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Se actentiain of aticills sthiatiodta, dees sie ;—LVotes on some Reptilia from the Himalay hie and Burma, ;—On some 5 Bebviols Srom WP onateanins, ;—Description of a supposed new Heigehog (Hrinaceus niger) from Muscat in Arabia, ... BranFitt, B. R. i a aa Notes Yc., on Tanjore (¢ Tan. ja-ur), Broveds, R. S. ey the es ree Sectional vr Ser fivhee and Lightning Rods, Gopwin-Austen, H. H. ;—Sixth Bis of Binds vs es Hill Rae ges of the North-East Frontier of India, Keatrnez, R. H. Cotonen ;— Record of the rend of Earth- quakes in Assam during 1877, LypExkeEr, R. ;—Aberrant Dentition of Felis Tigri is, —__—__ -— x Great Snow-fall in Kashmir, Snare, D. SS eatainary diagnoses of new Giles aes fe longing to the families Dytiscide, Staphylinide, and Scarabeide, THEOBALD, W. ;—Votes on the Land and Fresh-water Shells of Kash- mir, more particularly of the Thilum valley below Srinagar and the hills North of Jamu, Fy Warernovuse, J. Caprarn ;—An Account of fie Tidal PA eee aden in the Gulf of Cutch, conducted by the Great Trigonometrical Survey, Pre ae ee ms sh ;>—The Application of Photography to the Reproduction of at a and Plans by Photo-mechanical and other processes, Page 193 141 iv List of Contributors. Wrwner, A. B. ;—Wotes on the Earthquake in the Punjab of March 2nd, 1878, : ‘ai ie Woopv-Mason, J. ;—List of Scanners: ——_—_ ;—Description of a new Lopitoptohone ee bec longing to the genus Thaumantis, ;—Description of a New TTsuvtooag ‘Ease om longing to the Genus Cosmoscarta, arn eeeeeeeeeeee_core eee see Date of issue of the different numbers of Journal, Part II, 1878. Page 131 167 175 194 No. I.—Containing pp. 1—52, with Plates 1, 2, 10, 11, and with four wood-cuts,—was issued on 24th May, 1878. No. II.—Containing pp. 53—124, and one plate unnumbered—was issued 10th July, 1878. No. I1I.—Containing pp. 125—174, with Plates 6,7, 8,—was issued 28th October, 1878. No. IV.—Containing pp. 175—237, with Plates 3, 4, 5, 54, 9, 12, 13, 14, was issued April 6th, 1879. California Academy of Sciences Presented by_ASiatic Society of Bengal. — April 2 , 1907. = e90n1919G. lo yetabsoA simotilsO ' +t yeegT4 JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. —o-— Part II—PHYSICAL SCIENCE, Noe f:—187Ss" I.— Description of Ruticilla schisticeps, Hodgs.—By W. T. Buanrorp, F. B.S. (Received October 11th, 1876 ;—Read March 7th, 1877.) (With Plate I.) Since the original description of the male of this bird was published in the appendix to the first ‘ Catalogue of the specimens and drawings of Mammalia and Birds of Nepal and Thibet’ presented by Mr. Hodgson to the British Museum, I am not aware that anything has been added to its history. It does not appear to have been seen by Blyth or Jerdon, there is no specimen in the Society’s oid collection, nor to the best of my belief has there hitherto been one in the Indian Museum, and the bird has not yet, so far as I know, been found in the western Himalayas or in Turkestan. Unless Colonel Prejevalski has obtained it in Mongolia, I do not think it has hitherto been procured elsewhere than in the Tibetan region north of Sikkim and Nepal. The female, so far as I can learn, has not been de- scribed, although there appears to be a figure of it amongst Mr. Hodgson’s drawings. I have just reeeived a pair of this rare bird from Mr. Mandelli, and the following is a description of both sexes. 7 Male. Crown of head and nape, greyish blue, paler in front, becoming rather darker on the nape. A narrow band on the forehead, lores, sides of head and neck, chin and sides of throat, and back glossy black. Scapularies 1 2 R. Lydekker—Aberrant Dentition of Felis Tigris. [No. 1, black at the base, but with a broad tip of ferruginous or rich chestnut, lower rump and upper tail coverts the same. Quills black; a broad white band, formed by the whole of the median coverts, and the basal portions of the greater coverts, together with the outer edges of the last 8 or 4 secon- daries (tertiaries of some writers), traverses the wing longitudinally. Tail black. Beneath, there is a white spot in the middle of the throat, in contact with the rich ferruginous tint of the breast, abdomen and lower tail coverts, which are the same colour as the rump; axillaries white, under wing coverts black and white mixed, inner margins of quills dusky grey. Wing, 35; tail, 2°95; tarsus, 0°93 ; culmen, 0°62; bill from front, 0-4. Femaie. Olive brown above, forehead, lores and sides of head paler and more rufous ; rump, upper tail coverts and basal portion of all the tail feathers, except the middle pair, ferruginous ; central rectrices and terminal portion of all the others black, rather browner than in the male however ; quills brownish black with paler brown edges, and a white bar over the wing as in the male. Chin, throat, breast, sides of abdomen and flanks rufescent brown with an olive tinge ; a white spot, as in the male, in the centre of the throat ; middle of the abdomen paler, lower tail coverts pale rufous. Wing 32, tail 2°8. Of course I have no means of ascertaining certainly that the female is correctly identified, as the birds were obtained by Mr. Mandelli’s collec- tors, but the white breast-spot leaves very little doubt on this head. As regards the locality, the only information Mr. Mandelli can give me is that these birds were obtained in Tibet in the month of November 1875. IL.—Aberrant Dentition of Felis Tigris—By R. LypEKKer, B. A. (Read 6th February, 1878.) (With Plate IT.) In the accompanying plate (No. II), there is represented the right ramus of a mandible of an individual of Felis tigris which was killed in British Burma; this jaw is remarkable in that it carries an additional premolar. The normal number of lower molar teeth in the genus Felis is three, namely, two premolars, which are respectively the penultimate and ultimate of that series, and one true molar, which is the first of the latter series, and which is often known as the “ carnassial tooth.” In the figured specimen, there is between the canine tooth and the pe- nultimate premolar, a small and simple tooth, which is the ante-penultimate 1878. ] R. Lydekker—Aberrant Dentition of Felis Tigris. 3 tooth of the premolar series, and which, as we have seen, does not oceur in the normal dentition of the genus Felis; on the left side of the figured jaw this additional premolar is absent. The interest that attaches to the presence of this additional premolar in our specimen, is that in an extinct genus of Fe/ide, the normal number of the lower premolars was three in place of two, as in Felis. This extinct genus was named by M. Gervais Pseudelurus,* and the one species (P. quadridentatus) on which it was determined, was obtained from _ the miocene formation of Sansan in France ; the species was previously named by De Blainville in his ‘ Osteographie,” Helis quadridentatus and Ff. tetraodon. Subsequently Professor Leidyt described a second species of the genus, under the name of P. intrepidus, from the Fliocene of Nebraska. Still later, I myself{ described the lower jaw of a third species, P. sivalensis, from the Siwaliks of this country. It is well known that the small number of the molar series which exists in the living Felide is a highly specialized character, which is not found in the oldest carnivora, nor in many of those which are still living. The existence of an additional lower premolar in the Miocene and Pliocene genus Pseudelurus shows that that genus is less specialized than Fe/is, and indicates that the former was probably the line through which the latter was described from some primitive carnivore in which the whole four of the typical premolar series were developed. The occasional occurrence of the ante-penultimate lower premolar in Fe/is must be regarded as an instance of “reversion” towards the genus Pseudelurus. * Zoologie et Paléontologie Frangaises’”’, Vol. I, p. 127. ¢ “Extinct Mammalia of Dakota and Nebraska,” p. 52. t “Records of Geological Survey of India,” Vol. X., p. 83, 4 Col. Keatinge—Record of the [No. 1, I1l.— Record of the Occurrence of Earthquakes in Assam ~ BAR ce. Aas. Date. District. piaehie 15th February. Darrang, Mangaldai. 10°45 a. M. Do. Kamriup, Gauhati. 11 a. M. No reports reached from Goalpara, Nowgong, Lakhimpur, 23rd do. Kamritp, Barpeta. 11°50 P. M. Do. Goalpara, Goalpara. 12'8 P. M. No reports reached from Gauhati, Darrang, Nowgong, Sibsdgar, 28th do. Goalpara, Goalpara. 10 P. M. Do. Garo Hills, Tara. 11°40 Pp. mM. No reports reached from Kamrip, Darrang, Nowgong, March 15th March. | Khasi Hills, Shillong. | 3°33 P.M. No reports reached from Godlpara, Kamrip, Darrang, Nowgong, 20th do. | Khasi Hills, Shillong. | 5 a. M. No reports reached from Goalpara, Kamrtip, Darrang, Nowgong, - April 29th April. ~ | Khasi Hills, Shillong. | 10 P. mw. No reports received from Goalpara, Kamrip, Darrang, Nowgong, May 11th May. Kamrip, Gauhati. 9 P.M. Do. Khasi Hills, Shillong, 9:10 P. M. Do. Darrang, Tezpur. 9°15 P. M. Do. Nowgong, Nowgong. 9°30 P. M. No reports received from Godalpara, Sibsagar, Lakhimpur, 17th May. Khasi Hills, Shillong. 10°10 Pp. u. Do. Darrang, Tezpur, 10°35 P. M. 1878.] - Occurrence of Earthquakes in Assam. 5 during 1877. Oommunicated by Cou. R. H. Keariner, Ohief Commissioner. | Duration. Extent of damage if any, and general remarks. 20 to 25 seconds.| No damage, two distinct shocks and preceded by loud rumbling noise. A second. No damage. Sibsagar, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga Hills, Garo and Khasi Hills. 4 seconds. No damage. 7 seconds, Do. Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga Hills, Garo and Khasi Hills. 3 seconds. No damage. Slight shock. 30 seconds. Do. do. Sibsagar, Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga and Khasi Hills. 1877, 10 seconds. | No damage. Sibsagar, Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga Hills, and Garo Hills. 5 seconds. | No damage. Sibsagar, Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga and Garo Hills. 1877. 3 seconds. | No damage. Sibsagar, Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga Hills and Garo Hills. 1877. 12 seconds. No damage. 45 seconds. No damage. 10 to 12 seconds.| Two distinct shocks. Severe and very marked. No damage. Declared by Deputy Commissioner to be the severest felt since the great one in September 1875. The shocks were not preceded by the usual rumbling noise and were not quick and jerky, but long and undu- lating. 5 seconds. No damage. One sharp shock. Sylhet, Cachér, Naga Hills and Garo Hills. 30 seconds, | No damage. 6 to 8 seconds. | No damage. Two clear distinct shocks at intervals of 3 to 4 seconds between the two shocks. Very marked, but not severe ; not preceded by the usual rumbling noise, 6 Col. Keatinge— Record of the [No. 1, Time of Date. District. Occurrence. eee ae +2 ean ae. No reports received from Goalpara, Kamrip, Nowgong, Sibsdgar, June 4th June. | Naga Hills, Samagtting. | 3°30 P. M. No reports received from Godlpara, Kamrip, Darrang, Nowgong, 7th dao. Khasi Hills, Shillong. 12:24 P.M. Do. Goalpara, Goalpara. 12:25 P. M. Do. Kamrtp, Barpeta. 12:25°5 s. P. M. Do. Kamrtp, Gauhati. 12°30 P. M. Ascertained that the shock was not felt in Darrang, Nowgong, July 9th July. | Khasi Hills, Shillong. | 1:15 a.m. Ascertained that the shock was 10th July. | Kamrtp, Gauhati. |} la.M. Ascertained that the shock was August 3rd August. Darrang, Tezpur. 12°30 P. Mm. Do. Nowgong, Nowgong. 2 P.M. No reports received from Goalpara, Kamrip, Sibsagar, August 6th August. Khasi Hills, Shillong. 9°30 P. M. Do. Nowgong, Nowgong. 9°30 P. M. Do. Darrang, Tezpur. 10°30 P. M. Ascertained that the shock was not felt in Godlpara, Kamrup, 17th do. Khasi Hills, Shillong. 1 A.M. Do. Darrang, Tezpur. 1:30 a. M. Ascertained that the shock was not felt in Godlpara, Kamrup, 21st do Goalpara, Dhubri. 5°50 Pp. M. Do Garo Hills, Tara. 5:37 P. M. No reports received from Kaémrtp, Darrang, Nowgong, Sibsagar, 22nd do. | Khasi Hills. | 4p. mM. No reports received 25th do. Nowgong. 9 Pp. M. Do. Khasi Hills, Shillong. 9:30 P. M. Do. Darrang, Tezpur. 9°40 P. M. 1878. | Occurrence of Earthquakes in Assam, 7 Duration. Extent of damage if any, and general remarks. i EE Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga Hills and Garo Hills. 1877. Very short. | Slight and unaccompanied by noise. Sibs4gar, Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Garo Hills and Khasi Hills. 5 seconds. No damage. 15 minutes. Slight shock. No damage. 5 seconds. No damage. 5 seconds. Smart shock no damage. ‘Sibsagar, Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga and Garo Hills. 1877. 3 seconds. | No damage. not felt in any other district. Very short. | Shght. No damage. not felt in any other district. 1877. 6 to 8 seconds. | Slight, no damage, preceded by usual rumbling noise. 2 seconds. Slight. No damage. Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga, Garo and Khasi Hills. 1877,— (continued). 5 seconds. No damage. 2 seconds. No damage. A few seconds. | Distinct shock. No, damage. Sibsd4gar, Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga and Garo Hills. 5 seeonds. No damage. A few seconds. Slight. No damage. Nowgong, Sibs4gar, Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga and Garo Hills. 4 seconds. | Slight. No damage. 2 seconds. Slight. No damage. Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga and Khasi Hills. 2 seconds. No damage. from other districts. 2 seconds. 3 seconds. 8 to 10 seconds, Slight. No damage. No damage. No damage. Shock, clear, distinet and marked, 8 Col. Keatinge—Record of the [No. 1, Time of Date. District. Occurrence. _ No reports received from Godalpara, Kamritp, Sibsagar, 30th August Sibsigar, Jorhat. 3°30 A. M. No reports received from Goalpara, Kamrip, Darrang, Nowgong, September 1st September. Khasi Hills, Shillong. 5°30 a. M. | Do. Cachar. 5°45 A. M. 10th do. Kamrtp, Gauhati. | 11 P.M. Do. Nowgong. | 11 a. M. Do. Darrang, Tezpur. 11°15. ao | 16th do, Sibsagar, Jorhat. 7 A.M. Do. Sibsagar, Sibsagar. 7 a. M. 18th do. Nowgong, Nowgong. 10 a. M. Do. Darrang, Tezpur. | 10°30 a. M. Ascertained that the shocks were not felt at Goalpara, Lakhimpur, October 7th October. Khasi Hills, Shillong. 530 A. M. 18th do. Do. : | 6-45 a. M. 80th do. Darrang, Tezpur. 11°30 P. M. November Nil. December 1st December. | Darrang, Tezpur. | 6-10 a. M. Ascertained that this shock was 7th do. Sibsdgar Jorhat, 12 P. M. Do. Goalpara, Goalpara. 1°25 a. M. Do. Nowgong, Nowgong. 1°30 a. M. Do. Darrang, Tezpur. 1:30 A. M. / Do. Sibsdgar, Sibsagar. About 2 A. M. Do. | Gauhati, (Kamrtp). Do. | | be” ‘ : © 1878. ] Occurrence af Earthquakes in Assam. 