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THE

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

By EDWARD CHARLESWOTtTH, F.G.S,

LONDON

PRINTED FOB

LONGMAN, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS,

PATERNOSTER ROW.

1839.

LONDON :

PRINTF.D BY G. LUXFORD,

RATCLIFF HIGHWAY.

PREFACE.

In bringing to a conclusion the thirty-sixth number of the new series
of the Magazine of Natural History, the Editor has little to offer by
way of preface to the third volume. The condition of the journal
as it respects its stability, is much the same as at the close of 1838 ;
and its conductor has only to repeat the determination which he then
expressed, of not relinquishing his post, unlesss some unforeseen
circumstances, or a diminution of that support hitherto tendered
him by the contributors, should leave him no alternative but the
adoption of that measure.

In some respects, every additional year that the present series of
the Magazine stands its ground, it may be said to gather strength ;
and considering the large and increasing number of the cultivators
of science, who have made its pages a medium for recording their
observations in the different branches of Natural History, and the
prospective reduction in the present rates of postage, which have
hitherto pressed most heavily upon scientific periodicals, the Editor
still looks to the future with sanguine anticipations.

A large number of wood-cuts illustrate the present volume ; and
the supplementary plates, a feature in the work, the introduction of
which was attended with some little anxiety on the part of the Edi-
tor, have been extremely well received by the Subscribers.*

103, Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury.
Nov. 26th, 1839.

* So far as the circulation of the second number of the supplementary
plates can be at present ascertained, it would seem that not more than
five or six of the subscribers have declined them.

CONTENTS.

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS,

With references to the subjects of their respective communications.

Agassiz, Louis, (Professor.)

Letter addressed to the Editor, on the subject of the French
Edition of Sowerby's Mineral Conchology of Great Britain - 356
Alexander, Henry, F.G.S. &c.

On the discovery of the teeth of the Mastodon, in the Crag - 466
Alexander, Sir James

Letter in reply to the Review of his African Expedition of Dis-
covery. -.-__.._ 512
Anning, Mary.

Note on the supposed frontal spine in the genus Hybodus. - 605
Bachman, J., D.D. &c.

Monograph of the species of the Genus Sciurus, inhabiting
North America, with Descriptions of New Species and their
Varieties - - - -113,154,220,330,378

Baker, George.

Extract from a Letter addressed to the Editor, relating to the
death of Dr. William Smith - - - -515

Bartlett, A. D.

Note relating to some Goshawks in the possession of the late

Mr. Hoy 602

Bean, William.

Catalogue of Fossils found in the Cornbrash Limestone of Scar-
borough ; with figures and descriptions of new species - 57
Bedford, William.

An Account of the Strata of Lincoln, from a recent Survey,
commencing North of the Cathedral, and descending to the
bed of the River ------ 553

Bird, F. J.

On the artificial arrangement of some of the more extensive
Natural Orders of British Plants - - - - 181

Bird, Golding, M.D., F.L.S., &c.

On the application of Heliographic or Photogenic Drawing to
Botanical Purposes ; with an economical mode of preparing
the Paper - - - - - - 188

Bladon, James.

On the derivation of the name Adder, as applied to the Viper 566
On the mode of projection of the eggs in the Crane-fly - 566

vi contents.

Blyth, Edward.

Analytic Descriptions of the Groups of Birds belonging to the
Order Strepitores - - - - - -76

Remarks on the Fieldfare breeding in the British Islands - 467

Observations on the Wild Fowl in St. James's Park - 469

Birch, Samuel.

On the Monkeys known to the Chinese - 587

**B0WERBANK, J. S., F.G.S., &C.

Ventriculite containing a Cidaris, from the Chalk. - - 352

Bradley, Thomas.

Information relating to the Gymnotus electricus in the Adelaide

Gallery - - 564

Brown, John, F.G.S.

Experiment as to the capability of the Toad existing without

food 518

Brown, J.

Record of the breeding of the Crossbill in Gloucestershire - 310
Buist, Henry.

Description of the pupa of Necrodes littoralis. - - 600

Carter, James.

Observations on some of the Natural Objects in the neighbour-
hood of Cheadle, Staffordshire - - - - 72

Charlesworth, Edward, F.G.S. , &c.

On the fossil remains of an apparently new species of Hybodus

from the Lias of Lyme Regis - 242

On a specimen of the lower jaw of the Mammoth procured from
the Dogger Bank ------ 347

On a tooth of the Genus Otodus, from the London clay, in the
Cabinet of Lady Sidmouth ----- 351

On a fossil Zoophyte from the Kentish Chalk, enclosing a Ci-
daris ------- 352

On the discovery of a portion of an Opossum's jaw in the Lon-
don clay, near Woodbridge, Suffolk - 448
On some fossil teeth of the genus Lamna - - - 451
Clarke, W. Barnard, M.D.

Remarks on the Red-legged Partridge (Perdix rubra, Briss.) 142
Clarke, Rev. W. Branwhite, M.A., F.G.S.

Illustrations of the Geology of the South East of Dorsetshire

390, 432, 483
Clarke, Joseph.

Remarks on some of the rarer Birds captured near Saffron
Walden - - - - - - - 99

On the occurrence of the young of the Crossbill, at Saffron
Walden ------- 565

On the disappearance of the Mus messorius. - 606

**Colchester, William.

Fragment of a Jaw of the supposed extinct Didelphis. - 448

Cooper, Daniel, A.L.S., &c.

Notice of the discovery of a specimen of Achatina acicula in

the interior of a human skull - 565

Directions for collecting and preparing land and fresh-water
Shells. - - - - _ . - 602

Couch, Jonathan, F.L.S., &c.

Note relating to the distribution of the Marsupialia - - 312

On the Structure and Habits of the Physalia (of Cuvier) or
Portuguese Man-of-War ; Holothuria Phyaalis, of Linnaeus 556

CONTENTS. Vll

Coward, Charles.

On a carnivorous habit in the common Squirrel .. 311

Cox, J. C, F.Z.S., Sec

Note relating to the Argonaut - - . - 99

Cuming, H.

Extract from a letter to the Editor - 420

Davis, A. H.

On a singular procession of Caterpillars, observed at Adelaide,
South Australia -._.-_ 146

DoUBLEDAY, EDWARD.

Note on Amphicoma vulpina - - - - - 97

List of the Entomological Writings of Thomas Say - -139

Drummond, James L., M.D.

Observations on Echinorhynchus hystrix and Ech.filicollis - 63
Description of a new species of Anthocephalus (Antho. rudicor-
nis, Drummond) ------ 227

On Fossil Infusoria found in the County Down, Ireland - 353
Dugmore, Rev. Henry.

Record of the capture of an Eagle (Falco albicilla) at SwafFham 198
Flower, Thomas Bruges, F.L.S.

A Catalogue of some of the most interesting Plants collected
in the neighbourhood of Swansea, Glamorganshire, during
the past Summer [1839]. - - - - - 561

Garner, Robert, F.L.S.

On the Anatomy of the Lamellibranchiate Conchiferous Ani-
mals 123, 164, 294, 439

Gill, Thomas.

On some improvements in the Microscope - - - 199

Gould, John.

Extract of a letter addressed to Mr. Prince - 568

**Higgins,

Jaws and Spine of Hybodus Delabechei. - 242

Hogg, John, M.A., F.L.S., &c.

On the Classifications of the Amphibia - 265, 367

Hope, Rev. F. W., F.R.S., &c.

Observations on the Lamellicorns of Olivier - - 17, 171

On a new species of Lamia - 230

Critical remarks on the Iconographie des Insectes Coleopteres,
par De Laporte Comte de Castleneau et H. Gory - - 255

Jelly, Rev. H.

On the Fossil Shells of the genus Modiola, being frequently
found in the Bath Oolite, inclosed in the Shells of the genus
Lithodomus - - - - - -551

Lee, John Edward.

Notice of Undescribed Zoophytes from the Yorkshire Chalk - 10
Note on the fossil from Marychurch, figured in the Geological
Transactions - - - * - -471

Long, H. L.

Notice of the discovery of the Nest and Eggs of the Crossbill,
near Farnham, Surrey - -236,311

Luxford, George, A.L.S., &c.

Record of a locality for Lycopodium inundatum - - 420

Lyell, Charles, V.P.G.S.

On the Relative Ages of the Tertiary Deposits commonly called
' Crag,' in the Counties of Norfolk and Suffolk - - 313

Viii CONTENTS.

Mantell, Gideon, L.L.D.

Note upon the ventriculite enclosing a fossil Cidaris, figured
by Mr. Charlesworth - 604

Mitchell, D. W.

Record of the capture of the rose-coloured Pastor, near Pen-
zance -- - - - - - - 467

Mitchell, James.

Notice of Fossils found at Stratford, in the cuttings for the
Eastern Counties Railway ----- 520

Moore, Edward, M.D., F.L.S.

On the destruction of Kyanised Wood in Plymouth Harbour,
by the Limnoria terebrans - - - - - 1 96

Catalogue of the Malacostracous Crustacea of South Devon - 284
Morris, John.

A Systematic Catalogue of the Fossil Plants of Britain - 452, 543
Newman, Edward, F.L.S.

On the Synonymy of the Perlites, together with brief characters

of the old, and of a few new Species - 32, 84

Description of a new species of Lamia, from Congo, in the Bri-
tish Museum ------ 147

Descriptions of new Popillice ----- 365

Notes on Irish Natural History, more especially Ferns - 548, 570
Ogilby, W., M.A., F.R.S., &c.

Observations on the History and Classification of the Marsupial

Quadrupeds of New Holland - - - 130, 257, 338

Description of the Frontal Spine of a second species of Hybodus,
from the Wealden Clay, Isle of Wight - 279

Owen, R. (Professor.)

Description of the jaw of the fossil Macacus from Woodbridge. 445
Pamplin, William, jun., A.L.S.

Remarks on the Botany of Selborne - - - 137

Patterson, Robert.

On some Snow Crystals observed on the 14th of January, 1838 107
Pelerin, W. G.

On the structural differences observable in the Crania of the
four British Swans - - - - - -178

Phillips, John, F.R.S., (Professor.)

Biographical Notices of William Smith, L.L.D. - - 213

Richardson, William, F.G.S., &c.

Notice respecting the discovery of the fossil remains of Cetacea
at Heme Bay - - - - - - 98

Salter, T. B., M.D.

Notice of the early appearance of the common Bat, (Vespertilio
pipistrellus) at Poole - - - - - 198

Saunders, W. Wilson, F.L.S.

Rare and interesting Plants about Kirtlington, Oxfordshire - 239
Shuckard, W. E., V.P.E.S., &c.

Notes on the Pensile Nests of British Wasps - - 458

**Sidmouth, Viscountess.

Tooth of the genus Otodus, Agass.
Skaife, John.

Note on a large assemblage of Swifts (Cypselus apus) near Black-
burn - - - - - - - 199

Sowerby, Jas. De C.

Letter relating to the French Edition of the Mineral Conchology 418
Strickland, Arthur.

Upon the claims of the Ardea alba — Great Egret, or White

CONTENTS. IX

Hearn, to be considered a British bird - - - 30

Stutchbury, Samuel, A.L.S., &c.

Description of a new fossil Avicula from the Lias Shale of So-
mersetshire - - - . - - 163
Thompson, George.

On the fall of a shower of Meteoric Stones at the Cape - 145

Thompson, William, F.L.S., Sec.

On some Snow Crystals observed on the 14th of January, 1838 107
Zoological Notes on a few Species obtained from the South
West of Scotland -----_ 585

Waterhouse, George R., M.E.S., &c.

Observations on the Rodentia, with a view to "an arrangement
of the group founded upon the structure of the crania

90,184,274,595
Weissenborn, W., D.Ph.

Record of the curious capture of a White-headed Eagle, in the
river Havel - - - - - -197

Remark relating to the nature of the Ignis fatuus - -197

Note on an extinct species of Frog in yellow Amber - - 256

Notice of an immense erratic block of Granite - - 472

of a newly discovered metal, called Lantanum - . 472

Note on the formation of an Entomological Society in Stettin 472
On the Natural History of the German Marmot - 473, 533, 577
On a great migration of Dragon-flies observed in Germany - 516
Note on some new facts in the nature of mineral precipitates - 567
Note on the Ushar or Abuk (Asclepias procera) of the Senaar 568
Notice of a valuable collection of objects in Natural History,

bought by the Belgian Government - 568

Notice of the decease of Count Caspar Sternberg-Serowitz - 567
Westwood, J. O., F.L.S., &c.

On Hymenotes, a genus of exotic Orthopterous Insects - 489

Wetherell, Nathaniel, F.G.S.

Notice of a species of Rotalia found attached to specimens of
Vermetus Bognoriensis * - - - - 162

of some undescribed Organic Remains from the London

Clay - 496

White, Adam, M.E.S., &c.

Description of two new species of Beetles, belonging to the
Family Cetoniidce of MacLeay - - - - 24

Description of two Hemipterous Insects - 537

Willmot, E. Eardly.

Record of the Woodcock breeding at Berkswell - - 255

Wilson, W. K.

Account of the capture of an immense Saw-fish, in the Gulf of
Paria - - - - - - - 519

Wood, Searles, V., F.G.S., &c.

On the species of the genus Lima occurring in the Crag - 233
On the species of the genus Bulla occurring in the Crag - 460
Letter announcing the discovery of Fossil Quadrumanous -Re-
mains near Woodbridge, Suffolk - 444
Woods, Henry, F.L.S., &c.

Letter addressed to the Editor respecting the supposed Frontal
Spine of Hybodus in the Bath Museum - 282

Yarreli, William, F.L.S., &c.

Remarks appended to Mr. Long's communication on the dis-
covery of the Nest and Eggs of the Crossbill at Farnham. 236

CONTENTS.

ARTICLES PUBLISHED WITH ASSUMED

SIGNATURES.

Philaletes.

Letter on the present state of the Hon. East India Company's
Botanical Garden, at Calcutta. - 304

TRANSLATIONS.

Agassiz, Prof. Louis.

Vindicatory Letter relating to the French Edition of Sowerby's
Mineral Conchology. ----- 358

Blainville, M. De.

New Doubts relating to the supposed Didelphis of Stonesfield. 49
Power, Madame Jeannette.

Observations on the Poulp of the Argonaut. - - 101,149

M. Sander.

On the genus Argonauta. - 521

Valenciennes, M. A.

Observations upon the Fossil Jaws from the oolitic beds at
Stonesfield - - - - _ l

EXTRACTS.

Grant, (Professor.)

On the impressions of footsteps of Chirotherium in the Stourton
Quarries at Liverpool - - - - - 43

Ogilby, William, F.R.S., &c.

Observations on the Structure and Relations of the presumed
Marsupial remains from the Stonesfield oolite - - 208

Owen, (Professor.)

On the jaws of the Thylacotherium and Phascolotherium from

Stonesfield ----__ 201

Observations on the Teeth of the Zeuglodon, Basilosaurus of

Dr. Harlan -__.»_ 209

On the relation existing between the Argonaut-shell and its
cephalopodous inhabitant - - - - - 421

CONTENTS.

REVIEWS.

Agassi z, Louis, (Professor.)

Monographic d'Echinodermes ----- 499

Alexander, Sir James Edward.

An Expedition of Discovery into the Interior of Africa, under
the auspices of Her Majesty's Government, and the Royal
Geographical Society ----- 401

Aube, Ch.

Species General des Coleopteres - 248

Beale, Thomas.

The Natural History of the Sperm Whale. - - - 248

Ehrenberg, Prof.

The Infusoria as Perfect Organisms ; a glance into the deeper
organic life of Nature. With an Atlas of 64 coloured plates,
after drawings executed hy the author. - 508

Haliday, A. H.

Hymenoptera Britannica, {Oxyura). 309 ; Hymenoptera Bri-
tannica, {Alysia). ------ 363

Germar, Friedrich.

Zeitschrift fur die Entomologie. - 248

Harris, Capt. W. C.

Narrative of an Expedition into Southern Africa, during the

years 1836 and 1837. - - - - - 401

Hope, Rev. F. W.

The Coleopterists' Manual, (parts 1 & 2) ; containing the La-
mellicorns, and predaceous Land and Water Beetles of Lin-
naeus and Fabricius. - 306
MacLeay, W. S.

Annulosa, contained in part 3 of Andrew Smith's Illustrations
of the Zoology of South Africa. - - - - 38

Shuckard, W. E.

Elements of British Entomology ; containing a General Intro-
duction to the Science, a Systematic Description of all the
Genera, and a list of all the Species, of British Insects ; &c. 503
British Coleoptera Delineated ; consisting of Figures of all the
Genera of British Beetles. - 507

Walker, Francis, F.L.S.

Monographia Chalciditum. - 363

Yarrell, Wm.

Supplement to the History of British Fishes. - 364

On the Growth of the Salmon in Fresh Water. - - 365

Note. — When a contributor's name is preceded by two asterisks, (* *)
it indicates his having communicated specimens only for description.

LIST of the SUPPLEMENTARY PLATES, with references to the
descriptive Letter-press in the body of the Magazine.

PLATE I.

Portrait on steel of the late William Smith, LL.D., "in his 69th year ; ,
— the author of ■ Strata Identified by their Organized Fossils,' and gene-
rally known as the • Father of English Geology.' Page 213.

PLATE II.

Lamia Boisduvalii, Hope ; a new species from New Holland, in the ca- *
binet of the Rev. F. W. Hope, F.R.S., Pres. Entomol. Soc. Page 230.

PLATE III.

Fossil Shells of the genus Lima, from the Crag of Suffolk, in the cabi- *
net of S. V. Wood, Esq., F.G.S., &c. Page 233.

PLATE IV.

Fossil remains of a species of Shark from the Lias of Lyme Regis, be-
longing to the extinct genus Hybodus, Agass., in the cabinet of Edmund
Higgins, Esq. Page 242.

PLATES V. and VI.

Two views of the Paper Nautilus (Argonauta), showing the manner in *
which the shell is embraced by the two membranous arms of the Poulp, as
observed by Madame Jeannette Power and M. Rang. Pp. 529 and 530.

PLATE VII.

Fossil shells of the genus Bulla from the Crag, in the cabinet of Mr. S. '
V. Wood. Page 460.

PLATES VIII. and IX.

Figures of some very remarkable unknown organic remains from the •
London Clay, in the cabinet of N. Wetherell, Esq., of Highgate. Pa. 496

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY.

JANUARY, 1839.

Art. I.— ^Observations upon the Fossil Jaws from the Oolitic Beds
at Stonesjield, named Didelphis Prevostii and Did. Bucklandii. —
By M. A. Valenciennes.1

~L he fossil bones of very small vertebrated animals discover-
ed in the oolitic beds of calcareous schist at Stonesfield, have
acquired great notoriety among geologists, in consequence of
the opinion formed respecting them by M. Cuvier, upon a
first inspection.

It will be remembered that upon examining the rather mu-
tilated half jaw in the Oxford Museum, shown to him by Pro-
fessor Buckland, Cuvier recognised the characters of a mam-
mal, which he pronounced to be of the order Marsupialia.

In no other way can we explain why Cuvier applied to
them the name of Didelphis. His ideas respecting them ap-
pear to convey precisely this meaning ; not only in the note
at page 359 of the second part of vol. v. of his ' Ossements
Fossiles,' but in the expressions which he uses in the text of
the same page. While enumerating the endless variety of
fossils found in the Stonesfield slate, he says, " and even, as
I am assured, two fragments of jaws, which, judging from a
hasty inspection made when at Oxford in 1818, seemed to
me to belong to some Didelphis"

The extract from his note is as follows. — " It [the draw-
ing] confirms me in the idea which a first inspection had
given me : it is the jaw of a very small camassier, the grind-
ers of which very much resemble those of the opossums ;

1 ' Comptes Rendus,' Sept., 1838, p. 572.
Vol. HI.— No. 25. n. s. b

Ti OBSERVATIONS UPON

but there are ten in a series, a number found in no other car-
nassier with which we are acquainted."

It is impossible to doubt that the expressions "quelque Di-
delphe" and "celles des Sarigues" must have been employed
to intimate that the fossil animal was a pouched mammal, —
in other words that it belonged to the order Marsupialia,
Geoffroy, and undoubtedly closely related to the didelphs. —
His remark upon the number of molars also shows that he
believed even then that this mammal, when farther studied,
would be regarded as a distinct genus.

At any rate, however, this opinion confers great importance
on this small relic of a jaw, not more than nine or ten lines
in length, because it indicates the presence of terrestrial
mammals in rocks of more ancient deposition than the chalk.

Cuvier having never had these fossil jaws in his own ca-
binet,— having been unable to compare them with the skele-
tons of existing species which were brought together in his
extensive collection of comparative anatomy, but merely hav-
ing received the drawing, made by M. Constant Prevost, of
the jaw in the Oxford Museum, and also that of a larger but
less perfect one, preserved in the Museum of the Rev. C.
Sykes, — did not treat of these remains in a special memoir,
in which he might have endeavoured to establish their rela-
tions with other vertebrated animals.

From this time, geologists, confiding in the authority and
judgment of the great anatomist, have cited the Stonesfield
Didelphis as an exception to the generally -received law, that
fossil mammals are not to be met with in the beds belonging
to the secondary period ; more recently, however, doubts have
been raised by naturalists and anatomists, concerning this
determination.

It has been made known that these remains of Vertebrata
were regarded as having belonged to the class Reptilia : this
opinion is said to have originated with Professor Grant, in
the German translation of Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater Trea-
tise, by M. Agassiz

If this new determination could have been applied without
contradiction to the half jaw examined by Cuvier, it would
have had the advantage of restoring to the order of hitherto-
observed phenomena, the nature of the animals from the
Stonesfield beds ; but M. de Blainville has again rendered
the opinion uncertain, in the elaborate memoir lately read by
him before the Academy, and published in the eighth num-
ber of the ' Comptes Rendus' for 1838,2 under the title of

2 For a translation ofM. de Blainville's Memoir, see 'Mag. Nat. Hist.'
1838, p. 639.-^7.

THE FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD. 3

" Doubts concerning the supposed fossil Didelphis from
Stonesfield, &c."

This celebrated anatomist having had at his disposal only
the drawings of these interesting fossils, which are more or
less faithful representations, has nevertheless, with his usual
precise method of comparison, scrutinised the different parts
of these jaws; he has put forward in succession all the diffi-
culties to be overcome; and placed us in possession of the
doubts which the previous opinions had left in his mind : and
finishes by coming to this conclusion.

First. — That it is not probable that the two solitary fossil
fragments from Stonesfield can belong to a mammal of the
genus Didelphis, or to a carnassier allied to the Insecti-
vora.

Secondly. — That if we ought to regard them as belonging
to the class of mammals, their molar dentition would bring
them nearer to the family of the seals than to any other.

Thirdly. — That it is more probable that they should be re-
ferred to a genus of the sub-order of saurians.

Fourthly. — That in the present state of the case he propo-
ses to distinguish them under a distinct generic name, — that
of Amphitherium.

We thus perceive that this distinguished professor of com-
parative anatomy is inclined to regard these vertebrated ani-
mals as more nearly allied to the Reptilia than to any other
class ; and he cites, in support of his conjectures, the opinion
of M. Agassiz, whom he believes to entertain the same views
of the matter as himself.

I ought here to observe that the note extracted from a let-
ter of M. Agassiz which is placed at the head of No. 10 of
the 'Comptes Rendus de TAcademy,' seems in favour of this
opinion, since it says, — " M. Agassiz, on the occasion of a
recent communication from M. de Blainville, writes word that
subsequently to the year 1835, he has expressed, in Bronn
and Leonhard's Journal, (p. 186, anno 1835), an opinion per-
fectly agreeing with that of M. de Blainville concerning the
supposed Didelphis" In referring however to this quotation
I find that in this note M. Agassiz establishes, in a very clear
manner, the opinion that the Stonesfield animals are undoubt-
edly mammals, but that their affinity with the marsupials
does not appear to him to be so certain ; — that their teeth re-
semble more those of the Insectivora, and also have some re-
semblance to those of the seals.

The object of M. Agassiz therefore in this note, is to show
that these bones are those of a mammal, which he considers
rather as belonging to the order Insectivora than to any other.

b 2

4 OBSERVATIONS UPON

M. de Blainville concludes his task by an invitation for
fresh observations, which may furnish new elements to the
argument, for or against the opinion hitherto admitted.

The memoir of M. de Blainville proves, that if he had had
the advantage of examining the fragments themselves, he
would have left no doubt upon the subject.

Having myself been more fortunate, I hastened in some
sort, to reply to the appeal which he made, in the name of
the Academy, and it is this which has determined me to re-
quest to-day, permission to read the memoir which I now
submit to your approval.

Dr. Bucldand has just brought over, among other very va-
luable geological specimens, the two jaws found in the schist
at Stonesfield, and preserved in the Oxford Museum. He
very willingly entrusted them to me during his stay at Paris,
and allowed me to have models of them taken, which I have
presented to the Academy. I have compared the originals
with the different mammals and reptiles in the cabinet of the
Jardin des Plantes, and I believe that I have arrived, by this
comparison, at a confirmation of the justice of Cuvier's opi-
nion.

One of the two jaws submitted to my examination is the
very one which Cuvier for a short time inspected ; the Didel-
phis Prevostii. The other, subsequently discovered, is of the
same species as that described and figured by Mr. Broderip,
his Didelphis Bucklandii.

Another jaw, which I believe to be of this latter species,
makes a part of Mr. Sykes's collection. It is this specimen
which Messrs. Phillips and Lyell allude to when speaking of
the fossils in their works.

This specimen, which I am able to refer to, from the draw-
ing sent by Mr. Phillips to M. Cuvier, and which M. Lau-
rillard has had the goodness to lend me, is less complete than
the two others, for the angle is wanting, as well as the con-
dyle, and the largest part of the ascending ramus ; the latter
however has left its impression upon the stone, which serves
as a matrix.

This proves that we now have four of these jaws belonging
to two distinct species of vertebrated animals ; and so far I
perfectly agree with M. Agassiz, who appears to have seen a
fifth, and who remarks, it is singular that we have never yet
discovered any bone belonging to any other part of the ske-
leton.

The jaw first known has been so fully described by M. C.
Prevost, in his memoir upon the Stonesfield fossils, that it
will be needless to recapitulate here any details of its general
form.

THE FOSSIL JA.WS FROM STONESFIELD. 5

I'have observed however, in the bone itself, that the molar
teeth, which are, as you are aware, ten in number, are all
pressed closely one against another ; that the five or six an-
terior teeth have two visible roots ; a triangular and pointed
crown, with a little " talon" on each side, the anterior being
more acute, the posterior more obtuse ; that these latter, when
their outer side is shown, present a crown terminating in two
nearly equal conical points, with a little " talon" behind.

The second piece of jaw is a horizontal left ramus, with
its inner side visible. This fragment, which is curved like the
jaw of the Did. murina has a high coronoid process, enlarged,
rounded, and bent a little backward. The condyle, which is
very distinctly seen, is placed a little above the dental line.
The angle of the jaw is prolonged into a " languette mience,"
making an obtuse angle with the inferior line and the hori-
zontal ramus. One thing very important to point out, be-
cause it is a fact not previously verified, is, that this ramus
shows the opening of the dental canal, which is a small cir-
cular foramen, pierced a little forwarder than that of the
D. murina. The symphysis is entire and distinctly apparent.
It has a rough, oval, oblong surface, which equals in width
a quarter of the jaw, and which is obliquely truncated infe-
riorly, as we observe in the Mammalia.

The teeth remaining upon the dental arch, are three ante-
rior grinders, exactly in their right place ; they are shaped
like those left in the other fossil jaw ; that is to say, they are
compressed, triangular, and with two small "talons" on each
side. At the base of the ascending ramus we observe a pos-
terior, imperfect molar tooth, out of its place, and displaying
two very distinct pointed tubercles. There is upon the ma-
trix and in front of the three teeth, an impression which ap-
pears to have been caused by a fallen tooth. By measuring
with a pair of compasses the void space comprised between
the base of the ascending ramus, and the teeth which are
still in their places, and also that occupied by the same three
teeth, it is easy to convince ourselves that the interval ought
to be occupied by five teeth ; which brings the total number
of the grinders to ten, as in the other jaw.

The anatomists who are my auditors, will be able to per-
ceive from what I have just observed of the presence of the
condyle, of the form of the teeth, of the aspect of the ascend-
ing ramus and of the symphysis, the opening of the dental
canal, and the prolongation of the angle of the jaw into an
apophysis which is slender and compressed into the form of
a tongue, — that the animal which exhibits these characters is
sl Mammal. But that which will complete the description

b3

6 OBSERVATIONS UPON

and remove all doubts, is, that this jaw, like that of the Di-
delphis Prevostii, is formed of a single bone ; while in the
saurians, it is well known that each half is formed of five
osseous pieces.

The inductions which have been drawn from the lobulated
character of the teeth in these animals, appear to me to prove
that this configuration has been greatly exaggerated. Let
us only examine the false molars of a carnivorous animal,
a panther for instance — and we perceive that they are also
formed of a middle tubercle, compressed and triangular, hav-
ing on each side a little "talon" or tubercle. There is nothing
more in the teeth of the Stonesfield fossil. This sort of pal-
mated appearance is not at all similar to the flattened and
triangular teeth of some of the saurians, which have, as in
the Iguanas, their edges notched in very fine regular indent-
ations.

This comparison leads me back to the osseous fragment
possessed by Mr. Sykes. This jaw, belonging to the right
side, has its external surface visible ; its ascending ramus
and symphysary portion are wanting. We perceive in it nine
distinct teeth, and the socket for a tenth. The artist, who
was not an anatomist, has represented the teeth as with crowns
divided into lobes, to the number of five, and forming a sort
of "rosace", which never exists either in the Mammalia or Rep-
tilia. It appears to me that these organs have not been pro-
perly detached from their matrix, and that persons have been
led into error as to the palmated division of these teeth.

Having thus given the reasons which prove to me that the
animal to which the fossil jaws discussed in this memoir have
belonged, must have been a mammal, let us examine to what
order it ought to be referred.

I apprehend that what has led us from the truth has been
the comparison made between these fossil animals and the
common opossum (Didelphis Virginiana). We see, in fact,
in this animal, that the second false molar is much higher
than those next to it, and that it differs from them. But let
us take, as a point of comparison, the D. murina, which is a
small didelph of about the same size ; and we shall find the
resemblance more striking, and shall no longer wonder at the
affinity indicated by M. Cuvier. In this animal the false
molars are of the same height, and are equally pressed one
against another ; they are, like nearly all the false molars of
the true carnassiers, triangular, and have on each side a small
supplementary tubercle. The posterior molars, like those of
the fossil which I have in view, have two points, succeeded
by a small "talon," upon the outer edge, and three conical and

THE FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD. 7

pointed tubercles upon the inner edge. ThOse specimens of
this fossil which are completely disengaged from their matrix
probably exhibit a similar conformation of their molar teeth;
for M. Agassiz says in his note, that the grinders have five
points, disposed like those of the Insectivora. The curve of
the horizontal ramus of the Didelphis Bucklandii, and the
form and direction of the ascending one, present a perfect
agreement with that of the D. murina ; the differences con-
sist in the fossil having the condyle less elevated, the tongue-
shaped process of the angle more external, and the opening
of the dental canal more anterior.

The Didelphis Prevostii has the ramus of the jaw straight-
er, but the form of its molars, and the great number of these
teeth, bring it nearer to the didelphs than to any other mar-
supial animal.

If we compare the fossil animal with the Insectivora, we
perceive in the latter the coronoid process carried more for-
ward, and separated from the condyle by a deeper space ;
the angular process of the jaw is shorter, forming a less ob-
tuse angle with the horizontal ramus ; the commencement of
the horizontal ramus is more convex, the rest of the bone
straighter, and the number of teeth always less.

Nevertheless, if we admit that the fossil animal is of the
order of Marsupialia, we must not wonder at the resemblance
which may exist between it and the Insectivora, for we know
that the pouched animals form a kind of sub-class, as Cuvier
says, of which the series is parallel with that of the placental
Mammalia ; and we can thus distinguish insectivorous mar-
supials, carnivorous marsupials, and rodent marsupials ;
&c. But the animals of this order [Marsupialia] are the only
the Cetacea excepted, which are furnished with so large a
number of teeth.

It was also thought that this fossil animal might be refer-
red to the family of the seals, on account of the subdivision
of the teeth into lobules. I shall first observe, that in the
Phoca properly so called, the common seal is the only one
which has five tubercles upon the dental crown ; — that the
others have only three ; — and that in the Phoca cristata there
even appears to be nothing more than a simple, blunt, coni-
cal crown, furrowed upon its surface, and without any sup-
plementary tubercles.

Thus, a lobulated form of tooth cannot be looked upon as
a constant characteristic of the seals, and consequently is not
a distinction of importance. But it must be observed that
among the Amphibia the angle of the jaw is not produced in-
to the tongue-shaped process which exists among the car-

b 4

8 OBSERVATIONS UPON

nassiers and the carnivorous marsupials. In the common
seal we find a simple tubercle at the maxillary angle ; in the
Phoca cristata this process is more obtuse ; and in the Pho-
ca leptonyx, de Blainville, it is quite obsolete.

We see indeed that this process re-appears and becomes a
character of more importance in the genus Otaria, in which
it constitutes a strong, trihedral projection, obtuse, and pro-
longed into a prominent ridge below the jaw. But there is
one characteristic mark in the species of this genus, which
quite removes all affinity to the fossil jaw; — their molar teeth
have but a single root.

Thus the supposed Didelphis does not appear to be refera-
ble to the family of the seals.

A.s we never see this angular process disappear in the car-
nassiers, I think we may therefore conclude that the fossil
bones found at Stonesfield belong to a terrestrial carnivorous
mammal ; and on account of the great number of its teeth,
that it is more closely related to the didelphs than to any other
known mammiferous animal.

The present investigation furnishes a fresh proof that the
attentive study of even the smallest parts of organic struc-
ture leads to very curious general results, since they become
characters, the importance of which we did not in the least
anticipate.

The prolonged tongue-shaped process is absent in man, in
the Quadrumana, and in the frugivorous bats, animals in
which the articulation of the jaw does not require that fixed-
ness which is a necessary condition in the existence of the
carnassiers. This process in the last furnishes a strong in-
sertion for the ligaments or sets of muscles which regulate
the lateral movements of the jaw; when it closes, they fix it
in its articulation, and produce that action of the teeth neces-
sary for the proper mastication of the food. This process is
obsolete, or nearly so, in those seals which are placed in the
order carnassiers, because these seize their prey in the water,
and transfix it with their pointed teeth rather than masticate
it, and do not therefore require so much fixedness of articu-
lation.

If we observe it to become projecting among the Otarice, it
is easy to account for this by a simple examination of their
slightly pointed teeth, inserted obliquely and across the den-
tal arch, and which would have been less fitted for retaining
living prey, if the lower jaw had been capable of making a
lateral movement below the upper one.

Were I not afraid of wandering from my subject, it would
be easy for me to demonstrate that the prolongation of the

THE FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD. 9

angle of the jaw is just as well adapted in the Rodentia for
the action of their teeth.

Thus the form of this process, and that of the teeth and of
the condyle, are always combined in such a manner that the
study of these parts becomes of very great importance in as-
certaining the natural relations of animals.

I think, therefore, to return to our subject, that the bones
from the Stonesfield slate, published under the names of Di-
delphis Prevostii and Did. Bucklandii, have belonged to
mammiferous animals, very nearly approaching the didelphs,
but of a distinct genus.

Not having had the advantage of inspecting the portion of
a jaw preserved at "l'Ecole des Mines," I have been unable
to treat of that fossil in this memoir.

M. Agassiz, who regarded these animals as of an ambigu-
ous nature among Vertebrata, has proposed for a generic
name that of Amphigonus.

M. de Blainville, adopting the same views, without being
aware of the name proposed by M. Agassiz, which is not
cited in his note in Bronn and Leonhard's Journal, has pro-
posed that of Amphitherium or Heter other ium. As in all
that we can deduce from a study of the portions of jaws sub-
mitted to our examination, I see nothing which indicates an
ambiguous or heterogeneous nature, — and as the names pro-
posed by these naturalists express doubts which in my opin-
ion no longer have any foundation, I think it would be advis-
able now to apply a more significant appellation. I do not
think that sufficient time has elapsed for the ill consequences
to arise which generally follow changes of names in Natural
History, because those which I propose to replace by others
have not yet been adopted by systematic writers, and conse-
quently have not yet received the sanction of naturalists in
general. The name of Thylacotherium appears to me a pre-
ferable one.

If we call to mind the figure of the fossil jaw published by
Mr. Broderip, which is taken from a fragment that I have not
examined, the new genus of fossil Mammalia will have
the following characters, taken from the examination of the
lower jaw only.

Eight incisor teeth, two canines, and ten molars, with five
or six false anterior ones ; the hinder teeth presenting a sum-
mit consisting of five tubercles, three internal and two exter-
nal, the latter succeeded by a small "talon."

The two species referable to this genus, are —

Thylacotherium Prevostii, [Didelphis Prevostii, Cuvier),

10 NOTICE OF UNDESCRIBED ZOOPHYTES

having its horizontal ramus some what straightened ; its depth
about the fourth part of its length. And —

Thylacotherium Bucklandii, (Didelphis Bucklandii, Bro-
derip), having its horizontal ramus narrower and more curved.

Such are the zoological characters at present known of
this genus of fossil Mammalia.

Art. II. — Notice of Undescribed Zoophytes from the Yorkshire
Chalk. By John Edward Lee, Esq.

Professor Phillips, in his " Illustrations of the Geology of
the Yorkshire Coast," has observed, that " the interesting re-
mains of Spongice are nowhere so well developed as in Eng-
land, and perhaps nowhere in England, so well as in
Yorkshire. On the shore near Bridlington, they lie exposed
in the cliffs and scars, and being seldom enclosed in flint,
allow their organization to be studied with the greatest ad-
vantage."

This locality however, does not seem to have attracted the
attention it deserves : the chalk cliffs from Sewerby to the
Danes' Dyke on the south of Flamborough Head abound in
Zoophytes, and a diligent collector will not be long in obtain-
ing an extensive suite of specimens ; the chalk is of such a
nature as to admit of being easily worked, so that the fossils
may be cleared without much difficulty, and their characters
properly exposed. The labour however has only commenced :
the varieties in form, and the gradations from one to another,
are almost endless, and the difficulty in determining species
is so great, that it almost operates as a bar to the study of
these remains ; still as every additional fact respecting them
must be of some value, where so little comparatively is known,
I shall endeavour to give a description of several species
which appear to me to be new; and should it afterwards
prove that I have been mistaken, they can then be referred
to their proper situations. — Two of the species described seem
to be Siphonice ; four, or perhaps five, may for the present be
considered as sponges, and one seems to be a Udotea.

It is a curious fact, that though the locality from which
these fossils were obtained, is extremely rich in Zoophytes,
yet the rest of the Yorkshire chalk is comparatively barren :
this is particularly the case with the southern part of the
range ; I have sought almost in vain, for any specimens
worthy of preservation, in the numerous chalk pits from Mar-
ket Weighton to Hessle.

FROM THE YORKSHIRE CHALK. 11

The kind most abundant near Bridlington is the Spongia
radiciformis of Phillips ; numbers of this species lie in all
directions in the cliff below Sewerby, both parallel with, and
across the direction of the strata : many specimens appear
to have been a good deal worn before they were imbedded,
while others, particularly of the cup-shaped form, are per-
fect, even to the finest fibres of the root. In some cases
these latter have disappeared, but are yet shown very beau-
tifully by the hollows in the chalk they once filled, being
coloured with ochreous matter.

I have never yet observed the root of any sponge attached
to any of the other fossil bodies which are found in the chalk;
this fact appears singular, since the fine fibres of the root
are in many cases perfectly preserved: about two years
ago however, I obtained a specimen of a variety of Spon-
gia radiciformis, (or perhaps a new species), in which the
short thick fibres of the root appear attached to the head of
another individual of the same species.

The variety in outward form has been already referred to ;
the internal structure also exhibits very great irregularity of
character : for instance, it has been generally believed that
the root-shaped sponges had a central cylindrical cavity, ex-
tending downwards to the stem : the annexed diagram (fig. 1.)
jtnpn^ shows however that this character is not con-
stant: it is a magnified representation of the sec-
tion of one of these fossil bodies. The specimen,
when obtained, was broken in two or three places ;
in the lower part of the stem there was a simple
circular perforation, but about an inch higher this cavity
had assumed a quadrangular appearance, and other circular
canals were visible on each side, two of which were of much
larger size than the others. At first sight, it appeared to con-
nect the Siphonice with the Choanites of Mantell, and being
very anxious to obtain further specimens, I examined with
great care the neighbourhood of the spot where this fossil
was procured : from that day to this however, I have never
been able to find another instance of such a conformation,
and at length I have come to the conclusion, that these cha-
racters must be considered as merely accidental.

The young Spongia are very abundant along the whole
face of the cliff : a great variety of globular specimens may
be obtained, from the size of a small pea to that of a common
nut; the form then becomes rather conical, and there are
often appearances of a process of attachment. — As they in-
crease in size the specific characters gradually develope them-

12

NOTICE OF UNDESCRIBED ZOOPHYTES

selves ; but the young specimens as well as the old, are sub-
ject to great variety in character.

Some of the cup-shaped sponges attain a large size ; I
have one which measures 12 inches in diameter.

Many specimens in my possession exhibit characters which
apparently indicate new species, besides those about to be
described. I have however thought it best only to give an
account of such as are sufficiently perfect to afford a dis-
tinct idea of the character.

SlPHONIA.

1. Siph. clava. — Club-shaped ; gradually increasing in size till very near
the crown : the larger canals, after spreading widely in the substance
of the body, are crowded together at the top, presenting a pentago-
nal, or hexagonal appearance. Fig. 2.

The shape of this species is very regular, as will be seen
from the annexed figure, (Jig. 2.) ; the original is
seven inches in length : the stem is pierced by a
single canal, for about an inch and a half from the
bottom : about an inch higher, four or five prin-
cipal canals, and several smaller ones shew them-
selves ; the subjoined sketch, (Jig. 3.) drawn of the
natural size, will give some idea of the appearance :
still higher, the canals increase in number, and
are considerably spread in the body of the fossil.
3 j*msnm^ w(¥»v 4

At the crown there seems to be a still greater number, and
they are so crowded, as almost to represent a honeycomb ;
figure 4, which is drawn of the natural size from a specimen
a little ground down at the top, will give some idea of this
arrangement.

In specimens which have been rolled on the beach, and
which are consequently without the external covering, the
whole surface appears studded with minute pores ; these are
the orifices of small radiating tubes, which communicate with
the larger canals.

This species does not appear to be very rare.

2. Siph. anguilla. — Elongated, cylindrical, nearly of an equal size
throughout ; length equal to eight or more times the breadth ; larger
canals not crowded at the summit. Fig. 5.

FROM THE YORKSHIRE CHALK.

13

Fig. 5. which is reduced from a specimen thir-
teen inches in length, will shew the general form
of this species : the bottom is pierced by a single
canal, which about an inch and a half higher, ap-
pears divided into eight or ten : this number is
not materially encreased at the top, where the
canals are scattered over the surface, and not
crowded together as in the last species
nexed figure, {Jiff. 6.)
which is of the natural
size, shows the appear-
ance of the summit : it
will be seen, that the
highesfpart is'of a lessf
size than the rest of the

fossil, and forms assort of crown. The specimen
figured is considerably compressed, so that in the
sketch it appears broader in proportion to its length
than it would haveMone had it been of its natural
form.

I This species is rare : besides the specimen from
which the above description was taken, I have
only met with two or three fragments.

Spongia.

1. Sp. catablastes. — Inversely conical, with a considerable depression at
the crown : from ten to fifteen arms projecting downwards from the
lower part of the body. Fig. 7.

Of this beautiful fossil,
(fig. 7.), only one specimen
has hitherto been discover-
ed: but as the characters
are very well marked, it will
not, I hope, be thought pre-
mature, to consider it a new
species. Nothing can be
said respecting the length
of the stem, as it had unfor-
tunately been lost when the
specimen was taken from
the face of the cliff: the
whole body is covered with
irregular depressions, which
on the superior surface, and
in the neighburhood of the
side arms, take a flexuous

14

NOTICE OF UNDESCRIBED ZOOPHYTES

appearance : neither the stem, nor the side arms appear to
have had any central perforation. The original is nearly six
inches in length.

2. Sp.fastigiata. — The lower part funnel-shaped, inflated ; the upper
part a cone, rising from a slight depression. Fig. 8.

This fossil is not by any means common ;
I have only seen two specimens, of which
the most perfect is represented in the
annexed sketch, {fig. 8.) The inferior
part is surrounded by depressed undula-
ted lines, some of which take a diagonal
direction : the terminating cone is small,
and not by any means proportionate to
the inflated appearance of the lower part :
the central cavity appears to be very
small indeed.

The figure is about one half the natural
size.

Sp. sepiaformis. — Irregularly funnel-shaped : marked externally with
a few scattered elevated orifices ; from eight to ten arms, rising up-
wards from the superior edge : one or more additional branches arising
from the same root. Fig. 9.

This beautiful species appears to
be extremely rare: besides the
specimen represented by the fi-
gure, {Jig. 9.) I have only met
with two or three fragments,
which still were sufficient to con-
vince me that the above charac-
ters were not accidental : the
length of the fossil from the root
to the extremity of what remains
of the longest arm, is about eight
inches : there is an appearance of
I |fc :^M one small side arm, thrown off

i ■iffi|ffi downwards, but most probably

JfH/' this is not a constant character :

the root does not appear to have
been very fibrous.

FROM THE YORKSHIRE CHALK.

15

4. Sp. ampulla. — Bladder-shaped, covered with irregular depressions ;
stem equal to the hody in length ; fibres of the root short and thick ;
central cavity cylindrical, half the depth of the body. Fig. 10.

^nr^^msi^ This species is not so rare as the pre-

ceding, but is seldom met with in such
complete preservation as the specimen
figured, {fig. 10.); the greater number
of those which have been found, are
compressed and distorted. Two or
three weathered specimens in my pos-
session show very clearly that the cen-
tral cavity is in the shape of a short,
thick cylinder, suddenly terminating
about the middle of the body: the
length of the specimen is about nine
inches and a half.

5. Sp. spinosa. — Globular, unattached, covered partly with oval notched
plates, overlying each other, partly rough, covered with irregular de-
pressions : armed with from eighteen to twenty spines : internal struc-
ture fibrous, radiating from a point in the circumference. Spines
varying much in size, hollow, covered with an appearance of pointed
scales overlying one another. Fig. 1 1 .

This most singular fossil has I believe, only been found in
two localities ; one of which is the cliff about a hundred
yards west of the Danes' Dyke, and the other a quarry north
of Marton, probably where the same bed appears on the sur-
face. It is rare ; I only know of five specimens, of which
one was found by my friend Mr. W. H. Dykes, and is now
in the Museum of the Hull Literary and Philosophical So-
ciety. I have indeed heard of a fossil in the collection of
Mr. Bowerbank, which from the account given to me by
Mr. Charles worth, may probably be the same species, but
I have never been fortunate enough to obtain a sight of it.

The general appearance, when most perfect, is that of a
small Cidaris, with the spines attached : when imperfect, it
would probably be taken for one of the small globular sponges,

16 UNDESCRIBED ZOOPHYTES FROM THE YORKSHIRE CHALK.

so common in the chalk near Bridlington, which may perhaps
account for its not having been before noticed.
11 12 13

The annexed {Jig. 11.) will give some idea of its general
form. The specimen drawn {Jig. 12.) is one which was
found on the scar, and having been water-worn and weathered,
shows the internal structure; the figure, which is a little
magnified, displays the fibrous structure rather more plainly
than is seen by the naked eye, but when a lens is applied,
the radiating structure becomes very apparent. The struc-
ture of the spines is very singular ; at the base, they seem
composed of an aggregation of little spiculae, which after-
wards are so arranged as to give the appearance of a series
of furrowed, pointed scales. Fig. 13. represents the lower
part of one of the spines very higly magnified.

