illa striga curvata -viridi-atomosa coronata; alis subtts feré ut in P, Paride coloratis. Expans. alar. unc. 5. Hab. Himalayan Mountains. Mus. Parry, &c. Papitio Canopus, W. Alis latis; posticis sinuatis et breviter cau- datis, omnibus supra fuscis, anticis fascia e maculis 9 albidis submarginalibus punctisque marginalibus, posticis fascia pone medium e maculis 7 sinubusque marginalibus albidis, lunula cerulea (interdum puncto fulvo adjecto) ad angulum ani. Subtis alis concoloribus, posticis verd maculis transversis ex atomis ceruleis pone fasciam centralem macultsque vel arcubus pallidis submarginalibus. Expans. alar. unc. 35—4. Hab. Melville Island. Allied to P. Pammon. Mus. Hope. Papitio Agamedes, W. Alis anticis subdiaphanis griseo-nigrican- tibus basi obscurioribus, fascia lata alba e margine interno ad medium ale extensa, inde versus costam per medium arez discoidalis extens4é punctisque submarginalibus albis ; posticis ecaudatis, fuscis, fascia lata alba, e medio feré ad basin extensa, posticé dentaté punctisque albis duplici serie ordinatis. Allis posticis subtus pone fasciam pallidé fuscis nigro lineatis et albo maculatis ; basi aurantiis nigro bimaculatis. Expans. alar. unc. 3. fab. Ashantee, tropical Africa. Closely allied to P. Adamaster, Bdy. Mus. Hope. Paritio Trophonius, W. Alis anticis fuscis, fascia parva obliqua media punctisque 7 vel 8 albis plagaque lutea versus marginem internum in masculo, que in foemina maculam magnam com- munem fulvam et partem majorem alz posticze occupat, in mare - verd luted et ultra medium alarum posticarum haud extensa ; maculis submarginalibus albis per paria dispositis, alis posticis ecaudatis ; alis subtis apice luteo-fuscis, maculis ut in pagina superiore. Expans. alar. unc. 44. Hab. Tropical Western Africa. Brit. Mus. and Westw. Paritio Thersander, Fabr. Alis supra fuscis, anticis fascia lata pone medium, anticé et posticé angulata alba, punctis tribus versus angulum analem, strigaque abbreviata feré ad apicem albis ; posticis caudatis, dimidio externo nigricanti, fascia media ob- liqua, marginibus integris, lunulis duabus punctisque submargi- _ nalibus albis; alis subtis pallidioribus fascia posticarum multo angustiori, lunulis punctisque submarginalibus obsoletis. Ex- pans. alar. feré 4 unc. Hab. Gold Coast, Africa. Brit. Mus. and Mus. Bristol Soc. Obs. Deceived by Donovan’s figures of P. Thersander (Nat. Rep. ii. pl. 75, which are stated to have been copied from Jones’s unpub- lished Icones, from which Fabricius described the insect), I had in- troduced it into this Decade as a distinct species ; as it is quite unlike Donovan’s figures, which (if not fictitious) seem to represent one of the Nymphalide. Waving however this day (Feb. 12, 1842) had an Mr. J. E. Gray on new Australian Mammalia. 39 opportunity of examining the six volumes of Jones’s Icones, I find not only that the species is identical with the insect figured by Jones, but that there are no figures contained therein agreeing with those published by Donovan. I have not however struck the species out of my Decade, because, having been entirely omitted by Boisduval, this recovery of a lost species is as important as the description of an entirely new one. N.B. Figures and detailed descriptions of the above Decade are prepared, and will be published hereafter. VI.— Description of two new species of Mammalia discovered in Australia by Captain George Grey, Governor of South Australia. By J. EH. Gray, Esq., F.R.S., &c. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural. History. GENTLEMEN, . Cart. Grorce Grey has just sent to the British Museum specimens of two new species of Australian animals belonging to two genera which have not before been accurately de- scribed; I therefore have sent you the accompanying short account of them and the extract from Capt. Grey’s letter, which states where they were taken, and the kind of country they inhabit ; accompanying these skins was a specimen of a new species of Pedionomus allied to P. torquatus. Capt. Grey observes in his letter that he has discovered a new species of Dasyurus, an animal allied to the Hydromus of Geoffroy, but which he thinks is likely to form a new genus, and two new species of Phascogale. In his voyage out he has found a third species of Prion, and a new species of Puffinus. He further remarks, that he is collecting the skeletons of the different animals; and, among other interesting facts, he has observed that the sternum of the Podargus does not re- semble that of the Caprimulgide, but much more closely that of the owls. I shall now proceed to describe the mammalia. Of the first, Capt. Grey observes,—“ The most interesting of these specimens, I think, is a representative of the family Insectivora, not I believe before found in Australia. This animal, from its general appearance and habits, would appear to be a true Sorex ; it inhabits the low scrubby and heathy- looking bushes near King George’s Sound, and can only be got at by setting the scrub on fire. I have a second species of this animal, which differs from the one I have forwarded in being larger and somewhat differently marked ; it is however possible that this may be only a variety and not a distinct species. I have yet only obtained three of these animais.” 40 Mr. J. E. Gray on two new species The animal referred to above would not only have proved a new species, but a hitherto undescribed genus, if it had arrived two weeks sooner ; for at the last meeting of the Zoo- logical Society, M. Paul Gervais, one of the assistants in the zoological collection of the Garden of Plants at Paris, on my recommendation, described the genus to which it appears to belong, judging from the figures of the skull and teeth which alone he had with him, under the name of Tarsipes, being doubtful if it belonged to the family of Didelphide or Lemuride. The account of this genus has not yet been published; but as on my showing M. Gervais the specimens, he observed that it evidently belonged to his genus, though it appeared to be a second species of it, I shall in courtesy use the generic name he has given. Tarsipes, Gervais MSS. Didelphide, Sect. Phalangistina. Head elongate, tapering, slender. Ears large, hairy. Body mouse- like. Tail elongate, cylindrical, tapering to a fine point, covered with close-set, short, bristly hair, covering rings of squarish scales. Legs short. Toes five, free, callous beneath, dilated at the tips, and with very small acute claws; the inner and outer front toes subequal ; the three middle ones larger, nearly equal. ‘The thumb of the hind-feet elongate ; the index finger short, only reaching to the first joint; the two outer fingers larger and nearly equal. Scrotum very large, pendent, hairy. The cutting teeth, upper very small; the lower very long, lying down horizontally and projecting in front, subulate, transparent. The canines and grinders very small. This animal has a resemblance to some of the smaller Lemurs in the form of the claws, in the shortness of the index finger, and in the position and form of the lower cutting teeth. It is much more nearly allied to the Phalangiste, and is easily known from them by the length and slenderness of the lower cutting teeth and the rudimentary nature of the other teeth. TARSIPES Spensere. Blackish gray ; back with a longitudinal black streak to the base of the tail and a brown stripe on each side ; beneath pale bay, darker on the sides, where it unites to the gray of the sides, and especially over the outside of the limbs. Face blackish gray ; forehead dusky brown; cheeks pale brownish. Ears rounded, with scattered short brown hairs; whiskers black. Inhab. the scrub, King George’s Sound. Length of the body, 34 inches; of tail, 3; of hind-feet, 3; of head, 14. I have named this species after the maiden name of the lady of Capt. Grey, who for many years resided in the north part of New Holland with her father Capt. Spenser, and who of Australian Mammalia. 41 has shown during her voyage to and from Australia a great taste for, and paid great attention to, natural history. Cua#ropvs, Ogilby. Didelphide, Sect. Peramelina. Nose elongate, tapering, slender; muzzle bald, callous; whiskers rigid; eyes moderate; ears large, slightly hairy, thin. Cutting teeth =, close, nearly uniform ; upper conical, lower truncated, ° ° I~# . hinder one notched externally. Canines ;—, conical; compressed, upper simple, far from the cutting ; lower with a notch in the front edge and near to the hinder cutting teeth. False grinders3—3 , upper front compressed like the canines ; two others three-lobed, broader, the last approaching the grinders inform; the lower compressed, three- lobed. Grinders 4+, each formed of two triangles united by their wider outer edge of the upper broader; and the inner edge of the higher narrower lobes of the lower teeth, the end of the broad side of the triangle are two-lobed. Legs and feet very slender, weak; the front feet elongate, with two equal toes, each armed with a conical claw ; the bone on which the claw is supported is bifid at the top; the sole of the feet callous and convex ; the hind-feet elongate, with four toes ; the sole compressed ; heels hairy ; the outer toes very small, armed with anearly sessile conical claw, placed nearly in the middle of the outer side between the heel and the end of the toe; middle toe very large, elongate, armed with a tapering compressed claw, and with a large callous pad beneath; the two inner toes equal, small, compressed, united together nearly to the claws placed be- fore the outer toes a little before the joint of the first joint of the middle toes, which has a rounded pad beneath it ; the claws of these toes are compressed, concave beneath and sharp-edged. Tail elon- gate, hairy, with a small terminal pencil. This genus is at once known from Perameles, to which, in other respects, it is very nearly allied by the conformation of its feet. The genus was established by Mr. Ogilby in the Pro- ceedings of the Zoological Society, 1828, on a drawing brought home by Sir T. L. Mitchell, who had left the animal at the Sidney Museum. A copy of this drawing is published in Mit- chell’s ‘ Eastern Australia,’ vol. ii. 131. t. 27. Sir Thomas Mitchell’s specimen was without any tail ; hence Mr. Ogilby named it Cheropus ecaudatus ; but I strongly sus- pect, when the animal is rediscovered, it will be found to have a tail, like the one here described ; for the tail appears, as in Pe- rameles, to be easily destroyed in skinning, as in the specimen under examination the tail is only attached to the skin by a very narrow piece. There are no smaller toes behind the two large front ones, which Mr. Ogilby (Ann. Nat. Hist., vii. 231) considers pro- bable to exist; and the hind-feet, as may be seen by the de- 42 Excerpta Botanica. scription, are not “ perfectly similar to those of Perameles ;” and from these discrepancies I should have been induced to consider the animal under consideration a distinct genus from that described by Mr. Ogilby, if it had not very accurately agreed with Sir Thomas Mitchell’s copy of his figure. Mr. Gould, who examined the specimens in the Australian Museum at Sidney, informs me that he believes it is very different from the one here described, and has longer legs. CuarRopus castanotis. Brownish gray, beneath white, sides brownish. Head gray, with intermingled black hairs; whiskers black, rigid. 'The ears two-thirds the length of the head, broad, thin, rather coriaceous, covered at the base and internally with short, close-set, rufous hairs, naked and black- ish at the tip externally. Fur soft, lead-coloured, with longer black- tipped hairs on the back, and rufous-tipped hairs on the sides ; outer side of the thighs and legs covered with soft hair; the feet covered with short, close-pressed hair, rufous from the heel to the base of the middle toes, and the rest brownish white. Tail with white adpressed hairs, with a central black stripe along the upper surface, becoming paler and ending in a ridge of elongated brownish white hairs over the tip. Inhab. the scrub near the Murray: the Hon. Capt. G. Grey. Length of body and head, 10 inches; of tail, 34; ears, 12; of head, 31; of hind foot, 25; from the tip of the nose to the eye, 14. Capt. Grey, in a letter dated July 15,1841, observes, “A man I have out collecting had obtained a specimen of a marsupial animal with cloven feet, which, as far as I can understand the description, is nearly allied to the Cheropus ecaudatus of Mr. Ogilby, and yet differs from it in several particulars.” And further, “ since writing the above, my collector has come in from the Murray, and I have sent home the animal resembling Cheropus ecaudatus of Mitchell, but which differs from it in several particulars; amongst others, it has a tail and a very handsome one. It inhabits the scrub near the Murray river.” British Museum, Feb. 4, 1842. VII.—Excerpta Botanica, or abridged Extracts translated Srom the Foreign Journals, illustrative of, or connected with, the Botany of Great Britain. By W. A. Lei1euton, Esq., B.A., F.B.S.E., &c. No. 8. Revisio Populorum. Auctore Epuarpo Spacu. (Ann. des Sc. Nat. t. xv. p. 28.) [Extracts so far as relating to the British species.| Sectio I. Leucr, Reichb. Rami ramulique cylindrici; novelli (presertim surculi radicales) tomentosi, v. velutini, v. pubescentes. Folia ramularia seepissimé latitudine longitudinem equantia v. subzquantia, petiolo longo; gra- Excerpta Botanica. 43 cili, plano-compresso. Flores masculi 4-8-andri. Stigmatum la- cinie angustz, divaricate. Amenta fructifera densa. Squame bracteales pilose v. sericeo-lanate, palmatifide (unica specie ex- cepta). A. Squame bracteales integerrime vel nonnisi apice subincise ; mascu- lorum lanate; feminearum sparse pilose, caduce. Amenta feminea masculis multd graciliora. Discus floris feminei cupuliformis, ova- rio multd brevior.. Stylus brevissimus, indivisus. Stigmata 2, flava, bipartita (laciniis linearibus, equilongis), basi confluentia, crucis pel- tate oblique figuram simulantia. POPULUS ALBA, Linn.—Eng. Bot. t. 1618. Guimp. et Hayn. Deutsch. Holz. tab. 202.—Populus major, Mill.—Populus nivea, Willd. Arb. Gemmis haud viscosis, junioribus ramulisque to- mentosis. Foliis subttis niveo-tomentosis (ramularibus adultis seepé glabrescentibus), supra lucidis, viridibus; ramularibus ova- tis v. ovato-oblongis, v. subrotundis, obtusis, sinuato-angulatis, v. profundé crenatis, v. sinuato-dentatis, basi rotundatis v. subcor- datis ; turionalibus ovatis, v. ovato-lanceolatis, v. palmati- (3-v. 5-) lobis, eroso-denticulatis, basi acutis, v. rotundatis, v. cordatis. B. Squame bracteales omnes profunde palmatifide, longe sericeo-pilose. Amenta feeminea sub anthesi amentis masculis haud tenuiora. Discus Semineus cyathiformis, ovarium totum induens. Stylus bifurcatus. Stigmata distincta, purpurea, oblique peltata, subflabelliformia, irre- gulariter 3- v. 4-fida. a. Turionum folia palmatinervia, sepe 3- v. 5-loba. POPULUS CANESCENS, Smith, Eng. Bot. t. 1619.—Guimp. et Hayn. Deutsch. Holz. tab. 201.—Populus alba, Willd. Arb. (mul- torumque auctorum). Gemmis pulverulentis v. tomentosis, haud viscosis. Foliis supra viridibus, subtis albido- v. cinereo-tomen- tosis: ramularibus ovatis v. subrotundis, obtusis, sinuato-angulatis, v. profundé crenatis, basi rotundatis v. cordatis, demum glabre- scentibus ; turionalibus nunc ovatis v. triangularibus pltis minisve angulosis, nunc palmatis, 3- v. 5-lobis, denticulatis, acuminatis, basi (plerumque profunde) cordatis.—Perperam sané a multis cum Populo albo confusa; vix autem a sequente specificé distinguenda. b. Folia nunquam palmata. POPULUS TREMULA, Linn.—Eng. Bot. tab. 1909.—Guimp. et Hayn. Deutsch. Holz. tab. 203.—Populus villosus, Reichb. F\. Germ. Excurs.—Gemmis glabris, viscosis. Foliis ramularibus suborbicularibus v. ovato-subrotundis, obtusis, v. subacuminatis, sinuato- v. eroso-dentatis v. crenatis, discoloribus (supra viridibus, vix aut ne vix lucidis, subtts viridi-glaucis): novellis glabris v. pubescentibus, adultis seepissimé glabris. Foliis turionalibus cor- datis v. ovatis, v. triangularibus, acuminatis, sinuato-dentatis v. crenatis: novellis utrinque velutinis, adultioribus supra glabre- scentibus, subtis incano-tomentosis.—Folia turionum Populi ca- 44. Excerpia Botanica. -nescentis foliis turionalibus indivisis plané similia; nec raro oc- currunt individua Populi tremule quorum folia ramularia ab illis Populi canescentis vix aut ne vix dignoscerentur. Foliorum di- mensione autem Populus tremula simul ac Populus canescens mire variant. Sectio III. Arerrros, Reichb. Gemmee (simul ac folia novella) viscose, plerumque glabre, nun- quam tomentose. Rami et surculi cylindrici v. acutanguli. Folia latitudine longitudinem eequantia v. subequantia, utrinque subcon- coloria (viridia), nunquam lobata nec angulata ; petiolo longo, gracili, plano-compresso. Squamz bracteales glabre, fimbriato-ciliate. Flores masculi 8-30-andri. Stylus bifurcatus. Stigmata 2, reniformia, v. suborbicularia, obliqué peltata, flava, reflexa, margine crenata. Amenta fructifera laxa, moniliformia. a. Rami et turiones cylindrici v. obsoleté angulati. ; POPULUS NIGRA, Linn.—Blackw. Herb. tab. 248. Eng. Bot. t. 1910. Guimp. et Hayn. tab. 204. Ramis patulis. Foliis ovatis v. deltoideis, v. rhomboideis, cuspidato-acuminatis, crenatis v. ser- ratis, glaberrimis, plerumque latitudine sublongioribus. Stipulis ovatis, acuminatis. Stigmatibus suborbicularibus, apice bilobis. Var. B. PYRAMIDALIS.—Populus pyramidalis, Rozier in Dict. d’Agric.— Populus dilatata, Ait. Hort. Kew.—Populus italica, Meench.—Populus fastigiata, Pers.— Populus pannonica et Populus polonica, Hortulan. Ramis arrectis. Foliis plertmque longi- tudine latioribus. ; POPULUS HUDSONICA, Mich. fil. Arb. iii. tab. 10. fig. 1.— Po- pulus betulefolia, Pursh, Flor. Amer. Sept. Ramis patentibus. Foliis ovatis v. deltoideis, v. rhomboideis, cuspidato-acuminatis, crenatis, v. serratis, subtis petioloque puberulis. Stipulis lineari- subulatis.- Amenta nobis haud innotuere. An varietas Populi nigre ? —— No. 9. Revisio Betulacearum. Auctore EpuARDO SPaAcu. [So far as regards our British genera and species.] (Ann. des Sc. Nat. n. s. t. xv. p. 182.) Conspectus Generum, I. BETULE. Amenti foeminei squame trifloree, biappendiculate (rarissimé 1- flore, inappendiculate). Squame strobiline trilobz (rard integerri- mee v. basi bi-auriculate), subcoriacez v. chartaceze, basi incrassate, superné attenuate, maturitate cum nuculis, v. pauld tardius, deciduze. Strobili plerumque cylindracei, elongati, sessiles, v. pedunculati. BETULA, Tourn.—Flores masculi 3—6-andri, perianthio imperfecto, e squamulis 5—8, sejunctis, inordinatis, ineequalibus (3 superioribus majoribus, subcucullatis ; ceteris seepissimé minimis). Filamenta apice bifurca: crure utroque antheram dimidiatam gerente; an- Excerpta Botanica. 45 therze thece basi affixe, ex toto sejuncte. Squame strobilinz sursiim imbricate, adpresse, simul cum samaris decidue. Samara ala pellucida cincta; specie unicé nucula aptera, margine incras- sata.—Floratio vernalis, foliorum evolutione cozetanea. Amenta mascula e gemmis aphyllis, lateralibus v. lateralibus terminalibus- que, solitaria v. gemina, hieme nuda. Amenta foeominea e gemmis lateralibus, 3-5-phyllis, solitaria, hieme perulis obtecta. Folia haud persistentia. Samar plerisque per maturationem squamis strobi- linis obtecte. Il. ALNEE. Amenti foeminei squamee bifloree, 4-appendiculate. Squame stro- bilinze cuneiformes, breviter 5-lobze (v. lobo medio obsoleto quasi 4- lobe), lignosze, superné incrassate, horizontales, per maturationem arcté superimposite (subcoherentes), demiim invicem secedentes, nunquam deciduz.—Strobili subglobosi v. ovoidei, breves, peduncu- lati. Samare per maturationem obtecte. — Flores masculi 4-andri (rarissimé 5-v.6-andri), in qudvis squamd terni, perianthio regulari, rotato, 4- (rard 5- v.6-) partito. Anthere medio affire, thecis medio connatis, basin et apicem versus sejunctis. Samara ald chartaced opacd cincta; specie unicd nucula aptera, margine incrassata. ALNUS, Tourn.—Amenta utriusque sexts e gemmis aphyllis pro- deuntia, hieme nuda, sub anthesi paniculam nudam ramulum pre- teriti anni terminantem sistentia; speciebus paucis amenta utri- usque sexis in ramulis novellis axillaria terminaliaque, perulis omnino orbata. Amenta mascula racemosa, szpissimé terminalia. Amenta foeminea e quavis gemma v. axilla aut solitaria, aut race- mosd.—Floratio (specierum gemmis floralibus aphyllis gauden- tium) hiemalis, foliorum evolutione precocior. Folia haud per- sistentia. BETULA, Tourn. Amenta mascula solitaria v. gemina, sessilia, hieme nuda, e gem- mis aphyllis, terminalibus, v. lateralibus terminalibusque ; squamze 1-flore, 2-appendiculate. Flores 3-6-andri. Perianthium squamulis 5-8, sejunctis, inequalibus, quorum 3 superiores, majores, subcu- cullatz, squame ejusque appendicibus anteposite; cater minores v. rudimentariz, inordinate. Stamina (squamulis perianthinis nunc isomera, nunc pauciora) singula squamule perianthinz supra basin inserta. Filamenta brevia, bifurcata; crure utroque anthere thecam gerente. Antherz thecis ellipticis v. oblongis, basi v. pauld supra basin affixis, ex toto sejunctis. Amenta feminea e gemmis 3-5-phyllis, lateralibus, solitaria (raris- simé gemina), gracilia, per hiemem perulata; squame triflore (spe- ciebus nonnullis unifloree!), 2-appendiculatz (speciebus paucis ex- appendiculate). Strobili cylindracei v. ovales, compacti: squamis subcoriaceis, appressis, surstim imbricatis, trilobis (speciebus paucis integerrimis), basi incrassatis, maturitate deciduis. Samare ala 46 Excerpta Botanica. membranacea translucida cincte (excepta specie unica, cui samara, v. potius nucula, aptera, margine incrassata), plerumque squamis strobilinis obtectze. Arbores vy. frutices. Rami teretes v. obsoleté angulati. Gemme perulate. Folia serrata, v. crenata, v. nonnunquam (variatione) pinnatifida, haud persistentia, petiolata (plerimque brevé): floralia gemina v. subrosulata; turionalia floralibus majora et szpé forma aliend, haud raro angulata. Floratio vernalis, foliorum evolutione coetanea. Amenta e gemmis perulatis orta: mascula jam exeunte estate preeterita evoluta, propter perulas fugaces mox nuda, sub an- thesi pendula v. nutantia: squamis ciliolatis, plerumque basi et apice plis mintisve acuminatis. Fceminea sub anthesi erecta v. resupinata. Strobili erecti v. penduli, rachi gracili v. feré filiformi. Ramuli fruc- tiferi maturatione peractéa haud emortui. Sectio I. Prerocaryon, Spach. Samar ala membranacea cincte. * Strobili pedunculati, penduli ; squamis semper trilobis, tricarpis, sa- maras laté alatas per maturationem obtegentibus. B. ALBA, Linn.—Trunco arboreo : epidermide nivea (rarits fusca aut aureo-fusca). Ramulis novellis resinoso-verruculosis, demiim ramisque seepits pendulis. Foliis biserratis, v. inequaliter serratis, v. grossé crenato-dentatis, cuspidato-acuminatis, v. acutis, punc- tatis, basin versus integerrimis, oblique truncatis v. cuneatis, v. rotundatis, v. cordatis ; turionalibus cordato-ovatis, angulatis ; no- vellis viscosis; adultis supra saturaté, subtts pallidé viridibus. Strobilis cylindraceis, elongatis, crassis: squamarum lobis dissi- milibus, seepé invicem incumbentibus : lateralibus suborbicularibus, v. obliqué ovatis, v. semi-orbicularibus, v. subcultratis, obtusis, nunc terminali parallelis, nunc divaricatis, nunc deflexis; lobo terminali ovato, v. ovato-oblongo, v. oblongo, v. deltoideo, obtuso, v. acutiusculo, nunc abbreviato, nunc plts mintsve elongato. Samar4 obcordato- v. obreniformi-biloba: alis loculamento (obovato v. oblongo-obovato) longioribus ; duplo tripléve (rariis partm) latioribus. a. vulgaris.—Betula alba, auctor. plur.—Betula verrucosa, Ehrh. —Betula pendula, Hoffm.—Foliis floralibus rhomboideis, v. deltoi- deis, v. ovatis, v. cordatis, acuminatis, longé petiolatis, ramulisque annotinis glaberrimis. Pedunculis fructiferis petiolis plerumque brevioribus.—Surculorum folia seepissimé pubescentia v. hirta. B. populifolia.—Betula populifolia, Willd.—Mich. fil.! Arb. ii. p. 139, cum fig. (forma grandifolia)—Wats. Dendr, Brit. tab. 151! (forma foliis minoribus).—Betula acuminata, Ehrh. Beytr. —Betula lenta, Duroi (non Linn.).—Betula cuspidata, Schrad.! ined.—Foliis longits cuspidato-acuminatis ; czeterum var. vulgari omnind similis, simulque inter stirpes Europzas passim occur- rens. (V. v. c. et s. sp.) y. Dalecarlica.—Betula alba Dalecarlica, Linn.—Betula hy- brida, Blom. in Act. Holm. 1786, p. 168, tab. 6. fig. B. (non Excerpta Botanica. 47 Bechst.).—Betula laciniata, Wahlenb.-—Foliis plis mintisve pin- natisectis. (V. v. ¢.) 0. pubescens.—Betula alba pubescens, Linn.—-Betula pubescens, Ehrh. Beytr.—Guimp. et Hayn. Deutsch. Holz. tab. 146 !—Be- tula odorata, Bechst. Forst. bot. p. 273.— Betula hybrida, Bechst. l. c. p. 277.—Betula aurata, Borkh.—Betula carpathica, Waldst. et Kit.—Betula glutinosa, Wallroth.—Betula alba, Horn. Flor. Dan. tab. 1467.—Betula pontica, Desfont.! Hort. Par. Wats. Dendr. Brit. tab. 94 !—Betula intermedia, ‘Thomas !—Betula tor- Jacea, Schleicher.—Betula e@tnensis, Rafin.—Betula harcynica, Wender.—Betula nigra, Murrith (nec alior.).— Betula macrosta- chys, Schrad. ! MSS.—Betula davurica, Pallas, (ex parte ?) Flor. Ross. I. tab. 39*.—Foliis floralibus ovatis, v. cordatis, v. deltoi- deis, v. rhomboideis, acuminatis, v. acutis, nunc longius, nunc brevius petiolatis, subttis (ad nervorum axillas saltem) pubescen- tibus ; petiolo pubescente vy. glabriusculo, pedunculo fructifero nunc breviore, nunc longiore. Ramulis novellis szepits pubescen- tibus v. villosis.—-In Europe preesertim turfosis v. uliginosis. (V. v. c. et S.. sp.) e. urticefolia.—Betula urticefolia, Hortul.—Foliis floralibus deltoideis, v. rhomboideis, cuspidato-acuminatis, inciso-serratis dentatisve, subtis petiolo ramulisque novellis pubescentibus.— Colitur in hortis. . papyrifera.—Betula papyrifera, Mich.! Flor. Bor. Amer.— Betula papyracea, Willd.—Wats. Dendr. Brit. tab. 152 !—Betula nigra, Duham. ed. nov. II. tab. 51! (exclus. syn.) et Betula ex- celsa, id. 1. c. tab. 52! (exclus. syn.).—Betula grandis, Schrad. ! MSS.—Foliis floralibus ovatis, v. cordato-ovatis, v. ovato-oblongis, v. ovalibus, v. subrhomboideis, cuspidato-acuminatis, petiolo (sex- pits villoso v. pubescente) 2—6° longioribus, subtis ad nervos (v. saltem ad eorum axillas) pubescentibus v. tomentosis. Peduncu- lis strobiliferis petiolis seepé equilongis v. sublongioribus.—Va- rietas in America boreali quam in hemispheerio cisatlantico vul- gatior, foliis (plerumque brevé petiolatis) strobilisque amplioribus insignis. Occurrunt tamen forme Betule albe pubescentes nos- tratium, a stirpibus Americanis Betule albe papyrifere nullo modo distinguende, Squame strobilinz pari modo ac in ceteris Betule albe varietatibus ludunt; pro specie genuina igitur, permultis comparatis speciminibus, tam spontaneis quam cultis, haud assu- mendam esse censemus.—Folia turionalia sepé semipedalia, 3—4- pollices lata. Strobili subbipollicares. Rami novelli hirsuti vy. subtomentosi. (V.v.c. ets. sp.) * Ex icone l. c. saltem discrimen nullum patet; Betula davurica, Ledeb. (Flor. Alt. iv. p. 245) ex cl. auctoris descriptione ab homonyma Pallasiana specie aliena videtur; vidimus etiam specimina (fructibus orbata) a cl. Fischer nomine Betule davurice inscripta, vix cum descriptione Ledebou- riana, nee magis cum icone Pallasian& quadrantia. In hortis sub nomine Betule davurice, nonnisi varietates Betule alba invenimus. 48 Eecerpta Botanica. ** Strobili erecti, pedunculati: squamis parvulis, semper trilobis, tri- carpis, samaras angustissimé alatas per maturationem haud obte- gentibus. B. NANA, Linn. (non Pallas ; nec Ledeb.; nec Mich.; nec Hook. Flor. Bor. Amer.).—Flor. Dan. tab. 91.—Engl. Bot. tab. 2326.— Guimp. et Hayn. Deutsch. Holz. tab. 148.—Fruticosa ; ramis di- varicatis v. decumbentibus, virgatis : novellis tomentosis v. pube- rulis, impunctatis, v. minuté punctulatis. Foliis (seepits parvulis) orbicularibus, v. suborbicularibus, v. flabelliformibus, v. obovatis, crenatis, obtusissimis, subcoriaceis, punctulatis, subsessilibus, glabris, subtis reticulatis, basi cuneata, v. rotundata, v. subcor- daté. Strobilis ovalibus v. oblongo-cylindraceis ; squamis cunei- formibus, ad medium v. minus profundé partitis: lobis oblongis, obtusis, subeequilongis, nunc parallelis, nunc plis mintsve diver- gentibus. Samara ovata v. suborbiculari, marginata.—Europe regiones boreales et alpine. Sibiria? America borealis? (V. v. c. et s. sp.) ex Alpibus et Europa borealiori: stirpes quas vidi- mus Americanas et Sibiricas, pro Betula nandé ab auctoribus va- riis collectas, aut ad B. rotundifoliam, Spach, aut ad B. Michauzii, Spach. referende sunt. ALNUS, Tourn. Amenta utriusque sexis e gemmis aphyllis prodeuntia, hieme nuda, jam estate preeterita evoluta, sub anthesi paniculam nudam, ramu- lum preeteriti anni terminantem sistentia ; speciebus paucis amenta utriusque sexfis in ramis novellis axillaria terminaliaque, perulis om- nind orbata. Amenta mascula seepissimé subterminalia, racemosa (2-5 e quavis gemma v. axilla), squamis stipitatis, trifloris, quadri- appendiculatis. Flores 4-andri (v. rard 5- v. 6-andri). Perianthium regulare, rotaceum, 4-partitum (rard 5- v. 6-partitum). Stamina supra basin perianthii segmentorum inserta; filamenta brevia, fili- formia, indivisa ; antheree elliptico- v. oblongo-didymz, medio dorso affixe, thecis medio connatis, ceeterum sejunctis.—Amenta faminea brevia, cylindracea, crassiuscula, masculis szpissimé infra-posita, in quavis gemma axillave aut solitaria, aut racemosa (3-7), squamis, 2- floris, 4-appendiculatis. Strobili ovales v. subglobosi, breves: squa- mis lignosis, nervosis, cuneiformibus, superné incrassatis, breviter 5-lobis (aut lobi terminali brevissimo, quasi 4-lobis), horizontalibus, arcté superimpositis, pro disseminatione invicem secedentibus, haud deciduis. Samarze squamis strobilinis obtectz, ala chartacea opaca (intis suberosa) cinctz; specie unica aptere, margine incrassato, lato, suberoso cincte. Arbores v. frutices, ramis junioribus angulosis. Gemme perulate, stipitate. Folia erosa, v. denticulata, v. serrata, v. variatione pinna- tifida, haud persistentia, omnia sparsa: turionalia szepissimé angu- losa v. sinuato-lobata. Floratio specierum gemmis floralibus aphyl- lis gaudentium foliorum evolutione precocior. Ramorum pars fruc- tifera demim lateralis, peracta maturatione emortua. Amenta mas- cula sessilia v. subsessilia, pendula, elongata, decidua. Amenta fece- Mr. J. KE. Gray on a new species of Ichneumon. 49 minea erecta v. adscendentia, pedunculata. Strobili crassi, compacti, erecti, pedunculo anguloso, rachique crasso sublignoso. Sectio II. Gymnoruyrsus, Spach. Floratio subhyemalis, foliorum evolutione pracocior. Amenta e gemmis aphyllis prodeuntia, jam exeunte estate preterita evoluta, propterque perulas mox deciduas nuda, sub anthesi paniculam aphyl- lam, ramulum preteriti anni terminantem sistentia; foeminea sem- per masculis infra posita. * Amenta feminea racemosa (in quavis gemmd). Folia breve petiolatas sepius (turionalia saltem) angulosa. A. GLUTINOSA, Geertn. Fruct.—Guimp. et Hayn. Deutsch. Holz. tab. 180.—Hook. FI. Lond. tab. 59.—Betula Alnus, Linn.—Engl. Bot. tab. 1508.—Betula glutinosa, Hoffm. Fl. Germ.—Alnus com- munis, Duham. ed. nov. II. tab. 64.—Alnus vulgaris, Rich.— Foliis ineequaliter denticulatis, v. serrulatis, v. crenatis, viscosis, lu- cidis, subtts punctulatis, ad nervorum axillas tomentosis (raré gla- berrimis), seepius obtusis. Samara obovata v. suborbiculari, alis superné ampliatis, loculamento subdimidio angustioribus. a. vulgaris.—Alnus glutinosa auctorum.—Betula emarginata, Hoffm. Germ.—Alnus emarginata, Kroch. Siles.—Alnus glutinosa emarginata, Willd.— Alnus nigra, Gilib.— Alnus macrocarpa, Lodd. Cat. !—Foliis obovatis, v. obovato-ellipticis, obtusissimis, plerum- que emarginatis, basi cuneatis v. rotundatis. B. subrotunda.—Alnus subrotunda, Desfont. Cat. Hort. Par. !— Alnus denticulata, C. A. Meyer! Enum, Plant. Caucas.—Foliis obovatis v. obovato-subrotundis, obtusissimis, haud emarginatis, basi cuneatis. y. acutifolia.—Alnus oblongata, Willd.— Betula oblongata, Hort.- Kew. ed. 1.—Alnus barbata, C. A. Meyer! Enum. Plant. Caucas. —Foliis ovalibus, v. obovatis, acutis, v. subacuminatis, basi cuneatis, 3. pinnatifida.—Alnus glutinosa laciniata, Willd.—Foliis ob- longis, profundé pinnatifidis: segmentis semi-lanceolatis, v. sub- falcatis, acutis, integerrimis. e. guercifolia.—Alnus glutinosa quercifolia, Willd.—Foliis ob- longis, obtusis, sinuato-lobatis, lobis rotundatis. 6. oxyacanthefolia.—Alnus oxyacanthifolia, Lodd. Cat. !—Foliis lyrato-pinnatifidis, v. sinuato-lobatis, oblongis, v. obovatis; lobis rotundatis, v. obovatis, crenatis. VIII.—Description of a new species of Ichneumon (Herpes- tes) discovered in Spain. By J. EK. Gray, F.R.S., &e, To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. GENTLEMEN, Capt. 8. J. Wipprineton of Carlton having lately sent to the British Museum, along with a fine specimen of Felis Pap- dina of Oken, an Herpestes which was found with the lynx in the Sierra Morena in Spain, I have been induced to send you Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. 50 Bibliographical Notices. for publication a short description of it, as this genus has never been recorded as found in Europe, and as the species on examination proves to be distinct from the species which is found in North Africa. From the attention which Capt. Widdrington (late Capt. Cooke) has paid to the animals of Spain, I have been induced to name this species added by his exertions to the fauna of Europe in remembrance of him, Herpestes WipDpDRINGTONII, Andulasian Ichneumon. Fur black and white, grisled; side of the nose, feet, and the end of the tail blackish; the hair of the back is long, black, with three broad white rings and a very fine brownish tip; under fur soft, bay- coloured, half as long as the hairs, most seen on the middle of the back ; the hairs of the face are short, adpressed ; the throat and belly are nakedish ; the ears short, rounded, covered with short, soft, fine ringed hairs. Inhab. Sterra Morena. Length of body and head, 22 inches; of tail, 20. This species is most nearly allied to Herpestes Ichneumon ; but it differs from that species in the hairs being much shorter and having only three rings, while the hairs of the back of H. Ichneumon are white with seven broad black rings, leaving a long white base and only narrow rings between the black ones above. Detiials Muse nk, I am, Gentlemen, yours very truly, Feb. 17, 1842. J. E. Gray. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. Histoire Phystologique des Plantes d’ Europe, ou exposition des Phéno- meénes qu elles présentent dans les diverses périodes de leur développe- ment. Par J. P. Vaucher, Prof. a ? Académie de Genéve. 4 vols. 8vo. Paris, 1841. WE have now the pleasure of calling the attention of our es to a work of the highest value to the student of botany, the production of an author long favourably known to botanists, although his name may be comparatively new to the younger votaries of science, owing to the distant intervals at which his works have appeared. The most celebrated of his former works is his ‘ Histoire des Conferves d’eau douce,’ published in 1803 ; and we may also mention as a well-known production, although not of equal value with the above, his ‘ Mono- graphie des Orobanches.’ Neither of these however appears to us to make even a moderate approach to the value of the work now before us, which the author states to:be the result of the ‘‘ travail d’une grande partie de ma vie*.” It consists of four thick octavo * The venerable author received the first copies on his death-bed, —blessed Heaven that he had been favoured with this last satisfaction,—and employed his little remaining strength in sending some copies to his friends. Bibliographical Notices. 51 volumes closely printed, and containing, under the classification pro- posed by the lamented DeCandolle, a full description of the external structure of each natural order, and all the genera of European plants. Under the order are given its characters, peculiarities, ano- malies and affinities, the mode in which it is divided into suborders or sections, and the opinions concerning it that have been held by those writers who have more peculiarly made it an object of study. Each genus is then taken separately, its distinctive characters pointed out, its several sectional divisions examined in detail, and the more remarkable European species commented upon. Then follows a statement of the mode in which each organ has been observed to vary in the several species, and the points from which the specific characters are derived, with observations as may appear requi- site. At the conclusion of this work the author states that he considers it to have been now proved, that the nectariferous fluid which is se- creted by manifest organs in many plants, and which he believes to _ exist in all (its origin in numerous instances being a gland under the germen), is the agent by means of which fecundation is effected. He believes that this fluid spreads itself over the stigma, and in some cases over the whole interior of the flower, at the time when the pollen is ripe and the pistil is in a fit state to receive its influence ; that the pollen grains fall upon it and are ruptured by its agency,,. and give out their contents (émanations) upon the stigma. He also states that the extrorse or introrse opening of the anthers is regu- lated by the position of the nectaries, so that the pollen may fall upon them and be conveyed, by some mode which we do not per- ceive that he has explained, to the stigma. This idea certainly ap- pears to be well deserving of the attention of botanists, but we are not prepared to subscribe fully to it without more observation. In conclusion we beg to recommend this work most strongly to our readers. Transactions of the Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club. In a former number (vol. v. p. 129) we noticed with cordial ap- probation the pleasing and useful proceedings of this Society, to which we not merely wish prosperity, but trust that it may serve as a model for similar associations in every part of the country. We have just been favoured with a copy of the proceedings of the Club for 1841, containing the address of Dr. Francis Douglas at the an- niversary held at Kelso, Sept. 15, in which an account is given of the preceding anniversary at Holy Island, then selected as the scene of one of the periodical excursions of the members. Here we are in- formed—‘*‘ The walk of the Club was directed towards the Coves, where an hour or two was busily devoted in searching out and noting the various marine animals which lurk beneath the flat stones in ‘ Coveshaven.’ ‘The Coves are excavated in a very picturesque sand- stone cliff, of about 200 yards in length, and 35 feet in height: three of them are of considerable size and interest; their walls are covered with a dense coat of the Polysiphonia stricta, which gives K 2 52 Bibliographical Notices. them the appearance of being papered with a rich scarlet cloth. In former times they were the resort of numerous flocks of seals, which took, in those cool recesses, their repose without fear of surprise ; but they have now forsaken their ancient haunts, expelled by the too frequent visits of lovers of the picturesque, or of poaching, and by the revels of pleasure parties. A few rarities were found in the Haven, of which the following may be specified :—Of Algz, the only one worth notice is Zonaria deusta, which spreads like a lichen over the rocks in great profusion. The Millepora lichenoides, the Melobesia, and Corallina officinalis, occurred in every pool; and it was easy to demonstrate by the different-staged specimens there, that these pro- ductions were merely different states of one species. The Halisarca of Dujardin, perhaps the lowest of animal organizations, was noticed in much abundance and perfection; and we could easily imagine, that, by the addition of siliceous spicula immersed and crossed in its texture, it might become the Halichondria panicea of Fleming, which grew alongside of it in several varieties. —Of the calcareous sponges, there were met with Grantia coriacea, botryoides, foliacea, and a sin- gular variety of G. ciliata.—Of Zoophytes, Coryne squamata, Lao- medea gelatinosa, Sertularia pumila, Lepralia coccinea, Actinea mesem- bryanthemum, abounded, and in especial perfection and beauty.—Of the Echinodermata, no other species than Echinus esculentus, Ophiura fragilis and neglecta, occurred.. The Echinus was generally hidden by broken pieces of sea-weed, with which it covered its shell.— Of the Mollusca tunicata there were many species remarkable for their beauty ; but we can only specify the Ascidia rustica, Phallusia intes- tinalis, and Aplidium ficus, for of the others the names could not with certainty be determined. The calcareous stones were often found perforated with Pholas crispata, and one stone was found by Captain Mitford with many of the shells still living hidden in their excava- tions. In one of these holes a good specimen of Venus perforans was found; and the Sazicava rugosa was not uncommon. A great number of specimens of Lamellaria tentaculata of Montagu were taken, showing that the species is liable to considerable variation in colour, and in the degree of roughness of the mantle.—Several very minute individuals of the Doris tuberculata were taken up unnoticed, until after our-return home, and it is remarkable that in these, some of which were an eighth of an inch in length, there was no appearance of branchiz. Another member of the family Doride occurred, which is without exception the most beautiful naked gasteropode we have seen ; its name remains for future investigation. *‘ Passing from the Haven, the party next crossed over a formation of limestone, consisting of three beds, from three to four feet each in thickness, which,’ at the point to the eastward of the north sands, assume a singularly undulated appearance. Mr. Skafe has given a very brief description of these, and a figure, illustrative of their un- dulations, in Raine’s History of North Durham, p. 172. Thence we walked to the Snook, to the spot where Mr. Donaldson Selby is boring for coal.. Here the party separated, one division walking towards the village in‘as direct a line as possible, that they might Bibliographical Notices. 53 have leisure to examine the Priory, Church, and Castle; another set, bent on the murder of rabbits and partridges, wandered over the links and fields in many a devious track ; while a third set wandered leisurely round by the loch in search of rarities in any class or king- dom of animality, but they were as little successful as their mur- derous or sporting colleagues. At dinner the party were reunited, and afterwards, as is our wont, the Secretary read the address of the President, who was prevented from attending by absence from home. On the nomination of Mr. Selby, Dr. F. Douglas was elected Presi- dent for the ensuing year. A notice of the occurrence of the Hali- cherus gryphus on the coast, by Dr. Douglas, was next read, on which Mr. Selby was requested to report at the next meeting. Dr. Johnston was appointed Secretary for the year.” At the Spring Meeting at Ayton, May 5, the excursion was along the course of the river Eye and the ravine of the Aleburn: and on that of June 16 at Wooler, Wooler Common was traversed, with the adjacent moors, and the course of the Coldgate-Burn. At the Meet- ing of the 28th of July, at Bank House, the course of the Eye was explored, and the moors between that river and the Whitadder. LINNZA BOREALIS. «* After dinner, Dr. Johnston communicated to the Club that he had received the interesting notice of the discovery of Linnea bo- realis in Berwickshire, specimens of which were laid on the table. It was discovered seven years ago by Mr. Dunn, gardener, at Meller- stain ; but for the notice the Cass is indebted to Mr. Hislop, teacher in the Normal Schools of Glasgow. ‘The Linnea occupies a space of about 150 yards in a fir-wood near Lightfield Farm, Mellerstain.’ It was, when Mr. Hislop visited the spot, in the middle of July, just going out of flower; but several specimens in that state were gather- ed. The time of flowering is stated in our British Floras to be in May and June, but this period would appear to be too early for our district ; ‘and as a pilgrimage to the habitat of a plant which com- memorates the immortal name of Linneus,’ says our worthy Secre- tary, ‘seems to be almost a sacred duty on the part of our Club, I would respectfully suggest the propriety of fixing our next year’s June meeting at the village nighest to it.’ ” Dr. Douglas records ‘‘ one very interesting addition to the flora of Berwickshire, very recently made by Mr. Marshall, gardener at Cheek-Law, near Dunse, who has drawn from its lurking-place in Dulaw Dean the Herniaria glabra, a small procumbent plant, not only new to Berwickshire, but to the Scottish Flora, and equally re- markable for its occurrence in one solitary spot in England. “The fact,” he adds, “ that two very interesting additions to the phenogamic flora of the district have been made during the last year, is an additional incentive, were any such wanting, for continued exertion, which will doubtless not go unrewarded.”’ To the account of the proceedings the following papers are an- nexed :—Report on the Ornithology of Berwickshire, and district within the limits of the Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club. By P. J. 54 Zoological Society. Selby, Esq. of Twizell-House ;—and Part Il. of a Descriptive Cata- logue of the Gasteropodous Mollusca of Berwickshire. By George Johnston, M.D., F.R.C.S.E. PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. July 13, 1841.—Professor Owen, Vice-President, in the Chair. The following letter, addressed to Mr. Waterhouse, from James Brooke, Esq., was read :— “* Singapore, 25th March, 1841. «« My dear Sir,—I am happy to announce the departure of five live Orang Utans by the ship Martin Luther, Captain Swan, and I trust they will reach you alive. In case they die, I have directed Captain Swan to put them into spirit, that you may still have an op- portunity of seeing them. The whole of the five are from Borneo: one large female adult from Sambas; two, with slight cheek callosities, from Pontiana; a small male, without any sign of callosities, from Pontiana likewise ; and the smallest of all, a very young male with callosities, from Sadung. I will shortly forward a fine collection of skulls and skeletons from the north-west coast of Borneo, either shot by myself or brought by the natives, and I beg you will do me the favour to present the live Orangs and this collection to the Zoological Society. I have made many inquiries and gained some information regarding these animals, and I can, beyond a doubt, prove the existence of two, if not three distinct species in Borneo. ‘« First, I will re-state the native account ; secondly, give you my own observations ; and thirdly, enter into a brief detail of the spe- cimens hereafter to be forwarded. “Ist. The natives of the north-west coast of Borneo are all po- sitive as to the existence of two distinct species, which I formerly gave you by the names of the Mias Pappan and Mias Rambi ; but I have since received information from a few natives of intelligence that there are three sorts, and what is vulgarly called the Mias Rambi is in reality the Mias Kassar, the Rambi being a distinct and third species. The Mias Pappan is the Simia Wurmbii of Mr. Owen, having callosities on the sides of the face : the natives treat with de- rision the idea of the Mias Kassar or Simia Morio being the female of the Mias Pappan or Simia Wurmbii, and I consider the fact can be established so clearly that I will not trouble you with their state- ments: both Malays and Dyaks are positive that the female of the Mias Pappan has cheek-callosities, the same as the male ; and if on inquiry it prove to be so, the existence of three distinct species in . Borneo will be established. The existence of the Mias Rambi is vouched by a few natives only, but they were men of intelligence and well acquainted with the animals in the wild state. They re- present the Mias Rambi to be as tall as the Pappan, or even taller, but not so stout, with longer hair, a smaller face, and no callosities ro Zooloyical Society. 55 either on the male or female, and they always insisted that it was not the female of the Pappan. «The Mias Kassar or Simia Morio is the same colour as the Mias Pappan, but altogether smaller, and devoid of callosities either on the male or female adults. ‘« By the native statements, therefore, we find three distinct spe- cies, viz. the Mias Pappan or Simia Wurmbii, the Mias Kassar or Simia Morio, and the Mias Rambi, which is either the Simia Abelit or a fourth species. The existence of the Sumatran Orang in Borneo is by no means impossible, and I have already compared so many of the native statements that I place more confidence in them than I did formerly, more especially as their account is in a great measure borne out by the skulls in my possession. I had an opportunity of seeing the Mias Pappan and the Mias Kassar in their native woods, and killing one of the former and several of the latter species. The distribution of these animals is worthy of notice, as they are found both at Pontiana and Sambas in considerable numbers, and at Sadung on the north-west coast, but are unknown in the interme- diate country which includes the rivers of Sarawak and Samarahan. I confess myself at a loss to account for their absence on the Sara- wak and Samarahan rivers, which abound with fruit, and have forests similar and contiguous to the Sadung Linga and other rivers. The distance from Samarahan to Sadung does not exceed twenty-five miles, and though pretty abundant on the latter, they are unknown on the former river. From Sadung, proceeding to the northward and eastward, they are found for about 100 miles, but beyond that distance do not inhabit the forests. The Mias Pappan and Mias Kassar in- habit the same woods, but I never met them on the same day; both species, according to the natives, are equally common, but from my own experience the Mias Kassar is the most plentiful. The Mias Rambi is represented as unfrequent and rarely to be met with. The Pappan is justly named Satyrus from the ugly face and disgusting eallosities. The adult male I killed was seated lazily on a tree, and when approached only took the trouble to interpose the trunk be- tween us, peeping at me and dodging as I dodged. I hit him on the wrist and he was afterwards despatched. I send you his pro- portions, enormous relative to his height, and until I came to actual measurement my impression was that he was nearly six feet in sta- ture. The following is an extract from my journal relating to him, noted down directly after he was killed. “«* Great was our triumph as we gazed on the huge animal dead at our feet, and proud were we of having shot the first Orang we had seen, and shot him in his native woods, in a Borneo forest, hitherto untrodden by European feet. The animal was adult, having four incisors, two canines and ten molars in each jaw, but by his general appearance he was not old. We were struck by the length of his arms, the enormous neck, and the expanse of face, which altogether gave the impression of great height, whereas it was only great power. The hair was long, reddish and thin; the face remarkably broad and fleshy, and on each side, in the place of a man’s whiskers, were the 56 Zoological Society. callosities or rather fleshy protuberances, which I was so desirous to see, and which were nearly two inches in thickness. The ears were small and well-shaped, the nose quite flat, mouth prominent, lips thick, teeth large and discoloured, eyes small and roundish, face and hands black, the latter being very powerful. « « The following are the dimensions :— Ft. ::In. Height from head to heel.............. 4 1 Length .of £006. wecsieltesit shay expe tania ee eee Lat: 5: AAO,

bitieesier ae aie okie 2.14 Ditto, belaw, the Tubs... »-:.:.:r::+ see 6a “de Oar eHwae 3 3} Ditto ander the. arms.)..... 56s s:sacieaslkelacinghaael- 3 0 From forpbead f0-00a9 a5 «eu215 an tla solo ans oes 0 932 Across the face, below the eyes, including callosities 1 1 From ear to ear across the top of head.......... 0 94 From ear to ear behind the head .............. 0 93% ««« The natives asserted the animal to be a small one, but I am scep- tical of their ever attaining the growth of a tall man, though I bear in mind that full-grown animals will probably differ as much in height as man.’ «« Some days after this, and about thirty miles distant, I was fortu- nate enough to kill two adult females (one with her young), and a male nearly adult, all the Mzas Kassar. The young male was not measured, owing to my having waded up to my neck in pursuit of him, and thereby destroyed my paper and lost my measure; but he certainly did not exceed three feet, whilst the two females were about 3ft. lin. and 3ft. 2in. in height. The male was just cutting his two posterior molars: the colour of all resembled that of the Mias Pap- pan, but the difference between the two animals was apparent even to our seamen. ‘The Kassar has no callosities either on the male or female, whereas the young Pappans despatched by the Martin Luther (one of them not a year old, with two first molars) show them pro- minently. The great difference between the Kassar and the Pappan in size would prove at once the distinction of the two species, the Kassar being a small slight animal, by no means formidable in his appearance, with hands and feet proportioned to the body, and they do not approach the gigantic extremities of the Pappan either in size or power ; and, in short, a moderately powerful man would readily overpower one, when he would not stand the shadow of a chance with the Pappan. Besides these decisive differences, may be men- tioned the appearance of the face, which in the Mias Kassar is more prominent in the lower part, and the eyes exteriorly larger, in pro- portion to the size of the animal, than in the Pappan. The colour Zooloyical Society. 57 of the skin in the adult Pappans is black, whilst the Kassar, in his face and hands, has the dirty colour common to the young of both species. . If further evidence was wanted, the skulls will fully prove the distinction of species, for the skulls of two adult animals com- pared will show a difference in size alone which must preclude all supposition of their being one species. Mr. Owen’s remarks are; however, so conclusive, that I need not dwell on this point ; and with a suite of skulls, male and female, from the adult to the infant, of the Mias Kassar, which I shall have the pleasure to forward, there can remain, I should think, little further room for discussion. I may mention, however, that two young animals I had in my possession alive, one a Kassar, the other a Pappan, fully bore out these remarks by their proportionate size. The Pappan, with two molars, showed the callosities distinctly, and was as tall and far stouter than’ the Kassar with three molars, whilst the Kassar had no vestige of the callosities. ‘Their mode of progression likewise was different, as the Kassar doubled his fists and dragged his hind quarters after him, whilst the Pappan supported himself on the open hands sideways placed on the ground, and moved one leg before the other in the erect sitting attitude; but this was only observed in the two young ones, and cannot be considered as certainly applicable to all. ** On the habits of the Orangs, as far as I have been able to observe them, I may remark, that they are as dull and as slothful as can well be conceived, and on no occasion when pursuing them did they move so fast as to preclude my keeping pace with them easily through a moderately clear forest ; and even when obstructions below (such as wading up to the neck) allowed them to get away some distance; they were sure to stop and allow us to come up. I never observed the slightest attempt at defence, and the wood, which sometimes rattled about our ears, was broken by their weight, and not thrown, as some persons represent. If pushed to extremity, however, the Pappan could not be otherwise than formidable ; and one unfortunate man, who with a party was trying to catch a large one alive, lost two of his fingers, besides being severely bitten on the face, whilst the animal finally beat off his pursuers and escaped. When they wish to catch an adult they cut down a circle of trees round the one on which he is seated, and then fell that also, and close before he can recover himself, and endeavour to bind him. “In a small work entitled ‘The Menageries,’ published in 1838, there is a good account of the Bornean Orang, with a brief extract from Mr. Owen’s valuable paper on the Simia Morio; but, after dwelling on the lazy and apathetic disposition of the animal, it states in the same page that they can make their way amid the branches of the trees with surprising agility, whereas they are the slowest and least active of all the monkey tribe, and their mo- tions are surprisingly awkward and uncouth. The natives on the | north-west coast entertain no dread, and always represent the Orangs as harmless and inoffensive animals; and from what I saw, they would never attack a man unless brought to the ground. The rude hut which they are stated-to build in the trees would be more 58 Zoological Society. properly called a seat or nest, for it has no roof or cover of any sort. The facility with which they form this seat is curious, and I had an opportunity of seeing a wounded female weave the branches together, and seat herself within a minute; she afterwards received our fire without moving, and expired in her lofty abode, whence it cost us much trouble to dislodge her. I have seen some individuals with nails on the posterior thumbs, but generally speaking they are devoid of them: of the five animals sent home, two have the nails and three are devoid of them; one has the nail well-formed, and in the other it is merely rudimentary. ‘The length of my letter pre- cludes my dwelling on many particulars, which, as I have not seen the recent publications on the subject, might be mere repetitions, and I will only mention, as briefly as I can, the skulls of these ani- mals in my possession. From my late sad experience I am induced to this, that some brief record may be preserved from shipwreck. These skulls may be divided into three distinct sorts. The first pre- sents two ridges, one rising from each frontal bone, which joining on the top of the head, form an elevated crest, which runs backward to the cerebral portion of the skull. ‘‘ The second variety is the Simza Morio, and nothing need be added to Mr. Owen’s account, save that it presents no ridge whatever be- yond the frontal part of the head. No. 9 in the collection is the skull of an adult male: No, 2 the male, nearly adult, killed by my- self: Nos. 11 and 3 adult females, killed by myself: No. 12 a young male, with three molars, killed by myself: No. 21 a young male, died aboard, with three molars; No. 19, young male, died aboard, with two molars. ‘There are many other skulls of the Simia Morio which exactly coincide with this suite, and this suite so remarkably coincides through the different stages of age, one with another, that no doubt can exist of the Simia Morio being a distinct species. The different character of the skull, its small size and small teeth, put the matter beyond doubt, and completely establish Mr. Owen’s acute and triumphant argument, drawn from a single specimen. «The third distinction of the skulls is, that the ridges rising from the frontal bones do not meet, but converge towards the top of the head, and again diverge towards the posterior portion of the skull. These ridges are less elevated than in the first-mentioned skulls, but the size of the adult skulls is equal, and both present specimens of aged animals. For a long time I was inclined to think the skulls with the double ridge were the females of the animals with the single and more prominent ridge, but No. 1 (already described as killed by myself) will show that the double ridge belongs to an adult, and not young male animal, and that it belongs to the Simia Wurmbit with the huge callosities. The distinction therefore cannot be a distinc- tion of sex, unless we suppose the skulls with the greater develop- ment of the single ridge to belong to the female, which is improbable in the highest degree. ‘The skulls with the double and less elevated ridges belong, as proved by No. 1, to the Simia Wurmbii; and I am of opinion the single and higher ridge must be referred to another and distinct species, unless we can account for this difference on the Zoological Society. 59 score of age. This, I conceive, will be found impossible, as Nos. 7 and 20 are specimens similar to No. 1, with the double and less ele- vated ridges decidedly old, and Nos. 4 and 5 are specimens of the single high ridge, likewise decidedly old. ‘«These three characters in the skulls coincide with the native statements of there being three distinct species in Borneo, and this third Borneon species may probably be found to be the Simia Abelit or Sumatran Orang. ‘This probability is strengthened by the adult female on her way home: her colour is dark brown, with black face and hands; and in colour of hair, contour, and expression, she dif- fers from the male Orangs, with the callosities, to a degree that makes me doubt her being the female of the same species. I offer you these remarks for fear of accident ; but should the specimens, living and dead, arrive in safety, they will give a fresh impetus to the inquiry, and on my next return to Borneo, I shall, in all probability, be able to set the question at rest, whether there be two or three spe- cies in that country. Believe me, my dear Sir, with best wishes, to remain, ** Yours very truly, «J. Brooxe.” Mr. Charlesworth exhibited to the Meeting a collection of skins of Mammalia and Birds, which he had obtained on the table-land of Mexico, and which he begged to present to the Society. Among the Mammals were adult specimens of the Bassaris astuta, Licht., of which animal a young individual had been procured by Messrs. Thompson and Charlesworth at Real del Monte, and forwarded, un- der the care of the Society’s Corresponding Member, Lieut. Smith, as a present to the Menagerie. The Bassaris, Mr. Charlesworth observed, is known in Mexico by the name ‘ Cacomistle’ ; it is abundant in the city itself, and indeed Mr. Charlesworth believes it is not to be met with at a distance from the abodes of man. Its habits are nocturnal, and it selects for its dwelling outhouses or uninhabited buildings, whence it sallies forth at night and commits great ravages in hen-roosts and pigeon-houses, and on this account every attempt is made by the Mexicans to exter- minate it. The number of young which the Bassaris produces does not exceed three or four at a birth. A skin of the Ascomys Mewicanus, Licht., or ‘Tusa,’ as it is called by the natives, was also exhibited by Mr. Charlesworth ; and he drew attention to a curious fact in the economy of this Rodent, viz. that the cheek-pouches with which it is provided, and which open exter- nally, are used for the purpose of conveying the soil from its subter- ranean retreats to the surface of the ground, where the mould is deposited in heaps, similar in appearance to those formed by the common Mole. The skulls of these two animals were on the table ; and Mr. Water- house observed, that that of Bassaris astuta presented all the charac- ters of the skulls of the Paradoruri, whilst the skull of Ascomys Mevicanus did not appear to him to offer any characters by which it might be distinguished (excepting as a species) from the crania of different species of Geomys which he had examined ; and as the same 60 Zoological Society. remarks would apply to the dentition, he thought it would be desi- rable to expunge one of these genera from our catalogues. The following paper, entitled ‘‘ Descriptions of several new spe- cies of Chitones, brought by H. Cuming, Esq., from the Philippine Islands,” by G. B. Sowerby, Esq., jun., was next read. Cuiton Spinicer. Ch. Spiniger, Mag. Nat. Hist. 1840, p. 287; Con. Illus., f. 68. Ch. testd depressd, ovato-elongatd, omnind granulatd ; valvis reclinantibus, terminalibus rotundatis ; margine lato, spinis sub-arcuatis numerosis instructo. Long. 251,; lat. 14 poll. The description is here repeated, for the purpose of noticing two remarkable varieties brought by Mr. Cuming from the Philippines. - In the first variety the spines are comparatively short, and being coated in patches by calcareous matter, give to the margin an ap- pearance of being banded with black and white. ‘The valves are more rounded, and in some instances more coarsely granulated than in the specimens originally described. Found under stones at low water in Cagayan, province of Misamis, island Mindinao. In the second variety the valves are more elevated. Found under stones at low water, in the island Siquijor. The larger variety tends to connect the species with the variable Ch. piceus, from which it differs in the narrowness of the valves, the spinose margin, and the purplish flesh tint of the inside, which are the same in all the varieties. Curton atatus. Ch. testa elongatd, subdepressd, griseo-virescente, fusco-virescente maculata ; valvis antic? coarctatis, primd et ultima asperis ; areis dorsalibus rotundatis, granoso-striatis ; margine squamoso-granulato. Hab. ad insulam Siquijor et Zebu. More depressed, having the marginal granulations coarser and the lateral areas more expanded than Ch. limaciformis. Found under stones at low water. Cuiron truncatus. Ch. testd ovali, minutissimé asperd, rosed aut pallide fulvd, griseo-virescente maculata, sulcis subdistantibus leviter undatd ; areis lateralibus elevatis, expansis ; valvd postica conicd, antic subcomplanatd, posticé truncatd ; margine levi. Long. 1°50; lat. -80. Hab. ad insulam Siquijor, Philippinarum. Differing from Ch. crenulatus, Grayi, &c., chiefly in the conical shape and sudden termination of the last valve. ‘The species is sub- ject to great variations, both in the colour and in the strength of the undulating lines. Found under stones at low water. Var. testd sublevi. Hab. ad insulam Samar (Catbalonga). Curton tncisus. Ch. testd elongatd, grised, fusco-maculatd ; valvis angustis, subdisjunctis, elongatis, longitudinaliter undato-striatis, primd sexfariam costatd, medianis utrinque unicostatis ; areis cen- tralibus latis, ultimd subconicd, utrinque trifariam costatd ; fis- Zoological Society. 61 surd triangulari postic incisd ; margine lato, fasciculis minutis- simis numerosis instructo, postice inciso. Long. 2°60; lat. 1 poll. Hab. ad insulam Zebu (Daleguete). It is to be regretted that no specimens of this very remarkable species should have been preserved with the soft parts; it being probable that the fissure in the last valve and in the posterior part of the margin is accompanied by some anatomical peculiarity in the animal sufficient to establish its claim to generic distinction. Found under stones at low water. Curton coarcratus. Ch. testd elongatd, postice coarctatd, sub- tunicatd ; valvis reniformibus, subdisjunctis, carinatis, asperis ; carind dorsali levi ; margine levi. Long. 1; lat. 50 poll. Hab. ad insulam Bohol, Philippinarum. From the peculiar shape of the valves, and the comparative small- ness of the portion which remains uncovered, the observer would be led to look for the small tufts of hair found in the margins of some similarly-shaped species. All the specimens, however, have the margins perfectly smooth. Found under stones at low water. Aug. 10.—William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair. A letter from the Earl of Derby was read. This letter is dated August 7, 1841, and announces the arrival of a pair of the African Musk Deer (Moschus aquaticus, Ogilby); one of them (a female) is alive, and in good health, in his Lordship’s menagerie. Having two skeletons of this animal, his Lordship has directed one of them to be forwarded as a present to the Society. A letter from Dr. Cox, dated Naples, March 28, 1841, was read; it refers to some engravings of a deformed foetus which this gentleman had sent for exhibition at one of the Society’s scientific meetings. A letter from the Society’s corresponding member Dr. Poey was read. Jn this letter, which is dated Havannah, June 26, 1841, Dr. Poey informs the Society that he has forwarded for the Menagerie a living Raccoon, and he moreover makes some observations upon its habits. A letter from Edward Blyth, Esq., was next read. This letter is addressed to the Curator, and is written by Mr. Blyth on his passage to India; the writer relates some facts respecting various Mammals which have been communicated to him by his fellow-travellers. Licut. Beagin, upon being shown some drawings of species of Gib- bons, at once, in a figure of the Hylobates leucogenys, Ogilby, recog- nised an animal which he had met with, and examined, in the Ma- labar jungles. ‘ Lieut. Beagin,”’ observes Mr. Blyth, ‘‘ has frequently seen this species in the Malabar ghauts, generally in groups of eight or ten, among which were brown individuals.”’ ‘‘ They appear to be unknown on the Coromandel side, but extend eastward to the Neil- gherries ; inhabiting upland jungles, chiefly at about 2000 feet above the sea-level.” 62 Zoological Society. “The same gentleman is well acquainted with the Semnopithecus Johnii, which I observe is incidentally noticed in Harkness’s work on the Aborigines of the Neilgherry hills, p. 61. This species is com- mon enough in the depths of the forest, but never approaches the houses like the Eatellus.” Mr. Blyth is also informed by Lieut. Beagin of the existence of a true Ibex, upon the Neilgherries, with long and knotty horns, curved backwards, and having a considerable beard, in which characters it differs from the Himalayan Ibex. ‘It keeps to the loftiest and most inaccessible crags, like the other Ibices. He has seen it repeatedly, in troops of a dozen or more individuals, and often endeavoured to obtain a specimen, but without success.” “The Kemas hylocrius, Ogilby, or ‘Jungle Sheep,’ (identified from one of my drawings,) is very generally, it appears, found in the hilly jungles of Peninsular India, keeping to the thick cover, and always met with solitarily, or in pairs. It is a very timid and shy animal, and when frightened utters a bleat like that of the domestic Sheep. Both sexes possess horns, those of the female being smaller ; and indeed this sex is rudely figured in one of General Hardwicke’s drawings in the British Museum, as the ‘ Warry-a-too’ of the Cha- tagon Hills; besides which, this is probably the species indicated as the wild Sheep of Tenasserim of Capt.Low.” [Aznals, vol. iii. p. 258.] **T shall now call your attention to some animals of North Africa, very good descriptions of many of which, obligingly furnished to me by Mr. Crowther (of the Queen’s 63rd regiment), I have easily re- cognised as referring to known species; but there are several which are certainly new to naturalists, and among them two very fine Bo- vine animals, which the Society would do well to write about to their correspondents in that quarter. As Mr. Crowther described to me the Bubalis and the White Oryx, which are often designated ‘ wild cattle,’ it must not be supposed that those animals are alluded to, as indeed is clear enough from the somewhat elaborate descrip- tions, and from the roughly-drawn sketches of both animals, from memory, which I enclose to assist those descriptions. These sketches will, at any rate, give some idea of the sort of animal, and go far to prove their distinctness from any which we are acquainted with. “The “Sherif al Wady’ (or River-chief) stands six feet and up- wards at its elevated withers. General form Bisontine; the carcass somewhat narrow, with flakes or rolls of fat on the sides of the neck ; the limbs fine-boned and rather long, being terminated by compa- ratively small neat hoofs; the succentorial rather long; tail short, with its tuft of frizzled hair not reaching to the houghs. Head, it would seem, much like that of ordinary cattle, with small pointed ears, generally borne pendent, and naked of hair internally and to- wards the tip, which are delicate pinkish flesh-colour; eyes small and dark; the horns thick, cylindrical, smooth till towards their base, where they are a little rugose, and directed almost vertically upwards from the sides of the forehead ; their colour dark, and length about a foot and a half. ‘The character of the coat approaches that of Highland cattle in Britain, but is smoother toward the under Zoological Society. 63 parts, with curly hair on the forehead ; some pendent hair (as shown in the drawing) from the site of the dew-lap (which latter is want- ing), of the dark colour of the body, and a long but scanty white tuft hanging from the prepuce, as in Fallow Deer. General colour blackish brown, with a white belly; the centre of the hump pale ash-colour, or even whitish, with radiating black hair surrounding this, four or five inches long. The cow is smaller and of a redder colour. The individual described was brought with two others, another male and a female, from the central region of Mount Atlas, and was presented by the Emperor of Morocco, in the year 1834, to the late Sir Peter Schousboe, who gave it to Mr. Crowther, in whose possession it lived for four months at Tangiers, when it was shot. It became tolerably tame, and its voice was a booming low, though, when irritated, it would roar in a different tone. The flesh proved to be rather coarse-grained, but that stripped from the sides of the dorsal apophyses, or hump, was excellent, and had the flavour of tongue. The skin was attempted to be preserved, but was destroyed by the rats. It was considered to be rather a rare animal. Should the above indications of it be confirmed, as I have no doubt they will, I propose that the species be denominated Bos Ailantinus. It is not improbably the E’mpolunga of Purchas. “The other wild Bovine species is much commoner, and has also much of the Bison in its general contour. Size that of Devon cattle, and colour red, with a flowing blackish nuchal mane; (hence this animal is probably the Wadan of Capt. Lyon, if not also the Pacasse, Empacasse, or Pegasus of different authors). Its horns are very long and spreading in both sexes, but more soin the female, wherein they are also more slender; they are cylindrical, a little rugose towards the base, and directed out and up; head not much unlike that of common cattle, with no curly hair on the forehead; the ears of moderate size, and broad; and tail, with its tuft, reaching below the hock ; the hoofs are very black, and the secondary, or succentorial, short. There is little difference between the mule and female in general aspect, but the calf is born of a whitish colour. The voice of this species much resembles that of common cattle, but is consi- derably more powerful. Its beef is excellent. ‘They are occasion- ally seen solitarily, but more commonly in large herds, sometimes consisting of several hundreds; at the rutting season in particular, which is about July, they are very fierce, and apt to attack without provocation ; they feed in the night, and by day pass much of their time standing knee and belly deep in water, like our tame cattle in summer ; their coat has a wavy surface. ‘This species is found about Rabat, and near Salee, on the Barbary coast. I have heard before of such an animal, and it appears to be tolerably common. “‘ Upon questioning Mr. Crowther respecting the Bear of Mount Atlas, which has been suspected to be the Syriacus, he knew it well, and it proves to be a very different animal. An adult female was inferior in size to the American Black Bear, but more robustly formed, the face much shorter and broader, though the muzzle was pointed, and both its toes and claws were remarkably short (for a Bear), the latter being also particularly stout. Hair black, or rather 64 Zoological Society. of a brownish black, and shaggy, about four or five inches long; but, on the under parts, of an orange rufous colour: the muzzle -black. ‘This individual was killed at the foot of the Tetuan moun- tains, about twenty-five miles from that of the Atlas. It is consi- dered a rare species in that part, and feeds on roots, acorns, and fruits. Does not climb with facility ; and is stated to be very dif- ferent-looking from any other Bear. The skin, like that of the ‘ She- rif al Wady,’ was attempted to be preserved, but unfortunately met with the same fate.” Dr. Lhotsky then read his paper ‘‘ On Animal Tuition and Ani- mal Hygiene.” In the first part of this paper the author makes some observations on the food of animals, and especially with reference to the quality and quantity given to animals in menageries. He next proceeds with remarks upon their abode, dens, cages, &c., the importance of cleanliness, and upon their tuition. August 24.—R. C. Griffith, Esq., in the Chair. Mr. Westwood read his paper entitled ‘‘ Descriptions of some Co- leopterous Insects from Tropical Africa belonging to the Section Heteromera.” : The insects comprised in this paper are of extreme rarity, and are the giants of the family Tenebrionide, constituting the genus Chi- roscelis and other allied groups; some of them, however, appear to lead to Lagria in their metallic colouring, &c. Curroscetis, Lamarck. Sp. 1. Chiroscelis bifenestra, Lam., Ann. du Muséum, iii. p. 260. Sp. 2. Chiroscelis digitata, Fabricius (Tenebrio d., Syst. El. i. p. 145). Considered by the author as most probably distinct from the preceding, both in size and locality. Sp. 3. Chiroscelis bifenestrella, W. Nigra, nitida, capite minus rugoso, mandibulis minus dentatis, maculis duabus ventralibus 9 minutis rotundatis, margine antico pronoti haud puncto notato, tibiis quatuor posticis fere rectis ; intermediis ad apicem magis dilatatis. Long. corp. vix lin. 14. Hab. Guinea: Mus. Westw. Commun. D. Raddon. Sp. 4. Chiroscelis Passaloides, W. Nigra, nitida, vertice tritu- berculato, tibiis latissimis planis, anticis serratis, posticis intus versus apicem dente armatis. Long. corp. lin. 193-203. Hab..Gauinea. Mus. Westw. Commun. D. Raddon. Prioscexis, Hope, Col. Man. iii. p. 128. Divis. 1. Clypeus antice haud emarginatus, margine antico in medio 1-tuberculato. Mazxillarum lobus internus apice corneo bifido. Prothoraz suboctogonus. Elytra ad humeros acute angulata. Sp. 1. Prioscelis Fabricii, Hope, /.c. Long. corp. lin. 20. Hab. Sierra Leone. Mus. Hope. Zoological Society. 65 Divis. 2. Clypeus antice emarginatus, margine antico haud tuber- culato. Mazillarum lobus internus apice corneo integro. Pro- thorax subquadratus magis transversus. Llytra humeris ro- tundatis. (Iphius, Dej. Cat.) Sp. 2. Prioscelis serrata, Fabricius (Tenebrio s.). Sp. 3. Prioscelis Raddoni, W. P. antennis brevibus articulo ultimo quadrato ; tibiis anticis curvatis, apice dilatatis ; posticis intus serrulatis extus ad apicem subitd dilatatis, prothorace transverso- quadrato, punctis duobus minutis distantibus versus marginem posticum. Long. corp. lin. 14. Hab. in Guinea. Mus. Westw. Commun. D. Raddon. Sp. 4. Prioscelis crassicornis, W. P. atra glabra, antennis lon- gioribus crassioribus femoribus omnibus ante apicem interne biden- tatis, tibiis compressis. Long. corp. lin. 13. Had. in Guinea. Mus. Westw. Commun. D. Raddon. Pycnocerus, Hope, MSS. (PacuyLocerus, Hope, Col. Man. iii. p. 186.) Sp. 1. P. Westermanni, Hope, l. c. (An Ten. sulcatus, Fabric. ?) Sp. 2. P. costatus, Silbermann (Odontopus c., Rev. Ent. Col., No. 4.). Opontopvus, Silberm. Sp. 1. O. cupreus, Fabric. (Tenebrio cu.). O. violaceus, Silb. var.? Sp. 2. O. tristis, W. O. chalybeo-ater, capite et prothorace opacis, tenuissime punctatis, hujus marginibus lateralibus crenulatis, ely- tris subviridibus magis nitidis valde et irregulariter punctatis, suturd lineisque tribus tenuibus longitudinalibus levibus, femoribus simplicibus, tibiis anticis apicem versus intus dente instructis, tibiis posticis curvatis, intus sinuatis. Long. corp. lin. 124. Hab. Senegallia ? Mus. Westw. Sp. 3. O cyaneus, Fabricius (Tenebrio cy.). Sp. 4.? O. speciosus, Dejean (Pezodontus sp.). Merattonortus, Gray. Sp. 1..M. denticollis, Gray, in Griff. An. K., Ins. Pl. LXXX., f. 4. PrauceEna, Laporte, Hist. n. An. Art. Sp. 1. Pr. rubripes, Laporte. : ' Sp. 2. Pr. carbonaria, Klug, in Erman’s Reise. . Sp. 3. Pr. marginata, Fabricius (Helops m.). | Various observations were added by the author relative to the synonymy and generic position of the species above described, and of other tropical African species described by Fabricius, Silbermann, Laporte, &c., and long generic and specific characters were given of the majority, accompanied by numerous illustrations of the generic and structural details. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol..ix. F —-666 Proceedings of Learned Societies. MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. Ata meeting of the Microscopical Society held January 26th, 1842, Richard Owen, Esq., F.R.S.; President, in the Chair, a paper was read by Mr. John Quekett, ‘‘ On the Presence in the Northern Seas of Infusorial Animals analogous to those occurring in a Fossil state at Richmond in America.” After alluding to the great discoveries of Professor Ehrenberg in this department of science, the author proceeded to mention a stratum of animalcules twenty feet thick, recently detected by Professor Rogers, underlying the city of Rich- mond in Virginia; it contains remarkable specimens of Navicula, Actinocycli, Gallionella, &c., but the most extraordinary form is a circular disc with markings very similar to those on the engine- turned back of a watch. On examining the sandy matter which had been washed from some zoophytes brought home by the Northern Expedition under Capt. Parry in 1822, the author has detected more than six animalcules in it precisely analogous to those occurring as fossils in the Richmond sand, and amongst these the circular disc above described; these last occur in the fossil state singly, very rarely in pairs, and some doubts have arisen as to what they really were ; but from the investigations of the author they are found to be a spe- ‘cies of bivalve, and many may be seen enclosing animal matter’ be- tween their valves. Other bivalves fully as large as these are to ‘be seen without markings on their surfaces, and some very minute spe- cimens were attached to portions of sea-weed by a small stem or pedicel. The paper was accompanied with diagrams and with the animalcules, both recent and fossil, for examination. Feb. 16th.—Professor Lindley, President, in the Chair, A paper was read by H. H. White, Esq., of Clapham, on fossil Xanthidia. After stating that these Infusoria, which are of a yellow colour and found imbedded in the substance of chalk flints, formed a genus of the tenth family of the class Polygastrica called Bacillaria, the author then proceeded to describe twelve species, which were distin. guished from each other principally by the number and form of their tentacula, which project from the external investment or lorica of the animal ; each species was separately described, and the author concluded with some observations on the mode in which they be- came silicified, and on the formation of flints generally. The paper was accompanied with specimens and illustrative diagrams. ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. February 7th, 1842.—Sir Thomas Brisbane, Bart., in the Chair. The concluding part of Dr. J. H. Bennet’s paper on Parasitic Fungi growing on living animals was read, and as portions of it bear directly on natural history, we shall. briefly allude to these. Fungi of this description have previously been noted as occurring in the stickleback and common carp, but we are not aware that any particular description has yet been supplied of these fungi. Dr. Bennet had an opportunity of examining them upon the gold carp, Cyprinus auratus, having been persistent before death. ‘To the eye Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 67 they presented the appearance of a white cottony or flocculent mat- ter attached to the animal. Under:the microscope it presented two distinct structures, which were severally cellular and non-cellular. The former consisted of long tubes divided into elongated cells by distinct partitions. At the proximal end of several of these cells was a transparent vesicle about ‘01 of a millimetre in diameter, which the author considered to be a nucleus. Some of the cells were filled with a granular matter; others however were empty, the granules having escaped through a rupture of the tube or of the cellular walls. Besides these there were long filaments about -06 of a millimetre in diameter, which apparently sprung from the sides of the cellular tubes. They were uniform in size throughout their whole length, and were formed of an external delicate diaphanous sheath, and an internal more solid transparent matter. This vegetable structure sprung from a finely granular amorphous mass. . Fungi of a similar kind were also found in the lungs of a man who died of pulmonary consumption, aud from whose lungs they were also copiously dis- charged in the expectoration during life. The vegetable structure in this instance consisted of tubes, jointed at regular intervals, and giving off branches generally dichotomous. ‘They varied in diameter from ‘01 to ‘02 of a millimetre, and appeared to spring without any _ root from an amorphous, soft, finely granular mass. They gave off at their extremities numerous oval, round or oblong corpuscles, ar- ranged in bead-like rows, which were considered reproductive spo- rules. The same appearances were found in the soft cheesy matter lining some of the tubercular cavities after death. The author had likewise an opportunity of examining the mycodermatous vegeta- tions which constitute in man that disease of the skin named Porrigo Lupinosa, and gave a particular account of them as seen under the microscope. He also supplied a bibliographical account of all that had .been previously done in this obscure and interesting subject, and concluded by remarking, Ist. That these vegetations are not the cause, but the result of disease in animals; 2nd. That they grow upon the inorganic matters effused into the different textures, which are probably of an albuminous or tubercular nature; 3rd. That they only occur in animals or in parts of animals, previvusly weakened by circumstances inducing imperfect. nourishment; and 4th. That the indications for treatment are, lst, to invigorate the system, and 2nd, to apply locally, if possible, such applications as tend to destroy vegetable life. BOTANICAL SOCLETY OF EDINBURGH. December 9, 1841.—Professor Balfour (of Glasgow), and subse- quently Professor Graham, in the Chair. Communications were read— 1. On the groups Triandre and Fragiles of the genus Salix, by the Rev. J. E. Leefe, Audley End, Essex. ‘* Whoever would study the willows with success, must see them growing at different seasons of the year; for fragments gathered at one season only serve to perplex and confuse the botanist. An- F 2 ~ 68 Botanical Society of Edinburgh. other source of confusion is the practice of collecting specimens without numbering them and the tree, trusting subsequently for iden- tification to the memory alone, whereby a most unpleasant feeling of uncertainty is produced. The changes in the form of the leaves, and in the relative proportion of some of the parts of fructification at different periods of growth, are often so surprising, that. without a mark of recognition, I should frequently have doubted whether my specimens had been all collected from the same tree. Again, it is a common practice to select for preservation the largest and most vigorous-looking: specimens, in consequence of which an erroneous idea of the average character is very apt to be produced. If an un- usually luxuriant specimen be chosen, it should have a correspond. ing label. Were those whose residence is fixed for a great part of the year to give their attention regularly to this interesting tribe, and above all, to set aside a portion of ground in their gardens for the cultivation of the most intricate species, much of the uncertainty which at present deters botanists from the study of the Salices would probably disappear ; but the hasty collection of fragments in flower, and above all, the un-identified addition of leaves, serve only to perpetuate mistakes. If I might take the liberty of recom- mending to others a practice which I have myself profitably followed, I should advise that the specimens of every Saliz in a herbarium (excepting, of course, species about which there can be no mistake) should be such as to present one or more regular series illustrative of the progressive development of the: catkins, each set being taken from the same tree at intervals during the flowering season,—and that at least two specimens of the leaves, gathered at different pe- riods, should be preserved, so as to show the form of the stipules, and the progressive alteration in the foliage;—also, that thin sections of a catkin of each species, perpendicular to the axis, should be gummed down, by which means the form of the ovarium and any other particular respecting it—the length and pubescence of its stalk, the nectary, the character of the axis, and the number of ovaria in a given length of the spiral, could easily be seen without mutilating the other specimens. The exact date also of each specimen should be registered, whereby many ambiguities would be removed. The willows, though numerous here (Audley End, Essex,), are not cul- tivated to such a profit as they might be. Salix Russelliana, though plentiful, is confounded with S. fragilis ; nor is the bark held in any esteem. ‘The cerulean variety of S. alba has, however, been sold to advantage to the makers of bonnet-shapes, as it is reputed not to stain. ‘Io show the quick return which the arborescent willows would afford, I may mention that a tree of S.alba var. cerulea, planted in 1815, at the end of nineteen years measured in circumference, at one foot from the ground, seven feet eight inches; and in October 1841, at twenty-six years of age, its circumference was ten feet three- quarters of an inch, and its height seventy-seven feet.” The author then proceeds to give a particular description of each species in the above groups—remarking of S. decipiens, that though it appears to be of little use for economical purposes, “it forms a ‘ Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 69 handsome bush or small tree, remarkable at a short distance for the bright hue of its leaves ;”—of S. fragilis and S. Russelliana, “that they both form large trees, but do not appear to grow so fast, or to attain so large a size, as S. alba.” 2. On three newly proposed species of British Jungermannie, by Dr. Taylor, Dunkerron. Communicated by Mr. William Gourlie, jun. This paper, though valuable to the botanist, is of too technical a kind for even an abstract of it to be given here. One remark by the writer may be inserted, and it would be well if the rule, which he justly commends, were followed with regard to many other groups of plants, till, by repeated observations, they have become sufficiently known. He says—‘‘It was with great propriety that the distin- guished author of ‘ British Jungermannie’ placed certain specimens, then newly discovered, which had been found in small quantities and in limited localities, as varieties of the species which they most nearly approached, leaving to future and more extended observation the task of raising them to a higher rank, if supported by competent distinctions.” 3. Remarks on the Flora of Shetland, with a full catalogue of plants observed in these islands, by Mr. Thomas Edmonston, jun. Mr. Edmonston observed, that the botany of Shetland had never been adequately investigated. Dr. Neill, who spent ten days or a fortnight there in 1804, was the first to enter upon this field, and he was followed by Dr. Gilbert M‘Nab, who spent a few weeks there in 1837. Mr. Edmonston (a native of Shetland) has devoted the last four years to this agreeable pursuit, and in that time has visited the whole district. ‘Two years ago he transmitted to London a list of the plants which had then been observed by him, and this list, though incomplete, and in some instances inaccurate, made its appearance lately in the ‘Magazine of Natural History,’ without any previous intimation, so that he had no opportunity of correcting it. The Orkney Islands, which are numerous, stretch about seventy miles from §.E. to N.W. ‘Their zoological formation is altogether primitive, the most abundant rocks being gneiss, granite, and lime- stone, which are very generally covered by large tracts of peat moss, and often destitute of all vegetation excepting the commonest bog- plants. Unst is the most northerly island, and is also the most di- versified in its formation; gneiss, mica-slate, chlorite-slate, and ser- pentine being all found on it. Its vegetation is equally varied, some of the species being peculiar to it in Britain, and others being rare elsewhere. The most interesting of these, viz. Arenaria norvegica and Lathyrus maritimus, were discovered by Mr. Edmonston, when he was little more than twelve years of age. Ronas Hill, which at- tains an elevation of about 1500 feet, is the highest land in Shetland, and it is only upon it that the botanist meets with anything like alpine vegetation. The largest island, usually called the mainland, presents little of interest; but is, for the most part; a succession of dreary peat moors, occasionally enlivened by Scilla verna and Pin- guicula vulgaris ; nor are the other islands generally more productive, though sometimes a fertile spot occurs. 70 Botanical Society of Edinburgh. “The general character of Shetland vegetation,” says Mr. Ed- monston, ‘‘seems to be sub-alpine or nearly so, for we find plants belonging properly to that region in every situation, such as Thalic- trum alpinum, Draba incana, &c., which grow down almost to the sea-level.” The list of species which accompanied this paper comprehends 395 in all, viz. 286 phanerogamic and 109 cryptogamic; the latter consisting of 22 Ferns, 65 Mosses, and 22 Hepatice. 4. Account of a Botanical Excursion in Norway, by Dr. John Shaw. | | The circumstance that most struck Dr. Shaw in this tour was the almost total absence of Calluna vulgaris, which covers our Scottish moors, but which in Norway is so far from being common, that throughout an extent of 600 miles he ‘ could scarcely find a specimen of it.” He also remarks on the extreme wildness and sterility of some tracts, as contrasted with the fertility and luxuriance of vege- tation in others..-The species which he observed were in general the same as those which grow in Scotland; those not indigenous here being in about the proportion of one to five; but several plants which are extremely rare in this country, such as Menziesia cerulea, Pyrola uniflora, and Linnea borealis, &c., he found abundant in many places. He was also particularly gratified by the beauty and luxu- riance of Trollius europeus, of which he observed ‘‘ myriads, with: their corollas like half-pounds of butter, gracefully waving their heads, almost in the frozen region.” The heat of the July sun he describes as most oppressive, and the swarms of gnats as tormenting beyond endurance. January 13th, 1842, Professor Christison in the Chair. The following papers were read :— 1. Notes on preserving the Colour of certain Vegetables by immer- sing them in hot water, by Mr. Evans.—It is well known to every one who has had any experience in the drying of specimens, that, while many plants are easily preserved by the ordinary means of placing them between layers of absorbent paper, and subjecting them to certain de- grees of pressure, there are others that cannot be so readily dried; and some are even so constant in their tendency to turn black in drying, that this feature has been deemed characteristic of them. The use of hot water, as a means of accelerating the process of desiccation in cer- tain vegetables, has been long known to botanists ; but Mr. E. is not aware of its having been employed, to any extent at least, as a means of preserving their colours. ‘To Mr. Peter Henderson, one of the gardeners at Melville Castle, the chief merit of this application is due, he haying, last summer, succeeded by it in preserving Lathrea squumaria and some.other plants which ordinarily become black .. in drying, particularly Asperula odorata, Melampyrum pratense, Agra- phis nutans, Rhinathus Crista galli, and several Orchidee. During the summer and autumn, Mr. Evans tried the same method, and found that, besides the greater beauty of the specimens thus treated, they could be dried in nearly one-half of the time usually required ; as also that, from the power of hot water in destroying rigidity, Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 71 they were much more easily arranged on the drying-paper, © Mr. Evans observed, that while he and his friend, in pursuing this method, were guided almost entirely by the nature of the plants subjected to the process, they considered from twenty. to thirty seconds a medium time to keep “Orchidee”’ and other plants of a robust and fleshy nature in the water, which was always kept boil- ing; while a mere dip was found sufficient for those of more delicate structure. He is, however, of opinion that the success of their method is not to. be entirely attributed either to the temperature of the water used, or the exact time the plants are kept in it, but de- pends much on the frequent changing, for some time, of the paper in which they are afterwards placed; as unless this is strictly at- tended to, the specimens will be speedily destroyed: by the great quantity of water with which they are at first surrounded. It has been recommended, as a means of freeing the plants from external moisture, before placing them in the drying-paper, to press them gently between cloths; and this he considers beneficial for plants of a robust nature, but rather injurious to the more delicate ones,—to these he merely gives a gentle shake, but changes the paper sooner about them than the others. Mr. Evans concluded. by observing that, besides the utility of this method for retaining the colour of the leaves of such plants as naturally become db/ack in drying, it will be found serviceable in preserving the blue colour of the corollas of Campanulas and some other plants, which rather incline to turn white. | The specimens exhibited by Mr. Evans in illustration of his suc- cess were most beautiful, the colour being in almost all of them perfectly retained ; and to show that it was their previous immersion in hot water which had effected this object, he had purposely kept some portions of them out of the water, and in such instances only the immersed parts had retained their natural colour. 2. Notice relative to certain Species found in the Parish of Alvah, Banffshire, with a List of Plants observed in that Parish, by the Rev. A. Dodds. Communicated by Mr. W. A. Stables.—The chief interest of this paper arose from the contrast which it presented be- tween the south and north parts of Scotland in regard to the occur- rence and comparative frequency of several species ; the recent occur- rence of some which have now become generally disseminated, to the farmer’s great annoyance, such as Senecio Jacobea, and the gradual disappearance of others: which were formerly common, as Arctium Lappa, &c. 3. Description, with Drawing, of a Vegetable found on the Gills and Fins of a Goldfish, by Mr. Goodsir.—In this interesting paper Mr. Goodsir gave a minute description of the parasite, explaining prac- tically its form, structure, and mode of fructification, &c.; but the fish having died during its conveyance to town, and putrefaction having commenced before he saw it, his observations were necessa- rily imperfect on some points which he had felt anxious to illustrate. Professor Christison stated, that above a year ago he had noticed a similar parasite on a goldfish, which was entirely covered with it as 72 Botanical Society of Edinburgh. with a soft down, but the animal’s health did not seem at all affected, and he believed it was still alive; nor was the affection communi- cated to other fishes which were put for some time in the same vessel with it. Mr. Bennet also stated the result of some micro- scopical observations made by him on Mr. Goodsir’s fish, chiefly with reference to the condition of the animal under the invasion of its vegetable foe. 4. Remarks on the affinities subsisting among Viola lutea, arvensis, and tricolor, by Alexander Seton, Esq., of Mounie.—Mr. Seton says, that not having been able to discover any definite or permanent di- stinction between the plants which had been termed V. lutea and tricolor, his attention was directed to their comparative appearance and habits in native situations ; and having found all gradations of form, colour, and habits between the extreme characters of the per- ennial plant called Jutea and the annual called tricolor, he had come to the conclusion that they are originally from the same stock or species. As to the form of the stipules, and the different degrees of ramification or divarication in the stem, which Smith, Hooker, and other writers have adopted as distinguishing marks, they are so varying as to be totally unsuitable for that purpose. On the other hand, the Viola, which has been by some termed V. arvensis, but has for the most part been considered as a variety of V. tricolor, is so different, and so constant in its general character, that he is in- clined to consider it a separate species, though in most particulars extremely similar. It is completely annual, and he has never found it with that multiplicity of stems arising from a spreading root and radicating at their base, which are usual with the two others when they have remained for any length of time undisturbed. It is also taller and more succulent in the herbage than V. tricolor, even when the latter is in a rich and congenial soil; and it maintains its characteristics when propagated by the seeds, without those grada- tions of variety which obliterate distinctions of species; for having observed it growing in corn-fields and by way-sides along with V. tricolor, not only in this kingdom, but also in France, Italy, and Germany, (in all of which countries both species are common,) he uniformly found it retaining its own peculiarities, unblended with those of its congener. But though the habits and general appear- ance of the plants are considerably different, yet their various parts are so much alike, that he is unable to find any other descriptive di- - stinction than the proportion between the calyx and corolla. Mr. Seton also notices some remarkable variations in form and habit, obviously arising from soil or locality, in several other plants; such as Trifolium pratense, Plantago lanceolata, &c. 5. Notice respecting some late Additions to the Flora of Jersey, by Joseph Dickson, Corresponding Secretary.—The chief interest of this paper consisted, as in the case of No. 2, in the contrast afforded with the vegetatiou of other parts of Britain; and the author promised to take an early ws naka of extending his observations on this subject. Miscellaneous. 73 MISCELLANEOUS. ON THE PARTIALITY OF SLUGS FOR FUNGI. BY C. RECLUZ, APOTHE- CARY AT VAUGIRARD. It is well known in a general way that slugs commit great havoc in gardens, meadows, &c. ; but no one to our knowledge has noticed their taste for some species of Fungi*. The bites and perforations which are seen on these agamous vege- tables are generally attributed to insects, because they are sometimes met with upon gnawed fungi; it is however to slugs that we must principally attribute this havoc. The Limaz rufus and Limaz agrestis, Lamk., are the mollusks in the environs of Paris which have fur- nished the subject of this notice. Among the species of fungi attacked by the slugs above mentioned, we remarked not only the Boletus edulis but also the Agaricus mus- carius, a very poisonous mushroom, and the Agaricus phalloides, a species still more formidable from the rapidity of its deadly effect. The gray and lemon-coloured varieties of this Agaricus woe the species we have mentioned, those which they seem ike best, and on which we see most traces of their voracity ; whilst they very seldom touch the Boletus luridus, a species equally doubtful, and the fragments of which, when exposed to the air, after having been re- cently detached, take insensibly tints more or less dark till they are the colour of starch dyed with iodine. May there not be a peculiar principle in this one which keeps these animals away from it? We shall endeavour to investigate this hereafter. We have also remarked that these slugs make a hole in the stalk of the above-mentioned fungi, gnaw their substance vertically, and continue their work by devouring all the interior of the pileus, so that the exterior surface alone remains untouched. It is not uncom- mon to find two slugs of the same, or of different species, together in one fungus. We have not yet observed any other species of this genus, nor if any other mollusk live upon these vegetables ; and for this reason we have thought it useful to make these observations public, as a contribution to the history of these animals as well as to that of fungi.—Revue Zoologique, 1841, No. 10, p. 307. UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW.—BOTANY. Dr. Balfour, the successor of Sir W. J. Hooker in the Chair of Botany in the University of Glasgow, delivered the introductory lec- ture to the course, on Tuesday evening, January 4th, in presence of a crowded audience. ‘The lecture embraced a review of the study of natural history, its advantages, uses, and attractions, and was im- bued with a spirit of ardour and enthusiasm which the lecturer is evidently well calculated to infuse into his students. We augur * Slugs appear to like those fungi best which are of a firm and crisp sub- stance. They are so fond of some species that it is difficult to procure a good specimen. They attack Discomycetes as well as Hymenomycetes.—Ep. 74 Miscellaneous. great good to the study of botany under the auspices of so enthu- siastic and successful a naturalist as Professor Balfour, and from the elevating spirit in which the introductory lecture bids us to hope the subject will be treated. A profusion of splendid illustrations, pre- parations, and living specimens adorned the lecture-room. ‘The lec- ture was listened to by the intelligent audience with profound in- terest.— Glasgow Guardian. BUST OF PROFESSOR JAMESON. After the public meeting of the Wernerian Natural History So- ciety, held this day, Dr. Charles Anderson stated, that he took the opportunity of the President being absent to mention to the Society, that it had occurred to Mr. Falconar of Carlowrie, to himself, and some other members, that it would be extremely desirable to have a Bust of Professor Jameson, on a suitable granite pedestal, placed in the Museum which he had laboured so devotedly and success- fully to render worthy of this University and of the metropolis of Scotland; that it was proposed to defray the expense by a private subscription ; and that he entertained no doubt that a marble bust, executed in the best style of the art, could be obtained for a sum within the amount which would be readily subscribed. He trusted that the proposal would be approved of, and suggested that the members of the Society should take the lead in promoting it, but that other friends and pupils of the Professor should be invited to join and embrace this opportunity of contributing to this testimonial of esteem. ; On the motion of Dr. Robert Hamilton, seconded by Mr. James Wilson, the Meeting unanimously and cordially approved of the pro- posal; and appointed the following gentlemen a committee, with power to add to their number, and with instructions to take imme- diate steps for forwarding the measure, viz. The Right Hon. Lord Greenock, David Falconar, Esq., Sir William Newbigging, Dr. Traill, William Copland, Esq., Dr. Charles Anderson, and Dr. Neill.—Dr. Traill, Convener and ‘Treasurer. College, 8th January 1842. M. AUGUSTE DE SAINT HILAIRE ON THE EPOCHS OF VEGETATION IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. [Read at the Academy of Sciences, Nov. 2, 1841.] Wishing to compare the vegetation of the tropics with that of the northern countries, during the end of the summer. and the be- ginning of autumn I travelled through Norway and visited the Scandinavian chain of mountains. Although my course was ex- tremely rapid, it has helped to rectify the ideas which I had formed concerning: the distribution of plants in these countries, and of the influence exercised there by climate. AsI arrived in Paris only two days ago, I am not able to submit my observations to the Academy, which moreover, if I am permitted to live a little longer, will find a place in a work of some extent. I shall at present confine myself to Miscellaneous. 75 pointing out briefly the comparative epochs of vegetation* in dif- ferent countries. In a treatise which I read before the Academy several years ago, and which perhaps has not been without its use to botanical geo- graphy, I said that, after leaving the peach-trees at Brest without flowers and without leaves on the Ist of April, I had found them in full flower at Lisbon eight days later, and that this was also the case with the Cercis, with several species of Lathyrus, of Vicia, of Ophrys, and of Juncus, &c.; that on the 25th, at Madeira, I had found the fruit of the peach already set, and the wheat in ear; that on the 29th, at Teneriffe, they were getting in the harvest, and the peaches were perfectly ripe. In the journey which I have just completed, I took vegetation, so to speak, in a contrary direction. As a term of comparison I shall make choice of the oat, because it is this cereal which is cul- tivated furthest to the north. The 10th of August they finished getting in the crop about Orleans. The 28rd they were finishing between Beauvais and St. Omer; the 31st between Hamburgh and Lubeck ; on the 2nd of September cherries were still selling in-the market of Copenhagen; the 6th September the oat-harvest was finishing round about Christiania, and, from the 10th to the 18th — September, I saw it continually going on between this town and Trondhjem. It would naturally be supposed that in returning to Christiania I should find it quite over, but having taken another route, I saw it constantly going on between Trondhjem and Chris- tiania, just as I had seen it between Christiania and Trondhjem. ‘Those who know how powerful the influence of secondary causes is in mountainous countries, will not be surprised at this seeming sin- gularity. Thus in the Hedemarken, a very humid plain, where the seed is sown very late, it is not surprising that the harvest should be late ; nor is it more so that the corn is cut earlier on that side of the great lake Mjosen which is exposed to the south, than on that which is exposed to the north. I have also been struck by some other considerations. We know that in northern countries the shortness of the summers is compen- sated by the length of the days, and that vegetation, which is not suspended by long nights, goes through its phases in a space of time much less considerable than with us. At Christiania, on the 10th of September, I had left it nearly in the same state in which it is in France during the last week of the same month. At Roeraas, one of the highest points of the Scandinavian chain, where the mercury freezes every year, and where the Betula nana grows in abundance, it presented the same appearance on the 14th of September that it it has in the middle of France at the beginning of November. On * A series of regular observations on the relations of the phenomena of the animal and vegetable kingdoms to atmospheric influences and the pe- riodicity of the seasons, has been commenced by the Belgian naturalists (see ‘ Bulletin de l’Acad. de Bruxelles,’ 1841, p. 154), at the suggestion of M. Quetelet, who invited the aid of British observers, at the last meeting of the British Association at Plymouth.— Ep. 76 Miscellaneous. the banks of the Guldelf, it was towards the 20th of September in the condition in which it is seen with us during the last weeks of October; lastly, in Dovrefjeld, at a height of 3000 feet above the level of the sea, it looked on the 22nd of September such as it ap- pears in Sologne towards the middle of December*.—Ann. des Sc. Naturelles, Dec. 1841. ZOOLOGICAL WORKS PUBLISHED UNDER GOVERNMENT PATRONAGE. In no one particular do we find the great distinction between En- gland and the continental nations more strikingly illustrated than in the publication of works of science, and particularly upon Natural History. In England all our finest works have been produced either at the cost of individuals, whose purse-strings have been opened with a liberal hand by their zeal for the science—witness Mr. Lambert’s magnificent work on the genus Pinus, the Lepidoptera of Georgia of Abbot and Smith, the Exotic Insects of Drury, the Malacostraca Po- dophthalma of Dr. Leach t—or by the spirited exertions of publishers, as in the case of the translation of the Animal Kingdom by Griffith, the splendid works on Ornithology by Mr. Gould, or the works on British Entomology by Messrs. Curtis and Stephens. . With very few exceptions Government has afforded no assistance to the publi- cation of such works. On the continent, however, the case is en- tirely reversed, the finest works having been produced under the auspices of the respective governments of the countries in which they have been published. That the direction unquestionably given to the public mind in such countries by the course of public education, must have a material effect in producing such a result, is unquestionable ; nor can we ex- pect that the case will be altered here until physical science in ge- neral, including Natural History as a necessary branch, is fostered by the State for her own sake, independent of the shop-keeping spi- rit of the country, and is insisted upon as a branch of public educa- tion as material as the Classics, Mathematics, &c. t _ * For particulars of the vegetation of Norway, botanists will do well to consult the catalogue of plants which Mr. Blytt, Professor of Botany at Christiania, has collected on his journeys, a very rare work, a copy of which was sent to the persons who were engaged in the expedition of the ‘ Re- cherche.’ f [+ To these add Dr. Sibthorpe’s Flora Graeca.—Ep. ] + Since the publication of the last number of this work I have had the pleasure of visiting Oxford, in company with Professor Burmeister ; but how can I explain the mingled feelings I experienced at being compelled to an- swer his question, ‘‘ Who is the Professor of Zoology here?” by informing him that there was no such Professorship in this, the most magnificent Uni- versity in the world—in more forcible language than was employed by Mr. MacLeay upon this very subject twenty years ago? “‘ Unfortunately in those classic scenes, which derive no small portion of their fame from a Ray and a Lister, the existence of zoology as a science is in these days scarcely suspected. Well may the foreigner, who beholds our learned establishments so. splendidly endowed, note, among the most re- markable circumstances attending them, that in none whatever should there be a zoological chair. It.is not for me to enter into the causes of this, else it Miscellaneous. vii It may indeed be urged, that the taste for such pursuits in the minds of persons in authority may have in some degree contributed to such a result, but it appears to me that it is quite independent of such consideration. How, in fact, were it not so, can we account for the non-publication of such works in this country, when it is well known that the Royal family are and have long been interested in these pursuits ? the Princess Charlotte, for instance, having possessed a cabinet of exotic insects, and her present Majesty as well as her Consort being understood to have a strong predilection for natural history. It will be sufficient to prove the correctness of these observations, to mention a few of the works published under the direction of con- tinental states, which throw into deep shade all that the Government of this country has ever aided in producing. The great work on Egypt, undertaken by the direction of Napo- leon, would alone be a ““monumentum ere perennius.” Its magni- ficent plates (of which those of the Annulose animals are perhaps the most elaborate, and which cost the eyesight of the inimitable Savigny) are on a par with all the undertakings of the gigantic- minded emperor. More recently, under the auspices of the present king and his government, we have the Expédition scientifique de Morée, the Voyage de la Coquille, those of the Astrolabe, of D’Or- bigny, and others, each of which surpasses any of the Government natural history works of this country. were desirable to know why plants should have been deemed worthy of at- tention, while animals have been utterly neglected. I can only acknowledge with regret that such has been the case. If it be said that lectures on na- tural affinities are included in some course of comparative anatomy, I am truly glad to hear it ; but if it be urged that the knowledge of comparative anatomy implies that of the animal kingdom, I deny it totally, since com- parative anatomy is only the instrument of zoology ; and while no man can be versed in natural affinities without some acquaintance with comparative anatomy, examples may easily be specified of comparative anatomists who know nothing of natural history. 4 Professorship of Natural History is necessarily charged with duties that give ample employment in Paris to thir- teen professors with their numerous assistants. [Since this was written an- other professorship has been established for the investigation of the Annu- lose animals in particular.] I have ventured to give this humiliating picture of the state of zoological instruction in Great Britain, because there are per- sons who affect surprise that in that science which relates to the animated works of God, France should be the predecessor over a nation comparatively more religious.” —Hore Entomologice, p. 457. Entertaining as I do the opinion, that other and far higher considerations are involved in the study of zoology than the elucidation of natural affinities, I cannot discover the slighest shadow of reason why zoology should be neg- lected where botany, geology, and comparative anatomy are introduced. The very notion of such an arrangement is ridiculous, even in the truly En- glish cua bono view of the question. If the establishment of such a professorship rests with the Universities, and does not depend upon private endowment, it behoves the zoologists of the country to bring the subject in a proper manner before the Senatus Academicus. 78 Miscellaneous. In Prussia may be mentioned the splendid Symbol Physic of Ehrenberg and Hemprich, the insects of which were edited by Dr. Klug; and in Russia, the Oryctographie du Gouvernement de Mos- cou, the Entomology of the Trans-Caucasian Regions, and of the Embassy to North China. It is not, however, in these great states alone that we find this fostering care of science, for the national works undertaken by the Dutch are not behind the majority of those mentioned above. The Fauna Japonica of Siebold, assisted: by Temminck, Schlegel and De Haan, “jussu et auspiciis superiorum qui summum in India Ba- tava imperium tenent,”’ would do honour to: any country. And we have now the commencement of a similar work on the Natural Hi- story ofthe Dutch Settlements in India, in large folio ; the third part of which is devoted to a complete illustration of the Indian spe- cies of the modern genus Papilio, occupying nine plates, with de- scriptions by De Haan. ‘The title of the work is as follows: Ver- handelingen over de Natuurlijke Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Overzeesche Bezittingen door de laden der Natuurkundige Com- missie in Oost-Indie en andere Schrijvens.’—-Leiden, 1840. In addition to illustrations of numerous previously-described spe- cies, of which various beautiful varieties are represented, one plate is devoted to an elaborate series of anatomical details of the genera composing the modern family Papilionide, in which we find the cha- racters afforded by the variations in the male organs of generation, and the veining of the wings, to be extensively employed. There is also.a considerable number of new species figured, one of which is closely allied to the splendid Priamus, which it even exceeds in beauty. Having illustrated in the present number of this work two new additional species of Papilio from the same quarter of the globe, I thought it a fit opportunity to notice this new work, which adds fresh fame to the name of its talented author, whilst the circum- stances under which it has appeared naturally led to the foregoing remarks.—From the third number of the‘ Arcana Entomologica.’ By J. O. Westwood, F.LS., &c. _ [We may here with much propriety refer to the service which has just been rendered to science by the legislative assembly of Massachusetts in voting funds for a Zoological survey of the State territory.—-Ep. ] NOTE ON PHOSPHORESCENCE. It appears to me that a general rule might be. laid down with re- spect to: the phosphorescence of marine animals, which, if it holds good in experience (which has as yet taught nothing which I am aware of to subvert its accuracy), at once determines to a great extent, without further trouble or investigation, what are the animals pos- sessed of luminous properties. I believe that it will be found that all the transparent and gelatinous inhabitants of the deep are capable of emitting a phosphorescent light as well as many others, which, it must be admitted, are not transparent and gelatinous in their struc- ture.—Artuur Hassauu. Cheshunt, Herts, Jan. 3, 1842. Meteorological Observations. 79 : CYGNUS GUINEENSIS. At a meeting of the Cambridge Ray Club, held on the 9th of February, Dr. Paget exhibited a recent specimen of the Cygnus gui- neensis (Jenyns) killed upon Coldham’s common, near Cambridge: it is intended to be placed in the museum of the Cambridge Philoso- phical Society.—Cuaruzs C. Basineron. NORFOLK BIRDS. J. H. Gurney, Esq., of Norwich, informs us that the following rare birds have come under his notice during the last six months :— A Blue-throated Redstart, in nearly full plnmbge; picked up dead on the beach at Yarmouth in October last. A specimen of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, shot near the same spot a few days afterwards. A specimen of the Richard’s Pipit, which, as far as I know, is new to Norfolk, shot at Yarmouth in November. A specimen of the Gosshawk, shot about a week since at Colton, near this place, in full adult plumage. - METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR JAN. 1842. Chiswick.—January 1. Very fine. 2, Slightly overcast: sleet.. 3. Clear. 4. Overcast : clear: slight snow at night. 5. Frosty: overcast. 6. Frosty: clear and fine. 7. Snow-flakes: cloudy and frosty: snow at night. 8. Sharp frost: overcast. 9. Frosty: snowing. 10, Frosty throughout with dry.cold haze. 11. Drizzly. 12. Frosty: slightly overcast. 13. Snowing. 14. Cloudy and fine. 15. Frosty: fine: severe frost at night. 16. Overcast. 17. Clear. 18. Hoar- frost. 19.% Foggy. 20. Hazy. 21. Foggy. 22. Hazy. 23. Clear: snowing: clear and frosty. 24. Frosty: very fine. 25. Drizzly: fine: clear. 26. Bois- terous with rain. 27, 28. Clear and fine. 29. Sleet. 30. Overcast and fine. 31, Hazy: heavy rain at night. Boston.—Jan. 1. Cloudy. 2. Fine. 3. Cloudy: snowearly a.m. 4. Fine: snow early a.m. 5. Snow: rain a.m. and p.m. 6. Cloudy. 7. Fine. 8—11. Cloudy. 12, Snow. 13. Cloudy. 14. Snow. 15. Cloudy. 16. Cloudy: raina.M. 17. Cloudy. 18. Fine. 19—21. Cloudy. 22. Cloudy: snow p.m. 23. Fine. 24. Fine: heavy snow at night. 25. Snow. 26. Cloudy: stormy with rain era : rain p.M.: stormy night. 27. Cloudy. 28. Fine. 29. Cloudy. ‘80. Fine. $31. Cloudy. Sandwick eas, Orkney.—Jan. 1, 2. Foggy., 3. Cloudy. 4. Cloudy : clear and frosty, 5. Clear and frosty: aurora borealis. 6. Clear and frosty. 7. Frosty. 8. Clear: rain, 9, 10. Cloudy: drizzling. 11. Clear: frost. 12. Clear: cloudy. 13. Cloudy. 14. Cloudy: clear: frost. 15. Frost: aurora borealis. 16. Cloudy: dropping. 17. Clear: aurora borealis, 18. Damp. aurora borealis. 19. Cloudy. 0. Cloudy: clear. 21. Clear: cloudy. 22. Rain. 23. Snow-showers. 24. Snow lying: sleet. 25, Clear. 26. Rain. 27, 28. Sleet-showers. 29. Sleet-showers: fine: frosty. 30. Rain: clear. 31. Cloudy : clear. Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire—Jan. 1, 2. Fog and rain. 3—~5. orn and clear. 6,7. Frost but cloudy. 8—10. Dulland cloudy, with frost. . Clear frost. 12. Frost, but threatening change. 13, Fall of peat i PM. 14, Snow continuing: frost. 15. Clear frost: snow lying. . Thaw: snow and sleet. 17. 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Sie |po| ee) er| S | Bs | © |-yompueg]| anys | 3 Qo |. at *yormpueg *arlys S , Bao Sy RP S PIR lee mo g i ¥ Bo Vda roth * © | Morey | ‘s"y } uopuoT Keung Soran Be AOTMSTYOD 3 4 =Y S.6 - g & eg Urey “DUT, “199U10ULIOY J, _ Feqem0reg aa “KANWUQ ‘asunpy younpung yo pup $au1Hs-sarUs “wag ‘asunyy yunsaddy yo ‘vequng ‘ayy 49 SNoxsog 7” ‘jeaA ‘aA 49. fuopuoTy anau ‘HOIMSIHD 70 Ajarv0g poungynarps0zy ay fo Uapave) ayy qo ‘uosdwoyy, “ay 49 S uowaqoy “Ay ‘hunzauoag qungsissp ayy fq ‘Noanory ‘Aqavo0g yohoy ayz fo stuaupundp ay3 yo apou SU01jMALISYC) [2TOJ0L0IIIPT THE ANNALS AND MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. No. 56. APRIL 1842. a 1X.—Contributions to Structural Botany. By W. Huaues Wiuusuire, M.D., M.B.S., Lecturer on Botany at Charing Cross Hospital. 1.—Sprecimens of Ulva calophylla, Spreng., having lately been transmitted to the Botanical Society of London, I have had an opportunity of fully examining this curious alga, and it appears to me worthy of some remark, both as regards its structure and its relative affinities. Under the microscope several forms of the plant may be seen, and which to me ap- pear to be permanent, at least whatever form perfects its qua- ternary granules I think should be looked upon as a pertect plant: this may either exist as a cylindrical cellular filament continuing of the same diameter throughout its whole length, except close to its fixed extremity, where it becomes slightly attenuated and rounded, and is more or less conical at the op- posed one; it undergoes no alteration or change of form, but two rows of quaternate granules are produced in the cellular cylinder ;—it may be observed as a flattened strap or band of a breadth equal to four or five diameters of the filament or even more, becoming considerably attenuated towards its fixed extremity, and is more or less constricted at distant intervals, a membranous band being seen at the points of constriction ; —lastly, it may be seen as a very broad flattened frond, rather suddenly constricted into a delicate cylindrical stipes. With respect to these different conditions, I would observe, that the first or cylindrical one is not. necessarily to be regarded as an imperfect condition of the others, or as one that must neces- sarily, at an after period of the life of the plant, pass or become metamorphosed into them. Except in the earliest stages of the life of the plant, in whatever condition of age or form it may be observed, it will be found that the margins of the band or strap, and the circumference of the cylinder, are brightly transparent; that the flattened frond is traversed longitudi- - nally by transparent lines, varying in number according to the breadth of the strap, and between which are placed green- Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. G 82. Dr. Willshire’s Contributions to Structural Botany. coloured granules; these latter, however, varying in number, colour and size according to the age and figure of the plant. Whatever form the plant may assume in advanced periods of growth, in its earliest which I have been able to detect, it ex- ists as a very delicate cylindrical filament (this is quite distinct however from the form before alluded to) divided at intervals by transverse septa, and presenting therefore a cellular struc- ture. These cells I shall denominate primary cells ; in some of the cells a little point or nucleus is seen, the rest of the cell being bright and transparent, whilst the other cells are filled with a thin green-coloured matter. This point or nu- cleus I regard as the first stage of the green granular sporular matter, which in the other cells is distinctly seen as having arrived at its second stage. The further development of the plant appears to ensue from self-division of the primary cel- lule, such division taking place both im a longitudinal and transverse direction; the granular matter being divided with the cells, and the law being that each primary cell shall form four cells, and each of these four cells four granular masses, so that sixteen granular masses are the result. Thus the primary cell becomes divided transversely, and hence two granular masses are formed; a single row only of granules however running down the length of the frond. In the fur- ther development these secondary cells become divided lon- gitudinally, so that four tertiary cells result from the primary one, in each of which is contained a granular mass which se- parates into two portions. From the wall of separation formed in the longitudinal division being stronger and broader than that of the transverse, and from its withstanding. more per- fectly the pressure of the internal coloured matter, a trans- parent band or line is observed to run down the frond between the inner surfaces of the tertiary cells. Whilst self-division of the cells has been going on, the frond gradually increases in breadth until the tertiary division be- comes complete, at which it ceases, all further growth being terminal, if the plant is to continue to exist in the cylindrical or linear form ; the green matter however undergoes a change to which we shall allude directly. It will be remarked, that in the form we have just alluded to, although we have two rows of cells running down the frond, only one series of pri- mary cellules has been developed, and upon this fact appears to depend the preservation of the cylindrical figure; if more series than one are developed, their lateral pressure against ‘the walls of the cylinder causes the latter to become extended laterally, and hence ensues the flattened riband shape or strap- like form; and according to the number of series of primary Dr. Willshire’s Contributions to Structural Botany. ‘83 cells, so is the breadth of the frond. ‘The same process of di- vision takes place with each series of primary cellules, so that supposing four series to have been developed, there will be seen eight rows of tertiary cells. In those plants assuming the flattened and laterally extended form, the markings of the different series are very and beautifully evident, they being divided from each other by bright longitudinal bands, and which are much more evident than the transparent lines se- parating the tertiary cells from each other; in fact, the latter are almost disregarded by attention being attracted so strongly to the former, which I would therefore denominate the serial ‘bands, the others the cellular lines. Very often the cellular lines are completely obliterated as transparent ones by the pressure of the granules in the opposed cells, a dark line re- sulting from the close approximation of the edges of the gra- nules. It is the serial bands to which specific distinction has been attached. When the series of primary cellules in- crease suddenly in number, a transverse cellular band is seen running across the frond where its increase of breadth com- mences ; and even in fronds preserving the same serial condi- tions throughout their length, these transverse bands are to be seen at places where there is evident constriction. The ter- tiary division of the cells being complete, the green granular matter contained in each of the four cells resulting from this division becomes separated into four portions, each portion or mass apparently being enveloped by a cellular covering, thus resembling somewhat four agglomerated granules of pollen. As far as I have been able to discern, the quatenary division of the granular matter does not result from a further division of the tertiary cell, but from a plastic power exclusively its - own. When the granules are observed moving about after their separation from the frond, they are sometimes noticed adhering in fours, as they do in the cells; at other times they separate very soon from each other, each little one moving about by itself, and marked with a dark central spot. The general colour of the granules is certainly that of a bright green ; but others, and which are the largest, and generally those which have only undergone a binary division, are of a much deeper and more olive-green hue. It is very evident that the plant is quite destitute of colour, independent of that which it receives from the granular or sporidial matter ; to me, also, that the youngest condition of the plant is cylindrical and cellular, in fact confervoid; and also that this condition may remain, and yet the plant perfect quaternary granules. In the metamorphosis of it to the flattened form, the interserial spaces and margins become thick and much developed, pre- senting quite a homogeneous appearance, the frond often 84 Dr. Willshire’s Contributions to Structural Botany. having constrictions at distant intervals, and which appear to me to be merely forms of very elongated, flattened, metamor- phosed, confervoid cells. In the flat fronds it is rather diffi- cult to discern the walls of the cells without attentive obser- vation; but with care, and a due regard being paid to the transmission of light from the mirror of the microscope, an eye accustomed to the appearances vegetable structures pre- sent will soon detect them. The termination of the frond is rounded, or more or less sharply conical, the length variable from a line to nearly half an inch, the breadth depending upon the number of serial cells primarily developed, and the whole plant often twisted, waved or curled. : In the second volume of Sir J. W. Hooker’s ‘ Flora’ our pre- sent plant is arranged under the genus Ulva, with the remark appended, that “ although arranged by Captain Carmichael among the Bangiea, it is but justice to his memory to state that he remarked in a note that this plant and Bangia velu- tina of Lyngbye were more nearly allied to the Uwe than to the gelatinous Bangie of the second division.” Mr. Harvey, in his late work, also arranges it in the same genus (Ulva). To me it does not appear to have its natural location in this genus; it is true that the plant is wanting in some of the characteristics of the satisfactorily determined Bangie, as stated by Captain Carmichael, and also that the flattened forms of it do simulate to a considerable extent the characters of the genus Ulva. I look upon it as certainly confervoid in its earliest state, and always so in certain of its perfect and adult conditions ; but that it also becomes meta- morphosed into a form which closely approximates to that of the family Ulvacee. The genus Bangia has already been supposed a group of the Conferve by some botanists, and which has certainly a connexion with our present plant, but yet not sufficient to admit of its reception. It appears, under all considerations, by no means unwarrantable that this plant shall form the type of a new family intermediate between Conferve and Ulvacee, a family osculant of these two, con- necting the family Conferve to Ulvacee by the genus Bangia however rather than by that of Ulva. 2.