9 Duration. Extent of damage if any, and general remarks. Nowgong, Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga and Garo Hills. About 5 seconds. | No damage. Slight trembling shock. Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga, Khasi and Garo Hills. (1877. 5 seconds. No damage. 7 seconds. Slight shock. 1 min. 10 sec. | No damage. 2 seconds. Very slight shock. No damage. 8 to 10 seconds. | Sudden and distinct shock not preceded by usual rumbling noise. No damage. 2 seconds. No damage. ‘The sensation was as of one shock upwards. Less than a sec. | Nil. 10 seconds, No damage. One sharp shock preceded by a heavy rum- ) bling noise. 8 to 12 seconds. | Slight shock, but the usual rumbling noise was loud and long. Sylhet, Naga and Garo Hills on the 10th, 16th and 18th. 1877. 10 seconds, No damage. 15 seconds. No damage. 20 to 25 seconds.| No damage. Sharp shock. 1877. 1877. A few secs. only. | Two distinct but slight shocks. No damage. not felt in any other district. (?) No damage. 5 seconds. | Slight shock. 4: seconds. 'Do. No damage done. A full 20 seconds. Very severe, about half a dozen distinct shocks, the second one very strong and caused much damage, South wall of kutcherry cracked and broken down. Northern walls cracked. Treasury walls cracked in several places. Circuit bungalow walls much cracked, Jail uninjured. Deputy Commissioner’s bungalow on the hill suffered most, chimney fell in, causing loss of valuable pro- perty. Less than a see, | Nil. 5 seconds. _A slight shock accompanied by the usual rumbling noise. No damage. 2 ~ 92nd December. 10 Col. Keatinge—Record of the [No. 1, Date. District. Paik of ecurrence. 7th December. Barpeta, (Kamrip). 2°10 a. M. Do. Khasi Hills, Shillong. 2 A. M. Do. N. Lakhimpur. 2°35 A. M, Ascertained that this shock was not felt in Cachar, 9th December. Darrang, Tezpur. 12°30 P. M. 3 P.M. 8'50 P. M. Do. Khasi Hills, Shillong. 1°45 A. M. Ascertained that this shock was not felt at Goalpara, Kamrip, 11th December. Darrang, Tezpur. 11°30 P. M. Do. Nowgong, Nowgong. 1 A.M. Ascertained that the shock was not felt in Godlpara, Kamrip, 18th December. Kamrip, Gauhati. 3°35 P. M. Do. Darrang, Tezpur. 3°45 P. M, 4°20 P. M. 5°15 Pp. M. Do. Khasi Hills, Shillong, 3°47 P. M. Do. Nowgong, Nowgong. 3°50 P. M. Ascertained that the shock was not felt in Godlpara, Sibsagar, Darrang, Tezpur. 4 A.M. Khasi Hills, Shillong. 10°30 P. M. Ascertained that the shock was not felt in Godlpara, Kamrup, Nowgong, Do. 29th December. Khasi Hills, Shillong. 9 P. M. Do. Cachar, Silchar. 10 P. M. Do. Goalpara, Goalpara. 11 P. M. Ascertained that the shock was not felt in Kamrip, Darrang, OL PD PD ens ae 1878.] Occurrence of Earthquakes in Assam. 11 Duration. Extent of damage, if any, and general remarks. Not stated. Nil. 10 seconds. No damage done. 2 seconds. Treasury room cracked in several places. No serious damage. Sylhet, Garo and Naga Hills and Head Quarters Lakhimpur, 8 to 10 seconds. | The first two shocks very distinct. No damage. The A few seconds. third shock was very smart, and the rumble and shock 8 seconds. came almost together. No damage. 5 seconds. No damage. Nowgong, Sibségar, Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga and Garo Hills. 10 seconds. Smart shock. No damage. » 3 seconds, Very slight. No damage. Sibsdgar, Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga, Garo and Khasi Hills. 5 seconds, Slight. No damage. 10 seconds. 1st, very distinct with loud rumbling. No damage. A few seconds. | 2nd, slight rumbling, distinct, but no shock. 15 to 20 seconds.| 8rd, loud continued rumbling, no shock. 5 seconds. No damage. 2 seconds, Sharp shock, no damage. ‘ Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga and Garo Hills. 8 to 10 seconds. | Distinct shock with loud rumbling, No damage. 5 seconds. No damage. Sibsdgar, Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Cachar, Naga and Garo Hills. 5 seconds, No damage. 2 seconds, Very slight. 5 seconds. Slight shock. Nowgong, Sibsdgar, Lakhimpur, Sylhet, Nag4 and Garo Hills, ees a0) 8500s eee 12 H. H. Godwin-Austen—Siath List of Birds from the [No. 1, IV.—Siath List of Birds from the Hill Ranges of the North-East Frontier of India.—By Urevut.-Cotonen H. H. Gopwry-AvsteEn, F. Z. 8. &e., &¢., late Deputy Superintendent Topographical Survey of India. (Received 16th March; read 8rd April.) [With Plates X and XI. | This list is the result of two seasons’ Survey exploration in the East- ern Naégé Hills (Mr. A. W. Chennell) and of the low hills near Sadiya and the neighbourhood of the Brahmakhtind (Mr. M. T. Ogle). Ihave again to acknowledge the kind services of the above gentlemen, to whom I owe so much, and who have added considerably to the value of the collec- tion by taking careful measurements in the flesh and recording the colour of the soft parts. The collection is a large one and contains, as will be seen, besides a large number of species already recorded, many interesting birds. Together with the birds included in my paper on the Dafla Hills and Darrang Terai, which I have now introduced and marked with an asterisk, it brings up the total number of species collected during the progress of No. 6 Topographical Survey. to 585. Having now left the service, I much fear that this will be my last contribution in these pages to the avi-fauna of the Eastern Districts. The assistants who have been associated with me hitherto on this pleasant work are being gradually reduced in number; and have either been transferred to other parties, or have proceeded on well merited leave of absence to a distance, so that it is difficult to arrange for collecting with success, and a certain amount of aid is requisite, which only individuals in the country can obtain. When this paper was almost completed, the arrival of Mr. Chennell in England, with another collection of some 800 skins from the North Khasi Hills, has enabled me to add a few more species to the list, and there are still some I have not yet identified. 70. Urrva Coromanpa, Latham. North Khasi Hills, (collected by Mr. Chennell). *71. HuHvAa NIPALENSIS, Hodgson. 73. Kertupa FLAVIPES, Hodgson, var. magnifica, Swinhoe. North Khasi Hills. The specimen in Mr. Chennell’s collection has the tarsus covered with a white down, buffy above, extending to within 1°3 inch of the base of the toes, as recorded by Mr. Swinhoe in his description of K. magnifica from Ningpo, (Ibis, 1873, p. 127). = - 1878. | Hill Ranges of the N. E. Frontier. 13 On Mr. Chennell’s label I find the following notes: L. 21 inches, W. 16°5, T. 6:0, t. 3°0, Bf. 1°8. Bill greenish horny, irides golden yellow. Legs and feet dusky grey. The mid toe is 1°75, its claw 1°1, hind toe 1:0, claw 1°25. These dimensions and the coloration of the feet and legs are much nearer to those of Mr. Swinhoe’s bird than to those given by either Sharpe or Jerdon for flavipes. In neither of the latter is any mention made of the down covered tarsus, a character so striking that it could hardly have escaped their notice, and one which, besides the vermiculated breast and lower parts, distinguishes the species from Ceylonensis. Swinhoe concludes with the remark that the fine down of the tarsus appears to wear off, but the specimen now recorded is an adult, and though this down may disappear to a certain extent, I do not think the tarsus and the joint above would ever become bare as in Oeylonensis and flavipes. *94.. CHELIDON NIPALENSIS, Hodgson. 106. BarRracHostomvs JAVENSIS, Horsfield, ? ? This specimen belongs to the Indian Museum, Calcutta, where I found it among some skins that had been sent down by the late lamented Captain John Butler from the Naga Hills, and I was by the kind permission of the Trustees allowed to bring it to England. It is a most interesting specimen in the rufous phase of plumage, but unfortunately the sex is not marked. It agrees with a specimen of B. Javensis 2 in the collection of Lord Tweeddale, and the description of the species as given in P, Z.S. 1877, p. 435, and the dimensions do not differ materially. I give a description of the Naga Hill bird, interesting as being found so far to the northward. Entire plumage rich chestnut brown, a few white feathers at the base of the upper mandible tipped rufous and barred with black. White on chin and throat, some of the feathers on the latter crossed by a V-shaped dark line, but they only extend to the upper breast, this being covered by feathers having large, rounded white centres, bounded on the terminal margin by a narrow dark line and fringed with chestnut ; towards the abdomen and flanks the white marks become narrow and lengthened. The wing is unspotted, but conspicuous white feathers margined with black are mingled with the scapulars, and there is a well-marked nuchal collar, each feather crossed by a narrow black line edged terminally by another. There is a slight mottling of dull black on the primaries and secondaries and lower back. The tail is similarly mottled and crossed by 7 pale clear rufous bands, the outer penultimate tail feather has 5 distinct white bars on the outer web, the very short outermost feather has a terminal whitish spot. W. 5:25 inches, T. 5:5, t. 0°6, Bf. 0°6. Breadth at gape, 1:05, mid-toe and claw 0°75. The long frontal plumes are black, rufous at the base. 14 H. H. Godwin-Austen—Siath List of Birds from the [No. 1, This bird is, I think, nearest to B. Javensis, B. affinis apparently not having any white in front of the eye. On my submitting this paper and the specimen to Lord Tweeddale he thus wrote to me,—“ This Naga Hill example of the genus, Batrachostomus “ without doubt belongs to the B. Javensis (Horsf. ex Java). I have criti- “cally compared the two and cannot detect any difference. It may turn “out to be Mr. Hume’s B. castaneus, in which case B. Hodgsoni will be- “come a synonym of B. Javensis. It is a large form of B. affinis, but the “white on the throat seems to extend higher up, as it does in the Javan “species and in B. cornutus of Sumatra and Borneo.” Lord Tweeddale does not concur with me regarding the white mark in front of the eye, and says, “it is just as strongly marked in my examples of B. affinis.” 130. Hatcyon Prueata, Bodd. H. atricapillus, Gmel.—Jerdon, Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 226. $ L. about 10°38, W. 4:9, T. 4°0, t. 0°58, Bf. 2°3, Bill from nostril 2°15. The dimensions of the length and wing are much smaller than those given by Dr. Jerdon. 138. Cryx TRIDACTYLA, Pallas. Dr. Jerdon informed me that he saw this species in a small stream elose under the village of Cherra Pinji, but as I never got it myself, I did not record it. Mr. A. W. Chennell has two specimens he shot on the Umthunna River, N. Khasi Hills. *135a. ALCEDO GRANDIS, Blyth. Also got on the Buri Dihing. *137. CERYLE guTTATa, Vigors. Tenga Pani and Buri Dihing. 147. PaLHORNIS EVPATRIUS, Lin. L. 21, W. 81, T. 13°56, £. 03) BE tae Bee Bill deep red. Legs and feet orange yellow. N. Khasi Hills, December, (Chennell). *152a. PALMHORNIS MELANORHYNCHUS, Wagler. *171. Gurornvus stRIoLATUS, Blyth. 210. SuURNICULUS DICRUROIDES, Hodgson. Mr. Chennell has two specimens from the N. Khasi Hills of this curiously plumaged bird, so like the king-crow. Length 10:0, W. 5°5, T. 5°75, t. 0°7, BE. 0°8. ——— a 1878. | Hill Ranges of the N. E. Frontier. 15 ' *245. CERTHIA DISCOLOR, Blyth. *303. CyYoRNIS uNIcoLOR, Blyth. 313. Nirmpuna Hopasont, Moore. A single male specimen was collected forme by Mr. A. Chennell in the Naga Hills; this is of a richer chestnut below than a specimen from Darjiling. A female was obtained by Mr. Ogle at Sadiya. I give a de- scription of the latter, that in Jerdon being taken from the male. ?. Above, olivaceous brown, wings and tail dark umber-brown beneath, all pale rufous buff. Under tail coverts white. W. 1°75, t. 0°65. The wing is rather shorter than in the male which has it 1:90. ? 820. SIPHIA LEUCOMELANURA, Hodgson. I now possess two males and three females from Sadiya, two males from the Munipur Hills, and one male from Sibsd4gar, Assam. Dr. Jerdon only describes the male, the female apparently was unknown to him. I therefore give one of a specimen sent me from Darjiling by Mr. L. Man- delli. 2. Above, brown with an olive cast, darkest on the head, ochraceous on the rump. Wing and tail ruddy brown, ferruginous at the base of the tail feathers and on the wing coverts. Beneath, dingy sordid white, purer on the centre of the abdomen, ochraceous on the flanks. Hind claw well curved. W. 2:3, T. 2°05, t. 0.72, BE. 0°36. $. Sadiya, W. 2:4, T. 2°15, t. 0°85, Bf. 0°30 to 0°35. Legs, sepia-brown ; irides deep brown. 8377. CHLEUASICUS RUFICEPS, Blyth, var. atroswperciliaris, Godwin- Austen. P. A. S. B., June 1877, p. 147. $. Rusty chestnut on the head, same colour, but paler, on the nape and ear coverts: back and wings pale olive-brown, quills tinged rufous, tail brown. A narrow black streak over the eye, beneath dull white with an earthy tinge. Legs dark plumbeous. L. about 6, W. 2°85, T. 3°3, t. 0:90, Bf. 0:43. Maubum Tila, near Sadiya. Larger than typical C. ruficeps and not so white below. *378b. SuTHORA DAFLAENSIS, Godwin-Austen. *382. GRAMMATOPTILA STRIATA, Vigors, 16 H. H. Godwin-Austen—Siath List of Birds from the [No. 1, 390c. Turprnus Nagarnsis, Godwin-Austen, [A. M. N. H., Dec. 1877.] “ Above, rich umber-brown throughout with no streaking on the fea- thers of the head. Beneath, the same tint, much paler, with slight rusty shading into and adjacent to the dull whitish centre of the breast, chin also whitish. “ Trides dark brown, legs and feet light sienna-grey. “Length about 5°70, wing 2:2, tail 2:2, t. 0°90, Bf. 0°50, hind toe, 0:35, claw 0°3. This species is very distinct from Z. Garoensis in its deeper umber coloration and smaller size. Particularly is this the case in the legs, feet and hind claw. “Tt was obtained by Mr. A. W. Chennell, of the Survey, in the Eastern Naga Hills.” 