The covering of the body is of a peculiar character; in
some places it appears similar to that of many other sponges,
marked with indefinite depressions ; in others, there are very
decided oval notched or jagged plates, most of which overlie
one another ; this arrangement is generally seen most dis-
tinctly in the neighbourhood of the spines. Fig. 14 repre-
14 ^^^^. sents a portion of the covering very highly

magnified. From the singularity of this
appearance, the animal might almost be
supposed to belong to a very different class
from that of the sponges, and the associa-
ted genera ; so at least it appeared to me,
till, being anxious to see more of the in-
ternal structure, I had the specimen cut through, just below
the plates figured in the last diagram : an irregular fibrous
structure then became visible, similar to that shewn in {Jig.
12.) with the exception of the radiated appearance : this dif-
ference however may be accounted for by its being a cross
section. Under these circumstances, as the spongy structure
appears to be constant, while the plated appearance is not
so, I have placed it amongst the sponges till it shall have
been examined, and its place assigned by some more ex-
perienced naturalist.

ON THE LAMELLICORNS OF OLIVIER.

17

Udotea.

1. Ud. cancellata. — Form simple, not lobed, marked with numerous pa-
rallel lines, which are crossed by others equally strong, as well as by se-
veral concentric undulations.

The imperfect specimen figured is the
only one which I have seen, so that its
characters cannot be very correctly de-
ifined.

The annexed sketch (Jig. 15.) will
give a general idea of its appearance,
though it does not mark the undulations
so well as could be wished ; it is drawn
of the natural size.
It was found in the same locality as the other specimens.

Hull, Nov. 15*/*, 1838.

Art. III. — Observations on the Lamellicorns of Olivier. By The
Rev. F. W. Hope, F.R.S., F.L.S., F,Z.S., &c.

Melolontha. i fullo.

2 alba.

3 Commersonii

4 serrata.

5 vulgaris.

6 villosa.

7 occidentalis.

8 Candida.

9 alopex.

10 solstitialis.

11 cestiva.

12 pini

13 fusca.

14 oblonga.

15 cornuta

16 glauca

17 lanigera

18 punctata

19 lutea

20 elongata

21 fervida

22 refiexa

23 plebeia

24 pallida

25 unicolor

26 ruficollis

27 rustica

28 atriplicis

29 signata

Vol. III.— No. 25. n. s.

England.

Siberia.

Madagascar.

C. of Good Hope

England.

Germany.

South of France.

East Indies.

C. of Good Hope

France.

Paris.

Provence.

Italy.

Paris.

Calabria.

Brazils.

North America.

Virginia.

North America.

Pennsylvania.

North America.

Senegal.

Senegal.

C. of Good Hope

Senegal.

Coromandel.

Guadaloupe.

Barbary.

Jamaica.

ARRANGEMENT OF AUTHORS

Melolontha, Fabricius,
Lepidiota, Kirby.

Holotrichia, Kirby.
Melolontha, Fabricius.
Anoxia, Laporte.

Lepidiota, Kirby.
Cephalotrichia, Kirby.
Rhisotrogus, Latreille,

Microdonta, Kirby.
Rhisotrogus, Latreille,
Anomala, Megerle,
Pachypus, Latreille.
Pelidnota, MacLeay.
Areoda, Leach.
Pelidnota, MacLeay,
?

Genus novum
Holotrichia, Kirby.

Anomala, Megerle.

Anomala ?
Unknown.
Hoplopus, Laporte.
Cyclocephala, Latreille

18

OBSERVATIONS ON

GENUS. SPECIES. COUNTRY.

MELOLONTHA. 30 immaculata Guadaloupe

31 viridis China

32 Leii East Indies

33 bicolor Java

34 suturalis New Holland

35 dubia Cayenne

36 angulata Brazils ?

37 bimaculata China

38 doreyi St. Domingo

39 vitis England

40 Frischii Holland

41 femoralis East Indies

42 ccerulea C. Good Hope

43 ceerulocephala East Indies ?

44 bipunctata C. Good Hope

45 maura Barbary

46 glacialis Terre de Feu

47 testacea Ditto

48 striata Ditto

49 globator C. Good Hope

50 rauca Coromandel

51 erythrocephala East Indies ?

52 melanocephala Cayenne

53 obscura Equin. Africa

54 rufa C. Good Hope

55 brunnea England

56 ferruginea East Indies

57 pubescent Coromandel

58 errans North America

59 innuba South America

60 nitidula Cayenne

61 picea C. Good Hope

62 f estiva New Zealand

63 lata Ditto

64 aulica Equin. Africa

65 splendida C. Good Hope

66 tineata Sierra Leone

67 gibba C. Good Hope

68 versicolor Sierra Leone

69 mutabilis Tranquebar

70 variabilis North America

71 ruricola England

72 humeralis Paris

73 Zebra C. Good Hope

74 vittatus East Indies

75 ( vulpes, mas Siberia
76{hirta, fcem. Caucasus

77 crinita C. Good Hope

78 cinerea Ditto

79 ursus Ditto

80 lynx Ditto

81 proboscidea East Indies

82 limbata C. Good Hope

83 praticola Siberia
#4 agricola Germany

ARRANGEMENT OF AUTHORS.

Cyclocephala, Latreille.
Euchlora, MacLeay.
Mimela, Kirby.
Euchlora, MacLeay.
Stethaspis, Hope.
Chalepus, MacLeay.
Bolax, Fischer ?
Adoretus, Escholtz.
Rutela, Latreille.
Anomala, Megerle.

Adoretus, Escholtz.
?Popillia, Leach.

Glaphyrus, Latreille.
Macrosoma, Hope.

Genus novum.
Apogonia, Kirby.

Cyclocephala, Laporte.
Adoretus, Escholtz.
Genus novum.
Serica, MacLeay.
Apogonia, Kirby.

Anomala, Megerle.

Bolax ? Fischer.
Trochala, Laporte.
Calonota, Hope.

Genus novum.
Serica, MacLeay.
Trochala, Laporte.

Serica, MacLeay.

Stripsipher, G. P.
Glaphyrus, Latreille.
Amphicoma, Latreille.

Anisonyx, Latreille.

Anisoplia ?
Agenius, Serville.
Hoplia, Illiger.
Anisoplia, Megerle.

THE LAMELLICORNS OF OLIVIER.

19

GENUS.

Melolontha.

SPECIES.

85 horticola

86 fruticola

87 arvicola

88 regia
S9farinosa

90 squamosa

91 argentea

92 rupicola

93 sibirica

94 pulverulenta
95fioralis

96 marginata

97 subspinosa

98 atomaria

99 crassipes

100 spinipes

101 podagrica

102 dentipes

1 03 gonagra

104 arthritica

105 abbreviata

106 longipes

107 capicola

108 monticola

109 semistriata

110 varians

111 castanea

112 heemorrhoida-

lis

113 undata

114 picipes

115 cequinoctialis

116 i</wea

117 pagana

1 18 4-punctata

119 tibialis

120 alpina

121 12-punctata

England

Germany

Siberia

Algiers

France

Paris

England

C. Good Hope

Siberia

England

Provence

Guadaloupe

Jamaica

C. Good Hope

Ditto

Ditto

Ditto ?

Ditto

Ditto

Ditto

Ditto

Ditto

Ditto

New Holland

Surinam

C. Good Hope

Surinam

East Indies ?

ARRANGEMENT OF AUTHORS.

Anisoplia, Megerle.
Hoplia, Illiger.

Lepisia, Serville.
Hoplia, Illiger.

Hoplia ?

Macrodactylus ,Latreille
Genus novum.
Pachynema, Serville.
Monochelus, Illiger.

Dichelus, Serville.

Monochelus, Illiger.
Lepitrix, Serville.
Dichelus, Serville.
Lepitrix, Serville.
Liparetra, Kirby.
Cyclocephala ?
Anomata ?
Cyclocephala.
Mimela ?

Surinam Rutela ?

Bengal ? Mimela ?

Hungary Rhisotrogus, Latreille.

South America Bolax ? Fischer.

Geneva Rhisotrogus, Latreille.

Spain Rhisotrogus ? Latreille.

C. Good Hope Lepitrix P

Geneva Rhisotrogus, Latreille.

Siberia Hoplia, Illiger.

Genus 5. Melolontha.

Sp. 2. alba. This is evidently the same insect as Scaraba-
us Hololeucus of Pallas ; as the latter name was previ-
ously used by that author it ought to be retained I con-
sider it as belonging to Mr. Kirby 's genus Lepidiota. Le
Comte de Castelneau, however, ranges it with true Melo-
lontha.

Sp. 3. Commersonii. This insect appears to be the same
species which Fabricius has published under the name of

20 OBSERVATIONS ON

Mel. rorida, to which he has given Sumatra as the native
country. Lepidiota Commersonii was originally brought
from the Island of Madagascar, by the celebrated botanist
Commerson. Possessing insects from both of the above
localities, and particularly a specimen named by Fabricius
as Mel. rorida, I should have doubted their being identical
had I not carefully examined them. It may be remarked,
that Lepidiota, as a genus, is common to Asia and Africa,
as well as some of the islands adjacent to the two continents.
Sp. 4. serrata. Now an Holotrichia of Kirby. For the ge-
neric details refer to Hope's Coleopterist's Manual, page
99. The species seem from what is known at present, to
be peculiar to Asia ; they will no doubt eventually be found
in tropical Africa.
Sp. 6. villosa. This species, according to M. Laporte, belongs
to his genus Anoxia. Vid. Hist. Nat. des Anim. (Articul.,)
par Laporte de Castelnau, page 132 ; where the details are
published. The following species belong to it, viz. : Mel.
orientalis, Ziegler ; Mel. occidentalism Jab ; and matuti-
nalis and africana of Laporte.
Sp. 9. alopex. Now a Cephalotrichia of Kirby. It is pro-
bable that Mel.brunnipennis of Castelneau belongs to this
genus. The Platyonix of Dr. Reich (since changed to
the name of Sibaris, by Laporte,) seems closely allied to
Cephalotrichia, differing chiefly in the form of the clypeus.
The family name of Sparmannia has been suggested by
the above writer to be given to these Melolonthida.
Sp. 10. solstilialis. Latreille gave this species as the type of
his genus Rhisotrogus ; the term Amphimallon, which in-
cluded under it all the species having nine joints to the
antenna, he afterwards re-united to Rhisotrogus. Laporte
however, still retains Amphimallon, and singularly enough
considers solstitialis one of the species ; while he gives
Mel. albus, Jab., and cestivus, Olivier, as examples of Rhi-
sotrogus. Such changing of types creates great confusion,
and never should be attempted. The Latreillian name
ought to be adopted, as originally used.
Sp. 12. pint. Now a Microdonta of Kirby ; Vid. details in
Hope's Coleopterist's Manual, part 1., p. 105. Various
European species belong to it.
Sp. 14. oblonga. In the Manual I was induced, on reference
to Illiger's Magazine, to consider the Fabrician insect
named oblonga, as an Anomala. Olivier's oblonga appears
to be more allied to Rhisotrogus. The reference to
Schrank's Enum. Insect. Austrice, No. 27, and to Scopoli's
Entom. Carniol, No. 19, lead to that conclusion

THE LAMELLICORNS OF OLIVIER. 21

Sp. 15. cornuta. Latreille makes this insect the type of his
genus Pacyphus ; Geotrupes excavatus, Jab., is the same
insect. The Baron Dejean, in his catalogue, gives it the
name of Calodera, I retain however, the Latreillian term,
being averse to changing names without there is an abso-
lute necessity for so doing.

Sp. 16. glauca. This is now a Pelidnota, and is the Scar a-
bmus <eruginosus of the " Systema" of Linnaeus. The lat-
ter specific name should therefore be used instead of the
former.

Sp. 19. lutea. This insect is probably a Pelidnota. No lo-
cality is mentioned by Olivier.

Sp. 20. elongata. Evidently the type of a new genus ; appa-
rently this would be a Philochlmnea of De Jean. As that
genus is not, I believe, yet published, I do not adopt the
name, but leave it for a future describer.

Sp. 23. plebeia. This insect according to the French cabinets
is an Anomala, and I think most probably is the same spe-
cies as Anom. scutellaris of De Jean.

Sp. 27. rustica. It is impossible to say to what genus this
species is allied from the figure. I am inclined to doubt
the locality of Guadaloupe.

Sp. 31. viridis. Now an Euchlora of MacLeay : the species
are more numerous than in the allied genus Mimela. Oli-
vier gives the Cape of Good Hope as its locality ; it is an
East Indian species.

Sp. 32. Leii. A Mimela of Kirby. For an account of the
species see my monograph in the first volume of the * En-
tomological Transactions,' p. 116. No locality is given by
Olivier : all the known species are peculiar to the East In-
dies.

Sp. 33. bicolor. Olivier gives this insect as from the Cape,
which is erroneous, as all the true Euchlorce belong to Java
and the East Indian continent.

Sp. 34. suturalis. This insect I make the type of the genus
Stethaspis ; it is probably the Xylonichus of the French
cabinets.

Sp. 35. dubia. Now a Chalepus of MacLeay : the same in-
sect is named geminatus by Fabricius.

Sp. 36. angulata. No locality is given for this species by
Olivier. It is evidently a Bolax of Comte Fischer de
Waldeim, (vide ' Moscow Transactions ' in loco), and most
likely therefore inhabits Brazil.

Sp. 37. bimaculata. This insect was sent to me by Dr. Es-
choltz. The name of Trigonostoma has been given to it
by the Baron Dejean; as that term is only found in the

22 OBSERVATIONS ON

catalogues, without any published characters, I abandon it
and adopt Escholtz' manuscript name of Adoretus, as the
characters are detailed by M. Laporte in the ' Suite de Buf-
fon (Articules), vol. ii. p. 142.

Sp. 41. femoralis. An Adoretus of Escholtz, and the type
of the genus, (according to a manuscript letter which I re-
ceived from the author previous to his death), is Melolon-
tha compressa of Weber. The species allied to it are chiefly
from tropical Africa, Asia, and the Polynesian Isles. It has
been reported in England and France that Dr. Escholtz
died of cholera ; this is erroneous, as he died of a bilious
fever.

Sp. 42. ccerulea. I consider this insect as a Popillia ; it oc-
curs in the East Indies, and not in Africa.

Sp. 43. caruleocephala. Now a Popillia. In form it ap-
proaches the African more than the Asiatic species, its lo-
cality is probably the Cape of Good Hope. The reader is
referred to Mr. Newman's monograph on this genus. l

Sp. 44. bipunctata. The type of the genus Popillia, Leach.
No locality is mentioned by Olivier ; it is from the Cape.

Sp. 45. maura. This insect is the same as Melolontha car-
dui, Fab., and is the type of Latreille's genus Glaphyrus.

Sp. 49. globator. This insect appears to afford sufficient
characters for constituting a sub -genus : it is probably a
Schizonycha of Dejean ; as, however, the Baron has not
published its generic details, I cannot adopt it. The form
is not confined to Africa or Asia, it occurs alike in the old
and new world.

Sp. 51. rauca. An Apogonia of Kirby. M. Laporte men-
tions two species from Africa, namely, Ap. africana and
pusilla, from Senegal.

Sp. 54. rufa. I have not seen this insect in any collection
but the Banksian : from the description and general ap-
pearance it cannot be ranged with any modern genus.

Sp. 58. errans. No locality is mentioned by Olivier: I have
received it from M. Leconte, of the United States.

Sp. 59. innuba. This insect I have received from Rio Ja-
neiro : its country is not mentioned in Olivier.

Sp. 60. nitidula. Entomologists must be careful not to con-
found Mel. nitidula, Fabr., (which is probably an Aniso-
plia), with Mel. nitidula of Olivier. The latter insect is
probably a Bolax of Fischer.

Sp. 64. aulica. Olivier has properly changed the annexed

1 The Monograph is unpublished; a synopsis of the new species is given
in the * Mag. Nat. Hist.' vol. ii. n. s. p. 336.— Ed.

THE LAMELLICORNS OF OLIVIER. 23

name in his work to aulica, which Fabricius in his l Sys-
tema Eleut.' had converted into aulicola.

Sp. 67. gibba. Now a Trochala of Laporte. Vide three new
species of this genus described in the ' Suite de Buffon,
Hist. Nat. (Articules), par Laporte de Castelneau, p. 149,
vol. ii.

Sp. 68. versicolor. In my 'Manual' I have given this species
as a Serica, ML.; it may however belong to the genus Tro-
chalas, Laporte.

Sp. 69. variabilis. The localities of North America and Ger-
many are given to this insect : probably more than one
species is included under the name.

Sp. 73. Zebra. This insect is the type of Strepsipher, G. P.
No locality is mentioned by Fabricius ; Olivier mentions
South America as its country, which is erroneous : I have
frequently received it from the Cape of Good Hope. Ceto-
nia vittata, Fabr., is the Mel. Zebra of Olivier.

Sp. 74. vittata. Now a Glaphyrus of Latreille. I have late-
ly received it from Persia.

Sp. 75 & 76. These insects are the different sexes of the
same species ; the former is the male and the latter the fe-
male of Amphicoma vulpes, Fabr.

Sp. 77. crinita. According to Olivier Fabricius cites (Pallas
'Ins. Siber.' tab. a, Jig. 17), Scarabwus bombyliformis, as
Mel. crinita ; the former author thinks that the insect de-
scribed by Pallas is distinct.

Sp. 81 . proboscidea. Olivier states that this species occurs
in Asia and Africa ; I am disposed to think it peculiar to
the East Indies.

Sp. 82. limbata. No locality is mentioned in Olivier, it is
undoubtedly frOm the Cape, and the type of the genus Age-
nius of Serville.

Sp. 83. praticola. Olivier' s figure would lead one to believe
that praticola was an Anisoplia, according to Illiger it is
an Hoplia.

Sp. 88. regia. This species was named regia by Fabricius ;
the Linnaean name aulica should be adopted, as previously
used by that author. It occurs in Spain and Barbary, from
whence I have received it.

Sp. 96. marginata. I am totally unacquainted with this in-
sect. I give it as an Hoplia ; without a doubt its loca-
lity, according to Badier, is Guadaloupe.

Sp. 98. atomaria. M. le Baron DeJean in his catalogue,
gives the generic name of Gymnoloma to this insect. As I
am not aware of the characters being published I purposely
refrain from adopting it. Any future entomologist who
chooses to publish the details, is entitled to name it. Ma-

24 DESCRIPTIONS OF

nuscript names published in catalogues such as Dahl's, Me-
gerle's, and DeJean's, &c. &c. &c, cannot stand.

Sp. 99. crass ipes. In my Manual I considered this insect as
a Monochelas of Illiger. It appears to be a Pachynema of
Serville, according to M. Laporte.

Sp. 101. Podagricus. I am inclined to consider this insect
as a Cape species, although the locality given by Olivier
and Fabricius is that of Coromandel.

Sp. 103. gonayra. In the same Manual I gave the term Mo-
nochelus to the above species, with a query, and as I sus-
pected, it turns out to be a Dichelus of Serville.

Sp. 106. longipes. Probably a Dichelus ; the locality is the
Cape of Good Hope.

Sp. 108. monticola. All the species of this genus are pecu-
liar to the Continent of Australia.

Sp. 110. varians. I know not under what modern genus I
can place this species ; it has never fallen under my in-
spection. Can it be a gigantic Anomala ?

Sp. 112. hcemorrhoidalis. No locality is given by Olivier.
From the figure I am inclined to consider it a Mimela, and
consequently as inhabiting the East Indies.

Sp. 114. picipes. I have added the name of Mimela with a
doubt ; the country is not mentioned.

Sp. 116. ignea. Probably a Bolax of Dr. Fischer.

Sp. 121. 12-punctata. This species is evidently the same as
Sc. aureolus of Pallas, and is now considered to be an Hop-
Ha.

(To be continued).

Art. IV. — Description of two new species of Beetles, belonging to
the Family Cetoniidae of MacLeay. By Mr. Adam White.

The two species now to be described belong to a family
which comprises about 600 species, and is peculiarly tropical,
not more than seven species having been registered as British
by the most latitudinarian entomologist. By Linnaeus and
old authors they were included in the genus Scarabans, and
even after the division of that overloaded group into several
genera, some of the Cetoniidce were placed along with Melo-
lontha. Latreille, MacLeay, Kirby, St. Fargeau, Serville,
Gory and Percheron, have by their labours, rendered the
study of them a work of comparative ease.

The genus Trichius of Fabricius, distinguished at once
from Cetonia of the same author by many characters, among
others by the mentum not covering the maxilla, and by the
epimeron (Audouin,) {peice axillaire Latr.) not being promi-

TWO NEW SPECIES OF BEETLE. 25

nent between the thorax and elytra, contains several remark-
able forms ;* one of the most singular of these is a very flat
African genus first characterized by Mr. MacLeay in the ap-
pendix to his celebrated f Horae Entomological,' part I. p. 151,
and there named Platygenia. The only species known at the
time of the establishment of the genus (PI. zairica,) seems to
be the insect described shortly before at great length by Af-
zelius, in the appendix to the third part of Schonherr's ' Syno-
nymia Insectorum,' p. 38, (Trichius barbatus,) an insect which
Mr. MacLeay himself, in his memoir on the Cetoniidte of
Africa, says certainly belongs to the sub-genus.

M. M. Gory and Percheron,in their monograph of the family
Cetoniidce, have figured an insect, which, from the emargination
of the clypeus, and the want of the tufts of hair on the inside
of the intermediate and posterior pair of legs, may possibly
be the female of the Platygenia barbata, though it is impos-
sible, from the rarity of specimens in collections, to determine
this point by the mere inspection of a figure. The figure in
Guerin's 'Iconographie,' (pi. 26, fig. 6,) seems to be copied
from that given in M.M. Gory and Percheron's beautiful work.
Mr. Samouelle found two specimens of a new species in a
collection brought from the Gambia ; he has named it after
the distinguished author of the genus, whose works on the
Annulosa have done so much to promote and facilitate the
study of his favourite science. Both of these specimens are
in the collection of the British Museum, and seem to be fe-
males, both wanting the strong spine at the base of the claws.
16

Platygenia MacLeaii, Samouelle.

Platygenia MacLeaii, Samouelle MSS., {Fig. 16).

P. picea, elytris subferrugineis, sutura subelevata, tibiis sublaevibus, an-
ticis externe distincte tridentatis. Long. lin. 13, lat. max. elytr. lin. 7. —
Hob. Gambia. Mus. Brit.

1 Most of them in the larva state are found in rotten wood, upon which
Vol. III.— No. 25. n. s. c

26 DESCRIPTIONS OF

Head pitchy brown ; clypeus in front emarginate, much and
coarsely punctured, the spots decreasing in number in front
of and between the eyes ; the vertex quite smooth, side of
clypeus at base (canthus) extended like an arch over the mid-
dle of the eye, and fringed with ferruginous hairs.

Thorax pitchy brown, lateral margin not ciliated ; the sides
are coarsely and much punctured, the dorsal part is very de-
licately and sparingly punctured.

Scutellum distinct, rounded at tip, and at base impressed
transversely close to the slightly produced posterior edge of
thorax, the impressed part in front punctured.

Elytra subferruginous, throughout wider than thorax ; wi-
dest in the middle, towards the suture slightly raised ; each
elytron with eight impressed longitudinal lines somewhat ar-
ranged in pairs, none of them reaching either the anterior or
posterior edge ; the three inner at base not impressed, formed of
an interrupted line of dots; the sides of the lines are punctured,
as are the lateral margins of elytra and the tips, especially at
the end of suture, which part is also clothed with short ferru-
ginous hairs ; segment between the second and third pair of
legs without hairs in the middle. Apical segments of abdomen
beneath with a few short hairs on the sides.

Legs and under side pitchy brown ; femora compressed
and punctured. Tibia, anterior dilated at tip and furnished
externally with three distinct teeth, the intermediate the strong-
est ; at the tip internally there is a strong tooth ; the surface
above is punctured, some of the dots being arranged in lines.

Tarsi and tibia of intermediate and posterior pair of legs
with spinous short hairs, the posterior tibia behind the mid-
dle with a tuft of flattened spine-like hairs arranged trans-
versely and inserted on a projecting part.

Lamarck in 1801, in his ' Systeme des Animaux sans Verte-
bres,' first separated certain species of the Fabrician genus
Cetonia, characterized by having short antenna, terminating
in a trilamellar knob — no upper lip * — membranaceous man-
dibles— and a straight head, with a projecting forked or bifid
clypeus (Syst. p. 209). He named this division Goliathus,
from the gigantic size of the typical species, first figured and
described by Drury, (Illustr. I. pi. xxxi.) in 1770, and in the

they feed ; in the perfect state they generally subsist on the sap of trees, at
the roots of which several species are found. (Gory & Percheron, 'Monog.'
p. 21 &c. MacLeay, * Illustr. Annul. S. Africa,' p. 16. Stephens, * Brit.
Entom. Mandib.' iii. p. 229).

1 " Point de levre superieure." In the ' Hist. Nat. des Anim. sans Vert,
i v. p. 580, he altered this erroneous character to ** Labrum occultatum"

TWO NEW SPECIES OF BEETLE. 27

following year named by Linnaeus, Scarabceus Goliatus.
(Mantissa Altera p. 530). Lamarck included in his genus
six species, all of which had previously been described.
These are, Gol. Africanus,1 Cacicus,7- Polyphemus,* bifrons,4
micans,b and marginalise

Weber, about the same time as Lamarck, after his descrip-
tion of the Cetonia Ynca, remarks (Obs. Entomol. p. 67,)
" Forte Ynca, Goliata, Cacicus, Polyphemus, &c, novum
constituunt genus ;" and Fabricius immediately after ex-
pressed the same opinion. (Syst. El. II. p. 136.)

Many other species have been added to this fine group of
beetles by subsequent authors, and the Cetonia quadrimacu-
lata of Oliv., (tab. viii. fig. 73, p. 30,) and Scarabceus tor-
quatus of Drury, (111. pi. 44, fig. 1.,) have been since ascer-
tained to be females of species of the genus. The male of
the last mentioned has been lately brought from Sierra Leone
by Mr. Strachan, and an excellent figure and description
have been given of it by Mr. Waterhouse, in the last number
of this Magazine. The male of the GoL quadrimaculatus is
in the possession of Mr. MacLeay.

I shall now confine myself to that section of Goliathus
which Mr. MacLeay has called Smithii, in his lately pub-
lished elaborate memoir.7 It is characterized by the gene-
rally metallic colour of the species composing it, which have
" the elytra wider at the base, the body very depressed, the
thorax nearly truncated behind, or at least only slightly emar-
ginate to receive the scutellum. The males have almost al-
ways the anterior tibice denticulated on the inside." (Mac-
Leay.)

In one division the males have the anterior tibice externally

1 Afterwards changed to Gol. giganteus in the 'Hist. Nat. des Anim. sansr
Vert.' iv. p. 580. Fabricius, Olivier, and Latreille, as well as Lamarck, re-
garded the insect figured by Drury in 1782, (' Illust.' iii. pl.xl.) and named
in his index Scar abacus Goliatus, as a mere variety. — Subsequent authors
are of opinion that it is distinct ; and Mr. Westwood has named it Golia-
thus Drurii in his new edition of Drury's ' Illustrations.'

2 Scarabceus Cacicus ingens, Voet, 'Coleopt' ord. 1, gen. 1, p. 34, No. 151,
tab. 22, Jig. 151, — originally regarded as a native of the New World, and
named accordingly, but since ascertained to be African.

3 Scarabceus Polyphemus, Fabr. ' Mantissa,' i. 7, 53. Cetonia Polyphe-
mus, Oliv. Mecynorhina Polyphemus, Hope, 'Col. Man.' p. 119.

4 Cetonia bifrons, Oliv. 'Coleopt.' 6, pi. 6, Jig. 117, p. 82. Inca bifrons,
Lep. & Serv. ' Ency. Meth.' x. p. 381.

5 Scarabceus micans, Drury, ' Illustr.' ii. pi. xxxii.y^. 3. Dicronorhina
micans, Hope, 'Col. Man.'

6 Cetonia bifida, Oliv. p. 43, pi. ii.Jig- 9. Schizorhina, Kirby, G. & P.

7 On the Cetoniidce of S. Africa, in ' Illustr. of the Annulosa of S. Africa,'
forming No. 3 of Dr. Smith's African Zoology.

28

DESCRIPTIONS OF

tridentate. In the other the anterior tibia have no teeth ex-
ternally. To this division the Rev. F. Hope has applied the
name Dicronorhina, (Coleopt. Man. p. 119,) giving as the
type, the Scarabaus micans of Drury, Goliathus micans of
Lamarck. He regards the " Cetonia quadrimaculata, Oliv.
which is evidently the same as Gol. Daphnis Buquet, and
also Gol. Grallii of the same author," as belonging to
the genus. Mr. MacLeay, who has the male of the Cetonia
quadrimaculata in his collection, regards it as quite distinct
from the Daphnis. He has lately described a new species,
discovered near the Tropic of Capricorn, by Dr. Smith, after
whom he names it, ( Illustr. Annul. S. Africa, p. 34.

The species about to be described comes near the Golia-
thus Grallii of Buquet, (Ann. de la Soc. Ent. de France, v.
p. 201, pi. 5. B. fig. 3,) from which however it is evidently
quite distinct. The shape of the mentum, the nearly equila-
teral scutellum, the depressed much produced clypeus, and
the want of a brush of hairs on the last joint of tarsus, with
other characters, at once indicate that it belongs to a section
distinct from the Goliathus {Dicronorhina) micans, and for
which I would suggest the name of Eudicella. * The Gol.
(Eu.) Grallii, Buquet, Gol. (Eu.) Smithii, MacL., Gol. (Eu.)
quadrimaculatus, seem to me to belong to the same group.

Goliathus ( Eudicella) Murgani.

(b) Thorax and head viewed from the side, (c) Antenna magnified, {d) Part of tarsus of

anterior right leg.

I know only the male of the following species, which may
be characterized as follows : —

i Eu well, diHEXXa, a fork.

TWO NEW SPECIES OF BEETLE. 29

Goliathm (Eudicella) Morgani.

G. {Eudicella). Nitide viridis, thorace subaeneo, pedibus aeneis.

Mas clypei cornu medio valde elongato, depresso porrecto-elevato, paulo
recurvo, piceo-rufo, supra (basi apiceque exceptis) lutescente. Hab. Sierra
Leone. Rev. D. F.Morgan. Mus. Brit.

Head green, coarsely punctured ; clypeus very much pro-
duced ; porrecto-elevated and slightly recurved, flattened and
deeply forked at the tip, the prongs nearly straight and fur-
nished on the posterior side at the tip with two blunt, slight
tubercular elevations ; on one of the prongs in the specimen
described there is a more distinct internal tooth. The basal part
of pedicel ferruginous brown, the fork above pale yellowish
brown, beneath reddish brown, the tips with the small teeth,
black; base of clypeus with two excavations, the sides of which
are produced in front into a somewhat acute brown tooth, di-
rected forwards and upwards.

Antenna dark brown, situated close in front of the eye,
basal joint sub-globular, largest, distinctly dotted, third, fourth
and fifth with irregular, rather deeply impressed dots on the
basal parts ; inner joint of knob, hairy on the outside.

Trophi brown, the apical lobe of maxilla with ferruginous
hairs. Mentum bright green, dotted, at base apparently
rounded and rather deeply excavated, in front notched, densely
hairy, having the sides towards the front sinuated.

Thorax above and below of a bright shining green with
coppery reflections, broad behind, in front narrowed and dis-
tinctly sinuated for reception of head; the front and sides dis-
tinctly margined ; posteriorly at insertion of scutellum there
is a slight somewhat sinuated lobe, with a short transverse
impressed line in front of the angles. The surface above is
most delicately punctured, the puncturing most distinct in
front, the raised lateral edges being free from dots. Scutellum
almost equilateral, bright green.

Elytra of the same shining green as thorax, but with little
if any metallic reflection ; the shoulders have a few irregular
ferruginous marks ; the surface most delicately punctured,
and having about twelve longitudinal lines of impressed dots,
the line on each side of suture being the most distinct ; the
sutural part of elytra at base depressed, the sides of suture
towards the middle raised, and at the tip poduced beyond
the plane of the elytra, lateral margin of elytra raised ; brown
with ferruginous hairs.

Body beneath green with coppery reflections, the margins
of the segments, as well as an abbreviated line on the pro-
ducedbasal segment of abdomen, ferruginous. Apical segment
green.

30 REMARKS ON THE GREAT EGRET.

Legs green, and in some parts curiously lineated with red.
Tibia internally, as well as the terminating spines and all
the joints of tarsi pitchy brown; femora of anterior pair densely
clothed in front with ferruginous hairs, before insertion with
tibia ferruginous ; anterior tibia with from eight to ten teeth
on the inner side, the two terminal the largest. The tibia with
regard to dentation not symmetrical. In all the tarsi there
is a rather strong spine between the claws, but no brush of
hairs on the terminal joint.

The Rev. D. F. Morgan has made two valuable collections
of Insects during his residence at Sierra Leone, both of which
he has most liberally presented to the British Museum. —
The above described species is named after him.

Art. V. — Upon the claims of the Ardea alba — Great Egret, or
White Hearn, to be considered a British bird. By Arthur
Strickland, Esq.

Doubts have by late authors been thrown upon the propriety
of continuing this species in our catalogue of additional vi-
sitors to this country. Mr. Jenyns, in his valuable work on
the British Vertebrata, has stated, " there is no well authen-
ticated instance of its having been met with in this country
of late years, or any British specimen in existence." Mr.
Gould in his beautifully illustrated work on European birds,
just completed, has reiterated these sentiments. I am happy
however, to be able most satisfactorily to refute these state-
ments, and to remove all doubts as to the propriety of retain-
ing this fine species in our list of British Birds, as an occa-
sional visitor ; indeed upon much better authority than many
we do not hesitate to retain as such.

Twelve or thirteen years ago, (but the exact date of which
I cannot now satisfactorily determine) a beautiful specimen
of this bird appeared at and in the neighbourhood of Horn-
seamere, in the East Riding of York. It had remained about
there some weeks, and several attempts had been made to
procure it by different members of the family of the proprie-
tor of that fine piece of water, when it was accidentally seen
by a friend of mine one morning, in his way to meet the
hounds, who took some more successful mode of procuring
it, and had it sent to him a few days afterwards in beautiful
condition. It was well preserved by Mr. Dunn, who still
lives at Hull, and remained some years in the possession of
the gentleman above alluded to, when it was kindly added to

BEMARKS ON THE GREAT EGRET. 31

my collection, where it is at this time in perfect preservation.

This bird being killed in winter, is without the scapular
plumes, and in that state which was formerly called the great
white heron. But much more recently another specimen, in
all the beauty of summer plumage, has been killed, not many
miles from the place that produced the above mentioned spe-
cimen. Three years ago this bird was seen by a labourer,
in the fields of James Hall, Esq., of Scorbro,1 near Beverley,
in the immediate neighbourhood of what used formerly be a
decoy, but which modern draining or cultivation has rendered
useless. The person who saw it procured a gun and killed
it while sitting upon the top of a gate. This specimen has
been beautifully preserved by Mr. Read of Doncaster, and is
now in the possession of Mr. Hall, who duly appreciates its
value.

We have thus two instances of this bird being recently
killed in this country, all the circumstances of which may
still be satisfactorily traced, and both of which specimens are
in perfect preservation at this time. But these are not the
only facts that can be deduced for warranting our continuing
this bird in our catalogue. In the beautiful collection of
British birds belonging to Mr. Folgambe, of Asberton, there
is a specimen of this bird, with a label attached to the case,
stating it was killed in the neighbourhood of that place ; —
as the country not far from Asberton is very likely to attract
such a bird, and as there can be no doubt that that label was
placed there by the late proprietor and former of that collec-
tion, whose accuracy cannot be disputed, there is no reason
to doubt but that this is another well authenticated instance
of its having been killed in this country, and in which the
specimen itself is still in existence.

Another example has been mentioned to me, but which I
am sorry to say I cannot enumerate amongst the well authen-
ticated instances ; indeed so little reliance is to be placed in
these matters upon the statements of those who do not accu-
rately know the facts, or do not carefully discriminate species,
that I should not have mentioned it were it not in the hopes
of drawing the attention of some one who may have an op-
portunity of investigating the account and removing our
doubt upon the subject. The statement is, that a bird of this
species was a few years ago seen, and after much trouble
procured, in the south east part of Lincolnshire ; a country
I may observe, very productive of the wading and water birds
— this specimen was stated to have been preserved and pre-

1 Not Scarborough, which is forty miles from this place.

32 ON THE SYNONYMY OF THE PERLITES.

sented to one of the collections in that county, but in which
town I could not learn.

As my only object at present is to rescue this interesting
bird from being unjustly excluded from our catalogue of vi-
sitors to this country, I will not enlarge upon other matters
connected with it, but only observe that an attentive exami-
nation of the specimens above referred to, will, I have no
doubt convince any one of the propriety of separating this
European species from the Ardea garetta, the great Egrett
or large white heron of America, a bird which has in many
instances been placed in our collection to represent this bird ;
but which is, I have no doubt a distinct species.

Burlington Quay, Dec. 10th 1838.

Art. VI. — On the Synonymy of the Perlites, together with brief
Characters of the old, and of a few new Species. By Edward
Newman, Esq., F.L.S.

Class— JYEUROPTER A. Natural Order— PERU TES.
Family PERLIDffi.

The family Perlidai I now use in a restricted sense, includ-
ing only those genera which are furnished with caudal setae :
Leach and Stephens incorporate with them the ecaudate Ne-
mourae.

Economy. — Larva and pupa active, carnivorous, aquatic :
imago winged, reposes by day in the crevices of the bark of
trees, &c, flies by night.

Geographical distribution. — Europe, Asia, Africa, North
America, New Holland, Van Dieman's Land.

Authorities. — Linneus,Fabricius,Fourcroy, Latreille, Geof-
froy, Panzer, Pictet, Curtis, Stephens, Westwood, Newman.

Genera. — Eusthenia, Pteronarcys, Perla, Isogenus, Chlo-
roperla, Leptoperla.

Genus I. — Eusthenia, Westwood.

I find this genus proposed in the English translation of
Cuvier's ' Regne Animal ' by Griffith and others : the follow-
ing quotation is all that appears on the subject. — " Mr. West-
wood has established this genus on account of the jaw being
horny, and very much dentated." As I trust Mr. Westwood
will give us a more detailed description on some future occa-

ON THE SYNONYMY OF THE PERLITES. 33

sion, I shall at present merely employ the name. Neither of
the species has ever been described under any other generic
appellation.

Sp. 1. Eust. Thalia. Subnigra; alae opaeae, fuscae, macula subrotunda
pone medium albida ; pedes nigri, femora basi testacea, tibiae prope
basin testaceo annulatae. (Corp. long. .5 unc. ant. .5, set. caud. .05,
alar, dilat. 1 425 unc.)

The apical portion of the forewings is completely reticulated, and the
costal cell interrupted by very numerous transverse nervures, the hind wings
possess similar characters ; the wings of the female are abbreviated occa-
sionally (but not invariably) in the same manner as those of the male in the
British species of the restricted genus Perla; the antenna have a large ba-
sal joint, and are somewhat longer than the body; the caudal setce are ex-
tremely short, scarcely equalling in length the diameter of the abdomen ;
they are curved, of uniform thickness, and are composed of few joints: in
colour this insect is nearly black, the forewings are opaque and dark brown,
with a nearly round white spot situated rather beyond the centre; the hind
wings are brown without the spot; a series of testaceous spots extends along
the costal margin of all the wings, and round the extreme tips ; the legs
are nearly black, the basal portion of the femora, and a ring round each of
the tibia being bright testaceous.

Inhabits Van Dieman's Land. There are four of this spe-
cies in the cabinet of the Rev. F. W. Hope, to whom I am
indebted for the loan of specimens. The extreme difference
between this and the cognate species, as regards the caudal
setae, would have induced me to raise it to the rank of a ge-
nus, had not Mr. Westwood, on examination, considered it to
belong to his genus Eusthenia.

Sp. 2. Eust. spectabilis. (Corp. long. 1 unc. alar, dilat. 2 unc.)

„ „ Westwood; Translation of Cuvier's 'Regne

Animal ' by Griffith and others. Part Insects, vol. ii. p. 348, tab.
lxxii. fig, 4.

Body, including the antenna and caudal setce of a very dark brown, near-
ly black ; the upper wings are opaque and brown, with an elongate red spot
near the costal margin, and rather nearer the base than the apex of the
wing, beyond and below this is a large blotch of dirty white ; the hind wings
are red at the base and black externally.

Inhabits Van Dieman's Land. In the cabinets of the En-
tomological Club (donor J. O. Westwood), Rev. F. W. Hope
and Mr. Westwood. The very ample and reticulated wings
of this beautiful insect, together with its straight caudal setce,
and general habit, lead us to the giants of this group compos-
ing the genus Pteronarci/s. It is on this account that I have
placed the described typical species subsequently to the new
and aberrant one.

Vol. III.— No. 25. n. s. d

34 Oft THE SYNONYMY OF THE TERLITES.

Genus II. — Pteronarcys, Newman.

The genus is founded on the reticulation of the wings,
which is nearly as complicated as in the genus Libellula. It
was first characterised in the 'Entomological Magazine,'
where a detailed description is given. Neither of the species
has ever been described under any other generic appellation.

Sp. 1. Pter. regalis. (Corp. long-. 1 unc. alar, dilat. 3.35 unc.)

„ „ Newman; 'Entomological Magazine,' vol. v. p. 176.

The body is dark brown ; the head, pro- meso- and meta-thorax are mark-
ed by a longitudinal yellow line common to them all ; each segment of the
abdomen has its posterior margin yellow ; the wings are hyaline, but have
throughout a dingy tinge of brown, which tinge is darker along the sub-
costal nervure of the forewings, and terminates in a still darker spot beyond
the middle. The legs are brown, the knees concolorous.

Inhabits Canada. A single specimen is in the cabinet of
the British Museum ; a second, purchased at the sale of Mr.
Lee's insects, in that of the Entomological Club.

Sp. 2. Pter. biloba. (Corp. long. .9 unc. alar dilat. 2.75 unc).

„ „ Newman; * Entomological Magazine,' vol. v. p. 176.

The body is dark brown, the head has no yellow markings, the prothorax
has various impressed lines, and also a faint yellow spot on the anterior and
posterior margins ; these are connected by a still fainter line ; the mesotho-
rax is shining and without markings, the metathorax is also shining, and
has a longitudinal yellow line. The abdomen is brown, the eleventh seg-
ment beneath being furnished with two flat obtuse processes, which are pa-
rallel with the abdomen, and point towards its extremity. The forewings
have three very conspicuous subcostal brown spots, and the hind wings one.
The legs are brown and the knees concolorous.

Inhabits North America. A single specimen (donor R.
Foster) is in the cabinet of the Entomological Club.

Sp. 3. Pter. Proteus. (Corp. long. .85 unc. alar, dilat. 2.75 unc,)

., „ Newman ; ■ Entomological Magazine,' vol. v. p.

177.

The body is dark brown, the head, prothorax and metathorax having an
interrupted longitudinal yellow line. The abdomen is brown, without the
appendages noticed in the last species. The wings are deeply and distinct-
ly variegated with brown. The legs are brown and the knees yellow.

Inhabits North America. Three specimens (donors E.
Doubleday and R. Foster) are in the cabinet of the Entomo-
logical Club.

ON THE SYNONYMY OF THE PERLITES. 35

Genus III. — Perla, Geoffroy.
Phryganea, Linneus ; Semblis, Fabricius, &c.

The wings are abbreviated in the male, in the female they
are fully developed ; the longitudinal nervures towards the
tips of the wings are uninterrupted (or nearly so) by trans-
verse nervures.

* Species aberrans.

Sp. 1. Perla abnormis. (Corp. long. .9 unc. alar, dilat. 2.5 unc.)

„ „ Newman, ' Entomological Magazine,' vol. v. p.

177.

Testaceous brown, with scarcely any shade of different colour, the eyes
and ocelli alone being obviously darker. Wings tinged with brown, the
upper portion of the tips of both fore and hind wings have various trans-
verse nervures, forming a decided although small portion of the wing com-
pletely reticulated.

Inhabits North America. Several specimens of this insect
are in the cabinet of the British Museum, also in that of the
Rev. F. W. Hope ; and one, much injured and discoloured,
owing to which circumstance it was originally characterised
as " fuscous, " in that of the Entomological Club, (donor R.
Foster.) The aberrant species is here again placed before the
normal ones, because it serves to connect the latter with the
species of Pteronarcys.

** Species normales.

Sp. 2. Perla Lycorias. Caput prothorace manifeste latius, testaceum;
oculis ocellisque fuscis: prothorax testaceus linea longitudinali nigra,
alarum apices haud reticulati. (Corp. long. .8 unc. alar, dilat. l.S
unc.)

Head considerably broader than the prothorax, and scarcely at all im-
mersed therein, testaceous, with the eyes and ocelli fuscous, and in some
specimens the ocelli are enclosed in a somewhat quadrate fuscous spot. —
The prothorax is testaceous with a black longitudinal line. The meso- and
metathorax are shining and pale brown, scarcely testaceous. The abdomen
is brown. The nervures of the wings are testaceous, the tips of the wings
have only the longitudinal nervures. The legs are testaceous.

Inhabits Canada. In the cabinets of the British Museum
and the Rev. F. W. Hope.

Sp. 3. Perla Xanthenes. (Corp. long. .75 unc. alar, dilat. 1.75 unc.)

„ „ Newman, ' Entomological Magazine,' vol. v. p.

178.

Pale yellow, the nervures of the wings, the antenna, and legs of the same
colour: the eyes and ocelli alone are black. The prothorax is quadrate but
much narrower posteriorly.

36 ON THE SYNONYMY OF THE PERLITES.

Inhabits -. Two specimens in the cabinet of the

British Museum.

Sp. 4. Perla bicaudata. (Corp. long. .7 unc. alarum dilat. 2 vmc.fem.)
„ Jlavipes, Fourcroy ; ' Entomologia Parisiensis,' p. 349.
„ a pattes jaunes, Geoffroy ; ' Histoire abrege des Insectes,
vol, ii. p. 231.

„ Jlavipes, Latreille; 'Hist. Nat. Crust. &c.' vol. xiii. p. 49.
„ bipunctata, Pictet; 'Annales des Sciences Naturelles,' vol.
xxviii. p. 55, tab. y.fig. 12 — 14.
„ marginata, Stephens; 'Illustrations of British Entomology'
Mand. vol. vi. p. 135.
Phryganea bicaudata, Linneus ; ' Fauna Suec.,' p. 379, No. 1489.
„ „ „ 'Syst. Naturae,' vol. i. 908, No. 1

„ maxima, Scopoli ; ' Entomologia Carniolica,' p. 269.

Head fulvous, with two brown spots including the ocelli, and often pro-
longed to the base of the antenna, which are nearly black, with the basal
joint generally yellow : in front of these spots is a third, somewhat triangu-
lar, and situated nearer to the clypeus. The prothorax is fulvous, with the
margins and a median longitudinal line dark brown or nearly black, and on
each side of this median line is a black spot in the living insect, but this
frequently nearly disappears after death, and in some specimens becomes
quite obliterated, and the entire disk of the prothorax appears brown. The
meso- and metathorax are bordered with yellow : the legs are yellow, with
the joints fuscous: the wings are less transparent than in the following
species, and the abdomen is of a more dusky hue.

Inhabits Europe and England. In the cabinet of the En-
tomological Club. That Fabricius and all subsequent authors
have entirely mistaken the Phryganea bicaudata of Linneus
will be perfectly evident to any entomologist who will take
the trouble to examine the Linnean specimen now in posses-
sion of the Linnean Society. As to the real distinctness of
the following species from the present, I am unable to decide.
I had considerable doubts on the matter, against which M.
Pictet's detailed characters of the species in their larva and
imago states, have so far prevailed as to induce me to keep
them separate for the present.

Sp. 5. Perla marginata. (Corp. long. .7 unc. alar, dilat. 2 unc.)
„ „ Panzer ; ' Fauna.' \xxi.Jig. 3.

„ „ Pictet ; ' Annales des Sciences Naturelles,' vol.

xxviii. p. 53, tab. 5,ff. 1 — 11.
Semblis marginata, Fabricius ; ' Entomologia Systematica,' vol.
ii. p* 73, No. 7.

Phryganea bicaudata,} ^Rcemer' 'Genera'' tab' xxiv' J* 8'
„ maxima, Scopoli ; ' Entom. Carniol.' p. 269.

The head is yellow, margined with brown. The ocelli are black, with a
triangular space between them brown ; the antenna are entirely black, -the
prothorax is brown, with a median longitudinal furrow and various irregu-

ON THE SYNONYMY OF THE PERLITES. 37

lar yellow markings, which usually disappear on the death of the insect :
the mesothorax is brown, with a yellow margin ; the metathorax is entirely
Drown : the legs are brown, the tibice rather paler : the wings are hyaline,
slightly tinged with yellow ; the abdomen is yellowish, with dusky sides.