—Two or three years ago it was stated by Dutrochet, that in the nodi of Viscum album no true woody matter existed ; that the vascular connexion of the internodial spaces was therefore broken up, or was only maintained by a layer of cellular tissue or pith: this doctrine was admitted, and Viscum was supposed to form another illustration of what have been called articulated stems. Some time after Decaisne published a small work on the woody structure of this plant, in which he contradicted the statement of Dutrochet, and Dr. Willshire’s Contributions to Structural Botany. 85 maintained that the vascular or woody portions of the inter- nodial spaces were continuous, and the state of articulation was solely dependent upon the non-continuity of the vessels of the bark. Dutrochet again averred before the French Academy that his views were right. Here I believe the matter has rested. I have taken some pains to satisfy my- self which of these theories is correct. I have examined por- tions of the plant both young and old, and at all portions of the nodal places, and I fully concur with Decaisne in stating that the true woody and vascular structure of Viscum is per- fectly continuous through the nodi; that there is no trans- verse and separating layer of cellular tissue or pith in this portion of the plant, but that the connexion of the inner layers of the bark is broken up at the nodi. Viscum album has not an articulated stem, in the proper sense of the word then. The vascular structure of Viscum album is by no means so entirely composed of those peculiarly marked and rather elongated cells as is generally drawn and stated. Kie- ser’s representations are often copied, but they only repre- sent a part of the vascular apparatus; no doubt a great por- tion of the woody matter is composed of cells quite different from those met with in the wood of Exogens; but if the young wood or first-formed bundles be examined, plenty of very long annular ducts—and (to me) spiral ducts, with the fibre unrollable, however, as far as I have been able to de- tect—will be found. I may also remark, that the long pleu- renchymatous cells surrounding the first-formed vascular bundles are carried along with the latter to the centre of the plant, around the pith of which they may be found,—a circum- stance somewhat analogous to that stated by Decaisne to take place in Menispermacee. 3.—There are very few plants, in the anatomy of whose pleurenchymatous and vascular structure a stronger sup- port for some of the views of Schleiden on the origin of spi- ral structure, &c. can, I think, be seen, than in Tilia eu- ropea. The anatomy of the tissues of this plant appears to me to prove that primary membrane is homogeneous and structureless, but that the secondary formations of tissue ensuing within cells composed of such primary membrane are in their form and nature fibrous, and in their direction spiral. Out of such secondary structure the origin of all tissue presenting a fibrous appearance, and the least tendency to a spiral direction in any period of its growth or develop- ment, is to be looked for. In this plant, as also in many others of the families Asclepiadacee and Apocynee, it ap- pears evident, that in the development of the primary fibrous layers, two fibres having opposite directions are formed; but 86 Dr. Wight on the Separation of the Pomegranate whether such is always the law of evolution, and taking place in every plant, is, I think, not sufficiently proved. In Tilia especially this law, however, can be seen operating, in the formation of the spiral fibres on the wall of the cells of the pleurenchyma. That the continuous spiral development is the base of all forms of annular reticulated and dotted vessels I think certain, and the various metamorphoses which arise from such base are to be sought for in the peculiar after-growth of the primary structureless membrane upon which the secondary fibrous layers were originally deposited. Very often, as may be seen in Tilia, this membrane becomes entirely absorbed, the coils of the secondary spire brought close together ; and this happening during the development of the fibres, the spiral continuity ceases to exist; the mole- cules from which the fibres are formed hence pass into a series of more or less broad, flat, and continuous bands; and vessels formed of such fibres, totally destitute of primary membrane, are to be found in the plant just referred to. In fact, much of the tissue of Tilia represents many stages and. states of evolution of the secondary fibrous layers in con- nexion with peculiar after-growth of the primary structure upon which they have been deposited. I have observed com- pound spiral vessels in the petiole of Tilia pubescens. 4.—On the under surface of the leaf of Adelia nereifoha may be found a very beautiful and peculiar form of scale; it consists of two circular layers of cellular membrane, the one layer of much smaller diameter than the other, puckered and plaited, and of a saucer-shaped form ; it is fixed by its centre, which apparently is connected with a gland having coloured contents. From this form of scale, through that met with on Eleagnus conferta, 1 think transitional states may be seen, to the stellate hairs of many of the Euphorbiacee and Malvacee ; in fact, upon the peculiar adhesions taking place between the cells depends the appearance of the stellate hair or the scale of Adelia and Eleagnus. 'The occurrence both of stellate hairs and this form of scale in Euphorbiacee, shows the structural differences between the two not to be great in their origin. [To be continued. } X.—On the Separation of the Pomegranate as a distinct Natural Order from Myrtacee. By Rosert Wieut, M.D., F.L.S., &c. * ! THE most eminent botanists of the present day being divided in opinion as to the propriety or otherwise of separating the * From the Madras Journal of Literature and Science, No. xxix. p, 254. as a distinct Natural Order from Myrtacez. 87 Pomegranate as a distinct natural order from Myrtacee, I have recently been induced to examine this question, bring- ing to my aid the lights thrown on carpellary arrangement by my recent investigations of Cucurbitacee. (Annals, viil. 260.) The result of this examination has led me to the conyiction, not only that Granatee is a distinct order, but that the pome- granate, if my views are correct, is, so far as our informa- tion yet extends, the,most remarkable fruit in the system of plants. But, without further preface, I shall at once proceed with the subject, introducing it by presenting a series of ex- tracts from the leading disputants on either side. ‘The whole controversy turns on a simple question of fact, namely, What is the structure of the ovary and fruit of Punica? ‘To these points therefore I shall, to save room, limit my extracts. The first of these, taking them in chronological order, is from Mr. D. Don’s paper, ‘ Edin. New Philosoph. Journal’ for July 1826. The second is from DeCandolle’s ‘ Prod.,’ iii. p. 3. The third is from Dr. Lindley’s ‘ Natural System of Botany,’ ed. 1st, p. 64, and repeated in the second edition, p.43. The last is from Mr. Arnott’s article Botany, ‘ Encycl. Brit.,’ ed. 7, p- 110, under Myrtacee. These extracts, by placing the ques- tion before the reader in all its bearings, will enable him at once to judge how far I have succeeded in setting the question at rest. “ Bacea pomiformis, limbo tubulosa dentato calycino, nunc contracto, co- ronata: cortex crassissimus, extis cuticula levi rubicunda punctata lucida vestitus, intus spongioso-carnosus, albus, dein, matura bacca, fissura irregu- lariter rumpens, Placenta cortici bacce substantia simillima, at magis car- nosa et succulenta baccam omnino replens, in loculis numerosis polyspermis inzequalibus reticulatim atque interrupté excavata. Dissepimenta vera nulla: spuria tamen adsunt, que e substantia placentz orta, valdé sunt fragilia, et crassitie varia.” —Don (l. c.). “The real structure of the fruit of the pomegranate appears to have been overlooked by all authors I have consulted on the sub- ject, and even the distinguished Gertner has fallen into error both in his description and figure. It is in reality a fleshy receptacle, formed by the tube of the calyx into a unilocular berry, filled with a spongy placenta, which is hollowed out into a number of irregular cells in which the seeds are placed ; the dissepiments being nothing more than thin portions of the placenta. If we could conceive the fruit of Rosa to be filled up with an interrupted pulpy matter, it would be exactly of the same structure as the pomegranate.” —Don (Te 7. “ Fructus magnus, sphericus, calycis limbo subtubuloso coronatus, ejus- dem tubo corticatus, indehiscens, diaphragmate horizontali inzequaliter bi- cameratus ; camera superiore 5—9-loculari, camera inferiore minore 3-locu- lari, septis utriusque membranaceis loculos separantibus ; placentze camere superioris carnose a parietibus ad centrum tendentes, in inferiore processus irregulares ab ipso fundo.”— DeC. (/.¢.). 88 Dr. Wight on the Separation of the Pomegranate “The fruit of the pomegranate is described by Gertner and De Candolle as being divided into two unequal divisions by a horizontal diaphragm, the upper half of which consists of from five to nine cells, and the lower of three; the cells of both being separated by membranous dissepiments ; the placenta of the upper half proceed- ing from the back to the centre, and of the lower irregularly from their bottom : and by Mr. Don as a fleshy receptacle formed by the tube of the calyx into a unilocular berry, filled with a spongy placenta, which is hollowed out into a number of irr€gular cells. In fact, if a pomegranate is examined, it will be found to agree more or less perfectly with both these descriptions. But it is clear that a fruit as thus described is at variance with all the known laws upon which compound fruits are formed. Nothing, however, is more common than that the primitive construction of fruits is obscured by the ad- ditions, or suppressions, or alterations, which its parts undergo du- ring their progress to maturity. Hence it is always desirable to ob- tain a clear idea of the structure of the ovarium of all fruits which do not obviously agree with the ordinary laws of carpological com- position. Now a section of the ovarium of the pomegranate in va- rious directions, if made about the time of the expansion of the flow- ers before impregnation takes place, shows that it is in fact com- posed of two rows of carpella, of which three or four surround the axis, and are placed in the bottom of the tube of the calyx, and a number, varying from five to ten, surround these, and adhere to the upper part of the tube of the calyx. The placente of these carpella contract an irregular kind of adhesion with the back and front of their cells, and thus give the position ultimately acquired by the seeds that anomalous appearance which it assumes in the ripe fruit. If this view of the structure of the pomegranate be correct, its pecu- liarity consists in this, that, in an order the carpella of which oc- cupy but a single row around the axis, it possesses carpella in two rows, the one placed above the other, in consequence of the contrac- tion of the tube of the calyx, from which they arise. Now there are many instances of a similar anomaly among genera of the same order, and they exist even among species of the same genus. Ex- amples of the latter are, Nicotiana multivalvis and Nolana paradoza, and of the former, Malope among Malvacee; polycarpous Ranuncu- lacee as compared with Nigella, and polycarpous Rosacee as compared with Spirea. In Prunus I have seen a monstrous flower producing a number of carpella around the central one, and also, in conse- quence of the situation, upon the calyx above it ; and finally, in the ‘ Revue Encyclopédique’ (43. 762), a permanent variety of the apple is described, which is exactly to Pomee what Punica is to Myriacee. This plant has regularly fourteen styles and fourteen cells, arranged in two horizontal parallel planes, namely, five in the middle and nine on the outside, smaller and nearer the top ; a circumstance which is evidently to be explained by the presence of an outer series of car- pella, and not upon the extravagant hypothesis of M. Tillette de Clermont, who fancies that it is due to the cohesion of three flowers.” —Lindley (1. ¢.). as a distinct Natural Order from Myrtacez. 89 «To the Myrtee we, with Mr. Lindley, unite the Granatee, be- cause Punica or the pomegranate only differs by having its two ver- ticels of carpels developed instead of one, and perhaps in a truly wild state the upper or adventitious one may occasionally disappear. The inner series (or those at the bottom of the fruit) have their placentee in the axis; but the outer series, forced to the top of the fruit by the contraction of the mouth of the tube of the calyx, having their pla- centee in the ovary at the back of the inner carpels, exhibit them in the ripe fruit in a horizontal position on the upper surface of the lower cells.” —Arnott (i. c.) et Prod. Fl. Peninsula, i. p. 327. Premising that the whole controversy turns on these ques- tions,—Ist, what is the true structure of a pomegranate ; and 2nd, whether the difference between it and Myrtus is suffi- cient to separate these genera as distinct orders ;—- shall now proceed to examine these conflicting statements, and endea- vour to ascertain on which side the balance preponderates, and whether, indeed, there is not room for an explanation different from any of those yet proposed. Mr. Don’s description of this fruit, on the strength of which he first proposed to remove this genus from Myrtacee, the order with which it was previously associated, as a distinct family, appears to me untenable. He, as I understand, con- siders the fruit a one-celled receptacle, the centre of which is filled with a spongy placenta, round the surface of which there are a number of irregular cells occupied by clusters of ovules; but he does not tell us how the central placenta got there, neither does he account for the ovules being attached to the parietes of the cell, and not to the central placenta. DeCandolle gives a more correct description of it when he says, that it consists of two chambers, the under three-celled, the upper from five- to nine-celled, with the placentas of the upper cells reaching from the parietes to the centre, while those of the lower division proceed irregularly from the bot- tom of the fruit. He does not, however, assign this peculiar structure as his principal reason for viewing the order as di- stinct from Myrtacee, but has recourse to others, in my esti- mation, of minor importance. Lindley conceives that there are two rows of carpels, three or four of which surround the axis at the bottom, while the remainder surround these, and, occupying the upper part of the fruit, adhere to that part of the tube of the calyx. The placentas of these upper carpels, he conceives, contract an irregular kind of adhesion with the back and front of their cells. The meaning of this is far from being clear to me; but if it means that he considers the placentas of the upper as well as the lower row to proceed from the axis towards the circumference, to which last they contract accidental adhe- 90 Dr. Wight on the Separation of the Pomegranate sions, then he takes an erroneous view; and if the examples quoted in illustration support this view, they are not in point as regards the structure of Punica. Mr. Arnott, like Lindley, views the fruit as consisting of two rows of carpels, an outer and inner, the former of which he thinks may be adventitious. To understand his theory, we must first suppose the tube of the calyx spread out as a flat surface and covered with two circles of carpels, the inner next the axis, and the other occupying a larger circle beyond, and that the margin of the calyx then contracts so as to turn the outer series over the inner. According to this supposition, the attachment or base of the placentas of the outer series should be in the circumference and the apex in the centre, while that of the inner should be in the opposite direction, that is, have the base in the centre and the apex towards the circumference ; an explanation which is in accordance with what we find, except in so far as it does not account for the horizontal partition between the two series: nor can I exactly understand on what ground we are warranted in assuming that the outer series is adventitious and the result of cultivation, as it has everywhere been found so constant in all circum- stances. But be that as it may, this theory certainly accounts for the crossing of the placentas in the two rows which we so invariably find; whether correctly or not, cannot be deter- mined until we get fruit with a single row of carpels, which has not yet been found. These explanations, which I venture to propose, of rather obscure descriptions, did not occur to myself until after I had formed a new theory of my own, the result of a very careful examination of the ovary in all stages from the earliest up to the period of impregnation. At these early stages, when the whole flower had not yet attained half an inch in length, pro- bably a fortnight or more before expansion, I invariably find two rows of carpels, one inferior of four or five, and one su- perior of five, six or more. In the lower series the placentas are ranged round the axis, with their base in the centre, and the apex, which is free, towards the circumference. In the upper, the attachment, or base of the placentas, is in the cir- cumference, and the apex, also at first free, directed towards the centre. Between the two rows a diaphragm is always in- terposed. The apex of the upper placentas is, occasionally, afterwards prolonged and contracts adhesions to the axis. In the accompanying figures I have attempted to represent these views. As the fruit advances in size considerable de- rangement of this structure progressively occurs, which is apt to mask and confuse the appearances now described. as a distinct Natural Order from Myrtacez. 91 Having previously ascertained the occasional existence of inversion in the position of carpels, my first idea was, that such an inversion took place in the upper row. This view, which, equally with the preceding, accounts for the crossing of the placentas, I feel inclined to adhere to, though I confess not without some hesitation, because it implies a complexity of arrangement rarely met with in the inimitably simple and beautiful operations of nature; but I think it as difficult to imagine the nearly equally complex and inconceivable opera- tion of the folding-in of one set of carpels over the other, which Drs. Lindley and Arnott’s explanation demands: while my explanation has the advantage of at the same time ac- counting for the double chamber which the ovary presents from its earliest stages, and renders unnecessary the doctrine of an adventitious verticel of carpels, which for the present is mere assumption. With these explanations, I leave the question of structure to consider the one pending on its determination, viz. whether or not Granatee ought to be preserved as a distinct order, or be re-united to Myrtaceae. On this point, so far as the unvarying evidence derived from cultivated plants is entitled to carry weight on a disputed point —and which I presume it must do until we find that evidence invalidated by the examination of others growing in a truly wild state—we must unquestionably, I conceive, adopt the views of those who urge the separation, because the complex structure above described, being constant here and unknown among the true Myrtacee, we have no right, in the total abs- ence of direct confirmatory evidence, to assume that a part is adventitious merely because it is at variance with our ideas of what should be, especially while we have, in addition, dif- ference of habit in the formation of the seed and their pulpy envelope, in further confirmation of the correctness of these views. To the views of DeCandolle more importance must neces- sarily be attached, as the reasons he assigns are more satis- factory, though I do not think he has attached sufficient va- lue to the very peculiar “ ceconomy of the fruit,” while he has given too much to others of much less note, such as the want of pellucid dots, the absence of the marginal nerve of the leaves, and the pulpy covering of the seed; thereby throwing into the shade the true essential character of the order, which unquestionably lies in the double row of carpels, with the upper placentas parietal and crossing the lower axillary ones, which, if I have rightly accounted for, constitute this a truly curious and unique fruit; and which, whether or not my 92 Dr. Wight on the Granatee. : theory of its construction be correct, is yet so very different from that of every true Myrtacea, as to leave no doubt of its forming the type of a distinct order. Fig. 1. a = Se al SS EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES. Fig. 1.—a. Section showing the lower series of carpels in the ovary of the Pomegranate many days before the expansion of the flower. 6. Section showing the upper series of carpels. ‘These two figures are taken from opposite sides of the'same slice. fig. 2.—a. Section showing the lower series of carpels in an ovary some days after the expansion of the flower. At this time consi- derable derangement has taken place, apparently caused by the rapid expansion, in a confined space, of the ovules after impregnation. b. Upper series in the same ovary, and, as in the former instance, taken from the opposite sides of the same slice. Here the - derangement so obvious in the lower section has not taken place. Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 93 XI.--A Critical Examination of Mohl’s Views of the Gene- ral Structure of the Pollen Granule. By Arruur Hiun Hassauu, Esq., M.R.C.S.L., Corresponding Member of the Dublin Natural History Society. Mout considers the external membrane of the pollen granule to be the secreting organ of the oily liquid found upon all pol- len, but more abundantly upon such as is either cellular or spinous, and that it is this liquid which determines the colour as well as the viscosity of the pollen. In the remarks I have already published upon the pollen granule*, I have suggested the probability that this viscid fluid, which differs so much from the fovilla in appearance, is derived from the cell in which the pollen is originally deve- loped; and this suggestion appears to gather some degree of confirmation from the fact of its being met with in greater quantity upon pollen which has just escaped from the anther. This external membrane Mohl states to vary considerably in intimate structure according to the plants in which it is examined, being either cellular or granular, and but rarely, if ever, perfectly homogeneous. “The cellular structure,” he observes, “ without being rare, occurs but in a small number of plants. It is met with as frequently among Monocotyle- dons as among Dicotyledons. It is not a character of a fa- mily ; on the contrary, this structure is observed in genera of the same family, or in species of a genus, while allied plants present another.” My opinion upon this point is, that it most frequently, if not invariably, is to be relied on as afford- ing a character of at least generic importance, and that it is not uncommonly of higher value, running through several contiguous genera. ‘The cellules are more or less regularly Six- or seven-sided, and of various sizes. The network formed by their union has been mistaken by some observers for the ramifications of vessels in the external membrane of the pol- len granule, “an error similar to that which had place relative to the epidermis of leaves.” “ In all cases where the external membrane is cellular,” Mohl goes on to remark, “I have found the surface of the granule smooth and destitute of spines.” “This result is in truth altogether opposed to that M. Bron- gniart announces, who believes to have found in the centre of each cell an excretory conduit under the form either of a hair or a spine; for example, in Mirabilis Jalapa, Ipomea purpu- rea; but my observations have informed me, that all the spe- cies of pollen described by M. Brongniart as cellular and spi- * See Annals and Magazine of Natural History for Oct. last, vol. viii. p. 92. 94 Mr. Hassall on Mohl’s views nous are not really at all cellular, and that the oil which is found in the cells does not escape by visible apertures, but transudes through the walls of the cells.” In making the above statements Dr. Mohl and M. Bron- gniart are both in part in error. Mohl errs in asserting, in op- position to M. Brongniart, that the kinds of pollen which are spinous are not at the same time cellular. In the paper al- ready referred to, I have declared that the majority, if not all (and I am inclined to think that all are so), of pollen granules which are furnished with spines have a cellular extine; and that on each cell, and probably formed by it, either a spine is situated, or where this is absent, its walls are perforated by an aperture, which aperture is intended for the passage of the pollen tubes. On the other hand, M.Brongniart is doubtless at fault in the belief that he has found, in each cell of the re- ticulated external membrane, an excretory duct under the form either of a hair, spine, or aperture. In the pollen of Lilium, Pancratium, and many other plants whose external membrane is most manifestly cellular, neither apertures nor any other visible outlets, save the longitudinal furrow for the pollen tube, are discernible; in these cases, therefore, the oily matter must escape (if 1t be secreted by the extine) by exu- dation from the general surface of the membrane, and not through apparent openings. The spines themselves are for the most part open at their extremities, and may, where they are present, perform the office attributed to them by M. Bron- gniart. M.Brongniart refers to the pollen of Mirabilis Jalapa in support of his views. It is very doubtful whether the ex- tine of this be cellular or not, and although it is indeed per- forated with numerous apertures, these all undoubtedly are designed to permit the escape of the pollen tubes. That the external membrane of most pollen which is hispid is really cellular, any one may satisfy himself by a careful ex- amination of the pollen of Ipomea purpurea, Cynara Scolymus, Pavonia premorsa, Hibiscus annuus, &c. Mohl thus speaks of the granular appearance sometimes presented by the extine, and as his observations on this point are highly interesting, I need make no apology for introducing them at length in his own words. ‘“ In many cases the cel- lules of the external membrane become contracted to such a point, that one knows not whether we ought still to give them the name of cells, or whether the membrane is only made up of very large grains. In these instances one might still admit that the granular aspect of the membrane arose from the fact of its being composed of extremely small cells, although our means of observation permitted us not to recognise these of the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 95 grains for cells.” This idea of Mohl’s is supported principally by reference to the fact, that in some pollen—for example, in that of Pitcairnia latifolia—manifest transitions from one of these formations to the other, that is, from the cellular to the granular, may be detected. This explanation is probably the right one. “A question difficult to resolve is, to know if one might still admit the existence of very small cells, when the external membrane appears to be no more formed of large grains, but presents a smooth surface with very little points (or spots), cases without comparison more frequent than that of the true cellular formation of the external membrane. The solution of this question is allied to the clearing up of some points of vegetable anatomy still very obscure, and which have not suf- ficiently fixed the attention; I mean to the exact knowledge of the structure of those cryptogamous plants among which first begin to appear certain rudiments of cells in the gelati- nous mass which forms them, under the form of little grains, for example, Ulva, Palmella, Hydrurus, Batrachiospermum, Myurus, &c., and afterwards to the inquiry of the manner in which the cells are united to each other in plants of higher development.” | “A detailed examination of these points,” continues Mohl, “ would delay us too long; we pass on then to observe, that the gelatinous material, which forms by far the greater part of the bulk of these Cryptogams, corresponds to an element re- duced almost to nothing in more elevated plants, which is found between the cells and produces their reciprocal union, but whose anatomical examination is only possible in a small num- ber of vascular plants, and that the little scattered grains ought to be considered as the analogues and first rudiments of cells. Such is likewise, according to me, the organic constitution of the [granular or] dotted external membrane ; it is then formed of two elements: Ist, of small grains of a cellular nature ; 2nd, of a uniform material of a gelatinous nature which unites these grains into a membrane. Not only is this view sup- ported by the accordance which this granular membrane offers with the constitution of the plants of which I have spoken, but there are direct observations which are in its fa- vour. One circumstance which speaks for the analogy of the grains with the cells is, that in the grains of pollen whose external membrane is of a granular nature, as well as in those which are provided with a membrane distinctly cellular, the oily substance, coloured, is formed and preserved in this external membrane. Another fact, which is still further fa- vourable to this view, is the series of modifications by which 96 Mr. Hassall on Mohl’s views an almost insensible transition is formed, from manifest angu-. lar cells even to the grains themselves.” Here I would ob- serve that Mohl has already recorded his belief that the large granules in one plant are really cells, for example, in Pit- cairnia latifolia. “We now come to facts calculated to pro- duce the admission, that the external membrane is not only made up of grains resembling eachother, but that there is formed in it moreover a substance half membranous, half ge- latinous. There are cases, where these grains, when the pol- len is extended by the imbibition of water, do not touch each other; but instead of being pressed one against the other, as in most pollen, they appear scattered upon a membrane smooth and uniform, for example, in Plumbago cerulea, Jatropha urens, &c. It happens also sometimes, that in causing the grain of pollen to roll in a drop of water, between two small plates of glass, that some portion of the external membrane is detached from the granule which it surrounds, and that this part pre- sents the appearance of a uniform (homogeneous) and colour- less membrane. Moreover, as we shall show further on, the external membrane of most pollen presents regular plaits, which are effaced by the extension of the grain in water. Upon the part which in the dry pollen is concealed by the folds, the grains are altogether wanting, or form groups scat- tered at great intervals, so that the grains are placed upon a uniform membrane, and are separated one from the other by the extension of that membrane. It is not an uncommon cir- cumstance to find the external membrane, at the situations where it covers the papilliform processes of the internal mem- brane, deprived of grains and completely uniform. Whether even these proofs shall bedeemed sufficient,as Inowthink them to be, to establish the analogy of structure and of functions be- tween the well-formed cells and these grains, it is neverthe- less, at all times, but an analogy, and we have no right to re- gard them as cellular tissue itself, but only as the rudiments of cells. The granular disposition of the external membrane is by much the most frequent. As we have met with gradual transitions from the membrane plainly cellular to the granu- lar and dotted membrane, in the same manner, this itself does not always present itself equally well-formed, and we find in many species grains becoming smaller and smaller, until the membrane becomes almost completely smooth and homoge- neous, and thus presents a striking resemblance with the mem- brane of ordinary vegetable cells. This is the case, for ex- ample, in Allium fistulosum, Chamerops humilis, Araucaria im- bricata, Rumex scutatus, Morina persica, in the Boraginacea, Chenopodee, Myrtacee, Graminacee, in Rivina brasiliensis, &c. of the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 97 “In these plants the granular formation tends so to disappear, that the external membrane presents only obscure little dots, which have scarcely any resemblance with cells. Lastly, in other kinds of pollen the grains disappear entirely, and the membrane is almost completely smooth and uniform. Never- theless, in most cases, when the pollen is observed in water, we are able still to recognise, with the assistance of a good in- strument, a very fine punctuation and a light yellow colour of the membrane, from which circumstance it is very probable that the external membrane is never perfectly homogeneous, but contains always grains, however little distinct they may be. All that has now been set forth appears to prove that the comparison of the external membrane of the pollen granule with a vegetable cell is altogether inexact, and that it ought to be re- garded as an organ composed of cells, or of the rudiments of cells, and of a homogeneous element which unites them ; and for this reason also, to compare it, not with the simple membrane of a vegetable cell, but with compound membranes, for example, with the membranes of the ovule.” I have stated elsewhere*, that the granular appearance some- times presented by the external membrane of the pollen granule frequently arises from the circumstance of the active “ molecu- lar bodies” being visible through the transparent coverings of the granule, so conveying to the outer one a granular or dotted aspect. That this appearance is often, if not always, decep- tive, | am still of opimion, for additional reasons. Mohl states, that upon the part which in the dry pollen is concealed by the fold, the grains sometimes form groups scattered at great intervals. Now the radiating bands, of generally a lighter colour than the proper external envelope of the pollen granule, which supply the place of the furrows on the immersion of the pol- len in water, are produced by the protrusion of the internal membrane through the fissures in the extine placed at the bot- tom of the furrows, and provided for the free egress of the pollen tubes; and this membrane is admitted by Mohl, and all observers, to be a simple structure. This, although a ne- gative objection, is still a strong one. Again, in another place Mohl observes, that in some cases it happens that a portion of the extine is detached from the internal membrane, and that this part presents the appearance of a uniform and co- lourless membrane: this also goes to prove that the external membrane is, in some cases at least, simple. I am, however, still willing to admit, that in some few instances the external membrane may really present a granular texture, and then * In loc. cit. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. el 98 Mr. Hassall on Mohl’s views Mohl’s explanation of the nature of these granules and of the constitution of this membrane appears to me to be satisfac- tory and philosophical; but I am far from going to such an extent as to suppose that the extine is never a simple organ, analogous to a primitive vegetable cell; on the contrary, I be- lieve it to be most commonly simple. Mohl considers that the spines and papilliform eminences which cover the external membrane of many forms of pollen take their origin in a special development of one of the grains of the external pollenical membrane, and that they constitute a partial development of the granular membrane into the cel- lular. This supposition of Mohl’s is decidedly erroneous. I have already declared that most, if not all, kinds of spinous pollen have a cellular external membrane, and that the spines themselves owe their existence to an extraordinary develop- ment of the outer surface of each cell, in the same way as the hairs of the epidermis of plants are produced. Concerning the nature of the papilliform projections, Mohl appears to me to be far astray. They are not occasioned by any prolonga- tion of the external membrane, which has nothing whatever to do with their formation; they are produced by the bulging out of the intine when there are but two membranes, or of the intextine when there are more than two, through either fissures or apertures in the extine. It has been observed before, that on the immersion of those forms of pollen which exhibit furrows upon their surface in water, or any other fluid of the same consistence, that the plaits disappear, and that bands of a lighter colour than the rest of the surface of the granule occupy the position of the plaits, the appearance of these being accompanied by a re- markable change in the shape of the granule in all those cases where it is of an elongated form ; this change arising from the approximation of the extremities of the granule, occasioned by the imbibition of the surrounding fluid by endosmosis. - These furrows vary considerably in number, from one to up- wards of twenty, a single furrow, for the most part, being cha- racteristic of a Monocotyledon and three of a Dicotyledon ; and the bands which supply their place subsequently are in- variably disposed in a radiating manner, are narrow at their commencement near the centre of the figure, and widen gradually as they approach the circumference. These light bands Mohl regards as spaces of the extine, thinner than the rest of the membrane, and consequently more transparent. He thus speaks of them :—“ In all cases where the bands are dotted, there is no doubt that the external membrane forms a vesicle completely closed ; but upon pollen whose bands pre- of the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 99 sent a smooth membrane, an opposite result is almost always encountered when one examines them when fresh. The mem- brane of the bands is then so delicate that it is torn either merely by the extension which the grain of pollen undergoes in water, or by the separation of the external membrane in such a manner that the bands appear to be true solutions of the continuity of the external membrane, in which cases the internal membrane is denuded by the swelling of the grain in water. It was not long after this observation that the exa- mination of pollen a long time dry set right my ideas upon this point; in fine, I have always been able to observe the external membrane in the folds, in pollen in a dry state. It appears then, that the external membrane acquires by. drying a very great hardness, while in the fresh pollen the concealed part of this membrane in the folds appears to possess a con- sistence rather gelatinous than membranous, from which it follows, that not being able to bear any great extension, it tears and presents itself in this state to the observer.” In an- other place Mohl remarks, “ but the portion which was con- cealed in the fold always presents a structure different from the rest of the membrane, although it is an immediate con- tinuation of it.” My own observations do not permit me for a moment to doubt that these bands are formed, as already mentioned, by the protrusion of the internal membrane through fissures in the external, which are true and natural solutions of continuity in that membrane. This view of their nature is supported by several facts, which, when taken together, may sately be con- sidered as conclusive: 1st, these bands differ from the exter- nal membrane in being of a lighter colour; 2nd, they are se- parated from that membrane by well-marked and raised lines of demarcation; 3rd, in cases where the external membrane exhibits a cellular formation, this structure cannot be traced on to the bands, although Mohl asserts that in some instances it may be thus traced; 4th, the pollen tubes are a growth or direct continuation of the bands; 5th, the bands are in some cases covered by a valvular piece of membrane, which is really a portion of the outer membrane, and when this is removed the bands themselves become visible, presenting their usual appearance ; 6th, the existence of fissures in the external mem- brane may be demonstrated. In the dry pollen a fissure lies concealed at the bottom of each of the furrows, which gene- rally run lengthways from one extremity of the granule to the other. In this state its edges are inverted and in contact, so as to prevent the egress of the pollen tubes; but as soon as the pollen comes to be immersed in water or the stigmatic se- H 2 100 | Mr. Hassall on Mohl’s views cretion, it undergoes, as already mentioned, a singular change of form, the cause of which has been explained: nor is this change of form without purpose, for in it may be traced avery beautiful little example of contrivance, it being designed to facilitate the escape of the pollen tubes from the external co- vering of the granule, which, in its dry state, for the sake of security, imprisons them. The granule swells and contracts in its long axis, the furrows become obliterated, and the mar- gins separated as an inevitable consequence of this approx- imation of the extremities of the granule, and a space is left between them, through which there is a free and unimpeded passage for the pollen tubes hitherto incarcerated for wise purposes, but now that the fitting time has arrived, liberated by the above simple but most effectual means. 7 With reference to the apertures found in the external mem- brane of numerous forms of pollen, which are either scattered. in no definite manner over the general surface of the granules or are placed at certain angles of its extent, Mohl asks the fol- lowing question :—“ These pores,—are they really apertures, or are they anything more than a very great thinness of the external membrane, in certain points like the pores of cellu- lar tissue? It is a question which I cannot resolve for the smallest of these pores; but in pollen, in which they acquire a more considerable size, I have been abie to convince myself in a manner the most evident, by the separation of the exter- nal membrane, that these pores are not true openings, but are closed by a fine membrane.” This last statement I also consider to be untenable for the same reasons given for regarding the bands as true solutions of the continuity of the external membrane. From the brief exposition which has now been given of Mohl’s views of the structure of the external covering of pol- len granule, it is manifest that he regards it as being in all cases a compound organ, and as forming a shut sac, being thinner in the situations of the bands and pore$; opinions in which I cannot concur. Mohl thus concludes his account of the external membrane : —* After the description given above of the cells, spines and grains of the external membrane, it is clear that these parts ought to be considered as the secreting organs and reservoirs of the viscid oil; from which it follows, that the secretion of this oil ought not to be attributed to the papilliform emi- nences covered by a prolongation of the external membrane destitute of grains, and which are only found in some forms of pollen, and that even when the membrane, being furnished with fine grains which cover the large papillary projections of the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 101 of the Onagrarie and Proteacee, takes part in this formation, it is only in a much less degree than the rest of the surface. I cannot therefore adopt the opinion of Mr. Robert Brown, who especially attributes to these papillz the secretion of the viscous matter.” I have shown that the external membrane does not enter into the structure of the papillz, and there- fore in no instance can they have any participation in the for- mation of the fluid referred to. ) Mohl considers the internal membrane of the pollen gra- nule to be a simple homogeneous structure, and assigns to it the office of secreting the fovilla, a function which it appears to me to be very doubtful that it really performs; for in watch- ing the progress of the formation of the pollen, the existence of the fovilla will be detected before any trace of the presence of the enveloping membrane can be discovered. This mem- brane, unlike perhaps all others which enter in the construc- tion of the pollen granule, forms a closed cell, and is analo- gous to a primitive vegetable cell. The interesting and remarkable facility, first discovered by M. Dutrochet, possessed by all organic membranes, whether vegetable or animal, of absorbing water or any other fluid of a less dense nature than that contained within their cavities, is thought, by M. Dutrochet, to pertain in a very high degree to the internal membrane of the pollen granule. For my own part, I do not see how a similar facility can be denied the ex- ternal and other membranes of the pollen granule, since the water absorbed by the internal must necessarily, in many cases, pass through the outer before arriving at the inner membrane, and since it is the presence of the fluid which gets between the membranes which assists powerfully in causing the expulsion of the pollen tubes, from the pressure which it produces on the internal membrane. This absorption of fluid by the investing membranes of the pollen granule sometimes takes place with such force as to oc- casion the rupture of the internal membrane, and according to Mohl, of that also of the thin part of the external ; for it is only in this way, if Mohl’s views are correct, that the pollen tubes can emerge. In the dilute mineral acids this effect is very frequently produced, but not always; and when it does occur, the effusion and coagulation of a portion of the fo- villa, which often assumes a cylindrical and tortuous form, is the result, and with respect to which Mohl gives the follow- ing caution :—“ We ought not to confound this mass, as has been done by M. Meyen, with the internal membrane issuing in the form of a tube; the first is distinguished easily from the second by its irregular form. M. Fritzsche, falling into 102 Mr. Hassall on Mohl’s views the same error as M. Meyen, considers the action by which the acids occasion the pollen to burst and coagulate its con- tents as of the same nature as the action of water and the stigmatic secretion. M. Fritzsche does in truth distinguish between natural tubes and tubes produced artificially, and he refers to the last those which are formed in consequence of immersion in an acid, while he ranges under the first denomi- nation those which are developed from the effect of moisture upon the stigma or upon the corolla when the grains of pollen fall there; but he attributes to them the same origin, in ad- mitting that they are formed by the mucilaginous part of the fovilla, and that they issue by breaking through the internal membrane of the pollen granule. This certainly occurs in the formation of the tubes which he considers as produced artificially ; but the natural tubes differ absolutely, in that they are immediate prolongations of the internal membrane, of which we may be convinced by detaching the external membrane. It is indeed true, as M. Fritzsche says, that these tubes pierce a membrane; but that membrane is not the internal, it is the external, which is not pierced with holes, as M. Fritzsche thinks he has observed, but, as I have above explained, lines the pores, sometinies under the form of a fine membrane, sometimes under that of an operculum.” These observations of Mohl are in part only correct. Fritzsche is doubtless in error in supposing that the pollen tube which is to convey the fovilla through the tissue of the stigma and style to the ovary, is formed by the coagulation and hardening of the surface of the cylindrical mass, and not, as it really is, by the continued growth of a portion of the in- ternal membrane; but I cannot see that there is any essential difference between the mode of action of water or the stigmatic secretion in the production of pollen tubes, and that of any of the dilute mineral acids; the only difference which I can de- tect being, that the latter, from the force with which it causes the principle of endosmosis to operate, most frequently, but not invariably, occasions the rupture of the internal mem- brane and consequent effusion of its contents, a thing which the former does sometimes, but much less frequently. If di- lute sulphuric acid be used to the pollen of Scabiosa cauca- sica, true pollen tubes will be emitted covered by the internal menibrane, and differing in no way from those the result of natural processes. The difference is not in the modus ope- randi, but in the effects of the agents. If my views of the nature of the folds and apertures be cor- rect, no membrane is ruptured, not even the extine, as stated by Mohl, save in the comparatively rare cases in which the of the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 103 external membrane does really form a closed cell. The ap- pearance of a thin film stretching across the apertures may be sometimes produced by the watery medium in which they are generally viewed. The following remarks of Mohl are somewhat opposed to the opinion expressed by him, that the internal membrane should always be regarded as a homogeneous structure, thin and transparent as water. “In all pollen in which the external membrane is altogether smooth, in all those which possess but a single plait, in a great part of those which have three plaits, in those which have spiral plaits, and in a.great many of those which are provided with pores, the internal mem- brane forms a cell altogether spherical or ellipsoidal. On the contrary, in pollen which, like that of the Onagrarie, have a pore at their three truncated angles, or as that of the Dip- sacee, have one upon their three sides, or as among very many species of the Solanee, Gentiane, Synantheracee, Umbellifere, Apocynacee, Papilionacee, &c., have one upon their three longitudinal furrows, or as among many species of the Bora- ginacee, have a great number, the structure of the internal membrane is not absolutely similar in all its parts; but there exist often, even in the dry granule, papilla, which are as lit- tle blind appendages of the internal membrane. The line of union of these blind appendages with the cell formed by the internal membrane is ordinarily well marked; sometimes, as in the Onagraria, it presents a thickening, which gives to it the appearance of a white band.” I have already explained, that the papilla, wherever met with, are formed in one of two ways, either, where there are but two membranes, by the pro- trusion of the internal through fissures or pores in the exter- nal, or, where there are more than two membranes, by the protrusion of the one next the external, called by Fritzsche, intextine. When produced in the latter way they are always permanent, that is, they are to be met with in every form and condition of the granule, as they are only in the Onagrarie, and perhaps Umbellifere, of all the examples of their pre- sence cited by Mohl; but when they are formed in the first way, as they are in all the other instances referred to by Mohl, they are only to be observed where the pollen has undergone either a partial or complete change of form, and are to be re- garded as the commencement of pollen tubes just emerging through the fissures in the external membrane, and formed by an elongation or growth of the internal with which they are continuous, without any line of demarcation similar to that described by Mohl. Such therefore is their origin in all cases where there are but two coatings to the pollen granule. 104 Mr. Babington on Valerianella olitoria and V. gibbosa. That the external membrane is not continued on to these pa- pillary projections may be seen by an examination of the pol- len of Stachytarpheta mutabilis, in which there is a distinct line of separation between them and the surface of the exter- nial membrane. — With respect to the motion of the “molecular particles” found in the fovilla, Mohl thus expresses himself:—* I can- not refrain from remarking on this subject, that the move- ment of the grains differs in no way from the motion of all other little organic and inorganic particles; for example, glo- bules of milk, whether vegetable or animal, metallic precipi- tates, &c.; that their oscillatory motion is altogether the same, and is distinguished in a manner equally striking from the spontaneous movement of infusories.” In concluding my strictures, I would observe, that to Dr. Mohl is due, and ought to be accorded, the highest credit, both for the general accuracy of his observations, as well as for their great extent. Mohl, although in error in a few in- stances, has been very successful in his perception of the chief differences which characterize the principal types of pollen granule met with in the course of his investigations; and it is a source of no little gratification to me to find that I should have arrived at results in this respect so nearly similar to Mohl’s own, deduced from investigations carried on independ- ently of all knowledge of his previous inquiries but that ac- quired from Lindley’s ‘ Introduction.” Mohl’s work in 4to, with 6 plates, was published in Berlin in 1834, a short time subsequently to the appearance of Fritzsche’s first memoir in the Transactions of the St. Petersburgh Academy upon the same subject. An abridged translation of Mohl’s work is con- tained in the ‘ Annales des Sciences Naturelles,’ vol. iii. 2nd Series,— Botanique. Of Mohl’s opinions regarding the value of the pollen gra- nule as an assistant in classification, I have spoken fully in a paper, a portion of which is inserted in Annals for last Oc- tober *. January 17th, 1842. XII.—On Valerianella olitoria and V. gibbosa. By Cuarues C. Basineton, M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S. _Iy avaluable paper upon the genus Fedia (Valerianella) pub- lished in the ‘ Linnzan Transactions,’ Mr. Woods states that * The above observations were penned on a perusal of Mohl’s work, made some time subsequently to the completion of my paper on the pollen, the greater part of which has yet to appear, and which is delayed until the nu- merous illustrations which accompany it can be got ready. Mr. Babington on Valerianella olitoria and V. gibbosa. 105 he had not seen any specimens of the /’. gibbosa of Gussone, and most correctly observes, that the figure given by DeCan- dolle {Mém. sur les Valerianées, tab. iii. f. 3.) as representing the fruit of that plant, would lead us to believe that it was scarcely more than a variety of F. olitoria. Mr. Leighton also, in the addenda to his valuable ‘ Flora of Shropshire, com- pares the Valerianella olitoria of that county with the same figure, and expresses his opinion that the English plant is very nearly, if not exactly, the same as that of which the fruit is represented by DeCandolle’s fig. 3, the only difference being the imperfect state of the dissepiment in our plant. and its completeness in V. gibbosa, and also the ciliated bracteas of the former and their being constantly entire in the latter. From these circumstances considerable doubts have been ex- pressed concerning the claims of these plants to be considered as distinct species. Before combining them however it was but fair to refer to the characters of the latter plant as given by its original describer Gussone (Fl. Sic. Prod., i. 28.), and there we find the fruit stated to be “altero latere coarctato plano, altero gibbo longiore, utraque facie bistriato costis pro- minentibus ;” and of V. olitoria he says, “ altero latere coarc- tato utraque facie bistriato.” Here we first remark that the word “plano” is omitted in the second of these descriptions, and by referring to my fig. 1. it will be seen how justly what is usually called the front of the fruit, but by Gussone deno- minated one of the sides, is described as “ plane” when com- pared with the same part in my fig. 2. Again, we find that the words “ costis prominulis” are only employed in one of these characters as descriptive of the sides (or faces, according to Gussone’s nomenclature) of the fruit, and by referring to the same figures it will be seen how correct a distinction this is. Without the aid of the figures however it would have been far from easy to determine the true distinctions between the plants, and this difficulty was greatly increased by the incor- rectness of the only published representation of the fruit of V. gibbosa, namely, that in DeCandolle’s memoir to which I have already referred. I have now to state my reasons for believing that the fruits, of which my fig. 1. is a representation, are truly those of V. gibbosa. Gussone states that the discoverer of his plant was Gasparini, and it fortunately happens that that same botanist (Gasparini) has supplied me with specimens gathered in Si- cily, and which he states to be V. gibbosa. From these spe- cimens, which agree exactly with Gussone’s characters and Bertoloni’s detailed description, my drawing of the fully ripe 106 Mr. Babington on Valerianella olitoria and V. gibbosa. fruit has been made. It is scarcely necessary to state, that in the fully ripe fruit alone can the curious distinctive characters employed in this genus be satisfactorily ascertained. In V. olitoria the transverse section of the fruit shows three cells ; one, nearly filled by the solitary ripe seed, has its out- side enormously thickened by the development of the sarco- carp into a spongy or corky mass, down the back of which there is usually a slight furrow; and two barren cells, which are quite empty and separated from each other by an imper- fect dissepiment. These barren cells are nearly equal, com- pressed, lateral and rounded in front, and are usually much larger than the fertile cell; their point of junction is usually marked by a shallow furrow, and each of them has a single slender rib upon its side. The presence or absence of the an- terior and posterior furrows, and the greater or less develop- ment of the spongy mass, must be excluded from the specific characters, as not being possessed of sufficient constancy for scientific discrimination. In the fruit of V. gibbosa we find the same three cells and the same spongy furrowed mass upon the back of the fertile one, but each of the barren cells is furnished with two longi- tudinal prominent ribs formed of the same spongy structure as'the back of the fertile cell. Thus each side of the fruit pre- sents two deep furrows and two prominent ribs, whilst in V. olitoria the furrows are totally wanting and the ribs are re- duced to the one slender line upon each barren cell and the slightly projecting angle of the fertile cell. It is hoped that there will not now remain any doubts con- cerning the specific distinctness of these two plants. It only — remains for me to state that the drawings represent the appear- ance presented after the fruit has been divided transversely at about its middle. : Fig. 1. Fig. 1. Valeriana gibbosa from Sicily. Fig. 2. V. olitoria (a) from an English, (6) from a Neapolitan specimen. St. John’s Coll., Cambridge, March 8, 1842. M. C. Montagne’s Sketch of the Class Fungi. 107 XI11.—Organographic and Physiologic Sketch of the Class Fungi, by C. Monracne, D.M. Extracted from ‘ Histoire physique, politique et naturelle de Pile de Cuba,’ par M. Ra- MON DE LA SaAGRa, and translated and illustrated with short notes by the Rev. M. J. Berxe ey, M.A., F.L.S. [Continued from p, 10.] Gasteromycetes, Fr. A sIMPLE or compound receptacle (peridium, uterus), formed by the union of cells or interlaced filaments, presents the essential cha- racter of this family, which, like the preceding, is divided into two grand sections, Angiogastres and Trichosperme. The Angiogastres are at once distinguished by having their spo- ridia, which are never pulverulent, contained either in mucilaginous generally foetid matter, itself enclosed in a general peridium (Phai- loidee), or in partial receptacles formed by folds of the common receptacle (Tuberacee), or lastly in proper peridia, named sporangia, and included in a common peridium (Nidulariacee). Not only all the genera of this first subdivision, but almost all the Gasteromycetes, are characterized in their young state by a consist- ence approaching more or less to mucilage. If the whole fungus does not offer this character, some one of its parts does. The Trichosperme differ principally from Angiogastres in having their sporidia free and pulverulent, mixed with simple or complex filaments. This grand section of Gasteromycetes itself presents three remarkably distinct forms: 1. Myzxogastres, whose peridium is organized from mucilage, of which at first the whole fungus con- sists. 2. Trichodermacee, in which this organ from the beginning is formed of more or less intimately interlaced filaments. 3. Lyco- perdines, which present a peridium or receptacle at first fleshy, then coriaceous, into the composition of which enter either cells, or felted fibres. We are going to study the successive changes of the recep- tacle and sporidia, in the whole series of the genera of this family, proceeding from the simplest forms to the most complex. In the Myzogastres, which, as said above, consist in infancy, without exception, of a diffluent mucilage of various form and colour, we observe, in proportion as this gelatinous medium acquires con- sistence, either that a crust is formed common to the whole mass divided within into cells, or that a larger or smaller number of indi- viduals separate from it, and are associated on a common stroma. This stroma, which is also called hypothallus, is formed by the extremely thin membranous residue of the gelatinous mass from whence the peridia spring. In the first case, a single peridium is produced, which may be regarded as a common peridium, if we con- sider the inner cells as partial peridia soldered together; or in the second, each individual has its own peridium, resulting from the concretion of the mucilage. This peridium, sessile or stipitate, is composed of one or more membranous, papyraceous, or crustaceous coats. In some cases, if there are two, the outer is crustaceous 108 M. C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic and persistent, or extremely thin and membranous, and breaking up into little deciduous scales. The mode of bursting of the organ is also slightly varied. Sometimes an irregular opening is formed at the summit, as in Physarum ; sometimes it opens like a little box, as Craterium; sometimes the upper half falls, leaving a cup-shaped base, as in Arcyria ; sometimes the membrane is so delicate, that it is broken up entirely into deciduous scales, and leaves the naked capillitium loaded with its sporidia, as in Stemonitis. But at the time when the peridium is formed, its cavity is the seat of other changes; that of the sporidia on the one hand, of the filaments or elastic fibres concerned in their dissemination on the other. The filaments on which the sporidia repose are simple or branched, free and loose, or anastomosing so as to forma net. In the Trichiacee* they are spiral, and resemble the elaters of Hepatice. Stiff and brittle, they are glued and soldered one to another, so as to form the septa of cells in which the sporidia are enclosed (e. gy. Spumaria). These fibres, which by their interlacing compose frequently elegant net-work, are sometimes so supple and elastic, that when the peri- dium is burst, they rise from the bottom of it resembling a coloured, erect, or drooping plume of the most elegant fashion (e. g. Arcyria) ; this is called capillitium. In the axis of the peridium, in many spe- cies of this section, there is yet another organ, called columella or stylidium. This, which is sometimes entirely wanting, seems to be the continuation of the stem which penetrates more or less into the peridium, and sometimes traverses its whole extent. It is sometimes rudimental. When the columella exists, the reticulate fibres pro- ceeding from the peridium end, and are fixed upon it. As regards the sporidia, their metamorphosis takes place at the same time as that of the filaments. ‘Their immense quantity in proportion to the size of the fungus is most remarkable. It seems, indeed, as Fries says, as though the formation of the spores had ab- sorbed all the vegetative force. They separate from the mucilage by the same unknown mechanism which solidifies and fashions all the other organs. That they are at first attached to the filaments, and afterwards separate from it, Mr. Berkeley’s observation of the morphosis of the sporidia in many genera of the following section do not allow us to doubt ; however this may be, their metamorphosis, studied and described from the life by Corda (Ic. Fung. ii. p. 22. t. 12. f. 87.), deserves every attention. We may indeed infer from the figure just quoted, that in Stemonitis, where they are at first chained together, their evolution takes place in the joints of a thread, by the continuity of which they were united. If we consult analogy, we are confirmed in this opinion in glancing on what takes place in the morphosis of the sporidia of the genus Asterophorat. In some * Corda, sur les fibres spirales des Trichiacées, Flora, 1838, p.419. This structure, however, was first noticed by Hedwig, Obs, Bot. Fase. i. p. 14. t. 10, 11. 1792; and again by Kunze, Myc. Heft ii. p. 94.—M. J. B. + Corda, Ic. Fung. iv. p. 8. t. 3. f. 24. Messrs. Léveillé and Corda have proved that this genus is parasitic on the pileus of a real Hymenomycete, as the gills are covered with basidia charged with spores. We have also Siete the same structure. Sketch of the Class Fungi. 109 Trichie they are at first quaternate, and end by becoming isolated. Some are supported by a pedicel*. After having partaken in their youth of the mucilaginous nature of the medium, they harden by degrees, and undergo with this change of consistence a sort of de- formity. ‘Chus, from being spherical, they assume, by a lateral contraction, the form of a grain of coffee or wheatt (e. g. Stemo- nitis). 'They are, however, always simple when mature, and com- posed of a single membrane or epispore, and of a homogeneous or_ heterogeneous nucleus. A great number of the species have sporidia in which are traces of a hilum, a persistent testimony that they were at first attached to a filament performing the functions of an umbilical cord. Fries has established in this section two grand divisions, founded upon the colour of the sporidia, naming those in which they are of a dusky hue, like that of soot, ligneosperme, while those whose spo- ridia are of a more attractive tint he calls calosperme. The metamorphosis of Myzogastres is a work of Nature as mar- vellous as it is incomprehensible. It takes place frequently in a few hourst, and the observer can easily watch all its phases. It is matter of regret, however, that their fluxile nature never allows us to follow step by step the development of the inner parts, as we shall see that we are able to do in the Angiogastres and Tricho- gastres. These fungi grow and multiply under certain meteoric circum- _ stances: the ligneosperme, which are very fugitive, on various orga- nized bodies, even on rocks; the calosperme constantly on the trunks of dead trees or rotten wood. ‘The first appear only at certain times and in certain seasons; the latter, being less meteoric, appear indif- ferently in all. As regards their geographic distribution, as the essential conditions of their growth are moisture combined with heat, we may admit with Fries, that they have their centre in the temperate zone, without however excluding the tropics, where, though less common perhaps, they dre by no means absent. I have received from Brazil, Chili, and Cuba, species identical with those of our continent. The primitive mucilage or medium of the Myzogastres, arrested in its morphosis by dryness or any other cause, is frequently indu- rated, and remains a long time in the form of coloured veins, which have given rise to the genus Phlebomorpha, Pers., or sometimes simple hemispherical substances, which on account of their consist- ence have been regarded as Sclerotia. This is the proper place to advert to the Sclerotiacee (referred at first by Fries to Coniomycetes), and in particular to the typical genus Sclerotium. He formerly considered the species of this tribe as formed of a fleshy, very hard stroma, on the circumference of which the sporidia originated. More recently he has regarded the outer en- velope as a true peridium, and in this he has been followed by Corda * Corda, J. c. i. t. 6. f. 288**. t They recover their original form when placed in water.—-M. J. B, t See Ann. d. Se. Nat. Nov. 1841, p. 308, under 7’richamphora.—M.J. B. 110 M.C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic (Ic. Fung. iii. p. 18.). Hence the little certainty as to their situa- tion in his different works. The genus Sclerotium, whose fruit yet remains to be discovered, is placed by Corda near Cenococcum, which enters into the section with which we are occupied. Amongst the Sclerotia is the Ergot* (Spermedia, Fr., Sphacelia, Lév.), too noto- rious for its deleterious properties, but used to hasten parturition in cases of inactivity of the matrix. The Trichodermacee have a peridium, originally formed of more or less closely felted filaments, and it is in this important character especially that the fungi of this order differ from Myzogastres. This is not however the only character which distinguishes them from Myzxogastres or Lycoperdinee ; there is this also, viz. the total disap- pearance of filaments as the sporidia ripen. These filaments exist in an early stage of growth, as I have convinced myself in Tricho- derma viride and Onygena equina. As this tribe is composed of exotic or rare genera, it is difficult to give the history of its mor- phosis, on which we have no sufficient informationt. The peridium, which is mitriform or spherical, is most frequently sessile (e. g. Ostracoderma)}. It is stipitate in Spadonia and Pilacre, and the stem is either cellular, or smooth and fibrous. It is formed, even from the first, of more or less close byssoid filaments ; but in almost all the species it opens by abrasion of the summit. In Os- tracoderma it is smooth, and as it were crustaceous. The sporidia spring evidently, as in the following order, from the threads of which the whole fungus at first consists ; and this is I think proved by the’ fact, that in Trichoderma viride they bear a very short filament in the guise of a pedicel. Their form is ovoid or spherical, and their colour various. The Lycoperdons or Trichogastres form one of the most remark- able orders in this first section. ‘They are distinguished from those which have been mentioned by being fleshy in their early stage of growth. Here the organization becomes more complicated. We for the first time meet with a membrane formed of threads which produce at their tips naked sporidia. Mr. Berkeley§ has shown that in Lycoperdon celatum, gemmatum, and in Bovista, observed at an early stage of growth, the interior flesh (Gleba, Fr.) is perforated in every direction by little elongated labyrinthiform cavities, com- * The ergot is rather a disease produced by a fungus than a fungus itself, and is in fact the effect of a Fusisporium. See Linn. Trans., vol. xviii. p. 475, and p. 483.—M. J. B. + There would I think be little inconvenience in uniting it to the follow- ing tribe, since, as in the genus Cenococcum, the sporidia of many species _ of Mitremyces are not, at least at the time of maturity, mixed with fila- ments. t Institale is omitted, as the genus is spurious, being made up of the early state of Coprinus radians, and Spheria fragiformis with an Isaria growing from its base.—M. J. B. § Ann. of Nat. Hist. v. i. p. 81, translated by the author, Ann. des Sc. Nat. 2 série, xii. p. 160. t. 2. [See also an admirable article by Messrs. Tulasne in Ann. Sc. Nat, Jan. 1842, in which Scleroderma also is proved to be hymenomycetous. ]—M. J. B. Sketch of the Class Fungi. 1ll posing a net by their frequent anastomoses. A very thin slice placed under the microscope shows that the inner layer of the walls of these cavities is composed of obtuse, pellucid cells, placed parallel to each other like the pile of velvet, exactly as in the hymenium of a young Agaric. Ata later period Mr. Berkeley has seen four little spicules of equal length spring from the tips of the basidia, named by him sporophores, and on each of these at length appeared a globose spore. The shrinking of the basidia induces the pulpy state of the Lycoperdon preceding maturity, which is indicated by its pulverulence. At this period, all the moisture contained in the in- terior of the peridium being absorbed, either because the juices which made it succulent and fleshy have performed their functions of nutrition, or from some cause independent of the morphosis, the sporophores or basidia shrink, wither, dry, and remain under the form of confervoid filaments. The sporidia having become free are intermixed with the filaments, and bear still the thread by which they were fixed to their summit. The same observations have been made upon Geaster, and Corda (/. c. il. p. 24. t. 12. f. 90.) has figured something analogous, if not quite similar, in his genus Pty- chogaster. This singular morphosis, which brings the order of Lycoperdinee near to the true Hymenomycetes, had been already ob- served by Vittadini*, who, from not having followed it in many species, still less in many groups, could not, as Mr. Berkeley has done, draw from it any general systematic conclusions. Having seen what takes place in the normal evolution of Lyco- perdons, let us review the principal forms assumed by the peridium in the series of genera, its texture, mode of rupture, and finally the organs of fructification which it is destined to contain. But first I would premise, that there are in this order genera whose peridium is developed on the surface of the soil (emergens), others in which it is not seen till it has acquired a considerable size under the surface of the earth (innato-emergens), and some are altogether subterraneous. The trama of the peridium is formed by the interlacing of the filaments of which the fungus is at first entirely composed. It is formed either of a single coat of byssoid fibres (Tulostoma, Lycoper- don), or of two coats often only slightly adherent, and of which the outer one falls at maturity (Bovista). In the Geastra, where these two coats are very dissimilar, we may consider them as two peridia, of which the outer}, which is coriaceous or tuberculated, splits from _ the top towards the base to a greater or less extent into several rays or laciniz, expanded like a star, or recurved, and. contains from the beginning the first which is sessile, uni- or pluristipitate (Geaster coliformis), always thin, membranous or papyraceous. In a single exotic genus Mitremyces, where the peridium is like- * Monog. Tuberac., p. 20 and 83. t. 5, f. 9 e. + In Geaster triplex, Jungh. (Tijdschr. voor natur. Geschied. en Physiol. 2-3 Stuck, 1840, t. 8. f. 1, 2, 3) the outer peridium is composed of two separable layers, of which the inner forms a broad cup, and the outer is divided regularly into recurved laciniz. 112 M.C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic wise double*, the inner, whose increase does not keep pace with that of the outer, appears to enjoy a sort of elasticity, analogous to that which we observe in Spherobolus, which causes it at a certain epoch to invert itself for the dispersion of the sporidiaf. The peridium is simple or compound. In the first case it presents a single cavity, or it is divided into cells or pockets (e. g. Scleroder- ma){. In the second it encloses a number of partial or secondary peridia (peridiola), within which are enclosed the sporiferous fila- ments (e. g. Polysaccum, Ciliciocarpus). In the emergent species the mycelium furnishes the peridium either with a stem or peduncle (stipes), which is continuous in Mitremyces, only contiguous in Tu- lostoma, or merely with some root-like filaments, which are altogether wanting in the subterranean species. The stem itself, sometimes very short and obsolete, is likewise frequently prolonged into the peridium in the form of a columella. This is soft and cottony in Cauloglossum, hard and woody in Podazon. As regards the dehiscence of the peridium, we have just seen that it is twofold in Geaster. In the emergent genera it mostly takes place towards the summit, rarely laterally (e. g. Cauioglossum), or at the base, as in Podazon. It is often regular or irregular in dif- ferent species of the same genus. ‘The irregular mode of rupture takes place by the peridium being torn or broken into scales. The regular dehiscence, which is always observed at the summit of the peridium, consists of an opening sometimes exactly orbicular, obtuse, or surmounted by a cartilaginous border (e. g. Tulostoma mammo- sum); sometimes conical, folded and finely striate, or slashed into laciniz ; sometimes plane, ciliate or dentate; sometimes also piloso- fimbriate (e..g. Lycoperdon). 'The genera whose species are subter- raneous do not open spontaneously (e. g. Cenococcum). In Geaster coliformis, which seems to result from the normal confluence of several peridia, the single peridium opens by many ciliated orifices. The flesh of the fungus is generally white or reddish in this tribe; but after the morphosis, which induces pulverulence, the mass of the filaments of the sporidia presents variations of colour in each species. The most common tints are purple-brown, olive, fuliginous with a yellow tinge, cinereous or bluish black, &c. The filaments, which constitute the fleshy mass with which the young peridium is filled, vary likewise considerably in the changes they undergo by the act of vegetation. The two extreme states are their persistence under the form of capillitium (e. g. Lycoperdon), and their complete ab- sorption§ (e.g. Cenococcum). In the multitude of intermediate states there are two worthy of notice ; that where the capillitium, detached * Or rather triple, for at the moment of its appearing on the surface of the soil the peridium is enveloped in a hood (calyptra), which bursts circu- larly at its point of attachment to the stem, and falls. t Berkeley, Ann. of Nat. Hist. 1839, p. 326. { Messrs. Tulasne, in the paper quoted above, have proved that the struc- ture of Scleroderma isin reality conformable to that of Lycoperdon.—M. J. B. § Mr. Berkeley has found filaments mixed with sporidia in Mitremyces coccinea, l. c. t. 7. fig. 1. c. Sketch of the Class Fungi. 113 from the peridium, remains under the form of free filaments which are dispersed with the sporidia, and that in which they form by their union the walls of the cells in which the sporidia are contained. This latter circumstance takes place especially in the subterraneous indehiscent Lycoperdons. The genus Polysaccum, DeC., has a common peridium, in the fleshy cellular mass of which appear at first amygdaloid, extremely soft and viscid bodies. As the fungus increases they become con- sistent, and are at length changed into peridiola, in the interior of which the complete evolution of the spores observed by Corda (Ic. Fung. ii. p. 24. t. 12.) takes place. The other species of the sub- terraneous genera offer almost the same morphosis. The sporidia differ very little from those of the preceding tribe. Some have an umbilicus or hilum, and some retain the thread or cord (funiculus), which however is generally wanting. Most are smooth, but some are verrucose. I have already said, that in their pulverulent state they are generally mixed with the mass of fila- ments from which they spring. Sometimes this powder occupies the whole cavity, sometimes only a more or less circumscribed por- tion of the peridium. A dry state of the atmosphere is most favourable to the dispersion of the sporidia, and the wind the most effectual agent. In the subterraneous species, where they are ag- glutinated by the drying up of the viscid matter which assisted in their evolution, strong and continued rains are probably the most efficient. Almost all the species grow either upon or beneath the earth ; Tulostoma exasperatum, however, and a very few others live on half rotten wood. Some are found exclusively in sand*. They have their centre in the temperate regions of the two hemispheres. Their use is very limited. Some authors affirm, that in certain parts of Italy many sorts of puffball are eaten fried while they are still fleshy. Deer and pigs are reported to root up the Hlaphomyces. The sporidia of Polysaccum tinctorium are used in the Canaries to dye wool and silk. The Angiogastres comprise, as we have seen, three tribes united by a common character, sporidia never pulverulent ; they are, how- ever, distinguished by marked differences. Thus, the Nidulariacee have their sporidia enclosed in proper sporangia; in the Tuberacee they are contained in the thickness of the folds of the peridium ; lastly, in the Phalloidee they are dispersed in a foetid mucilage which clothes the receptacle. The Nidulariacee comprise a very small number of genera, all having a double peridium. The outer is called uterus; it varies in form, which sometimes resembles a cup or little goblet (e. g. Nidu- laria), sometimes is spherical (e. g. Arachnion), sometimes hemisphe- rical (e. g. Polyangium) ; and as regards consistence, it is cottony, slightly fleshy, coriaceous or membranaceous. The inner, separable or intimately united with the first, is most frequently papyraceous * Podaxon cascinomalis is found on ant-nests.—M. J. B. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. 414 M.C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic or membranous. In certain genera it is inverted elastically, in order to shoot out the sporangia (e. g. Spherobolus). The receptacle is entire, and opens at the summit by a circular or toothed orifice ; or it is truncate or dimidiate, and closed by a thin membrane called epiphragma, which bursts to make way for the sporangia (e. g. Cyathus). These at first swim in a more or less consistent mucilage which at length disappears. They are free or fixed to the peridium, sometimes laterally, sometimes by the centre, by means of a sort of cord. Their consistence is sometimes hard and firm, sometimes more tender. ‘The sporidia which they contain are of a variable colour, and generally collected in the centre. These fungi grow in autumn, and are, as far as is known, of no use.: Their morphosis, which has not been followed, demands the attention of mycologists favourably situated for such observations. The Tuberacee form an important tribe, whether on account of their structure, so well explained by Vittadini, or their use for food. The species have a single or double peridium. This peridium, when single, or the internal, when there are two, is folded more or less deeply into the interior of the fungus, so as to form veins of different colours, giving it a mottled appearance. The sinuosities formed by the folds of the peridium, which Vittadini has well compared to those of the brain, do not proceed always from every point of the circumference, as in the genus Genea (Vitt. Mon. Tub. t. ii. f. 7.); more frequently, in the root-bearing species, the folds radiate towards the summit from the point which is in contact with the soil; in some cases it is from the centre that they diverge. .The outer pe- ridium, which is wanting in the curious genus Gautiera, is frequently floccose or byssoid. In the species with a tuberculated bark, this is formed of very small and crowded elliptic cells. These cells, ac- cording to Vittadini, serve in the Truffles for the absorption of the juices necessary for their growth, and perform consequently the functions of roots. The flesh of Tuberacee, especially remarkable for its veins, is of a different colour in different species. Its consist- ence and hardness increase with age, which is the reverse of what takes place in Lycoperdacee. We see at once the analogy which closely-binds certain genera of this order with Hymenomycetes, and others with Discomycetes. Gautiera graveolens is indeed very near to the Morells, and Genea is an introverted Helvella. In both cases, the organs of fructification, being disposed in an inverse manner, do not receive the action of the air and light till after their dispersion. It would take too long time to review the forms which the peri- dium assumes in the very numerous genera of this tribe; it is enough, after the Italian monograph, to have indicated the origin of these inner veins, which wise and provident nature has employed to multiply the points of the fructifying surface without increasing too much the volume of the plant. If we examine the parenchyme of Tuberacee, we recognise besides that it is composed of cells differently fashioned, but in general rather rounded than elongated. Between these cells, we observe from, space to space cavities very variable in their form. ‘The one, Sketch of the Class Fungi. = 115 which are mere lacune, contain peridiola in which are-enclosed the sporidia, which are often filled with sporidiola ; others, larger, are lined with a membrane or hymenium, composed of juxtaposed cells, It is in the interior of these cells that the sporidia are contained in the genus Genea, and from between them that those of the genus Rhizopogon emerge. In some other utero-hymenian genera, the sporidia are borne by a minute peduncle, ‘which is formed at the summit of the basidia. In the genera Pachyma and Picoa, where there is no trace of veins, the peridiola nestle here and there in the flesh of the fungus. The sporidia of the Tuberacee are then generally contained in asci or peridiola. They are seldom smooth, more rarely striated longitudinally. Almost always, on the contrary, they are rough or echinulate, a circumstance which made Turpin regard them as the truffle in miniature. Vittadini, who has studied the germination of those of Hlaphomyces*, which are echinulate, has seen these points elongated into byssoid filaments, which at length envelope the seed in a thick down. This down, according to the author, is as it were the cotyledon of the young plant. He infers by analogy, that the ‘same is the case with the sporidia of most other Tuberacee. The fungi, which generally are subterraneous, prefer temperate climate, and are found especially in forests of oak and chestnut. Truffles, known to Theophrastus under the name of oidvoy, and to Plutarch under that of idvoy, have long been esteemed’ for their delicious flavour. Everybody knows that they are nutritive and aphrodisiac, and that pigs are quite as fond of them as ourselvesy. We come now to the Phalloidee. 'The species which compose this tribe, though we derive no immediate benefit from them, are nevertheless worthy of arresting for a moment our attention, because they form a very evident passage from true Gasteromycetes to Hyme- nomycetes ; they approach the latter by the constant presence of a volva, but especially by the structure of their hymenium. ‘This structure indeed has been observed only in the genus Phallus ; but, till new investigations show us the identity of structure in the other genera, analogy leads us to suppose that it does not differ in the rest of the tribe. It is to Mr. Berkeley again that we are indebted for this interesting discovery. What he has seen in Phallus caninus is as follows: as in the puffball, the fructiferous membrane is formed of a very sinuous hymenium. The walls of these sinuosities are composed of elongated cells, a little clavate at the tips, and sur- mounted by from four to six threads, each bearing an oblong spore (Berk. /. c. p. 164. t. 2. f. 22, 23). The basidia appear all to be fertile and of an equal length. We have then here an Hymenomycete which is distinguished from the others merely in the sporidia being soon involved in a mucilaginous mass derived from the hymenium. * See, on the subject Elaphomyces, Messrs. Tulasne’s admirable paper, Ann. Se. Nat. July 1841.—M, J. B. + Many other species of this tribe are eaten. In the Canaries, a species is much esteemed which I have referred doubtfully to Rhizopogon albus, _r., but which is perhaps Zuber niveum, Desf., a species at present unknown. Hist. Nat, Canar. Phytogr., sect. ult. p. 85. 12 116 M. C. Montagne’s Sketch of the Class Fungi. In all the species of this group, the young fungus is wrapt in a general volva (uterus, Fr.), which is sometimes double. This pouch, which is usually white and membranous, and which contains the receptacle, is separated from it by a more or less thick layer of mucilaginous matter, frequently of a feetid, cadaverous, goaty, sper- matic or musky scent, sometimes quite scentless. ‘The volva bursts towards the summit in order to make way for the receptacle, which then increases rapidly. Sometimes this receptacle. consists of a little head (capitulum), which is smooth or rugged (e. g. Phallus), smeared with a coat of this jelly with which we have seen the volva was at first distended*, and supported by a fleshy stem or peduncle, or rarely woody, as in Batarrea; generally fistulose, smooth or reticulate. ° Sometimes the receptacle, which is still stipitate, is divided at the top into expand- ed and bifid rays (e. gy. Aseroe), erect and simple (e. g. Calathiscus, Lysurus). Sometimes sessile, as in Clathrus, or pedicellate, as in Fetidaria, A. St. Hil., it presents a sort of convex, ovoid or turbinate peridium, or rather a sort of net with rounded meshes, smooth or striate, in the interior of which is contained the gelatinous medium which involves the sporidia when the time of their dispersion is arrived. The genus Batarrea is anomalous; its vegetation is phalloid, but its fruit is that of Lycoperdacee ; indeed the naked sporidia are mixed in the pulverulent state with filaments springing from the receptacle. All the Fungi of the tribe which we have just examined spring from beneath the soil, or on its surface; their growth is wonderfully rapid. Batarrea Gaudichaudit, found at Peru, near Lima, acquires all its development in a few hours. They are of no use to man}. Note.—Thisis, on the whole, the least satisfactory of the six grand divisions of Fungi, and must doubtless be greatly modified hereafter. The affinities of Nidularia and its allies are at present very ill understood, and both Hyme- nomycetes and Discomycetes will be reinforced by far the greater portion of its other components. The great desideratum isa correct knowledge of the morphosis of Myxogastres, aud the genus Trichia is especially worthy of study, as its flocci are clearly not mere relics as those of Lycoperdon. The notion that Selerotium is allied to Spheria is very ingenious, and is perhaps strengthened by the fact that Spheria pheocomes and others are Sclerotia in an early stage of growth.—M. J. B. * M. Legrand (Act. Soc. Linn. Bord. v. June 1882) has shown that in Phallus vulpinus, an excellent species described by him, this jelly, which is inodorous, diminishes as the fungus increases, and that it dies almost imme- diately if it is taken away before the fungus has arrived at maturity. It seems to him consequently intended by nature to furnish the nutritive matter indispensable for the evolution of the Phallus. Some mycologists have sup- posed, without any ground, that it contains the fecundating principle. Its odour is very variable ; it is foetid in many species; none in Phallus caninus, vulpinus and indusiatus ; it has somewhat of a spermatic scent in P. auran- tiacus, n. 8. from the East Indies (Ann. Se, Nat. Nov. 1842). . t See Mont. Amn. Sc. Nat., 2 sér. tom. ii. p. 76. t. 4 f. 1. t Lysurus Mokusin is considered by the Chinese as an excellent remedy in gangrenous ulcers. It is also eaten ; but it appears to be often poisonous. Mr. Stephens on Epilobium. 117 XIV.— Note on Epilobium angustifolium and macrocarpum. By H. O. Sternens, Esq., with remarks by Sir W. J. Hooxer*. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. Since the publication of Mr. Leighton’s papers on these plants [Epilobium angustifolium and macrocarpum| in this workt, I have received the following remarks from Sir W. J. Hooker, which will probably go far to prove their specific identity : “With regard to Epilobium macrocarpum, it seems to be what I alluded to in the 1st edition of my ‘ Brit. Flor.,’ when I remember there was cultivated in our Botanic Garden at Glasgow an American form of this plant (E. angustifolium) with smaller flowers. | ‘¢ From America I afterwards received states which seemed gradually to pass into our true angustifolium. To.me, I must confess, the characters you and Mr. Leighton have pointed out do not seem sufficient to constitute a species. Are there not intermediate forms? and can you really distinguish these two when not in fruit? How do you know your macrocarpum is not Linnzeus’s angustifolium? What does Mr. Leighton mean by saying that H. angustifolium does not bear perfect cap- sules ? If so, how is it so extensively propagated ? and if true, may not that account for the difference in the fruit ? and surely a barren plant ought not to be the type of the species. “{ have numerous specimens in my herbarium of what I consider E. angustifolium from Mount Olympus to Iceland and Norway in the old world, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific in the new world, and all that have fully formed fruit have it resembling your macrocarpum. My large and small flowers seem equally to have fruit of the same character.” It must be acknowledged, that if these plants are distinct, the specific character rests on the size and shape of the cap- sules ; and if these are alike in both, I cannot but agree with Sir W. J. Hooker, there scarcely remains sufficient difference to constitute. two species; for the. elaborate descriptions of Mr. Leighton contain nothing tangible, all the remaining dif- ferences between the two forms being of a comparative kind. Having no means of consulting the Linnean herbarium, I could not be certain my macrocarpum was not the angustifo- lum of that author; for the plant of Linnzus I rested on the authority of Smith. I now find Linnzeus’s angustifolium is my macrocarpum, although Smith describes and figures in ‘ Eng, * Read before the Botanical Society of London, Feb. 18, 1842. + See vol. viii. pp. 170, 246, 401. 118 Mr. Westwood on new Insects. Bot.’ the dark-leaved and large-flowered form. In gardens, EL. angustifolium, brachycarpum, Leighton, is propagated by creeping roots, and this will account for its barrenness under cultivation. I shall try, when its roots are confined by a gar- den-pot, if perfect seed will be produced. Henry Oxiey STEPHENS. Bristol, Terrell Street, Feb. 8, 1842. XV.—Insectorum novorum Ceniuria, auctore J.O, Westwoop, F.L.S., &c. Decadis quinte, ex ordine Homopterorum Latr., Synopsis. Familia Crcapip&. Cicada imperatoria, W. Luteo-fulva, capite et thoracis dorso ma- culis numerosis (magnitudine et forma variis) nigris, mesotho- raceque figura trifida notatis: pronoti lateribus in medio emar- ginatis ; abdomine brunneo lateribus pallidioribus, macula in singulo segmento utrinque nigra; alis flavido-hyalinis venis fulvis ; anticarum venis transversis subapicalibus fusco nebu- losis, maculisque septem versus marginem fuscis.. Long. corp. unc. 34. Expans. alar. unc. 81. Obs. Gigas in genere. Affinis C. fusce, Oliv., Stoll., Cig., fig. 36. Hab, East Indies and the Indian Islands. Mus. Hope, West- wood, &c. Cicada Mearesiana, W. Nigra, pronoti margine postico flavo : meso- thorace posticé utrinque puncto oblongo ferrugineo, metatho- race fulvyo marginato ; alis anticis nigro-fuscis, venis nigris ; pos- ticis leté testaceis, arel unali margineque tenui apicali fuscis venis nigris. Long. corp. unc. 12. Expans. alar. unc. 54. Hab. 'The Himalayas. D. Meares. Mus. Parry. Cicuda dives, W. Nigra, alis anticis nigris, venis rubris, fascia me- dia transversa albida ; posticis testaceis, dimidio apicali nigris. Long. corp. lin. 12, Expans. alar. unc. 3. Hab. Sylhet in the East Indies. Mus. Hope. Cystosoma (subg. nov. Caput parvum. Promuscis ad basin femorum intermediorum extensa. ‘Tympana musicalia omnino detecta, valdé convexa, transversé striata. Abdomen ¢ maximum valdé inflatum. Pedes breves. Ale anticee ultra medium valdé subhex- agonaliter areolatze). Cystosoma Saundersii (Westw., Arcana Ent., pl. 24. fig. 1.). Pallidé lutea, costa alarum anticarum albidaé. Long. corp. feré unc. 2. Expans. alar. unc. 33. Hab. New Holland. Mus. Curtis (cum hoc nomine inscripto). Familia FuLe@orip2. Fulgora (subg. Pyrops, Spinola) Spinole, W. Rostro corporis lon- gitudine adscendente, supra nigro subtis luteo ; corpore fulvo ; pronoti margine antico et in medio, mesothorace plaga lata me- Mr. Westwood on new Insects. 119 dia punctis duobus strigisque duabus obliquis lateralibus nigris alis anticis fuscis venis fulvis ; ante medium fasciis tribus fectis transversis pallidé fulvis, maculisque 6 aut 7 subapicalibus (quarum nonnulle fasciam macularem formant) ; alis posticis apicibus nigris. Long. corp. unc. 13. Expans. alar. unc. 3}. Hab. East Indies, Mysore; also Assam, D.Cantor. Mus. Hope, Westw., &c. Affinis F. Candelaria. Fulgora (subg. Pyrops) guttulata, W. Rostro thorace dimidio bre- viori, apice subadscendente ; capite et thoracis dorso nigro-ma- culatis, abdominis segmentis basi fuscis, alis anticis guttis nume- rosis albidis nigro-cinctis ; posticis pallidé flavescentibus nigro- maculatis, margine postico laté fusco. Long. corp. feré unc. 1. Expans. alar. unc. 2. Hab. Northern India. Mus. W. W. Saunders. Fulgora (subg. Pyrops) virescens, W. Rostro brevi conico vix ad- scendente ; pallidé virescens, prothorace et mesothoracis scu- tello utrinque puncto nigro ; alis anticis maculis numerosis parvis rotundatis, fulvis, ornatis, posticis virescenti-hyalinis. Long. (alis clausis) feré unc. 14. Hab. East Indies. Mus. Hope, Leadbeater. adenine (subg. Episctus, Spin. ?) amabilis, W. Rostro, thoracis lon- gitudine supra plano subconico, capite thoraceque. griseo-fuscis, abdominis dorso testaceo, maculis lateralibus nigris, alis anticis brunneo-fuscis apice pallidioribus fusco nebulosis, posticis basi fulvis, medio fuscis, apice hyalinis. Long. corp. lin. 55. Ex- pans. alar. lin. 103. Hab. Mexico. Mus. Westw. Obs. Episcius Guerini, Spin. = Fulgora platyrhina, Germ., Westw. Kurybrachis insignis, Westw. Pallidé fulvescens, abdominis lateribus sanguineis, genitalibus lateralibus maximis cochleiformibus, alis anticis albidis basi magis fulvescentibus in medio roseo-tinctis, strigis brevibus nigris transversis apiceque punctis minutis ni- gris notatis, alis posticis albis, pone medium maculis nonnullis nigris, pedibus anticis dilatatis fusco-nebulosis. Long. corp. lin. 74. Expans. alar. unc. 25. Hab. Malabar (E. Ind.). Mus. Westw. Familia Cercoprip2. Smilia informis, W. Albida, pronoto maximo, valdé inflato, totum corpus obtegente feré ut in Smil. inflatd, at magis tumido, in medio constricto, et ad apicem spina armato, dorso irregulariter areolato, areis preesertim pesticis maximis fusco interdum margi- natis et maculatis, alis anticis venis crassis, punctoque subapi- cali fuscis. Long. corp. lin. 44. Hab, Brazil. Brit. Mus. et D. Hooker. 120 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to XVL — Contributions to the Ichthyology of Australia.. By Joun Ricwarpson, M.D., F.R.S., &c., Inspector of Hospitals, Haslar. [Continued from p. 31.] CENTROPRISTES SCORPENOIDES (Cuv. & Val.), Scorpenoid Centropristes. | Sooriane de Waigiou, Quoy & Gaimard, Zool, Voy. de Frey., pl. 58. f. 1. Centropristes scorpenoides, Cuv. & Val. Hist. des Poiss. iii. p. 48. No. 31. Mr. Gilbert's collection. In characterizing the Plectropomes, Cuvier observes that they differ from the Serrani in the teeth of the angle and un- der limb of the preoperculum being directed forwards, and that he has separated them merely to facilitate their nomen- - clature. Had the Centropristes been equally numerous, this species might have been detached by the same character as the Plectropomes, for its preoperculum is spurred beneath still more strongly and acutely*. But though the Centro- pristes do not form a copious group, neither do they, as enumerated in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons,’ constitute a very natural one. The illustrious authors of that work have pointed out the resemblance of the C. truttaceus to a Cesio, and indi- cated it as the probable type of a distinct genus, and its allied species C. georgianus has actually been made the type of the genus Arripist by Mr. Jenyns. Abstracting these and the Japanese C. hirundinaceus, which has also a peculiar aspect, the remaining Centropristes described in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons’ are all American. The species at present under consideration is named by the natives at Port Essington ‘ Seebererdidwee,’ and is abundant in all the shallow parts of the harbour. It has a strong re- semblance to a Scorpena in the character of its scales, in ge- neral form, in possessing a nasal cirrhus, in the structure of the anal spines, and in the small number of rays in that fin. These peculiarities no doubt determined Messrs. Quoy and Gaimard to place it in the genus Scorpena. The teeth of. the typical Serrani being long and slender, particularly pos- teriorly and towards the mesial line, as well as curved back- wards, and having moreover a few stronger ones intermixed, are especially adapted for preventing the escape of the ani- mals on which these fishes feed. But the numerous spe- * The appellation of Centrogenys, which is nearly synonymous with that of Plectropoma, would have been appropriate had it been advisable to give a subgeneric name to this curious fish. A specimen having the vomer and palate bones cut away might be taken for a Centropomus. + Zoology of the Voy. of the Beagle. the Ichthyology of Australia. 12] cies which enter into the genus show various gradations* in the strength of their cardiform dentition ; and the teeth in some being finely villiform, with small and scarcely projecting canines, are in fact less efficient organs of retention than the teeth of Centropristes nigricans, which are stated by Cuvier to be all ‘en fort velours.” The Centropristes scorpenoides, on the other hand, has very short, densely crowded teeth, with the dental surfaces curved and fitting into each other, and evidently adapted for rubbing down or bruising soft sub- stances rather than for retaining a living prey. ‘This species also differs from the other Centropristes, and approaches the Serrant in the snout and suborbitar being scaly. The un- usual strength and length of the second anal spine, being proportionally greater than even in the Holocentri, is a peculiar character. Mr. Gilbert has brought home three specimens in spirits, together with several dried skins, all retaining the configurations of the dark colour strongly defined, particu- larly on the spines and fins. One of the dried skins has been presented by Mr. Gould to the Muséum d’Histoire Natu- relle at Paris. The description of Quoy and Gaimard’s spe- cimen, contained in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons,’ agrees exactly with the examples from Port Essington, except in the state- ment of the suborbitar not being scaly and the operculum having only one acute point; but the figure in the zoological volume of Freycinet’s voyage is characteristic enough to show that there can be no mistake as to species. The markings are not however so boldly defined in that figure as they still appear on Mr. Gilbert’s specimens. Form.—Snout gibbous, the cranium being arched between the orbits both longitudinally and transversely. The head is concave behind the orbit} and rises again to the beginning of the dorsal fin, from whence to the end of the fin the profile of the back is mode- rately and regularly arched: the curve of the belly is flatter. The length of the trunk of the tail is equal to its own height, or to about one-third of the height of the body, which at the insertion of the ventrals, where it is greatest, is exactly equal to the length of the head, measured to the tip of the gill-cover; the total length of the fish exceeds thrice the length of the head by half the length of the caudal fin. The greatest thickness is just above the pectorals, and is equal to half the height ; the body thins off more rapidly to- wards the back, which is rather acute, than towards the belly, which is flattish and has some breadth before the ventrals. Towards the * The genus Prionodes of Mr. Jenyns exhibits a peculiar modification of the teeth of this tribe, the species on which it is founded being in fact a Ser- ranus with toothless vomer and palate bones. | + This peculiarity is owing to the soft parts, and not to the form of the skull, which is convex. 122 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to tail the fish becomes gradually much compressed, the thickness of the trunk of the tail not exceeding one-third of its height. The head is rather thick and convex above. The distance between the eyes is equal to the vertical diameter of the orbit, and the snout is very short. The moderately large eye is placed high up, occasion- ing apparently the arching of the frontal bone: it is half a diameter from the edge of the snout, a diameter and a half from the under surface of the head, and two and a half from the tip of the gill-flap. The nostrils are situated on the verge of the orbit, above its upper anterior angle, the two orifices being contiguous, and the foremost one emitting a cirrhus which is two lines high. The mouth opens forwards and is of moderate extent, the jaws not separating beyond an angle of 60°. The under jaw is equal in length to the upper one, but as it. ascends when the mouth is closed, it appears slightly longer when depressed. ‘The lips are thin. The intermaxillaries are moderately protractile, and, owing to the shortness of the snout, their pedicles, which are of the same length with the oral limbs of the bone, slide over the anterior third of the orbit. The maxillary is wide at its lower end and evenly truncated, and its upper end is only very partially covered by the edge of the preorbitar. The lips, jaws, isthmus, and branchial membrane are the only parts of the head that are not scaly; the snout, top of the head, suborbitars, cheeks, and whole opercular pieces being densely covered to their extreme edges with scales. The preorbitar is narrow, and curves away to a thin slip as it passes under the anterior third of the orbit ; it is scaly, though the scales, being imbedded in integument full of small pores, are not easily seen unless in the dried specimen. The rest of the suborbitar chain is restricted to a smooth mucous canal or fold which divides the orbit from the densely scaly cheek. Nei- ther the margin of the orbit nor the preorbitar show any acute points, though the anterior edge of the latter is slightly uneven. There are many minute pores with branching mucous tubes on the lower jaw not disposed in any regular order. The upper limb of the preoperculum inclines slightly forwards as it ascends, and is finely and very acutely serrated; the teeth are di- vergent.on the rounded angle and a little stouter ; and the under edge of the bone, which is slightly arched, is occupied by three strong conical and very acute spines which point forwards. The foremost of the three is the largest, being twice as long as the posterior one, which is less than the middle one. These spines lie beneath the scaly edge of the bone, and are not readily seen in the recent fish. The whole edge of the preoperculum is free to a considerable extent, and can be raised from the gill-cover. The gill-flap is triangular, its under edge sloping much. upwards to the not very acute scaly tip, which is situated high above the pectoral fin and nearer to the lateral line. ‘There is no membranous margin to the flap, and the scales conceal the unions of the opercular pieces. ‘The under edges of the interoperculum and suboperculum are quite entire. A flat acute spine is situated on the operculum, about its own length from the tip of the gill-flap and immediately behind it. ‘The point of a the Ichthyology of Australia. 123 second spine is just perceptible higher up, near the superior angle of the gill-opening: this point is conspicuous enough in the skeleton, the bone being cut away in a semicircular arc between it and the principal point. There is no peculiarity in the scales which conceal the supra-scapular and humeral bones. The teeth, which are, singly, but just visible to the naked eye, are disposed in villiform bands, very densely crowded ; and by the aid of a microscope are seen to be very short and obtuse, a few scattered ones near the symphysis being more so than the rest. The dental surface on the intermaxillary is concave and inclines much inwards, receiving that of the lower jaw, which is convex. On both jaws it tapers as it recedes from the mesial line. The chevron of the vo- mer, resembling an inverted A, is armed, together with the edge of the palate bones, with very minute villiform teeth. Rays :—B.7—7; D.12|12; A.3|5; C.128; V.1|5; P.13; 1st specim. 7—7; 139; 315; 12%; 1\5;'- 138; 2nd ~— 7—7; 13/10; 3|5; 128; 1/5; 14;3rd — 7—7; 189; 3|5; 12%; 1/5; 13; 4th — 7— 73. WBA s 1 43]5 3,18; 15; 18; C.& V. The narrow branchiostegous membrane is supported by seven cy- lindrical rays, the two lower ones being short, very slender, and easily overlooked. The gill-opening is wide. ‘The dorsal varies in different individuals more than is common among the acanthoptery- gian fishes in the number of its soft rays, viz. from nine to twelve, the last one being in each case deeply divided. One specimen also has a spine fewer than the rest. The fin commences a little behind the edge of the preoperculum ; the spinous portion is arched and oc- cupies twice the space of the soft rays, which rise above the poste- rior spines, and are like them obiique. ‘The anterior spines are the strongest ; the first is half the height of the second, and when the fin is fully extended inclines forwards ; the third is the tallest, but is very little higher than the second and third ; the membrane is more deeply notched between the first three spines than in the succeeding part of the fin; the remaining spines decrease very gradually in suc- cession, the thirteenth being a little taller than the first, and about one half the height of the soft part of the fin, which has a rounded out- line. All the spines after the second one are slightly curved. There are no scales on the fin before the third spine, but more posteriorly a little triangular fillet of scales inclines against the fore side of each spine, the fillets increasing successively in size, and the base of the soft fin is densely scaly. | The anal commences far behind the anus and nearly opposite to the middle of the soft dorsal. The first spine is short, tapering and acute, and convex before and behind, whereby it is prevented from reclining against the second spine, which is very long, strong, slightly curved and compressed in an opposite direction, having its anterior and posterior edges acute. ‘The membrane slopes off from it to the point of the third spine, which is one-fourth part shorter, producing an acute notch in the fore part of the fin. The third 124 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to spine is however as tall as the highest dorsal spine, and it is flattened or grooved behind for the reception of the first soft ray, which is closely applied to it and overtops it, but does not equal the second spine. The other rays are successively shorter, and. the fin termi- nates sooner than the dorsal, leaving consequently more space be- tween it and the caudal. It contains five articulated rays, the last one deeply divided, and its base is scaly like the dorsal. The caudal terminates evenly with rounded corners, and contains twelve or thirteen forked or branching rays, with three visible, in- cumbent, simple but jointed ones above and below. The pectoral is rounded and is attached low down, the lower rays partly overlapping the ventrals. All its rays are twice or thrice divided at the tips, but the branches remain in contact without spreading through. the membrane that connects one ray to another. ‘The ventrals are at- tached near each other, entirely on the ventral aspect of the fish, and open horizontally. The spine is one-third shorter than the soft rays. "Scales. —The scales, in situ, have a striking resemblance to those of Scorpena porcus. ‘They are individually truncated at the base, . with parallel rectangular sides and an ‘elliptical exterior edge, which is finely ciliated by slender rigid teeth and narrowly bordered by a shagreened surface. From five to nine furrows originate in a point close to this border and run in a fan-like manner to the basal edge, but do not occasion crenatures thereon. The scales on the head are about one-third smaller than those on the body, and appear to be rougher. They are smallest on the bases of the fins, the snout, and tip of the gill-cover ; the cheek ones nearly equal those on the oper- culum in size. They do not extend far on the pectorals and cau- dal, and there are none on the ventrals. The lateral line is less curved than the back, and opposite to the posterior third of the soft dorsal, it takes a straight direction through the tail to the membrane between the two middle caudal rays, proceeding as far on the fin as the scales do. The scales composing it are smaller than the adjoining ones, and of a different shape, being wider at the base than at the exterior edge, which is rough and ciliated like the rest : each has a simple tube on its exposed disc. ‘There are forty-two or forty-three scales on the lateral line. ) Colours.—The patterns of colour appear to be equally well pre- served in the dried skin and in the specimens kept in spirits, the ground-tint being however much lighter in the latter. It is honey- yellow approaching to wood-brown, and the dark parts are deep um- ber or liver-brown. ‘The dark tint prevails on the top of the head, mottles the cheek, and forms four round blotches along the summit of the back, partly encroaching on the dorsal fin. There is an equal number of spots on the lateral line not so well defined, and some shadings on the sides, particularly at the base of the anal. The lips, lower jaw, margin of the eyeball, and soft dorsal, exhibit the dark colour in form of small rectangular spots; the spinous dorsal shows it in round spots, which form three rows and occupy more space than the ground-colour. The posterior surface of the pectoral is regu- the Ichthyology of Australia. 125 larly barred by three dark bands alternating with as many pale ones; on the anterior surface there.are some spots, and the dark bars shine partly through. The fore part of the anal is also barred, the bars being most clearly seen on the spines; the hind part of the fin is tessellated by the rectangular spots. This tessellated pattern is still more perfectly exhibited on the caudal, the dark and light colours being nearly equal over the whole fin. The ventrals are marked much like the anal. The edges of the scales are mostly lighter, which renders the dark spots less intense on the scaly parts than on the jaws, spines, and fins. The nasal cirrhus is banded by the tiwo colours. The eye is gold-yellow in the dried specimen. Osteology.—The cranium is convex and smooth over the posterior angle of the orbit, but there is a very small mesial ridge on the oc- ciput between the superior ends of the supra-scapulars. Between the orbits there is a smooth mesial furrow, and the anterior frontals are hollow. The infra-orbitars are narrow, presenting a chain of cells communicating with each other. There is no process extend- ing across the cheek to the angle of the preoperculum as in the Scor- pene. The preoperculum has been described already. The bony operculum ends in two flat acute points, with an even semicircular curve between them. It is the inferior third point, usually present in the Serrani, which is wanting in this species. The edges of the interoperculum and suboperculum are perfectly smooth. ‘I'he supra- scapular presents a series of cells like the suborbitars, and the un- even or crenated edge of a small process shows itself exteriorly at the upper angle of the gill-opening. There are, as in the Serrani, twenty-four vertebra, but I can reckon only nine of them as abdo- minal, instead of ten; for the tenth has a forked inferior spinous pro- cess, which receives the point of the large interspinous bone of the anal, but carries no ribs. There are only nine pairs of ribs, but two or three of the posterior ones are forked. The first spine of the dorsal is articulated to the first interspinous bone; in Centropristes nigricans there are three interspinous bones before the first dorsal spine. The small lateral process of the last caudal vertebra which exists in Serranus rasor and others of that genus is absent in this Centropristes. ‘The three anal spines are attached to a very strong interspinous bone ; the middle spine occupying most of the articula- tion, the first and third spines moving partly on its base. The other anal interspinous bones are much more slender and short. DIMENSIONS. inches. lines. Length from intermaxillary symphysis to end of caudal ......... 5 3 base of ditto .......+. 4.3 tip of gill-flap ......... | RA beginning of dorsal... 0 11 centre of eye ......++. 0 6 DIAM CCE OF WEEE ac ic desccicccccocscccvanceettisetantiesvewesse ck ERs as MORSE Length of pectoral ......... coccccsdonasstsbescoeesoucseeuedibecenecsesas ‘12 VORTEC Sit. dco vededseseubegusevesctebeaseee 4 EEE 1 0 rh) eS eT ee Peer eT ene aeaeery ie SPeOpr rete es 3.2 itto, SpINOUS PATt ...cceeececseeneseeeeceeees ete sbXGbY TORTE? eee ditto, articulated parteeccscsseeeeees licbekdsnepueesbawnde 1 A 126 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to - Dimensions. inches. lines. Length of anal .........-seeeeeeee wre ee ponlciceie’ inpehdopase g — CONTA sodcn ence dorcopecscce coer epysemesyes song bai sraceisommnne 1 0 RECUIE Ol TORR) CREED, 54, x ecanne racer ee clens tone nndedemensiopieaitenstieecs O 13 SHIINT SLOGERL BDIDC cewn oes nnernemenuincripbeureas cower ops 6oheo oe : kes athe EITC OMEN GEE cov acevcsccccscucccccdcaceaungeessss sscecs cue 0 MICU Ces ccctcs cccchsicucvieastiaeesan iret tector cece a coe eecbud Bilal’ Spine 225. AVERSA ERODE RS Psi pe BUEL ATA PAE OS... 2000s LOT RNRA HA AU, BAY B19 Height of body at pectorals ........... gletdea Wb nde bs DLs d eee OE 1 6 Thidkniegs of dita 12. cassis ses sn-44eores anedehvooana chin awed sv edsbaesse 0 8 THERAPON SERVUS (Cuv.), Jarbua Therapon. Holocentrus servus, Bl. 238. Grammistes servus, Bl. Schn. p. 185. Sciena jarbua, Shaw, Gen. Zool. iv. p. 541. No. 2. Mr. Gilbert's list of Port Essington fish. Mr. Gilbert states that “this fish inhabits the shallow parts of Port Essington. The specimen was taken from a fresh- water swamp near the settlement,” and measures 62 inches in length, caudal included. The lateral line is continuous, being arched until it arrives opposite to the eighth ray of the soft dorsal or sixth articulated one of the anal, whence it runs a straight course to the caudal, and passes a short way between the bases of the middle rays. THERAPON THERAPS (Cuv. & Val.), The Slave-Therapon. Therapou theraps, Cuv. & Val. iii. p. 131. pl. 53. No. 15. Mr. Gilbert’s collection of Port Essington fish. At-a-goorn, Aborigines of Port Essington. The authors of the ‘ Histoire des Poissons’ remark. that this species has a very close resemblance to the Jarbua Thera- pon (number 2. of Mr. Gilbert’s list), and indeed at first sight our specimen, which measures nearly eleven inches in length from snout to tip of caudal, might be easily set down as merely an older individual of the preceding species. Mr. Gilbert however informs us that its habits are somewhat different, for though abundant in the harbour it keeps in the deep water, while the Jarbua seeks the shallows. An attentive com- parison of Mr. Gilbert’s specimens of the two species, num- bers 2. and 15, elicits the following differences. The scales of servus are proportionally smaller, and have a neater and more compact appearance, arising from their being more strongly ciliated, and thereby better defined. The head has rather less ver- tical height, and the eye, which is smaller, approaches nearer to the profile. ‘The suborbitar is ciliated with acute teeth, and the small scales, which closely and entirely cover the cheek, abut against a smooth elevated®ridge that separates the cheek from the scaleless limb of the preoperculum. In ¢theraps the surface of the suborbitar is more decidedly furrowed, but its margin is merely crenated, not acutely toothed; the interoperculum has a perfectly smooth edge, the Ichthyology of Australia. 127 instead of showing two or three minute teeth posteriorly. The eye is larger, and further removed from the profile, the skull being more arched above as well as more convex transversely. The radiations and ridges of the frontal bone are more pronounced in theraps, but pre- sent the same patterns as in servus. Both species have scaly opercula and subopercula, and there are still some scales remaining anteriorly on the interopercula of both specimens. Cuvier’s figure represents the interoperculum of theraps as entirely scaly, and also a few crenatures on the edge of the suboperculum, which are not visible in Mr. Gil- bert’s specimen. Our examples of both species possess the first very small dorsal spine, which Cuvier notes as being occasionally absent in servus, and as wanting in theraps. In both the fifth spine is the tallest, the fourth and sixth being but little shorter. The second anal spine is the stoutest in servus, the third in theraps, as men- tioned in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons.’ Both have the large black mark between the fourth and seventh dorsal spines, a smaller one on the ninth and the membrane behind it, and three on the edge of the soft dorsal. The three black bands on each side of the body exist in both exactly as described by Cuvier; but our example of theraps wants the black mark on the lower tip of the caudal, and has a spot above, between the black tip and first bar, which does not exist in the figure given in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons.’ There is a striking difference in the lateral line of the Port Essington theraps, which is perhaps merely an individual variety proceeding from an injury, viz. an interruption beneath the third and sixth soft dorsal rays; it com- mences anew, and is continued to the caudal at the breadth of two scales lower down, the ends of the two parts passing each other at the interruption by the breadth of four scales. As the specimen con- sists of only one side of the fish, we cannot speak more confidently of the nature of this interruption of the lateral line,—the scales are of the usual size and appearance around the place. The most striking distinction of the two species appears to:be in the number of the outer conical teeth. These are small, blunt, and distant in servus, amounting only to about four on each side of each jaw, while in theraps they are at least double that number, are almost contiguous, and more acute, and they decrease in succession as they recede from the symphysis. In servus their blunt tips only are visible. Mr. Gray informs me that the Pterapon trivittatus of Hard- wicke’s ‘ Indian Zoology’ is the Therapon theraps. THERAPON RUBRICATUS (Nob.), Tile-red Therapon. No. 36. Lieut. Emery’s drawings. Lieutenant Emery has a drawing of a fish taken on the north-west coast of Australia, which is sufficiently character- istic to enable us to place it without hesitation in the genus Therapon, but abundantly distinct from any species described in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons.’ The large opercular spine and the serratures of the ascending limb of the preoperculum are distinctly shown, but there are no teeth indicated on the 128 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to lower edge of that bone, nor on any other of the opercular pieces, the suborbitars or humerus. This has probably arisen partly from the drawing having been made while the fish was just taken from the sea, and consequently when the soft parts concealed the bones of the head more perfectly, and partly perhaps from the bones above mentioned being less strongly armed than in others of the genus. No radiations of the frontal bone are indicated, nor are there any teeth shown in the jaws. .The head is proportionally smaller than in servus or theraps, its profile is arched above, but the nape rises more suddenly in a slightly concave line to the commencement of the dorsal; the line of the back is nearly straight to the beginning of the soft dorsal, whence it descends and curves gently into the trunk of the tail, whose upper profile is on a line with the top of the head. The body is higher than in the preceding species, its height under the spinous dorsal being exactly equal to one-third of the whole length, measured to the end of the central caudal rays. The height of the tail is less than one-third of that of the body. ‘The ventrals are larger than in servus or the- raps. The fourth dorsal spine is the tallest; and the third anal spine is represented as considerably longer than the second one. The membrane is not so much curtailed at the eleventh spine as in theraps. B.6; D.12\10; A.3|9; V.1)5, &e. The markings on the fins are dark reddish brown. One spot in- cludes the tips of the fourth, sixth and seventh dorsal spines ; there is a small one on the tip of the tenth spine, a still smaller one on the eleventh ; a fourth extends from the tip of the twelfth spine to that of the second soft ray, a fifth reaches from the tip of the fourth soft ray to that of the sixth, and there is a sixth spot on the posterior angle of the soft dorsal. A paler spot covers the hinder half of the anal. The ground-colour of the caudal is imperial purple, and it is crossed by three broad bands of dark liver-brown, the upper and lower tips of the fin being also marked with the same. The back and sides are deep tile-red, which graduates into carmine on the head, the belly being whitish with a yellow tinge. The longitudinal bands are narrow, and have a honey-yellow colour. One commences just before the dorsal spines, and terminates at the middle of the soft fin, as in servus ; another runs from the nape to the end of the soft dorsal, whence it is continued along the trunk of the tail to the upper base of the caudal. A third runs from the gill-opening, at the opercular spine, to the middle caudal bar, which has more than twice its breadth. There is a fourth very pale, and not complete stripe, at the junction of the red sides’ with the pale under surface, on a level with the lower third of the pectoral. The length of the indi- vidual, which the drawing represents, is noted by Lieutenant Emery as having been six inches. SinLAGo BuRRUS (Nobd.), Crimson-backed Sillago. No. 37. Lieut Emery’s drawings. The drawing was made from an individual 81 inches long, which was taken on the north-west coast... The species evi- the Ichthyology of Australia. — 129 dently differs from all that are described in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons,’ but the figure expresses the generic form so exact- ly, that I have no hesitation as to the genus, though no scales are depicted on the side of the head, nor a spmous point in- dicated on the operculum. It is banded on the sides like Sil- lago maculata of MM. Quoy and Gaimard, which inhabits Port Jackson, but it wants the silvery lateral stripe, shows spots on the dorsals, and has a higher and more elliptical body than that species. The profile is a lengthened ellipse, or, taking in the trunk of the tail, is fusiform ; its greatest height, lying about midway between the ventrals and anal, is somewhat less than a fifth of the total length, caudal included. ‘The outline descends in a flat regular curve from the first dorsal to the end of the snout, which is ren- dered obtuse only by the thickness of the moderately swelling lips. The mouth, situated at the apex of the subconical head, is on a low level, the under surface of the head being flattish. ‘The curve of the belly is not quite so prominent as that of the back. The length of the under limb of the preoperculum, and its breadth downwards, characteristics of the genus, are well expressed in the figure. There are, however, no scales shown on the cheeks or opercular pieces, nor any spine on the gill-flap. The length of the head is equal to one- third of that of the fish, caudal excluded. The eye is situated near the profile, and rather nearer to the end of the snout than to the gill-opening. Its diameter is equal to one-seventh of the length of the head. ‘The nostrils are situated high up, very near each other, and somewhat further from the end of the snout than from the orbit. The commencement of the first dorsal, the acute tip of the gill- flap, the pectorals and the ventrals, are in the same vertical line. It is probable that a short incumbent ray at the beginning of the dorsal has been overlooked. In the drawing the first ray is the tallest, the others decrease gradually to the tenth, which has only one-fifth of the height of the first. The shape of the fin’is triangular, its mem- brane terminating exactly at the base of the second dorsal : its height is equal to two-thirds of the height of the part of the body directly beneath it. The second dorsal lowers very gradually as it runs backwards, the last ray being only one-third shorter than the first, which is the tallest, and is as high as the seventh spine of the first dorsal: its outline is even. The anal is opposite to the second dor- sal; it is a little lower, but corresponds with it in form, except that it has a short spine at its commencement. The caudal is slightly lunate on the margin.- The pectoral measures one-sixth of the length of the fish, and terminates in an acute upper point. ‘The ventral is also acute, but wants the filiform tip which exists in some Sillagos. Rays :—D. 10|(11 ?)—20;, A. 1|21; P.1|5, &c. The lateral line is less curved than the back, and is traced a little above the middle height anteriorly, but runs through the middle of Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. 130 ~=Dr. Richardson on the Ichthyology of Australia. the tail; it is marked by two (or more?) divergent tubes on each scale. Colour.—The head is yellowish brown, changing on the lower half of the cheek and gill-cover to a flesh-tint. The back down to the lateral line, is crimson, the parts beneath primrose-yellow. Be- tween the nape and caudal fin eleven, irregular, interrupted bars of yellowish brown descend obliquely forwards from the back; those which proceed from the base of the second dorsal pass the lateral line a little way; the anterior and posterior ones are shorter. ‘The caudal is very pale ochre-yellow, without spots. The other fins are colourless, and seemingly transparent ; they are also without spots, except the dorsals, which are marked by oblique rows of round brown spots, each spot being nearly as wide as the space between the rays. There are two rows on the first dorsal and five on the second, but these are not complete; for as the lower anterior row terminates, from its obliquity, at the fifth ray, another row commences on the edge of the fin, and the same thing takes place when the second row terminates at the thirteenth ray, so that there are only three rows in any one part of the fin. There is a blue patch on the scaly base of the pectoral. Percis Emeryana (Nod.), Emery’s Percis. No. 22. Lieut. Emery’s drawings. The drawing was made from a fish procured at Depuch island; it measured seven inches. In form this Percis resembles cylindrica, but it is still more length- ened. Its height being one-seventh of the total length, caudal in- cluded, remains nearly the same from the occiput to the posterior third of the dorsal, when it begins to taper gradually into the trunk of the tail. The head is depressed before the eye, but it is altogether shorter, and the snout more obtuse than that of cylindrica. The teeth are strongly marked on the jaws. In the radiating semicir- cular form of the spinous dorsal, as well as in the notched caudal, this fish resembles a Trachinus. 'The spinous dorsal has five rays, and the third and fourth being the longest, its outline is much arched: its membrane ends exactly at the base of the first soft ray. The articulated part of the fin and the anal are of equal height through- out, and rather exceed half the height of the body. The posterior corner of the anal is slightly rounded. ‘The caudal is notched to a third of its length, and its lobes are acute. The pectoral is trun- cated, the spinous dorsal commences immediately over its base, and the elliptical ventrals are affixed a little more anteriorly. ‘The anus is under the fourth jointed ray of the dorsal, and the anal begins a ray further back. Rays :-—D. 5|21; A. 16; V. 5 (the spine not being expressed). Colour.—In the markings of the body this species comes near semifasciata, but it differs widely from it in the form of the head, body, and spinous dorsal, as well as in the number of rays ‘of the soft dorsal. The general tint of the back and upper half of the sides Mr. Yarrell on Mucor growing in the Air-cells of a Bird, 131 is tile-red. . Little specks of a deeper tint of the same colour border each scale, and these specks are at intervals crowded so as to prc~« duce five vertical bands under the soft dorsal, narrower than the in- tervening spaces. ‘There is another less distinct band on the nape, and a seventh on the base of the caudal. None of the bands go be- yond the general line of the red. The lower half of the side is pale primrose-yellow, which fades to white on the belly. The head, which is represented as scaly on its whole upper surface as well as on the cheeks and gili-covers, is coloured like the body, except that white replaces the yellow of the lower parts. ‘Three azure-blue streaks cross the front between the eyes, one on the upper part of the cheek follows the curve of the orbit, two run from the eye to the upper lip, and two connected like a bent bow and its string, cross the oc- ciput. ‘The spinous dorsal is entirely black, the soft one pale bluish lilac ; and behind each ray there are two round white spots, one above the other, and two blackish brown dots higher up, making four rows in all. The anal is also lilac, but with a tinge of crimson ; and it is marked by a series of sixteen crimson streaks running obliquely for- wards across the rays. The caudal is red like the back, with a yellow upper and under border, and four waving transverse lines on its distal half. The pectorals are unspotted red, and the ventrals greenish. [To be continued. ] XVII.—On Mucor observed by Col. Montagu growing in the Air-cells of a Bird. From Wn. YAaRRELL, Ksq., F.L.S. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. GENTLEMEN, In addition to the instances quoted in the eighth volume of the ‘Annals,’ page 229, of the growth of cryptogamous plants in the bronchial tubes of a Flamingo, and on the internal surface of the air-cells of an Kider-duck, allow me to refer you to another example mentioned by Col. Montagu in the ‘ Supple- ment to his Ornithological Dictionary,’ published in 1813, under the article ‘Scaup Duck.’ The paragraphs are as fol- lows :— “The cause of death (in this female) appeared to be in the lungs, and in the membrane that separates them from the other viscera; this last was much thickened, and all the ca- vity within was covered with mucor or blue mould.” “It is a most curious circumstance to find this vegetable production growing within a living animal, and shows that where air is pervious, mould will be found to obtain, if it meets with sufficient moisture, and a place congenial to vege- tation. Now the fact is, that the part on which this vegetable was growing was decayed, me had no longer in itself a living 2 132 — Mr. Hassall’s List of Invertebrata principle; the dead part therefore became the proper pabu- lum of the invisible seeds of the mucor transmitted by the air in respiration ; and thus Nature carries on all her works im- mutably under every possible variation of circumstance. It would indeed be impossible for such to vegetate on a living body, being incompatible with vitality, and we may be assured that decay must take place before this minute vegetable can make a lodgement to aid in the great change of decompo- sition. Even with inanimate bodies, the appearance of mould or any species of Fungi is a sure presage of partial decay and decomposition.” ' In your last number, the first of volume nine, Dr. C. Mon- tagne, in his Sketch of the Class Fungi, says, page 10, “The Hyphomycetes grow on vegetable or animal substances in the course of decomposition.” I refer to this only to show that Col. Montagu was well acquainted with the conditions neces- sary to this singular formation. | I am, yours very truly, Wm. YARRELL. Ryder Street, St. James’s, March 18, 1842. XVIII.—A List of Invertebrata found in Dublin Bay and its vicinity. By AntHuR Hitt Hassauz, Esq., M.R.C.S.L., Corresponding Member of the Dublin Natural History Society. Tux few invertebrate animals contained in the following list were found by me during the winter of 1840 and spring of 1841. The Porifera and Conchifera, with but two exceptions, are purposely excluded from it; examples of the first which I have met with having been sent to Dr. G. Johnston, and most if not all the species of the latter collected by me have doubtless been previously found, though not yet recorded, by that zealous collector T. W. Warren, Esq. For the Echino- dermata the nomenclature of Forbes is adopted, and for the Crustacea that of Leach. EcHINODERMATA. Comatula rosacea, very abundant in the channel between Dalkey Island and the mainland. The marking and colouring of young specimens obtained off Kingstown Harbour are very beautiful and delicate, very different from the coarse red colour which distin- . guishes them in their mature condition. I have collected speci-— ~ mens, the diameter of which when expanded did not exceed half an inch, and in them no trace of footstalks was to be detected. ~» found in Dublin Bay and its vicinity. 133 Ophiura texturata. Solaster endeca, O. albida. S. papposa. Ophiocoma filiformis, a single spe- Asterias aurantiaca. cimen. Spatangus purpureus. O. rosula. Eichinus sphera. Uraster rubens. Amphidotus cordatus. . U. violacea. Echinocyamus pusillus. Cribella oculata. Mouuusca. Doris tuberculata, not common. ~~ D. bilamellata, Johnston. Syn. D. verrucosa, Fleming’s Brit. Anim. The peculiar arrangement of the branchie of this species is over- looked by Dr. Johnston, the specimens from which his description of the species was derived having been preserved in spirit. As I had an opportunity of comparing several living specimens together, it may be as well perhaps to subjoin a description of its outward characters. | _ Length one inch and three-fourths ; body ovate, the larger end anteriorly depressed ; cloak tuberculated, mottled with deep brown ; tubercles rounded, white, elevated, and not all of an equal size; a broad band of brown, + of an inch in width, passes along its centre, commencing at the dorsal tentacula and terminating at the branchie ; the tentacula also are encircled by a brown shading. Branchie conical, pinnate, varying from twenty-four to thirty in number, ar- ranged in the form of a crescent or like the capital letter C, the horns of the crescent being much incurved; the convexity is anterior; the branchie are longest in the centre of the crescent and diminish greatly towards either side. A short process is frequently seen be- tween many of the branchiz, having somewhat the appearance of the remains of a branchia which had been broken off ; tubercles also cover the space enclosed by the branchial apparatus : dorsal tenta- cula thick at the base, conical, and without a sheath surrounding them. Number of branchie in young specimens as many as in ma- ture ones. It deposits its ova in ribbon-like gelatinous masses early in the month of March. _ Found in great abundance at Williamstown above low-water mark. Doris pilosa, not at all common. Several varieties of a Doris occur at the same locality as Doris verrucosa, Which I was at first inclined to regard as a variety of Doris pilosa, but which I now am inclined to consider as distinct from that species, from which it differs in several particulars ; in having the dorsal tentacula surrounded by a notched sheath; in size, the largest specimens attaining the length of one inch and three-eighths ; and in colour, which is various. One variety of this elegant Doris is of a soot-like black colour, and this is evidently the Doris nigricans of Fleming. A second principal variety is of a delicate and lively canary colour. All the other varieties present different. shades of these two colours, or are colourless or pure white ; this last variety is frequently met with. 134 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on two new genera of If the canary-coloured specimens be but varieties of the black ones, then is the name of nigricans improper, nor can the very great dif- ference in colour between the varieties be explained by reference to ‘age or locality. “ Goniodoris barvicensis, at Sea Point in great numbers just below low- water mark. Tritonia Hombergii, in deep water ; a single specimen. Kolidia rufibranchialis, not uncommon. Bulla haliotidoides, a single living specimen at Williamstown. Lottia testudinalis, abundant on stones above low-water mark at Williamstown. | CRUSTACEA. Corystes Cassivelaunus, common." Atelecyclus Heterodon, Portmarnock Strand, after storms. Portumnus variegatus, not uncommon. Carcinus Meenas, common. Portunus puber, common. Cancer Pagurus, common. Pilumnus hirtellus, not common. Pinnotheres Pisum, not common. Hyas Araneus, not common. H1. coarctatus, common. Inachus Dorynchus, Portmarnock, not common. Macropodia Phalangium, common. Pagurus Streblonyx, common. Galathea squamifera. Porcellana longicornis. P. platycheles. For the names of some of the species in the above list I am in- debted to Mr. Thompson of Belfast, whose kindness in this parti- cular I had to acknowlege on a former occasion. XIX.—Carabideous Insects collected by Charles Darwin, Esq., during the Voyage of Her Majesty’s Ship Beagle. By G. R. Wateruovss, Esq., Curator to the Zoological Society of London. [Continued from vol. vii. p. 129. With a Plate.] . Section CARABIDES. Genus ABROPUS%, nov. gen. Caput elongatum, anticé et posticé acuminatum. Labrum subqua- dratum. . Mandibule edentule, acute. Mentum profunde emar- ginatum, angulis anticis acutis. Palpi, articulo ultimo elongato, subcylindraceo, in medium pauld incrassato, ad apicem truncato. Antenne perlongee. Thorax capite vix latior, feré quadratus. * From &Secs and zov<, having soft or tender feet ; the joints of the tarsi in both sexes being many of them furnished with soft brushes of hair and membranous appendages on the under side. Sa AnnkMagNat Hist NAY PLO ea Ae ey Carabideous Insects from the Straits of Magellan. 135 Elytra oblongo-ovata, posticé distincté acuminata. Pedes longi ; tibie anteriores intis emarginate ; tarsi articulo penul- timo bilobato, subtis spongiosi ; tarsi anteriores in maribus dilatati, articulis oblongo-quadratis, subttis membranaceis. Sp. ABropus sptenprpvs, Plate III. fig. 1. Metius splendidus, Guérin, Revue Zo dlogique, No.10,1839,p.297. Abr. viridis; supra splendidé viridis; antennis, palpis pedibusque flavescentibus ; thorace feré quadrato, anticé indistincté acuminato, posticé foveis duabus impresso; elytris oblongo-ovatis, ad apicem distincté acuminatis, leviter striatis, striis impunctatis. Long. corp. 5 lin.; lat. 2 lin. Hab. Tierra del Fuego. Descrip.—Head elongated and pointed in front, with a large punc- ture on each side near the inner margin of the eye, and two oblong shallow foveze in front: eyes large and moderately prominent: an- tennz long and slender, when extended backwards reaching to about the middle of the elytra. Thorax scarcely broader than the head, nearly of a quadrate form, but slightly contracted in front; the anterior and posterior angles very nearly forming right angles ; the upper surface but little convex, with a distinct dorsal channel and two large and shallow posterior foveee : minute transverse ruge: are generally visible on the upper surface of the thorax. The elytra are ample, and together are about twice as broad as the thorax, of an elongated and subovate form; the broadest part is rather behind the middle, and at a short distance from the apex they are suddenly contracted in width; the point of each elytron is rounded: the sur- face is rather delicately striated, but the striz are obliterated near the outer margin and on the apical portion of the elytron; those striz nearest the suture are most distinct and continued nearly to the point of the elytron: no punctures are observable in the strie, the interspaces are flat and impunctate. The upper surface of the head, thorax and elytra is of a brilliant green colour ; the under surface of the insect is chiefly of a deep green hue; the head is of a pitchy red colour beneath, but faintly tinted with greenish, and the labrum is of the same tint ; the mandibles are testaceous at the base and black- ish at the point; the terminal segment of the abdomen is pitchy red at the tip. The legs, antennz and palpi are testaceous, but a slight pitchy hue is observable in the middle of the terminal joints of the palpi. The outer margin of the elytra is also reddish, and this tint is more or less visible at the suture. This insect I feel no doubt is the Metius splendidus of Guérin; it differs however considerably from the Metius harpaloides * of Curtis, which is the type of the genus Metius. ‘The general form of the two. insects is very dissimilar, the one (Metius) having the form of a Har- palus, and the other approaching ‘more nearly in form to an Agonum. Besides the difference in the general form, Abropus differs from Me- ius in having much longer antennz (as pointed out by M. Guérin), in having longer legs, the head also more.elongated, and the labrum . * Transactions of the Linnzan Society, vol. xviii. p. 189. 136 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on two new genera of ~ not distinctly emarginated in front. The most important distin- guishing character however is perhaps that furnished by the struc- ture of the tarsi, the penultimate joint of which is distinctly bilobed and furnished beneath with membranous appendages in both sexes. I fancy I can also perceive similar appendages on the under side of the antepenultimate joint. In the male the whole under surface of the anterior tarsi is covered with small hairs and membranous ap- pendages, and at least the penultimate and antepenultimate joints of the other tarsi are provided with the same soft cushions. Most of the above characters will serve to distinguish Abropus from Antarctia, but in a less marked degree ; some of the species of the last-mentioned genus approaching very nearly to Abropus in their general form, as well as in the structure of the parts of the mouth. The labrum in Antarctia is shorter and broader and more distinctly emarginated in front ; the mandibles are rather more curved and acutely pointed, and one of them has a distinct tooth on the inner side; the labrum differs only in being shorter and broader; scarcely any difference is perceptible in the palpi or in the maxillz. Whilst, on the one hand, I find species of Antarctia with the narrow thorax and general form approaching Abropus, on the other, I find species which I can scarcely say differ from Metius ;—the Antarctia carnifex of Dejean, for ex- ample, might with perfect propriety be placed in the genus Metius. Plate III. fig. 1 a, head magnified ; 16, mentum; 1 ¢, fore tarsus of male. Mr. Darwin found the Abropus splendidus flying in numbers about the sea-coast in the evening in the month of December. ‘‘ These insects live amongst the soft yellow balls which are excrescences, or rather fungi, growing on the Fagus antarctica, and which are eaten by the Fuegians.” Some specimens were found by Mr. Darwin under bark at Port Famine in the month of February. MIGADOPS*, nov. gen. Caput latum, subdepressum : /abrum transversum, anticé emargina- tum: mandibule intis bidentate: mentum emarginatum, dente medio, lato, ad apicem bifido, instructum: palpi articulo ultimo mediocriter elongato, in medium pauld incrassiore, ad apicem in- distincté truncato: antenne mediocres. Thorax transversus, elytris angustior. Elytra ovata. . Pedes mediocres: tibie anteriores inttis emarginate : tarsi quatuor anteriores in maribus dilatati et articulis transversis, subtiis spon- giosis. | . Sect. A, with the four anterior tarsi distinctly dilated in the male sez. Sp. Migadops virescens, Plate III. fig. 2. Mig. niger, supra vires- cens; antennis pedibusque rufo-piceis ; capite lato, subdepresso ; thorace transverso, subquadrato, ad latera in medio paulo dilatato, * From wiyas, mixed, and dw, the countenance, aspect, &c. the species *f the genus having the general aspect of one division of the Carabi, but an ffinity to another. Carabideous Insects from the Straits of Magellan. 137 posticé foveis duabus magnis impresso : elytris ovatis, posticé ob- tusis, leviter striatis, striis internis subpunctatis. Long. corp. 4% lin. ; lat. 24 lin. Hab. Tierra del Fuego. Head broad and depressed, with a very shallow fovea on each side near the eye, and another in front of each of these. ‘Thorax about one-third broader than the head, broader than long, but little convex above ; the posterior margin slightly sinuous, the lateral mar- gin somewhat rounded, the sides being dilated in the middle ; the an- terior and posterior angles nearly in the form of right angles; an impressed line runs parallel with and close to the lateral margins ; the dorsal channel is distinct, and commences at the anterior margin of the thorax and terminates at a short distance from the posterior margin ; on either side, behind, is a largish shallow fovea, and there is a second small and indistinct fovea close to the posterior angle. Elytra about one-third broader than the thorax, and less than one- third longer than broad; nearly ovate, but obtuse and rounded be- hind ; the surface but little convex, striated, the strize distinct near the suture and having a faint trace of punctures; on the outer half and apical portion of the elytra the striz are very nearly obliterated ; the interspaces are flat and smooth. The upper surface of the head, thorax and elytra is of a blackish green hue and glossy ; the under parts of the head and body are black ; the legs and four basal joints of the antenne are pitchy red, but the second joint of the antenne is black at the base ; the palpi are black, with the extremities of the joints pitchy. Plate III. fig. 2a, labrum and mandibles; 2 6, mentum; 2c, maxilla; 2 d, fore tarsus of male; 2 e, middle tarsus of ditto. The insect from which the above description is taken, somewhat resembles an Helobia, and in the form of the head, thorax and body is very dissimilar to the generality of the Harpalide, though it has the four anterior tarsi distinctly dilated in the males. It appears to form a connecting link between the family just mentioned and the genus Antarctia. Mr. Darwin’s notes state that this species is abundant under stones, &c. in the damp forest of Navarin Island. The specimens were col- lected there in the month of January. Mr. Darwin also found the same species in the month of December at the summit of Hunter’s Peak, an abrupt cone of greenstone 1700 feet high, in Hermite Island near Wigwam Cove, not far from Cape Horn. It was found at Hardy Peninsula in the month of March, and ‘ under bark” at Port Famine in February. Migadops Falklandicus.—Mig. nigro-viridis ; corpore subtis piceo ; antennis ad basin femoribusque piceo-rubris ; thorace. transverso, lateribus pauld dilatatis, posticé transversim impresso atque punc- tulato; elytris latis, ovatis, subdepressis, posticé obtusis, punc- tato-striatis, interstitiis pauld convexis. Long. corp. 44 lin.; lat. 24 lin. Hab. Kast Falkland Island. _ Head with a few waved transverse rugze between the eyes, im- punctate: thorax transverse, broadest in the middle, and but slightly — 138 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on two new genera of contracted before and behind ; the posterior angles acute, the anterior angles slightly rounded; dorsal channel distinct, and extending from the anterior to the posterior margins; on the disc of the thorax this channel is very broad ; a transverse depression is observable on the hinder part of the thorax, and the space between this depression and the posterior margin is thickly but finely punctured; the lateral margins are reflected, and present a few scattered punctures. The elytra are ovate, but little convex, and obtusely rounded at the apex ; | punctate-striated, the punctures small, and the spaces between the strie slightly convex ; the lateral margins of the elytra are reflected. The colouring of the upper parts is blackish green; the under parts are pitchy; the thighs are also pitchy, but inclining to reddish; the tibize and tarsi are black; the antennz have the four basal joints of a . pitchy red colour, and the remaining joints dusky; the'palpi are also pitchy red, but the terminal joint is blackish in the middle. This species approaches in form the M. ovalis, but differs in being more depressed, and in having the apex of the elytra obtusely rounded. Migadops Darwinii.—Mig. ater, antennis ad basin, pedibusque piceo-rubris, corpore subtus piceo; thorace posticé punctulato, transversim impresso, et foveis duabus magnis notato; elytris punctato-striatis. Long. corp. 3} lin.; lat. 14 lin. Hab. Tierra del Fuego. Head broad, depressed, and with four shallow fovee arranged in a transverse line between the eyes: thorax broader than long, di- lated in the middle and contracted behind; the upper surface but little convex ; the dorsal channel short, the sides rather broadly mar- ginated, especially towards the hinder angles, where the lateral mar- gin is recurved; behind is a faint transverse impression, and two large shallow fovez ; these, as well as the whole space between the transverse impression and the posterior margin, are rather thickly and finely punctured; some punctures are also observable on the lateral margins, which have a pitchy tint : elytra considerably broader than the thorax, and of a short ovate form, moderately convex above, and punctato-striated ; the punctures are small, and arranged closely together; the interspaces of the strize are nearly flat. The general colour of the insect is black, and it is moderately glossy; the palpi and four basal joints of the antenne are pitchy red, but the terminal joint of the former is blackish in the middle, and so is the apical portion of the second, third and fourth joints of the antenne ; the body beneath is pitchy red, and so are the legs. The pitchy tint of the under parts of the present insect would lead one to suppose the specimens to be somewhat immature. Mr. Darwin found this insect at Navarin Island, near Hardy Peninsula; its form differs but little from the Mig. ovalis (Pl. III. fig. 3); the body, however, is broader, the thorax is more broadly margi- nated, and the lateral margins are more recurved near the posterior angles. In size the present species slightly exceeds the M. ovalis. Migadops nigro-ceruleus.—Mig. nigro-ceruleus ; corpore subtis, an- tennis, pedibusque piceo-nigris ; thorace posticé transversim im- presso, punctis minutissimis adspersis, foveisque duabus ; elytris Carabideous Insects from the Straits of Magellan. 139 ovatis, punctato-striatis, interstitiis pauld convexis. Long. corp. 34 lin. ; lat. 13 lin. Hab. Tierra del Fuego. This species very closely resembles the M. ovalis, but the antennz are longer and black at the base; the thorax is more dilated in front, and the elytra are rather more distinctly sculptured. ‘The most important difference, however, consists in the intermediate tarsi of the male being distinctly dilated. In this respect the present species resembles the M. Darwinii ; its smaller size, more elongated form, more distinctly sculptured elytra, and the steel-blue colouring of the upper parts, will serve to distinguish it. Sect. B, with the intermediate tarsi very indistinctly dilated in the males. Migadops ovalis, Plate III., fig. 3—Mig. nigro-viridis ; corpore sub- tis piceo ; antennis ad basin femoribusque piceo-rubris ; tibiis, tar- sisque nigris ; capite lato, subdepresso, inter oculos foveis duabus impresso ; thorace transverso, disco convexo, lateribus in medium dilatatis, posticé foveis duabus, atque punctis minutis, gmpresso ; elytris breviter ovatis, convexis, punctato-striatis. Long. corp. 3 lin.; lat. 12 lin. Hab. Tierra del Fuego. Head broad and depressed : thorax broader than long, moderately convex above, the posterior angles acute; the lateral margins some- what reflected near the posterior angles, rounded, most dilated in the middle; the dorsal channel short, being generally confined to the disc of the thorax; behind, the thorax has a slightly marked transverse impression, the area between which and the posterior margin is very finely punctured; on each side, towards the posterior angle, is a largish and somewhat deep fovea. Elytra convex, and of a short ovate form ; punctato-striated, the punctures distinct and rather close together, but not large ; the interspaces of the strize flat, or very slightly convex. ‘The upper parts of the insect are of a greenish black colour, sometimes inclining to blue-black, the under parts are pitchy ; the basal joint of the antenne is pitchy red, the second and two following joints are black, but more or less pitchy at the base, and the remaining joints are dusky ; palpi black, the terminal joint pitchy at the apex; femora pitchy red; tibiz and tarsi black, or pitchy black. Pl. III. fig. 3 a, labrum and mandibles; 3 6, mentum; 3c, maxille. This species Mr. Darwin found in considerable numbers at Kater’s Peak, Hermite Island, which is close to Cape Horn; he also found it on the mountains at Hardy Peninsula, in the month of February. From the last-mentioned locality the specimens are of a larger size (being 34 lines in length) than those found at Kater’s Peak, but do not appear to be specifically distinct. This insect is readily distin- guished from others here described, if the males be examined, by the two basal joints of the intermediate tarsi only being dilated in that sex, and these joints are much less dilated than usual. The palpi are moreover shorter. 140 Mr. Reeve on a new Glassy Nautilus. XX.—Description of a new species of Carinaria, a genus of Nucleobranchiate Mollusks. By Mr. Lovetu Reeve, A.LS. [ With a Plate. ] To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. GENTLEMEN, , In the course of a recent journey through Holland, I was for- tunate enough to become the purchaser of a valuable collec- tion of shells that had been formed with considerable taste by the late Dutch Governor, General Ryder, stationed at the Mo- luccas. Amongst several of extreme rarity and beauty was a fine glassy Nautilus, which I at first took to be the celebrated Carinaria vitrea of the Paris Museum*, and of which a model in wax has been exhibited in the British Museum for many years. But.it was destined to be yet more precious, for on referring*to Lamarck’s description of that species, as well as to the figure in Martini’s ‘ Conchology,’ I found it to be perfectly distinct. As I am unable to identify this species with any of those since described by Rang, D’Orbigny, or Benson, I for- ward you the following specific characters, accompanied with drawings on copper, for publication in the ‘ Annals.’ On account of the elegant slender form which characterizes this shell, I propose to call it the CarinaRiaA Graciuis. Car. testa hyalina, iridescenti, gracili, late- ribus elongato-compressa, transversim rugosa, rugis ad carinam dorsalem obliqué terminantibus ; carina recta, sublata, margine simplici, integro ; vertice minimo, compresso, ad dextram involuto ; apertura oblongo-ovata, versus carinam angustiori. Long. 334; ; lat. 14; alt. 2 poll. Hab. ? Mus. Stainforth. The Carinaria gracilis differs materially from the Carinaria vitrea: first, in general form, being higher and much more slender and compressed at the sides; the keel, extending from the vertex to the margin of the aperture, is accordingly of greater length ; secondly, in the vertex being still more mi- nute, more compressed, and more closely rolled inwards ; and thirdly, the most marked difference, in the width and simple straight edge of the keel, which in the Carinaria vitrea is den- tated. I am unable to give the true habitat of this species, though, * Mr. Gray appears to have fallen into the same error as myself; for in his zeal to communicate the circumstance of my having brought this very rare shell to England, he notices it in this work, vol. vi. p. 239, as the Cari- naria vitrea, Lamarck. ee ee Ann.& Mag. Nat. Hist. Vol.g. PUI. Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 141 from the fact of its having been collected at the Moluccas, there is little doubt but that it was procured somewhere about that locality. I remain, Gentlemen, yours respectfully, : Loveuu Reeve. 8 King William Street, Strand, March 5, 1842. Representations of the well-known Carinaria Mediterra- nea are also given in the Plate, in order to exhibit the two species in comparison with each other. Puate II. Fig. 1, 2. Carinaria Mediterranea. Fig. 3, 4, and 5. Carinaria gracilis. XXI.—The Birds of Ireland. By Wu. Tuompson, Esq., Vice-Pres. Nat. Hist. Society of Belfast. [Continued from vol. vili. p. 502. ] No. 11.—Family Certhiade (continued). Tue Common Wren, Troglodytes Europeus, Selby, prevails throughout the island; and though chiefly known as an in- habitant of gardens, plantations and farm-yards, is found in summer and autumn far distant from such localities, in the wild heathy tracts both of the lowlands and mountain-tops. In similar places it has been observed by a sporting friend in a fine grouse district in Inverness-shire, where the vicinity even of the dwelling-house is unfrequented either by the robin or sparrow. The nest is generally composed of moss, and placed in hedges, and in trees and shrubs of various kinds. Warmer sites are not unfre- quently selected; thus, once in a corn-stack, and four times within houses at our country place, nests of the wren were observed : of these, one was placed on the wall-top, just under the roof of a - coach-house :—in the second instance, a swallow’s nest of the pre- ceding year (built inside a shed and against a rafter supporting a floor) was taken possession of, and fitted up with moss, of which a considerable quantity was introduced, though no attempt at a dome was made: for a proper construction of the kind there would not have been sufficient room :—the third, likewise, did not present any appearance of a dome ; it was built in a hole in a wall inside a house, and the only entrance was through the broken pane of a window :— the fourth was constructed in a bunch of herbs hung up to a beam across the top of the garden house for the purpose of being dried ; almost the entire of the nest was formed of the herbs, and the bunch altogether was very little larger than the nest itself; the door-of this house was generally kept locked, at which time the only mode of entrance was beneath the door, where there was barely room for the birds to pass through :—in all these instances the broods were reared 142 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. in safety. About Whitehouse, on the shore of Belfast Bay, where the grass-wrack (Zostera marina) is abundant, and always lying in masses on the beach, it is the material (as I am informed by Mr. James Grimshaw, jun.) commonly used by the wren in the construc- tion of its nest, which externally is entirely composed of it. My friend at Cromac remarks, that he has generally found upwards of a dozen of eggs in the nest of this bird, and notices, from his own observation, the well-known circumstance of its making two or three nests before laying. A gentleman of my acquaintance was once much amused at witnessing a wren purloining materials from a thrush’s nest, which was built in a bush adjoiing its own tenement, then in course of erection. When the thrush was absent in search of food for its young, which were nearly fledged, the wren generally contrived to steal from it ‘‘ two or three good mouthfuls ” to assist in the erec- tion of its own edifice. In a communication from Mr. R. Davis, jun., dated Clonmel, Nov. 1841, it is remarked, —‘“‘ Being some years ago in want of the eggs of the spotted flycatcher, I had been watching a pair who had built in a garden near our house. ‘The female had laid three eggs and on my going two days afterwards hoping to find the full number, five, what was my surprise to see the nest crammed with young wrens just able to fly! they had apparently broken or thrown out all the eggs but one: the flycatchers were gone. I suppose the wrens, being ‘ brought out’ for the first time, had taken refuge in the nest and expelled the rightful owners; but it was rather a cu- rious and inexplicable circumstance.” In a well-sheltered locality I have often in winter seen the wren frequenting the cow-shed (where it nightly roosted) and farm- stable in the forenoon of frosty days, when there was bright and warm sunshine out of doors. ‘To the green-houses and hot-houses in the garden of a relative this bird often resorts, especially in winter; indeed, to wherever it can find the best shelter. Under the date of Sept. 23 is a journal-note to the effect, that on the yard- wall before my window a wren appeared, singing with extraordinary loudness, its tail and wings drooping all the time. Other birds were ‘attracted to the spot by its loud song. First came a hedge-sparrow to buffet it, which was followed by a male and female chaffinch, also with sinister intent; but bold as FitzJames, ‘“‘ Come one, come all, this rock shall fly From its firm base as soon as I,” it maintained its position against oneand all,and sang away as fiercely as ever. — ATHYLACENTERA. Intestinal canal not furnished with ceca. 1, SILURIDA. Sizuriwes, Cuv. No true scales on body; repre- senting PLAGIOSTOMI. 2. CYPRINIDAS. Cyrrinorpes, Cuv. Body scaly, mouth slightly cleft; representing CYCLOSTOMI, 3. ESOCIDAX, Esoces, Cuv.. Body scaly, mouth widely cleft; re- ' presenting LOPHOBRANCHIL. THYLACENTERA. Intestinal canal furnished with ceca. 4, CLUPEIDA.. Crurex, Cuv. No second dorsal; representing OSTINOPTERYGII. 5. SALMONIDA. Satmonipes, Cuv. Second dorsal adipose ; repre- senting STURIONES. I am often afraid of trusting myself to Mr. Swainson’s method of drawing analogies between things in themselves wide apart. A per- son may reasonably doubt the legitimacy of any comparison between a fish and an insect, or even between a fish and a bird; because he may attribute all such resemblances to the imagination, the objects being in themselves so very dissimilar in every leading point of view. But no one can doubt that a fish may legitimately be compared with a fish, and every one will I think see that there is no effort of the imagination at work when a Silurus is compared with a Chiloscyl- lium, a Cobites with Cyclostomous fishes, or some of the mailed Hso- cide with the Lophobranchit. The Clupeide represent the Ostino- pterygii typically in form, so that I have no doubt you will discover the analogy, as yet unknown to me, which exists between the Sai- monide and Sturiones. 1 was ignorant of the true arrangement of Cyprinide until I read your Mae Monograph. I have now no PF oh 204 W.S. MacLeay on the Natural Arrangement of Fishes. doubt of its being nearly as follows into gewera, or rather into fami- lies :— VERZE, M‘Clel. Body regular. 1. PEONOMIN A, M‘Clel., or genus Cyprinus, L. Intestinal canal long ; ; representing STURIONES. 2. SARCOBORINE, M‘Clel., or genus Levciscus, Ki. Intestinal ; canal short ; ; representing OSTINOPTERYGII. APALOPTERINZ, M‘Clel. Body invested with a slimy mucus. 3. POECILIAN A, M‘Clel., or genus Pacinia, Sch. Snout prolonged, no cirri. Branchial rays more than three; repre- senting LOPHOBRANCHIL. 4. COBITIN A. Mouth provided with cirri. Branchial rays three ; CYCLOSTOMI. 5, PLATYCARINA, M‘Clel., or genus Phatycara, M‘Clel. UHead flattened, round and short. No cirri, branchial rays less than three; representing PLAGIOSTOMI. Thus we see why the Platycara has the form of a shark; why Loaches, such as Schistura, M‘Clel., have an analogy to the Lam- preys and Myxines ; why Psilorhynchus has so long a snout; and why Gozorhynchus has the muzzle of a sturgeon. ‘The nearer two groups are in general structure, the more striking their parallel ana- logies will be; and therefore I think, that by comparing fish with fish, we may obtain more striking analogies than by comparing them, as Swainson does, with Mammalia, birds, or insects; at all events, we shall have less reason to distrust the effects of a fertile imagina- tion. Still I am far from denying, that such analogies as he delights in exist in nature. I only say, that they are dangerous things to deal with, and that in his hands they often become far-fetched and even ludicrous. ‘The cause of the greater part of the resemblances which he discovers between objects the most apart from each other in ge- neral structure, seems to be a general Jaw of nature, which has ruled that in every group of animals there should be a minor group more essentially carnivorous, another minor group more essentially herbi- vorous, another more aquatic or natatorial, and so on. These minor groups may also be characterized by one being more essentially ter- . restrial, another more essentially aérial, another more aquatic, an- other more amphibious, and so on. These general principles are the occasion of resemblances between animals the most distinct in their structure, and therefore I understand perfectly what Swainson means when he speaks of a Rasorial type of fish ; yet surely it is an incor- ‘rect expression, for so far from fishes having been created on the models of Rasores or Grallatores, for all that we know, birds may have been created on Plagiostomous or Cyclostomous types. The general model was undoubtedly one ; but why Swainson should as- sume this one model to have been taken from birds I cannot divine, except that in ornithology he is most at home. However, to return to the subject of Cyprinide, your arrangement of them shows another set of analogies, which I also think very conspicuous ; for instance, The Peonomine are the types of the family Cyprinide. The Sarcoborine represent ......... . the Esocide. The Peeciliane represent ............ the Clupeide. The Cobitine represent ............ the Salmonide. The Platycarine represent .......... the Siluride. / W. S. MacLeay on the Natural Arrangement of Fishes. 205 You will perhaps say, that the Coditine ought to represent the S?- luride ; but the relation between the Cobditine and Siluride is one of direct affinity, in which I perfectly agree with Swainson; and I have accordingly made the Cyprinide and Siluride contiguous groups in the table of CLUPEINA, given on a preceding page. When I can secure a safe private hand, I shall beg your acceptance of a copy of the third part of the ‘ Illustrations of the Geology of South Africa.’ In the mean time I must refer you to a copy which I gave our friend Dr. Cantor. In page 9 of that work you will see a Table which is in perfect accordance with your views of the value of the word genus ; but not perhaps with your view of the word fa- mily ; nor is what I have written above consistent with the view I have taken in that table of the value of the words genus and family. The truth is, what in the foregoing part of this letter are called Genera, are Families, and ought to end in zd@, as the peculiar desig- nation of that rank of group ; but as these groups agree wonderfully with the extent of the old genera of Linnzus, I left them that name for your more clear comprehension of my meaning. ‘To be consist- ent, however, with myself in the above-mentioned table (page 9 of the ‘ Illustrations’), the following ought to be the gradation of groups: Regnum.—Animalia. Subregnum.—V ertebrata. Classis.— Pisces. Ordo.—Ostinopterygii. Tribus.—Clupeina. Stirpes.—Cyprinine, above called ‘ Cyprinide.’ Famil i aes above called ‘ Peeonomine, Y aga or the genus Cyprinus. Genus.—Cyprinus. Subgenus.—Tinca. Section :—and so on to the species. Your table therefore, given p. 261 of your Monograph, is more in harmony (except indeed the names, which are things of artifice, and have nothing to do with nature) with my table given in the ‘ Illustra- tions’ than is the foregoing letter ; and I wish you to understand, that were I to publish on Fish, I would make it clearly understood, that I view Linnzus’s genera to be groups of the rank of families, so that the groups above called Perca, Scomber, &c., ought to be called Per- cide, Scombride, &c. I have now written enough to show you how I imagine Fishes may be distributed into something like a natural arrangement. My views must of course be subject to a multitude of corrections; but I think they are more connected, that is, they show more unity, than any ichthyological synopsis which I have yet seen. I have worked out the Plagiostomi with particular care, as my friendship with Dr. Smith made me pay great attention to his unrivalled collection of Sharks and Skates. If you would wish to see the conclusions at which I have arrived with respect to the Plagiostomi, I shall be happy to send you a sketch in some future letter. In the mean time, you may make what use you please of what I have written in this letter, provided it 206 W.S. Macleay on the Natural Arrangement of Fishes. be clearly understood, that I am asking naturalists whether such be not the facts of the case, instead of dogmatically insisting upon it that they are. I have no idea of publishing on Fishes, at least for the present. By the way, I observe that my old friend Colonel Sykes has been deseri- bing a number of Indian Cyprinide in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society.’ Of course there must be “ double emplois,” which I hope you will rectify. I am sorry that I have not been able as yet to get any Cyprinide from our New Holland rivers ; but I attribute it to my own residence so far from any river, not to the absence of them. I am promised by friends, who have better opportunities, the result of their researches; but J receive no- thing, as they know not how to catch the minute fish of the river. However, I intend to try the Nepean river myself when I go down there, which I soon propose todo. In the mean time, my residence on the sea-side enables me to increase my collection of marine genera, and if there be any you wish for, I shall be most happy to send them, A thousand thanks for your kind me- thod of beating up for insects to be sent me from India. I shall be happy to pay any fair price for the collector’s time and trouble. Tell Dr. Cantor, that I depend on him to increase my collection of Annulose animals, and that I hope he will soon write me. Tell him also, that I have got a marine serpent of the genus Pelamys, caught in the mouth of Port Jackson har- bour, the only one our fishermen have ever seen. If he wishes for it, it is at his service; for he knows infinitely more of Serpents than I do, and my grand desire is, to increase my collection of Annulose animals. * * * * * * But I could go on writing to you on these subjects ad infinitum, and therefore I trust you will excuse any tediousness on the score that my thoughts have been directed into this channel by the perusal of your Monograph. Pray remember me to Dr. Cantor, Dr. Griffith, Mr. Grant, and all who concern themselves with the works of na- ture, believing me always, My dear Sir, your obliged and truly faithful, W.S. MacLeay. October 12, 1840. P.S.—As I have had no opportunity of forwarding the enclosed letter, I sit down to make some observations on it that occur to me on now reading it over some weeks after it has been written. I know not whether you will clearly understand my meaning in making’the Cyclostomi the most typical of fishes. Cuvier says that ‘the Acanthopterygii form the type most perfected by nature ;” and in this I agree with him, namely, that their structure is most per- fected ; but the Acanthopterygii are not therefore the most typical of fishes, 7. e. of a class, the general character of which is, to be the most imperfectly constructed of Vertebrata. Cuvier talks much of the Acanthopterygii being the most homogeneous in their variations ; but are not the groups of Sharks and Cyclostomi quite as homogeneous ? Nay, are not Fistularia and Vomer more distinct from each other in form than a Shark from a Skate, or a Lamprey from a Myxine? There are some relations that require still to be expressed by my foregoing arrangement, such for instance as that of Platycephalus to Eleotris, as that of Sphyrena to certain Esocide, &c. &c, Are all Dr. Richardson on the Ichthyology of Australia. 207 such merely relations of analogy? If so, they are expressed ; but I cannot help thinking, that the relation is still stronger than that of mere representation. All geological forms may I think be referred with ease to the fore- going arrangement, even the most anomalous in appearance, such as Aphalaspis ; for thig fossil form may, in my opinion, be understood by looking at the head of Platycephalus.. However, the most extraordi- nary forms of fossil fish belong to the Ganoids of Agassiz, or rather to the Sturiones, and those other orders of the class Pisces that pre- sent the fewest existing forms. But on this head I shall at once frankly say, that if any fossil forms can be shown not to fall into a place in the preceding arrangement, then my general view of Ich- thyological affinities is wrong; for I am convinced that there is but one system for all animals, whether Antediluvian or not. JI shall write you on Hchinide in my next, and send you some the very first opportunity. : - XXV.—Contributions to the Ichthyology of Australia. By *Joun Ricuarpson, M.D., F.R.S., &c., Inspector of Hospitals, Haslar. [Continued from p. 131.] URANOSCOPUS MACULATUS (Forséer), nian Uranoscope. eae maculosus, Soland, Pisce. Austr, MSS. maculatus, G. Forst.; Fig, Nos. 176, oa crt Libr, ——_ monopterygius, Bl, Schn., p- 49, ex notis ja R. Forsteri, no- mine specifico ae mutato, eirrhosus, Cuv. & Val. iii. p. 314. An. 1829. Forsteri, Id, iii. p. 318. Kouripoua, Less., Voy. &c, par M, Duperrey, 1830, pl. 18. On Cook’s first voyage a Uranoscope with a single dorsal -was procured at Tolaga, in latitude 38}°, New Zealand, the co- lours of which were briefly described by Solander in his ‘Pisces Australiz;’ but as the details of structure were not given, and no figure was taken, it remained for future observers to fur- nish a proper character of the species. On the second voyage of our immortal navigator this Uranoscope was again obtained on the coast of New Zealand, at Queen Charlotte’s Sound, in latitude 41°. The two pencil sketches above quoted were on this occasion made by George Forster, and in 1801 the spe- cies was described under the designation of monopterygius by Schneider in his posthumous edition of Bloch, from the ma- nuscripts of J. R. Forster. The term maculatus is inscribed on G. Forster’s sketches, and it is also noted that the native name of the fish is‘ Bedee.’ Just fifty years after Cook’s second voyage, M. Lesson, one of the naturalists of La Coquille, com- manded by Capt. Duperrey, discovered the same species, or one very nearly alike, in the Bay of Islands, where it bore the — ot ——— 208 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to name of * Kouripoua.’ Under this, as a specific appellation, M. Lesson has figured and described the fish in the zoological part of Duperrey’s voyage, which appeared in 1830; but he therein claims 1827 as the date of his first publication of the species. The third volume of the * Histoire des Poissons ’ con- tains a full description of M. Lesson’s specimen, under the name of cirrhosus. ‘Though Cuvier was inclined to consider Lesson’s and Forster’s fishes to be the same, he separated them in the work just quoted, because no mention is made by Forster of the short mental barbel, and because “il donne a son poisson un sternum, c’est-ad-dire un pédicule pectoral, a trois tubercules, qui est bien dans les Uranoscopes ordinaires, mais qui le précédent (cirrhosus) n’a pas.” The latter objec- tion is however founded on a mistake, for Schneider’s text re- fers to the pelvic bones and not to the pectoral pedicle, his words being “ ventrales 3 (poll.) longe, sterno osseo, 3-tuber- culato insidentes.”’ As to the barbel, it may easily escape notice unless looked for, being very short though thickish. George Forster’s sketches of the fish are mere outlines, and aid little in supplying details omitted in the description. Indeed, when one considers the many branches of natural history attended to by the Forsters, and the extent of their collections, no sur- prise will be excited on finding their notes occasionally very brief. Cuvier goes on to say, that even if Forster’s fish shall be found hereafter to be the same with cirrhosus, this appel- lation should remain, because neither maculatus nor mono- pterygius are sufficiently distinctive. But M. Lesson’s name of Kouripoua appears to have the priority, and ought in jus- tice to be adopted by those who consider Forster’s fish to be a distinct species. I think they are the same, and have there- fore restored Forster’s term of maculatus, being nearly synony- mous withthe maculosus of the first discoverer of the fish, and having been given to the public contemporaneously with Schneider’s unnecessary and indiscriminating designation of monopterygius. 'The appellation of ‘ Kouri-pooa’ in the Poly- nesian language seems to denote that the natives observe an affinity either in form or habits between the Uranoscopes and Synanceie, the Synanceia horrida being called ‘ Khohoo-pooa- pooa’ at Otaheite. The museum at Haslar contains a mounted Uranoscope brought from New Zealand by Mr. J. M. Hamilton, Assistant- surgeon of the Royal Navy, which I have no _ hesitation in considering to be of the same species with Lesson’s and Forster’s specimens. It corresponds with the figures of both, and except’ in some of the redder and more delicate tints which have faded, it agrees also with Solander’s account of the Ichthyology of Australia. 209 the colours of the recent fish, as well as with the markings of cirrhosus recorded in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons.’ The prin- cipal difference I can detect, on carefully going over Forster’s, Lesson’s and Cuvier’s descriptions step by step with the spe- cimen before me, is the very slight one of the granulations of the plates on the head. not being conspicuously arranged in lines radiating from nine centres like so many stars (Lesson and Cuvier). Forster uses the phrase ‘ caput papillis crebris scabrum ordinatis’ The top of the head in the specimen is quite flat from the occiput to the end of the snout, and across between the temples, and from the outer margin of one orbit to that of the other. The intermaxillaries descend very slightly when protruded. The soft edge of the snout is cut away in a shallow curve over the pedicles of the intermaxillaries, and between the orbits there is a square membranous space. The bony plates which cover the head are very irregular, and anastomose so with each other, that it requires some attention to make out the number mentioned by Cuvier, namely, two rows of four each, anda single rounded occipital plate on the mesial line. The two outer- most plates of the posterior row, and the middle pair of the anterior row, show some granulated lines running forwards and radiating from centres, but all the other plates are rough, with minute rounded points crowded without order. ‘The borders of the orbits are very slightly raised, and the superciliary processes belonging to the middle anterior pair of plates exhibit their granulations in lines. The first suborbitar projects two acute points over the limb of the maxillary ; the second and third are considerably broader, but cover only a third part of the cheek. ‘There is a plate of the same form with them, lying just behind the orbit, and looking like a fourth suborbitar ; it is required, with its fellow, to complete the number four of the an- terior row of cranial plates. All these suborbitars are granulated without order. ‘The preoperculum is curved in the arc of a circle, and is of equal breadth throughout, its upper and lower ends equally obtuse being in the same vertical line. It is coarsely granulated on its upper end, with some faint granular streaks lower down. The operculum is more strongly marked by vertical granular lines, with a few coarser granular points at its upper corner. ‘The roughness of the surface of these bones is concealed by the spongy integument, when the specimen is soaked for a short time in water. The supra- scapulars appear in form of oblong plates, densely granulated, and sloping from the mesial occipital ridge, in conjunction with which they form the boundary of the nape. ‘The humeral bone emits a strong spine, which is slightly curved at the point and not very pun- gent: it is half an inch long, though the tip only protrudes through the integument. The spongy skin of the recent fish will doubtless nearly conceal it. Forster describes it as ‘ spina valida,’ and Cuvier as ‘trés-courte et presque cachée sous la peau ;’ the discrepancy arising, I presume, from Forster having dissected his fish. The lateral linevcurves gradually from the outer end of the supra- 210 Dr, Richardson’s Contributions to scapular towards the beginning of the dorsal, near the base of which it runs, approaching a little nearer in its course; when it arrives at the base of the caudal, it curves suddenly downwards to pass between the middle rays of the fin. Throughout its whole length short la- teral branches diverge ventrad, each ending in a mucous pore. In M. Lesson’s specimen only the posterior termination of the lateral line could be distinctly traced. The scales of the body are small and of an oblong form: there are none above the lateral lines, nor on the other parts enumerated as naked in thé ‘ Histoire des Poissons.’ The lips are closely fringed with very short slender cirrhi just visible to the naked eye, The teeth are somewhat coarsely and thinly villiform at the symphyses of the jaws, the dental surfaces of the limbs of the intermaxillaries being very narrow, and on the lower jaw restricted laterally to a single series of teeth, which are more conical than the rest. The vomerine teeth are minutely villiform, being scarcely visible to the naked eye; anda cluster of three or four larger ones, crowded together, exists on the fore part of the palate bone, which contains no others. Rays:—D,—19; A.18; C.9%; P.16; V. 15. It is, as Cuvier suspected, the spinous dorsal which is deficient, all the rays of the existing fin being jointed ; and immediately anterior to the first ray there are four obtuse points, like so many inter- spinous bones pressing up the skin. In the dried specimen the ground-colour of the back is greenish gray, darkening to black immediately round the spots, which are yellowish white. The distribution of the spots corresponds with Cuvier’s description of them. ‘‘ Uranoscopus maculosus. Habitat Tolaga. Piscis superné virescenti-griseus, maculis rotundis diluté et sordidé flavicantibus, subtus e virescente albus. Caput supra ca- vernosum, pallidé e flavicante et griseo nebulosum. Oculi parvi: iris griseo et albido marmorata: pupilla nigra, superné et inferné lobulo griseo notata. Pinna dorsalis subglauca, vitté infra medium lata, albid&; radiis supra vittam fuscis, apicibus rubicundis. Pinnz pectorales extus olivacex, maculis rotundis e virescente albidis, fulvo- que marmoratis; interné obscuriores, basi colore pectoris; margines anteriores et posteriores albide. Pinnz ventrales et pinna analis co- lore pectoris. Pinna caudalis e rubicundo grisescens, fascia ante medium interrupta, lata, sordide ex albido virescens : margo posticus rubescit.’”’ (Solander.) Mr. Hamilton’s specimen measures eight inches, being smaller than either Forster’s or Lesson’s.. PoLYNEMUS PLEBEIUS (Broussonnet), Plebeian Polyneme. Polynemus plebeius, Brousson. Ichth. Bl. Schn., p.17. Cuv. & Val. iii. p- 380. ; No. 88. Lieut. Emery’s drawings. This species probably inhabits all parts of the Indian and Polynesian seas. It has been taken in the Red Sea, at the Mauritius, Pondicherry, Java, Tanna and Otaheite. Lieut. Emery’s drawing was made from a specimen taken on the the Ichthyology of Australia. 211 north-west coast of Australia, and corresponds very closely with Broussonnet’s figure. Ifthe Sele of Buchanan-Hamil- ton be the same, the species attains a considerable size, for he states that in the estuary of the Ganges it weighs as much as 24lbs. Lieut. Emery’s measured only 72 inches, and those sent to Cuvier were also of small dimensions, Lieut. Emery’s drawing represents the colours of the recent fish as being bluish gray on the back, fading towards the under surface into white, with a pinky tinge: no spots or streaks on the body. The ventrals, anal and caudal are pale sulphur-yellow, the dorsal and pectoral colourless. All the fins except the ventrals are closely dotted with minute angular specks of verdigrise-green. The Polynemus tetradactylus (Shaw), Cuv. & Val. iii. p. 375, is an inhabitant of the north-east coast of Australia, having been discovered in Endeavour River on Cook’s first voyage, and then named by Solander P. quaternarius. This species also ranges to the Indian Sea. Uprnevus VuAminett (Cuv.), Viaming’s Upeneus. Le calophthalmus, Soland. Pisc., Austr.p.35. Parkins. fig., Banks. 1br, Upeneus Vilamingit, Cuv. & Val. iii. p. 452. This fish was taken off the island of Motuaro in Queen Charlotte’s Sound, on Cook’s first voyage. A figure partially executed by Parkinson exists in the Banksian Library, and there are a few notes of the original colours added in pencil, a copy of which we subjoin, together with some additional notices of the tints by Solander. ** The part marked 2 on the face is pale green; the belly pale crimson, spotted all over with yellow; the spots on the bases of the scales somewhat deeper. The streaks on the face, the spots on the back and on the dorsal and anal, the outer circle of the eye and the streaks on the tail, ultramarine with a cast of purple; the streaks on the face and spots on the back being the deepest.” ( Parkinson.) *‘Caput ceruleo-violaceum areis luteis. Dorsi et laterum macule subcastanee seriales. Oculi pulcherrimi. Iris in peripheria cyanea, prope pupillam miniata: annulus miniatus, latus, extrudens. anticé unicum, posticé duo brachia, per annulum peripheriz extensa, Cirrhi submentales longitudine capitis, basi incarnati, medio albidi, extus flavi. Habitat in oceano Australiz prop? Motuaro,” (So. lander.) The Scorpene appear to be numerous in the Australian seas. The following, being described solely from drawings or imperfect notices, are merely given as doubtful species, for the purpose of directing the attention of naturalists visiting the coasts of New Holland or New Zealand to a careful com- parison of such of the fish of this genus as they may procure. 9212 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to ScoRPHZNA CARDINALIS (Solander). Scorpena cardinalis, Soland. Pisces Australiz, ined. p. 28. , Parkinson, fig. 12, No. 10, Bibl. Banks. On Cook’s first voyage a Scorpena having a strong gene- ral resemblance to scrofa, but wanting the black mark on the dorsal fin, was discovered at Motuaro in Queen Charlotte’s Sound, New Zealand, of which a lengthened description was made by Solander, as above quoted, and a pencil sketch by Parkinson. As it seems to be a different species from any described in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons,’ I. have transcribed Solander’s notes below, with the omission of two or three tri- vial passages. The Scorpena cottoides of Forster, taken in Dusky bay, a more southern part of the same island, is evi- dently distinct from cardinals, though there is a reference under Forster’s rude sketch (pl. 190.) im the Banksian Library to the MSS. account of cardinalis. Cottoides, according to the sketch, has two spinous points directly over the eye, while in cardinalis there is one before and another behind the orbit : the comparison cannot be carried with confidence much fur- ther, because the body colours in which G. Forster’s drawing was coarsely executed have faded so as to render the forms of the parts about the head uncertain ; but J. R. Forster’s notes, - as quoted by Schneider, do not correspond with Solander’s account of cardinalis. Cuvier compares Forster’s fish with the cirrhosa and venosa of the ‘ Histoire des Poissons.’ Parkinson’s figure is drawn of the natural size. The length of the head is rather less than one-third of that of the whole fish, cau- dal included : its height behind the eye is two-thirds of the length. Spinous points are shown on the nasal bones ; one over the anterior and one over the posterior angle of the orbit, three or more on the lateral cranial ridge behind the eye, and some on the temporal ridge extending from the orbit to the upper angle of the gill-opening. There are two apparently on the preorbitar, one over the other, and the edge of the bone where it overlies the limb of the maxillary is irregularly serrated. A series of spinous points mark the ridge of the second suborbitar as it crosses the cheek. ‘The angle of the preopérculum emits a lengthened tapering acute process, on the base of which there is a spinous point. ‘The curved under limb of the bone has four angular points. ‘The outline of the gill-cover is tri- angular, and there are two spines on the operculum, which do not reach the edge of the membrane. ‘The upper spine appears to have a smaller one at its base. The spinous part of the dorsal is much arched, and is greatly lowered before the 12th spine. ‘The third spine, measuring in the drawing above an inch and a half, is very slightly higher than the adjoining one before and behind. ‘The others decrease gradually to the 11th, which has scarcely a fifth of the height of the 3rd one. The 12th rises to the height of the 7th, and the 1st and 8th have the Ichthyology of Australia. 213 half the height of the third. The soft part of the fin occupies as much space as the seven anterior spines, and is about as high ante- riorly as the tallest of them, but lowers a little as it runs backwards. It is rounded slightly before and behind. “‘ Scorpeena capite nudo subtus mutico, corpore miniato, variegato, pinnis maculatis ; pectoralibus inferné rotundatis, incrassatis. Ha- bitat in oceano Australiz prope Motuaro. Ravi :—Br. 7; D. 12/10; A.3|5; V.1)5; C.16*. ‘‘ Diameter longitudinalis 18 uncias; perpendicularis 44, trans- versalis 3. Corpus lanceolato-oblongum, pulchre variegatum. Caput trunco latius, magnum, obtusum, anticé depressiusculum, nudum, cavernosum, spinosum, hinc inde ramentaceum, subtus muticum et absque ramentis. Rostrum anticé obliqué declive, superné gibbo obtuso preeditum, supra hunc gibbum inter anticam partem oculorum carina angusta, inermis. Ramenta capitis plurima, cutacea, brevia ; nonnulla supra orbitas eculorum ; pauca in laterum angulis promi- nentibus ; par maximum supra aperturam anteriorem narium, ovato- oblongum, planum, extus lacerum; reliqua linearia acuta. Spine capitis plurimz acute; par conicum erectum supra gibbum rostri ; duze supra orbitam oculi, unica anticé altera postice; plures superné et in lateribus seriatim digeste, basi compresse, retrorsum spectan- tes, preecipue posterioribus que longiores, subulatz. ‘“‘Maxilla superior obtusé retusa; inferior apice subtis gibbo notata. Dentes in maxillis, palato et fauce. Maxillares subulati, conferti, numerosi intus flexi, interiores majores. Palati aceroso- subulati, aggregati, acuti, parvi. Faucium subulati, aggregati, acuti, intus vergentes, numerosi. Lingua glabra. Oculi vicini, magni, convexi, cute capitis communi tecti. Iris argenteo-miniata. Fora- men narlum posterius propé oculum, nudum, apertum; anterius in medio inter oculum et rostrum, tectum ramento magno, dilatato. Branchiarum laminz nude, posticé angulatz, angulis spinosis. *Truncus oblongus, compressus, muticus, squamosus. Linea lateralis pone caput partim descendens, dein recta, dorso paulo propior. Anus pone medium, pinna anali remotus. Vagina geniture pone anum exserta in papillam ovatam, compressam. Pinna dorsalis bi- partita: pars anterior spinosa, 11l-radiata : pars posterior altior sed brevior, 11-radiata, radio primo spinoso. Pinne pectorales medium - trunci non attingentes, latissimz, rotundate, cute crassa indute, radiis inferioribus crassissimis extra membranam parim productis. Pinne ventrales obtuse, partm pone pectorales insertee, illisque paulo breviores. Pinna analis, radiis tribus spinosis, reliquis longio- ribus subzequalibus. Squame leves, integree, mediocres adherentes. ** Color.—Totus piscis pulchré miniato-aurantiacus, maculis ma- joribus rubris; minoribus albis et numerosioribus, parvis fusco ru- bentibus variegatus: subtus pallidior maculis majoribus albidis ornatus. Pinna dorsalis dorso concolor. Pinne pectorales saturatius — * The numbers of rays are those given by Solander, the notation solely being changed. It may be proper to remark, that when Solander began his notes on the productions of New Zealand, he supposed that he was on the coast of a southern continent, 914 Dr: Richardson’s Contributions to miniate, subtessellate maculis serialibus majoribus; exterioribus nigricantibus. Pinne ventrales et analis pallidee, adspersee maculis rubris, in pinna anali majoribus. Pinna, caudalis maculis subseria- libus majoribus ornata, posticé aurantiaca.” (Solander.) Another New Zealand Scorpena is noticed in Solanderts ‘ Pisces Australiz ;’ but as he describes merely its colours, and there is no drawing of it extant, nothing is known of its form. He designates it Scorpena plebeia, probably from the contrast which its duller general tints make with his cardinalis, and describes its colours as follows :-— *‘ScorP#NA PLEBEIA. Piscis diluté e cinereo virescens, nebulis fuscescentibus. Caput infra, pectus et abdomen albida, cum paux- illo rubedinis. Iris e griseo argentea, nebulis fuscis. Pupilla nigra. Pinna dorsalis colore dorsi, apice rubicunda. Radii partis posterioris albido et purpureo pallidé annulati. Pinnz pectorales e rubicundo et flavescenti pulchré tessellate, area prope basin altius colorata. Pinne ventrales saturaté et vividé incarnate, in medio albe. Pinna analis ex albido incarnata, nebulis pallidé violaceis. Pinna caudalis rubicunda, maculis fuscis subfasciata. Habitat Tolaga.” (Lat. 384° S., long. 1812° W.) Considerable variety exists in the extent to which the scales spread over the head in the Scorpene. Cuvier says, “ a peine voit-on sur les individus desséchés quelques petites écailles sur le derriére du crane et le haut de VPopercule. I] existe d’autres poissons (les Sebastes) de cette famille, dont la téte moins hérissée, a des écailles sur toutes ses parties; au mu- seau, au maxillaire, la joue, et 4 toutes les piéces opercu- laires; en sorte au ils se rapprochent de plusieurs perches a dorsale unique.” The want of the temporal ridge and its spines is the only positive character of those here mentioned which I have observed on comparing the Scorpene and Se- bastes, which serves to distinguish the latter. The Scorpena Nove Guinea, Voy. Astrolabe, pl. 12. f. 1, has the whole cheek and gill-cover just as scaly as the Sebastes Capensis, fig. 5 of the same plate. The Scorpena bufo (of which a specimen exists in the Haslar Museum well characterized by its den- tated nasal spines, and the white drops in the axilla of the pectoral) has the cheek entirely covered with scales nearly as large as those on the body, and also patches of scales on the gill-cover. The Van Diemen’s Land Scorpena miles, de- scribed by me in a paper read before the Zoological Society in June 1839, has many scales on the head, but otherwise is very similar in form to porcus, which has the same parts naked. These scales are concealed by the spongy integument of the recent fish, and may have been overlooked if they actually existed in the following species drawn by Lieut. Emery. the Ichthyology of Australia. 215 Scorp#na BuRRA (WVod.), Crimson and olive Scorpzena. No. 29. Lieut. Emery’s drawings. The fish from which the drawing above quoted was made, was taken at Depuch island, and measured five and a half inches in length. In the general form of the head, particularly in the obtuse snout, arched from the eye, the drawing resembles cardinals, but the spines on the sides of the head are much less conspicuous than in that spe- cies. The profile is moderately convex from the mouth to the dor- sal fin; the eye rises above the general curve, without any denticula- lations being shown on the superciliary ridge, though the orbit is . fringed above with very short cirrhi, and one large one rises directly from its- middle, nearly as high as that of grandicornis, but of a tapering form, with an acute tip, and beaded or warty below. There is a short spine on the nasal bone, and three or four pretty promi- nent angular points on the lateral occipital ridge. There are two short spines on the operculum, but no others are clearly marked on the side of the head ; which is scaleless, and is veined by lines of a deeper colour than the general tint, that ramify like a blood-vessel. The membrane beneath the lower jaw swells out and is reticulated by fine crimson lines, which give it a scaly appearance. ‘There are many simple tapering cirrhi depending from the lips, the sides of the head, and all parts of the body, not more numerous on the lateral line than elsewhere. The dorsal is considerably arched, particularly anteriorly. The fourth spine is the tallest, the twelfth is scarcely one-fourth lower, while the first and eleventh are only half as high. The membrane slopes much behind the four anterior spines. The soft part of the fin is much rounded, and rises one-third higher than the tallest spine. ‘The anal is shaped like the soft dorsal: its second spine is represented as strong, but the first is omitted, probably from its shortness: seven rays in all are shown. ‘The other fins are also greatly rounded. The head and body are crimson, which fades to reddish white on the branchiostegous membrane ; the side of the head is veined with deeper lines. ‘There are ten round red drops on the gill-membrane. All the cirrhi are green, and the body is marked by a few irregular olive or oil-green blotches: the largest is near the base of the anal, and there are three or four smaller ones on the sides: a rhomboidal one is placed near the shoulder, half of it extending to the spinous dorsal, and taking in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth spines. There is an oval one further back on the same fin, crossing the middles of the seventh and eighth spines. A very irregular blotch partially covers the anterior third of the soft dorsal descending a short way on the back, and there are two on the posterior border of the fin. The olive colour forms two broad transverse bars on the pectoral, one near its base, and the other about its middle. There are three nar- rower bars on the caudal fin, a basal, middle, and subterminal one. The crimson anal is crossed by three narrow white ribands, and its / 216 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to broad border, occupying nearly a third of the depth of the fin, is minutely speckled with yellowish green. ‘The ventrals are crossed by five crimson bars alternating with four yellow ones, and the first ray is streaked with vermilion. Scorp“na PANDA (Nod.), Saddle-skull Scorpzena. No. 9. Lieut. Emery’s drawings. The drawing was made from a specimen procured at pest hos, and measuring sixteen inches and a half in length. It differs from any described Scorpzna in the form of the head and size of the scales covering the body; as well as in its colours. The body has the usual generic form: its height is rather less than one-fourth of the total length of the fish, caudal included. The head is. short, its length scarcely equalling the height of the body, and its height being one-fourth less. ‘The orbit projects upwards, and behind it there is a saddle-shaped depression, followed by an occipital rise much like that of a dried example of Synanceia horrida. The orbit is surrounded by irregular angular projections, three above and as many behind... The occipital rise is margined laterally by a curved ridge, joining another waving one which flanks the base of the rise, and reaches the upper angle of the gill-opening. ‘There are also apparently spines and ridges on the sides of the head, but not sufficiently intelligible to be described. ‘The scales of the body are unusually large for a Scorpzena, there being only thirty-five in a row between the gill-opening and caudal fin, and about sixteen in a vertical line. ‘There are none on the head. The dorsal shows only eleven spines, but it is probable that a short one has been omitted at the commencement of the fin. The second of those seen is the tallest, overtopping the one before and behind it by a fourth part. The succeeding ones diminish rather rapidly, the penultimate one not having one-fifth of the length of the tallest: the last one rises to the level of the first or third. The mem- brane slopes deeply behind the anterior spines. The soft part of the fin, which is rounded, overtops the tallest spine by about a fifth part. The anal is of the same height with the soft dorsal, but is less broadly rounded: its third spine is stronger and longer tlian the second one. ‘The pectorals, ventrals and caudal are also rounded. Rays :—D. 11(12?)10;.A. 3\6; C.15; P.16; V.1|5. The head and body have a nearly uniform vermilion tint, the branchiostegous membrane alone being paler. There are two dark hyacinth-red bands on the side, the anterior one descending from nearly the whole of the spinous dorsal and tapering away behind the pectoral; and the other, rather narrower, running from the soft dor- sal nearly to the anal, tapering also as it descends. ‘The body is spotted pretty regularly with round drops of dark orange-brown, which do not extend to the belly. Smaller drops of the same colour are scattered over the sides of the head, lower jaw, and. branchioste- gous membrane, being intermixed in the two latter localities with whitish spots. All the fins are reddish brown, and except the ven- the Ichthyology of Australia. 217 trals and spinous part of the dorsal, they are all spotted on their lower halves like the body, three or four rows on each. ‘There are also two or three rows of paler spots on the upper part of these fins. ScorP&NA ERGASTULORUM (Nod.), Port Arthur Scorpena. Nene of the Scorpene of the southern seas described in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons’ are said to have the black mark on the posterior third of the spinous dorsal which characterizes the Mediterranean scrofa. That spot is however strongly marked in the drawing of ‘a Scorpena made under Dr. Lhotsky’s direction, at the penal settlement of Port Arthur, in Van Diemen’s Land. . This species resembles porcus in general form. Its spinous dorsal is moderately arched, and not deeply notched at the eleventh spine. The fourth spine is the tallest, and the soft rounded part of the fin rises to an equal height with it. The nine inferior rays of the pectoral are represented as simple, the caudal as scarcely rounded. The second anal spine is rather the longest of the three, which come nearer to the length of the soft rays than usual. | A spine and apparently a short cirrhus are represented on the nasal bone: four spines on the preorbitar, four on the upper margin of the orbit, one of them over the anterior canthus and three on the posterior third of the margin : two prominent ones on the lateral oc- cipital ridge, four on the temporal ridge: a series of seven on the suborbitar ridge, and three strong angular points on the lower limb , of the preoperculum. The two opercular spines are longer and more acute than any of the others, and the lower one is curved upwards. There is a close series of conical points (cirrhi?) on the lateral line. The temples and upper halves of the cheek and gill-cover are repre- sented as scaly. The scales of the body are rather small. The prevailing colour of the fish is scarlet, obscured in many places by large blotches of purplish or brownish red, particularly along the base of the dorsal, over the pectoral, and on the top of the head. These blotches pass insensibly into the ground-colour, and do not produce defined markings. ‘The scarlet of the fins has a lakish tinge, and passes into carmine towards their edges. ‘There is a brown mottled patch on the pectoral, at the base of the upper rays, and the jointed rays of all the fins but the pectorals are marked with reddish brown dots, disposed in rows. There is also some indistinct brown and reddish speckling on the membranes of the vertical fins, and an oval black spot crosses the ninth, tenth and eleventh dorsal spines. Rays :—P. 15; D. 12|9; A. 3|5; V. 1/5. The same black dorsal mark exists on a New Zealand Scor- pena taken on Cook’s first voyage, and described as follows by Solander :— 7 “‘ Scorpana cruznTA. Habitat in oceano propé ‘ Cape Kidnap- pers.’ Corpus saturate sed obscure rubrum, nebulis subfasciatis paucis pallidé lutescentibus pictum, subtus diluté sanguineum ne- Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. 218 Mr. L. Reeve on the genus Scarabus. bulis albis. Iris rubro-argentea. Pinna dorsalis ; pars prima obscure rubra, rivulis paucis subpellucidis, posticé nebula nigra oblonga; pars posterior anticé, prope basin, macula intensé sanguinea notata, alias rubicunda maculis nigricantibus adspersa. Pinna ventralis sanguinea, nebulis pellucidis. Pinna analis sanguinea, maculis pau- cis nigris. Pinna caudalis rotundata, rubra, maculis nigris in quatuor fascias per radios dispositis ornata. Membrana connectens immacu- lata.” {To be continued. ] XXVI.—On the genus Scarabus, a small group of Pulmo- branchiate Mollusks of the family Auriculacea. By Mr. Love. Reeve, A.L.S. [ With a Plate. } To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. GENTLEMEN, Havine collected together an interesting series of Scarabi, as examples of that genus, for the forthcoming number of my ‘ Conchologia Systematica,’ I send you my plate of them ac- companied with the following notices, not intended for publica- tion there, which you are at liberty to make use of if you think proper. The fact of there being so few species of this genus yet described, and even these referred to by authors with no little inaccuracy, induces me to think that a few observations, though brief, will be esteemed of some conchological interest. No descriptions are given, nor are any of the localities men- tioned ; I am unwilling that this paper should be accepted as a monograph, as my friend M. Petit de la Saussaye is zea- lously employed at this moment in preparing a complete history of the family to which the genus Scarabus belongs. SCARABUS, De Montforg. © he genus Scaradus is one of the few that I have adopted out of the many proposed by De Montford in his ‘ Conchy- hologie Systématique.’’ The earliest figure which I am able to trace is one of the Scarabus Petiverianus given by Petiver under the title of Cochlea Bengalensis in his ‘ Gazophylacia Nature ;’ another species, the Scarabus imbrium, figured by Chemnitz, was then described by Linnzus amongst the He- ices, and probably supposed to be the same. Bruguiére in- cluded it in his miscellaneous assemblage of Bulimi, and it was removed with others by Lamarck for the formation of the x LLLV. Ann & Mag. Nat. first. a on Seed eS SCO ars CBS. Jun” Mr. L. Reeve on the genus Scarabus. 219 genus Auricula. Lamarck, however, like his predecessors, ap- pears to have referred all the varieties then known to one particular species, Auricula scarabeus (Helix scarabeus, Lin- neus, Bulimus scarabeus, Bruguiére). Not so De Férussac: a variety which had been figured by Chemnitz was very pro- perly distinguished by this author by the name of Scarabus plicatus ; he appears indeed to have been the first to appre- ciate the genus in question. Two other species were then in- - troduced by Lesson in his ‘ Zoologie de la Coquille, and we are indebted to this naturalist for establishing the importance of the genus by further demonstrating a difference in their organization and habits. The Auricule are partially aquatic, and are for the most part found in wet and marshy places on the banks of lakes and rivers, or even on the sea-shore ; the Scarabi, on the contrary, are inhabitants of a dry soil, loca- ted at the roots of trees in the very centre of woods and forests. The following are eleven species, all of which, with one ex- ception, I have succeeded in identifying. 1. ScarasBus ciausus, Nobis. Helix clausa, Wagner. Helix tomogera, Moricand. Auricula clausa, Michaud. Tomogerus clausus, Spix. The aperture of this shell is nearly closed by the strong denti- tion which is characteristic of the genus. (Plate IV. fig. 1.) 2. Scarasus Triconvs, Troshel, Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1840. This shell, recently described by Dr. Troshel of Berlin, is of very remarkable growth, the last whorl being suddenly contracted to the form of a sharp angle. The species altogether is highly characteristic, and cannot fail to be recognised. (Fig. 2.) 3. Scarasus piicatus, De Férussac, Prodrome, p. 101; Chemn. Conch., vol. ix. pl. 136. f. 1252 and 1253. Helix scarabeus, var. Chemnitz. Auricula plicata, Deshayes. Chemnitz’s figure of this species is cited as a variety both of the Helix scarabeus of Linneus, and the Cochlea Bengalensis of Petiver. It may be distinguished however from both by the angular direction of the last whorl, though it is far. ane characteristic than in the Sca- rabus trigonus. . (Fig. 3.) 4. ScaraBus unvatus, Lesson, Voyage de la Coquille, Zoologie, vol. il. p. 336. pl. 10. f. 6. Auricula scarabeus, var. Deshayes. I only know of two specimens of this shell, both sufficiently distin- guished by the waved lines which irregularly cross each other on the back. I believe this character exists only in the epidermis, which is unusually thick, but am satisfied of the identity of the ‘species by a distinet peculiarity in the general formation of the shell. ‘Deshayes Q 2 — 220 Mr. L. Reeve on the genus Scarabus. does certainly not exhibit his usual accuracy in determining the spe- cific identity of the Scarabi; both this species and the Scarabus cas- taneus are given as synonyms of Lamarck’s Auricula scarabeus (Sca- rabus imbrium). (Fig. 4.) 5. Scarasus Lessoni, De Blainville, Dict. Sci. Nat., pl. 48. f. 32; Lesson, Voyage de la Coquille, Zoologie, vol. ii. p.334. pl. 10. f.4. Auricula Petiveriana, var. Deshayes. Deshayes appears to have quoted this species as synonymous with the former, an error which he might easily have avoided by com- paring Lesson’s figure of it with the old Cochlea Bengalensis of Petiver. It approaches rather to the Scarabus imbrium, the type of the genus, and no doubt was confounded with that species before it was distinguished under the above title by De Blainville. (Fig. 5. and 8.) 6. ScaraBus LEKITHOSTOMA, Nobis, n. s. Besides its general peculiarity of form, this shell is further distin- guished by: the colour of the mouth, which is a bright yelk-yellow. (Fig. 6.) 7. ScaraBus Petivertranvs, De Férussac, Prodrome, p. 101; Petiver, Gazophylacia Nature, pl. 4. f. 10. Cochlea Bengalensis, Petiver. Auricula Petiveriana, Deshayes. A species distinguished from the rest of the genus by the rotun- dity of the aperture, and I believe the most rare of the series. I only know of one specimen at present. (Fig. 7.) 8. ScaraBus striatus, Nobis, n.s Auricula scarabeus, Quoy, Voyage de l’Astrolabe, Zoologie, vol. i1. p. 162. pl..13. £. 24. We can hardly be surprised. at the little attention given to the - Scarabi by M. Quoy, for this is the only species found by him during his Voyage in the Astrolabe. Not having sufficient to make the ge- nus of interest, he must have adopted the old Linnean specific with- out comparison. In all the specimens I have seen of this shell, the longitudinal striz so perfectly delineated in his figure are highly cha- racteristic. (Fig..9.) 9. Scarasus castanEvs, Lesson, Voyage de la Coquille, Zoologie, p.336. pl. 10. f. 7. This is the only species I have not succeeded in identifying: the figure given by Lesson, here copied, represents a clear chestnut-colour- ed oblong shell, approaching nearest in form to the Scarabus pyrami- datus, but perfectly distinct as far as 1 am enabled to judge. (Fig. 10.) 10. ScaraBus imBRIUM, De Montford, Conch. Syst., vol. i. ;»De Férussac, Prodrome, p. 101 ; Chemnitz, Conch., vol. ix. pl. 136. f. 1249 and 1250. } Heliz scarabeus, Linneus. Helix pythia, Muller. Bulimus scarabeus, Bruguiére. Auricula scarabeus, Lamarck. This is as it were the normal species of the group, and may be re- cognised by its large size and slight pyramidal form. (Fig. 11.) ct Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 221 11. ScaraBus pryramipatus, Nobis, n. s. The Scarabus pyramidatus is the most oblong of the different forms ; ; the mouth is of a yellowish colour and highly enamelled. (Fig. 12.) I am indebted to the Rey. Mr. Stainforth and Wm. Walton, Esq., for the use of the specimens which have furnished the foregoing notices. Lovey REEVE. 8 King William Street, Strand. XXVII.—The Birds of Ireland. By Wm. Tuomrson, Esq., Vice-Pres. Nat. Hist. Society of Belfast. [Continued from p. 145.] No. 12. Families Cuculide, Meropide, Halcyonide. Tue Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, Linn., is well known through- out Ireland as a regular spring visitant. It has been remarked by Sir Wm. Jardine and Mr. Macgillivray, with respect to Scotland, that localities of almost every character are visited by this bird, and so it is in Ireland, the wild and treeless wastes on different portions of the western coast equally attracting it with the most highly cultivated and best wooded districts. It was remarked by Mr. R. Ball, when visiting the largest of the South Islands of Arran (near the entrance to Galway Bay), in company with the late lamented Dean of St. Patrick’s, in June 1835, that cuckoos were particularly abundant :—the whole surface of the island is either rocky or covered with a short rich pasture, and ‘is altogether destitute of trees, except at one ter where some half- dozen appear. The vernal appearance of the cuckoo in the north of Ireland is as early as some authors report it to be in the south of England. My notes bear witness to its arrival in the neighbourhood of Belfast in seven consecutive years—from 1832 to 1838—as follows: April 16th, 20th, 21st, 10th, 22nd, 26th, 30th,—and on the 23rd in 1840 *. The adult birds generally leave the north of the island at the end of June: on the lst July 1832 I saw two, and heard their call, near Dunfanaghy, in the north-west of the county of Donegal. The stay of the cuckoo was remarkably prolonged in 1838,—in which year the period of their arrival was also later than ever known—one having been heard at ‘‘ The Falis”’ near Belfast on the 7th July. The young birds of the year generally remain till towards the end of August ; so late as the 27th of which month they have been observed in the county of Antrim. The Bishop of Norwich, in his ‘ Familiar History of Birds,’ records an instance of about forty cuckoos being congre-. gated in a garden in the county of Down from the 18th to the 22nd * In McSkimmin’s ‘ History of Carrickfergus’ (1823) it is remarked that —“ During 20 years’ observation the earliest it has been heard calling was. the 17th of April, and the latest the 30th of June.” 222 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds. of Ireland. of July, and with the exception of one or two, which were smaller than the rest, taking their departure at that time. It is not stated whether they were. adult or immature birds, and the time mentioned is between the periods of departure of the old and young ; but from one or two remarks made, the inference is, that the latter are alluded to. My only note upon migration is in connexion with the same county; an adult bird having been shot at the migratory period a few years ago when flying singly and in a southerly direction over the sea, about two miles off Dundrum. The singular economy of the cuckoo in depositing its eggs in the nests of other birds has been very fully treated of, from personal observation, by the celebrated Dr. Jenner*, Mr. Blackwallt, Mr. Weir}, and others. I have not anything novel. to offer on the sub- ject, but will introduce a few observations made in Ireland. In the north of the island, as in Scotland§, the nest of the titlark (Anthus pratensis) seems. generally to.be the receptacle of the cuckoo’s egg. George Ensor, Esq., of Ardress, county of Armagh, in a communi- -cation to the ‘Magazine of Natural History’ (vol. vi. p. 83), mentions a tenant’s son having taken home a young cuckoo froma titlark’s nest. .‘‘ Two. wrens who had.a nest with eight eggs in the eaves, and just above the window fronting the cage in which the cuckoo was placed, made their way through a broken pane, and continued to feed it for some time.’’ The cuckoo was at length taken away, when “the wrens repaired to their own nest, and brought out the eggs that had been laid.:’’—it is not stated how long they were ab- sent from it. At Rockport, near Belfast, it was remarked, that when: a young cuckoo had attained such a. size that ‘its. foster- parents could not.reach up food to it, they alighted on its back, and thus fed it. . This proceeding was repeatedly observed from the windows of the house near to which the nest was situated. The cuckoo is occasionally heard to call through tke night, when it is fine, though there may be.no moonlight. When lying awake on a dark morning (May 8), I once noted its call:to commence at half- past three o’clock. . In April 1834 I made the following communication to the Zoolo- gical Society. of London :—. 0 & May 28, 1833. .On examination of three euckoos ‘dcp: which were killed in the counties. of Tyrone. and Antrim within the last week, I found them all to be in different -states of plumage. One was mature ;—another (a female) exhibited on the sides of the neck and breast) the reddish-coloured markings of the young bird, the remainder of the plumage. being that of maturity ;—the third speci- men had reddish markings disposed entirely over it, much resembling the plumage described by M. Temminck as assumed by ‘les jeunes tels qu’ils émigrent en automne’ (vol. i. p. 383), but having a greater proportion of red, especially on the tail-coverts, than is. spe- cified in his description of the bird at that age. This individual proved on dissection to be a female, and did not contain any eggs * Philosophical Transactions, vol. Ixxviii. ~ Researches in Zoology. t Maegillivray’s British Birds, vol. iii. § Jardine, Macgillivray. Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 223 so large as ordinary-sized peas. ‘The stomach, with the exception of the presence of some small sharp gravel, was entirely empty, and was closely coated over with hair.” «¢ « Attention was called to this, that the hair with which it is lined might be observed. . From its close adhesion to the inner surface of this stomach, and from the regularity with which it is arranged, Mr: Thompson was. at first disposed to consider this hair as being of spontaneous growth ; but part of the stomach having been subjected to maceration in water, and afterwards viewed through a microscope of high power, the hairs proved, to the entire satisfaction of Mr. Owen and himself, to be altogether borrowed from the larve of the tiger-moth, Arctia Caja, Schrank, the only species found in the sto- machs of several cuckoos* from different parts of the north of Ire- land, which were examined by Mr. Thompson in the months of May and June 1833.’” Proceedings Zool. Soc. 1834, p. 29. An observant friend states that he found the remains of coleopte- rous insects in the stomach of a cuckoo examined by him, but whether at a time when its favourite caterpillars are not to be pro- cured, he could not remember. An intelligent bird-preserver has remarked, that a kind of tough gelatinous fat is attached to the skin of the neck in the cuckoo, such as he has not seen in any other bird. I have several times known young cuckoos to have been kept for some months, and in good health, until winter set fairly in, when, with two exceptions, they died. Of the survivors, one lived for more than a year at Cranmore, near Belfast, the residence of that well-known naturalist John Templeton, Esq. But it will suffice to give the par- ticulars respecting another which was kept for a longer period at the same place, and of which the following account, greatly exceed- ing in interest any I have read, appears in the MS. journal of Mr. Templeton :— January 10, 1822. Last night the cuckoo which E. got from Mr. Montgomery on the 26th of July, 1820, died, in consequence of C. having hurt it with her foot on Tuesday last [8th].. Thus ended the days of this innocent little bird, whose engaging manners were the delight of the whole family and the admiration of strangers. It was fed generally on hard boiled eggs, and occasionally with cater- pillars: it would sometimes eat forty or fifty at a ‘time of those of the Papilio brassice ; it however shewed a decided preference for rough ones, as those of the Papilio urtice. A seeming treat was a little mouse about one quarter grown, which it would hold in its bill and beat against the ground or anything hard until the animal became soft, when it exhibited great powers of extending its throat and swallowing. What however was most. extraordinary, it was never known to take ‘a drink ; though when presented with a drop of water at the end of a finger or straw it would sip it, and seemed to delight, when seated on its mistress’s or other person’s hand, to put its bill to their mouths and sip saliva. It delighted very. much in heat, and sitting in the sunshine; and as its feathers were so’ * The stomachs of all these were coated with hair like the one described. 224 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. much broken by its striking them against the furniture that it could fly but very imperfectly, it was apparently very thankful to any person who would help it up on the first sash of the win- dow. At other times it sat upon the fender, turning itself in various directions and spreading its wings and feathers to receive the heat, of which it could bear a temperature equal to 100 degrees for a considerable time with seeming satisfaction. During cold weather it slept at its. mistress’s bed-side, covered with a piece of flannel, which was well warmed previous to its going to rest. With this attention it generally remained quiescent until morning ; but on feeling cold sometimes presumed so far as to creep under the bed- clothes. It was only to those from whom it had received some hurt or persecution that it expressed dislike or fear, which it did by raising its neck-feathers and putting itself into an attitude of defence. It never uttered the cry of the male—cuckoo—but sometimes, when persons in the room were laughing, it would apparently join, and emit a noise somewhat like the barking of a little dog. At all other times the only sound it made was a kind of low chattering, expressive of pleasure when it got into a warm place, or on seeing its mistress after she had been absent for some hours. It received the unlucky tramp which finally killed it, by having lost too much the apprehen- sion of injury.” From Miss Templeton I have learned the following particulars respecting this cuckoo :—It moulted only a few feathers the first year about Christmas: the following year, about the same period, moult. ing commenced, and the bird became so unwell that fears for its life were excited. Some of the adult plumage was then exhibited, but before there was time for this to be perfected the poor bird met with its accidental death. This cuckoo was never subjected to the confine- ment of a cage, but was kept in the parlour through the day, and taken to its mistress’s bed-room at night. A hairy species of cater- pillar found upon the oak was its favourite food, being better liked than the hispid one of the nettle butterfly ; but of either of these it would eat voraciously, and fully three times as many as of the smooth caterpillar of the cabbage :—the last it would not consume at all if the others were to be had. Every caterpillar was viscerated by the bird previous to being swallowed, as likewise were the mice when young enough for this process: these were always swallowed head foremost, and for a considerable time afterwards their tails appeared dangling from the cuckoo’s bill. When the season was too far ad- vanced for caterpillars to be procured, this bird was fed on raw flesh- meat, and seemed to gain much strength in consequence: with this and hard-boiled eggs it was supplied throughout the winter. It never consumed less in a day than a couple of eggs, in addition to a little of some other food. It is described as appearing to be deficient in the power of picking up little fragments of anything, such as bits of egg, &c., and to the last gaped to be fed with all but caterpillars, or in other words, its natural food. It was remarkably sharp-sighted, and if a caterpillar had escaped would perceive it from the opposite side of the room, and with the utmost rapidity dart at and seize it. Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 225 This bird was presumed to be a female from its note: it was origi- nally taken from a titlark’s nest. Montagu, in the supplement to his ‘Ornithological Dictionary,’ gives so full and interesting an ac- count of a cuckoo which he kept, that a portion of the above is but a counterpart of his narrative. It seemed to me, however, that all particulars respecting Mr. Templeton’s bird were well worthy of being recorded. In Holland I have heard the call of the cuckoo in the king’s park at the Hague towards the end of May, and in Switzerland, late in June. Its well-known cry was most gratifying to my ear, when on the 16th of May last riding over the bare and wild hills and through the forest between Constantinople and Belgrade*. When about Navarino on the 28th of April, a small flock of seven or eight birds which were believed to be cuckoos flew near to me, proceeding in a northerly direction, but the call was wanting to prove the species. YELLOW-BILLED AMERICAN Cuckoo, Coccyzus America- nus, Bonap.t The first notice of the occurrence of this species in the British Islands, and indeed in the Eastern hemisphere, is due to Mr. R. Ball of Dublin, who contributed a note upon the subject to the first number of the ‘Field Naturalists’ Magazine.’ He states, that when at Youghal (co. Cork) in 1825, the butler of a neighbouring gentle- man brought him a specimen of this bird a few minutes after its being shot, and wien still warm and bleeding. In the same com- munication, dated from Dublin Castle, Oct. 20, 1832, Mr. Ball mentions a second example as having been recently killed near Bray, a few miles from Dublin. About the same period (‘‘ autumn 1832’) one was shot on the estate of Lord Cawdor, in Wales. Mr. Yarrell mentions his having received a communication respecting the occurrence of another, in Cornwall, but no date is given. (‘ Br. Birds,’ vol. 11. p. 190.) These are, I believe, all the recorded instances of the species having been met with in the British Islands. The last two parts of ‘Temminck’s ‘ Manuel,’ published in 1835 and 1840, do not contain any notice of its appearance on the European conti- nent. The specimen obtained near Bray was shown to me by Mr. Glen- non, bird-preserver, Dublin, and I agree with Mr. Ball in consider- ing it identical in species with his own. This was, with that gen- tleman’s usual liberality, entrusted to me when about to visit Lon- don in the spring of 1835, when I compared it with the specimen presented by Lord Cawdor to the British Museum, and found them to be of the same species. Before leaving home I had purchased in Belfast a yellow-billed American cuckoo from a person who had shot it at Long Island (United States), and at a meeting of the Zoological Society exhibited this bird and Mr. Ball’s for the purpose of showing their specific identity. * The Belgrade of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. ~ See Temminck’s ‘ Manuel,’ part 3. p. 277, for remarks both on the ge- neric and specific names. 226 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. It was considered desirable to look as eritically as possible to these birds on account of the singular fact of their appearance in this he- misphere. Ornithologists can hardly believe that they crossed the Atlantic. Temminck conjectures that this cuckoo must breed in the north of Europe, whence the individuals migrated to the British Islands.. But our knowledge of their occurrence here only, and in the more western parts (Ireland, Wales, and Cornwall), in addition to the fact, that at the very period of their being met with the species is (as we learn from Wilson and Audubon) in course of mi- gration in the western hemisphere, seems to me presumptive evidence of their having really crossed the ocean. So far north as Labrador, Audubon has seen this bird in summer. Rou.eEr, Coracias garrula, Linn.—See ‘ Annals,’ vol. vii. p- 478. Tue Ber-Karer, Merops Apiaster, Linn., has very rarely been met with in Ireland. Dr. J. D. Marshall of Belfast, in a communication to the ‘Magazine of Natural History ’ (vol. ii.) dated July 1829, stated that one ‘“‘ was killed in the county of Wicklow a few years ago.” Dr. R. Graves of Dublin, in a letter addressed to a mutual friend in Belfast, men- tioned in November 18380, that he had known three bee-eaters to have been obtained in the interior of Ireland, one of which was shot by Mr. Tardy, an eminent entomologist in the metropolis, who on opening the stomach found it to contain many bees. It is doubtless the same individual that is alluded to by Mr. Vigors in the ‘Zoologi- cal Journal’ (No. 4. p. 589) as being in the possession of the last- named gentleman ; but in this communication it is stated to have been shot ‘“‘on the sea-coast, near Wexford, in the winter of 18207’(?) In March 1833 I saw one of the specimens alluded to by Dr. Graves, in his own collection. As noticed in the ‘ Magazine of Natural History ’ (vol. ii. p. 18, new series), I had the opportunity of examining in a recent state, the only one of these birds yet recorded as obtained in Scotland. It was stated to have been shot on the 6th of October, 1832, by Capt. James McDowall, 2nd Life Guards, at his seat near the Mull of Galloway ; and it was sent to Belfast by my friend Capt. Fayrer, R.N., to be preserved, and set up for that gentleman. I have had the gratification of seeing the bee-eater in scenes with which its brilliant plumage was more in harmony than in the British Isles. It first excited my admiration in August 1826, when visit- ing the celebrated grotto of Egeria, near Rome. On approaching this classic spot, several of these birds, in rapid swift-like flight, swept closely past and around us, uttering their peculiar call, and with their graceful form and brilliant colours proved irresistibly attractive. My companion, who as well as myself beheld them for the first time, was so greatly struck with the beauty of their plumage and bold sweeping flight, as to term them the presiding deities over Egeria’s Grotto. Rich as the spot was in historical and poetical associations, it was not less so for its pictorial charms—all was in admirable keep- Mr. W. Thompson oz the Birds of Ireland. ‘227 ing ;—the picturesque grotto with its ivy-mantled entrance and gushing spring; the gracefully reclining, though headless white mar- ble statue of the nymph; the sides of the grotto covered with the exquisitely beautiful maiden-hair fern in the richest luxuriance ;) the wilderness of wild-flowers around the exterior, attracting the bees on which the Merops was feeding ; and over all, the deep blue sky of Rome completing the picture. In the 8th volume of the ‘Annals’ (pp. 127 and 128) will be found a particular notice of some bee-eaters which in a very different scene afforded much gratification to all who beheld them, as they perched during migration on the stern-rope of H.M.S. Beacon, when near the Morea, at the end of April 1841. Tue Kinerisuer, Alcedo Ispida, Linn., is at least occa- sionally to be met with in suitable localities throughout the island. It is a species nowhere numerous. As many of these birds would seem to be distributed over districts favourable for their abode in Ireland, as in any other country. The kingfisher is said generally by British authors to be partial to clear streams, but to the correctness of this remark its haunts around Belfast will not bear testimony. Here are streams, which, though not on a grand scale, partake more or less of every natural character, and gently flow or wildly rush through scenery the most varied ; yet the deep, muddy, and sluggish Lagan is its favourite haunt. About waters of every description it may sometimes be seén, not excepting the deep and unpicturesque brick-pits, about which no tree or shrub appears. There is decidedly a partial migration or movement of these birds. To ponds at our own residence in the country, contiguous to the mountains, and elevated 500 feet above the sea, they came regu- larly every year about the same time in the month of August, and remained generally for about six weeks—once only were they seen in winter. Their first appearance in the year 1831 was on the 4th of August; in 1833 on the 14th; 1834 the 14th; and 1835 the 17th of that month*. Although more frequently solitary, two were occasionally seen in company, and in one instance three, of which a couple were, from being less brilliant in plumage, and slower in flight than the other, believed to be young birds, Their usual haunts are the willowed banks of ponds, one of which is not more than thirty yards distant from the dwelling-house. At little more than this distance we were once amused on observing from the windows a kingfisher perched on the handle of a spade, and looking a miserable object from its being “all droukit’’ with heavy rain. It did not betray any shyness, though several persons passed within about a dozen paces, * Intelligent persons resident on the banks of the Lagan, near Belfast, state that kingfishers appear there in the autumn and remain until March, when they disappear. This accords with the observation of Mr. Weir, who, writing from Linlithgowshire, remarks—‘“ In my neighbourhood kingfishers are never seen before the beginning of September, and they usually disap- pear about the end of March. They then retite to the river Avon, where they breed.”’ Macgillivray’s Brit. Birds, vol. iti. p. 679. 228 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. but remained on this graceless perch* for about an hour, until it was driven away by the owner of the spade going to resume his work. This trivial circumstance is mentioned in connexion with the chosen haunts of the kingfisher at this locality, as some writers have de- scribed it to be a wild and unapproachable bird, avoiding the vici- nity of human dwellings. I have never found itso. A relative, who has bestowed much attention on the species, has been surprised by frequently observing it alight in beds of reeds unapproachable to him from growing on oozy banks, whence he could not again raise it either by shouting or the throwing of stones. But when much persecuted it fortunately becomes wild, as its splendid plumage renders it a valued object of pursuit to the juvenile shooter. To my great regret I was myself once guilty of the death of a kingfisher, but under extenuating circumstances. During frost which succeeded a heavy fall of snow, I was in pursuit of woodcocks and snipes along the partially wooded banks of a rivulet, when a small bird of a peculiar appearance was. sprung two or three times as we advanced, and always within shot; at last I fired at it, and to my astonishment, on going to the spot where it fell, found that it was a kingfisher. All sportsmen must have remarked the changed aspect of birds rising against a snowy background, but would hardly be prepared, as in this instance, to see a kingfisher lose all its brilliancy, and assume a hue, dark and sooty as the water-ouzel ; yet such was the fact. Had it not appeared under false colours, the trigger would have been untouched. Its mode of flight should certainly have indicated the species ; but over this, unfortunately, the negative character of the absence of its wonted beauty prevailed. Besides, it is not the snow-clad landscape that should bring to mind the kingfisher, whose vesture under ordi- nary circumstances rather suggests the torrid zone than the arctic circle. Mr. Yarrell observes that the kingfisher is “a difficult bird to shoot on the wing;” but from its usual flight being direct, like that of the water-ouzel and quail, I should call it easy :—this will, how- ever, depend on the individual shooter—it is to he hoped that those who follow the bird with evil intent will find that it is ‘ difficult ” to be shot. Occasionally, both in summer and winter, I have seen a couple of kingfishers, apparently in playful mood, describing graceful curves after the manner of the sandpiper (Totanus Hypoleu- cos), as they flew gently over the surface of the water. ‘Their splen- did plumage was at the same time displayed to the most advantage, and they gave forth their peculiar shrill and piping call. This re- sembles more that of the sandpiper than any bird with which I am acquainted, but may perhaps be termed louder, hoarser, and not so shrill. This species has already been mentioned as resorting to an upland locality in the month of August, and remaining there through Sep- tember ; grt which period and through the winter it is to be met * | have seen the kingfisher perched on the not more picturesque brick- bat, and on the mud of the river. Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 229 with about the streams and rivers of the lower grounds, and occa- sionally about the estuary of Belfast-bay. A couple of them were remarked by. my observant friend Mr. James Garrett, throughout the month of January 1836, to frequent the river Lagan where sub- ject to the flow of the tide, and he has known them in pursuit of food to be immersed for a few seconds beneath the surface of the water; about another river where it enters the bay, three or four have been seen in company: in shallow pools of sea-water this bird has been remarked at ebb-tide fishing in its most picturesque man- ner—suspended above the water, and darting down upon its prey. This mode must necessarily have been resorted to here, where there was no branch of a tree or perch from which the bird could be on the look-out ;. but on rivers with wooded banks it occasionally fishes in the same manner. My brother notes his having seen the king- » fisher dart down upon its prey from a branch fully six feet above the water. I remember being once entertained by observing one of these birds perched on a branch overhanging a pond, and about a foot above it, whilst trout, one and all too large for its mastery, kept leaping up immediately beneath as if in defiance of their enemy. A gentleman once informed me, that beside the nest of a kingfisher he had found the perfect skeleton of a fish, which induced him to believe that the bird does not swallow the fish whole, but picks the flesh off. That such however is not the case, the stomachs of the few—six in number—which I have myself examined, sufficiently attested, as they all contained fish-bones, and these only. The two before alluded to as frequenting the Lagan within flow of the tide in January 1836, fell victims to the gun at the end of that month, and were found on dissection to have their stomachs filled with “‘ shrimps’”’ about an inch in length. In the winter of 1830-31, a bird-preserver in Belfast received so many. as seven kingfishers in the course of a month—of these, three were shot at the Lagan*, one near Downpatrick, and two or three at the Six-mile Water, a fine clear trout stream, and one of the tri- butaries of Lough Neagh. Within about a month on another occa- sion, from the middle of October to that of November, I saw seven of these birds which had been sent to taxidermists in the town just mentioned—of these one was from the last-named river, as were single specimens from the Inver, at Larne, and the Milewater, in the county of Antrim; one from Killileagh (co. Down), and three from Coleraine (co. Londonderry). Mr. R. Davis, Jun., of Clonmel, has informed me, that during one week in January 1841, he received six examples of this bird—the extreme cold of that month will be remembered}. All these are remarkable cases. * On the 21st September, 1833, kingfishers were said to be plentiful about this river; four were seen together on a bank of gravel, and on being frightened away flew in company up the stream ; about a mile below where they were first seen, my informant proceeding onwards saw two more: for so many to appear within so limited a space is extraordinary. + “In severe winters they sometimes become so tame that they even venture within a few feet of the door of Bathgate Mill, which is situated in the immediate vicinity of houses.”” Mr. Weir in Macgillivray’s Brit. Birds, vol. iii. p. 679. 230 M. C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic My friend Richard Langtry, Esq., when grouse-shooting at Aber- arder, in Inverness-shire, in the season of 1840, met witha kingfisher several times, from the middle to the end of September, about a wild mountain-rivulet ata considerable elevation, and whose banks were destitute of wood or any cover. In the middle of August I once saw three of these birds in company at the Pontine marshes between Rome and Naples. Mr. Waterton, in his ‘ Essays on Natural History,’ treats of the kingfisher in a most pleasing manner. [To be continued. } XXVIII.—Organographic and Physiologic Sketch of the Class Fungi, by C. Montaene, D.M. Extracted from ‘ Histoire physique, politique et naturelle de l’ile de Cuba,’ par M. Ra- MON DE LA SaarRa, and translated and illustrated with short notes by the Rev. M. J. BerKEuEy, M.A., F.L.S. [Continued from p. 116.] Pyrenomycetes, Fries. Tuts family is one of the largest in the class Fungi. Its essential characters are, lst, a mucilagimous, deliquescent, rounded, never disciform nucleus, containing little convergent utricles (asci) mixed with continuous or septate threads ( paraphyses), and containing’ sporidia; 2ndly, receptacles, either real (perithecia) or formed by the matrix or stroma, destined to contain the nucleus. These fungi are to the Discomycetes, what Verrucarie are to Lecidinee’ amongst Lichens. eh SE It would be difficult to conceive the prodigious variety of forms which the perithecium and sporidia assume in the descending series of genera and species in this family from the genus Hyporylon to Sa- cidium. 3 I regret that I have not space to consider these as fully as in the foregoing families. I must confine myself to what is indispensable to give a general notion of the group. | The family of Pyrenomycetes is divided naturally into two prin- cipal tribes (Fr. Fl. Scan., p. 345): 1. Spheriacee characterized by the presence of asci ; 2. Perisporiacee by the absence of true utricles, which are, however, sometimes represented by little transparent sacs. We will examine in succession the stroma, perithecium, spo- ridia, &c. nig The perithecia, simple, scattered or aggregate, are sometimes con- nected by a byssoid web or by a carbon-like substance, which’ is called stroma. This when present is extremely variable in form ; it is vertical and centripetal, or horizontal and centrifugal. The ver- tical stroma (caulescens) is orange or black, carbonaceous, corky, fleshy or woody, coriaceous, flexible or brittle, smooth or pubescent, even and polished, or else rough and warty, generally cylindrical, branched and dichotomous or simple, and then inflated with a capi- tate or clavate apex. In this last case it is called stipitate, and the r Sketch of the Class Fungi. 231 stem (stipes) is distinguished from the inflated portion which is called clavula. The stroma when horizontal assumes also different forms, but these, as we may easily suppose, are less various. Nevertheless, the little cushions or discs which it forms upon the bark, or between the bark and the wood, or even upon the naked or decomposed wood, are byssoid, pulverulent, fleshy or carbonaceous and brittle. Fre- quently the matrix supplies its place. Its colour is as variable as that of the vertical stroma. In the genus Thamnomyces it is from the matrix that the cells or perithecia are formed: In Dothidea it is in the cavities of a pseudostroma furnished by the matrix that the nuclei are immediately enclosed. Some genera have a cup-shaped stroma (Atractobolus, Cordierites, Mont:). The stroma is frequently obli- terated or wanting, in which case the species is reduced to a peri- thecium. This is entire or dimidiate and hemispherical, with or without an ostiolum. In Spherie there is constantly an ostiolum, which assumes however various directions. According as the peri- thecia are divergent, erect, convergent or horizontal, they are said to be peripheric, hypopheric, amphipheric or peripheric. ‘They are more or less immersed in the stroma, being sometimes quite con- cealed, sometimes free and resting on it merely with their base. They are monostichous or polystichous, according as they are placed in a single curve, or several more or less concentric layers. In cer- tain genera they are disposed circularly round a central axis (Cyti- spora). The perithecia are dimidate, astomous, and reduced some- times to a simple disc as in Sacidium. When they are furnished with an ostiolum, it is papillary or rostrate, and traversed by acanal which places the nucleus in contact with the air, and at length makes way for the sporidia. But the ostiolum is wanting in many whole tribes, and then the dehiscence of the perithecium takes place by means of a simple pore, or, as in Dichenee, by one or more irregular clefts. In Apiosporee it is indehiscent, that is to say, it does not burst spon- taneously. In HLustegia the dehiscence is transverse. Many Pyrenomycetes have the perithecia covered with a more or less close and dense byssoid down, the remains of the veil which clothed them when young, or of the stroma in which they were de- veloped ; others have their whole surface or base rough with hairs. The walls of the perithecia vary much as to consistence, though this bears in general some proportion to that of the stroma. They are hard, horny, corky, carbonaceous or else thin membranous, papyra- ceous, and capable of collapsing after the evacuation of the nucleus. In general they are composed of one or more layers of thick cells, so condensed in the carbonaceous species that there are scarcely any intercellular. passages. The nucleus, which is either of an opal-white or coloured, is com- posed of simple or branched continuous or jointed threads, between which are placed the asci. They are generally convergent, and con- tain a greater or less number of sporidia arranged in one or two rows, but frequently without any fixed order. ‘These organs are seated in a mucilaginous, frequently opaline and transparent, highly hygro- scopic medium, together with which they escape from the perithe- 232 M.C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic cium. The paraphyses, and even the asci, are wanting in many genera. Though sometimes linear, they are generally more or less clavate. In some species of Hypocrea the tips are surmounted by a cup-shaped appendage, which Corda* and myself indicated at the same time, without being able to give any account of its functions. They are generally transparent, indehiscent, and according to Mr. Berkeley (On exist. of a second membrane in the asci of Fungi) composed of two membranes at first united, but at a later period separate, and remaining so till the maturity of the sporidia. Asci are wanting in a great number of species. In some genera this defect is normal. But in some species belonging to genera where they are usually found, they are absorbed, as may be expected by persons versed in vegetable physiology, but even then the sporidia are frequently still found disposed in rows in the jelly of the nucleus. (Corda, J. c. t. 9. f. 122. 5, 6.) These remarks are equally applicable to the paraphy- ses. The Perisporiaceous Pyrenomycetes also have not normal asci ; they are represented by hyaline subglobose sacs. Generally these organs, which are styled peridiola, are pyriform and contain sporidia. Asci and peridiola are clearly the same organ, and differ only in form and position. Fries+ remarks that the form of the asci varies con- siderably at different ages of the same species, and consequently we must be very circumspect in resting on them as distinctive of species. Sporidia occur of every form between linear and spherical. They are simple, bi- or pluri-locular as in Verrucarie ; but in some species the septa are soon absorbed. They often contain sporidiola which are usually globose. The simple sporidia and sporidiola have the same organization as the spores of fungi of the preceding families. In Sporocadus, Corda, which is the same as Diplodia, Fr., the bilo- cular { and naked sporidia are fixed in the bottom of the cell by a short peduncle, which appears again in Schizothecium, Corda. In Spheronema they escape with the jelly of the nucleus and form a little globule, which remains for a long time fixed at the tip of the perithecium. In Nemaspora and Cytispora they ooze out in the form of flat or cylindric tendrils. ‘Their colour is black or dingy (e. g. Hypoxrylon) or white. They are opake or pellucid, and are sometimes surrounded when young by a mucilaginous coat, which is occasionally tolerably thick. I have observed this peculiarity in my S. pseudo-bombarda, and Mr. Berkeley in S. pedunculata, Dicks. Not only. are the sporidia arranged in the asci in one or more rows, but they are sometimes so connected, as even after dispersion to ex- hibit the form of short necklaces. This mode of arrangement, which * Corda, Ic. Fung. iv. tab. 9. f. 129. 13 i—Mont., Ann. Sc. Nat., ii. sér. t. xiii. t. 6. fig. 2, s. | + A little experience however will almost prevent the possibility of error. No experienced mycologist will be likely either to describe immature asci and sporidia as distinctive, or, on the other hand, be deceived by the absorp- tion cdo asci or of the sporidia themselves while the sporidiola remain.— M. J.B. ¢ In some of Corda’s Sporocadi = Hendersonia, Berk., the sporidia are pluri-locular.—M. J. B. Sketch of the Class Fungi. 933 is observed in Hypocrea ophioglossoides [and Perisporium vulgare}, is found again in Antennaria, which has no asci. ‘They are generally four or eight in each ascus ; in* Hypocrea Robertsii and phyllogena, nob., they are much more numerous. M. Corda (Ic. Fung., ii. p. 27. t. 13. f. 97. 21, 22.) relates a cu- rious fact regarding the germination in this family. He says that he has seen in Perisporium vulgare that it does not consist, as in other cellular plants, in a simple elongation of one of the two poles of the episporium, but that this, after the fashion of the seeds of higher plants, bursts to make way for the primordial filament. If there is no optical deception, and this observation is confirmed, it is certainly one of great interest. I cannot better end my general remarks on this family than by quoting a passage from Fries, Syst. Myc., ii. p. 315 :—* Ubique ter- rarum ubi adest vegetatio, simul adsunt Pyrenomycetes, ut vir alia exr- istat stirpium familia frequentior obvia, cum omnis stirps perfectior, omnesque partes morientes, Pyrenomycetes alant.”” The bark, wood, stems and leaves of herbaceous plants, the leaves of trees, the dung of animals, are the matrix (in other respects useless to man) on which they love to grow. Some species grow on dead animals; chiefly on caterpillars (fypocrea Robertsii and entomorrhizat). Some grow on other fungi (e. g. Hypocrea ophioglossoides and capitata). On one side the Pyrenomycetes are closely allied to Discomycetes by their fructification, equally with which their vegetation is centripetal ; on the other in the form of their perithecium with certain Lichens, as Verrucarie and Trypteheliacee ; but they differ essentially from the first by the character which brings them near to the second, and from these by the absence of all trace of thallus. Fries established two grand divisions in this family, Spheriacee characterized by elongated asci (asci perfecti), and Perisporiacee which have the sporidia naked or enclosed in little pouches (peri- diola). The Spheriacee are divided into, 1. Spherie, whose peri- thecia have a prominent ostiolum; 2. Dothiore, in which there is only a simple pore ; 3. Dichenee, in which dehiscence takes place by one or more clefts, or by an orbicular dilatation. ‘The Perisporiacee are subdivided in the same manner: 1. Perisporie, with an ostiolate perithecium ; 2. Apiosporee, in which it opens irregularly or bursts ; 3. Cytisporee, in which there is no true perithecium, or if there be, it is concealed in the matrix. Discomycetes, Fr. This family, recently established by Fries (Fl. Scan., p. 341) at the expense of the Hymenomycetes with a closed receptacle, and of Pyrenomycetes with an expanded or disc-bearing receptacle, is cha- racterized by a sort of hymenium, at first nucleiform, then expanded * And I believe “Sheth in Hypocrea, which I conceive to be the grand distinctive mark.