390d. TuRDINUS sTRIATUS, Walden. I have compared a specimen from Sadiya of the bird hitherto con- sidered as T7. brevicaudatus with the type in the Calcutta Museum, obtained by Col. Tickell in Tenasserim, and find that they are, after all, distinct. The Tenasserim form is very strong rufous on the breast, belly and under tail-coverts, the spots on the secondaries are small and triangular, whereas in that from Sadiya they are large and tip the feather. The throat is also grayer in this last. In the “Ibis” for 1876, p. 354, Lord Tweeddale remarks on the highly colored drawing by Tickell of 7. brevicaudatus, and Mr. Gould has very probably figured an Assam bird, which should stand properly under the title of Z. striatus, Walden, described in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (4), vi., p. 241, and which Jerdon had very probably compared with true brevicaudatus from the Burmah side and considered distinct. This bird is the one I refer to under the title of Z. Williamsoni in J.A.S. B., Pt. II., 1877, p. 44. I have four specimens from Sadiya (Géro Hills and Munipur), in all of which the spots on the secondaries are rufous, while in a specimen from the Mulé-it range, Tenasserim, obtained by Mr. Limborg, they are white, thus agreeing with Col. Tickell’s drawing of true brevicaudatus from the same locality. This specimen is again not so rufous as the type in the Indian Museum, but this is a very variable character in this group, (as may be seen in Pnoe. squamata, of which specimens white beneath are often met with,) and probably depends on age. After all stviatus is only a variety of brevicaudatus. 399d. PreL~torneumM ManpeEt.tt, W. Blanford, [J. A.S. B., vol. XLI, Pt. II, p. 165, pl. VII., (1872). ] Var. pectoralis. I described this variety of the Darjiling form in the J. A. S. B. vol. XLVI, Pt. II, 1877, pp. 41-42, as it differs a good deal in its markings ““F6 1878. ] Hill Ranges of the N. E. Frontier. 17 from P. Mandellii described by W. Blanford from Darjiling, and is the form which extends to the Garo, Khasi and North Cachar Hills, P. ruf- ceps of my First List, [J. A. S. B., Vol. XX XIX, p. 103, (1870). | Jerdon, when noticing a new species from the Khasi Hills, in Vol. II., Birds of India, had Pel. palustre in mind. *401, POMATORHINUS FERRUGINOSUS, Blyth. 405c. POMATORHINUS STENORHYNCHUS, G.-A. The original description appeared in this Journal, Pt. II., Vol. XLVI. p. 43, (1877), and I have only to add that its nearest ally is P. ochracei- ceps, Walden, from Burmah; but the above species is larger and has the lower parts pale ferruginous, whilst in ochraceiceps they are of the purest white, and it is not so rufous on the head and nape. The legs of stenor- hynchus are horny grey; in the figure of ochraceiceps lately published in the Ibis for 1877, Pl. XIII, the legs appear to be much too blue ; should this coloring however be correct, it will mark another point of difference. Mr. Ogle shot this species on Manbtim Tila, at an elevation of 8,000 feet, not far from Sadiya. 407a. GARRULAX NUCHALIS, Godwin-Austen. Plate X. The second specimen of this bird was obtained again by Mr. Ogle, on the Kamlangpani, at 500 ft. I described the first example, obtained also by Mr. Ogle, in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History for November 1876, and I here repeat the original description and remarks upon it. It is figured on the accompanying plate. “ Above, top of head to nape dark slaty grey, succeeded by a broad rich ferruginous collar an inch in breadth, which fades into the olive-green of the back. Wings and tail of a rather darker tint of olive, the latter tipped black ; the first four primaries are tipped hoary-grey ; the shoulder of wing hasarusty tinge. A narrow frontal band; the lores, with a narrow line over and below the eye, black ; this is continued in a streak of dark rusty brown over the ear-coverts; afew white feathers border the black frontal band above. Chin black, extending a short way down the middle of throat; breast pale ashy, with a slight vinous tinge. Cheeks and ear-coverts pure white. Flanks and under tail-coverts dull olive-green. Bill black. Irides purple-lake. Legs fleshy-grey. . “ Length 10 inches, wing 4°25, tail 4°6, tarsus 1°7, bill at front 0-9. “This beautiful species was among a batch of birds lately received from and collected by Mr. M. T. Ogle, of the Topographical Survey, in the Lhota-N4ga hills. It is the representative there of G. chinensis, but differs in possessing the broad ferruginous nape, and the neutral grey of the head is of a darker hue. In other respects it is identical, save in some 3 18 H. H. Godwin-Austen—Sixth List of Birds from the [No. 1, minor points, such as :—the black of the throat does not extend so far down on to the upper breast ; the lower breast is paler than in chinensis, and has a vinous tinge ; the under tail-coverts are pure olivaceous with no ochrace- ous tint; and, lastly, the white of the cheek and ear-coverts extends in this new form further down the side of the neck.” *4276, ACTINURA DAFLAENSIS, Godwin-Austen. [PI. IV, J. A.S. B., 1876.] 497d. ActTinuRA O@LEI, Godwin-Austen. Plate XI. This beautiful new form, discovered by Mr. M. T. Ogle, was described in J. A. S. B., Vol. XLVI, Pt. II, 1877, p. 42, from Manbim Tila on the Tengapani River, near Sadiya. It is now figured. | *430. SIBIA PICAOIDES, Hodgson. *432. MALACOCERCUS TERRICOLOR, Hodgson. *498. Ruvicttua Hopasontr, Moore. *534, PRINIA SOCIALIS, Sykes, small variety. *535. PRrinta StEwarTI, Blyth. 562a. PHYLLOSCOPUS FULIGINIVENTER, Hodgson, sp. Horornis fuliginiventer, Jerdon. [Birds of India,Vol. IT, p. 162, No. 525.] A dull but well marked ring round the eyes, an indistinct supercilium of same colour as the breast. All above very dusky bistre-brown with an olive tinge. Beneath dingy oil-green, paler on chin; under tail-coverts rather lengthened. Ivrides dull brown, legs ochraceous green. Obtained at Sadiya. L. 4°25, W. 2°15, T. 2:0, t. 0°87, Bf. 0:34. 564. REGULOIDES TROCHILOIDES, Sundeval. $ from Noa Dihing, March 6th. Compared with specimens in British Museum. | Lord Tweeddale writes—“ Has your specimen got white margins to the outer tail feathers? If it has so, it will be true P. viridipennis, and which is probably nothing but P. presbytes of S. Miller. Seebohm thinks that P. trochiloides, viridipennis, and presbytes are one and the same,”’* 576. ABRORNIS AFFINIS, Hodgson. This bird I have only received from the Naga Hills; it has a bright yellow ring round the eye. * Compare Stray Feathers, V, 1877, pp. 380, 504.—Eb. 1878. ] Hill Ranges of the N. E. Frontier. 19 572. ABRORNIS FLAVIGULARIS, n sp. Description : Above ash grey, purer grey on rump, rather darker on the head. Wings pale umber-brown. ‘Tail ash-brown, the two outer feathers white on the inner web, the next with a narrow edging of white. Lores white, ear-coverts white and grey. Chin pure yellow fading on throat ; breast, nape, flank and thighs greyish white, whitish on the breast ; a very faint yellow tinge on the abdomen; under tail-coverts white. A small patch of yellow on inner shoulder of the wing, Bill dark above, buff below. W. 1:84, T. 1:8, t. 0°67, Bf. 0°3. Hab.—Sadiya. (Mr. Ogle.) Having failed to identify this bird with any species I have examined, 1 have now described it more fully ; it is the specimen I noted as probably new under the above title in the J. A.S. B., Vol. XLVI, Pt. II, p. 44, (1877). It is nearest to A. wanthoschistus, having the same coloured head and form of bill, but its entire ashy upper surface distinguishes it well from all the species I am acquainted with. *586. HENICURUS SCHISTACEUS, Hodgson. *587. HENICURUS SCOULERI, Vigors. *588. HENICURUS SINENSIS, Gould. *590a. Moractnna nopesont, G. K. Gray. *592. CALOBATES MELANOPE, Pallas. 594. BupytTes crrrEoua, Pallas. ?, Pengapani, W. Sadiya. April 24th. The black band on the nape is hardly developed at all. 594a. BupyrEs CITREOLOIDES, Hodgson. ¢. Brahmaputra. April 5th. The white of the wing has a slight wash of yellow on it. *612. Curra Nrparensis, Hodgson. *621. Proparus curysHus, Hodgson. 625a. STAPHIDEA PLUMBEICEPS, Godwin-Austen. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Dec. 1877. Original Description: “Head (sub-crested) ash-grey, purer behind ; feathers narrowly edged paler. Back pale olive-brown, a few feathers 20 H. H. Godwin-Austen—Svath List of Birds from the [No. 1, pale-shafted. Wings umber-brown. Tail darker, the four outer feathers tipped with white, increasing outwards diagonally. Lores pale grey. The ear-coverts only to just beneath the eye chesnut, the feathers white-shafted. Chin, throat, and all the lower parts white. Flanks pale sepia-grey ; under tail-coverts the same, tipped white. “ Trides reddish brown. Legs umber. “ Length 4°6 inches, wing 2°3, tail 9:05, tarsus 0°7, bill at front 0°3.— Obtained near Sadiya and Brahmakhind.”’ A near ally is Staphidea castaneiceps, Moore, very common in the Khasi and Naga Hills, while another very distinct species is Staphidea torqueola, ‘Swin.; but in this last the chestnut commences at the base of the lower mandible, passes under the eye and round the nape in a broad band of chestnut-brown, and the last three tertiaries are margined white on the - inner web. This is absent in the Assam species. In my note-book I find that I obtained one example in the Dikrang valley, Dafla hills, which I shot at camp No. 9; but this was subsequently lost somehow or other, and therefore I did not insert it in the List of Birds from the Dafla Hills, published in the Society’s Journal. | Can this be Lxulus striatus, Blyth? Blanford in J. A. S. B., 1872, p. 166, says the Darjiling bird is the same as the Tenasserim type in the Calcutta Museum, but mentions that it has a rufous supercilium, which none of my specimens possess. [Since writing the above, I have received from Mr. W. Blanford, in a letter from Calcutta in reply to some questions I wrote to him regarding this species, Iz. striatus, some remarks which I now quote. “I have two specimens of the Sikkim bird; I have re-compared them with the type from Tenasserim, and I cannot understand how I can have identified the two. The Tenasserim bird is, as Blyth describes it, greyish brown (ashy brown ac- cording to Tickell), the cap may have been a trifle darker, but very little, not so distinct I should say as in the Sikkim bird, and the white shafts are far more conspicuous in the Tenasserim type. Above all, the bill is much larger in the latter; the difference is so marked that I think I must have - compared a Sikkim specimen differing from those I have now. The cheek patch is distinct but faint. In the specimen from Sikkim, (lz. rujfigenis, Hume) which I now have, the rufous supercilium is only indicated posteri- orly.” This last title was given to the Sikkim bird by Mr. A, O. Hume in Stray Feathers, Vol. V, p. 108. Mr. Blanford has now followed up his letter by sending me two specimens from Mr. Mandelli’s collection of this Darji- ling form, and on comparison I find that it is quite distinct from plwm- beiceps. This last has the head of a decided ash-grey colour, and the feathers are more lengthened behind, so as to give a sub-crested appearance. Bill shorter and deeper. Legs stouter, altogether a larger bird, In one 1878. ] Hill Ranges of the N. E. Frontier. 25 specimen from Darjiling, there is an extension shewn of the rufous of the ear-coverts round the nape, of which there is not a trace in the Sadiya ex- - amples. These are the dimensions of rufigenis. W. 2°45, T. 0°6, Bf. 0°47. The wings run about equal. This genus presents us with an interest- ing example of modification of plumage in areas that are in a great measure separated now physically. We appear to have 5 forms :-— 1. Staphidea castaneiceps, Moore, (1854). Garo, Khasi and Naga Hills. * striatus, Blyth, (1859). 'Tenasserim. ; rufigenis, Hume. Sikkim Hills. » plumbeiceps, Godwin-Austen. Sadiya, Eastern Assam. +5 torqueola, Swinhoe. W. China. | 669. GARRULUS BISPECULARIS, Vigors. This Himalayan Jay was obtained by Mr. Chennell at Shillong, and is in his collection. *838. SYPHEOTIDES BENGALENSIS, Gmelin. 873. RHYNCH#HA BENGALENSIS, Linnzus, North Khasi Hills. Mr. Chennell. In the neighbourhood of Calcutta these birds breed as early as March and April ; two chicks were brought to me about the middle of the former month. 879. IBiporHyNcHUS STRUTHERSI, Vigors. $. Noa Dihing. 9095, I. 5°5, t. 1:7, Bi..3°02, 907a. Popica pERSoNATA, G. R. Gray. This bird, hitherto only recorded, on the Indian side, from Cachar, was found by Mr. Ogle on the Noa Dihing river near Sadiya ; the speci- men is a male, and has been compared with those in the Indian Museum from Tenasserim. W. 9:5, T. 5°4, t. 2°0, BE. 2°15, bill to nares 1°05. 908. Porzana axKoou, Sykes. In Mr. Chennell’s collection from North Khasi Hills. Length about 9°25, W. 4°4, T. 2°3, t. 1°8, Br. .1 0. Bill dusky green, yellow below, irides red brown, legs and feet dusky lake. 910. Porzana PyGMmA, Naumaun. Near base of the Hills. N. Khasi. Obtained by Mr. Chennell. 935a. GORSACHTUS MELANOLOPHUS, Ratflles. Dipur Bhil, Eastern Assam, March, (Chennell). 22 H. H. Godwin-Austen—Sixth List of Birds from the [No. 1, The discovery of this interesting bird in this part of India is note- worthy, as I do not believe it has hitherto been obtained any where in India, certainly never recorded. Up to the present it has been only known as a native of Japan, Sumatra, Philippines, Arrakan (Ramri Island), Ceylon and the Nicobars (Hume). The specimen, a male, agrees well with Mr. A. O. Hume’s excellent description from the last-named locality in “Stray Feathers, Vol. II, p. 313.” Mr. Chennell’s dimensions in the flesh are “ wing 10°7, tail 5, tarsus 3:0, bill at front 19. . Bill dark horny;” these I have checked and find correct, the wing I make exactly 11:0. The tarsus of the Nicobar bird appears to be very much shorter than in Schlegel’s description and in this specimen from Assam. 950. SARCIDIORNIS MELANONOTUS, Pennant. There is a head of this species in Mr. Chennell’s collection from Upper _ Assam. *981. Larus Rriprpunpvs, Linn. *987. STERNA MELANOGASTRA, Temminck. Notes on Species recorded in former Lists. 79. ATHENE CUCULOIDES. Mr. Chennell writes me an interesting account connected with the habits of this bird “ One evening last January while in search of Polyplec- “tron, several of which were calling about my camp at Gorhanga, I came “upon two birds struggling desperately on the ground. I shot both, one “turned out to be an owl, Athene cuculoides 2 and the other a thrush “ Myiophonus temminckit 3. The little owl had so furiously attacked the “thrush that even in death its strong talons were firmly fixed in the “victim’s back.” 157. Prcus Macet. In the colour of the ear-coverts there is, I find, very great variance from pure white to pale earthy brown; they are white in a female from Sadiya. 311. MuscicaPULA STIGMA. The young bird is dull umber-brown above, the feathers tipped pale rufous and edged darkly, giving it a very speckly appearance. Upper tail coverts rufous umber. Secondary coverts forming a narrow wing bar, 3 last secondaries edged inthe same way. Beneath white, some of the feathers tipped dark brown. Wings and tail ashy umber-brown. From Shillong Peak. July, (ew coll. Chennell.) 