Inhabits Europe and England. In the cabinet of the En-
tomological Club.

Sp. 6. Perla cephalotes. (Corp. long. .65 unc. alar, dilat. 1.75 unc. fern)
„ „ Curtis; ' British Entomology,' pi. 190.

„ „ Pictet ; * Annales des Sciences Naturelles, ' vol.

xxviii. p. 56, tab. vi.ff. 1 — 3.
„ „ Stephens ; ' Illustrations of British Entomology'

Mand., vol. vi. p. 136.

Head variegated with black, brown, and yellow ; prothorax brown, very
rugose, traversed longitudinally by a furrowed yellow line. Meso- and me-
tathorax nearly black, each with a brown or paler spot posteriorly. Abdo-
men yellow throughout in the female, at the extremity only in the male.

Inhabits Europe and England. In nearly all collections of
British insects. I see that M. Pictet complains of an incor-
rectness in Mr. Curtis's figure, as regards the neuration of
the wings in this species. In this I think he is wrong, the
nervures being so exceedingly variable as often to differ in
the opposite wings of the same insect. I could wish the con-
tinental figures were always as accurate as those in ' British
Entomology.1

Sp. 4. Perla Cymodoce. Nigricans, vitta communi longitudinali flava
capitis prothoracisque. (Corp. long. .65 unc. alar, dilat. 1.75 unc. fern.)
„ bicaudata ? Fourcroy ; * Entomologia Parisiensis,' p. 349.
„ bicaudata, Stephens ; ' Illustrations of British Entomology,'
Mand. vol. vi. p. 136.
Semblis bicaudata, Fabricius ; ' Ent. Syst.' vol. ii. p. 73, No. 8.

Nearly black, the head and prothorax marked by a longitudinal yellow
line, the prothorax is rugose, and has a median longitudinal furrow in
which occurs the yellow line : the wings are dusky ; the abdomen beneath
yellowish.

Inhabits Europe and England. In nearly all cabinets of
British insects ; always labelled as the Perla bicaudata.

(To be continued.)

88 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE

REVIEWS.

Art. I. — Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa. By An-
drew Smith, M.D. No. 3, Annulosa ; by W. S. MacLeay,
Esq., M.A., F.L.S. London : 1838. 4to., 75 pp. 4 col. plates.

As the contents of the present and preceding numbers of the
* Magazine of Natural History1 place before our readers
some valuable additions to our knowledge of the Cetoniida,
it appears to us a desirable opportunity for noticing the work
at the head of this article, or rather that portion of it in which
attention is so prominently directed to this group of insects.
The plan of this part is not in accordance with that of the
two which have preceded it, and to which we shall on a future
occasion advert. The Annulosa have been placed in the
hands of Mr. MacLeay, who has here given us, not a se-
ries of isolated descriptions, but illustrations of particular
groups worked out upon the quinarian principle.

Acquainted with Mr. MacLeay's great opportunities for
investigation whilst at the Havannah, naturalists were anx-
ious to learn whether his views, as developed in the ' Horae
Entomological,' remained unchanged, or whether the recent at-
tempts which have been made to uphold a trinarian, quater-
nian, or septenary system, had materially altered them. That
Dr. Smith's work should have been chosen for the solution of
these enquiries, we cannot but regret, as it gives to the work
the appearance of a want of unity in the plan ; and we fear
that there are many readers who would have preferred de-
scriptions and figures of a greater number of species, rather
than the endless and unsatisfactory observations intended to
support the favorite views of the author.

The number contains three memoirs, which we will proceed
shortly to notice. The first is entitled " On the Cetonia? of
South Africa," but it is rather a memoir on the quinary distri-
bution of the Cetoniidce, with descriptions of the new South
African species, twenty-one in number. It would lead us too
far to analyse the introductory remarks ; but it is worthy of
notice that Mr. MacLeay deems the following as the uniform
gradational series in the Animal Kingdom; 1, Sub-kingdom ;
2, Class ; 3, Order ; 4, Tribe ; 5, Stirps ; 6, Family : 7, Ge-
nus ; 8, Sub-genus ; 9, Section ; 10, Sub-section ; 11, Species :
each of these groups except the last, being divisible into five
minor groups, and forming a circle. But Mr. MacLeay him-
self, in the outset, shows the inconvenience of supporting such
a series, by introducing another division without a name, be-
tween the stirps and family ; namely, — " 5, Stirps, Petaloce-

ZOOLOGY OF SOUTH AFRICA. 39

ra, TJtalerophaga, 6, Family, Cetoniidae." Again, the mode
in which the genera, sub-genera, sections, and sub-sections
are treated, appears to us sufficient to prove the necessity for
the adoption of some other plan than that now proposed by
Mr. MacLeay. For instance, after characterising the family,
and asserting that it contains more than 600 species, — having
previously remarked that with the exception perhaps of Cen-
tral Africa, the world contains of Cetoniidce few species un-
known, at least in comparison with those which are known,
— we are favored with an account of the five genera, and of
the sub-genera, sections, and sub-sections known to the writ-
er. As there are five sub-genera in each genus, and so on,
the family will, according to Mr. MacLeay's views, naturally
comprise 25 subgenera, " 125 sections, and 625 subsections."
(p. 51) : but although the group is so well marked, the insects
of such large and conspicuous size, and the number so great
as to lead to the idea that the greater part are known; — Mr.
MacLeay has only been able to make out 47 sub-sections out
of the 625, exclusive of the sections which are not cut up in-
to sub-sections ; and even of the sections, of which there
ought to be 125, he has only filled up 40, exclusive of those
sub-genera which are not cut up into sections.

A plan is here also adopted which appears to us to set the
rules of zoological nomenclature entirely at defiance. All ge-
neric names are made to terminate in inus; and thus we have
Trichinus, Cetoninus, &c, instead of Trichius, Cetonia, &c.
This may or may not be an improvement, according to the
views of different readers ; but when we find the name of
Fabricius tacked to Trichinus, or that of Kirby to Gymneti-
nus, we cannot but object to the innovation. The five gene-
ra into which Mr. MacLeay divides the family are Trichinus,
Cetoninus, Gymnetinus, Macrominus, and Cryptodinus. —
But it is evident, on a very slight examination of an exten-
sive series of these insects, that these five groups are not
of equal rank ; for instance, Cetoninus and Macrominus
have characters much weaker than those of Trichinus or
Cryptodinus. Again, whilst we doubt the propriety of re-
garding Cryptodus as belonging to the family, we are asto-
nished to find it sunk into a sub-genus, and regarded as only
of equal rank with each of the four subgenera of Cremasto-
cheilus. Platygenia in like manner is of far higher rank than
Osmoderma, although regarded only as a sub-genus of Tri-
chinus; whilst the giant Goliathi are sunk into a sub-genus
of Cetonia.

We may be told that by considering them in the light in
which they are exhibited to us by Mr. MacLeay, they clearly

40 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE

prove the circular and quinarian arrangement ; but we main-
tain that nature is, in this work of Mr. MacLeay, repeatedly
violated. Any one, for instance, unprejudiced by system,
would at once see that Platygenia is of far higher rank than
Valgus, — that in fact it is equal, in its characters, to the four
united sub-genera Osmoderma, Valgus, Trichius, and Cam-
pulipus. Hence we consider that three additional genera at
least ought to be added to the family as extended by Mr.
MacLeay, namely, Platygenia, Cryptodus, and Goliathus. —
With respect to the sections and sub-sections of the sub- ge-
nera we have a similar remark to make. If we take the low-
est of these groups, we find for instance, two well-marked
groups, Trigonophora and Jumnos, regarded as sub-sections.
Now the character of these two sub-sections of sections of
sub-genera, as they are tenned by Mr. MacLeay, have been
given by Mr. Hope, in his recently-published * Coleopterists'
Manual,' and are as strong even as those of the sub-genera
themselves separated by Mr. MacLeay from the genus Ma-
crominus. It is not difficult to prove that an equality of rank
is not maintained in the sub-genera, sections, and sub-sections
throughout. In the genus Cetoninus the sub-sections of the
sections of the sub-genus Cetonia are of very varied charac-
ter ; for instance, the sub-sections of the section Typicce are
so closely allied that they are only distinguished by colour,
C. aurata andfastuosa being types of two of these sub-sec-
tions, between which the relation is as close as possible. In
the Trichioidece we have the sub-sections characterised from
their geographical range, and thus the two equally allied spe-
cies C. capensis and stictica are placed in different sub-sec-
tions. The sub-sections however of the Cremastocheilideous
and Polybapheous sections of the sub-genus Cetonia are cha-
racterised by structural peculiarities, they must therefore be
evidently of higher rank than those distinguished merely by
colour.

Mr. MacLeay will perhaps assert that he is correct in his
views, because Cetonia being the most complete in the num-
ber of its species, he is in that sub-genus best able to seize the
plan of the natural system ; but this will apply equally in con-
demnation of the application of his principles in other groups,
and even in working out this very sub-genus : thus if the spe-
cies composing " CETONINUS ; Cetonia, Typica? be so
close that no better character than colour can be found to
separate them into a required number of sub-sections, we
ought to consider that the same proximity would also exist
in every other group, if we knew all its species as fully as
those of the Typicce are known ; and hence, for want of a

THE ZOOLOGY OF SOUTH AFRICA. 41

knowledge of all the species existing in nature, groups hav-
ing good structural characters equivalent to sub-genera, have
been sunk to the level of sub-sections of sections of sub-ge-
nera. We are disposed to agree with Mr. MacLeay in advoca-
ting uniformity in the rank of the gradational series of nature ;
but we contend that Mr. MacLeay has acted in violation of his
own principles in every page of his work. As to the disad-
vantages resulting from giving names resembling those of ge-
nera to so many groups of sectional character, we have only
to cast our eyes over the work to be convinced of the difficulty
of following the author. There is no general synopsis given of
the sections and sub-sections, (which we have been compell-
ed to construct, in order to gain a clearer notion of the author's
meaning), and as we have the specific name used indiscrimi-
nately in conjunction with its generic, sub-generic, sectional,
or sub-sectional name, the confusion of ideas thereby origi-
nating is completely unavoidable and most perplexing. Thus
the Agenius Horsfieldii (p. 14) is called Trichinus Horsfieldii
in the plate, and [Trichinus] Campulipus Horsfieldii in the
text : and throughout the figures we have either the generic
or sub-generic name alone used. And thus in speaking of
the Jumnos Ruckeri we may call it Cetoninus Ruckeri, Co-
ryphe Ruckeri, Rhomborhina Ruckeri, or Jumnos Ruckeri,
its legitimate name being Cetoninus Coryphe Rhomborhina
Jumnos Ruckeri. Surely this kind of nomenclature cannot
be adopted.

Of the species we have but little space to remark further
that Mr. MacLeay is not sufficiently acquainted with what
has already been done. This will be evident when we state
that four at least out of the six species figured as novelties
have been previously described. Trichius Horsfieldii is Age-
nia Jlavipennis, Gory ; Cetonia leonina is scarcely a variety
of Get. compressa, Goldfuss ; Ischnostoma pica is Cet. albo-
marginata, Herbst : Macrominus spinitarsis is Cet. variabi-
lis, Gory ; and Ischnostoma spatulipes is probably the male
of Cet. pimeloides, Hope : the specimen of the last-named
insect, which we have under examination, thus labelled by
M. Gory himself, (as indeed are the majority of the Cetonia
above mentioned, which have enabled us to give these cor-
rections), having one of the posterior calcaria spatulate, but
with the clypeus truncate.

We have given a greater extent to our notice of this me-
moir, not only because it occupies more than two-thirds of
the part before us, but also because it will render it unneces-
sary to enter into any farther notice of the principles adopted
by Mr. MacLeay in the other parts of his work.

Vol. III.— No. 25. n. s. e

4*2 ILLUSTRATIONS OF SOUTH AFRICAN ZOOLOGY.

The second memoir is " On the Brachyurous Decapod
Crustacea brought from the Cape by Dr. Smith," and con-
tains descriptions of twenty-three new species. Instead how-
ever of giving us a sketch of the primary distribution of the
Crustacea, we have the debateable question of the metamor-
phoses of these animals introduced, apparently for the pur-
pose of telling us that Mr. J. V. Thompson has merited well
of science for his researches, " which is more than can be said
of any of those persons who, by crude inferences, but never
by direct observation, ventured to attack him." Can Mr.
MacLeay be ignorant that Rathke has most elaborately traced
the developement of the embryo cray-fish ? — That Westwood
has dissected the ova of the land crab of the West Indies ? — •
And that Rathke has recently asserted that "as to the
Decapods, so far as I have examined their developement, I
must deny the assertion of Thompson : and of them I can say
nothing less than that at the end of their existence in the egg
they have exactly the same aspect, and are as fully develop-
ed, as the full grown individuals." — (Annals Nat. Hist. 1837).
If these be not direct observations, — or if they merit the term
of "crude inferences," we would ask what kind of observa-
tions Mr. MacLeay would require ?

Mr. MacLeay divides the Decapods into five tribes, — Te-
tragonostoma and Trigone-stoma (forming the Brachyura), and
Anomura, M.E., Sarobranchia, and Caridea, Latr., (forming
the Macroura. Each of the tribes Tetragonostoma and Tri-
gonostoma is divided into five stirpes, which are placed op-
posite to each other from analogy ; but nothing appears more
arbitrary than the adoption of their analogous characters, for
instance, Pinnotheres and Droniia, or Cancer and Corystes,
are as unlike as can well be conceived, and yet they are op-
posed to each other. As to the genera and other subordinate
divisions, the author constantly expresses his inability to de-
cide upon them, from not being acquainted with a sufficient
number of species.

The third memoir is "On a new species of Cerapterus"
but it contains a monograph of the genus, so far as Mr. Mac-
Leay was acquainted with the species ; and also observations
on the family (Paussida) to which it belongs. To these Mr.
Westwood has published a reply in the last number of the
* Entomological Magazine,' in which he has described a fifth
species, not contained in Mr. MacLeay's monograph.

We cannot conclude without alluding to the beautiful ex-
ecution of the four plates with which this part is embellished
from the pencil of Mr. C. Curtis, although they are destitute
of those structural details of the parts of the mouth, which

FOOTMARKS IN STOURTON QUARRY. 43

Mr. MacLeay has shown to be so necessary: — nor without
expressing our regret that the author should have thought it
necessary to speak in such harsh terms of so many of his fel-
low-labourers.

SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE.

The determination of the zoological relations of the fossil jaws from
the Stonesfield strata, and also those of the animals whose footmarks
have been left in rocks of still higher antiquity, are two subjects now
before the scientific world. As regards the first of these, our readers
are already in possession of much interesting matter that has been ad-
vanced by two distinguished continental naturalists, who entertain very
opposite opinions. With respect to the sandstone impressions, this sub-
ject is so nearly related to that of the " supposed fossil didelphs," that
we are induced (knowing the report to be a correct one) to quote the
following article from the columns of the ' Liverpool Mercury, ' of the
24th of August, 1838. It contains the substance of a lecture deliver-
ed by Prof. Grant, at the Liverpool Mechanics' Institution ; and the
portions we extract refer to the numerous footmarks lately noticed in
Stourton stone-quarries.

In the oldest fossiliferous beds of transition rocks the organic
remains are chiefly of invertebrated animals, with obscure
traces of fishes belonging to forms altogether extinct ; and al-
though in the secondary mountain limestone, immediately be-
low the coal, diversified forms of fishes abound, no trace of
reptiles or of warm-blooded animals has yet been perceived
in rocks of that antiquity. In the new red sandstone before
us, however, the densest parts, — the teeth, and distinct impres-
sions of the feet of reptiles, begin to make their appearance,
and most colossal forms of the animals of this class abound
through all the lias formations, extending almost from this
sandstone rock to the oolites. The numerous large footmarks
on this block of sandstone are most quadruped-like in their
forms, but as no fragment or trace belonging to that elevated
class of animals has ever been observed in formations below
the oolites, which oolites approach to the newest of the se-
condary rocks, it behoves us not only to compare these im-
pressions cautiously with the feet of different classes of verte-
brated animals, but also to suspend our judgment, if they are
not capable of affording satisfactory evidence regarding the
nature of the animal which has left them. In attempting to
draw determinate conclusions from imperfect relics of this
kind, it is to be remembered that Scheuchzer described, as
the remains of our species, as a homo diluvii testis, what is

44 FOOTMARKS OF CHIROTHERIUM

now acknowledged by every one to be the skeleton of a sala-
mander, and that Spallanzani described as the relics of ante-
diluvian giants, what were afterwards found to be bones of
extinct elephants. An imperfect relic from the new red sand-
stone of Burdiehouse, lately pronounced by an English ana-
tomist to be the tusk of a wolf, has been subsequently ascer-
tained to be the tooth of a sauroid fish, common in that for-
mation. Although no remnant of our race was ever found
but in alluvial deposits, impressions of this kind found in the
sandstones of America have been confidently referred to the
human species : and impressions identical in every respect
with those now before you, and which were found in the new
red sandstone of Germany, have been pronounced, by a dis-
tinguished naturalist of that country, to belong to an animal
of the class Mammalia, and of the order Marsupialla. The
free condition of the supposed thumb both on the large hind
feet and on the small anterior extremities in the specimen
before you, as in those of Germany, might as well entitle this
animal to a place among the Quadrumana, next to man, but
the geologists are more attached to the heterogeneous order
of marsupial quadrupeds, from a belief that certain bones
found in the oolites of Stonesfield, have been determined to
belong to Mammalia of this order. Impressions of the feet
of tortoises were observed several years since in quarries of
this new red sandstone in Dumfriesshire, and in other locali-
ties, and they abound in this sandstone from the Stourton
quarry, along with numerous impressions of the webbed feet
of Emydes, of jointed reeds, and of the slender feet and claws
of lacertine reptiles. But, as might be expected, these foot-
marks of tortoises were at first referred to Mammalia, to dogs
or similar quadrupeds walking up an inclined plane of yield-
ing sand, which had subsequently consolidated, to form the
dense rocks of the quarry.

The rock at Stourton from which these specimens have been
obtained, is extremely soft, loose, and everywhere percolated
by water, so that but little of it is capable of being used as a
building material. It dips about fifteen degrees to the east,
like the present acclivity of Stourton hill, and it appears to
have done so when the foot-marks were impressed and the
reeds grew on its surface. It forms the surface rock of all
this part of England on the shores of the Mersey, and appears
to have been very little disturbed in its primitive horizontal
position by voltaic agency, so that its rapidly decomposing
surface forms the loose sandy soil around this city, and we
have to wade for a mile through deep sand, in ascending
Stourton hill to the quarry. But the same new red sandstone

AT STOURTON HILL. 45

acquires very different properties where it has been subjected
to pressure from superincumbent strata, and to greater heat
from volcanic action; as around Edinburgh, where it has been
consolidated by the volcanic agency, which has thrown up
Arthur's seat, Salisbury Crag, the Calton-hill, Castle-hill,
Inchkeith, and other masses of trap rocks, — and where this
sandstone forms the beautiful material of which that city is
built. In Stourton quarry there are two distinct strata of
these footmarks, about two feet vertically separated from each
other, and the workmen believe that there is a third stratum
of the same impressions a very little lower in the rock ; but I
have been able to examine only the two upper strata of these
remarkable impressions. This specimen, and the others in
Liverpool, were obtained from the upper stratum of markings,
which occurs at a vertical depth of 37 ft. from the actual sur-
face of the rock. The lower stratum of footmarks is 39 feet
from the surface of the rock, and the sandstone in this quarry
has been worked in some places to a depth of nearly 100 ft.
and has been pierced for a well to a further extent of 40 ft.
without reaching the lower limit of this bed of new red sand-
stone. The continuity of this bed of sandstone is only inter-
rupted by occasional very thin conformable layers of soft clay,
which vary from one line to two inches in thickness. The
prints of the feet have always been first made on the upper
surface of these thin layers of clay, which have but imper-
fectly communicated them to the surface of the rock below,
but have given most perfect casts of these impressions to the
under surface of the superincumbent rock. The specimen
before you, therefore, and all the others which have been ob-
tained, do not represent the prints left by the animal on the
soft substance on which it once trod, but are perfect casts of
these prints taken by the under surface of the rock immedi-
ately above. The same is the case with the foot impressions
met with in Scotland, Germany, America, and everywhere
else, indeed, the impressions could not have been preserved
but by the intervention of this clay, which, by interrupting
the continuity of the sand-deposits, has prevented these prints
from becoming obliterated. There are also innumerable
small isolated pieces of soft clay spread through the texture
of the sandstone, and the superincumbent soft clay is much
used in this neighbourhood in brick-making for building. —
A large portion of the present floor of Stourton quarry exhi-
bits the inferior stratum of foot impressions, at the depth of
39 ft. from the surface of the rock ; but as the clay which re-
ceived the prints adheres tenaciously to the under surface of
the superincumbent rock, which has been there removed, the

46 FOOTMARKS OF CHIROTHERIUM

exposed prints seen at present on the floor of the quarry, are
far from being so distinct as in the block before you. The
workmen have traced these large footmarks in a continuous
single line, produced by the walking of one animal, for 20 or
30 feet over the surface of the rock, and they occur everywhere
at this level in the quarry. Sometimes the impressions are
crowded together in great numbers in a small space, as in the
specimen before you, where there are about twenty marks of
the large hind foot alone in a surface of about 5 ft. by 4 ft. ;
in other places the rock is marked only by the pacing of a sin-
gle animal across the surface. Towards the upper part of
this block you observe four large footmarks passing in a curv-
ed direction to the right side, and below them three similar
large footmarks directed to the left side ; but both above and
below these two lines, nearer the margins of the block, you
perceive numerous other large footmarks of the same kind. —
These large impressions of the hind feet, which are about 9
inches long, 4 inches broad, and pentadactylous, are always
accompanied, as in the German specimen preserved in the
British Museum and figured in Dr. Buckland's late Treatise,
by small anterior feet, about 4 inches in length and breadth,
also pentadactylous, and with an opposable or free toe, like the
hind feet. From the point of the right or left foot to the point
of the same foot in advance, I have commonly measured a
clear pace of about 3 ft. 8 inches, but the feet of the opposite
side of the body are here interposed, and nearly in the same
straight line. The similai4 feet of this animal must therefore
have moved alternately, as in saurian and chelonian reptiles,
and not in pairs, like those of kangaroos, rodents, and other
leaping quadrupeds, which have this great disparity between
the anterior and posterior members. The impressions indi-
cate a free toe or thumb both on the anterior and hinder feet
of this animal, and the creature thus apparently endowed with
prehensile members has been called Chirotherium, or handed
beast ; but this quadrumanous character is not seen in the
order of marsupial quadrupeds, to which Kaup supposed the
unknown animal to belong.

Associated with these anomalous markings of the Chiro-
therium, are numerous short club feet, with large broad claws
of tortoises ; some feet with the toes and claws more elonga-
ted and webbed, of Emydes, or wading Chelonia ; many with
the long free toes and slender claws of lizards ; some ap-
proaching in form and gait to ornithichnites, but without the
hind toe, and with the anterior toes approximated and col-
lapsed; and some resembling the long tapering feet of frogs,
advancing by alternate motions of their hinder webbed feet

AT STOURTON HILL. 47

alone ; — but all agreeing with the impressions of the reeds
and branches of trees, in indicating a great river or estuary
opening remotely into the sea, and that the Chirotherium it-
self may have been also semi-aquatic, like the crocodiles and
Emydes of existing shores.

In the crocodilian reptiles, of which numerous gigantic re-
mains abound in the lias deposits, nearly as ancient as this
rock ; the hands are proportionately very short and broad,
and pentadactylous, as in this Chirotherium, and the outer
finger projects, short and free, as the supposed inner finger
or thumb in the animal before you. In these reptiles, also,
it is the outer, and not the inner toe, of the proportionately
large hind feet, which is short and rudimentary ; and there
may have been great diversities in the extent or freedom of
this outer rudimentary hind toe in the various Teleosauri,
Steneosauri, and other semi-aquatic forms of reptiles which
have long become extinct like the Ichthyosauri and Plesio-
sauri which swarmed at the same period in the ocean. If
we suppose the free projecting toes of the Chirotherium to
have been inner toes or prehensile thumbs, this animal must
have crossed the line of gravity of its body with its feet, at
every pace, in bringing them to the ground, as may easily be
perceived by carrying the eye along the line of footmarks. —
Although this supposition agrees with the developement, if
muscular and not osseous, at the base of the thumb, it forces
us to believe that this animal crossed the right foot to the
left side of the line of gravity of the body, by the entire
breadth of that foot, before it reposed it upon the ground, and
that the left foot, to the same extent, crossed over to the right
side before it rested to support the trunk. But, if the sup-
posed thumbs, which here curve backwards in a manner ex-
traordinary for such members, be only forms of the short out-
er toes of the large hind feet of crocodiles, gavials, and alli-
gators, the feet no longer cross the median line of the body,
but assume the positions seen in the walking of most other
reptiles. Although I have not been able *to find any shells,
bones, or other organic relics in these rocks, nor have heard
of any having been observed by others, the ordinary ripples
seen on the sands of the seashore, and on the banks of lakes,
are every where common and distinct in the sandstone of this
quarry. In the upper stratum of the footmarks there is a re-
markable pitted appearance over the surface of the impressed
clay, as if produced by drops of rain, or by the unequal shrink-
ing of the clay in drying, and this often produces a warty ap-
pearance in the casts of the footmarks. In some of the spe-
cimens preserved I perceive smooth, rounded, broad markings,

48 NEW WORKS IN NATURAL HISTORY.

with transverse slight corrugations, as if the animal, between
the efforts of progression, had rested its belly on the ground,
a constant character with reptiles, but not with mammals. —
The long, recurved, angular claw seen distinctly on the sup-
posed posterior thumb, as on the other hind toes of the Chi-
rotherium, is crocodilian, and not mammiferous ; it is obvious
on the rudimentary outer toe of alligators, but was never seen
on the opposable hind thumb of an opossum. In the foot-
marks you perceive that the heel of the hind foot has pressed
heavily on the ground, and raised much of the sand around
it, as in the heavy-bodied and feeble-footed reptiles, and that
it was not able to raise itself on tip-toe, and sink its claws
into the ground, like the more active and vigorous unguicu-
lated quadrupeds. The terminal tapering of the hind toes of
this animal into the large, broad, conical claws, is crocodilian
in its character, and most unlike the sudden setting-on of
these parts on the rounded toes of quadrupeds ; so that, al-
though these relics, of vast antiquity in the histoiy of our
globe, are full of scientific interest, and may long exercise the
acumen of naturalists, they do not appear to me to have yet
satisfactorily established the existence of hot-blooded mam-
miferous quadrupeds at the remote period assigned to the de-
position of this new red sandstone. They show that notwith-
standing the extremely perishable character of all organic de-
posits committed to those porous siliceous beds, percolated
incessantly by water, they are capable of preserving, for an
indefinite period, impressions thus mechanically made upon
their surface, and of transmitting entire, to the remotest pos-
terity, the most delicate footmarks of animals, every other
trace of whose existence has long been effaced from our
globe.

Among the promised forthcoming Works on Natural His-
toiy or general science, w^e may mention ' A History of the
Fishes of Madeira,7 by the Rev. R. T. Lowe ; in which the
author will have the able assistance of Miss M. Young, in de-
lineating the species. The admirable sketches made by this
lady which illustrate Mr. Lowe's already published ichthyolo-
gical memoirs in the ' Transactions of the Zoological Society,'
lead us eagerly to anticipate the appearance of this more ex-
tensive undertaking.

Mr. Edward Newman announces an illustrated ' History
of British Ferns': and the editor of the 'Arcana of Science' a
scientific annual, entitled ' The Year-Book of Facts.'

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY,

FEBRUARY, 1839.

Art I. — New Doubts relating to the supposed Didelphis of Stones-
field.1 By M. De Blainville.

[M. De Blainville introduces the present memoir with some general ob-
servations explanatory of the reasons which have led him to enter so fully
into details, in laying before the Academy his opinions upon the subject
under discussion].

It was under the influence of these sentiments that I had the
honour of reading before the Academy on the 20th of August
last, some doubts and observations relating to the supposed
fossil Didelphis found at Stonesfield ; in which observations
my object was rather to draw the attention of English na-
turalists to a matter of such great importance in palaeontology,
and to show how questions of this nature ought to be treated,
than really to solve the problem, deprived as I was of the ne-
cessary elements for so doing. After having indeed set forth
and compared the data that I was able to advance as premi-
ses in the question, and which data necessarily became the
special subject of the discussion, I arrived at the conclusion
that the fossil jaws from the oolitic schist of Stonesfield had
certainly not belonged to an animal of the marsupial subclass,
nor even to the family of the Insectivora of the placental sub-
class; and that hence it became probable that it was
not even a mammal, but rather an oviparous animal of
the family of the saurians, in the class Reptilia. But before
giving a definite character to these conclusions, I was very
careful to mention to you that I had not examined any one

1 ' Nouveaux Doutes sur le pretendu Didelphe de Stonesfield ; (Comptes
Rendus,' October 6th, 1838, p. 727)
Vol. III.— No. 26, n. s. r

50 NEW DOUBTS RESPECTING

of the original fragments upon which I raised these doubts,
having only seen the figures and descriptions of them which
had been published by M. Constant Prevost, Mr. Broderip,
and Dr. Buckland. I therefore concluded my memoir by in-
voking the aid of those skilful observers who had the fossil
remains in their possession, or at their disposal, to assist in
the farther examination of the question.

The result of my appeal has not, I am happy to say, been
long delayed. Professor Buckland, who has two of these
fragments under his care in the Ashmolean Museum, at Ox-
ford, being about to visit Paris, Dr. Roberton, at the sugges-
tion of M. Laurillard, happily thought of requesting him to
bring them with him, which he did ; but unfortunately for me,
and perhaps for the question, the day on which Dr. Roberton
wished me to pass an evening at his house with Dr. Buck-
land, I had set out for the country, and thus lost the oppor-
tunity of clearing up my doubts, and of correcting any errors
I might have committed. Nevertheless this courteous and li-
beral attention of Professor Buckland has not been without
advantageous results, since, during my absence, four persons,
— M. Agassiz, M. Valenciennes, and two of our fellow-mem-
bers, M. E. GeofTroy and M. Dumeril, have made known to
the Academy their observations on the same subject; and
thus the inquiry is seriously taken up.

The first of these observations in point of date is due to M.
Agassiz, who, in a letter addressed to the Academy on the 3rd
of September, and inserted in the 'Connotes Rendus,' (p. 537,
2nd. sem., 1838), claims priority in the view which I had ad-
duced, by saying that since the year 1835 he had offered an
opinion concerning the supposed Didelphis from Stonesfield,
perfectly in accordance with mine. Although I certainly had
no knowledge of the fact, it would have been very unskilful
of me not to have supported my opinion by those of observers
like Prof. Grant, M. Agassiz, and M. Meyer ; I therefore did
so, and I thought I should secure myself against all reproach
on this subject, by quoting M. Agassiz as having at first en-
tertained the same views as myself, but as having afterwards
apparently abandoned them. As to the rest, I am far from re-
fusing myself the credit, which I may claim as a matter of
justice, of having added some fresh details upon this subject.
M. Agassiz appears to have mentioned these fossils for the
first time in 1835, in a very short note inserted in the German
Journal of MM. Leonhard and Bronn, p. 186 ; and, according
to M. Valenciennes, the object of this note is to establish, in
a definite manner, the opinion that the Stonesfield ani-
mals are undoubtedly mammals, but that their affinity with

THE SUPPOSED FOSSIL DIDELPIIIS. 51

the marsupials does not appear to him so evident ; that the
teeth are more like those of the Insectivora, and that they also
bear some resemblance to those of the seals. From this then
it appears that the claim of M. Agassiz can relate only to the
erroneously supposed relation of these fossil remains to the
opossums, and to a certain resemblance of the posterior molars
to those of many species of seal. I therefore very willingly
repeat what I said in my first " Doubts," and which I learned
from M. de Roissy, that M. Agassiz had told him that he had
printed in a note added to the German translation of Prof.
Buckland's work on Geology and Mineralogy, that the fossil
bones of Stonesfield did not belong to a mammiferous animal.
To this M. de Roissy added that he knew from another source,
and not from M. Agassiz, as I erroneously remarked in my
first "doutes," that Dr. Grant, the Professor of Comparative
Anatomy at the London University, had advanced the same
opinion in his course of Lectures this year, at the same time
assigning his reasons for it.

But as I have been able myself to consult the first article
quoted above, in M. Leonhard's Journal, and the second in
the German translation of Dr. Buckland's work, of which,
however, a part only has recently arrived in Paris ; — I think
it requisite for me to give my own literal translation of it, in
order that I may be able to notice some inaccuracies which
have escaped M. Valenciennes.

In the first place let us consider the first note.

"As to the enigmatical species of Didelphis from Stones-
field," says M. Agassiz, " I now know that it is not a fish. —
I have seen all the specimens which are in the English col-
lections,— five lower half jaws belonging to two species, — but
nowhere any trace of vertebra, or of bones of the extremities.
The trenchant crown of the largest molars, laterally com-
pressed, always has two small notches on each side, and con-
sequently five pointed tubercles. The smaller ones have but
three ; they are certainly those of mammals ; but that they
may be compared with the teeth of the marsupials, is not the
case. The dental system indeed has also much resemblance
to that of the Insectivora, and each separate tooth resembles
even the greater part of those of the seals, near which group
the animal to which these jaws belonged should form a dis-
tinct genus. In fact the aspect of these fossil fragments is so
peculiar, that it draws our attention towards aquatic animals
rather than away from them." — * (Neue Jahrbuch Mineral, und
Geolog. von Leonhard und Bronn, 1835; torn, iii., p. 185;
in a letter written from Neufchatel, Switzerland, June 20th,
1835.)

52 NEW DOUBTS RESPECTING

M. de Blainville also quotes the second note of M. Agassiz, which,
though longer, adds scarcely anything to the contents of the first; ex-
cept that M. Agassiz very justly remarks that M. Cuvier, in speaking
of these fossils, never positively affirmed that they ought to rank in the
genus Didelphis ; and he [M. Agassiz] proposes to designate the ge-
nus by the name of Amphigonus,

From these two passages we may infer, that prior to his
having actually seen these fossils, M. Agassiz had supposed
that they might belong to a fish ; an opinion which he has
abandoned to refer them decidedly to the class Mammalia.

Thus, as M. Valenciennes properly observes, it would be
unjust in M. Agassiz to lay claim to the opposite opinion ;
although in fact neither of these articles has for its object the
establishing, in a direct manner, that these remains from
Stonesfield are those of mammals; as M. Valenciennes ne-
vertheless observes. We may, on the contrary, find there the
assertion, though destitute of proofs, that the dental system
of the supposed Didelphis of Stonesfield is too far removed
from that of the marsupials to allow of our placing it in that
sub-class ; and that if, regarded in its totality, it bears a cer-
tain resemblance to what we find in the Insectivora, the pos-
terior teeth in particular may also be compared to those of
certain seals. He thus leans towards the opinion that it is
rather an aquatic than a terrestrial animal, considering it as
approaching to the seals. We there also find that M. Agas-
siz was of opinion that these fossils ought to form a distinct
genus ; but that he did not propose for this genus the name
Amphigonus until his second note ; of this, indeed I, was ig-
norant, as M. Valenciennes very correctly observes, nor could
I possibly have known it, since this note, if it were printed
at the time my memoir was read, was certainly not published.

Finally, I ought to notice a very just observation of M.
Agassiz, which is, that M. G. Cuvier, in speaking of these
fossils, always retained a doubtful form of expression, or at
least very slightly affirmative, and such as would follow from
a very rapid and consequently slight examination.

But of the four communications made to the Academy re-
lating to the supposed Didelphis from Stonesfield, that of M.
Valenciennes must necessarily occupy the first place, as be-
ing the longest. In fact, Dr. Buckland, who from the first
intrusted these fossils to M. Laurillard, that is to say, not
only the specimen upon which rests the Did. Prevostii of M.
Cuvier, but also another, in some respects more complete, and
of which no one had previously spoken ; — at the particular
request of M. Valenciennes, very obligingly allowed him to
make them the subject of his observations, and even to take

THE SUPPOSED FOSSIL DIDELPHIS. 53

from them impressions in sulphur, very carefully executed,
and the casts in plaster were thus procured which are to en-
rich the paleontological collection of our Museum.

M. Valenciennes has also received, through M. Laurillard,
a drawing very carefully executed, which appears to me to
be that originally sent to M. G. Cuvier by Mr. Phillips, and
which was taken from a third half-jaw in the possession of
Mr. Sikes.

So that instead of the two specimens of this curious fossil
being, as I imagined, the only ones existing in England, ge-
ologists now possess four, including that in Mr. Broderip's
collection, and even five, according to the first note of M.
Agassiz, without reckoning the fragment in "TEcole des
Mines'' which we mentioned in our first "doutes," and which
is generally referred to the saurians.

From an actual examination of the two portions of jaw
brought over by Professor Buckland, merely the casts of
which have been exhibited to the Academy ; — and from the
drawing of that in the collection of Mr. Sikes ; — M. Valen-
ciennes returns to M. Cuvier's opinion, that it is a marsupial
mammal ; he however thinks, like every one before him, that
it must form a distinct genus, to which he assigns another
new name ; " mais qu'il choisit assez signicatif pour qu'a lui
seul, il formule nettement sa maniere de voir."

It is also on this side of the question that M. E. Geoffroy
de Saint-Hilaire, and M. Dumeril have ranged themselves ;
the one without explaining the reasons of his conviction, the
other basing his upon the presence of a condyle, and the uni-
ty of the jaw.

Without doubt persons who are little versed in the study
of organic structures, and who place too implicit a reliance
on perhaps rather a presumptuous assertion, that by the aid of
a single bone, or of a simple facette of a bone, the skeleton
of an animal can be reconstructed, and consequently its class,
order, family, genus, and even species determined, may very
probably think it strange that four or five half-jaws, more or
less furnished with teeth, should be insufficient to indicate
promptly and with certainty to what class the animal to which
they belonged should be referred ; but their astonishment
would cease if they would in the first place observe that in
the present case these jaws are perhaps not one of them en-
tire ; that they are not to be fully examined either by our-
selves or by the parties to whom they belong, on account of
their attachment to the matrix enclosing them, and its ex-
treme hardness ; but above all because the assertion above
quoted, although it has almost passed into a common phrase,

54 NEW DOUBTS RESPECTING

and is to a certain degree correct when we apply it to known
animals, or to such as differ but little from them, becomes
strained, and even quite fallacious, when the forms in ques-
tion are more or less isolated, whether recent or fossil ; this
will be placed beyond doubt in the continuation oi' my great
paleontological work.

M. De Blainville then passes on to the detailed description of three
portions of jaw, which form fresh elements in the solution of the ques-
tion.

With respect to the first, the basis of the Did. Prevostii, of
which he has been able to form a much more correct idea
from the cast, and one very different to that derived from very
inaccurate sketches, especially that given by M. Prevost, —
he alludes chiefly to there being no trace of a condyle, but ra-
ther a sort of articular fossa, something like that in fishes ; he
insists upon the presence of a lower marginal ridge, {sillori),
and he observes that the teeth, which are far from displaying
that regularity of disposition indicated by the figures which
have been mentioned, have the summit of their roots adher-
ent to, and continuous with, the substance of the jaw.

Respecting the second portion of jaw which is now for the
first time introduced in the discussion, and which, while it is
more perfect with regard to the bone, is much less so as re-
spects the dental system, — M. de Blainville thinks, in oppo-
sition to what was said of it by M. Valenciennes, who looked
upon it as the inner side, that it is also a ramus of the right
side, with its external aspect visible; and in proof of his
opinion he points out the general curve of the horizontal por-
tion longitudinally, and its declension towards the dental
line ; the existence of a "fosse masstterienne" and of an an-
gular process, which is evidently convex on the free side and
bent back on the adherent one ; and finally, the existence of
the same ridge (sillon) observed in the preceding piece. He
does not admit the orifice of the dental canal noticed by M.
Valenciennes as a small circular foramen, situated at the point
of junction of the fosse massetgrienne with the horizontal
branch ; M. de Blainville supposing that this appearance,
which is so evident in the drawing, is owing to some defect
in the colouring, since there exists no trace of it in the sul-
phur impression, nor upon the plaster cast. Neither does
he admit the symphysis described by M. Valenciennes, any
more than an articular condyle, nor even a coronoid process,
clearly as it appears terminated in the figured fragment, be-
cause nothing similar shows itself in the sulphur impression.

Finally, with respect to the third piece, consisting of a de-
sign carefully executed, which he has merely seen for a mo-

THE SUPPOSED FOSSIL DIDELPHIS. 55

Kient in the hands of M. Valenciennes, who unfortunately did
not consider himself at liberty to lend it to him, — M. de Blain-
ville thinks that the palmated, five-lobed form of the posterior
molars would alone be sufficient to negative all approach to
the didelphs, and even to the Mammalia.

Insomuch that M. de Blainville reviewing the reasons up-
on which M. Valenciennes bases his opinion, namely, — the
existence of a condyle, the presence of which upon either of
the impressions cited M. de Blainville positively denies, —
the form of the teeth, which certainly have no relation in num-
ber, disposition, or shape, to those of the Didelphis murina,
any more than to those of any other known mammal, although
they support themselves upon what M. Agassiz has said of
the teeth having five points, disposed as in the Insectivora,
which is not the case, as we have seen in the note given li-
terally above ; the aspect of the ascending ramus, which, in
both specimens is mutilated, and has only left its impression,
indicating a kind of very slender plate, slightly convex ex-
ternally, and concave within ; —the symphysis, which exists
only in appearance ; — the opening of the dental canal, of
which also he denies the existence, since the jaw is seen on
the outer side, and which had neither the form nor the posi-
tion of that of the Didelphis, nor even of other Mammalia ;
— the prolongation of the angular process, which has nothing
in its shape to remind us of that of the didelphs, and which
rather brings to our recollection that of certain fishes ; — and
finally, the compound structure of the jaw, which might very
well be no longer distinctly visible in a fragment so long ago
fossilized, and yet have existed ; and of which, it appears to
him there are left some traces in the lower marginal ridge still
visible in the two specimens, and in the projection where it
commences.

M. de Blainville then finds himself compelled to pause, at
least until fresh evidence be produced; in the conviction that
the portions of fossil jaws found at Stonesfield, certainly do
not belong to a marsupial, — and probably not to a placental
mammal, either insectivorous or amphibious ; and that con-
sequently it is more likely that the animal may have been
oviparous.

As to the doubt which he has just formed by analogy with
what is known of the Basilosaurus, a large fossil reptile of
America, the teeth of which display the peculiarity of posses-
sing a double root, — that this might be an animal of the sau-
rian order, — M. de Blainville says that if M. Agassiz, who
has studied fossil fish much more even than himself, had not
decidedly given his opinion against all approach to fishes, he

56 NEW DOUBTS ON THE FOSSIL DIDELPHIS.

would have been rather led to suppose that it might be an
animal of that class.

We see from this, adds M. de Blainville, that I ought to
persist in retaining the name Amphitherium which I proposed,
if only because it has the priority over that of Amphigonus
given by M. Agassiz ; and that so much the more, because
even if it should be beyond a doubt that these j aws are those
of amammiferous animal, I see nothing in them, any more than
in their dental system, which could lead to their being ne-
cessarily those of an opossum ; for, from the dental system,
and especially from the molar teeth, to form conclusions re-
specting the rest of the organization, aDd above all as to its
marsupial nature, is, as I propose to show in a report which
I am about to make immediately to the Academy, to go far
beyond what the method of analogy will allow.

As to the rest, it appears that every one has not regarded
the question as so completely solved as our fellow-members
have supposed it to be ; since, according to what is reported
to me by a zoologist and anatomist, whom, for my own part,
I very much regret I do not see among the number of compe-
titors for the vacant place in our section, Dr. Buckland has
himself offered the problem and the fragments on which it
rests, to the investigation of the German naturalists assembled
in congress at Fribourg, in Brisgau, in the month of Septem-
ber last, which was his intention in bringing them to Paris.

We may therefore hope that the German zoologists who
have seen and studied these enigmatical fossils, co-operating
with those who possess or have access to them in England, and
the matter being discussed by arguments based upon evident
and incontestible facts, it may attain to a demonstration, of
what nature is of but little consequence, provided it be satis-
factory enough to be admitted, if not generally, at least by all
those who, in scientific questions, are so fortunate as to have
leisure and the ability to judge without prejudice, but with a
knowledge of the cause.

In conclusion I ought also to announce to the Academy,
that the scientific conductor of the English Journal called
the ' Athenaeum/ has already laid before his readers the
point under discussion, having no doubt but that there
will soon be discovered, in the Stonesfield quarries, some
fragment that will be sufficiently demonstrative ; and in
the mean time he himself proposes, to avoid he says being
accused of partiality towards either of the three already
proposed, — the name Botheratiotherium for the supposed Di-
delphis of the oolite ; so that science is already embarrassed
with four or five denominations for an animal, of which our

FOSSILS OF THE CORNBRASH AT SCARBOROUGH. 57

knowledge is most imperfect ; since, by one party it is refer-
red to the Mammalia, by another to the insectivorous mono-
delphs, or the Amphibia ; and by a third to the didelphs al-
lied to opossums, or to a genus representing the seals, in the
sub-class of Marsupialia ; whilst others make a saurian, or
even a fish of it ; which, it may be remarked en passant, ap-
pears much more in accordance with the age and the geolo-
gical character of the formation which contains the fossils in
question, as well as with the organized bodies with which
they are associated.

Art. II. — A Catalogue of the Fossils found in the Cornbrash Lime-
stone of Scarborough : ivith Figures and Descriptions of some of
the undescribed Species. By William Bean, Esq.

The cornbrash limestone on the Scarborough coast is a " thin
and unimportant rock," which cannot be applied to any use-
ful purpose : it has certainly been sometimes injudiciously
used to repair our highways, a practice we hope will be dis ■
continued, as much better road-stone may be more easily ob-
tained. But that this " thin and unimportant rock " is not
deficient in interest to the enquiring geologist, the following
catalogue of its organic remains will amply testify. Com-
mencing at Gristhorpe Cliffs, and, with some interruptions,
terminating at Ewe-nab, (a wider range than Mr. Phillips has
assigned it), we meet with little to reward our labours ; the
stone is of a bluish grey colour, and rises in shapeless masses,
full of shells laid in every direction, and strongly cemented
together, so that it is almost impossible to obtain a perfect
specimen. A blue shale covers this rock, and may be met
with four or five times within the above-named limits. It
contains several fossils rarely found in the bed below, parti-
cularly Sanguinolaria parvula, Cardium latum, Isocardia
triangularis, Belemnites tornatilis, Astacus rostratus and^.s.
Birdii ; the two last are in nodules which occur in the great-
est abundance. Proceeding onwards we again meet with the
cornbrash on the north side of the Castle Hill, and it finally
disappears before reaching Peaseholm Beck. To the left of
the bathing-place the same blue shale occurs as at Mill Bay,
containing the same fossils ; but our favourite locality is op-
posite Harland's cottage, where most of the fossils recorded
in the following pages have been obtained : the stone is here
of a reddish colour, not so coarse-grained, contains fewer or-
ganic remains, but in a better state of preservation. The mi-
Vol. III.— No. 26, n. s. G

58 FOSSILS OF THE SCARBOROUGH CORNBRASH.

nerals met with in this stratum are iron pyrites, lenticular
calcareous spar, and common iron glance.

When the ' Illustrations of the Geology of Yorkshire ' was
published, the cabinets in this place contained only thirty-se-
ven species of cornbrash fossils ; our collection now amounts
to one hundred and thirty-four, all procured by our own exer-
tions. To this we attach some importance, after having wit-
nessed with regret the extent to which fossil-making has been
carried in this neighbourhood : and (we say it " more in sor-
row than in anger") such impositions have not always been
confined to ignorant and mercenary dealers. We cannot
close this article without returning our kindest thanks to Miss
Travis for the correct and elegant drawings which illustrate
this paper.

ABBREVIATIONS.

S. — Sowerby's 'Mineral Conchology.' P.— Phillips's 'Geology of the Yorkshire Coast.'

B.— Bean.

REMAINS OF PLANTS.
Dicotyledonous wood, very much compressed.

ZOOPHYTA.

Spongia Jloriceps, P.

-papillosa, B.