—M. J. B. + The famous “ guépes végétantes ” are living wasps attacked I believe by a species of Hypocrea. The specimens which I have had an opportunity of examining were not quite mature.—M. J.B. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. R 234 M.C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic into a solid disc, which is superior and sometimes spread over a con- vex capitiform surface, but always limited. The hymenial disc, what-« ever be its conformation, is composed of erect, elongated, persistent asci mixed with paraphyses, and enclosing a determinate numbe of sporidia (4, 6, 8), which, when mature, are discharged elastically under the form of a dusty cloud. Their hymenium is supported by a receptacle (excipulum), whose form and consistence, which are very variable, furnish their primary distinctions. We will now trace their variations in the whole series. Its substance, which is like wax in Helvelle, is gelatinous in Bulgaria, corky in Dermee, coriaceous in Patellarie, horny in Phacidia. Its forms are not less variable. It is in the first that it attains its max- imum of development. Some of its species so much resemble cer- tain Hymenomycetes, that we are obliged to have recourse to micro- scopical analysis to determine accurately their place. Thus the re- ceptacle, though pileiform and always limited, is irregularly alveolate in the Morel, folded and sinuous in Gyrocephalus ; it is smooth, mi- triform and lobed in Helvel/le, campanulate in Verpa, clavate in Geo- glossum, capituliform in Mitrula, Leotia and Vibrissea, and cupuliform in Pezize and Patellarie. In the first of these genera it has always an elongated stem which is either smooth or furrowed. In the latter the cup is stipitate or sessile. The receptacle is always open in Helvelle, with the exception of the Pezize, where it is at first closed, as also in Cenangium, Exci- pula, &c. It is also constantly open in Bulgaria. In Dermee, which comprise six genera, it is at first closed in the three last (Hirneola, Dermea and Lachnella), and always open in the three others, as also in the genera Sarea and Patellaria of the following tribe. In Pha- cidiacee the receptacle opens by a single longitudinal fissure (Hyste- rium), or by several either radiating from a common centre as in Actidium, or irregularly disposed as in Rhytisma. Finally, in Lepto- stroma this organ is reduced to an orbicular scale, whose fall ex- poses the sporigerous disc. In Stictidee the receptacle is obliterated or wholly wanting; it is the matrix, in which the fungus is developed, which supplies its place. Nevertheless, even in this case, we observe sometimes the rudiment of an excipulum, sometimes merely a layer of cells, named by some subhymenial tissue, Lév., by others placen- tary stratum (Placentar-schichte, Corda). The hymenium of Discomycetes is irregularly spread out, and fol- lows all the sinuosities and folds of the receptacle in Helvelle and Bulgaria, or else it is orbicular and disciform as in Pezize, Patellarie, and some Phacidiacee; or elongated.as in many Hysteria and Stic- tidee. Whatever form it assumes, the hymenium is always composed of a certain number of membranous, transparent, very thin, elongated, cylindrical or clavate cells, placed parallel the one to the other. These cells, called asci, are fixed by one of their extremities to the receptacle, the other being free and rounded; they contain generally an even number (4, 6, 8) of rounded, oval or elongated bodies formed of one or more cells called spore, which, as already said, are destined to pro- pagate the species. Between the asci other tubular cells which re- Sketch of the Class Fungi. 235 semble them are usually found, but in which no spores are developed ; these are called paraphyses. It is very probable that these are only abortive asci; they are found in Lichens, Byssacee and Hymenomy- cetes ; we have mentioned also their presence in Pyrenomycetes. Corda has observed and figured in Geoglossum hirsutum (Ic. Fung., li, p. 35. t. 15. f. 124. 4. g, g.) a third kind of utricles fashioned like the asci, but containing instead of spores irregular granules floating in a very fluid mucilage. The ascomorphic cells, in. consequence of their great analogy in form and structure with the anthers of Mosses (antheridia, Bisch.), seem to him to be destined to perform here the functions ef those organs, viz. to fecundate the spores. The same mycologist has also remarked that the hymenium of the genus Agy- rium is covered, like the proligerous disc of Lichens, with a compact layer of cells, between which there are very visible vacant spaces. This is, I think, very improperly termed. proligerous disc, for it ap- pears rather to. be due to the remains of a kind of veil. In Agyrium rufum we find instead of paraphyses a cellular tissue analogous to that of the placentary or subhymenial tissue, between the cells of which the asci are seated. Amongst Discomycetes there are genera and species in which the asci are invariably fixed upon the receptacle, and others in which at a certain period they are normally detached, and are discharged to- gether with the spores which they contain (Ascobolus, Lachnella). These organs are variable in form, but within certain limits. They assume every form between that of cylindric and rhopaloid. Fries calls them moniliform in his genus Orbilia, with which I am not ac- quainted. The sporidia (or spores) are much more variable than the asci. Thus they are spherical, ovoid, oblong, elliptic, much elongated and obtuse at either end (baculiform), as in Propolis and Spathularia, or else acute (fusiform, acicular), as in Geoglossum. As regards struc- ture, they consist of a single cell, or else they are divided transverse- ly, as in Geoglossum and Cryptodiscus, or at the same time longitu- dinally and transversely, as in Melittosporium; in many cases by septa, which render them plurilocular or compound. Their normal num- ber varies between four and eight, but this number is always even. They are formed, like those of other families, of a thin, elastic, trans- parent episporium, whose cavity is filled, according to Corda, with a white, limpid, hyaline, gelatinous substance, in-which are suspended some drops of an oily matter. He has followed and described (J. ce. iil. p. 89) the morphosis of these organs in Peziza Acetabulum; we can only refer the reader to the passage. At the maturity of the fungus, the sporidia in many species are ejected forcibly from the asci by a sort of contractile power in these organs, in order to their being dispersed in the air in the form of smoke or a cloud. This dispersion of the sporules takes place at intervals, so that the ascus empties itself completely by several successive jerks. This must take place by a pore in the summit of the ascus, though the micro- scope has not yet proved its existence. All the genera of the family do not present the phenomenon just mentioned, nor all the species R2 236 Mr. Gould on two new Trogons. of the same genus. In Ascobolus, it is the asci themselves which are ejected. The Discomycetes, which Corda still keeps amongst the species of the following family, but which M. Léveillé, like Fries, separates from them under the name of Thecospori, have a receptacle composed of cells which are sometimes polyhedrous and rounded, sometimes more or less elongated, which, by their contiguity or various inter- lacing, give to the tissue which results from them a very varied con- sistence. They grow on the earth, or wood and leaves in the course of decomposition. Their vegetation is centripetal, as in Pyrenomy- cetes, with which many tribes were not long since confounded. There is, however, this essential difference, that the receptacle, though at first it may have been closed, at length opens and becomes discoid. Their normal form is then that of acup; but if we suppose that this cup, in a high grade of development, should become re- versed, we shall have the mitre-like form of Helvella, the pileate or hemispherical shape of Leotia, or finally, that of capitate in Mor- chella. Many species amongst the Morels and Helvelle are eatable*. Some are adorned with the brightest colours, and are the pride of our forests. It is to the beauty of Peziza coccinea that Persoon attri- buted his study of Fungi, as he himself assured me. These fungi are generally European ; many, however, occur in the southern parts of the new world, for they belong chiefly to the temperate zones. This is especially true of Helvelle, for we possess many Pezize from tropical America, and have one to describe from Cuba. [To be continued. ] XXIX.—On two new species of Trogon and a new species of Toucan from the Cordillerian Andes. By Joun Gout pn, Ksq., F.L.S., &c. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. GENTLEMEN, Aware of the extensive circulation of your valuable Journal among scientific men both at home and abroad, and conse- quently of its importance as a means of making known new species in the various branches of the delightful science to which its pages are devoted, I beg to enclose for insertion in it the specific characters and descriptions of two new Trogons and a new Toucan, neither of which have appeared in my il- lustrated Monographs of those groups; figures of them will however shortly be published in my ‘ Icones Avium.’ * During many months of the year the staple food of the Fuegians is a fungus of this family, figared by Darwin, and to which, in a paper read be- fore the Linnzan Society, I have given the name of Cyttaria. It is allied to Bulgaria, with the form of Spheria concentrica, and honey-comb appear- ance of a Morel.—M. J. B. Mr. Gould on two new Trogons. 237 They are all from the Cordillerian Andes, a country the rich zoological productions of which are daily becoming more known to us. . Of the two former birds, one is an additional example of the genus Trogon as at present restricted, and may be cha- racterized as TROGON PERSONATA. Trog. vertice, corpore superiore, et pectore splendidé aureo-viridibus ; loris, plumis auricularibus, et gutture nigris; rectricibus caudz duabus intermediis ex aureo virescenti-fuscis, ad apicem nigris ; utrinque proxima pogonio interno et apice nigris, pogonio externo ex aureo virescenti-fusco; rectricibus externis nigris, lineis' albis crebris et undulatis minute fasciatis, ad apicem laté niveis; alis nigris, tectricibus et secundariis lineis cinereis minutis et irregu- laribus crebré fasciatis; abdomine et corpore subtis coccineis ; colore coccineo a viridi disjuncto lunula alba; rostro aurantiaco. Foem. capite, pectore, et corpore superiore fuscis ; rectricibus caude duabus intermediis sordidé castaneis ; gutture et plumis auricula- ribus nigris ; abdomine et corpore subtis coccineis, hoc colore a fusco pectorali disjuncto lunula alba. Male. Crown of the head, all the upper surface and chest rich golden green ; lores, ear-coverts and throat black; two middle tail- feathers golden greenish brown, and tipped with black ; the next on each side have the inner web and tip black, and the outer web golden greenish brown ; the outer feathers black, crossed by numerous fine irregular bars, and largely tipped with pure white ; wings black, the coverts and secondaries finely pencilled with irregular zigzag mark- ings of light gray; primaries margined externally with light gray ; abdomen and under surface scarlet, separated from the green of the chest by a narrow crescent of white ; bill orange-yellow ; feet yellow- ish brown. Female. Head, chest and upper surface brown; two middle tail- feathers dull chestnut-brown tipped with black; the two next on each side black on their inner webs and at the tip, and dull chestnut- brown on their outer webs; the remaining feathers black on their inner webs at the base, largely tipped with white, the intermediate portion being crossed by alternate irregular bars of black and white ; wings as in the male, the coverts and secondaries freckled with yel- lowish brown instead of gray, and ear-coverts black ; abdomen and under surface scarlet, which colour is separated from the brown of the chest by a crescent of white ; bill and feet vellowish brown. Total length, 11 inches ; bill, Zs wing, 54; “tail, 63; ; tarsi, 2. Hab. 'The Cordillerian Andes. In size and in its markings this species is very closely allied to Trogon atricollis, but differs from it in having the under surface rich scarlet instead of fine orange. The other belongs to that section of the Trogonide to which Mr. Swainson has applied the term Calurus, and which com- 238 Mr. Gouid on a new species of Toucan. prises by far the most splendid members of the family. I He pose to name it Trocon (CALURUS) AURICEPS, Trog. capite toto et gutture splendidé aureo-viridibus; corpore su- periore, pectore superiore, alis, tectricibusque caude superioribus saturate viridibus; cauda nigerrima; pectore inferiore, abdomine crissoque e sanguineo coccineis. Male, 'The whole of the head and throat rich golden green; all the upper surface, chest, wing and upper tail-coverts rich deep green, changing into a brilliant golden according to the direction of the light ; wings and all the tail-feathers jet-black ; breast, abdomen and under tail-coverts of the richest scarlet, inclining to crimson ; feathers of the tarsi black; bill yellow; feet reddish brown. ‘Female or young Male. Head, throat, chest and upper surfaces as in the male, but less ; wings black, the primaries and secondaries broadly margined on their external webs with sandy buff; tail dull black, the outer feather irregularly margined externally and tipped with pale buff; abdomen and under tail-coverts scarlet ; bill brown; feet reddish brown. Total length, 144 inches; bill, 11; wing, 8; tail, 8; tarsi, 3. Hab. The Cordillerian Andes. This noble bird is more nearly allied to Trogon (Calurus) pavoninus than to any other species; but from which it differs in the bright yellow colouring of the bill, in the greater length of the wing-coverts, and in the more jet-black colouring of the wings and tail-feathers ; the present is also a i larger bird than pavoninus. The Toucan belongs to that section of the family of Ram- phastide for which I have proposed the generic or subgeneric name of Aulacorhynchus, and may be termed PreRoGLossus (AULACORHYNCHUS) CASTANEORHYNCHUS. Pt. rostro castaneo-rubro, apicem versus pallidiore ; mandibula infe- riore in medio, et culmine nisi ad basin nigro undulatis.; vitta ba- sali straminea, angusta apud nares, exindé per latera rostri ducta, et latiore gradatim; corpore superiore fuscescenti-viridi; alis saturaté viridibus ; uropygio coccineo ; corpore subtis viridi; la- teribus ceruleo tinctis ; caude rectricibus quatuor intermediis ad apicem laté castaneis. Bill chestnut-red, becoming paler towards the point, clouded with black on the middle of the lower mandible and along the culmen, except at the base ; at the base of the bill is a band of straw-white which increases in breadth as it proceeds downwards; crown of the head and upper surface brownish green; wings dark green ; rump crimson; four middle tail-feathers deep bluish green, largely tipped with chestnut-brown, the remainder green; all the under surface green, stained on the flanks with light blue. Scientific Travellers. 239 Total length, 18 inches ; bill, 44; wing, 5%; tail, 7; tarsi, 14. Hab. The Cordillerian Andes. Nearly allied to Pteroglossus (Aulacorhynchus) hematopy- gus, from which and from all other members of this section of its family it differs in its much larger size. XXX.—Information respecting Scientific Travellers. Mr. E. Forses. We have letters from our friend E. Forbes, Esq., dated from the coast of Lycia in February last. In consequence of the Beacon having remained on that coast for the purpose of procuring the anti- quities discovered by Mr. Fellows at Xanthus, Mr. Forbes had given up his intention of wintering on the Red Sea, and was thus enabled to pursue his researches in the Archipelago and Asia Minor in the fullest and most satisfactory manner. At the date of his letters he was about to make an excursion into the interior of Lycia and Pam- phylia in company with Lieut. Spratt and the Rev. E. Daniell, whose united labours will doubtless throw much new light on the geography, antiquities and natural history of that little known region. After this tour they were to make a detailed survey of Rhodes, and then to join the Beacon.on the coast of Crete, where she will spend the summer. Mr. Forbes’s observations on the win- ter vegetation of Lycia are given below at page 251. In a letter to us, dated Xanthus, Asia Minor, February 28, 1942, he thus writes :— ** My work has been entirely among the Cyclades and on the south-west coast of Asia Minor. During the summer I made the circuit of the islands, a tour of very great interest, which enabled me to use the dredge with much effect, dredging in a very: great number of localities and on as many sorts of sea-bottom as possible. I have since conducted a line of dredgings across the Archipelago and down the coast of Lycia, and have succeeded in obtaining the inha- bitants of depths hitherto unexplored, even from 100 to 220 fathoms. The ground at those depths is very uniform, and there is a deposit of white sediment, probably of great thickness, extending throughout the eastern Mediterranean, the animals living on which do not vary in localities 300 miles apart. At adepth of 200 fathoms I have found mollusca of the genera Tellina, Corbula and Arca alive, Annelides al- lied to Serpula, several Crustacea and Starfishes of the genus Ophio- coma. Zoophytes are found in nearly as great a depth. | ‘The mud from above 200 fathoms is full of the shells of Pteropoda and other floaters. Of fishes I have taken a little Goby frequently in depths between 60 and 100 fathoms. The distribution of fishes here is as | uniform as that of the lower animals, the same species turning up on the south coast of the Morea as in that ‘of Rhodes. I have made drawings of about a hundred species with a view to exhibit their colouring when alive or fresh taken ; of the greater number of these I have either skins or specimens in spirits. My inquiries for fresh- 240 Scientific. Travellers :—Mr. Forbes. water fishes have hitherto been unsuccessful. The river Xanthus is said to contain them, but though I have offered to reward anybody who would bring me some, I have not been able to procure any. «« As however I mean to remain in this country while the ship is at Malta refitting, I hope during my excursions into the interior to succeed better. Among the other Vertebrata I have done but little, saving the collecting of reptiles. Marine operations have so taken up my time, that the preservation of birds and mammalia has been out of the question. «‘ Among the former, however, I have just procured a beautiful Kingfisher, probably the Alcedo Smyrnensis ; among the latter, | am now busy collecting information regarding those inhabiting the moun- tains of Cragus and Taurus. Geology and botany have not been neglected, but for my chief botanical harvest I look forward to this season. Cerigo, Santorini, Rhodes and Lycia have yielded mea rich harvest of fossils. Among the results of my dredging are the recent analogues of several tertiary species of shells supposed extinct.” Extracts from another letter of Mr. Forbes, dated Macri, Asia Minor, February 1842 :— ‘«T am now in a new continent, one I had not rambled in before, and one, the scenes and wonders of which, I assure you, surpass most of those I had before admired in Europe. In the month of October I first set foot in Asia, a day or two after having been at Patmos, where, of course, I visited the traditional scene of St. John’s exile and meditations. The supposed cave where the great poet of Christianity wrote his grand work is almost hidden under the mass of gewgaws heaped upon it by the Greek monks who live in the monastery built over it. The monastery is not, however, an un- worthy one, since for many ages it has been the chief school of the Archipelago. When I visited it, a large deal table with wooden forms ranged round it, under a shed open to the air and facing a delicious view of the sea and the distant islands, was the only furni- ture of this primitive university. ‘“‘ Cnidus was the first footing afforded me in Asia, and the first of the many ruined and once famous cities which I have been destined to visit. Telmessus, where I now am, was the next, a site, every stone of which is familiar to me, in consequence of its having unex- pectedly become the Beacon’s head-quarters. When I arrived here I had no expectation of remaining, and was glad to make the best of my time, starting off with one of our officers on an exploring tour into the interior. Our route was one never before travelled by tourist, and as our objects were antiquarian as well as scientific, the interest was doubled; not to mention the great pleasure of seeing the pre- sent inhabitants of the country in an unsophisticated state—a peo- ple possessed of more good qualities than any I had previously met, yet sadly libelled by geographers and travellers, who frighten all visitors from these shores by their bugbear tales of the ferocity of the natives. During our inland excursion we discovered several of the lost cities of Lycia, among others Choma and Balbura. . I never thought city-hunting could have given me so much pleasure as it has done, Scientific Travellers :—Mr. Forbes. 241 but it really is quite as exciting as the hunting of new plants and animals. If I lived in this neighbourhood I should turn antiquary before three months had rolled away. The ruined cities of Lycia are wonderfully beautiful; situated in the midst of the grandest alpine scenery, amid mountains rising almost from the sea-level to the great elevation of 10,000 feet, with stupendous precipices towering on all sides, and great forests and extended plains of infinite variety ; every cliff carved into temple-tombs, such as you read of ijn ac- counts of Petra, and every hill-side covered with ruins of great theatres and temples. You may easily picture to yourself the in- terest and delight of travelling in such a country—one, too, almost unexplored, having been only made known to us within the last four years by Fellows.* ‘‘T mean to complete the exploration of Lycia, and to add to it Pamphylia, Phrygia, and Caria. I hope to discover Derbe, Lystra, and some other missing cities.” Extracts from a letter dated Xanthus, Asia Minor, February 28, 1842 :— ‘«T am now en route into the interior, with a view to the explora- tion of the antiquities, geography, and natural history of the unex- plored parts of Asia Minor. I shall return to meet the Beacon in May, and I hope then to proceed to Candia. In autumn I shall pro- bably go to Egypt before returning to Edinburgh. “« T shall not trouble you with an itinerary of my travels; suffice to say, that I have rambled, or rather cruised, in the Beacon’s Ten- ders through the Archipelago, and last autumn I accompanied one of our surveyors on his cruise to complete the survey of the Lycian coast. In January the Beacon found us here, having been sent down by Government to remove the marbles discovered here by Fellows. For the last three months we have been excavating mar- bles; some splendid things have turned up, which will greatly de- light you when you see them. One set, representing the wars of the Amazons, is especially beautiful, and, to my mind, equal to the Elgin marbles both in the design and execution. Another frieze, of many pieces, is also of great interest and beauty; it represents the siege of a city, and, independent of the beauty and spirit of the combatants (in very high relief), includes representations of the most curious kind, of the fortifications and buildings of an ancient Lycian city. Some statues of great merit (but headless) have also been dug up. The crowning sculptures, however, are a set of bas-relief of exquisite beauty, in which the peculiar art of the Persians, as seen in Persepolitan sculptures, is combined with the freedom and execution of the Greeks. In all there is a ship-load, and the only difficulty to be overcome now is the shipping of them. “This country is delightful, and is covered with ruins of the . grandest kind. Every little excursion any of us have made into the interior has ended in the discovery of some lost ancient city. The * We are happy to state that Mr. Fellows has just returned, enriched with new stores of information upon the antiquities of the interesting coun- try which he has visited for the third time. 242 Scientific Travellers :—Mr. Jerdon. present inhabitants are a fine, frank, hospitable race of Turks—as good a people as ever I came across.” Another letter, dated Macri, February 28, 1842 :— “‘T have now dredged right across the Archipelago, from Cerigo to Lycia. For two months I accompanied our little schooner on these coasts when she was deep-sounding, and dredged every day that a dredge could go down, keeping a register of the produce. The water is very deep, and the results were highly interesting, since nobody, I believe, has dredged so deep before, viz. from 100 to 220 fathoms. This I was enabled to do successfully by means of Ball’s little dredge ; and, that the results might be strictly accurate, the depth was in each case ascertained, not only by the length of the rope, which is very fallacious, since currents affect it, but also by the patent sounding machine, which gives the depth to a foot. Of course, if all the re- sults had been negative, such a series as I have collected, so strictly tested, would be invaluable; but they have not been negative, and if I am not mistaken, will throw great light on geology. Strange to say, the most characteristic species of shells in those depths are species known only in a fossil state hitherto. “* You will be surprised when I tell you, that, generally speaking, the Mediterranean is not nearly so prolific in marine animals as our coasts, and that they are mostly smaller than those of our seas. Large species of the Articulata and Radiata are extremely scarce, and, the large shell-fish are very few in number. The results indeed, taken all in all, of my marine geological work have greatly surprised me, and turned out quite contrary to my expectations. As to float- ing animals, they are very scarce ; and medusas are, literally, few and far between. *« As to land animals, I find it difficult to give time to them, except the lower classes; but now I think I have succeeded in making one of our sailors a skinner of beasts. I am always on the look-out, especially here (Macri), which is much better than in the islands. Reptiles are always preserved, and I catch allI can. The larger ones, such as the land and river tortoises, I defer taking till near my return, as I shall then endeavour to bring a live supply for your anatomical researches. . Of fishes I have now above 100 drawings, to show their colouring when fresh, and a good many specimens. | draw everything, and have a great stock of pictures on hand. As Malta is an excellent place for fish, I hope, before returning, to get a number there for dissection. In fossil geology I have made con- siderable collections, and lots of notes. ‘‘ The manner in which, through unexpected circumstances, we have been, as it were, shut out of the world, has prevented me from writing the papers I intended for the Wernerian and Botanical So- cieties. Indeed I find it absolutely necessary to defer writing till my return, as I shall have to consult books and collections on many, points.” ‘Mr. Jerpon. By letters from Mr. Jerdon, dated 16th February, 1842, we learn that that gentleman is still prosecuting his ornithological researches ; Linnean Society. 243 he has added several species to the Catalogue already published, and has corrected and verified many of his previous observations*. He is now about to publish a series of fifty coloured lithographic draw- ings of the birds of the peninsula of India, to be entitled ‘ Ilustra- tions of Indian Ornithology ;’ the drawings to be of the size of those accompanying the Catalogue, but the colouring to be more highly finished. ‘They will be struck off both on royal 8vo and 4to sized paper, and the price will be respectively 20 and 25 rupees, or 2/. and 2/.10s. We trust, as the work is limited, that it will meet with encouragement from the ornithologists of his own country. PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. LINNAZAN SOCIETY. December 21, 1841.—E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair. Read an extract of a letter from William Griffith, Esq., F.L.S., to R. H. Solly, Esq., F.L.S., dated Serampore, the 11th of October 1841, containing the following observations :— ‘‘ In Santalum the ovulum consists of a nucleus and an embryo- sac, prolonged both beyond the apex and base of the nucleus; the albumen and embryo are developed in the exserted part above the septum ; the mass of the embryo is developed directly from the ve- sicle, which is the termination of a pollen tube ; the seed (albumen) has no other proper covering than the incorporated upper separable part of the embryo-sac. ‘In Osyris the ovulum is reduced toa nucleus and an embryonary sac, prolonged exactly in the same directions as in Santalum, but not to such a degree anteriorly ; this anterior portion resembling exactly the unchanged part of the sac of Santalum below the septum. The albumen and embryo are formed outside the sac, and are absolutely naked, or whatever covering they may have did not enter into the composition of the ovulum.” Mr. Griffith adds, ‘‘ I have lately looked at Jsoetes capsularis, Roxb.; it is an instructive plant, for it shows that botanists are mistaken in their supposition as to the male. In Roxburgh’s plant the contents of the sporangium are sometimes of two sorts, but both have the same origin, both are precisely similarly constituted, except perhaps as to contents ; and the largest of these, the males of authors, become afterwards like the others, but larger. ‘There can be no doubt that in all these plants the true sporules or seeds are those produced by division of an original simple cell or its contents. Jsoetes and Azolla prove too a thing of some importance, that the dissimilar organs which have so puzzled botanists may have a similar origin. The true male of Jsoetes will probably turn out to be the oblong, cordate, fleshy laminz above the female. On the male my observa- tions were stopped by indisposition. As a male it is certainly ano- malous ; it is probably, I conjecture, developed originally within the * Catalogue of the Birds of the Peninsula of India, by T. C. Jerdon. Madras, 1839. : 244 Linnean Society. leaf, and the scale between it and the female is probably analogous to the indusium of ferns. The most instructive plant is Anthoceros (which is not a Hepatica), for this may explain Ferns by showing that a pre-existing organ, to be acted upon by the male influence, is not necessary. Endlicher says Jsoetes has no stomata; De Candolle figures them in his ‘ Organographie ;’ in J. capsularis they are.very evident : no matter whether emerged or submerged, all plants having a cutis have stomata.” Read also a paper ‘“‘ On a new genus of Plants from Chile.” By John Miers, Esq., F.L.S. This genus, which is named by Mr. Miers Solenomelus, on account of the confluence into a tubular form both of the stamina and stig- mata, belongs to the natural order Jridee, and is thus characterized : SoLENOMELUS. Cruckshanksia, Miers, Travels in Chile, ii. p. 529, non Hook. Perianthium petaloideum ; tubo brevi incurvo ; limbo 6-partito, laciniis patentibus, 3 superioribus erectioribus, 3 inferioribus deflexis. Zubus stamineus cum tubo .perianthii coalitus, demim liber, ore antheras 3 sessiles gerens. Stylus filiformis. Stigma integrum, urceolato-tubulo- sum, margine ciliatum. Capsu/a triquetra, trilocularis, loculicido-tri- valvis.—Herbe Chilenses perennes, habitu Sisyrinchii. Spatha divalvis, dorso sub apice mucronata. Flores breviter pedicellati. 1. Solenomelus Chilensis, foliis lineari-ensiformibus, corolla aurantiaca. Cruckshanksia graminea, Miers, Travels in Chile, ii. p. 529. Hab. apud Concon, locis umbrosis. 2. Solenomelus punctatus, foliis angustioribus, corolla aurantiaca ; laciniis singulis supra basin puncto sanguineo notatis. Hab. prope Concepcion. Mr. Miers observes, that the curved corolla, the coherence of the filaments throughout their entire length, and the union of the stig- mata into an urceolate tube, afford characters that sufficiently di- stinguish this genus from Sisyrinchium, to which it is in other re- spects most nearly related. In all the species of the latter genus that he has examined he has found a portion of the filaments free ; and he thinks the genus should be limited to those species in which the stamina are only partially united. This would exclude S. odo- ratissimum, Cav. (which is apparently the same as S. Narcissoides, Lindl.) and S. fleruosum, Lindl., described as having entirely united stamina, and further differing from Sisyrinchium in having a long infundibuliform corolla, with more distinct markings, and a very odoriferous smell. On these species Mr. Miers proposes to found a genus under the name of Symphyostemon ; agreeing with Solenome- lus in the complete union of its stamina, but differing by its deeply cleft style and the shape of its corolla. He thinks also that several species added to Sisyrinchium by Sprengel, such as S. collinum,.S. filiforme and S. flecuosum, should be discarded from it, and believes that the entire genus requires a revision, for which he regrets that he does not possess sufficient materials. . Read also a “‘ Notice of a new species of Araucaria from the neigh- bourhood of Moreton Bay ; and of the Germination of Nuytsia flori- Linnean Society. . 245 bunda,” in a letter from:J.C. Bidwill, Esq., to Richard Taylor, Esq. is Under Sec. L.S. (See Ann. Nat. Hist. vol. viii. p. 438.) February 1, 1842.—The Bishop of Norwich, President, in the Chair. Read, “‘ Contributions to Vegetable Embryology, from Observa- tions on the Origin and Development of the Embryo in Trope@olum majus.”’ By Herbert Giraud, M.D., communicated by the Secretary. After referring to the researches of MM. Schleiden, Wydler, Mirbel and Spach, and A. St. Hilaire, on this important point, Dr. | Giraud states that he was induced to select Tropeolum as the sub- ject of his own observations on account of its solitary ovula, and their comparatively large size, which render the individuals of this family, as well as the allied Geraniacee, peculiarly fitted for the pur- pose. He arranges his observations under seven general heads cor- responding with as many progressive periods in the growth of the female organs, and extending from the completion of the anatropous development of the ovule to the perfect formation of the embryo; or from the commencement of the expansion of the bud to the com- plete formation of the fruit. The results are collected from a great number of dissections. In the first period, or just before the expansion of the bud, a lon- gitudinal section of the carpellum from its dorsum towards the axis of the pistillum, dividing the ovule, shows the latter to have com- pleted its anatropous development. A portion of rather firm and dense cellular tissue enclosing a bundle of vessels descends from the placenta and in apposition with it to form the raphe, and terminates in the base of the ovule. The nucleus has only one integument, at the apex of which is the exostome or micropyle, opening close by and to the outside of the point of attachment ;-and the conducting tissue of the style may be traced into the carpellary cavity as far as the exostome. In the second period, during which the expansion of the bud and the dehiscence of the anthers commence, and therefore before im- pregnation, a small elliptical cavity makes its appearance near the apex of the nucleus, having a delicate lining membrane formed by the walls of the surrounding cells : this cavity is the embryo-sac, and a minute canal may be traced leading from it to the exostome. The apex of the embryo-sac encloses at this period a quantity of organizable mucilage containing many minute bodies having the appearance and character of cytoblasts. In the third period, the apex of the nucleus and of its integument becomes slightly inclined towards the placenta. The embryo-sac is much enlarged and lengthened ; its mucilage has disappeared and given place to an elongated diaphanous utricle (utricule primordiale, Mirbel ; vésicule embryonnaire, Meyen; extrémité antérieure du boyau pollinique, Schleiden ;) containing a quantity of globular matter or cytoblasts. This primary utricle is developed wholly within the em- bryo-sac, from which it is obviously distinct. The fourth period occurs after impregnation. The pollen tubes do not extend into the carpellary cavity ; but the fovilla with its gra- 246 Linnean Society. nules is found abundantly in the passage leading from the style to the exostome. With the increased development of the embryo-sac, the primary utricle elongates and becomes distinctly cellular by the development of minute cells in its interior, while at the extremity next the base of the nucleus it is terminated by aspherical mass con- sisting of globular cells. The primary utricle at this period assumes the character of the suspensor (Mirbel), and its spherical extremity constitutes the first trace of the embryo. In the fifth period the apex of the nucleus and of its integument becomes more inclined towards the placenta; the spherical extre- mity of the suspensor enlarges, and it becomes more evident that it constitutes the rudimental embryo. In the mean time the suspensor has become lengthened by an increase in the number of its cells ; and its upper extremity is found to be protruded through the apex of the embryo-sac, the apex of the nucleus and the micropyle. From this extremity there is a considerable development of cells, many of which hang loosely in the passage leading to the conduct- ing tissue of the style, while the rest unite in forming a process which passes down the outer side of the ovulum within the carpel- lary cavity. This process is composed of from nine to twelve rows of cells, and its extremity resembles in appearance and in the ana- tomical condition of its cells the spongiole of a root. By a slight traction of this cellular process the suspensor with the embryo may be withdrawn from the embryo-sac through the exostome, thus pro- ving the continuity of the process with the suspensor, and through it with the embryo itself. During the sizth period the suspensor becomes more attenuated ; and the cellular process has reached the base of the ovulum, the cells of its extremity abounding with cytoblasts, which prove that itis still progressing in development. ‘The embryo also increases in size, and two lateral processes are observed, which evidently form the first traces of the cotyledons. In the seventh period all distinction between the nucleus and its integument ceases, and they form a single envelope enclosing the embryo-sac; the cellular process has become so much developed, that its extremity has passed round the base of the ovulum and is directed towards the placenta; and the lateral processes of the em- bryo have become distinct fleshy cotyledons, enclosing both the radicle and plumule in corresponding depressions of their opposed surfaces. The subsequent changes consist chiefly in the great de- velopment of the cotyledons, which ultimately occupy the entire ca- vity of the nucleus, filling the space usually taken up by albumen. From these observations Dr. Giraud deduces the following in- ferences. The formation of the embryo-sac and the development of cyto- blasts within it having been shown to take place at a period prior to impregnation, and even the primary utricle itself making its appear- ance before the emission of the pollen from the anther and. before the expansion of the stigma, the origin of the primary utricle cannot be referred to the influence of impregnation, nor can it have been Linnean Society. 247 derived from the pollen tube pressing before it a fold of the embryo- sac. The primary utricle at its first formation being quite distinct from the embryo-sac, even at its apex (although brought into contact with it at a subsequent period, and ultimately penetrating it), cannot re- sult from a depression or involution of the embryo-sac, as is main- tained by M. Brongniart. The pollen tubes (which after impregnation may be traced in the conducting tissue of the style) never reaching the micropyle, but pollen granules being found in abundance in the channel leading to it, and being doubtless brought into contact with the outer surface of the embryo-sac through the exostome; and the first trace of the embryo appearing at this time in the formation of the spherical body at the inferior extremity of the primary utricle—Dr. Giraud is led to conclude that the origin of this simple spherical body results from a peculiar process of nutrition, determined by the material or dyna- mic influence of the fovilla, conveyed through the medium of the primary utricle or suspensor. The paper was accompanied by a series of drawings representing the ovulum of Tropeolum in the several stages of development de- scribed. March 1.—T. Horsfield, M.D., V.P., in the Chair. Read a paper “‘ On some rare and beautiful Coleopterous Insects from Silhet, the major part belonging to the collection of Frederic Parry, Esq., of Cheltenham.” By the Rev. F. W. Hope, F.R.S., F.L.S., &c. The number of species described amounts to fourteen, one of which is regarded by Mr. Hope as forming the type of a new genus. The following are the generic and specific characters :— Lucanipz. Hexarthrius Parryt, niger, mandibulis exsertis subdenticulatis bidentatis, capi thoraceque scabriusculis, elytris posticé castaneis. Long. lin. 36 ; at. lin. 10. Odontolabis Cuvera, ater, mandibulis valdé exsertis denticuiatis, elytris pallidé castaneis littera V nigra signatis. Long. (mandibulis inclusis) lin. 34; lat. lin. 11. Odontolabis Baladena, niger, mandibulis porrectis multidentatis, capite thoraceque unidentatis. Long, line 26; lat. 10. Dorcas Westermanni, niger, mandibulis porrectis multidentatis capite thoraceque partim brevioribus. Long. lin. 263; lat. lin. 9. Dorcas DeHaani, niger, mandibulis porrectis capite parim longioribus : dente forti feré trigono ante basin posito: reliquis minoribus. Long. lin. 22; lat. lin. 74. Hab. in agro Assamensi. Mus. D. Hope. Lucanus Brahminus, niger, mandibulis valdé exsertis denticulatis capiti thoracique zequalibus, thorace posticé utrinque dentato, elytris glabris marginatis. Long. lin. 243; lat. lin. 63. Lucanus Buddha, niger nitidus, mandibulis valdé porrectis capite thora- ceque longioribus denticulatis. Long. lin. 21; lat. lin. 6. | Roreripz, Mimela Passerinii, viridis, thoracis lateribus luteolis, elytroruam margini- 248 Botanical Society of London. bus elevatis pallidé virescentibus, corpore infra roseo-cupreo, pectore ca- pillis longis flavescentibus obsito. Long. lin. 93; lat. lin. 44. Hab. in Montibus Himalayanis. BurreEsTIDz. Chrysochroa Edwardsii, viridi-aurata, thorace cupreo-purpureo, elytris fascia irregulari macula flava insignitis, corpore subtis roseo-cupreo, pedibus concoloribus. Long, lin. 27; lat. lin. 8$. This superb Buprestis approaches most nearly to that named Pe- rottetit by M. Guérin. LoneicornEs. Monochamus sulphurifer, corpore toto supra et infra flavo-sulphureo, antennis pedibusque nigro cinereoque variegatis. Long. lin. 13 ; lat. lin. 4%. 7 Purpuricenus rubripennis, violaceus, elytris rubro-marginatis macula sub- quadrata in medio disco insignitis, pedibus concoloribus. Long. lin. 15 ; lat. lin. 4. ZonoptERus, Hope. Caput mandibulis arcuatis, fronte declivi, cornu brevi utrinque ad basin antennarum. Antenne 11-articulate, articulo basali apice crassiore, 2do minimo, 8tio longissimo, 4to feré dimidio minore, 6 sequentibus feré equalibus, ultimo longiore acuto. Zhorax depressus, capite dupld longior. lytra thorace tripl6 longiora, parallela, apicibus rotundatis. Pedes femoribus 4 anterioribus incrassatis, posticis duplé majoribus subcompressis; tibiis posticis subincurvis. Zonopterus flavitarsis, niger, antennis bicoloribus, thorace nigro-tomen- toso, elytris flavo-bifasciatis, femoribus tibiisque atris, tarsis flavis. Long. lin. 15; lat. lin. 4. Colobothea rubricollis, rubro-picea, antennis concoloribus, elytris nigri- cantibus maculis flavo-ochraceis aspersis. Long. lin. 15; lat. lin. 4. SAGRIDE. Sagra Carbunculus, cyanea, elytris igne auroque micantibus, pedibus pos- ticis incrassatis; tibiis incurvis. Long. lin. 43. BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. March 18, 1842.—John Edward Gray, Esq., F.R.S., &c., President, in the Chair. The following donations were announced :—Parts 1, 2 and 3 of ‘ Algee Damnonienses,’ and Fasciculus 1 of Berkeley’s ‘British Fungi,’ presented by Mrs. Margaret Stovin. The following specimens were exhibited: Ovalis stricta, collected at Penzance, and presented by the Royal Horticultural Society of Cornwall; Hleodendron Argan (Retz.), collected in the province of Haha, near Deabet, Barbary, by Dr. W. H. Willshire, and presented by him; Hypnum polymorphum (Hedw.), collected on the sands of Barrie, Forfarshire, by Mr. Wm. Gardiner, jun., and presented by him. A paper was read from Edwin Lees, Esq., F.L.S., &c., being «‘ Remarks on the Flora of the Malvern Hills in the counties of Wor- cester, Hereford, and Gloucester; Part 2, the Hills and their imme- diate Roots.” In geological language the Malvern Hills form an eruptive or ig- neous chain, stretching in a narrow ridge nearly due north and ‘south for upwards of nine miles. Quartz, felspar, mica and hornblende are Botanical Society of London. 249 their mineralogical ingredients in numberless varied proportions ; but it must be understood, that the greater part of the mass is in a disin- tegrated state, breaking up into angular fragments of every size, and thus forming debris on and materials for soil at the base of the slopes, while hard masses of granitic rock, weathering the atmospheric wear and tear of centuries, are of comparatively rare occurrence. This of course tends greatly to modify the capacity of these eminences as depositaries of plants, and although rising up boldly in an insular manner in the midst of a flat district, and with no superior heights near at hand, their moderate altitude precludes the growth of any alpine plants, while their complete exposure to the blaze of summer even unfits them for subalpine species that grow in shady localities further south. ‘This may be instanced in the Sazifraga hypnoides, which, though it grows in the moist recesses of the Cheddar Cliffs, Somersetshire, is entirely absent from every part of this rocky range. On the other hand, Sedum album, which no drought can destroy, finds an appropriate home on the exposed cliffs of the principal hills here, flowering when most other plants are completely withered and burnt up by the intolerable heat. The Phanerogamous vegetation of the Malvern Hills is by no means as varied or remarkable as might at first have been antici- pated from its geographical position. But in fact the breadth of the chain nowhere amounts to a mile, and for the most part does not exceed half a mile. There are scarcely any longitudinal valleys, as in only one place does the chain break distinctly into two parallel heights, and throughout a distance of above nine miles there are but five transverse ones. The average height of the chain above the level of the sea is about 1000 feet, three of the highest hills attaining re- spectively the altitude of 1300, 1350, and 1444 feet. According to a very accurately taken barometrical observation by Mr. Addison of Great Malvern, the Worcestershire Beacon, which as just stated is 1444 feet in height by the Ordnance Survey, is only 923 feet above the Library at Great Malvern ; the slope at the base of the hills being thus shown to be full 500 feet above the level of the Severn. Such a moderate elevation can scarcely be expected to yield plants of an alpine kind, especially when the ravines, though not without rocks, possess none of a very precipitous character, and the streams that trickle down the hills have but very little relation to the torrents that dash in thunder down the cliffs of stern and rugged mountainous regions. The prevalence of a humid atmosphere from the excess of western and southerly winds is very favourable to the growth of the Cryptogamous tribes, more especially the Lichens, which are perhaps in greater abundance and variety here than within the same space in any other part of Britain. Indeed the late Mr. Purton, author of the ‘Midland Flora,’ remarked, that even in Wales he scarcely observed any Lichens that were not to be found upon the Malvern Hills. In like manner the Mosses are very luxuriant and abundant on the hills as well as in the woods around their bases, though the beautiful genus Splachnum seems to be altogether absent. Jungermannie con- stitute a great proportion of the investiture of the hills, though the Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. S 250 Botanical Society of Edinburgh. variety of species is not very remarkable from the comparative scar- city of dripping rocks, yet in one shadowy ravine at least the beau- tiful Jungermannia tomentella is found. Jungermannia resupinata is rather abundant, and Jungermannia ciliata is excessively common. The Fungi are pretty numerous, and, as might be expected, the Agaric tribe in particular is profusely scattered on the grassy decli- vities of the hills in the autumnal season. The paper contained a very copious list of habitats, many of the specimens were exhibited, and Mr. Lees proposed to treat of the Cryptogamic vegetation of the hills in a future paper. The Society will thus possess specimens of all the plants mentioned in Mr. Lees’s papers on the botany of this district. BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. This Society held its sixth meeting for the session on Thursday 14th April, Professor Christison in the Chair. John Wilkinson, Esq., was elected a Resident Fellow ; and Fre- derick M. Adamson, Esq., Glasgow, a Non-resident Fellow. Donations to the Library and Herbarium were reported from Miss Harvey, Rev. A. Rutherford, and Messrs. Babington, Gutch, Tatham, Lindsay-Carnegie, Newbould, Peacock and Evans. The following communications were read :— 1. Professor Balfour of Glasgow made some remarks on the na- tural order Lecythidacee, and exhibited various specimens of Lecythis and Couratart from Brazil. Dr. Balfour also exhibited specimens of Trigonocarpon oliveforme, and other fossil Palm-fruits imbedded in sandstone, which had been collected at Stevenston, Ayrshire, by the Rev. David Landsborough. Dr. Balfour also showed specimens of Snake-nut brought by Dr. W. H. Campbell from Guiana. (See Ann. N. Hist, vol. v. p. 202, and Plate V.) 2. Dr. Balfour read extracts from a letter which he had received from Mr. Edward Forbes, dated H.M.S. Beacon, Macri, Asia Minor, February 28, 1842.—Mr. Forbes states, ‘‘ After returning in October from a round.of the islands of the Archipelago, a cruise which was exceedingly fruitful in results as regarded marine zoology * and ter- tiary geology, but in consequence of the season almost fruitless in botany, I found the Beacon at Paros with half her crew laid up with fever, one of her officers dead, and all in bad spirits * * * *. From Paros I set sail in our little schooner to the shores of Asia Minor, and remained in her from October to the end of the year. I was then able to make my promised excursion to the Taurus, ascending the mountains to the height of 9000 feet, and journeying among them for fourteen days; but, though I loaded a mule with boards and paper, I grieve to say I could not fill them, for almost everything had gone out of flower. * As this country, especially the alpine part (I speak of Lycia), has been visited by no botanist, I gathered every vegetable fragment '* The shells dredged up from 200 fathoms were most of them. identical with those now found in a fossil state. Botanical Society of Edinburgh. ‘251 most religiously with the view of depositing them in the Herbarium of the Edinburgh Botanical Society. “ Next week the Beacon goes to Malta. If she had only remained a month longer, I should have had a great many plants, now only beginning to flower. I remain behind with a view of rejoining her in Candia in May. I go up the country, but as it will be impossible during that journey to collect many specimens of everything, I shall content myself with making pretty perfect sets of Lycian plants for the Botanical Society and a few botanists who will turn them to the benefit of science. materia medica information, but I hope to be so ere long.” Mr. Forbes also enclosed the folowing account of Lycian vegeta- I have not been fortunate hitherto in procuring tion :— Table of the Winter Pitation of Lycia. “ . : Ceased to Date. Plants in Flower, Locality. Habitat. flower. Dec. 1841 Arisarum vulgare ......... General ...... In ‘stony places on lime-|End Feb. stone. January. Clematis vitalba ............ Island in Gulf\Stony places among trees,|End Jan. of Macri. on limestone. Bellis sylvestris ............ General ....,.\Grassy and woody places,|January. - limestone and serpen- tine, &e. Narcissus polyanthos ...... Islands ,....+09. Grassy places on limestone./January. Crithmum maritimum ...|Islands......... On limestone rocks ...... —_— Polygonum equisetifolium |Islands......... Sea-cliffs, limestone ...... January. Brassica lusitanica? ...... Islands....... ..|Grassy places on limestone} - Passerina hirsuta ......... Psilis, Xanthus/Sandy flats .......0.......04. March ? Carob tree forming fruit: wild olive ripe. Jan. 1842 lst week. Mercurialis annua ' |Anemone coronaria......... 2nd week. 3rd. week. 4th week. Mandragora officinalis ... Amygdalus communis...... Euphorbia ?.........s0see000 Bellis perennis Trichonema Bulbocodium. Cardamine hirsuta Euphorbia dendroides...... Veronica cymbalaria eeoeee Veronica agrestis Erodium cicutarium Euphorbia? ’.......s.....c000 General General eeceme General ...... General Cragus Xanthus,Macri Xanthus Xanthus .. General eeeeee eeecee In stony places. Grassy places on all kinds of rock. Grassy places on limestone! On rocks (limestone). Abundant on the gravelly plains. Grassy places on _serpen- tine, limestone and ter- tiary, supplanting B. sy/- vestris. On limestone and serpen- tine hills. Grassy places. Near the sea. Grassy places, and among} shrubs on limestone, also on old walls. Fields. ..|Grassy places. In woods on limestone. End Feb. Ferns and Mosses fruiting. Wheat three inches high. End of this month red Anemone coronaria are common, before they were mostly purple, $2 Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 252 Table continued. Date. Plants in Flower. Locality. Habitat. —,” Feb. 1842 lst week.|Gagea arvensis ............ General ...... On hills of limestone and} serpentine. Ficaria ranunculoides ...... Xanthus,Macri\Damp grassy places: not common. RIPRTG ; vc Wadbneds Seschosnneed Xanthus ...... Woods. Senecio vulgaris ............ Patara ....... Sandy fields. Calendula arvensis ......... Xanthus ...... Cultivated fields. Euphorbia helioscopia_ ...|Macri,Xanthus|Grassy places. ———— peplus............ General ...... Grassy places. Erophila vulgaris............ General ...... On limestone and serpen- tine hills. 2nd week.|Thlaspi montanum ......... Xanthus,Macri/On limestone hills. Lamium. ry aeabeahiiae &c.|Xanthus ...... Grassy and stony places. Leontodon ?....... ...-|Zumbli....... --|On limestone. Thlaspi bursa pastoris. anes General ...... On limestone. BrOpoile 2 .:.c. sc. scsesecseses umbli......... On serpentine only. ISENECIO ? .00......c00.ce0 --.--|Zumbli,........ Chiefly on serpentine. Solanum nigrum..........+. Oran....... ++.| Woods, on sandstone. 3rd week.|Colutea arborescens _......|General ....../On limestone and tertiary. Hyoscyamus aureus ...... Tlos, Macri .../On walls. OBS finns dedanadeny peseecbe AVON sscdenneuess On limestone cliffs. CyClaOR FP os. cde biny spends Zumbli....... ../On limestone in stony places. Tulipa Sibthorpiana ......|Macri ......... Bushy places on limestone} by the sea. 4th week.|Scrophularia canina ...... Macri ....+050. On walls. Biscutella eriocarpa ...... Macri: ...sess.- On walls. PUAN? i inns sdvecinssnnrtie MOM: . voce cie0ds On walls. Saxifraga tridactylites vasdedl Macti i... 40553 On limestone rocks. | hederacea ...... 1 CY. On wet limestone rocks. Fumaria capreolata......... Maeei ...pss005 Cultivated ground. Cries? Ce Aslawasttewasens Mountains. Lavandula Stechas in bud on the serpentine. 3. Dr. Balfour read a report on the Progress and State of Botany in Britain from February 1840 to January 1841, being a continuation of a paper on the same subject submitted by Dr. Greville to the So- ciety, and printed in its Transactions*. ~ Dr. Balfour noticed the various discoveries which had been made in structural, physiological and descriptive botany,—the floras, monographs and catalogues which had appeared,—the additions made to our knowledge of fossil botany,—the discoveries in the theory of agriculture and vegetable chemistry, and concluded with a catalogue raisonné of all the works and papers on botanical sub- jects which had been published in Britain during the period em- braced by his report. 4..Dr. Balfour next read a communication which he had received from Mr. Ralfs of Penzance, relative to the following species of Algz :- * The report for the year 1841 will be given by Dr. Graham. Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 253 1. Homeocladia anglica, Ag. ‘There prevails considerable confu- sion regarding the plant sent by Mr. Ralfs under this name. It is the Microcoleus marinus ot Harvey. By some it has been looked upon as Schizonema cylodes, and by others as Osciliatoria chthono- plastes. From a comparison made with specimens in Mr. Berkeley’s Herbarium, Mr. Ralfs is satisfied that his plant is the true Homeo- cladia anglica, and as such he sent specimens to the Society’s Her- barium. | 2. Desmidium compressum, n. sp. Filaments compressed ; joints rather broader than long, deeply divided. Pools Chyan-hal Moor near Penzance, and Towednack Moor near St. Ives. This very remarkable and distinct Desmidium is not scattered like the other species in loose bundles, but entangled among the leaves of aquatic plants. It is very gelatinous, more so, in fact, than any ‘hitherto discovered; but its mucus is not condensed into a sheath as is that of D. mucosum and D. cylindricum. The filaments are much compressed, and therefore appear nearly plane under a lens. The joints are so deeply divided, that at first sight a single one might be mistaken for two. This is more especially the case whilst the endochrome, denser in the centre, obscures the view of that portion which unites the segments of the frustule; but as soon as the joint becomes empty, its nature is distinctly seen. Though in other respects symmetrical, one segment of the frustule is sometimes much smaller than the other. At the centre, where the frustules join, there is a minute gland or process arising from each margin. ‘The projection of these glands is easily seen, even before the frustules separate. A transverse view shows the endochrome to be stellate, as in the other species, and also that the frustules are compressed, one dia- ‘meter being about twice as great as the other. Concerning this discovery Mr. Berkeley remarks in a letter to Mr. Ralfs :-— ‘* T am quite delighted with your new Desmidium ; your observa- tions are very correct. I see very distinctly the gland between each pair of segments, but as there are no separate joints in my specimen, I cannot quite ascertain its form. It is certainly quite distinct from the other species, and is a most interesting discovery.” Specimens of ‘Desmidium compressum and D, Borreri were pre- sented to the Society by Mr. Ralfs. Analysis. 1, Filaments with a mucous sheath......ssecccessecssseves seceseres o Filaments without a mucous sheath ......sccsssesessseseees on 2. Joints compressed with two angles........... eisbedecckseadenpe cylindricum. Joints cylindrical without angles ........seessseee Gevtaldd sossee MUCOSUM, . 3. Filaments triangular ...... wide Sas wosdlba tends cule suid sade +. Swartzit. Filaments cylindrical or compressed, .......ccsesesessecsecseees . €, 4. Joints twice as long as broad, inflated; crenatures minute. Borreri._ Joints not longer than broad, ‘compressed, deeply divided .. . compressum. 254 Glasgow Philosophical Society. PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. - The following details were given of experiments made on the lands of Knock, near Largs, in the spring and summer of 1841, by Mr. Wilson. A piece of three-year-old pasture, of uniform quality, extending to 200 falls, old Scotch measure, was divided into ten lots of twenty falls each, and these were treated as follows, and produced respect- ively the quantity of well-made hay marked opposite each of the lots, as under :— Produce Rate Increase per lot. per acre. per acre. Lot. | ibs. ibs. ios. Lo RAURCOUCDON . 50 oo tas at eng. 3 3% 420 3360 — 2. 24 barrels of Irish quick-lime added 602 4816 1456 3. 20 cwt. of lime from gas-works.... 651 5208 1848 4. 42 ewt. wood charcoal powder.... 665 5320 1960 5. 2 bushels of bone dust .......... 693 5544 2184 6. 18 lbs. of nitrate of potash........ 742 5936 2576 7. 20 Ibs. of nitrate of soda.......... 784 6272 2912 8. 25 bolls of soot ......0.02. 8000: 819 6552 3192 9. 28]bs. of sulphate of ammonia.... 874 6776 3416 10 . 100 gallons of ammoniacal liquor from gas-works, at 5° of Tweddel’s hydvometer 2.700 70 NII Pos 945 7560 4200 The value of each of the applications was precisely the same, viz. 5s. for each lot, or at the rate of 2/7. per acre. All the articles were applied at the same time, on the 15th of April 1841, and the grass cut and made into hay in the following month of July. ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. March 21, 1842. 1. A paper was ‘read by Richard Parnell, M.D., F.R.S.E., on a new species of British grass, which he named Holcus biaristatus. This grass was found in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and grows to the height of two feet or more. It is principally characterized by the outer palea of the lowermost floret being furnished with a long dorsal awn, arising immediately beneath the summit, which readily distinguishes it from Holcus lanatus and Holcus mollis, which. have the lowermost floret without an awn. Several specimens were ex- hibited, and the more minute characters pointed out. 2. Mr. Goodsir presented a paper upon the Ultimate Secreting Structure, and on the Laws of its Function. After referring to the labours of those anatomists who had verified Malpighi’s doctrine of the follicular nature of gland-ducts, the author alluded to Purkinje’s hypothesis of the secreting function of the nu- cleated corpuscles which line these ducts. In a rapid sketch of the results of inquiries since the appearance of Miiller’s work, ‘ De penitiore Structura Glandularum,’ and more particularly of the ob- servations of Henle and others on the'closed vesicles which are situ- ated at the extremities of certain ducts, Mr. Goodsir stated that no Royal Society of Edinburgh. 255 anatomist had hitherto ‘‘ proved that secretion takes place within the primitive nucleated cell itself, or had pointed out the intimate nature of the changes which go on in a secreting organ during the per- formance of its function.” . Numerous examples were now given of secretions detected in the cavities of nucleated cells of various glands and secreting surfaces. Among these were the ink of the Cephalopoda, and the purple of Lanthina and Aplysia; bile in an extensive series of animals; urine in the mollusk ; milk, &c. The wall is believed by the author to be the part of the cell en- gaged in the process of secretion. The cavity contains the secreted substance, and the nucleus is the reproductive organ of the cell. A primitive cell engaged in secretion is denominated by the author a primary secreting cell, and each cell of this kind is endowed with its own peculiar property, according to the organ in which it is situ- ated. The discovery of the secreting agency of the primitive cell does not remove the principal mystery in which the function has always been involved ; but the general fact, that the primitive cell is the ultimate secreting structure, is of great value in physiology, inas- much as it connects secretion with growth as functions regulated by the same laws; and explains one of the greatest difficulties in the science, viz. why a secretion flows from the free surface only of a secreting membrane: the secretion exists only on the free surface, en- closed in the ripe cells which constitute that surface. The author then proceeded to the consideration of the origin, the development, and the disappearance of the primary secreting cell; a subject which necessarily involved the description of the various minute arrangements of glands and other secreting organs. After describing the changes which occur in the testicle of Squalus cornu- bicus, when the organ is in a state of functional activity, and in the ‘liver of Carcinus Menas, it was stated that these were selected as examples of two orders of glands denominated by the author vesicu- lar and follicular. The changes which occur in the first order of glands consist. in the formation and disappearance of closed vesicles or acini. Each acinus might be first a single cell, denominated by the author the primary or germinal cell ; or secondly, of two or more cells enclosed in the primary cell, and produced from its nucleus. The enclosed cells he denominates the secondary cells of the-acinus; and in the cavities of these, between their nuclei and cell walls, the peculiar secretion of the gland is contained. The primary cell, with its in- cluded group of cells, each full of secretion, is appended to the ex- tremity or side of one of the terminal ducts, and consequently does not communicate with that duct, a diaphragm formed by a portion of the primary cell wall stretching across the pedicle. When the secretion in the group of included cells is fully elaborated, the dia- phragm dissolves or gives way, the cells burst, and the secretion flows along the ducts; the acinus disappearing, and making room. for a neighbouring acinus which has in the meantime been advan- cing in a similar manner. The whole parenchyma of glands of this 256 Miscellaneous. order is thus, according to these observations, in a constant state’ of change of development, of maturity and atrophy; this series of changes being in rapidity directly proportional to the profuseness of the secretion. In the second order of glands, the follicular, as exemplified in the liver of Carcinus Menas, the germinal cell or spot is situated at the blind extremity of the follicle, and the cells produced from this spot, as they advance along the follicle, become distended with their peculiar secretion. Among other general conclusions deducible from these observa- tions, it appeared that ducts are intercellular passages, into which the secretions formed by cells are cast. Finally, the author inferred, from the whole inquiry, that, 1st, see cretion is a function of, and takes place within, the nucleated cell ; and that, 2nd, growth and secretion are identical,—the same process under different circumstances. MISCELLANEOUS. NOTES ON MARINE ANIMALS. June 24th, lat. N. 36° 9’, long. W. 164°, some brown-looking masses are floating about the ship; they are numerous, and appear like fragments of sea-weed. On catching some they proved to bea species of Anatifa. They are grouped together in bunches, and on examining them for the marks of attachment to a foreign sub- stance, I thought I could distinguish these in two of the smaller masses, but on searching the larger carefully they were not visible-— 25th. We have traversed 120 miles since yesterday, and the Anatifa still continues. The temperature of the sea has been from 61° ta 65°, and of the air about 65°, throughout the twenty-four hours. We caught more today, and also finer specimens ; they are undoubtedly without a place for attachment to a foreign body, for I have again ex- amined them carefully. The water is likewise full of minute animals of the most lively motions.—27th. Lat. N. 48° 3/, long. W. 164° 9’. The Anatifa still continues, and since the 24th we have unceasingly been passing through them. Night and day they continue the same, and are surprisingly numerous. According to the log, we have now travelled 332 miles among them. After sunrise this morning the sur- face of the sea was observed to be covered with multitudes of Veledla. For the last eight hours, moving at the rate of three miles and.a half in the hour, they have been equally numerous. The curious and beautiful processes at their base have among them a great number of small gelatinous animals, but apparently without motion. One of them had a mass of small Anatifa within its gripe. Our course, since we have been among these animals, has been northerly with a little oc- casional zigzag deviation. I feel pretty certain that this is a large assemblage of Anatifa, which in all probability have lived here a con- siderable period, and continue to grow and increase their numbers whilst floating on the surface. Our course. being in the direction to Miscellaneous. 257 increase our latitude, it would: seem probable that we are traver- sing their smallest diameter, as it is most likely that they would spread in the direction of the latitude, and it is then easy to.com- prehend what a vast extent of surface they must cover, and the count- less multitude of the individuals. ‘The temperature of the water to- day is 59°, the air remaining at 65°.—28th. The Anatifa ceased. as above. ‘The Velella still continues, and are generally very fine spe- cimens. We have travelled eighty miles since midday yesterday and have not missed them. Some Berée are among them. The Anatifa has partially reappeared, but is scarce. I have also discovered a group of them attached to the skeleton of a Velella; they have evidently been here a long time, as some had attained a good age.—29th. The Velella ceased last night, having continued around us for 101 miles. Yesterday we passed through a compact bed of them, which at a di- stance had a fine grass-green colour. . On July 27th, when going to the southward, in lat. N. 47° 54!, long. W. 127° 1', we passed through the same Veledla for several miles, though not so numerous as on the previous occasion.—Hinps, MSS. C&CONOMY OF THE WHALE. To the Editor of the Annals of Natural History. Srr,—The following questions have, I believe, been only imper- fectly answered by physiologists: How does the Whale support the immense pressure he must bear at the depth in the sea to which he often dives? and what is the end to be answered by the blow-holes on the back of his head? It appears to me that both questions may be solved by one short answer, viz. he permits the water to enter his lungs as he dives to balance the pressure without, and spouts it out through the blow-holes by the aid of the air which expands in the lungs as he rises; the jet of water would impede his rising were it to pass from his mouth.—Yours, &c. J.D. C. Sowzersy. NOTES ON SOME LIBELLULA. BY J. C. DALE, ESQ., F.L.S. In your last Number (LVI.), p. 163, reference is made to the figure of the wing of a fossil Dragon-fly found in Warwickshire, Mag. N. Hist. vol. iv. New Series, p. 302, as the Ashna liassina,. Strickl., where the wings of Hshna grandis and Libellula depressa are also given to show the difference in size and structure. ‘The stigma on the wing shows it to be nearer to Cordulegaster and still more to Petalura ‘ Zool. Misc.,’ vol. ii. plate 94, where it-is stated to be a native of New Holland; andI have a female of the same from Mr. Children’s cabinet,- which on comparison bears a close resemblance to the fossil fly. | I take this opportunity of making known as British the Agrion pumilio, Charp., having taken specimens in this neighbourhood many years ago; and although it may be mistaken for.a variety of A. ele- gans, Vand. Lind. .:(tuberculatum, Charp.), at first sight, it is: easily distinguished by the absence of the tubercle on the collar, imme- diately behind the. head, so conspicuous in that species, and other 258 Miscellaneous. good.characters. Charpentier states it to be the smallest European Agrion he has seen (though it is not very much smaller than A. ele- gans). I have one from the East Indies scarcely exceeding one half in size. It seems strange that the female of A. aurantiacum, Longch., figured by Mr. Curtis, should be unknown. ‘There seems great uncertainty as to many species of Libellule de- scribed by Linnzus, in consequence of his too great brevity. Lib. enea is given “ thorace zneo-viridi,”’ which would have done very well if no other allied species had existed; but he gives as a syn. from Fn. Suec., ‘‘ thorace viridi nitido lineis flavis,” which evi- dently belongs to another species. He also refers as a syn. of L. ru- bicunda (figured by Mr. Curtis) to Ray 50. n..8, which I take to be only L. vulgata. - The-continental authors seem at a loss for the L. rubicunda and AE. juncea, both of which are in the Linn. cab., and I have taken both in England. , _ Moses Harris has figured in his ‘ Exp. Engl. Ins.’ a fly which I take to be.the Criorhina apicata, Megerl., but which has been erroneously referred to C. ranunculi, both of which I possess now, the former having been taken near Bristol last year, and formerly at Stepney. It is remarkable in its similitude to the Bombus hortorum. I have also added Hristalis alpina, Pz., from Scotland lately. Glanville’s Wootton, April 8th, 1842. WHAT CONSTITUTES A GENUS? To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. GenTLemMEN,—I should like to ask ornithologists, through the medium of your valuable Magazine, what characters are sufficient to constitute a Genus? and if there be any rule for beginners to go by? or if every person who chooses to write a book on birds is at liberty to make and mend as he thinks proper? and thus add to the general confusion—(this seems to be too much the case). I have been attempting to arrange a small collection, but I am often brought to.a stand-still, as I cannot see the characters which have caused the divisions ; for what seems to be sufficient in one case is not in an- other.. This has often caused me to wonder if there were a general rule to go by; perhaps G. R. Gray, Esq., or Mr. Strickland, will favour me with answers to my questions. Mr. Gould seems to deal largely in genera,—perhaps he may favour your ornithological readers with an answer, if there are no secrets. I am, yours respectfully, Liverpool, March 24th, 1842, H. G..L FURTHER REMARKS ON FIBRE. BY DR.MARTIN BARRY. Dr. Barry examined the following objects, from two of the Mol- lusca, at the desire of Professor Owen, who dissected them out for the purpose : namely; from the Oyster, the branchial ganglion, and the branch connecting it with the labial ganglion; from the Loligo, the optic and brachial nerves. In -all of these, Professor Owen recog- Miscellaneous. 5 259 nised filaments (‘ fibres”) having the same remarkable appearance as those which Dr. Barry had previously shown to him in muscle. On a subsequent occasion—several physiologists being present, one of whom’ was Professor Owen—there were seen muscular *< fibrille,”’ not only flat, grooved, and compound, but separated at the end into their single and simply spiral threads,—the really ulti- mate threads of muscle. In this instance chromic acid was substi- tuted for the reagent above-mentioned (Annals, vol. viii. p. 546.) as usually employed by Dr. Barry in these researches : and for the exa- mination of muscle he now finds the chromic acid to be even pre- ferable thereto*. To find the muscular “ fibrille ’”’ of a size proper for examination, and so loosely held together that they may be separated with ease, the heart of a fish or reptile should be employed. Dr. Barry has used the heart of various fishes, as well as that of the turtle, newt, and frog—and chiefly the frog. To find those states of voluntary muscle in which the transverse strize are produced by the windings of comparatively large interlaced spiral filaments (see abstract of the postscript to Dr. Barry’s paper “On Fibre,” p. 506), he recommends muscle from the tail of the very minute tadpole—when this larva is only 4 or 5 lines in length (as at the present season)—or muscle from the leg of a boiled lobster, as being very easily obtained. In these states of muscle, the interla- cing spirals are seen to dip inwards, towards the centre of the fasci- culus, in a manner that may be represented by making the half- bent fingers of the two hands to alternate with one another, and then viewing them on the extensor side. To find the filament in red blood-discs, Dr. Barry recommends the blood of a batrachian reptile, such as the frog or newt, on account of the large size of the discs in these animals. The blood should be examined just before its coagulation, as well as at various periods during the formation of the clot. Dr. Barry has usually added one of the above reagents, or nitrate of silver. TEMPERATURE OF COLD-BLOODED ANIMALS. M. Dumas, in requesting the Academy to add some new members to the commission charged with the examination of the memoir of M. Valenciennes and of that of M. Lamarre-Picquot, from some remarks of M. Dumeril which seemed to require an extension of the discussion, stated that the question was, in fact, to consider a point of physiology of the highest interest; for we may conclude, from the investigation of MM. Lamarre-Picquot and Valenciennes, that certain cold-blooded animals may, in given circumstances, become warm-blooded animals, in the same way that certain warm- blooded animals, the hibernating animals, become, in given circum- stances, true cold-blooded animals. The question then is, to clear up this point of physiology, and to ascertain whether, in the same way that certain warm-blooded animals are able to support a lowering of * We are indebted to Dr. Hannover for bringing into notice the use of the chromic acid for such purposes. ~ 260 Miscellaneous. temperature without perishing, there are cold-blooded animals that can support and produce an elevation of temperature without danger to their life. Some new members having been added to the commission, M. Flourens took occasion to mention, that, along with M. Becquerel, he had made some experiments on the temperature of cold-blooded ani- mals. These experiments were made on several reptiles, on lizards, serpents, Batrachians, &c., on several insects, and on some fish. The temperature of all these animals was taken by comparative means, namely, the thermo-electric apparatus of M. Becquerel and a very delicate thermometer, so that the results obtained may be looked upon as very exact. The most general result of these experiments is, that the animals said to be cold-blooded have a temperature of their own, higher, that is to say, than the external temperature ; so that they are really warm- blooded animals. The temperature of lizards is more elevated than that of the Batrachians, &c. A difference of temperature is even found in the same animal, according to what region of the body is examined: for example, the temperature of an adder is perceptibly more elevated taken near the heart than it is in the region of the tail. M. Flourens adds that M. Becquerel has long since committed the physical part of this investigation to writing, and that he himself will soon prepare the physiological part, and lay the entire memoir before the Academy.—(L’Institut, No. 424.) PALZONTOLOGY :——-RUDISTA. A memoir by M. Alcide d’Orbigny, entitled, ‘‘ Quelques consi- dérations zoologiques et géologiques sur les Rudistes,” read at the Academy of Sciences Jan. 31, is published in the ‘ Ann. des Sc. Naturelles’ for March. It is summed up (L’Institut, No. 424) in the five following propositions :— Ist. The Rudista hitherto unknown in the inferior districts of the chalk formation, instead of being disseminated in the middle of the terrestrial strata, form successive depots, banks whose horizon is in- tersected ; they may therefore be considered as the best marks which can be taken as limits of strata. 2nd. These distinct zones of Rudista, deposited in the middle of the same basin and in a succession of strata but little dislocated, as we see to the west of the Pyrenean cretaceous basin, might prove that there was no need of great local disturbances to bring into the same place different fauna; but that, without doubt, other causes in- fluenced this successive substitution of one fauna for another. 3rd. The Rudista have appeared five times at the surface of the globe in the cretaceous system, each time under entirely different forms, without there being any zoological passage in the species, or transfer of individuals from one geological zone into another. Thus the respective fauna of the five zones of Rudista, whether in distinct ‘stages, or in beds of the same stage, have been successively anni- hilated and substituted by others wholly different, which would not ‘evince in this series of beings any transition either of forms, or in the beds which contain them. 3 Miscellaneous. 261 4th. The Rudista, divided by distinctly marked zones in the mid- dle of the cretaceous districts, form therein more or less extended horizons, and always in the same respective position in relation to the other fossils. Hence the distribution of beings in the terrestrial strata would not be due to chance; but, as M. d’Orbigny has already found with re- gard to the Cephalopoda, it would be the result of the succession, in an invariable order, of fauna more or less numerous, the perfect know- ledge of which is hereafter destined to furnish the chronological history of the ancient zoology. of the globe. RISSOA HARVEYI. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. Drar Sirs,—The Supplementary Number of your interesting periodical has reached me, in which you have been pleased to insert a paper of mine, communicated to the Geological Society by James Smith, Esq. of Jordan-hill. Allow me to correct a mistake in which you had no share. It is stated (vol. viii. p. 515), that of the seventy species of marine shells found by me in the post-tertiary deposit at Largs, all were well-known inhabitants of the British seas, except two species of Rissoa; one of which had been previously found in the Crag, and the other had been referred, with doubts, to the Ris- soa Harveyi of Mr. Forbes. I should have said, the R. Harveyi of Mr. Thompson of Belfast, by whom it had been figured and described in a former vol. of the Annals (v. p. 96), and named in honour of Mr. Harvey, the distinguished naturalist who discovered the shell. I am happy to add that my doubts have been completely removed. I sent a specimen of the subfossil shell to Mr. Thompson, your very intelligent correspondent; and by return of post he says, ‘ the subfossil is the veritable R. Harveyi, which I of course was much gratified to see, two examples only of the recent shell having hitherto been found.” Itisa remarkably beautiful little shell, and I am glad that the subfossil specimens already outnumber the recent examples, as two or three have been found by myself, and as many by the Misses Mure of Warriston, whose sweet residence is adjoining to the post-tertiary deposit. Though the other shells were known, there were several of them of considerable rarity ; such as Cardium serra- tum, of which only one valve was found; Bulla truncata, Phasianella tabulata, Rissoa cimex, Rissoa costata, Rissoa calathisca, Rissoa stria- tula, Cemoria Flemingii, &c. Stevenston Manse, Ayrshire, Yours sincerely, 18th April, 1842. : D, LanpsBorovucGH. NIGER EXPEDITION.——MR. FRASER. The letter from Mr. Fraser, the naturalist to the Niger expedition, dated from the mouth of the river Nin, W. Africa, August 14, 1841, read at the meeting of the Zoological Society, Dec. 14, which we noticed in our number for January, contains some interesting facts relating to the habits and habitats of certain animals. Among the 262 Miscellaneous. skins of Mammalia, Mr. Fraser observes, he had forwarded a Galago which was shot at Cape Coast, close to the town, in a tamarind tree; where he also found its nest, built, or rather laid, in a fork formed by the branches. The nest was composed of loose leaves.. The animal resembled the Loris gracilis, but its limbs were stouter: ‘The fol- lowing monkeys, Mr. Fraser states, appear to be found in the neigh- bourhood of Sierra Leone: Troglodytes niger, Colobus ursinus, Cerco- pithecus fuliginosus, common, Cerc. Sabeus, and Cynocephalus Papio. The banks of the beach are everywhere perforated with large round holes, which the natives informed Mr. Fraser were inhabited by ati animal which they call the Ground-pig, which is the Aulacodus Swin- derianus of Temminck. At Bassa, the anthor of the letter saw some skins of Cercopithecus Diana, said to be common in that district ; he also saw a skin of an antelope, apparently the Antilope Ogilbyi, Waterh. At Cape Coast the Cercopithecus petaurista is to be found, and likewise the Colobus leucomeros. Skins of the last-mentioned animal as well as of the Cercopithecus Diana were extremely plentiful at Accra. : Part X. of the SCIENTIFIC MEMOIRS is just published ; and contains amongst others, the following translations from the German, connected with Natural History :—On the Distribution of Tempe- rature on the Surface of the Earth; by Prof. Deve of Berlin.—On the Azotized Nutritive Principles of Plants; by Prof. Liebig :—and on numerous Animals of the Chalk Formation still found in a living state; and of the organization of the Polythalamia; by Prof. Ehren- berg. OBITUARY :—Dnr. Turopor VoGEt. Science has to deplore, in the death of Dr. Vogel, the loss of. a zealous and accomplished botanist, and an amiable man, We learn this melancholy news from a letter received from Mr. C. G. Roscher, dated on board the Albert, January 27. Hopes had been entertained that during his stay at Fernando Po he would have recovered. from the effects of African fever, which had proved fatal to so large a num- ber of those engaged with him in the disastrous expedition up the Niger; but as a consequence of his previous attack, and of his anxiety in any degree in his power to fulfill the purposes of his journey, he was seized with a dysentery, which, notwithstanding the careful attentions of Mr. Thomson, surgeon of the Soudan, and of Dr. M‘William and Mr. Troschel, closed his earthly career on the 17th of December. His surviving fellow-travellers, by whom he was highly esteemed for his kind and generous qualities, and truly Christian virtues, committed his remains to the grave by the side of those of Captain Allen. We learn that Dr. Vogel had diligently availed himself of the few opportunities which had been afforded him of extending botanical knowledge. He made an excursion of two days, in company with Dr. Stanger, from Accra to the Aquapin hills, where he collected many plants of great interest, several of which he considered as new ; Meteorological Observations. 263 and among the rest, a new species of mangrove. The arrival of his © papers and collections will, it is hoped, soon put us in possession of | his last labours. ; It is impossible to advert to'so melancholy an occurrence without an expression of disgust and reprobation, that so many lives, and some of them so valuable, should have been sacrificed by placing the Niger Expedition. at the entire. disposal of the.most blind and pre- sumptuous fanaticism, and under the control of persons who chose needlessly, and in spite of every remonstrance, to loiter for hours and days in situations where the atmosphere was most pestilential. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR MARCH 1842. Chiswick.k—March 1, Showery: clear. 2. Overcast: stormy and wet. 9. Cloudy. 4. Overcast. 5. Clear and very fine. 6. Slight haze: very fine. 7. Cloudy: slight rain, 8.. Very fine: heavy rain. 9. Stormy with heavy rain. 10. Boisterous: clear at night. 11. Densely overcast. 12,13. Cloudy and . fine. 14, Drizzly. 15. Hazy: very fine. 16. Hazy: overcast. 17. Fine: . stormy and wet. 18. Cloudy and fine. 19. Clear and cold: stermy with hail. 20. Cloudy : showery : squall in afternoon. 21. Stormy: showers, 22. Cloudy: rain. 23. Very clear: hail-shower, 24. Hazy. 25. Cloudy: stormy with rain. 26. Clear: cloudy. 27—29. Very fine. 30. Rain. $1. Rain: cloudy : boiste- rous with rain at night.—The mean temperature of the month was nearly 3° above the average. Boston. —March 1. Rain: rain early a.m.: rain p.m. 2. Cloudy. 3. Rain: rain early a.m. 4. Cloudy: rain early a.m. 5—7. Fine. 8. Cloudy. 9. Fine: rain p.m. 10. Stormy: rain early a.m. 11,12. Cloudy. 13. Fine: rain early am. 14. Cloudy. 15. Fine. 16. Cloudy: rain at night. 17. Fine: rain at night. 18. Windy. 19. Windy: rain at night. 20. Cloudy: rain a.m. and p.m. 21. Windy. 22. Fine: rain rm. 23, Fine: snow a.M.: raine.mM. 24, Cloudy: raina.m. 25. Fine. 26. Windy. 27. Fine: rainr.m. 28. Fine. 29. Fine: rain early a.m. 30. Cloudy. 31. Rain: rain early a.m. Sandwick Manse, Orkney.—March 1. Cloudy: aurora. 2. Clear. 3. Cloudy: rain, 4, Clear. 5. Cloudy: showers. 6. Bright: cloudy. -7. Cloudy. 8.- Shower: clear. 9. Clear. 10. Sleet-showers: clear. 11. Showers: rain. 12, Bright: clear. 13. Hail-showers: clear. 14. Cloudy: clear. 15. Cloudy: aurora. 16. Cloudy: rain. 17. Clear: rain. 18. Cloudy: showers, 19, Cloudy: large hail. 20. Showers. 21. Cloudy. 22. Snow-showers : cloudy. 23. Cloudy: drizzle. 24. Drizzle. 25. Showers: sleet. 26. Snow-showers, 27. Snow-showers: cloudy. 28. Rain; showers. 29. Sleet-showers : showers. 30. Cloudy: showers. 31. Damp. Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire—March 1. Cold, with slight showers. 2, Shower of snow: rain. 3, Heavy rain. 4. Showers. 5,6, Fair and mild. 7. Slight showers; rain p.m. 8,9. Hail-showers. 10. Hail-showers, with snow. 11. Heavy rain. 12, Fair but-threatening. 13. Fair. 14. Rain allday. 15. Mild and moist. 16. Drizzling: rain pm. 17. Fair a.m.: heavy rain p.m. 18. Showers. 19, Slight showers. 20. Fair: snow on the hills. 21, Fair and clear. 22. Slight snow: frost. 23. Frost: fair. 24. Fair and fine: slight frost. 25. Wet p.m.: violent wind. 26. Oneslight shower. 27, Frost a.m. : rain p.m. 28. Rainr.m. 29. Fair, 30. Showery. 31, Wet a.m.: cleared up. Sun shone out 23 days. Rain fell 18 days. Snow 4 days, Frost 4 dayse Hail 3 days. Wind north 2days. South-south-east 3}.days. South 1 day. South-south- west 1 day. South-west 11 days. West~south-west 1 day. West 7} days. West- north-west 2 days. North-west 2 days. Calm 4 days. Moderate 6 days. Brisk 2 days. Strong breeze 10 days. 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No. 58. JUNE 1842. in XXXI.—General Features of Chusan, with remarks on the Flora and Fauna of that Island. By Turzopore Cantor, M.D., Bengal Medical Service, &c. Tue island of Chusan, or Great Chusan, is situated on the east coast of China, between lat. 30° and 31° N. and long. 122° and 123° E.* It is the greatest and most important of the group of islands which bear that name, and is separated from the nearest main-land, Keeto Point, by an arm of the sea, about ten miles across, thickly studded with smaller islands, varying in extent from little slightly elevated rocks to islands several miles in circumference. This uninterrupted chain of islands renders it necessary to look upon Chusan, and the whole group indeed, more as a part of the continent than as islands. The extremes of temperature are more like those of a continent than of an island. The aspect of Chusan is hilly, being traversed by steep rocks in all directions, occasionally surmounted by peaks with intervening valleys. The rocks belong to the older volcanic series, chiefly consisting of clay- stone, porphyry, and a number of varieties, of which Lieut. Ouchterlony in his statistical notes has given the following description :— * In portions of the cliffs on the south and north coasts the rocks are observed to assume a columnar structure t, and dykes and masses of greenstone burst through the beds of claystone on various points, indurating and altering them to a considerable extent. On the west coast the claystone por- * An observatory erected in 1840 near the engineer camp was situated in 30° 0! 10" N, and 122° 14! E. The variation of compass was found to be 2:33 E., magnetic dip 42:16. The circumference of the island is 513 miles ; its greatest length about 20, its greatest breadth 104 miles. The direction of the island is from N.W. to S.E. + Columnar structure is also visible on Buffalo Island, a short distance to the southward of Chusan. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. T 266 Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. phyry assumes a slaty or laminated structure, and appears to be quarried extensively, both for use on the island and for exportation to the main-land, affording excellent slabs for paving and for floors, and good blocks for common building purposes, A coarse conglomerate is also to be seen interve- ning between beds of the claystone, imbedding angular frag- ments of many descriptions of igneous rocks and workable porphyry, which is.also quarried and made use of for pillars, blocks for corn-mills, basement slabs, &c.’’—Calcutta Journal of Nat. Hist., vol. ii. p. 136. As characteristic features in the island, may be mentioned the absence of rivers, lakes and forests. The valleys are fer- tilized by numerous streamlets communicating with narrow canals, which traverse the island, and serve both for agricul- tural purposes as well as means of communication for want of carriage-roads. All the canals, at least in several miles di- stance round Ting-haé, the principal city of the island, dis- charge their surplus into a common canal, which passing through the city communicates with the sea. : : The entire absence of forests appears to be of a comparative recent date, to judge from certain passages in a letter written by Mr. Cunningham in the year 1701, in which deer are men- tioned as being in abundance, which circumstance would pre- suppose a woody appearance of some part of Chusan at least. The writer says, “The island in general abounds with all sorts of provisions, such as cows, bufialoes, goats, deer, hogs, wild and tame geese, ducks and hens, rice, wheat, calayances, cole- worts, turnips, potatoes, carrots, beetach and spinach, Here also the tea grows in great plenty on the tops of the hills, but it is not in such esteem as that which grows on more moun- tainous islands. Although this island is pretty well stored with people, it is far from what it was in P. Martini’s time, as he describes Chusan. The rest of the circumjacent islands are either desert or meanly inhabited by a few people, but all of them stored with nic Ras of deer, for it is not long since Chusan began to be peopled. It is true in Martini’s days, about fifty years ago, it was very populous for the space of three or four years, at which time the fury of the Tartar con- quest was so great that they left it desolate, not sparing so much as the mulberry-trees (for then they made a great deal of raw silk here) ; and in this condition it continued till about eighteen years ago,”— Extracted from Harris’s complete col- lection of Voyages in Chinese Repository, vol. ix. p. 133. Chusan, as well as most of the smaller islands, presented on our first approach in July 1840, a striking and novel appear- Dr, Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. 267 ance ; a crowded population manifested itself in the cultivation of every spot which by art of man could be forced to admi- nister to the first necessities of life. To meet the demand of an over-population, every inch of ground is laid under contri- bution for the greatest possible amount of produce ; in fact, industry has increased the original arable land in the rich al- luvial valleys by transforming the naked sides of the hills, co- vered in many places by a barely one-foot-deep crust of dis- integrated rock, into cultivated terraces. The highest hill at Chusan is not above 1800 feet above the level of the sea; the rest are of a much less elevation, and admit in most places of terrace-cultivation to their summit. Position and climate warrant us, as before observed, to draw the inference, that Chusan in its fauna and flora cannot ori- ginally have differed materially from the opposite main-land, though the absence of rivers, lakes, and lastly forests, cannot but greatly influence either; in other words, the same animal and vegetable productions may be presumed to exist in the neighbouring regions of the continent, but with greater va- riety in forms and in numbers, inasmuch as both are affected by the presence or absence of rivers, lakes, and forests. T'o which should be added another consideration, the changes which the original physical aspect of a country must undergo by cultivation, Thus it may be assumed, that Chusan may afford a criterion of the fauna and flora of the neighbouring regions of China, but only to a limited extent. In the cultivation at Chusan rice holds the first rank, and of that there seem to be two varieties; one cultivated in the valleys by the aid of irrigation, another on the heights, where the pro- tracted periodical falls of rain afford a substitute for the art dis- played by the Chinese agriculturist. During our first occu- pation of Chusan the rice-harvest commenced in the end of August, but soon after a new crop was observed to spring up between the drills or ridges of the old, which, irrigated partly by the celebrated water-wheels, and partly. by the subsequent heavy showers of rain, seemed to promise another harvest be- fore the setting-in of the winter season. 'The amount of the produce is such as to enable the inhabitants to dispose of a vast surplus, and this is the chief staple commodity, which is exported either as paddy or converted into “ sdém-shoo,” a spirituous liquor distilled from rice. To judge by the number of distilleries and the quantity of samshoo in store at Ting-haé, it would seem that the city exports the greater quantity of rice converted into that commodity. All other kinds of grain oc- cupy a secondary rank, such as Holcus Sorghum (Barbadoes x 268 Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. millet), Polygonum, of which several species are cultivated, one of them for the sake of the blue dye it yields, Job’s-tears (Coix Lachryma), and maize. Of vegetables, Convolvulus Ba- tatas (sweet potatoe) seems to be the greatest favourite with the Chinese; also Solanum Melongena (brinjol), Chenopodium (spinach), Nelumbium, Cucurbita maxima (pumpkin), water- melons, ginger, and turnips. Of fruit-trees, apples, pears, quinces, peaches, walnuts, grapes and citrons. Although both fruit and vegetables thrive remarkably well, they are of a very inferior description ; rice, the staff of life, has engrossed all the care of the Chinese agriculturist, who looks upon all other objects of cultivation as secondary. There seems how- ever to be every reason to believe that most European sorts of grain, vegetables and fruit would succeed at Chusan. To the former vegetable productions are to be added, Thea sinensis, Stillingia sebifera, Eleococcus Vernicia, and Nicotiana. Tea is grown exclusively for the consumption of the inhabi- tants, and most of the houses and farms have either small plots allotted to the shrub, or it is planted in hedges or on the fine stone walls with which the houses are commonly sur- rounded. The shrub was in flower in July, had ripe fruit at the end of September, and flowered again at the commence- ment of November. The tea at Chusan when seen in leaves was even by judges considered to be of the black kind, but when made into infusion its colour and flavour were those of the green kind. On my inquiries from the farmers whether they made black and green tea indiscriminately from the same shrub, I was invariably told they gathered the leaves and pre- pared them, such as they were, without paying any further attention. The fact is, they are evidently not initiated in the secrets of the manufacturing districts, and their tea is of such inferior quality that it cannot form an article of commerce. A gentleman of one of the commercial firms in Macao, who vi- sited Chusan during our first occupation, informed me that with great trouble he had contrived to collect some ninety pounds of tea on the island, for which he paid a price far be- yond its value, solely with a view to encourage the inhabitants to establish commercial intercourse. The fresh leaf is coarse and nearly 23 inches in length. The capsules either contain a single seed, and their outline is then circular; or two seeds, which make the outline resemble the Arabic character of number 8; or seldom three, in which case the outline acquires a blunt triangular shape. Stillingia sebifera is cultivated to a considerable extent for the sake of the tallow-like matter which covers the ripe fruit. Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. 269 It flowers in the month of July and August, and the fruit ar- rives at maturity in November, when the capsule containing three seeds bursts open. The process by which the vegetable tallow is secured is very simple. The seeds, after having been taken out of the capsules, are thrown into large vessels of boiling water, which, after being allowed to cool, leaves the pure white hardened substance, insoluble in alcohol, on the surface. The latter is again melted and formed into candles over wicks of thin bamboo or straw, which have been length- ways surrounded by a closely fitting spiral of thinner straw. These candles, which are said to form a no small article of ex- portation, are originally of a beautiful white colour, but some- times dyed red ; they burn remarkably well, without any un- pleasant smell, and notwithstanding the rudely made wick, give a very good light. I have kept several of these candles exposed to the influence of the hot season in Calcutta, not- withstanding which they did not lose their original hardness. Stillingia sebifera has many years ago been introduced in Bengal, where it seems to thrive remarkably well; but Dr. Roxburgh observes, that the temperature of the winter season is not sufficiently low to allow the substance to congeal. This seems also to be the case in Canton province, where the sub- stance is mixed with animal tallow, and thus fabricated. I have been informed that the tree is found in our northern terri- tories, where there would seem to be no obstacle to prevent the substance from being applied to ceconomical purposes and as a useful vehicle for ointments, but I am not aware of such experiments having been tried. The cotton plant (with white flowers) succeeds very well, and is grown in many places, but to a very limited extent, and solely for the use of the cultivators ; and such is also the case with tobacco. ‘Small plantations of Eleococcus Vernicia, Juss., are seen here and there. The varnish it yields, al- though of inferior quality, is in great demand for furniture, and indeed for all the frame-work of the houses. On the sides of the hills, where the scantiness of soil or the steepness is such as not to admit the plough, oaks and pines are raised for fuel: either attain to but a small size. The oak, I am informed by Mr. Griffith, is very like one which he dis- covered in the Khasyah Hills. The leaves resemble those of Quercus infectoria, while the sessile flowers approximate it to Q. sessiflora. A few very fine large junipers are seen in gar- dens. Firewood, vegetable and mineral coals, as well as tim- ber, form articles of importation. The agricultural implements at Chusan are of a description 870 Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. superior to those uséd in the southern provinces, particularly the plough, the witnow, and the chain-pumps. Although the Chinese may be said to be pre-eminently an agricultural nation, aiid it has been the policy of their government to en- courage and acknowledge agriculture as one of the most honourable pursuits, the eminence it has attained has been somewhat overrated. In the mere mechanical parts, such as the distribution of human labour in the cultivation of rice, and in a few instances of adopting the simplest means, the Chinese may be said to have arrived at perfection ; but in the higher branches the Chinese are far behind the best Kuropean rural ceconomists. It has been observed, that the small allotments of land in China must necéssarily preclude any attempt at ex- tensive operations, and while the individual is confined to raise a crop barely sufficient to maintain his own family, accommo- dation of the crop to the soil is almost entirely out of the question. As for the rest, nothing can be said of the apricul- ture at Chusan that has not already been noticed elsewhere, With one exception, and that is the unheard of and equally re- pulsive means to which the inhabitants resort to obtain ma- ntire for the fields. Suffice it to say, that in Ting-haé the inhabitants make a point of collecting the offal, which in a city it is the first duty to the health of the public to carry away, a8 it is to decency to hide. Here every house-owner not only makes this a source of traffic, for it is sold to the tillers of the soil, but the consequence of this custom has ma- nifested itself in the social state of the people and obliterated all feeling of decorum*. The period of our first occupation of Chusan, from the commencement of July 1840 till March 1841, was too short to afford data sufficient to obtain the annual mean tempera- * In a short and interesting topographical account of Chusan, published in the ‘ Chinese Repository,’ vol. x. p. 328, the following description of Ting- aé is given :—“ The city possesses no large gardens or squares, but a con- siderable extent of open ground oii the eastern side is devoted to the culti- Wation of rice. The canal, which nearly surrounds the city, sends a large branch through a water-gate near the southern gate, which, dividing into many braiiches, traverses the greater part in all directions. These branches form several large pools of foul stagnant water, into which every description of filth was thrown, and the street-seWers also opening into the canals ren- dered the latte extremely offensive, and during thé watm weather éaused a tiost unpleasant smell throughout the city. Added to this source of malaria, great numbers of large jars were placed at the corners of most of the streets and in all vacant places, which were filled with a fermenting mass of animal and vegetable offal, gathered from the houses and préserved for manuring the fields in the neighbourhood ; as may bé supposed, in Some of those places the stéiich was dreadful.” Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. 271 ture and that of the four seasons. As the day however is not far distant when China will be no longer a field of specula- tion but one of research, it is preferable to await the sure results of continued meteorological observations, although the following few extremes may suffice to show the range of the thermometer. The observations were made in the open air in the shade. Highest. Lowest. July. sls eile ao bee 1d). BOY, 79° August » eee wes 9 76 September .......+- 100 71 SICTIEE 9: abaid eiate, 6.9 84. 58 ‘On our first arrival in July the weather was very pleasant ; the heat became oppressive towards the end of August, parti- cularly at night, and remained so till the end of. September, when heavy and protracted showers of rain made their ap- pearance and did not cease till the end of November. The winter season commences in November, and I am informed that snow fell in the end of December, and that the thermo- meter sunk in January to 22°. , These great vicissitudes in climate manifest themselves in the absence of the brilliancy of the Indian flora and the frequent occurrence of true European forms. The Indian forms are of stunted growth, and many of them, such as the palms and the plantain, which are cultivated, do not arrive at maturity. Among the beauties of the wild flowers are a ceerulean Com- melina and Plumbago, Ipomea cerulea, a delicate lilac Aster, Nelumbium, Oxalis stricta, a white Clerodendron and a lilae Lycium. In August ripe brambles and raspberries were found on the sides of the hills. The strawberry, which is very plen- tiful, was ripe in the commencement of August; the fruit is insipid, and by the Chinese fancied to be poisonous*, The plant was again in flower (of a rich gamboge colour) in the middle of September. The hop plant, which may almost be said to cover Chusan and such of the surrounding islands as I had an opportunity to visit, flowered in August, and was in fruit in September and the commencement of October. When first I observed the Humulus, I became anxious to. ascertain if it might not origi- nally have been introduced by the English during the time of the Factory; but the inquiries which Mr. Gutzlaff was kind enough to make among the inhabitants, who, although it is * A Fragaria, probably the same, has been observed at Nagtée, in Sik- kim, by J. W. Grant, Esq. 272 Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. not used, have several names for the plant, have established it beyond doubt to be indigenous. A group highly characteristic of the flora of Chusan attracted my attention in a tea-plan- tation ; it consisted of a tea-shrub entwined by a hop-plant and surrounded by a strawberry, a bramble, Artemisia vulgaris, Hypericum perforatum, Viola canina, a pine, an oak, a plan- tain, and a fan-palm. : The following list of plants, collected at random, some of which I identified, with their genera, on the spot, while for the rest I am indebted to the kindness of Mr, Griffith, will serve to give some features of the flora. Plants flowering at Chusan in July, August and September. A. Exocrenaz. Ranunculacee. Xanthoxylacee. Ranunculus sceleratus. Xanthoxylum. Nelumbiacee. Oxalidacee. Nelumbium. Oxalis stricta. Crucifere. Celastracee. Thlaspi. Ilex. Brassica. Euonymus. Sinapis. Rhamnacee. Resedacee. Zizyphus. Reseda luteola ? Anacardiacee. Tamaricacee. Rhus. Tamarix. Fabacee. Violacee. Phaseolus. Viola canina ? Melilotus. Sterculiacee. Rosaceae. Sterculia. Rosa sinica, Malvacee. Potentillee. Gossypium. Potentilla. Hibiscus. Rubus idzus. Aurantiacee. Chamzemorus. Citrus. Fragaria. Ternstremiacee. Geum rivale ? Thea chinensis. Amygdalee. Camellia. Amygdala persica. Hypericacee. Prunus. Hypericum perforatum. Pomee. montanum ? Malus. Aceracee. Pyrus. Acer. Cydonia. Vitacee. Eriobotrys japonica. Vitis vinifera. Lythracee. Balsaminacee. Lagerstreemia indica. Balsamina. Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. Myrtacee. Myrtus. Punica Granatum. Cucurbitacee. Cucumis Melo. (Red and white water melons.) Cucurbita maxima. lagenaria. | Actinostemma (nov. gen.), Griffith. Portulacacee. Portulaca. Illecebracee. Herniaria (prope glabram). Crassulacee. Sedum. Sempervivum. Hamamelacee. Hamamelis. Araliacee. Hedera Helix. Panax aculeatus. Apiacee. Daucus Carota. Carum. Caprifoliacee. Sambucus japonica, Cinchonacee. Peederia foetida. Gardenia. Composite. Aster. Bidens. Lactuca. Gnaphalium. Inula. Senecio ? Chrysanthemum. Artemisia sinensis. Oleacee. Olea fragrans. Jasminacee. Jasminum, Convolvulacea. Convolvulus Batatas. Ipomeea ceerulea. Solanacee. Solanum nigrum. Dulcamara. 273 Solanum Melongena. Lycopersicum. Datura fastuosa. Nicotiana. Capsicum. Lycium. Primulacee. Anagallis. Lamiacee. Rosmarinus officinalis. Mentha. Origanum. Marrubium. Verbenacee. Verbena. Clerodendron. Sesamee. Sesamum. Plumbaginee. Plumbago. Plantaginee. Plantago. Chenopodiaceae. Chenopodium Bonus Henri- cus. Celosia cristata, Begoniacee. Begonia. Polygonacee. Polygonum Fagopyrum. Rumex Acetosa. Rheum. Eleagneacee. Eleagnus. Euphorbiacee. Stillingia sebifera. Elzeococcus Vernicia. Phyllanthus. Chloranthacee. Chloranthus inconspicuus. Salicacee. Salix babylonica. ? Urticacee. Urtica. Cannabis sativa. Morus. Ficus. Humulus Lupulus. 274 #=Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. | Cupulifere. Conifere. Quercus. Pinus. Juglandacee. Juniperus. Juglans regia. Cupressus. Taxacee. Salisburia adiantifolia. B. Enpocena. Hydrocharacee. Bambusa. Hydrocharis Morsus rane. Oryza. Scitaminee. Poa. Zingiber officinale. Coix Lachryma. Orchidacee. Holcus Sorghum. Herminium ? Setaria. Musacee. Panicum. Musa. Andropogon. Iridacee. Lycopodiacee. Iris. Lycopodium. Pardanthus. Filices. Lihacee. Filix. Lilium. Pteris. Allium. } Aspidium. Commelinacee. Lygodium. Commelina. Nephrodium. Palmacee. | Asplenium. Raphis flabelliformis. Pleopeltis. Areca Catechu. Musci. Alismacee. Muscus hypnoides. Alisma Plantago, | Lichenes. Sagittaria, Beomyces ? Pistiacee. Alge. Lemna. Conferva. Graminacee. Sargassum. Triticum. Fungi. Zea Mays. - Agaricus. Saccharum officinarum. The causes which affect the fauna of Chusan have been no- ticed in the preceding pages, and we may, from these, infer its poverty in variety of forms. It has been asserted that scarcely any large wild beasts are found in the Chinese empire; a dense population, which may be said to be par emwcellence agricultural, would @ priori corroborate this opinion. At Chu- san, which is comparatively a young colony, deer*, which * It may a8 well be mentioned that two fine deer, Cervus Axis, of which the Chinese are very fond, were brought in 1840 in a junk from Formosa to Chusan. One of them, which I kept, died in the commencement of No- vember, apparently from the vicissitudes of the' weather. Dr, Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan 275 were plentiful in Mr. Cunningham’s time, are at present en- tirely unknown. Overt-population cannot admit of the co-ex- istence of the larger domesticated animals: thus, the few bul- locks which were found on our first occupation were solely used for agricultural purposes ; but there were neither buffa- loes nor sheep, which latter (a broad-tailed kind) are said to be plentiful all over China. The food of the people is chiefly vegetable, and fish may be said to form the principal animal food. Among the Mammalia there is at least one Indian spe- cies, for several skins of the scaly ant-eater which I examined at Chusan, aiid were said to have been procured on the island, belonged to Manis pentadactyla, Linn. “This,” Mr. Ogilby observes in his interesting memoir on the Mammalogy of the Himalayas, “the only species of the family known to inhabit the continent of Asia, is found in the lower and less elevated parts of the central regions; but all the Edentata are essen- tially inhabitants of the warmer parts of the earth, more espe- cially of tropical America, and we cannot therefore expect to find their forms reproduced in the Himalayas.” Scantity of forms is a striking feature in the ornithology of Chusan, and it can scarcely be doubted that the abserice of forests is one of the principal causes. During my stay on the island, I never saw nor heard of others haviiig observed a bird of prey. As before mentioned, the Chinese exist upon vege- table food and when, which is very seldom the case, carrion is exposed, it is soon discovered by the numerous half-re- claimed dogs. The great care which the Chinese bestow upon the burial of the remains of their dead may also be here no- ticed. Nearly all of the birds which will be enumerated below are very humerous, and among them there are some common European forms, such as the magpie, tree-sparrow (both also ocour in Japan), blackbird, and some which are equally com- mon in Bengal, such as the little kingfisher, the drongo or king crow, both of which were observed by Col. Sykes in the Dukhun ; where also the common swallow of Chusan, which leaves in August, Hirundo erythropygia, Sykes, “appeared in millions in two successive years in the month of March in the parade ground at Poona; they rested a day or two only, and were never seen in the same numbers,”“-Catalogue of Birds in the Dukhun, Proceed. Zool. Soc. 1832, Pt. II. p. 83. Of Chelonian Reptiles but two forms were found, one of which, Trionya tuberculatus, approaches closely to T. java- nicus. None of the large Saurians occur, nor Monitors ; but both the little Hemidactylus, which is very numerous, and the Tiliqua are nearly allied to species inhabiting Bengal and other parts of India, It has generally been. believed, that 276 Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. China is infested with very few serpents. At Chusan, although few in species, they are remarkably numerous. Naja, which appears to be the only terrestrial venomous serpent, as well as the species of Lycodon, Coluber and Tropidonotus, are, as pointed out in the descriptions, closely allied to Indian spe- cies. Python Schneideri has hitherto been found only in Jaya, Banca, Amboyna, and once at Malacca. All these, however, are forms which characterize tropical Asia. I am told that several species of Pelagic serpents occur in the Chusan Archi- pelago. Although none have come under my observation, there seems to be no doubt about their existence in the latter locality, as they have been found at Japan ; and it may be ob- served, that certain species of fish which form their favourite prey are as plentiful as in the Bay of Bengal. The serpents of Chusan are different from those of Japan, where their spe- cific strength is in the same proportion to their numerical as in the former island. M. Schlegel observes, that the terrestrial serpents of Japan seem chiefly to represent Kuropzan forms, while a species of the genus Trigonocephalus is the only form establishing analogy between the fauna (?) of Japan and that of India or the tropical regions in general. (Fauna Japonica, Ophidi, p. 82.) This is partly correct in as far as the genus is concerned. But M. Schlegel has described another Japa- nese serpent, Tropidonotus Vibakari, which, to judge from the description and figure, is very closely allied to T. surgens and to T. mestus, both found in Bengal (Proceed. Zool. Soc. 1839), and perhaps, by the peculiarity of its integuments, also to T. rufodorsatus of Chusan. In the Batrachian Rep- tiles there exists a striking resemblance between the fauna of Chusan and Japan : in both the frogs are European forms, the toads not; Bufo gargarizans approaches to the Indian toad, figured as B. dubia in General Hardwicke’s < Illustrations,’ With the Pelagic fishes but little opportunity was afforded to become acquainted, as unfortunately the fishermen had fol- lowed the example of most of the other inhabitants, who had fled on our first occupation of Chusan in 1840. No other nation derives so much nourishment from the sea and the rivers as the Chinese. On the passage in June 1840 through the Formosa Channel, along the provinces of Fokeen and Chekeang, we daily fell in with hundreds of boats, a certain number of which accompanied each fishing-junk of 200 to 300 tons burden. These craft anchor and send out their small but fine-sailing little boats, each manned with four to six men, who act in concert so as to form one long line of nets, distin- guished at intervals by little flags attached to floating pieces of bamboo. The time which must elapse before the nets can Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. 277 become filled with fish is employed in angling with hook and line. A few hawls were sufficient to fill the boats, which then repair to their junk, the common receiver of their harvest. To judge by the list of fishes of Macao given in Mr. Bridg- man’s ‘ Chrestomathy,’ the Chinese sea must be rich in forms. The following few came under my observation at Chusan :— Labrax japonicus, Cuv. Clupea affinis, Gray Illust. Ind. Nebris. Zool. Umbrina. Engraulis Hamiltonii, Gray II- Hemulon. lust. Ind. Zool. Stromateus albus, ‘‘ Pomfret.” Solea Zebra ? niger, ‘‘ Pomfret.” Carcharias. securifer, Cuv. Trygon. Trichiuris savala, Cuv. To this may be added another small collection from the en- trance of the river Peiho, for which I am indebted to Dr. George Playfair :— Labrax japonicus. Calliomorus Chaca, Ham. Mugil parsia, Ham. Engraulis Hamiltonii. Gobioides rubicunda, Ham. Tetrodon. Nearly all these forms inhabit also the Bay of Bengal and other parts of the Indian Ocean. Among the fishes inhabiting fresh water and estuaries, the greater number are Indian forms : two species inhabit Bengal, viz. Anabas scandens, Cuv., and Cyprinus daniconius,' Ham.; one is Javanese and three are Kuropzean ; among the latter is an eel, which seems to be identical with Anguilla latirostris, . Yarrell. The terrestrial and fluviatile Mollusks are remarkably rich in forms, not only in point of variety but also in interest, which will be seen by the excellent descriptions from the pen of W. H. Benson, Esq. A few approach to Europzean forms ; three are identical with Indian, viz. Helix* tapeina, Benson, Planorbis compressus, Hutton, and Helix naninoides, which last is also found at Singapore. Among the Annelides occurs a remarkable form, with the anterior part drawn out to the sides like the head of Zygena or Cerambyx Fichtelit; another, but of a different species, was first discovered by Mr. Griffith in 1836, found under stones in the Naga Hills; a third species has been observed in Bengal. Of the Crustacea, one approaches to an Kuropzan form, the rest are tropical. * Helix cestus, Benson, which inhabits the N.E. frontier of Bengal, is very common about Macao and the islands in Canton river. 278 M. D’Archiac-on the Genus Murchisonia, The Arachnida are remarkable for their numerical strength, their habits, and the size to which some of them attain, Epeira Jasciata, Walckenaer, appears to be the only Kuropean spe- cies inhabiting Chusan. With regard to the Entomology of Chusan (a collection of insects having been despatched to the Museum of the Hon. the Court of Directors, and a duplicate series by order of Govern- ment to the Entomologieal Society of London), it must suffice to state, that Indian forms prevail and European forms are not numerous. Many identical species occurred in the extensive collections formed in the Khasyah Hills and Assam* in 1835- 36, by Messrs. M‘Clelland and Griffith, Among the forms characteristic of Chusan were a species of Tingis, a Centrotus, and a brilliant golden green Agrion with black wings. [To be continued. ] XXXII.—Notice of the Genus Murchisonia. By M. D’Arcuract. On taking a survey of the numerous genera of the Gastero- podous Mollusca, we find in many cases, especially in the fossil genera, shells possessing the peculiar character of a more or less deep sinus or notch on the right lip. Thus, amongst the Natice we find Natica cineta (Phill, Geol, of Yorksh., pt. 1. pl. 4, fig, 9), and perhaps Buccinum vittatum (Phill, Geol, of Yorksh., pt. 2, pl. 16, fig. 14), as well as several other shells of pl.15 of the latter work, Between Solarium and Euomphalus we find the genus Schizostoma of Bronn, and certain shells not yet classed from the lower oolite of Calyados and the carboniferous limestone of Belgium, ‘The latter certainly do not present a proper notch on the last whorl, but a certain number of holes, which close as the shell advances in age, nearly in the same manner as in Haliotis, Between Trochus and Turbo we find Pleurotomaria and Seis- surella; between Cerithium and Fusus the great genus Pleu- rotoma, Lastly, Nerinea, the situation of which does not * The richness and interest of the fauna and flora of the province of Assam, which from its position is of our Indian dominions the one most, calculated to throw light upon the south-western part of China Proper (Yunnan), may be inferred from the reports and collections of the two above- named naturalists: Mr, Griffith has added further to our knowledge by the botanical and zoological collections which he has continued forming by na- tive collectors, trained and privately maintained by himself, in the Khasyah Hills. + From the Bulletin of the French Geological Society, vol, xii, 1841.— We are indebted for the translation to Thomas Johnson, Esq., of Hexham, , M. D’Archiac on the Genus Murchisonia, 279 appear to be yet determined, also presents as an important character the notch on the right lip. We haye thus many shells which, though similarly pro- vided with a sinus, differ much in other respects; for instance, between the genera Schizostoma and Pleurotoma there is a distance similar to that which separates Fusus from Euom- phalus or Solarium, and there is as much reason for uniting the former as the latter, We are aware, that to arrive at cor- rect classification a combination of all the characters is neces- sary, and that the attention must not be confined to one alone; it does not however appear that Count Munster has observed this rule, for in his last work he gives the generic name Schi- zostoma to many species not only widely differing fromithose on which the genus was founded, but also varying considera- bly from each other*, | , The shells which M. Verneuil and myself propose to unite under the name of Murchisonia are widely distributed in the formations beneath the coal series; but we are not as yet acquainted with any above these formationst, Goldfuss at first regarded many of them as Melanie, and afterwards as Turritelle; Phillips and Hisinger have adopted the latter name for other species; Count Munster placed some of them in the genus Schizostoma; Murchison included two in Pleu- rotoma and one in Pleurotomaria; Yon Buch, when descri- bing Turritella cingulata (Hisinger), classes it as a Pleuro- tomaria; lastly, Beck is inclined to refer the Turritelle of Goldfuss to the Cerithine. We shall now endeavour to show whether this difference of opinion does not sufficiently prove that these shells, which we place between Cerithium and Turritella, do not constitute a distinct group with sufficiently marked characters to form a genus, or at least a subgenus, in a systematic classification, * The genus Plewrotomaria appears, on the whole, to be ill defined, for we find placed in it indifferently turbinated shells provided with a columella and a small umbilicus with a quadrangular aperture, like Zrochus, or rounded, as in Z'urbo, and others which are discoidal, without a columella, having the umbilicus sufficiently open to allow the whorls of the spire to be seen, and an opening, which, joined to their other characters, gives them the appearance of Solarium, We think with Bronn, that all species pre- senting the latter characters ought to be placed in the genus Schizostoma, as they differ as much from the others as Solarium does from Zroehus or Turbo, ; + If we had not personally procured well-preserved specimens of Twrri- tella concava, Sow. tab, 565, in the quarry at Chilmark (Wiltshire), the figure given by this author would lead us to believe that this shell might belong to the genus Murchisonia; but we are satisfied that the lines of growth do not undergo any inflection or interruption, and that they proceed from behind to the anterior part of the suture.at the base of each whorl, 280 M. D’Archiac on the Genus Murchisonia. In fact, the Murchisonie cannot be confounded with the Schizostome, as the latter are depressed, planorbular, with a very wide umbilicus, and without a columella ; they are, in fact, true Euomphali with a NOTCHED APERTURE. The charac- ters of the aperture of Melania equally oppose the introduc- tion of Murchisonia into that genus ; and it differs from Pleu- rotomaria by its turrited and more elongated form, as well as in the aperture, which authors do not appear to have suffi- ciently noticed hitherto. The absence of a true canal, and the slight elongation of the columella, which is curved, equally oppose its introduction amongst the Pleurotome. The facies of Murchisonia distinguishes it at the first glance from Turri- tella. ‘The disproportion of the successive whorls in some varieties, and the irregularities observable in the growth of others, are doubtless empirical characters, but exceedingly common in Murchisonia and Cerithium, whilst they are rare in Turritella, which is perfectly regular throughout the whole length of the spire. The external ornaments of Murchisonia are also more like those in Cerithium than Turritella. Lastly, the examination of the mouth, the most important character of all, removes Murchisonia still further from the latter genus. Instead of being rounded, as in Turritella, it is oblong and twice as long as wide, terminating at the lower angle in a very small canal, and sometimes presenting a groeve at the upper angle. The columella, which is slightly curved, is re- flected in the form of an 8S, and the right lip has a deep nar- row notch with parallel edges. During the life of the animal the continuous closing of this notch has produced an elevated keel or carina, which is sim- ple or double, or rather a flattened fillet bordered by two more or less elevated regular bands, approximating so nearly in some species that they appear to unite, were it not for a fine stria which enables one to distinguish them*. The * The notch in Murchisonia and Pleurotomaria is not closed in the same manner as the sinus in Plewrotoma and some of the Cerithine. In the former, the process of closing is in some measure independent of the growth of the rest of the aperture. The strize are interrupted at the fillet or keel, and those we observe on this part do not correspond with the inflected strize above and beneath them. On the contrary, in Pleurotoma the sinus and the aperture are closed by a continuous calcareous plate or lamina, and the strie, though more or less inflected, are always uninterrupted; in Plewro- tomaria and Murchisonia, the trace of the notch corresponding to that part of the mantle of the animal, which, instead of a simple rounded hollow, would present a deep narrow notch with parallel edges, is always distinctly defined by two bands or striz, nothing similar to which appears in Pleuro- toma or Cerithium. In variety e. of Murchisonia bilineata, nob., in Pleurotomaria limbata, Phill., and P, Defrancii, nob., as well as in Schizostoma radiata, nob., it M. D’Archiac on the Genus Murchisonia. 