1878. ] Hill Ranges of the N. E. Frontier. 23 316. NILTAVA GRANDIS, I have a specimen of this species in its young plumage which is worth description. Above, brown with a rufous shade, the feathers of the head shafted ferruginous, those of the wing coverts, lower back and rump broadly tipped with the same colour and edged black. Tail dark chestnut brown, wings umber-brown. Beneath, breast ferruginous brown with some dusky edgings giving a slightly barred appearance, paling to whitish on abdomen. ? 330. PNOEPYGA PUSILDA, var. A specimen in Mr. Chennell’s collection is in a very interesting stage of plumage. It is uniform brown, the feathers not so scale-like as usual, only a very few of the feathers on the lower back having terminal spots to them; in size and form of bill it is the same as the type. I was at first inclined to consider it distinct, but it is better to wait until we see more similar specimens before naming it, for it appears immature. The wings are rusty umber-brown, chin pale, breast and belly ashy umber with no bars or markings. W. 1°'8, T. very short, t. 0°7, Bf. 9°43. From the N. Khasi Hills, 346. Pirra cucuLtLtatTa, Hartlaub. I have seen a specimen in Mr. Chennell’s collection which he obtained in the N. Khasi Hills, and he only saw one other. I have already alluded to the apparent rarity of the species in these Hills. 386a. PYCTORHIS ALTIROSTRIS, Jerdon. = griseigularis, Hume. I observe that Mr. Hume is still of opinion that his Bhiitén Dudr bird is distinct from altirostris, and in Stray Feathers, Vol. V, No. 2, p- 116, he has named it grisezgularis (relying on Dr. Jerdon’s description being correct). Had Mr. Hume looked up the “ Fifth List of Birds from the N. E. Frontier,” J. A.S. B.,Vol. XLV, Pt. II, p. 197, he would have seen that after the intimation of the re-discovery of the species (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Jany. 1876) the type of altirostris turned up in the British Museum, and that my specimens had been compared with it, leaving no doubt in my mind that they are identical, both in plumage and bill. Mr. Hume’s speci- mens and my own, moreover, come from the same line of country, the great plain north of the Brahmaputra. Dr. Jerdon’s description is short, but applies very fairly in every way, save in respect to the bill, which is deeper than in Sinensis. Jerdon says “making an approach to Para- doxornis,’ by this he may have intended to convey only a very slight ap- proach. The following appear to be the principal differences in the de- scription of the plumage. 24 H. H. Godwin-Austen—Sirth List of Birds from the [No. 1, Above “ slightly brownish ferruginous,” Hume, Vol. V, or “ rather dark ferruginous brown,’ Hume, Vol. IV. = “ pale reddish brown,”’ Jerdon. Beneath “dull rusty,” Hume, Vol. V, or “ Brownish buff deeper coloured &c.,”” Hume, Vol. IV, = “ pale fulvescent,”’ Jerdon. Under wing-coverts “pale yellowish fawn,” Hume, Vol. V, = “ pale ferruginous,’’ Jerdon. | When such distinctions as these are made the basis on which to found new species, it is I think advisable to wait, and if possible compare with the type. But in a/tirostris we have one very marked character which Dr. Jerdon did not overlook, viz., “forehead and streak over the eye hoary grey.” Notwo men agree in describing various shades of brown, olive- green &c., an important element being the kind of light the skins are placed in, and individual sensitiveness to colour. It is satisfactory to know that the type of altirostris has been found, otherwise we should have been left in a cloud of doubt regarding even its very existence, for in Stray Feathers, Vol. III, p. 116, an idea is thrown out that Dr. Jerdon had got hold of a variety of Pyctorhis sinensis when he was at Thyet-Myo. Hven had the type of altirostris been lost, I hold it would have been better to | consider it as re-discovered in Assam, and then have waited for it to turn up again on the Irrawady (where I am sure it will be found*) before giving the Assam bird a new title. 427c. ActInuRA EGERToNI, Gould. Var. Khasiana, Godwin- Austen. This is referred to in my list of Dafla Hill Birds and is the species noted as near Hyertont in my First List. 437a. Matacocercus (LAYARDIA) ROBIGINOSUS, Godwin-Austen, described in J. A. S. B., 1874, p. 164, 1s the Pyctorhis longirostris, Hodgson, of Moore’s Catalogue of Birds in the Indian Museum. I have compared my specimens with the type and only observe that those from Eastern Assam are larger. I was misled into describing it under a new name by a specimen which is only a slight variety of Pyc. sinensis, label- led wrongly P. longirostris, in the British Museum. At the time I described M. robiginosus the Indian Museum birds were still packed away and not to be got at, and I trusted to the correctness of Mr. Gray’s identification of the British Museum bird. I was further misled by longirostris being placed in the genus Pyctorhis, with which it has no affinity, but is a true Malacocereus. * It has been re-found by Mr. Oates, see Stray Feathers, V, p. 249.—Ep. 1878. | Hill Ranges of the N. E. Frontier. 25 - §8la. OrrHotomus aTRiguLARIS, Temminck. = flavi-viridis, Moore. Dunsiri Valley, Assam. On comparing this with a specimen from Tenasserim collected by Mr. O. Limborg, I notice that in the former the chestnut on the head does not extend so far back on the nape as in the latter, and in a specimen from the Garo Hills it is confined to the frontal part of the head only. Assam birds have the darkish sub-terminal tip to the tail feathers as mentioned by Mr. Moore in his description. The abdominal portion is not so pure a white in the Assam bird. 619a. MINLA RUFIGULARIS, Mandelli. This is Alcippe collaris, Walden. I have compared a specimen sent home lately by Mr. Hume and find it identical with the Assam form. Mandelli’s title has priority. 6196. Minna Manperii, Godwin-Austen. Through the kindness of Mr. P. L. Sclater I have been able to com- pare Mr. Hume’s Proparus dubius from South Burma with this bird ; it is clearly distinct, one of those interesting representative races we so often find at the extreme limit of range. J. dubius is much paler beneath and has not got the white markings on the nape. It would be conferring a great service to ornithology if Mr. Hume would always send home similar doubt- ful species, which can only be satisfactorily determined by comparison with types in public and private collections. eee OOOOeeeeeeeeeeeoeeeerrProSeeamwww~ 4 26 J. Waterhouse—An Account of the Tidal [No. 1, V.—An Account of the Tidal Observations in the Gulf of Cutch, conducted - by the Great Trigonometrical Survey, under the Superintendence of Cotonen J. T. Wanker, C. B., R. E., during the years 1873-74-75. Compiled from the G. T. Survey Reports by Cartan J. WATER- _ HOUSE, Assistant Surveyor General. Origin and Object of the Observations,—In his Report on the Operations of the Great Trigonometrical Survey for 1866-67, Col. Walker writes : “Dr. Oldham, the Superintendent of the Geological Survey of India, has recently drawn the attention of the Government to certain questions which have been raised regarding secular changes in the relative level of the land and sea, which are believed to be going on in various parts of the Bombay Presidency, and more particularly at the head of the Gulf which separates the province of Cutch from that of Kattywar. Dr. Oldham recommends that certain points should be selected on the south coast of Kattywar, and as far up the Gulf as possible, and that the existing relative levels of land and sea should be determined at those points by accurate tidal observations carried over as long a period as possible, the tidal stations be- ing connected by lines of levels. Thus, by repeating the operations at a time sufficiently distant to allow the secular changes to reach an appreciable magnitude, this question, which is of much scientific importance, will be satisfactorily settled.” The Government of India sanctioned the opetewatsens bores made, and Col. Walker was making arrangements for carrying them out, when a very considerable reduction in the expenditure of the Survey Department, in consequence of the financial difficulties in 1869-70, caused the indefinite postponement of the operations. It was not until August 1872 that steps could be taken for commencing them. The delay which thus took place is, however, not to be regretted, be- cause it resulted in the investigations being carried on in a more complete and elaborate manner than had been originally contemplated, with a view to acquiring more comprehensive and accurate results than were at first desired. Happening to be present at the Meeting (in Edinburgh) of the British Association in 1871, Colonel Walker ascertained that a Committee of the Association, presided over by Sir William Thomson, had initiated a system of tidal investigations which was anticipated to secure scientific results of the highest value. On studying the details of these operations he found that his original programme, which contemplated tidal observations of only afew weeks’ duration, would be inadequate to detect the existence of minute 1878.]_ Observations in the Gulf of Cutch. 27 secular changes in the relations of land and sea, and that no conclusive re- sults could be obtained unless the observations were carried over a period of rather more than a year at the commencement, and a corresponding period at the close, of the investigation. He further saw that if this were done, the value of the operations would be greatly increased, because the results would not only serve the purpose for which they were originally contemplated, but would materially contribute towards the attainment of the better knowledge of the law of the tides, which is considered by the British Association to be so important a desideratum, and which is expected to lead to an evaluation of the mass of the moon, to definite information regarding the rigidity of the earth, to an approximation of the depth of the sea from the observed velocities of tide-waves, to the determination of the retar- dation of the earth’s rotation due to tidal friction, and also to the various practical benefits which necessarily accrue from accurate predictions of the height of the tide at any given time. Preliminary Preparations.—With the sanction of the Secretary of State for India, Lieut. (now Captain) A. W. Baird, R. E., Assistant Super- intendent G. T. Survey, who was then in England on furlough, was deputed to study the practical details of the mode of tidal registration and of the harmonic analysis of the observations, which were recommended and prac- tised by the Tidal Committee of the British Association. Lieut. Baird also tested at Chatham a new self-registering tide-gauge constructed by Adie, the well-known optician and mathematical instrument- maker, on the same principle as those he had previously sent out to India, which were provided with barrels of unusual length (five feet) in order that the tidal curves might be drawn on the largest scales practicable. The new tide-gauge was on the same pattern, but with a few modifications, the most important of which was the substitution of a chronometer escape- ment instead of a pendulum or gravity escapement for the driving clock, in order to permit of the instrument being erected on positions where the con- cussions of the sea waves would interfere with and perhaps stop the action of a pendulum clock. On trial it was found to work very satisfactorily. No tidal registrations can be deemed complete without simultaneous registrations of the condition of the atmosphere, because it is well known that the rise and fall of the tides on a line of coast is materially influenced by the direction and force of the winds, and that it also varies inversely with changes in the barometric pressure. Arrangements were therefore made for supplying each tidal station with an anemometer and a barometer, both self-recording. The anemometers registered both direction and velocity and were similar to Beckley’s, but smaller, in order to be light and portable. The barometers were aneroids, because safely portable self- registering mercurial barometers could not be obtained. 28 J. Waterhouse—An Account of the Tidal [No. 1, Selection of Stations.—On Col. Walker’s return to India, in November 1872, he deputed Lieut. Baird to make a reconnaisance of the Gulf of Cutch, with a view to selecting tidal stations, and more particularly to ascertain how the instructions which had been received from the Govern- ment to establish a station “ at a point as far into the Runn of Cutch as possible to which the tide has free access’? could be best carried out. For a point to have free access with the sea it is necessary that it should always have at least 4 or 5 feet of water over it at lowest tides, and also that the sea should approach it directly, and not through tortuous channels ; the point must also be either on the edge of the mainland or at no great distance beyond, because of the difficulty and expense of constructing a station on the foreshore. It seemed not improbable that it might not be possible to find a point at the edge of the Runn which would satisfy all the requisite conditions. Lieut. Baird proceeded first to Jiria Bandar, close to the head of the Gulf, where he fitted up a country boat for navigating the creeks and chan- nels of the Gulf, and secured the services of an experienced pilot to accom- pany him in his explorations. After a month’s cruising about and long searching along the muddy foreshores of the Gulf, three places well adapted for tidal observations were found. Ist, Nawandr Point, midway up the Gulf on the Cutch coast, 15 miles from Mundra; 2nd, Hanstal Point at the head of the Gulf, about 18 miles from Juria, and 8rd, Okha Point on the Kattywar coast, just at the mouth of the Gulf, opposite the Island of Beyt. At Nawanar there was a minimum depth of 19 feet of water within 836 feet of a site for a station ; at Hanstal 72 feet within 160 feet of a site for a station, and at Okha 23 feet within 220 feet of a site for a station/ Nawanar is about 9 or 10 and Hanstal 16 miles from the nearest village where drinking water can be procured ; Okha Point has Beyt within 1 mile, but a boat is required for communication with it. The three places selected were considered to be well adapted for the operations, which was the more fortunate in that Lieut. Baird believed them to be the only suitable points to be met with for the purpose. It is to be regretted, however, that an intermediate point could not be found on the Kattywar coast, between Okha and Hanstal, for Nawanar being on the opposite coast had to be connected with the other two stations by a very long line of levels passing round the head of the Gulf; and, as it afterwards turned out, Nawandr proved unsuitable by constant changes in the con- figuration of the foreshore. Preliminary Arrangements.