Cellaria Smithii, P.

Flustra imperfect.

Millepora straminea, P.

Caryophvllia

Astr^a Dunnii, B. Found by John Dunn, Esq. A unique and inte-
resting specimen.

Tubipora

? acervalis, B. Common in the Bath oolite.

■ incrustans, B. (New Sp.)

Crust very thin, spreading, smooth, and almost covered with short cy-
lindrical tubes.

This beautiful fossil is found adhering to oysters, &c, and
is very rare.

RADIARIA.

Cidaris vagans, P.
Clypeus clunicularis, P.

orbicularis, P.

Gale rites depressus, P.

CRUSTACEA.

Astacus rostratus, P.

■ Birdii, B.

One if not both of the above species must be removed from
this genus. We have perfect specimens from the inferior
oolite, which will be described should the fossils of that for-
mation come under our consideration.

FOSSILS OF THE SCARBOROUGH CORNBRASH. 59

ANNUL AT A.

Serpula intestinalis, P.

squamosa, P.

claw, B.

CONCHIFERA.

Order I. — Dimyaria.
Pholadomya Murchisoni, P.
ovalis, S.

-acuticostata, S.
-obsoleta, P.
-simplex, P.
-nana, P.

My a modica, B.

literata, P.

depressa, S.

calceiformis, P.

Amphidesma decurtatum, P.

securiforme, P.

decussatum, B. (New Sp.)

Shell oval-oblong, equivalve, unequilateral, gaping, and a little round-
ed at each extremity, covered with numerous lines of growth, and
the anterior end finely striated longitudinally. Length 2 in., breadth
3£in.

This rare shell is evidently of the same family as the above ;
probably none of them belong to the genus Amphidesma.

Amphidesma recurvum, P.

Corbula depressa, P.

Sanguinolaria undulata, S.

parvula, B. (New Sp. fig. 18).

Shell transversely oblong, compressed, smooth, and
marked with a few lines of growth. Anterior end
a little rounded, and the posterior with a rounded
truncation. Beaks nearest the anterior extremity.
Length ^ in., breadth, \ in.

A rare shell, which has not yet been found in any of our
other strata.

Psammobia laevigata, P.
Tellina

proletaria, B. Very rare.

C orb is ovalis, P.

lucida, B.

Lucina crassa, S.

despecta, P.

Astarte minima, P.

. lurida, S.

-externa, P.

-politula, B.
-rotundata, B.

Pullastra percgrina, B. Unio peregrinus, P.

large species, imperfect.

Trigonia costata, S.

< elongata, S.

clavellata, S.

60 FOSSILS OF THE SCARBOROUGH CORNBRASH.

Cardium lobatum, P

cognatum, P.

latum, B.

citrino'ideum, P.

— globosum, B. (New Sp. fig. 19).

Shell globular, equivalve, equilateral, smooth, shining,
and covered with numerous very fine concentric stria.
The length and breadth are equal.

Occurs in other strata, but rare in all.

striatulum, P.

Cardita similis, S. ,*I tw\j>w^syjw imtaO „9 ?m\»m\>s»kj aimovi
Isocardia tumida, P. Kwb »mi«0 M ,*\mwv<\sb —

minima, S. .(IS ,yi\ „qa woVl) .8 fjiY\j"sm-s«m — —

angulata, P. >[ auonoauia diiw ,ioidJ txovaoo Jbvo IlodS

nitida, P. tuwoJ eWi&rv vfuo .ssstte baJylubmi tlnaih

triangularis, B, (New sp. fig. 20).;{)(] isa& 4f&Mtf

We possess perfect specimens of the nW* ,m^
species of Isocardia enumerated above, and vvi
consider them all distinct. The two last,
in shape and size, are very much alike, but
Iso. triangularis may at once be distin-
guished by its stronger concentric lines and
longitudinal stria. aaoq \&ai ba& ^oli^ml bus i

CucuLL.ffiA cancellata, P.

Woxima,B. ^wtE--.III lafoO

triangularis, P.

Arca crnnula, P
Nucula Lachryma, S.

variabilis S. °^ tuvVi^cpoos\ii«no — —

Modiola cuneata,'?.

imbricata, S.

— — tripartita, P.,7708 lo ?^S0^ .^1 Offl JOH 81 8lriT

Pinna lanceolata, a.
cuneata, P.

Older n.-JTomqwM.
Avicula Braamburiensis, P.

incequivalvis, S.

Inoceramus. Fragments of a very large and thick species.

Gervillia aviculoides, S.

PlagiostomaW^^P.

■ ■ interstinctum, P.

Lima rudis, P.

gibbosa, S.

Pecten elimatus B.

cantos, *P.

arcuatus, S. • > gjx

inaquicostatits,?.

fibrosus s. '

/«w, S. '

■' vagans, S.

FOSSILS FROM THE SCARBOROUGH CORNBRASH.

Gl

fc8 ,«VV$KVS« ATICUlAvi

Exogyra mima, B. Charm mima, P.
Gryph^a bullata, P.
Ostrea Marshii, S.

spatiosa, B.

Meadii, S.

granulata, B. ctoiatel«fpo ttfi , nvmpe tiB!

In Dr Murray's cabinet Our specimen of this beautiful

oyster is from the Bath oolite. , ivd

Ostrea. A small, thick, oval species.
Anomia ineequalis, B. Ostrea inaqualis, P.

duriuscula, B. Ostrea duriuscula, P.

semistriata, B. (New sp, fig. 21).

Shell oval, convex, thick, with numerous longitu-
dinal, undulated stria, only visible towards the
margin. Beak pointed, but not terminal. —
Length, 1 in. breadth, $ inf| Baemi0^

In looking over a great number of speci-
mens of the fossils which we have placed in
this genus, only one of what may be the low-
er valve has been met with. It is perforated,
and has the appearance of the under valve of an Anomia, but
it is very thin and fragile, and may possibly have been broken
by accident. <! ^Lmt A^JJUOUc

Order III.— Brachiopoda,

Terebratula soctalis, P. g »Kun<5.iv—
digona, S.

var. S.

omithocephalus, S,
subrotunda, S.
ovoides, P.

(I ?J>Ww» ADA A

,*I (S&j&mrc AJoiaoM

8 ,*>i&>h<kw —

This is not the Ter. ovoides of Sowerby, but a common
shell in the shale that covers the cornbrash on the north shore.
Good specimens are rarely met with, but the beak of the
larger valve is always very perfect, prominent, and incurved,
which gives the shell a fanciful resemblance to a bird's head.

MOLLUSC A.

Order I. — Gasteropoda.

Bulla undulata, B. (New sp. fig. 22).

Shell oval, approaching to globular, longitudi-
nally wrinkled or undulated. Aperture large,
comprising nearly the whole shell, but much
wider at the lower than the upper part. Apex
umbilicated. Length, 1^ in. breadth, 1 in.

Mr. G. B. Sowerby in his * Genera of Re-
cent and Fossil Shells,' says, — " Fossil spe-
cies are only to be distinguished in the ter-
tiary beds and in the green sand." For
once we must differ from him, at the same

g 3

(52 FOSSILS OF THE SCARBOROUGH CORNBRASH.

time acknowledging the correctness of his general assertions.
Fossil Bulla are certainly rare ; the specimen figured being
the only one that has occurred in this neighbourhood. The
Bulla elongata figured by Professor Phillips in his ' Illustra-
tions of the Geology of Yorkshire,' cannot belong to this ge-
nus, as all our specimens (though imperfect) have one fold on
the pillar.

Vermetus nodus, B. Vermicularia nodus, P.

reverse var. B.

Dentalium glabellum, B.

CiRRvsfuniculatus, B. Turbo funiculatus, P,

Rotella expansa, S.

Pleurotomaria granulata, S.

Trochus monilitectus, P.

Littorina ornata, S.

punctura, B. (New sp.j%. 23).

Shell turbinated, finely striated longitudinally and trans-
versely, which, under a high magnifier, gives it a very
beautiful appearance. Whorls six, rounded and well
divided, the body whorl occupying one half the length
of the shell. Aperture elliptical. Pillar lip thick and
a little flattened : outer lip very thin. Length nearly
f in. breadth % in.

The only specimen procured from the cornbrash, but in the
inferior oolite at Peak Hill it is not uncommon ; the specimens
found there are larger, coarser, and the spire is not so much
produced.

Ph asian ella Heddingtonensis , S.

vittata, B. Melania vittata, P.

Turritella longiuscula, B. Tur. cingenda, P.

gemmata, B.

Terebra granulata, P.
Rostellaria bispinosa, P.

Order IV. — Cephalopoda.

Belemnites tornatiUs, P.
Nautilus imperfect.
Ammonites Hervii, S.
terebratus, P.

This ammonite grows to a large size, in which state it is
compressed, smooth, and destitute of its former ornaments.

REMAINS OF FISHES.
Part of a fish of the genus Lepidotus.

REMAINS OF REPTILES.
Vertebra and bones of saurian animals.

Scarborough, Dec. 12, 1838.

NOTICES OF IRISH ENTOZOA.

63

Art. III. — Notices of Irish Entozoa. By James L. Drummond,
M.D., Professor of Anatomy in the Royal Belfast Institution, Pre-
sident of the Belfast Natural History Society.

( Continued from page 662 vol. ii. n. s.)

Echinorhynchus Hystrix ; Bremser.
" Ech. Proboscidis cylindricae parte antica angustata, collo brevi, cor-
pore antrorsum crassissimo aculeato, apice caudali tenui subnudo." Rud.
' Syn.' p. 75.

On Friday, the 9th of November last, I received from my
friend Dr. Hopkirk, (now attached as naturalist to the Irish
ordnance survey), the bodies of two goosanders, (Mergus Mer-
ganser), which had been recently shot. In one of these there
were nearly a hundred specimens of Echinorhynchus Hystrix
adhering to the intestine, from about two inches above its
lower extremity to the distance of a foot and a half higher up.
They were very white, and to the naked eye not larger than
the head of an ordinary pin ; but after maceration in water,
they enlarged in every direction, so as to present the appear-
ance shown at a, Jig. 24.
24

(a) appearance of E-
chinorhynchus Hystrix
when distended and ad-
hering to the mucous
coat. (6) a detached spe-
cimen, magnified, {c)
the proboscis, with its
large uncinuli. (d) mi-
nute aculel on anterior
part of the body, (e)
form of the animal when
un-distended, resem-
bling the Patella Hun-
garica. (/) magnified
view of aspecimenwhen
distention has commen-
ced, (g) a mature ovum,
(h) two immature ova.

Echinorhynchus Hystrix, Bremser.

I had often had a difficulty in comprehending what could
be the use of the numerous aculei on the bodies of various
Entozoa, and though it might seem sufficiently obvious that
their final object must be the same as that of the uncinuli of

<>4 NOTICES OF IRISH ENTOZOA.

the proboscis, yet the difficulty remained of knowing how
they could come into action ; and on looking at b, Jig. 24,
which is a magnified view of the present species, it is not easy
to conceive how the proboscis (c) could be assisted by the
aculei at d. And were the natural state of the animal such
as is represented here, and in delineations of this and various
allied species in helminthological works, these aculei would
be little better than useless ; but the figures alluded to show
the animals not in their natural state, but distended to six
times their original bulk, or more, by the absorption of wa-
ter, and rendered rigid, and almost ready to burst, instead of
being shrivelled and flaccid. In accordance with this obser-
vation I found that on examining the present species, when
immediately removed from the intestine, it bore in form a
close resemblance to a Patella Hungarica in miniature ;
there was a small, conical, raised extremity, but the broad
end was expanded like a circular disc, with the proboscis pro-
jecting from its centre, as represented at e,Jig. 24. The first
sketch which I made of this species, was that shown at f,
Jig. 24, after the absorption of water had commenced ; while
b, Jig. 24, shows the animal when the distention was com-
pleted. I if a r oi 7 nr> ur

Now it must be obvious that while the Entozoon can ap-
ply the aculei to the side of the intestine, or to the tough
mucus lining it, considerable adhesive force must be added
to that of the proboscis, and the animal's hold be rendered
thereby more secure. It would appear too that the younger,
and consequently the weaker, the animal is, the greater is the
surface which the aculei occupy. All the specimens which
I obtained were evidently adult, and only the anterior part
was armed with them, but those which Rudolphi received
from Bremser, and which were found in the intestines of the
cormorant {Pelecanus Carbo, Linn.), would seem from the fol-
lowing sentence to have been of different ages, and to bear
out this opinion. — " Apice posteriore excepto corpus aculeis
exiguis reflexis horret, in specimine minimo ad ultimum api-
cem protractis ; in reliquis major pars nuda est." — *Ent. Syn.'
p. 332. This subject will be recurred to in considering the
next species.

Contrary to what is usual among the Entozoa, the males
in my specimens are nearly as large as the females ; the cau-
dal vescicle is not oblique, but directly terminates the body.
On cutting into several specimens in the distended state, a
fluid crowded with granules rushed out ; and on cutting the
females thousands of ova appeared. These were of the usual
form of the ova of the Echinorhynchi, — elliptic and linear.

NOTICES OF IRTSH ENTOZOA. 65

Those whieh were immature exhibited only one envelope,
but in such as were more advanced, a second was very con-
spicuous, a considerable space intervening between the two,
especially at one end. A granular mass occupying some part
of the central axis was always visible in the mature, and some-
times in the immature ova. The round or oval masses were
likewise numerous, but exhibited no appearance of contained
ovula. With regard to these bodies I will take this opportu-
nity of remarking, that though at page 523 of the last volume
I spoke strongly against the supposition of the spicular ova
having any intimate connection with them, as no such union,
after very numerous observations, had ever presented itself to
me, yet I am now persuaded that they are masses of ovula in
a rudimentary state. On the 6th of October last while exa-
mining some specimens of Echinorhynchus versicolor from a
duck, I saw in one individual so distinctly that the round bo-
dies consisted of young ova, that I marked down the follow-
ing words in my diary. — " I saw, without any manner of
doubt, that most of the rounded masses were composed of
immature ova, their outline being so clearly visible that there
could be no mistake." Among the spicular free ova, too, were
many minute specimens which exactly resembled those in the
orbicular masses. In several other individuals which I exa-
mined from the same duck, and in others afterwards from the
sheldrake, I found no similar appearance ; but in the instance
mentioned, the ovular composition of the masses was so in-
disputably evident, that in my own mind there was left no
farther room for doubt.

To return to our more immediate subject, — my friend Dr.
Bellingham of Dublin, who has paid more attention to the
Entozoa than any other person in this country, having kindly
offered to co-operate with me in illustrating our native spe-
cies, I gladly avail myself of his friendly assistance in describ-
ing the present. In a letter dated December 9th, 1838, he
observes, — "I have obtained the Echinorhynchus Hystrix
from the large and small intestines of the crested cormorant,
from the small intestines of Mergus serrator, and what I take
to be it from the rectum of the common cormorant, and of
the red-necked [grebe (Podiceps riijicollis ?). The following
are the observations which I find I had made on this species*
May 8th, 1838. — In large and small intestines of crested cor-
morant found many specimens of Echinorhynchus Hystrix.
In most instances they were firmly adherent to the mucous
membrane. The greater number and the largest existed in
the rectum and close to its short coeca ; in the small intes-
tines they were fewer and of less size. Their colour is white,

66

NOTICES OF IRISH ENTOZOA.

the largest are three lines in length, and a line in breadth
across the thickest part of the body. The proboscis is coni-
cal, armed with very numerous recurved hooks, rounded an-
teriorly ; the neck in some is retracted, when fully protruded
it is about the length of the head, smaller where it joins the
head, and increasing in diameter posteriorly ; it is unarmed.
The body is thick and somewhat globular anteriorly, gradu-
ally diminishing in diameter as it approaches the posterior
extremity. It is armed, especially anteriorly, with innumera-
ble minute recurved hooks, which are much smaller than
those on the head ; some specimens are armed from one end
of the body to the other, others are unarmed near the poste-
rior end. The body in the female is rounded posteriorly, and
has a very small yellowish spot at its extremity. The male
is not so long as the female, but as wide anteriorly. Two
vessels appear through the parietes of the neck, running into
the body, where they are lost."

This species is beautifully figured in Bremser's seventh
plate, Jig. 22 — 23, but the proboscis is there represented more
conical than I have seen it. It has, so far as my information
extends, been hitherto found only in the following birds : —
by Bremser in the Pelecanus Carbo; by Dr. Bellingham in
the same ? and in Carbo cristatus, Mergus serrator; and Po-
diceps ruficollis ? and by myself in the Mergus Merganser,

ECHINORHYNCHUS JMcollis, Rud.

" Proboscidis (semper latentis) receptaculo magno sphserico, collo filifor-
mi, corpore oblongo utrinque obtusissimo." — Rud. ' Syn.' p. 71.

Echinorhynchus fillcollis, Rudolphi.

(a) Echinorhynchus fllicollis in its natural or corrugated state, adhering to the coat of the in-
testine, (b) a specimen distended with water, and separated from its connections, (c) head mag-
nified, {d) head with part of it removed by a vertical section, shewing the thick central pillar
surmounted by the umbo.

Rudolphi mentions this species as having been observed in
the wild duck, the tufted duck (Fuligula crislata), the sum-
mer duck {Anas sponsa), the eider duck (Anas mollissima),
and the bald coot {Fulica atra). Dr. Bellingham has found
it in the wild duck and the tufted duck ; from which latter

NOTICES OF IRISH ENTOZOA. 67

species I have obtained it, and also from the golden eye (Anas
clausula Lin).

On the 25th of November last my friend Dr. Hopkirk sent
me two specimens of Anas cla?igula, in one of which I found
three Entozoa so closely resembling the figures of Echino-
rhynchus spharocephalus in Bremser's plate, (' Icones Hel-
minthum,' tab. vii. ff. 14 — 19), that I sent Dr. Bellingham a
specimen under that denomination. He informed me shortly
afterwards that it was what he had been in the habit of con-
sidering as Ech.Jilicollis, and on comparing it with the de-
scription of that species, I accordingly found it to be so, but
for reasons which I shall presently state I cannot help think-
ing that Ech. jilicollis and Ech. sphaerocephalus are identi-
cally the same.

On the 14th of the present month in examining a tufted
duck sent by my friend Wm. Thompson, Esq., 1 found up-
wards of thirty specimens of the same Entozoon. When seen
lying in the intestine it resembles a portion of a thick Tcenia,
so much is it corrugated transversely. It is found however
to be very firmly fixed to the intestine, and on farther exami-
nation it is ascertained that while the body of the animal is
in the intestinal cavity, the head is on the outer or peritoneal
surface, while the slender neck connecting the one with the
other passes through the intestinal walls. The outer surface
of the intestine hence presents the appearance of being stud-
ded with a number of tubercles, as when the Ech. versicolor
is present, but with this difference, that many of the tuber-
cles are not in immediate contact with the surface, but are
appended each to a slender projecting pedicle, one or two
lines in length.

Rudolphi describes this species as being from half an inch
to an inch and a half in length ; my largest specimen, which
is from the Anas clangula, measures about fourteen lines.
He states that in the examination of above thirty speci-
mens, he never saw the proboscis exserted, (' Ent. Hist.' i. p.
283) ; and again in the 'Synopsis,' p. 327, he observes, —
" Echinorhynchus Jilicollis, quemadmodum praecedens (Ech.
porrigens) nunquam proboscidem exsertam affert, sed in
bullam sive receptaculum et ita quidem retractam sistet, ut
nulla encheiresi evolvi possit." I believe that the proper ex-
planation of this is, that there is no proboscis to exsert ; and
for these reasons. On examining at least a dozen specimens
in the microscope, I found first, that the head and projecting
part of the neck (or pedicle) are surrounded by a thin layer
of peritonmum, which can be readily torn away; under this
is a much thicker and stronger envelope, which with a little

68 NOTICES OP IRISH ENTOZOA.

trouble can also be removed or torn, so that it may be evert-
ed, in doing which it is seen to be every where in close con-
tact with, though not adhering to, the ball or head ; there is
no perforation whatever, either through it or the peritoneal
covering, nor is there any vacant space into which the pro-
boscis could be protruded. A proboscis therefore could not
pass into the abdominal cavity of the bird, nor is there any
space for receiving it in the coats which envelope the head.

But farther, when the extraneous coats are removed and
the head itself comes fairly into view, there is not on the lat-
ter the slightest appearance of any aperture, nothing like the
entrance into an investing sheath in which the instrument could
be retracted, and the centre of the disc, instead of being de-
pressed, is prominent and rounded. Rudolphi describes the
disc, or top of the head, as apiculate, "seu puncto eminente
insignem ; " but this term does not fairly express its nature,
the central projection not being a minute or sharp point, but
blunt, convex, and surrounded by a broad fosse ; the proper
term, as applied to the head would be umbonated, and to the
central projection, that of umbo* & dona gnhjjovj3t yjswynjs m

The circumstances mentioned are sufficient, I believe, to
show that the only proboscis, if so it can be called, is the
head itself^ 7 jBf[j eaoqqng o) boa'doai donm m\B I amij msam

The neck of this species is very slender, being no thicker
than an ordinary sewing thread, but it is extremely tough,
and difficult to break, so that by care and patience the intes-
tine may be cleared away from it ; and in doing this I have
succeeded better by tearing away the intestine piecemeal,
with a pair of forceps in each hand, than by using cutting
instruments. Rudolphi observes, — " Tuberculo extus aperto
sphaera invenitur, quae cum collo facile a corpore discedit,
intestino vero prius aperto, et eodem circa vermis collum cau-
te dissecto, vermis illsesus extrahitur. Turn vero intestinum
circa collum tenue Contractum conspiciendo, qui bulla cana-
lem tenuissimum transgredi potuerit mireris." — ' Ent.' i. p. 284.
The first part of this passage does not correspond with my
own experience, for I have always found that the neck and
body adhered most tenaciously to each other ; and with re-
gard to the last clause, that our wonder should be excited by
the passing of so large a body as the head of the Entozoon
through so small a canal as that which contains the neck,
my opinion is that it never makes any such passage. I have
no idea that the head of the animal is first contained in the
intestinal cavity, or that it is attached to the parietes of the
latter, and afterwards works its way through to the peritoneal
surface ; I am strongly inclined to believe that the animal's

NOTICES OF IRISH ENTOZOA. 69

progress is in a contrary direction, — that in its first stage of
being, the head is formed in the peritoneal coat, and that from
it the neck penetrates the other tunics, and that afterwards
the body is developed.

In support of this opinion I may at present mention, that
besides the tubercles on the outside of the intestine of the
tufted duck, to which were appended the bodies of perfect
Entozoa, hanging free in the intestinal cavity, there were
many other similar tumors having no such appendages, and
on examining these I found the head of Ech. Jilicollis, with
its enveloping coats, its central umbo, and the stria running
from it, similar in all respects to the head of the fully deve-
loped animal, but the neck was a pedicle of about two, or at
most three, lines in length, terminated by a blunt, conical
point, but not entering into any coat of the intestine, the pe-
ritoneal excepted, in which it was involved. It may be ob-
jected that these were the heads of perfect Entozoa, whose
bodies had previously dropped off, and this idea occurred to
me in their examination, but I could perceive no circumstance
in any way favouring such a supposition. I am ready to ad-
mit, however, that much more observation will be required to
settle this point as an absolute matter of truth, but in the
mean time I am much inclined to suppose that various intes-
tinal Entozoa have their embryotic period of existence in the
2ieriton<Bum, and are afterwards developed into their final
state by prolongation through the other intestinal coats into
their common cavity. This I suspect to be the case with the
Bothriocephalus so common in the cod, the head of which is
always lodged in a curved irregular tumor, on the outside of
one of the pyloric appendages, while the body hangs free in
the duodenum.*

The Ech. Jilicollis absorbs water, but by no means so ra-
pidly as any others of the same genus which I have examin-
ed, and in several of the specimens which I obtained from
the tufted duck, the process was defective both at the anterior
and posterior ends, while it was nearly perfect in the middle,
so that the centre was swelled and the extremities narrow,
exactly as the Ech. spharocephalus is described by Rudolphi,

1 On enquiring from Dr. Bellingham whether he had ever detected the
head of this species, he thus writes, — " I have seldom examined a cod that
I have not found the Bothriocephalus you mention ; that it is a Bothrioce-
phalus appears, I think, from the situation of the ovaries. I have never
been able to unravel the head, so as to examine it, although I have drawn
it out to a fine point, but could see neither depression nor oscula." Dr. B.
farther states that he is sure it is a new species, and suggests for it the very
appropriate specific title of cryptocephalus.

70 NOTICES OF IRISH ENTOZOA.

and figured by Bremser. The only point of difference in-
deed which exists between my specimens of Ech. filicollis
and Ech. sphcerocephcelus is their being unarmed, though
even this may not perhaps be an insuperable obstacle to their
identity. Bremser first observed that several species which
are fully armed in their young state, lose a great part of their
spines on becoming adult. Rudolphi at first rejected that
idea, but at length, and from the examination of this very
Ech. sphcerocephalus, embraced it as an undoubted fact. —
" Ita nunc factum est, ut Echinorhynchos juniores cum seni-
oribus, armatos illos sensim in denudatos transientes." — ' Syn.'
p. 672. I may remark too that while in Bremser's seventh
plate, figure 15 represents the Ech. sphcerocephalus with the
head and anterior part of the body thickly armed, figure 17
with the head also thickly armed, but with only a few aculei
on the anterior of the body, figure 19 is totally destitute of
armature on any part of it whatever ; a pretty strong presump-
tion that in this species at least, the presence or the want of
armature is not of primary importance as a distinctive mark.
The specimens of Ech. sphcerocephalus examined by Brem-
ser and Rudolphi were sent by Natterer from Brazil, and were
found in the intestines of the sea pie {Hcematopus ostralegus),1
and in those of some species of gull : they were of various
sizes, and very numerous. Rudolphi says of those from the
Hcematopus, — " Plurima specimina duas cum dimidia, unum
septem, alterum novem lineas attingunt," — 'Syn.' p. 670 ; but
no mention whatever is made of their neck penetrating the in-
testine, whence it may be concluded that they were found
free in the cavity ; and as we know that various Ascarides &c.
are sometimes found in the alimentary canal, and at other
times in the peritonceum, there can be nothing absurd in the
conjecture that this species may also occupy one or other of
these localities. Supposing then Ech. filicollis and Ech.
sphcerocephalus to be in reality the same, it is easy to con-
ceive that when the head is in the peritonceum it will be un-
armed, for there armature would be useless ; but on the con-
trary if attached simply to the mucous coat, then the same
necessity for armature would exist as in other Echinorhynchi
similarly placed ; it is therefore not improbable that since,
according to the circumstances of the growth of the animal,
the aculei are shed or retained ; so according to situation they
may be formed or not. These ideas are however only con-
jectural.

1 Mr. Thompson suggests that this probably was the Hcematopus palli-
atus of Temminck, the Ham. ostralegus not being found, according to that
author, in South America.

NOTICES OF IRISH ENTOZOA. 71

The head found in the tumors before mentioned, and when
the neck or pedicle did not pierce the intestine, was as large
as in the fully-developed specimens; but supposing the young-
animal to be attached to the mucous coat, it must be obvious
that a small proboscis-like head would answer better, as giv-
ing a more penetrating and surer hold than an expanded bulb.
Now Rudolphi describes the head of the smaller specimens
of Ech. sphcerocephalus as if it were really a proboscis, and
makes no mention of a head at all. "Minorum : Proboscis
globosa vel sub-globosa (antica parte turn minus convexa),
echinomm mediocrium seriebus plurimis dense armata." —
' Syn.' p. 670. Of the larger specimens he says, — "Magno-
rum : Proboscis nulla, sed bulla terminalis magna, rotunda,
parum armata." — f Syn. ' p. 471. Now if Ech. Jilicollis and
Ech. sphcerocephalus be the same, the peritonceum and not
the mucous coat is the more natural situation of the head,
which I would infer from this, that Ech. Jilicollis is by no
means unfrequent, whereas Ech. sphcerocephalus is only
known I believe through the medium of the specimens from
Brazil. When therefore the developement of the animal
commences in the intestinal cavity, although the head may
be so constitutioned as to adapt itself to that locality, yet the
more natural developement into a ball will occasionally mas-
ter the tendency to accommodation ; and hence we find that
at least in one of the small specimens examined by Rudolphi
the head did not assume a proboscideal form. " Unicum
tantum specimen acque parvum proboscidis loco bullam mag-
nam seriebus longitudinalibus armatam obtulit." — ' Syn. ' p.
671.

The head of Ech. Jilicollis is not truly globular, but is of
the form of an oblate spheroid ; and when the side of it is re-
moved by a vertical section, a white strong pillar is seen,
standing in its centre, and continued into the umbo, while a
considerable interspace (containing a fluid ?) lies between it
and the outer walls. It thus bears a considerable resemblance
to the vertical section of the capsule of some mosses, espe-
cially of Splachnum. In the central pillar I could find no
trace of a proboscis. The lateral bandelettes of Cloquet are
very conspicuous on opening the body of the animal ; they
are two round, firm cords, about four lines long, and having
their extremities free, while their base is firmly attached to,
or rather continuous with, the root of the neck.

Belfast, Dec. 30th, 1838.

72 BOTANY OF CHEADLE.

Art. IV. — A few Observations on some of (he Natural Objects in
the neighbourhood of Cheadle, Staffordshire. By James Carter,
Esq.

As it is only by the accurate recording of facts and observa-
tions made by individuals on the objects of the districts in
which they reside, that a general knowledge of the natural
history of any country can be acquired, I am induced to publish
the following scattered notes, made during the years 1836,-37,
and part of 1838, in the intervals of time left unoccupied by
the discharge of professional duties, and by so doing add ano-
ther mite to the information on local natural history, at present
" rudis indigestaque moles," but from which, at some future
period, general laws of great interest may be deduced.

The country in the vicinity of Cheadle is highly picturesque,
being very hilly, and intersected in various directions by nar-
row valleys, the sides of which are frequently very abrupt and
rocky, whereby the scenery is rendered romantic. The ge-
neral features of the country are in fact intermediate between
those of the southern and of the northern counties.

The Flora also, as might be expected from the situation of
the county, consists of a mixture of the plants common in the
south with those characteristic of the north of England. —
Thus, Clematis Vitalba entirely disappears, and Acer cam-
pestre is by no means common or abundant : and on the other
hand we meet with Empetrum nigrum, Parnassia palustris,
Saxifraga hypnoides, Vaccinium Vitis Idea, and other north-
ern plants. The difference however consists rather in the
degree of abundance of the same plants, than in the occur-
rence of different species; for instance, Vaccinium Myrtillus,
which occurs sparingly in the south, grows in the greatest
profusion in many of our fir plantations and commons, even
to the exclusion of almost every other plant, with the excep-
tion of Calluna and Erica.

Many of the tracts of common in this part of the country are
still very extensive, although within the last few years a vast
quantity has been enclosed and planted with firs. Grouse are
found in tolerable abundance on some of the large heaths in
the possession of the Earl of Shrewsbury, and also on those
belonging to the Duke of Devonshire near Buxton, Derby-
shire. Besides the plants usually met with on the heaths in
the neighbourhood of London, Eleocharis caspitosa, Juncus
squarrosus, and Digitalis purpurea are extremely common
and abundant, as are also Jasione montana and Empetrum
nigrum. Plantago Coronopus and Genista anglica occur
sparingly : in the moist spots Eriophorum angustifolium,

BOTANY OF CHEADLE, STAFFORDSHIRE. 73

polystachion ? (I cannot affect to be able satisfactorily to dis-
tinguish the latter species from angustifolium) and vaginatum,
Oxy coccus palustris and Viola palustris are found. Vaccinium
Vitis Idea is tolerably abundant, and Vac. Myrtillus extremely
so, as already mentioned ; the fruit of the bilberry when ripe is
gathered by the poor, and carried to the neighbouring mar-
kets ; mixed with currants, or even by themselves, they form
a very palatable tart. The wood-pigeon also feeds upon
them, and on account of the peculiar flavour which its flesh
then acquires, this bird is considered excellent eating during
the bilberry season0' hoe ?

The principal plants which occur in boggy situations are
Hydrocotyle, Viola palustris, Drosera rotundifolia and longi-
folia, Menyanthes trifoliata, Narthecium ossifragum, and, in
elevated positions, as about Cotton and Whiston, Parnassia
palustris in abundance, but, as Mr. Luxford remarks in the
November number of this Magazine, always confined to li-
mited spots, hti&moi bm

There is a ridge of limestone hills, — the Wever Hills, —
on which some rather uncommon plants are met with ; among
them may be enumerated 1 )r aba mur alls, Spiraea JUipendula,
Lathrceasquamaria (near the lime-kiln), Arabis hirsuta, Tri-
folium striatum, Primula elatior, Spergula nodosa, Arenaria
tenuifolia, Carduus nutans, Asplenium Rut a-mur aria and
Asp: Trichomanes, and the common limestone plants Helian-
themum vulgar e, Poterium Sanguisorba, Saxifraga tridacty-
lites, &c. Several species of land shells also occur abun-
dantly ; as Helix crystallina, pulchella, rupestris, (in the
crevices of the rocks) ; Pupa umbilicata, Clansilia rugosa,
and a variety something similar to CI. dubia. In a pasture
on the same range of hills, near the Three Lows toll-gate,
Gentiana campestris grows plentifully, in company with Pla-
tanthera viridis, which latter plant is rather common in
gravelly pastures. On the right hand side of the road leading
from the toll-gate above spoken of, to the village of Oaka-
moor, is a lovely romantic ravine, which will well repay the
naturalist for his researches. The sides are rugged and steep,
but wooded, and on them are found Pyrola minor, Luziila.
sylvatica, pilosa, and congesta, Polypodium Dryopteris, Hie-
raciwn sylvaticum and umbellatum : I was also highly de-
lighted to discover, by the side of a stream which runs along
the bosom of the valley, Valeriana Pyrenaica, growing in
tolerable abundance ; it occurred for a considerable distance
up the stream, but was out of flower, (August 5th). I have
not been able to find any recorded English habitat for this
plant ; it is, I am aware, considered as one of our certainly-
Vol. III.— No. 26, n. s. H

74 BOTANY OF CHEADLE, STAFFORDSHIRE.

not-indigenous plants, but no one who sees it in the locality
here given, will hesitate to pronounce it decidedly wild, or
at least perfectly naturalized. The vegetation generally in
this spot was particularly luxuriant ; Asplenium Filix-fcemi-
na was especially fine, and the leaves of the Arctium Lappa
were so large that I stood erect under them during a shower
of rain. Myrrhis odorata occurred in the same spot, but ra-
ther sparingly : where also I took Helix fusca and Scarbur-
gensis ; of the latter I found only four specimens, which were
among dead beech-leaves.

Another very picturesque valley called Demon's Dale, or
Dimsdale, extending from Alton Towers, the seat of the Earl
of Shrewsbury, in the direction towards Cheadle, affords
Viola palustris, Chrysosplenium oppositifolium and alterni-
foliwn in great profusion ; also Adoxa moschatellina, which
indeed is much more abundant in many places in this neigh-
bourhood than I ever observed it elsewhere ; it abounds on
every moist, bushy bank. Angelica sylvestris, Lycopodium
inundatum, Polypodium Dryopteris, Pol. calcareum (one
specimen), Gnaphalium rectum, Empetrum nigrum, Pyrola
minor (by the side of the private coach-road), and Orobanche
elatior occur in the same locality, as does Circcea lutetiana,
but of so dwarf a stature, although growing in a damp situa-
tion, and with leaves so decidedly heart-shaped, as to be ea-
sily mistaken for, if indeed it be not, Cir. alpina. In the
woods which cover the sides of this valley I found several
colonies of Helix nitens, of a very large size, occupying
rounded excavations under stones, which in three instances
also contained a rather uncommon beetle {Cychrus rostratus).
Pupa edentula is very common, adhering to the back of the
barren fronds of Blechnum boreale ; and on the luxuriant
herbage which grows on the moist spots by the side of the
rivulet traversing the valley, Helix fusca is found sparingly.

In the summer of 1837 I took many specimens of Hylobius
straminea ; indeed this beetle was abundantly met with in
many localities in the latter part of the summer of last year.
This insect afforded a singular instance of tenacity of life : I
plunged two specimens into a phial filled with spirits of wine,
at the bottom of which they lay apparently dead for three
days ; on the evening of the third day I transfixed them with
a pin, and stuck them on a setting -board ; the next day, to
my surprise, I found them alive, and as active as when I first
took them.

In the barren pastures Gentiana Amarella grows plenti-
fully ; and in several localities, as about Wootton, Cheadle
Common, and Dilhorn, that elegant little fern Botrychium

• BOTANY OF CHEADLE, STAFFORDSHIRE. 75

Lunaria occurs in profusion; in a pasture near Wootton I saw
hundreds of plants in the space of a few yards : I also had
the pleasure of collecting it in Cheadle Park, — the very spot
where it had been found many years since by Sir Joseph
Banks, who was then Lord of the Manor of some large estates
in this neighbourhood. In the same pasture wherethis fern oc-
curred so abundantly, I took two specimens of Ludius cupreus.

Needwood Forest has been given as a habitat for that rare
plant. Euphorbia Characias; I fear however it is now extinct
there : many botanical friends who have searched the spot
have not been able to discover it, and the Rev. T. Gisborne,
who has lived in that neighbourhood nearly fifty years, and
has made botany a particular study, states in a letter, with a
copy of which I have been favoured, that he has been equal-
ly unsuccessful. Eu. amygdaloides grows there abundantly.

Among the peculiarities of our Flora I may mention that
the place of Papaver Rhosas is supplied by Pa. dubium ; so
exclusively so indeed, that out of a large number of red pop-
pies which I caused to be gathered from several localities, I
could not discover a single specimen of the former species. —
Another plant which is common in the south, but with which
I never met in Staffordshire, is Malta rotundifolia ; Malva
sylvestris is much less common than M. moschata. A white-
flowered variety of Calluna vulgaris grows sparingly on
Cheadle Common ; I am informed it is abundant about Bux-
ton, Derbyshire.

The following is a list of some of the plants occurring
about Cheadle which have not already been incidentally men-
tioned. Those marked with an asterisk are on the authority
of various botanical friends.

Ran u n c u lu s hederaceus Geranium pusillum

auricomus lucidum, Alton

— arvensis Rhamnus catharticus, Dovedale

Genista anylica

Corydalis claviculata tinctona

Fumaria capreolata, Dimsdale Vicia Cracca

Nasturtium terrestre angustifolia

Cardamine amara, Dimsdale Orobus niger

* impatiens, Dovedale Geum rivale, Cresswell

*Hutchinsia petrcea, Dovedale Potentilla anserina

Hesperis matronalis Comarum

Viola canina Alchemilla vulgaris

odorata arvensis

(not hirta) Sanguisorba officinalis, near the

-flavicomis, near Drayeott Delph House

*Silene nutans, Dovedale Epilobium angustifolium, on a
Arenaria rubra rabbit-warren, Cotton
tnnervis Sedum acre

Geranium pratensc, Cotton Telephium

76

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE GROUPS OF BIRDS

Ribes alpmum, Needwood Forest
8 axifrag a hypnoides, Do\ edale& c
Viburnum Opulus
Asperula odorata
Valerianella olitoria

— dentata

Prenanthes muralis
Hieracium sabaudum

umbellatum

Eupatorium cannabinum
Tussilago Petasites
Achillea Ptarmica
Tanacetum vulgare
Campanula latifolia

rotundifolia, Jl. albo

*Polemonium cteruleum, Wetton
Lithospermum officinale
Lycopsis arvensis
Atropa Belladonna, Alton Castle
Veronica scutellata

montana

Mentha acutifolia, side of the

river, Oakamoor
Origanum vulgare
Galeopsis Tetrahit

versicolor, Draycott

Stachys annua

ambi(jua, Alton

*Anagallis tenella, Chartley

Polygonum Bistorta

hydropiper

Fagopyrum

Orchis mas^ula

— i latifolia

* conopsea

Platanthera bifolia

Listera ovala

Epipactis latifolia

Paris quadrifolia, copse by the

side of the Leek road
Hyacinthus nonscriptusufl. alb
Allium ursinum, Oakamoor &c.
Triglochin palustre
Sagittaria sagittifolia
Sparganium simplex

— ramosum

Andromeda polifolia, Chartley
Carex stellulata

curta

ovalis

muricata

vulpina

■ strigosa

■ sylvatica
■fiava

• binervis

• pilulifera

■ paludosa

• riparia
- hirta

eadle

m, Chi

Lycopodium clavatum,

Common
Ophioglossum vulgatum
Aspidium aculeatum

lobatum
Oreopteris

jIwo eds

- dilatatum
C ystopteris fragilis
Osmunda regalis, Chartley

Art. V. — Analytic Descriptions of the Groups of Birds composing
the Order Strepitores. By Edward Blyth, Esq.

No. IV. — Zygodactyli Leviroslres, or the Toucan family
(Rhamphastidce), and the Touraco and Coly family (Mu-
sophayidce).

The second principal division of the Strepitores, or the Zy-
godactyli, comprises every member of the class, save only the
parrots {Scamores) and jacamars already described, which has
the outer toe reversed, in consequence of which the middle
or longest toe becomes the external front one ; differing in
this respect from the yoke-footed Heterodactyli, or the tro-
gons {Accurvirostres), wherein the first and second toes are

IN THE ORDER STREPITORES. 77

opposed to the third and fourth, and the longest (or represen-
tative of the middle toe in the generality of birds) is accord-
ingly inward. It also includes certain genera (as the touracos
and puff-birds) which have the first and fourth toes disposed
laterally, and one (that of the colies) generally described to
have all four toes directed forwards. By stating that the
tarse is always scutellated in front, we succeed in excluding
the parrots from the definition; and the syndactyle jacamars,
by mentioning that the forward toes are separate from the
first joint. I am aware of no further generalization that can
be advanced, apart from other Strepitores ; unless it be that
the young appear, without exception, to shed their entire
nestling plumage during the first autumn or winter.

The Zygodactyly primarily subdivide into two very distinct
groups, which I have termed Picoides and Cuculoides.

The Picoides a,re distinguished by having the muscular coat
of the stomach more developed, and by the absence of cceca
to the intestine : the sternum is always doubly emarginated
at its posterior border, and the coracoid bones are of unusual
length. All of them produce purely white eggs ; and the
young (I have reason to suspect) are in every instance hatched
naked. The clothing feathers possess an accessory plumelet,
more or less developed.

In the Cuculoides, the stomach is comparatively lax ; and
there are large pedicillate dilated cceca, resembling those of
the owls, as in all other Strepitores that have any : the ster-
num is sometimes only singly emarginated, and the coracoid
bones are stout, and never elongated. Many of them lay co-
loured or spotted eggs ; and probably all (like our native
cuckoo) are hatched covered with down. The clothing fea-
thers exhibit not the slightest trace of a supplementary plume.
It may be added that the brain is remarkably diminutive,
which is not the case in the Picoides.

The former of these divisions is especially remarkable for
the variations which it presents in the structure of the tongue,
which is barbed like a feather in the toucans, vermiform and
protrusile, with generally some small retroflected lateral
spines near the tip, in the woodpeckers, and of the ordinary
shape in the barbets. The great majority of its species dis-
play bright colours. They fall under two principal and very
distinct minor groups, which I have designated Levirostres
and Cuneirostres. The latter contains the only scandent
members of the Zygodactyli, although the entire group (with
the addition even of the jacamars and trogons) is still deno-
minated " grimpeurs " by the French. We must now confine
our attention to the Levirostres.

h3

78 DESCRIPTIONS OF THE GROUPS OF BIRDS

Under this appellation I have brought together the two
very distinct families of Rhamphastida (comprising the tou-
cans and aricaris), and Musophagidee (consisting of the plan-
tain-eaters, touracos, and colies); the former restricted in
its distribution to South America; the latter peculiar to the
eastern hemisphere, and with the exception of two or three
species of coly, to Africa. The name, if not quite all that
may be wished, is nevertheless the least objectionable that
has yet occurred to me : it is appropriate enough to all
except the colies. There is considerable similarity in the
conformation of the skeleton in these two families, the princi-
pal difference consisting in the very small size of the sternum
throughout the Musophagidee, and in the imperfection of the
clavicles, or lateral halves of the furcula, in the true toucans,
though not in the closely allied genus of aricaris {Pteroglos-
sus), to judge from FHerminier's representation of the sternal
apparatus of Pt. aricari, wherein the furcula is made to re-
semble that of a touraco : in both, there are no false ribs at-
tached to the anterior anchylosed vertebra of the pelvis, * a
very peculiar character. The beak is inflated and permeated
by osseous fibres in the plantain-eaters (Musophaga), and to
a less extent in the touracos [Corythaix) and nape-crests
{Chizmris); with proportionally thin parietes, as in the tou-
cans (Rhamphastos), where the inflation and consequent at-
tenuation of its substance attain their ultimatum. The
tongue, which in the toucan family is barbed throughout its
length with lateral appendages like a feather, is in the toura-
cos similarly fringed, but towards the tip only, to a variable
extent. The digestive organs chiefly differ in the presence
of a small gall-bladder in tfie Musophagidee, which is wanting
in the Rhamphastidae. Lastly, of their external characters,
it may be remarked that both have only ten tail-feathers, that
their wings are much rounded, and more or less of their body
plumage loosely webbed. They subsist principally (and some
of them it would appear wholly) on fruits ; and, excepting
the colies, are remarkable for the airy lightness of their move-
ments.

The distinctions between the Rhamphastida and Muso-
phagidee, however, are considerably more obvious than their
points of similitude, being principally external. The modi-
fication of the foot is very different, and in the former group,
to which I shall now restrict myself, typically zygodactyle.
From the singularity of their appearance, occasioned by the

1 At least, I can perceive no traces of such having been broken off, in the
skeletons to which I have access.

IN THE ORDER STREPITORES. 79

disproportionate size of the bill, as compared with that of
others of the feathered race, the RhamphastidcB have excited
a more than usual degree of interest; in consequence of which
we are now in possession of much satisfactory information re-
specting their internal structure and economy. Some inte-
resting details on their anatomy, by Prof. Owen, are appended
to Mr. (xould's admirably illustrated monograph of the family;
and the observations of several naturalists on their wild ha-
bits, together with those of Mr. Broderip, Mr. Vigors, and
others, made upon individuals which have lived in captivity
in Europe, leave little to be desired in order to complete our
knowledge of their economy and general history.

On inspecting a fine perfect skeleton of a species of toucan
(the only one which I have seen) in the Museum of Com-
parative Anatomy at Guy's Hospital,1 I found the entire
structure to be less frail than descriptions had led me to an-
ticipate ; its conformation, however, evidently betokening a
bird of feeble flight : the sternum was proportionally much
larger than in the Musophagidce, and similarly emarginated at
its posterior edge ; its crest low, though the pectoral muscles
would seem to have been large and full, and LeVaillant ex-
pressly describes the toucans to have heavy and fleshy bodies,
as is analogously the case with the diminutive todies. The
separate clavicles were If inch in length, and taper at their
extremities. These birds have a wide gullet, a moderately
muscular stomach (which extends into the abdominal portion
of the cavity of the body), no gall-bladder, the intestine short,
not exceeding the length of the body, and devoid of ccecal
appendages, as already noticed : they have been observed to
regurgitate partially digested food, and after submitting it
to a rude kind of mastication, again to swallow it : Petiver
remarks the same of the syndactyle hornbills.

Exteriorly, their enormous bill has the first claim to our
attention ; the magnitude of which, in some instances, is in-
deed astonishing : this organ, however, is excessively and
surprisingly light ; its horny sheath being (save towards the
tip) extremely thin, especially that of the upper mandible, but
elastic, and though yielding in a slight degree to moderate
pressure, presenting a considerable amount of resistance if the
force be increased for the purpose of crushing the beak : its
interior structure resembles what has been already described
in the analogous instance of the hornbills. Its form is length-

1 1 take this opportunity to express my obligations to Mr. Gardiner, of the
above-named institution, for the ready access which he has ever afforded
me to the valuable collection of skeletons there deposited.

80 DESCRIPTIONS OF THE GROUPS OF BIRDS

ened, and a little decurved, the downward bend increasing in
both mandibles towards the tip: and its surface is extensively
traversed by ramifications of the fifth pair of nerves, which
render it unusually sensitive, in beautiful adaptation to the
purposes for which it is employed. In connection with this
sensitiveness, it may be remarked that these birds are careful
to preserve their beak from cold, and at night are enabled to
bury completely its immense bulk within their body-plumage :
they are also frequently observed to scratch it gently with the
foot, as if this produced an agreeable sensation. Its struc-
ture is extremely delicate in the young ; and these, accord-
ingly, must subsist on very delicate and soft food : and it
is scarcely necessary to add that it does not attain its ultimate
magnitude for a series of years ; becoming finely coloured as
it approaches to maturity. The edges of both mandibles are
distinctly denticulated.