281 strie of growth on leaving the suture of the whorls are arched anteriorly, and then take a backward direction as far as the keel or fillet. On these they form a curve convex posteriorly, and beyond the striz take a forward direction, again curving as they approach the base of the aperture. It is chiefly the constancy, and especially the perfect regularity of the fillet or keel, throughout the whole length of the spire, which has determined us to separate these shells from Cerithium ; for in the latter genus we find species such as Cerithiwm lineola, echinoides, involutum, Cordieri, acutum, variabile, turris, &c., having a sinus on the right lip, which is always indicated on the whorls by the inflections of the strie of growth. The slight curvature of the columella and the shortness of the canal, in most species from the secondary formations, appear to point out the affinity of Murchisonia rather to the Pota- mides than the true Cerithine. The Potamides do not ap- pear to us to be more exclusively fluviatile than the Cerithine themselves to be exclusively tertiary or recent. We may lastly remark, that the Murchisonie represent the Cerithine and Turritelle in the ancient formations, as the fossil Pleuwro- tomarié represent the existing Trochi. The following is our definition of the genus Murchisonia: Shell turrited ; aperture oblong, oblique, terminated at the base by a very short or truncated canal. Columella curved, slightly recurved outwardly. A notch, more or less deep, on the right lip, narrow, the edges parallel, the successive closing of which produces on the middle of the whorls a simple or double keel, or rather a con- tinuous fillet or band, well defined throughout the whole length of the spire. seems probable that the mantle of the animal was also deeply notched ; but from the two lips or edges of the notch being in contact, instead of a greater or less fillet or keel, there are two calcareous plates superimposed, and the strize of growth, which on each of them diverge in opposite directions, in- dicate that they are formed by two separate portions of the mantle. In confirmation of our view of the manner in which the closing of the notch takes place in these three genera, we generally find that the wider the fillet the less salient it is. In fact, it is obvious that the two lips of the notch in the mantle being wide asunder, they cannot form either a fillet or keel ; the notch would then only be closed at its posterior extremity, independ- ently of the two portions of the mantle, which would secrete above and beneath the right lip of the aperture. On the contrary, when they approach and secrete caleareous matter at the point of contact, the two lips of the notch would form a keel, elevated and marked in proportion as their con- tact was more intimate. In certain shells, as in Schizostoma radiata, the plates thus produced are completely united. The importance, as a specific character, of the greater or less width or elevation of the fillet or keel does not appear to us to be considerable; and we shall show elsewhere that the proportions of the notch are very variable in the same species. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. 982 M. D’Archiac on the Genus Murchisonia. The species composing the genus Murchisonia, such as we have here restricted it, are, as far as we know at present, the following :— 1. Murchisonia spinosa, nob. (Turritella spinosa, Gold., Museum of Bonn; Buccinum spinosum, Sow., pl. 566, fig. 4; Cerith. an- tiquum, Stein., Mém. de la Soc. Géol. de France, t. i. p. 367.) 2. intermedia, nob. id. var. a. 33 bilineata (Turritella bilineata, melania, id, Gold.). 4. — excavata, id. var. a. All these shells are widely distributed in the limestone of Pfaffrath, Hagen, Iserlohn, Vilmar, Sétenich, &c. M. spinosa is found in Devonshire, in deposits of the same age. M. ea- cavata is likewise found in the carboniferous limestone of Visé (Belgium), and the rest in the limestone of Néhou and Izé, near Vitré, in the departments of Manche and Ile-et- Vilaine. : 5. Murchisonia bigranulosa, nob., Paffrath. id. var. (Turritella abbreviata, Sow., pl. 565, fig. 2), Paffrath, Devonshire. 6. binodosa, nob., Lustheide *. 7 eingulata, nob. (Turritella cingulata, Hisin. pl. 12, fig. 6), Sweden. 8. articulata, nob. (Pleurotoma, id., Murch. Sil. Syst. pl. 5, fig. 25), Ludlow Rock. H Corallii, nob. (Plewrotoma, id., Murch. ib. pl. 5, fig. 26), ib. 10. Lloydii, nob. (Pleurotomaria, id., Murch. ib. pl. 8, fig. 14), ib. ley teniata, nob. (Turritella, id., Phill. Geol. of Yorksh., pt. 2, pl. 16, fig. 7), Bolland (mountain limestone), Gronau. 12. tricincta, nob. (Schizostoma, id., Munst., pl. 15, fig. 14), Elbersreuth. | id. var. a, nob., Vilmar. . id. var. 6, Bas-Boulonnois. 4a. fusiformis, nob. (Pleurotomaria, id., Phil., pl. 15, fig. 16.) * These different species will be described and figured in a ‘ Memoir on the Fossils of the ancient formations of the neighbourhood of the Rhine,’ on which M. Verneuil and myself are engaged at present, and which will ap- ‘spp the next volume of the Transactions of the Geological Society of ondon. M. C. Montagne’s Sketch of the Class Fungi. 283 XXXIII.—Organographie and Physiologic Sketch of the Class Fungi, by C. Monraene, D.M, Extracted from * Histoire physique, politique et naturelle de l’tle de Cuba,’ par M. Ra- MON DE LA SaaGRa, and translated and illustrated with short notes by the Rey. M. J. Berxeey, M.A., F.L.S, [Continued from p. 236.) Hymenomycetes, Fr. Tuxse Fungi, which compose the highest family of the class, are characterized by an hymenium composed of utricles or exosporous asci*, in contradistinction to that of Discomycetes, in which the asci are endosporous. But the differences are not confined to this single character ; the receptacle itself, on which the hymenium is spread, is not only more varied in its form, but more complicated in its or- ganization. I will follow step by step this organization, from the formation of ‘the mycelium or vegetative system to the production of the spores, and in this rapid review will endeavour to omit none of the nu- merous modifications which the different organs undergo in the suc- cessively decreasing series of genera and species. The mycelium does not always appear under the same form; it pre- sents flakes of white filaments loosely interwoven, fibres or roots ; or it spreads out in smooth or radiating membranes of the most delicate tissue (e. g. Himantia) ; or finally, it creeps under the bark of trees or amongst the very fibres of the wood forming those black lines or spots which we so frequently observe. Fries remarks that in most cases the mycelium is perennial; that it is on this account we find it barren, and that it produces fruit only after a given time in each species, and under certain meteorological momenta. These condi- tions are, as everyone knows, heat and moisture. If light is not as necessary for the perfect evolution of the mycelium, since, on the contrary, it is in caves and mines that it acquires a greater degree of development, it is indispensable to that of the fructification which it is destined to produce}, As in plants of a higher order, it is to its overgrowth that the sterility of the fungus is due. ‘These vegetables are not then nocturnal plants, as has been falsely asserted. I have already explained the nature of the filaments which compose the my- celium: as it varies little in outward appearance, still less in its structure at the time of its first appearance, I shall not return to the subject. At a certain epoch not easily appreciable, and variable in each * The word ascus is scarcely appropriate here. The utricles are in fact the same organs as the stem of Botrytis, as will be seen by comparing Bo- irytis curta, Berk., or any species of the B, parasitica group.—M. J. B. + Cantharellus Dutrochettii, Mont. (C. erucibulum, Fr. Ep.), neverthe- less passes through all the phases of its morphosis on bottle-racks made of deal, in the darkness of cellars, [It may however perhaps be doubted whether this and 4. pannoides, which is perfected in the same situation, are autonomous species. The remark however will hold good of Merulius /a- crymans, &c.—M. J. B.] U2 284 M. C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic species, there appear upon the mycelium one or more little ovoid or spherical tubercles, whose successive increase shows what species we have before us; for at first all are concealed under a more or less dense spidery web, which the greater part cast off before completing their evolution, but in which some always remain enveloped. In this respect we cannot overlook the striking analogy which exists between the whole class of Fungi and that of insects, an analogy al- ready recognised and pointed out by the illustrious Fries. The veil with which I said the tubercles were covered is sometimes woven into a membrane of greater or less thickness, and more or less tough, which, after having enveloped the fungus, as the elements of an egg in its shell, at last bursts at the summit or on the side, and gives it free access to air and light. This membrane, which is called volva (velum universale), frequently remains at the base of the peduncle, and then affords excellent characters for. specific distinctions. Some- times it bursts circularly around the pileus, and its upper hemisphere glued to its surface, forms spots or discoloured warts, as in Agaricus muscarius. In other cases it is entirely resolved into persistent — scales. Sometimes it is formed of a byssoid web so delicate that not the least trace is to be found. Besides the volva, which is wanting in many genera, many Hymenomycetes are supplied with a second envelope, which, after its rupture, remains frequently upon the pe-_ duncle under the form of a collar or ruffle ; this is called a ring (ve- lum partiale). It is complete when it encloses the whole pileus ; in- complete when, being fixed on its border, it covers only the gills. The ring, which is generally white, is membranous or arachnoid, persistent or fugacious, adhering to the peduncle, or free and move- able. Its upper or inner surface has frequently stric which corre- spond to the gills with which it has been in contact. It is fixed at different heights upon the stem; most frequently at about a third from the top. But the partial veil is not always membranous; in one tribe of the genus Agaricus, an arachnoid web unites at first the border of the pileus to the stem. This extremely delicate web, which is named curtain (cortina), is composed of white or coloured threads, and leaves traces of its existence either on the stem or on the mar- gin of the pileus. The peduncle or stem (stipes) is that part of the fungus which, when it exists, springs immediately from the mycelium and supports the pileus. Its presence is not essentially necessary, since it is wanting in many species, which are therefore named apodi or resu- pinate. In those which are provided with it, it either occupies the centre of the pileus, in which case it is called central (mesopus), or else it is eccentric (excentricus), or it is seated at the very edge of the pileus (pleuropus). 'The stem may be cylindrical or fusiform, or swollen and bulbous at the base, solid and stuffed, or fistulose, either from the first or consecutively, smooth and uniform or flaky, tomen- tose, villous, &c., annulate or ringless, same- or party-coloured, soft, elastic, fibrous and tough, or even woody in certain species. When it is altogether wanting, or the pileus is attached imme- diately to the matrix by a greater or less portion of the border,:it is Sketch of the Class Fungi. ‘nh BBS called stemless (apus); or if applied by its whole upper surface, which is thence become inferior, it is called resupinate. The stem is dilated above into an organ of various forms, but usu- ally orbicular or flabelliform, which is called pileus, or, which is better, hymenophorum, since this term is applicable to tribes whose hymenium clothes a claviform or branched receptacle, not having consequently the least resemblance to a hat. The hymenophore, which is membranaceous, fleshy, coriaceous or corky, assumes the most different forms. Sometimes it is a sort of convex, hemispherical, campanulate, ovoid, conical hat; sometimes depressed in the centre, and infundibuliform, or altogether plane, or even with its border turned up (e. g. Agaricus, Boletus, Polyporus, &c.) ; sometimes it forms simple or branched clubs (Clavaria) ; some- times cup-shaped membranes (Hzidia), or sinuous folds and plaits (Tremelia). In stipitate Hymenomycetes the pileus is always, even when it becomes separable from it, an expansion of the flesh of the stem, and composed of the same elementary cells, sometimes however slightly modified. In. Agaricini the pileus is horizontal, and bears beneath plates or gills (Jamelle), whose central substance is formed by membraniform processes (¢rama, dissepimentum, Fr., subhymenial tissue), which are given off at right angles to this surface, and radiate from the centre to the circumference : these plates are simple or equal when they are of the same length, or compound when they are unequal in length; that is to say, when between two long gills there are other shorter ones which measure only a third, a fourth, &c., of the radius of the pileus. In this case Krombholz calls them didymous, tridymous, tetra- dymous, or polydymous, as half, third, or quarter gills, &c., are in- terposed. They are more or less close and numerous, thin or thick, broad or narrow, straight or ventricose in their free edge: in re- lation to the stem they are variously circumstanced, being some- times fixed to it either by their whole breadth or by running down the stem (decurrentes) ; or they are attached by a less portion than the whole breadth, in consequence of their being rounded off at the point of attachment; or, before they attain this point, there is a por- tion cut out as it were, in which case they are said to be sinuate. The free or lower border of the gills is entire or toothed, straight or ventricose, equal or undulated, acute or obtuse, sometimes. channel- ed or cleft longitudinally, as in Trogia and Schizophyllum. As re- gards consistence, they are fleshy, membranous, coriaceous, watery, milky, flexible, or brittle, &c. Their colour is very variable, and presents every shade of white, black, rose-colour, violet, brown, &c. Lastly, they are persistent or deliquescent, as in Coprinus. In the genus Montagnites (Agaricus radiosus, Pall.) not only are they per- sistent, although they become black, but, which is very remarkable, they remain still fixed by a short filament round the top of the stem after the destruction of the hymenophore. In Cantharelli the gills are so narrow that they are reduced to simple dichotomous or branched folds. In Merulius these folds anastomose and form a net- work, which indicates a passage from Agaricini to, Polyporet. 986 M.. C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic The hymenophore of Polyporet produces tubes instead of gills. In Boletus these tubes, which may be regarded as gills rolled round (a view which is confirmed by the structure of Fistulina), adhere loosely ; and, as the trame of the pileus does not pass into them, they are easily separated without injury. It is not so with Polypo- rus, the trame of the pileus supplying the skeleton, as it were, of the tubes or pores which the hymenium lines; they cannot therefore be separated from the hymenophore, or from each other, as in Boletus. The pores vary in form and size. Sometimes, as in Dedalea, they are deep labyrinthiform sinuses formed by frequent anastomosing of agaricinoid gills; sometimes they are in the form of five- or six-sided alveoli, as capacious and as regular as the cells of bees; sometimes these pores are so minute as scarcely to be visible by a good lens. All intermediate conditions are found. They are round or angular, regular or irregular, short or long, equal or unequal, simple or dis- posed in layers (stratose), &c. The substance which separates them is called dissepiment. Their colour, though variable, is perhaps less so than in Agaricus. Their aperture (0s) affords good characters ; it is sharp or obtuse, entire or toothed, torn, velvety, &c. Their cavity is often clothed with a glaucous or silvery substance. In Gleoporus, the pores, which are almost imperceptible in a dry state, have not their dissepiments formed by the trame of the hymenophore, but are hollowed out in a gelatinous hymenium, heterogeneous and of a different colour, analogous to that of Auricularie, to which this new genus forms a transition. The hymenophore of Hydna is bristly below, with teeth or prickles (dentes, aculet), sometimes with simple tubercles, as Radulum, or se- riate interrupted gills, as Sistotrema; these prickles are of greater or less length, more or less voluminous, and approximate. The distinct aculeiform tubes of the genus Fistulina are not separable from the pileus, from whence we may infer that they are formed from the trama, and that this genus forms the transition from Polypori to Hydna. Inallthe other genera of the tribes the prickles are solid, and very variously formed and coloured. As in the preceding and«follow- ing tribe, the hymenophore offers the same variations as we have al- ready made known in Agaricini, that is to say, that it is sessile or stipitate, with the stem central or lateral, entire or dimidiate, fre- quently reversed, and in this case reduced sometimes to a thin layer of arachnoid tissue, pulverulent as it were, from whence the prickles arise. Lastly, that of Auricularinee is raised sometimes into radi- ating veins (Cymatoderma* = Cladoderris, P.), into mammille, as in Grandinia, or into papille, as in Thelephora, or perfectly smooth, as in Stereum. ‘The hymenophore of Clavarie is vertical, simple or branched, rarely foliaceous, the upper portion being linguiform, * Judging by the figure and description, I suspect that this genus, lately established by Junghuhn (Tijdschr. voor Natur. Geschied. en Physiol. 2-3 stuck, 1840) on a iia of Java, scarcely differs from Thelephora dendri- tica, Pers., gathered in the island of Rawak by M. Gaudichaud, on the ex- pedition of the Uranie, commanded by M. Freycinet.—See Mont. Ann. Sc. Nat., Nov. 1841, and Berk. Hook. Lond. Journ. Bot. No. 3. oa Sketch of the Class Fungi. 287 clavate, or ending in a sharp or obtuse point. In Tremelile it is fo- liaceous, decumbent, sinuous, plaited, or smooth and gelatinous. Having gone through the forms of the hymenophore, let us now examine its structure. In general two different tissues enter into its composition : one consists of cells which are at first spherical, but which become polyhedral by mutual pressure; the other of septate filaments, generally of a very small diameter. ‘The union, intermix- ture and felting of these elementary tissues not only determine the gelatinous, spongy, fleshy, or corky or woody nature of this organ, but produce, moreover, the many forms which they present. We must not forget that the central layer (trama) of the gills of Agarics, of the prickles of Hydna, of the dissepiments of Polypori, &c., being formed by prolongations of the tissue of the hymenophore, is conse- quently, in the majority of cases, composed of the second order of cells, that is to say, the elongated ; sometimes, nevertheless, covered by another thin layer of globular cells, which separate it from the sporigerous membrane ; and that in Russula and Lactaria, whose trama is altogether composed of these cells, it is from these very cells that those proceed, which, under the name of basidia, anthers, paraphyses, &c., concur in the formation of the hymenium. There is still a very important fact, should it be confirmed, and which, in any case, I ought not to pass by in silence, viz. the presence of lati- ciferous vessels in some species of this family. Their discovery is due to M. Corda, who assures us that he has seen them in Russula fetens. According to this mycologist, who has also figured (Ic. Fung. ii. p. 42, t. 7. f. 106, g, ¢, &, 7) this vascular system, whose existence has never been suspected, the laticiferous vessels are con- tinuous, pellucid, equal, generally flexuous, much branched, and fre- quently anastomosing by means of collateral branches. They con- tain (I am still speaking of Russula fetens) a milky, semitransparent, opaline juice, filled with molecules, and which appears to move slowly in different directions. These vessels are more numerous in the gills of Russula fetens,-and on the surface of the stem, than in the paren- chym of the pileus or peduncle. They contribute, moreover, accord- ing to Corda, to the formation of the hymenium in this Agaric, de- scending between the basidia under the form of caciform tubes, at- tenuated at first at the extremity, and then terminated by a globular swelling (J. c. fig. 106, g, ¢)*. The parenchym of, many Hymenomycetes presents the very curious phenomenon of becoming blue when, after being torn or broken, it is put in contact with the atmosphere (e. g. Boletus cyanescens ). We have seen that in Discomycetes the hymenium consists of cylindrical or claviform tubular cells, placed parallel to each other, and each containing eight sporidia arranged in a single row ; in other words, that it is composed of endosporous asci: that of Hymenomy- cetes presents a structure almost similar as regards the cells and their disposition, but instead of being included, the sporidia, most fre- * See moreover the ideas on this subject put forth by M. Morren, Acad. Roy. des Sc. Brux., 5 Jany, 1839. 288 M.C. Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic quently quaternate, are seated on their apices; in other words, these organs are exosporous. As is the case with the male organs of Targionia, this organiza- tion, correctly seen and tolerably figured by Micheli* a century since, and in more recent times by Bulliard, had been cast into obli- vion by the most celebrated botanists of our times, who had lost the trace of it. It is but a short time since it has been called to mind and established, that the immortal Florentine, with very imperfect instruments, had nevertheless very correctly observed nature, and was the only one who had done sot. : The paraphyses (Basilarzellen, Corda) are elongated, tubular, ceci- form cells, placed parallel the one to the other, like the pile of vel- vet. In most cases they are the termination of the filaments of the parenchym of the hymenophore, or of the trame of the gills of Aga- rics, the prickles of Hydnum, &c. Some, as is the case also with basidia, are furnished even ‘by the outermost of the two layers of cells which accompany the trame. The basidia (Lév., Cord., sporophores, Berk.) placed between these paraphyses, and, like them, tubular, are distinguished not only by their being rather longer, which makes them project perceptibly be- yond the surface of the hymenium, but, besides this, because they contain, before the maturity of the sporidia, a coloured opake juice, clouded by an innumerable quantity of granules and some drops of oil, * Micheli indeed observed that the sporidia were exogenous, and he has figured their quaternate arrangement in Coprinus, but it is not correct that he was acquainted with the basidia; the bodies figured by Micheli, which have been supposed to be what has been lately observed by so many myco- logists, being merely the little hairs with which the gills are often fringed. This will at once be found to be the case if the letter-press be compared with — the figures. On pointing this out to Dr. Montagne, whose love of science is equalled by his love of truth, he most kindly and candidly replied, ‘‘ J’ai revu les planches de Micheli que vous citez et relu le texte. II parait par celui-ci que ce savant n’a pas vu le fond des choses, et a cette époque, certes il est étonnant qu’il ait méme si bien vu. Je conviens avec vous qu'il n’est pas le moins question du monde des basidies dans le texte, mais Micheli y parle trés clairement de la disposition quaternaire des spores, qu’il indique pl. 73, fig. 2.” Miiller’s figure of 4g. comatus shows correctly the sporidia seated on the spicules of the basidia. The eyes of modern mycologists were for years blinded by Link’s celebrated paper, or the real structure would long since have been recognised. The modern re-discovery is due to Ascherson; at least he is the first who made it known.—M. J. B. . + An excellent history of this subject may be found in the memoirs of Berkeley and Léveillé on the hymenium, and in the third volume of the ‘ Icones Fungorum’ of Corda, who claims the honour of having first con- ducted naturalists into the path of truth. . None of these authors mention the opinion which Palisot de Beauvais proclaimed in ‘ Encyclopédie Métho- dique,’ in the article Champignons. This savant holds, that the bodies which Micheli took for spores are not the true seeds, but an heterogeneous powder which the wind carries upon the gills or the eggs of insects. The grains, he says, are enclosed in the gills between their coats. [This is of a piece with his eccentric notion, that the reproductive bodies of mosses are contained in the columella. M. J. B,] Sketch of the Class Fungi. 289 which, in proportion as the evolution of the sporidia is perfected, gra- dually clears and at length becomes transparent. This juice, during life, is subject to an evident motion analogous to that which we have observed in Botrytis Bassiana, Ascophora Mucedo,&c. Fromthesummit of the basidia spring threads (sterigmata, Corda [spicules, Berk.]), generally four, in number (basidia tetraspora), destined to support the reproductive bodies. The number of these threads is normally four, and then they are, as it were, verticillate at the free extremity of the basidium, and disposed thus :: at the four angles of a square ; but sometimes there are but two, the others being abortive. They may even be reduced to unity; but occasionally there are two addi- tional threads, raising the number to six (basidia polyspora), placed at the extremities of the major axis of an ellipse thus -::- ; or finally,-by the suppression of one, the number is reduced to five :: -, These threads or peduncles are frequently swollen at their point of attachment and apex. In some genera with monosporous basidia (e. g. Tremella) the support is wanting, the sporidium resulting then from a sort of strangulation of the tip of the basidium. The threads are hollow, and communicate with the cavity of the basidia, that the juices which contribute to the nourishment and increase of the spo- ridia may reach them without any impediment. The sporidia, the object and end of vegetation, are bodies destined to reproduce the fungus. In the whole family with which we are occupied, these bodies are outward or acrogenous, and not enclosed in special cells or endogenous, a character which approximates them to Mucedines, in which are some genera (as Jsaria, Ceratium, &c.) which Messrs. Berkeley and Corda associate with Hymenomycetes, the genus Clavaria forming a natural transition. The sporidia, which are spherical, oval or oblong, straight or curved, smooth or rugged, naked or echinulate, one- or more celled (e.g. Gomphus rutilus), are composed, as in the majority of species of this vast class, of an epi- sporium and a nucleus, sometimes accompanied by some drops of an oleaginous substance, held in suspension in an opaline fluid, at length grumous, which circulates in the basidia even after their complete evolution. The episporium, formed of a single indehiscent cell, bears at the point of attachment (at least in the species where this is evident) either a little cavity, named by Corda hilum (Ic. Fung. i. t. 8. fig. 115, A), or a little conical obtuse or pointed nipple (7. c., t. 7. fig. 99, h), indicating the place of the ancient aperture by which the granular fluid (massa sporacea) of the basidia pene- trated into the cavity of the episporium, before the formation of the nucleus. This hollow or nipple is moreover the point by which the sporidium was attached to the thread. As regards their direc- tion, if they have, as in Mucedines, the same axis ‘with the sterigma, Corda calls them ¢repanotropous*; if, as when they are attached laterally, their axes are different, they are called pleurotropous. These epithets are applied to the sporidia alone, when the direction of their axis is compared with that of the axis of the threads. The * J should prefer orthotropous or homotropous. 290 M.C. Montagne’s Organographie and Physiologic nucleus is usually consistent, rarely fluid, and at length assumes, within certain limits, various colours. ‘They are white, rose-coloured, ochraceous, ferruginous, purple-brown, or black; and Fries, in the ‘ Systema Mycologicum*,’ has availed himself of the fact, that the same colour prevails in allied species, to form the principal sections in the methodic distribution of the genus Agaricus. The anthers (anthere, Klotzsch, cystidia, Lév., antheridia, polli- naria, Corda) are a third kind of vesicular or tubular cells which occur in the hymenium of some Agarics and many Boleti. Accord- ing to Corda, these cells do not arise from the trama descending from the pileus, but their base is lost amongst the cells of the nearest of the two layers usually interposed between the trama and hymenium. This is at least the result of the examination of the greater part of the figures in which he has figured these organs. Sometimes, in certain Coprini for example, the anthers are even placed in a little hollow in the surface of the hymenium, which they considerably ex- ceed. These organs, which Micheli considered as buttresses destined to keep the gills separate from one another, and to prevent their mutual agglutination, because doubtless he had not observed them in the tubes of Polypori, where the notion is inapplicable; these or- gans, to which Bulliard already attributed a fecundating property, though he confounded them with others which have not the least analogy with them; these organs, finally, whether regarded on not as grains of pollen sprinkled over the surface of the hymenium+, are formed of a single indehiscent, extremely thin and transparent, cylin- drical, conical or acuminate cell, filled with a mucilaginous, limpid, co- lourless juice, or rarely coloured by a light tint of yellow or bistre}, in which float extremely fine molecules. This mucilage, at a later pe- riod, exudes from the cell, and appears at its tip in the guise of rounded drops. Corda assures us that the anthers appear before the evolu- tion of the basidia, and that they disappear when the sporidia are mature. It is to the viscid nature of the juice which they pour out that we must attribute the agglutination of the spores round the cystidia of Léveillé, when these reproductive bodies have abandoned their supports. The organs considered as endowed with the pro- perty of fecundating the sporidia have been observed in a certain number of species only, which however should not invalidate the opinion of the authors who assign them this distinction, since even in Mosses, where the presence of these organs is averred, there are a great number of species in which they could not be found. * In a later and newly published work, ‘ Epicrisis Systematis Mycolo- gici,’ he has attempted a new arrangement of the genus, founded principally upon the structure of the trama of the gills or subhymenial tissue; but we do not find that he has rendered the determination of the species of this difficult genus more easy, and we still prefer the former arrangement, with a few exceptions. [In this opinion of Dr. Montagne I most entirely con- cur. I do not know in the whole field of Botany a more masterly effort of genius than the arrangement of this genus in the ‘Syst. Myc.’—M. J. B.] t Corda (Ic. Fung. iii. p.44) establishes this comparison, and supports it by observations and reasoning which appear conclusive. + In 4g. balaninus, Berk., they are of a deep purple.—M. J. B. Sketch of the Class Fungi. bs i 291 The hymenium whose structure I have just described covers the two faces of the gills of Agaricimi, and ‘the whole surface of the prickles in Hydna, by being reflected upon the hymenophore in the interval which separates them ; penetrates into the interior of the tubes or pores of Polypori, clothes the whole surface of Auricu- larini, and the upper surface only of Clavaria, and extends finally: into the sinuosities of Tremellini, with the gelatinous substance of which it is frequently confluent. The Hymenomycetes are fungi which flourish and increase most abundantly in temperate climates. Nevertheless, even under the tropics, where the negligent manner in which they have been looked for has induced a supposition that they are more rare than they really are, there are certain localities in which their number and va- riety are not less than with ourselves. Besides, in Europe, their de- velopment is subordinate to the seasons, and the greater number appear only in autumn, the most favourable time for their growth, because of the joint heat and moisture. In equatorial countries, on the contrary, according to Junghuhn (Communic. sur Java, Ann. Sc. Nat. Bot., 2 sér., tom. vii. p. 170), besides that the species of this family are at least as abundant* as in our climate, their re- production goes on during the whole of the year. M. Leprieur has observed the same fact in Guiana. With us the summer and au- tumn are the seasons which favour and expedite the evolution of the — greatest number of Agaricini, Polypori, &c. Spring is less propi- tious, and winter produces a few rare species only of these tribes. Amongst Hymenomycetes, some are common to a great many coun- tries, others are found only within certain limits (e. g. Ag. olearius, Pol. Tuberaster); some, amongst which it is remarkable that we must reckon Ag. campestris, the only species eaten at Paris, are cosmo- polites. Schizophyllum commune is also of this number. Fungi of this family flourish especially on wood, ut the foot of trees or on the trunk, on dead or rotten wood, on dry branches fallen on the ground, on living mosses, and in general on all or- ganized, diseased, or dead bodies. We find them likewise in fields and meadows. ‘They grow solitary or grouped together (gregarii), or united into a mass (c@spitosi). Sometimes they form by being disposed in concentric circles, what were named fairy rings, because oN a were absolutely ignorant of the cause of their production. Perhaps we are as ignorant at the present time as to the ultimate cause; but if I mistake not, we may give a plausible explanation of the proximate cause, that is to say, of the concentric disposition of the circles. ‘This appears to result from the circular dispersion of the spores of the preceding year, perhaps also from the eccentric vegetation of the mycelium; that is to say, outside the last circle * They are probably much more so in proportion to the whole number of species. In Junghuhn’s ‘ List of Fungi of Java,’ given by Dr. Montagne in Ann. Sc. Nat. Nov. 1841, out of 113, 66 are Hymenomycetous; and the proportion is still greater in a collection made by Cuming in the Philippine Isles.—M. J. B. 292 M.C. Montagne’s Organoyraphic and Physiologic only*. An analogous instance, though in miniature, is found in Oidium fructigenum. The colour of Agarics, Boleti, &es, has attracted the attention of some observers. We will consider it both in the hymenium and hymenophore. The colour of the hymenophore of Agarics and Bo- lett is not constant in the same species; it may be white, red, blue, brown, olive and yellow (e.g. Russula emetica, Boletus scaber), with- out any variation in the other characters. . The colour of the hyme- nium is less liable to vary in the same species, and when such a va- riation does take place, it is usually due to advance in age. . Thus, in Pratelle, the gills are at first rose-coloured or violet, and at last become black. In Coprini, from white or gray they pass to black at the time of their deliquescence. As regards the proximate cause of the colour of Fungi, it appears, after the observations of Memon that it is attributable to the presence of spherical corpuscles of 34, of a miliemetre circulating in the tubular filaments whose interlacing forms the hymenophore, or free and dispersed in their interstices, but not possessed of any motion in either case. Their colour is more intense in proportion as they are nearer the outer surface of the fungus; that is to say, as they are more immediately influenced by light. As to duration, it is ephemeral in a great number of Agarics; in the fleshy species it is in general from seven to fifteen days; some, however, last longer. In the perennial Polypori it extends to many years ; but these species increase. by the successive production of new layers, which every year are deposited on those of preceding ears. : It is in this family that we find the most delicious Fungi, as, for instance, Agaricus cesareus (Cibus Deorum, Clus.), or the true Oronge, A. campestris, A. prunulus, Boletus edulis, &c. But amongst them we find also the most violent vegetable poisons, and this even in certain species which unhappily, without long study, are too easily confounded with the most wholesome fungi. I cannot here enter into any detail relative to the culinary preparation of good species, or the means of remedying accidents caused by partaking of bad fungi. On these points, the general works which treat on these productions, or those which relate to toxicology or medicine, may be consulted, and in particular ‘ Traité des Champ. Comest.’ by Persoon, or the treatises of Messrs. Roques and Cordier. The article Agaric, in ‘ Dictionnaire universelle d’ Histoire naturelle,’ by my friend and fellow-labourer Léveillé, will also give valuable in- formation on this head. There are still some uses to which these * This last explanation is admitted by Dutrochet, Observ. sur les Champ., Ac. des Se. Paris, 3 Mars, 1834. [It appears, from measurements which have been accurately taken, that fairy rings increase annually in diameter, which accords with this notion, and the dark colour of the grass is doubtless owing to the stimulating power of the mycelium.—M. J. B.] t+ See note on Agaricus epixylon, Bull. (A. applicatus, Batsch), Acad. Roy. Sc. de Bruxel., 5 Janv. 1839. Sketch of the Class Fungi. 293 plants are put, as well in domestic economy as in medicine, but we have touched on these before in the general introduction. In the economy of nature, besides that they hasten the decomposition of organic substances which supply the office of matrix to them, and with which they unite in forming humus or vegetable soil, they moreover serve to nourish a multitude of insects, worms, mollusks, &e. It is believed that they help to purify the atmosphere by ab- sorbing certain deleterious gases. I have not yet spoken of Phylleriacee*, which Fries has placed in an appendix at the end of the class. They have lately been con- sidered as a luxuriant growth of the superficial cells of the paren- chyma of leaves, the only organs indeed on which they occur. I am inclined to think that such is their origin. M. Fée attributes their presence to the larve of insects, which stimulate the leaves and elicit the anomalous development of elongated, coloured, frequently transparent, simple or septate cells, forming a more or less dense mass on living leaves, which are in consequence often deformed. Nothing like spores has been discovered. ‘The genera which com- pose this tribe, of which I have one or two species to describe from Cuba, are Taphrina, Erineum, Septotrichum, Phyllerium. In this short and rapid sketch I have considered successively the Fungi of the whole class, in their varied and gradually more compli- cated forms; and, as far as my powers and my limited space have allowed, I have endeavoured to collect everything new and interest- ing which has been published respecting them during a period of nearly fifteen years; to unroll before the eyes of the reader, under the form of a simple, though necessarily imperfect sketch, the vast tablet representing the actual state of mycology under the twofold relation of organography and physiology. To close this difficult attempt, which I should not have ventured upon if it had not been imposed by the plan adopted in this work, and of whose success I am not very confident, I must still add something on the chemical composition of these plants, and of their reproduction, considered in a general manner. The analyses of Vauquelin and Braconnot had caused chemists to recognise and admit in these plants principles which the recent and well-known labours of my learned colleague M. Payen on vegetable substances have definitively erased from the catalogue of simple sub- stances of organic chemistry. Thus, for instance, Fungine, con- sidered as a simple body, according to this excellent chemist, is but a mixture of cellulose and fatty matter. M. Payen having had the extreme kindness to communicate to me the result of his analyses, I am able to give the following list of elementary substances which enter generally into the composition of Fungi :—1. water ; 2. cellulose, con- stituting all the solid part of the membranes of the tissue ; 3. three azotous substances; one insoluble im water; a second soluble, co- * Fries, Syst. Myc. iii. p.519. Fée, Mém. sur le groupe des Phyllériées, 8vo. Paris, 1884. Grev. Mon. Erin. in Ed. Phil. Jour., p. 67. Schlecht. Mon. Erin. in Soc. Roy. Ratisb. 1822. Kunze, Mon. der Gatt. Erin. in Myk. Heft ii. p. 117, Leipz. 1828. Corda, Ic. Fung. iv. p. 1. 294 M.C, Montagne’s Organographic and Physiologic agulable by heat; a third soluble in alcohol; 4. fatty matter analo- gous to wax; 5. fatty substances ; one fluid at an ordinary tempe- rature, the other solid, crystallizable at the same temperature ; 6, sugar; 7. matter capable of being coloured brown by the action of free air; 8. an aromatic substance; 9. traces of sulphur; 10. traces of salts of potash and silex *. The reproduction of Fungi has been a subject of long and lively controversy ; but I think modern observations, by clearing up the question, have induced a more uniform opinion, and one more nearly approaching truth. It was long believed that their production was due to an equivocal generation, or simply to the decomposition of organized bodies. It is to Micheli that we owe the experiments which have passed sen- tence on this erroneous opinion, which, however, was held recently by some distinguished botanists. The proverb nihil de nihilo is here applicable, and I can scarce bring myself to believe that spontaneous or equivocal generation has any supporters amongst botanists. But amongst those who do not deny that a sporule can germinate, there are some who nevertheless cling to equivocal generation, admitting those transformations from whence it would result that a species, instead of producing a being identical with itself, would give birth to another species of a different genus or even family. This error is due to the fact, that in order to the production of the fructification, or in other words, what we term the fungus itselft, the vegetative system requires a greater or less length of time, sometimes even many years. Suppose that the sporidia of a Clavaria have given birth to an Himantia ; who does not now know that this production, which has erroneously been constituted a genus, is nothing but the mycelium or organ of vegetation, from whence at some more distant epoch a Clavaria would have arisen identical with that from whence the mycelium sprang? And, as Fries expresses himself very judi- ciously on this subject}, “At num e seminibus Pyri Mali satis mox pomum habebis? Primum sine dubio enascetur arbuscula; sic inter Fungos mycelium.” There is no fungus of the six families which we have reviewed which does not normally bear sporidia. Are these then mere Jusus nature? This notion is repugnant to reason and common sense, We must then admit that, as in all organized bodies, these sporidia are not, cannot be anything but organs destined for the reproduction of the species. Besides, that which reason counts for probable, observation and direct experiment have put completely beyond doubt. The most curious fact in the physiology of Fungi is perhaps that of the kind of copulation which we observe amongst the branches of Syzygites megalocarpus, Ehrenb. ‘This phenomenon is analogous to * It is curious that the greatest proper heat met with by Dutrochet in the vegetable kingdom, with the exception of that of the spadix of drum, was in Boletus @reus.—See Ann. Sc. Nat., Feb, 1840.—M. J. B. t Totus fungus pro meré fructificatione habendus est, Fries, Lichen, Europ. Proleg., p. xx t Eel. Fung. in Linnza, v. p. 503, Sketch of the Class Fungi... 295 that which takes place in Conjugate of the class Alge, and especially in the genus Closterium. The tips of two branches approach, join, and form bytheir junction a verrucose sporangium, in which the spores appear to result from the mixture of the contents of the two. But this mixture, as we may easily imagine, cannot take place without the resorption of the septum at the point of juncture, which in fact takes place. Nevertheless, it would appear that the copulation is not indispensable to the accomplishment of the function, since, when the two branches do not touch, a single sporangium is formed at the extremity of one of the two, or else, though more rarely, one appears on each extremity*. In their germination, which is not now matter of controversy, there is a simple elongation of a single pole, or of two opposite poles, of the epispore of the sporidia (mono-dinema) ; or else, according to Corda (i. c. ii. p. 26, t. xiii. fig. 97, No, 21), this bursts like the testa in the true seeds of Phenogamous plants, to make way for a filament susceptible of reproducing the plant from whence it emanates, or at least of concurring in its reproduction. It appears, indeed, to be averred, that in many fungi, especially amongst those which are highest in the series, one, or even several sporidia are not sufficient for the production of a new individual. Nature, in infinitely multi- plying the number of seeds in these plants, seems to have wished to initiate us into the secret of their propagation. The mycelium, which arises from the germination of the sporidia, should seem to be unable to work the almost instantaneous growth of an Agaric; for example, if it were composed of too small a number of filaments, themselves — limited in their vegetative powers. It is then, in this case, only by the simultaneous concourse of an immense number of sporules that we can hope to obtain the desired result. But even this is not always sufficient ; many other conditions are necessary; such as the choice of situation or matrix, atmospherie or meteorological momenta, and, above all, the season, If I can form any sure conclusion from some experiments which I have made during the microscopic investigation of Botrytis Bassiana (Muscardine), nature is not so peremptory in the lower fungi; for after having succeeded in separating upon the stage of the microscope a single sporidium, I have not only caused it to germinate and run through all the phases of its new existence, even to|the production of the fruit; but what is more surprising, I have obtained, unexpectedly, the same result .on a simple plate of glass placed under suitable conditions of light, heat, and moisture. The same experiment was equally successful in Ascophora Mucedo. We have at last arrived at the production of the mycelium, which completes the circle, the first half of which is formed by the vegeta- tion and the second by the fructification. To sum up: a fungus re- duced to its simplest form is composed of a septate or continuous thread, terminated by a cell or nucleiferous swelling, which is the spore. If we would follow in thought all the modifications of these two organs, we may, by ascending constantly, as we have done, to- - * Corda, Pracht, Flora, p. 50. 296 Prof. Agassiz on the Echinodermata. wards beings more and more complicated, arrive at the very summit of the series, viz. Amanita cesarea. The various developments which the unfolding of this new subject for contemplation would allow of, would carry me beyond my object. Far from having exhausted, I have, alas! scarcely glanced over it. I leave this to those who are more capable. I could attempt only a feeble sketch; may it at least be sufficient to guide the reader in the midst of the numerous difficulties which await him in the study of this great and important class of the vegetable kingdom. Paris, Feb, 1, 1841. XXXIV.— Observations on the Progress recently made in the Natural History of the Echinodermata. By Prof. AGAssiz. [Continued from p. 197.] In my ‘ Prodromus’ I expressed doubts as to the membra- nous ambulacral tubes in the Sea-urchins having any rela- tion to their powers of locomotion, grounding my opinion upon some observations which I had made on the sandy shores of Normandy, and upon the very positive assertion of Aristotle, who tells us that they move by the aid of their spines; and that even by the state of these organs their degree of pro- gressive power may be known (liv.iv. chap.v.). Mr. Forbes, however, has shown this view of the matter to be erroneous, and has demonstrated that they also progress by means of their ambulacral tubes, especially when upon solid surfaces. In company with this gentleman I have seen them ascend, by the aid of these tubes, the perpendicular sides of a smooth glass vessel. No further evidence could be wanted to set at rest the point in question. It yet remains to be shown whe- ther, among the Cidarites, the long club-shaped spines are not the principal organs of motion, and that it is among the Sea-urchins with very short bristles that the ambulacral tubes are essential to this function. M. de Siebold mentions the existence of microscopic cilia in the interior of these tentacula and of their vesicles (Mil. Archiv, 1836, p. 295). M. Ehren- berg, on the other hand, describes the vibratory movements in the membrane of the spines of Hchinus saxatilis (move- ments which are denied by Mr. Forbes), and indicates the existence of an internal circulation of corpuscles, similar to the globules of blood, in the retractile tentacula upon the dor- sal face of the Asterias violacea; he adds, moreover, that the surface of these tentacula is entirely covered with vibratile cilia (Mil. Archiv, 1834, p. 577). M. Volkmann has also given some new details upon the circulation in the Asteria, Prof. Agassiz on the Echinodermata. 297 but I am only acquainted with his researches from extracts (Wiegm. Archiv, 1838, vol. ii. p. 333). The history of the development of the Echinodermata is enriched with many important facts. M. Sars has made known the changes which the Asterias sanguinolenta of Miller undergoes during the early stages of its existence. Mr. Thompson of Cork, twelve years after having described his Pentacrinus europeus, published a second memo on this animal, in which he regards it as the young state of the Comatula rosacea. This opinion has been fully confirmed by Messrs. Forbes, Thompson of Belfast, and Ball, who have seen the living Pentacrinus europeus detach itself from its stalk, and swim freely in the form of a small Comatula. ‘The information given by Mr. Forbes regarding the development of this Comatula is highly curious. M. de Siebold has indicated the existence of the vesicle and the germinal spot in all the Asterie which he examined (Mill. Archiv, 1836, p. 297). M.J. Miller has also described the vesicle and germinal spot of the Comatule and Ophiure. M. Peters (Miill. Archiv, 1840, p. 143) announces that the Sea-urchins have the sexes distinct. They do not differ ex- ternally it is true; the sexual organs in both males and females have the same appearance; but in the females of Eichinus purpureus and EH. Melo the sexual glands are red, and contain ova where the vitellus and germinal vesicle are to be distinguished, whilst in the males these are white, and only filled with spermatozoa. MM. Valentin and R. Wagner have likewise noticed a distinction of sexes amongst the Ho- lothurie, and M. Rathke among the Asterie. M. J. Miller, moreover, observes that it is probably the same in the Cri- noidee, or at least in the Comatule (Mill. Archiv, 1840, p.144). MM. Valentin and Miescher have observed spermatozoa in the Spatangus purpureus (Repert. de Valentin, 1840, p. 301). M. Milne Edwards has confirmed these facts by additional observations. In a special memoir inserted in Wiegm. Archiv. for 1837 (vol. 1. p. 241), M. Philippi has described two monstrosities in the genera Echinus and Spatangus. MM. H. de Meyer and Agassiz have also made known various monstrosities de- pending both upon deficiency and excess. Many lengthy memoirs have appeared upon the fossil Echinodermata, and a large number of species will be found described in a variety of general works upon geology and paleontology. But these works are wanting still in agreement, most of the authors differing in opinion as to the limits which should be assigned to genera. The genera which have been Ann, § Mag. N. Hist, Vol. ix. X 298 Prof. Agassiz on the Echinodermata. established subsequently to those of Miller among the Cri- noidee, and which are very numerous, would appear especially to call for revision. M. Alcide d’Orbigny has just under- taken this difficult task, in publishing his ‘ Histoire naturelle des Crinoides vivans et fossiles,’ a work which is based upon the critical examination of a very extensive collection of spe- cimens. It appears to me that the great merit of this mono- graph consists in the systematic arrangement of the genera, which are here distributed into natural families, whilst before we had them disposed without any method, but just as some might happen to follow upon others (péle-méle a la suite les uns des autres). Three parts of this interesting work have already appeared, which contain descriptions of the genera Guettardicrinus, Apiocrinus, and Millericrinus, of the family Apiocrinoidee. It is only to be regretted that M. d’Orbigny was not aware of the labours of M. Ch. Kénig, who, in his ‘ Icones sectiles,’ had long since established many genera, of which his Ceriocrinus, Pomotocrinus, and Symphytocrinus appear to me synonymous with those proposed by M. d’Or- bigny. M. L. de Buch has also published, in the Bulletins of the Berlin Academy, a critical investigation of the Sphe- ronites, a group of Crinoidee but little known, and whose structure had escaped the observation of his predecessors. This memoir is accompanied with beautiful figures. Pander has also given, in his ‘ Beytrage zur Geognosie des Russischen Reichs,’ some information upon these fossils, accompanied with figures. Count Munster, in a special memoir upon the fossil Crinoidee, inserted in the ‘ Acta nova Academ. Cesar. Leop. Carol. Naturee Curiosorum,’ t. xix.&c., has made known a new genus under the name Gasterocoma, and has given ex- cellent figures and admirable descriptions of a large number of species which had not been published in his great work on the fossils of Germany. In his ‘ Beytrage zur Petrefacten- kunde,’? Count Munster has also described many new Cri- noidee -of the transition period, among which are three new genera very remarkable for the disposition of the parts of the cup (calice), which, deviating from the quinary type so general in this group of animals, present numbers not found in the class Echinodermata. He calis these genera Diocrinus, Tria- crinus, and Asterocrinus. Count Munster has moreover, in the same work, established his genus Comaturella, and de- scribed many new species belonging to known genera. M. Herm. de Meyer has also established two new genera of Cri- noidee in the ‘ Museum Senkenbergianum’ for 1837, under the names [socrinus and Chelocrinus. M. Bronn has described the genus Ctenocrinus in the ¢ Jahrbuch fiir Mineral. u. Petret’ Prof. Agassiz on the Echinodermata. 299 for 1840; M. Steininger that of Halocrinites, in the eighth and ninth volumes of the Bulletin of the Geological Society of France, and in the first volume of the Transactions of this Society. MM. Quenstedt (Wiegm. Archiv, 1835) and Bronn (Jahrb. fiir Min. 1837) have described some new species of Encrinus from the muschelkalk; so that three species of this remarkable genus are now known. Mr. Phillips, in the second part of his ‘Geology of York- shire,’ besides describing many new species belonging to known genera, has established two new genera of Crinoidee from the coal-measures, to which he gives the names Euryocrinus and Gilbertsocrinus. The same writer has moreover described a great number of new Crinoidee belonging to the most ancient fossiliferous deposits, in the work of Mr. Murchison upon the Silurian system, among which we likewise find many new genera, which he calls Marsupiocrinites, Hypanthocrinites, and Dimerocrinites. The genus Ischadites of M. Konig (Murch. Sil. Sys., pl. 26, fig. 11) also belongs to the Crinoidee ; M.de Buch considers it to be identical with Spheronites aurantium. Under the name Scyphocrinites, M. Zenker has described a peculiar form in this class, in his *‘ Naturgeschichte der Urwelt.’ Lastly, M. de Hagenow has made known a new genus allied to Solanocrinus, which he names Hertha, and many new spe- cies of Crinoidee and Echinide. I shall allude again to the genera Glenotremites of Goldfuss and Ganymeda of Gray, because I have ascertained with cer- tainty that they have been established upon crinoidal axes belonging to the family of the Comatule, and consequently they ought to be suppressed. As regards the genera Ca- ryocrinites, Say, and Trianisites, Rafinesque, these are only known to me by name. The genus Marsupites of Mr. Mantell (Marsupium, Konig) is too well known to be mentioned as a recent acquisition to the science of paleontology. M. Romer, in his work upon the Jurassic fossils of the north of Germany, and in his second work upon the cretaceous fos- sils of the same country, describes « considerable number of new species amongst the Hchinites and Crinoidee. MM. Koch and Dunker have described many new Echinites in the Sup- plement to the first work, and M. Hinsinger those of the for- mations in Sweden in his ‘ Lethea Suecica,’ accompanied with excellent figures. The family of the Crinoidee ought especially to engage the attention of naturalists, inasmuch as, from the great variety of forms which it contains, it will furnish the clue to the deve- lopment of the entire class Echinodermata. These forms are xX 2 300 Prof. Agassiz on the Echinodermata. as it were the precursors of the Comatule, the Asteria, and the Echinites, the forms of which they have in some instances already appropriated. In this particular the most remarkable of all the genera is that which I shall describe under the name Echinocrinus, and which presents the perfectly spheroidal shape of the Sea-urchins, with the narrow ambulacra and long prickly spines of certain Cidarites. The analogy with these last is so striking, that detached fragments of this ge- nus (which is only found in the coal-measures and transition formations) have already actually been described as fragments of Cidarites. Such for instance, among others, are the Cida- ris Urit of Fleming, the Cidarites Nerei, Protet and priscus of Count Munster, and some other unpublished species. But little is known at present of the fossil Asterie and Ophiure ; a very small number only have been described, amongst which, as new species, I shall mention those which Mr. Williamson has published in Loudon’s ‘ Magazine of Na- tural History’ for 1836, and those from the collections of the Karl of Enniskillen and Sir Philip Egerton, described by Mr. Broderip in the fifth volume of the ‘'Transactions of the Geo- logical Society of London,’ without enumerating those which have been published by Count Munster, M. Goldfuss, M. Des Moulins and M. Agassiz. Their number however is very con- siderable, and I am glad to announce a work by Mr. Dixon which is to embrace all the British species. M. Frédéric Dubois of Montpereux, in the Atlas of his travels in the Crimea, &c., has commenced the publication of the magnificent collection of fossils brought by him from those countries by the issue of a large plate of highly interesting Echinites. In the fourth volume of the second series of the ‘Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences of Turin,’ De Sis- monda has published a complete monograph of the fossil Echinites of Piedmont, in which he describes a new genus un- der: the name Anaster, and a large number of new species ac- companied with good figures. M. Grateloup has likewise pub- lished a special memoir upon the fossil Sea-urchins which occur in the calcareous formations in the environs of Dax (Actes de la Soc. Lin. de Bordeaux, tom. viil.). M. Leymerie has described many interesting species of the genus Diadema in the third vol. of the ‘ Geol. Trans. of France.’ In the same work, vol. ii, M. Dujardin has also described a new Sea- urchin, from the chalk. M. de France has given, in the ‘ Dictionary of Natural Sciences’ of Levrault, numerous ar- ticles on the various genera of fossil Echinodermata, which make us acquainted with the condition of the science upon this Prof. Agassiz on the Echinodermata. . 301 subject at the period of the publication of this encyclopaedia. Notwithstanding that it embraces these fossils in their totality, the great work of Goldfuss on the Petrifactions of Germany will for a long time to come be a standard work for the study of fossil Echinodermata. In the ‘ Nouveaux Mémoires de la Soc. Helvétique des Scien. Naturelles’ (tom. il. et iv.), I have made known the fossil Echinites of Switzerland; my descriptions are accom- panied with figures which represent all the species under va- rious aspects. In this memoir I have established the follow- ing genera :—Hyboclypus, Pygorhynchus,Conoclypus, Pygurus, Hemicidaris, Acrocidaris, Acrosalenia, Tetragramma, Pedina, and Glypticus. In the first volume of the ‘ Mém. de la Soc. des Sc. Nat. de Neuchatel, I bad previously published, in part, a notice on the species of the Neocomian formations; since then, in my systematic catalogue of the casts of the fossil Sea-urchins in the museum at Neuchatel *, I published the essential characters of the new or little known genera which I have established up to the present time amongst the Echinites. The following genera are there characterized for the first time :—Towaster, Brissopsis, Nucleopygus, Globator, Caratomus, Amblypygus, Ibeliophorat, Amphiope, Encope, Echi- nopsis, Cyphosoma, Acropeltis, Celopleurus, Codiopsis, Podo- phora, and Acrocladia. The distribution of many series of these casts has given a publicity to my researches upon the Echinites, which I hope will aid in advancing our knowledge of these fossils, and facilitate the identification of specimens which as yet may not be figured or even described. I have also_put into circulation representations, as faithful as it was possible to obtain them, of a great number of unique speci- mens in a very perfect state of preservation. Since the publication, in 1838, of my first monograph upon the Echinodermata, the materials at my disposal have been greatly augmented. A number of new species in all the orders of the class Echinodermata have been entrusted to me by the numerous friends of science, who have considered that a most efficacious way of serving it would be that of bringing toge- ther, in the same publication, the greatest possible amount of data. I therefore esteem it both a duty and pleasure to re- cord here the names of all those who have acquired new claims to my gratitude, whether it be in the communication * Catalogus System. Ectyporum Echinodermatum Fossilium Musei Neo- comensis, 4to, 1840. + This genus has since regained the name Rotula, given to it more than a century ago by Klein, but of which no one had taken notice. 302 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on some new Coleoptera of original specimens, or in furnishing me with information upon the distribution or location of species. * * * [The length to which the list extends of British and Foreign Na- turalists to whom Prof. Agassiz expresses his obligations, precludes our giving it insertion.—Epzir. | Neuchatel, July. 1841. XXX V.—Descriptions of new species of Coleopterous Insects belonging to the Genus Apocyrtus, collected by Hugh Cuming, Esq., in the Philippine Islands. By G. R. WareruoussE, Esq., Assistant Secretary and Curator to the Zoological Society. Order COLEOPTERA. Sect, CURCULIONIDES. Div. Pacuyruyncurpes, Scho. Genus Apocyrtvs, Erichson. Apocyrtus Schenherri. Ap. niger; capite nota inter oculos et utrinque infra oculos; thorace nota transversa anticd, maculisque duabus lateralibus et superioribus, necnon elytris maculis viginti-duabus, splendidé cupreis, vel aureo-cupreis ; rostro rugoso-punctato ad basin transversim impresso, capite et rostro canaliculo longitudinali impressis ; thorace crebré punctato; elytris globoso-ovatis feré dupl6 thorace latioribus, distincté punctatis, punctis in striis irregu- laribus dispositis. Long. corp. 84 lin.; lat, 33 lin. This is the largest species of the genus I am acquainted with ; its elytra are less globose, and the thorax is larger in proportion to the elytra than in Ap. inflatus : the beautiful metallic spots with which it is adorned vary somewhat in hue, being in some specimens of a red- dish golden tint, and in others of a copper colour. ‘The rostrum is thickly punctured, and the punctures are more or less confluent; a transverse indented line separates the rostrum from the head, and a longitudinal impression runs from this line towards the fore-part of the rostrum, becoming gradually broader in front and terminating in a line with the insertion of the antenne. The heads rather spa- ringly punctured ; between the eyes is a small metallic spot (in some specimens wanting), and beneath the eye is an oblique mark formed of brilliant scales. ‘The thorax is very nearly equal in length and breadth, subglobose, and truncated before and behind; on the ante- rior margin is a transverse mark, about midway between the ante- terior and posterior margins; and towards the side of the thorax is a round spot, and just above the insertion of the femur is a broad oblong mark formed of brilliant scales; the surface of the thorax is rather coarsely punctured, and the punctures are many of them con- fluent. ‘The elytra are more than one-third broader than the thorax —sometimes nearly twice as broad—about one-third broader than long, ovate and very convex ; they are punctured, and the punctures belonging to the genus Apocyrtus. 303 are small, and for the most part arranged in striz : the spots, formed of scales, are either nine or ten in number on each elytron ; viz. two at the base, three arranged in a transverse line near the middle, a sixth larger oblong spot on the outer margin rather behind the middle of the elytra, and three on the apical half, one of which is very near the apex ; the second, above this and near the suture, is large, and has a tendency to divide into two spots, and in some cases joins the apical spot; the third is in a line with the last, and near the outer margin; the tenth spot, when present, is small, and placed between the two last-mentioned spots. On the meso- and meta- sternum are four spots, one near the insertion of each of the femora. 7 Apocyrtus Hopei. Ap. niger ; capite anteriore et rostro rugosis, lined squamosa longitudinali ; thorace subgloboso, distincté punctato, punctis plerdmque confluentibus, _ marginibus anticis et lateralibus, sic et maculis duabus supra squamis ob- sitis; elytris ovatis, thorace conspicué latioribus, irregularitér punctato- striatis, striis ordine gemino dispositis; ad basin et ad apicem lineis dua- bus longitudinalibus, fascia in medio, margine laterali, maculisque duabus subapicalibus é squamis effectis ; maculis notisque omnibus pallidé cupreis. Long. corp, 64 lin.; lat. 23 lin. This species is about equal in size to the Pachyrhynchus moniliferus, and approaches that insect in form; but the rostrum is rather nar- rower and longer, and the elytra are also more elongated. The markings are of a very pale copper colour, with a slight metallic hue ; they consist of a longitudinal mark between the eyes which extends on to the rostrum, terminating in a line with the point of insertion of the antenne ; aline borders the anterior margin of the thorax, and there is a patch of scales on the sides of the thorax just above the base of the femora; besides these two marks, are two spots on the upper surface : a moderately broad line runs parallel with and close to the outer margin of each elytron, but is interrupted towards and at the apical portion ; at the base is a longitudinal mark situated at a short distance from the suture; this mark is joined to the lateral band by a transverse line at the base of the elytra ; it terminates con- siderably short of a central transverse fascia: on the apical portion of the elytra are two other longitudinal marks, the foremost portion of which is thickened, and lastly there are two largish transverse subapical spots. Besides the scales which form these spots and mark- ings, are numerous minute scattered hairs on the hinder part of the elytra, as well as on the body beneath and on the legs. Apocyrtus ceruleonotatus. Ap. niger; capite macula inter oculos et utrinque infra oculos, thorace ma-. culis duabus et margine antico lateribusque, necnon elytris maculis sex- decim vel octodecim, czruleis; rostro rugoso punctato ad basin transver- sim depresso, capite et rostro canaliculo longitudinali impressis ; thorace globoso crebré at leyitér punctato; elytris oblongo-ovatis thorace parim latioribus distincté punctatis, punctis in striis irregularibus dispositis. Long. corp. 6% lin,; lat. 2% lin. This species is larger than the Pachyrhynchus moniliferus; the thorax is broader in proportion to the elytra, and the elytra are less 304 Mr. G.-R. Waterhouse on some new Coleoptera globose. The spots on the thorax and elytra are of moderate size, and most of them round. Apocyrtus ruficollis. Ap. piceus; thorace pedibusque rufescentibus; corpore subtis, genibus, tarsisque nigrescentibus ; thorace cum elytris quoad latitudinem feré co- equali. ‘Thorax punctatus, disco impunctato, ad latera subtuberculata. Elytra subseriatim punctulata. Long. corp. 64 lin.; lat. 24 lin. This species nearly resembles the Ap. profanus (Eschsch.) in form, but is proportionately rather. shorter and broader; it is much less coarsely sculptured than that species, and more than twice the size. Apocyrtus quadrulifer. Ap. niger ; thorace punctato; clytris parcé punctatis ; capitis nota suboculari, et rostri nota basali, necnon thoracis margine lineisque duabus longitudi- nalibus, pallidé czeruleo-viridibus ; sic et elytrorum lineas, areas quatuor- decim, plerasque quadratas, circumdantibus ; areis duabus suturalibus. Long. corp. 6 lin. ; lat. 3 lin. . . This species nearly resembles in size and form the Pachyrhynchus moniliferus, but the thorax is proportionately larger, and the elytra rather narrower. ‘The rostrum is thickly but finely punctured, and has a transverse groove behind, and a large oblong shallow impres- sion in front. The thorax is distinctly punctured, is margined by a greenish blue line, and has two longitudinal lines above, towards the sides. ‘The elytra are divided by longitudinal and transverse lines into numerous areas which are mostly of a quadrate form, or nearly . so: at the base of the elytra five of these areas (which are rather longer than broad) form a transverse series—the largest of these is the central one: in the middle of the elytra there is another trans- verse series of four areas; here, therefore, there is a line on the su- ture; behind these again are five more areas ; the central one is long, and extends to the apex of the elytra, and those adjoining on either side are nearly of a triangular form. The elytra are distinctly punc- tured, but the punctures are scattered, and, excepting near the su- ture, do not form longitudinal striz. The thorax is rather spa- ringly punctured ; the head is smooth behind ; but between the eyes are some indistinct confluent punctures ; in front of the eyes is a transverse impression, and on the basal half of the rostrum is a lon- gitudinal depression, which is dilated in front. The upper surface is rather finely punctured. Apocyrtus subquadrulifer. Ap. niger, thorace supra punctulato; elytris distincté punctatis ; capitis nota suboculari et rostri nota basali, necnon thoracis margine lineisque duabus metallicé viridibus, sic et elytrorum lineis areas undecim pleras- que oblongas circumdantibus; areis tribus suturalibus. Long. corp. 6 lin.; lat. 23 lin. This species is about equal in size to the Pachyrhynchus monilife- rus; the elytra are rather more elongated, and the thorax a trifle less swollen in the middle: it is rather less than the Apocyrtus quadrulifer ; the rostrum is narrower and more contracted at the base ; the thorax and elytra are also proportionately narrower. Like the insect last . mentioned, the present species has the elytra divided into rectan- belonging to the genus Apocyrtus.. © = 305 pular areas by lines formed of green or blue-green scales; but here the number and disposition of these areas are different, there being three central or sutural areas, whilst in P. guadrulifer there are but two: the total number of areas is eleven ; in P. guadrulifer there are fourteen. Between the eyes is a longitudinal groove, and imme- diately in front of them is a transverse furrow, through which the longitudinal groove is continued, and terminates about the middle of the rostrum. ‘he thorax is margined with green in front and at the sides, besides which there are two longitudinal green lines, one on each of the disc. The space between the two last-mentioned lines presents a few scattered small punctures, but towards and at the sides the thorax is smooth; the length and width of the thorax are very nearly equal; in front and behind it is truncated, and in the middle it is slightly swollen. The elytra are rather less than twice as broad as the thorax, convex, ovate, attenuated behind ; they are punctured, and the punctures are small, rather scattered, and have a tendency to arrange themselves into strie. Apocyrtus metallicus. Ap. eneus, nitidus, thorace maculis duabus superné, duabus anticé et utrin- que una; elytris distincté punctato-striatis maculis sexdecim ; his maculis é squamis viridi-aureis. Long. corp. 43 lin.; lat. 14 lin. The Ap. metallicus and Ap. levicollis are the only two species of the present genus I am acquainted with in which the ground-colour ‘of the body and legs is metallic: the colour is the same in both spe- cies, being sometimes of a bronze hue, and sometimes having a slight copper-like tint. Ap. metailicus is readily distinguished from Ap. le- vicollis by the elytra being adorned with smallish round spots, which are of a golden or golden green colour, the last-named species ha- ving narrow bands instead of spots. ‘The rostrum is rather finely punctured in front, has a longitudinal groove, and is separated from the head (which is almost destitute of punctures) by a very deep transverse channel. ‘The thorax is small compared with many of the genus, subglobose, truncated before and behind, glossy, and very di- stinctly punctured; on the anterior margin is a small spot on each side immediately behind the eye; on the lateral margin is another and larger spot, and there are two small ‘spots on the upper surface about midway between the anterior and posterior margins, and rather widely separated from each other. The elytra are of an ovate form, and distinctly punctato-striated : on each elytron are eight round or nearly round spots, viz. two at the base, two in a transverse line in the middle, three, also in a transverse line, behind the middle, and one near the apex: on the abdomen beneath are four spots. All these spots are formed by golden green scales. Apocyrtus levicollis. Ap. eneus, nitidus; rostro punctato, sulcé longitudinali, et ad basin pro- fundé transversim impresso; thorace subgloboso, indistinctissimé punc- ‘tulato; marginibus squamis cruleo-viridibus ornato ; elytris rotundato- ovatis, punctato-striatis, fasciis duabus et verstis apicem punctis duabus 806 Mr. G..R. Waterhouse on some new Coleoptera lineisque arcuatis duabus apicalibus czruleo-viridibus. Long. corp. 34 —44 lin.; lat. 14—14 lin. This pretty little species varies considerably in size, as will be seen by the above dimensions. ‘The rostrum is separated from the head by avery deep transverse impression, and has a distinct longitudi- nally impressed line ; in front it is convex, and rather thickly though finely punctured. The head is very sparingly punctured ; the thorax is subglobose and rather small; its surface is glossy and is very de- licately punctured ; the margins are adorned with blue-green scales. The elytra are convex, of an ovate form, and nearly twice as broad as the thorax, distinctly punctato-striated: at the base of each ely- tron is a transverse narrow blue-green band, on the middle is a se- cond band, and behind is a longitudinal mark running parallel with and at a short distance from the suture; joining this mark with the central transverse fascia is a curved line which runs nearly parallel with the outer margin of the elytron; in the area enclosed by the markings last described is a small round spot. The glossiness and smoothness of the thorax will serve to distinguish the present species from all others of the genus here described, excepting the Ap. metal- licus, which greatly resembles the A. levicollis, not only in this cha- racter, but in size, form, and -also in the sculpturing of the elytra : this however appears to be less strongly marked in the present than in the preceding species. Apocyrtus elegans. Ap. niger; rostro supra concavo; capite punctato, anticé lined transversa _impresso, et inter oculos strid longitudinali ; thorace subgloboso, tuberculis crebris partum elevatis obsito, supra maculis duabus, anticé et ad latera, squamis aureo-viridibus ornato; elytris subseriatim punctatis, maculis or- natis, his maculis, lateribusque elytrorum, aureo-viridibus. Long. corp. 54 lin.; lat. 24 lin. : Rather less than the Pachyrhynchus moniliferus; the thorax smaller, and the elytra proportionately more elongated. In size and disposition of the markings the present species resembles the Ap. gibbirostris ; — but in that species the thorax and elytra are very nearly equal in width, whilst in the A. elegans the thorax is considerably narrower than the elytra: here the upper surface is covered with glossy tu- bercles,.and there is a somewhat indistinct dorsal channel; in Ap. gibbirostris the thorax is coarsely punctured above. The rostrum is concave above, rather finely punctured, and sepa- rated from the head by a transverse groove: the head presents largish scattered punctures between the eyes, and has a longitudinally im- pressed line in the same part; beneath the eye is a small brilliant ‘ spot. The thorax is subcylindrical, but dilated in the middle; the anterior part is narrowly margined with brilliant scales, and there is a broad patch of these scales on each side, besides two smallish round spots on the upper surface: these are widely separated and situated not far from the hinder margin. ‘The elytra present a nearly ovate outline, but are somewhat pointed behind; they are distinctly punc- tured, and the punctures have a tendency to form themselves into lines. At the base of each elytron are two roundish spots of mode- belonging to the genus Apocyrtus. _ 807 rate size, one of which is near the suture, and the other joins the broad marginal band; in the middle are three spots arranged in a transverse line, but the two outermost of these are confluent and also join the marginal band ; behind the middle are three other spots, the outermost of which also joins the band just mentioned as well as an apical spot. All these spots are of moderate size, nearly round, and formed of brilliant golden green scales, and the broadish marginal band is formed of similar scales. Apocyrtus bifasciatus. Ap. niger; pedibus piceo-rubris, genibus tarsisque nigrescentibus ; capite inter oculos depresso. et canaliculo longitudinali super rostrum ducto ; rostro parcé punctato ; thorace globoso, rugoso-punctato; elytris oblongo- ovatis, thorace paulo latioribus, distincté punctatis: capite macula viridi inter oculos et utrinque infra oculos ornato ; thorace margine antico late- ribusque viridibus ; elytris distincté punctatis, fasciis duabus latis trans- versalibus ornatis ; his maculis fasciisque 6 squamis splendidé aureo-viri- dibus effectis. Long. corp. 6 lin.; lat. 24 lin. The two broad transverse fascie on the elytra of this species (one of which is at the base and the other behind the middle) are almost joined by a series of brilliant scales on the sides of the wing-cases ; there is a brilliant spot on each side of the abdomen between the middle and posterior pairs of legs. Apocyrius geniculatus. Ap. niger; femoribus, tibiisque rufis, genibus nigris ; capite punctato, sulco longitudinali impresso; thorace subgloboso, anticé posticéque truncato, supra punctis distinctis confluentibus impresso; elytris thorace distincté latioribus, ovatis, posticé pauld acuminatis, punctatis, punctis confluentibus atque subseriatis, posticé aliquant6 repenté contractis, ad suturam elevatis et tuberculo instructis, ad latera propé basin depressis. Thorax ad latera . squamis ceruleisadspersus. Elytra fascia non valdé distincta subapicali, lateralibusque ceruleis. Long. corp. 63—5 lin.; lat. 23—2 lin. This species much resembles the Ap. bifasciatus, but the thorax is narrower and more thickly and distinctly punctured, and the elytra are also more thickly punctured. As in Ap. bifasciatus, there is some- times a basal and subapical fascia on the elytra, but these in most specimens can scarcely be traced, and are never distinct ; they are formed by scattered pale blue scales. In one sex there is a tubercle on the hinder part of the elytra situated on the suture, and behind this tubercle is a brush of minute hairs. At the base of the elytra is a depression on each side, and a small hump near the humeral angle. The punctures of the elytra in some specimens are confluent and give a rough appearance to the surface; in others they are arranged into moderately regular strie. The legs are almost of an orange colour ; the coxee, knees, tip of the tibize, and the tarsi are black. Of the Ap. geniculatus very many specimens were brought home by Mr. Cuming: the A. difasciatus appears to be scarce or very local, the collection containing but one specimen. Apocyrtus picipennis. Ap. ater; femoribus tibiisque rufis, genibus nigris; capite parcé punctato, longitudinalitér impresso; rostro ad basin transversim impresso, rugoso, 308 Mr. G.R. Waterhouse on some new Coleoptera et squamis viridibus ornato ; thorace subrotundato, anticé posticéque trun- cato, rugoso, margine antico, lateribus, fasciaque transversd interrupta, squamis viridibus ornatis; elytris subrotundatis, rufo-piceis, irregularitér punctato-striatis, fasciis tribus, ¢ squamis czruleo-viridibus effectis, et ad apicem squamis quasi pulverulentis, Long. corp, 6—5 lin. ; lat, 23—24 lin. This may be distinguished from many of the genus by the more globose form of the elytra which are much broader than the thorax, and thus makes an approach to the Ap. znflatus ; in that species how- ever the disproportion between the width of the thorax and elytra is considerably greater. The head is distinctly punctured, the rostrum is thickly punctured and somewhat rugose ; an impressed line is ob- servable between the eyes, and this extends on to the rostrum, which is separated from the head by a broadish transverse groove. Between the eyes is a patch of blue or green scales, and these often extend on to the base of the rostrum. ‘The thorax is subglobose and rugose above ; on the anterior margin is a narrow line of scales, and on each side is a broader band, besides which there is a transverse fascia rather behind the middle, which is often interrupted in the centre. The elytra are one-third broader than the thorax or rather more ; they are distinctly punctured, and the punctures are arranged in somewhat irregular striz ; at the base is a transverse fascia, a second is situated in the middle, and a third between this and the apex; these fascize are rather narrow, and are sometimes of an ultramarine blue colour, and sometimes greenish ; the apex of the elytra is pow- dered as it were with scales of a similar colour. ‘The head, thorax, body beneath, knees and tarsi, and antennze are black ; the elytra and coxe are pitchy red, sometimes pitchy ; the legs are red. Apocyrtus gibbirostris. Ap. niger, nitidus ; rostro (in foem. ?) supra gibbere instructo; thorace feré rotundato, punctato, punctis confluentibus, margine antico, lateribus, fas- cidque interrupta, squamis viridibus ornatis ; elytris latitudine cum thorace feré cozequalibus, subseriatim punctatis, fasciis tribus plus minusve inter- ruptis, lateralibus, maculisque apicalibus é squamis aureo-viridibus effectis, Long. corp. 53 lin.; lat. 24 lin. Rostrum with two large deep foveze at the base, the remaining por- tion elevated and forming a large hump, the surface of which is nearly flat, thickly punctured, and of a triangular form, the base of the tri- angle being in front. Head rather sparingly punctured between the eyes and with a longitudinally impressed line. ‘Thorax broad and nearly globose, coarsely punctured, the punctures confluent; a nar- row margin of scales in front, a broader mark at the sides, and a transverse band rather behind the middle: this band is interrupted in the centre, and does not extend to the lateral margins. Elytra subovate, broadest rather behind the middle, and suddenly acumi- nated at the apex ; the width but little exceeding that of the thorax : the brilliant golden green scales with which the elytra are adorned are so arranged as tv form a broadish and somewhat irregular band at the base, and this joins a narrower band on the lateral margins ; in the middle is a transverse fascia which is sometimes broken up into spots, and behind the middle is a second similar fascia; towards belonging to the genus Apocyrtus. ' $809 the sides of the elytra is a longitudinal mark which is sometimes in- terrupted, and in other cases joins the two fasciz just mentioned ; be- sides these markings there is another line on each elytron which runs parallel with and near the suture ; this is joined at the apex of the elytra by the marginal band. The punctures of the wing-cases, which are not strongly marked, are arranged in striz, but these are not always very regular. I have before me a specimen agreeing with the above description, but which differs in being smaller and narrower, and in wanting the hump on the rostrum. I presume the specimen described is a female and the humpless one is the male. Other speci- mens agree with the last, excepting in having two spots on the up- per part of the thorax instead of the fascia: they have a broad sub- apical fascia on the elytra and a spot at the apex, but no longitudinal mark near the suture. Apocyrtus subfasciatus. Ap. ater, nitidus; capite nota inter oculos ; thorace globoso anticé posticé- que truncato, supra crebré tuberculato, tuberculis nitidis et parim ele- vatis, marginibus anticis et lateralibus sic et maculis tribus, viridibus; elytris latitudine cum thorace feré cozqualibus, subseriatim punctatis, fasciis tribus plerdmque interruptis, lateralibus, maculisque apicalibus aureo-viridibus, Long. corp. 54. lin.—4 lin. ; lat. 23—14 lin. In size and form, as well as in the markings, this species so closely resembles the Ap. gibbirostris, that I feel considerable hesitation in giving it a name, though it differs considerably in the sculpture of the thorax. In the gibdirostris the thorax is punctured, whilst the subfasciatus has the upper surface of the thorax covered with glossy and but little elevated tubercles. The head is punctured between the eyes, where there is moreover a longitudinally impressed line which is continued on to the rostrum and terminates nearly in a line with the base of the antenne; the upper surface of the rostrum is thickly punctured ; a patch of golden green scales is situated partly on the head and partly on the ros- trum. ‘The thorax is nearly equal in width to the elytra, has the an- terior and lateral margins adorned with green scales, besides which there are three spots on the upper surface, an oblong spot in the middle extending to the hinder margin, and one on each side about _ midway between the anterior and posterior margins. The elytra are rather short, nearly as broad at the base as in the middle; they are distinctly punctured, and the punctures have a tendency to form lon- gitudinal lines ; at the base of each elytron is a transverse band, which is often interrupted and broken into spots; in the middle of the ely- tra is a transverse series of spots, arranged one on each side near the suture, and a second near the lateral margin which is larger; near the apex of each elytron is a transverse mark which joins a longitu- dinal line situated near the suture and a band on the outer margin of the elytra, and thus encloses a triangular area ; these marks how- ever are sometimes broken up into spots, and the band on the outer margin of the elytra is often interrupted in parts. This appears to be a very common species in the Philippine slands, 310 Mr. G. R. Waterhouse on some new Coleoptera. Apocyrtus cuneiformis. - Ap. niger vel piceo-niger ; pedibus rubris, genibus tarsisque nigris ; corpore cuneiformi, posticé latissimo ; rostro crebré punctato, punctis confluenti- bus, sulco lato longitudinali et ad basin linea transversd, impresso ; capite linea longitudinali impresso; thorace mediocritér convexo in medio vix dilatato, supra rugoso vel subtuberculato ; elytris supra crebré punctatis, punctis confluentibus, subdepressis, ad basin quoad latitudinem vix cum | thorace cozqualibus; squamis minutis czeruleis corpore superiore ad- sperso. Long. corp. 53—44 lin. ; lat. 23—14 lin. The very small blue scales on the head, thorax and elytra of this insect are yery indistinct, requiring a lens to perceive them; they are moreover so scattered as scarcely to affect the general ground- colouring. : Apocyrtus subcuneiformis. Ap. rufo-piceus ; pedibus rufis, antennis, genibus, tarsisque nigris; corpore subdepresso, subcuneiformi ; thorace rugoso ; elytris supra depressis cre- bré subseriatim punctatis, tuberculo suturali versus apicem instructis, pilis vestito. Long. corp. 6 lin.—5 lin. ; lat. 3—2z4 lin. This species very closely resembles the A. cuneiformis, but differs in having the thorax proportionately narrower, the elytra broader, more decidedly depressed above, and the broadest part is more re- moved from the apex or nearer the middle than in that insect ; the colour is always pitchy red, whereas in A. cuneiformis it is usually black and rarely pitchy ; the sculpturing is rather less strong. Both species were abundant in specimens in Mr. Cuming’s collection, but they do not appear to have been collected in the same locality, some of Mr. Cuming’s bottles containing one species and some the other. In form the present and preceding species differ considerably from others of the genus: the thorax is less globose, being but little di- lated in the middle ; the elytra are of the same width as the thorax at the base; thence they gradually become wider—in cuneiformis the upper surface is subdepressed, and the widest portion is near the apex ; in subcuneiformis the upper surface of the elytra is nearly flat, but at the sides and apical fourth they suddenly drop as it were, and thus, viewing the insect from above, the rounded angle formed by the sudden descending of the parts mentioned constitutes the outline of the visible portion ; at the suture and towards the apex of the elytra is a blunt tubercle, which is furnished with a brush of small hairs. Apocyrtus rufescens. Ap. corpore rufescente ; pedibus rufis; antennis, genibus, tarsisque nigris thorace subcylindrico, in medio vix dilatato, tuberculis minutis crebré ob- sito; elytris convexis, in medio dilatatis, ad apicem acutis, crebré tuber- culatis, ad latera tuberculis majoribus in seriebus tribus vel quatuor ob- sitis. Long. corp. 53—43 lin. ; lat. 2}—24 lin. Closely allied to A. cuneiformis and A. subcunetformis, but distin- guished by the elytra being narrower, not depressed above ; the apical portion is more produced, and does not form a right angle with the dorsal surface, but descends gradually : the thorax is thickly studded with minute tubercles, and so are the elytra; on the sides of the Mr. Hinds on Climate, &e—Temperature. 311 elytra there are three or four longitudinal rows of tubercles of a larger size: on the suture and at the commencement of the apical third of the elytra is a tubercle which is provided with a tuft of small hairs: the body beneath is pitchy red ; the upper parts are of a dull red colour. In some specimens small scattered green scales are observable on the thorax and elytra, especially on the sides of the former, and at the base and on the sides of the latter. [To be continued. | XXXVI.—The Physical Agents of Temperature, Humidity, Light, and Soil, considered as developing Climate, and in con- nexion with Geographic Botany. By Ricuarp BrinsLEy Hinps, Esq., Surgeon R.N. [Continued from p. 189. ] HitrHerro our attention has been chiefly directed to the tem- perature of the air, under the influence of various circum- stances which regulate the amount. The direct heating power of the sun’s rays, or radiation, has not been noticed, though their action on the vegetable kingdom is often very important. As vegetation under usual circumstances is fully exposed to the effects of the seasons, the conditions to which it is liable, from the presence or absence of the sun, become a subject of important inquiry. Two different results follow radiation: the first is an increase in the sensible heat during the period of the sun’s rays above the horizon ; the second is a decrease of the same, due to a transfer of heat during the night from the earth, by what is called terrestrial radiation. By this the temperature around vegetation is capable of being very con- siderably reduced. I. Daily observation shows us the very great difference between the impression made on our feelings by the tempe- rature of the shade and the sun’s rays. The fact ascertained, it was next necessary to discover whether it obeyed any re- gularity in its relation to the temperature conferred on the air by the sun, and whether the progression of the seasons, time of the day, or the latitude, influenced this relation. The laws of its influence over the surface of the globe are now generally determined, and they become another confirmation of that omnipotent foresight by which the conditions of our nature were so distributed, that where at first view the abs- ence of an agent would convey a momentary impression of error or confusion, a little inspection will display a new agent . compensating for the absence of the other. Its relations in different latitudes are not perhaps what would 312 Mr. Hinds on Climate in connexion have been anticipated, since the power of the sun’s rays over the temperature advances inversely to the mean heat. In low latitudes, and with a high annual mean, the difference is less than in high latitudes where the annual mean is low. In Mr. Daniel’s Essays some observations on this subject are given which clearly prove this; and further, it appears, by some synchronous observations, that in the month of June, when the sun’s rays were 47° above the air at Bahia, they were 65° in England. Connecting these with the polar re- gions, it was found that in the month of March, when in England the power of radiation was 49°, at Melville Island it was 55°. As none of the details given show any regular pro- gression through different parallels, I obtained the materials for the following table; the observations were chiefly taken at sea, but always on board ship, where local influences are less numerous than on shore, and far more uniform. Latitude. ia ipo Pag Rae Difference. State of the Weather. .°) / (e) / Oo °o ° 0 26 | 77 30 | 80°5 | 1205) 4u Atmosphere clear and fine. 5 56 | 69 4/1] 80°5 | 111 30°5 Clear and fine: a fresh breeze. 8 8 | 66 29} 80°5 | 107 26'5 Cloudless: a moderate breeze. 13 61 4'5'4 ‘78 104 26 Ciear: a fresh breeze. 17 47 | 55 44 | 75°5 | 109°5| 34 Clear: a light breeze. 20 59 | 51 10 | 75 102 27 Clear: a light breeze. . 21 34 | 48 53 | 74:5 | 107 32:5 Clear and fine : a calm, 33 9/4810] 70 112 42 Clear: a light breeze. 44 27 | 68 41 | 66 138 52 Light fleecy clouds: a calm. 46 19 66 108 42 Clear: a moderate breeze. 46 19 77 119 42 Clear: nearly calm. In pursuance of the established fact, that many causes of climate are affected very similarly on elevation as in increa- sing the latitude, experiments were next made to ascertain the laws of radiation in the former. By those of Major Sa- bine, ata height of 4000 feet in the island of Jamaica, the force of radiation was 57°, being a much greater intensity than was observed at the level of the sea. Saussure observed that the power of the sun’s rays was greater in elevated sta- tions on the Alps than on the plains below. He at that time could not possibly appreciate the value that meteorologists would, at some subsequent period, place on such data; they were then but a fragment of the mass of irregular information which great and industrious minds are always accumulating, and which at some future day find an appropriation, whilst they also become an answer to the sceptic who is continually ex- claiming * ¢ui bono?” at every addition to our knowledge, with Geographic Botany.— Temperature. 313 Among the Himma-leh mountais Mr. Royle considers he has obtained results similar to those of Saussure, inferred. from the small deposition of snow in some localities, and its very speedy removal. By radiation*, then, the depression of temperature in high latitudes and on ascent is in some measure counteracted, since the temperature of radiation and of the atmosphere are inversely different. The former carries with it light, and its operation is powerful for a time, as in the polar regions, where its duration is considerable; and on high mountain chains, where it bursts through the rarefied air, and lasting only for a few hours disappears. Can any circumstances of difference in polar and alpine floras be traced to this? The most probable answer will be found in the duration of life among plants of the same species growing naturally in both regions, or by a comparison between two nearly allied species of the same genus. Any inquiry on this subject should be directed to the periods occupied from the fall of the seed to germination, thence to flowering, to defloration, and to the shedding of the seeds. Many circumstances are continually developed which must be attributed to the power of radiation, though, being so closely connected with light, the latter must be allowed a por- tion of the agency. Plants transferred from bright clear cli- mates lose much of the brilliancy of their colours in a clouded one like our own; many of our garden favourites have thus? * In experiments on radiation the bulb of the thermometer exposed to the sun’s rays is covered with cotton or wool dyed black, and the instru- ment is fixed on a surface admitting free movement in two directions, ver- tically and sideways, thus allowing the thermometer to be placed at all times to receive the direct rays. ‘lo ensure this more completely, a style about two inches long is attached, and when the surface is so moved that this throws no shade, the sun’s rays impinge directly on the covered bulb. The bulb may be covered with black paint, or any other substance of this colour, and it is to be regretted that a particular material has not been generally adopted. Another thermometer for comparison should be placed in an unexceptionable situation in the shade. The amount of radiation varies so rapidly from trifling causes, that it is very necessary to register the exact circumstances under which the experi- ments are conducted. A small difference in inclination—a passing cloud over the sun—the accession of a breeze—may make a difference of some degrees, Sometimes the thermometer is placed in a tube of white paper, which also has an important influence. I have also observed, that after a short exposure the mercury rises to a certain height and soon falls again two or three degrees. I believe this to be invariable, and must be attri- buted to the unequal expansion of the mercury and the glass at the com- mencement of the observation. It is therefore requisite to wait till the mercury has become settled to a certain point before the instrument is read off. No observations require more minute attention or a greater regard to circumstances than those of radiation. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. Y 314 Mr. Hinds on Climate in connexion but a remnant of their proper beauty. James, among the Rocky Mountains, observed the colours of the flowers to be surpassingly brilliant; the usual weather of the year was also proportionately transparent. With us, in clouded and dull summers, fruits and corn do not ripen with anything ap- proaching the rapidity they otherwise would. The whole progress of the fruit is thus aided or retarded, from the set- ting to perfect maturation, and on it the flavour of edible kinds entirely depends. No latitudes produce flowers of greater richness of colouring than the warmer temperate re- gions; here cloudless weather prevails a greater part of the year; an Italian sky has become proverbial, and such a sky is found in similar latitudes all over the world. From Chili and California many of our most favourite ornamental flow- ers have found their way; the former has lovely species of Fuchsia, Calceolaria, Lobelia, Escallonia, and Loranthus ; in California abound Clarkia, Eschscholizia, Vauchneria, some very glowing species of Ribes, Ceanothus, and Lupinus, and others equally attractive; indeed both abound in beautiful flow- ers. It would be needless to mention the vegetable beauties of the Cape of Good Hope which revel in a similar climate. II. Vegetation is subject to a proportionately reduced tem- perature from the agency of terrestrial radiation. Dr. Wells found, that a thermometer placed among growing plants fell during the night many degrees below the air, and on some occasions the difference amounted to as much as eleven degrees. Like solar radiation it is influenced by latitude and elevation, and seasons also have a controlling power. ‘The depressions arising from these have been accurately observed by Mr. Daniell for each month of the year in our own climate, and his results for a period of three years are contained in the table. Moan Mean {Maximum Month Aintadiabh depression {depression ° : from from of the Air.) -diation. | radiation. 7 dee Mean {Maximum Month minimum |@ePression | depression - from from of the Air.| -adiation. | radiation. °o January... 33°6 | 3:5 10 July i vniiess 521 3°6 13 February..| 33:7 | 4:7 10. |/August ...). 52°9 | 5:2 12 March ....| 37°7 55 10 {September} 50-1 5°2 13 Apih.s.... 42°2 6°2 14 |!\Oectober...| 42:1 4°8 11 May ...00. 45°1 4:2 13 November.} 38:3 3°6 10 June ...... 48°1 52 17 December.| 35:4 3°5 1] Here there is a depression surpassing that of Dr. Wells, and, from legitimate deduction, not yet at its excess; approach- ing nearer the poles there is every probability of its still taking a lower station in the summer months. Lower lati- with Geographic Botany.—Temperature. = 315 tudes are also found to have a smaller range of depression below the air, and the maximum in the tropics is perhaps not far from 12°. As the subject expands desirable observations rapidly become scarce, and though many reasons lead us to believe that terrestrial radiation increases on elevation, a soli- tary experiment alone supports it. Among a few observa- tions at the mountain-station in Jamaica, already mentioned, one has a depression of 18°. From these statements Mr. Daniell is led to infer, * that the same cause which obstructs the passage of radiant’ heat in the atmosphere from the sun, opposes also its transmission from the earth into space.” Latitude then cannot be refused the first station in the dif- fusion of heat; as it is increased, or as the path of the sun is distanced on the surface of the earth, temperature progress- ively decreases. Such is the general feature of its distribu- tion; but every spot possesses a number of circumstances continually active in modifying it. These vary so much in different places, that it becomes necessary, in estimating the temperature of any one place, to take an assemblage of cir- -cumstances into consideration which perhaps hardly occur in any other. Europe naturally becomes with us a standard for comparison as to climate with other portions of the globe ; but Europe is situated among a union of favourable influ- ences, which render its climate milder than that of any other large surface of land: hence deductions made from it will be too favourable. Besides, from the mildness of the Kuropean climate, errors are daily made as to the qualities of others; they are hastily condemned as severe and extreme, when in all probability only a fair mean of the general climates of the earth. Comparisons of this kind will establish no similarity ; their chief value and importance consists in eliciting facts. Resemblances have long been. sought between the northern and southern hemispheres, but every inquiry has only added fresh proofs that a different distribution of temperature takes place, such as might be expected from the relations of land and water, elevated lands, and other minor causes. The mean annual heat also does not explain what these are, nor the range of their influence; a deeper search is necessary to ob- tain only a small acquaintance with them. Differences have been traced between the diffusion of heat in the old and new world. North America is a country sub- ject to a climate of extremes; it has been described as com- bining a tropic summer with an arctic winter. The distri- bution of its heat is very different to that experienced in Ku- rope; an estimate from the thirtieth to the sixtieth parallels gives for every ten degrees the relative proportions of 3, 9, Y2 816 Mr. Hinds on Climate in connexion 12, 16 in favour of the old world; this however informs us little. Dr. Mitchell during many years investigated this sub- ject; his results announce a difference in the mean tempera- tures, which would require a compensation of 15° of latitude. Nothing could display more completely the futility of com- parisons; it is only by a knowledge of local circumstances combined with latitude that satisfactory information can be attained useful for practical results. Il. Humuipiry. On reviewing the processes continually going on in the kingdoms of nature, we cannot fail to observe an apparent vast consumption of material ; but this consumption is only apparent. Following an element of a body in the state of de- composition, we shall soon find it under a new shape, and perhaps ere long again forming a constituent of a similar substance to that it first started from. The various tribes of quadrupeds, insects, and birds are constantly drawing large quantities of food from the vegetable kingdom ; at first view it seems to disappear, but it is only undergoing one of the changes in the circle of its utility. Taking man as an in- stance: a large portion of his food is soon cast off by the respiration, by the skin, or in the excrement; the small quantity appropriated to the growth and support of the body is only detained something longer in its course. In time even his body has run its race, and when decomposition sets in, the constituents, dissolved in air, hasten to new uses ; perhaps to give beauty to the gem, or strength to the pride of the forest. Again, the ore cast into the smelting furnace loses bulk and weight; escaping in an aérial torrent, and diffusing itself over the habitations of men and their fields and gardens, it is greedily seized on as the food of organized beings. Not a particle escapes, every molecule has its use; and we do not strain the truth when we assert, that since the world was made habita- ble for man and clothed with living things, not an atom has been added to or taken from our globe. The chemist, assisted by his noble science, can often produce surprising combina- tions and disunions, but is as unable to destroy or generate the smallest particle of matter, as the mechanic is to produce ower. Such reflections naturally arise on tracing Humidity through the different conditions it is destined to occupy. Its changes are developed in a circle, and wherever the investigation is commenced it will ultimately lead us back to the starting-point. It is first raised from the surface of the globe, both the aque- ous and terrestrial portions, and occupies the atmosphere in with Geographic Botany.— Humidity. 317 an insensible state. Next, by changes occurring here, it as- sumes a visible form and returns to the earth as rain. Again, whilst on the earth it has to fulfil a variety of uses, furnishing all organized beings with moisture, feeding especially the vege- table kingdom with large quantities, supplying numerous lakes and rivers, and multitudes of streams in all parts of the world, the greater number of which descend to the ocean. Thus it happens that the ocean and organized matter are the last stages in its migration, and hence the chief sources of evaporation. Humidity or moisture may then be conveniently studied under three conditions ;—I1st, in the state of vapour; 2nd, as rain and dew; 3rd, in its subsequent distribution on the earth. I. The different parts of the globe, according to their structure and investments, furnish sources for the production of aqueous vapour; from the proponderance of the ocean over the dry land, and the situation of its deep gulfs and bays along the coasts of the large continents, it is undoubtedly the most fruitful source, and must be always regarded as the chief origin, of the insensible vapour suspended in the atmo- sphere. A vast quantity is daily absorbed when the tempera- ture is moderately warm, for a surface with a diameter of eight inches, exposed on a summer’s day, has been found to lose as much as six ounces in twenty-four hours; and when the surface becomes much increased the accumulated amount is truly surprising. After the ocean, tracts of country covered with forests yield the greatest quantity, for trees are continually taking up and giving out moisture, and the amount they con- tribute will be in proportion to the luxuriance of the vegeta- tion, the temperature being the same. When the condition of a territory is such as to yield little or no vegetation, the vapour it contributes to the-atmosphere is very trifling, and in some of the herbless tracts and deserts it would be a difficult task to appreciate the very small portion resigned. The excessive aridity of the air over the African deserts has been a source of great annoyance to travellers, who complain of the dryness and roughness of the skin occasioned by it, and also of a very sensibly increased thirst from the rapid transpiration in an atmosphere greedy of moisture. Owing to evaporation, the extremes of temperature are modified to favourable conditions ; great heats are kept under by the quantity of caloric becoming latent in the transition from the sensible to the insensible state; and lest such an enormous evaporation should take place to disturb the pro- per equilibrium in nature, it has been so ordered, that in pro- portion as the air becomes loaded with vapour, vaporization proceeds with less energy. In the extremes of low tempera- ture the former circumstances become reversed, and are thus 318 Mr. Hinds on Climate in connexion a further compensation ; when the temperature is sufficiently depressed the insensible moisture is precipitated, and the caloric necessary to its existence as an aériform body is given out and becomes sensible. The relative proportion of moisture in the atmosphere varies with circumstances ; temperature has a powerful influence over the quantity suspended, and a change in the amount occurs as the temperature alters through the seasons. Alterations of temperature in small intervals of time have but a trifling effect, and it is rather the mean heat of a reasonable portion that it follows. Between the conditions of the vapour of the atmosphere and the circumstances of evaporation there are such points of resemblance, that an estimate of one puts us in possession of the chief features of the other. The mean tem- peratures have been seen to advance as the latitude is dimi- nished, or as the equator is approached, and the activity of evaporation and the quantity of suspended vapour proportion- ately increase from the poles to the equator. The higher the mean temperature, other things being the same, the greater is the force of evaporation, and necessarily the quantity of moisture suspended in the air. Not many data have hitherto been obtained as to the amount of evaporation in different latitudes, or under a variety of mean temperatures. To supply this deficiency a table has been calculated for the rate of evaporation for every 5° from the equator to the pole; it has been constructed on the ad- mission that the deposition of moisture takes place in England at 6° below the mean temperature. It is not improbable that the mean point of deposition below the mean temperature varies very little in different latitudes, and that a depression of 6° below the mean will be nearly as correct for the tropics as for our own climate. - . a . 5 . * = me by ‘ A — L t Pee) E t Bs 3 ae fs Py ig in : gs g ale big a in : Be 3 \Temp 5. a 3 Temp. bin 5 Daily. | Yearly.| A= Daily. | Yearly.| A>g 0/85 |-18938] 69-10 ll 50 |58-3|-073121 2671! 4-18 5 | 84-6) 18717} 6832} 78 |] 55 | 48-8|-06327) 23-09) 3-62 10 | 83-4) 18085; 66°01} 2°31 || 60 | 44:5) :05517| 20°14) 2°95 15 | 81:4) -17073| 62:32 | 3-69 || 65 | 40-6) 04860] 17-74] 2-40 20 | 78°7| °15786) 57:62} 4-70 || 70 | 37-3) -04362) 15°92] 1-82 25 | 75-4} 14123) 52°32] 5-30 || 75 | 34-6) -03990| 14°56] 1-36 30 | 71:5) °12769| 46:61 | 5-71 || 80 | 32-6) -03732) 12°62) -94 35 | 67-2) 11222) 40:96 | 5-65 || 85 | 31-4) 02584) 13°09} +53 40 | 62-7| 09785) 85°72] 5°24 || 90 | 31 | -03537| 12°91 18 45 |58 | 08463) 30°89] 4-83 This table is theoretical, and constructed on the foundation with Geographic Botany.— Humidity. 319 of one solitary observed fact, for a variety of situations where the progression is by no means regular ; it can only be re- garded as an approximation, in the absence of regular obser- vations. Several remarks might be elicited by it, but it will be sufficient to place by its side a few observed results on the same subject. At Cumana....Lat. N. 10° 28! the annual evaporation is 100 inches. Guadaloupe , 15 59 Jo OF 4315, Toulon...... wy 48+. 7 * 40.-.5, PAPIBL, orreaenionin Naa O mt A aa BOWGON saa ee) ee ne Be ss I am especially desirous of drawing a line between the theoretical deductions of the closet and the real. practical results of observations. Without disparaging the labours of those who have devoted their time and abilities to the construc- tion of theoretical tables, we must add, that a close adherence to them is more likely to lead to false than correct conclusions. There is a “fatal facility” about the formation of some of them in leading us to important conclusions, that it is not surpri- sing we have tables for mean temperatures, and the annual amounts of evaporation, rain, &c., for every latitude from the equator to the poles, in many of which we are greatly deficient in any practical observations whatever. The use of them con- sists in offering approximations to what is the real condition of the subject when observations are wanting, and this is their chief advantage ; no modifying circumstances are taken into consideration, yet in the case of rain we can select a parallel of latitude where in one. part of it rain never falls, and in another a dry day is an unusual luxury. It cannot even be allowed that some of these tables furnish a correct mean for any given latitude, after setting aside all those circumstances which are continually combating a regular progression. If they did so far unfold circumstances they would prove of the greatest possible use, as henceforth every modifying agent could have its proper value applied. In England some pains have been taken to estimate the amount of evaporation during the different months of the year, and to discover their several evaporating powers. Mr. Hoyle and. Mr. Dalton used a method which is perhaps as little objec- tionable as any for this purpose is likely to be; it is thus de- scribed :— A cylindrical vessel of tinned iron, ten inches in diameter and three feet deep, having tubes soldered to it for conveying off into bottles the water which is received, was buried in the ground in an open situation, and then filled with gravel, sand and soil; the whole being covered with grass and other vegetables, it was allowed to receive the rain, and 320 Mr. Hinds on Climate in connexion to suffer evaporation from the surface as in ordinary circum- stances. A register was kept of the quantity which made its — way through the soil into the bottles; and a rain-gauge of equal surface was placed close by for the sake of comparison.” The results obtained by this instrument are given in the fol- lowing table. Water through the two repent Mean ovcboneton operon Month. 1796. | 1797. | 1798. Mean.) Rain. | ¢rom Ground. | from Water. January...... 1:90 | -68 | 1:77 | 1-45} 2-46 1-01 1°50 February ...{ 1:78 | -92 | 1-12 | 1-27) 1-80 53 2-00 March ....... 43 07 |. °84 | +28 90 62 3°50 DIAL sc pamess pe ay) 30 | -18 | -23| 1-72 1:49 450 MEM i Rotors es 2°03 | 2°44 01 |1:49] 4-18 2°69 4°96 June ...... 17 73) — 30| 2-48 2°18 4°49 DUG Neteen cde 15 03} — 06] 4-15 4-09 5°63 August ...... 50 | +17} 3-55 3°38 6:06 September ... 98 *33| 328 2°95 3°90 October ...... ‘68 23} 2-90 2°67 2°35 November ... 1°04 | 1:59 | *88} 2°98 2°05 2°04 December...) +20 | 3°08 | 1°88 | 1°72} 3°20 1°48 1:50 6°88 | 10:95 | 7°39 | 8°41] 33°55 o*l4 44°43 RAM Gensides 30°63 | 38°79 | 31:26 Evaporation | 23°75 | 27-84 | 23-87 The figures expressthe quantities in inches and hundredths; in the first three columns the amount of the water found in the bottles attached to the cylinder is expressed ; deducting this from the rain found in the gauge, the remainder becomes the quantity evaporated. The next three columns contain means which are interesting sources of comparison ; for the same reason the last column is also valuable, as enabling us to compare a surface of water unprotected by covering with the condition of the water in the experiment. Raised from the earth by evaporation, the aqueous vapour mixes with the atmosphere and becomes henceforth a consti- tuent portion ; its existence here is entirely dependent on the presence of a certain temperature, and the higher this is, the greater will be the quantity of moisture found suspended : hence occurs, trom the equator to the poles, a progressive de- crease of the aqueous vapour. ‘The circumstance observed here on a large scale also happens with the progression of the seasons: as the temperature fluctuates the atmosphere holds in solution a greater or less quantity of vapour; changes occurring rapidly in short periods of time are not what affect it so much as the general mean of the season, of the month, with Geographic Botany.— Humidity. 321 or even of the day. In the latter months of our summer a good deal of rain falls, and this is greater as the previous weather has been warm, and the air become saturated with moisture ; the heat of the summer has favoured the absorption of an unusual quantity of aqueous vapour, and ultimately the air becomes so saturated that a small decrease of temperature produces precipitation. The quantity of vapour dissolved in the atmosphere from the equator to high latitudes is very regular in its progression, and we are fortunate in being enabled to maintain this posi- tion by a reference to an extensive series of observations, in the Appendix to Beechey’s ‘ Voyage,’ from a small portion of which the next table has been compiled. A period has been selected when the continuity of the observations was very little broken, and which embraced high latitudes in both hemispheres ; the whole were obtained in the Pacific Ocean. Weight of Tempe-| Dew. | Vapour ina Date. Latitude. rature | point, | cubic foot of Winds. of Air, Air. ° ° bir O grains. Sept. 25 to Sept. 29| 55—508.) 42°6 | 36°7 2°9141 Westerly Sept. 30 to Oct. 1) 50—45 | 45°8 | 44: 3°7365 and Oct. 2to Oct. 3) 45—40 | 49:48| Precipitation. {| South-west. Oct. 4to Oct. 8] 40—35 53°31] 47: 4:0767 aie Nov. 1lto Nov. 6] 385—30 | 62:59| 53°6 5:0368 Southerly. Nov. 7 to Nov. 24] 30—25 69°8 | 65°6 7°2185 nah Nov. 25 to Dec. 5| 25—20 “40° 1 709 8°8272 |S.E. trade. Feb. 1 to April 25 20—15 80-211 77-9 | 10°4883 4-2 April26 to May 1 15—10 81°34] 78:4 | 10°3293 May 2toMay 5| 10— 5 | 82-60] 79:8 | 9-6099 May 6to May 8 5— 0 | 80°9 | 78:5 | 10-9278 May 9 to May 11 O— 5N.| 80°24} 79: 10°9945 May 12 to May 14 5—10 78°85} 78 10°6745 S66 May 15 to May 16] 10—15 | 78-97] 75°5 | 9°8837 |N.E. trade. May 17 to May 18 15—20 78:2 11:73" 9:°2363 row May 19 |SandwichI*.| 77-29| 70-5 81921 June 8toJune 12| 25—30 75°49] 66:3 9°3803 June 13 to June 18 380—35 70°82) 67°7 7°3920 bie’ June 19 to June 21] 35—40 73°27 | 70°5 8°5171 Variable. June 22 to June 24] 40—45 56°33 | 59- 6°6082 hae g June 25 to June 27| 45—50 45°12} 45: 3°7480 July 6 to July 1l 50—55 47°10| 47-4 4-1933 July 12 to July 15 55—60 45°97} 46°5 4:0713 July 16 to July 19 60—65 43°52) 43°6 3°6972 fix Aug.19 to Aug. 26} 65—70 | 40:01| 88:7 | 3-1634 West. These results are obtained from a number of daily observa- tions, meaned to every 5° of latitude, from which the weight of vapour has been calculated. The whole of the details offer much material for comparison ; they include a period of four 322 Mr. Hinds on Climate in connexion years, and comprehend an extensive range of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, with numerous ports and harbours on their coasts. On running the eye over the column containing the weight of vapour, it is not a little surprising to see the regu- larity with which the amount of the atmospheric moisture in- creases on approaching the equator. From the high latitudes of both hemispheres the same occurs, nor can we perceive that the trades make any notable difference. The value of this table over the manufacture of the closet isimmense ; here we have a set of results such as they really were at a certain period of the year, and in every probability conducted with such a.regard to correctness that implicit confidence can be placed in them. Such numerous details induce us to draw comparisons between the circumstances of humidity in the two oceans, and one at the equator will be among the most interesting. Temp. Dew- point. Grains. Atlantic, June 79°°6 {3° 9°8560 Pacific, May 80°24 79 10°9945 ye April 73 75 9°8550 The two first are from Captain Beechey, and are his means for 5° north of the equator ; the latter I observed myself with- in a few miles of the equator some ten years afterwards. As it was not unlikely that further comparisons might show me some practical results of the influence of the seasons, I se- lected another parallel, but only for the reasons that it was frequently traversed, and that it approached closely the lati- tude of England. Like the former, they are a set of means for a series of 5° in the North Pacific Ocean between 50° and 55°. The similarity in the months and the difference in the sea- sons are marked. Temp. Dew-point. Grains. 1826 July -47°10 47°4 4°1933 3» October 44°9 40°7 2°4131 1827 July 49°12 48°] 40161 -5, October 40°36 35° 2°7697 The atmosphere over such a surface as the ocean may rea- sonably be considered as having more aqueous vapour in solution than will be found elsewhere in the same latitude, and on this account the observations for any particular spot may be regarded as nearly the excess for that season of the year. The humidity of the air over the ocean being so great, every wind which blows from it towards the land carries with it a quantity of vapour; and wherever sea-breezes blow over elevated land, this is rendered visible; for the atmosphere, previously clear and transparent, becomes on its accession obscured with light clouds, and the surface of the high land with Geographic Bolany.— Humidity. 323 supports wreaths of them which mcrease during its conti- nuance. The aspects exposed to those refreshing winds, the Trades, display a superiority in their vegetable productions, arising from the moisture they are constantly conveying; the group of islands called the Galapagos, notwithstanding their position, are not remarkable for fertility, but those situations exposed to the trade-wind surpass the other parts of the islands in the vigour of their vegetation. For some time it was an admitted circumstance, that the quantity of aqueous vapour diminished in a regular progres- sion from the earth upwards. But Mr. Daniell was led, first of all, he tells us, by theory, and subsequently by direct ex- periment, to consider that this was not the real state of its suspension. ‘The chief experiments on which he founds his conclusions were made in an aéronautic voyage in the month of September. On attaining an elevation of 9890 feet the dew-point was exactly the same as at the surface of the earth; and on ascending 1100 feet higher, the dew-point had fallen thirty-two degrees. Some further observations were made at elevations, the greatest little more than half the height of this, and as none of them reached the point of sudden depression, they are destitute of the chief part of their interest. Consi- dering this as the correct view of its conditions, we have nothing to add as to the circumstances connected with its regular diffusion. II. The aqueous vapour of the atmosphere is continually meeting with circumstances which disturb its suspension ; depressions of temperature are of course the most usual, and will be frequent in proportion as it approaches saturation. It is evident that changes of temperature occurring near the surface of the earth are soon propagated through the atmo- sphere, as is shown in some of the causes influencing the for- mation of dew. Howard was of opinion that rain was gene- rally produced by electrical action, and many of the instances which externally seem to produce rain by decreasing the temperature, are capable of being attributed to alterations in the electrical conditions. On the contrary, dews are deposited solely by wanting a sufficient temperature to maintain their suspension. The agents influencing this, and the circum- stances attending the deposition, are among the most inter- esting, and associated by all with the name of Dr. Wells. It has been shown that the diminution of temperature has not its origin in the air, since: by terrestrial radiation the dif- ferent substances on the surface of the earth become cooled below the atmosphere, and as portions of it come in contact, they part with that moisture which the diminished tempera- 324 Mr. Hinds on Climate in connexion ture does not permit them to suspend. These two modes of precipitation will be best considered separately. 1. Rain falls in proportions having such a relation with the latitude that the circumstances of the latter considerably affect it; but local causes have a great influence over the amount. In countries situated in high latitudes and com- posed of high lands, the amount of rain and rainy days is great. In the mountainous districts of the north of our island rainy days are very numerous, and in some parts of Norway they are still more so. About Cape Horn, Staten Land, and the islands of the surrounding seas, the number of rainy days is very great, and it is rare to see a day on which some rain does not fall. At Sitka or New Archangel, the prevalence of rainy weather is such, that a Russian officer is induced to say there is perhaps not a spot on the whole earth where so much rain falls; a dry day, he adds, is a perfect rarity. I have been enabled to form an opinion of this delectable climate, and during a visit the rainy days were to the fine as thirteen to three, and this the residents regarded as unusually fine weather. Mountainous countries generally are favourable to the fall of rain, particularly in high latitudes; and we are not surprised at this, knowing that the progressive decrease of temperature occurs more rapidly for given heights than in lower ones. Our own island does not contain any very great mountain ranges, but those we have influence the quantity of rain; at Kendal, where the surrounding land is elevated, ob- servations through twenty years give the mean annual fall of rain as 53°94 inches, and in London, for a period of forty years, the annual rain was only 20°68 inches. In low latitudes also there are instances of almost constant rains. On the coast of Africa, between 4° and 10° N. lat., there is a range of surface which, from local causes, is subject to variable winds and very frequent storms and showers, on which account it has been called ‘The Rains.’ In a similar latitude -on the west coast of South America is the Bay of Choco; here for ten months of the year rain falls almost daily, leaving vegetation a short repose of two months of dry weather ; the flora of this region is unsurpassed for its dense- ness and magnificence. A reversed condition of climate as to rain is equally preva- lent; in many places and districts a rainy day would be looked on as a novelty and a blessing, whilst there are others where the habits and customs of the people are so directed by its absence, that a heavy shower would completely disconcert them, and bring incalculable mischief. In some parts of the world are extensive level surfaces removed from with Geographic Botany.— Humidity. 