—The stations having been selected, pre- liminary arrangements were commenced. The first question to be decided was whether the tide-gauges should be set up on stages erected inthe sea beyond the low-water line, or on 1878. ] Observations in the Gulf of Cutch. 29 masonry platforms constructed on shore at the high-water line. It is obviously desirable that the communication between the surface of the ocean and the gauge should be as direct as possible, in order that the tidal curve may be accurately delineated. Thus, it is usual to erect tide-gauges in ports or harbours where the piers, quays and landing-stages constructed for the requirements of the shipping present facilities for their being set up in the vicinity of deep water. In the Gulf of Cutch, however, the stations were all at a distance from the nearest inhabited localities and presented no facilities whatever ; for not only building materials and food for the workmen, but even fresh water, had to be brought to them from - considerable distances. It was thus imperative that the plan of operations should be of the simplest nature possible, so as to be carried out with the least cost and the greatest expedition. Had any jetties or piers been available for the operations the stations would have been erected on them, but under existing circumstances it was only possible to conhect the tide- gauges with deep water by erecting stagings for them in the sea; and these would have had to be very strongly built to withstand the full force of the sea, without undergoing any displacement whatever, and that, not for a short time only, but for several years, so as to include both the first series of tidal registrations, taken to determine the present relations of the land and sea, and the final series which will have to be taken to determine the future relations some years hence. The stagings would, moreover, have had to be connected with the land by piers, in order to permit of ready access to the instruments at all times. The cost of such stagings and their connecting piers would have far exceeded the funds available, and therefore Col. Walker decided, though with some reluctance, on having the tide- gauges set up on shore, over wells sunk near the high-water line and con- nected with the sea by piping. Final Arrangements.—The following is a brief sketch of the arrange- ments adopted : Masonry wells of a diameter of about 3 feet were sunk at the stations to a depth of several feet below the lowest tides; in these wells iron eylin- ders with an internal diameter of 22 inches, slightly exceeding the diameter of the float of the tide-gauge, were set up vertically and connected with the sea by an iron piping carried along the shore down to the low-water line, where a flexible piping was attached and carried out into deep water. The flexible piping terminated in a rose suspended by means of buoys a few feet above the bed of the sea, in order to prevent the entrance of silt as much as possible, and was attached to the iron piping in such a manner that it might be readily removed and cleaned whenever necessary. ‘The tide-gauges were set up over the cylinders, and their iron bed-plates indicated the planes to which the tidal measurements were referred ; they were connected by 30 J. Waterhouse—An Account of the Tidal [No. 1, levelling with permanent bench-marks fixed in the ground in the vicinity of the stations. The iron cylinders were made up in sections of 50 inches in length, a sheet of wrought-iron being bent to the size required and rivetted to form a cylinder, a cast-iron flange was fitted on to each end and the faces of these carefully turned so as to fit exactly. The bottom section had a flat iron plate carefully screwed on to one end, so as to form the bottom of the well, and the whole when bolted together formed a water-tight well into which water could only enter through the piping connecting it with the sea. The size of the cylinders was decided on so as to utilise the iron sheets most economically, and when finished four men could carry one section. Before being let into the wells they were well painted over, inside and outside, with tar in order to keep them from rusting. The level of the top flange of the cylinder was about 6 feet above high-water spring tide, and about 2 feet 6 inches above the floor of the observatory. A board fitted on and screwed to the top of the cylinder, with holes for the float-bands to pass through, prevented anything falling accidentally inside the cylinder. The rigid iron piping was ordinary gas-pipe in lengths of about 14 feet, with an internal diameter of 2 inches, which had been computed to be sufficient to permit of the transmission of the tidal wave from the sea to the cylinder in the well without sensible retardation, so that the height of the water in the cylinder should always be the same as that of the surface of the sea. In order to render the connections perfectly water-tight, as well as to facilitate the joining together of the lengths of piping, these were fitted with cast-iron flanges made to screw on to each end. The piping was connected with the bottom of the cylinder, at 9 inches above it, by a small bend, and was then brought up vertically outside the cylinder to a height 1 or 2 feet below the lowest high-water. At this point was another bend with a stop-cock in it, and the pipe was then taken straight out down to the sea along the slope of the shore to reach low-water springs. The rigid and flexible pipes were connected together by means of the following arrangement : To the end of the rigid iron pipe a brass connecting piece, made as shown in the figure, was fitted, having two outer extremities, to one of which a flexible two-inch suction-pipe was fixed and the other closed by a brass dise with a good washer. When the flexible pipe had to be examined for cleaning, the brass disc was unscrewed and a short length of spare flexible piping with a rose at its end fitted on, and taken out to deep water tem- porarily. The original pipe was then taken off and cleaned, the disc be- ing screwed on for the time in its place ; then when finished the long pipe and dise were replaced in their original positions. The flexible pipe was 1878. ] Observations in the Gulf of Cutch. 31 two inches in diameter with copper inside, just the same as the suction-pipe. It was provided in lengths of 50 or 60 feet, and in smaller one of 20 feet for temporary use only. The lengths were fitted with couplings and unions for connecting them with each other. Lengths of this suction-pipe were joined on to the end of the iron piping in the manner above described, and taken out to deep water. At the end of the outer length a copper rose, of about 15 inches in length, 2 inches in diameter, and having about 150 holes of 3; of an inch bored in it, was screwed on. This rose was sustained a few feet from the bot- tom, being attached to a small nun-buoy by a chain and shackle with swivel, the whole being held —————————————— in position in deep water by an ee anchon. To the topof the emalk eee ay rT nun-buoy aichaim'was attached: to which was fixed the large buoy floating on the surface, with plenty of slack chain to allow for a lower nun-buoy rise and fall of tide, and this © Ss = 8 S—aEPRose buoy also served to mark the position of the flexible pipe, The arrangement will be under- WY; yy Yi mn YY Wf YffVP palit reference to the annexed The level of the water in the well should obviously always coincide with that of the sea, otherwise the registrations of the gauge are worthless ; it is therefore imperatively necessary to compare the inside and outside levels from time to time, in order to remove all doubt as to the efficiency of the communication between the well and the sea. For this purpose an ordinary gauge was attached to a pile driven into the bed of the sea, and its zero was connected with that of the self-registering gauge over the well, by spirit levelling, and thus a comparison of the levels could be readily made whenever desirable. On taking these comparisons during certain trial observations at Bombay, Captain Baird was surprised to find that while the levels were generally identical, there were occasional large differ- ences which at first could not be accounted for; eventually, however, he succeeded in tracing them to the accidental presence of air inside the piping, 82 J. Waterhouse—An Account of the Tidal [No. 1, He soon devised a simple method of expelling the air and restoring the requisite identity of level, by fixing a stop-cock for the exit of the air at the vertical bend, where the iron piping, after rising from the bottom of the well to within a few inches of the surface of the ground, begins to slope downwards towards the sea. This bend has necessarily to be made at a point a little below the level of the lowest high-water tide, and, consequently, on opening the stop-cock at high-water, all the air inside the pipe is of course immediately expelled, and then the water inside the well at once assumes the same level as that of the sea. But for this expedient it would have been impossible to carry on the operations continuously for any length of time, as there was found to be a decided tendency for air to collect in the pipes. It was most fortunate that this was discovered during the experi- mental observations at Bombay, for there stop-cocks could be readily con- structed and attached to the piping, which could not possibly have been done at either of the stations in the Gulf. At Okha Captain Baird found some difficulty in keeping the stop-cock dry and having access to it. He therefore had a water-tight box 3 feet long and 1 foot square made in halves and fitted over and under the stop-cock, holes having been cut to admit the pipes, and carefully caulked up after the box had been fitted over the pipe (see figure); in this way no water could get at the stop-cock except over the top of the box. Underneath the first 7 or 8 feet of the pipe leading to the sea, a layer of mud and stones of considerable thickness was made, and a wall of similar material built all round the stop-cock, leaving a space about 3 feet square for standing in and steps for getting down to it ; also mud and sand were thrown down between the iron cylinder and the masonry wall right up to the level of the stop-cock bend. It was found that by this means the stop-cock was quite dry and access could be had to it at any time however high the tide was. Captain Baird spent the recess of 1873 at Bombay in preparing for the operations of the field season of 1873-74. Cylinders as above described 1878. } Observations in the Gulf of Cutch. 33 were constructed in suitable lengths to be easily transported to the tidal stations and there put together. The several self-registering instruments which were to be employed—the tide-gauges, the aneroid barometers and the anemometers or anemographs—were overhauled and put into good working order. The tide-gauges were tested by being employed to register the tides in the harbour of Bombay for several weeks continuously, and were set up over wells connected with deep water by piping, in order that the experimental observations should be taken under precisely similar circumstances to the actual observations. Sundry alterations and improve- ments were made in them, and in fact everything was done which could be thought of to ensure the instruments being found in a satisfactory condition when they were set up for work at the tidal stations, It was a matter of great importance to have all this done at Bombay, because the advan- tages of excellent workshops and skilled artificers were not to be met with in the places where the instruments had to be set up for observation. While in Bombay, Capt. Baird also constructed three portable obser- vatories for erection at the tidal stations. These observatories were made in such a manner as to be readily put together, or taken to pieces and re-erected at any other place where they might afterwards be required. They were about 12’ x 9’ x 9’ and about 12 feet high in the centre, the roof sloping from the ridge to the sides which were about 8 feet high. They were clinker-built, but it was found necessary to cover them with a tarpaulin to keep out the heavy rain during the monsoons. Operations at Okha Station.