The tongue, as already noticed, is a very curious instru-
ment, elongated and slender, and barbed not unlike a feather ;
its sheath giving off from the lateral margins a series of stiff
bristle-like appendages, directed forwards, which structure is
continued to the apex : the peculiar or accessory function of
this sort of tongue appearing to be that of touch ; it acting as
a kind of antenna, whereby to test the softness and ripeness
of fruit, and the fitness of other substances for food. That
the toucans also possess, however, the sense of taste in very
considerable perfection, will appear from a fact to be stated
in the course of this summary : but the dev elopement of nerv-
ous tissue and papillae over the beak has been erroneously
deemed an extension of the olfactory surface.

These birds have the legs of mean length, and covered, as
are also the toes, with large scutellce : their feet are adapted
for hopping from bough to bough. The wings are short and
rounded ; and tail of moderate length, and but slightly cune-
ated, in the genus Rhamphastos; longer, and much graduated,
in the others : it is mostly held erected. The cheeks are bare ;
the skin of them being generally blue, and sometimes red, or
even green : irides most commonly pale blue : and the cloth-
ing plumage is of rather open texture (as in the motmots),
having the webs of the feathers disunited, and often glisten-
ing on those parts that are brightly coloured : l the accesso-
ry plume is flocculent and of considerable length, in some,

1 One species, known as the curl-crested aricari, is remarkable for a curi-
ous modification of the feathers of its crown, which have the webs soldered
so as to be undistinguishable, appearing like curled and brilliantly shining
lamina of black sealing-wax. The intent remains to be explained.

IN THE ORDER STREPITORES. 81

but reduced to a mere tuft in others. They are birds of gor-
geous colouring, and peculiar in the disposition of their tints:
the true toucans being chiefly black, with large masses of
crimson, white, or yellow (or very rarely faint blue), on the
breast or below, and especially beneath the tail, where it is
rendered conspicuous by the habitual elevation of the latter ;
there is often, also, a band of bright colouring across the rump,
and generally a gorget of one or more different hues contrasting
with and bounding the mass of colouring on the forepart of
the breast : the aricaris differ in having the upper parts chief-
ly green, of various degrees of brightness, and are in general
rather more variegated : in these the sexes also differ, the fe-
male being chestnut-rufous where the male is black ; whereas
the male and female toucan present only a trivial disparity of
size: the groovebills (Aulacorhynchus, Gould), which con-
stitute a sub-genus of aricaris, have the ground colour vivid
green. In all the young possess the gorgeous livery of the
adult, and are at first sight chiefly distinguishable by their
smaller beaks. Azara remarks, that he has often observed
that these, when brought up tame, underwent a moult when
about two or three months old : at which time there can be
little doubt, from analogy, that the primaries are shed. Le-
vaillant and others have considered the relation which the
aricaris bear to the toucans, to be similar to that which the
magpies and jays hold to the crows and ravens.

These birds breed in the hollows of decayed trees, produc-
ing (in every known instance) two delicately white eggs, of a
nearly spherical form : the young recurve their tails upon
the back while in the nest. They are of a social disposition,
small flocks of tenor a dozen being commonly seen together;
different species of them mingling in society. They are shy
of approach, more particularly the larger toucans which ge-
nerally perch on the higher branches of lofty trees, where
they skip from bough to bough with the most lightsome agi-
lity ; or sit, with invariably the beak turned towards the wind.
They fly rapidly, but evidently with much exertion, and with
difficulty against the wind ; at a mean height, and always in
a straight line ; flapping their wings at intervals, and with
some noise ; and carrying the beak elevated above the level
of the body, with the tail overlying the back. On the ground
they are rarely seen, where they advance by oblique hops,
and rather awkwardly. They are very fond of washing. In-
dividuals are often noticed perched upon high trees, watching
the moment at which other birds leave their nests, on which
they instantly pounce to feed on the eggs or young, some-
times even contesting a prize with the monkeys. The ex

82 DESCRIPTIONS OF THE GROUPS OP BIRDS

press use of their singularly formed bill is deemed to be for
insertion into the deep pensile nests which abound in their
indigenous locality ; the sensitiveness of this organ having
reference to the same object, by enabling them to feel the
contents. Azara relates that they devour a prodigious num-
ber of young birds, upon which, and on eggs, they subsist
principally during the season ; and he states that, after rain,
they will descend and demolish the mud-built domed nests of
the ant- catchers, which are so firm as to withstand the wea-
ther for years : he adds that they have been known to rob
those of the caracaras (Polyborus). For the rest of the year,
continues the same Spanish naturalist, the toucans maintain
a rigid and protracted lent, feeding only on fruit and other
vegetable produce : though it is not to be supposed but that
they likewise prey on caterpillars, and any other small ani-
mal food that may fall in their way. Linnaeus even applied
the term piscivorus to one of the species : but I am unaware
that the information on which this rested has ever been con-
firmed.

Of toucans that have been brought up tame, it has al-
ways been remarked that a decided preference is evinced for
animal over vegetable diet ; and so eagerly, even gloatingly,
do they pounce upon a small bird or quadruped whenever
such prey is offered to them, as to remove all doubt that they
have a natural carnivorous propensity, which, notwithstand-
ing the foregoing direct testimony of Azara, and of others
equally worthy of credit, has been denied by some who have
studied them in their native abode. The sight of such prey
immediately rouses them into a state of violent excitement :
and a captive individual being presented, by Mr. Broderip,
with a small bird, it snatched it with its bill, and killed it in-
stantly by the violence of the squeeze, which was so powerful
as to cause the bowels to, protrude. As soon as it was dead,
the toucan hopped with it, still in its bill, to another perch,
and then placing it between one foot and the perch, began to
strip off the feathers. When it had plucked away most of
them, it broke the bones of the wings and legs (still holding
it in the same position) with its bill, taking the limbs therein,
and giving at the same time a strong lateral wrench : conti-
nuing this work with great dexterity, till it had almost redu-
ced the body to a shapeless mass. It then first ate all the
soft parts, leaving the larger bones to the last, which seemed
to give it more trouble, particularly the beak and legs. From
the deportment of the animal, the flavour of its prey seemed
to impart the most keen sense of enjoyment, such as was ne-
ver manifested when it fed on fruit or vegetables ; and it even

IN THE ORDER STREPITORES. 83

appeared to protract its feast considerably, by continually
applying the tongue to each morsel, before throwing it up and
catching it in the throat, as these birds are necessitated to do
whatever they feed on, their singularly formed tongue being
inadequate to assist in deglutition. It may be that the smaller
species are somewhat less carnivorous ; and the Pteroglossus
aricari, which abounds in Guiana, is stated by Levaillant to
make great havoc in the plantations of bananas, guavas, and
even of coffee : bnt the truth is that they are all very general
feeders, more so than any other Zygodactyly

The Rhamphastida are much more hardy in the climate of
England than would be expected ; are tame and fearless ; and
display a tolerable share of sagacity : becoming soon attach-
ed to persons they know. They are lively and active in the
extreme, and surprisingly light and elegant in all their move-
ments, so much so that in the living bird the beak has not
the least appearance of being disproportionate : erecting the
tail, which, Mr. Vigors remarks, is jerked up as though it
moved by a spring, the conformation permitting of which is
described by Mr. Owen in the 'Appendix' before referred to.
They have only a harsh and grating cry. Those individuals
which have been tamed have heen noticed to catch, with the
utmost facility, grapes and other fruit thrown to them ; to
seize which they open the bill sideways or horizontally. —
Towards evening, after taking their last meal, they retire to
roost, and sit listlessly for an hour or two with the plumage
puffed and tail lying close upon the back, as if dozing ; at
which time they will suffer themselves to be gently handled :
at length, they turn the head backward, and so completely
bury their enormous beak between the scapulary and inter-
scapular feathers, that frequently, not a portion of it remains
visible ; the plumage of the breast descending and covering
the flanks ; so that the bird presents the appearance of a
round ball of feathers, every naked part being as effectually
covered as in birds of less extraordinary proportions. The
foregoing detailed account is derived from various authentic
sources, of which Azara's description, and the observations
of Messrs. Broderip, Bennet, and Vigors, in the ' Zoological
Journal,' and 'Gardens and Menageries of the Zoological So-
ciety Displayed,' are the principal. I have endeavoured to
bring into one focus the substance of all that I know has been
written respecting the habits of this singular group of birds,
that future observers may corroborate or refute according to
their experience.

Perhaps it may be as well just to mention that the rainfowl
(Scythrops), an Australian genus, is included among the

84 ON THE SYNONYMY OF THE PERLITES.

RhamphastidcB by Mr. Swainson, solely on account of the
magnitude of its bill ; the actual structure of which, however,
together with every detail of conformation, even to that of an
individual feather, also the style of colouring, the progressive
changes of plumage, and indeed everything that can be sup-
posed to indicate real affinity, combining to show the impro-
priety of such arrangement, and alike intimating the close and
immediate relationship of that genus for the restricted cuckoos,
with which it even forms a particular subdivision of the fa-
mily Cuculidce, peculiar to the eastern hemisphere.
(To be continued).

Art. VI. — On the Synonymy of the Perlites, together with brief
Characters of the old, and of a few new Species. By Edward

Newman, Esq., F.L.S. '

(Concluded from Page 37).

Genus IV. — Isogenus, Newman.

The genus was separated from Perla on account of its hav-
ing the wings equally developed in both sexes. The habit
is also more slender, the wings more ample. They have usu-
ally fifteen nervures, reaching the margin of the fore-wing be-
tween the subcostal nervure and the base,

Sp. 1. Isog. Ligea. Fusca: facies testacea ; abdomen testaceum, later-
ibus saturatiorihus; alae vix hyalinae, croceo-brunneo tinctae. (Corp.
long. .55 unc. alar, dilat. 1.5 unc.)
The face is testaceous, the other parts of the head, and the entire pro-
meso- and meta-thorax are dark brown and glabrous ; the abdomen is dor-
sally testaceous, laterally dusky brown : the wings are scarcely hyaline, and
are tinted throughout with a clear, rich brown, resembling the colour of
burnt sienna.

The country of this species is unknown. A single speci-
men is in the cabinet of the Rev. F. W. Hope.

Sp. 2. Isog. nubecula. (Corp. long. .6 unc. alar, dilat. 1 .5 unc.)

„ „ Newman; 'Entom. Magazine,' vol. i. p. 415.

„ „ Stephens, * Illustrations of British Entomology,'

Mand. vol. vi. p. 137, tab. xxxi./^. 2.

The text refers to tab. xxxi.^t/. 4, which represents Leuc-
tra geniculata, Steph., subsequently also erroneously referred
to fig. 3, which represents Nemoura rariegata, Steph. —
The figure of Isog. nubecula is without the brown spot on the
forewing, which serves most readily and obviously to distin-
guish this species from those which follow.

ON THE SYNONYMY OF THE PERLITES. 85

Perla bicaudata, Pictet ; 'Annales des Sciences Naturelles,' vol.
xxviii. p. 58, tab. vi. jf. 6 — 7; but I believe not of eithe'r of the
authors as quoted by M. Pictet.

I make the assertion that my Isogenics nubecula and M.
Pictet' s Perla bicaudata are identical, on that author's own
authority ; who, not having examined the Linnaean specimen,
expressed his opinion when in England, that the insect in
question was the Phryganea bicaudata of Linnaeus, which I
think I have shown above to be perfectly distinct.

Body dark brown ; head and prothorax with a longitudinal ochreous line.
Forewings hyaline, with a small oval spot of a dark brown colour on the
costal margin, situated about two thirds of the distance from the base to
the tip, hind wings beautifully hyaline, iridescent.

Common in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and Notting-
hamshire. In most cabinets of British insects.

Sp. 3. I sog, frontalis. (Corp. long. .775 unc. alar, dilat. 1.425 unc.
„ „ Newman; 'Entom. Magazine,' vol. v. p. 178.

Perla bicaudata, Kirby; ' Fauna Boreali- Americana,' part Insects,
p. 252.

Brown, having the anterior part of the head between the antenna yellow,
at the back of the head is a second yellow marking, and the prothorax has
a yellow longitudinal line ; the wings are hyaline ; the forewings have a
very slight brown costal spot in the same situation as the preceding species.

Inhabits North America. Several specimens (donor R. Fos-
ter) are in the cabinet of the Entomological Club.

Sp. 4. Isog. microcephala. (Corp. long. .8 unc. alar, dilat. 1.5 unc.)

Perla microcephala, Pictet; 'Annales des Sciences Naturelles,'
vol. xxviii. p. 59, tab. vi.ff. 4, 5.

Black : head spotted with yellow and narrower than the prothorax, which
is very short, wider posteriorly, and marked with a yellow longitudinal line;
the femora are brown, the tarsi yellow spotted with black : the wings are
hyaline, with light clouds of a brown tint.

Inhabits France, Switzerland, &c. There are several spe-
cimens in the cabinet of the British Museum.

Sp. 5. Isog. infuscatus. (Corp. long. .55 unc. alar, dilat. 1.6 unc).
„ „ Newman, ' Entom. Mag.' vol. v. p. 499.

The head is entirely brown and wider than the prothorax, in which, how-
ever, it is deeply immersed : the prothorax is much wider anteriorly than
posteriorly ; it is dark brown, with the exception of a very slender, pale, an-
terior margin : the disks of the pro- and mesothorax are brown, their lateral
margins inclining to yellow: the wings are entirely opaque and nearly black,
with the exception of the costa, which in all the wings is yellow.

Inhabits the East Indies. A single specimen is in the ca-
binet of the Rev. F. W. Hope.

86 ON THE SYNONYMY OF THE PERLITES.

Sp. 6. Isog. Dryrno. Caput testaceum, clypeo maculaque quadrata pos-
tica fuscis ; prothorax fuscus maculis duabus magnis lsete testaceis
signatus ; cetera fusca, femoribus basi pallidioribus. (Corp. long. A
unc. alar, dilat. 1.3 unc.)

The head is testaceous, the clypeus dark brown, and on the crown of the
head adjoining the prothorax is a quadrate brown mark, from each of the
anterior angles of which a brown line passes to the root of the antenna : the
prothorax is dark brown, and adorned with two bright testaceous spots, which
are separated only by a very narrow, median, longitudinal, brown line, the
anterior portion of the prothorax is testaceous ; the other parts of the body
are dark brown ; the legs are of the same colour, with the basal portion of
femora paler : the wings are slightly suffused with brown, all the nervures
of the fore wings and the apical ones of the hind wings are dark brown.

Inhabits Georgia. There are two specimens in the cabinet
of the British Museum.

Sp. 7. Isog. Clio. Caput fuscum, lateribus circa oculos flavidis ; protho-
rax fuscus, linea mediana longitudinali flavida ; abdomen testaceum ;
antenna?, meso- et metathorax pedesque fusco. (Corp. long. .25 unc.
alar, dilat. 1.1 unc.)

Head dark brown with lateral yellow marks surrounding the eyes, pro-
thorax dark brown, with a median longitudinal yellow line : abdomen rufo-
testaceous: antenna, meso- and metathorax, legs and caudal setae brown; the
fore wings and the costal portion of the hind wings are tinged with brown,
and have darker nervures.

Inhabits Georgia. There are two specimens in the cabinet
of the British Museum.

Genus V. — Chloroperla, Newman.

In this genus the habit is still more slender, the wings still
more ample : the wing-nervures are much reduced in number

*Species aberrantes.

These have usually eleven nervures reaching the margin of
the forewing below the subcostal nervure.

Sp. 1. Chlo. Spio. Testacea fere unicolor: ocelli duo fusco-nigri, oculi
magni, nigri ; caput prothorace latius : pedes incrassati : alae subob-
scurse iridescentes. (Corp. long. .35 unc. alar, dilat. 1.1 unc.)

Colour a uniform and obscure but pale testaceous: the ocelli are two only
and of a dark brown colour; the eyes are black and very large, making the
head considerably broader than the prothorax : the yyrothorax is somewhat
quadrate, but broader than long, and broader anteriorly than posteriorly ;
its disk is wrinkled longitudinally : the wings are rather obscure, and obvi-
ously iridescent ; the legs are very stout, more so than is usual in this genus ;
the tibia are attenuated at both extremities, more particularly the apical ;
the tarsi are extremely small.

Inhabits Sierra Leone. A single specimen is in the cabi-
net of the British Museum.

ON THE SYNONYMY OF THE PERLITES. 87

Sp. 2. Chlo. (jrammatica. (Corp. long. .295 unc. alar, clilat. .95 unc.)

„ fuseipennis, Stephens, * Illustrations of British Entomology,'

Mand. vol. vi. p. 138.
„ lateralis, \

„ i e ta, [.Stephens, loc. cit. varietates.
„ venosus, r '

„ rufescensj
Perla wrescens, Pictet, * Annales des Sciences Naturelles,' vol.

xxviii, p. 60, tab. vi. ff. 8—10.
Phryganea grammatica, Scopoli, ' Entomologia Carniolica,' p. 269.
' 1763.

The colour of this insect is a pale yellowish green, which pervades also
the wings ; head yellowish, with the eyes and ocelli black, the crown of the
head is often marked with brown ; the antennae are yellowish, inclining to
brown towards the tips ; the prothorax is of the same colour, rather dusky
towards the sides, the meso- and metaihorax are dusky, as also is the upper
side of the abdomen : the nervures of the fore wings are more or less brown.

This insect is common on the continent of Europe and in
England. It is extremely variable, and Mr. Stephens has,
from this circumstance, been induced to divide the species as
above. In nearly all cabinets of British Insects.

Sp. 3. Chlo. transmarina. (Corp. long. .3 unc. alar, dilat. 1 unc.)

„ „ Newman, ' Entomological Magazine,' vol. v.

p. 499.

Head fuscous, thorax with a yellow longitudinal line, head yellow, with
two long fuscous spots which extend to the margin of the prothorax : wings
hyaline, shining, tinged with yellow at the base ; nervures of the forewings
and those of the apex of the hind wings brown.

Inhabits North America. Several specimens (donors E.
Doubleday and R. Foster) are in the cabinet of the Entomo-
logical Club.

Sp. 4. Chlo. Clymene. Caput flavum, oculis ocellisque nigris ; alae fus-
co leviter tinctae, nervuris omnibus fuscis. (Corp. long. .3 unc. alar,
dilat. 1.05 unc.)

Head bright yellow, with black eyes and ocelli ; antennce brown through-
out : prothorax broader than long, pale testaceo-fuscous, with a still paler
but ill-defined longitudinal dorsal line ; the meso- and metathorax and ab-
domen are dusky testaceous, and the legs are of the same colonr, the basal
portion of the femora being rather paler : the wings are suffused with a de-
licate tint of brown, and all the nervures are dark brown.

Inhabits Georgia. There is a single specimen in the Bri-
tish Museum.

Sp. 5. Chlo. Ephyre. Caput flavum, macula verticali fusca, oculis ni-
gris ; setae caudales virescentes fusco annulatae. (Corp. long. .45 unc.
alar, dilat. 1 unc.)

Head yellow, with a brown spot on the crown, and black eyes ; the body
and legs are of a pale sickly green cast, with many variously-disposed mark-

88 ON THE SYNONYMY OF THE PERLITES.

ings of a faint brown hue ; the nervures of the fore wings are brown, in the
hind wings the marginal nervure alone is of this colour : the caudal setce are
pale green, with brown rings; the joints of *the setce in this species are un-
usually long.

Inhabits Georgia. There is a single specimen in the cabi-
net of the British Museum. In the abdomen of this specimen
I observed, through the transparent cuticle, a large Filaria ;
it is coiled up in several rings, and occupies a very consider-
able portion of the cavity.

** Species normales.

These have usually nine nervures reaching the margin of
the forevving between the subcostal nervure and the base.

Sp. 6. Chlo. Jluvt. (Corp. long. .37 unc. alar, dilat. .7 unc.)

„ „ Stephens, * Illustrations of Brit. Entomology,' Mand.
^T^-Gk-v*,* vol. vi. p. 139.

Perla Jlava, Fourcroy, ' Entomologia Parisiensis,' p. 349.
Phryganea tripunctata P Scopoli, ' Entomologia Carniolica,' p. 269.
Semblis viridis, Fabricius, ' Entom. Syst.' vol. ii. p. 74.

„ lutea, Latreille, ' Hist. Nat. Crust. &c.' vol. xiii. p. 49.

Yellow green, the tips of the antenna, the eyes, and ocelli black, the pro-
thorax is almost circular, with reflexed margins and longitudinal wrinkles,
the margins are also very distinctly brown : the abdomen is yellowish, with
a dorsal fuscous line.

Common in Europe and England. There are specimens in
nearly all collections of British insects.

Sp. 7. Chlo. apicalis. (Corp. long. .3 unc. alar, dilat. .6 unc.)

„ „ Newman, ' Ent. Mag.' vol. iii. p. 501, April, 1836.

„ pallida, Stephens, ' Illustrations,' Mand. vol. vi. p. 139, —

August, 1836.

Entirely of a delicate yellow green, with the eyes and tips of the antennae

black : the prothorax nearly quadrate and perfectly concolorous, tarsi dusky.

Inhabits Europe and England. Specimens in nearly all
collections of British Insects.

Sp. 8. Chlo. Cydippe. Pallide lutea, alis venuste virescentibus, nervu-

ris concoloribus; antennae fuscae, basi imo tantum luteae. (Corp. long.

.15 unc. alar, dilat. .5 unc.)

Pale yellow, the wings beautifully tinged with green, the nervures being

exactly concolorous, and not observable without some difficulty ; the an-

tenncB are brown, the extreme base alone being yellow.

This insect nearly approaches Chlo. apicalis, which ap-
pears identical with Chlo. pallida of Stephens, a species not
uncommon in Great Britain, France, and Switzerland ; but
the antennas are differently coloured, and several other slight
discrepancies are observable on a minute comparison.

ON THE SYNONYMY OF THE PERLITES. 89

Inhabits Georgia. There are two specimens in the British
Museum.

Sp. 9. Chlo. bifrons. (Corp. long. .3 unc. alar, clilat. .65 unc.) CctAwvvQ*

A, „ Newman, ' Entom. Mag.' vol. v. p. 401.

Entirely of a dark shining brown, wings tinged with brown, the nervures »
being rather darker : the antenna and caudal seta are of about the same
length, which is nearly equal to that of the body.

Inhabits Scotland; taken by Mr. Walker at New Lanark.
In the cabinets of the Entomological Club and Mr. Stephens.

Sp. 10. Chlo. nigra. (Corp. long. .37 unc. alar, dilat. .75 unc.)

Perla nigra, Pictet, 'Annales des Sciences Naturelles,' vol. xxviii.
p. 61. tab. vi.fig. 11, 13.

Entirely of a shining black colour : it is extremely slender, the legs and
antenna being remarkably slight; the wings are opaque at the base and hy-
aline at the tip.

Inhabits Switzerland, where it takes short and rapid flights
among the stones on the banks of rivers : it is very difficult
to capture this delicate insect without spoiling it. In the ca-
binet of M. Pictet of Geneva.

Sp. 11. Chlo. Opis. Nigra, nitida, concolor ; prothoracis latera con vexa
alae obscurae fusco tinctae, nervuris saturatioribus. (Corp. long. .2 unc.
alar, dilat. .5 unc.)

Entirely black, shining: the prothorax is rather wider than the head, and
its sides are very convex, the antenna are about as long as the body, the
caudal seta longer, and have the joints remarkably long and distinct: the
wings are tinged with brown and the nervures are darker ; the femora are
black, the tibia and tarsi brown.

This little insect inhabits Newfoundland. The only two
specimens I have seen are in Mr. Westwood's cabinet^ and
have been kindly lent to me for description.

Genus VI. — Leptoperla, Newman.

Proalarum nervurae apicales paralleles 6, nervuris transversis numerosis
intersectae : antennae setaeque caudales elongatae ; pedes elongati.

Sp. 1. Leptoperla Bero'e. Fusca; alae opacae, fuscae, versus apicem ma-
culis albidis notatae ; pro- et mesopedes fusci, tibiis medio testaceis :
metafemora testacea, apice fusca. (Corp. long. .3 unc. ant. .475 unc.
set. caud. .475 unc. alar, dilat. .9 unc.)

This is a slender and very elegant insect ; it differs generically from Iso-
genus and Perla in the neuration of the fore wings, the exterior portion of
which is occupied by six strong parallel longitudinal nervures; of these the
fourth is furcate at the extremity, and the fifth unites with the fourth just
before its furcation ; these longitudinal nervures are intersected by several
very delicate transverse nervures: the antenna and caudal seta are extremely
slender, and much longer than the body of the insect ; the tenninal segment
of the abdomen below is furnished with two leaf-like processes, which curve

Vol. III.— No. 26, n. s. i

00 OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA.

upwards, passing between (he caudal seta and terminating in acute points :
the legs are very long and slender : the insect is of a dark brown colour,
the wings being opaque, dark brown, and the exterior portion of the fore
wings regularly spotted with dirty white ; the hind wings are immaculate ;
the pro- and mesofcmora having a bright testaceous ring ; the metafemora
are testaceous, with the apex only dark brown, the tibia are rather paler,
and the tarsi nearly black.

Inhabits Van Dieman's Land. There is a single specimen

in the cabinet of the Rev. F. W. Hope'™ ™'{^<

I bnn ^IimBt eno m hs^aans od jagim usi

.TOffronfi

•d? "tools ;ni£ 10 Joohoq oifa Q~A&i owli iO '

Art. VIT. — Observations on the Rodentia, with a view to point out
the groups, as indicated by the structure of the Crania, in this or-
der of Mammals. By G. R. Waterhouse, Esq., Curator to the

Zoological Society.

The various published classifications of the Rodentia appear
to be chiefly founded upon the external structureof the species
composing this order, combined with their dentition. The
habits of animals of the same group, however, are often very
variable, and their external characters and certain portions
of their skeletons, are of necessity equally so. " The skele-
tons of Rodentia" says Cuvier,1 "are so variable, owing to
the diversity of the movements of the species of different ge-
nera, and to the presence or absence of clavicles, that it is
difficult to find any characters in common, unless it be in the
bones of the skull." These considerations have led me to
search in the skull for characters by which to define the
larger groups and to determine the affinities of the genera,
and the object of the present communication is to point out
such as appear most important, and in fact to state the re-
sults arising from the examination of an extensive series of
crania, with the view of so arranging the various species of
rodents, that by the position of any particular individual the
most important points in its structure shall be indicated, and
the relative value of the characters expressed by the nature
of the divisions and sub-divisions.

It may be asked upon what principles I estimate the value
of characters ? and as this is a very important point, a few
words on this subject appear necessary. I may answer that
I value a character by its constancy ; and consider that cha-
racter of most importance which extends through the greatest
number of species, provided these species evince affinities one
with another by the gradual modifications of other characters
of less importance, — that is to say, more subject to variation.

1 ' Ossements Fossiles.'

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA. 9T

There are, however, certain points in which the greater por-
tion of the species agree, — these, which may be called the
typical characters of the group, in my opinion should not be
selected, with the departures from such typical characters,
for the establishment of primary divisions. The skulls of
rodents, for instance, generally possess a large glenoid cavity,
longitudinal in its direction ; but in the genus Lepus this ca-
vity is remarkably small and narrow : — thus rodents in gene-
ral might be arranged in one family, and the genus Lepus in
another.

Or if we take the perfect or imperfect state of the clavicles
as our guide, the present order would also be divided into
two families or sections. Rodents are typically claviculated
animals, those with imperfect clavicles being exceptions in
this respect to that structure which is most commonly found
in the species. The claviculated or unclaviculated groups
cannot, I think, be of equal value.

My principles will be more fully illustrated by the mode in
which I have proceeded in the investigation of the affinities
of the animals under consideration.

After a careful comparison of part with part throughout
the whole series of rodent skulls which I have had an oppor-
tunity of examining, it appeared to me that the zygomatic
arch and ant-orbital foramen afforded the most constant cha-
racters. In the Sciuridce, Muridae, and Arvicolidae for in-
stance, we find the zygomatic process of the maxillary bone to
consist of a large thin plate of bone, which is oblique in its
position, and has the lower edge emarginated so as to throw
the anterior portion of the zygomatic arch above the plane of
the palate : here the anterior outlet of the sub-ovbital foramen
is much contracted. On the other hand in the Hystrices, the
genera Echimys, Myopotamus, Dasyprocta, and in the Chin-
chillida and Caviida, the ant-orbital foramen is very large,
enclosed by two meeting branches from the maxillary bone,
the lower branch being thrown out from the level of the palate.

In the hares and rabbits (Lepus), taking the same charac-
ter, we find quite a new type of form, indeed these animals
appear to be in many respects isolated. In the very imperfect
state of the palate, however, and in some other characters
which will be hereafter mentioned, there appears to be an ap-
proach in the Chinchillida and Caviida.

Thus we have nearly all the principal genera of rodents
thrown into three great sections, which may be easily distin-
guished ; and upon arranging the various species of the ge-
nera or families above mentioned in these sections, we find

92 OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA.

many other points indicative of the mutual affinity of those
placed in the same section.

Two genera, however, form exceptions, not possessing the
combination of characters above noticed ; I allude to Dipus
and Helamys. The whole of the skulls were therefore re-ex-
amined, with a hope that the discovery of some other cha-
racters might enable me to determine the situation of these
genera. I then perceived that the lower jaw afforded points
of distinction of great importance, by means of which the af-
finities of one of the two genera just mentioned [Dipus), can,
I think, be satisfactorily determined.

In order the more clearly to describe the lower jaw, I shall
view each ramus as divided into four portions, which may be
called the alveolar portion, the condyloid, the coronoid,
and the descending ramus. — A ridge of bone on the inner
side of the ramus, extending from the alveolar portion to the
condyle,forms the upper or anterior boundary of what I term
the descending ramus.

In the first section, which I shall call Murina, the de-
scending ramus of the jaw consists of a broad plate, concave
on the inner side, and flat or convex on the outer. It ap-
proaches more or less to a quadrate form, the upper posterior
angle is directed outwards, and the lower posterior angle,
which is often rounded, is directed inwards. The lower boun-
dary of this plate consists of a thickened ridge or branch,
which springs from the under side of the alveolar portion of
the jaw, and is directed backwards and downwards. The
posterior part of the descending ramus is usually in the same
perpendicular line as that of the condyle, and very seldom
extends beyond that line.

The coronoid process terminates usually high above the
level of the molars. The condyloid portion is long and di-
rected obliquely upwards and backwards. The rami of the
jaws converge to a point at the symphysis, which is usually
of but small extent, and forms an angle of about 45° with the
horizontal ramus.

The lower jaw of a squirrel may be regarded as the type
of the form just described. I shall have occasion to notice
the departures from this type when I define the families.

The principal genera contained in this section are Sciurus, Arctomys,
Myoxus, Dipus, Mus, Arvicola, Geomys, and Castor.

Section II. — Hystricina. In this section the descending
ramus of the jaw is formed by a triangular flattened plate, the
lower boundary of which consists of a thickened ridge or
branch, (the under surface of which is almost always flat)
which springs from the outer side of the alveolar poition, and

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA. 93

the apex of which is produced and forms an acute angle,
which almost invariably terminates beyond the condyle. The
rami of the jaw somewhat suddenly diverge behind their junc-
tion at the symphysis menti, which is of considerable extent.
The horizontal ramus is separated from the alveolar portion
beneath, by a groove, which is more or less distinct. The
coronoid process is usually small or but slightly elevated
above the level of the molars, and situated more forward than
in section I., and the condyloid is comparatively short.

The principal genera, are Bathyergiis, Poephagomys, Octodon, Abrocoma,
Myopotamus, Capromys, Echimys, Aulacodus, Hystrix, Dasyprocta, Chin-
chilla, Cavia and Hydrocharus.

The greater portion of the genera here mentioned possess
all the characters combined which have just been pointed out.
Some, however, will not agree with the description in all
respects, but it is a curious fact that in these instances the
remainder of the distinguishing characters are more than usu-
ally evident. In Bathyergus for instance, the posterior por-
tion of the descending ramus is rounded, and not acute ; but
here, this portion of the jaw is thrown out from the alveoli of
the great inferior incisors in an extraordinary degree, and
there is a very distinct broad channel on the under side of the
jaw separating the two portions in question — a character
never found in the species of the first section. The coronoid
process is also very small. Again, in the cavies {Cavia) the
lower boundary of the descending ramus is not thrown out
from the outer side of the alveolar portion ; the angle of the
jaw however, is greatly produced, the condyloid process is
short and the coronoid is very small. It is not, therefore, by
any one particular character that I would pretend to define
the sections, but by the combination of characters.

Section III. — Leporina. The hares [Lepus) are remarkable
for the flatness of the rami of the lower jaw, and their great
size compared with the teeth, the almost horizontal direction
of the symphysis menti, the great height of the condyloid por-
tion— along the outer side of which there is an elevated ridge
which represents the coronoid. The condyloid process is also
more upright than in other rodents. The descending ramus
is very large and flat, and has the lower margin rounded or
angular, as in the genus Lagomys, at least in some of the
species.

94

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA.

Molares ^,

Section I. — Murina.
Family I. — Sciurid^e
Dentition. — Incisors laterally compressed
rarely -JJ, equal in size or nearly so, excepting the anterior
molar of the upper jaw (where there are are -|4)> which is
smaller than the rest. The series of molars on the opposite

side of each jaw are widely separated, and parallel.

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(a), upper side. (6), under side (c), side view, showing the position of the ant-orbital

foramen, &c. (d), lower jaw, viewed from beneath. (e), one of the rami of the lower jaw,
inner side.

Skull. — Ant-orbital foramen very small, situated near the
plane of the palate, and about midway between the line of the
front molar and the intermaxillary suture. This foramen has
its anterior outlet bounded externally by a bony protuberance,

Skull of Sciurus vulgaris.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA. 95

which is produced downwards into an angle more or less dis-
tinctly marked. Zygomatic process of the maxillary bone
consisting of a broad thin plate, which is concave in front,
oblique in its position, (the lower part being the farthest re-
moved from the nasal portion of the skull), and occupies the
whole space between the plane of the palate, and that of the
upper surface of the skull. The lower boundary of this plate
is emarginated, and forms an arch which throws the anterior
portion of the zygomatic arch above the plane of the palate.
Palatine portions of the intermaxillary, maxillary, and pala-
tine bones, on the same plane, or together, forming a slightly
concave and nearly even surface. Incisive foramina small
and narrow, terminating in most cases at the intermaxillary
suture. The palatine portion of the palate-bone ap-
proaching to a quadrate form, the palato -maxillary suture
being almost always between the penultimate molars : there
are two small, widely separated, suturo -palatal foramina ;
and on each side, close behind the last molar there is a tole-
rably large posterior palatal foramen. The posterior bound-
ary of the palate is doubly emarginated or truncated, and is
situated in a line with the hinder portion, the last molar on
each side, or {generally) behind this line.

Frontal bone with a distinct post-orbital process, which is
directed backwards and downwards, and leaves a wide space
for the passage of the temporal muscle. The malar bone is
continued forwards and upwards, to join the lachrymal, and
backwards, to form the outer boundary of the glenoid cavity;
this cavity is broad and open, and not contracted by longitu-
dinally elevated ridges. J 11

Lower jaw. — The descending ramus nearly of a quadrate
form, its upper posterior angle acute and directed outwards
from the line of the condyle, and the lower posterior angle
rounded and directed inwards. The lines formed by the low-
er margins of the descending ramus on each side, are nearly
parallel. The horizontal rami meet in front and join by a
symphysis of limited extent.

The most striking feature in the skulls of the present
family, and one which distinguishes them from all other
rodents with which I am acquainted, is the distinct post-
orbital process. This process however, although always
distinct, varies considerably in size. It is most developed in
the larger species of the genus Pteromys. In some of the
marmots it is also very large. In the genus Sciurus it varies
considerably, but neither in this genus nor in any other of the
present family > have I ever found it wanting. It is least de-
veloped in the palm squirrel, [Sciurus palmarwm). In some

r

})(> OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA.

of the Spermophili (if not all) it is very small, and it is also
small in the genus Geosciurus of Dr. And. Smith, (which I have
no doubt is the same as the genus Xerus of Hemp and E hr.)
The palate is proportionally larger in the Sciuridae than any
other Rodents. It almost always extends considerably be-
yond the last molars. In Sc. Prevostii however, the palate
terminates in the line of the hinder portion of the last molar,
and in Sc. maximus and Sc. Leschenaultii it terminates rather
within this line. The position, combined with the small size
of the ant-orbital foramen, will also serve to distinguish the
Sciuridce. The genus Castor, in the character of the ant-
orbital foramen, makes the nearest approach to the present
family ; here however, this opening is not so low down.

The general form of the skull in the true SciuridaB is short
and rounded, the cranial portion is very large, and the nasal
portion short. In the genus Arctomys the nasal portion is
proportionately larger, and the cranial smaller. Here the
interorbital portion of the skull is considerably contracted, as
we also find the same part in the larger species of Pteromys,
these however have the short nasal bones, as in the genus
Sciurus. In Sc. palmarum, and in the genera Spermophilus
and Geosciurus (Sci. erythropus1), the skull is considerably
elongated and somewhat ovate, the nasal bones are longer
than in the true squirrels. The animal last named offers ma-
ny peculiarities in the form of the cranium, it is not however
my intention to enter into detail at present ; I will merely no-
tice one, viz., the horizontally compressed form of that por-
tion of the zygomatic arch which forms the lower boundary
of the orbit : a character in which it differs from all the other
Sciuri examined by me, but to which I find an approach in the
skull of a species of Spermophilus, (Sp. Franklinii).

The genera and subgenera contained in this family the skulls of which
I have examined, are — Pteromys, Sciuropterus, Sciurus, Macroxus, Tamia,
Geosciurus, Spermophilus, and Arctomys.

(To be continued.)

1 1 am indebted to Dr. Richardson for the loan of the skull of this spe-
cies, and also of the crania of several other rodents, which have been of great
service to me.

AMPHICOMA VULPINA. $7

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS

Note on Amphicoma vulpina, Hentz. — When in East Flo-
rida I received a letter from Count Castelneau, in which,
amongst other matters relating to Entomology, he informed
me that what he considered the most interesting coleopterous
insect he had taken in West Florida was an Amphicoma, or
rather an insect of a new genus very closely allied to Amphi-
coma. This, he added, was peculiarly interesting, as this
group of the lamellicoms was heretofore supposed to be con-
fined to the Old World, and in a great measure to the shores
of the Mediterranean.

When at Cambridge (Mass.) last October, I for the first
time saw the insect to which I believe the above remark refers;
and there learned from Dr. Harris a few particulars with re-
gard to its history, which, from their being upon the interest-
ing subject of Insect Geography, are of some importance.

This insect is the Amphicoma vulpina of Hentz, but I am
not quite sure that his name is more than a manuscript one.
Perhaps it ought to form a new genus, and be considered as
the American representative of Amphicoma but I have not yet
had leisure to examine the only specimen I brought home
with me. Be this as it may, the fact of an insect of this ge-
nus, or of one so nearly allied to it, being found in North
America, is interesting and important ; and not less so is the
fact that its range over that vast continent is extremely wide,
extending from the hills of New Hampshire to the Upper
Mississipi, and across the Rocky Mountains as far as the
shpres of the Pacific, from all which places Dr. Harris knows
of specimens : to these we must add West Florida, as its
southern limit, and thus we find that it ranges throughout the
whole territory of the United States, from east to west, and
from north to south.

A specimen of this insect, which I owe to the kindness of
Dr. T. W. Hams, is now in the cabinet of the Entomological
Club. It was taken by Dr. Gould of Boston, on the flowers
of the American elder, in New Hampshire, I believe in the
month of July.

At present we know but little of the geographical distribu-
tion of insects ; our entomological authors being very careless
about defining their exact localities. I have been particularly
struck with this carelessness in regard to the insects of the
United States. Some European entomologists who have
written on the insects of that country, appear to think it quite
needless trouble to indicate whether their species are from

Vol. III.— No. 26. n. s. k

98 FOSSIL REMAINS OF CETACEA.

the snow-clad mountains of the eastern states, the flowery
prairies of Illinois, or the orange-groves of East Florida. —
Whether this fault has originated on this side of the water or
on the other, I know not. It may be that the American en-
tomologists themselves, in their remittances of insects to Eu-
rope, have neglected to specify their exact localities ; or it
may be that we are too apt to forget the vast extent of the
various republics known as the United States of America. —
Be this as it may, that such carelessness should exist cannot
be too much lamented. — Edward Doubleday. — Sudbury, 2Lv£
J any. 1839.

On the Fossil Remains of Cetacea. — The philosophical
journals both of England and Scotland record instances of
the discovery of cetaceous remains in positions to which it
is physically impossible the present seas can have reached;
and yet the condition of such remains, and their isolated en-
tombment, added to the fact of their occurrence exclusively
in the most superficial strata, have led to a doubt of their fos-
sil character. On the banks of the Forth the bones of an
animal 72 feet long were once discovered, imbedded in clay
more than 20 feet above the reach of the highest tide of that
river. A solitary vertebra was described by Sir George Mac-
kenzie in the 'Edinb. Phil. Trans.' vol. x., p. 105, as obtain-
ed from Strathpepper in Rosshire, at an altitude of 12 feet
above the present level of the sea. Several bones of a whale
were subsequently discovered at Dumore Rock, Stirlingshire,
in brick earth, nearly 40 feet above the present level of the
sea. Still in all these instances no remains of extinct ani-
mals were present with them, nor were there any extinct ma-
rine Testacea attached to the bones : so that their fossil cha-
racter rests upon the inference to be drawn from the condition
of the beds in which they were deposited, and from the rela-
tive position of their respective mausoleums. The latter, be
it observed, are generally on more or less elevated ground,
adjacent either to the sea or to tidal rivers. The stratum in
which they repose is either without exception what is termed
marine diluvium, or the clay beds subordinate to it. It is
true moreover that living Cetacea are occasional visitants to
the neighbourhood in which the supposed fossil remains are
discovered. We must therefore await additional evidence
before we can with confidence assign to these remains any
degree in the chronological scale higher than that of the re-
cent period of geologists.

To the before-mentioned instances I may add that in the
course of the summer of 1837, I obtained twelve vertebrae of
a whale, some caudal others dorsal, from the yellow marie or

THE ARGONAUT. NOTES ON BIRDS. 99

brick earth of Heme Bay, in Kent. The spot from whence
they were taken is not more than 10 feet from the high water
mark, and certainly not more than 10 feet above the occa-
sional reach of the sea on that coast. They were the bones
of a young animal, since their epihpyses were still unconnect-
ed with their bodies, and the bony structure not fully deve-
loped. Their specific gravity was little above that of water,
and their texture frail, although embedded in tenacious clay.
No other animal remains were discoverable in the clay. It is
only necessary to remark that the remains in question singu-
larly correspond with their predecessors in position and cha-
racter, and add their corroborative testimony, by way of ac-
cumulation, to whatever view may be taken of cetacean reli-
quiae. I send this statement under the impression that your
Magazine is ever open to the details of facts in Natural His-
tory, be the evidence to be drawn from these facts what it
may. — Wm. Richardson.

Note on the Argonaut. — I have talked with Delia Chiaja
very much about the argonaut ; he states that he has traced
the animal from the ovum to the formation of the shell, and
he has published plates of the progress of its developement,
which are beautifully executed. I think we may place full
confidence in his observations; he is animated with the great-
est zeal for science, — almost unsupported, and certainly un-
remunerated.

I am sorry I have not yet been able to get an argonaut ;
I have requested the fishermen to bring the first they catch
to me. They come off this coast only in summer, and are
then more in the Gulf of Genoa, and off Baia and Puzzuoli,
rather than in our Bay. — J. C. Cox. — Naples, Dec. 28, 1838.

Ornithological Notes. — Seeing from time to time lists of birds shot in dif-
ferent counties, it has occurred to me that if such lists were procured from
all parts of the kingdom, it would be as useful an index to collectors of Brit-
ish birds as could be formed. These lists might be much abridged by leav-
ing out such species as are common to all parts of the country ; they would
greatly aid the British ornithologist, for innumerable are the difficulties
which he has to encounter, and after all his exertions but very few are the
birds he can procure with his own gun. He will have to contend with the
unprincipled conduct and exorbitant demands of those who call themselves
"naturalists." For alas for the rare birds of Britain ! whenever a harmless
and interesting stranger makes its appearance, some ruthless eye is imme-
diately upon it, and it is generally murdered in mere wantonness : for I be-
lieve but few of the rarities taken are preserved ; they are just handed about
for a day or two, to gratify the stare of stupid wonder, or else nailed against
a barn, as a trophy of cruelty.

But few of these rarities have come under my own observation. A fine
male honey-buzzard (Pemis apivorus) was shot here last June ; it was
exceedingly tame. The goshawk (Astur palumbarius) has been taken here,
and the kite (Milvus ictinus), though formerly plentiful, has now, through

100 LITERARY INTELLIGENCE.

the ruthlessness of the gamekeepers, almost disappeared. The seops owl
(Scops Aldrovandi) was taken some years ago, and I have no doubt would
have continued with us, but for the same cause, for the aforesaid gentry ne-
ver trouble themselves to inquire whether such visitors may not do as much
or more good than harm, it is enough for them to know that they are not
game, and of course must be exterminated.

Amongst other birds which I have known taken is the ash-coloured shrike
(Lanius excubitor). That very interesting little bird the pied fly-catcher
(Muscicapa luctuosa) ; the chatterer (Bombycivora garrula), the finest case I
ever saw of which were purchased of a boy who was feeding his ferrets with
them, for one penny each ; in fact most of these things are destroyed to no
purpose, as soon as seen. The grey-headed wagtail (Motacilla neglecta) was
once obtained from a boy. Next comes the poor little crossbill (Loxia cur-
virostra), of which we have lately had numbers, and which, by a cessation
of hostilities, might be induced to take up its abode and increase among us ;
but no sooner is it heard, (and its note being a peculiar one is the herald of
its own destruction), than it is driven from plantation to plantation, and,
like the dove from the ark, can find no rest for the sole of its foot.

The little busy barred woodpecker meets with no encouragement here,
and is obliged to seek a habitation elsewhere. The stock dove (Columba
jEnas) has become scarce of late ; and the large bustard (Otis tarda) is all
but exterminated. A fine female was sold in Cambridge market last Fe-
bruary for £2. 2s.; it was shot between Cambridge and Lynn. A male was
killed near this place seven or eight years ago, and hawked about for half-
a-crown. The little bustard (Otis tetrax) was taken last year in this coun-
ty. The little sandpiper (Tringa pusilla), the little auk (Mergulus melano-
leucos), and the fulmar (Procellaria glacialis), have also, singularly enough,
been taken here; as well as the fork-tailed petrel (Thalassidroma Bullockii).
Some of the above are preserved in the Museum of this town, but I am sor-
ry to say not the whole of them.

But I have not yet stated the chief difficulties the naturalist has to con-
tend with ; these are the jealousies and envyings which seem to pervade the
breasts of men of all classes in the different branches of science. This to
me is unaccountable. When all are animated by a common object, mutual
assistance ought to be cheerfully rendered, especially when all are working
for the public good. Creation is full of beauties for the naturalist to ad-
mire. In the lively and interesting feathered race, the well-adapted and
graceful figures of quadrupeds, the infinitely diversified forms of the insect
tribes, and in the beauty and variety of the surrounding vegetation, — there
is nothing to excite envy, but everything to induce an opposite frame of
mind. Everything was intended for our enjoyment and instruction ; every-
thing is beautiful and happy ; and

"All save the spirit of man is divine: "

and but for that spirit the earth would be a paradise. — Joseph Clarke. —
Saffron Walden, Nov. 24th, 1838.

LITERARY INTELLIGENCE.

Mr. James F. Stephens, author of the Illustrations of British Insects, is
preparing for publication a series of Manuals descriptive of all the species
of British Insects. The first volume, containing the whole of the British
Beetles, is nearly ready.

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY.

MARCH, 1839.