325 the ocean, and left by nature destiture of moisture; over them the atmosphere is dry to an extreme, and they are free from changes of temperature, cold winds, or currents of air ; as instances may be mentioned the large deserts, as those of Africa, Egypt and Arabia, and the great central desert of Asia. The sandy plains or karroos, which stretch to the north from the Cape of Good Hope, rarely witness rains, whilst so greedy are they of moisture, that rivers are absorbed by their sands. Exposure to a wind constantly blowing from one direction is another source of freedom from rain; in the trade-winds rain is said to be seldom seen, they being usually regarded as having a tolerable exemption. Though rain is certainly not so frequent here as elsewhere, yet, in crossing the trades at several different periods, I have generally witnessed occasional showers, and these sometimes heavy, whilst they also occur more commonly in the night. They are more frequent in the Pacific than in'the Atlantic Ocean, and when prevailing, the force of the breeze will be observed to fluctuate a good deal. To the same cause is attributable that remarkable absence of rain from a surface of territory in Peru, of which Lima forms a portion: the garuas which supply the soil and vegetation with moisture resemble dense mists; during the night and early part of the day they fall heavily, and a person exposed to them is soon thoroughly wetted, whilst they convey much chilliness to the feelings. This fine precipitation of moisture sometimes borders very closely on fine rain; it commences about 2 A.M., and is often very heavy early in the morning; perhaps during the day the sun succeeds in penetrating it, but this is by no means always the case. This kind of weather continues from May to August, and the thermometer ranges from 60° to 70°, which is cold and chilly compared with the remainder of the year. Instead of the garuas, were the city of Lima to be visited for any length of time by the rains usual in its latitude, many of the buildings would be completely destroyed; for aware that they are not subject to rains, the inhabitants occupy houses built of a material very like hardened mud, and all the houses being flat-topped would retain much of the rain that fell. So great indeed is the usual torrent of rain in the tropics, that in those towns exposed to them the houses are supplied with a number of shoots to carry off the water with all possible speed ; and as it often happens that these are decorated with fantastic co- lours, the perspective of the streets is unique to a foreigner. Ulloa has laboured to prove that the rarity of rain in the re- gion of the garuas is attributable to the constancy of the south 326 Mr. Hinds on Climate in connexion wind. At the season of the year, he observes, when the garuas prevail, avery light north wind is frequent*. Thunder and lightning are equally rare with the rain. The extent of country subject to these features lies between the Cordilleras and the coast, to the north is limited by the bay of Guayaquil, or 4°S. lat., and to the south extends through Peru into Chili; in the latter it gradually merges into the climate of the lati- tude, but even at Valparaiso its influence has not entirely ceased ; for though this place has its rainy season, it is of short duration, and the dews are exceedingly heavy. Within the limits of the garuas there is a remarkable ab- sence of the larger vegetation; trees in a natural state are rare, the usual woody plants being bushes; I do not mean to trace any connexion between the two, for I could never dis- cover any—it is merely a coincidence. Even at Valparaiso, the only trees to be seen growing, as planted by nature, are a few of Coces Chilensis in some of the more sheltered valleys. That large trees will grow is very evident from the number of fruit-trees in many places, and from the fine avenues which shade the roads and promenades about Lima; still this tract of coast, it must be allowed, has been left by nature aden- drous. The atmosphere of the trades is so nearly saturated, that slight circumstances are sufficient to cause a precipitation ; frequently the groups of islands in their influence can pro- duce such a depression as to bring on heavy showers; but islands in the trades are not usually exposed to much rainy weather. In one of the group of the Sandwich Islands, I was able to witness the gradual formation of clouds and rain after a long interval of dry weather; the breeze blew rather on the end of the island and over its whole length, which is intersected by a number of beautiful valleys; the most elevated portion was to windward, and around this light vapours col- lected, gradually thickening into clouds, which, swept by the breeze over the mountain heights, soon became too heavy for suspension, and fell in heavy but partial showers; so that whilst one portion of a lovely valley was glowing under the full blaze of the sun, another was drenched in rain. it was curious to observe how very regularly the deposition increased to leeward; the valleys in this direction received a good deal more rain than those more to windward, and are looked on as proportionately more fertile, and property in them is more valuable. As the circumstance was soon very evident, it be- came of practical importance in making botanizing excursions, and a look at the weather and the summit of the island de- * Ulloa, Voyage to South America, vol. ii. p. 67. with Geographic Botany.—Humidity. 327 termined whether the day was to be spent in the valleys to leeward or to windward. But even in this group the islands have peculiarities confined to each; though rain had been rare. on the above island, Oahu, on visiting shortly after the island of Taui, we learnt that for the last six months, in one part of it, not a single day had occurred without some rain. In all of the islands the vegetation is rich and fascinating, but the portion of Taui subject to such plentiful rains surpasses the others. Another instance of the rare occurrence of rain is men- tioned by Sir Francis Head as taking place at Uspallata, but is not to be easily accounted for. Uspallata is famed for its silver-mines, and is also the last inhabited station on the eastern side of the Cordilleras, on the Mendoza road; around is nothing but desolation and barrenness ; those who have lived there never saw rain, and other facts are mentioned showing its usual absence. Notwithstanding these illustrations, the fall of rain in most countries has a relation to the latitude, and decreases in amount as we recede from the equator. The manner in which this occurs will be best seen in a tabular form. ? Mean Rain No. of days Place. Latitude. |Temperature.| in inches. | ©n which rain fell, Para. . » « | 1 28N). 84 80 Ceylon ....-... RSA coh y vrs cates 84:3 Cumana . . 10 28,, 81:2 8 Grenada Island . Ee Pe i Was vans 112 St. Doniape’ !)) (PEVS he kkk 150 Vera Cruz .. |19 12,, 77:7 63°8 Caloyttartivicnsat: | as) Aeap Rieae hy teen 81 or Madeira . . K Ys Y 65 31 73 New South Wales Sealer, FU +}. accuse 107 Rome's! ". °"% 41 54N. 59°5 39 117 Pia ed i ae RR ON 715 45°6 él Florence. iis p48; Fig [ict caer 31-6 103 Venice ..\<..,« BD DE dh: cnwewe 36 sce Columbia River 45 30,, 54 — 63-6 157 Great St. Bernard |46 Fs a 7 63 bn Geneva . . . |46 12,, 50 42°6 Paris... ... 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T 5 “<4 ea 4 “UIC “pul *19JOULOULIOY F, *19J9MIOIV = ey *KANNUQG) fasunpy younpung Ww ‘uosno[D ‘dD ‘Ady 247 Ag:pun £ aUIHS-sa1UsWa ‘asupyyy yzuvoaddp yo ‘wequng *A\ *A8Y 247 fig {NoLsog 70 ‘|e, “A249 fuopuoTy “vou “HOIMSIHD) 7D hjarvog JOLNqNIysOPT 342 fo Uapavyy ay} 7 ‘uosdwoy 7, ayy 49 ! uojsaqoy ‘IN ‘Aunjatoag quoysissp ayz Ag ‘NOaNO'T ‘Aza100g pohogy ay] fo siuaupindyy ay2 7 apo suoywasasgg 709190/0.L09}2 © THE ANNALS AND MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. No. 59, JULY 1842. ott a XXXVIII.—General Features of Chusan, with remarks on the Flora and Fauna of that Island. By Tuzopore CAnToR, M.D., Bengal Medical Service, &c. [Continued from p. 278, | WHILE engaged in examining and collecting objects of na- tural history in China, microscopic zoology did not alto- gether escape my attention. Sketches and notes were taken as often as my scanty time would permit, with a view to ob- tain some information about the geographical distribution of these minute animal forms, the very existence of which would have been a secret but for the revelation of the microscope. Previous use of instruments enabled me to delineate faithfully what I saw, and I have had the satisfaction to test the cor- rectness of my sketches by comparing them after my return to Calcutta with the beautiful plates of M. Ehrenberg. To attend to anatomical structure, or the measurement of the animals themselves, lay not in my plan; partly because this branch of zoology is not sufficiently familiar to me, but chiefly be- cause the bustle of a camp-life is anything but calculated to afford the otium indispensable to such studies. From com- parison with M. Ehrenberg’s great work upon Infusoria, it would appear that most of the forms observed at the island of Lantao, situated in the mouth of Canton river, and at Chusan, also inhabit Europe*. A detailed list of the localities given by Khrenberg has been prefixed to those places where the Chi- nese animalcules were found. The method I invariably followed in the examination was this: I first took a sketch of the animalcules through single lenses, of which my highest power was th of an inch, and then examined the object through a compound of 210 linear, when I nearly always found the sketch to correspond. Unless the powers of the single lenses are added in the sketches, they * See Dr. Ehrenberg’s reflections on the extensive diffusion of species among the Infusoria and their insensibility to climatic variations. —Taylor’s Scientific Memoirs. Part X.—Ep. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol, ix. 2B 362 Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. have been taken through the medium of +, single lens and 210 linear compound. The few forms I have added as “ dubia” are those to which I have found none corresponding among Ehrenberg’s. To G. W. Grant, Esq., an indefatigable microscopical observer, who has kindly examined my sketches and notes of Chinese animalcules, I am indebted for the following list of forms de- scribed by M. Ehrenberg, which he has recognised as also occurring in fresh water in and near Calcutta :— Spheerosira volvox. Navicula fulva. Closterium turgidum, ~ turgida. Euglena longicauda. Vorticella patellina. Epipyxis utriculus? Coleps hirtus, Arcelina aculeata. Lepadella emarginata. Arthrodesmus quadricaudatus. Brachionus urceolaris. Micrasterias hexagona. From what has been stated, it will appear that Indian forms (to which may be added a few Javanese) prevail in the fauna of Chusan, and that European forms make but a secondary feature. The climate of Chusan, as before observed, being that of the nearest continent, it may be inferred that Indian forms occur in central China (in those parts of course which, ceteris paribus, correspond with Chusan), the longitude of which is less easterly, at least up to the 30th degree north, or the latitude of that island. As the annual mean temperature of Chusan is considerably below that of tropical countries, it follows, that certain forms, and these among the lower classes of animals, which hitherto have been considered pecu- liar only to a tropical climate, are able to exist under a much lower temperature, and thus possess a much less limited geo- graphical range. In what exact latitude and longitude Euro- pean forms commence, is, in the present state of our know- ledge of the physical condition of China, impossible to de- termine. The following ably drawn up paper, which appeared in the ‘ Chinese Repository,’ vol. iii., will serve to give a precise idea of the attention paid by Europeans to the natural history of China, from the days of the Jesuits up to the time of its pub- lication (1834). It contains matter of general interest to na- turalists, and may prove useful to those, who we may hope will ere long be enabled to engage in active investigations in that empire. “The Jesuits were the first Kuropeans, except Marco Polo, who made any investigation in this field. For nearly two centuries these men resided in China, and in the course of their attempts to establish themselves here, they travelled extensively throughout all the provinces. During Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. 363 the reign of Kanghé, a period of sixty-one years, they were permitted to investigate everything they deemed worthy of notice, and the voluminous works they left bear testimony to their diligence. Missions were established in all the principal cities, and they were ably conducted by men who were well versed in literature and in the arts and sciences, and who would not have suffered by comparison with the best scholars of Europe: and what might we expect to find in their works concerning the natural history of China? Judging by their success in other departments, as topography, history, &c., we might reasonably hope for full and faithful narrations of the vegetable and animal productions, and also of the agriculture. Concerning some of the more remarkable productions, as bamboo, tea, &c., we have details of such length as to tire the reader. They were not the men who would let anything pass by them which could adorn their pages, or excite the wonder of readers in other countries. But what do we find on peru- sing their accounts? So far as those descriptions are mere translations of native authors, the defects are not to be charged to the Jesuits. They wished to tell all they could concerning China, and in their desire so to do, recorded many things which further research would have convinced them were not facts. These exaggerated statements have conspired to create ideal notions of the character, policy and country of the Chi- nese, which future travellers, we apprehend, will find erro- neous. Among all their remarks on natural history we do not find a single continued narration of facts which the author as- serts as having come under his own eyes. There was no Lin- nus or Cuvier who would be satisfied with faithfully record- ing the results of his own observation. If such had been the case, the united labours of these ‘fathers’ would have pre- sented rich materials for compiling a work on the natural hi- story of China, but which must now be reserved for others. In considering the merits and demerits of these writers, how- ever, we must remember that they lived in an age when the public taste was satisfied with nothing but tales almost beyond the bounds of belief. Their accounts are not more improbable than what we find in Buffon; and these men flourished long before his time. Besides, it was for their interest to portray this country in as favourable an aspect as possible: their situ- ation was such as required all the aid that interesting descrip- tion could bring. The want of any well-digested work on na- tural history also presented itself as a serious obstacle against pursuing the science in a useful way. If observations were made, how could they be compared with previous ones and their relative importance ascertained? 'This was a hindrance 2B2 364 Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. of which we can hardly have a full conception in the present advanced state of the science. With the want of books the pre- carious tenure of the establishment of the Jesuits here may also be adduced as a reason why so few turned their attention to such subjects. Liable every moment to be driven out of the country, the leaders would naturally bend all their energies to secure that which had already been gained, and leave others to narrate what was seen. The erroneous ideas concerning the natural history of this country which have become current among: the great mass of readers in the West is a serious evil, and one which has been occasioned chiefly by the exaggerated statements of these early writers. Every author for the last century who wished to write concerning China needed only to open the volumes of the Jesuits, and long descriptions on every subject met his eye. These he wrought into his own phraseology, and spared not to enlarge or reduce them to suit his own convenience. The consequence is, that the same thoughts, being presented in many lights and by authors of reputation, are received as accredited truths. An instance of this is found in Malte-Brun’s ‘ Geography,’ who states, on the authority of a member of the Dutch embassy, ‘that the Chi- nese farmer yokes his wife and ass together at the plough ;’ and this is said in such a manner as to convey the idea that it is a common occurrence ; while the instances of such brutality are as rare in China as in Persia or India, or any other country in the same state of civilization. Concerning the ac- counts of the Jesuits in general, we may observe, that when they are satisfactorily proved or disproved, and the truth sifted from the rubbish which surrounds them, they will be found to contain much valuable information; but until they have been carefully compared with renewed investigations, they must be cautiously received. We will now proceed from the works of the Jesuits, which for the most part were written before the eighteenth century, to consider what has been done by more recent observers. In 1750 Peter Osbeck came to China as chaplain to a Swedish East Indiaman, and made some discoveries in the vicinity of Canton. He was a disciple of Linneus, and had imbibed his master’s love for the works of nature. The freedom allowed to foreigners at that time enabled him to extend his researches in this hitherto unex- plored field to a considerable distance round the city. He col- lected many plants in the vicinity of Canton and the anchor- age at Whampoa. The remembrance of his zeal and success was perpetuated by Linneus in the Osbeckia chinensis; and a friend and assistant was remembered in the Torenia asiatica. These, we believe, are the only instances of any persons who Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. 365 came to China for only a single season, that improved the opportunity to extend the knowledge of its natural history. Other ports, as Shanghaé and Amoy, were once open to foreigners, but the desire for gain was then so strong as to en- gross all the time of those who visited them. [rom the time of Osbeck till the embassy under Macartney in 1793, we read of none who explored these wide fields. No Tournefort or Pursh was found who would willingly endure the fatigues and dangers of visiting China from a love of natural history. 'The embassy under Lord Macartney was provided with competent naturalists, and the advantages enjoyed were many; yet the results do not appear to have been considerable. In a journey from Teentsin to Jeho (Zhehol) and then through Peking to Canton, abundance of opportunities must have been presented to enlarge our knowledge of this country. But the same causes which will retard future labourers hindered the re- searches of the members of this embassy ; the jealousy of the Chinese government prevented them from examining most of the interesting objects which came in their way while tra- velling through the country. The works of Staunton and Barrow, however, contain many valuable notices of the natural history of China; and if the embassy did not open a more favourable trade to its projectors, it enabled us to form more correct ideas of the real aspect of the country, both in a poli- tical and natural point of view. The remarks were such as would naturally be made by those travelling in a circumscribed manner, and relate principally to agriculture and the natural scenery. The Dutch embassy to Peking in 1795 under Van Braam does not appear to have made many remarks concern- ing the natural history of the districts through which it passed. From the time of that embassy to the one under Lord Am- herst in 1816, very little was done in this branch of know- ledge in China. When that expedition was proposed, the ad- vantages that would accrue from having an able and scientific naturalist were duly appreciated by the projectors. Such a one was found in Dr. Abel, and the result showed that the ex- pectations of those who recommended him were not ill found- ed. Everything necessary to enable him to transport the specimens, whether on shore or on board the ship, was done, and no expense spared in affording him all the facilities pos- sible during the journey. From Teentsin to the capital the way was closely examined ; but from Peking to Canton few observations were made or specimens collected, on account of the rapidity of travelling. Besides, Dr. Abel was taken sick on his return and prevented from personal research to the ex- tent he wished. The gentlemen of the embassy, however, 366 Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. brought him every specimen they saw worthy of notice. At Canton, the whole collection of plants, minerals, and other objects which had been collected were put on board H.M.S, Alceste, the ship that brought the embassy to China. The loss of that vessel in Gaspar Straits, and with her Dr, Abel’s entire collection and the notes appended to it, deprived the world of much valuable information, Except a very few spe- cimens he gave to some friends at Canton, everything he had collected perished with the Alceste. Among these preserved specimens Sir Joseph Banks found some new plants, one of which, Adelia chinensis, commemorates the zeal of the natu- ralist. Since this expedition nothing of importance has been done in any department of natural history, excepting botany. To this branch a few of the gentlemen attached to the Hon. HE, I. Company’s factory have paid some attention. The Horticultu- ral Society of London in 1819 sent out Mr. Kerr, a gardener, to collect and buy living plants and send them home, but his success was only partial. Many new plants have been discover- ed among those which have been sent home by the residents at Canton. The steady demand for these, both among foreigners and natives, has induced the Chinese to bring rare plants to this city; they are kept for sale at Fahte, the ‘ flower-gardens’ near Canton. The number of plants shipped to Europe and America yearly is considerable, and the demand is increasing. According to Livingstone, not one in a thousand reaches their destination; yet from the immense number sent in a long course of years, we may safely infer, that one-half of all known Chinese plants have been discovered and named in this way. Great care is necessary to preserve them on board ship in a voyage of such length, and from the want of this care con- sequently many of them die. Different plants require such different attention, that what saves one kills another, But the number of names probably far exceeds the number of spe- cies, for the Chinese gardeners are skilful in alterg the ap- pearance of flowers, and finding it for their interest so to do, they devote much time to the pursuit. From this short sketch it appears, that in the natural history of the Chinese empire much remains to he done. The Chinese works on this sub- ject are voluminous, and they contain dissertations on plants of all kinds and qualities, chiefly those used in medicines ; on gems, of which they are fond; on quadrupeds, birds, fishes and insects ; and eyen shells and mollusca are not overlooked by them. On the same pages we also find accounts of tiger- elephants, dragons, and other similar fantasies. The entire range of natural science in the Chinese empire will require thorough investigation, for what has been done needs to be Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. 367 done again. Botany has attracted most attention, and the pro- gress made in it from various sources is considerable ; but the grasses, the cryptogamic plants and some other branches of the study, are nearly unknown. The works of the Jesuits con- tain notices of the larger animals of China, but with the other branches of zoology we are imperfectly acquainted. The birds and the fishes, the insects and the mollusca, will each afford sufficient materials for many interesting volumes. Mineralogy is on the same level; but the precious gems, the beautiful crystals of quartz, the white copper and the gypsum seen in Canton, show the abundance of its mineral treasures; the variety of metals cannot be small, but their full extent cannot be yet known. Of the geology of this empire very little know- ledge has been gained by Europeans; and of the organic re- mains, which we may expect to be considerable from those found in Ava and Siberia, still less is known. It will be ap- parent then, that the investigation of China and its depen- dencies will open a field of research that is unequalled in the world, From Samarcand to Formosa and Japan, and from Saghalien to Camboja, is a field, which is nearly unknown. Peopled from the remotest antiquity with wandering nomades, who have despised agriculture and employed themselves in enslaving their neighbours, Tartary is about the same now as it was a thousand years ago. China has undergone many al- terations, and the face of the country, by increase of popula- tion, has assumed the appearance of an extended garden, when compared with the countries on the western boundary. We hope this interesting and wide field will soon be carefully sur- veyed in all its departments. The Chinese are not so savage as the Arabs, nor so deceitful as the Moors, nor so wandering as the North American Indians, in whose countries travellers have passed many years. From the appearance of the times, we expect the Chinese empire will soon be open to foreigners, and we trust that the naturalist will not be slow to enter on a field abounding with objects worthy of his attention.” It may perhaps not be deemed irrelevant to offer a short — account of the auspices under which the objects of the follow- — ing descriptive catalogue were collected. In the earlier part of 1840 the Supreme Government had determined upon despatch- ing forces to China. The opportunity thus offered of seeing service, and at the same time of visiting a field hitherto closed to science, was too tempting to be allowed’to pass, and I ven- tured to solicit of the Rt. Hon. the Governor-General that I might become attached as Assistant-Surgeon to one of the re- giments about proceeding on the Hastern expedition, In the mean time I had been ordered to march to the northern pro- 368 Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. vinces with a detachnient of H.M. troops, part of which had been under my charge on their passage from England, and had arrived in the vicinity of Hazareebaugh, when I was relieved with orders to proceed to the Presidency. On my subsequent return to Calcutta I received intimation that H.E. the Com- mander-in-chief had been pleased to post me to H.M. 49th regiment, then en route to join the expedition to the eastward. In an interview with the Rt. Hon. the Governor-General, I was honoured with his Lordship’s commands, that I should collect objects of natural history for the Museum of the Honourable the Court of Directors, to which effect I was to be furnished with materials and instructions, that I should inquire among the medical officers of the expedition if there were a bo- tanist capable and willing to undertake the botanical part of the future inquiries. I was further instructed to correspond upon matters connected with my charge with his Lordship’s private secretary. Fully imbued as I was with a sense of the high honour which his Lordship had been pleased to confer, I became also aware of the responsibility it devolved upon me. Hitherto my labours in. natural history had been of a strictly private nature, and to this as well as to the diff- culties which I have had to encounter, I have always aitri- buted the liberal encouragement with which my humble ex- ertions have been received by some of the first philosophers. During the few days which elapsed after my interview with his Lordship, I was vigorously engaged in making arrangements connected with the execution of my scientific mission, when I was ordered to assume the medical charge of a detachment of H.M. 26th regiment, with which I, the following day, em- barked for China. My sudden departure from Calcutta pre- vented me from obtaining his Lordship’s instructions, and also a number of articles absolutely necessary for preserving objects of natural history, all of which were now to follow. Our visits to Penang and Singapore enabled me indeed to obtain a few of those necessaries, which, however, notwith- standing their exorbitant prices, proved to be utterly ineffi- cient. Nearly during the whole month of June 1840 we were detained at the island of Lantao, in Canton River (Choo- keang or Pearl River), which afforded me an opportunity of becoming somewhat acquainted with the leading features of the flora and fauna, and I commenced forming botanical and zoological collections during the hours of leisure left by my military duty. On our arrival at Chusan in July we had the good fortune of landing our original number of troops, all in fine state of health, which I chiefly attribute to the excellent arrangements of the commanding officer, Captain Paterson, of Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. 369 H.M. 26th regiment. Shortly after I became exempted from military duty as long as my services could be spared, agree- ably to instructions upon the subject from H.E. the Com- mander-in-chief of India. From the state in which I by this time found the collections I had made shortly before at Lan- tao, I was disagreeably apprised of the bad quality of my ma- terials for preserving, though this was only the commence- ment of subsequent mortification, felt on witnessing the de- struction of objects nearly as fast as I contrived to collect them. 'Time becoming precious as the season for collecting was rapidly advancing, and the prospects of the arrival of a supply of materials from Government being uncertain, I had only one course left, to sketch the living objects. The illus- trious Mr. MacLeay has observed, that the use of the pencil and brush is as necessary to a naturalist as the power of read- ing and writing. I felt the truth of these words at this junc- ture, when I had no hopes of success in preserving collections, though I was determined upon not altogether losing the op- portunity. Not having received the instructions of the Rt. Hon. the Governor-General as to the objects of my inquiries, I directed them to general features, on the same principle as the artist does who intends to produce a familiar likeness. An entire though hasty outline will better serve the purpose than if he were to produce an elaborate representation of sin- gle parts or features. I do not mean to deny that a thorough study of any single branch of zoology may prove of the great- est importance to throw light upon the physical condition of a country; but I am alluding to the peculiar position under which I was placed in‘a field new to science. About the end of August I was fortunate enough to receive a quantity of spirits of wine and bottles, timely enough to save part of the zoological collections from destruction. As I had not suc- ceeded in my search for a botanist, I trained my servant to assist me in collecting plants and seeds, while my own time was divided between searching for specimens, sketching them, and taking notes. At this period the dreadful extent of sick- ness, ravaging during our first occupation of Chusan, render- ed the assistance of every medical officer necessary, and I was ordered from my residence to perform regimental duty with H.M. 26th regiment. The Cameronians were encamped on the slope of a steep hill, at a considerable distance from the house in Ting-haé where I lived, among the collections. The large building had been appropriated to the office of the chief magistrate, and during my stay there | had the pleasure of affording medical assistance to the European establishment as well as to a number of cases among natives connected with 370 Dr. Cantor on the Mora and Fauna of Chusan. that office, which latter circumstance afforded some opportu- nity of more closely observing the habits of the people. The _ difficulties which the Chinese language imposes upon the _ foreigner, the kindness of the Rev. Mr, Gutzlaff had in some measure enabled me to obviate. I had put down and num- bered all questions upon which I wished information, oppo- site to which Mr. Gutzlaff had furnished the Chinese version. The latter I produced in my excursions to the Chinese, who, as they nearly all can read and write, seldom failed to write a reply on a blank paper, to which I attached the number cor- responding to my question, and was afterwards favoured by Mr. Gutzlaff with a translation. That information of such a kind must be used cwm grano salis, it is scarcely necessary to add, The bodily fatigue I had daily to encounter in the exe- cution of my duty, the beyond description distressing nature of the duty itself, 1 have reason to believe laid the foundation of my subsequent severe illness. I had scarcely been relieved from military duty and busily engaged in turning the short re- maining season to the best possible account, when I became a victim to a violent cerebral fever, and was subsequently or- dered to sea by the Medical Board at Chusan, in a state, Iam informed, which held out but slight prospect of my surviving. I have now but to perform the pleasing task of expressing my gratitude to Sir Gordon Bremer, K.C.B., Col, Mountain, C.B, of H.M. 26th regiment, in addition to those officers on the ex- pedition mentioned in the descriptions, to whose kindness, during my sojourn at Chusan, I feel myself greatly indebted. To G, A. Bushby, Esq., Chief Secretary to the Government of India, I beg to express my best thanks for his great liberality, which the important avocations of a high office never prevented from rendering every assistance to facilitate my scientific task. To J. W. Grant, Esq., B.C.S., I take this opportunity of ac- knowledging the repeated and through years unaltered bene- fits which I have derived from his extensive, but unassuming knowledge of the natural history of India. In placing the Mollusks at the disposal of W. H. Benson, Esq., B.C.S., I was guided by the conviction, that 1 could not turn them to greater advantage to science; and while I beg to offer my best thanks for the liberality with which that distinguished naturalist has met my request, his own descriptions carry the best proof of the correctness of my estimate, [To be continued. | Mr. J. Couch on @ specimen of Phoceena melas, 371 XXXIX.—Observations on a specimen of the Black or Leading Whale, Phoceena melas, taken on the coast of Cornwall. By JonatHan Covon, F.L.S., &c. [ With a Plate,] However frequent may be the capture of the Black or Lead- ing Whale in the more northern parts of the United King- dom, opportunities for examining this somewhat remarkable species have not often occurred to naturalists; and those who have had occasion to publish a figure have for the most part been reduced to the necessity of copying, by which means it has happened that the representations of the species in even the most respectable works are found to be incorrect in some important particulars. On this account, and because the spe- cimen now to be described was taken at a great distance from its most usual haunts, it is hoped that the following notice will be acceptable to the scientific public, The length in a straight line was 20 feet, but measured along the curve, from the upper lip to the end of the tail, 223 feet ; breadth of the tail, 4 feet 9 inches; from the base of the dorsal fin to the middle of the belly, as it lay, and consequently half round, 5 feet 8 inches, Height of the dorsal fin, 14 inches; measured over the back from the margin of the tail to the dorsal fin, 12 feet 9 inches; length of the base of this fin, 3 feet 5 inches, The head is small in proportion to the body; the forehead projecting in front, wide and remarkably rounded ; a depression between the front and upper lip; angle of the mouth ascending, the lower jaw a little shorter than the upper ; tongue large and fleshy ; teeth small, round, in height from the gums scarcely exceeding one- third of an inch, standing separate, and inclined forward ; those above rather the stoutest, the whole closing alternately between each other ; front of the upper jaw having four cavi- ties in the substance of the gum to receive corresponding teeth of the lower jaw. As well as could be counted, there were 20 teeth in each jaw. The eye small, narrow, a little above and slightly before the line of the angle of the mouth. Breathing-hole on the hinder part of the head, in a depres- sion, with the valve closed circular, the curve backward. Pec- toral fin 4 feet 9 inches in length, becoming very narrow, pointed, and directed backward ; in shape somewhat like the wing of a swallow. Body large, round, plump ; compressed through the posterior third of its length, which is ridged on its dorsal and ventral aspect, and growing rapidly, depressed at the tail, which organ is cut in a segment at the middle, The animal, a male, with a long furrow or channel from the vent forward along the belly, enclosing the penis, which is 372 Mr. J.Couch on a specimen of Phoceena melas. about 2 feet in front of the vent. The cuticle is thin ; the co- lour an intense black, smooth, like oiled silk; interrupted on the sides by several curious grooved marks, like the ridges on some species of shells ; two long parallel lines low on the side united by another anteriorly. Under the throat a broad white mark, heart-shaped towards the throat, and extending back- ward no further than the pectoral fins, behind which it is faint and narrow. There was a notch in the dorsal fin, pro- bably peculiar to the individual ; it was otherwise falcate pos- teriorly. There can be no question of this being the Delphinus melas of Fleming, D. Deductor of Scoresby, Phocena melas of Bell, ‘ British Quadrupeds,’ p. 483 ; and consequently, as referred to Delphinus melas of Trail, D. globiceps of Cuvier, and Gilo- bicephalus Deductor of Jardine; but whilst the descriptions given by these naturalists are sufficiently minute and accurate to decide the species, they in common with their accompany- ing figures have the misfortune to fail in some important par- ticulars, which may lead to error if it shall be found that a nearly allied species exists. The figure in Mr. Bell’s work is confessedly taken from Cuvier ; and though I have no oppor- tunity of consulting the ‘Ann. du Muséum,’ in which the paper of the great French naturalist is contained, or the work on Cetaceans of his brother, yet I think it fair to conclude that it is correctly copied. The singularity of position, however, given to the tail, as thrown up over the back, and the attenu- ated form assigned to the figure both of Scoresby and Bell (though most obvious in the latter), lead to a suspicion that the latter is indebted for its existence to the former, and con- sequently that the engraving of Dr. Trail, whom Scoresby has followed, is the only undoubted original. The following notes, which were made when comparing the figures of Bell (derived from Cuvier) and Scoresby (whose de- scription at. least is from Trail) with the animal itself lying favourably before me, and my own sketch and description, will point out the differences between the former and the latter. In Mr. Bell’s work the bulk is much too slender, especially on the anterior portion ; and not enough compressed posteriorly, nor sufficiently ridged on that part above and below. The caudal fin is too much divided and attenuated at the sides ; for though a single specimen might chance to die in the attitude given, nothing short of an error in the outline could represent the corner of the tail so long and slender. The forehead also is not sufficiently prominent and globular ; the teeth are too nu- merous and conspicuous ; the under jaw is too much project- ing. Jenyns represents the teeth as conical and sharp; whereas Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 373 in the present instance their points were blunt. The pectoral fin is not well represented in the figures; and the dorsal is placed too far behind, its exact position being, as far as the eye can judge, just above the centre of gravity. As the proper situation of this organ is an important character of the spe- cies, it is carefully given in the figure which accompanies this paper. (Plate VII.) I am sorry that, with so favourable an opportunity, I am not able to add anything on the subject of the internal structure of the animal; but aiter having bargained with the possessors for the bones, especially of the head, when they should have finished their exhibition to the public, they were afterwards sold without my knowledge for a higher price. Perhaps the manner in which this whale was taken may in some degree illustrate its history, for it has been observed that most of the cetaceous animals taken in England have run themselves on shore ; a circumstance which has been ascribed, with much appearance of probability, to the influence of sick- ness. On the 29th of March in the present year, the speci- men here described was seen to approach and strike its head against a rock on the east shore of Looe Island ; and the blow was followed by a discharge of blood, it is believed from the mouth, since no wound was afterwards discovered. It after- wards moved off into free water, but returned to the shore, among the rocks of which it became entangled; thus afford- ing the two or three men who were present an opportunity of fastening a rope round the root of its tail. As the tide re- ceded it was left dry, and died in about the space of six hours. Polperro, 1842. XL.—The Birds of Ireland. By Wu. 'Tuompson, Esq., Vice-Pres. Nat. Hist. Society of Belfast. [Continued from p. 230.] No. 13.—Hirundinide. Common Swautow, Hirundo rustica, Linn. This species is by far the most common of the Hirundinide in Treland. It ar- rives the second in order, the sand martin preceding it. The first week of April is the earliest time I have known it to ap- pear about Belfast, the second week of that month being the ordinary period, and seldom is it looked for in vain upon the tenth day*. 3 * From newspaper paragraphs it would appear that it occasionally comes earlier, In the Belfast Commercial Chronicle of April 1835, it was stated that swallows had been seen about Larne on the 2nd of the month. The contributors of such notices rarely discriminate the different species of Hirundo, and the term swallow is used generically, or applied to the three 374 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. Although in the year 1836 the swallow did present itself in one locality near Belfast on the 15th or 16th of April, the species was génerally late in arrival, and remarkably scarce. When walking for upwards of two hours on the morning of the Ist of May through a well-wooded and cultivated district where these birds usually abound at this season, not one was to be seen. On the 2nd of that month, when going fourteen miles along the southern side of the bay, and again on returning, swallows appeared only at one place, where a few were in company. On the 3rd, 4th and 5th I walked for miles along the banks of the river Lagan, a favourite resort of these birds, and not one was seen. In 1837 also they were very late in coming, and, as in the preceding summer, very scarce*. In the following year and subsequently they made their appearance as usual. The earliest observed by myself in 1838 were two, which on the 15th of April kept flying over the grassy margin of Belfast Bay. It was a most untoward day for them, being excessively cold with occasional heavy showers of snow, and blowing a hurricane. The storm effect was such as I never before witnessed, for as the in-coming tide flowed over the banks, the wind swept the spray (caught from the top of the small waves) before it over the shallower portion of the bay, presenting the appearance of a dense hail-shower, careering for miles over the surface of the sea. In the summer of 1840 again, swallows were remarkably scarce in the north of Ireland. This was attri- buted by an ornithological friend to the inclement summer of the previous year having been unfavourable to their breeding—he con- sidered that there were fewer young birds in 1839 than he had ever before known. On making a tour through the west of Ireland im the summer of 1840, I observed that the Hirundinide generally were very scarce theret. species, The sand martin, which is the earliest comer, was probably the bird alluded to. On the 10th day of that month I saw single swallows in two localities near Belfast. * When travelling trom Holyhead to Shrewsbury on the 12th of May 1837, and on the following day thence to London, I remarked that swallows were everywhere very scarce. Being seated outside the coach, an excellent opportunity for observation was afforded. + May 17,1842. Although the month of April this year was so remarka- bly fine and warm, swallows were a fortnight later than usual in making their appearance in the north of Ireland. It is very remarkable too, that from the first day of their arrival about Belfast until the 14th inst., or during three weeks, there was no apparent increase to their numbers. On the two fol- lowing days, however, a sudden increase in all directions took place, and without any marked change in weather or wind. The practice of hunting the wren, as it is called, in the south of Ireland, and the children carrying the victims about the streets on St. Stephen’s-day, and chanting a song for the purpose of collecting money, as noticed at p. 143, had in some respects an analogue in Greece in the case of the swallow. “ The children in Rhodes greeted the latter as herald of spring ina little song}. Troops of them carrying about a swallow sang this from door to door, and collected provisions in return.” 1 Above thirty simple and most pleasing lines, given in Hase’s ‘ Pablic and Private Life of the Ancient Greeks,’ English Translation, p, 24. Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. — 375 Dr. Jenner (Phil. Trans., vol. cix. p. 24) states that swallows on and for some time after their arrival feed principally on gnats, but that their more favourite food, as well as that of the swift and mar- tin, is a small beetle of the Scarabeeus kind, which on dissection he “found in far greater abundance in their stomachs than any other insects.” Two species of gnat, Culex pipiens and C. bifurcatus, are particularised by Mr. Main (Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. iv. p. 413) as their favourite food. Sir Humphry Davy ‘Salmonia’ has ‘‘ seen a single swallow take four [Mayflies] in less than a quarter of a minute that were descending to the water.” Without having actually exa- mined the contents of its stomach, I have so often observed the swal- lowin localities presenting very different species of insects, and sweep- ing in the summer evenings through the midst of little congregated parties of various kinds, as to be satisfied that its food differs very con- siderably, a singular corroboration of which is, that an angling friend once resident near the river Lagan has repeatedly captured swallows with artificial trout-flies presenting very different appearances*, In the autumn a few years since, my friend Wm. Sinclaire, Esq., a most accurate ornithologist, remarked a number of swallows flying for a considerable time about two pollard willows (Salix fragilis) which served as gate-posts to a field at his residence near Belfast, and on going to the place ascertained that the object of pursuit was hive-bees, which being especially abundant beneath the branches, he had an opportunity of seeing the birds capture as they flew within two or three yards of his head+. The insect prey of the swallow and martin kept so near the ground on the evening of the 14th of August 1827—-which was fine, aftera day of excessive rain—that in its pursuit several birds of both spe- cies were killed with walking-sticks and umbrellas in some of the streets of Belfast {. * Isaac Walton informs us, that with the rod and line swifts were in his time taken in Italy. + In the ‘ British Naturalist’ (vol. ii. p. 381) the sand martin (H. ripa- ria) is mentioned as preying on the common wasp. In an article in the ‘Field Naturalist’s Magazine’ (March 1834, p. 125) on the ‘ Enemies of the Hive Bee,’ an anonymous contributor states, that having observed some swallows seize upon his bees in passing the hives in his garden, he shot them, and on opening them carefully, found that although “they were literally crammed with drones, there was not a vestige of a working bee.” Instances of the Hirundo rustica preying on bees have been very rarely recorded. In a paper read before the Lyceum of New York in 1824, De Witt Clinton, in his amiable admiration of the whole tribe of swallows, indignantly declared that “they are in all respects innocent, and the accusation of Virgil that they destroy bees is known to be unfounded both in this country and in Europe.” But from Wilson’s ‘ American Ornithology ’ (Jardine’s ed. vol. ii. p- 153) we learn, that even in the United States, bees constitute part of the ordinary food of the purple martin (Hirundo purpurea). { In the year 1838, I was informed by a bird-preserver here, that he had at different times received not less than twenty swallows which had been killed in the streets with walking-sticks or rudely formed whips used by mis- chievous boys, : 376 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. The swallow is one of the very earliest of British birds in com- mencing its morning song. About midsummer itis begun oc- casionally before half-past two o’clock. . It is also continued late in the season. On the 13th of Sept. 1833, I heard one when perched beside its nest sing in as fine mellow tone as early in the summer ; and on Sept. 2nd another year, out of a number congregated on a house-roof, several were engaged in going over their amorous notes. On the 10th of Sept. 1841, two passing near me sang sweetly as they flew in company with a number of others. Common as it is to see the Hirundines follow in the train of birds of prey, I never but in the following instance saw any of them turned upon. On the 22nd of September 1832, when walking in the garden at Wolfhill*, near Belfast, with a friend, a kestrel (Falco Tinnunculus) in close pursuit of a swallow appeared in sight over the hedgerow, and continuing the chase with extreme ferocity, lost not the least way by the swallow’s turnings, but kept within about a foot of it all the time, at one moment passing within five or six yards of our heads. It is idle to conjecture how long the chase may have lasted before we witnessed it; but immediately on the kestrel’s giving it up, the swallow nothing daunted became again, accompanied by many of its species, its pursuer and tormentor, and so continued until they all disappeared from our view. The kestrel was probably driven to this chase by the particular annoyance of the swallows, as they and the martins were more numerous that day at Wolfhill than they had been at any time during the season. On returning from a pursuit of this kind, I have often remarked, as Mr. Main has done (Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. iv. p.413), that these birds ‘‘ unite in a song [ap- parently] of gratulatory exultation.” We read of the martin (H. urbica) being the most partial to, and dependent upon man of allits tribe, but from a partial view only can such a conclusion be drawn. The martin, it is true, often claims for its nest the protection of the same roof that covers man himself, but it also selects for its domicile the wildest and most stupendous preci- pices. On the other hand, I know not any instance of the swallow selecting for its nest any place removed from man’s direct influence. The situations usually chosen in the north of Ireland are sheds, gate- ways and outhouses of every kind, the site once determined on being generally occupied for a series of years. All other nestling-places which have come under my own observation, and so far as I recol- lect to have read, were within the sphere of man’s works}. In the north of Ireland I have never known the nest of the swallow to be built in chimneys, although, on account of its predilection for building within them, the species has received the name of chimney swallow * See foot-note to Swift in one of the following pages. + Subsequently Mr. Hepburn has stated, that he has “ seen nests of this species on the rocks about Tantallon Castle, opposite the Bass.”—Macgil- livray’s British Birds, vol. iii. p. 569. | Sir Wm. Jardine mentions the H. urbica as building in this locality, in his edition of Wilson’s Amer. Orn,, vol. iii. p. 320. Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 377 in different languages*. White remarks in his ‘ Natural History of Selborne’ (letter 18), that ‘in general with us this Hirundo breeds in chimneys; and loves to haunt those stacks where there is a con- stant fire, no doubt for the sake of warmth. Not that it can subsist in the immediate shaft where there is a fire ; but prefers one adjoin- ing to that of the kitchen, and disregards the perpetual smoke of the funnel, as I have often observed with some degree of wonder.” It appears singular that in certain countries the Hirundo rustica should thus be partial to chimneys, which however I cannot think with White, are preferred for heat. In Sweden it is called Ladu Swala, or barn swallow, from selecting the barn for its nest; and in south- ern countries as in Italy it prefers similar sites, as we have indeed learned from Virgil, and to the correctness of which I can myself bear testimony. One or two peculiar instances of the nidification of the swallow in the neighbourhood of Belfast may be mentioned. In the summers of 1831 and 1832, a pair of these birds built their nest in a house at Wolf- hill, although the-door by which alone they could enter was locked every evening, and not opened before six in the morning; being an early-rising species, they must consequently have thus lost for no in- considerable part of the season fully three hours every day. A si- milar fact is mentioned in Capt. Cook’s ‘ Sketches in Spain’ (vol. ii. p. 275), where it is stated that ‘‘in the southern provinces they [swallows] sometimes live in the posadas, their nests being built on the rafters, where they are shut up every night.” Under a very low shed in the hawk-yard at the Falls near Belfast, where my friend John Sinclaire, Esq., keeps his trained peregrine fal- cons (Ff. peregrinus), a pair of swallows, regardless of the almost con- stant presence of four of these birds, constructed a nest in the sum- mer of 1832. ‘The man in charge of the hawks tore down the partly formed nest several times, but the swallows were not to be so de- terred, and persisted in completing it within about three yards of a block, on which one of the hawks constantly perched : in due time the young appeared and got off in safety. Although such places as the swallow usually prefers for its nest are not only contiguous to, but especially numerous in, the immediate vicinity of the hawk-yard, and all the other sheds and office-houses are considerably higher * Chimneys are stated in general terms by authors! to be usually resorted to in England for this purpose. The sites preferred in Scotland, according to Sir Wm. Jardine and Mr. Macgillivray, are similar to those above stated to be selected in Ireland. What Mr. Hepburn says of East Lothian exactly applies to the north of Ireland. He remarks that the nest ‘is built under arches, gateways, caves and waterspouts, against the beams, rafters and lin- tels of outhouses, and under wooden bridges.””—Macgillivray’s Brit. Birds, vol. iii. p. 569. + In the Morea likewise, within the town of Patras, I remarked in June 1841, that they selected similar places to what they do in the north of Ire- land, their nests being built under the rude porticos in the streets. 1 White, Pennant, Bewick, Montagu (who adds, that “it is not unusual to find the nest in outhouses, upon beams or rafters’”’), Selby, Yarrell, &c. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. 378 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. than the erection there, this singular locality was again selected in 1838, when the nest of the former year was once more used, and the brood escaped from it without any casualty. Two new nests were also built this year and successfully occupied, one of which I remarked on the 10th of August contained eggs for a second brood, and on the 19th of the same month I had the satisfaction of seeing it tenanted by young birds. This nest had for its support the wing of one of the departed falcons, on the centre of which it rested*. The entire height of the shed, which was erected solely for the protection of the hawks, is not above seven feet, The nests are about six feet from the ground, and built against a beam of timber (to this the wing just mentioned is nailed) placed on the top of the low wall supporting the roof. The height of the roof from the ground is four feet two inches, which leaves only two and a half feet clear for the swallow’s flight between it and the heads of the hawks as they perch upon their blocks, One of the nests is only six feet from the block occupied by a hawk, and from which this bird has liberty to move to half that distance. The swallows however flew closely past these rapacious birds without being in any way heeded by themf. * In White’s ‘ Selborne’ a similar instance is mentioned, + In the Northern bali (a Belfast newspaper) of July 2, 1829, the fol- lowing paragraph appeared :—‘ We understand that a pair of swallows have built their nest in Mr, Getty’s school-room, at Randaistown; and notwith- standing there are above forty scholars daily attending, the birds fearlessly went on with their labour, and have now out their young ones. One of the windows had been for several nights left down, at which time the swallows found admittance, and after much apparent deliberation commenced their structure, which they carried on chiefly during the hours of the school ; and though they had abundance of time to build, either before the school com- menced, or after it was dispersed, yet they always preferred a few hours about noon for their labour, and seemed to do little at any other time. The scholars, much to their credit, gave them as little annoyance as possible, and the window is still kept down.” Mr. Blackwall in his ‘ Researches in Zoology ’ mentions the remarkable fact from personal investigation, that swallows, house martins and sand mar- tins not unfrequently leave their last brood of young to perish, and occa- sionally leave their eggs before they are incubated. He speculates on the causes of this “ voluntary act of desertion,” and combats the opinion of Dr. Jenner, that it is prompted by ‘the desire to migrate, produced by a change in the reproductive system.” Having given less attention to the subject than either author, I should perhaps be silent, but a few remarks on so ap- parently singular a proceeding may not be considered presumptuous. In the instances alluded to, the young broods and eggs were deserted late in the season, and I should suppose at the migratory period. The paramount ob- ject would then seem to be migration, and when fayourable weather and wind prevail, the love of offspring yields to the stronger impulse, and the pa- rents take their departure. Had this fayourable time been long enough pro- tracted, they would have continued to tend their offspring and bring them to maturity. Itis quite different at the season when the first brood is being produced. The primary principle which then influences them is, the pro- duction of their species; and no matter how favourable every circumstance may be for migration, they do not leave the country. I have attended to Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 379 In perching, the swallow, unlike the swift, occasionally rests upon the ground by choice, roads being not uncommonly thus resorted to. I have observed a number of these birds frequenting a large mound of clay in the vicinity of houses daily throughout the month of Au- gust, or long subsequent to the time that such material is required for their nests*. On betaking themselves to trees they generally exhibit a singular choice in avoiding the flourishing branches and alighting on those which are dead. It has been remarked to me by Mr. Wm. Sinclaire, that as soon as the young can provide for them- selves, they do not return to the nest in which they were reared ; from which circumstance, and from seeing large flocks of swallows fly in the autumnal evenings around the highest trees at his residence, and invariably disappear in their direction, he concludes that they roost on trees. White of Selborne, speaking generally of these birds, men- tions their thus roosting late in autumn. The same author remarks that ‘‘ the swallow is a bold flyer, ranging to distant downs and commons even in windy weather, which the other species seem much to dislike; nay, even frequenting exposed seaport towns, and making little excursions over the salt water.” The “excursions” of the swallow over Belfast Bay are of daily occurrence throughout summer. It may be chiefly observed attend- ant on the in-coming tide, where we may presume its food is most abundant, owing probably to the insects being driven off the beach by the encroaching waterst. When on different occasions, ia the month of June, on the low mass of rock called the Mew Island (the smallest of the three Copeland islands off the coast of Down), this species, and it alone of the Hirundinide, always appeared; thus pro- ving a propensity to range, as there is not a spot on the islet that would afford accommodation for its nest. Mr. White (of Selborne) remarks of the swift, that ‘‘ in the longest days it does not withdraw to rest till a quarter before nine in the evening, being the latest of all day birds.”’ In the general terms in the departure of the Hirundines for many years, and to the influencing , causes, and was at first surprised at the suddenness of their disappearance when favourable weather arrived. At the end of August I have known the great body to depart, and at other times remarked them evidently waiting for peat and on to the month of October before they would take their flight. * Mr, Macgillivray says of the swallow, that “it sometimes alights [on the ground] as if to pick up insects, which it has observed there.”—Brit. Birds, vol. iii. p. 564. On such occasions, as I have particularly remarked the circumstance, food was certainly not the object—the birds were simply resting. + August 2, 1838. I have remarked during the summer of this year, that swallows course as regularly over the masses of Zostera marina with which the beach is covered on the western shore of Belfast Bay, as they do over any meadows. ‘This evening they were perched in great numbers on stakes which rise above the sea, and they were likewise busily feeding over the surface of the tide, on the insects roused probably by its flowing over the Zostera. The stakes alluded to are just such as—were they more remote from a public road—cormorants would alight on to expand and dry their outstretched wings, . 2C2 380 Mr. W. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. which this was meant to be understood, it agrees with my observa- tion ; but I have occasionally at different periods during their stay, seen swallows on wing at so late an hour that they could hardly be distinguished. This occurred more especially throughout the month of June 1832, which was remarkably cold and wet. On several €venings towards the end of the month I saw swallows fly about at a quarter past nine p.m. The wants of the nestlings doubtless prompted this late fight, and if my informant be correct, it was in some in- stances of no avail, as during this time he saw young swallows fall dead from the nest, owing, it was conjectured, to starvation, and this too in a locality where food should have been comparatively abun- dant. On the 12th of June 1838, I observed a swallow flying about Wolfhill at half-past nine o’clock in the evening. The day through- out had been moderately warm, without rain. _ When wind and weather are favourable for migration, swallows, including many of the first brood, leave us from the end of August, but about the middle of September is the chief time of their depart- ure. On to the middle of October some are seen every year. Mr. Templeton notes his having observed a few on the 30th and 31st of October 1813; on the 14th of November 1815, I am informed that one was repeatedly seen flying about Stranmillis near Belfast, where likewise, on the 28th of October 1819, three were seen after a severe fall of snow anda good deal of frost ; in 1835, one was remarked on the 26th of October near the town just named ; and on the 3rd of November 1837, Mr. H. H. Dombrain of Dublin shot one at sea near Lambay island, when it was flying towards land *. Variety in plumage.—Very rarely do we see any departure from the ordinary colour in the swallow. The Rev. G. M. Black states, that in the month of July 1815, a pure-white one was seen flying about Stranmillis near Belfast, for about ten days. In the years 1811, 1812 and 1813, when my friend Dr. J. L. Drum- mond of Belfast was surgeon of H.M.S. San Juan, then anchored close to the New Mole at Gibraltar, he every year, both in spring and autumn, saw “‘ swallows” (the species of which is not now re- membered) every day during a few weeks at the former season flying northward, and at the latter southward. They kept flying through- out the day, and invariably in autumn as well as spring were in little parties, not more than three or four being generally togethert. In the course of a tour made in the year 1841, the swallow was seen as follows :—On descending the Rhone from Lyons to Avignon, * Observations made during a number of years (and occasionally daily) on the proceedings of the swallow preparatory to migration from the north of Ireland, together with the state of wind, weather, food, &c., here follow in my manuscript, but they are withheld, as without them, there is doubtless sufficient matter upon one species ! + Capt. Cook, in his ‘Sketches in Spain,’ remarks of the Hirundo rustica, that ‘afew of these birds winter in the south of Andalusia. I saw them on the summit of the Lomo de Vaca, far from the haunt of man, living with the H. rupestris’’—a species which, according to the same author, ‘“ winters in great numbers along the southern shore [of Spain ].”’ oe + oR -An “RE ar \ (~ ¢ CS L ower Leeth Fhocena Melas Mr. J. E. Teschemacher on a new species of Rafflesia. 381 some appeared on the 9th of April at several places, but they were nowhere numerous. On the 13th of that month a very few were observed between Leghorn and Pisa, At Malta on the 17th they were as abundant as we ever behold them in the British Islands. On the passage of H.M.S. Beacon from Malta to the Morea, two swal- lows flew on board on the 22nd of April, when the vessel was about forty miles east of Malta; on the 25th, when about fifty miles from Calabria, several appeared; towards the evening of the next day about a dozen alighted on the vessel, and after remaining all night took their departure early on the morning of the 27th, when perhaps ninety miles west of the Morea: throughout the afternoon and towards the evening of the same day (at sunset we were about sixty miles from the Morea) many more arrived, and all that came having remained, they appeared about the close of day flying about the ship in consi- derable numbers. nye On arrival at Navarino on the 28th, the swallow was observed to be common, as it likewise was, in the following month, in the island of Syra, about Smyrna and Constantinople*; in June about the island of Paros, at Athens and Patras +; in July at Venice, Verona, Milan, &c. At Trieste, where I spent ten days at the end of June, no swallows were observed, although house martins aud swifts were abundant ; my not seeing them however may:have been accidental. About none of the southern or eastern localities mentioned are swal- lows, house martins, sand martins or swifts more numerous than in the north of Ireland, or the British Islands generally t. In the later editions of Bewick’s ‘ British Birds,’ a highly interest- ing account of the familiarity of the swallow in confinement appears in a letter from the Rev. Walter Trevelyan. [To be continued. | XLI.—On a new species of Rafflesia from Manilla. By J. EK. TescoemMacuer, Esq. §. [With a Plate.] HAvine just received from Manilla, preserved in spirit, se- veral buds of that rare and singular parasite, Rafflesia, which * I never met with swallows more plentiful anywhere than they were on the 16th of May, flying over some low and extremely rich pastures in which some of the Sultan’s stud were grazing, between Constantinople and the vil- lage of Belgrade. ¢ On the 14th of June, the young were all but fledged here. At this date, they are in favourable seasons equally far advanced in the north of Ireland. t The only localities that in the midst of summer I ever remarked all the Hirundinide to be absent from, were the South Islands of Arran, off Galway Bay. Not an individual of any of the species was seen here by Mr. R. Ball or myself, when visiting the islands on the 7tb, 8th and 9th of July 1834, the weather being all the time very fine. Returning from them we had no sooner reached the coast of Clare—the nearest land—than many of the H. rustica were observed. § From the Boston Journal of Nat. History, vol. iv. p. 63. 382 Mr. J. EK. Teschemacher on a new species on examination appeared to differ essentially from the species hitherto described from Java and Sumatra, I beg to offer to the Society the following account, with a drawing. The specimens were gathered in Basei, a district of the pro- vince of Leite, on the same spot visited by Mr. Cuming for the purpose of finding this plant, during his late excursion to the Philippine Islands. Not having seen any description of this plant by him in the scientific journals, I am uncertain of the result of his visit; and although I propose the specific name of Manillana for this species, I would readily yield it to any other he may wish it to retain. The only accounts of Rafflesia to which I have access are, that of R. Arnoldi from Sumatra, in the 13th volume of the ‘Transactions of the Linnean Society of London,’ and that given by Sir W. J. Hooker in the ‘ Companion to the Botanical Magazine,’ of R. Patma, detected by Dr. Blume in Noussa Kambangan, a small island on the coast of Java, and described and figured by him in the ‘ Flora Javee.’ The column of one of my specimens was sent by itself from Manilla, and of two others I have dissected buds; the larger by a vertical cut, the section shown in the figure; the second, a smaller specimen, by the removal of the whole of the enve- lopes, exhibiting the naked column with its processes, edge, anthers, &c. The column from Manilla, being dissected when fresh, was considerably dried when placed in spirits. Its form and several parts are therefore not very distinctly retained, but the number of anthers and several other particulars are clear enough. The largest bud of those I dissected is two and a half inches in diameter, and arises from a cup three-fourths of an inch in depth, the outer part of which is formed of the same substance as the external bark of the root on which it is pa- rasitic, and which is evidently of the same structure as that of the root of Cissus angustifolia, on which the R. Arnoldi was found. It is probable that the smaller size alone would sufficiently distinguish this from the last-mentioned species, the buds of which are stated to be one foot in diameter, because, although the respective age of these buds is ‘not known, yet every part is so perfect in the buds I dissected, even to minute and glan- dular hairs, that it is not probable they would have been long in this state before opening. There are apparently in this, five series of bracteze; the middle one, at its origin, about three-eighths of an inch in thickness, or three times the thickness of the two outer and the two inner series, These bractez are imbricated over, and of Rafflesia from Manilla. 383 completely envelop the perianth; they are marked by pro- minent veins, precisely as in R. Arnoldi; the tube of the pe- rianth originates on a line with the central row of bractez be- low the two interior rows, and although in the bud at its up- per part it is undivided, yet the lines of its divisions, when expanded, are clearly discernible. The interior of these di- visions of the perianth is marked by tubercles of various forms, as in the other species. The column has a convex disc, surrounded by a raised edge; on the surface of this column are eleven processes, rather more than one-eighth of an inch in height, differing from each other slightly in size and form, the summits of which are entire and hispid, the hairs much resembling pis- tillary projections. One of these processes is in the centre, the other ten arranged around it at about an equal distance between it and the raised edge. The anthers, which are of the same form, with pores and cells like those of the other species described, are ten in num- ber, and are also suspended from the under side of the upper edge of the column, in open cavities formed in the lower part or base of it; both edges of the open part of these cavities are covered with hairs resembling those on the tips of the pro- cesses on the disc, and that part of the tube of the perianth opposite to these openings is studded with thick, capillary hairs, each terminated by what is apparently a glandular knob. Down the centre of the column are lines, evidently bundles of vascular tissue, which pass through the substance of the cup into the root of the Cissus; all the rest of the interior is cellular. I could not perceive any very distinct appearances in the bud of an annular process at the mouth of the tube of the perianth, although it is not improbable, from various marks, that such a ring may be developed when the flower is open. There is no appearance, in any of these three specimens, of the cavities exhibited in the figure of. R. Patma which con- tain the spores; on this part of the structure of Rafflesia, therefore, these specimens from Manilla do not throw any further light. They are probably male flowers. Of R. Hors- fieldii, which, when expanded, is only three inches in diameter, I have not seen any description. | I close this paper with the following comparisons of the two species described, and of that which I call, at present, R. Ma- nillana. R. Arnoldi. Bud, before expansion, one foot in diameter, sessile on root of Cissus angustifolia, the under side of its base reticulate: disc of column convex ; processes on surface forty to sixty, close together, 384 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions i divided at the summits, which are hispid: anthers forty to sixty, with numerous cells, and furnished with pores at summits: a moniliform cord at base of column: interior of perianth covered with variously formed tubercles. R. Patma.. When expanded, two feet diameter, arising directly from the root of the Cissus: disc of column concave; processes on surface of dise numerous, of a pyramidal form, the summits of which are entire and hispid : lower part of tube of perianth and column gla- brous ; interior of perianth covered with variously formed tubercles : anthers with cells and pores; number not mentioned : no moniliform cord at base of column : antheriferous flower containing cavities filled with spores, hence hermaphrodite. R. Manillana. P1.VI1. Bud, before expansion, two and a half inches in diameter, arising from a cup three-fourths of an inch high, formed by the thickened bark of the root of the Cissus ; the bractee origina~ ting from the inner side of the upper edge of the cup; no appearance of reticulation under the base: disc of column convex ; processes on surface eleven, one of which is in the centre, the rest arranged around it, their summits entire and hispid; lower part of tube of perianth studded with thick glandular hairs ; anthers ten, with cells and pores as in the other species; no moniliform cord at base of column; spo- riferous cavities not apparent ; flowers examined probably male ; in- terior of perianth covered with various-formed tubercles. XLII.—Contributions to the Ichthyology of Australia. By Joun Ricnarpson, M.D., F.R.S., &c., Inspector of Hospitals, Haslar. [Continued from p. 218.] SEBASTES PERCOIDES, Percoid Sebastes. Scorpena percoides, Solander, Pisces Austr. ined. p. 4. , Parkins. drawings, vol. ii. pl. 16. No. 14. Tis species was discovered on Cook’s first voyage on the coast of New Zealand, off Cape Kidnappers, and at Motuaro in Queen Charlotte’s Sound. Parkinson’s sketch is unfinished, and but partially tinted, with some appended notes of the markings, but is sufficiently characteristic to leave no doubt of the fish being a Sebastes, and, from its slight armature, ap- parently allied to inermis. Its colours are more varied than those of any species described in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons.’ Solander’s short description includes very few details of form. The height of the body is greatest about the middle of the pecto- rals, and is contained three times and a half in the total length of the fish, caudal included. The length of the head is a trifle greater than the height of the body. The curves of the back and belly are equal, and unite gradually with the profile of the head, which is moderately and regularly convex, particularly above. The eye is the Ichthyology of Australia. 385 rather large; the orbit being a little more than: one-fourth of the length of the head, and somewhat less than its own diameter from the end of the snout. ‘There is a strong recumbent spine on the nasal bone, and perhaps a smaller one on the mesial line of the ver- tex, but the superciliary ridge appears to be quite unarmed, the figure merely showing a double row of dark dots or pits. The pre- orbitar presents three angular corners, touching the limb of the max- illary, and the preoperculum four on its curved under limb, the second being more prominent and conical than the others. The infra-orbitar ridge is not marked as it crosses the cheek, and two small eminences are the only indications of the lateral occipital ridge. The temporal ridge, as in the other Sebastes, is not visible. There are two short opercular spies separated by a small sinus. The scales are only partially marked on the body, and on the head they are shown on the gill-cover and upper part of the preoperculum only; but from Solander’s phrase ‘ squamis tectum,’ we may infer that the head is, as in the other Sebastes, extensively scaly. The dorsal is steeply arched at the beginning, and but slightly notched at the eleventh spine, which is only a little shorter than the twelfth ; the third and fourth are the tallest, and are equal to half the height of the part of the body over which they stand: the eleventh is half their height, and the first still shorter ; the membrane slopes much behind each spine. ‘The soft part of the fin rises higher anteriorly than the tallest spines, and becomes lower behind. Its corners are rounded, and its margin slightly concave. The lower pectoral rays are thick, and project beyond the membrane. The caudal is slightly concave on the margin, with rounded corners. The tints partially laid on the sketch are red and lake, with much orange, olive, and yellowish green. The head is marbled with olive and red. The blotches formed on the dorsal by the ends of the transverse bands are irregular, and do not reach the margin of the fin. On the spinous dorsal and pectoral there is much dark dotting not noticed in the following description :— *‘ ScorPANA PERCOIDES.. Piscis pedalis vel infra, diluté rubicundus, fasclis quinque fuscis: prima per basin capitis; secunda in medio pisce ; tertia paulo pone secundam; quarta inter partem posteram pinne dorsalis et analem, superné bifida; quinta ad basin pinne caudalis. Oculi magni, vicini, pupilla nigra, iris incarnato-argentea. Caput sordidé rubescens, subtus pallidum, squamis tectum: lamina posterior posticé plumbea. Pinna dorsalis colore dorsi, eodemque modo fasciata. Pinnz pectorales latissime, extus basi macula mag- na, fusca, et in medio fascid obsoleta, subolivaceda. Pinnz ventrales rubicunde. Pinna analis rubicunda extus pallidior. Pinna cauda- lis rubicunda, basi dilutior.” (Solander.) SYNANCEIA TRACHYNIS (Nod.), Rouphuvoniersd Hog-fish. No. 8. of Mr. Gilbert’s collection. According to the observations of the collector, this species is not very abundant at Port Essington.“ It is mostly seen 8386 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to in muddy places surrounding stones or rocks. Its native name is * Wullerinden, ” This fish agrees in general form, in the numbers of its rays and in many of the details, with the descriptions given of Synanceia horrida and brachio in the ‘ Histoire des Poissons,’ more particularly with the latter species ; but as the posterior dorsal spines are conspicuously lower than the anterior ones, its preoperculum is armed with a spine, and it has vomerine teeth, which both these species are stated to want, I have given it a specific name expressive of the latter character, though I regret that the want of access to examples of the known species prevents me from detailing its other distinctive marks. Most of the figures of Syn. horrida usually referred to, having been drawn from dried and distorted specimens, are defective, but a good one exists in the Banksian Library, which was done at Otaheite, where the fish bears the name of ‘Ehohoo-pooa-pooa.’ From this our ¢rachynis differs in the form of its dorsal, in the attachment of its pectoral fin being more restricted, and in other characters. | ' Its form is well expressed by a phrase used in the work above mentioned, ‘a short thick club:’ its height and thickness at the pectorals are about equal ; its length, caudal excluded, is rather more than twice as‘much. ‘The shape of the skull has a general agree- ment with the description of that of horrida. There is the same kind of bony eminence between the eyes, with a deep cavity in front, and several pits on the sides, back and top; the same sudden de- pression of the cranium behind the superciliary eminence ; the pre- cipitous rising of the occiput, and the oblique and irregular but somewhat rhomboidal plate on each temple. At the base of these plates in front there is a round pit on each side which might be readily mistaken for the orbits. ‘The anterior and posterior walls of the middle depression of the skull are vertical, not curved, as in Bloch’s figure of S. horrida. ‘These parts are no doubt entirely masked by the thick spongy skin of the recent fish, but the descrip- tion is drawn up from the dried specimen, which was moistened to elicit the forms of the cirrhi and the patterns of colour. The very small eyes are situated (as shown in the figure of Synanceia grossa in Hardwicke’s ‘ Indian Zoology’) in a triangular space formed between the fore and hind limbs of the frontal eminence and a transverse ligament, and have consequently a lateral aspect, differing in this respect from brachio, and corresponding with horrida. The orifice of the mouth opens upwards before the snout, in an are of a circle, and the under jaw, when depressed, projects half its own length be- yond the edge of the intermaxillary. The teeth are short, and densely villiform. ‘The chevron of the vomer is rendered concave by the rising of its obtuse lateral edges, and its surface is armed with villi- form teeth still shorter than those of the jaws. ‘The tongue and palate bones ‘appear to be toothless. The first suborbitar is com- the Ichthyology of Australia. 387 posed of several’smooth ridges, which radiate from a longitudinal one and enclose five or six pits: its lower obtuse point, covered, with warty integument, projects partly over the limb of the maxillary : behind this a shorter but acute point. projects downwards. The second suborbitar, running backwards and rather downwards from the middle of the first one, above the last-mentioned point, rises into an obtuse conical eminence under the cheek, from whence a strong ridge is continued to the angle of the preoperculum. A much less conspicuous ridge runs to the base of the preopercular spine, and a forked one tends upwards in the direction of the posterior frontal plate, to which it is joined by a fold of skin or a mucous canal representing the posterior suborbitars. The lower limb of the preoperculum is somewhat arched, and the upper one straight and slightly inclined backwards; the angle they form rather exceeds a right one, and at their junction there is a flat, obtuse, projecting point covered with warty skin. Three smaller points similarly covered exist on the lower limb; and from the lower third of the ascending limb there rises a conical obtuse point, from behind which there issues a spine that inclines backwards over the anterior ridge of the operculum. In the ‘ Histoire des Poissons’ it is stated of Syn. brachio, that “‘ aucune des pieces de la téte n'est Epi- neuse.” In our specimen the preopercular spine is a quarter of an inch long, and has the usual translucency of a spinous point, although it appears, like the other bony projections on the head, to have been well covered with warty skin in the recent fish. Three cylindrical ridges, like ribs, radiate from the base of the operculum, shine through the integument, and end in obtuse points a little within the verge of the skinny border of the gill-cover. A fourth ridge or rib, apparently belonging to the suboperculum, runs obliquely from un- der the tip of the second opercular ridge to the tip of the upper one, supporting the little tapering flap which forms the extreme point of the gill-cover, and lies over the upper angle of the branchial open- ing. These parts having been sewed up in preparing the specimen, I am unable to ascertain with certainty whether there be actually a small ring above this tip, as in S. horrida, or merely a loop or angle of the gill-opening, but am inclined to believe that the latter was the case. The skin, when moistened, becomes mucous and spongy. The lips are fringed by many short, divided filaments, those on the lower jaw being mostly palmated. On the extreme edge of the snout, near the upper point of the suborbitar of each side, there is a little simple barbel. The body is studded with soft, rounded, wrinkled warts, each having a firm central point. These warts are largest on the shoulder, and become much smaller, and are further apart, on the belly. ‘The skin, for a finger’s breadth along the base of the dorsal, has few or no warts. The dateral line is furnished with about twelve thick, sessile, wart-like cirrhi, the last of which is placed on the basal quarter of the caudal, between its middle rays. Rays :—B.7; P..16; V.1|5; D. 13/6; A. 3]5; C. 13. Seven branchial rays can be counted on the left side of the fish, 388 Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to the two lower ones being much more slender than the rest. The pectorals are oblique, and coarsely crenated by the projection of the ends of the rays and notching of the membrane. The space between the fins on the throat is greater than that occupied by the attach- ment of each fin to the humeral bones. The length of the pectoral, measured from the lowest and shortest ray to the edge of the upper rounded part, is exactly equal to one-third of the total length of the fish, caudal included, or a little more than the distance between the upper lip and tip of the gill-flap. The ventrals measure half the ex- treme length of the pectorals, and are bound lengthwise to the belly up te their tips. The dorsal commences immediately behind the oc- ciput, the three first rays rising from a depression which is flanked by the reverted temporal plates. ‘The second spine is the tallest, and the membrane of all the three is deeply notched, particularly behind the third one, where it descends to the base of the fourth spine. ‘These three spines also alternate more to the right and left side of the membrane than the spines which follow. The fourth spine equals the first or third one in height, and the succeeding ones shorten very gradually to the ninth and tenth, which are about one-third shorter. The three following spines increase successively in height, and more rapidly, so that the twelfth equals the first, third and fourth, and the thirteenth is the tallest of all the spines; but it is overtopped by about one-third of the soft fin: this is rounded, its three middle rays are the tallest, and the sixth and last ray is forked to the base, is shorter than the rest, and is bound to the tail by an edging of membrane which runs from its tip to the base of the caudal. The rays of the anal are very oblique, and though about as long as those of the soft dorsal, the fin does not rise nearly so high : the last ray is bound down its whole length to the tail, but the membrane does not run from its tip to the caudal: the three spines are short, curve backwards, and are not pungent. The caudal is small and rounded, and contains thirteen rays, the two extreme ones being shorter than the rest. All the fins are enveloped in thick skin, which towards the tips of the rays is rough and warty. This is especially the case on the dorsal spines. The colour of the specimen, when moistened, was dark brown, paler towards the ventral surface. The pectorals and caudal ap- peared dark at their tips, and were crossed on their basal halves by two conspicuous whitish or pale yellow bands, and several streaks on a brown ground. ‘The soft dorsal and anal were crossed by pale, oblique bands. Dimensions, inches, lines, Length from edge of snout to end of caudal fin ..,....ssesesseees 40. 34 base of ditto .........ssee0. 8 8 MAS: nchuknespushs «se ppen snes 6 68 tip of gill-flap ............ 2 10 first dorsal spine ......... 2 Freight @t venty ales. ies. cuits. etsis easy kG ob OEE oc ne 4.810 Thickness at pectorals! wisices. obs Gowasowzsbecbeunbbieg. coldeh seep es 3. 66 Height of second dorsal spine ..........seeseeseoes estieieth iodide adey 0.5410 CUE idee edsedes desadddisbiovwevdds Sere Gibeevusinbiides 0 6% the Ichthyology of Australia. 389 DIMENSIONS, inches. lines. Height of thirteenth .......0. escecsesseessesveenenees deesaanne seas WP GE OTUR A cconcistetesnesmchésche cs dap ccsondeepeacivecedes F059 Extreme oblique length of pectorals heweeb bales We sdivieotegees ved 3) 216 Length: of yentrals 2..5..es is cediectecescenssasescoceadsasnscenede ao ant — space between pectorals ....cccseecossvcetscsosensccasene 2. +04 QAM) TE 5. 65k o saeandeasdennghactyein dees we cb oath} rraast | EY from anus to anal fin ........sseeee0es TET OT RORE 0 64 Scotopsis LoneuLus (Nod.), Scolopsis of Torres Straits. No. 32. Mr. Gilbert’s collection. This Scolopsis was seen by Mr. Gilbert in Port fae but in the entrance of the harbour only. It has no striking individual peculiarity by which it can be distinguished. from the known members of the genus, though none of the species described in the ‘Histoire des Poissons’ present the same combination of external characters. It is an elongated species, the height of its body being only one- fourth of the total length, caudal included. The length of the head rather exceeds the height of the body. The cheeks, operculum, sub- operculum and interoperculum are covered with scales regularly dis- posed in oblique lines. The naked skin goes back on the forehead as far as the posterior quarter of the orbit, and, as in Sc. temporalis, runs out a little on the temple. The preorbitar and limb of the pre- operculum are also naked. ‘The lower edge and rounded angle of the preorbitar are quite entire, the angle does not project, and the ascending edge of the bone is almost straight, being rendered slightly concave, merely by the projection of the spinous point beneath the orbit. ‘The edge of the bone is armed from this point nearly to the angle by about ten small teeth; there is one small tooth on the se- cond suborbitar, under the middle of the eye, pomting backwards, and five or six minute irregular ones farther back, but no spine on the suborbitar chain which points forwards. ‘The anterior margin of the orbit rises into a small obtuse eminence between the nostrils and the eye, as in the Siganoidee.. 'The preoperculum has a convex under-limb, with a largely rounded angle, both quite entire. The ascending limb is equally and acutely toothed from its upper end to near the round of the angle. None of the teeth are everted. The opercular spine, very short, not pungent and placed high up, bears a strong likeness to the spine of a Helotes. ‘There are no grooves on the operculum, which is entirely covered with scales, concealing com- pletely its junction with the suboperculum. ‘The supra-scapular re- sembles a scale with a strongly toothed edge, and a row of scales, di- stinguished from the others by darker integument and grooved bases, extends from it in an oblique direction across the nape. The naked skin of the head is full of pores. The scales of the body are closely and conspicuously toothed on the margin. They are pretty large, there being only thirty-nine in a row between the gill-opening and the caudal, not reckoning a few small ones on the base of the fin; and thirteen or fourteen in a ver- 390 | Dr. Richardson’s Contributions to tical row, two of which are above the lateral line. The lateral line runs straight until it arrives under the posterior part of the dorsal, when it makes a descending curve and becomes straight again ; it is composed of scales smaller than the others, as in Sc. Vosmeri. Rays :—Br. 5; D,10)9, the last one divided; A, 3|7; P.17; C. te Sa ie bs j The dorsal spines are slender and acute; the fourth is the tallest, and the tenth is a little shorter than the second, but one-third longer than the first, which again is nearly half the length of the fourth. The third is the longest of the anal spines, and the first is nearly half as long as the second one. The ventrals are drawn out into a short filamentous tip, The caudal is lunate on the margin, the upper lobe being a little longer than the lower one. The colours of the dried specimen have faded, but a pale band can still be traced from the upper part of the gill-opening to the caudal fin, coinciding with the lateral line after its curve. ‘There were perhaps two other stripes higher on the back, but the vestiges of them are very obscure. The belly below the level of the pectoral is pale. The scales of the back and sides are each marked by a dark stripe parallel to its exterior margin. 3 DIMENSIONS. inches, lines. Length from intermaxillary symphysis to tip of tail .........s000++ 6 11 base of caudal......... 5 8 NAL ED is conanerncvorde 3 9 CQOTWME UN vsoceecesencess 1 10 tip of opercular spine 1 9% centre Of eV sescesees 0 11 Didineter OF OTDIC. . ie. .sisscer-gasdecevecacvonseagestpesbonde cncgssnhooee 0 5 Length of pectorals......... adn db Cdkd bce chappai@ass Undde. concanne abe 2 55 32 6 9 4 3 1 Loaseze .evcccces 6 31 haa oak nen 7 24 Loranthacee ... 4 330 3 106} 19 11 181 10 Magnoliacez ...| 9 14°) sae RGbaince a Qa 58 3 Malpighiacee...| 17 180 Wives 1)) 6 464) 29 4184 Malvacez ......| 23 559 54 128} 92 62 225 13 Marcgraaviacez 4 9 maps th *thabhiveses| sine 8 1 Melastomacez...| 68 722 cb 75} 18} 23 604 2 Meliacez......... 16 65 a > Feta 3 26 3 Memecylee...... 3 22 oe 11} 6 1 4 Menispermacee | 12 92 wis 45} 13 | 10 25 Myrtaceze......... 47 715 1 93} 21 2 | 408 198 Nympheacee...| 4 32 4 Lis 3S 9 4 Ochnacee ....... 5 40 ae 9} 10 1 20 Olacineze ......++. 8 17 ee 4 5 rie 4 4 Onagrarie ...... 16 248 19 37 9 | 109 76 3 Oxalidez ......... 4 159 3 5| 93 17 43 2 _|Papaveracee ...) 9 54 || 26 15} 5 7 hi 1 Paronychiez 22 91 || 36 eae Be J 5 5 Passifloreze ......| 11 178 a 14 9 13 138 6 Philadelphez ...| 2 12 Leah heel Pittosporeee.....| 4 28 ae 2 fa One 1? 18 Podophyllacee .| 5 GOW,‘ eyed elivemerd hs ose uy) 1 Polygalee ......| 11 265 16 35| 85 | 36 84 9 Portulacez ......| 14 90 2 ¥7ii (22 12 35 3 Ranunculacee...| 28 543 || 190 183} 42 | 1038 40 18 Rhamnee ......| 17 242 16 OU 77 |. 84t 43 23 Rhizobolez ...... 1 6 eas «te aah cae 6 Rhizophorez ...) 4 23 ae 13). 3 1 6 Rosaceze ...ecce-| 62 805 || 243 242) 56 | 204 81 & Rubiaceee.........| 223 1876 || 124 582} 216 | 116 822 47 Rutacee cepceocee 30 236 12 30| 88 8 58 42 Salicarieze ......| 27 178 10 43) 11 30 87 2 Samydez......... 3 52 Sas 16} 1 4 31 1 Sapindacez......| 29 198°] 4s. 38} 16] 13 | 118 9 Saxifragee ...... 32 309 || 98 69} 13] 52 69 13 Simarubiacez .,. 4 13 de's ph oe bi 13: Tamariscinee ... 2 23 2 18 4 Terebintaces ...| 55 252 7 65| 79) 38 65 6 Ternstroemiaceze| 13 54 We: 19 ] 9 25 Tiliacez ...... Venl : 20 149 6 70} 20 8 46 3 Tremandree ...| 2 GM: au tel be: Litieng Acide eee 7 Tropeolee ......| | 2 14 Wee a Gey ip P18 1 14 Turneracee...... 2 31 pe “ss Mids ] 30 Umbelliferze ...| 160 1009 || 859 | 309) 164 | 112 135 48 Valerianee .,....| 11 129 40 30 4; 138 49 Violarieze......... 18 181 35 25)"18 | +50 58 6 Vochysiez ......| 8 38 wow Laibiwhe eked’ Heels 38 Zygophyllee ...| 10 52 2 10} 26 5 10 2 100 1881 |20094 {3210 |5004/3731 |2111 |5742 922 Bibliographical Notices. 417 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. Voyage dans I’ Amérique Méridionale exécuté dans le cours des Années 1826—1838. Par M. Alcide D. D’Orbigny. Botanique—Cryp- togamie, par Camille Montagne. Tuts is a portion of one of those splendid works which appear from time to time under the auspices of the French government. The ex- tent of the work and the beauty of the execution necessarily make its price such as to confine it to the libraries of public institutions or wealthy individuals ; we think, therefore, that it will not be uninter- esting to our readers if we extract the characters of such new spe- cies as are described in it, omitting however those which have al- ready appeared in ‘ Ann. d. Sc. Nat.’ These are disposed under two heads, the first of which is entitled ‘ Sertum Patagonicum ;’ the latter, which is far the larger of the two, ‘ Florule Boliviensis stirpes nove vel minus cognite.’. The reason for this arrangement is thus stated in the introduction by M. Brongniart :— ‘«« The botanical collections made by M. D’Orbigny during his long voyage belong to two regions so different, that it has been thought preferable to make them the subject of two local floras, rather than to confound species belonging to these two regions in one and the same scientific series. The plants of Southern America, from Monte Video andthe environs of Buenos Ayres to the centre of Patagonia on the banks of the Rio Negro, growing under the influence of a temperate climate, have nothing in common with those of Corrientes, at the - banks of the Parana, while these last have the strongest analogy with the tropical plants of Brazil and the lower and meridional provinces of Bolivia visited by D’Orbigny ; we have therefore thought it right to publish them under two distinct heads, the first entitled ‘ Sertum Patagonicum,’ comprising the plants of the banks of Rio Negro in Patagonia, to which are added those from the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres and Monte Video ; the other, under the title of ‘ Florule Boliviensis stirpes nove vel minus cognite,’ will contain those of Bolivia, whether of the low parts which have a vegetation purely tropical or of the elevated regions of the Andes, which, though dif- fering greatly in the vegetation, cannot be separated from the others, because of the gradual transition from one region to the other, and the impossibility of fixing any precise line of demarcation ; to this tropical flora we shall join the plants of the Parana near Corrientes, which, notwithstanding their extra-tropical origin, partake of the characters of the low parts of Bolivia, and even some new plants from the neighbourhood of. Rio Janeiro, collected by D’Orbigny while so- journing there. ‘‘ A third part will contain the history of the Palms observed in the different regions visited, of which D’Orbigny has brought figures made on the spot, which, in addition to notes and specimens, will enable us to throw some light on the species of this part of America. “The wish to make the publication more perfect and speedy has induced me to request some botanists well known by their labours to 418 Bibliographical Notices. share the task entrusted to me by D’Orbigny ; M. Montagne has in consequence undertaken the cellular Cryptogams, and M. Decaisne the monopetalous Dicotyledons, and especially the Composite, which are very numerous in the collections.” Sertum Patagonicum. Arex, Roth. Nostoe microtis, Montagne. Fronde minuta, cochleata seu difformi, mar- gine acuto-sinuata, solitaria, ceruled pellucida; filis internis simplicibus, curvato-flexuosis, moniliformibus. Ad saxa inundata secus flumen Rio Negro, faciei prone inter radices, Riccie? nigrescenti adheerens. Conferva aculeata*, Mont. Czespite basi stuposo funiformi-ramoso, filis con- stituto setaceis, siccitate nitentibus, radices implexos duplici origine ex- ortos emittentibus, ramosissimis, ramis vagis, ramulisque strictis ascen- dentibus subsecundis fasciculatis, supremis aculeiformibus, articulis cylin- dricis diametro duplo triplove longioribus. Cum icone. Ad infimum refluxus limitem in littore sinus S. Blasii. Laminaria cepestipes, Mont. Radice. bulboso, stipite terete in laminam cuneato-oblongam crassam laciniato-multifidam expanso. Cum icone. Durvillea utilis, Bory, junior ? Ad insulas Maclovianas, Gaudichaud. Littore Patagonico, D’Orbigny. Littore Chilensi (ad Valparaiso), Bertero. Macrocystis Orbigniana, Mont. Caule tereti, foliis lanceolatis undato-ru- gosis margine dentato-ciliatis, vesiculis fusiformibus elongatis. Cum ic. In oris. Patagoniz. Hepatic, Juss. Riccia? nigrescens, Mont. Frondibus imbricatis e centro radiantibus nigro- viridibus dichotomis, laciniis expansis obovatis, margine sinuato undulato crispo ascendenti; sporangiis? in pagina inferiore elliptico-prominen- tibus. Ad terram in ripis fluminis Rio Negro. Florule Boliviensis stripes nove vel minus cognite. ALG. Lyngbya ferruginea, var.? Ag. Filis zruginosis in czespitem viridi-lutescen- tem. ceruleumque densé intricatis. Ad littora Peruviana. Halymenia? Doryphora, Mont. Fronde coriaceo-membranacea palmato-fissa integerrima segmentis acutissimé lanceolatis, undulato-crispis spiralitér tortis. Ad oras Peruvie propé Callao. Spherococeus laciniatus, Lyngb. var.d, centrocarpus, Mont. Fronde primaria sublanceolata obtusa e margine prolifera, laciniis cuneatis iterum prolificis; sporangiis sphzericis in ipso margine vel in processibus marginalibus undique spinulosis seu cristatis. An species? Ad oras Peruvianas juxta Callao. : Delesseria bipinnatifida, Mont. Fronde tenuissime membranacea costata * Now named by Montagne Conf. oxyclada, a species from the Cape having been published by Suhr under the name first given. Bibliographical Notices. 419 lineari e margine bipinnatim prolifera, pinnis lineari-lanceolatis nervosis patenti-erectis. Cum ic. a ae -Propé Valparaiso. Delesseria phylloloma, Mont. Fronde tenuissima avenia ob!onga e margine prolifera, ramentis subpedicellatis basi rotundatis, apice vagé fissis, lobis emarginatis, soris in disco frondis sparsis. Propé Callao. Delesseria peruviana, Mont. Fronde elongata basi cuneata nervosa bis bi- fida, segmentis lanceolatis acutis, soris in disco frondis sparsis. Ad Callao. AcropeE.tis, Mont., nov. gen. Cuar. Essent. Semina pyriformia in apotheciis clypeiformibus terminali- bus nidulantia. Cuar. Nat. Radix scutulata. Caulis filiformis in frondem mox explanatus. Frons linearis eandem latitudinem ubique servans margine denticulata vel ciliata, apice modd truncata, et tum e medio truncature prolifera, modo rotundato-ampliata speciem ferens peltz cui gongyli immersi. Fruc- tus: semina pyviformi-clavata primim omnino intra frondis substantiam immersa, tandem erumpentia prominula, et scutam orbiculatam in quam frondes desinunt, scabrusulam reddentia. Acropeltis chilensis, Mont. Fronde lineari plana subsimplici vel basi fili- formi tanttiim ramos4, margine denticulata, apice truncato interdum pro- lifera, peltis gongyliferis terminalibus. Aueaw Oxivaceaz, J. Ag. Desmarestia peruviana, Mont. Fronde plana membranacea ecortata mar- gine dentata tripinnaté, pinnis pinnulisque oppositis lanceolatis. ( Juxta Callao. Out of sixty-six species of Alge collected during the voyage of Orbigny, M. Montagne remarks, twenty are quite new. ‘The Flo- ridee predominate, which accords with the observation of Lamou- ~ roux, Agardh and Bory, and is confirmed by the younger Agardh, that the more we approach the equator the more rose-coloured Alge prevail. The Fucoidee are very few, but the number of species is in a manner compensated by the size which they attain, as for ex- ample Durvillea utilis and the species of the genus Macrocystis. ‘There is but one species in the Polar seas which can for a moment be compared with them. Hyroxyta, DeC. Spheria portentosa*, Mont. Lignosa simplex elongato-linguiformis, atra undique peritheciis superficialibus ovato-globosis crassis papillatis tecta ; stipite glabro. Ad ligna Cochabamba in Bolivia. Foner, L. Juss. Fr. Geaster (Plecostoma) ambiguus, Mont. Peridio exteriori simplici multifido rigescente subinvoluto, interiori sessili ore plano-conico plicato-striato. Ad terram in provincia Bolivia de Chiquitos. * This and. some other species have been published in late numbers of ‘Ann. d. Se. Nat.’ since the text from whence the characters are taken was printed. 10 Bibliographical Notices. HeEpatTica, Juss. Grimaldia peruviana, Nees et Mont. Receptaculo feemineo completo sub- globose dimidiatoque crenato, subtis pedicelloque brevi pilosis, masculo discoideo sessili, fronde dichotoma latiusculé lineari subtis ad costam esquamata, apice prolifera. Ad terram humidam et saxa in umbrosis montis excelsi propé Irupana, Grimaldia chilensis, Lindenb. . Subsimplex apiceve succrescens linearis, canaliculata, denticulata, apice emarginata, brevissimé ciliato-barbata, sub- tis atro-purpurea squamisque subulato-acutis rigidulis patulis exasperata, receptaculo foemineo (tmperfecto) convexo quadri-quinquecrenato, obso- leté barbato. Ad terram locis humidis propé Quillota. Of the Hepatice, which are fifty-eight in number, twenty-one are new. Musct. Conomitrium Berteriit, Mont. Caule fluitante filiformi ramosissimo, ramis superioribus subfasciculatis, foliis distichis, dissitis, alternis angustissimé linearibus patentibus, supremis longissimis pedunculis 1—3 axillaribus cauligenis, capsulz ovate operculo acuminato. Cum ic. Ad saxa in scaturiginibus propé Quillota. A very remarkable circumstance is figured in this species, viz. the germination of a spore in the cavity of the capsule, from the mouth of which projects a new individual. The Mosses described are forty-one in number, of which ten are new species. ‘The acrocarpous and pleurocarpous species are nearly equal in number, but the proportion of mosses with a simple peri- stome exceeds that of those with a double peristome. ‘The known species are mostly tropical or ubiquitanous. Several European spe- cies were found on the Cordillera of the Andes, in spots nearly iso- thermal with those in which they occur in Europe. The London Journal of Botany ; being a new series of the Journal of Botany. By Sir W. J. Hooker, K.H., &c. &c. We give the contents of this journal from January last to the pre- sent time, with some brief observations. No. I. Notes of a Botanical Excursion to the Mountains of North Carolina, &c., with some remarks on the Botany of the higher Alle- ghany Mountains; by Asa Gray,M.D.—Notes upon Cape Orchidaceae; by Prof. Lindley. [This paper contains descriptions of 10 new species belonging to the genera. Disperis, Disa, Brownleea and Penthea, sent to Prof. Lindley by the Hon. W. H. Harvey.!—Descriptions of se- veral (16) new genera of South African Plants ; by the Hon. W. H. Harvey.—Some account of the Paraguay Tea (Ilex paraguayensis) ; by Sir W. J. Hooker.—Botanical information : new British Plants. [The plants referred to are “‘ Equisetum elongatum (Willd.),”’ found by F. Whitla, Esq. in mountain glens near Belfast; Chara latifolia (Willd.), found by D. Moore, Esq. in Belvidere Lake, Westmeath ; Polyporus nitidus (Fries), near Bristol, by H. O. Stephens, Esq.]— Bibliographical Notices.—On the Plants of the Grampians, viewed Bibliographical Notices. 421 in their relation to altitude; by H. C. Watson, Esq. [A most valu- able paper. ] ‘II. A continuation of Mr. Watson’s paper on the Plants of the Grampians.—Description of Trochopteris, a new genus of Ferns; by G. Gardener, Esq.—Notices of some Plants new to the Flora of Bri- tain; by H. C. Watson, Esq. : they are Linaria Bauhinii, Lolium mul- tiflorum and Bromus commutatus.—Botanical information : containing extracts from a letter from Mr. James Drummond on Australian Botany ; and from Dr. Hostmann on the Plants of Brazil.—Biogra- phical sketch of the late Allan Cunningham. III. Biographical sketch of the late Allan Cunningham (continued). —On the permanent regions of Alpine Vegetation ; by R. B. Hinds, Esq.—Description of Coptophyllum, a new genus of Ferns; by G. Gardener, Esq.—On Trichomanes vittaria; by Sir W. J. Hooker.— Enumeration of Fungi collected by Dr. Hostmann in Surinam ; by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley.—Enumeration of Fungi collected by H. Cuming, Esq. in the Philippine Isles; by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley. ——Contributions to a Flora of Brazil; by G. Gardener, Esq. IV. Contributions to a Flora of Brazil (continued).—Contributions to a Flora of South America; by G. Bentham, Esq.—Botanical in- formation.—Notes of an excursion to North Carolina; by Asa Gray, M.D. (continued). | V. Notes of an Excursion to North Carolina ; by Asa Gray, M.D. (continued ).—Characters of three new species of Chresta; with re- marks on the identity of Pycnocephalum and Chresta; by G. Gar- dener, Esq.—On the Plants of the Grampians (second paper); by H. C. Watson, Esq.—On the position to be assigned to the genus Cneorum in the natural series; by P. B. Webb, Esq.—Botanical in- formation : a letter from Mr. Bridges on the Botany of Chili.—Bio- graphical sketch of the late A. Cunningham (continued). VI. Biographical sketch of the late Allan Cunningham (concluded). —On Cenomyce retipora; by Sir W. J. Hooker.—On a new species of Meniscium from China; by Sir W. J. Hooker.—Botanical infor- mation from Brazil, New Zealand and the Cape of Good Hope.—The Regions of Vegetation ; by R. B. Hinds, Esq.—Notes on Mimosee ; by G. Bentham, Esq. The Phytologist : a Botanical Journal. ‘No. 13. June 1842. The commencement of a second annual Part. Contents :—A History of British Lycopodia and allied Genera ; by Edw. Newman (Pilularia globulifera).—Sketch of an Excursion to the Clova Mountains in July and August 1840; by W. Gardiner, Esq.—Notes on Arenaria rubra, marina and media; by S. Gibson, Esq. [The two former appear to us to be distinct species, but we cannot agree with Mr. Gibson in separating the latter from marina, as our own observations would lead us to believe that the characters drawn from the seeds and length of the capsule are not constant. We trust that we shall not be considered presumptuous if we hint to this very accurate observer, that a more frequent reference to the writings 422 Entomological Society. of continental botanists would be desirable. We say this without the least wish to detract from the value of Mr. Gibson’s papers, but merely to avoid the introduction of additional synonyms into our al- already encumbered science, of which an instance occurred in a late number of the ‘ Phytologist,’ where a supposed new species of Mo- notropa is named and described which had long since received several denominations in botanical works. |—Analytical Notice of a ‘Treatise on the Growth of Plants in closely glazed cases; by N. B. Ward, F.L.S.—Notice of a History of British Forest Trees ; by P. J. Selby, F.L.S.—Varieties. Novitiarum Flore Suecice Mantissa altera, additis plantis in Norvegid -recentius detectis. Scripsit Elias Fries. 8vo, pp. 64. Upsal, 1839. Through the kindness of our valued friend Mr. W. A. Leighton, we are enabled to notice this interesting Appendix to the ‘ Novitiz Florz Suecice ;’ and valuable as are all the works of Fries, this is more particularly so to the British botanist, from its containing very detailed observations on several genera that have of late attracted much attention in this country. We refer more particularly to Gly- ceria, Epilobium, Polygonum, Hieracium, Orchis and. Carex. It is quite impossible to give extracts from such a work as the pre- sent, every word of which is highly interesting to the European de- scriptive botanist, but we must take this opportunity of calling atten- tion to the peculiardifficulty that exists in obtaining Swedish publica- tions. We have now for more than two years been endeavouring stre- nuously to obtain this book, but have totally failed ; indeed, we be- lieve that the copy which has been so kindly lent to us is the only one existing in Britain. PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. November 1, 1841.—W. W. Saunders, Esq., F.L.S., President, in the Chair. _ The Rev. F. W. Hope exhibited a fossil inclosed in a nodule of ironstone from the coal-district near Wellington in Shropshire, col- lected by Dr. Stevenson, having all the appearance of the caterpillar of a large Bombyx, with two series of dorsal tubercles, and with a series of long, cylindrical, furcate appendages on each side of the body. Fossil plants were not uncommon in this locality, but this was the only instance of an insect having been discovered. Dr. Stevenson had also found some specimens having the appearance of the wings of insects, but these having been examined by several botanists of eminence, were pronounced to be leaves of fossil plants allied to Cyclopteris. Mr. Westwood exhibited portions of a very extensive collection of insects formed by E. P. Coffin, Esq., during his residence in Mexico, Entomological Society. 423. which was especially rich in Hymenoptera, particularly in the family of bees, some of which were very singular. Mr. Evans exhibited a drawing of a caterpillar of Zeuzera Aisculi, and part of a young tree which it had destroyed. Mr. E. Doubleday brought for distribution amongst the members a large number of North American Coleoptera. He also exhibited portions of his collection of American Lepidoptera, consisting of an entire series of the genus Polyommatus (5 species), a new species of Colias, two species of Terias hitherto confounded together, and a singular specimen of Saturnia Promethea, having the antenne and body of the male, and wings of the form and colour of those of the female. Dr. Becker of Wiesbaden exhibited portions of his collection of German Lepidoptera, each species being preserved in a small case with the top and bottom of glass,—a mode much adopted in Ger- many. The following memoirs were read :— Observations on the Coleoptera of Port Essington, in Australia. with descriptions of the following new species. By the Rev. F. W. Hope, F.R.S., &c. | LAMELLICORNES. Bolboceras Kirbii, Bainbridge ¢. Castaneus, capite anticé clypeo emarginato, posticé cornu erecto apice acuto; thorace antice et postice excavato, cornu utringue erecto valido, supra denticulato, elytris concoloribus ; corpore infra castaneo, thorace pedibusque flavo-hirsutis. Long. lin. 10, lat. lin. 63. Bolboceras neglectus, Hope 9? . Affinis Bol. Latreillii, at minor. Cas- taneus, capitis clypeo emarginato, medio lined irregulari elevato, postice cornuto, cornu autem apice fisso bidentato; thorace an- tice abrupte. truncato, postice convexo varioloso punctis sparsim instructo ; elytris striato-punctatis, corpore subtis flavis capillis instructo. Long. lin. 83, lat. lin. 5. Bolboceras rotundatus, Hope ?. Castaneus, clypeo integro, capite anticé excavato, medio lined irregulari elevatd conspicuo, postice- que bidentato seu tuberculis binis instructo; thorace convexo glabro punctis aliquot in medio vix conspicuis ; elytris striato- punctatis rotundatis piceo-castaneis, pedibus pallidioribus et pilosis. Long. lin. 34, lat. lin, 2, Bolboceras rubescens, Hope. Rubro-piceus nitidus, clypeo integro, capite lined irregulari instructo ; thorace convexo glabro, fossuld rotundatd utrinque fortiter SRDF ESSE 5 elytris castaneis, pedibus concoloribus. Long, lin. 25, lat. lin. 13. Onthophagus 4-dentatus, Hope ¢. Afiinis Onth. Capelle, Kirb., at major. Niger, capite fere trigono, clypeo emarginato, thorace antice excavato, punctato quadridentato, dentibus mediis majori- bus prominentibus, lateralibus minoribus seu tuberculatis ; elytris striatis, spatio inter strias subtilissime punctulato, pedibus anten- nisque flavo-ciliatis. Long. lin. 63, lat. lin. 4. 2. Femina differt thorace integro haud dentato, angulis anticis tho- racis prominentibus et acutis. 424 Entomological Society. Onthophagus Erichsoni. Niger, capite fere trigono, tuberculo utrin- gue ante oculos posito; thorace antice valde excavato, postice convexo cornu medio lato antrorsum extenso ; elytris striato-punc- tatis, pedibus, funiculoque antennarum piceis, capitulo flavescente ; pedum anteriorum tibiis 3-dentatis, tarsis aurantiis capillis ob- sitis. Long. lin. 44, lat. lin. 24. This insect will at some future time be considered as the type of a distinct genus. Onthophagus picipennis, Hope. Piceus, thorace. trigono, capite ante oculos furcato, thorace antrorsum lined elevatd conspicuo, punctulato ; elytris nigris nitidis, corpore infra concolori, pedibus rubro-piceis. Long. lin. 44, lat. lin. 2. This species I have formerly received from Melville Island, and it is evidently the same as that taken at Port Essington. Onthophagus glabratus, Hope... Niger, capite integro, pariim exca- vato et subrugoso; thorace levi sub lente subtilissime punctato, elytris striato-punctatis, corpore infra nigro, antennis tibiis tarsis- que piceis et rufo-ciliatis. Long. lin. 5, lat. lin. 24. This species varies greatly in magnitude and in colouring :. several specimens are evidently immature. Onthophagus discolor. . Viridi-eneus clavd antennarum flavescenti, capite integro anticé excavato, posticé convero, lineis binis ele- vatis transversis, und medid, alterd inter oculos positd ; thorace viridi, nitido sub lente punctulato ; elytris atro-viridibus, striato- punctatis, punctis fortiter impressis, corpore infra concolori. Long. lin. 3, lat. lin. 14. The above species.of Onthophagus are all from Port Essington ; and I may here mention that there are in my collection twenty-four species from other ‘parts of New Holland which have hitherto re- mained undescribed. Tessarodon piceum, Hope. Affine Scarabeo Nove Hollandiz, Fab. Piceum, capite bituberculato, thorace inermi punctulato elytrisque striato-punctatis et subscabrosis ; corpore infra rufo-piceo, pedi- bus ciliatis. Long. lin. 24, lat. lin. 13. This appears to be an insect closely allied to the Nove Hollanhe of Fabricius, from which it differs in several points. Copris glabricollis, Hope. Niger, capite feré trigono, parim emar- ginato vie subrugoso, thorace levi nitido, posticé lined transversd punctorum satis notato, elytris striato-punctatis, punctis fortiter impressis : corpore infra nigro capitulo antennarum flavescente, funiculo autem et tibiis rufo-ciliatts. Long. lin. 5, lat. lin. 23. True Copris in New Holland are rare ; from Melville Island I pos- sess three species, which I have named steriocerus, corniger and insu- laris. The insect described above is an additional one. They are all remarkable for having the punctures apparent on each side of the elytra, and therefore are closely allied to several of the African Copride, such as C. Orion of De Jean, and also to Copris Bengal- ensis of Hope. Mechidius rufus, Hope. Rufus, capite parim emarginato subre- flexo, thorace feré semicirculari, lateribus extrorsim conveais, an- Entomological Society. 425. »gulis posticis vir rectangulatis ; elytris capite cum thorace :duplo longioribus, striato-punctatis et subgranulatis ; corpore infra rufo, pedibus concoloribus. » Long. lin. 24, lat. lin. 14. Puznoenatuvs, Hope, n. g. Pachypo affine pedibus posticis longissimis. Caput in medio cornu- _tum,; labrum porrectum, conicum, mandibule easerte, antenn@ 9-ar- ticulate. Mazille lobis minutissimis. Prothorax anticé subre-. tusus. Elytra conica postice valde attenuata. Phenognatha Erichsoni, Hope. Castanea, capite unicorni, cornu nigro, postice flavo tomentoso; thorace punctato, margine omni ciliato ; elytris ad basin castaneis, postice nigris et striato-punc- tatis, punctis quasi erosis; corpore infra piloso, pedibus conco- loribus et auricumatis. Long. lin. 3, lat. lin. 23. Named in honour of Erichson, who has figured some singular ge- nera allied to Pachypus, as well as to the above genus. Sericesthis Gouldii, Hope. Afinis S. abdominali, Hope, at differt Castaneo-pruinosa, capite antice excavato, postice convexo ; tho- race undique -lined elevatd. circumdato lateribus flavo-ciliatis. Elytris postice rotundatis ultra medium incrassatis, striato-punc- tatis, striis parum impressis, disco sparsim.punctulato ; podice trigono et declivo; corpore infra concolori pectore pedibus flavis capillis longis obsitis, femoribus segmentisque abdominis rubro- piceis nitidis. Long. lin. 11, lat. lin. 53... The above insect is one of the largest species of my acquaintance ; more than forty species have fallen under my notice; about thirty-five arein my collection. They would afford ample materials for a mono- graph. In bloom and colouring they resemble Serica, and to that genus they are certainly allied. Two other species were received from Port Essington with the above. __ _ Liparetra nigricollis, Hope, Atra, capite antice excavato, thorace convexo, nigro, elytris striato-punctatis piceis, pedibus concoloribus, pectore flavo-tomentoso. Long, lin. 3, lat. lin. 14. The present insect belongs to a genus of the family of the Seri- cide ; it is rich in species, as my cabinet contains nearly twenty. There are some few other Lamellicornes in Mr. Gould’s collection, from Port Essington, but they are in too imperfect a state to de- scribe. , GEODEPHAGA. _ Megacephala Australasia, Hope. Flava, antennis palpisque luteis, eapite viridi ; mazillis concoloribus, apicibus nigricantibus. Tho- race @neo-viridi, anticé posticeque consiricto, linedque longitudt- nali fortiter impresso ; elytris.flavo-marginatis maculd anchorali magnd notaté ; corpore infra. viridi ternis segmentis antepenultimis piceis, apicali autem flavo, pedibusque concoloribus. Long. lin. 73, lat. lin. 24, This is the first instance, I believe, of a Megacephala being de- scribed as inhabiting New Holland: apparently it varies consider- ably in, magnitude. | Cicindela Ioscelis, Hope. Atro-enea, capite eneo fronte albido, Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. 426 Entomological Society. antennis violaceis; thorace bronzeo fere bilobato, posticé con- stricto, elytris nigricantibus, lateribus externé trilunatis, maculis albidis notatis, septem punctis viridibus in singulo elytrorum fere ad suturam positis ; corpore infra violaceo, femoribus, tibiis tar- sisgue concoloribus, tibits autem ad basin flavo-maculatis. Long. lin. 3, lat. lin. 1. The above elegant insect appears to be a form differing from any yet received from New Holland. 7 - Carenum Smaragdulum, Hope. Viride, capite nigro, foveisque binis impresso, thorace virescenti semicirculari, margine omni ele- vatd ; elytris lete viridibus glabris nitidis, marginibus externis elevatis et auratis ; corpore infra piceo lateribus eneo-tinctis, pedibus concoloribus. Long. lin. 9, lat. lin. 24. This beautiful species I received lately from Western Australia, and now describe it, as it is apparently quite unknown. It is pro- bable that Carenum will be found to be peculiar to. New Holland. No ‘true Scarites of my acquaintance is of any colour but black or brown. Eutomus megacephalus, Hope. Cylindricus, niger, nitidus, capite maximo pronoto viridi, elytris levibus cupreo-viridibus, tibiis an- ticis dente unico apicali externo. Long. lin. 8. Enigma (Newm.) cyanipenne, Hope. Atro-piceum, capite nigro punctulato, antennis tomentosis, quatuor primis articulis atris, re- liquis fuscis ; thorace cordato, antice posticeque truncato, disco punctulato ; elytris cyaneis, striato-punctatis, spatiis, inter strias punctulatis ; corpore infra piceo, pedibus concoloribus. Long. lin. 7, lat. lin. 14. This species is the second that has hitherto been described. I consider it as a true Helluo. /Enigma unicolor, Hope. Fusco-piceum, antennis tomentosis, tho- race cordato punctulato, elytrisque subcostatis et striato-punctatis, corporeque infra concolori. Long. lin. 7, lat. lin. 14. As this species is also a native of New Holland, and is unknown to entomologists, it is here described, although it was not received from Port Essington. CypHosoma™*, n. g. Antenne 11-articulate, articulo 1”. crasso, reliquis equalibus. Cly- peus protensus subemarginatus. Caput subquadratum fossulis binis inter oculos fortiter impressis. Thorax lateribus rotundatis, an- gulis anticis prominentibus. lytra gibba. Palpi mazillares, articulo 1”° brevi, 2% triplo longiori apice subincrassato, 3° cy- lindrico apice truncato. — | Cyphosoma unicolor. Capite nigro; antennis articulis 4, primis piceis, reliquis subtomentosis ; thorace concolori, marginibus late- ralibus elevatis, lined medid longitudinali antic? interruptd, fossuld utringue fortiter impressd; scutello brevi; elytris gibbis, sul- catis; pedibus robustis, tibiisque subincurvis. Long. lin. 83, lat. lin. 3. Catascopus Australasie, Hope. Viridis, antennis fuscis ; thorace * xUQos, gibbus, et cama, corpus. Entomological Society. 427 hexagono lateribus marginatis concolori ; elytris striato-puncta- tis; corpore infra piceo, pedibus concoloribus. Long. lin. 44, lat. lin. 14. This, I believe, is the first time that Catascopus has occurred in New Holland, and it is singular that the form of it approaches the species of Africa much more than those of India. Gnathaphanus (M. L.?) Licinoides, Hope. Niger, thorace fossulis posted fortiter impressis, elytris sulcato-striatis, punctisque excava- tis, corpore infra atro nitido, tarsis infra fusco-spongiosis. Long. lin. 53, lat. lin. 13. | I have little hesitation in regarding this insect as a true Gnatha- phanus ; it has not hitherto been found but in the island of Java. CyrTopERus*, n. g. Antenne 11-articulate, articulo 1” quatuor proximis equali, cylin- drico, apice incrassato, subtruncato, reliquis fere- equalibus. Man- dibule apice subincurvate. Labrum quadratum medio productum subciliatum. Mentum transversum.. Palpi maxillares ultimo ar- ticulo subsecuriformi, oblique truncato, Palpi labiales ultimo ar- ticulo feré trigono, valdé securiformi. Thorax subquadratus an- gulis posticis lateribusque rotundatis. Corpus gibbosum. Pedes robusti, tibiis spinosis. Cyrtoderus Australasie. Niger, antennarum articulis tribus primis piceis, reliquis pubescentibus ; thorace lined medid longitudinalt, antice posticeque interruptd, fossuldque utrinque retrorsum fortiter impressd ; scutello parvo viz distincto ; elytris striatis interstitiis elevatis, marginatis, serie tuberculorum ad margines externos ap- proximatd ; corpore subtis nigro, tibiis spinosis. Long. lin. 8, lat. lin. 24. HypRADEPHAGA. Cybister insularis, Hope. Niger, capite integro convexo, oculis albis, thorace sub lente subtilissime punctato, marginibus exterioribus flavescentibus ; elytris nigris flavo-marginatis, disco binis lineis punctorum haud fortiter impresso; corpore infra nigro nitido, pedibus quatuor anticis flavo-ornatis, posticis atro-piceis. Long. lin. 8, lat. lin. 43. This is the smallest species known, being scarcely larger than a Hydaticus. Colymbetes monostigma, Hope. Afer, nitidus, elytris uno aurantio stigmate ornatis, corpore infra nigro, pedibus rufo-piceis. Long. lin. 34, lat. lin. 2. Hydroporus collaris, Hope. Nigro-piceus punctatus ; thorace medio convexo, lateribus utrinque fortiter depressis ; elytris subtilissime punctulatis picets, corpore infra pedibusque concoloribus. Long. lin.13, lat. lin. 2. Dineutes (MacLeay) Gouldii, Hope. Nigro-eneus nitidus, thora- cisque elytrorumque margine flava, elytris trispinosis, spind medié * Kvoros and den. I know not where to place this genus; it seems allied to Zabrus, and unites in itself the characters of other families. I have alsa received it from Melville Island. 29F2 428 Entomological Society. << majort, aap eet lateralibus: minoribus ; toto corpore infra luteo. -Long. lin. 34, lat. lin. 14. Gyrinus Tridie” Hope. . DIMENSIONS. inch,. «lin. Length of the. head, stnisss: auavipcndeoehapesendetie 4.34 DOAN. sesssenk dans vesienpantninnceaes UF a | TOIL. wckdiveveooneay boa dessnsebereees 1 ] OES cies cwccortcvadcsreusaneuas spelt tim | 2% MPOOOMLEY OF CEG TORE oes Tisdiyedeawaccanesaene 0 2 Length of the trague) i visersiesswoedeccsdsestessees 0 1 0 Extent of the wings .......... dcptnecabsdaen aecene ie * Animals marked with an asterisk have been sketched at Chusan in 1840 by Dr. Cantor, who has supplied the names unless otherwise observed. + Irretire, from its being frequently arrested in the strong web of two Jarge np Epeira bilineata and heraldica (vide infra), which circum- stance has given rise’to the common erroneous belief that those and similar spiders feed upon bats. 482 CANINA. Canis sinensis, Auct. Fevina. Felis domesticus, Auct. * Felis —————- ? EDENTATA. Manis pentadactyla, Linn. Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. PACHYDERMATA. Sus (var. sinensis Auctor.). *Hquus caballus, Auct. asinus. RuMINANTIA. *Capra. * Bos taurus, Auct. ‘9. AVESt. PASSERINA. Conirostres. Pyrgita montana, Auct. Pastor cristatellus, Temm. Pica vulgaris, Auct. Dentirostres. Lanius erythronotus, Vigors. Dicrurus balicassius,Vieillot. Turdus merula, Auct. Syndactyles. Philedon ? Alcedo pesca ay Gmelin. Sylvia hippolais,'Temminck. Graz. Fissirostres. Cultirostres. Hirundo erythropygia, Sykes. Ardea ? 3. REPTILIA. CHELONIA. *Trionyz tuberculatus. T. testa triste olivacea, ocellis nigris tuber- culisque crebris tecta ; infra albo-viridescens ; laminis osseis quatuor. Dark olive ; carapace with ocellated black spots and numerous tu- bercles ; beneath greenish white ; four callosities. *Emys muticus. E. testa fusca; fascia leté flava pone oculos no- tatus ; sterno scutis duodecim composito, fusco-maculatis. The shell brown ; behind the-eyes a bright yellow band. Sternum composed of twelve plates, with brown spots. SAURIA. | *Hemidactylus nanus. H. superné cinereus, strigis*sagittalibus ni- gris 5—6 ; cauda annulis 6—7 ejusdem coloris cincté. Infra marga- ritaceus. Gray above, with five to six black arrow-shaped marks, and six to seven rings of the same colour on the tail. Beneath pearl-coloured. *Tiliqua rufo-gutitata. 'T’. superné nea, lineis serratis nigris qua- tuor ornata; lateribus pallide flavis, rubro permaculatis ; ; abdomine pallide flavo. Bronze-coloured above, with four black zigzag lines; the sides pale yellow, with numerous red spots. Beneath pale yellow. Oprniptia. a. Venomous. *Naja atra. N. superné atro-iridescens, lineis duplicibus trans- versalibus flavis cincta ; abdomine in nonnullis margaritaceo, in aliis schistoso. Iridescent black, with a number of distant transversal double lines + Identified by Edward Blyth, Esq. Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. 483 of a yellow colour. The abdominal surface in some of a pearl, in others of a slaty colour. ; b. Innocuous. *Lycodon rufo-zonatus. L. superné brunneus fasciis pluribus trans- versalibus rubris ornatus ; superficie abdominali margaritacea, caudali nigro-maculataé. 193 + 72. Brown, with numerous transversal crimson bands; the abdominal surface pearl-coloured, spotted with black on the tail. *Coluber dhumnades. C. superné niger, fascia flava media, simi- libus duabus utrinque anticé inclusus ; abdomine schistoso. 189+ 98, 199+ 92. Black, with a longitudinal yellow band in the middle and two on either sidé, terminating with the anterior half of the back; the ab- dominal surface of a bluish black colour. *Coluber mandarinus. C. superné leté scarlatinus, rhombulis flavis, oris nigris albo-marginatis, crebro ornatus, guttis nigris irregularibus albo-marginatis utrinque inclusus; scutis abdominalibus margarita- ceis, alterné nigris. 222 + 63. Bright scarlet above, with numerous yellow lozenges, surrounded with broad black brims, relieved with white edges ; on either side a number of small irregular black marks edged with white ; the abdo- minal surface pearl-coloured, chequered with black. *Tropidonotus rufodorsatus. 'T. (scutis levibus tectus) supra brun- neo-cinereus, fasciis quatuor nigris anticé interruptis seriebusque ~ tribus summis rubro-marginatis; subtts leté flavus alterné niger. 