—Okha station being near the mouth of the Gulf and the nearest to Bombay, where all the preliminary arrange- ments were made, was selected as the first to be taken in hand. ‘There all the instruments and stores, and the European assistants, including Mr. Peters, a skilled artificer of the Bombay Harbour Works, whose services had been obligingly placed at Capt. Baird’s disposal by Major Merewether, R. E., 6 sub-surveyors and 24 men were sent, on the 13th October, 1873, direet from Bombay ina large pattimar (or native sailing vessel). Meeting with contrary winds, the “ Kotia Romani’’ took such a long time to perform the voyage that Capt. Baird began to fear that she was lost with all hands on board; at last, however, she arrived with her passengers and crew nearly starved, for they had only taken a week’s provisions for a voyage which lasted a fortnight. On the 5th November the stores were landed and the first thing to be done was to make an excavation for the iron eylinder. At Okha, as well as at Nawanar, the soil being sandy, it was necessary to take measures to prevent the sides of the well from falling in during the excavation, and therefore a masonry well of sufficient diameter to receive the iron cylinder and vertical shaft of the piping had to be sunk in much the same manner as the wells so frequently used in this country for the foundations of bridges and aque. 5 ' 34 J. Waterhouse—An Account of the Tidal [No. 1, ducts. The operations were considerably facilitated by the employment of Bull’s Patent Dredgers for scooping out the soil under the sinking masonry. (At Hanstal, where the soil was firm, the masonry well was unnecessary). The masonry well was completed to the full depth of 25 feet by the 4th December, and by the 20th the cylinder had been set up, the piping con- nected with’ the sea had been laid out into deep water, the observatory was erected and the several self-registering instruments—a tide-gauge, an ane- ‘mometer and an aneroid barometer—were all in position and ready for the preliminary trial of their performances. By the 23rd everything was com- plete, the instruments were all working well, and Capt. Baird was about to proceed to the next station, when an accident happened through a native boat drifting down past the station about 3 in the morning of the 24th December, and dragging her anchors across the flexible pipe, smashing it and carrying off a large portion of it as well as the buoys, anchors &c. Be- ing on the spot, Capt. Baird was able to rectify the damage and to ar- range for protecting the piping by laying out and anchoring hawsers around it. Guards were also provided to prevent boats from approaching the buoys. Thus this accident, though very annoying at the time, proved of use ‘in showing the necessity of taking special preeautions for the protection of the piping from injury. Similar measures were taken at the other stations, and these precautions were essential to the success of the operations, be- cause in case of any similar accident happening to injure the piping, the native subordinate who would ordinarily be left in sole charge of the station to keep the instruments in order and look after their performances, would be unable to repair the damage without the personal help of Capt. Baird or the European assistant, to obtain which would probably cause suspen- sion of the tidal registrations for a fortnight or more, and greatly impair the value of the observations. While engaged in completing the arrangements at Okha, Capt. Baird sent his assistants in advance to Hanstal and Nawanar to sink the wells, erect the observatories and get everything ready for him to set up the instruments. ) The observatory at Okha was fixed on three cross-beams fitted on the tops of six large piles embedded 8 feet in the sand. The cylinder was about 2 feet from the eastern end ; the tide-guage being of course as nearly as possible in the centre of the building. ‘The aneroid barometer was placed carefully on a shelf at one corner. The anemometer was fixed to a shelf so that the upright pipe passed through the roof close to the ridge at the western end (the rain-gauge being close to it on the outside). A platform was made to get at the anemometer easily, and this served a double purpose, as it was also the framework for a guard to protect the pendulum and clock of the tide-gauge, and cloth having been fixed all round it, kept any wind from getting to the pendulum. a. s ~. ~~ 1878. ] Observations in the Gulf of Outch. 35 The self-registering tide-gauge was carefully so placed that the band allowed the float to be 3 inches from one side of the cylinder, while it was the same distance itself from the other side. The instrument having been carefully levelled by wedges, the trestle was secured with screws to the floor ; a hole was cut in the floor and a small box let down (properly fitted so as to allow no sand to come in), in order that the counterpoise weight might be able to act for the entire range of the instrument. The float band was made 85 feet 6 inches long and 33 feet of chain was added to this, and fixed at its other end to the hook under the float, forming a continuous band as it were. The scale of wheels adopted here was 7; the barrel being 5 feet long, that scale was the largest that could be used for a 14°90 feet range of tide. The float had a swivel to which the band was attached, and the band also passed through two guides fixed to an upright scale on one side, and through another guide fixed to the trestle on the other. | The temporary tide-gauge, consisting of a pile firmly imbedded in the sand and standing about 8 feet out of the ground, was placed about the 36 J. Waterhouse—An Account of the Tidal [No. 1, level of low-water neaps; to this was attached a box containing a copper float, and to the float was attached a deal rod with a pointer at the end of it about 63 feet above the float. In the bottom of the box a pipe, two feet long, of small diameter was fixed so as to permit the sea to have access to the float ; the box itself was about 6 inches sauare and 6 feet high, the side of it attached to the pile was extended upwards for 6 feet and had a groove in it in which the upright rod with the index worked (vide figure), so that by having this upper part numbered from a certain zero, the level of the sea below this zero could be at once read off. It was found by careful trial in a bucket of water that the pointer always recorded 6 feet 2 inches above the level of the water in which the float worked—the scale was made accordingly ; levels were taken to connect the temporary tide-gauge with the top of the cylinder, for comparison of level of water inside and outside. It will be unnecessary to enter into details of the operations at each station as they were similar to those at Okha, of which the principal out- lines have been given. Full details will be found in Capt. Baird’s re- port appended to the General Reports of the Great Trigonometrical Survey for 1878-74 and 1874-75. , Commencement and Progress ef the Observations.—The regular tidal registrations were commenced at Okha by the end of December 1873 ; at Hanstal by the end of March 1874, and at Nawanar by the end of April. It was hoped that they might have been carried on continuously for at least a year, or perhaps longer, at each station, in order to furnish the re- quisite data for investigations of the separate influence of each as well as the combined of all the principal tidal constituents, and the least that is needed for this purpose is a series of observations extending over a year. During this time the errors of the clocks for driving the barrels of the self- registering instruments would have to be frequently determined and the clocks corrected ; the instruments would also have to be examined and cleaned, and possibly repaired also, and the relations between the curves on the diagrams and their zero lines would have to be carefully re-determined from time to time; and all this would have to be done either by Capt. Baird or by his assistant Mr. Rendell. Capt. Baird accordingly drew up a programme for the periodic in- pection of the stations and arranged that he and Mr. Rendell should make tours of inspection in turn. It was calculated that a tour embracing all three stations, would take about a month from the date of leaving to that of returning to recess quarters ; these had been established in Rajkote, the nearest town to the Gulf where house accommodation suitable for Europeans could be obtained. Anticipating that during the monsoon months the wea- ther at the tidal stations might be found too cloudy to permit of astrono- mical observations for determining the clock errors, Capt. Baird provided —_— ae “* 1878. ] Observations in the Gulf of Outch. 37 himself with two portable chronometers which were rated at Rajkote and carried about on the tours of inspection, for comparison with the clocks. Difficulties of the Operations.—The operations were carried on under many and great difficulties, and Capt. Baird and his assistants incurred considerable risk when crossing the Gulf in native sailing vessels, as they frequently had to, whenever their presence was required at either of the stations. Huts had to be built and iron water-tanks provided at each sta- tion for the native subordinates who were placed in charge of the instruments, and for the men of the guard furnished by the Durbar of the Native State in which the station is situated. Arrangements also had to be made to supply these men with food and drinking water, which at Hanstal was no easy matter, for the nearest point whence these necessaries of life were procurable was about 25 miles off. At each station a line of post runners had to be established to the nearest points on the main line of postal communication, as it was essentially necessary that Capt. Baird should receive daily reports from the men in charge of the observatories. The inspection of the observations necessitated a great deal of hard marching and entailed much exposure and privation. Even so early as in the month of May, before the setting in of the monsoon, the Runn of Cutch was covered with water, from six inches to a foot in depth, which had to be waded through for many miles distance to reach the station at Hanstal. At such seasons travellers usually cross the Runn by riding on the camels of the country ; these animals are bred in large numbers along the borders of the Gulf, and are accustomed from their birth to wander about the swamps, browsing on the mangrove bushes, and thus they learn to walk with ease and keep their feet on ground which would be impossi- ble to most other camels. Of his journey with Mr. Rendell, to Hanstal in the month of May, Capt. Baird writes, “ Our only land-marks in the whole “of the last 14 miles were two small mounds of earth thrown up—when “there were postal chowkies there—at 4 or 5 miles apart, and the observa- “ tory itself ; we both felt a curious sensation as if we were being carried out “to sea, which was occasioned by seeing small branches of scrub floating “ on the surface of the water and being driven by the wind inland; and “once, with the exception of one of the mounds above mentioned in the “ distance, there were no fixed objects visible to destroy this optical illu- “ sion.”? Later on, when the monsoon set in, the difficulties of locomotion were greatly increased; direct communication with Nawanar, by crossing the Gulf in a sailing boat, became impossible, as none but native vessels were available for the purpose, and they could not venture across in the strong gales then prevailing ; and in order to reach that station a very long circuit had to be made round the head of the Gulf, crossing the Runn at 38 J. Waterhouse—An Account of the Tidal [No. 1, its narrowest point opposite to Wawania. Moreover the common unmetal- led roads in a black-soil country, as is the western portion of Kattywar, be- come all but impassible during the rains; and thus Capt. Baird was often unable to get over the ground more expeditiously than at the rate of about a mile an hour. Between the 7th July and the 8th September he was actually 88 days in the field, and marched nearly 800 miles under most adverse circumstances. General Working of the Tide-gauges.——The general working of the tide-gauges at the three stations has now to be noticed. At Okha the registrations went on most satisfactorily throughout 1874 and the following field season ; there were very few breaks of continuity of the records, and they were very short and of no importance. At Hanstal where the water was very muddy, and not pure and clear as at Okha, the breaks were more numerous and longer; they were caused sometimes by the driving-clock getting out of order, but more frequently by the deposit of fine mud in the well and piping of the gauge, notwithstanding the precaution which had been taken to keep the rose at the extremity of the piping high above the mud-banks ; this necessitated the occasional suspension of opera tions while the mud was being removed, and care was always taken to make the break between the times of high and low water, whenever possible ; thus, as the record of the highest and lowest points of curves has been secured in almost all instances, the breaks may usually be interpolated between them by hand, in conformity with the collateral curves, without any risk of significant error. The foreshore at Okha being sand and rock without mud, there was no tendency there for the pipe to become choked. Both at Okha and at Hanstal air was found to enter the iron piping, whenever the latter was laid bare by the action of the surf, which frequently happened ; but it was readily expelled at high-water, by opening the stop-cock which has already been described as attached to the piping for that purpose. At Nawanar, matters went on less prosperously. When inspecting this station in July 1874, Capt. Baird found everything apparently in good order ; the curves on the diagram seemed at first to be all that could be desired, but it was soon evident that they were erroneous, for the level of the water in the well differed very sensibly from the sea level. On examin- ing the piping, the extreme end was found to be buried in sand above the low-water line, at a spot where a few weeks before, there had been a depth of 20 feet of water at low tide, but which was then left bare for some time daily. On further examination it was ascertained that the configura- tion of the foreshore had entirely changed, and an extensive sandspit had formed on the line of the piping; this had been caused by the drift from a belt of sand-hills to the south, under the influence of the strong winds which blew from the south-west during the monsoon, the registered veloci- 1878. ] Observations in the Gulf of Cutch. 39 ties of which were 860 to 890 miles daily, for several days preceding the misadventure. This accident necessitated the suspension of the registra- tions at Nawandr until such time as the piping could be extracted and again put into communication with deep water. It was expected that the original configuration of the foreshore would probably be restored by natural causes, when the wind veered round to the usual direction, soon after the commencement of the cold-weather months; but this expectation was dis- appointed, and as the cold season wore on it became only too certain that the piping which lay beyond the low-water line would never be recovered. A supply of new piping was therefore obtained from Bombay and attached by Mr. Rendell to the land portion of the original pipe ; and by the com- mencement of March 1875, after a break of 9 months’ duration, the tide- gauge was once more in free communication with the sea, and there appeared to be every probability that it would so remain at least till the setting in of ‘the next monsoon. But within a fortnight after the re-starting of the tide-gauge at Nawa- - nar, the foreshore again shallowed, and the new piping was covered with a deposit of silt and mud, nearly up to the level of the rose at its outer ex- tremity. Mr. Rendell at once cut away the flexible piping and substituted several lengths of iron piping, supported by being attached to stakes driven vertically into the ground. By remaining on the spot for two months, _ taking measures to prevent the rose from being reached by the constantly rising mud and silt, Mr. Rendell succeeded in securing satisfactory and continuous readings for the whole of the time, and he checked them occa- sionally by hourly readings taken pari passu on a graduated staff, which had been set up in the sea in deep water, in order to afford a means of verifying the indications of the self-registering gauge. The station of Nawandar has thus been proved to be unsuitable for continuous tidal observations, exten- ding over a long period, for it is only during the months of fine weather between November and May, that observations can be carried on there, otherwise than by setting up the tide-gauge on a staging erected for it out in deep water, the cost of which would be inadmissible. Preliminary Results.