Art. I. — Observations on the Poulp of the Argonaut. By Madame
Jeannette Power. l

Having for many years past devoted to natural science, and
to enriching my cabinet with marine objects, the few hours
to be spared from domestic cares, for in fact few are the mo-
ments that one of my sex and condition can enjoy in study, —
the poulp of the argonaut specially fixed my attention, from
so much having been said on the subject by naturalists. I
have since been enabled to follow up a series of observations
upon this cephalopod, which other naturalists could not per-
haps have done, for want of those opportunities and means
with which I have been fully supplied. I therefore deemed
it incumbent upon me to make careful inquiries on the most
disputed points which regard the physiological condition of
the animal, and consequently devoted myself for some years
to an uninterrupted course of observations ; and after repeated
experiments, I have at last been able to obtain data which
lead to very important results : first, by assuring myself that
this mollusc is the constructor of the shell which it inhabits ;
secondly, by clearing up doubts with regard to the first de-
velopement of its eggs ; and, finally, by making known many
new facts respecting its habits. I will therefore present to
you, Gentlemen, after a short sketch of the state of zoological
knowledge as regarded the Argonauta Argo when I commen-
ced my experiments, an account of the method followed by
me in my researches, and the physiological inferences dedu-
ced from them.

1 " Osservazione fisiche sopra il polpo dell' Argonauta Argo, della Socia
Correspondente Madame Jeannette Power." Read at the Meeting of 26th
November, 1836. From the xii. vol. of the Academy, Catania.

Vol. III.— No. 27. n. s. l

102 OBSERVATIONS ON THE ARGONAUT.

It has been a subject of much controversy amongst natu-
ralists, whether the poulp of the argonaut really secretes the
shell in which it is commonly found, or, like the Paguri,
forces itself in after the proper inhabitant has been either
driven out, devoured, or become naturally extinct. Indeed,
whilst Lamarck, Montfort, Ranzani, &c. supported the former
opinion, Blainville and others maintained as certain the lat
ter ; and this learned malacologist went so far as to assert that
the animal of the argonaut was totally unknown, — ("Animal
tout-a-fait inconnu." — ' Manuel de Malacologie,' p. 494"). —
Prior to these the enlightened Abbe Olivi had stated, although
he had not had the opportunity of seeing a living argonaut,
that he was inclined to believe that a cephalopod might ea-
sily form a calcareous shell like that of the argonaut, if another
cephalopod, according to the observations of Martini, was the
constructor of the heavy and chambered shell of the nautilus.

The reasons which induced the opposers of this opinion to
think the shell not the work of the poulp, were that its body
had not a spiral conformation, and that it did not adhere to
the shell, which bore no resemblance to the neighbouring
parts of the inclosed animal, being regularly furrowed at the
sides, and possessing a spiral convolution something like an
ammonite, while nothing analogous was observed in the ani-
mal, whose folds, when it withdrew into the shell, presented
the appearance of anything but regular furrows. To these
objections I will now reply, because I am glad to show at
this time how Signor Poli, attentively scrutinizing the eggs
of the argonaut, assures us that he saw the young shell at-
tached to the mollusc, and concludes that there is no longer
room to doubt that the shell in which we see the argonaut is
generated in the egg with the mollusc, and not merely inha-
bited by it afterwards, as many believe. With all this, the
observations of Poli do not appear to have entirely removed
the doubts of the celebrated Baron Cuvier, who, not being
willing to declare the opinion of Blainville erroneous, quali-
fied it as exceedingly problematical.

Such was the state of things with respect to the argonaut,
when it occurred to me that the absence of experiments alone
was the cause of such conflicting opinions, and that all must
be brought to light if attentive examinations were instituted
on so important a subject.

Determined on this undertaking, I well considered the aim
of my observations, which was to assure myself of the fact
that the constructor of the argonaut shell was the cephalopod
which inhabited it. In this case to become acquainted with
the structure of this mollusc should be the first of my endea-

OBSERVATIONS ON THE ARGONAUT. 103

vours ; to examine the relation of the mollusc with its shell
the second ; and the third to accompany it in its develope-
ment from the egg through its entire growth. But how to
prosecute so difficult a series of observations ? The Port of
Messina, daily frequented by me in search of marine objects,
offered opportunities and means which perhaps no other situ-
ation could present. For this object I thought of cages,
which were constructed under my direction ; they were eight
palms long and four broad, with a convenient interval (three
or four lines) between the bars, which allowed the water to
enter freely when placed in the sea, whilst the escape of the
animal was prevented. I placed the cages in a shallow bot-
tom in the sea near our citadel, in a spot where I could exa-
mine them without disturbance. I inclosed in them a num-
ber of living argonauts, which I took care to supply every
two or three days with both naked and testaceous molluscs
for food. Fortified with invincible patience, I never once
thought of desisting from the undertaking, although many and
many times my experiments met with no fortunate result. —
It was only after several months that I succeeded in clearing
up my doubts, and in seeing my researches crowned with
success.

With regard to the structure of the mollusc of the argonaut,
as no one is ignorant of what authors have said on the sub-
ject, it will not be out of place to recount what I have ob-
served as singular, or not described by others, doubting that
some essential particulars in the history of this animal may
have escaped many naturalists.

The cephalopod of the argonaut is furnished with eight
arms, having on each two rows of suckers ; the first two arms
are more robust than the others, and should be so, because
they serve as masts to support the sails, which, spread out,
act before the wind as such. At the base they have, on the
inferior sides, the double row of suckers like the other six ;
but from the inferior row, at about an inch from the base in
adults, a rather fun-owed membrane begins to develope itself,
which extends as far as the tip of the arm, and holding it
bent, it can no longer follow the office of a rowing arm, but
as every one knows, it is employed by the animal as a sail.
But here I am glad to observe that these sails (for so we will
call them) attached to the sailing arms are so large, that when
turned backwards and pressed against the shell they can en-
tirely cover and protect it. Thus, as far as I can conclude,
the true office of these sails is exactly that of keeping them-
selves applied to the shell at all times, in reserve for the mo-
ment when the animal, coming to the surface of the water,

104 OBSERVATIONS ON THE ARGONAUT.

removes tliem, and spreading, raises them in the office of sails.
In fact, the series of suckers of the sail-arms, when the mem-
brane of the sails is wrapped about the shell, are placed ex-
actly over the keel of it, in such a manner that each sucker
corresponds to each point in which the ribs of the argonaut
terminate until they reach the two margins of the spiral.

Observation leads me to compare the sails of the argonaut
with the two wings of the mantle of the Cyprcea, not only
from the manner in which they cover the shell, but because I
have reason to believe that the formation itself of the shell
results from a transudation by the membrane of the sails,
the corrugations of which, in secreting the calcareous matter,
may be the cause of the ribbed form of the shell. These may
also serve as a means of retention of the animal in its shell
during the movements of the mollusc, which, without all these
furrows, might easily slip about from one side to the other.

This consideration may weigh in obviating the difficulties
of those who cannot imagine how a shell containing a cepha-
lopod should present no resemblance with the folds of the
animal compressed within it. For if they would consider it
the result of a calcareous deposition of the membrane of the
sails, they would find not only the series of little points cor-
responding to the suckers, which adapt themselves to the keel
of the spiral, but an explanation of the disposition of the ribs,
and of the smooth and paper-like condition of all the shell.
They have not all seen, I can frankly assert, how the argonaut
appears when it has placed its sails over the shell ; drawing
alone can shew it, and I have here annexed a figure which is
a very good resemblance.

The sail when spread out presents a silvery surface, speck-
led with concentric circles of spots with a black spot in the
middle, and surrounded with a beautiful gold colour; and
this and the vicinity of the suckers along the keel and the
spiral assume so vivid a purple colour that it approaches that
of the Ianthina.

The mouth, the head, the bag, and the branchia, have not
presented me with any particularity but what has been alrea-
dy well described by naturalists, and which is common to the
Sepia and Calamaries, in these parts little differing from my
argonaut. However, as regards the funnel with which these
cephalopods are furnished, I believe I have two new obser-
vations to offer. One is, that it holds the office of a pump or
proboscis, rather than that of a funnel ; and that the animal
employs it, when swimming with its arms on the surface of the
water, as a helm, elongating it in front of the widest part of
the shell, at the same time that the spiral serves as a prow.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE ARGONAUT. 105

Reflecting on the delicacy and fragility of the shell here
treated of, it seems strange to see them so rarely broken, and
wishing to trace the cause, I set about touching one whilst its
poulp was within; and taking it dexterously between my
fingers to learn what degree of flexibility it would admit,
I discovered that it was extremely pliant, so much so as to be
able to bring in contact the two extremities of the great curve
without breaking it ; and indeed, shells so fragile ought to
possess this flexibility, in order that they should not conti-
nually be liable to be broken to pieces by the restless and
uninterrupted movements of their poulps, as well as the shocks
which they would be likely to suffer in the depths during a
stormy sea. In this case it would prove very unfortunate for
them, not being capable of forming an entire new shell, as
will be observed afterwards.

Having ascertained the flexibility of the above mentioned
shell, while the living animal was within it, I tried to assure
myself whether such would be the case without it, and after
having been exposed to the air for some time, I immersed some
empty ones in fresh water, and at the end of three days found
them as pliant and flexible as the first.

As regards the connection between the animal and the shell
in which it is housed, I have not found any ligament or mus-
cle which connects them ; while the sac is simply held by the
turning of the end of the spiral, from which it may be easily
separated ; and it appears that the tight adhesion of the sac
against the internal surface of the ribs of the shell is sufficient
to hold it attached. Moreover the external super-position of
the sail-arms keeps the shell firmly upon the poulp.

Passing on now to what it has been my fortune to observe
with regard to the habits of this mollusc, I shall remark that
in a state of natural liberty in the environs of Messina, and
even in the port, the argonaut is to be found almost all the
year, although in larger or smaller quantity. But I should
say their true season to be during autumn, or September, Oc-
tober, and November. It may be because the sea at that time
brings them with the current of the Faro ; or because that
season is more favourable to them on account of certain ma-
rine matters on which they feed ; or finally because it may be
the time of their fecundation. They are therefere seen most
abundantly in the muddiest parts of the port, and exactly
where the anchored boats are thickest among them.

On observing any person, if they are on the surface of the
water, they fold the sail-arms over the shell, and the rowing
ones inside of it, and sink to the bottom.

If they are under water, by means of the tube, where ter-

106 OBSERVATIONS ON THE ARGONAUT.

minate the excretory ducts of the ink-vessel, they throw the
ink forth, like the rest of the cephalopods, in order to make
the water turbid, and thus escape from the enemy by gaining
time to hide in the mud. When still further pursued, whilst
in the cage, they would make use of another stratagem, after
having employed the first ; this was to spirt a quantity of
water by means of the tube, then tired, they would shrink
into the shell, and withdrawing the sails, which are always
folded over it, would spread them and cover it entirely, mak-
ing it appear at first silvery, as I have before said, but an in-
stant after along the suckers, over all the keel and spiral, a
purple colour would spread, and the concentric circles of
spots would appear spread over the two surfaces.

During calm weather, and in quiet water, if not feeling
themselves observed, they make a parade of their many beau-
ties, rowing with full sails tinged with beautiful colours, and
resting the extremities of the sail-arms on the two sides of the
shell, or embracing the shell with them. It is then that their
different movements and habits may be observed ; but I was
obliged to act with the greatest caution in order to enjoy this
spectacle, for the creatures are extremely suspicious, and no
sooner find themselves observed, than they let themselves fall
to the bottom of the cage, and do not rise again for many
hours ; neither could I, like others, have become so assured of
their habits in open sea, without the precautions taken by me,
and from accidental observations.

Sometimes when pressed by hunger, they would come al-
most to the surface of the water, and when I offered them food
would snatch it out of my hands, exhibiting great voracity.

Although I have studied to learn whether these animals are
of separate and distinct sex, I have not been able to make out
more than that all those examined by me, and these were
more than a hundred, were furnished with eggs. I have
thence concluded that they were hermaphrodites. But here-
after I intend to make other careful anatomical researches on
this subject, which at present I have not the opportunity to
do.

{To be continued.)

ON SNOW CRYSTALS. 107

Art. II. — On someSnoiv Crystals observed on the 14/A of January,
1838. By William Thompson, Esq., (V.P.), and Robert
Patterson, Esq., Members of the Natural History Society of Bel-
fast.

At Belfast, on the 14th of January, 1838, about half an hour
after noon, we remarked among some ordinary snow-flakes
which, since the morning, had been falling very sparingly,
some of the beautiful lamellar crystals which present so great
a diversity of figure. We immediately hastened out of town,
that we might have an opportunity of observing them undis-
turbed, and for about an hour enjoyed this high gratification.
They then ceased to fall, the day became fine, and no return
of the phenomenon took place.

With respect to the means of observation, we were very dif-
ferently circumstanced from Dr. Nettis, who states that he
wTas "prepared, in the year 1740, to make the most minute
observations, and the most exact drawings in his power, of
the most perfect figures of snow." — ('Phil. Trans.' 1755, p.
645) : and mentions the kind of microscope, and double con-
vex glasses employed for this purpose. We were furnished
only with the ordinary pocket lenses, and consequently were
unable to attain that minute accuracy which is so desirable.
However, we most carefully sketched the crystals, either as
they fell, or lay undisturbed on pieces of wood or metal ex-
posed to the weather ; and thus secured representations of a
considerable number.

On the following day we had the pleasure of comparing
and identifying nearly all our figures with those of Hooke,1
Nettis, and Scoresby,2 but at the same time discovered that
some which we had seen, had not been described or delineated
by these authors. Nineteen distinct forms at least were
distinguished ; and when the limited period of our observa-
tions is considered, in connection with the simple lenses em-
ployed, we feel satisfied that under more favourable circum-
stances, the number of figures might easily have been doubled.

It was the opinion of Scoresby that the configuration of the
crystals "may be referred to the temperature of the air," and
in his table some (which we recognised) are mentioned as
having been observed at a temperature of 10°, and others at
a temperature of 27.26°. From the circumstance of several
distinct figures having been detected by us falling simultane-
ously, it is obvious that a great diversity of form may be co-
existent with the same degree of temperature, and of course

1 ' Micrograpliia.' 2 'Arctic Regions.'

108 ON SNOW CRYSTALS.

that a great range of temperature is not essential for the pro-
duction of this diversity. Among the configurations we ob-
served as identical with those of Scoresby, were two forms
(Jigs. 59 and 69) which had only once fallen under his ob-
servation. Dr. Nettis mentions that in one day and night
" he observed fifteen, twenty, or more particles of snow diffe-
rently formed ;" and by the observations of eight days, viz.,
the 11th, 12th, 13th, 21st and 23rd of January, and the 6th,
23rd, and 24th of February, he was enabled to figure the
ninety-one crystals published in connection with his memoir.
The shower of crystals which we had the gratification of wit-
nessing, would seem in comparison to have been peculiarly
rich in diversity of figures. ■

The size of our crystals may next be noticed. Scoresby

1 The following notice of their previous occurrence to me in England pre-
sents a remarkable difference in this respect : since it was published I have
not seen any record of these lamellar crystals having been observed in the
British Islands. " On the 22nd of March, 1833, when travelling outside a
stage coach from London to Shrewsbury, and near to Daventry, the day
being up to this time mild and calm, (the weather for some weeks previously
had been excessively cold, with prevalent easterly and north-easterly winds),
snow, of the loose fleecy kind common to the climate, began to fall, but
mingled with it there appeared beautifully delicate lamellar crystals, of
uniform transparency,having aspherical nucleus, from which sprang six and
twelve radii, most exquisitely formed, all the rays on each species being
equal, and not in a single instance deviating from the regularity of geome-
trical proportion, as has on some occasions been observed. By far the
greater number of these were of the former species, having six points radi-
ating from a centre." The figures 20 and 94 in the plates of snow crystals
in Scoresby 's 'Arctic Regions' represent both these crystals, the lines exhi-
bited as extending from the centre of the latter not having been however
visible to the naked eye." — Lond. & Ed. Phil. Mag. vol. v. p. 318.

On this occasion two forms only of these crystals were observed, and it is
considered by Scoresby that Nos. 93 and 94, each having twelve spines, ap-
pear to be accidental varieties, and are produced probably by the correct
application of two similar crystals upon each other. If this opinion be cor-
rect, one normal kind only occurred, and merely the two forms having come
under notice may seem to favour this idea ; as may also the fact of the six
being much more numerous than the twelve pointed ones. Opposed to this
view however is the circumstance, that the twelve points on all I saw were
placed at equal distances, as they are figured by Scoresby, who does not
state that he ever observed any irregularity in them : but if formed by the
application of two six-sided crystals, why should not the points have occa-
sionally appeared at irregular as well as regular distances ? Of the two
forms seen in England, No. 20, or the six-sided, only appeared on this oc-
casion. Both days were alike calm ; the wind on the former was north,
with a point of east : on the latter south-east.

Mr. Patterson was the first to observe the crystals at Belfast, and imme-
diately hastened to inform me of the circumstance, when I joined him, and
from our united observations the above article has been drawn up. — Wm.
Thompson.

ON SNOW CRYSTALS. 109

mentions that the largest crystal represented was ^ of an
inch in diameter, the smallest ^" z Dr. Nettis remarks, —
" the natural size of most of the shining quadrangular parti-
cles, and of the little stars of snow, as well the simple as the
less compound ones, does not exceed the twentieth part of an
inch." 2 It is possible that there might have been very minute
figures, which, from our manner of observation, may have es-
caped our notice ; but those which we did observe, and were
able to identify, generally exceeded very considerably the
sizes recorded by the above authors. To fig. 39 of Nettis
(No. 6 ? of Scoresby) he has attached a mark denoting the
natural size. This is less than a line in diameter, and is con-
sequently only one- third the size of some similar in form which
came under our observation. Some of ours very considerably
exceed the extreme size mentioned by Nettis, and equal the
largest described by Scoresby ; and their average diameter
was such that the unassisted eye could discriminate the va-
rious figures as they lay on a dark ground, and could even
detect some of the varieties floating through the air, their de-
scent being slow in consequence of the calmness of the day.
After falling they remained undissolved, retaining, from the
freezing state of the atmosphere, their undiminished sharp-
ness and perfection of figure, and continuing obvious to the
most unpractised eye which should chance to fall upon the
wood or metal on which they were conspicuously exhibited.
Judging from their abundance in such situations, they con-
stituted fully one-third of what had fallen.

It is worthy of remark that all the varieties figured by
Hooke in his ' Micrographia,' published in 1665, or by Dr.
Nettis of Middleburgh, in 1740, and the whole of those ob-
served by us, belong exclusively to the "lamellar," or first of
the genera into which they are divided by Scoresby. All,
with the exception of Nos. 5 and 19, were "perfect figures,"
and we may also add " many instances occur of mutilated
and irregular specimens ; some wanting two or three radii,
and others having radii of different sizes and shapes." We
observed also that an excess instead of a deficiency of some
of the parts occasionally interfered with the geometric accu-
racy of the figures ; a circumstance which did not escape the
minute accuracy of Dr. Nettis, who gives two representations
(Nos. 57 and 84) of " anomalous figures of snow," of which,
he adds, " there is an infinite variety."

In the observations made by Mr. Hooke and in those by
Dr. Nettis, on lamellar crystals, no information is conveyed

1 'Arctic Regions,' vol. i. p. 431. 2 ' Phil. Trans.' part i. 1755, p. 674.
Vol. III.— No. 27. n. s. m

110

ON SNOW CRYSTALS.

respecting the state of the atmosphere at the time any pecu-
liar configuration was distinguished. Mr. Scoresby on the
contrary has referred almost every figure to a table, exhibit-
ing the most obvious atmospheric phenomena at the time each
crystal was observed. The portion of this table which relates
to the varieties noticed by us, is here extracted for the conve-
nience of reference in our remarks on the several forms here-
after recorded.

DATE.

6

THERM.

BAB.

WINDS.

EEMARKS.

DIRECTION.

FORCE.

1809 Apr. 15
May 2

1 Apr. 17
May 1

1

6

10

15
20
22
24
38

41

59

95

21
10

19
12

23
10
21
27.26
20

29.92
29.84

29.84
29.65

29.95
29.84
29.80
29.80
29.67

N.N.E.
N.N.E.

Fresh gale
do.

Snow very profuse

Delicate crystals floating in the air

A considerable quantity of snow

Occasional crystals deposited

No observations recorded

Do.

Small showers of fine crystals

Delicate crystals floating in, the air

Snow very profuse

Various and beautiful figures vastly

profuse
Snow in considerable quantity

TJto

4

N.E.

N.N.W.
N.N.E.
N.N.E.

S.E.

N.E.

Strongbreeze

TO

1816 Apr. 29

1809 May 2
Apr. 15

1817 May 6 1

1810 Apr. 21

4
i

To-
ll

Mod. breeze
Fresh gale

Fresh breeze
Strong gale

1

State of the atmosphere as observed at the Belfast Museum, Jan. 14th, 1838.
9 A.M. Therm. 31.50. Bar. 29.95. Wind E.S.E. calm.) Sky generally

3 P.M.

32.95.

■29.86.

S.E.

) overcast.

No. I. This is identical with No. 1 of Scoresby. In speaking of it he re-
marks,— " It is the most general form met with. It varies in size
from the smallest speck to ^ of an inch diameter. It seems in great-
est profusion when the temperature approaches the freezing point."
This figure with its various modifications, forming No. 1 to 8 in our
list, was by far the most abundant. Its size varied from 2 to 4 lines
in diameter. Its radii, with their attendant ramifications, recal im-
mediately to the mind the appearance of some vegetable productions.
This idea occurred nearly two centuries ago to Hooke; who remarks,
"there is a vegetable which does exceedingly imitate these branches,
and that is Feam, where the main stem may be observed to shoot out
branches, and the stems of each of these lateral branches, to send
forth collateral," &c.

No. 2. In this the lines diverging from each ray increase in length as they
approach the extremity, so that those from the adjacent radii come
nearly into contact. It does not appear among the numerous figures
of Nettis or Scoresby.

No. 3. In this on the contrary the lines gradually decrease as they approach
the extremity, and the figure precisely resembles one given in Hooke's
Micrographia (the largest in the second line), except that the six ra-
dii presented a more pointed appearance.

No. 4. Here the lines diverging from the radii were extremely irregular in
length. It is not figured by the authors above referred to.*

ON SNOW CRYSTALS. Ill

No. 5. This had the peculiarity of possessing eight radii, the alternate ones
little more than half the length of the others ; all finely feathered ;
the diverging lines decreasing as they approach the extremity, as in
figure 3. One only of this configuration was observed. It is not fi-
gured in the works before us.

Nos. 6, 7, 8. These are identical with the representations given by Nettis,
numbered 62, 78, 79.

No. 9. Identical with No. 56 of Nettis, but less abundant than the preced-
ing.

No. 10. The spicules of this form (No. 6 of Scoresby, 39 ? of Nettis) were
very few in number and about 2i lines diameter.

No. 11. No. 10 of Scoresby is nearly but not precisely the form which we
observed. In ours the radii, instead of maintaining a uniform thick-
ness throughout their entire length, gradually expand as they ap-
proach the terminating trefoil, and merge into the curves of that
figure. They were few in number. Diameter l£ line. This was
twice noticed by Scoresby : the thermometer in the first instance be-
ing 19°, in the latter 10°.

No. 12. Identical with figure 15 of Scoresby. Few in number. Diameter
2 lines.

No. 13. No. 20 of Scoresby. One only observed by us. Diameter \\ line

No. 14. Vide figures 22 and 29 of Scoresby. Neither of these conveys an
accurate idea of the form indicated by our No. 14. It had the mar-
gin and points opaque, the disk filmy and transparent, as in fig. 59,
but the points resembled those delineated in figure 22. Diameter
about l£ line.

No. 15. Here, as in the preceding, it is necessary to combine two of Scores-
by's figures, to convey a correct idea of the spicula we mean to re-
present. In this instance the radii were feathered as in figure 24,
but terminated as in figure 15. One only was observed. Diameter
2 lines.

No. 16. This accords with figure 38 of Scoresby, and occurred to him at a
temperature as low as 10°. We observed but one specimen of this
form ; it was somewhat opaque. Diameter 2 lines.

No. 17. A few spicules presented themselves differing from No. 41 of Scores-
by in having three instead of two leaflets. Diameter about 2 lines

No. 18. Fig. 69 of Scoresby. One of this form and opacity was remarked.
Diameter about 2\ lines.

No. 19. Two of Scoresby's figure 95 were found united, forming by their
union an irregular figure .

The weather for some days previous had been frosty, and
the barometer gradually falling from about noon on the 12th
inst. On the morning succeeding these observations there
was snow, followed by showers of sleet, and at noon a heavy
rain set in, which continued without intermission the remain-
der of the day.

Since the preceding observations were made we have found
that snow crystals are not unfrequent in Ireland, although we
are not aware of any published record of their occurrence. —
The facts which have led to this conclusion may be briefly
stated.

112 ON SNOW CRYSTALS.

After the crystals had been observed by us, we mentioned
the matter to some friends, who, a few days afterwards, in-
formed us that several had fallen about four miles from Bel-
fast, on a lake then frozen over. On being shown Scoresby's
figures, they identified several of them, and pointed out two
pyramidal forms as particularly abundant. None of this con-
figuration were noticed by us.

Robert Ball Esq., of Dublin, informs us that he has occa-
sionally observed them at Youghal and Dublin.

On the 13th of February, 1838, Mr. Patterson travelled by
coach from Dublin to Belfast. Snow had been falling heavi-
ly all the morning, but had ceased before his arrival at Jones-
borough. While stopping to change horses he found on the
low stone wall which separates the road from the adjoining
fields, a number of snow crystals such as he had formerly
seen. A few hundred yards farther on, the ground was per-
fectly free from snow, and continued so to Belfast. This
partial fall was the precursor of the great snow storm which
commenced on the 23rd of February, and for some days ren-
dered many roads impassable.

In the morning of March 23rd, at 8 o'clock, Mr. Patterson
noticed at Belfast, among many small compact particles of
snow scattered over the street, several hexagonal crystals, the
same as before, and from one to three lines in diameter. On
the little pools of water and ditches by the way- side towards
the Botanic Garden, the crystals appeared to great advantage
on the dark surface of the frozen water.

The ensuing morning at 9 o'clock a very small number of
snow crystals were falling. Immediately afterwards they be-
came more loose and irregular, and in five minutes more be-
gan to descend as a gentle rain. The sun then broke out,
and an instantaneous change of temperature was apparent.

Belfast, March 1838.

[The appearance of this article so many months subsequently to the date
of its reception, has arisen from the circumstance of the original manuscript
having been lost in passing through the twopenny post, and we were there-
fore reluctantly obliged to give the authors the trouble of drawing out a
second copy. — Ed.]

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 113

Art. Til. — Monograph of the Genus Sciurus, with Descriptions of
new Species and their Varieties, as existing in North America, —
By J. Bachman, D.D., President of the Literary and Philosophi-
cal Society, Charlestown, South Carolina, &c. &C1

This genus includes many species, of which one or more ex-
ist in the various portions of the globe, with the exception
perhaps of New Holland. Several of these are extensively
diffused, and, from the operation of climate and other causes,
are subject to deviate into many varieties. This circumstance
has given infinite perplexity to European naturalists, in de-
signating the species existing in the warmer portions of
the eastern continent. Even the common squirrel of Europe
(Sciurus vulgaris) varies so much in colour in high latitudes,
that a doubt has for a long time existed whether these varie-
ties ought not to be regarded as true species.

In designating the species of American squirrels, and in
separating varieties from true species, a still greater difficulty
presents itself. Some of these are scattered over a vast ter-
ritory,— presenting peculiarities of colour in various localities.
The same species often differs considerably in size, varying
also in summer and winter pilage. The skulls and teeth of
most of the species present a striking similarity, nor do they
differ very widely in habit. Much confusion has also crept
into the accounts of different authors who have written on
our American squirrels ; great uncertainty exists respecting
the species alluded to, and all our monographs are acknow-
ledgedly very imperfect. In attempting to throw additional
light on this genus, I am far from supposing that I have no-
ticed all the true species that may exist in our extensive and
in many portions unexplored country ; nor can I say with
positive certainty that I have in every case been able to draw
the line of separation between varieties and true species. —
This difficult and perplexing task, however, has not been un-
dertaken without due caution and careful examination. Se-
veral hundred specimens, procured from various portions of
North America have been compared. Specimens of all the
species, with the exception of the great tailed squirrel (Set.
macrouru-s, Say), are in my possession. The latter also I had
an opportunity of examining in the Philadelphia Museum. —

1 Communicated by the author. Specimens of nearly all the squirrels
noticed in the present Monograph were exhibited by Dr. Bachman at the
Zoological Society's Meeting, Aug. I4th, 1838; and in the Society's Pro-
ceedings under that date a full abstract of the characters &c. of the species
is given. — Ed.

114 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

The species existing in Louisiana and in the territories bor-
dering on Texas, require a more careful examination, and the
vast and varied regions between the Rocky Mountains and
the Pacific, and especially those portions bordering on the
Mexican possessions, will no doubt present species not yet
enumerated.

Order RODENTIA.

Genus Sciurus, Linn., Erxleb., Cut., GeofFr., Illiger.

Eng. Squirrel. Gr. Smugo;. Fr. Ecureuil. Genu. Eichorn.

Dental formula.— Incis. §. Can. fjg. Grind. |$ or ff.—20 or 22.

Squirrels are distinguished by large inferior incisors much
compressed; by long tails generally longer than the bo-
dy, furnished with hairs arranged on the sides so as to re-
semble a feather. The tail, when the animal is in a state of
rest, is usually turned over the back and head, and partially
conceals the body. All true squirrels are destitute of cheek-
pouches. They have on the fore feet four toes, with a short
rudimental thumb, protected by a blunt nail. On the palm
are five tubercles, three of which are situated at the roots of
the toes, and two larger ones behind. The third toe from the
inner side is longer than the second, which distinguishes the
squirrels from the marmots and spermophiles. In the hind
foot there are five toes, with four naked callous eminences on
the sole at their roots. They have four large grinders on a
side in each jaw ; these are variously tuberculated. In young
animals there is a small additional grinder above in front,
which, in many of the species, very soon drops out, but in
the majority of our American squirrels this fifth grinder is ei-
ther permanent, or remains for more than a year. The mam-
ma are eight in number, two of which are situated on the
chest, and six on the sides of the belly. They produce from
four to six young.

The squirrel is admirably adapted to a residence on trees,
for which nature has designed it. Its fingers are long, slen-
der, and deeply cleft, and its nails very acute and greatly com-
pressed. It is enabled to leap from limb to limb, and from
tree to tree, clinging to the smallest twigs, and seldom miss-
ing its hold. When this happens to be the case, it preserves
its instinctive habit of grasping in its descent at the first ob-
ject which may present itself; or if about to fall to the earth
it spreads itself out in the manner of the flying squirrel, and
thereby presenting a greater resistance to the air, is enabled

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 115

to reach the ground without injury, and recovers itself so in-
stantaneously that it often escapes the vigilance of the dog
that watches its desceut and stands ready to seize upon it at
the moment of its fall. It immediately ascends a neighbour-
ing tree, emitting very frequently a querulous bark, which is
either a note of fear or of triumph. Although the squirrel
moves with considerable rapidity on the ground, yet it rather
runs than leaps ; on trees however its activity and agility are
surprising, and it is thus enabled often to escape from its ene-
mies, concealing itself eventually either among the thick fo-
liage,— in its nest, — or in the hollow of a tree.

The squirrel usually carries its food to the mouth by the fore
paws. Nuts and seeds of all kinds are secured between the
rudimental thumbs and the inner portions of the palms. —
When disturbed in this situation, it either drops the nut and
makes a rapid retreat, or seizes it with the incisors and car-
ries it to its hole or nest.

All our species of this genus, as far as we have been able
to become acquainted with their habits, build their nests ei-
ther in the fork of a tree, or on some secure portion of its
branches. The nest is spherical in shape, and is composed
of sticks, leaves, the bark of trees, and various kinds of mosses
and lichens. In the vicinity of these nests* however, they
have a still more secure retreat in some hollow tree, where
they retire in cold or in very wet weather, and where their
young are generally produced.

Several species of squirrel collect more or less food during
the abundant season of autumn, to serve as a winter store. —
This hoard is composed of various kinds of walnuts {Juglans),
hickories (Carya), chesnuts, chinquepins, acorns, corn, &c,
which may be found in their vicinity. The species however
that inhabit the southern portions of the United States, where
the ground is seldom covered with snow, and where they can
always derive a precarious support from the seeds, insects, and
worms which are scratched up among the leaves &c, are less
provident in this respect ; and of all our species the chicka-
ree, or Hudson's Bay squirrel {Sci. Hudsonius), is by far the
most industrious, and lays up the greatest quantity of food.

In the spring the squirrels shed their hair, which is re-
placed by a thinner and less furry coat ; during summer the
tails are narrower and less feathery than in autumn, when
they either receive an entire new coat, or a very great acces-
sion of fur ; at this season also the outer surfaces of the ears
are more thickly and prominently clothed with fur than in the
spring and summer.

Squirrels are notorious depredators on the Indian corn fields

110 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

of the planter, consuming great quantities of grain, and, by
tearing off' the husks, exposing an immense number of ears to
the mouldering influence of the dews and rain.

The usual note emitted by this genus is a kind of tremu-
lous querulous bark, not very unlike the quacking voice of a
duck. Although all our larger squirrels have shades of differ-
ence in their notes, which will enable the practised ear to de-
signate the species even before they are seen, yet this differ-
ence cannot easily be described by words. Their bark seems
to be the repetition of a syllable five or six times, — quack-
quack-quack-quack-qua, — commencing low, and gradually
raising its voice, and ending with a drawl on the la&t letter in
the syllable. The notes however of the smaller Hudson's
Bay squirrel, and its kindred species existing on the Rocky
Mountains, differ considerably from those of the larger squir-
rels ; they are sharper, more rapidly uttered, and of longer
continuance ; seeming intermediate between the bark of the
larger squirrels and the chipping calls of the ground squir-
rels (Tamias). The bark of the squirrel may be heard occa-
sionally in the forest during all hours of the day, but is more
common in the morning and afternoon. Any sudden noise,
or the distant report of a gun, is almost certain, during favor-
able weather, to be succeeded by the barking of the squirrel.
This is either a note of playfulness or of love. During such
times it seats itself for a few moments on the limb of a tree,
— elevates its tail over its back towards the head, and bend-
ing the point backwards continues to jerk its body and elevate
and depress the tail at the repetition of each successive
note. Like the mocking bird and the nightingale, however,
the squirrel no sooner begins to sing, (for to his own ear at
least his voice must be musical), than he also commences
skipping and dancing. He leaps playfully from limb to limb,
sometimes pursuing his rival or his mate for a few moments,
and then reiterating with renewed vigour his querulous and
monotonous notes.

One of the most common habits of the squirrel, with which
a mysterious instinct has favoured it to conceal itself from the
prying eyes of its enemies, is that of circling around the tree
on the opposite side, so as completely to evade the sight ;
hence it is almost essential to the sportsman's success, that
he should be accompanied by a second person, who, in walk-
ing slowly round the tree on which the squirrel has been seen,
causes him to move to the side where the gunner is silently
stationed. When the squirrel has been seated on a limb at
the approach of man, and fancies himself undiscovered, he
immediately depresses his tail, and extending it along the

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 117

limb behind him, presses his body so closely to the branch,
that he frequently evades the most practised eye, and is thus
enabled to escape.

Notwithstanding the agility of the squirrel, man is not his
only nor even his most formidable enemy. The owl makes a
frequent meal of those species which continue to seek their
food late in the evening and early in the morning. Several
kinds of hawk, especially the red-tailed (Falco borealis), and
the red-shouldered {Fal. lineatus), pounce upon them by day.
The black snake, rattlesnake, and other species, have the
means of entrapping them ; and the ermine, the fox, and the
wild cat are incessantly exerting their sagacity in lessening
their numbers.

1. Fox Squirrel. Sciurus capistratus.

Sciurus capistratus ; Bosc, 'Ann. du Mus.' vol. i. p. 281.

vulpinus P Linn. Ed. Gmel., 1788.

niger ; Catesby.

Black Squirrel; Bartram's Travels in North America.
Sciurus capistratus; Desm. * Mammalogie,' p. 332.

variegatus ; Desm. ' Mammalogie,' p. 333.

capistratus ; Cuv. ' Regne Animal,' vol. i. p. 193.

Fox Squirrel; Lawson's Carolina, p. 124.

Sciurus capistratus ; Harlan.

vulpinus; Godman.

Essent. Char.— Size large; tail longer than the body; hair coarse,
ears and nose white: subject to great varieties in colour.

This is the largest and most interesting species of this ge-
nus found in the United States; and although it is subject
to great varieties of colour, which has occasioned no little
confusion in the creation of several nominal species, yet it
possesses several striking and uniform markings by which the
species, through all its varieties, may be distinguished at a
glance from any other.

Dental formula.— Incis. |. Can. gg. Grind. &— 20.

Although I have given to this species but four grinders on
each side in the upper jaw, and which peculiarity applies to
ne?rly all the specimens that may be examined, yet in a very
young animal obtained on the 5th of April in South Carolina,
and which had apparently left the nest but a day or two, I
observed a very minute, round, deciduous, anterior grinder on
each side. These teeth however must be shed at a very early

Vol. III.— No. 27. n. s. n

118 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIUItUS.

period, as in two other specimens obtained on the 20th of the
same month, they were entirely wanting. The teeth of all
our squirrels present so great a similarity that it will be found
impossible to designate the species from these alone, without
referring to other peculiarities which the eye of the practical
naturalist may detect. In young animals of this species, the
tuberculous crowns on the molars are prominent and acute ;
these sharp points however are soon worn off, and the tuber-
cles in the adult are round and blunt. The first molar in the
upper jaw is the smallest, and is triangular in shape ; the se-
cond and third are a little larger and square ; and the poste-
rior one, which is about the size of the third, is rounded on
its posterior surface. The upper incisors, which are of a deep
orange colour anteriorly, are strong and compressed, deep at
their roots, flat on their sides ; in some specimens there is a
groove anteriorly, running longitudinally through the middle,
presenting the appearance of a double tooth, — in others this
groove is wanting. In the lower jaw the anterior grinder is
the smallest, — the rest increase in size to the last, which is
the largest.

Form. — Nose obtuse ; forehead slightly arched ; whiskers
black, a little longer than the head ; ears rounded, covered
with short hairs on both surfaces ; there is scarcely any pro-
jection of the fur beyond the outer surface, as is the case in
nearly all the other species ; the hair is very coarse, appear-
ing in some specimens geniculate ; tail broad and distichous;
legs and feet stout, and the whole body has more the appear-
ance of strength than of agility.

Colour. — In the grey variety of this species, which is, as
far as I have observed, the most common, the nose, extend-
ing to within four or five lines of the eyes, the ears, feet, and
belly, are white ; forehead and cheeks brownish black ; the
hairs on the back are dark plumbeous near the roots ; then a
broad line of cinereous; then black, and broadly tipped with
white, with an occasional black hair interspersed, especially
on the neck and fore-shoulder, giving the animal a light grey
appearance ; the hairs in the tail are, for three fourths of their
length, white from the roots, then a ring of black, with the tips
white. This is the variety given by Bosc and other authors
as Sciurus capistratus.

Second variety ; the black fox squirrel. Nose and ears
white, a few light-coloured hairs on the feet, the rest of the
body and tail black ; there are occasionally a few white hairs
in the tail. This is the original black squirrel of Catesby and
Bartram, (Sci. niger).

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 119

Third variety. Nose, mouth, under jaw and ears, white ;
head, thighs, and belly, black ; back and tail dark grey. —
This is the variety alluded to by Desmarest, ' Ency. Method.'
— Mammalogie, 333.

There is also a fourth variety, which is very common in
Alabama, and also occasionally seen in the upper districts of
South Carolina, and has on several occasions been sent to me
as a distinct species. The ears and nose, as in all the other
varieties, are white. This indeed is a permanent mark, run-
ning through all the varieties, by which this species may be
easily distinguished. Head and neck black ; back a rusty
blackish brown ; neck, thighs, and belly bright rust colour ;
tail annulated with black and red. This is the variety erro-
neously considered by the author of the notes on McMurtrie's
translation of Cuvier (see vol. i. Appendix, p. 433) as the
Sciurus rufiventer.

The three first varieties noted above are common in the
lower and middle districts of South Carolina ; and although
they are known to breed together, yet it is very rare to find
any specimens indicating an intermediate variety. Where
the parents are both black, the young are invariably of the
same colour ; the same may be said of the other varieties :
where on the other hand there is one parent of each colour,
an almost equal proportion of the young are of the colour of
the male the other of the female. On three occasions I had
opportunities of examining the young produced by progeni-
tors of different colours. The first nest contained four, — two
black and two grey ; the second, one black and two grey ; and
the third, three black and two grey. The colour of the young
did not, in a majority of instances, correspond with that of
the parent of the same sex ; although the male parent was
black, the young males were frequently grey, and vice versa.

Dimensions of the fox squirrel. —

IN. LIN.

Length of head and body 14 5

Ditto of tail, (vertebra?) 12 4

Ditto of tail to the tip 15 2

Ditto of palm and middle fore elaw 1 9

Ditto of sole and middle hind claw 2 11

Ditto of fur on the back „ 8

Height of ear posteriorly „ 7

Geographical distribution. — This species is said to exist
sparingly in New Jersey : 1 have not observed it farther north
than Virginia, nor could I find it in the mountainous districts
of that state. In the pine forests of North Carolina it be-
comes more common. In the middle and maritime districts

120 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

of South Carolina it is almost daily met with, although it can-
not be said to be an abundant species anywhere. I have al-
so seen it in Georgia, and have received specimens from Mid-
dle Florida and Alabama.

Habits. — Although there is a general similarity of habit in
all the species of Sciurus, yet the present has some pe-
culiarities which I have never noticed in any other. The fox
squirrel, instead of preferring the rich low lands, thickly
clothed with timber, as is the case with the Carolina grey
squirrel, is seldom seen in such situations, but prefers ele-
vated pine ridges, where the trees are not crowded near each
other, and where there is an occasional oak or hickory inter-
spersed. It is also frequently found in the vicinity of rich
valleys, to which it resorts for the nuts, acorns, and chinque-
pins [Casianea pumila) which such soils produce. In some
aged and partially decayed oak, this squirrel finds a safe re-
treat for itself and mate. A hollowr tree of this kind is suffi-
cient for its purpose ; if nature has prepared a hole for it, it
occupies it ; if otherwise, it finds no difficulty in gnawing a
hole, — sometimes several, — for its accommodation. The tree
itself is however, in all cases, hollow, and it only gnaws
through the outer shell in order to find a residence, which re-
quires but little labour and skill to render it secure and com-
fortable. At other times it takes possession of the deserted
hole of the ivory -billed woodpecker {Picus principalis). —
The summer duck too is frequently a competitor for the same
residence; contests for possession occasionally take place
between these three species, and I have generally observed,
that the tenant that has already deposited its eggs or young
in such situations is seldom ejected. The male and female
summer duck unite in chasing and beating with their wings
any squirrel that may approach their nests, nor are they idle
with their bills and tongues, but continue biting, hissing, and
napping their wings until the intruded is expelled. On the
other hand, when the squirrel has its young in the hole of a
tree, and is intruded on either by a woodpecker or a summer
duck, it immediately rushes to its hole, and after having en-
tered, remains at the mouth of it, occasionally protruding its
head, and with a low and angry bark keeps possession until
the intruder, weary of the contest, leaves it unmolested. —
Thus, nature imparts to each species additional spirit and
vigour in defence of its young ; whilst at the same time the
intruder on the possession of others, as if conscious of the
injustice of his acts, evinces a spirit of pusillanimity and
cowardice.

In the vicinity of this permanent residence of the fox squir-

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 121

rel, several nests, composed of sticks, leaves, and mosses,
are usually seen on the pine trees. These are seldom placed
on the summits, but in the fork of a tree, and more frequently
where several branches unite to afford a sure resting-place to
these nests. This may be called their summer home, for it
seems to be occupied only in fine weather, and is deserted
during wintry and stormy seasons.

The breeding season is in December and January, when
the male chases the female for hours together on the same
tree, running up one side and descending on the other, fol-
lowing her from one branch to the other, making at the same
time a low guttural noise that can scarcely be compared with
the barking notes which they utter on other occasions. The
young are produced from the beginning of March, and some-
times earlier, to April. The nests containing them which I
have had an opportunity of examining, were always in hol-
low trees. They receive the nourishment of the mother for
four or five weeks, when they are left to shift for themselves,
but continue to reside in the vicinity of, and even to occupy,
the same nests with their parents, till autumn. It has been
asserted by several planters in Carolina, that this species has
two broods during the season ; as far however as my person-
al observations have enabled me to judge, I have been led to
believe that they have no other product than that of early
spring.

The food of this species is various ; besides acorns and the
different kinds of nuts, its principal subsistence for many
weeks in autumn is on the fruit extracted from the cones of
the pine, especially that of our long-leaved pitch pine [Pinus
palustris). Whilst the green corn is yet in its milky state,
the fox squirrel makes long journeys to visit the fields, and
for the sake of convenience frequently builds a temporary
summer-house in the vicinity, in order to share with the little
Carolina squirrel and the crow a portion of the delicacies and
treasures of the husbandman ; where he is also exposed to
the risks incurred by the thief and plunderer ; for these fields
are usually guarded by a gunner, and in this way thousands
of squirrels are destroyed during the green corn season. It is
doubtful whether the fox squirrel lays up any winter stores,
There appears to be no food in any of his nests, nor does he.
like the red squirrel {Sciurus Hudsonius), resort to any hoards
which, in the season of abundance, were buried in the earth
or concealed under logs and leaves. During this season he
leaves his retreat but seldom, and then only for a short time,
and in fine weather in the middle of the day. He has evi-
dently the power, like the marmot and racoon, of being sus-

122 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

tained for a considerable length of time, without much suffer-
ing, in the absence of food. When this animal makes his
appearance in the winter, he is seen searching among the
leaves where the wild turkey has been busy at work, and
gleaning the refuse acorns which have escaped his search ; at
such times also this species does not reject worms and insects
which he may detect beneath the bark of fallen or decayed
trees. Towards spring he feeds on the buds of the hickory,
oak, and various other trees, as well as on several kinds of
roots, especially of the wild potato. As the spring advances
farther, he is a constant visitor to the black mulberry tree
{Morus rubra), where he finds a supply for several weeks. —
From this time till winter the fruits of the field and forests en-
able him to revel in abundance.

Most other species of this genus when alarmed in the woods
immediately betake themselves to the first convenient tree
that presents itself, — not so with the fox squirrel. When he
is aware of being discovered whilst on the ground, he pushes
directly for a hollow tree, which is often a quarter of a mile
distant, and it requires a good dog, a man on horseback, or a
very swift runner, to induce him to alter his course, or com-
pel him to ascend any other tree. When he is silently seated
on a tree, and imagines himself unperceived by the person
approaching him, he suddenly spreads himself flatly on the
limb, and gently moving to the opposite side, often by this
stratagem escapes detection. When however he is on a small
tree, and is made aware of being observed, he utters a few
querulous, barking notes, and immediately leaps to the ground
and hastens to a more secure retreat. If overtaken by a dog
he defends himself with great spirit, and is often an over-
match for the small terriers which are used for the purpose of
treeing him. He is very tenacious of life, and an ordinary
shot gun, although it may wcund him repeatedly, will seldom
bring him down from the tops of the high pines to which he
retreats when pursued, and in such situations the rifle is the
only certain enemy he has to dread.

This squirrel is seldom seen out of its retreat early in the
mornings and evenings, as is the habit of the other species.
He seems to be a late riser, and usually makes his first appear-
ance at 10 or 11 o'clock, and retires to his domicile long be-
fore evening. He does not appear to indulge so frequently in
the barking propensities of the genus as the other and small-
er species. This note when heard is not very loud but hoarse
and guttural. He is easily domesticated, and is occasionally
seen in cages, but is less active and sprightly than the small-
er species.

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. 123

As an article of food the fox squirrel is apparently equally
good with any other species, although I have observed that
the little Carolina squirrel is usually preferred, as being more
tender and delicate. Where however squirrels are very abun-
dant, men soon become surfeited with this kind of food, and
in Carolina, even among the poorer class, it is not generally
preferred.