178 + 52, (Covered with smooth scales.) Brownish gray above, with four lon- gitudinal black, on the anterior part interrupted, bands, and the three upper rows of scales on the back edged with red; beneath gamboge chequered with black. Python Schneideri, Merrem. BaTRACHIA. *Rana temporaria, var. R. superné brunneo-viridis ; superficie in- terna femorum parcé nigro-maculata ; infra pallidé flava. Brownish green above, with a few dark spots ‘on the inner surface of the thigh ; pale yellow beneath. *Rana esculenta, var. WR. superné brunneo-viridis, lineis tribus pallidé flavis, equidistantibus, fasciisque pluribus irregularibus nigris ornata; abdomine flavo albescenti. Brownish green above, with three parallel faint yellow lines, and a number of irregular black transversal bands. The abdominal surface whitish yellow. *Hyla arborea, var. H.superné aureo-viridis, linea laterali nigra utrinque inclusa ; subtis albo-flavescens. Golden green above, with a brownish black lateral line ; beneath yellowish white. * Bufo gargarizans. B. superné brunneo-canescens, tuberculis co- nicis magnis, nigro-acuminatis tectus ; lateribus violaceo-canescenti- bus; abdomine albescenti nigro-maculato. 484 Dr.-Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. Grayish brown above, with numerous large conical tubercles with black points; the sides grayish lilac ; the abdominal] surface buff, speckled with black. 4. PISCES. ACANTHOPTERYGII. Pharynginz labyrinthiformes. Anabas scandens, Cuv. - *Macropodus ocellatus. M. brunneus, lateribus violaceis, post- operculo nigro ocellato; ala dorsali analique longissima ejusdem feré magnitudinis, rufa, erugine marginata necnon punctata, radiorum mollium apicibus nigris; ala caudali late lanceolata, scarlatina geru- gine maculata. D.17+ 8; C.12; A.20 +12; V.1+ 5; P.11; Br. 4. ‘ Habitat. Streamlets and canals. Brownish, with lilac sides, and a black ocellated spot on the gill- cover ; the dorsal and anal fins very elongated, nearly of equal size, of a reddish colour edged and spotted with verdigris ; their soft rays with black points ; the caudal fins broad, lanceolate, of scarlet colour with verdigris spots. *Ophicephalus argus. O. dorso lateribusque viridi-brunnescenti- bus, abdomine albo-rufescenti, ocellis crebris nigris lateralibus, supra lineam lateralem albo-marginatis; pinnis flavis, nigro-maculatis. D. 49; C.14; A.33; V.1 +5; P.16; Br. 5. Habitat. Streamlets, estuaries. _ Brownish green back and sides, reddish white abdomen. Nume- rous black ocellated spots edged with white above the lateral line ; fins yellow, spotted with black. MuGI.LIpD&. Mugil cephalotus, Cuv. Habitat. Estuaries and sea. GoBIOIDES. *Periophthalmus modestus. P. brunneus, cinereo marmoratus ; abdomine albo-cerulescenti, alis pallidé flavis ; dorsali anteriori fas- ciis nigris duabus ornata; radiis alarum nigro-punctatis. D. 154+1:12; C.13; A.1 +11; V.14+5; P. 11; Br. 2. Habitat. Along the coasts and banks of canals. Brownish marbled with gray, minutely spotted with black. Ab- domen bluish white. Fins faint yellow. The first dorsal with two black bands, the second with a black band and the rays with black spots. ‘The caudal, ventral and pectoral with similar spots. *Eleotris flammans. E. superné violaceo-brunneus ; ala dorsali anteriori fasciis tribus undulatis violaceis, flammeo-marginata; pos- teriore fasciis undulatis quatuor nigris, radiis alarum aurantiacis, apicibus nonnullis flammeis, aliis nigris; ala caudali violaceo-canes- centi, fasciis tribus czruleis, radiorum flavorum apicibus flavis ; ala anali aurantiaca, fasciis quinque nigris undulatis, radiorum brunne- Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. 485. orum apicibus nigris; alis ventralibus pectoralibusque pallideé violaceis, radiorum flavorum apicibus nigris. D.6+1:10; C.15; A.1+9; V.1+5; P..18; Br. 6. Habitat. Canals, estuaries. Dark lilac brown above; the dorsal fins with orange spines and rays, the anterior with three waved lilac bands and with flame- coloured margin ; the second with four waved black bands ; the ex- tremities of the rays partly black, partly flame-coloured. The caudal grayish lilac, with three blackish blue arched bands; rays yellow, with black’ extremities. Anal orange-coloured, with five waved black bands ; brown rays with black extremities ; the pectorals with five arched black dotted lines. MALacopPTEeRYGII. Cyprinidee. *Cyprinus gibelioides. C. supra viridi-nigrescens, scutis lateralibus majoribus argenteo-viridibus, viridi-nigrescenti marginatis, squamis infra lineam lateralem argenteis obliteratis; pinnarum radiis flavis, apicibus nigris. D.2+18; C.19;.A,.2 +5; V..9; P. 15; Br. 3. Habitat. Streamlets, canals, estuaries. Dark green above. The large scales on the sides silvery green, edged with dark green; below the lateral line the scales are silvery, indistinct ; the rays of the fins yellow with black extremities. Cyprinus auratus, Linn. Leuciscus (Cyprinus) daniconius, Hamilton. Hab. Streamlets, canals, * Cobitis anguillicaudata. C. supra lineam lateralem, flava, olivaceo- maculata, infra cinerea nigro-maculata; abdomine flavo ; pinnarum radiis flavis, nigro-punctatis, apicibus rubris ; pinna caudali longis- sima, cirrhis decem. D. 9: C.9; A. 7; V.6;°P.:10; Br. 3: Habitat. Ponds, streamlets, canals. Yellow, with olive-brown clouded spots above the lateral line; below the latter gray, minutely spotted with black. Abdomen yellow. The fin rays yellow, spotted with black, and with red ex- tremities. The caudal fin much elongated. Cirrhi 10. Esocip2&. *Hemiramphus intermedius. H. superné leeté viridis, lateribus ar- genteis, abdomine albo, alis pallidé flavis. D.14; C. 15; A. 16; V.6; P. 11; Br. 10? Habitat. Sea, estuaries, canals. Light green above, with silvery sides; abdomen white. Fins faint yellow. SILURIDA. *Silurus punctatus. S. superné nitidé olivaceo-viridescens sive brunnescens, seriebus duabus punctorum nigrorum infra lineam late- 486 Dr. Cantor ow the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. ralem ; abdomine albo-flavescenti; alis dorsalibus, caudalibus anali- busque nigris; ventralibus albo-flavescentibus; pectoralibus laté ‘nigro-marginatis. Cirrhi D. 5; C. 15; A. 80: P.1+5; V.14; Br. 5. Habitat. Fresh and brackish water. Shining olive-green or brown, with two rows of black minute dots below the lateral line. The abdominal surface yellowish white. The dorsal, caudal and anal fins black; ventrals yellowish white; pec- torals the same colour, with a broad black brim. AropaL MaracorpreryaGit. Mureenidee. * Anguilla latirostris, Yarrell. Habitat. Fresh and brackish water. *Synbranchus grammicus. _$. supra flavo-rufescens, infra lineam lateralem albo-flavescens, toto corpore lineis nigris inscripto. \. Habitat. Streamlets, canals, estuaries. Reddish yellow above the lateral line ; beneath buff, with nume- rous black inscription-like lines all over the body. 5. MOLLUSCA. (Described by W. H. Benson, Esq., Bengal Civil Service.) GasTEROPODA. Pulmonifera. ‘Terrestria. Incilariat, nov. gen. Corpus elongatum, postice attenuatum, repens, undique velo marginatum. ‘Tentacula quatuor, superioribus oculiferis, inferioribus integris. Foramen commune in latere dextro, non procul ab extremitate antica veli situm. *Incilaria bilineata.. Corpore livido, velo punctis maculisque fuscis conspersis ornato, lineis duabus lateralibus, nigrescentibus, unica ob- scuriore mediana strigaté. Long. ad poll. 13. Habitat. The earth, under roots, on trees and plants. *Helix ravida. Testa subglobosa, umbilicata, epidermide olivacea, anfractibus sex transversé subplicatis, ultimo ventricoso, suturis im- pressis, umbilico mediocri; apertura suborbiculari elongatiuscula, labio reflexo, tenui explanato, labro acuto. Axis 1°3, diam. 1°33. Habitat. Trees, stones, rocks, earth. *Helix tapeina, Journ. Asiatic SOMEE. vol. v. p. 352. No. 7. Habitat. N.E. frontier of Bengal. Rare at Oruhan. *Heliz naninoides. ‘Testa siidindralh subdiscoidea, superné ra- diatim tenuiter striata, infra, striis levigatis, distantibus ; spira de- presso-conoidea, apice obtusato, planulato; apertura transversé lunata, labro obtuso, crasso, infra subreflexo. Habitat. Singapore; scarce at Chusan. *Clausilia pluviatilis. Testa fusiformi pallidé olivacea; spira atte- nuata, crystallind, apice papillari; anfractibus 14, medianis ventrie cosioribus, omnibus leviter transverse striatis; peristomate valdé ¢ From incile, a gutter, with reference to the gutter-like channel which divides the mantle from the foot. Dr.. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. 487 reflexo planato, ad labii basin plica obliqua solida, sulcoque concur- rente munito. Axis 1*1 poll. Habitat. In the earth. *Clausilia aculus. Testa subulata nitida, epidermide fuscescenti, anfractibus 10 aut 11, oblique leviter striatis ; apertura dentibus duobus vel tribus munité, peristomate reflexo. Axis longior 0°65, minor 0°5 poll. Habitat. In the earth, on mossy stones, walls and trees. * Achatina erecta. Testa albida solidiuscula subulato-turrita, epi- dermide foeda, scabra ; anfractibus octo, planulatis, suturis impressis ; apice obtuso. Habitat. Same localities, and in company with Clausilia aculus. Common at Macao, where however C. aculus is not found. AQUATICA. *Planorbis papyraceus. ‘Testa compressa, olivaceo-cornea, subpo- lita, minutissimé radiato-striata ; anfractu ultimo latiori, supra infra- que xqualiter convexo; peripheria carinata, spira basique ambabus depressis, umbilicatis, umbilico inferiori arctiori; labro superiori valdé prominente, semicirculari, inferiori recedente, recto. Diam. 0°4 poll. | Habitat. Canals, ponds, attached to Chara. *Planorbis hemispherula. Testa nitida, olivaceo-cornea, supra convexa, apice planulata, infra excavata, umbilico coarctato, peri- pheria obtusa, nullo modo carinaté. Diam, 0°25 poll. Habitat. Same localities as P. papyraceus on Chara and Lemna. Planorbis compressus, Hutton. Habitat. Same localities as the preceding. Inhabits also Bengal. *Lymnea plicatula. ‘Testa elongato-ovata, cornea, scabriuscula ; anfractu ultimo transversé plicatula, suturis impressis; spira medio- cri, apice acuto plerumque ferrugineo; apertura infra patulante, basi evasa. Habitat. Ponds. *Lymnea minor. ‘Testa ovato-acuta, cornea, polita; spira vix di- midium teste efformante, apice obtusiusculo; anfractibusquatuor, su- turis leviter impressis ; apertura ovata, plica columellz obsoleta. Habitat. Same locality as the latter. TECTIBRANCHIATA. * Bullea caurina, ‘Testa ovato-oblonga, alba, tenuissima, papyracea, transverse eleganter minutissiméque striatuli; apertura auriformi supra angustata, infra patulante; labro apicem superante; spira nulla. : Habitat. Said to inhabit canals. PECTINIBRANCHIATA. *Paludina quadrata. ‘Testa elongato-conoidea, crassa, epidermide viridi-olivacea, anfractibus sex planulatis, leviter transversé plicatis, longitudinaliter liratis ; liris subquinis ; apertura mediocri, intis al- bida violacea ; umbilico arcto, peritremate nigrescente. Habitat. Canals and ponds. 488 Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. *Paludina. lecythoides. Test& ovato-acutd, olivacea, anfractibus sex aut Septem rotundatis, transverse subplicatis ; ;. suturis excavatis ;. apertura oblonga, peritremate subreflexo, nigro; apice acuto ;.umbi- lico etate evanescente. Habitat. Ditches and ponds. *Paludina (Bithynia, Gray) longicornis. Testa ovato-conoidea, cornea, polita, spira aperturam longitudine vix superante ; anfrac- tibus quatuor, ultimo convexo, suturis minimé depressis; apertura subrotunda, supra angulata; peristomate subreflexo, nigrescente ; labio crassissimo; operculo testaceo, umbilico evanido; apice ob- tuso. Habitat. In canals, attached to aquatic plants, stones, piles. * Paludina ( Bithynia) striatula. Testa ovato-acuta, cornea, polita ; spira elongata; anfractibus quinque convexiusculis, liris pluribus, in- terdum inconspicuis, circumdatis; suturis depressiusculis ; apice ob- tusato ; peristomate reflexo nigrescenti, undato ; umbilico evanido ; operculo caleareo. Habitat. Same localities as the latter. Laguncula, nov. gen. Testa turbinata, subglobos4, apertura majori, integra, oblonga; peristomate interrupto ; labio subreflexo ; umbilico profundo tortuoso. *Laguncula pulchella. Testa albido-glauca, ovato-globosa ; anfrac- tibus convexis, lineis longitudinalibus elevatiusculis aliisque obliquis decussatis instructis; suturis impressis; apertura intis fascia lata pallidé castanea ornata columellaque intus concolore. Habitat. Said to inhabit canals. | | *Melania cancellata. 'Testa elongato-turrita, olivacea, solidiuscula, anfractibus novem convexiusculis, omnibus costulis frequentibus, ul- timoque fasciis tribus elevatis basalibus munitis ; costulis liris pluri- mis cancellatis ; suturis mediocriter excavatis; apice eroso. Axis 1-0 poll. v. pauld plus. Habitat. Canals. *Melania (Hemisinus ? Swainson) crebricostis. Testa elongato- turrita, olivacea, tenui, anfractibus plurimis leviter convexis ; costis frequentissimis albidis, levigatis, munitis, ultimo costulis evanidis, balteo submediano, rugisque plurimis basalibus circumdato; suturis impressis ; columella subrecta; basi leviter canaliculato-effusa ; labro tenui, levi, subreflexo, apice decollato. Axis teste decollate 1°05 poll. Habitat. Found with the preceding, but scarce. Batillariat, nov. gen. ‘Testa turrita, insculpta, rudi; anfractibus plurimis ; apertura oblonga, infra angustiore, basi truncata, evasa ; labro sinuato, supra emarginato, infra provecto, labio supra callo munito; columella planata, basi incrassaté, oblique truncata, cana- lem vix efformante ; operculo corneo, tenui, spirali, multiverticillato. Batillaria zonalis (syn: Cerithium zonale, Lamarck, L’Océan des An- tilles; C. zonale, Gray, China, Griff. Cuv. xii. pl. 14.). Testa elon- gato-turrita, scabra, albida, fasciis fuscis ornata; anfractibus sierra + Batilla, a shovel, from the lengthened form of the shell, and the con- formation of the base of the aperture. Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. 489 mediocriter convexis, costulis liris longitudinalibus decussatis, supra subnodulosis; apertura intis fasciis fuscis strigaté; columella alba. Axis 174 poll. Habitat. The coast. ; ACEPHALA. | Testacea. *Arca galactodes. Testa subrhomboided, tumida, subzequilaterali, anticé subangulata, postice rotundata, multiradiaté ; radiis exilissi- mis auctfis rugas decussantibus ; cardine mediocri terminis exteriori- bus angulatis ; natibus levibus remotiusculis, incurvatis ; margine levi; epidermide fusca. Lat. 0°75, long. 0°5 poll. Habitat. Said to inhabit canals. * Mytilus niger. Testa oblonga, trigona ; cardine unidentato; na- tibus subincurvatis, decorticatis, sub epidermide albis, marginibus purpurascentibus ; inttis margaritaceo-splendida, margine purpureo. Long. 3°4 poll, lat. 1°7. Habitat. Said to inhabit canals. *Dreissena purpurascens. 'Testé oblonga subquadrata, radiato-pli- cata, sub epidermide albo purpureoque ornata ; intus margaritacea ; epidermide brunnea; apice subincurvato, compressiusculo. Long. 1°5, lat. 0°8 poll. Habitat. Said to inhabit canals. * Modiola Senhousia. Testa transverse oblonga, subalata, gibba, leviuscula; anticé angustata, posticé dilatata, intis iridescente ; epidermide olivaced, obscuré radiata ; ala natibusque strigis flexuosis spadiceis ornatis ; basi leviter emarginata. Long. 1:2, lat. 0°6 poll. Habitat. Coasts of Chusan and Canton Province. *Anodon gibbum. ‘Testa fragili, ovata, tumida, anticé rotundata, posticé subalata, extremitate posticé subangulata; natibus concen- tricis rugosis, rugis parallelis, subdistantibus, area postica radiis tri- bus approximatis, leviter elevatis, rugosulis munita, margarita interius albida versus apicem aurantio-tabescente, versus marginem purpureo viridique splendidé margaritacea; margine fusco; epidermide oli- vacea, obscure radiata. Long. 2:0, lat. 32 poll. Habitat. Canals. *Unio (Theliderma, Swainson) Leaii, Gray. Testa crassa, sub- ovata, compressa, umbonibus dentibusque cardinalibus extremitati antice angustiori approximatis; valve sinistre dente cardinali inte- riori margineque cardinali pené parallelis, illa versus dentem lateralem mediocriter productum spectante ; valve dextree dente cardinali unico crenato; valvis intts minimé profundis ; margarita iridescente, pal- lidé salmonis colore tincté; natibus minimé prominentibus; rugis seriebus duabus e lineé umbonali divaricatis, posterioribus simplici- bus, anterioribus, basalibusque nodulosis, testam exteriorem munien- tibus ; epidermide flavo-olivacea. Long. 2, lat. 3 poll. Habitat. Said to inhabit fresh water at Chusan, and also Canton River. *Unio (Theliderma) divergens. 'Test& crassi, angulato-ovata, sub- Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. 2K 490 Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. alata, tumidiuscula, facie externa tuberculato-plicaté, rugis seriebus duabus e linea umbonali divaricantibus, posterioribus simplicioribus, anterioribus basalibusque plerumque nodulosis ; natibus mediocriter prominentibus ; epidermide nigrescente, striis subimbricatis. Valve sinistre dente cardinali interiori versus angulum marginis posterioris basalisque spectante, ad latus exterius laminis pluribus munito, dente exterior pené obsoleto, brevi, a basi interioris divaricato; dente la- terali brevi crasso. Long. 2°65, lat. 3°5 poll. *Corbicula fuscata. Testa cordata subinequilaterali, fusco-virente, tumidiuscula, polita, inttis et ad nates violaced, extrinsectis sulcis crebris circumdata, rugis intersitis subimbricatis ; margine interiori plerumque nigrescente; natibus decorticatis. Lat. 1°3, long. 1°15 poll. Habitat. Canals. Venus sinensis, Auct. Testa orbiculaté, convexa, albidé, margi- nibus violaceis, denticulatis, extrinsects radiis violaceis plicisque concentricis exilissimis ornata; disco plerumque ferrugineo, dente cardinali postico bifido, seepé bilobato, laminze cardinalis extremitate postica concava. Long. 1°7, lat. 1°65 poll. Habitat. Said to inhabit canals. *Sanguinolaria iridescens. 'Test& subellipticé, compressa, albida, iridescente, versus apicem incarnata, exilissimé transverse striata, striis obsoletis radiatim decussaté; latere postico subrostrato, sub- angulato, antico longiore, rotundato. ; Habitat. Said to inhabit canals. *Novaculina constricta. Test& alba, tenui, transversé oblongé, leviuscula, extremitatibus rotundatis, radio mediano subconstricta, epidermide olivaceo-flavescente, posticé quasi capillis intertextis ad- herentibus vestité. Lat. 2°45, long. 0°75 poll. Syn. Solen constrictus, Lamarck. 6. ANNELIDES. HIRvuDINIDz. *Bdella lineata. B. superné brunneo-viridescens, lined dorsali me- dia aurantiaca, infra griseo-flavescens. Greenish brown above, with an orange-coloured dorsal line ; be- neath yellowish gray. —? - ? 7. CRUSTACEA. Decaropa BracuyuRa. *Carcinus olivaceus. C. supra olivaceo-viridescens ; infra albus ; parte anteriore marginis interni femoris spina armata. Greenish olive above ; beneath white, with a single spine on the anterior part of the internal margin of the femur. *Sesarma tetragona. S. superné viridis, infra griseo-viridescens ; brachiis manibusque rubris. Carapace green ; sternum and legs greenish gray ; arms and claws red. Sesarma quadrata, M. Edwards. Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. 491 Decaropa Macrura, *Palemon ornatus, Olivier. P. laeté griseo-viridescens ; supra ni- gro-maculatus. Light greenish gray ; carapace minutely dotted with black. Sromapopa UNIPELTATA. Squilla mantis, Fabricius. Enromostraca PacrLtopopDa. Xyphosura. Limulus ? 8. ARACHNIDA. ARANEID2. *Atius chlorommatus. A. villosus brunneus, eculis anterioribus mediis leete viridibus ; cephalo-thoracis macula oculifera laté nigres- cente, fasciam albam mediam hasteformem circumdante, abdomine fascia lanceolata alba ornato. Long. poll. dimid. Hairy, brownish ; the anterior centre pair of eyes light green ; the broad oculiferous spot blackish, surrounding a white spear-shaped mark ; the abdomen with a white lanceolate streak in the centre. *Thomisus albinus. 'T. cephalothorace albo-virescenti, cristé ocu- lifera triangulari, aurantiaco-marginata, oculis ambobus anterioribus rubris ; palpis maxillaribus pedibusque albo-virescentibus ; abdominis albidi trapezoidis superficie superiore punctis quinque marginibusque violaceis, angulis ambobus posterioribus castaneis. Long. ad lin. tres. Cephalothorax greenish white, with a triangular raised oculiferous crest with orange-coloured margins ; anterior pair of eyes crimson; maxillary palpi and feet greenish white; abdomen whitish, in the form of a trapezium ; the upper surface edged with lilac and with five lilac points, the two posterior angles chestnut-brown. *Thomisus bicoloratus. 'T’. cephalothorace, palpis pedibusque hir- sutis, gramineis, abdomine albo-virescente, lineé longitudinali media duabusque transversalibus nigris, punctisque quinque nigrescentibus ornato. Long. ad lin. duas. ~ The hairy cephalothorax, palpi and feet grass-green ; abdomen greenish white, with a longitudinal black line in the middle, divided by two short distant transversal lines and with five dark points. *Hypoplatea fasciata. H. schistosa, cephalothorace nigrd radiato, abdomine brunneo indistincté fasciato, linea apicali nigra emargi- naté terminato, femoribus tibiisque nigro-fasciatis. Long. lin. sex, Slate-coloured; cephalothorax with black radiated lines; abdo- men indistinctly marked with brown, posteriorly terminated by a black notched line ; femora and tibia black-banded. *Latrodectus (?) limacidat. L. flavescenti-griseus, cephalothoracis macula oculiferé majore arcuaté nigra, thorace rhombulis duobus brunneis, anticé divergentibus, ornato ; abdomine fasciis brunneis + From the circumstance of its having been observed to seize the slug, Incilaria bilineata. 2k 2 492 Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. transversalibus quatuor diviso; femoribus tibiisque nigro-fasciatis ; pedibus brunneis. _ Long. poll. 1. - Yellowish gray, with a large black arched oculiferous spot; on the thorax two anteriorly diverging brown lozenges; the abdomen with four brown transversal bands; the legs black-banded; the feet brown. *Uloborus curvicaudus. U.cephalothorace, palpis maxillaribus pe- dibusque hirtis, flavo-brunnescentibus ; abdominis cylindrici, albo- flavescentis, indistincté nigro-marmorati extremitate posteriore acu- minata recurva. Long. lin. 5. Cephalothorax and the hairy palpi and feet brownish yellow; ab- domen cylindrical, yellowish white, indistinctly marbled with black ; the posterior pointed extremity bent upwards. *Tetragnatha enea. T. cephalothorace palpisque maxillaribus hir- sutis, flavo brunnescentibus; femoribus tibiisque viridibus, tarsis nigris, hirsutis ; abdomine conico zneo, maculis nigris duabus basalibus, lineisque nigris septem, quarum tres summe lined basali anticé juncte, ornato. Long. ad poll. dimid. Cephalothorax and the hairy palpi brownish yellow ; the hairy fe- mora and tibize green; feet black; abdomen conical, green, bronze- coloured, with two black spots near the base, longitudinally striped with seven black lines, the three upper ones of which are united at the base by a black transversal line. * Kpeira bilineata. E. cephalothorace femoribus pedibusque am- bobus anterioribus brunneo-nigrescentibus; abdomine subfusco-canes- centi, lineolis duabus undulatis nigris,.posticé convergentibus, infra quas punctis summis sex ; palpis maxillaribus tibiisque ambabus an- terioribus subfuscis, femoribus tibiisque ambabus posterioribus sub- fuscis bifasciatis. Long. poll. 1-1. Cephalothorax, thighs and feet of the two anterior pair brownish black ; abdomen light grayish brown, with two waved, black, poste- riorly converging lines, within which are six distant points ; the max- illary palpi and tibiz of the two anterior pair light brown, with two black bands on the joints. *Epeira heraldica. E. maculis oculiferis cephalothoracis, cano-hir- suti, nigris ; abdomine brunneo-flavescente nigro-punctato, fasciis tribus, quarum anteriore coronzformi, albo-flavescentibus transverse ornato; punctis sex summis; pedibus nigris hirsutis femoribus tibiis- que ambabus anterioribus albo-fasciatis. Long. poll. 14. Cephalothorax gray, hirsute ; oculiferous spots black ; abdomen yellowish brown dotted with black, with six points above and with three transversal whitish yellow bars; feet black, hirsute; the two anterior pair of femora and tibize with white bands. Epeira fasciata, Walckenaer. Ho.etra. *Phalangium spiniferum. P. supra brunneum, protuberantia ocu- lifer triangulo flavo inclusa, dorso flavo marginato, spina forti summa armato ; subtis flavo-albescens. Long. lin. 2. Brown above ; the oculiferous protuberance enclosed within a yel- Dr. Cantor on the Flora and Fauna of Chusan. ‘493 low triangle ; the margins of the back spotted with yellow; the up- -per part of the back surmounted by a strong spine ; whitish yellow beneath. 9. INSECTA. Myrrapopa CHILOGNATHA. Iuloide. _*Polydesmus bicolor. P. nitidé niger, lineis dorsalibus transversa- libus rubris 19, mucroneque segmenti penultimi rubro. poll. 2. Long. ad Shining black, with nineteen red transversal lines, and the point on the penultimate segment red. ScurigERIDA. *Scutigera rufipes. S. pallidé schistosa, segmentis dorsalibus ca- rinatis novem, abdominalibus sedecim ; tarsis rufis. Long. poll. dimid. Pale slate-coloured, with nine keeled dorsal, sixteen abdominal segments ; tarsi red. Scolopendra morsitans, Auct. 10. ANIMALCULA. VoLvocina. *Gyges granulum, Ehrenberg. *Spherosira volvox, Hhr. (CLOSTERINA. *Closterium trabecula, Hhr. * turgidum, Hhr. * ? falcatum. ASTASIM@A. *Euglena longicauda, Ehr. DInoBRYINA. *Epipyxis utriculus, Hhr. ARCELLINA. *Arcella aculeata, Hhr. BaciuuaRia. | *Desmidium Schwartzi, Khr. ¥. hexaceros, Hhr. *Xanthidium coronatum. * hirsutum, Bahr. * Arthrodesmus quadricaudatus, Ehr. *Micrasterias hexagona. *Kuastrum margaritiferum, Hh. *_____. Jovis. * — integerrimum, Hhr. *Navicula fulva, hr. *¥—_—__—.. gracilis, Hhr. *Navicula sigma, Ehr. * curvula, Hhr. , — S romanum. *—_____ turgida, Hhr. *Bacillaria vulgaris, Khr. *Cocconema gibbum, Ehr. *——_____. cymbiforme, Ehr. *Gomphonema truncatum, Eh. *Cocconeis pediculus, Hhr. *Gaillonella nummuloides, Zh. * distans, Hhr. VoRTICELLINA. *V orticella patellina, Hhr. ENcHELIA. *Leucophrys patula, Hhr. CouEPiINa. *Coleps hirtus, Hhr. TRACHELINA. *Trachelius vorax, Hhr. #*#_____.. anas, Hhr. *_________ Jamella, Har. EvcHLANIDOTA. *Lepadella emarginata, Hhr. BrACHIONAA. *Brachinus urceolaris, Khr, Dusia. 494 Rey. F. W. Hope on new Insects from Western Africa. LIV.—On some new Insects from Western Africa. By the Rev. F. W. Hove; with remarks on the Goliath Beetles, by Mr. SAVAGE. Sp. 1. Lucanus Savagei, §. Long. lin. 22; lat. lin. 53. Atro-cas- taneus, thorace elytrisque ferrugineo- brunneis, mandibulis valdé exsertis multidentatis concoloribus, femoribus tibiisque piceis tar- sisque nigris. This insect is allied to L. Downesii, which was received from Fer- nando Po: it is named in-honour of the Rev. Mr. Savage, an Ame-. rican Missionary in Africa, a zealous and able individual, who has contributed greatly to our stock of information respecting the ento- mology of Western Africa. ‘Sp. 2. Lucanus picipennis, Hope. Long. lin. 18; lat. lin. 52. Niger, capite thoraceque punctulatis, mandibulis duobus semel sumptis haud zqualis, interne dentatis, apicibus acutis. Elytra atro-cas- tanea, corpore infra atro, pedibus antennisque concoloribus, tribus ultimis articulis fusco-pilosis. This species was captured at Sierra Leone and Cape Palmas ; the female appears to be unknown. Sp. 3. Lucanus ungulatus, 8, Hope. Long. lin. 15; lat. lin. 42. Atro- castaneus, thorace elytrisque ferrugineo-brunneis, mandibulis ex- sertis, feré ad basin et ad apicem unidentatis, longitudine thoraci cum capite zqualibus. Corpus infra concolor femoribus leté rubris, geniculis tarsisque nigris. This insect is also from Cape Palmas. Sp. 4. Gymnopleurus hilaris, Hope. Long. lin. 7; lat. lin. 5. Leetd viridis et auratus, clypeo thoraceque subtilissimé punctulatis. Ely- tra feré glabra, aliquot lineis impressis insignita. Corpus infra concolor, tarsis exceptis, nigris. I received this insect from Mr. Strachan of Sierra Leone. Sp. 5. Gymnopleurus letus, Hope. Long. lin. 8; lat. lin. 6. Corpus supra cupreo-zneum, clypeo thoraceque punctulatis, fossula utrin- que fortiter impressa. Elytra feré glabra lineisque impressis in- signita. Totum corpus infra nigrum et nitidum. This species is from the vicinity of Cape Palmas. Sp. 6. Heliocopris Diane, Hope. Long. lin. 145; lat. lin. 8. Niger,. clypeo integro, caput anticé rugis transversis insignitum, posticé lunate cornu armatum. ‘Thorax anticé excavatus cornu robusto e medio antrorsum extenso, lateribus lineis oblique elevatis utrinque insignitis, Elytra feré glabra aliquot lineis impressis. Corpus infra nigrum, antennis palpisque piceis. This unique species is from Cape Palmas. Sp. 7. Diplognatha admixta. Long. lin. 9; lat.lin. 5. Affinis Cetonie Hebree, Oliv., at major. Olivaceo-viridis, thorace elytrisque flavo variegatis. Clypeus feré quadratus, medio subbidentatus. Thorax olivaceus maculisque cretaceis aspersus. Elytra flavo-olivacea co- Rev. F. W. Hope on new Insects from Western Africa. 495 - loribus mixtis. Corpus infra concolor segmentis abdominis utrin- que maculis cretaceis aspersis, pedibus. brunneo-piceis. Hab. in Africa AXquinoctiali. Sp. 8. Cetonia cincticollis, Hope. Long. lin. 5}; lat. lin. 24. Viridis, capite: oblongo-quadrato, antice emarginato virescenti. ‘Thorax viridis margine omni flavo, binis luteis maculis in medio. positis. Elytra viridia albis, punctis sparsa, humeris scutelloque flavescen- tibus. Corpusinfra opalino-viride, femoribus tibiisque concoloribus tarsisque. nigris. Hab. In, the vicinity of Cape Palmas. Sp. 9. Popitlia sulcipennis, Hope. Long. lin. 55; lat. lin. 3. Viridis, capite subemarginato et punctato. Thorax lateribus flavis disco.cre- brissimé punctulato. Scutellum viridi-opalinum. Elytra viridi- zenea sulcata sulcis interpunctatis. Podex cupreo-zneus utrinque albo-maculatus. Corpus infra viridi-zeneum, sterno cupreo, posticis segmentis abdominis, pedibusque albidis. capillis obsitum. Sp. 10. Popitlia luteipennis. Long. lin. 55; lat. lin. 24. Affinis Popillie Olea, Newman, at non metallica. Viridi-succinea, capite clypeo nigricanti. Thorax luteus lateribus pariim elevatis, maculis binis virescentibus feré mediis, punctoque concolori minori insig- nitus. Scutellum viride glabrum. Elytra striato-punctata suc- cinea, viridique colore aspersa, lateribus saturatioribus. Podex utrinque albo-maculatus. Corpus cupreo-eneum, lateribus abdo- + minis utrinque et pectore flavis capillis obsitum. Femora flava, tibiis tarsisque cupreis. Hab. In Africa Afquinoctiali. Sp. 11. Popillia cyanoptera. Long. iin. 6; lat. lin. 3. Viridis, caput cum thorace viride et punctatum. Scutellum pallidius. Elytra _ striato-punctata, cyanea. Podice puncto utrinque albo-maculato. Corpus infra viridi-eneum nitidum lateribus abdominis utrinque albo-pilosis. Pedes bini anteriores picei, quatuor femoribus posticis viridibus, tibiis tarsisque cupreo-eneis. Hab. In Africa Aéquinoctiali. Sp. 12. Lepidiota Savaget, Hope. Long. lin. 124; lat.lin. 5. Affinis Mel. Commersoni, at multo minor. Brunnea, supra cinerea, subtis albo-squamosa. Clypeo reflexo partum subemarginato. Thorax elytraque brunnea cinereoque squamosa. Scutellum concolor. Corpus pedesque fusca alboque squamosa. This is the first instance I believe of Lepidiota being taken on the continent of Africa, although it has occurred at the island of Mada- gascar. Mel. Sommeri of the French cabinets belongs to another genus. | Sp. 13. EHuchlora eircumcincta. Long. lin. 9; lat. lin. 5. Viridis, clypeo integro. Thorace flavo-marginato fossula impressa utrinque posita. Scutellum posticé cupreum. Elytra marginibus externé flavis, podice flavescenti.. Corpus infra flavo-piceum femoribus: pal- lidioribus, tibiis tarsisque cupreo-zneis. This is the first instance of the occurrence of Huchlora in Africa ; 496 Bibliographical Notices. it accords well with some of the Asiatic species, and in form ap- proaches Huchlora aureola of Hope. In concluding the species of new Lamellicorns, I add an extract of a letter lately received from Mr. Savage of Cape Palmas, respecting the Goliath Beetles. “ As to Goliathus Ca- cicus these regions abound with them, and after a year’s watching I have obtained the flower and know botanically the tree from which they derive their food. It is a syngenesious plant belonging to Jussieu’s Composite, Corymbifere. Asa genus it appears to be undescribed, though I have not as mi- nutely examined it as I intend todo when I have more leisure. As soon as able I shall describe and send it through you to the Linnzan Society. The Cacicus inhabits no other tree, as it is said. The Mecynorhina torquata inhabits two kinds of tree, one a magnificent Mimosa, a Goliath of its kind; I have not yet obtained the blossom ; it is now in seed, which I have. The G. Drurii is not found in the locality of Cape Palmas ; it has: been taken at Bussa, near Montserrado, and the specimen I now send is from Cape Coast. I lately saw Professor Klug’s regius, which is no more nor less than the female of Drurii. Of this I am as certain as that the princeps of Hope is the female of Cacicus. The Gold Coast would seem to be the locality of Drurii, and the Grain Coast that of the Cacicus and torquatus.” BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. A History of British Sponges and Lithophytes. By George Johnston, M.D. Lizars, Edinburgh; Highley, London: 1842. TuereE is no branch of natural history which has been so much neglected as that of the sponge tribe. Situate as it were in the debateable ground between the animal and the vegetable kingdoms, naturalists appear to have considered themselves justified in looking upon the sponges as scarcely worthy of notice, and it was not until Dr. Grant published, in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, the ac- count of his valuable investigations of the anatomy and physiology of some of the British species, that they were determined with any degree of certainty to be members of the animal kingdom. We were then, for the first time, made acquainted with the true purposes and modes of action of the incurrent and excurrent canals which per- meate their substance in every direction, and of the manner in which some of the species are propagated by the ejection of ciliated gem- mules or ova from their large oscula. Dr. Grant also described se- veral new British species, and these, in addition to what had been previously described by Montagu and others, formed the ground- work for the arrangement and brief descriptions presented to us by Dr. Fleming in his ‘ History of British Animals.’ The whole of our Bibliographical Notices. 497 information regarding these singular creatures has hitherto been di- spersed, in the form of detached papers, in the various scientific perio- dicals, and the present instance is the first in which their descriptions have been collected together and published in a full and explicit manner, | The author commences his work by a general view of the struc- ture, physiology and geographical distribution of sponges in general, and proceeds at some length to review the labours of his predeces- sors on this subject, from the times of Aristotle and Pliny to the pre- sent period. In this part of his subject we have the various and con- flicting opinions of both ancient and modern naturalists, regarding their animal or vegetable nature, examined and compared in a tem- perate, clear and satisfactory manner; and he concludes this able digest of the labours of his predecessors with quoting the observa- tion of Professor Owen, ‘‘ that if a line could be drawn between the animal and vegetable kingdoms, the sponges would be placed upon the vegetable side of the line.” But, our author observes, “‘ We shall possibly however arrive at an opposite conclusion, if, proceeding in our inquiry, we follow the siliceous species insensibly gliding on the one hand into the fibro-corneous sponge, filled with its mucila- ginous fleshy slime, and on the other into the fleshy Tethya, in whose oscula the first signs of an obscure irritability show themselves. Sponges therefore appear to be true Zoophytes; and it imparts ad- ditional interest to their study to consider them, as they probably are, the first matrix and cradle of organic life, and exhibiting before us the lowest organizations compatible with its existence.” In the chapter on “‘ the discoverers of the British species,” we have a clear and concise account of the progress of their discovery, by which it appears that forty species were described by Dr. Fleming in his ‘ History of British Animals.’ Our author however describes fifty-six, being an increase of sixteen new species since the publica- tion of Dr. Fleming’s work. The systematic arrangement adopted is that of Dr. Fleming, with some alterations and additions, and these have been carefully and judiciously made. The author has again separated Spongilla from Halichondria, and by this alteration, and by the adoption of new genera, has increased the number from four, as described by Dr. Fleming, to nine. The species have been described with much care, and additional specific characters have been introduced where it has been found necessary ; and the author has given a list of the synonyms to each, so full and complete, as to render this portion of the work exceed- ingly valuable. There are also extensive lists of habitats; and the latest information on the anatomy, physiology and habits of the va- rious species treated of, and of the sponge tribe in general, has been zealously collected and introduced up to the very latest period. The second part of the work, ‘'The British Lithophytes,’ may be considered in the light of a supplement to his ‘ History of the British Zoophytes,’ although the author by no means seems to consider them as such. In the introduction to the subject he says, ‘‘ The corallines 498 Bibliographical Notices. are marine productions, which grow in profusion on rocks, shells, and, more rarely, on sea-weeds, to which they are rooted by means of a spreading calcareous crust; and they rise up to the height of a few inches, at most, in lichenoid or conferva-like tufts, dividing and sub- dividing from the base into numerous branches and _ branchlets, having the same structure and appearance as the primary shoots. They are remarkably distinguished from other Algz by being co- vered. with a calcareous crust, which is jointed at short and regular intervals, and conceals a central axis of a decidedly vegetable na- ture.” In this conclusion we cannot agree to the full extent with the author. Ellis, in his ‘ History of British Corallines,’ and other authors of long standing and high merit, have all concurred in con- sidering these curious bodies as Zoophytes. and this decision has been adopted by almost every botanist up to the present period. The subject of their true nature, in the scale of organized beings, is one of exceeding interest, and one which is admirably calculated to afford employment to the high powers and improved microscopes of the pre- sent day; and until they have undergone a careful examination by such means, we may be content to consider their present situation to be in the neutral ground, between the animal and vegetable kingdoms. In this part of the work the author describes four species of Nul- lipora and one of Corallina more than we have had enumerated by preceding writers; and we find, as in the first part of the work, the species fully and carefully described, with copious lists of synonyms. In conclusion, the author has furnished a Latin ‘ Synopsis Spongia- rum et Lithophytorum,’ which is calculated to be of much service to the student. The work is illustrated by twenty-five copper-plates, containing © numerous figures, and twenty-three wood-cuts incorporated with the letter-press. This volume, like its predecessor, ‘ The History of the British Zoophytes,’ by the same talented author, is admirably calculated for a sea-side companion, and we can promise its readers that they will reap a rich harvest of pleasure and instruction through its means, in the study of the curious organisms of which it treats. The author has rendered a valuable service to science by its production, and we trust that this excellent addition to the natural history of our coun- try will meet with the patronage it so well merits, and that the vo- lume will find a place in the library of every naturalist in the Lanne dom. Plante Nove vel minus note, opusculis diversis olim descripte, generi- bus quibusdam speciebusque novis adjectis iterum recognite. Auctore Philippo Parlatore, M.D., Univers. Panormitane Professore, &c. 8vo, pp. 88. Paris, 1842. Gide. By the kindness of its esteemed author we have just received this valuable tract, which contains the descriptive portions of several me- moirs scattered in the journals of Italy, and now collected into one book for the purpose of being distributed amongst his botanical - Bibliographical Notices. 499 friends. Three new genera are described, viz. Ma1nuxa, to receive the Phalaris crypsoides of D’Urville and Kunth ; Avetirna, founded upon the Bromus Michelii of Savi, which has been considered as a Festuca by Kunth and Bertoloni, a Keleria by DeCandolle, an Avena by Gussone, Trisetum by ‘Trinius and Tenore, and a Vulpia by Reichenbach; and Serraratcus, intended to include the Bromi se- calini of Bertoloni and Koch, the B. genuini and B. festucacei of those authors being retained as the genus Bromus. As it is a point of con-~ siderable interest to English botanists, it may be as well to point out the difference between the proposed new genus and Bromus, namely, Bromus, lower glume l-nerved, upper 3—5-nerved ; florets lanceo- late, compressed; spikelets broader upwards ;—Serrafalcus (Parl.), lower glume 3—5-nerved, upper 7—9-nerved ; florets oblong, tur- gid; spikelets narrower upwards. As these characters are founded upon differences of considerable value in this natural order, and the group thus formed is a very natural one, it is probable that the ge- nus ought to be adopted, in which case the following British Bromi will become species of Serrafalcus, viz. mollis (including racemosus), commutatus, secalinus, velutinus (probably a variety of the preceding), arvensis (a very doubtful native), and sguarrosus. It would take far more space than we can afford to record all the new species here de- scribed, and we will only take the liberty in conclusion of expressing a hope, that other botanists who publish their observations in journals which rarely pass the boundaries of the countries in which they are published, will follow the excellent example that has now been set by Prof. Parlatore. Journals of two Expeditions of esi in North-west and Western Australia. By George Grey, Esq., Governor of South Australia. 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1841. We wish to call the attention of our zoological readers to the Ap- pendix to this highly interesting work, which contains the following articles :— C. Contributions towards the geographical distribution of the Mam- malia of Australia, with notes on some recently discovered species ; . by J. E. Gray, F.R.S., &c. This contains, Ist, a valuable table of all the species discovered on the Australian continent or its adjacent islands, pointing out their respective localities, and containing 96 species ; 2ndly, a description of 12 new species. , D. A List of the Birds of the Western Coast; by John Gould, F.L.S. E. A Catalogue of the Reptiles and Amphibia hitherto described as - inhabiting Australia, with a description of some new species from Western Australia, and some remarks on their geographical dis- tribution; by J. E. Gray, F.R.S., &c. This contains, lst, a list of 107 species, with their localities ; 2nd, observations on the more obscure and hitherto unknown ge- nera and species, with figures of the following, viz. Ronia catenulata, Aprasia pulchella, Delma Fraseri, Moloch horridus, Elaps Gouldii, E. coronatus, Calamaria Diadema, Liatris Burtonii, Soridia lineata, Hy- 500 Bibliographical Notices. draspis australis, Chelodina oblonga, Hyla biocellata, H. Adelaidensis, Breviceps Heliogabali (called B. Gouldit in the text), Helioporus albo- guttatus. F. Notes on some Jnsects from King George’s Sound, collected and presented to the British Museum by Capt. G. Grey, by A. White, Esq. This contains, lst, a notice of previous publications on Australian Insects; 2nd, a list with detailed observations upon the Coleoptera, Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Hemiptera and Lepidoptera, and 11 beautiful woodcuts of new or interesting species. In addition to this Appendix, the whole of chapter 7 of vol. ii. is occupied with Capt. Grey’s own observations on natural history, and is illustrated by several figures. Wiegmann’s Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte*. Parts II.—V. for 1841. Berlin, 1841-42. In our former notice of this excellent journal (vol. viii. p. 47) we promised to bring its contents regularly under review ; from our long silence it may have seemed that we had neglected it; this has how- ever been occasioned by the delay and irregularity in the publication of the work, owing to the long illness and lamented decease of its late editor. Within the last few weeks three parts have been issued, two of them for last year, and the first part for the present ; probably by this time Part VI., completing the volume for 1841, as well as Parts II. and III. for 1842, will have been published, though they have not yet reached us. Weare now able, on the authority of our friend Prof. Erichson, to assure the subscribers to the work in this country, that it will henceforward make its appearance regularly. The contents of the four parts before us are as follows :— On the genera and species of Comatule, by J. Miller, p. 1389—148. This paper was read before the Royal Academy of Sciences of Berlin on May 13, 1841. The author refers to a paper previously commu- nicated, in which he had divided the non-petiolated Crinoidea into three families ;—Articulata with the genera Comatula, Lam., and Co- master, Agass. ; Costata with shaly ribbed calyx and pinnule opposite, differing from the pinnule of all other Crinoidea, gen. Saccocoma, Agass. ; and Tessellata, gen. Marsupites ; and he then proceeds to the description of his new genus Actinometra founded on the Comatula solaris, Mus. Vienn., one of the most gigantic forms of recent Coma- tule ; it has no trace of grooves proceeding to the centre of the disc, the ventral side of which is occupied by a tube. The arms are fur- nished with grooves, which terminate however equidistant, in a cir- cular groove encircling the margin of the disc. In all the rest it re- sembles. the Comatule. Its specific name is imperialis. Size 2 feet. Of true Comatule the author admits only 24 recent species, among which are 12 with 10 arms. Genus Alecto, Leach, Comatula, Lam. * Species with 10 arms, or simple division of the rays. Alecto carinata, Leach (Comatula -carinata, Lam., Griffith, An. * Conducted by Prof. W. F. Erichson. Bibliographical Notices. 50% Kingd. Zoophytes, pl. 8.).—Al. europea, Leach (Com. mediterannea, Lam., Heusinger Zeitschrift f. Physik, iii. tab. 10, 11.).—Al. Adeone, Mill. (Com. Adone, Lam., Blainv. Actinol., tab. xxvi.).—Al. solaris, Miill. (Com, solaris, Lam.).—Al. brachiolata, Mill. (Com. brachio- lata, Lam.).—Al. Milleri, Mull. (Com. fimbriata, Mill.) has never again been observed. The following new species with 10 arms are then described :— Alecto phalangium, from Nice ; Al. Eschrichtii, from Greenland; Al. echinoptera, locality? ; Al. rosea, locality unknown; Al. tessellata, India; and Al. polyarthra. ** Species with greater division of rays. Alecto rotalaria (Com. rotalaria, Lam.), with 20—22 arms; Al. fimbriata (Com. fimbriata, Lam.), with 20 arms; Al. multifida (Com. multiradiata, Lam.), with 44 arms ; Al. Savignii (Déscription d’ Egypte, Echinodermes, pl. 1. f. 1.), with 20 arms; and as new: Al. palmata (? Caput medusz cinereum, Linck, tab. 22, No. 33.), about 35 arms, India; Al. parvicirra, 27 arms, locality ?; Al. timorensis, 36—40 arms, from Timor; Al. japonica, 27 arms, Japan ; Al. flagellata, 38 arms, locality ?; Al. Nove Guinee, 56 arms ; Al. elongata, 20 arms, New Guinea; Al. Bennetti, above 70 arms, locality ?. The madreporal plate is wanting in the Comatule, and seems to be generally absent in the Crinoidea. Prof. Miiller considers the madre- poral plate on Comatula Adeone figured and described by Delle Chiaje to be the Hpizoon of the Comatule first noticed by Thompson—a discoid animal with fringed margin. It has anteriorly a snout proceeding from the ventral side, a ramified intestinal canal, and 10 rudiments of feet provided with three long hooks on the ventral side, Cyclocirra Thomp- soni, Mill. It is frequently met with affixed to the disc and arms of Alecto europea. It differs very considerably from the parasitic worms by its rapid motion without any contraction of the body, and is there- fore more related to the Crustacea, among which however there is no form similar to it. In some measure it appears allied to Arctison, which have not the least relationship to the Rotatoria. I have frequently had occasion, says the author, to examine Coma- tule in a live state, and have found the fact to be confirmed, that the cirrhi of the central head are without all motion, as was evident from the anatomy. The arms have a lively motion during swimming, five of the ten arms move alternately at the same time, so that one be- tween each two is in a state of rest. The separation of the sexes was also proved by the presence of Spermatozoa in the male and ova in female individuals in the protuberances of the pinnule. On the organs of hearing in Mollusca, by Prof. C. Th. von Siebold, p- 148—168, with a plate. In this interesting paper the author first describes the auditory organs as hitherto observed in the lower tribes, e.g. the Cephalopods, and then proceeds to a description of the cen- tral system of nerves of the Gasteropods, the knowledge of which is requisite for discovering these organs, they being situated in all Gas- teropods on the hinder extremity of the two large front ganglionic protuberances. They must always be sought for near the front pair of ganglions of this portion of the nerves, where they are more easily 502 Bibliographical Notices. detected on the under than on the upper surface, especially in those Gasteropods (Limaz, Helix) whose pairs of ganglions of the lower portion of nerves are more confluent (verschmolzen). ‘They have been found on all species hitherto examined, as Helix pomatia, arbustorum, nemoralis, hortensis, rotundata and hispida, Succinea amphibia, Lym- neus stagnalis and minutus, Physa fontinalis, Planorbis marginatus, vortes, nitidus and contortus, Clausilia plicata, nervosa and minima, Ancylus fluviatilis, Bulimus lubricus, Limaz agrestis and maximus, and Arion empiricorum. The organs of hearing are always present in pairs, and are formed of two capsules having transparent walls. These capsules may even be detected with the naked eye in the larger species on pressing the ganglion of the brain between plates of glass. Both capsules are situated on the posterior vaulting of the anterior pair of ganglia of the lower central portion of nerves so closely, that where they join the ganglionic mass it is difficult to de- tect the limits between the ganglion and the wall of the capsule, espe- cially as they nearly agree in colour. In the cavities of these two capsules are inclosed an immense number of transparent crystalline bodies, consisting of carbonate of lime. The form of these otolithes, for as such they must be considered, is oval and flat, their borders seem to be gently rounded off. They oscillate so lively m the capsules as almost to lead to the belief they were jerked one among the other | by a vibrating ciliatile epithelium clothing the mner wall of the cap- sule, but never could a trace of cilia be detected. In a note the author expresses his belief that the Annelides are also furnished with similar organs of hearing, judging from the description which Stan- nius has given in his anatomy of Arenicola piscatorum of bodies re- sembling otolithes, which likewise occur in closed capsules. On the Balanidea, by Prof. W. v. Rapp, p. 168—174. The shells of the non-petiolated Cirrhipoda (Balanidea) differ from the shells of Mollusca and of the petiolated Cirrhipoda (Lepadea) by their pecu- liar internal structure. The genera Balanus, Coronula, Tubicinella all agree in this respect, viz. in their shells being perforated by re- gular canals. The structure of these canals, as wellas of the animal, is described at length in Tubicinella balenarum, Coronula diadema, C. balenaris, Balanus spinosus, and other species of this last genus. Speaking of the young of Tubicinella balenarum, the author observes that he found here what Thompson and Burmeister had shown to exist in other Cirripedes, a form totally differing from that of the adult; he could detect no eyes, nor a trace of shell. It is not to be admitted that the Tubicinella derives its nutriment from the whale, but most probably from the flocks of Cyamus, with which the bodies of the latter are infested. ‘The animal of the non-petiolated Cirrhi- poda differs essentially from those of the petiolated by the branchie ; these organs are narrow pointed laminze in the Lepadea, while in the Balanidea a large branchia is situated on each side of the animal, formed of a membrane folded in nearly regular lamine, as already observed by Cuvier and Hunter.* W. Francis. * Want of space compels us to leave the remainder over for next month. —Ep. Zoological Society. 503 PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Oct. 26, 1841.— William Yarrell, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair. The following communication, entitled, ‘‘ Description of the Sto- mach of the Colobus Ursinus, Ogilby,” by R. Owen, Esq., was read. “ The body of the Ursine Colobus, which there can be little doubt is the Full-bottom Monkey of Pennant (Colobus polycomos, Illig.), lately exhibited in the Society’s menagerie, having been transmitted to me for examination by Mr. Waterhouse, with a view more particularly to the determination of the form of the stomach, I have much pleasure in communicating to the Society the result of this examination. “It may render the interest in the dissection of this Monkey more intelligible to some, if I premise, that the genus to which it belongs is one of recent discovery or establishment, the affinities of which to the Doucs (Semnopithecus), though strongly illustrated by the general form of the Colobi, and more especially by their skull and dental organs, required a knowledge of the anatomy of their digestive sy- stem for its full appreciation. ‘The Colobi, peculiar among all known old world Simiade by the rudimental development of the thumbs of the fore-hands, were gene- rically separated on that account by Illiger. Cuvier, at the period of publishing the last edition of the ‘ Régne Animal,’ had not enjoyed the opportunity of determining how far the distinctive character, seized upon by the Berlin naturalist, was real and constant. Temminck, however, had assured Cuvier that the Co/obus of Illiger possessed the | skull and dentition of the Semnopithecit. Mr. Ogilby has mainly contributed to establish the Illigerian genus and illustrate its extent by the description of several species founded upon skins transmitted to the Zoological Society ; and our excellent establishment has now fulfilled another of its functions, by affording to the anatomist the means of establishing the natural affinities and position of the genus Colobus, as it has heretofore done in regard to the Semnopithecus. “The stomach of the Colobus Ursinus presents the same compli-. cated saccular structure as in the Semnopitheci : if it was somewhat smaller in the present instance, in proportion to the body, this might arise from the immaturity of the individual examined. The saccula- tion is produced by the same modification of the muscular fibres of the stomach, combined with a great extent of the digestive tunics. A narrow band of longitudinal fibres traverses the lesser curvature of the stomach, and a second band, commencing at the left or blind extremity of the cavity, puckers it up ina succession of sub-globular sacs along the greater end, I deem it unnecessary to pursue the description more minutely in this case, as it would be merely the repetition, of that which has already been published in our Transac- tions in reference to the Semnopithecus Entellus*. The form and size of the caecum, and the length and disposition of the intestinal canal in the Colobus equally corresponded with those parts of the anatomy of the closely allied genus Semnopithecus.” * Vol. i. p. 65. pl. 8. 504 Zoological Society. Mr. Waterhouse observed, that the animal dissected by Prof. Owen had been presented to the Society by the Earl of Derby, and had lived for some time in the Menagerie. Soon after its death he had carefully examined it with a view to ascertain whether it possessed cheek-pouches. Of these he found not the slightest trace. Mr. Lovell Reeve then read his “ Description of a new species of Corbis, a genus of acephalous mollusks of the family Nymphacea.” Corsis Soversit. Corb. testd transversd, tumidd, gibbosd, lacted aut rubelld ; radiis rosets obsoletis ab umbonibus ad marginem di- vergentibus ; lamellis transversis elevatis, remotiusculis, utrinque serratis, anticé valdius ; striis numerosis radiantibus, intra lamel- las ; margine subcrasso, profunde crenulato ; umbonibus longitudi- nalibus, minutis, opposite incurvis ; lunuld parvd, subcordatd. Long. 23; lat. 34 poll. Mus. Stainforth, Norris. Junior, testd depressiusculd, radiis roseis longitudinalibus plus mi- nusve distinctis. Long. 12; iat. 1% poll. Mus. Stainforth. Hab. ad insulam Negros, Philippinarum. Found in loose coral sand on the reefs at low water. ‘««T have much pleasure in dedicating this beautiful species of Cor- bis, figures of which will appear in the third part of my ‘ Concho- logia Systematica’ (pl. lvili.), to that industrious author and artist Mr. G. B. Sowerby, jun. Only one recent species of this character- istic genus of Nymphacea has been hitherto known; it is therefore gratifying to be able to make so valuable an addition. The Corbis Soverbii differs materially from the Corbis fimbriata: mstead of the closely fimbriated character of the outer surface, the valves are crossed transversely with distinct elevated lamellar ridges, between which there are numerous striz running in a longitudinal direction. It is also characterized by being strongly tinged with pink, particularly in an early stage of growth, when the valves are vividly painted with deep-coloured rays passing from the umbones to the margin : as the shell increases in age it increases in convexity, the lamella become thickened, and the rays obsolete. This interesting species more nearly resembles the Corbis lamellosa of Lamarck, known only in a fossil state ; it differs, however, in having the valves much more gibbous or ventricose, and in the lamellz being strongly serrated on the anterior side. Some little time since I was fortunate enough to obtain, at a public auction at Rotterdam, four specimens of the C. Soverbii, two in the young and two in the adult state. At this sale I obtained the beautiful new species of the glassy Nautilus de- scribed in the ‘ Annals of Nat. Hist.’ vol. ix. p. 140. ‘Mr. Cuming has kindly furnished me with the above locality, having met with a few specimens of the Corbis Soverbii in his re- searches amongst the Philippines, at the island of Negros.”’ The next paper read was from Mr. Stutchbury, and is entitled, ‘« Description of a new Sponge from Barbadoes.” «The Museum of the Bristol Institution having lately become pos- Loological Society. 505 sessed of a very interesting sponge through ‘the liberality of Dr. Cutting, of Barbadoes, to whom we are also indebted for the ‘ recent’ Pentacrinus, ‘recent’ Pholadomya, and numerous other valuable do- nations ; and as this tribe has met with the able attention of micro- scopists, whose researches appear to have excited considerable inter- est ;—1 have thought a brief account of the specimen would be. ac- ceptable to naturalists.” “‘ The peculiarities of this very beautiful sponge consist in the fol- lowing distinctive characters ; the most remarkable of which is, its being formed entirely of silex, the reticulate structure of the mass be- ing composed of transparent vitreous tubuli, without any admixture of keratose or calcareous matter; the silex forming the mass itself, and not, as in other instances, arranged as spicula in the horny mem- branes; consequently, it is perfectly rigid and sonorous when-struck. “When viewed by a simple lens it exhibits a frothy glass-like appearance: under a magnifying power of seventy-five linear, the net-like meshes are seen to be composed of beautiful glassy tubes, anastomosing one with the other in every direction, the external surface of the cylinders having a rugged aspect; the newer or last formed portions appear to emanate from centres, and at certain distances from spherical) masses, from which straight tubes again arise, thus forming the reticulate structure. “ Amidst the interstices of the sponge are found numerous small bodies loose and unattached (also composed of silex*), characterized by Ehrenberg under the generic appellation of Xanthidium, of which several species in a fossil state are described as occurring in flints and other siliceous minerals; this minute body may be described as a spherical mass of tubuli, arising from a centre, each tubular spine being terminated by an expanded conical aperture, and a strong re- semblance is at once observed between these bodies and the mode of extension in the newer portions of the sponge itself; this fact, to- gether with that of the perfect siliceous character of these minute bodies, induces me to come to the conclusion that they are not di- stinct, free animals, parasites to the sponge, but the gemmules of the sponge, in which they are found +; and I think their increase, so as * In testing the mineral character of the sponge a small portion was ex- amined under the microscope; then placed in a test tube, and upon the ad- dition of dilute hydrochloric acid no effervescence occurred: it was then dried, and again placed in the field of the microscope, when no change ap- peared to have taken place; upon submitting it to the action of the blow- pipe, the only alteration was its losing its glassy aspect by becoming opake, but it was not altered in form. -[t Mr. Stutchbury seems to be perfectly unaware of the fact that species of Xanthidium have been observed in a living state; the genus, we believe, was founded by Ehrenberg previous to his knowledge of the existence of si- milar forms fossil in the flint. Nor is this the first time that they have been mistaken for eggs,—not of sponges, it is true, but of a polype. See Turpin’s paper on Cristatella mucedo, Aun. Sci. Nat. vol. vii. p. 141. Ehrenberg pointed out the error committed by Turpin. The bodies here mentioned may be the gemmules of the sponge, but if so, they are no Xanthidium, but merely bear resemblance to this genus of In- fusoria.—W. F.] Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. 2L 506. Zoological Society.. to become perfect sponges when ejected from the parent mass, can be readily understood by comparing their. present form with the recently formed portions of the sponge. Supposing the gemmule (?) to have arrived at that state which commences its individual life, its increase would not be by an extension of the tubuli in a straight line ; but from the edges of the terminal aperture of each spine other and similar tubuli would or might be sent off, and thus the end of every spine become a fresh centre and anastomusing point, and in this way a very slight addition would give the newly formed mass the reticulate and vesicular character of the parent sponge. “‘ Being anxious to identify the peculiar and entire siliceous cha- racter of this sponge with its generic appellation, I have adopted the name of Dactylocalyz ; the principal characters of which may be thus: expressed :— “‘ Sponge fixed, rigid, siliceous ; incurrent canals, uniform in size ; excurrent canals large, forming deep sinuosities on the outer surface, radiating from the root to the outer circumference. ‘‘ For the species the name Dactylocalyx pumiceus is proposed.” November 9.—William Horton Lloyd, Esq., in the Chair. Mr. Gould exhibited and pointed out the characters of a new species of Goose nearly allied to Nettapus Coromandelianus (Anas Coromandeliana, Auct.), from N. Australia, which he characterized as Netrapus PuLcHELtus. Nett. collo, dorso, alisque intense resplen- denti-viridibus ; lateribus, fasciis latis lineisque alternatim albis et viridescenti-nigris, conspicue ornatis ; remigibus secondariis cum pogoniis externis albis, unde fascia obliqua alam transcurrens. Male: head brownish green, indistinctly barred with light brown ; beneath the eye an oval spot of white; neck, back and wings deep. glossy green; primaries black ; outer webs of the secondaries snow- white; feathers of the chest and back of the neck white, with a number of greenish black circles, one within the other, so numerous that the white is nearly lost; the flanks similarly marked, but in them the bars and circles are broader and more apparent ; tail black, glossed with green ; abdomen white ; under tail-feathers black ; irides dark brown; bill dark greenish grey, with a yellowish white nail ; under mandible greenish grey, irregularly blotched with a lighter colour; legs and feet blackish brown. Total length, 125 inches; bill, 14; wing, 64; tail, 3; tarsi, 1. The female resembles the male, but differs in having the crown, occiput, and a stripe down the back of the neck deep brown; in being destitute of the white spot beneath the eye; in having the chin and upper part of the throat white, mottled with small mark- ings of brown; bill French grey, becoming yellowish at the base; lower mandible bluish grey; tarsi fleshy white on the sides; back and front blackish brown ; feet dark brown. Mr. Waterhouse called the attention of the members to a new species of Rodent from Chile, which had been placed in his hands for description by H. Cuming, Esq. This animal, Mr. Waterhouse stated, evidently belonged to a little family of the Rodentia (the Oc- Zoological Society. 507 © todontide), which is peculiar to the southern parts of South America, a family of which six species are characterized, and these constitute the four genera, Ctenomys, Poephagomys, Octodon, and Abrocoma. The present Rodent agrees with the two first of these genera in having the fore-feet strong and furnished with large claws formed for burrowing, and approaches most nearly, as regards its external characters, to the genus Poephagomys of F. Cuvier, (which appears to be the Psammoryctes of Poeppig,) inasmuch as its ears are of mode- | rate size, whilst those of the species of Ctenomys are very small. The skull presents a very large antorbital opening, enclosed ex-. ternally by the zygomatic process of the superior maxillary bone, the root of which is thrown out almost horizontally, and is on the same plane as the anterior palatal portion of the cranium: a second, very small opening, for the transmission of the infra-orbital nerve, is. pierced through the root of the zygomatic process* ; the zygoma is. deep and compressed ; the portion of the palate situated between the molar teeth is contracted in front, and widest between the posterior, molars; and the posterior portion of the palate presents a deep V-. formed emargination. The descending ramus of the lower jaw, or that part which lies below and behind the alveolar portion, is thrown. out from the outer side of the alveolus of the great inferior incisor, which extends almost to the condyle; its posterior portion is emar- ginated, and lower and hinder portion is produced in the form of an. acute angle, terminating behind the vertical line, dropped from the. condyle; the lower boundary of the descending ramus is produced externally and internally in such a manner, as when viewed from beneath, this part presents a horizontal platform of small extent, and which is broadest at about one-sixth of an inch from the angle of the jaw, the platform at this part being produced internally so as to form an obtuse angle. The condyloid portion of the lower jaw has. a considerable antero-posterior extent, and the articular surface, which is rather broad, occupies rather more than half of this com- pressed condyloid process. The coronoid process is in the form of, an isosceles triangle, the apex of which is of the same height as the condyle, or very nearly so. The molar teeth are rootless and four in number on each side of each jaw. These characters of skull and dentition all indicate the affinities of the animal under consideration with the Octodontide: the cranium compared with that of the known species of the family presents the modifications observable in the burrowing types, differing from the Octodons and. Abrocomas, which live more on the surface of the ground and ascend trees and bushes, in the smaller size of the cranial cavity, and in the greater strength of all the parts, arising from the comparatively large size of the teeth, and more especially of the * This second small opening is found in the skull of Octodon, and appears to be represented in the figure (given by Mr. Bennett) in Ctenomys, though not so well expressed by the engraver as by the artist of the drawing from which the engraving was made, In Abrocoma there is no corresponding opening, 2L2 508 Zoological Society. incisors, which are fitted for cutting roots*. The auditory bull are of moderate size, but rather smaller than in Octodon; the lower jaw is larger and much stronger than in the two genera mentioned. In these characters the present animal makes so near an approach to Ctenomys, that it might with propriety be placed in that genus were it not that in the structure of the teeth there exists a difference fully as great as that which gave rise to the generic distinction of the little groups of which the family Octodontide is composed. In Octo- don, Poephagomys and. Ctenomys, the enamel of the molar teeth enters, in the form of a fold on each side, into the body of the tooth, but the folds from opposite sides do not meet. In the Rodent which forms the subject of these observations, the crown of each molar is divided into two parts by the meeting of the folds of enamel of the outer and’ inner side, and the surface of these teeth may be compared to a series of cylinders (two to each tooth), which are much compressed in the antero-posterior direction. The three foremost molars in each jaw are equal in size, and the posterior molar is smaller than the rest. In position, the last molar of the upper jaw differs from the others, being as it were twisted, so that the two transverse lobes are placed obliquely. resent very limited knowledge of the small Rodents of as is here pointed out. It is possible that the species of Octodontide may vary more or less among themselves in the structure of these teeth, in which case the so-called genera, esta- blished as the species are discovered, will require a revision, as do very many of the genera of Rodentia; in the mean time, however, it is necessary that sectional names should be imposed on such species as will not agree tolerably well with the definitions of the genera published as such. Agreeably to these views, the subgeneric title Schizodont is proposed for the present new Rodent. The prin- cipal external characters may be thus expressed :— Scuizopon Fusous. Schiz. supra griseo-fuscus, subtis obscure flavo tinctus : pedibus pilis obscure fuscis tectis ; auribus mediocribus ; caudd, fuscd quoad longitudinem caput fere equante, pilis brevis- sims tectd. une. lin. Longitudo ab apice rostri usque ad caude basin .... 9 O CUE 45 seine Vols HEE ged ew Aeic8 tarsi digitorumque dG ay they... to by OE QUI wien owl. Sou ene oe GA Ms 0 54 * The burrowing Sciuride and Muride, as compared with the typical examples of their respective groups, present a corresponding modification of the skull; the strength of the cranium is greater, and the cranial cavity smaller. It is difficult to estimate the amount of intelligence in these ani- mals, but, judging from the size of the brain, it would appear that there existed an intimate connexion between the food of the animal and its in- telligence ; the food in one case leading the animal to habits which cause it to be exposed to numerous dangers which do not occur in the other. + From ox/Ga, divido, et édovds, dens. Zoological Society. 509 In size and colouring the Schizodon greatly resembles the Com- mon Rat (Mus decumanus); its fur is rather softer than in that ani- mal, Both on the upper and under parts of the body the hairs are of a deep slate-grey colour next the skin ; those on the belly are of a dirty yellow colour. On the back, the hairs are most of them brownish, or yellowish brown near the point, and black at the point. The ears are covered both externally and internally with fine short hairs. The hind-feet have five toes; the fore-feet also have five toes, but the inner one is very small and has a very short nail; the other toes have long, compressed and powerful nails. The hairs of the moustaches are of a dusky colour. The discovery of the Rodent above described is due to Mr. T. Bridges, whose notes relating to it are as follows :—‘t This species of Rodent is very common on the eastern side of the Andes, where it completely undermines the face of the country, especially in dry places, making it very disagreeable for the rider, as the horses are continually plunging into the burrows. It must lay up a winter store, or otherwise migrate, or remain buried in the snow at least three months during the winter season. The specimen is a female.” November 23.—John Willimott, Esq., in the Chair. Mr. Lovell Reeve exhibited a beautiful new species of Mitra, a genus of pectinibranchiate mollusks, of the family Columellata, which he characterized as follows :— Mirra Stariwrortuit. Mitr, testd cylindraceo-fusiformi, exalbidd ; apice basique cinereo-cerulescentibus ; spird acuminatd ; anfrac- tibus transversim leviter striatis, longitudinaliter costatis ; costis latiusculis, subdistantibus, maculis rufis quadratis vivide pictis ; aperturd angustd; columelld triplicatd ; umbilico parvulo ; labro ‘externo simplici, fauce ad marginem rubide maculatd. Long. 2}; lat. 4, poll. Mus. Stainforth. Hab. ad insulam Burias, Philippinarum, Cuming. Found in coarse coral sand, 7 fathoms. “‘It is with peculiar gratification that I am allowed to introduce into the nomenclature of the Mollusca, the name of my esteemed friend, the Rev. Mr. Stainforth; a zealous conchologist, and one who, perhaps, stands unrivalled in his beautiful collection of Mitres. The Mitra Stainforthii is somewhat allied to the Mitra sanguisuga of Lamarck : the whorls are longitudinally ribbed as in that species ; but in this, they are wider and more distant from each other; they are also eminently distinguished by a series of square red spots run- ning from the top to the bottom. The magnificent specimen which has furnished the above description is two inches and a quarter in length; a few small specimens have been recently found by Mr. Cuming at the island of Burias, one of the Philippines,” A collection of bird-skins and mammals from Chile was exhibited. The specimens were collected by Thomas Bridges, Esq., in the Andes of Chile, lat. 34°-35°. With this collection Mr. Bridges sent the following notes, which were communicated to the Meeting by H. Cuming, Esq. :— Canis Azare, Pr. Max. Found in valleys on the eastern side of the 510 Zoological Society. ‘Andes. This species of Fox appears to differ from the large Fox of Chile, known by the name of ‘‘ Culpeo,” in the bluntness of its ears. Schizodon fuscus, Waterh. Proc. Zool. Soc. for November 9, 1841. Mus, —————? This little animal is found about hedges in the province of Colehagua, and is by no means common. ‘There are in Chile at least ten or twelve species of Rats and Mice. Sturnella loica, Auct. Common in all parts of Chile. Iris brown. Agelaius Chopi, Vieill. ‘‘Tordo” of the natives. Iris dark brown. ‘Common in flocks in all parts of the country. Chlorospiza xanthogramma, G. R. Gray. Found in valleys near the summit of the Andes on the east and west sides. Iris brown. Emberiza luctuosa, Gerv. Found in valleys of the Andes. Sings delightfully in summer. Iris dark brown. Fringilla Gayi, Eyd. and Gerv. Found near the summit of the ‘Andes in valleys amongst bushes. Iris reddish brown. Muscisazicola rufiverter, D’Orb. Found on the east and west sides of the Andes near the snow. [Iris dark brown. Agriornis leucurus, Gould. This bird is found in the valleys near the summit of the Andes on the east and west sides. ~ It is called ‘‘ Mero”’ by the natives, but differs from the ‘‘ Zorral Mero”’ of the warmer parts of the country. Iris brown. Pteroptochos Tarnii, G. R. Gray. This singular bird is found in the woody parts of the Andes, and is very difficult to shoot ; its cry is compared to the neighing of a young colt. Iris dark brown. Caprimulgus bifasciatus, Gould. Amongst low bushes on the ‘east- ern side of the Andes. It is known to the natives by the names of ~ Plasta” and ‘‘ Gallina Ciega,” i. e. Blind Hen. Iris brown. Upucerthia dumetoria, Isid. Geoff. and D’Orb. Found amongst low bushes and in sandy places in the elevated valleys of the eastern side of the Andes. Iris brown. Scytalopus fuscus,Gould. Found in hedges in various parts of Chile, also in the Andes. It is called by the natives ‘‘ Chircan Negro,” as the other species common in Chile is light brown. Iris brown. Geositta canicularia, G.R.Gray. This little bird is found on the plains near the Andes, and is called by the natives ‘‘ El Caminante,” or Traveller, from its running before the traveller on the dry sandy ‘roads of the country. Iris brown. Alcedo torquata, Auct. Found near the rivers of Chile. Iris ‘brown. Called by the natives ‘‘ Martin Pescador.” Picus Magellanicus, Vig. Iris brown. This beautiful species of - Woodpecker is found in the forests of ‘‘ Roble”’ in the Andes, and may always be discovered by its singular scream or call. It is known to the natives by the names of ‘‘ Concona”’ and ‘‘ Carpintero ‘de la Cordilliera.”’ Colaptes Chilensis, Vig. Known to the natives by the name of “« Pitigue,” so called from its call or note. ‘This bird is common in the woods of Acacia Cavenia’ near the Andes, and is also found in the valleys of the Andes in woody places. . Molina says. that this bird builds its nest in holes on the ground, which is an error, as I have found the nest in holes of trees like the rest of the genus. . The eggs are white. Iris pale green or gray. Zoological Society. 511 - Vanellus Cayenensis, Steph. This is the ‘‘ Queltregue ” of the natives, and is one of the most common birds found on the plains near the Andes, also in other parts of the country. Food, worms, locusts, &c. The eggs are excellent eating, and resemble in colour and size those of the Lapwing of England. Iris purple. Tinochorus D’Orbignyanus, Isid. Geof. St. Hilaire. This is the small Partridge of the Andes, and is called by the natives ‘‘ Perdix Cordellierana.” It comes down to the plains in severe winters. Generally found in pairs in the valleys near the summit of the An- des. The male shows the strongest attachment to his mate, and calls her by a melancholy tone or cry when separated. They are so tame that the natives kill them with stones, and so stupid that a stone may be thrown at them several times before they will rise. Iris brown. Columba Boliviana, Auct. This little dove is found in small flocks in the valleys of the Andes, and, in the winter, visits the coast. It is known to the natives by the name of ‘‘ Tortola Cordellierana.” This is the smallest of the three species found in Chile. It makes a whistling noise with its wings when it rises from the ground. Iris brown. Dafila urophasianus, Eyton. Iris brown. Found in valleys on the eastern side of the Andes. Anas -— ? Tris brown. Found inhabiting the rapid rivers of the Andes. This bird swims and dives against the rapidity of the mountain torrents in a manner truly astonishing. It seldom or never leaves the rivers of the Andes, and, like the Grebes, seldom makes use of its wings, although when disturbed it flies a short distance. Generally seen in pairs. Mr. Gould made some observations on this éollection, and par- ticularly drew attention to the last species in the list, which Mr. Bridges places in the genus Anas with a note of doubt. Mr. Gould observed that this bird was unknown to ornithologists, and pre- sented a most singular combination of characters. In many of its characters it approaches the Ducks (Anatide), but in others it evinced an affinity to the Mergansers (Mergus), especially in its long and stiff tail-feathers, and narrow and pointed beak. It differs, however, from either of the groups mentioned in having, in both sexes, a strong spur on the wing. Mr. Gould proposed for this new bird the name Merganetta armata. Genus MERGANETTA. _ Rostrum haud minis longum quam caput, rectum ; feré cylindra- _ceum, ungue apicali distincto, incurvato, at minis abrupté quam in genere Mergus dicto. Mandibula superior lamelloso-dentata, vel tornio crasso carneo, intis profundé serrato, instructa ; naribus lineari- bus feré centralibus. Ale mediocres primariis secundo et tertio longissimis ; humeris calcare valido et acuto armatis. Cauda, ut in mergo, rigida. Tarsi aliquantd elongati, squamis hexagonis ad latera obtecti, et 512 Zoological Society. anticé scutellis. Digiti palmati, medio quam tarsus paululim lon- giore ; halluce libero, alté posito, et paululim lobato. MERGANETTA ARMATA. Mas: vertice nigrescenti-fusco, strigd an- gustd, alba cincto; hac, lined faciali ejusdem colore, conjunctd ; infra hane lineam strigd nigrd angustd, ab occipite super oculum ductd vittam nigram facialem efficiente, deind2 per mediam gulam excurrenie, et super pectus totum diffusd ; capitis lateribus, sic et collo albis, hoc apud nucham strigis nigris longitudinalibus tri- plicitér ornate, quarum central latd, reliquis angustis. Fem. ; vertice et dorso saturate cerulescenti-cinereis, sic et colli lateribus, his albescente minute fasciatis ; genis infra oculos, guld, gutiure, et corpore subtis e rufo castaneis. Male. Crown of the head blackish brown, surrounded by a nar- row stripe of white which unites with another line of white running at right angles down the sides of the face; beneath this a narrow line of black which terminates in a point at the occiput, and running over the eye joins a broader band of the same colour down the sides of the face, is continued down the centre of the throat and spreads over the chest; sides of the head and neck white, interrupted at the back of the neck by three longitudinal stripes of black, the centre one being broad and the. lateral ones narrow; feathers of the back and scapularies much lengthened, and conspicuously margined with white, the centres being in some blackish brown, in others greyish brown; wings deep grey, with a beautiful green speculum, bounded above and below with a narrow irregular band of white, produced by the tips of the greater wing-coverts and secondaries being tipped with that colour; primaries brown; rump and upper tail-coverts greyish brown, finely freckled with zigzag lines of white; centre of the abdomen dull light chestnut brown, with a blackish brown mark down the centre of each feather ; flanks and under tail- coverts blackish brown; tail brown; irides brown; bill reddish brown; feet brown. Female. Crown of the head, back and sides of the neck dark slate grey, the sides of the neck regularly barred with minute lines of greyish white; the elongated feathers of the back and scapularies margined with deep grey instead of white as in the male; lower part of the back deep slate grey ; upper tail-coverts the same, crossed by numerous minute bars of white; wings grey, the coverts tipped with white; sides of the face below the eye, throat, and all the under surface rich reddish chestnut; tail brown. Total length 184 inches; bill 12; wing 7; spur 2; tail 5; tar- sus 14; middle toe 23. The female is rather less in all her admeasurements. _. The male from which the description is taken had some of the tail- feathers white, but this would seem to have been produced by wearing and exposure, as they were all old feathers. Mr. Waterhouse observed, that the Fox contained in Mr. Bridges’s Collection he felt little doubt is the Canis Azare, Pr. Max.,.but it differed from the specimen figured in the ‘ Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle,’ in not having the black on the chin and angles of the mouth. Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 513 BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. This Society held its eighth meeting for the season at the Botanic Gardens, Dr. Neill in the Chair. Professor Graham communicated the agreeable intelligence, that the late Dr. Archibald Menzies had bequeathed to the Botanic Gar- den his interesting and valuable Herbarium, which was chiefly form- ed in the course of his voyages round the world with Vancouver and other circumnavigators. Dr. Menzies was the last survivor of Van- couver’s companions, having lived to the age of eighty-eight. He was a native of Perthshire, and studied at this university, towards which he continued throughout life to entertain the warmest feelings of attachment. The Chairman adverted, with deep regret, to the loss which the Society, in common with the botanical world, had sustained by the death of Mr. Falconer of Carlowrie, who was a most zealous and successful cultivator of the science, and who enjoyed, in a high de- gree, the esteem and respect of his friends. , The following papers were read :— 1. Notice of the Discovery of Phascum alternifolium (Brinck, &c.) in Dumfries-shire, and of Arenaria verna on the west coast of Scot- land. Communicated by Mr. J. Cruickshank.—This Phascum is not the plant of Hooker, which is the Archidium phascoides of continental botanists. The present plant was formerly discovered in Britain, but long ago, and in very small quantity. It is, in the opinion of Mr. Wilson, a good species. Arenaria verna was found at Drumlanrig by Mr. Cruickshank. It is very rare, if existing at all, on the west coast of Scotland. 2. Notice on the occurrence of Avena alpina and Saszifraga um- brosa in Yorkshire, by Mr. J. Tatham, jun.—Mr. Tatham says, «* Avena alpina grows here (Settle) at an elevation of between 600 and 800 feet above the sea. When growing in our elevated open pastures the plants are generally single, also on our limestone cliffs ; but when in our natural woods, which are mostly hazel, it is found in large tufts, where you may get perhaps fifty specimens in the space of a few inches. I believe I could send from the same tuft specimens of alpina with the panicle quite as simple as any pratensis. I consider Sazifraga umbrosa as really wild here. It'is met with in Hesletim Gill, which is a deep rayine at the foot of Pen-y-ghant, and Fountains Fell. There are only two houses in about three miles, and these not near the place. Actea spicata, Ribes petreum, &c., grow along with it. The valley runs from west to east, and the Sazifraga is found only on the south side, which receives no sun- shine except in summer. Some of the plants are inaccessible, the cliffs are so steep.” The impression of the meeting was that no specific distinction existed between the plant now shown as Avena alpina and A. praten- sis, and the same remark may be applied to all other specimens of the former hitherto exhibited from British stations. 3. On three new Species of British Grasses of the genus Poa, by Richard Parnell, M.D., F.R.S.£.—The author stated that these 514 : Royal Irish Academy. grasses were so unlike in general appearance to any of the other Poe, and possessed such strong marks of specific distinction, that he considered them entitled'to rank as distinct species. 1. Poa sécti- palea (Parnell). This plant differs from Poa pratensis, the. only spe- cies it can well be confounded with, in the branches of the panicle being stouter, more erect and rigid; the spikelets larger. Outer palea seven- or nine-ribbed, seven of the ribs being very distinctly marked ; inner palea one-third shorter than the outer, and invariably -divided to the very base, whereas in Poa pratensis the inner palea ‘has never more nor less than five ribs, and the inner very little shorter than the outer, and always entire. Found growing in sandy situ- ations between Crammond and Queensferry.—2.. Poa polynoda (Par- nell). This species differs from Poa compressa in the florets not being ribbed at the base; outer palea five-ribbed. Joints from eight ‘to nine in number, the uppermost joint situated but a short distance from the panicle; whereas in Poa compressa the florets are very di- -stinctly ribbed, suspending the calyx by their silky fibres. Outer palea three-ribbed. Joints seldom exceeding four in number.—3. Poa _nemoralis montana, Koch. Inflorescence simple, panicled, -occasion- ally racemed. Panicle erect, narrow and slender; the branches erect, long and slender, bearing few spikelets. Spikelets lanceolate- “ovate, of two or three awnless florets. Calyx of two unequal, acute glumes, three-ribbed. Florets not in the slightest degree webbed. Outer palea five-ribbed, the dorsal and marginal ribs slightly hairy. The whole plant is of a glaucous hue. This grass was first obtained by Dr. Greville, who, in the year 1833, gathered several specimens on Ben Lawers; since then it has been found.in many parts of the Highlands, but has hitherto been considered as a glaucous variety of P.:nemoralis. These grasses are. figured in Dr. Parnell’s work on the Scottish Grasses, now in the press, in which he has given 130 figures, with minute descriptions. ROYAL IRISH. ACADEMY. Jan. 25, 1841.—His Grace the Archbishop of Dublin communi- cated some observations ‘‘ On the Leafing of Plants.” It is well known that there is a diversity in the times of leafing and shedding in individual trees of the same species ; e. g. hawthorn, syca- more, horse-chestnut, beech, &c., sometimes as much as a fortnight ; and the earliest in leaf are also the earliest shed, the same individuals keeping their time every year. Hence the question, whether this di- versity arises from the ‘‘ separable accidents” of soil, situation, &c., or whether from “inseparable accidents,” which constitute what - physiologists call varieties ? An experiment was tried by grafting an early hawthorn on a late, and vice versd. Thescions kept their times (about a fortnight’s dif- ference) as if on their own stocks, thus proving that it was a case of ‘‘ seedling variety.” | Many other such varieties are known, not only of apples, peaches, &c., but of wild trees also, differing in shape of leaf, form of growth, colour and size of fruit, &c., and also time'of ripening. It was there- ‘Botanical Society vf London. 515 fore to-be expected that there should be the like in respect of times of leafing. - This may throw some light on the question respecting ‘‘ acclima- ting.” It may be, that species may be brought to bear climates ori- ginally ill-suited,—not by any especial virtue in the seeds ripened in any particular climate, but—by multiplying seedlings, a few of which, out of multitudes, may have qualities suited to this or that country, e.g. some to cold, some to drought, some to wet, &c. In some cases, a plant’s beginning to vegetate later may secure it from spring frosts, which would destroy a precocious variety ; in others, earlier flowering may enable a tree to ripen fruit in a climate in which a later would-be useless, &c. Further, the experiment shows that the common opinion respecting the commencement of spring vegetation,—the rise of the sap from the roots, through the trunk and branches to the twigs,—is ground- less ; since a scion of an early variety, on a late stock, will be in leaf while the stock is torpid. BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. April 18, 1842.—Dr. Willshire in the Chair. Mr. Edward Doubleday exhibited a Primula found at Bardfield, Essex, and stated that a few years ago his brother, Mr. Henry Dou- bleday, observed that the Oxlips growing near Bardfield were striking- ly different from those found in the vicinity of Epping, where the Oxlip is not common ; and that further observation had induced him to believe that the Bardfield plant was a distinct species, an opinion in which he (Mr. E. D.) was disposed to concur. Mr. Doubleday next referred to an article in the ‘ Gardener’s Chronicle,’ and point- ed out the resemblance of the Bardfield plant to the one there alluded to. He expressed his opinion very decidedly that there were in En- gland three distinct species of Primula, known by the names of Prim- rose, Cowslip or Pagel, and Oxlip, but that the Oxlip, commonly so called, is nothing more than a hybrid between the Primrose and Cowslip. This hybrid is extensively distributed over the country, especially in localities where the Primrose and Cowslip abound: it constantly exhibits a tendency to revert to the Primrose by throwing up single flowers of precisely the Primrose character, as well as others possessing characters of its other parent, the Oxlip. As a natural consequence, such a hybrid would reproduce at times both the parent species, a fact Mr. Doubleday believes to be fully proved. The Bardfield plant, which Mr. Doubleday considers the true Ox- lip, differs from the hybrid in the form of the calyx, in its drooping umbel, and in its leaves dying off in autumn: he has examined thou- ' sands of plants at and near Bardfield, and never observed a single in- stance of a solitary flower being thrown up as in the hybrid. The ‘Primrose does not occur for some miles round Bardfield, though the Cowslip is abundant ; therefore hybridization cannot well take place ‘in that locality. The plant under cultivation does not change its ‘character. Should it prove a distinct species, Mr. Doubleday claim- ‘ed for his brother the credit of first detecting the distinction. 516 Botanical Society of London. May 6.—John Edward Gray, Esq., F.R,S., &c., President, in the Chair. The following specimens were exhibited and presented to the So- ciety :—Leskea pulvinata (Wahl.), on willows by the Onse near York, and Dicranum spurium (Hedwig), Stockton Forest, collected by Mr. R. Spence. Desmidium mucosum and D. Swartzii, collected near Penzance in December last by Mr. J. Ralfs. Mr. W. Gourlie, jun. presented the following :—Jungermannia stellulifera (Taylor), collect- ed at Critch, Derbyshire, by Mr. W. Wilson. Gymnostomum Horn- schuchianum (Arnott), collected at Cromaglown in July 1840, and first discovered by Dr. Taylor. Jungermannia voluta (Taylor), found at Gortagonee in March 1841 by Dr. 'l'aylor. Specimens of Junger- mannia Lyoni (Taylor), collected at Dunoon, Argyleshire, by Mr. J. G. Lyon. Mr. T. Sansom exhibited specimens of the following mosses, collected by the Rev. C. A. Johns, F.L.S.:—Bryum Tozeri (Grev.), Swanscomb, Kent. Hypnum catenulatum (Schweg.), from Belsham, Kent. Tetraphis pellucida (Hedw.), Abbey-wood, Erith, Kent. A paper was read from Dr. Spencer Thomson ‘‘ On the Anatomy and Physiology of the seed of Phaseolus vulgaris.” ‘The paper was accompanied by drawings. May 20.—J, E. Gray, Esq,, F.R.S., &c., President, in the Chair. The following donations were announced. A specimen of Sugar- cane from Madeira, by Mr. James Halley. Bupleurum tenuissimum, found at Highgate, by Mr. W. Mitten. A paper was read from Edwin Lees, Esq., F.L.S., &c., ‘‘ On the Flora of the Malvern Hills, Part 3, being a Sketch of the Cryptogamic Vegetation indigenous to the Chain.” Notwithstanding the limited extent of this narrow chain of hills, scarcely exceeding nine miles in length, and only rising to 1500 feet in altitude, yet they offer almost every variety of aspect and condi- tion favourable to the development of cryptogamic vegetation. In fact, the Malvern Hills, when considered only as a ridge without re- ference to the country around them, are far more remarkable for their acotyledonous than their vascular productions, Commencing with the northern termination of the hills in Cow- leigh Park, several miniature syenitic spurs here appear abrupt and rocky, yet prettily shaded with wood amidst deep glens and shaggy defiles, overtopped by lateral steeps of limestone, amidst whose gul- lies, streamlets are there gushing with musical intonation. From the ‘‘ Happy Valley” a verdant park-like glacis leads the wanderer up among the exposed treeless turf, and rugged, jutting-out and lichened rocks of the End and North Hills, those of the latter being . more precipitous and remarkable than those of any other hill of the chain, and boasting a great number of lapideous lichens. Between this hill and the Worcestershire Beacon a deep and winding valley extends, watered by bubbling streamlets, and abutted by moist drip- ping rocks on the southern side, where several species of Junger- mannié shelter; but it must be observed that, excepting in this place and in the ‘‘ Gullet,”’ as it is termed, of the Holly Bush Hill, almost all the other Malvern rocks are without. exception dry and bleached Botanical Society of London. 517 by the wind and sun. At the western base of the Worcestershire Beacon, one of the few bogs that yet remain about the hills, occurs Aspidium Oreopteris, marking this and the other boggy places by the profusion in which it covers the margin of the black soil. A mile further south at the ‘‘ Wych,” the syenite and limestone are in contact, and the latter having been extensively quarried, numerous abandoned excavations occur, in many instances embowered with wood, and offering favourite habitats for many mosses unable to fruc- tify on the sunburnt sides of the hills. These limestone rocks-also offer an instructive example of the lichens more particularly affecting limestone when compared with the loftier and more exposed syenite. Mr. Lees considered that nearly one-half of the plants occupying the Malvern Hills are Cryptogamic, and the following synopsis will show this to be not an unreasonable supposition, especially as the census the author had taken is not to be considered a perfect one, embracing however all the species Mr. Lees had been enabled to identify after an attentive examination of five years and upwards. ENUMERATION. Species. Ferns and Equisetaceee ........65.-06 re e429 i ibaa isa’ nh halla Went Liediate ‘nigh ehecesiedhstes SUNGETMANIIG 4. ojos 6 yoeus are AER SL Ie Other Hepatice, Characee, &c. ........ 15 LaGheDGeieida's visa die we de Volek cians do 223 Bun ai ei cl: ai Fede Vd, 2. ont ends hes 305 AORBL i sieve ais 712 The paper was accompanied by specimens, many of which were ex- hibited. June 3.—J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S., &c., President, in the Chair. Mr. J. A. Brewer exhibited living specimens of Ophrys muscifera, Aceras anthropophora, Orchis ustulata, Parts quadrifolia, and other interesting plants from Reigate, Surrey. Mr. M. J. F. Sidney presented a specimen of Lycopodium lepido- phyllum from South America. ’ The continuation of Mr. Edwin Lees’s paper ‘‘ On the Flora of the Malvern Hills, Part 3, being a Sketch of the Cryptogamic Vege- tation indigenous to the Chain,” was read. Hepatice.—Among the Hepatice occur Antheceros punctatus and Targionia hypophylla, the latter at the foot of moist rocks on the Worcestershire Beacon ; while there are three species of Marchantia, polymorpha, conica, and hemispherica. Jungermannia :—asplenoides, ventricosa, bicuspidata, connivens, pu- silla, resupinata, albicans, obtusifolia ?, complanata, scalaris, viticulosa, Trichomanis, bidentata, platyphylla, ciliaris, tomentella, Mackaii, ser- pyllifolia, dilatata, Tamarisci, pinguis, epiphylla, furcata. Lichens.—Mr. Lees had observed 223 species ; most of the speci- mens accompanied the paper, and were exhibited. Fungi.—Vhe moist grassy declivities of the hills are in autumn peculiarly adapted to the growth of the Agaric tribe; and here fol- lowed a list of those observed. ; On the whole, the flora of Malvern may be considered as most 518 Miscellaneous. remarkable and abundant rather in its Cryptogamous than Phanero- gamous productions. After an attentive examination of the hills and the district around them for some years, Mr. Lees had been enabled to determine Dicotyledonous plants................ 558 Monocotyledonous plants ....... .... 173 726 The Cryptogamous census altogether amounts to 712, and with a little more industry and research among mycological productions Mr. Lees thought it might be considerably increased, while few he thought could be added to the Phanerogamous list. Altogether, the entire number of plants Mr. Lees had determined and appropriated as belonging to the flora of the Malvern Hills amount to 1438. The President announced that Mr. Arthur Henfrey had been ap- pointed Curator, and that the Herbarium might be inspected every. Merday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 to 4, and on Friday even- megs from 7 to 10. MISCELLANEOUS. A new species of Tapering-tailed Phascogale in the Collection of the British Museum... By J.E. Gray, F.R.S., &c. This species agrees in size and appearance with Phascogale minima, but differs from it in having long white tips to the dark brown and black hairs, in the tail being short, conical, tapering, and covered with elongated yellowish-tipt hairs, and especially in its having a terminal pencil of black-tipt hairs, for which reasons I am induced to call it Phascogale apicalis. Unlike Phascogale minima,—P. affinis of Van Diemen’s Land, P. leu- cogaster of Western Australia, and P. rufogaster of South Australia,— the present species has only two compressed false grinders in the up- per jaw, but this may depend on the youth of the specimen, which is a female with a large well-developed abdominal pouch. The specimen here described was procured from Mr. Brandt of Hamburgh, who purchased it during his late visit to London. Its precise habitat is not known, but it is doubtless from Australasia. STERNA ARCTICA. I perceive that in the last number of the ‘ Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.’ Mr. Thomas Austin is disposed to question the identity of the flocks of ‘Terns seen. on the 7th of May with the Sterna arctica. Whether the “‘ two or three hundred” that were killed in the har- | bour of Bristol on that day were the S. arctica or the S. hirundo, I have no. means of deciding, and it is very possible that Mr. Austin may be more correct in his specific determinations than the editor of the Bristol Mirror ; but with regard to the numerous specimens obtained in Worcestershire, I can only say that I believe them ail to have been S. arctica. I have myself examined a considerable num- ber of individuals of the latter species procured at the. above date, Meteorological Observations. 519 and have neither seen nor heard of a single example of S. hirundo. Mr. J. Walcot of Worcester, who is an excellent ornithologist, has also seen many of these birds, and assures me that they are all S. arctica. With respect to the supposed northerly migration of Sterna arctica in spring, it is possible that I may be in error, and that the appear- ance of these birds on the 7th of May was due to the north winds which preceded the westerly gales on that day. But one thing seems clear, that these terns were not blown overland from the north, but migrated up the Severn from the Bristol Channel into the interior of England. H. E. Srrickianp. GALIUM CRUCIATUM, AN IRISH PLANT. Of this Galium, which is not included in the ‘ Flora Hibernica,’ I lately received fine examples in flower from Dr. Hodges of Down- patrick. In a note accompanying the specimens, and dated June 24, 1842, Dr. Hodges remarks upon the species—*‘ The Galium cruciatum, Linn. (Eng. Bot. t. 143.) is found in only two situations in this neigh- bourhood; at the bottom of a field adjoining the marshes near the cathedral, and on the sides of the old Rath where I discovered ‘it’ about five years ago.” Belfast, July 4, 1842. Wo. Tuompson. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR JUNE 1842, Chiswick.—June 1—-3. Very fine. 4—7. Hotanddry. 8—11. Fine: hot and dry: clear at night, 12, 13, Clear and hot, thermometer as high as 90° in shade. 14. Hot pie dry. 15. Fine, with clouds. 16. Overcast. 17. Over- cast and fine. 18. Heavy showers. 19. Very heavy rain. 20, Cloudy and fine. 21. Slight rain. 22, 23, Very fine. 24. Slight rain. 25. Overcast: cloudy and windy: boisterous, with rain at night. 26. Fine: cloudy: clear, with dry air at night. 27, 28. Clear and fine. 29. Hotanddry. 30. Slight rain : over- cast : very heavy rain at night. The mean temperature of the month was 2°65 above the average, Boston.—June 1. Cloudy. 2,3. Fine. 4. Fine: thermometer 76° two o’clock e.M. 5. Fine: rain with thunder and lightning p.m. 6—8. Fine. 9. Cloudy. 10—12. Fine. 13. Cloudy. 14. Fine: thermometer 77° eleven o’clock a.m, 15. Fine. 16,17. Cloudy. 18, Rain. 19. Cloudy: raine.m. 20. Fine: rain p.m. 21. Cloudy: rain with thunder and lightning p.m. 22, 23. Fine: rainp.m, 24. Fine. 25. Windy: rainr.m. 26, 27. Windy. 28. Cloudy. 29. Fine. 30. Cloudy. N.B. The warmest June since June 1826, Sandwick Manse, Orkney.—June 1, Clear: shower. 2. Cloudy: clear. 3, Cloudy, 4. Cloudy: rain, 5. Clear. 6-8. Clear: fog. 9 Clear: fine. 10, Cloudy: fine. 11, 12, Clear: fine. 13. Clear: damp. 14. Damp. 15. Clear: rain, 16. Clear: shower. 17. Sleet: showers. 18, Clear. 19. Clear: fine. 20. Cloudy. 21. Cloudy: damp. 22. Rain: clear. 23. Cloudy: thunder. 24, Clear: cloudy. 25. Clear: shower. 26. Damp: clear. 27, Showers: sleet. 28. Cloudy: rain. 29. Cloudy: showers. 30. Showers : cloudy. | Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire-—June 1. Showery. 2, 3. Fair and fine. 4. Fine: shower p.m. 5. Warm and showery. 6—8. Fair and fine. 9—11, Fair and fine: droughty. 12. Fair and fine. 13. Fair and fine: thunder. 14, Fair, but threatening change. 15. Fair till p.m.: a few drops. 16. Fair, but cloudy. 17. Some drops of rain. 18, Fair and fine. 19. Shower early A.M, 20. Showers andthunder. 21. Showers: warm. 22. Shower early a.m. 23. Heavy rainr.m. 24. Frequent showers. 25. Heavy rain. 26. Showers, 27. Showers : mackerel sky. 28, Rain allday. 29. Showers a.m.: cleared up. 30. 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SUPPLEMENT TO VOL. IX. SEPTEMBER 1842. ees LV.—The Physical Agenis of Temperature, Humidity, Light, and Sou, considered as developing Climate, and in connexion with Geographic Botany. By Ricuarp Brinsury Hinps, Esq., Surgeon R.N. : [Concluded from p. 475. ] I nave frequently had an opportunity of observing that plants produce two kinds of mould, with what has appeared to me sufficient distinctive characters to justify a separation. It is in humid atmospheres that growth and decay take place with such rapidity, and here is the proper field for studying the unobtrusive deeds of the vegetable kingdom. The first kind is formed around the surface of attachment of plants, and indifferently whether they are fixed to rocks or the trunks of trees. On separating Algz from rocks, or removing an investment of mosses from the surface of forest trees, a thin layer of mould of a dingy yellow colour is exposed; but it is always very sparingly produced. The origin may be from se- veral sources ; in some cases from the partial disintegration of the supporting rock, but in all probability the greater part is derived from matter excreted from the plants themselves, in- creased by foreign substances getting entangled among the leaves and fronds. This is the kind produced on those sur- faces recently occupied by a few plants for the first time. The second variety results from dead vegetable matter; it has its origin in the decomposition occurring in the solid parts of ve- getables, as the trunks of trees, their branches and the stems of shrubs. A beautiful deep black rich mould is produced, when rubbed between the fingers feeling like an impalpable powder, and consisting entirely of soluble matter capable of administering to the nutrition of future plants. After trees fall from their ranks in the forest the destructive agents are soon at work, and the huge trunks become converted into this black mould. Their external appearance often does not indicate the state within ; and it is only when a stray footstep, or some other external violence, breaks through the thin crust of bark, that the metamorphosis becomes evident. Still I am not prepared to admit, that lichens and mosses Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol.ix. Suppl. 2M 522 Mr. Hinds on Climate in connexion are such active agents in the generation and increase of soil as is generally allowed ; and for the reasons, that under a va- riety of climates and circumstances I have never witnessed the process in any extent, and can see no correspondence be- tween cause and effect. Tf a tract of rocky country were left in the undisturbed possession of a multitude of lichens, I feel confident we might wait for a space bordering on eternity be- fore anything like productive soil would appear. If there are any plants more conspicuous than others for this kind of in- fluence I believe them to be grasses; for they are to be seen clothing the black weather-worn volcanic mountain ridges of the different groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean, to the al- most total exclusion of everything else, and entirely covering the exposed shoulders of many of the hills, which consist nearly altogether of lava rocks. In the numerous singular coral islands grasses are the first to prepare the way for the herbaceous vegetation, and in a number of other islands, as the inhospitable St. Paul’s, there is little other vegetation than grass or reeds. Scattered about the world are many small dreary rocky islets, which lift their solitary heads a few feet above the extensive waste of waters around them. If the chinks and crevices of these are examined, they will usually be found to contain a little starved grass and a few stunted bushes. The mode of growth of these grasses is peculiar, and perhaps suited to their situation. ach plant forms a sepa- rate and independent tuft, which, whilst it preserves in its centre the active functions "of life, increases from the exterior, and often attains such a size as to impede the surface. Grasses seem to me to be usually the earliest plants to occupy waste grounds, but an active rivalry is sometimes displayed in nearly all that class of plants, which, sending a taper root downwards, spread their branches horizontally i in a gradually dilating cir- cle. If lichens are really so efficient to this end, the Roccella tinctoria ought, long before this, to have reclaimed the barren Dejertos to something of the rich fertility of their beautiful neighbour, Madeira; and sheep are pastured here during certain times of the year on their spontaneous grasses. -The chief portion of the soil of the rich and fruitful parts of the globe will be found to exist about the deltas of rivers, in plains, or in valleys, or some other situation where it is pro- bable it has one time or other been deposited by water. Bear- ing in mind the twofold nature of soil, the inorganic portion has not, as a general rule, resulted from the disintegration of subjacent rocks ; but in the abrasion, by moving water and the | substance hurried with it in its course, of the channels of mountain streams, cascades, and the torrent courses of the with Geographic Botany.—Soil. 523 wet season. The resulting materials are gradually deposited on reaching the lower lands, and constitute the basis of soil. In this manner have rivers ever been, and are still, the most active agents im originating soil, whilst vegetation subse- quently enriches it. Kven after a clear acquaintance is gained with the mineral composition of soils, and of the different organic substances which also contribute to their formation, other circumstances require to be taken into consideration before our knowledge is complete; for though these are extraneous, or form no part of its physical characters, they have an influence over it as a source of fertility. However good the soil, an unsuitable sub- stratum may deprive it of nearly all its good qualities: a good substratum should retain or dismiss moisture according to the constitution of the incumbent soil. Inclined surfaces allow the finer and more soluble substances to gravitate towards the base, and are generally a good deal drained of moisture. Plains have usually good and extensive soils, particularly any valleys which may descend from them, and indeed valleys in general: these may be regarded likely to have been formerly the bottoms of lakes or other large bodies of water, in which case an important portion of carbonaceous matter is mixed up with the soil. The state of cohesion, or the condition of the aggregation of the particles, has its effects on vegetation, since the roots of plants have a variety of different forms, which require some adaptation of the soil to their organization. Argillaceous soils are too consistent for many roots to penetrate, and plants growing on them are fixed more on the surface than in the soil. Sandy soils, though easily penetrated by the roots, are so moveable, that the latter experience many chances of ex- posure; thus there are many large tracts of sand on the sur- face of the globe which do not support the smallest vestige of vegetation. Where sandy soils aré not liable to be swept away, and are moderately supplied with moisture, they support a very tolerable vegetation. Solid rocks resist any attempts to penetrate them according to their structure; quartz rocks strongly oppose the roots of plants as well as those which are granular or crystalline ; schistose rocks and the various sand- stones are more easily disintegrated; and marl and chalk, though not particularly favourable, support a moderate vege- tation. Soils possess different capacities for retaining moisture ; and this is a highly important property, since a very great. share of their nutritive qualities is dependent on it. Aluminous and argillaceous soils surpass all others in the quantity of 2M 2 524 Mr. Hinds on Climate in connexion water they will retain, calcareous come next, and siliceous the last. It is by a judicious mixture of these that a fruitful soil is made, for it is quite possible for a soil to be too moist as well as too dry. Einhof, who has paid some attention to soils, has named the variety py Bs occurs in low meadows and marshes, acid vegetable mould; it is marked by excessive moisture, and nourishes species of Juncus, Carex, Kriopho- rum, Arundo, &c.: a notable quantity of the acetic and phos- phoric acids exists in it. Nor are the effects on temperature to be overlooked; dark- coloured rocks and soils, as volcanic and slaty, are more easily warmed by the sun from their superior power of absorbing heat ; the clay-slate, on which the vineyards of the Rhine are cultivated, owes its superiority to the dark colour ; and at Con- stantia at the Cape of Good Hope, the excellence of the grape has been attributed to the same. DeCandolle mentions that the peasants in the valley of Chamouni are accustomed to re- duce a black slaty rock to powder and sprinkle it over the snow in spring; the dark substance absorbs the sun’s rays, and by the melting of the snow beneath vegetation is accele- rated from one to two weeks. The vegetation of the perennial grasses commences at least a fortnight sooner on limestone and sandy soils than on clay, or even deep rich moulds ; hence has arisen the appellation of cold soils. The tenacity with which a soil retains moisture is in some measure a guide to its power of modifying temperature. Soils in which there is much nutrient matter resist the effects of cold temperatures better than poor or watery ones. compact BOs have whe same influence on low temperatures. Though these circumstances exert at times and seasons their proper influence over the productiveness of soils, it must still be held in mind that the latter are of very secondary im- portance in the existence of the vegetable kingdom. The cases where the condition of the soil decidedly defines the ve- getation are the exceptions, and instances of plants being able to thrive in a particular soil and no other are extremely rare. Many of these exceptions are of interest, and an investigation of them is not unlikely to make us better acquainted with the relations between vegetation and soil. An examination of the constituent parts of plants which have been growing on dif- ferent soils shows that they vary with the mineral ingredients : Saussure found that those which came from a granitic soil contain certain quantities of silica and metallic oxides, and others from a calcareous soil possessed little or none of these, but their proportion of calcareous earth. There are some ex- ‘periments and observations which tend to prove that. these with Geographic Botany.—Soil. 525 mineral substances are a necessary part of plants, but it seems more probable that they are foreign matters entering the tis- sues with the nutrient fluids, and of no use in the ceconomy of vegetation. In mentioning a few instances, we shall pass over altogether the results which have been elicited by culti- vation, as in this state it is frequently the object to obtain an engagement of, or a determination of nutrient matter to, a particular organ or set of organs, very different to what is ob- served in natural healthy vegetation. The vegetation of chalky soils can nowhere be better studied than in our own country; chalk being unknown in some of the large continents, though limestone is one of the most abundant rocks. The natural families of Labiate, Orchidee, and some members of Leguminose, display the greatest par- tiality, whilst many other families have species which show a decided preference. DeCandolle gives the following as chalk- loving plants :—Buxus sempervirens, Potentilla rupestris, P. caulescens, Polypodium calcareum, Gentiana cruciata, Ascle- pias vincetoxicum, Cyclamen europeum, Trifolium montanum, Adonis vernalis, with several species of Oxalis, Bupleurum, Se- dum, Lichen, &c. As partial to a siliceous soil the same talented botanist men- tions Castanea vesca, Digitalis purpurea, Sedum villosum, Pte- ris crispa, Polystichum oreopteris, Saxifraga stellaris, Achil- _ lea moschata, Carex pyrenaica. Soils impregnated strongly with saline matter are frequently spread over extensive districts ; a large tract in Mesopotamia is covered with a species of Artemisia; several genera of Fi- coidee and Chenopodie will grow nowhere else ; and Umbel- lifere, Composite, Plantaginee, Polygonee, Plumbaginee, Nyc- taginee (Abronia, several species,) have all members with a similar bias. ‘The cocoa-nut palm will not thrive out of the influence of the salt air of the ocean, and it is in its happiest vigour among the low coral islands of the Pacific, when its roots are almost bathed by the waves. The sugar-cane also prefers a saline soil, and some of the plantations of the West Indies occupy land originally overflowed by the sea. The ve- getation of the Natron lakes of Central Africa does not seem very abundant, but on the margins of some date trees thrive, and their marshy borders are invested by grasses and a species of Juncus. A distinction may be made according to the saline constituent; in some cases this is nitrate of potash, as in the maritime parts of Chili and Peru; natron or carbonate of soda prevails in Egypt; in others it is the chloride of sodium, and this is more frequent in saline marshes near the ‘sea, 526 Mr. Hinds on Climate, &c.—Soil. where also there will be an admixture of the other salt-water constituents. A number of particular plants are generally found attached to old walls, or among the ruins of deserted buildings, where the source of attraction is the nitrate of lime and potash ex- isting in the old mortar; among these are Parietaria offici- nalis, Urtica dioica, Antirrhinum majus, Linaria cymbalaria, Meracium pilosella and some other species, Arenaria serpyl- lifolia, &c. In no country is vegetation so sure a guide to the qualities of the soil as in New Holland: the different visitors speak with confidence on this subject, and represent the settlers as guided in their choice of a location by the nature of the sustained ve- getation. Angophora lanceolata, the native apple, indicates a good soil; the spotted gum and stringy bark a bad; the Australian mahogany is found on white sand ; and the red and blue gum, both species of Eucalyptus, select clayey districts ; the numerous Banksia and Protea are sand-loving plants. ' Von Martius was agreeably surprised at seeing some arbo- rescent lilies on elevated lands in the Brazils; they consisted of several species of Villosia and Barbacenia, and appeared only to thrive on quartzy mica-slate. The allspice, Pimenta vulgaris, is cultivated with profit only on white limestone. Many of the Cellulares adhere with much tenacity to parti- cular kinds of rock, and among them lichens are especially distinguished. From Sir Wm. Hooker’s ‘ English Flora,’ where some discrimination has been used in assigning a locality, I have calculated the following distribution :— Attached totreeaiit 37 t8 ESAs 144 Attached to posts and shingle boards .... 35 Epiphytic or other agamics ............ 11 Growing on heathy soils .............. 24 Growing on soils usually sandy ........ 30 Growing on.old walls: 3. j..0...3.:¢¢.6-.)46 Growing on bricks and tiles ............ 7 Attached to rocks generally ............ 97 Calcareous and limestone rocks.......... 19 BMUEY StS oe ee cs bins te eeeke tes tatee wee EN ICY POCKB Sie oe pair eh ee EE ae 9 Sandstones, white and red ............ 8 WENSONG << fio. cat dt Cee eE Node ey 4 COON os hia Yin eo REE Dene TUR 3 Kg nei rs cats Cee ee aa 1 or, considered in another view, attached to organized sub- stances 190, to mineral 175, and to what may be called neu- tral 54; making a total of 419 species, Mr. S. V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. 527 Vicinity to large towns has a visible influence over vegeta- tion. Around London it possesses a good deal of luxuriance. A cause for this may be sought in the state of the atmosphere liable to exist among such a crowd of habitations and human beings. Pure air, after being once respired by man, contains about 3°6 per cent. carbonic acid ; but the extreme dilution this must undergo in mixing with the bulk of the atmosphere, ren- ders it unlikely that it will have any visible effect. It is more probable that the immense quantity of carbon, in an extremely fine, light, and divided state, which escapes in smoke after combustion, is a more influential cause. It is now in a con- dition to be suspended, if not dissolved, in water, and can pass readily through the structures of plants ; and the good effects of. certain proportions of carbon in a convertible state has been proved by experiment. In estimating the influence of large towns on vegetation, it must not be lost sight of, that combustion also gives rise to some of a deleterious tendency. Sulphurous acid is produced in a sufficient quantity to impair the functions of plants in a sensible manner, and even the bad effects of an extremely minute proportion have been noticed. Those plants which are observed to prefer the vicinity of clustered habitations have then, most probably, some con- nexion with the resulting state of the atmosphere whence they derive benefit ; some may receive positive benefit or stimulus from it, and others be equally injured. LVI.—A Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. By 8. V. Woop, Esq., F.G.S. [Concluded from p. 462.] Class GASTEROPODA. Ord. PuyroruaGa. Cor. Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 1. Capulus ungaricus, de Montf. (Patella ungarica, Mont. Test. Brit. p.486. Patella unguis, var. 3. Min. Con. t. 139. f. 7). Ramsholt. | Sutton. iP ssccmses | Britain. This exceeds in magnitude the recent British specimens. My largest fossil has attained the (transverse) diameter of two inches and a quarter. A very variable species: some of my specimens are conical, with the apex nearly central, while others are so much de- pressed, that the apex is on a level with the base projecting beyond it. 2. — obliquus, n.s. | WaltonNaze. | | 3. — recurvatus, n.s. | WaltonNaze. | | 528 Mr. S. V. Woed’s Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. Cor, Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 4. Capulus fallax, n. s. | Sutton. | I 1. Emarginula crassa, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 33). Ramsholt. | Sutton. | 2.—fissura, Flem. (Brit. An. p. 365. Patella fissura, Linn. Syst. p- 1261. Emarginula reticulata, Min. Con. t. 33). Stiga: 1-1 Dulton. od ite. oh died | Britain. 3, —— punctura, n. s. ; Sutton. | | | 1. Fissurella cancellata (Patella cancellata, Lister, t.527.f.2. Fis- surella greca, Min. Con. t. 483). Sutton. | WaltonNaze. | .......... | Britain. var. /3. depressa. Ramsholt. | This is larger than the generality of recent British specimens, reaching one inch and a half in its longitudinal diameter. The per- foration is of an oblong form, rounded at each extremity and slightly contracted in the middle. In very young specimens the vertex is vi- sible, recurved, and directed towards the posterior, which might cause it to be mistaken for another genus. When the shell has attained the length of one quarter of an inch this recurvature is lost. 1. Dentalium costatum, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 70. f.8). Sutton. | Sutton. = | Perfect specimens have a dorsal cleft at the posterior extremity to the depth of a line; the aperture is then partially covered with a con- vex sort of epiphragm which has a cleft across it, as is well represent- ed in D. fissura of Sowerby’s ‘ Genera’; this I have only seen when the posterior extremity has attained the diameter of nearly a line: very small specimens (corresponding in all other respects, and as such I have considered them as the young of this. species) have a circular opening at the posterior extremity without the cleft. The number of costz in this species varies from ten to eighteen, with occasionally a small one between them. My largest specimen measures one inch and seven-eighths, but fragments indicate a greater magnitude. Dent. striatum, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 495, appears, from the de- scription, to correspond with my small specimens. 1. Velutina levigata (Helix levigata, Linn. Syst. p.1250. Bulla ve- lutina, Miller, Zool. Dan.). Sutton. | s.%.s «wer. | Bramerton. | Britain. 2. — elongata, Forbes (Report Brit. Assoc. 1839, p. 80). This has been identified by Mr. Forbes. (Sigaretus similis? Woodward, Geol. of Norf. t. 3. f..8). | | Thorpe. | Britain. 3. — capuloides, n.s. Sutton. | | | 1. Marsenia depressa. Sutton. | | | Mr. 8S. V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shells From the Crag. 529 Spec. Char. Shell depressed, subtrapezoidal ; outer lip much expanded; inner replicate, lower part slightly projecting; lines of growth visible. Diameter one-eighth of an inch. | Pl. V. f. 8, 9. Only two specimens (perhaps young ones), but they appear to dif- fer from the young of the recent species (Marsenia producta, Leach, Moll. p. 47; Bulla haliotoidea, Mont. T. B. p. 211. t. 7. f. 6.) in their more expanded outer, and the projection at the lower part of the inner lip, and more depressed form. Cor. Crag. | Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 1. Natica catenoides (Natica glaucinoides, Min. Con. t. 479. f. 4; not N. glaucinoides, Deshayes). Sutton. | Sutton. | Bramerton. | It is necessary to change the name of this species, as the two shells figured in ‘ Min. Con.’ as glaucinoides are, I believe, distinct. I have not yet seen a London clay shell that can be identified with our crag species, of which a faithful representation is given at the above reference. 2,.— catena (Nerita glaucina, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 469. Cochlea catena, Da Costa, p. 83. t. 5. f. 7). f, Battons = | Britain. 3.—? multipunctata (Natica patula, Min. Con. t. 373). Ramsholt. | WaltonNaze. | This differs from Nat. millepunctata in the greater size of the um- bilical callosity, at all ages sufficient, I think, to constitute a specific difference. ‘There are the remains of spots in two of my specimens from the red crag of Walton Naze similar to those upon the mille- punctata, and as the name of patula is preoccupied, I propose the one above as expressive of its ornament and of its affinity. A thick calcareous operculum is in the cor. crag at Ramsholt, which may possibly belong to this; if so, it is not the millepunctata, as it differs from the operculum of that species. Risso has justly separated from Natica those species with a calcareous operculum, for which he has proposed the name of Nacca ; this may probably be re- ferred to it. 4. — hemiclausa, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 479). | WaltonNaze. | The umbilicus of this is closed in the adult shell. 5. — cirriformis, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 479). Ramsholt. | | | 6. — helicoides, Johnston (Hist. of the Berwickshire Nat. Hist. Club, 1834). : . | Sutton. | Bramerton. | Scottish coast. 7. — clausa, Gray (Zool. of Beechey’s Voy. t. 37. f. 6. and t. 34. f. 3. Nat. clausa, Smith, Werm. Mem. vol. viii. pl. 1. f. 16). be RANE “Breas cl ea | North Seas. 8. — elevata, n. s. Ramsholt. | | | 530 Mr. S. V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. Cor. Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 9. Natica proxima, n. s. Ramsholt. | | | 10. — depressula, n. s.? Sutton. | Not more than one-eighth of an inch. ‘Three specimens of this small shell, which I cannot affiliate to any of my crag species, although I have many young specimens quite as minute; however, till more be found, it must be considered doubtful. Natica depressa, Min. Con. t. 5, is probably a French shell, or from the Isle of Wight, figured by mistake as,from the crag. An abundance of individual specimens are found, especially in the red crag; but the labour of identification is great, from the difficulty of procuring specimens that are not more or less altered by decom- position, or rather decortication, many having the outer covering en- tirely removed, showing in some instances a striated surface upon a shell which in its natural state is perfectly smooth ; and in most of the species of this genus a deep depression is visible at the suture when the exterior coating is removed, which materially alters the appearance of the shell. 1. Adeorbis (n. g.) striatus, mihi. Sutton. Gen. Char. Whorls subdiscoidal, volutions few, peritreme sharp, inner lip sinuous, umbilicus large and deep. Spec. Char. Shell depressed ; volutions four, rounded, slightly im- pressed by the preceding whorl, spirally striated; outer lip sharp, projecting ; inner sinuous ; umbilicus large, open, volutions visible to the apex. Diameter one- ‘seventh of an inch. Pl. V. f. 4 and 6. There is an incipient sinus in the upper part of the aperture, which gives in one of the species particularly (supra-nitida) a depression at the upper part of the volution at a little distance from the suture. I consider this distinct from Skenia in the form of the peritreme, which, in that genus, is circular and not sinuous. 