—The preliminary results of the observations up to September 1874, as worked out by Capt. Baird, show that the greatest range of the tide was— 14°8 feet at Okha. 19'6 : Nawanar. 21°2 e Hanstal. or two to four feet more in each instance than the ranges given in the marine Charts. Very fairly approximate values of the progress of the tidal wave, up and down the Gulf, have also been obtained, showing that— 40 J. Waterhouse— “698S-0— Ff | PP-98I="? ‘900F-0="A | 96-F8I= ? 9681-0— Fe df req4s OU, Pee 2 980= 7 |. Fre 3") ‘clez0="7 | 098 ="2“cEel-0="a | a res ony, 1S-61g=*? ‘8966-0= °& OT-1¢g= "3 ‘9OF1L-O= tay OF-F0e= ee eO= aT Sb mievalG.e Ob Dee Rien bene whee = Vv Ieqs ou, A 91-97% —%> fogarty = a oL-11 — > ‘COs. 1 = *7 rE-CCk= TSSL-0= (a CO c ees cee ses cas crsecsess N Ie4s ou, CE-SEG=*? “G68E-O= "AT | $6.90= "> 69S8-0= "LT biycn es eee Oe a ee 8 ee S ea eFe= "> ‘SI9L-0= FL-Gee=*9 ‘L691.0= 89-F6= ‘9691-0= oe ces bbe ees veceessecese o Ieys ony, "S Wrce— 2 16010— F |. £4.161= ? 8691-0= | SeO4L= * 1eCl-0= FO ee 3 co.-gce="> ‘6g88-0= "FX | ZO-CHE="> 90820='F | F6-61S= |? “PEBEO= ae | d 124s OU, a4 91-0F8=*> ‘4088-0='F | F0-c88="? ‘186L-0='X | L9-4c8= > “608-0= | reseeeees GC) aeqs OU, < 89:88 =* '1919-0=FT | IL-9 =" 08Lh-0= FT | 68-F6 = 2506V0= ; Rha nei He opps dhe 5S 09-FLT=*? ‘ZOS9-T="z7} 00-9S1=*? ‘L689-1="F | 09-9F1= "> “GONG. T= FT S 98-FOT= *9 ‘9L0-:0= °F OW. 90-001 = °? ‘Z010-0= *& = F6-8PC=°? ‘09L6-0= °F SUIUe A LG-CLE=°? ‘9900-:0= ° ba cc.Tge="> ‘g089-0="4 | 00-942="2 ‘Ez0OT-0="F | 88-801="? ‘c9ZL-0= "FT L aeseesenecesesceneee W ies yy, = — -ga.g6 =" FEG0.0= "x ‘Surque AA 01.22 ="? 68Z0-0= x ee oo-97 =") ‘1600-:9="a | ZE-Se ="? ‘BhPES="A | 80-8FE= > ‘9869-8= "7 | = 19-291 ="? ‘806L.0= ‘o4gt 98-061 = "> ‘CZIT-0= °F J > €9.861= *> “¢Z00-0= *Y 09tT 18-616= °? 9000-0= “& | \ : £8-991= "9 ‘6900-0= (a ‘SUIZUE AA 6.06 => ‘0€00.0= °F 5S 19 => 11000='4| 99-69e="5 I810-0="a | 49.-91I=">“cslo0="a |p SS Oh 1s-8 =° ‘11061= 7 | se.9g ="? ‘es68-I=*a | LEFT ="? ‘bevs-1= a 10-F91=*? ‘B6Z1-0= “OUTPUL AA 68-6F1 ="? ‘TFL0-0= '& ° aa ° "70a o 00 *IVISNV]] “UYNVAV NT ‘VHIO ee ‘squmsuog ayz fo a19Qn] * r lo 8) I~ io 6) aa | 48 J. Waterhouse—An Account of the Tidal [No. 1, It will be seen that the principal tides are first the guas?-semi-diurnal of M, and then the semi-diurnal of S and the gwasi-diurnal of K, which range from one-third to one-fourth of the former. S and M being the principal stars, their sub-tides, down to the three-hourly tide of S and the corresponding tide of M, have been computed. For K the guasi-diurnal and semi-diurnal tides were computed ; for the stars O to Q only the pri- . mary tides. For the stars L to SM there are no primaries, and the tides of longest period are the quasi-semi-diurnal ; for MS the longest tide is the quasi-demi-semi-diurnal ; these, being the principal ones for each star, have been computed. Here it is necessary to observe that the number of sub-tides which have to be investigated in each instance, in order to evaluate the full in- fluence of the star, is a matter which can only be decided after considerable experience of such investigations has been gained by the analysis of the tides at a great variety of stations. It was therefore left to Mr. Roberts, whose practical familiarity with the subject probably exceeds that of any other individual, to prescribe the number of terms to be computed for each star. On inserting the numerical values of the constants # and « in the general expression, and substituting for mt its values in succession for every hour from the starting-point, the height (in feet) of each tide and sub-tide may be computed for every hour. The sum of these gives the portion of the height of the sea-level at that hour which is due to the influence of the short-period tides. This usually far exceeds the portion which is due to all other causes, and is thus frequently taken to represent the whole height. Should it be desired to compute the hourly heights for any day of any year, without commencing at the starting-point of the observations, as may be necessary when tidal predictions are required, the values of y, y, ¢, and @ must be found, as stated on page 46, for mean noon of the day which may be adopted as the new starting-point ; the gwasi-hour-angles of the several fictitious stars, other than S, at that moment must then be found, after which those for the succeeding hours may be obtained by successive ad- ditions of the respective hourly increments which are due to each star. The values of the constants # and ¢« having been determined for each of the three tidal stations, the next step taken was the calculation of the height of the sea-level at each hour, throughout the entire period of registration at each station. The differences between the observed and the computed values were then taken as the data for calculating the influence of variations in barometric pressure, and in the velocity and direction of the wind, on the sea-level. Equations were formed in which the unknown quantities were B, the effect of a barometric pressure of one inch, and V and #, the effects of the North and the East components respectively of winds blowing at the rate of 10 miles an hour. Of these equations there were as many as the number of days of observation; they were solved by the method STR * agg, Rie Peale S 1878. ] Observations in the Gulf of Cutch. 49 of minimum squares. Oorrections were then computed for the daily variations of the atmospheric influences on the sea-level, and were applied to the values of height resulting from the previous investigations of the short-period tides. Finally, the differences between the heights thus determined and those actually observed were taken as the data for calcu- lating the influence of each of the long-period tides. The evaluation of the atmospheric influences gave the following factors for changes of sea-level due to a barometric pressure of one inch, and to north and east winds travelling with a velocity of 10 miles per hour :— At Okha. At Hanstal. Barometric pressure yes ... + 0356 feet —0°438 feet. North Wind oa a .. —O0191 , —0262 ,, dast:Wind < ... a oO OTE 5. DEF <,, These results are not satisfactory ; the height of the sea-level at Okha appears to increase with an increase of barometric pressure, which is scarcely possible. It happens that at this station the changes of pressure occurred, as a rule, simultaneously with the changes of wind; and thus it is im- possible to determine the separate effect of each, otherwise than by some arbitrary method of treatment. The observations will therefore be again analyzed, with a view to ascertaining whether they may not be made to yield more consistent results. Meanwhile, the values of the atmospheric factors already obtained must be considered to be only approximate, giving fairly accurate results when employed collectively but not individually. Of the constants for the long-period tides the following values have been computed for the stations of Okha and Hanstal, after the elimination of atmospheric influences, by employing the preliminary values of the factors which are given in the preceding paragraph. At Nawanar sufficient obser- vations are not forthcoming for the evaluation of either the atmospheric or the long-period tides. Long-period tides, and their Constants. (¢ — 6) Lunar monthly elliptic tide, 2o Lunar fortnightly declinational tide, 2(¢—y7) Luni-solar synodic fortnightly tide, » Solar annual elliptic tide, 2% Solar semi-annual declinational tide, OKHA. HANSTAL. Feet. 2 Tide. Feet. fi R = 0:058, « = 311:38 (o — &) Ji=0'107,; ¢ = 1417 + ee'070,'55 52°73 20 » 0142, ,, 45°74 » 0186,,, 24919 2 (¢— 7) 59 COIS pny hv RLS wf dF OFLO2 5; 311 n » 0°024, ,, 195°32 fare LAL ight) ( Aa 75 29 » 9:090, ,, 156°38 7 50 J. Waterhouse—An Account of the Tidal [No. 1, The present appears to be a good opportunity for giving the tidal constituents which were calculated by Mr. Roberts for the Port of Tuticorin, from observations taken there in the year 1871-72, by Captain Branfill, with a self-registering tide-gauge similar to those employed in the Gulf of Cutch. Short-period Tides at Tuticorin, and their Constants. Feet. : ( R,=0:089, «, =108°78 Rg=0°429, «,= 95°59 StarS ...4 #,=0°073, ¢,=282°65 ea een €eg= 51°84 EF, =0°007, «, =262°75 ( &,=0°006, «, =234°64 Star Feet. "4 R,=0°064, «, =281°78 H,=0°011, «,=181°70 (ne €, =1382°80 ,=0°1438, ¢,=116°25 -R,=0-080, ¢, =242°50 £,=0°072, «, = 38't9 | Jt. =0'596, ¢,=9 55'S! R,=0015, «,=182 86 _,, r, J K Q .. 2, =0:082;, 6, —sa005 L N r R,=0°019, «, =248°45 v pb CUBE TA GSS) (9 O099, cS EGaTG.! 1 x R, =0°022, c,= 35°58 f,=0°010, e,= 45:91 ‘5 R,=0°016, «, =183°83 f,=0 004, «, =319°74 » 25M... &,=0°011, ¢, =246:37 StarO ..,.#@,=0°112, €«, =814°25 i, MS... #,=0°018, ¢,=282°99 Long-period Tides at Tuticorin, and their Constants. : Feet $ Lunar monthly B=O024)* €=3s13 15 Lunar fortnightly ok Mar! Ci 22 wei ne SG 5 Luni-solar fortnightly ... note ODER SO oe Solar annual we Sees Op OD Get eke oe Solar semi-annual oy Fee SOS. a ae Here there were no data for evaluating the atmospheric tides separately, and it is probable that the magnitude of the amplitude of the solar annual tide is in great measure due to atmospheric influences. PROGRAMME OF FUTURE OPERATIONS. The following important orders on the systematic record of tidal observations at selected points on the Coasts of India, were issued by the Government of India in the Department of Revenue, Agriculture, and Com- merce, under date 4th July, 1877.:— “The Governor General in Council observes that the great scientific ad- vantages of a systematic record of tidal observations on Indian coasts have frequently been urged upon, and admitted by, the Government of India. Hitherto the efforts in the direction of such a record have been desultory, and in many cases wanting in intelligent guidance and careful selection of the points where the observations should be recorded. Additional import- ance has recently been given to the subject by the institution of a Marine Survey Department, for whose operations accurate tidal observations are a 1878. ] Observations in the Gulf of Cutch. 51 necessity, without which no permanent record of the changes of ground in the different harbours of the coast can be kept up. “2. The advantages to be expected from well-considered and carefully conducted observations of the tides are mainly the following : “(1) They enable standards to be fixed for the purposes of survey. “(2) They afford data for the calculation of the rise and fall of the tides, and thus subserve the purposes of navigation. “(3) They are of scientific interest apart from their practical useful- ness as stated above. “The first two of these advantages are of strictly local bearing: an accurate survey of a port is essential to the safety of the shipping frequent- - ing it, and correct tide-tables are necessary for the convenience of navi- gators and for engineering purposes within the port itself. “3. The Governor General in Council is of opinion that, in view of these considerations, every port where a tide-gauge is set up should pay for its establishment and maintenance from port funds. The third object, the scientific results to be expected from the record, will be sufficiently provided for by the appointment by the Government of India of one of its own officers to supervise and control the local observations, and to arrange for their utili- zation to the utmost extent possible. The charges will thus be divided in a manner appropriate to the advantages to be secured. “4, His Excellency in Council accordingly resolves to entrust the general superintendence and control of tidal observations upon Indian coasts to Captain Baird, R. H., Deputy Superintendent in the Great Trigono- metrical Survey Department, who will be guided in his operations by the orders and advice of the head of that Department. This will involve no new charge upon Imperial Funds, for Captain Baird has for some years past been engaged upon observations of this nature in the Gulf of Cutch and in reduction of the observations in England: the work is of a nature which properly falls within the scope of the operations of the Great Trigono- metrical Survey ; and the object of the present change is merely to provide for its extension and systematization under an undivided control. Captain Baird will thus remain a member of the Department, and his operations will form one of the subjects to be treated by the Superintendent in his annual report. “5, The first duty of the Superintendent will be to instruct Captain Baird to determine, in communication with the Governments of the mari- time provinces, the points where observations should be carried out. The necessary gauges (where these do not already exist) will then have to be provided from port funds, and the’ establishments entertained under the sanction of the Local Governments. It will probably be most convenient that all Captain Baird’s communications with the establishments in charge 52 J. Waterhouse—TZidal Observations in the Gulf of Cutch. [No. 1, should pass through the Local Governments, but this point may be settled as may be found most expedient in practice.” In accordance with these orders, enquiries have been, and are being made, with a view to ascertain the ports at which it will be desirable to establish tidal stations. The suitability of a port for this purpose will depend, first, on a site being available thereat, on which a self-registering tide-gauge may be erected, so as to be either immediately over the sea, or connected by piping with the sea at some point where there is a depth of not less than 10 to 15 feet of water at the lowest tides; secondly, on the presence of a port officer, who will exercise a general supervision over the operations, and correct the clocks of the several self-registering instruments, whenever necessary, either by direct determinations of time, or by arrang- ing to get the