This species, like all the rest of the squirrels, is infested
during the summer months with a troublesome larva, which,
fastening itself on the neck or shoulders, must be very annoy-
ing, as those most affected in this manner are usually poor,
and their fur appears thin and disordered. It is however less
exposed to destruction from birds of prey and wild beasts
than the other species. It leaves its retreat so late in the
mornings and retires so early in the afternoons, that it is wholly
exempt from the depredations of owls, so destructive to the
Carolina squirrel. I have seen it bid defiance to the attacks
of the red-shouldered hawk (Falco lineatus), the only abun-
dant species in the south, and it frequents those high grounds
and open woods where the fox and wild cat seldom resort,
during the middle of the day, so that man is almost the only
enemy it has to dread.

(To be continued.)

Art. IV — On the Anatomy of the Lamellibranchiate Conchiferous
Animals. By Robert Garner, Esq. F.L.S.

(Continued from Vol. ii. n. s. page 583J.

With respect to the chemical composition of the shells of
Bivalves little has been done. Hatchett1 found them to con-
sist of carbonate of lime, and animal matter. In the oyster
shell Vauquelin* noticed animal matter, carbonate and phos-
phate of lime, carbonate of magnesia, and oxide of iron. The
earthy matter has commonly more or less of crystalline struc-
ture, and the membranes which support it, have, when freed
by a weak acid from the earthy matter and viewed with a lens,
a regular reticulated appearance.3 The earthy matter is de-
posited in these membranes, which are themselves merely
indurated mucous transudations. The colorations of the
shells are various. Chemists have not ascertained the nature

1 Home, Lectures. 2 Malacologie. 3 Poli.

124 ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

of this colouring matter. From its easy destructability it has
been supposed not to be of a mineral nature. ■ The coloured
markings on the external surface of the valves are of various
forms ; they are dependant upon the disposition of the veins
of the mantle ; they are often interrupted from the cessation
of the secretion at certain periods. The internal stains some-
times seen, and which pervade the whole thickness of the
shells, are produced by the contact of an excreting venous
organ,2 destined to throw off the redundant colouring and
earthy matter, &c, and from its secretion the foot and extre-
mities of the tubes also are often brilliantly stained. Light
has an effect on this coloration ; when one valve is fixed, or
is constantly buried in the sand, the other, being most exposed,
is most coloured ; and such species as live immured in the
interior of rocks, wood, &c, are commonly destitute of colour.
The articulation of the valves, one with the other, presents
an infinite variety. The elastic substance, or cartilage1 is
so placed, as to be compressed when the valves are closed by
the muscles ; and, regaining its original state when the mus-
cular force ceases, to open the shell. In addition to the car-
tilage, a ligament frequently adds to the security of the hinge.
These two may be conjoined or not. The cartilage is often
divided. In Pema it is perfectly so, the portions being situ-
ated in parallel grooves. In Area, &c, the portions are con-
joined at the point of the beak and diverge from it. The
former appears to be the divided elongated cartilage seen in
the generality of the Dimyaria ; the latter the divided verti-
cal cartilage, common in the Monomyaria. The cartilage is
composed of layers like the shell, being secreted, when inter-
nal, in a corresponding sac of the mantle, or, when external,
by a glandular prominence of it from a set of minute glands.
The former is the case in the Pecten, Spondylus, &c, the
latter in the Anadonta, Bucardium, &c. In the former case
the layers are deposited from below ; in the latter from behind.
There is no case in which the cartilage is before the beaks,
unless, as in the Area, it is divided and divergent. In all
cases, the cartilage must have its commencement apparent
at the very beaks of the valves, unless eroded, as it is in Os-
trea, Gryphcea, &c. This disunion of the cartilage may take
place more from one valve than the other, as is seen in some
species of the last named genus, causing the great length of

1 Iodine and bromine have been found in these shells. Is either of
them concerned in the coloration ?

2 Not of the liver, as supposed by Blainville.

3 Gray has shown the distinction between the cartilage and the ligament,
1 Zoolog. Journal,' vol. 1.

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. 125

the beak in the lower valve. The situation of the ligament
is various ; in the Pecten it unites the ears of the valves ; in
the Area it is stretched over the wide space between the
beaks ; it unites the edges of the valves anterior to the beaks,
or is spread over the hmule in many other Dimyaria. When
as in the Bucardium, &c, the cartilage is external, and con-
vex and prominent above, its compression does not happen
from the pressure of the valves, as is the case with the species
with internal cartilages, but from the bending of it upon itself.
The elastic substance of the cartilage of this conformation
differs from that of the Pecten, &c, by its containing a por-
tion of carbonate of lime in its composition.

The hinge is likewise commonly furnished with teeth, often,
as in the Trigonia, of most regular conformation ; developed
for the purpose of preventing the sliding of the valves upon
each other ; fitting between their fellows of the opposite side
with great harmony. The teeth are wanting or weak when
there is great strength of muscle or cartilage ; when the irre-
gularity of the edges of the valves prevents sliding motion ;
when the shell is small, flat and polished, and hence little
exposed to violence ; or when the hinge and cartilage are
long. They are, however, very numerous in the long hinge
of the Arcacea, compensating for the weakness of the carti-
lage.

From the superior and posterior situation of the cartilage
in many bivalves, the anterior and inferior part of the shell
opens widest when the ligament acts, and from this part the
foot commonly protrudes. When the foot protrudes inferi-
ority, the cartilage is in the middle of the dorsal edge.

In those genera which have gaping shells and long fleshy
syphons, the cartilage is internal and situated on a projecting
process of one of the valves ; by such a disposition the shell
is not readily quite closed nor much opened. The shell is
only allowed to be opened widely when the lobes of the man-
tle unite to a small extent ; as is done by the internal carti-
lage of many of the Monomyaria.

When the foot is of a compressed form, from the position
of the ligament and cartilage, one on each side the beaks,
much motion is not provided for. When, as in the Area, the
foot is thick, we see in the linear hinge and in the remoteness
of the beaks, a provision for the considerable opening of the
valves by that organ, and in some species the valves them-
selves are gaping inferiorly for its exsertion. Besides the
teeth, the Osteodesma has a loose calcareous piece at the
hinge, before the internal ligament. In the Pholades there

Vol. III.— No. 27. n. s. o

126 ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

is no cartilage ; ' but a process of the mantle overlaps the
beaks of the valves, and secretes a calcareous plate upon them.
This reflected portion of the mantle covers the anterior mus-
cle, which here goes from beak to beak ; in the calcareous
plates in the P. dactylus, without the insertion of the muscle,
is an external row of large and an internal one of small cavi-
ties, into which are inserted corresponding fimbriations of the
reflected portion of the mantle. This fleshy process is pro-
tected and covered by several thin calcareous plates, imbed-
ded between it and the cuticle : there are four of these in the
P. dactylus, but one in the P. candidus, P. conoides, &c.
There are likewise two spoon-like processes in the interior of
the valves, below the beaks ; secreted in two reflections of
the mantle, and giving attachment to a few of the fibres of
the foot. The Teredo has the valves joined by muscular
fibres alone, as has the Myastropha. The teeth are of infi-
nite diversity, in shape and position, and merit a more minute
examination than they have hitherto had.2

MUSCULAR SYSTEM.

Many of these animals are immoveably fixed to the spots
on which they are found. The oyster, for instance, in the
young state, secretes the calcareous matter of the left valve
on rocks, &c, and only ceases to do so when a firm attach-
ment is formed. Other species are attached by a set of horny
filaments called the byssus. This is formed from the secretion
of a bilobed gland, situated within the base of the foot. This
gland, of which the existence is erroneously denied by Blain-
ville, is of a brown granular appearance ; it may readily be
found in the Mytilus or Modiola, lying upon the nervous
ganglion of the foot. Its duct opens into the bottom of the
groove situated on the posterior surface of that organ. Its
fluid secretion is moulded in this groove, and the thread,
which rapidly hardens, is fastened at one end to the tendi-
nous base of the foot, and at the other, by an expanded ex-
tremity, to the rocks to which the animal adheres. On rocky
shores we see how firmly and immoveably the common
muscles are bound by these threads. The Modiola discors
fixes itself to the cartilaginous tunics of Phallusia and other
Tunicata, and becomes buried in them, the anal extremity
only projecting. Some species of Pecten are fixed by the
spinous processes of their valves, some by a byssus, while

1 In the P. candidus, however, the author finds one, between the two
small spinous processes.

8 See a paper on the hinge of Bivalves by Wood, ' Linn. Trans.' vol. 6.

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. 127

others, as the P. maximus, have the convex valve commonly
buried in the sand. These free species of Pecten swim and
leap by striking the water with their valves, closed by the
action of the voluminous adductor muscle. It is evident in
opening an oyster how powerful this muscle is ; in the Pec-
ten it is much more so. The principal organ of locomotion,
however, in these animals is the foot. The Monomyaria
have it little developed, some, as the oyster, having no trace
of it ; and in them it seems of little use as an organ of loco-
motion. When present in them it is of a cylindrical figure,
expanded at the extremity as in Lima, Pecten, &c. In the
Spondylus, from its terminal disk a filament depends, at the
extremity of which is a small oval body. In these genera a
long slender muscle arises from the upper part of the left
valve, and is inserted into this organ, bending it when in
action, up to the mouth. The byssus, according to Cuvier,
is present in the Perna and Malleus ; in one species of Lima
the author does not find it, though Blainville and Cuvier also,
correctly says it is present in another. It exists also in the
Avicula, Pinna, Lithodomus, Byssomya, &c. The foot,
which moulds it, receives several pairs of muscles, originating
from the valves, at different points, and inserted into its base.
In the Pecten and the other Monomyaria, there is but one
adductor muscle. In Avicula, Pinna, Mytilus, &c, another
is added at the anterior part of the shell ; in them, however,
yet small. In Lithodomus the anterior one is become equal
to the other ; in some species of Solen it is much the larger
of the two. These muscles pass directly from one valve to
the other, and are the antagonists to the force of the elastic
cartilage. The foot, in the Dimyaria, varies in its form, and
is occasionally very large. It has circular, longitudinal and
oblique fibres, and is attached to the valves by two or more
pairs of muscles as mentioned above. In Area it has a horny
substance at its lower part, analogous to the byssus of other
genera. In Nucula it is tentacular at its lower circumference.
In the JJnio it is large, oval, and slightly compressed laterally,
with anterior and posterior retractile muscles ; and there is
an orifice at its posterior extremity, by which the animal can
distend it with water ; as is the case in a greater degree in
others, as the Solen. In the Cyclas it is elongated, compress-
ed and blunt; in the Cardium round, and bent at a right
angle in the centre, and pointed at the extremity. In the
Mactra it is very long, large and lanceolate. It is broadly
lanceolate in Tellina, Psammobia, &c. ; larger and falciform in
Donax. It is securiform and rather expanded below in Pec-
tunculus ; of the same outline, but sharp inferiorly, in the

128 ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

orbicular species of Venus. In My a, Thracia, Corbula, Pan-
dor a, &c, the muscular part is very small, projecting through
a small opening of the mantle. It is something like the hu-
man foot in Chama ; very long and attenuated in Loripes. I
It is club-shaped in Solen ; in Pholas, small, short and
rounded. The extremity of a cartilaginous body, to be de-
scribed hereafter, is contained within this organ ; and seems
to add to its elasticity and resilience. By the action of this
foot these animals can bore with great facility in the sand,
where some are found at considerable depth ; they can, like-
wise, accomplish a quick progression, by using it as a hook,
or pushing themselves forwards by its means ; they also swim
on the surface of the water, by expanding it into a concave
dish ; and climb perpendicular surfaces, by fixing its extre-
mity like a sucker.2 Some species have the power of secret-
ing air into two sacs of the mantle, attached to the excretory
organs, by which their specific gravity is diminished, and
they readily change their situation at the ebb and flow of the
tides. The edge of the mantle is muscular ; in some genera
it is strongly adhesive to the shell ; in others loose, and ca-
pable of being considerably retracted by means of distinct
bundles of muscular fibres, attached to the valves at some dis-
tance from their edge, as is the case in Pecten, Pinna, &c.
In Lima, Pecten, Spondylus, &c, its margin is furnished with
long tentacles ; and in the two latter we see, at regular dis-
tances on this margin, small ocelli, looking in the fresh ani-
mal like so many emeralds, from their green colour and great
brilliancy. Each of these ocelli possesses a cornea, lens, cho-
roid, and nerve : they are without doubt organs of vision. 3
There is, likewise, in these animals, a muscular flap at the
edge of the mantle, apparently for the purpose of preventing
the escape of the water. When the syphons are developed,
a strong muscle takes its origin from the impression seen in
many shells at the posterior part of the internal surface, and
is inserted into them. The external fibres of these tubes are
circular, the internal longitudinal ; they are very contractile.
In the Anomia we find Jthe ordinary muscle of the Monomy-
aria ; also another which originates chiefly from the convex
valve, and is inserted into the operculum. This latter like-
wise receives a bundle of fibres from the articulating process

« Poli.

2 Bosc says the Venus genus comes to the surface, using one valve as a
boat and the other as a sail. Kirby, 'Bridgewater Treatise.'

3 See Poli.

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. 129

of the flat valve, and sends others to the foot and mantle. ■

NERVOUS SYSTEM.

Tn more than twenty genera, examined for the purpose, the
neivous system has presented few differences ; and these dif-
ferences arise from the greater or less developement of certain
parts, and the greater or less distance at which the organs are
from each other. MangiliV description of the nerves of the
Anadonta is the only correct account of this system in these
animals. Poli mistook the nerves for lacteals, as their sheaths
are readily injected when the nervous pulp is softened by in-
cipient putrescence. Cuvier was not aware of the existence
of the pedal ganglion. Blainville considers the labial gan-
glia to be infra-cesophageal, and does not find the filament con-
necting the labial and pedal ganglia. When a foot is present
there are three ganglia, or pairs of ganglia ; when absent, but
two. These ganglia are of an orange colour externally, and
white within. Two ganglia are situated at the mouth, more
or less removed from each other, but always connected by a
supra-oesophageal nerve ; they are sometimes on a level with
or before the mouth, sometimes behind it. They give off on
each side filaments to the anterior muscle, tentacles, lips, and
anterior part of the mantle. Each ganglion likewise gives
off a twig, going to the posterior ganglia, which are situated
between the branchiae, on the posterior muscle. These are
united into one, when the branchiae are united medianly, as
in Mactra, Mya, Solen, &c. ; but at a distance from each
other when the branchiae are remote ;3 but when so, are al-
ways connected by a transverse nerve as in Modiola, Avicula,
Lithodomus, Area, &c. These ganglia give nerves to the
branchiae, syphons, viscera, posterior muscle, mantle, &c.
The anterior ganglia also give off two twigs, which enter the
foot and unite into a double ganglion, from which that organ
is supplied with nerves. The posterior and pedal ganglia are
totally unconnected with each other. The mouth then is
surrounded by a wide ring, of which the part posterior to the
situation of the anterior ganglia upon it is double.

(7b be continued.)

1 See Reaumur, 'Du mouvement de quelques coquillages.' Mem. Acad.
Sciences, par 1710. Des differentes manieres dont plusieurs animaux s'at-
tachent, id. 171.

2 Archives fur Physiol, b. 9.

3 In Venus, where the ganglia are united, the branchiae, though divided
medianly are not remote.

130 MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND.

Art.V. — Observations on the History and Classification of the
Marsupial Quadrupeds of New Holland. By W. Ogilby, Esq.
M.A., &c. &c.

[The following " Observations" form the introduction to a paper on the
" General History and Description of Marsupial Animals," which was read
at different meetings of the Linnean Society, between the 6th of December
1831, and the 3rd of April, 1832. Its design was to describe the species of
Australian quadrupeds, at that period very imperfectly known in this
country, and of which the Linnean Society possessed the only collection at
all approaching to completeness, even in generic forms : but the imperfect
materials at my disposal for the illustration of the genus Macropus, first
induced me to postpone the completion of my memoir till I should have
an opportunity of examining the Continental Museums ; and when this
did happen, the advances which British zoologists had made in the know-
ledge of Marsupial species, rendered my original design in a great measure
useless. Great accessions had been made in the interim, both to the Bri-
tish Museum and to that of the Zoological Society, especially to the latter,
at the different meetings of which I had repeated opportunities of directing
the attention of the Fellows to the generic characters of these animals, and
of describing many new species.

During the progress of my inquiries, I had, besides, occasion to alter my
opinion as to the integrity of the group Marsupialia as a natural order of
mammals. One of the principal objects of my original paper was to re-
form the very arbitrary classification, or division into minor groups, which
the French naturalists had introduced into this department of mammalogy ;
and though I am no longer disposed to view the principal group itself in
the same light as formerly, I still think the publication of my labours at
that period may be of advantage to science, not only as a record of the state
of our knowledge upon this subject at the period in question, but likewise
because a simple and natural classification, admitting of ready application to
practical purposes, is likely to be of great use to colonial enquirers. In-
deed I have the satisfaction to think that this object has been in some mea-
sure accomplished already, though to a limited extent, by means of manu-
script copies of the classification in question, and lists of species, with which
I furnished various gentlemen about to visit the different Australian colo-
nies; among others Mr. Allan Cunningham, to whom I am happy to have
this opportunity of acknowledging my obligations for very copious details
relating to the habits and economy of these animals ; Mr. George Bennett,
(through the medium of our mutual friend Prof. Owen) ; Mr. Gould, &c]

Long ere British enterprise had planted the arts and cultiva-
tion of civilized life upon its solitary shores, at a period when
its very existence was inferred only from the conjectures of
theoretical geographers, or the scarcely less vague reports of
mariners, whom accident or misfortune drove out of their usu-
al course, the continent of New Holland, the Terra Australia
Incognita of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, divided
the attention of Europe and the interest of the curious with
the recently discovered Western Hemisphere, the land at once
of fiction and obscurity, of boundless wealth and still more

MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND. 131

boundless cupidity. Even at the present day, when its coasts
have been partially surveyed and its productions explored,
the primitive interest which attended the discovery of this
new world remains, in a great measure, unabated ; and the
statesman and the philosopher equally look towards the shores
of Australia, as the theatre upon which nature is expected to
develope the most wonderful principles both of moral and
physical science. The rapid progress and growing impor-
tance of the colonies which have been planted in that coun-
try,— the repeatedly baffled attempts to explore its internal
geography, — the savage and degraded condition of its primi-
tive inhabitants, — and finally, the strange and anomalous
forms of its natural productions, — are well calculated to ar-
rest the attention and excite the surprise of the most oppo-
sitely-constituted minds ; to gratify the philanthropist by the
contemplation of the greatest and rarest of moral phenomena,
— the most degraded vice and misery converted into honest
and contented prosperity, — and that too, upon a scale never
dreamt of by former ages, — and to excite the awe and reve-
rence of the philosopher whilst he admires, in new forms and
unknown beings, the inexhaustible variety of nature's works,
and recognizes the infinite wisdom and omnipotence of the
Great Creator.

To gratify a small portion of this very rational curiosity, —
to trace the history and describe the forms of the most inte-
resting, though, at the same time, the most limited, class of
the productions of this strange land, — to investigate the rela-
tions, and establish the zoological characters of Australian
Marsupials,1 — is the object of the present essay; and if, in
this attempt, I have been in some cases less successful than
I could have wished, — as well from the imperfect opportuni-
ties which I have enjoyed, of examining these animals in the
living state, as from the brief and often confused notices of
colonial writers, — I venture to hope that my labours may at
least have the merit of directing the attention of colonial ob-
servers to this interesting subject, and of thus forming the ba-
sis of more valuable researches.

1 1 have substituted this form of the plural, throughout my paper, instead
of the more usual Latin terminations, Mammalia, and Marsupialia, as more
congenial to the spirit of our language. The word Mammal, from mam-
ma, a breast or udder, like Animal, from anima, mind or spirit, was formed
by Linnaeus to denote those animals which are furnished with mammary
glands. As we have no term of similar import in the English language, I
venture to propose the adoption of this, with its plural, mammals, as of
equally classical formation, and more agreeable to the genius of our verna-
cular tongue, than the French word mammifcres.

132 MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND.

In considering the mammals of New Holland generally,
the first circumstance that particularly attracts our attention
is that, with a very few exceptions, they all appear to belong
to the same natural group, and to possess organs, and exe-
cute functions, different from those of the Old World. This
is a most important as well as a curious fact, and one from
which we may deduce some valuable conclusions, with respect
to the origin and distribution of animals. If we were told,
for example, that a continent had been discovered, insulated
from all other parts of the habitable globe, and differing in its
geographical features and natural productions, from all that
experience had made familiar to us in the Old World ; — if we
were told that its plants were peculiar, and its animals of an
anomalous race ; that, — excepting the dog, which follows his
master, man, wherever he establishes his dominion, — it had
not a single species, and scarcely even a genus, of mammals,
in common with other countries ; that it nourished no quad-
ruped with which we were already acquainted, and that its
own were absolutely confined within the circle of its shores ;
— finally, if we were told that the mammals which it did pos-
sess, were formed upon a distinct and peculiar model, and en-
dowed with organs and modifications different from those of
known quadrupeds, — what would be our natural reflection ?
Should we not be inclined to ascribe the formation of such an
insulated continent to a distinct plan, perhaps to a different
period, of creation ? Or rather, should we not consider its
animal productions as affording evidence of a separate and
peculiar design in their formation ? One conclusion, at least,
forces itself upon our belief with irresistible certainty ; viz.,
that, at whatever period these animals were first called into
existence, they must, necessarily, have been created upon the
insulated continent which they now inhabit : nor do I think
it at all inconsistent with the idea which we entertain of the
Great First Cause of all things, or derogatory either to his
glory or power, to suppose that their existence may be the
result of a subsequent act of creation ; — nay, that new species
like new individuals, maybe daily springing into being, to sup-
ply the place of those which daily perish, and of which the
remains are so abundantly strewed beneath the surface of the
earth.

Whatever degree of probability may attach to these specu-
lations, it is a fact no less certain than curious, that the con-
tinent of Australia, as far, at least, as regards the mammals
hitherto discovered upon its shores, is precisely placed in the
circumstances here described. With the exception of the
American opossums, and a few species of phalangers, scat-

MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND. 138

tered over that long chain of islands which forms an almost
uninterrupted communication between the northern shores of
Australia and the continent of India, these animals possess
no organic type among the quadrupeds of the Old World;
and those, on the other hand, have but few representatives
within the boundaries of New Holland and its dependencies.
What inferences, then, are we to deduce from these singular
facts ? Do this vast continent, and the strange and ane-
malous productions which it nourishes, really owe their ex-
istence to the operation of peculiar causes ? Are they the
result of a subsequent act of creation ? Or, are we to regard
them merely as modifications of the same general plan ? Is
their existence, abstractedly considered, independent of the
climate and soil which they inhabit ? Or must we ascribe
their peculiar and anomalous organization to the influence of
local circumstances ? These are inquiries which we have no
means of answering satisfactorily. The little which we know
of its Geology, however, warrants us in concluding that Aus-
tralia, like other parts of our globe, has had its changes and
revolutions ; the osseous caves and breccia of Wellington
Valley, lately described by Mr. Clift, contain fragments of
the bones of mammiferous animals in as great perfection and
abundance as those of Germany, Yorkshire, and Gibraltar. —
These remains, sufficiently important in other respects, ac-
quaint us with the singular and interesting fact, that, even at
that early period, before the operation of those causes which
swept them off from the surface of the earth, the mammals of
Australia were, generally speaking, of the marsupial order, a
tribe, of which, I believe, only a single undoubted species has
been hitherto discovered among the fossil remains of the Old
World.

Another remarkable circumstance, connected with this sin-
gular tribe of animals, is the very limited number of species
which have been hitherto discovered, considering the vast ex-
tent of the continent over which they are dispersed, and the
consequent variety of soil and climate to which they are ex-
posed. At the present moment indeed there are not more
than thirty distinct species of Australian marsupials enume-
rated as authentic, in the most correct and extensive cata-
logues of Zoology. To these nearly half that number of new
species will be added, and described for the first time, in the
present paper ; but, even with this addition, our knowledge
of Australian mammals will still remain extremely limited
and imperfect. Nor are the genera of these animals, as far at
least as we are at present acquainted with them, compara-
tively more numerous than the species : on the contrary, all
the marsupials hitherto discovered upon the continent of Aus-

Vol. III.— No. 27. n. s. p

134 MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND.

tralia and its neighbouring isles, present only eleven really
distinct and well defined types of organic structure, or, tech-
nically speaking, genera ; being on an average not quite one
to every three known species.

This extreme paucity both in the number and variety of its
mammal productions, supposing it to be really the case, be-
comes the more surprising when we consider that the conti-
nent of Australia alone, without reckoning the large islands
of New Guinea, New Zealand, and Van Dieman's Land, and
the numerous smaller groups, its natural dependencies, em-
braces an extent of nearly thirty degrees of latitude by forty
degrees of longitude, and ranges throughout an almost infi-
nite variety of climate, from the parched and barren sands
which border the Gulf of Carpentaria, to the humid soil of
Tasmania. But a little farther consideration will convince
us that we are, in all probability, only commencing our ac-
quaintance with the animal productions of this extensive
country. In fact, when we consider the circumstances of the
colonies which have been already planted upon its shores,
hitherto struggling for bare existence, and attentive only to
establish and secure themselves against the miseries of famine
and the hostility of the natives ; when we consider, moreover,
the comparatively limited extent of country which has been
properly explored, and the extreme difficulty of penetrating
far into the interior ; but, above all, when we consider the
natural apathy of the settlers towards all subjects which do
not immediately concern their own situation and prospects,
and that ignorance of zoological information which disquali-
fies common observers for distinguishing specific differences,
or describing, with accuracy, what they examine but slightly;
finally, when we reflect that we are altogether ignorant of the
Zoology of the northern and western coasts, and that new
species are daily added, even from the limited extent of our
principal settlement, we have every reason to conclude that
the zoological treasures of Australia yet remain to be explored,
and that the few discoveries already effected only indicate the
value of the harvest which still remains to be reaped. The
lately established settlement at the Swan River has already
opened an easy and favourable path to the investigation of the
western shores ; and as the communication between the coast
and the interior becomes more frequent, in the eastern colo-
nies, greater facilities will be afforded of obtaining the pro-
ductions of the remoter districts. The unexampled prospe-
rity of these flourishing colonies also, and the spirit of inquiry
which already begins to animate their inhabitants, will mate-
rially contribute to extend our knowledge of the natural pro-

MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND. 135

ductions of Australia ; the habits and economy of the singular
animals which surround them, can only be studied in their
native climate ; nor do I despair of shortly seeing new genera
and species added, by colonial science and enterprise, to those
already known ; and that too in numbers exceeding our most
sanguine expectations.

But if the number of genera and species be comparatively
limited among the quadrupeds of New Holland, the number
of individuals of the same species appears to be still more so.
This is a well-ascertained fact, and arises from the operation
of causes which are easily explained and understood ; some
depending upon the nature and circumstances of the country,
others arising from physical causes connected with the ani-
mals themselves. Among the former are to be considered the
swampy nature of many parts of the interior, and the sudden
and destructive floods to which the most fertile districts are
so frequently exposed ; in addition to which vast numbers
annually perish by the hands of the inland or bush natives,
who are chiefly supported by the produce of the chase ; as
well as by their wanton and thoughtless practice of periodi-
cally firing the long grass, which bums with the most asto-
nishing rapidity, and destroys the nocturnal animals in their
retreats, before they have time to escape from its ravages. —
But a still more potent and influential cause of the scarcity
of mammals in New Holland, arises from their physical con-
stitution. They seldom produce more than two young ones
at a birth, and that, in all probability, not oftener than once
or twice in the course of the year, since their growth is com-
paratively slow, and the progressive developement of their
organs unusually tardy among the inferior animals. All these
causes tend powerfully to check the multiplication and diffu-
sion of Australian quadrupeds; and when we add the reflec-
tion that many individuals must necessarily perish before ar-
riving at maturity, or employing their productive powers in
the increase of the species, we must cease to be surprised that
their numbers are so limited, under circumstances which, at
first sight, seem so favourable to their multiplication.

The anatomy of the marsupials has been diligently exa-
mined and amply discussed by M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire, Sir
Everard Home, and other able zootomists ; and the late va-
luable discoveries of Mr. Morgan have thrown considerable
light upon the most interesting, though, hitherto, the most
obscure part of their economy. The conjectures of this gen-
tleman, however, still require to be confirmed by actual ob-
servation, for as yet, we have no certain knowledge either of
the manner in which the young animal is deposited in the

136 MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND.

abdominal pouch, how it becomes attached to the nipple, or
of the nature and circumstances of its subsequent develope-
ment. It is not my intention to enter at any length into ana-
tomical details, but the following observations are rendered
absolutely necessary, as well to preserve the uniformity of my
plan, as to put the reader in possession of the principal cir-
cumstances regarding the organic structure of these animals,
upon which their classification depends.

The most singular and important of these phenomena is the
premature production of the young, which are brought forth
in a scarcely organized form, containing, as it were, the mere
germ of the future animal, before its senses are fully organized
or its members developed, and deposited in the abdominal
pouch with which nature has provided the female parent for
its reception. In this recess, and in all probability, without
the exercise of any act of volition on its own part, the foetus
is attached to the nipple of its mother by means of a scarcely
formed aperture, which collapses closely round it, and repre-
sents the position, as it already executes the functions of the
future mouth. Here it continues to cling and imbibe nou-
rishment, like a plant engrafted on a strange stem, till the
gradual developement of its members, and the more complete
organization of its parts, allow it to drop off from the nipple
and become an independent being. At this instant, it is pre-
cisely on a par, in point of organic developement, with the
young of ordinary quadrupeds when first brought forth ; that
is to say, though a separate being and possessed of indepen-
dent volition, it is, nevertheless incapable of providing for its
own wants, but depends, for education aud nourishment, upon
the care and assiduity of its parent. Accordingly, it conti-
nues, for a considerable time, to occupy the abdominal pouch
of its mother, and to be supported by her milk ; occasionally
coming out as it acquires size and strength ; and it is only
when its increasing growth renders that retreat too small for
its reception, that it finally abandons it.

The next circumstance to be noted in the organization of
marsupial quadrupeds, and the last which I consider it ne-
cessary to mention for the elucidation of my present purpose,
is closely connected with the phenomenon of premature foetal
production, and may be considered, in some degree, as a ne-
cessary consequence of that singular economy. It consists in
the existence of two supernumerary bones, articulated with
the pubis, and serving to support the abdominal pouch, and
to give attachment to the muscles by which it is expanded
and contracted. These bones exist even in the males, which
have no abdominal pouches ; and as they are altogether pe-

BOTANY OF SELBORNE. 137

culiar to the present order, and, at the same time, common to
all the species which it contains, they form the best and
surest characteristic by which to distinguish it from other
groups of equal value.

(To be continued).

Art. VI. — Remarks on the Botany of Selborne. By Mr. William
Pamplin, jun., A.L.S.

Having visited Selborne several different times in the course
of my botanical researches in the county of Hants, I am en-
abled to give the accompanying short and confessedly imper-
fect sketch of the Botany of that truly delightful spot, — a spot
not less dear to the admirers of its amiable natural historian
and topographer, the Rev. Gilbert White, — than to the lovers
of rural retirement, or the cultivators of either branch of na-
tural knowledge, with whom this romantic district will always
be esteemed as truly classic ground.

In preparing this rough draft of the Flora Selbornensis,
two separate objects have been aimed at : — First I have enu-
merated such of the plants as are recorded by Mr. WTiite as
growing there in his time ; so far as, from my own actual ob-
servation, I have succeeded in verifying their present existence
in the localities which he has pointed out : and secondly, I
have given a catalogue of a few other plants of rather rare
occurrence, or otherwise interesting, which I have met with
at various times in the immediately surrounding neighbour-
hood.

A list of so many of Mr. White's plants mentioned in letter
lxxxiii, as have come under my observation at different times
between 1829 and 1836.

Chrysosplenium oppositifolium. Abundantly in the moist rocky lanes,
particularly in the very deep lane near Norton farm, where it grows
luxuriantly.

Daphne Laureola.

Mezereum. I did not perceive it in the spot mentioned by Mr.

White ; it however grows, to all appearance perfectly wild, and not
sparingly, in the beech woods between West Meon and Bramdean.
I am indebted for this locality to Mrs. W. Moody, of West Meon,
who showed me specimens collected there.

Dips ac us pilosus. In sufficient plenty in 1836.

Drosera rotundifolia. ) And in bogs on the Common between Oakhang-

longifolia. j er and Kingsley.

Epipactis (Serapias in White) latifolia.

Helleborus viridis. I was unable to find this plant, although I dili-
gently sought it in Mr. White's recorded station, May, 183(3.

138

BOTANY OF SELBORNE.

Hypericum Androseemum.

Lathiuea squamaria I saw not.

Listera {Ophrys in White) Nidus-avis. In sufficient plenty.

Monotropa Hypopitys. It also occurs in many other parts of this coun-
ty, in woods of beech or fir.

Paris quadrifolia. I gathered some remarkably strong specimens of it
here in May, 1836.

Sambucus Ebulus.

Vaccinium Myrtillus.

Oxy coccus is said to grow also in the bogs of Hind Head

Heath, near where the Osmunda regalis grows.

A catalogue of the rarer species of indigenous plants which
have been observed growing near Selborne.

Adoxa moschatellina, plentifully

Arab is hirsuta

Aspidium, many species, including

lobatum

aculeatum

spinulosum and its vari-
eties

Blechnum boreale

Campanula patula, on the dry gra-
velly banks of a lane near Bram-
shot, plentifully, 1829 ; and I
have specimens gathered there
in 1835, by Miss Frances Pamp-
lin.

Chenopodium Bonus Henricus,
about the Priory, plentifully

Epilobium angustifolium

Eriophorum, two species grow
together in the bogs at Oak-
hanger

Hesperis inodora, in the hedge of
the orchard field adjoining Mr.
White's garden, whence it may
possibly have originally escaped.
I have however, in the present
year (1836), seen it in three dis-
tant spots in this county, appa-
rently wild

Hypericum elodes, bogs on the
various Commons, plentifully

Lathyrus latifolius, Long Lithe,
Selborne, 1837 ; Mr. Al. Irvine

Lithospermum officinale

Littorella lacustris, Woolmer
pond is in a manner paved with
it ; also Frensham ponds

Lycopodium inundatum, bogsnear
Oakhanger

duced to notice here this beau-
tiful and rare plant, although
strictly it would not come within
the present limits. I found it
in August 1828, most abundant-
ly in the large woods between
East Meon and Clanfield, a few
miles S.W. by W. of Petersfield

Mentha rotundifolia

Mcenchia erecta

Narthecium ossifragum

Radiola millegrana

Ranunculus parviflorus, on the
stony banks in and near the vil-
lage

Ribes grossularia, hedge-banks;
also at Prior's Dean, near Sel-
borne

rubrum, near the

towards Oakhanger
Spergula nodosa
Tax us baccata. There are two re-
markably fine and large old trees
in this neighbourhood ; the one
in Selborne and the other in Pri-
or's Dean Church-yards; the
stem of the latter measures near-
ly 30 feet in circumference, and
that of the former scarcely less.
Both equal in appearance, if
they do not surpass, the famous
venerable tree at Aldworth, in
Berkshire.
Teesdalia nudieaulis, most abun-
dant all over the sandy district.
Turritis glabra, bank near Frox-

field, sparingly
ViOLAjlavicornis, not unfrequent
Melampyrum cratete. I am in-
The district is rich in Ferns, Willows, &c, the former in-
deed flourish in the deep shady lanes in wonderful variety
and unusual beauty.

ENTOMOLOGICAL WRITINGS OF THOMAS SAY. 139

Art. VII. — List of the Entomological Writings of Thomas Say.
By Edward Doubleday, Esq.

Since my return from the United States, several of my friends
have suggested to me that the publication of a list of the ento-
mological writings of Thos. Say, especially if that list indica-
ted the works in which they can be found, would render a ser-
vice to Entomology, and be in part the means of doing justice,
or causing it to be done, to the merits of that indefatigable na-
turalist, whose labours are far less known than they ought to
be, partly from the vast variety of publications through which
his papers were given to the public, and partly from the little
attention which has been paid in England to the labours of
our transatlantic brethren.

We are, it is true, accustomed to look on Say as, par ex-
cellence, the American entomologist ; but how few form an
adequate idea of that ardent zeal, that untiring energy, that
perseverence under the most depressing circumstances, that
indefatigable industry in collecting, that laborious accuracy in
describing with clearness and precision, and above all, of that
high moral worth, that kindness of heart and gentleness of
disposition, which make him an object of veneration to all
who knew him, and cause his memory to be cherished with
fondness by all who had once the happiness of calling him
their friend !

Thomas Say is no more. Science mourns yet over the no-
blest of her votaries in the Western World. Long has he
been robbed of much of the merit due to him, by some, through
ignorance, by others, wilfully. There are those, shame be up-
on them ! there are those to whom he sent specimens, label-
led with his own hand, with names given them by himself,
to whom he pointed out when and where he had described
those species, — there are those who yet have wantonly disre-
garded his names, and, taking advantage of the difficulty of
procuring his writings, described these very specimens under
others, for the sake of a claim to an apparent priority in nam-
ing them, false though that claim were. Let us, in England,
for the future, strive to do him justice. From English natu-
ralists he has experienced no wilful injury ; by neglect how-
ever he has suffered.

By the kindness of Dr. Harris of Cambridge, Mass., I am
enabled to publish a more complete list of Say's entomologi-
cal writings than has yet appeared. They are as follows. —

140 ENTOMOLOGICAL WRITINGS OF THOMAS SAY.

1. Description of several new species of North American Insects. Jour-

nal of the Academy of Nat. Sciences of Philadelphia ; vol. i. pp. 19 —
23. Published in June, 1817.

This paper contains 5 Cicindelce, 1 Nemognatha, 1 Zonitis and 1 Di-
opsis.

2. Some account of the Insect known by the name of the Hessian Fly,

and of a parasitic insect that feeds on it. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. vol.
i. pp. 45 — 48, and 63—64. Published July and August, 1817.

3. Monograph of the North American Insects of the genus Cicindela. —

American Philosophical Transactions, New Series, vol. i. pp. 401 —
426. Published in 1818.

4. Descriptions of the Thysanource of the United States. Journ. Acad.

Nat. Sci. vol. ii. pp. 1 1 —14. Published in 1 821.

5. On a South American species of OEstrus which infests the human body-
Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. vol. ii. pp. 353 — 360. Published Decemb. 1822

6. Descriptions of Insects of the Families Carabici and Hydrocanthaci
inhabiting North America. Am. Phil. Trans. New Ser. vol. ii. p. 1 —
109. Published in 1823.

7. Descriptions of some new species of Hymenopterous Insects, collected

during the expedition to the Rocky Mountains, under the command of
Major Long, in 1819-20. Western Quarterly Reporter, Vol. ii. No. 1
for Jany. Feby. & March, 1823, pp. 71 — 82 ; 8vo. Cincinnati, Ohio.

8. Descriptions of Insects belonging to the Order Neuroptera, Linn, and

Latreille, collected by the Expedition under the command of Major
Long. West. Quart. Reporter, Vol. ii., No. 2, for April, May, & June,
1823, pp. 160—165.

9. Descriptions of Dipterous Insects of the United States. Jour. Acad
Nat. Sci. vol. iii. pp. 9—54, and 73—104. Published in 1823.

10. Descriptions of Coleopterous Insects collected in the Expedition to the
Rocky Mountains ; (356 species). Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. vol. iii. pp.
139—216, 238—282, 298—331, 403 — 162 ; and vol. iv. p. 83— 99.
Published in 1823-4.

11. Account of the Insect (JEgeria exitiosa) so injurious to the Peach-tree

Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. vol. iii. pp. 216—217. Published 1823.

12. Keating's Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter's Ri-
ver, &c. 8vo. Philadelphia, 1824.

The Appendix contains descriptions by Say of 47 Coleopterous, 1
Orthopterous, 7 Hemipterous, 11 Neuropterous, 74 Hymenopterous
and 39 Dipterous Insects.

13. American Entomology, 3 vols. Published 1817—1828.

14. Descriptions of New American species of the genera Buprestis, Trackys

and Elater. Annals of the Lyceum of New York, vol. i. pp. 249 —
268. Published February and June, 1825.

15. Descriptions of new Hemipterous (and Orthopterous) Insects collected
in the Expedition to the Rocky Mountains. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci.
vol. iv. p. 307—345. Published March and April, 1825.

16. Descriptions of new species of Hister and Hololepta inhabiting the Unit-
ed States. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. vol. v. p. 32 — 47. Published J une
and July, 1825.

17. Descriptions of new speeies of Coleopterous Insects inhabiting the

ENTOMOLOGICAL WRITINGS OF THOMAS SAY. 141

United States. Jour. Acad Nat. Sci. vol. v. pp. 160—204, 237—284,
293—304. Published Dec. 1825, Nov. and Dec. 1826.

18. Note on LeConte's Coleopterous Insects of North America.

19. Descriptions of new species of Hymenoptera of the United States.

These two papers were published in a periodical which expired at
the third number, entitled ' Contributions to the Maclurean Lyceum
of Philadelphia,' the former in July, 1827, and the latter in Jan. 1828.

20. Descriptions of North American Dipterous Insects. Journ. Acad. Nat.

Sci. vol. vi. part 1. p. 149—178, and vol. vi. part 2, p. 183—188.—
Published in 1829-30.

21. Correspondence relative to the Insect that destroys the Cotton Plant.

From the New Harmony Disseminator, 1830.

22. Descriptions of new North American Insects, and Observations on some

already described.

This paper contains only Coleoptera, and ends with part of the Ela-
teridce. It was printed at New Harmony, at different intervals be-
tween March 17th, 1830, and August 1st, 1834, forming an 8vo. vo-
lume of 81 pages. Part of this paper was reprinted in the fourth vol.
of the new series of the Transactions of the Philosophical Society of
Philadelphia, in 1834. The remainder of the part already published
at New Harmony, and a continuation from Say's MSS. will appear in
the next volume of their Transactions. It ends with Eucnemis and
Throscus.

23. Descriptions of new species of Curculionites of North America, with
Observations on some of the species already known. 8vo. pp. 30. —
New Harmony, Indiana, 1831.

24. Descriptions of new species of Heteropterous Hemiptera of North Ame-

rica. 8vo. pp. 39. New Harmony, Dec. 1831.

25. New species of North American Insects found by Joseph Barabino,

chiefly in Louisiana. 8vo. pp. 16. New Harmony, Jany. 1832.

26. Descriptions of new North American Hemipterous Insects, belonging
to the first family of the section Homoptera of Latreille. Jour. Acad.
Nat. Sci. vol. vi. pp. 235—244, and 291—314. Published 1830-1.

27. Descriptions of new North American Coleopterous Insects, with Ob-

servations on some already described. Boston Journal of Natural His-
tory, Vol. i. No. 2, for May, 1835.

28. Descriptions of new species of North American Hymenoptera, and Ob-
servations on some already described. Boston Journal of Nat. Hist.
Vol. i. No. 3, May 1836, and No. 4, May, 1837.

29. Descriptions of new North American Neuropterous Insects, (Libelluli-
dce, Ephemerides, and Megaloptera), and Observations on others already
described.

This paper was not published when I was at Cambridge, Mass., in
October, but Dr. Harris informed me that it would appear in the forth-
coming volume of the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of
Philadelphia. A few manuscript descriptions are still in Dr. Harris's
hands.

Epping, Feb. ISth, 1839.
Vol. III.— -No. 27. n. s. q

142 REMARKS ON THE RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE.

Art. VIII. — Remarks on the Red-Legged Partridge (Perdix rubra,
Briss.) By W. Bernard Clarke, M.D.

Thinking some remarks upon the red-legged partridge, which
is now rapidly spreading over our island, may prove interest-
ing to some of your many readers, I venture to send them for
insertion in your ' Magazine of Natural History.'

Red-legged Partridge.

Perdix rubra; Brisson.

barbarica;

rufa major ; Gesner, & Jonston.

— alba; Brisson.

grceca ; Ray.

Tetrao rufus; Gmelin.

Red Partridge ; Albin.

Greek or Great red Partridge ; Willughby .

Greek Partridge, and Guernsey Partridge ; Latham.

Red-legged Partridge ; Ray, Willughby, &

from Barbary ; Edwards. [Albin.

Barbary Partridge ; Shaw's Travels.

Bartavelle ; Buffon.

This partridge is called the " red-legged bird " by sports-
men, to distinguish it from the common species, which is de-
signated the "grey bird."

The red-legged partridge is found in France and the south-
ern parts of Europe, in Italy, Greece, and the islands of Jersey
and Guernsey ; it is also said to frequent the woody moun-
tains of Asia and Africa. It is generally about half as large
again as the common species, from which it is at once dis-
tinguished by the variety of the plumage. The colour of the
crown of the head and back is a reddish brown ; throat of a
pure white, bordered by a dense black band, which passes
upwards as far as the eyes ; breast of a bluish ash colour, the
upper part of which is beautifully mottled with black ; abdo-
minal surface of a reddish tint : the feathers on the sides of
the body, which overlap the wings when closed, are marked
with bluish-ash, white, black, and chestnut, so disposed as to
present a series of somewhat crescent-like spots, giving to the
whole a very elegant appearance : the bill and tarsi are red,
the latter, in the adult male, are furnished with a strong tu-
bercle on the inner surface.

This species was introduced into England about the year
1790, by the Marquis of Hertford and Lord Rendlesham, each

REMARKS ON THE RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 143

of whom had eggs procured on the continent, carefully brought
to England, and placed under domestic fowls ; the former at
Sudbourn (near Orford, in Suffolk), one of his shooting resi-
dences ; the latter on his estates at Rendlesham, a few miles
distant from Sudbourn : from the above-mentioned places the
birds have been gradually extending themselves over the ad-
jacent counties, and in the ratio of their increase the grey
partridge appears to have diminished, and from the pugna-
ceous character of the former species, it threatens ultimate
destruction to the latter; for wherever it establishes itself,
the grey bird is driven from the inclosures.

For several years after its first introduction it was much
prized and sought after by sportsmen, as it was a larger bird
for the table, although very far inferior in richness of flavour
to the common grey partridge; and it is still preferred by some
from its flesh being whiter and more delicate. Being also a
bolder bird in habits, more alert, and rising at a greater dis-
tance than the common species, it was consequently more
difficult to secure, and was thought to reflect more sportsman-
like credit upon him who possessed the skill required to bring
down the object of his pursuit. At length its habits became
better known, and it was then found that one great difficulty
attending the shooting this species of game arose from the
peculiar habit which it possessed of running to a distance af-
ter alighting from its flight; on which account the dogs, com-
ing upon the scent, were baffled, being induced to draw upon
their game, and even then the birds would not rise except at
a very considerable distance, generally far out of gun-range.
As it is the habit of the bird to run to a distance upon being
disturbed, very little sport can be expected in the pursuit, un-
less the weather is extremely wet, when they appear less in-
clined to run ; they rise at a less distance, and the sportsman
consequently secures a greater number of shots. But the most
effectual means of securing them, and one which is resorted
to by many sportsmen, who are anxious to exterminate the
breed, finding they are destroying their sport and rapidly re-
ducing the numbers of grey birds, is to attack them during
severe weather, in the snow, when the birds resort to the
hedge-rows for shelter, whence they may be dislodged, and
thus made to present easy shots for the sportsman. Instan-
ces have been known of these birds alighting in the midst of
a field deeply covered with snow, into the depths of which
they sunk, and were afterwards taken out alive by hand. In
the shooting season, when they have been disturbed, I have
observed them to rise from one field, fly, and alight in the
midst of the next, run over the remainder of that field, take

144 REMARKS ON THE RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE.

wing, fly over the adjacent hedge, and alight in the field be-
yond : this they will repeatedly do, effectually baffling the
party who had marked them down in the first field, and sup-
posing them secure, had followed them up to get shots upon
their next rising. These birds run with great rapidity, with
the head and neck erect : thus being able to observe their
pursuers at a distance, they can the more effectually escape
the threatening danger. They frequent corn-fields, preferring
the upper land, amid the security and shelter of which they
breed : during harvest, when the fields are occupied by the
reapers, they retire to the adjacent fallow fields, or the neigh-
bouring copses ; and in the evening, when all is still, return
to the corn-fields and feed on the ears of corn in the sheaves,
both late in the evening and early in the morning. After the
corn is cut they frequent the same fields, then in stubble,
night and morning, where they regale themselves upon the
grain which has fallen from the sheaves during harvest. In
the middle of the day they retire to the fields of turnips, by
the leaves of which they are sheltered from the heat of the sun,
or to the lowland meadows, where they delight in the humid-
ity of such situations. They also occasionally bask in the
sun, in the middle of the day, by the side of some sandy bank,
where, like many of the feathered tribes, with outstretched
leg and fluttering wing, they shake the dry warm sand into
their feathers, occasionally preying upon the numerous in-
sects which they find around them ; in such situations they
often assemble their young broods, which sport around the
parent birds, essaying to capture their insect prey. In the
winter, when the stubble fields are ploughed up, they retire
to the upland meadows, or to the hedge-rows or copses, where
they are sheltered from much of the inclemency of the sea-
son. The female lays from fifteen to twenty eggs, of a light
stone colour, freckled with very minute reddish brown spots,
and varied, here and there, with spots of a larger size, and of
a rather darker colour. The nest is constructed of dried grass
and leaves, upon the ground, in some warm and sheltered
part of a field of growing corn, grass, or clover, where the pa-
rent bird sits with much assiduity until the young are hatch-
ed, which, like those of the grey partridge, are capable of
running as soon as they are fairly excluded from the shell.