2. Adeorbis supra-nitidus, n. s. Sutton. | | | 3. — tricarinatus, n.s. Sutton. | | 4, — subcarinatus (Helix subcarinata, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 438. pl. 7. f. 9. Trochus subcarinatus, Brown, Conch. Illust. pl. 51. f..16, 17}. ROOD Es oot cc tbe sie’ eet ore | Britain. 5. —? subimbricatus, n. s. Sutton. | . | | 1. Margarita helicina, n. s. Sutton. | | 2. — trochoidea, n.s. Sutton. | | 1. Scissurella crispata? Flem. (Brit. An. p. 366). MMOD EY oo. FS aide oa | site 4, sin 88% | Britain. Mr. 8. V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. 531 My only specimen is unfortunately imperfect. It is strongly rib- bed and spirally striated, and what there is of it remaining appears to agree with Dr. Fleming’s full description. Cor. Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 1, Solariella (n. g.) maculata, mihi. Sutton. | Gen. Char. Subtrochiform, depressed; spire acute; peritreme sub- circular ; umbilicus large, deep and crenulated ; shell nacreous. Spec. Char. Subtrochiform ; volutions five, subcircular, carinated ; carine three, rugose; base striated; umbilicus crenulated; shell na- creous. Diameter three-eighths of an inch. Axis one-fourth of an inch‘nearly. Pl. V. f. 7 and 10. The elevated carine give an angulated appearance to the otherwise nearly cylindrical form of the volutions, which are slightly impressed by the preceding whorl ; carine of different sizes and at unequal di- stances, the upper one most prominent, producing a depressed ambu- lacrum or furrow at the suture; upper part of the peritreme projecting a little beyond the lower: fragments and small specimens are abundant. I have ventured to propose a new genus for this shell, conceiving the subcylindrical form of the volutions to have no generic connexion with the quadrangular opening of the Solarium. It is probably in- termediate between Trochus and Margarita. The specific name is added from the remains of coloured spots in one specimen. Sect. (3. imperforate. 1. Trochus ziziphinus, Auct. | ee as Urea | Britain. 2. — pseudo-ziziphinus (Schlott. Pet. p.160. ‘Trochus Sedgwickii, Min. Con. t. 272. f. 1). Ramsholt. | ~ | | 3. — granosus, Lamarck (Hist. des An. sans Vert. vii. p. 20). | WaltonNaze. | .......... | Mediterranean. 4. — conulus? Lamarck (Hist. des An. sans Vert. vii. p. 24). Stitteais | aloe Bsqaoy.:.!. 3. 8 | Mediterranean. 5. — quadricinctus, n.s.? Sutton. | | | 6. — Montacuti. : , Bet ol. Gece t + SL peat) eee OL DOPING Identified by Mr. Edward Forbes. 7. — subexcavatus, n.s. ; | Sutton. | | 8. — asperulus, n.s. Sutton. | | The shells of this genus from the crag are much altered by decor- tication, consequently difficult of identification. Sect. a. umbilicated. 9, — cinereoides, n. s. | Walton Naze | 532 Mr. 8. V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. Cor. Crag. - Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 10. Trochus tumidus, Mont. (Test. Brit. p. 280. t. 10. f.4. ‘Trochus nitens? Woodward, Geol. of Norf. t. 3. f.10). Sutton... jiiiSuttom. . - foc aivios. | Britain. 11. — littoralis, Brown (Illust. Brit. Conch. pl. 45. f.1, 4). de Brereton Ope FG | Britain. 12. — obconicus, n.s. Sutton. | i | 13. — bicariniferus, n. s. Sutton. | | | 14. — tricariniferus, n.s. Sutton. | | | 1. Vermetus intortus, Bronn (Lethea Geognostica, taf. 36. f. 18). Sutton. | Sutton. = | 1. Valvata piscinalis, Gray (Edit. of Turt. Man. pl. 10. f. 114). . | Bulcham. | Britain. Captain Alexander’s cabinet. 1. Paludina unicolor, Swainson (Zool. Illust. p1.98. Paludina media, Woodward, Geol. of Norf. t. 3. f. 5, 6. Paludina rotundata, id. t.3.f.7. Paludina lenta, Min. Con. t. 31. f. 3). | Bramerton. | Bengal. 1. Bithynia tentaculata, Gray (dit. of Turt. Man. pl. 10. f. 120. Paludina impura, Lamarck, vi. p. 175). Bulcham. | Britain. Captain Alexander’s cabinet. | 1. Littorina littoreus (Turbo littoreus, Min. Con. t. 71. f.1. Turbo rudis, id. t. 71. f. 2. Turbo carinatus, Woodward, Geol. of Norf. t. 3. f. 11. Turbo ventricosus, id. t. 8. f. 12. Turbo bicarinatus, 7d. t. 3. f.13. Turbo sulcatus, id. t. 3. f. 14,15. Delphinula carinatus, id. t. 3. f.9. Littorina squalida, Zool. of Beechey’s Voy. pl. 34. f.12). : | Sutton. | Bramerton. | Britain. I have considered the above as referrible to one species, as they can be connected by every shade of difference. The cause of these deformities may perhaps have been a more than ordinary alteration of the water, both in respect to its density and temperature, in the estuary which these shells in all probability inhabited. Specimens occasionally found in the red crag preserve a uniformity of shape similar to those with which our markets are supplied. 2.— elongata (Turbo elongatus, Woodward, Geol. of Norf. t. 3. f. 16-18). | Bramerton. | I have never seen this shell. 3.-— ? suboperta (Vivipara suboperta, Min. Con, t. 31. f. 1). Sutton. | 4, — ? phasianelloides, n. s. Sutton. | / | Mr. S. V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. 533 Cor, Crag. Red Crag. Mam, Crag. Recent, 1, Turbo? spheroidea, n.s. ) Sutton. | Spec. Char. Spheroidal; whorls three, rapidly enlarging, convex ; suture deep, spirally striated ; peritreme sharp; outer lip curved; um- bilicus surrounded by a prominent keel; shell nacreous. Axis one- twentieth of an inch. PI. V. f. 3. The exterior is covered with six or seven raised striz or ridges un- equally distributed, being nearer together at the lower part of the volution, where one is elevated into a sort of keel that surrounds the umbilicus, within which it is naked. ‘The figure appears rather too elongated. 1. Rissoa Zetlandica (Cyclostrema Zetlandica, Flem. Brit. An. p. 312, Turbo Zetlandica, Mont. Linn. Trans. xi. t. 13. f. 3). Sattogs be ie eink boda wegricit bf Oman, 2. — reticulata (Turbo reticulata, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 322. t. 21.f. 1. Cingula reticulata, Flem. Brit. An. p. 306). DUONG be bis d,s Bae aake a | Britain. 3. — semicostata (Turbo semicostatus, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 326. t. 25. f.5. Turbo semicostatus, Woodward, Geol. of Norf. t. 3. f. 19. Cingula semicostata, Flem. Brit. An. p. 307). | Sutton. | Bramerton. | Britain. 4, — subumbilicata (Turbo subumbilicatus, Mont. Test. Brit, p. 316, Turbo minutus, Woodward, Geol. of Norf. t.3. f. 20). | Bramerton. | Britain. Axis three-sixteenths of an inch. 5. —— supracostata, n.s. Sutton. | | | 6. —— crassistriata, n. s. Sutton. | | | 7. — obsoleta, n.s. Sutton. | | | 8. — confinis, n.s. Sutton. | - | | 9, — concinna, n.s. Sutton. | | | 10. — ? costellata, n.s. Sutton. | j | 11. — ? angusta, n.s. Sutton. | The above small shells are occasionally much eroded, and their ex- terior markings sometimes obliterated; this is often the case with recent shells found in sand, where attrition, produced by the move- ment of the waves, has removed the striz and other distinguishing characters; there is in consequence a doubt of the correctness of these identifications, 534 Mr. 8. V.Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the. Crag. Cor. Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 12. Rissoa striata (Turbo striatus, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 312. Cingula striata, Flem. Brit. An. P- 307). Sutton. fis. foal Babes 13. — ? vitrea (Tubo Vitteut “Mont. Test. Brit. p. 321. t. 12. f. 3). Sutton] ise Pe eee Res hd 1. Alvania albella, Leach MS. Batten he Ske es Fey BUSES. ‘| Britain. 2. — supranitida, n. s. Sutton. | Spec. Char. Shell turriculate; iti eight; he spirally ridged; suture deep; upper part of volution naked; apex acute; outer lip curved ; umbilicus small. Axis one-seventh ofan inch. PI.V. f. 2. Diftcts from Turbo ascaris, Turt., in the unequal distribution of the strie or ridges, which are five in number, the lower one not so pro- minent as the others; it is also more slender, and the upper part of the volution smooth, with a thickening behind the outer lip. 1. Turritella incrassata, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 51. f. 6). Ramsholt. | Sutton. | This much resembies a recent shell, probably identical. 2. — terebra, Lamarck (Turbo terebra, Linn. Syst. p. 1239). |. Sutton. | Bramerton, | Britain. 3. — conoidea, Sow. (Min. Con. t.51. f. 1, 5,6). | Sutton. My specimens are all much rubbed and water-worn. 4, — bicincta, mihi (Turritelladuplicata, Dubois, Geol.Wolhyn. Podol. pl. 2. f.19,20). - Gedgrave. | Sutton. This strongly resembles a recent shell, but is quite distinct from T. duplicata, Lamarck, Ency. pl. 449. f. 1. a, 6. 5. — planispira, n. s. Sutton. | | | 1. Eulima polita, Risso (Turbo politus, Linn. Syst. p. 1241. Helix polita, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 398). Ramsholt. | WaltonNaze.| .......... | Britain. 2. — subulata, Risso (iv. p. 122. Helix subulata, Mont. Test. Brit. Sup. p. 142. Melania Cambessedesii, Bronn, Leth. Geog. taf. 42. f.46. ‘Turbo subulatus, Don. Brit. Shells, t. 172). SL | a RS Oa eR ee | Britain. 3. — glabella, n.s. Sutton. | | | 4, —? pendalia, n.s. | Sutton. = | | 1. Scalaria similis, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 16). Sutton. | Thorpe. This much resembles Sc. Gréenlandica, Turbo Clathrus Gréenlan- dicus, Chemn. Conch. xi. t. 19. f. 1878-79; but a comparison with Mr. S. V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. 535 three recent specimens presents the following differences :—the vo- lutions of the fossil are more convex, the suture deeper, and the whole shell less conical with a more prominent. keel upon the base of the body whorl. Cor. Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 2. Scalaria clathratulus, Flem. (Brit. An. p. 311. Turbo clathratulus, Walker, Test. Min. rar. t. 2. f.45.. Scalaria minuta, Min. Con. t. 390. Scalaria pseudo-scalaris, Dubois, Geol. Wolhyn. Podol. pl. 2. f. 36, 37). Sutton.” Pe Sado Pts aes os de | Britain. 3. — fimbriata. Sutton bso. eta eee Oe 2) Ore | Mediterranean. 4. — foliacea, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 390. f. 2). Sutton. | Sutton. This is given by Philippi, Enum. Moll. Sic. p. 167, as a synon. to Sc. pseudo-scalaris. ‘The crag shell differs in not having a keel upon the body whorl. 5. — subulata, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 390. f. 1). Sutton. | | | 6. — frondosa, Sow. (Min. Con. t.577. f..1). Sutton. | 7. — frondicula, n.s. Sutton. | | | 8. — fimbriosa, n.s. Ramsholt. | | } 9. —? obtusicostata, n.s. Sutton. | | | 10. — ? decussata, Desh. (Hist. Coq. foss. des Env. de Par.). Sutton. | The French shell appears to have the volutions more convex and the suture deeper; but my crag specimens are all imperfect. 1, Phasianema sulcata. Sutton. Gen. Char. Spire slightly elevated ; volutions few; aperture ovate ; exterior striated, umbilicated. Spec. Char. Ovato-fusiform ; volutions three, convex ; suture deep; apex obtuse, spirally sulcated, decussated by lines of growth; aper- ture ovate ; outer lip sharp, inner slightly replicate ; umbilicus small, with an incipient fold upon the columella... Axis one-seventh of an inch. Pl. V. f.15. 2. — lineolata, n. s. Sutton. | | | Sect. a. columella plain. 1. Turbonilla elegantissima, Leach MS. (Turbo elegantissimus, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 298. t..10. f, 2). SUCtOH, FL css ace : Pea yids sue | Britain. 536 Mr. 8. V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the Cray. Cor. Crag. Red Crag. © Mam. Crag. Recent. 2. Turbonilla rufa? (Melania rufa, Phil. Enum. Moll. Sic. t. 9. f. 7). Suttons: fe i344 Wes PLES ie cle e's Dera | Mediterranean. Specimens imperfect. 3. — acicula? (Melania acicula, Phil. Enum. Moll. Sic. t. 9. f. 6). Sutton. | | Specimens imperfect. 4. — curvicostata, n. s. Sutton. | | 5. —- cylindrella, n.s. Sutton. | A recent species in Mr. G. B. Sowerby’s possession is once with this ; locality unknown. 6. — subulata, n. s.? Sutton. | This may possibly be a very slender variety of elegantissima: only one specimen. 7. — filosa, n. s, Sutton. | | | 8. — costaria, n. s. Sutton. | | | 9.—? —?f Sutton. | | | Specimens imperfect. 10.—? —? Sutton. | | | Specimens imperfect. Sect. 6. with a fold upon the columella. 11. — elegantior, n. s. Sutton. | | | 12, — elegans, n.s Sutton. | Sutton. | | All the shells I have included in this genus (proposed by Dr. Leach in MS. and adopted by Risso) have a mammillated apex, caused by the reversed position of the extreme spire. 1, Odostomia plicata, Flem. (Brit. An. p.310. Turbo plicatus, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 325). RUMOR, xfs fs: aesldaee [wali stacey Bb-c8 th 2,: eS Var. (3 convexa. Sutton. Axis five-sixteenths of an inch; outer lip toothed within. Auricula hordeola (Desh. Cog. foss. des Env. de Par. pl. 6. f. 21, 22), The crag shell is rather larger than the recent, which is the only difference I can detect. Mr. 8S. V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. 537 Cor. Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 2. Auricula pupa (Melania pupa, Dubois, Geol. Wolhyn. Podolien. t. 3: f. 34, 35). Sutton. | | | 3. — reticulata, n. s. Sutton. | | : | 1. Acteon Nox, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 374). | WaltonNaze. | | 2. — subulatus, n.s. Sutton. | Sutton. | | 3. — levidensis, n. s. Sutton. | | 4. — tornatilis (Acteon striatus, Min. Con. t.460.f. 2. Voluta tor- natilis, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 231). jie Sa Coe ss a Ma ani | Britain. 1. Pyramidella leviuscula, n. s. Sutton. | | | This differs from the figure of P. plicosa (Bronn, Leth. Geogn. taf. 40. f. 24) in having only three plice, one large and two small. 1. Trichotropis borealis, Lowe (Zool. Journ. Fusus umbilicatus, Smith, Mem. of Wernerian Nat. Hist. Soc. vol. viil. p. 50. fol. 1. f. 2). MARANON, Aine ceca bacoe te. eas | Rothsay Bay. 1. Macromphalus reticulatus. Sutton. Gen. Char. Shell fusiform ; spire elevated; aperture ovate; outer lip sharp; umbilicus linear. Spec. Char. Shell fusiform; volutions convex; suture deep; sur- face reticulate; aperture ovate; peritreme sharp, continuous; um- bilicus linear, striate. Axis one-fourth of an inch. Pl. V. f. 16. The lengthened form of the umbilicus has suggested the name proposed for the genus. Sect. a. dextral. 1. Cerithium punctatum, Woodw. (Geol. of Norf. t. 3. f. 29). Sutton. | Bramerton. | 2. — trilineatum, Phil. (Hnum. Moll. Sic. p.195. t. 13. f. 13). Buttons i ieee ee are ace .-. | Mediterranean. I presume this to be identical ; the lower part corresponds, but the apex of the crag shell is obtuse, and the two first volutions possess longitudinal cost. This portion is not shown in the figure above referred to. 3. — tuberculare (Murex tubercularis, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 270). BUNS oh see moo 68S cen xn | Britain. 4, — creperum, n.s.? Sutton. | Numerous specimens, but all much mutilated, 5. — cribrarium, n.s.? Sutton. | | About a dozen fragments. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol.ix. Suppl. 2N 538 Mr.S. V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. Cor. Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 6. Cerithium punctulum, n. s. | WaltonNaze. | | 7.— funiculatum ? Sow. (Min. Con. t. 147). Sutton. | | One mutilated specimen only. Sect. @. sinistral. 8. — adversum (Murex adversus, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 271). Button: fragt are eas on | ceepsar cums | Britain. 9.— granosum, n. s. Sutton. | WaltonNaze. | | Ord. ZoopHaca. Cor. Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 1. Cancellaria costellifer (Murex costellifer, Min. Con. t.119. f. 3. Cancellaria buccinoides, Couthouy, Boston Journ. of Nat. Hist. vol. ii. pl. 3. f. 3. p. 105). Coast of Sutton. | Sutton, | .......... United States. 2. — concinna, n. s. Sutton. | | | Specimens imperfect. 3. — subangulosa, n. s. Sutton. | | | Specimens imperfect. 4, — mitreformis (Voluta mitreformis, Brocchi. p. 645. t. 15. f. 13). Gederave, near Orford. Sutton. | | 5. — levicosta, n.s. Sutton. | | | 6. — granulata (fragment). Ramsholt. | | [ 7.——? | Sutton. | | Two much-worn specimens. 1. Cassidaria bicatenata (Cassis bicatenata, Sow. Min. Con. t. 151). Ramsholt. | Felixtow. | | 1. Purpura incrassata, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 414). | Sutton. | | 2. Purpura lapillus, Lamk. (Buccinum lapillus, Linn. Syst. p. 1202. Buccinum crispatum, Min. Con. t. 413. Murex angulatus, Woodward, Geol. of Norf. t.3.f. 23,24. Murex lapilliformis, id. t. 3. f.25. Murex compressus, id. t. 3. f. 26). | Sutton. | Bramerton. | Britain. These deformed varieties from the mam. crag are probably pro- duced by the same cause to which I have assigned the many different shapes of Littorina littoreus. Mr. 8. V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. 539 Cor. Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 1. Columbella sulcata (Buccinum sulcatum (var. a.), Sow. Min. Con. t. 375, f.2. Buccinum sulcatum (var. §.), id. t. 477. f. 4). Sutton. | WaltonNaze. | | Litiopa papillosa, n.s. Sutton. | | Spec. Char. Shell smooth; whorls four, slightly convex; apex obtuse ; aperture subovate; outer lip sharp, inner slightly replicate, forming a minute umbilicus. Axis one-sixth of an inch. Pl. V.f. 11. Distinct from the recent species found in the Gulf weed in being free from strie, and in having an obtuse apex. 1. Ringicula buccinea, Desh. (2nd edit. Lamk. Hist. des An. sans Vert. viii. p. 344. Auricula buccinea, Min. Con. t.465. Pedipes buccinea, Bronn, Leth. Geog. p. 1014. taf. 42. f. 8). Sutton. {| Sutton. | | 2. — ventricosa (Auricula ventricosa, Min. Con. t. 465). Sutton. | Sutton. | | 1. Nassa incrassata, Flem. (Brit. An. p.340. Tritonium incrassatum, Zool. Dan. Prod. p. 244. no. 2946. Buccinum macula, Test. Brit. p. 241. t. 8. f. 4). MULLOH. fb seats | Britain. 2. — rugosa, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 110. f, 3). Sutton. | 3. — reticosa, Sow. (var. a. Min. Con. t.110. f. 2. Nassa elongata, var. (3. Min. Con. t. 110. f.1). Sutton. | WaltonNaze. | } Var. y. tiara, mihi. | Sutton. | | Var. 6. angulata, mihi. | WaltonNaze. | | Var. e. deformis, mihi. | WaltonNaze. | | 4, — reticulata? Auct. | WaltonNaze:[ c25...0432 | Britain. This differs in the general form of the volutions being more ventricose, the whole contour more elegant, and in the absence of that gibbosity and slight deformity by which the recent shell is dis- figured ; it is a doubtful identification. 5. — fenestrella, n.s. | Sutton. | | 6. — microstoma, n. s. | Sutton. | | 7.— propinqua, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 477). | Sutton. | | 8. — elegans, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 477. f.1). | WaltonNaze. | | Not Buc. elegans of Dujardin. 9, — granulata, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 110. f. 1). Sutton. | Sutton. | Bramerton. | 2N 2 540 Mr.S.V.Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. Cor. Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 10. Nassa labiosa (Buccinum labiosum, Min. ras t. 477). Sutton. | Sutton. | 11. — proxima, n. s. | Sutton. | | 12. — costula, n.s._ Sutton. |. Sutton. | | 13. — conglobata (Buc. conglobatum, Broc. Conch. Foss. Subapen- nina, p. 334. t.4.f.15: Buc. pupa, id. t. 4. f. 14). This unique specimen was recently found in the red crag of Wal- ton-on-the-Naze by Mr. Charlesworth, and liberally deposited in my cabinet. 1. Buccinum Dalei, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 486. f. 1, 2). Ramsholt. | WaltonNaze. | The difference between this and Buc. ovum, Turt. Zool. Journ. xi. p. 366. t. 13. f.9, is in the strie with which the former is more or less ornamented, and it has rather a deeper suture. 2. — undatum, auct. (Hncy. Méthod. t. 399. f. 1. Buc. tenerum (var. (3.), Min. Con. t. 486). Gedgrave.| Butley. | «~......... | Britain. Buc. tenerum, var. y. elongatum. Ramsholt. | 4 | | Sect. u. dextral. 1. Terebra canalis, n.s. Gedgrave. | | | A few specimens in bad condition. Sect. /. sinistral. 2. — heterostropha, n. s. Gedgrave.| Sutton. | | 1. Murex? alveolatus, Sow. (var. a. Min. Con. t. 411. f. 2). | WaltonNaze. | Var. (3. abbreviata, mihi (Purpura tetragona, Sow. Min. Con. t. 414. f.1). | - Sutton: -f | Var.y. obsoleta, mihi. Sutton. =| | 2. — tortuosus, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 434). Sutton. | Sutton. | | 3. — erinaceus, Mont. (Test. Brit. p. 259. Don. Brit. Shells, 1. t.35). | | NearNorwich.| Britain. 1. Fusus antiquus (Tritonium antiquum, Miiller, Zool. Dan. Prod. no. 2939. Murex striatus, Min. Con. t.119. Murex striatus var. carinatus, id. t.22. Murex contrarius, id. t.23. Murex despectus, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 256). Sutton. | Bramerton. | Britain. A reversed specimen of the recent species in the possession of Mr. Bunbury corresponds in every respect with some of my specimens from the crag. Mr. 8. V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. 541 Cor. Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 2. Fusus? elegans, Charlesworth (Mag. Nat. Hist. 1837, p. 218). The specimen figured at the above reference is the only one I have seen ; it enriches the cabinet of Mr. Fitch, of Norwich, and was pro- cured at Felixtow on the Suffolk coast. Mr. Charlesworth considers it to have been taken from the beach, and states that the finest spe- cimens of Voluta Lamberti are thrown up by the sea at that spot. 3. — angustius (Buc. angustius, List. An. Ang..157.t.3.f.4. Murex corneus, Don. Brit. Shells, pl.38. Fusus corneus, Sow. Min. Con. t. 35). bec POOR AL Sn lathy 6.8.04 . | Britain. 4. — altus, n.s. Butley. Not very unlike the preceding species, but differs in the shortness of its canal, in its more attenuated form and more mammillated apex. 5. — scalariformis, Gould (Report, Inverteb. Massachusetts, p. 288. ' f. 203. Murex Peruvianus, Min. Con. t. 434. f. 1. Fusus lamellosus, Zool. of Beechey’s Voy. pl. 36. f. 13). f Butta. => by eGia case, | North Seas. Two varieties are found in the red crag. 6. — costatus, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 34. and var. t. 39). | WaltonNaze. | 7.— echinatus, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 199). Sutton. | WaltonNaze. | This much resembles M. muricatus, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 262. t. 9. f. 2, but differs in having its canal shorter and more open at the upper part, and less straight, more elevated spire, and striz more distant. 8. — alveolatus, Sow. (Min. Con. t. 525). | Sutton. | | 9. — curvirostris, n. s. Ramsholt. | Sutton. | | 10. — intortus? Lamarck. | Sutton. | { One imperfect specimen. 11, — porrectus? (Murex porrectus, Brander, Foss. Hant. pl. 2. £.36). Ramsholt. | | One specimen, much mutilated. 12, —? turriculus (Murex turriculus, Mont. Test. Brit. t. 9. f. 1. Murex angulatus, Don. Brit. Shells, t. 156. Pleurotoma clavula, Dujardin, Geol. Trans. of France, 1837, tom. ii. pt. 2. p. 291). | Sutton. | Bramerton. | Britain. Two varieties from the red crag. 13. — assimilis, n.s.? Sutton. =| | Two imperfect specimens. 14. — gracilior, n. s. Sutton. | | 15. —? nebula (Murex nebula, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 267. t. 15. f. 6). Sutton: *} -- Buti “7-2... ante [es Seite: 542 Mr.S.V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shells from the Crag. My specimens are larger than the generality of the recent British, and they are also less slender, but otherwise correspond. Cor. Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 16. Fusus paululus, n. s. Sutton. | | . Axis one line. This much resembles a small shell figured and de- scribed as Fusus nanus by Lea, Contribut. to Geol. pl. 5, f. 155; but the crag shell is beautifully cancellated on the body whorl, which I do not see in the above figure, nor is there any mention made of such ornament. I have only one specimen. 17.—? rufus (Murex rufus, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 268). | Thorpe. | Britain. 1. Pleurotoma? variegatum, Phil. (Enum. Moll. Sic. p. 197. t. 11. f. 14). | Satter. 415 «gees at Laaret = Shdod: | Mediterranean. 2.—? lineare (Murex linearis, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 261. t. 9. f. 4. Mangelia linearis, Leach MS.). Sutton. |... utton.: 4) posts sed. ] Britain. 3.—/? cancellatum (Fusus cancellatus, Min. Con. t. 525). Sutton. | Sutton. | | 4,—? mitrula (Buccinum mitrula, Min. Con. t. 375). Sutton. | Sutton. | | 5. — pre (Murex intorta, Brocchi, Conch. Foss. Subapen. t. 8. vee | Butley.. | | 6.— —? Sutton. | Sutton. | | 7.——? Sutton. | Sutton. | | 8.——? | Sutton. | 9.——? | Sutton. | | The markings of these four species of true Pleurotome are so much obliterated as to render them unfit for comparison. 10, — tuberculosum. Sutton. | WaltonNaze. | | 11.— porrectum. — Sutton. | Identical with a Touraine shell in Mr. Lyell’s collection. 12. —? scabriusculum, n. s. | Sutton. | | 13. —? pliciferum, n. s. Sutton. | | | 14,—? —? Sutton. | | There are probably two or three more species from the coralline Mr. 8. V. Wood’s Catalogue of Shelis from the Crag. 543 crag of these canaliculated shells, but my specimens are very im- perfect. Cor. Crag. Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 1. Rostellaria plurimacosta, n. s. Sutton. | 1. Aporrhais pespelicani (Aporrhais quadrifidus, Da Costa, Brit. Con. p. 136. t. 7. f. 7. Strombus pespelicani, Linn. Syst. p. 1207. Rostellaria pespelicani, Min. Con, t. 558). : Sutton, 4c 2 cOuttomiee Ab cite, 5:6 are 0 | 1. Pyrula reticulata? Lamarck (Hist. des An. sans Verteb, t. vii. p.141. Ency. Méth. pl. 432. f. 2). Ramsholt. | =::, 3. weve « Ll « epik's}s 0509 | East Indies. The exterior markings resemble those of the recent shell, but the upper part of the outer lip is more elevated. My fossil has lost a considerable portion of its canal, which makes it appear shorter, while the lines. of growth indicate a length very nearly equal to that of the reticulata; it may possibly be a new species, but the condition of my single specimen is insufficient for such determination ; as it is a rare shell, I have given a figure. Pl. V. f.17. 1. Mitra plicifera, n. s. Sutton. The mouths of all my specimens are broken. 1. Voluta ? Lamberti, Sow. (Min. Con. t.129. Mitra Lamberti, Flem. Brit, An. p. 333). Ramsholt. | Sutton. | The inhabitant of this shell, in all probability, differed from the true Volutes. It may constitute the type of a new genus; the want of an emarginated base will remove it from Voluta, and its mammillated apex from Fasicolaria. Section a. with dorsal sulcus. 1. Trivia avellana (Cyprea avellana, Min. Con. t. 378. f. 3). | Sutton. | 2. — testudinella, n.s. Sutton. | WaltonNaze. | This is intermediate between avellana and affnis, and is exceed- ingly variable; specimens ranging in size from eleven-sixteenths of an inch (axis) to some scarcely one-fourth; ridges varying from as many as forty upon the exterior to one that has only twenty-four. 3. — affinis? : Sutton. | Sutton. | Only three specimens, and those appear like monstrosities, pro- bably varieties of the preceding. 4,— Anglie, n.s. | Sutton. | | Section (3. without dorsal sulcus. 5. — Europea, Gray (Cyprea pediculus, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 200, and Sup. p. 88). Button. f> << Buttone Bor ee | Britain. 544 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. This also varies considerably in size, from eleven-sixteenths to less than one-fourth of an inch. Cor. Crag. ‘Red Crag. Mam. Crag. Recent. 6. Trivia retusa (Cyprea retusa, Min. Con. t. 378. f. 2). Sutton. | Sutton. | 7. — globulosa, n. s. | Batten. = :f | 1. Erato levis, Gray (Erato cypreola, Risso, Hist. Nat. des prin. prod. del’ Eur. vol. iv. p. 240. pl. 7.f. 85. Marginella voluta, Plem. Brit. An. p. 335. Cyprea voluta, Mont. Test. Brit. t. 6. f. 7. Voluta levis, Don. Brit. Shells, t. 145). 2.— Maugerie, Gray (Sow. Conch. Illust. £. 47). Sutton. "| * Buvel! ops Se: | West Indies. The West Indian specimens are generally a little smaller and rather more delicately formed than the crag shell. 1. Ovulum Leathesii, Sow. (Min. Con. t.478. Calpurna Leathesii, Flem. Brit. An. p. 331). Sutton. | Walton Naze. | | Corrigenda. Vol. vi. page 245. Note § refers to Cultellus, and not to Solen siliqua. Do. do. Sphenia cylindrica is the young of Panopea. Do. page 251. Cardium nodulosum is Cardium nodosum, ‘Turt. Do. do. Nucula tenera is Arca tenuis of Mont. LVII.— Observations on the Structure of the Pollen Granule, considered principally with reference to its eligibility as a means of Classification. By Arnruur Hitut Hassau., Esq., M.R.C.S.L., Corresponding Member of the Natural History Society of Dublin. {Continued from vol. viii. p. 108.] [ With 6 Plates. ] Tue second portion of this communication comprises a par- ticular description of the principal forms of pollen granules met with by the author during his investigations, together with the names of all the plants examined, arranged accord- ing to Lindley’s ‘ Natural System,’ which is followed in every particular, save that the order of arrangement is reversed, the lower tribes of Phanerogamic plants being first enumerated. VASCULARES. : ENDOGENS OR MONOCOTYLEDONS. GLUMOS. CYPERACER. Cuar.—Outline of pollen grain ovate-lanceolate ; extine covering only a portion of the intine, being deficient on either side, and at the £ . : fi ; ‘ ‘ Ann &Mag Nat. Hist Nov9 PLXUL i Ann & Mag Nat HistNol9.P\ XI. ie Sas Lunia Volchen RET ths nt . Imelic Hunter | Sfecerune Structure of Follen. IDC Sowerby, fa. \c*A Hassall | | _ ibe Ann & Mag. Nat. Hist NA9.PLXV, G “ Cunia Nolekew Structure of Pollen. Saye ID.C Sowerby, fe. . Sowerby fe. 7+ Aa. * TD). Ann.&d Mag. Nat. L7¢st Vo\.9.P\.XV1 < S < aS DR 8 3 > oie a7 Stee Anhder we WAN Naie Th ob aut 2h aaae ia mbuahatr eee Ann.&Mag.Nat.HistNo\.9.P\ XVI, 4D, C Sowerby fe. j Ann. & Mag Nat: Hist Noi.9.P\ XVI. / Sage es we Structure of Pollen. IDC Sowerby fe Amelia Hunter > tecerunt. Vasa /lassall x eat, : r ae : oA pikes: “ee Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 545 smaller end of the figure; but one pollen tube, which issues from the larger extremity of the granule. ‘The entire figure bears a rude re- semblance to an acorn when in its cup. Pl. XIII. fig. 1. Isolepis Holoscheenus. Scirpus capitatus. I. romana. Carex tomentosa. Cyperus longus. C. CEderi. Scirpus atrovirens. C. precox. S. carinatus. C. acuta. S. triqueter. The pollen grain of the following plant resembles that of the next order in every particular but size. See fig. 2. Papyrus Antiquorum. GRAMINACER. Pollen granules separate, circular at first, but on the emission of the single pollen tube with which each grain is furnished generally becoming ovoid, the larger end corresponding to that from which the pollen tube issues ; extine containing a distinct circular aperture for the escape of the pollen tube, which aperture is said by Fritzsche to be provided with a valve, of which I have not been able to detect the smallest trace. Pl. XIII. fig. 4. Dactylis glomerata. Triticum hibernum. Zea Mays. D. abbreviata. Lolium perenne. Zizania aquatica. Sesleria elongata. Avena fatua. Andropogon furcatus. Poa fertilis. Aira vaginata. © Panicum palmifolium. Elymus striatus. Spartina juncea. Phragmitis communis. E. sabulosus. S. cynosuroides. Arundo littorea. Triticum rigidum. SPADICOS. TYPHACER. Pollen grains united in fours, generally disposed upon the same plane, and each emitting a single pollen tube. See fig. 5. Typha latifolia. ARACEZ. CaLLEz. Pollen grain, when dry, in outline describing a parallelogram, very flat; in water it changes to an ellipse, emitting a pollen tube from each extremity. See fig. 6. Calla palustris. Pollen grain of an elongated ovoid form, bearing some resemblance to a flask. Extine apparently without any provision for the pollen tube, which escapes from the small end of the figure by the rupture of that membrane. See fig. 7. Calla xthiopica. HypoGyNnosz. JUNCER. Pollen granules united in fours, three being placed upon the 546 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. same plane and one resting upon these; each granule emits a single pollen tube. Pl. XIII. fig. 8. Juncus articulatus. Oxzs.—The plants examined in the following orders of the groups Hypogynose and Epigynose, commencing with the Butomacee and going up to Musacee, are with two exceptions characterized by the possession of a pollen grain of the same form and structure as indi- cated below. The first exception occurs in Limnocharis Humboldtii, and is very remarkable, inasmuch as its pollen granule presents a more complicated structure than that of any other endogenous plant hitherto met with, while the second is seen in Anigozanthus coccineus. Cuar.—Granules of an elongated form, tapering towards either extremity, sometimes slightly curved, each having on one side down its long axis a fissure through which the pollen tube quits the ex- tine ; this fissure is sometimes covered by an oval piece of membrane which curls up and falls off the extine when placed in water; extine either plain or reticulated. The whole granule may be very aptly compared to a grain of wheat while it remains dry ; but as soon as it is immersed in fluid, and before the emission of the pollen tube, it becomes nearly circular. Extine often reticulated, and presenting a very beautiful appearance under the microscope. See fig. 10 and the following ones up to fig. 26. BuroMaceE&. Butomus umbellatus. lst Exception. Pollen grain of Limnocharis Humboldtii circular ; extine reticulated, perforated with six or seven apertures for the escape of pollen tubes. See fig. 9. CoMMELINACEZ. Pollen grain somewhat curved. See fig. 10. Tradescantia virginica. Tradescantia discolor. Litracez. P). XIII. fig. 11, 12... Haworthia radula. Arthropodium cirrhatum. Aloe obscura. Hyacinthus orientalis. A. saponaria. Bessera elegans. Yucca filamentosa. Eucomis striata. Asparagus officinalis. Albuca minor. Peliosanthes Teta. Ornithogalum speciosum. Convallaria majalis. Allium fragrans., Czackia Liliastrum. — Scilla maritima. Poilen granules of most of the following genera reticulated, and furnished with an oval appendage; (two of the genera enumerated above, Yucca filamentosa and Czackia Liliastrum, have their pollen grains provided with a similar appendage). See fig. 13, 14, 15. Polianthes tuberosa. Tulipa Gesneriana. Agapanthus umbellatus. —_ Lilium longiflorum. Funkia Sieboldiana. L. album. Hemerocallis flava. L. tigrinum, Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 547 MELANTHACEA, Pollen granule reticulated. Colchicum autumnale. PALMACEZ. Kunthia speciosa. EPigyNosz. BROoMELIACE. Billbergia ameena. IRIDACEA. Iris florentina. Ixia florida. Antholyza eethiopica. Morea racemosa. Crocus vernus. Pollen granule reticulate. See fig. 16. Watsonia irioides. Gladiolus florabundus. XAMODORACER. 2nd Exception. Pollen grain of an elongated form, expanding into a bulb at either extremity, from an aperture in each of which a pollen tube issues; it may be compared to a dumb-bell, in which the cross bar connecting the two globes is somewhat curved. See fig. 17, 18, 19. Anigozanthus coccineus. AMARYLLIDACES. See Pl. XIII. fig. 23, 24, 25, 26. Oxss.—An apparent exception to the usual form occurs in the pollen granule of Crinum amabile, which possesses two furrows instead of one. See fig. 20, 21, 22. Galanthus nivalis. Narcissus Jonquilla. Amaryllis purpurea. Zephyranthes grandiflora. Heemanthus tigrinus. Alstrémeria ovata. Griffinia hyacinthina. A. psittacina. Imatophyllum Aitoni. | Hypoxis stellata. Pancratium declinatum. Oss.—The closely allied orders Musacee, Marantacee, Zingibe- raceé or Scitaminee possess a pollen granule of the same form and structure, which is thus characterized. Cuar.—Circular; extine of considerable thickness, either smooth or spinous, not provided with apertures or fissures for the escape of pollen tubes, but bursting irregularly, and so exposing the intine, which elongates into a pollen tube wherever thus denuded. Plate XIV. fig. 30, 31, 32, 33. Musacez&. Extine smooth. See Pl. XIV. fig. 30, 31. Strelitzia humilis. Strelitzia Regine. MaARANTACER, Extine covered with spines, having their summits perforated, which disappear on the immersion of the pollen in water, leaving 548 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. only small apertures in the surface of the now smooth extine, but the pollen tubes do not pass through these. See fig. 32, 33. Canna Occidentalis. C. Indica. ZINGIBERACEE- Extine covered with spines, which are permanent. Roscoea purpurea. Extine smooth. Hedychium Gardnerianum. H.flavescens. H. coronarium. VASCULARES. EXOGENS OR DICOTYLEDONS. GYMNOSPERMS. CoNnIFER# OR PINACEA. Pollen grain kidney-shaped, and according to Fritzsche furnished with three membranes; extine cracking to admit of the emission of the pollen tubes. See fig. 34, 35. Pinus sylvestris. Pinus Nova Zealandica. P. Pinaster. P. Teeda. ; Pollen granule circular, furnished with three membranes and pollen tubes escaping by the rupture of the extine, as in the pre- vious instance. Juniperus communis. J. Sabina. TAXACER, Pollen granule similar to that of Juniperus. Taxus baccata. ANGIOSPERMS. - Dicarpos2. JASMINACEH, OLEACES, AND LOGANIACE. Pollen grain in its dry state of an elongated form, trilobate, each lobe being separated from the others by a fissure passing through the extine ; in water becoming spherical or triangular and emitting three pollen tubes ; this change of form results from the approximation of each end of the granule, occasioned by the imbibition of the fluid surrounding it. Oxss.—As the above type of pollen granule occurs hereafter in families not allied to the above, in order to avoid the repetition of its characters, just enumerated, the term cylindrical will be employed to designate it when again met with. Although the same type of gra- nule is of frequent occurrence, it is not to be inferred that it agrees either with that of the above orders or any others in its exact form or size, which varies considerably. It is to be regretted that the size of all granules of the above form has not been ascertained. Jasminum odoratissimum. Olea europza. Ornus europea. Geertnera racemosa. Syringa vulgaris. APOCYNACER. Primary form of pollen granule cylindrical, very large, but when Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 549 taken from the stigma spherical, from the imbibition of the abundant secretion furnished by that organ. Allamanda cathartica. Vinca herbacea. Plumeria conspicua. V. rosea. Pellen grain spherical when removed from the stigma and fur- nished with four pollen tubes. Pl. XIV. fig. 37. Nerium Oleander. GENTIANACES. Pollen grain cylindrical, three-lobed. Chironia pubescens. Gentianellacruciata. Gentiana asclepiadea,. SOLANACEA, Cylindrical, three-lobed. Pl. XIV. fig. 38, 39, 40, 41, 42. Hyoscyamus niger. Saracha viscosa. H. pallidus. Atropa belladonna. Petunia atropurpurea. Physalis oxalidifolia. P. violacea. P. Alkekengi. P. rosea. Solanum Dulcamara. Lycopersicum erythrocarpum. S. stramonifolium. Datura Stramonium. Capsicum annuum. Many of the granules of the two following species are four-lobed. Nicotiana Tabacum. Solanum tuberosum. ScROPHULARIACES, Pollen grain cylindrical, three-lobed. See fig.43. Buddleia globosa. Franciscea mutabilis. Veronica longifolia. Schizanthus pinnatus. V. Chameedrys. Rhodochiton volubile. Gratiola officinalis. Antirrhinum majus. Mimulus guttatus. Linaria pilosa. M. elatus. L. genistoides. M. roseus. L. purpurea. Digitalis purpurea. L. dalmatica. Russelia juncea. Scrophularia nodosa. Penstemon pubescens. S. aquatica. P. pentaphyllum. Alonsoa urticifolia. P. speciosum. Calceolaria elegans. P. diffusum. Celsia Cretica. Anthocercis albicans. Verbascum Pheeniceum. Franciscea Hopeana. V. Thapsum. Exception. Pollen granules united in fours, three upon the same plane and one resting on these; the three lower granules appear to emit but two pollen tubes, the third being most probably suppressed by the union of the granules, while the upper one sends off three tubes ; those in the lower grains issue opposite to each other near the point of juncture of the granules, while those of the upper one are given off at equal distances round the circumference, alternating with the * 550 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. others. See fig.44. This form seems to result from the union of four of the preceding granules. Salpiglossis atropurpurea. GESNERACER. Gloxinia speciosa. Gesnera bulbosa. Trevirania coccinea. G. Douglassii. ACANTHACER, Pollen granules cylindrical, not diminishing in size towards either extremity ; ends rounded ; extine perforated apparently with minute apertures. Pollen tubes three, i issuing through longitudinal fissures. Pl. XIV. fig. 45. Justicia variabilis. Pollen grain of an oval form, with but one longitudinal fissure and one pollen tube issuing from the smaller end. The comparison of pollen of this form to a Pholas is not mapt. See fig. 46. Acanthus spinosa. Circular, surface presenting a lobulated appearance, the lobes being separated by lines which cross each other, in some of which fissures are placed for the escape of the pollen tubes. See fig. 47. Thunbergia alata. Pollen grain in its dry state cylindrical; when moist nearly cir- cular, reticulated, reticulation apparently formed in the same way as that of Cobea scandens. See fig. 48. Eranthemum pulchellum. BIGNONIACES. Pollen grain cylindrical, three-lobed. | Eccremocarpus scaber. Bignonia radicans. DUCAMENTOS&. : MYopPporRACcE&. Pollen grain cylindrical, three-lobed. Myoporum parviflorum. VERBENACE. Pollen grain cylindrical, three-lobed. Lantana Sellowii. Clerodendrum florabundum. Verbena teucroides. Aloysia citriodora. Pollen grain of considerable size, triangular, sides of triangle much incurved, furnished with three membranes, the second of which, or exintine, protrudes through the apertures in the extine, forming at each angle of the figure a prominent rounded projection; a pollen tube of large dimensions issues from each angle. Extine covered with a number of oval-looking bodies. See fig. 49, which exhibits “an abnormal form of the pollen granule of Stachytarpheta mutabilis. Stachytarpheta mutabilis. S. Jamaicensis. LABIATZ OR LIMARIACE. Pollen grain cylindrical, three-lobed. Teucrium lucidum. T. pyrenaicum. Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 551 Molluccella levis. Stachys coccinea. Marrubium vulgare. Galeobdolon luteum. Ballota nigra. Physostegia virginica. Sideritis foetida. Dracocephalum speciosum. S. taurica. Westringia ermicola. Stachys iberica. Scutellaria galericulata. S. setifera. S. lupulina. Many of the granules of Sideritis scordioides are four-lobed. Pollen grain oval, six-lobed, resembling a melon, changing its form in water and emitting six pollen tubes. See fig. 51, 52. Gardoquia multiflora. Salvia splendens. Origanum heracleoticum. S. Sclarea. Glechoma hederacea. Ocimum basilicum. Monarda didyma. Cylindrical, three-lobed. Lycopus europzus. BoraGINnace2&. Pollen granule of an elongated form with either rounded or trun- cated extremities, centre constricted in its dry state. See Pl. XIV. fig. 53, 54, and Pl. XV. fig. 55, 56, 57, 58. Pollen tubes two, opposite each other, issuing from longitudinal fissures placed near the centre of the figure. See fig. 53, 54. Symphytum officinale. Cerinthe aspera. C. major. Pollen tubes ten; pollen granule before the emission of the tubes becoming circular. Pl. XV. fig. 55, 56, 57, 58. Borago officinalis. Number of pollen tubes not known. Myosotis palustris. Pollen tubes four. Anchusa semperflorens. Cynoglossum pictum? Pollen granule three-lobed, pyramidal. Onosma echioides. Echium fruticosum. HyYDROPHYLLACE. Cylindrical, three-lobed. See fig. 59. Phacelia bipinnatifida. Eutoca- multiflora. Eutoca viscosa. E. Wrangelana. Pollen granule small, triangular, sides of triangle straight ; pollen tubes three. See fig. 60. Nemophila phacelioides. N. atomaria. N. insignis. AGGREGOS&. | PLUMBAGINACES. Pollen granule reticulated, in its dry state cylindrical, when moist somewhat triangular, with the sides of the triangle curved outwards to some extent; pollen tubes three, issuing from the angles of the grain. See fig. 61. Armeria vulgaris. Statice latifolia. S. tartarica. ‘Statice sinuata. S. speciosa. Pollen granule of large size, not reticulated, cylindrical, three- lobed in its dry state, when moist nearly circular ; between each lobe 552 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. is a fissure, in connexion with which is a small strip of membrane. Pl. XV. fig. 62, 63. Rts Plumbago rosea. P. ceerulea. PLANTAGINACER. Pollen granule small, circular, perforated with about ten apertures for the escape of pollen tubes. It is probable that the number of apertures in each granule is determinate, but it is no easy matter to ascertain what that is exactly. See fig. 64. Plantago lancifolia. P. oblongifolia. DipsacEz. Pollen granule three-lobed in its dry state, extremities not taper- ing and nearly truncate; in connexion with each of the fissures is almost invariably a piece of membrane of not any very defined form ; extine spinous, with traces of reticulation ; in water becoming nearly triangular and emitting three pollen tubes. Scabiosa caucasica. Dipsacus fullonum. S. atropurpurea. D. sylvestris. Composit. Pollen granule of the following species of Cynaracee does not differ materially from that of the preceding order Dipsacee ; the spines are however more strongly marked. See fig. 65, 66. Centaurea svabiosa. Arctium Lappa. Cnicus Marianus. Echinops spheerocephalus. C. nutans. Cynara scolymus. C. tenuiflorus. Pollen granule polyhedral, emitting three pollen tubes ; extine co- vered with a raised hexagonal reticulation of some breadth, on which are placed a number of spines touching each other. See fig. 67. Scorzonera hispanica. Pollen grain small, if examined in a sufficiently early stage of its formation trilobate ; subsequently becoming spherical or triangular and emitting three pollen tubes ; extine covered with strong spines. No pieces of membrane in connexion with the fissures. See fig. 68, 69. Leontodon Taraxacum. Pascalia glauca. Siegesbeckia orientalis. Silphium cornutum. Catananche czrulea. Helianthus annuus. Relhania pungens. _ Dahlia glabrata. Senecio nemorensis. Inula Helenium. Ozothamnus cinereus. Solidago Virgaurea. Tanacetum vulgare. Tussilago Farfara. Artemisia vulgaris. Eupatorium purpureum. Chrysanthemum viscosum. Chrysocoma coma-aurea. Anthemis nobilis. Cineraria Andersonii. Bellis perennis. EPigyNos&. STELLATZ oR GALIACEZ. Pollen granule oval, extine containing about eight longitudinal fissures. See fig. 70, 71. Crucianella stylosa, Galium porrigens. Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Polien Granule. 553 | _ CAPRIFOLIACER. Pollen granule large, cylindrical, three-lobed ; extine of Leycesteria JSormosa dotted with a few small spines. Viburnum Lantana. Sambucus Ebulus. Leycesteria formosa. CINCHONACE. - Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed in its dry condition. See fig. 73, 74. Serissa foetida. Pavetta Caffra. Burchellia capensis. Pollen granules of Oxyanthus speciosus united in fours in the same manner as those of Salpiglossis atropurpurea, from which I cannot discover that they differ in any more material respect than size. See Ag 72. GooDENIACEZ. Pollen , grain flattish, somewhat triangular, united in fours, the union of which forms an oval figure; each of the two lateral granules, which are somewhat larger and more in contact with each other than those which form the ends of the oval figure, contain eight apertures for the passage of pollen tubes, one placed at each free angle of the granule, and three on either surface, while the end ones have each but six apertures, one at each free angle and two on either surface. See fig. 75. Lechenaultia formosa. CAMPANULACER. Pollen granule spherical; pollen tubes varying from three to five, and issuing from apertures placed upon the equator of the granule. Extine slightly spinous. See fig. 76, 77. Campanula pyramidalis. Campanula Speculum. C. pumila alba. C. rotundifolia. C. patula. | LoBELIACE. Cylindrical, three-lobed. See fig. 78. Siphocampylus bicolor. Lobelia decumbens. L. erinus. Lobelia teucroides. L. ignea. MONOPETALE. PoOLYCARPOS&. Copz#zaces#, Don... Pollen granule globular, covered with an elevated hexagonal reti- culation, which is apparently formed by the apposition of a number of elongated cells placed vertically in reference to the circumference of the granule; apertures amounting to about forty, each being situated in one of the hexagonal spaces formed by the reticulation, and surrounded by a circle of six hexagonal spaces not perforated with apertures. The sides of those hexagons in which apertures are placed are all of equal length, while the unperforated ones have three short and three long sides. Pl. XV. fig. 79. Cobeea stipularis. Cobzea scandens, : - PoLEMONIACER. Pollen granule describing a circular flattened disc ; palin tubes Ann, & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. ix. Suppl. 20 554 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. eight, issuing from apertures placed upon the equator of the granule. Pl. XVI. fig. 80. Collomia grandiflora. Collomia coccinea. C. rosea. C. lateritia. Pollen granule spherical; extine perforated with about sixteen apertures, which are scattered irregularly over its surface. See fig. 81. Gilia achillezefolia. Leptosiphon densiflorus. G. tricolor. L. androsaceus. G. capitata. Polemonium ceruleum. Pollen granule reticulated, spherical, apertures about fourteen. See fig. 82. Phlox acuminata. Phlox Drummondii. P. paniculata. P. undulata. Pollen granule reticulated ; pollen tubes six or seven, issuing from apertures placed upon the equator of the granule. See fig. 83, 84. Ipomopsis elegans. CoNVOLVULACER. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed, but quite characteristic: See fig. 85, 86. Convolvulus farinosus. Convolvulus pentanthus. C. arvensis. C. Scammonia. Pollen granule spherical, extine perforated with very large aper- tures. See fig. 87. Calystegia arvensis. Extine covered with spines; in other respects the pollen granule same as that of the preceding species. See fig. 88. Ipomeea Sellowii. §Ipomeea purpurea, Convolvulus major. I. Horsfallize. I, insignis. NoLaNnaceEs. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. See fig. 89. Nolana paradoxa. AQUIFOLIACER. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Ilex Aquifolium. EBENEACEZ. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Cargillia australis. -PRIMULACER. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. See fig. 90. Anagallis arvensis. Primula vulgaris. Primula Sinensis. Cyclamen autumnale. EPAcRIDIACE. Pollen granules permanently united in fours, three being placed upon the same plane and one upon these; three pollen tubes (the emission of which is produced artificially with great difficulty) in Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 555 each granule, which issue in pairs opposite to each other. See Pl. XVI. fig. 91. Epacris grandiflora. ERICACER. Pollen granule resembling that of the preceding order. Kalmia latifolia. Gaultheria Shallon. Azalia indica. Arbutus Unedo. Rhododendron ponticum. Andromeda multiflora. R. maximum. Menziesia Daboeci. R. caucasicum. Erica multiflora. Sedum latifolium. E. vulgaris. Gaultheria procumbens. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Clethra ferruginea. BREXIACER. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. : Brexia spinosa. CURVEMBROS&. NYcTAGINACEA. Pollen granule very large, spherical ; extine perforated with from forty to fifty apertures. See fig. 92. _ . ‘Mirabilis. Jalapa. TUBIFEROS. PROTEACER. Pollen granule elongated, curved, furnished with three membranes; pollen tubes two, one from each extremity of the granule. See fig. 93. Dryandra formosa, Banksia verticillata. D. longifolia. B. speciosa. D. armata. Pollen granule furnished with three membranes ; triangular pollen tubes three, one from each angle. See fig. 94, 95, 96, 97, 98. Lambertia formosa. Grevillea sulphurea. Hakea pedunculata. Anadenia Manglesii. H. pugioniformis. Isopogon anemonifolium. Grevillea linearis. THYMELACE. Cylindrical, three-lobed. Pimelea hispida. Daphne Mezereum. P. decussata. D. Laureola. ACHLAMYDOS&. SALICACEs. Cylindrical, three-lobed. Salix viminea. RECTEMBRYOS&. . JUGLANDACER. Pollen granule spherical; pollen tubes seven, usually issuing 202 556 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen. Granule. through apertures placed in a line round the centre of the granule. See fig; 993°" Juglans regia. -ULMaAcEz. Pollen pratiule spherical, emitting five pollen tubes. Ulmus campestris. UrrtIcacEaz. Pollen granule spherical, emitting three pollen tubes. See fig. 100. Parietaria officinalis. Urtica dioica. BETULACER. Pollen granule either circular or quadrangular, according as three or four pollen tubes are emitted from it. Alnus glutinosa. - Betula alba. CuPpuLiFERH OR CoRYLACER. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Quercus robur. Castanea vesca. Ostrya vulgaris. The majority of granules in Ostrya vulgaris are four-lobed. Pollen granule nearly spherical, furnished with three membranes, and emitting three pollen tubes. Corylus Avellana. APOCARPOSA. _ CRASsULACES. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. See fig. 102. Sedum glaucum. Crassula coccinea. SAXIFRAGACES. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. . Heuchera. americana. Adamia cyanea. Saxifraga longifolia. _ Hydrangea nivea. S. umbrosa. BAvERACES. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed.. See fig. 103. Bauera rubioides. LEGUMINOS& OR FABACE. RECTEMBRIA. Tribe MimosE2. Pollen granules very small, united in fours or multiples of four up to sixteen. See fig. 104,105, 106, 107. Pollen granules united in fours, spherical, three upon the same plane and one resting on these.. See fig. 104. Mimosa Mexicana. Mimosa marginata. Pollen granules cohering in eights, each emitting two pollen tubes, the third being suppressed by the union of the granules. See fig. 105. . Acacia rigens. Pollen granules cohering in twelves. See fig. 106. Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 557 Acacia decipiens. A. nigricans. Acacia ciliata. A. pulchella. Pollen granules cohering in sixteens. See fig. 107. Acacia undulefolia. A. marginata. Acacia trigonocarpa. A. Lophantha. A. decurrens glauca. A. flavescens. Acacia sulcata. A. linearis. A. ruscifolia. CASALPINEA. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Cassia australis. PAPILIONACER. Pollen granule elongated, more or less prismatic, with three fis- sures for the escape of pollen tubes. See fig. 108. Pterocarpus erinaceus. Trifolium pratense. P. echinatus. Medicago arborea. Faba vulgaris. Anthyllis polycephalus. Pisum sativum. ~ Ononis hircina. . Hedysarum Onobrychis. - Cytisus capitatus. Astragalus virescens. Genista tinctoria. Swainsonia alba. Spartium scoparium. Colutea arborescens. Lupinus luteus. Indigofera psoraloides. © Viminaria denudata. Psoralea glandulosa. ‘Virgilia capensis. Callistachys ovata. Sophora racemosa. Lotus corniculatus. ‘Pollen granule provided with three membranes, triangular, sides nearly straight. See fig. 109. Erythrina laurifolia. AMYGDALEZ, Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Amygdalus persica. Prunus Cerasus. Armeniaca vulgaris. A. levis. P. domestica. PomEZ. Pyrus Malus. P. communis. Rosacez. Spirea ulmifolia. Agrimonia nepalensis. Fragaria vesca. S. ariefolia. Geum sinense. Rosa bracteata. S. Ulmaria. Potentilla anserina. Rubus fruticosus. Agrimonia Eupatoria. P. argentea. Many of the granules in Rosa bracteata, and nearly all of Rubus fruticosus, are four-lobate. GYNOBASEOS. LIMNANTHACES. Pollen granule reticulated, bent twice nearly at right angles ; pollen tubes three, one issuing from each end and one from the centre of the granule. Pl. XVI. fig. 110, 111. Limnanthus Douglassii. 558 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. SuRIANACEA. Pollen — cylindrical, three-lobed. Cneorum tricoccum. TROPZOLEZ. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Tropzeolum peregrinum. Tropzolum majus. BaLsaMINACE&#. Pollen granule elongated, quadrilateral, and emitting a pollen tube at each angle. Pl. XVII. fig. 112. Impatiens noli me tangere. I. glandulifera. I. parviflora. GERANIACEZ. Pollen granule very large, somewhat spheroid in its moist condi- tion, emitting three pollen tubes. See fig. 113. Geranium sylvaticum. Pelargonium peltatum. RUTACER. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Correa alba. Ruta graveolens. ALSINACES. Pollen granule spherical; extine perforated with about ten aper- tures, placed nearly at equal distances from each other. See fig. 114. Dianthus barbatus. D. deltoides. Gypsophila elegans. SILENACES. Pollen granule same as the preceding. Silene Armeria. Silene vespertina. §Saponaria officinalis. S. inflata. Saponaria viscida. PoRTULACACES. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. See fig. 115. Calandrinia speciosa. C. discolor. MALPIGHIACES. Pollen granule spherical, pollen tubes about sixteen. See fig. 116. Malpighia punicea. CELASTRACE. Pollen eranule cylindrical, three-lobed. Celastrus Pyracanthus. EurHORBIACES. Pollen granule cylindrical, with three lobes. Ricinus communis. RHAMNACER. Pollen granule small, triangular, furnished with three membranes. Pl. XVII. fig. 117. Zizyphus Paliurus, Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Ceanothus pallidus. Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 559 AURANTIACER. Pollen granule, in its primary condition, four-lobate ; subsequently it becomes circular, and emits four pollen tubes. See fig. 118. Citrus Aurantium. C, Limonium. LyTHRACEZ, Pollen tube cylindrical, three-lobed. Lythrum Salicaria. Cuphea viscosa. TILIACE. Pollen granule spherical, furnished with three membranes ; extine not covering entirely the exintine. See fig. 119. Tilia europea. Tilia americana. MaLvace&, Pollen granule globular; extine reticulated, spinous, and per- forated with apertures, fitting into which, in many species, are circular detached pieces of membrane; apertures very numerous, amounting in some genera to between fifty and sixty; each reti- culum is the seat of either a spine or an aperture. See fig. 120. Hibiscus liliflorus. Althea officinalis. H. syriacus. Malva sylvestris. H. annuus. M. fragrans. Pavonia premorsa. M. virgata. Lavatera acerifolia. Kitaibelia vitifolia. Pollen granule with but three pollen tubes. See fig. 121. Aubutilon striatum. CISTACER. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Cistus Helianthemum. LINACEZ. Pollen granule somewhat square, emitting six pollen tubes, one from each angle of the figure, and one on either surface. See fig. 122. Linum usitatissimum. Cylindrical, three-lobed. Linum africanum. ALSCULACER. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. A&sculus hippocastanus. ACERACE. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Acer Pseudo-platanus. PoLYGALACER. Primary form of pollen granule cylindrical, fluted; extremities truncate, in water becoming spherical and emitting about twenty pollen tubes. Pl. XVII. fig. 123, 124, 125. Muraltia filiformis. Polygala myrtifolia. M. Myxta. P. speciosa. Polygala grandiflora. P. Chamebuxus. 560 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. PARIETOS. HyYPpERICACES. Cylindrical, three-lobed. See fig. 126. Hypericum hircinum. TURNERACER. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Turnera elegans. PASSIFLORACER, Pollen granule spherical, reticulated, and provided with three large valves, first noticed by Purkinje. See fig. 127. 7 Passiflora cerulea. P. cerulea, var. racemosa. P. alata. VIOLACEZ. Pollen granule of an elongated form, four-sided, with square trun- cate extremities; in water it changes its shape and becomes square in outline, emitting four pollen tubes which issue from fissures con- cealed in the dry granule, one in each of the lines which separate the four sides of the figure. The change of form arises from the approximation of the ends of the granule occasioned by the water which it imbibes, which stretches the membrane, wit can only yield in one direction. See fig. 128, 129. Viola tricolor. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. _ See fig. 130, 131. Viola montana. RESEDACEZ. Cylindrical, three-lobed. Reseda odorata. CAPpPARIDACEZ. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Cleome spinosa. CRUCIFERZ OR BRASSICACEA. Pollen granule three-lobed, cylindrical. See fig. 132, 133. Heliophila arabioides. Alyssum maritimum. Sinapis alba. Cheiranthus Cheiri. Brassica oleracea. . C, mutabilis. Iberis alba. Matthiola incana. EPIGYNOS&. BEGONIACES. Pollen granule same as the preceding. Begonia glabrata. Fico1ipE& orn MrseMBRYACES. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Mesembryanthemum reflexum. CAcTACE. Pollen granule same as the preceding. Opuntia vulgaris. Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 561 LoasacEaz. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Bartonia aurea. CucuRBITACEA. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. See fig. 134. Momordica Elaterium. HAMAMELACES. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Trichocladus crinitus. CorRNACEZ. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Cornus canadensis. Aucuba japonica. Myrrackez. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Punica Granatum. Leptospermum ambiguum. Pollen granule triangular, that of Calothamaus villosus possessing three membranes, and the extine of Angophora racemosa exhibiting three radiating lines upon its surface. Pl. XVII. fig. 135, 136, 137. Melaleuca hypericifolia. Angophora cordata. Calothamnus villosus. Tristania neriifolia. Angophora racemosa. MELASTOMACES. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Melastoma corymbosa. M. heteromalla. Arthrostemma lineata. ONAGRACEZ. Pollen granule furnished with four membranes ; either triangular, and emitting three pollen tubes, one from each angle; or cylindrical, and sending forth two pollen tubes; this difference of form arising merely from the suppression of one of tlie pollen tubes. Generally separate, but sometimes united in threes or fours. Pollen granule triangular, separate. Lopezia coronata. L.racemosa. Gaura biennis. Pollen granule united in threes. Epilobium hirsutum. Pollen granule united in fours. Pl. XVIII. fig. 138. Epilobium roseum. Pollen granule triangular, separate. See fig. 139, 140, 141. Epilobium angustifolium. C£nothera biennis. Clarkia elegans. Q£. quadrivalva. C. pulchella. CE. suffruticosa. Godetia rubicunda. Qf. Drummondii C£nothera serotina. Pollen granule triangular, separate. See fig. 142. Fuchsia coccinea. Fuchsia globosa major. F. gracilis. F. conica. F. grandiflora. F. lycioides. F. longipedunculata. Oss.— Many of the pollen granules of some hybrid Fuchsia appear 562 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. to acquire a fourth pollen tube, and hence become of a square form. Pl. XVIII. fig. 143. , Fuchsia Devonia. F. Clintonia. F. Atkinsonia. Pollen granule cylindrical, a pollen tube issuing from either ex- tremity. See fig. 144, 145. Fuchsia fulgens. Fuchsia Thymifolia. F. corymbifera. F. cylindrica. ALBUMINOS&. FRANCOACEZ. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Francoa racemosa. VITACER. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Vitis vinifera. BERBERACE. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Epimedium alpintm. EScALLONIACER. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Escallonia rubra. GROSSULACER. Pollen granule in its dry state obscurely six-lobed, and when moist becoming circular and emitting six pollen tubes. Ribes grossularia. Ribes rubrum. ARALIACE, Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Hedera Helix. . Aralia sambucifolia. UMBELLIFERZ OR APIACER. Pollen granule most probably furnished with three membranes, of a prismatic form in its dry state, with slightly contracted sides, be- coming in water cylindrical, with rounded ends, and emitting three pollen tubes, which issue from fissures placed in the angles of the prism. See fig. 146, 147, 148. Conium maculatum. Q£nanthe crocata. Daucus Carota. QE. fistulosa. Pastinaca sativa. Bupleurum rotundifolium. Anethum feeniculum. B. fruticosum. Pollen granule cylindrical, ends rounded, three fissures for the pol- len tubes ; form but slightly changed by water. See fig. 149. Eryngium alpinum. Didiscus ceruleus. DILLENIACEZ. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Hibbertia dentata. Candollea cunciformis. Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 563 MAGNOLIACER. Pollen granule elliptical, tapering towards either extremity, with a single furrow running down its long axis. Pl. XVIII. fig. 150. ‘Magnolia grandiflora. Magnolia glauca. NYMPHHACES. Pollen granule oval, with but a single furrow passing down one side. See fig. 151, 152. Nympheea alba. Nymphea lutea. FuMARIES. Pollen granule furnished with three membranes, spheroidal ; extine perforated with six apertures for the passage of pollen tubes ; four of these are placed on a line dividing the granule into two hemispheres, in the centre of each of which one of the two remaining apertures is situated. See fig. 153. Fumaria officinalis. F. lutea. Diclytra formosa. Oss.—Most of these granules in the last two species appear to be imperfectly formed, having but three or four pollen tubes ; but the presence of three membranes in them all, and the occasional appear- ance of a perfectly formed granule, prove that there is no essential difference in the pollen of the three species. PAPAVERACE. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Papaver Rheeas. Argemone mexicana. P. somniferum. Glaucium luteum. Pollen granule spherical, with six fissures for the escape of pollen tubes. See fig. 154, 155. . Eschscholtzia californica. RANUNCULACE. Pollen granule cylindrical, three-lobed. Peeonia corallina. Helleborus foetidus. Aconitum Napellum. H. niger. Delphinium Staphysagria. Thalictrum minus. Aquilegia vulgaris. Clematis Flammula. Pollen granule mostly four-lobed, cylindrical, in water becoming square and emitting four pollen tubes. See fig. 156, 157, 158. Ranunculus acris. Oxzs.—The term cylindrical, as applied to that form of pollen granule distinguished by the presence of three furrows, which divide it into three more or less prominent lobes, is perhaps objectionable, inasmuch as it is not properly cylindrical, and should have been re- moved for a more appropriate one, were it not that it has already been employed in that portion of the paper already published. All that is intended to be conveyed by the term is, that all pollen to which it is applied is of an elongated form. One of the first things to be remarked, on a review of the preceding descriptions, is the great and striking simplicity of form and structure which characterizes the pollen of endo- genous plants, compared with exogenous ; and not alone is 564 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. this difference observable between the pollen of the two grand classes of the vegetable kingdom, but it will be further no- ticed, that the more or less complex structure of the pollen bears some reference to the station of the plant in these divi- sions, especially in the monocotyledonous; a fact hitherto denied by all vegetable microscopists who have paid attention to the subject, but one which can scarcely again be called in question after the very conclusive evidence of its truth fur- nished in the antecedent pages. The pollen granule of Cyperacee and Graminacee is either oval or spherical (the simplest forms in nature), and has but a single pollen tube. Mounting a step higher to the Ty- phacee and Juncacee, we meet with the same type and struc- ture of granule; but instead of being separate, as in the Gra- minacee and Cyperacee, the grains are united in fours. In Calla the form is oval, and a pollen tube issues from either end. In the genus Butomus, in the Liliacee, Melanthacee, Brome- liacee, Iridacee, and Amaryllidacee, it is more complex; each grain is of an elongated shape, tapering almost to a point towards either extremity, with a furrow running down one side, from which, however, only a single pollen tube issues, as in the Cyperacee and Graminacee. In Zingiberacee, Ma- rantacee, and Musacee, the form of each granule again be- comes very simple; it is a perfect sphere, and the extine, which is of great thickness, contains no provision in it for the passage of the pollen tubes, but possesses the power of cracking (a peculiarity met with only in the pollen of these allied orders and that of the Taxacee and Conifere), and so allowing of their escape. In Orchidee the granules are united in fours, and are likewise of a very simple structure. The Taxacee and Conifere, which, though usually placed among dicotyledons, ought to be regarded as forming the con- necting links between monocotyledons and dicotyledons, also possess pollen of a very simple form and structure, but still somewhat more complex than that of any of the preceding orders. It is here for the first time that I have met with the third membrane, which Fritzsche however mentions as ex~ isting in Tigridia pavonia, and Mr. Giraud in Crocus vernus*, both monocotyledons. We come now to a class of plants decidedly exogenous, the Jasminacee: here the pollen is much more complicated ; when dry it is cylindrical, and 3-lobed ; in water it becomes triangular and emits three pollen tubes; while in Ladiate, an order not very far removed from the preceding, it is 6-lobed and furnished with as many pollen tubes. In the remaining * Mr. Giraud’s papers on the structure of the pollen appeared in vol. ii, p- 399. pl. XVIIL, and vol. iii. p. 127 of this Journal.—Ep. Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 565 orders of dicotyledons the pollen does not indicate any regu- lar gradation of structure, although in many of the higher families it is surprisingly complex. So great is the difference between the pollen of Exogens and Endogens, that it alone furnishes a character by which it may be at once determined to which class any plant. be- longs. The pollen granule of an endogen may thus be cha- racterized. It is either spherical, oval, or elliptical; generally, if not always, composed of two membranes, rarely possessing more than one pollen tube, and, with a single exception, never more than two. ‘This exception occurs in Limnocharis Hum- boldtu, in which the granule is spherical, and the extine per- forated with six or seven apertures for the passage of the pol- len tubes. The elliptical formation of granule prevails much among monocotyledons, and has been met with in forty-four of the seventy-three genera of Endogens submitted to the mi- croscope. An exogenous pollen granule may be thus defined : it generally presents a more complicated organization; the number of enveloping membranes is either two, three, or four ; its form is various, being most commonly either three-lobed, spherical, or triangular ; and it is furnished with pollen tubes varying in number, exclusive of three exceptions, from three to upwards of fifty. Of these forms the three-lobed type is of the most frequent occurrence, and is absolutely character- istic, so far as my experience goes, of an exogen, being found in 187 of the 332 genera of dicotyledons examined by me. The exceptions occur in the genera Acanthus (see fig. 44.), Dryandra, and Magnolia, the last a genus so evidently dico- tyledonous as not to admit a doubt of its real nature; and yet here, strange to say, the granule, so far as has been ob- served, perfectly resembles the elliptical form so prevalent among monocotyledons. (See fig. 150.) The pollen granule of Dryandra, although provided with but two pollen tubes, is curved and has three distinct tunics. (See fig. 93.) We come now to the more immediate purpose of this pa- per, viz. to consider how far the pollen granule may be relied on as a means of classification. It has already been said that by it alone a monocotyledon may be distinguished from a di- cotyledon, and hence should be carefully consulted when any doubts are entertained of the position of a plant in the vegetable kingdom. Much has been written upon the posi- tion which the Nympheacee occupy in the vegetable kingdom ; some arguing that they ought to be placed among Endogens, to which they are united by so many evident affinities,— others referring them to Exogens ; but the question is as yet an undecided one among botanists, although admitting, in my 566 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. opinion, of easy determination by a reference to the form and structure of the pollen granule. This would place them, as was originally done by L. C. Richard, among monocotyle- dons; and that this is their true station not the smallest doubt remains in my own mind, notwithstanding that the opinion of most modern botanists appears to lean in the opposite direction. The pollen granule of Nymphea is oval, hispid, with a furrow down one side, and emits a single pollen tube, thus coming under the definition already given of endogenous pollen. (See fig. 151, 152.) Moh! declares that the pollen varies extremely in form not only in genera of the same family, but also in species of the same genus; and that it even occurs that in some species the anthers contain grains “de formation assez diverses.” ‘The two latter assertions, and more especially the last one, are so contrary to the results of my own investigations, and are so opposed to all analogy and to that order and evident design that reign with such constancy throughout all the beautiful works of creation, that I should not have hesitated in confi- dently denying the accuracy of remarks, which would cause such confusion and chaos to hold dominion where nothing but creative skill and wisdom might have been looked for, even before I had personally examined a single granule. With regard to Mohl’s first statement, it must be admitted that the form and structure of the pollen granule does vary considerably in genera of the same family; but this is by no means the rule, which should be stated on the other side; and is, that natural orders, or sections of orders, are characterized by the possession of a pollen granule of one type, and that the more natural and more distinct the affinities of an order, the more frequently will the pollen be found characteristic of that order. That it should vary considerably in genera of the same family is nothing more than reason would lead us to anticipate; for it must be allowed that the exact limits of many of our orders are far from being satisfactorily deter- mined, and that some of them contain genera whose true al- liances are far from being clearly ascertained. Again, the exact structure of the anthers of some of the genera forming a family will sometimes differ; and, where this is the case, it is only natural to anticipate that a corresponding deviation from the usual form of the pollen granule in that family should accompany such difference. Reference to this fact would frequently account for what otherwise might be ignorantly regarded as a senseless freak of nature, viz. the difference sometimes met with in pollen, the contents of two anthers derived from genera nearly allied, but which anthers Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 567 a close inspection will disclose to be not identical in their structure. The same type of granule is frequently found to extend through more than one allied order, and sometimes through a whole alliance; thus, among monocotyledons, we find one form extending, with slight variations of size, &c., not only through the group Glumose, but likewise through the Alli- ance Typhales and the genus Juncus. Another distinct form is met with in the genera Butomus and Tradescantia, from these passing through Liliales, Iviales, Bromeales and Nar- cissales; and lastly, a third formation of granule occurs which connects the orders of the Alliance Amomales. Among dico- tyledons the three-lobed form prevails through the obviously connected orders Rosacea, Pomee, Amygdalee and Saxifra- gacee. The same type, differing only in exact form and size, unites the Alliances Scrophulales and Solanales. Papaveracee and Crucifere are also joined with each other in the form and structure of their pollen granules. It is unnecessary to enumerate in this place the various orders and sections of orders which are characterized by the possession of a pollen granule of a peculiar and distinctive form, as all the information which can at present be given upon this subject may be learned by reference to the lists of plants examined under each order already mentioned. Further re- search will doubtless extend the number of these orders, clear up many apparent anomalies, and also, it may be reasonably expected, add somewhat to the number of exceptions. The truth of Mohl’s second and third assertions, contained in the statement in the preceding page, I would most di- stinctly deny, more especially that of the last; and in doing so I would observe, that I rely solely on the evidence which my own experience furnishes. Out of 366 genera submitted to the microscope, two exceptions only have occurred to the rule, that species of the same genus possess the same type of pollen granule; but I have little doubt future investigation will explain these isolated exceptions. The first exception occurs between two species of Linum, L. usitatissimum and L. africanum; in the former the granule is somewhat square, and the extine contains six perforations for the escape of pol- len tubes; in the latter it is threé-lobed, with three pollen tubes: the second is found in the genus Viola. In Viola tricolor the pollen is an elongated six-sided figure, emitting four pollen tubes, and in Viola montana and V. odorata it is small and three-lobed. If the above statements be correct, it would appear that an examination of the pollen granule establishes and confirms in a remarkable manner the naturalness of many orders and 568 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granuie. sections of orders, and that where it does not go so far as this, it is to be relied on as affording a character of at least generic importance. Now with reference to the third assertion of Mohl, that in some plants the same anther contains distinct forms of pollen, I can affirm it to be wholly and without exception incorrect. The only difference ever observed in pollen of the same spe- cies arises either from the addition to the distinguishing type, or subtraction from it—most frequently the former—of one or more pollen tubes, generally of one ; an anomaly which is of frequent occurrence in some species, especially in the follow- ing, Stachytarpheta mutabilis, Rubus fruticosus, Nicotiana Tabacum, Solanum tuberosum; and those granules so changed are to be regarded as malformations or monstrosities, of which an instance is exhibited in fig. 50, which represents a gra- nule of Stachytarpheta mutabilis thus deformed. Every organ and part of the vegetable and animal fabric is subject to similar occasional departures from normal structure. When a number of flowers are placed together for some time in a vessel, an intermixture of the pollen of each not un- frequently occurs, so that when that of any species is exa- mined, more than one form of pollen granule may be observed ; but no person would be so careless as to suppose for a moment that these were derived from the same anther. These monstrosities are of very frequent occurrence among hybrid species, particularly of the Fuchsia. Inthe pure species of Fuchsia each granule is furnished with either two or three pollen tubes ; now among the pollen of F. Standishii, a hybrid between F. fulgens, whose grains of pollen have but two tubes, and another species the granules of which have three tubes, the greatest confusion seems to prevail, some of the granules having but two or three tubes, thus following the type of either parent, while others have four tubes ; and many of them appear altogether abortive, and consist of nothing more than the extine, which does not even contain fovilla. Here then a satisfactory reason is afforded why the seeds of hybrid spe- cies should be so frequently unproductive, since they either have not received the influence of the degenerated pollen at all, or have so in an imperfect manner. : The same form of pollen granule met with in one order sometimes occurs in another separated from it by every point of structure; but when this does happen, most frequently a difference either in the size of the granule, the number of membranes which envelope it, or of pollen tubes which issue from it, is observable; and when no such distinction can be discovered, the family in which it occurs may be so estranged from that possessed of pollen of similar formation, as that it Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 569 may serve equally as a means of distinguishing it from those — orders to which it is evidently more or less closely allied. The difference in the size of the pollen tubes of granules which in every other particular resemble each other, might of itself, were there no other cause, constitute a physical im- pediment to the fertilization of the seeds of one species by the pollen of another, as, on account of their magnitude, they might be unable to make their way through the intercellular passages of the style. _ From all that has now been said it will be observed, that from an examination of the form and structure of the pollen granule, a useful confirmation may be gathered of the correct- ness of the principles upon which a natural system of classi- fication is based. The propriety, likewise, of employing the pollen as a character, with others, in the definition of natural orders, will, I think, be at once acknowledged, as I am glad to see that it is by Dr. Lindley, who in a few cases has so employed it; but in the instances in which he has thus availed himself of it, the true structure of the pollen appears to have been either imperfectly or erroneously defined. As_all the essential characters of the pollen granule of each family may be comprised in a few words, no difficulty can arise in em- ploying it in the definitions of orders, sections of orders, or genera, on the score of its adding too much to their bulk ; but, at the same time, I would observe, that great care is necessary in determining what the real structure of the pollen granule is, before venturing to make use of it; and this is not to be ascertained by a momentary examination of it on the field of the microscope, but requires frequently much patient and troublesome investigation. For the numerous and beautiful drawings which accompany this communication, all of which have been carefully executed from rough sketches of my own, made of the object while un- der the microscope, I am indebted to the friendship of two ladies, Miss Hunter and Miss Nolcken, who are ever ready to lend their time and their talents to works of usefulness ; and that not a little of either is requisite in undertaking the drawing of so many illustrations, will be readily allowed. About two-thirds of them were done by the latter lady, and the re- mainder by the former. It now only remains for me to acknowledge the great ob- ligation I am under to Mr. Smith of the Royal Botanic Gardens * at Kew, for the privilege so readily granted of ob- * Under the active management of their present director, Sir William Hooker, as well as that of Mr. Smith, the usefulness and efficiency of these Gardens will doubtless be much increased. Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol.ix. Suppl. 2P 570 Mr. Hassall onthe Structure of the Pollen Granule. taining flowers for the purposes of my inquiry, without which the extent of my investigations must have been much nar- rowed. My best thanks are likewise due to Dr. Lindley, to Mr. Loddiges, and Mr. Anderson of the Chelsea Gardens, for a similar favour ; but more particularly are they due to Dr. Lindley. To Mr. Choules of the Kew Botanic Gardens I am also much indebted mar the correction and revision of the list of species. I have now brought to a termination but one of a series of papers which it is my intention, if health and time permit, to publish on the subject of the pollen granule. EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. All the figures are drawn to the same scale, and exhibit the relative sizes of the pollen granules. Puats XIII. . Pollen granule of Cyperus longus. of Papyrus Antiquorum. of Zea Mays. of Typha latifolia. of Calla palustris. of Calla zethiopica. ; of Juncus lacustris. 9; of Limnocharis Humboldtii. 10. —-— of Tradescantia ; side view. 11, 12. Pollen granule of Asparagus officinalis ; 11, front view, exhibit- ing the single furrow with which it is furnished ; 12, end view. 13, 14, 15. Pollen granule of Lilium longiflorum ; 13, front views ; 14, end ditto; 15, the appendage which rests upon and partly con- ceals the furrow. 16. Pollen granule of Watsonia irioides. 17, 18, 19. Represent three views of the pollen granule of Anigozan- thus coccineus; 17, front aspect; 18, side ditto ; and 19. exhibits its form when upon the stigma and just about to emit its two pollen tubes. 20, 21, 22, 23. Represent the pollen granule of Crinum amabile ; 20, front view; 21, a section of the granule; 22, the form which it as- sumes previous to the emission of the pollen tubes ; ; 23, one of the . appendages to the furrows. 24, 25, 26: 24, front view of the pollen granule of Pancratium deat natum ; 25, side view ; 26. exhibits the intine with its contents just escaping through the fissure in the extine ; ; 244, #ppendage: Puate XIV. Fig. 30, 31. Pollen granule of Strelitzia humilis ; 31. shows the manner in which the extine cracks either on coming in contact with solutions of the mineral acids or when applied to the stigma. 32, 33. Pollen granule of Canna occidentalis; 32, in its dry state ; 33, as it appears in water or in solutions of the mineral acids. 34, 35. Pollen granule of Pinus sylvestris; 34, side view ; 35, front do. 37. Pollen granule of Nerium Oleander as seen upon the stigma. 38, 39, 40, 41, 42. Different views of the pollen granule of Petunia vio- lacea ; 38, a side view of it in its primary or dry state; 39, end do. ; 40, the form which it assumes in water; 41, as it appears upon the stigma ; 42. exhibits the extine detached from the intine. Fig. Uh 1 2 4. 5. 6 7 8 SIIIIII | Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. 571 Fig. 43. Pollen granule of Mimulus guttatus. Fig. Fig. 44. Shows the mode of union and structure of the pollen granules of Salpiglossis atropurpurea. 45. Pollen granule of Justicia variabilis. 46. of Acanthus spinosa, 47, —— of Thunbergia alata. 48. of Eranthemum pulchellum. 49. Represents the pollen granule of Stachytarpheta mutabilis. 51, 52. Two views of the pollen granule of Monarda didyma: the first represents it as it appears in its dry state ; the second, the change of form which it assumes prior to the emission of the pollen tubes, and which arises simply from the approximation of the two extremities of the first figure (the resemblance of which to a melon is striking), and the protrusion of the intine through the extine; this approximation being due to the operation of the principle of endosmosis. 53, 54. Two views of the pollen granule of Symphytum officinale ; 53, in its dry state; 54, in its moist condition. 7 Puate XV. 55, 56, 57, 58. Four views of the pollen granule of Borago officinalis ; 55, front view; 56, side ditto; 57. and 58. show the changes which it undergoes on the stigma previous to the emission of the pollen tubes, first becoming oval and subsequently circular. 59. Pollen granule of Eutoca viscosa in its dry state, 60. of Nemophyla insignis, 61. of Armeria vulgaris. 62, 63. Pollen granule of Plumbago cerulea in its dry and moist con- ditions. A small valvular strip of membrane, not represented in the figure, is placed over each of the three furrows. 64. Pollen granule of Plantago lancifolia. 65, 66. Pollen granule of Cynara scolymus; 65, in its primary order, and 66, in its secondary or moist condition. 67. Pollen granule of Scorzonera hispanica. 68, 69. Pollen granule of Eupatorium purpureum; 68, in its dry, and 69, in its moist condition. 70, 71. Pollen granule of Crucianella stylosa ; 70, in its primary, and 71, in its secondary condition. 72. Shows the mode of union and structure of the pollen granules of Oxyanthus speciosa. 73, 74. Pollen granule of Burchellia capensis ;_73, in its primary, and 74, in its moist condition. 75. Shows the structure and arrangement of the pollen granules of Lechenaultia formosa. 76, 77. The first figure represents the pollen granule of Campanula pyramidalis, with the pollen tubes just emerging through the aper- tures in the extine; the second that of Campanula patula, with the pollen tubes in the same condition. 78, Pollen granule of Lobelia procumbens. 79. of Cobza stipularis. Prate XVI. 80. Pollen granule of Collomia grandiflora. 81. —— of Gilia tricolor. 82. of Phlox Drummondii. 83, 84. Pollen granule of Ipomopsis elegans. : 85, 86 of Convolvulus arvensis in its dry and moist conditions. 9P2 572 Mr. Hassall on the Structure of the Pollen Granule. Fig. 87. Pollen granule of Calystegia arvensis. 88. of Epomza Sellowii. 89. —— of Nolana paradoxa. — 90. —— of Cyclamen autumnale. 9. — of Rhododendron maximum, showing its structure —_~ the mode of cohesion of the granules. - Pollen granule of Mirabilis Jalapa. 8. of Banksia speciosa. 94, 95. of Lambertia formosa ; 94, front and 95, side views. 96. Pollen granule of Grevillea linearis, 97, 98. Pollen granule of Anadenia Manglesi ; 97, front and 98, side views. 99. Pollen granule of Juglans regia. 100. of Urtica dioica. 102, —— of Sedum glaucum. 103. —— of Bauera rubioides. 104. —— of Mimosa Mexicana. - 105. —— of Acacia rigens. 106. —— of Acacia decipiens. 107. —— of Acacia linearis. 108. —— of Colutea arborescens in its dry state. 109. —— of Erythrina laurifolia, showing its 3 membranes. 110, 111. Pollen granule of Limnanthus Douglassii; 110, in its pri- mary ; 111, in its secondary condition. Puate XVII. Fig. 112. Pollen granule of Impatiens noli me tangere. 133. of Geranium sylvaticum. 114. —— of Dianthus caryophyllus. 115. —— of Calandrinia discolor. 116. —-— of Malpighia punicea. 117, —— of Zizyphus Paliurus. 118. —— of Citrus Aurantium as it appears upon the stigma : in its dry state it is of an elongated form and four-lobed.. 119. Pollen granule of Tilia europea. Three membranes only — have been represented in the figure instead of four. 120. Pollen granule of Lavatera acerifolia. 121. of Aubutilon striatum. 122, —— of Linum usitatissimum. 123, 124, 125. Pollen granule of Polygala grandiflora ; 123, in its pri- mary; and 124, 125, in its secondary forms. 126. Pollen granule of Hypericum hircinum. 127. of Passiflora cerulea. 128, 129. Pollen granule of Viola tricolor ; 128, in its primary; 129, in its secondary form. 130, 132. Pollen granule of Viola montana in its dry and moist condi- tions. 131, 133. Pollen granule of Brassica oleracea; 131, in its pramary 5 ; 133, in its secondary form. 134. Pollen granule of Momordica Elaterium in its primary form. 135. of Calothamnus villosus. 136. —— of Angophora cordata. 137. —— of Tristania neriifolia. Pirate XVIII. Fig. 138. Shows the mode of union and structure of the pollen granules of Epilobium roseum. Geological Society. 573 fig. 139. Pollen granule of Epilobium angustifolium. ge: 140, 141. Pollen granule of Godetia rubicunda; 141. exhibits the ex- tine separated from the other membranes. 142. Pollen granule of Fuchsia coccinea. 143, —— of Fuchsia Devonia. 144, —— — of Fuchsia fulgens. 145. —— of Fuchsia thymifolia. 146, 147, 148. Pollen granule of Heracleum Spondilium; 146, its dry or primary form; 147, its moist or secondary condition ; and 148, end views of it in the same state. 149. Polien granule of Didiscus czeruleus. 150. —— — of Magnolia grandiflora. 151, 152. Pollen granule of Nymphza alba; 151, in its dry, and 152, in its moist condition. 153. Pollen granule of Fumaria officinalis. 154, 155. Pollen granule of Eschscholtzia californica; in the second figure the pollen tubes are just emerging from the extine. 156, 157. Pollen granule of Ranunculus acris; 156. represents a side view of it in its primary form; 157, an end ditto in the same state; and 158, in its secondary form, with a pollen tube issuing through each fissure. [The above paper was consigned to our care in the autumn of last year, the delay in its appearance having been occasioned by the number of illustrations.—Eb. ] PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. June 30, 1841.—*‘‘A description of a portion of the skeleton of the Cetiosaurus, a gigantic extinct Saurian Reptile occurring in the Oolitic formations of different portions of England,” by Professor Owen, F.R.S., F.G.S. The remains described in this memoir consist of vertebre and bones of the extremities ebtained by Mr. Kingdon from the oolite quarries of Chipping Norton, in Oxfordshire ; of vertebra and other bones from the oolite of Blisworth, near Northampton, transmitted to the author by Miss Baker; and of other remains from the oolite of Staple Hill, Wotton, three miles north-west of Woodstock ; from the oolite near Buckingham; the Portland stone at Garsington and Thame, in the collection of Dr. Buckland: Mr. Owen has likewise examined a vertebra and some bones of the extremities of the same saurian from the Yorkshire oolite, and preserved in the Scarborough Museum. Caudal Vertebre.—A caudal vertebra from near Buckingham, which presented the anchylosed neural arch entire, but with the transverse, oblique and spinous processes broken off, equalled in di- mensions a middle caudal vertebra of a full-sized whale, the antero- posterior diameter being five inches, the transverse eight inches six lines, and the vertical seven inches, The sides and under part of the centrum are described as very concave ; and the shape of the articular extremities as nearly circular, with a greater concavity in the anterior one than in the posterior. ‘The posterior hemapophysial 574 Geological Society. articular surfaces slope downwards and forwards in the form of semi- circular facets for nearly two inches upon the under surfaces. The neurapophyses commence close to the anterior surface of the cen- trum, their antero-posterior extent being three and a half inches, and they meet at a rather acute angle above the spinal canal. The vertical diameter of the spinal canal was one inch nine lines, the transverse two inches, and the breadth of the base of the neural arch, from the outside of the neurapophyses, five inches three lines. The transverse process is developed from the centrum just below the neu- rapophysial suture. In all the caudal vertebre of the Cetiosaurus the posterior half of the centrum is left uncovered by the neural arch. The substance of another fractured vertebra, showing the upper third of the centrum, presented an uniform coarse spongy texture ; whilst in a third specimen, which exhibited also a similar texture, the layers affected a direction parallel with the articular extremities for about half an inch from their surfaces, and inclined to the longi- tudinal course in the intermediate space. This structure, Mr. Owen states, proves that the vertebra cannot belong to the Potkilopleuron Bucklandi. A caudal vertebra also from Buckingham, and assigned by Pro- fessor Owen to the middle part of the tail, on account of the de- velopment of short, narrow transverse processes just below the neurapophysial sutures, exhibited a centrum of a subtrihedral form, with one angle inferiorly and the other two at the origin of the transverse processes, but all three largely rounded off. The marginal circumference of the centrum was convex, and separated from the lateral or free surface by a rough, irregular, elevated ridge, the in- ferior part of which encroached upon the under surface of the ver- tebra in the form of two, semicircular facets, both anteriorly and posteriorly. The free surface of the vertebral centre is marked by the coarse lines of the bony fibrous structure, decussating like an irregular net-work. The. spinal canal of this specimen did not sink into the body. of the vertebra... The size of this vertebra, and the proportions and position of neurapophyses and hemapophysial arti- culations, might. suggest.a relationship of the animal to which it belonged with the Cetacea; but it differs, Mr. Owen says, in the concavity of the terminal articulations, which show no sign of sepa- ration as laminar epiphyses, and more particularly in the place of the origin of the transverse process being close to the neurapophysis instead of proceeding from the middle of the side of the centrum, In these deviations from the Cetacea, the Cetiosaurus approaches, the author states, the. saurian order. Mr. Owen then describes, with his wonted minuteness and_per- fect acquaintance with the subject, other caudal vertebre found at Blisworth, but it is not possible to abridge the details. Among the remains discovered near Chipping Norton are eleven caudal vertebre without transverse processes, and therefore assigned by the author to the terminal half of the tail.They progressively diminished in transverse diameter from five inches to two inches, but without losing in equal ratio their length, which continues Geological Society. 575 the same, or five and a half inches in the vertebra which has only three inches and three lines of breadth, five inches in that which is two inches and nine lines broad, and four inches in that which has a breadth of two inches. These eleven vertebree do not constitute, Mr. Owen shows, a regular sequence, but detached links of the ter- mination of the spinal column. In all the existing genera of Cetacea the posterior caudal vertebre become shorter in proportion to their thickness, and the terminal ones are depressed. ‘The slender elon- gated form of the corresponding vertebre in the Cetiosaurus, is, Mr. Owen shows, a striking crocodilian character ; and he adds, it is im- portant to observe that not any of the series of caudal vertebre de- seribed in this paper exhibit the vertical canals or perforations of the side of the centrum or base of the transyerse process which so pe- culiarly characterizes most of the cetacean caudal vertebre. In his comparison between the vertebre of the Cetiosaurus and the Poikilopleuron, Professor Owen states that the caudal vertebree of the former resemble those of the latter and most other reptiles from strata below the chalk in the articular surfaces being slightly concave ; and the vertebrze of the Poikilopleuron, especially in the elongated and rounded form of the body; in its median compression, and in the articulation of the hemapophyses to the inferior part of the vertebral interspaces, though they are larger ; on the contrary, the Cetiosaurus vertebre differ in their proportions, in their structure, as in the absence of the remarkable medullary cavity in the middle part of the centrum of the Poikilopleuron; in the shortness of the neurapophyses as compared with the centrum; and in other minor points, which are fully detailed by Professor Owen. The author then proceeds to institute further comparisons between the vertebre of the Cetiosaurus and other reptilia: thus he shows that they differ from the vertebrae of the Crocodilians in retaining the cylindrical form of the body to the end of the tail, instead of being compressed and four-sided ; that there is no trace of the ver- tical median division which the bodies of the caudal vertebre pre- sent in Iguane, Anolides and other Lacertians ; that they are not only larger than in the Megalosaurus, but relatively longer ; that they differ from the anterior caudal vertebre of the Iguanodon, which are nearly as large, in the absence of the well-marked con- cavity below the transverse processes, in the form of the centrum not being so quadrilateral, and especially in the transverse breadth of the inferior surface being less; and from the posterior caudal vertebree of the Iguanodon, which slightly increases in length, in being less compressed and the centrum not having a triangular form ; the slender terminal caudal vertebree of the Iguanodon are also hex- agonal, and not cylindrical as in the Cetiosaurus. As there is no known extinct saurian which can so nearly com- pete in size with the Cetiosaurus as the Iguanodon, it is fortunate, Prof. Owen observes, that the distinguishing characters are so well marked and easily recognizable. : Dorsal vertebra.—The only portion of a dorsal vertebra described in the memoir is the extremity of a spinous process, the posterior surface of which is rough and flattened, 4 inches across, at about 576 Geological Society. the same distance below the end of the spine ; the sides are traversed to a certain extent by a longitudinal ridge, anterior to which they are concave and smooth, but their anterior margin is again flattened and rough, though it is not so broad as the posterior. In referring all the vertebre described in this paper to the same species of saurian, Prof. Owen admits that they present a somewhat greater variety of form and proportion in different regions of the tail than is observable in that part of the vertebral column in the smaller and recent species of Crocodile or Lizard; not only beco- ming larger in proportion to their thickness, but increasing slightly m length for a short distance as they recede from the sacrum. ‘They appear likewise to exchange from a cylindrical to a subtriedral form of the body, but to resume the cylindrical shape in the termi- nal half of the tail. These modifications, he says, are possible, as in the Plesiosaurus brachydeirus still greater discrepancies in the proportions of the vertebre prevail; and they are infericr in degree to any of the modifications which distinguish the vertebrz of known genera of saurians from those under consideration, in pointing at their distinguishing features from the hitherto known sauria; and in thus treating of them collectively, the inference that they belong - to the same gigantic species is, the author observes, almost irresist- ible, that they belong to a new and distinct genus, which, on ac- - count of the vertebr approximating im size and structure to the vertebree of the whale, he has termed Cetiosaurus. In the, cuttings for the London and Birmingham Railway near Blisworth, there were found, scattered over an area of 12 feet by 8 feet, the following remains :—1. A bone resembling the episternal of an Ichthyosaurus, the length or antero-posterior extent of the preserved portion of the median plate being 14 foot, and the breadth of the posterior fractured end 5 inches, from which it gradually ex- pands to the root of the side branches, where its breadth is 1 foot. From its obtuse termination to the end of the longest branch is 23 feet, and from this end to that of the opposite branch 43 feet. 2. ‘The remains of a coracoid and scapula apparatus of equally gi- ‘gantic proportions. 38. A fragment, considered to be the shaft of a humerus, | foot 9 inches in length, 6 inches in diameter across the middle and 8 inches across the widest end.. 4. A portion of the oppo- site humerus. 5. Another fragment, believed to be part of a radius or ulna, about a yard in length, 6 inches across the proximal end, and 5 inches across the middle of the shaft. 6. A slightly curved portion of a rib, a yard long and from 1} to 2 inches thick. 7. Five caudal vertebre agreeing in dimensions with the vertebra of Chip- ping Norton. Numerous fragments of long bones without a trace of a medullary cavity have been found at Chipping Norton, and correspond in mag- nitude with the vertebre. The articular surfaces which are pre- served are covered with large tubercles for the attachment of thick cartilages. The best-preserved fragments are considered to belong to metacarpal or metatarsal and phalangeal bones, and are therefore, Prof. Owen says, decisive evidence against the cetacean nature of - the animal; but he adds, they possess characters by which they Geological Society. 577 may be distinguished from the corresponding bones of known ex- tinct gigantic saurians. One of these bones, believed to be a meta- carpal or a metatarsal, is double the bulk of the largest analogous bone of a full-grown elephant, though the metacarpals or metatar- sals are much smaller in proportion in Saurians than in Pachyderms. The bone is 7 inches in length, 9 in circumference in its middle, 5 in the antero-posterior diameter of its proximal end, and 4 inches 8 lines in the transverse diameter of the distal end. A proximal phalanx is shown to be remarkable for its short and broad propor- tions, which are more massive than those of the phalanges of exist- ing Crocodilians or of the Poikilopleuron. An ungueal phalanx, also found at Chipping Norton, was 6 inches in length, 23 in breadth, and upwards of 3 in depth. It was slightly curved, obliquely compressed, obtusely terminated with a shallow, concave, trochlear articular surface, divided by a vertical convexity ; it was marked on each side by a smooth curved groove, 3 inches in length, with the concavity downwards, and the lower edge pro- jecting beyond the upper at the posterior part of the groove; but it is shown to be by no means produced in so large and thick a ridge as that which characterizes each side of the more depressed and broader phalanx of the Iguanodon. From the ungueal phalanges of that Saurian it differs in being much less compressed from side to side and less curved downwards. It vastly surpasses in size any of the ungueal phalanges of the Poikilopleuron. A smaller ungueal phalanx, resembling in general shape the above, was found at Chip- ping Norton; and portions of metacarpal or metatarsal bones, agree- ing in form and size with the fragments obtained at Chipping Nor-- ton, have been discovered at Buckingham: also a fragment 8 inches long, which Prof. Owen considers to have belonged to a radius, a fibula, or a long distal phalanx. With reference to a comparison of the remains of the Cetiosaurus with those of the Polyptychodon, the bones of the extremities pre- sent in both cases the cancellous structure throughout the central part, which indicates aquatic rather than terrestrial habits. Prof. Owen states that he has not found any of the remains of the extre- mities of the Cetiosaurus to agree exactly in shape with those be- longing to the Polyptychodon; also that no specimen of a tooth agreeing in characters with the teeth of the Polyptychodon has been detected in secondary strata inferior to the greensand. Certain large conical teeth, found in the Malton oolite, may, Mr. Owen thinks, appertain to the Cetiosaurus, but he is of opinion that they more probably belong to the Steneosaurus. In conclusion, it is stated that the vertebre described in the paper prove the existence of a saurian genus distinct from the Mega- losaurus, Steneosaurus, Poikilopleuron, Plesiosaurus, or any other large extinct reptile, remains of which have been discovered in the oolitic series ; that the vertebre, as well as the bones of the extre- mities, prove its marine habits; and that the surpassing bulk and strength of the Cetiosaurus were probably assigned to it with car- nivorous habits, that it might keep in check the Crocodilians and Plesiosauri. 578 Geological Society. . January 5, 1842.—A paper ‘‘ On the Mouths of Ammonites, and on Fossils contained in laminated beds of the Oxford Clay, discovered in cutting the Great Western Railway, near Christian Malford in Wiltshire.” By J. Chaning Pearce, Esq., F.G.S., was read. Mr. Pearce commences by stating, that his attention was first di- rected to this part of the railway by the impression of a crushed Ammonite procured at Cheltenham in April 1841, but that he was prevented from examining the locality for three or four months. The following section of the beds is given by Mr. Pearce :-— 1. Alluvial soil........ wthowican pen Ie deeke 2... Gravel «5.0; sieolilict edd tes 8 — 3. Four or five bands of laminated clay, al- ternating with sandy clay, almost en- tirely composed: of broken shells... 6 — 4. Clay, containing Gryphea bilobata. The objects.of the author are, first to draw. attention to the organic bodies discovered in the laminated clay; and secondly, to describe the various forms which the mouth of the Ammonite assumes in dif- ferent species and in different stages of growth in the same species. The fossils obtained from the laminated clay are stated to be as follows :—1. A succulent plant. 2. Lignite, with oysters sometimes affixed to it. 8. Crustaceans, supposed to have inhabited the dead shell of the Ammonite*. The specimen described is stated to have a finely tuberculated and: delicately thin covering; the tail to have the appearance of being divided into three portions, finely corrugated towards their edges; the body to have on each side internally five or more processes ; and the head to be furnished with several short arms and two long ones jointed a little above the head and ter- minated in two claws, the longer being serrated on its inner edge. 4, Another allied crustacean is stated to have also an extremely thin and finely tuberculated covering ; to be furnished with two long arms of similar shape, each terminated at its extremity by one claw, and two others projecting from about the centre, and passing off poste- riorly are two fan-like processes of similar shape. 5. Trigonellites, two species. 6. One valve of a Pollicipes. 7. The remains of an animal considered to have been probably allied to aSepia. 8. Shells of the. genera Unio, Cyclas, Astarte, Avicula, Gervilla, Pinna, Nu- cula, Rostellaria, Turritella, Ammonites+, Belemnites, and an animal to which he has applied (since the paper was read) the name of Be- lemnotheutis. In describing the last fossil, he states that the lower part is conical, blunt at the apex, and chambered internally like the alveolus of a Belemnite, with an oval siphunculus near the edge of the chambers; that it has a brown thick shelly covering which gra- dually becomes thinner towards the superior part; that immediately * To this organic body Mr. Pearce has given since the paper was read the name of Ammonicolax. + Since the paper was written Mr. Pearce has consulted Mr. Pratt’s ac- count in the Annals of Natural History for November 1841, of Oxford clay Ammonites, and ascertained that he possesses{_4. Lonsdalii, A. Brightii], [4. Gulielmi, A. Elizabethee], A. Comptoni, and 4. Kénigii. The fossils included between brackets the author considers to belong to one species. Geological Society. 579 above the chambers is an ink-bag resting on what resembles the: upper part of a sepiostaire, and composed of a yellow substance finely striated transversely, being formed of laminz of unequal den- sity; that in some specimens, broken longitudinally through the middle, are exposed long, flat, narrow processes of a different struc- ture; that immediately beneath the superior contraction are two long feather-like processes, and one or more which are short; indica- ting, the author thinks, probably the situation of the mouth. With reference to the first part of the paper, Mr. Pearce also notices an animal allied to Sepia or Loligo, one side being covered by a pen resembling that of the Loligo, and having immediately underneath it, at the junction of the middle with the lower third, an ink-bag resting on what resembles a sepiostaire. He mentions likewise ten or twelve species of fishes, but without giving names ; also coprolites. 2. Respecting the form of the mouth of the Ammonites and the changes at different periods of growth, Mr. Pearce states his belief, that the terminal lip or mouth has a different shape in the young shell of almost every species, but assumes in the old a straight out- - line, and that he has been aware of this circumstance several years. Of cases of young shells with differently shaped lips, he mentions Ammonites Brongniarti (Inf. oolite), A. sublevis (Oxf. clay), A. ob- tusus (Lias), A. Kenigii (Kelloway Rock, the mature shell is stated to have a straight mouth), 4. Calloviensis (Kelloway Rock, the lip of the old shell is stated to be slightly contracted and to terminate with gently undulating sides), 4. Walcottii (Lias), and A. Goodhalli, fur- nished in the mature state with a single horn-like projection at the front of the mouth. In addition to these species he enumerates those noticed in the preceding part of the paper. Mr. Pearce is further of opinion that at different periods of the formation of the shell the la- teral processes were absorbed and reproduced, and that therefore they are found in various stages of growth, but are invariably want- ing in the mature shell. In some species in which the successive mouths were much contracted or expanded, the new shell the author says was continued without the absorption of the lip, leaving a highly projecting rib or a deep furrow*. After a careful examination of upwards of twenty species in his collection, with perfect mouths of all ages and from different strata, not including the Oxford clay, Mr. Pearce has found the external chamber to vary considerably in extent, occupying in some speci- mens the whole of the last whorl, but in others less than one-third, and without reference to age or species; and he therefore suggests that the young animal of the Ammonite filled the whole of the outer chamber, extending also to the extreme points of the lateral pro- cesses in those species which were provided with them ; and thereby not only received support but afforded protection to a portion of the shell extremely liable to injury. In old individuals he is of opinion that the animal when quiescent was. entirely contained within the last chamber. * The author was not acquainted with M. Al. d’Orbigny’s work, Pal. Francaise, when he wrote the paper, and was not aware of the views given in it respecting the mouth of the Ammonite. Nontow. Chrartor Cfutar, sketch of the class Fungi, 1, 107, 230, INDEX vo VOL. IX. Asropus, a new genus of Carabidae, 134. Acropeltis, description of the new genus, 419. Adelia nereifolia, peculiar structure in, 86. Agaricus, new species of, 444. Agassiz, Prof., on the progress recently made in the natural history of the Echinodermata, 189, 296. Alder and Hancock, Messrs., on new _ species of nudibranchous Mollusca, 31. Algez, new species of, 252, 418. Alnus, review of the genus, 48. Ammonites, on the mouths of, 578. Amphiprion, new species of, 390. Animals, notes on marine, 256; on the temperature of cold-blooded, 259, Annelides, description of new, 490; on the organs of hearing in, 502. Anoplura of Britain, notice of Mr. Denny’s work on, 438. Apocyrtus, new species of, 302. Apogon, new species of, 16. Arachnida, descriptions ‘of new, 491; fos- ~ sil, 162. Araucaria, new species of, 244. Archiac, M. de, on the genus Murchiso- nia, 278. Arcyria, new species of, 447. Austin, T., on Sterna arctica, 434. Australia, contributions to the ichthyology of, 15, 120, 207, 384. Babington, Ch. C., on Valerianella olitoria and gibbosa, 104; on Dryas octopetala, 154; on Fumaria parviflora, 350. Balanidea, remarks on the, 502. Balfour, Dr., on some genera of ferns, 156, Ball, Mr., on the Cephalopoda of the - Trish seas, 348. Barry, Dr. M., on fibre, 258. Bat, new species of, 481, Bee-eater, history and habits of the, 226. Bennett, Dr, J. H., on parasitic fungi growing on living animals, 66, Berkeley,Rev, M.J., remarks on M. Mon- tagne’s organographic and physiologic 283; on new fungi from South eb. rica and the islands of the Pacific, 443. Betula, review of the genus, 44. Bird, on mucor observed growing in 1 the air-cells of a, 131. Birds, occurrence of rare British, 79, 353; of Ireland, 141, 221, 373; of Asutralie, reviewed, 337; from the Andes in Chile, 509; on some remarkable nests of, 145. Blumenbach, Prof., bibliographical notice of, 355. Blyth, Mr., on some animals of North Africa, 62. Botanical Society of Edinburgh, Proceed- ings of the, 67, 153, 250, 350, 513. Botanical Society of London, Proceedings of the, 248, 515. Botany, contributions to structural, 81; geographic, general observations on, 169, 311, 469, 521; the London Jour- nal of, noticed, 420. Bovista, new species of, 447. Brightwell, T., on some species of fresh- water leeches, 11. Brooke, J., on three species of Orang Utans, 54. Buckland’s, Rev. Dr., anniversary address to the Geological Society, 156. Buprestidz, new species of, 248. Campanularia, new species of, 465. Cantor, Dr. T., on the flora and fauna of Chusan, 265, 361, 481. Carabideous insects, collected by C. Dar- win, 134, Carinaria, on a new species of, 140. Centropistes scorpenoides, description of, Cephalopoda, notices on some, 349, Cercopidz, new species of, 119. Cetiosaurus, description of the skeleton of the, 573. Cheropus, characters of, 41. Charlesworth, Mr., on some mammalia and birds collected in Mexico, 59. Cheiroptera, new species of, 481. Chitones, new species of, 60. Chusan, on the flora and fauna of, 265, 361, 481. Cicadidz, new species of, 118. Clathrus crispus, description of, 446. INDEX. Coleoptera, descriptions of new, 64, 302. Colobus ursinus, on the stomach of, 503. Comatule, observations on the, 500. Conferve, occurrence of, vegetating on the skin of the goldfish, 333 ; on the growth of, 431. Couch, J., on a specimen of Phocens me- las, ‘taken off Cornwall, 371. Crag, catalogue of shells fromthe, 455, 527. Craterium pyriforme, notice respecting, 354, 431. Crinoidea, fossil, notice respecting, 438. Crustacea, fossil, 161; descriptions of new, 490. Cryptogamic vegetation of the Malvern Hills, 516. Cuckoo, history and habits of the, 221. Curculionides, new, 302. Cygnus guineensis; occurrence of, 79. Cyphosoma, new genus of insects, 426. Cyrtoderus, new genus, 427. Dale, J. C., on some Libellule, 257. Darwin, C., on new fungi collected by, 443. Deakin’s, R., Bigs Some Britannica, no- ticed, 339. Desmidium, on four new species of, 155. Dickie, G., on the occurrence of Gelidium ' rostratum, 350. Doris, new species of, 32. Dotted vessels, on the structure of, 393 ; on the formation of, 453. Doubleday, E., on the genus Primula, 515, Dryas octopetala, on varieties of, 154. Duck, new species of, 511. Echinodermata, on the progress recently made in the natural history of the, 189, 296. Edmonston, T,, on the flora of Shetland, 69. Embryology, vegetable, observations on, Eolis, new species of, 34. Epilobium angustifolium, remarks on, 117. Epizoon, description of a new, 501. Eurypterus, gigantic species of, 161. Evans, Mr., on the preservation of the colours of plants, 70. Excerpta botanica, 42, 475. Expedition to Torres Straits and New Guinea, notice of the, 167. Fauna of Chusan, remarks on the, 265. Ferns, observations on some genera of, 156. Fibre, remarks on, 258; spiral, on the origin of, 448. Fishes, of Australia, 15, 120, 207; onthe natural arrangement of, 197; descrip- tion of new, 484; fossil, 158. Flints, occurrence of fossil sponges in, 161. 581 Flora of Norway, notice respecting the, 70; of the Malvern Hills, remarks on the, 248, 516; of Chusan, remarks on the, 265. Flore Suecicz, mantissa altera, noticed, 422. Florigraphia Britannica reviewed, 339. Forbes, E., notices on natural history, 239. Fossil insects, 422. Fossils from the Crag, 455, 527. Fries’s Flora Suecica, noticed, 422. Fulgoridez, new species of, 118. Fumaria parviflora, occurrence of, in Great Britain, 350. Fungi, organographic and physiologic sketch of the class, 1, 107, 230, 283; parasitical on living animals,66, 71,131, 333; partiality of slugs for, 73; new, 419; notices of some, collected in South America and the islands of the Pacific, 443. Galium cruciatum, occurrence of in Ire- land, 519. Gélidium rostratum, occurrence of, 350. Geodephaga, descriptions of new, 425. Geological Society, Proceedings of the, 551, 573. Gibson, T., on Tetrao tetrix, 438. — Giraud, H., on the origin and develop- ment of the embryo in Tropzxolum majus, 245. Goldfish, description of a vegetable found on the gills of, 71, 333. Goliath beetles, on the habits of the, 496. Goodsir, J., on the conferva which vege- tates on the skin of the goldfish, 71, 333; on a new vegetable infusorial, 153; on the ultimate secreting struc- ture and on the law of its function, 254. Gould, J., on two new species of Trogon and a new species of Toucan, 236; Birds of Australia, reviewed, 337; on four new species of Kangaroos, 345; on a new species of Goose, 506; on the genus Merganetta, 511. — Grasses, on three new species of, 513. Gray, J. E., on two new species of Mam- ’ malia, 39; on a new species of Her- pestes, 49; on a new species of Phas- cogale, 518. Grey’s, G., expeditions of discovery in North-west and Western Australia, no- ticed, 499. Griffith, W., on the ovulum of Santalum, 243, Gurney, J. H., on the occurrence of rare British birds, 353. Halcyon smyrnensis, on the rediscovery of, 441. Hancock and Alder, Messrs., on new spe- cies of nudibranchous Mollusca, 31. 582 Hassall, A. H., on Mohl’s views of the structure of the pollen granule, 93; list of Invertebrata found in Dublin Bay, 132; on showers of pollen, 353; on the genus Lepralia, with descriptions of new species, 407; on the growth of freshwater Confervee, 431; on the struc- ture of the pollen granule, 544. . Henslow, Prof., on Primula veris and al- lied species, 153. Hepatice, new, 420. Herpestes, new species of, 49. Hexagona, new species of, 444. Hill, R., on some remarkable nests of birds, 145. Hinds, R. B., on temperature, humidity, light, and soil considered as developing climate, 169, 311, 415, 469, 521; on some marine animals, 256. Hirudo geometra, remarks on, 11. Hirundo rustica, history and habits of the, 373. Histoire physiologique des plantes d’Eu- rope, reviewed, 50. Holcus, on a new British species of, 254, Homoptera, descriptions of new, 118. Hooker, Sir W. J., on Epilobium angus- tifolium and macrocarpum, 117; Lon- don Journal of Botany, noticed, 420. Hoopoe, history and habits of the, 143. Hope, Rev. F. W., on some rare and beautiful coleopterous insects, 247 ; on the Coleoptera of Port. Essington in Australia, with descriptions of new spe- cies,423 ; on new insects from Western Africa, 494. Humidity, considered. as developing cli- mate, 316, 469. Hydradephaga, new species of, 427. Ichneumon, on a new species of, 49, Ichthyology of Australia, 15, 120, 207, 384, Information respecting scientific travel- lers, 239. Infusoria, observations on,66; from Africa, remarks on, 430 ; fossil, from the chalk. of Salisbury plain, 437; found at Chusan, 493. Insects, descriptions of new, 36, 64, 118, 134, 247,302, 423, 493, 494; fossil, 163. Invertebrata found in Dublin Bay, list of, 132. Isoetes capsularis, on the structure of, 243. Ixodes, on the young ofa species of, 430. Jameson, Prof., notice respecting, 74. Johnston’s, G., History of British Sponges and Lithophytes, reviewed, 496. Jungermannia, on new British species of, 69, 154. . Kangaroos, descriptions of four new spe- cies of, 345. INDEX. Kingfisher, history and habits of the, 227; Smyrna, on the rediscovery of the, 441. Lamellicorns, new species. of, 423. Landsborough, D. ,on RissoaHarveyi,261. Laschia, new species of, 445. Leeches, on British freshwater, 11. Leefe, Rev. J. E., on the groups Triandrze and Fragiles of the genus Salix, 67; on Primula veris and allied species, 153. Lees, E., on the flora of the Malvern Hills, 248, 516. Taig hone W. A., Excerpta Botanica, 42, 475. Lepralia, remarks on the genus, with de- — scriptions of new species, 407, 467. Libellule, notes on some, 257. Light, influence of, on vegetation, 469, 521. Linnza, a Journal of Botany, notice of the contents of the, 343, Linnza borealis,occurrence of, inBerwick- shire, 53, 155. Linnzan Society, Proceedings of the, 243. Longicornes, new species of, 248, 428. Lucanide, new species of, 247. Lycia, on the winter vegetation of, 251. Macgillivray, J., catalogue of the marine zoophytes of the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, 462. MacLeay, W.S., on the natural arrange- ment of fishes, 197. Mammalia, on new species of, 39, 481; from the Andes in Chile, 509; fossil, 156. Melibcea, new species of, 34. “Menzies, Dr., notice of the late, 513. Merganetta, description of the genus, 511. Mesoprion, new species of, 28. Meteorological observations, 79, 167, 263, 359, 439, 519. Microscopical Society, proceedings of, 66. Miers, J., on a new genus of plants, 244. Migadops, description of the genus, 136. Mohl’s, H., views on the structure of the pollen granule, examination of, 93; on the structure of dotted vessels, 393. Mollusca, on new species of nudibran- chous, 31, 486; arrangement of the, 148, 486; on the organs of hearing in, 501. Montagne, C., organographic and physio- logic. sketch of the class Fungi, 1, 107, 230, 283. Montagu, Col., on*mucor growing in the air-cells of a bird, 131. Mosses, new, 420. Miller, J., on the Comatule, 500. Murchisonia, notice of the genus, 278. Myrtacez, on the separation of the pome- granate from the, 86, INDEX. Nettapus pulchellus, description of, 506. Orang Utans, on the habits of, 54. Orbigny, Al. de, on the Rudista, 260. Owen, R., on the stomach of Colobus ursi- nus, 503; on theskeleton of the Cetio- saurus, 573. Pagrus, new species of, 392. Paleontology, observations in, 260. Papilio, new species of, 36. Parlatore’s,P.,Plantz nove, reviewed,498. _ Parnell, R., on a new British grass, 254; on three new species of Poa, 513. Pearce, J.C.,on the mouths of Ammonites, 578. Percis, new species of, 130. Pheenognathus, new genus, 425. Phallus, new species of, 446. Phascogale, new species of, 518. Phocena melas, observations on a speci- men of, 371. Phosphorescence, notice respecting, 78. Photography, on the application of, 355. Phytologist, a Botanical Journal, noticed, 421. Plante nove, vel minus note, auctore Parlatore, reviewed, 498. Plants, mode of preserving the colours of, 70; description of new genera of, 244, 499; localities for rare British, 248, 513, 516, 517; on the leafing of, 514. Pollen granule, on the structure of the, 93, 544; on showers of, 353. Polycera, new species of, 33. Polynemus plebeius, description of, 210. Pomegranate, on the separation of the, as a natural group, from the Myrtacee, 86. Populus, review of the genus, 42. Primrose, on the varieties of, 155. Primula veris and allied species, remarks on, 153. , observations on the genus, 515. Puffinus major, notice respecting, 433. Quekett, J., on Infusoria, 66. Radiata, fossil, 163. Radulum, new species of, 445. Rafflesia, on a new species of, 381. Ralfs, Mr., on four new species of Desmi- dium, 155. Rapp, Prof., on the Balanidea, 502. Recluz, M., on the partiality of slugs for fungi, 73. Reeve, L., on a new species of Carinaria, 140; on the natural arrangement of the Mollusca, 148 ; on the genus Scara- bus, 218; on a new species of Corbis, 504; on a new Mitra, 509. Reptiles, description of new, 482; fossil, 157. Riccia, new species of, 418. Richardsun’s,. Dr. J., contributions to the ichthyology of Australia, 15, 120, 207, 384, ~ VR ole. Pp. u4s>. 583 Rissoa Harveyi, occurrence of, 261. Rossia, description of a new species of, 349. Royal Irish Academy, proceedings of, 348. Royal Society of Edinburgh, proceedings of, 66, 254. Rudista, on the genus, 260. Rutelide, new species of, 247, Sagride, new species of, 248. Saint Hilaire, Aug. de, on the epochs of vegetation, 74. Salix, observations on the genus, 67. Sarcinula, description of, 153. Saurian, description of a fossil, 573. Savage, Mr., on the Goliath beetles, 496. Scarabus, remarks on the genus, 218. Schizodon, new genus of Rodents, 508. Schleiden’s views on the origin of spiral structure, observations on, 85. Scolopsis, new species of, 389. Scorpeena, new species of, 212, Sebastes, new species of, 384. Serranus, new species of, 18. Seton, A., observations on species of Viola, y Shaw, J., account of a botanical excursion in Norway, 70. Shells, microscopic, 166; from the Crag, catalogue of the, 455, 527; new species of, 504, 509. Shetland, remarks on the flora of, 69. Siebold, C. Th., on the organs of hearing in Mollusca, 501. Silk-worm, on the employment of cold in the preservation of the eggs of the, 436. Sillago, new species of, 128. Slugs, partiality of, for fungi, 73. Soil, influence of, on vegetation, 469, 521. Solenomelus, a new genus of plants, 244. Southby, A., on fossil Infusoria, 437. Sowerby, G. B., on new species of Chi- | tones, 60. , J. D. C., on the ceconomy of the whale, 257. Spach’s, E., revisio Populorum, 42; re- visio Betulacearum, 44; revisio Tili- arum, 475. Spiders, descriptions of new, 491. Spiral structure, observations on, 85. Sponge, description of a new, 504. Sponges, fossil, 164; and Lithophytes, Johnston’s History of British, reviewed, 496. Stephens, H. O., on Epilobium angustifo- lium and macrocarpum, 117. Sterna arctica, migrations of, 351, 434, 519 Strickland, H. E., on the appearance of flocks of Sterna arctica, 351, 519; on the rediscovery of Halcyon smyrnensis in Asia Minor, 441, Stutchbury, Mr., on a new sponge, 504. 584 Swallow, history and habits of the, 373. Synanceia, new species of, 385. Tarsipes, description of, 40. Taylor, Dr., on new species of British Jungermannia, 69, 154. Temperature considered as developing climate, 169, 311, 469, 521. Teschemacher, J. E., on a new species of Rafflesia, 381. Therapon, new species of, 126. Thompson, W., on the birds of Ireland, 141, 221, 373; on Puffinus major, 433. Tilia, review of the genus, 475. Toucan, on a new species of, 236. Transactions of the Berwickshire Natu- ralists’ Club, noticed, 51; of the Bo- tanical Society of Edinburgh, noticed, 341. Tritonia, new species of, 33. Troglodytes europzeus, history and habits _ of, 141. Trogon, on two new species of, 236. Tropzolum majus, on the development of the embryo in, 245. Ulva calophylla, affinities of, 81. Upeneus Vlamingii, description of, 211. Uranoscopus maculatus, description of, 207. Valerianella olitoria and V. gibbosa, ob- servations on, 104. Yaucher’s, M., Histoire physiologique des plantes d’ Europe, reviewed, 50. Vegetable monstrosities, notices respect- ing some, 153; embryology, observa- tions on, 245; structure, remarks on some points of, 448. Vegetation, on the various epochs of, 74. Viola, remarks on the species of, 72. Viscum album, on the woody structure of, 84. xv AS 4 D2) INDEX. Vogel, Dr. T., notice respecting the late, 262. Voyage dans |’Amérique méridionale par — d’Orbigny—Botanique, par C. Mon- - tagne, reviewed, 417. Waterhouse, G. R., descriptions of cara- bideous insects collected by C. Darwin, 134; on new species of coleopterous insects belonging to the genus Apo- cyrtus, 302; on anew species of Ro- | dents, 507. Westwood, J. O., on new Lepidoptera, 36; on some new Coleoptera from Tro- pical Africa, 64; on new Homoptera, 118. Whale, ceconomy of the, 257; notice ofa specimen of the black, 371. White, H. H., on fossil Infusoria, 66. Wiegmann’s Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte, notice of the contents of, 500. Wight, R., on the separation of the pome- granate as a natural greup from the Myrtacez, 86. Willshire, Dr. W. H., contributions to structural botany, 81; on some points of vegetable structure, 448. Wood, S. V., catalogue of shells from the Crag, 455, 527. Woodcock, on the habits of the, 344. Xanthidia, new species of, 66. Yarrell, W., on mucor in the air-cells of a bird, 131; on the trachea of a spur- winged goose, 147. Zoological Society, proceedings of the, 54, 145, 344, 503. Zoological works published under govern- ment patronage, 76. Zoophytes, marine, of the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, 462. ist MUSs es OF THE NINTH VOLUME. Cj a UR A E> HI silos BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. (Sir ius ay ia: Crgas Lena ay gah ree Rc ‘ i Sate} i ry ny Vis My tary a Peg ba ; yt by ; wr niet ei iN ‘ 4 MART PRE ee ga ene CAB » has aa pes Re 4X5 ph Wane e piers ae 1 gis ont pages : S be » wen ware) : wpe heer PS Wary Fs bree Ob She i al ' ae t