true time from the nearest telegraphic office ; thirdly, on the feasibility of making arrangements for the periodical inspection of the instruments at intervals of not less than six months generally, and more frequently when no officer is resident on the spot to superintend the operations. So far as has yet been ascertained, the ports which seem likely to answer all the required conditions are Aden, Kurrachee, Bombay, Carwar, Beypore, Paumben, Madras, Vizagapatam, Akyab, Rangoon, and Port Blair. The following ports are believed to be unsuitable : Surat, Mangalore, Cannanore, Cochin, Muttrun, Negapatam, Coconada, False Point, Diamond Harbour, Moulmein, and Mergui. At Aden a self-registering tide-gauge was erected by the local officers about two years ago; but the registers have been taken in such an unsatis- factory manner that the results are not of the slightest use. Captain Baird is now arranging for the establishment of a tidal station there, with proper instruments, and trained men to take charge of them. At Kurrachee a tide-gauge, which was originally set up by Mr. Parkes, has been in work for several years, and has furnished the data from which tide-tables for the port have been computed annually by Mr. Parkes. In course of time the present gauge—the scale of which is very small—should be replaced by one of those which are used by Captain Baird, and an anemometer and a baro- meter (both self-registering) should be set up beside the gauge. But it is not desirable to interfere with the working of the present arrangements at Kurrachee until other ports, at which nothing is now being done in the way of tidal observations, are duly provided for. At Bombay, Carwar, and Madras, instruments are now being set up by Captain Baird. . WTBLANF ORD. Journ. Asiat.Soc.Bengal. Vol. XLVIL. Pt.U.1878. Fel: I; Neale lith Hanhart imp RUTICILLA SCHISTIVEPS, o™ Vol. XLVI Pir ie Benger t: Soc: la Journ: Asi Calcutta. ABNORMAL DEN TITION®*OF TIGER S. Sedgfield Lith ‘ “4 + rn ’ — mT ) | at oes ae 2 } d nae ou SATA) S > 3 GODWIN-AUSTEN. Journ.Asiat.Soc Bengal.Vol XLVI.Pt Il 1877. PLATE XI. J Smit lith Hanhart, imp ACTINURA OGLEI. Owing to an accident at the last moment, I regret that I have been ble to supply the full number of copies required of the specimen of ollotype printing referred to at page 93, and, therefore, am obliged fer giving it till my return from England. J. W. ¥, ni ‘s JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. —~g-— Part II1.—PHYSICAL SCIENCE. No. II.—1878. HousE, B.S. C., Assistant Surveyor- General of India. ~*~‘ This paper was originally submitted to the Geographical Congress at j Paris in 1875, but as the Proceedings of the Congress have not been pub- __ lished and the paper may be of interest to Members of the Society, as Le or too technical for the Journal. I. INTRODUCTION. VI.—The Application of Photography to the Reproduction of Maps and Plans by Photo-mechanical and other processes.—By Cart. J. WaTER- giving an account of the photographic operations for the reproduction of maps, now so largely employed in this country, I have carefully revised and to a great extent re-written it, so as to bring the information up to date and hope that it may not be considered too much wanting in novelty tions of photography, one of the most valuable is the reproduction by its Among the many useful and important artistic and scientific applica- | on any scale—either the same, larger, or smaller. So fully are these advan- means, in absolute facsimile, of maps and plans, speedily and cheaply and tages appreciated, that most civilized States now possess special photo- and other purposes. or on wood, both tedious and expensive methods, 8 | graphic studios for the reproduction of maps, plans, &c., for fiscal, military Before the introduction of lithography, about the beginning of the present century, the only means by which maps, or indeed, pictorial sub- jects of any kind, could be reproduced, was by engraving on metal plates 54 J. Waterhouse—The Application of Photography [No. 2, With the invention of lithography, a new impetus was given to cartography by the comparative ease with which maps could be produced and multiplied by direct drawing or transfer on stone. The young art was, however, scarcely out of its cradle when Joseph Nicéphore Niepce, of Cha- lons-sur-Saone, experimenting unsuccessfully in endeavouring to find a sub- stitute for lithographic stone, conceived the happy idea of obtaining images on metal plates by the sole agency of light upon thin films of asphaltum or bitumen of Judzea—and thus produced the first permanent photographs by a method of heliographic engraving, which, with a few modifications, still serves to produce excellent results ; and it is worthy of remark in con- nection with our subject that Niepce’s first essays were in reproducing engravings. | Since these first essays of Niepce, the idea of superseding the slow and laborious hand-work of the lithographic draftsman and engraver by the quicker, cheaper and more accurate processes of photography, has been steadily kept in view, and various modes of engraving, both for copper-plate and surface-printing, and of lithography by the aid of photography, as well as other special photo-mechanical processes, have been introduced from time to time with more or less success, till at the present time these methods have taken a high and important position among the graphic arts, and as they steadily progress towards perfection, are rapidly extending their artistic, scientific and industrial applications. The attention of cartographers was very soon drawn to the advantages that might be gained by the employment of photography for the reproduc- - tion of maps and plans, but for some time progress in this direction was hindered by the difficulty of obtaining accurate images, free from the dis- - tortions caused by imperfect construction of the photographic lenses then employed. The first serious attempt to carry out the method practically appears to have been made, in 1855, by Colonel Sir Henry James, R. E., Director of the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain and Ireland, with the object of obtaining accurate reductions from the large-scale surveys more expeditiously and with more economy than could be done by means of the pantograph. The result proved incontestably the great value of photography for this purpose and the enormous saving in time and money that could be effected by its use. The possibility of producing absolutely accurate pho- tographic reductions was questioned in Parliament, but Sir Henry James satisfactorily showed that the employment of photography produced reduc- tions more accurate than could be obtained by any method previously in use ; that the maximum amount of error could scarcely be perceived, and was much within the limit of the expansion and contraction of paper under ordinary atmospheric changes—which was all that could be desired. 187 8.] to the Reproduction of Maps and Plans. 55 i For some time, however, the use of photography in the Ordnance _ Survey Office appears to have been limited to obtaining accurate reduced _ prints for the engravers to trace from on to their copper-plates, and was not extended to producing maps for publication, owing to the expense and comparative slowness of production of photographic silver prints, com- _ pared with the lithographic or copper-plate impressions, to say nothing of _ their want of permanence. Experiments were next made with some of the so-called carbon pro- cesses, then recently discovered in France by Poitevin and first worked in England by Pouncy, with the object of transferring the photographic design at once on to the copper-plate, instead of tracing from the photo- graphs by hand. The results obtained were not very satisfactory and a trial was made of Mr. Asser’s photolithographic process, which had been published shortly before. Although this process was not found quite adapted to the purpose intended, the advantages of a method whereby facsimile prints in lithographic ink might be obtained and transferred to zinc or stone, so as to permit of a large number of copies to be printed off as easily as from an ordinary lithographic transfer drawing, and with precisely the same advantages in respect to cheapness and permanence, were obvious ; and in 1860, after several trials, Captain A. de Courcy Scott, R. E., who was in charge of the photographic operations at Southampton, perfected the process of photozincography, which has since been employed _ with so much success and advantage at the Ordnance Survey Office, Southampton, and in this country at the Survey Offices in Calcutta, Dehra Duin, Pina and Madras, as well as at other public and private institutions in other parts of the world. By a curious coincidence, at the very time when this process was being worked out in England, Mr. W. Osborne, of Melbourne, Australia, indepen- dently perfected an almost identically similar process of photolithography, which has been extensively used in the Crown Lands Offices of Victoria and Adelaide for reproducing the maps of the Australian Surveys, and has also been worked commercially by Mr. Osborne in Europe and America. < These two processes, appear to have been the first instances of the practical application of photography to the reproduction and multiplication of maps for publication. They still remain, however, very extensively used, and are by the simplicity, cheapness and rapidity of their operations and the facilities they offer for the reproduction of maps of large size, of greater practical value than other processes which have since been brought forward with the same object, and are perhaps capable of producing finer results within the limits of a single negative. In India, the ever-increasing wants in the way of communications by rail, road and river, and the rapid extension of irrigation and other 56 J. Waterhouse—The Application of Photography [No. 2, engineering projects, as well as the ordinary military, administrative and fiscal requirements make the early production of accurate maps a matter of very great necessity and importance, and as skilled lithographic drafts- men and engravers are scarcely to be obtained and must be trained as required, or brought from Europe at great expense, the subject of photo- graphic reproduction as a means of quickly producing and publishing copies of the original maps of the Surveys, is much more important in this country than it isin Europe or other countries where skilled cartographic lithographers and engravers are comparatively numerous. The success that had attended the introduction of photography at the Ordnance Survey Office for the reproduction and reduction of maps imme- diately attracted the notice of the Surveyor General of India, and the services of two trained sappers, with the necessary apparatus, having been obtained from England, a small beginning was made in Calcutta in 1862. Owing to difficulties experienced in working photolithography in the peculiar climate of Calcutta, and the unsuitability of the original maps for reproduc- tion by the process, owing to their being coloured and brush-shaded, little advance was made in the practical working of photolithography or photo- zincography in India till 1865, when Mr. J. B. N. Hennessey, of the Great . Trigonometrical Survey, who had devoted part of his furlough in England to going through a practical course of instruction in photozincography at the Ordnance Survey Office, Southampton, fairly established the process at the Office of the Superintendent of the Great Trigonometrical Survey at Dehra Din. I and other officers of the Survey Department were trained under Mr. Hennessey, and, in 1867, photozineography was finally started in Calcutta by Capt. A. B. Melville, who officiated for me during my absence on furlough, and since 1869 it has been carried on under my own supervision. Photozineographic offices have also been established under the Bombay Government at Pina, and at the Revenue Survey Office in Madras for the reproduction of the maps of the Revenue and Settlement Surveys in those Presidencies as well as miscellaneous work for other departments. In both of these offices the Southampton process of photozincography is used with a few modifications, but in Madras photolithography is also used with equally good results, and is, I am told, preferred for very fine work. Before the introduction of photography the publication of the results of the Surveys by the Surveyor General’s Office could only be accomplished by the ordinary methods of lithography and engraving ; and though much good work was done inthe former manner by the very limited native agency available in this country, many maps bad to be sent to England to be litho- graphed, while the whole of the engraving connected with the Atlas of India, on the scale of 4 miles to one inch, was done in England under considerable disadvantages. Even with this help it was found quite impossible that es) to the Reproduction ef Maps and Plans. 57 the publication could keep pace with the surveys, and the consequence was that the record rooms became filled with valuable materials that often could not be turned to practical account till they had become anti- - quated and out of date. Now, on the contrary, by the aid of photozinco- graphy, the publishing branches are able to keep pace with the progress of the Surveys so closely that as a rule each season’s mapping of all the 1-inch - Topographical and some of the Revenue Surveys is reproduced and pub- lished before the drawing of the following season’s maps is taken in hand. An immense amount of work is thus done that could never have been undertaken by lithography and engraving alone, even though the transfer _ of the engraving of the Atlas of India to Calcutta has greatly facilitated _ the early publication of the latest additions to the Atlas year by year. And not only are the ordinary departmental publications thus hastened, but a very large number of miscellaneous maps and drawings are reproduced specially for the use of other departments of the public service. The following table of the work executed by the Photographic Branch of the Surveyor General’s Office, Calcutta, during the year 1877, will give an idea of the very large extent to which photography is being used for the reproduction and publication of the results of the Imperial Surveys and other miscellaneous demands. B ; iB 2 ee 2 © 3 a A= = ® a 2° 1 8 | oaks N 5 Fr DM _— a! ~~ s eo. ioe M SP ie PAR ee ue a on ae Sg 2 > a | lw) Bs i #2 r=} + =| ee oy = (