Since the introduction of these birds into England, they
have spread throughout Suffolk, into Norfolk, Essex, and
Cambridgeshire ; it appears they are now making their ap-
pearance in Lincolnshire, and probably will soon extend
themselves over the adjacent counties.

Ipswich, Feb. ISth, 1839.

FALL OF METEOROLITES AT THE CAPE. 145

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS.

Fall of Meteorolites at the Cape.1 — Knowing your intima-
cy with Mr. Charlesworth, the Editor of the '■ Magazine of
Natural History,' it has occurred to me that some account of
an extraordinary phenomenon that took place on my return
from the interior, may not prove wholly uninteresting to him.
On the morning of the 13th October, about 9 o'clock, a fall of
stones (of which a specimen is herewith sent) occurred in the
Bokkeveld, about fifteen miles from Tulbagh, attended with
the most awful noise, louder and more appalling than the
strongest artillery, causing the air to vibrate for upwards of
eighty miles in every direction. Indeed it was felt from the
Cape Flats to the edge of the Great Karroo, and again from
Clan William to the River Zonderend, near Swellendam. —
The noise was awful ; and by those in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of the spot where the stones fell, is described as
something similar to the discharge of artillery, — by those at a
greater distance as rocks rolling from a mountain ; which was
the sensation at Worcester, some forty miles from the chief
site of the phenomenon. Many felt a curious sensation, es-
pecially about the knees, as if they had been electrified. At
the time of the occurrence I was on the very skirts of its in-
fluence, on the edge of the Karroo, in company with the Hon.
Mr. Justice Menzies. At the moment of the explosion I wit-
nessed a volume of the electric fluid forcing its way from the
west in the form of a Congreve rocket ; it exploded almost
immediately over my head, into apparent globules of fire, or
transparent glass. Throughout the region of the phenome-
non the air was highly charged with the electric fluid, espe-
cially the night prior to the fall of the stones. The moimtains
around Worcester and the Bokkeveld being in one continued
blaze of lightening, and some of the inhabitants described
the fire as rising from the earth. The stones (the quantity
I have not been able to ascertain, but supposed several cwts.)
fell in the presence of a farmer, who had with him a Hotten-
tot, who stood so near the shower as to become perfectly in-
sensible for some time, either from the electricity or from the
effects of fright. The stones fell in three spots, but all with-
in a square of forty or fifty yards. Some fell on hard ground
when they were smashed into small particles ; others in soft

1 In a letter addressed to Robert Thompson. Esq., of the Admiralty, by
George Thompson, Esq., author of the well known " Travels in South Af-
rica."—Ed.

146 SINGULAR PROCESSION OF CATERPILLARS.

ground, where they were dug out. Prior to the real cause of
the phenomenon being known, it was taken for an earthquake.
Mr. MacLear our Astronomer Royal, considers the accom-
panying specimen as an exceedingly fine one, as it shows
distinctly the action of fire upon it, and will help to bear out
the opinion that such stones are formed in the air, and that
we are not indebted to some of the planets for them, as has
been imagined. — George Thompson. — Cape Town, Nov. 2&th,
1838.

[In a succeeding number we may probably be able to furnish some ad-
ditional information respecting the meteorolite which was transmitted with
the above notice. We understand from Prof. Faraday, that one of the
same shower has been received by Sir John Herschell — Ed.]

Singular Procession of Caterpillars. — * My engagements
have been too close to admit of even a day's entomologizing,
but when returning from business excursions to the port I
have taken my forceps with me and caught everything that
came in my way, the results 1 shall send you by the Goshawk
if possible ; most of the insects I find under bark which here
peels off annually. One day last week I chased a moth for
full ten minutes, and when 1 at last secured it, I found it to
be Deispeia pulchella, or so nearly allied to that species that
I can detect no difference, but you must judge when you re-
ceive the specimen. Cynthia cardui is abundant, also a Po-
lyommatus, very like one of ours but not identical. The moths
I have seen are in no respect un-English, and in beetles I
have seen no forms that are new to me. I have obtained one
very fine Ichneumon out of a split pine-tree. Hymenoptera
are now tolerably abundant.

On the 3rd of May I saw a procession of caterpillars. They
were evidently Bombyces, and in form somewhat resembling
Arctia caia, very hairy but the hairs white ; the body dark
brown but marked with paler lines. These caterpillars were
crossing the road in single file, each so close to its predeces-
sor as to convey the idea that they were united together,
moving like a living cord in a continuous undulating line.
At about fifty from the end of the line I ejected one from his
station — the caterpillar immediately before him suddenly
stood still, then the next, and then the next, and so on to the
leader; the same result took place to the other extremity.
After a pause of a few moments the first after the break in
the line attempted to recover the communication; this was a
work of time and difficulty, but the moment it was accom-

1 Extract from a letter addressed to Edw. Newman, Esq. by A. H. Davis
Esq., F.L.S.

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF LAMIA. 147

plished by his touching the one before him, this one commu-
nicated the fact to the next in advance, and so on till the in-
formation reached the leader, when the whole line was again
put in motion. On counting the number of caterpillars I
found it te be 154, and the length of the line 27 feet. I next
took the one which I had abstracted from the line, and which
remained coiled up, across the line ; he immediately unrolled
himself, and made every attempt to get admitted into the pro-
cession, after many endeavours he succeeded and crawled in,
the one below falling into the rear of the interloper. I sub-
sequently took out two caterpillars about fifty from the head
of the procession ; by my watch I found the intelligence was
conveyed to the leader in thirty seconds, each caterpillar
stopping at the signal of the one in his rear ; the same effect
was observable behind the break, each stopping at a signal
from the one in advance ; the leader of the second division
then attempted to recover the lost connection ; that they are
unprovided with the senses of sight and smell appeared evi-
dent, since the leader turned right and left and often in a
wrong direction when within half an inch of the one imme-
diately before him : when he at last touched the object of his
search, the fact was communicated again by signal, and in
thirty seconds the whole line was in rapid march, leaving the
two unfortunates behind, who remained perfectly quiet with-
out making any attempt to unroll themselves. I learn from
a medical gentleman here that these caterpillars feed on the
Eucalyptus, and that when they have completely stripped a
tree of its leaves they congregate on the trunk and proceed
in the order here described to another tree. The caterpillars
I saw must be nearly full grown, measuring about 2j inches
each in length.

I have seen the empty shells of chrysalides four inches
long ; the moths from them must be as large as Erebus Strix.
We have some very beautiful flowers. Orchidea have been
very numerous. Mimosas, and Epacrida? are just now fading.
In the plains there are Ranunculi in full bloom, and an ex-
tremely beautiful double Centaurea. There are tree mallows
by the river six or eight feet high. T shall send a few lizards,
a fine snake sixty-one inches long, and a few scorpions. — A.
H. Davis. — Adelaide, South Australia, 6th September, 1838.

Description of a new species of Lamia. —
Lamia Lucia. Lanuginosa, brunnea, capite obscuriori, prothoracis maculae
tres laete flavi ; elytra lsete flava, marginibus scutellari et costati brunneis;
caetera brunnea. (Corp. long. 1.5 unc. lat. .35 unc.)

Clothed with a thick coating of short hairs. The antenna are ra-
ther shorter than the body, and, together with the head, are of a deep

148 BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

brown colour approaching to black. The prothorax is slightly broad-
er than the head, and has a short and very obscure spine situated
near the middle of each side ; the sides are moreover a little wrinkled ;
it is of a rich velvetty brown colour, with three large yellow spots on
the upper side ; one of these is situated centrally, is broad anteriorly
and narrow posteriorly but does not quite reach either of the margins ;
the other spots are situated one on each side, are of an oblong shape,
rather wider posteriorly. The scutellum and the parts of the elytra
immediately adjoining it, are brown. The elytra are yellow, the late-
ral margins being bordered by a somewhat flexuose brown line, which
ceases before the apex. The underside and legs are brown.

Inhabits Congo.

This magnificent insect I believe to be unique in the Bri-
tish Museum ; it was brought to this country by Tuckey's
expedition. — Edw. Newman. — Deptford, Feb. 22nd, 1839.

Botanical Society of London. — The number of Members
amounts to 100, of which 42 are resident, 34 corresponding,
and 24 foreign, — 47 having been elected since the last Anni-
versary : and the Council are happy to state that they have
received no notice of secession of Members.

The number of Specimens of British Plants received,
amounts to 18,592, including 1050 species, from which the
Society's collection has been considerably enriched ; espe-
cially through the kindness of Mr. Baxter, who has presented
a valuable collection of British Salices, comprising 44 species,
from specimens presented by Mr. Borrer to the Oxford Bota-
nic Garden. The Society has also received nearly the whole
of the British Carices; and solicit the attention of members
in completing the genera Rosa and Rubus, and the Crypto-
gamia.

The number of foreign plants received is 10,000 specimens.
The Council have much gratification in stating that they have
made arrangements with the Botanical Society of Edinburgh,
who have promised them every assistance, and have contri-
buted largely to the Society's British and foreign herbaria,
and to the library. A mutual exchange of specimens will an-
nually take place between the two Societies, which cannot
fail to be advantageous to the members of both.

The Council have caused to be published a sheet contain-
ing the whole of ' DeCandolle's Natural Orders and Genera,'
and the ' Linnaean Classes and Orders.' It is intended to an-
swer the purpose of arranging British collections. — Extract
from the Second Annual Report, read 29th November, 1838.

THE MAGAZINE

NATURAL HISTORY.

APRIL, 1839.

Art. I. — Observations on the Poulp of the Argonaut. By Madame
Jeannette Power.

(Concluded from Page 106).

Coming now to the most essential point of my researches,
that is, to verify, by unequivocal proofs, that the poulp con-
structs the shell of the argonaut, I can assert that my design
was at first to repeat the experiments of the celebrated Poli
on the eggs of this cephalopod, in which he discovered the
embrio of the shell. But I must confess that here I was un-
successful ; and indeed I obtained very different results from
my investigations.

I repeated the experiments of the illustrious Neapolitan
physician, in company with my learned friend Dr. Anastasio
Cocco, of Messina, (famous for his ichthyological works), and
other persons, but nothing more was found than a group of
eggs in each individual, similar to millet seed, perfectly white
and transparent, attached by filaments of a brilliant gluten to
a common stem of the same substance. Three days after the
first observation, on visiting an argonaut, the little poulps
were found in it, already developed, but without shell, and
resembling worms ; and having at the inferior extremity a
spot of a brown colour, with some smaller ones disposed lat-
erally. These, when looked at in the microscope, were con-
cluded to be the viscera of the animal. This was their form
at the age of three days ; then they gradually began to show
prominences of a bud-like appearance, with two series of ob-
scure points, which are the rudiments of the arms and suck-
ers. The arms began to be distinguishable as such some days

Vol. III.— No. 28. n. s. r

150 OBSERVATIONS ON THE ARGONAUT.

after the sailing ones, and on the sixth day they had already
formed the first lamina of the shell, exceedingly soft to the
least pressure of the finger.

The eggs are attached to the interior of the spire, and when
excluded by the above-named animals, remain between the
roof of the spire and the mantle of the mother. From these
observations the result is that the newly-born poulp has no
shell, and, it may be concluded, has none in the egg. The
observations of Poli therefore do not correspond with the ex-
periments made by me on purpose ; and if not speaking of
so celebrated a man, I should venture to say that the internal
membrane of the egg was mistaken by him for the supposed
rudiment of the shell.

I much wished to discover whether the little poulp could
by itself, without extraneous aid, begin to work the struc-
ture of its shell, or whether the parent took part in the origi-
nal formation, the proper organs for secreting calcareous mat-
ter in the former not being as yet developed. With this view
I took divers argonauts at the time of their fecundation, and
cautiously cut off the spire. In the direction of its axis I
found, in one, a little poulp rolled up, and near the apex. —
Observing it attentively I perceived that between it and the
bottom of the spire of the parent shell there was a thin mem-
brane, disposed in the same form as the curve of the spire,
and fitted to the rolled-up little poulp, as if the gluten in
which the whole mollusc was embedded, pressed between it
and the end of the spire, became consolidated into a fine
membrane in the same form as the spire, and embraced
the new little poulp.

The 10th of September 1835, wishing to continue my ex-
periments, I inclosed in the cage some argonauts at the time
of their fecundation, taking care to examine them every fourth
day, and with the usual precautions in handling them, for
they are very irritable, and suffer so much from being dis-
turbed that they soon die after it. I therefore took them up
in a basin, by immersing it in the water underneath, which I
thus brought up together with them, and posted myself so
that I might observe all their movements without their seeing
me.

On the 14th I found in one of the shells a little poulp four-
teen lines in length. Searched others, and in some found
little poulps, in others none.

On the 18th of the same month, visiting them as usual,
found two parent poulps dead. In the one in which I had
first seen the little poulp I found it had already passed into
the spire.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE ARGONAUT. 151

On the 24th returned to examine the same shell, and there
found the little mollusc already covered by its thin shell,
which was 3j lines long. The mollusc was completely form-
ed, and its shell had the form of the spire in which it had
been framed.

All the experiments made by me on this head have always
had the same results ; from which I have deduced that the
mollusc when born, is naked and incomplete at the time of
exclusion from the egg ; that it becomes progressively deve-
loped in the end of the spire of the parent argonaut; and
that after a given time it goes on forming its shell.

As far as I have been able to make out, not more than two
or three eggs develope themselves at the same time; and
when the young have grown to the length of 9 lines, they suc-
cessively inclose themselves in the spiral of the parent shell,
where the other seven arms are thrown out in the manner of
buds. The young poulp takes three days to arrive at the
length of 9 lines ; and four in the spiral to develope itself. —
The parent retains it three days more under her, and then
throws it forth from the shell.

I attempted to produce the developement of the eggs as far
as the production of the young poulp, without the aid of the
mother, by suspending them in a fine linen bag in a phial of
sea water, taking care to change it three times a day ; but
this attempt did not succeed, having no other result than the
swelling of the eggs, and this alone from their beginning to
putrify.

I have concluded from this that the glutinous material in
which they are enveloped in the spire of the parent con-
duces to their developement; and this material being evi-
dently a secretion of the parent, it may be said that without
her aid the eggs could not be developed, and the young shell
could not have its foundation laid in the end of the spire.

In spite of all these successful experiments in favour of the
shell being the property of the poulp of the argonaut, I wish-
ed to assure myself of it in a manner never yet attempted by
others. " If the argonaut " I said " be the constructor of its
shell, it should be able to repair the damage in case of frac-
ture." Although Signor Ranzani had said, " It is not to be
believed that these poulps of the argonaut should be so ill
provided with means wherewith to preserve their existence,
that if the first habitation be broken or lost, they cannot con-
struct another." Still I thought from his manner of express-
ing himself, it was very evident that he had never made ex-
periments to this end. Moreover, I, who have experimented
on a hundred of these molluscs, have found that having lost

152 OBSERVATIONS ON THE ARGONAUT.

their shell they are not capable of forming another, but die.
Certain, now, that the experiment I intended to make was
new, I broke in several places the shells of twenty-six indivi-
duals, and to my great satisfaction found after thirteen days
the fractures healed in all those which survived, which were
not more than three. The newly secreted portion is stouter
than the shell itself, but it is not so white, and also looks a
little rough and disturbed, neither does it present the usual
risings, and instead of ribs, it has some longitudinal furrows.

Being desirous of observing in what manner the poulp op-
erated in repairing the broken shell, I took one the day after
the first experiment, and found that the aperture was covered
by a thin glutinous lamina, which, somewhat in the way of a
cobweb, unites the two margins of the broken shell. The
next day the lamina became thickened to a certain degree,
and more opaque, till at the end of ten or twelve days the new
piece had become quite calcareous. Whilst in the act of
mending the fractures in the shell, I am quite sure the argo-
naut applied the sails to the shell, and wrinkled them upon
it, and by this movement I considered the glutinous secretion,
which finally became calcareous substance, to be verified.

As yet I have shewn the argonaut to be the constructor
of its shell, because it can repair it, is like other Testacea,
which are not more expert than the argonaut in hiding the
appearance of the patch mended : but a circumstance in my
mollusc has appeared new to me, and I do not know that it
has ever been observed in other Testacea. This is, that when-
ever the poulp can find pieces of other argonaut shells in the
place where it is going to mend its own, by means of its sail
arm it takes the piece of broken shell which it believes capa-
ble of filling up the space fractured, and holds it there till
it has excreted the material necessary to attach it firmly,
thus sparing itself the trouble of filling up a large aperture by
its own secretion.

After such a series of experiments it seems to me to be suf-
ficiently proved that the poulp of the argonaut is the fabrica-
tor of the shell in which it lives, and out of which it cannot
long exist.

In presenting to you, gentlemen, a succinct account of the
results of my experiments, I have claimed no more than to
merit your indulgence, and shall feel pleased if I have obtain-
ed it, if only for my good intentions.

The illustrious members Prof. Carmelo Maravigna, Prof.
Anastasio Cocco, and Prof. Carlo Gemmellaro, encouraged
me to prosecute my researches so far, and having been ho-
noured by this illustrious society with the title of Correspond-

OBSERVATIONS ON THE ARGONAUT. 153

ing Member, I am encouraged still farther to make my re-
searches prove useful. My principal aim, which was to prove
that the argonaut, like other Testacea, had the power of form-
ing its own shell, has been fully attained by successful expe-
riments, the results of which I have not failed to send to you,
whether proved by the broken shells mended by the molluscs
themselves ; or by means of the shells and animals preserved
in spirits ; or by the eggs and young poulps in different
stages of developement ; or finally by means of coloured
drawings : and you are now in possession of all that I am
able to explain.

I have sent you other notices respecting the physiology and
history of this mollusc, having thought them worthy of your
study and attention ; and if they meet the approbation of men
like you, illustrious in science, I intend to institute many other
researches, not only upon the argonaut, but on other mol-
luscs, upon which I have already commenced some experi-
ments to prove whether any of the parts of the animal are
capable of being reproduced, and which I shall have the
honour before long to submit to your attention.

ADDITIONAL REMARKS. l

Madame Power commences her account of this new series
of observations on the argonaut, by stating that they were
made on her return to Sicily after a visit to London, where,
having exhibited her collection of argonauts to Mr. Gray and
Mr. Charlesworth, she was made acquainted with the true
nature of the little parasite2 which she had previously mista-
ken for the young of the argonaut itself. Madame Power
then proceeds to say, — " The vermicule believed by me to be
a poulp might have misled others better versed than myself
in Malacology ; for it had two rows of suckers along its bo-
dy, and resembled one of the arms of the poulp : it is
not, therefore, to be wondered at that I mistook it for a
poulp, because many animals at their birth present one form,
and another when fully developed ; and besides, from the ex-
treme irritability and delicacy of the poulp, it is not so easy
for the naturalist to examine it. Having, in fact, seen these

1 " Nuove Osservazione sulle uovo del Polpo dell' Argonauta Argo. Di
Madame Jeannette Power, Soeia Corresp. dell' Acad. Gioenia, &c."

2 The specimens alluded to by Madame Power, preserved in spirits, were
by that lady placed in the hands of the Editor of this Journal, and
first examined by Prof. Owen, who, in the supposed young poulps, imme-
diately recognised the parasitic genus Hectocolt/tus of Cuvier. — Ed.

R 3

154 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

animalcules, of a few lines in length, in the shell of a living
argonaut, — then, on the following day, finding them consi-
derably increased in size, — two or three days after not find-
ing any in the shell, — again, upon re-examining the parent
shell five or six days afterwards, and finding therein a very
young poulp with its little shell, both perfectly formed ; — and
having several times repeated these observations on other ar-
gonauts, and always finding the vermiculi before observing
the little poulp, — I was led to the conclusion that the vermi-
cule became transformed into a poulp. Having, moreover,
shown these vermiculi to some savans, who affirmed them to
be what I conjectured, viz., young poulps, I became the more
persuaded of it, and no longer took care to observe the ova
themselves. This year, however, T have made the following
observations on the progressive developement of the poulp of
the argonaut. The egg is at first white and transparent, and
no structure can be discerned in it. Fifteen days after the
egg presented some spots of a beautiful red colour, without
anything more. In ten days more the perfect poulp could be
discerned through the epidermis of the egg. Then the poulp
began to break through this involucrum, and appeared
to the naked eye of an elliptical form, with the eyes and
mouth ; a very transparent membrane is also observed, which
forms the mantle. Towards the mouth some small and al-
most imperceptible filaments are to be observed, which I sup-
pose to be the rudiments of the branchiae. The poulps are
now naked, but in twelve days from this time, on visiting them
again, some were found which had already formed their shell,
and the parent retained them and nourished them with her
gelatinous secretion, as I have already described in my Me-
moir inserted in the 12th vol. of the 'Transactions of the
Gioenian Academy.' "

Art. T-T. — Monograph of the Genus Sciurus, with Descriptions of
New Species and their Varieties. By J. Bachman, D.D., Presi-
dent of the Literary and Philosophical Society, Charlestown, South
Carolina, &c.

{ ( Continued from Page 123^.

2. Texian Squirrel. Sciurus Texianus, (n. s.)

In the Museum at Paris I observed a species of squirrel of
which I can find no description. It was said to have been
received from Mexico. In the Museums of Berlin and Zu-

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIUltUS. 155

rich I also found what I conceive to be the same species;
and in the British Museum there is a specimen obtained at
Texas by Douglass, agreeing with the others in almost every
particular. I find also among my notes a description of a
specimen received by a friend from the south-western parts
of Louisiana, which, on a comparison with memoranda taken
of the other specimens, I do not find to differ in any impor-
tant particular. It is probable therefore that this species has
a pretty extensive range, from the south-western portions of
Louisiana, through Texas, into Mexico. Of its habits I pos-
sess no information.

The Texian squirrel is about the size of the fox squirrel.
On the upper surface there is a mixture of black and yellow,
and on the under parts deep yellow. The under sides of the
limbs, and also the parts of the body contiguous, are whitish
at the base. Fore legs externally, and the feet, rich yellow.
Ears on both surfaces yellow, with interspersed white hairs.
Nose and lips brownish white. Hairs of tail rich rusty yel-
low at base, with a broad black space near the extremity,
and finally tipt with yellow.

DIMENSIONS.

IN. LIN.

Length of body 13 6

Ditto of tail to end of hair 15 0

Ditto of tarsus 3 0

Height of ears to end of fur „ 6|

The Texian squirrel bears some resemblance to the Sciu-
rus capistratus ; the latter species however in all the varie-
ties I have examined, has uniformly the white ears and nose.
I am moreover not aware that the Set. capistratus exists in
the south-western parts of America, where it seems to be re-
placed by the present species.

3. Golden-bellied Squirrel. Sciurus sub-auratus, (n s.)

Essent. Char. — Size intermediate between the Northern Grey and the
Little Carolina Squirrel ; tail longer than the body ; colour above grey,
with a wash of yellow, beneath deep golden yellow.

Dental formula.— Incis. §. Can. {jg. Mol. ||. — 20.

In the two specimens now before me, and which are very
similar in size and markings, there is no appearance of the
small anterior upper molar found in several other species of
this genus. I conclude therefore that it either does not ex-
ist at all, or drops out at a very early period ; and have ac-

156 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

cordingly set down this species as having only 20 teeth. —
The upper incisors, which are of a deep orange-brown colour,
are of moderate size ; the lower incisors a little paler than
those above ; head of moderate size ; whiskers longer than
the head ; ears short and pointed, clothed with hair on both
surfaces. The body seems more formed for sprightliness and
agility than that of the small Carolina squirrel, and in this
respect comes nearest to the northern grey squirrel : the tail
is long, and nearly as broad as that of the last-named species.
Colour. — The whole upper surface grey, with a distinct
yellow wash. The hairs which give this outward appearance
are greyish slate colour at their base, then very broadly annu-
lated with yellow, then black, and near the apex annulated
with yellow- white. The sides of the face and neck, the whole
of the inner side of the limbs, feet, and the under parts of a
deep golden yellow; on the cheeks and sides of the neck, how-
ever, the hairs are obscurely annulated with black and whitish;
the ears are well clothed on both surfaces with tolerably long
hair, of the same deep golden hue as the sides of the face ;
hairs of the feet mostly blackish at the root, and some are
obscurely tipt with black; hairs of the tail black at the root,
and the remaining portion of a bright rusty yellow, each hair,
three times in its length, annulated with black ; the under
surface of the tail is chiefly bright rusty yellow ; whiskers
longer than the head, black.

DIMENSIONS.

IN. LIN.

Length of head and body 10 6

Ditto of tail, (vertebra) 9 2

Ditto including fur 12 0

Ditto of palm to end of middle fore claw 1 7

Ditto of heel to point of middle nail 2 7

Ditto of fur on the back „ 7

Height of ear posteriorly „ 5

Breadth of tail with hair extended 8 6

Weight H R>-

The two specimens from which the above description was
taken were procured in the markets of New Orleans, by J. J.
Audubon, Esq. I possess no information with regard to their
habits.

4. Great-tailed Squirrel. Sciurus magnicaudatus.

Sciurus macrourus ; Say, Long's Expedition, vol. i. p. 115.

— magnicaudatus ; Harlan's Fauna, p. 170.

macrourus; Godmaii's Nat. Hist. vol. ii. p. 134.

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 157

Esse nt. Char. — Intermediate in size between the Sciurus cinereus and
Sci. leucotis ; body above, a mixed grey and black; ears long; tail very
broad.

In a number of Museums both in England and on the con-
tinent, I have observed squirrels labelled with the above
name, but which must be referred to the varieties of other
species. The only genuine specimen that has come under
my notice is the one now existing in the Philadelphia Muse-
um, and which was, I believe, brought by Say, the original dis-
coverer. Having at present no access to my notes with a de-
scription of this species made two years ago, I am obliged to
copy the original description of Say, which I found, on com-
parison, to be very accurate. I regret, however, that T am
unable to annex an interesting account of the habits of this
species, which was communicated to me by Mr. Peale.

" The body above, and on each side, is of a mixed grey
and black ; the fur is plumbeous, black at base, then pale
cinnamon colour, then black, and finally cinereous, with a
long black tip ; the ears, f of an inch long, are behind of a
bright ferruginous colour, extending to the base of the fur,
which, in the winter dress, is prominent beyond the edge ;
on the inside of the ear the fur is of a dull ferruginous hue,
slightly tipped with black ; the sides of the head and orbits
of the eyes are pale ferruginous : beneath the ears and eyes
the cheeks are dusky ; the whiskers are composed of about
five series of rather flattened hairs, the inferior ones are more
distinct ; the mouth is margined with black ; the teeth are of
a reddish yellow colour ; the under part of the head and neck,
and the upper part of the feet, are ferruginous ; the belly is
paler, the fur being plumbeous at base ; the tail is of a bright
ferruginous colour below, and this colour extends to the base
of the fur with a sub-marginal black line ; on its upper part
it is ferruginous and black; the fur within is of a pale cinna-
mon colour, with the base and three bands black ; the tip is
ferruginous ; the palms of the fore feet are black, and the m-
dimental thumb, which is very short, is covered by a broad
flat nail.

" The fur of the back in the summer dress is from -§- to -^
of an inch long ; but in the winter dress the longest hairs of
the middle of the back are from 1 inch to 1| in length ; this
difference in the length of the hairs, combined with a greater
portion of fat, gives to the animal a thicker and shorter ap-
pearance, but the colour continues the same ; and it is only
in the latter season that the ears are fringed, which is the ne-
cessary consequence of the elongation of the hair. This spe-

158 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

cies was not an unfrequent article of food at our frugal yet
social meals at Engineer cantonment, and we could always
immediately distinguish the bones from those of other animals
by their remarkably red colour. The tail is even more volu-
minous than that of the Sciurus cinereus, (cat squirrel).'1

DIMENSIONS.

IN. LIN.

Length of head and body 11 1

Ditto of tail to the end of hair 11 3

Height of ear, fur included „ 9

5. Californian Squirrel. Sciurus aureogaster.

Sciurus aureogaster ; F. Cuv. and Geoff. Mamm.
Ecureuil de la Calafornie ; Id.

General hue above deep grey grizzled with yellow ; under
parts and inner side of limbs deep rusty red ; chin, throat and
cheeks pale grey ; limbs externally and feet coloured as the
body above ; hairs on the toes chiefly dirty white ; tail large
and very bushy ; hairs of the tail black, twice annulated with
dirty yellow, and broadly tipped with white, the white very
conspicuous where the hairs are in their natural position ;
ears thickly clothed, chiefly with blackish hairs, the hinder
basal part externally with long white hairs, extending slight-
ly on the neck ; all the hairs of the body are grey at the base,
those of the upper parts annulated first with yellow, then
black, and then white ; whiskers black, the hairs very long
and bristly ; the under incisors almost as deep an orange co-
lour as the upper.

Habitat Mexico and California.

dimensions.

IN. LIN.

Length from nose to root of tail 12 0

Ditto of tail to end of hair 10 6

Ditto of heel to end of claws 2 5£

Ditto from nose to ear 2 l£

Height of ear posteriorly „ 1\

A second specimen, the locality of which was not given,
differed from the above in having a much richer colouring.
The belly was of a very bright rust colour ; hairs on the tail
black at the roots, then broadly annulated with rusty yellow,
then a considerable space occupied by black, the apical por-
tion white ; but when viewed from beneath, a bright rust co-
lour, like that of the belly, was very conspicuous, occupying

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIDRUS. 159

the basal half of the hair : the upper parts of the body were
grizzled with black and white, and many of the hairs were
annulated with rust colour ; over the haunches and rump the
hairs are annulated with rusty yellow and black ; the hairs of
the feet are chiefly black.

The original specimen on which this species was founded
is in the Museum at Paris, and Mr. Waterhouse supplied me
with the following description from his own manuscript notes.

" General colour, grizzled black and white ; throat, chest,
belly, inner side of legs, nearly the whole of the fore legs and
the fore part of the hind legs rusty red ; tail very broad ; the
hairs black, red at the base and white at the apex ; lips white;
feet black, with a few white hairs intermixed ; fore part of
head also black, with a few intermixed white hairs ; chin
blackish in front, shading into grey.

DIMENSIONS.

IN. LIN.

Nose to root of tail 11 6

Tail to end of hair 11 0

Tarsus 2 4j,

In the Museum of the Zoological Society are three speci-
mens, one of which is from Mexico, and the others are, un-
fortunately, not named. If they should prove the same, they
exhibit considerable variations in colour. In one specimen
the chin and throat are grey ; the animal appears to be chang-
ing its colour, over the haunches there is a considerable ad-
mixture of rusty red colour ; the general hue of the back was
deep grey ; the hairs at base plumbeous, the apical portion
annulated with first black, then rust colour, then black, vary-
ing in some hairs.

6. Cat Squirrel. Sciurus cinereus.

Sciurus cinereus; Linn., Gmel.

Cat Squirrel; B. Penn. 'Arct. Zool.' i. 137.

Essent. Char. — A little smaller than the Fox Squirrel, larger than the
Northern Grey Squirrel ; "body stout ; legs rather short ; nose and ears not
white ; tail longer than the hody.

This species has been sometimes confounded with the fox
squirrel, and at other times with the northern grey squirrel ;
it is, however, in size intermediate between the two, and has
some distinctive marks by which it may be known from ei-

100 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

ther. The northern grey sqnirrel has, as far as I have been
able to ascertain from an examination of many specimens,
permanently five grinders in each upper jaw, and the present
species has but four. Whether, at a very early age, the cat
squirrel may not, like the young fox squirrel, have a small
deciduous tooth, I have had no means of ascertaining ; all the
specimens before me having been obtained in autumn or win-
ter, and being adults, present the dental formula as given
above. The fox squirrel is permanently marked with white
ears and nose, which is not the case with the cat squirrel :
the former is a southern species, — the latter is found in the
middle and northern states.

Description. — The head is less elongated than that of the
fox squirrel, the nose more obtuse ; incisors rather narrower,
shorter, and less prominent ; molars, with the exception of
their being a little smaller, bear a strong resemblance to, and
are similarly arranged to those of the former species. The
neck is short ; legs short and stout ; nails narrower at base
than those of the fox squirrel, shorter and less arched; the
tail also is shorter and less distichous ; the body, although
shorter is thicker, and the whole animal has a heavy, clumsy
appearance. The fur is not so soft as that of the northern
grey squirrel, but finer than that of the fox squirrel.

This species, as well as the last, is subject to great varie-
ties of colour. I have observed in Peale's Museum speci-
mens of every shade of colour, from light grey to nearly black.
I have also seen two in cages which were nearly white, but
without the red eyes which form a characteristic mark in the
albino. There appears however to be this difference between
the varieties of the present species and those of the fox squir-
rel ; — the latter are permanent varieties ; scarcely any speci-
mens being found in intermediate colours: in the present
there is every shade of colour, scarcely two being found pre-
cisely alike.

The most common variety however is the grey cat squirrel,
which I shall describe from a specimen now before me.

Teeth orange ; nails dark brown near the base, lighter at
the extremities ; on the cheeks there is a slight tinge of yel-
lowish brown, extending to the neck at the insertion of the
head ; the inner surface of the ears of the same colour, the
outer surface of the fur on the ear, which extends a little
beyond the outer edge, and is of a soft woolly appearance, is
light cinereous edged with rusty brown ; whiskers black and
white, the former colour predominating. Under the throat,
the inner surface of the legs and thighs, and the whole under
surface, white ; on the back the fur is dark cinereous near

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 161

the roots, then light ash, then a line of black and tipt with
white, giving it on the outer surface an iron-grey appearance.
The tail, which does not present the flat distichous appear-
ance of the majority of the other species, but is more rounded
and narrower, is composed of hairs which, separately exa-
mined, are of a soiled white tint near the roots, then a narrow
marking of black, then white, then a broad line of black, and
finally broadly edged with white.

Another specimen is dark grey on the back and head, and
a mixture of black and cinereous on the feet, thighs, and un-
der surface. Whiskers nearly all white. The markings on
the tail are similar to those on the other specimen.

DIMENSIONS.

IN. LIN.

Length of head and body 11 3

Ditto of tail, (vertebra) 9 6

Ditto to the tips 12 6

Height of ear posteriorly „ 6

Palm and middle fore claw 1 6

Heel and middle hind claw 2 9

Length of fur on the back „ 7

Geographical Distribution. — This has been to me a rare
species. It is said to be common in the oak and hickory
woods of Pennsylvania, and I have occasionally met with it
near Easton and York ; I also observed one in the hands of a
gunner near Fredericksburgh, Virginia. In the northern part
of New York it is exceedingly rare, as I only saw two pair
during fifteen years of close observation. In the lower part
of that state, however, it appears to be more common, as I
recently received several specimens procured in the county of
Orange.

This squirrel has many habits in common with other spe-
cies, residing in the hollows of trees, and building in summer
its nest of leaves in some convenient crutch, and subsisting
on the same variety of food. It is, however, the most inac-
tive of all our known species : it mounts a tree, not with the
lightness and agility of the northern grey squirrel, but with
the slowness and apparent reluctance of the little striped
squirrel [Tamias Lysteri). After ascending it does not mount
to the top, as is the case with other species, but clings to the
body of the the tree, on the side opposite to you, or tries to
conceal itself behind the first convenient limb. I have never
observed it leaping from branch to branch. When it is in-
duced in search of food to proceed to the extremity of a limb,
it moves cautiously and heavily, and returns the same way.
On the ground it runs clumsily, and makes slower progress
than the grey squirrel. It is usually fat, especially in au-

162

HOTALIA ATTACHED TO VERMETUS BOGNORIENSIS.

tumn, and the flesh is said to be preferable to that of any of
our other species.

The cat squirrel does not appear to be migratory in its ha-
bits. The same pair, if undisturbed, may be found taking up
their residence in a particular vicinity for a number of years
in succession ; and the sexes seem mated for life.
(To be continued).

Art. TIT. Notice of a species of Y&o\n\x&. fowid attached to specimens
of Vermetus Bognoriensis. By Nathaniel Wethereil, Esq.,
M.R.C.S., F.G.S., &c.

When I first observed some specimens of Rotalia upon the
whorls of the Vermetus Bognoriensis, I imagined that these
minute fossil bodies had been casually lodged in some of the
small furrows upon its external surface ; further observations
and additional specimens, however, convinced me to the con-
trary, and I perceived, on a careful microscopic examination,
that not only were the Rotalia attached to the Vermetus, but
that in several instances they were absolutely imbedded in the
substance of the shell itself.

27

On my first discovery of these remains, I briefly alluded to
the circumstance in a paper read before the Camden Literary
and Scientific Institution, (April 26th, 1836), subsequently
published in the 'London and Edinburgh Philosophical Ma-
gazine.' * I have since considered that it would be an inte-
resting record to have them engraved, exhibiting the fossils of
the natural size, together with magnified figures, as annexed.

' "Observations on some of the Fossils of the London Clay, and in parti-
cular those Organic Remains which have been recently discovered in the
Tunnel of the London and Birmingham Rail-road. By Nath. Thos. We-
therell, Esq., F.G.S., M.R.C.S., &c." The London and Edinburgh Phi-
losophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Vol. ix., Dec. 1836, No. 56.

NEW FOSSIL AVICUIA.

163

Fig. 27, #, which is exceedingly minute, is accompanied
with three magnified views ; and Jig, 27, b, with the same.

I was induced to have both specimens represented, as there
are some slight differences between them, which, unless de-
pending upon particular periods of growth, may be considered
sufficient to constitute them different species or varieties.

The locality whence I obtained my specimens is the tun-
nel of the London and Birmingham rail-road, near Chalk farm.
Although I have examined several hundreds from this place,
I have only found about eight or nine with the Rotalia at-
tached. 1 have had in my possession at different times some
thousand specimens of Vermetus Bognoriensis, from High-
gate, Bognor, and Sheppey, but I have never before noticed
any minute shell or coral attached to them.

It was at first my intention to have given a specific name ;
the present fossil however appears so closely to resemble a
species found at Grignon, that I have thought it better not to
do so.

Highgate, March 12th, 1839.

Art. IV. — Description of a new fossil Avdcula,/rom the Lias Shale
of Somersetshire. By Samuel Stutchbury, Esq., Curator to
the Bristol Philosophical Institution, &c.

^; 28

"Avicula longicostata, Stutchb.

164 ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

Avicula longicostata.

Shell inequilateral, with six raised casta radiating from the umbo, each
rib extending far beyond the margin of the valve; minutely striated between
the ribs.

This very elegant fossil is remarkable from the great ex-
tension of the ribs which radiate from the umbo, in several
instances extending more than an inch beyond the margin of
the valve. In the five specimens which have come nnder my
observation, there appears to have been a determinate stop-
page of growth, which is evidenced by a raised line crossing
the disc of the shell and spinous terminations of the first-
formed ribs.

The internal characters determine the genus to which it
belongs, while the external characters alone would have left
me in doubt to which of the following genera it most proba-
bly belonged ; viz. Avicula, Pecten, or Plagiostoma. The
number of ribs (six) appears to be a constant character, at
least judging from the specimens which have already come to
hand.

For this beautiful fossil we are indebted to the excavations
made through the lias shales along the line of the great west-
ern railway, at Saltford, between Bristol and Bath. Avicula
Cygnipes, figured in Phillips's 'Geology of Yorkshire' resem-
bles it, but the two are sufficiently distinct to justify their
separation.

Bristol, January 16th, 1839.

Art. V. — On the Anatomy of the Lamellibranchiate Conchiferous

Animals. By Robert Garner, Esq., F.L.S.,

( Continued from Page \29).

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM.

All these animals derive their nourishment from the ani-
malcules and other nutrient particles drawn in with the water,
by means of the currents excited by the ciliated branchiw and
tentacles. The particles are collected at the anterior part of
the cavity of the mantle, and are conveyed into the oesophagus
by means of tentacles and lips, strongly ciliated internally for
that purpose. In some species, as the Pecten, the foot seems
a prehensile organ of the food, and the curious foot of the
Spondylus is perhaps of some use in this way. The tentacles
are precisely similar to the branchice in structure, being
commonly membranous, striated by the vessels, and ciliated ;
and their vascular system is often continuous with that of the
branchice, so that they probably serve the purpose of respira-
tion also. They are generally triangular in shape. In the
Nucula, the external one is large and spiral ; in the Corbula

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. 165

they are long and volute. They are large in the Tellina and
similar genera; small in Modiola, Mya, Psammobia, &c.
When lips are developed the tentacles are small. These are
of a fringed appearance in Pecten, Spondylus, &c, more foli-
ated in Chama.1 The mouth is small in Venus, &c,
larger in several of the Monomyaria. The oesophagus, gene-
rally very short, is however occasionally pretty long, as in the
Pholas. Home describes salivary glands in the Teredo, but
these I have not been able to find ; and Poli, bodies which
he supposes to be such in the Pinna. The stomach is
always in the centre of the liver, and the bile ducts enter it
by one or more orifices. Into the stomach projects the
extremity of a lengthened cartilage, the " crystalline style"
of Poli. The other extremity has been described as going to
the foot, and adding to the elasticity of that organ. This
body is of various shapes, and has at its superior extremity
a cartilaginous membrane, the " tricuspid body" of Poli.
This lies at the inferior surface of the stomach, and its extre-
mities enter the bile ducts. The crystalline style is wanting
when the foot is small; the membrane is always present.
The former is evidently analogous to the tongue of the Pa-
tella and other cephalous Mollusca ; it is secreted from be-
hind and comes forward into the stomach ; the membrane at
its extremity is analogous to the membrane always found in
a similar situation at the end of the tongue in other Mollusca.
The apparatus of mastication in the Gasteropoda is then in
the Lamellibranchiata partly subservient to digestion, but
has also another use assigned to it — the giving elasticity
to the foot, or, in the Anomia, where its extremity is seen in
the mantle, the preserving in its situation the free extre-
mity of the left lobe of the latter part.

These organs have been supposed by Poli to regulate the
flow of bile; which appears probable. By Cams2 they are
imagined to be concerned in the function of generation, which
supposition is not warranted by the facts ; but, on the con-
trary, there are grounds on which we may infer that it is un-
likely. The duodenum or first part of the intestine is wider
than the remainder and is by some called a second stomach.
It sometimes originates from the true stomach distinct from
the style, as in Mactra, Pholas,2 some species of Solen, &c.
Sometimes the style lies in a groove of the duodenum, which

1 Poli. 2 Lehrbuch, v. 2.

3 The digestive system of the Teredo only differs from that of the Pholas
in its greater length.

Vol. III.— No. 28. n. s. s

166 ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

leaves its extremity, as in some Tellium, &c, or diverges
from its side at a greater or less distance from the end, as in
Cardium, Solen vagina, &c. The parietes of the duodenum
are glandular. The remainder of the canal has many veins
originating from it, which perhaps act the part also of lacteals.
The extremity of the duodenum is always near the pedal pore
and perhaps the vitellus of the embryo so enters. The intes-
tine varies much in length. As shewn by Poli, those species
which are fixed have it shortest. In Anomia it is not an inch
long, and makes no turn ; it has a rounded projecting process
in its whole length. A similar projection is seen in other
genera. The convolutions of the intestine interwoven with
the liver and ovaries, are generally contained in great part in
the foot. In the Monomyaria, in the Mytilus, Pinna, &c,
it makes only two or three turns, the last often surrounding
the stomach. In the fresh water species it is longer by a
turn or two ; longer still in Pholas, Mya, Venerupis, Tellina,
&c. ; but longest of all in Cardium, Donax, Venus, Mactra,
and some other genera, where it is sometimes ten or twelve
times the length of the animal. The intestine, having made
its convolutions, is directed towards the heart, through the
ventricle of which it commonly passes, and ends on the pos-
terior muscle by an opening, which, in some species, has a
divided margin. This anus is situated between the lobes of
the mantle, and opens into the superior of the two tubes,
when they exist. In the oyster the ventricle is not perfo-
rated by the intestine, the heart being in a different situation.
In the Anomia the heart lies upon it. When there are two
ventricles, as in Area, Lima, and certain Pectunculi, the in-
testine passes between them. In the Unio it has been de-
scribed that the intestine makes its escape from the cavity of
the heart to re-enter it again ; such a description is not taken
from the normal disposition of the animal. The curious cir-
cumstance of the perforation of the ventricle by the intestinal
tube appears to be a result merely of the disposition of the
parts.

The liver, in all the Lamellibranchiata, surrounds the ca-
vity of the stomach, into which its secretion of greenish bile
is poured by one or more ducts. It has no vena porta going
to it, but its arteries, and hepatic veins are large. Its situa-
tion is at the anterior and superior part of the animal, and it
is composed of a multitude of oval granules, differing in size
in different species, opening into the termination of the ra-
muscules of the duct.

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. 107

CIRCULATING SYSTEM.

This system is not so simple as it is described by Cuvier,
Poli, &c. Bojanus1 in the Anadonta first described its cor-
rect anatomy. By means of mercurial injections it may bt
readily made out in the common scallop or Pecten maximus
The venous blood from the liver, ovaries and intestine, does
not go to the branchice immediately, but a portion of it en-
ters, on each side, a sinus or system of veins situated upon
the adductor muscle, the remainder is poured into a large
vessel, which is distributed to a dark coloured excretory or-
gan, situated at the base of the branchice on each side.
These organs have other veins which open either into
the sinus or into the branchial arteries. The sinus receives
likewise the veins of the muscle, and also in part the blood
of the mantle. It opens into the branchial arteries by two
valvular openings. The blood from the viscera must in great
part pass through the tissue of the excretory organs to enter
the branchial artery, and the tissue itself appears to be
entirely formed by these veins. Bojanus from this considers
these bodies as the organs of respiration. The auricles,
besides the branchial veins, receive the extremities of the
large veins of the mantle, small hepatic branches, and
other veins from the neighbouring parts. Poli has figured
this circumstance in the Area, Spondylus, fyc. The branchial
artery then has its principal origin from the large veins or
venous sinus, situated upon the adductor muscle; it then
receives veins from the organs above mentioned, also others
from the root of the branchiae and from the mantle : it
then at regular distances gives branches to the processes
of the branchice, which run into the corresponding ramuscu-
les of the branchial vein. The branchial vein, formed
by these ramuscules, lies nearer to the processes of the two
vessels, and is crossed by the divisions of the artery ; it is
joined by the extremity of the great vein of the mantle, and
by small veins from the liver, &c, as described above, and
forms the auricle. No valve exists between the veins and
auricles. The latter have projecting processes upon them,
secreting perhaps the fluid of the pericardium. They are
connected by a transverse vein, receiving some small ves-
sels from the pericardium, &c. A valve formed by two
semilunar membranes exists at the entry of each auricle into
the ventricle. The pericardium, always situated in the

1 A translation of his paper may be found, ' Journ. de Physique,' t. 89,
witli observations upon it by M. Blainville.

168 ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

back of the animal, except in the oyster, contains a thickish,
transparent fluid. The ventricle is muscular, and is pierced
by the rectum, which, in some species, though not in the
animal whose circulation is now described, likewise traverses
more or less of the aorta. The ventricle gives off an anterior
and a posterior aorta, and a valve exists at the com-
mencement of each. The former runs over the liver, giving
hepatic arteries, and surrounding the mouth with a ring, fur-
nishes the labial, ovarian, intestinal, pedal, and other arteries.
The latter goes backwards, and furnishes, principally, the
muscle and mantle with arteries. The coats of the veins are
thin, but they are readily injected ; those of the arteries
thicker, but these vessels are not easily filled with mercury.
Blood taken from the auricles is almost colourless,1 separates
on standing into a liquid and solid part, and, microscopically
examined, its globules, which are about a thousandth part of
an inch in diameter, show some appearance of movement,
even out of the vessels. This fact appears to have been ob-
served by Mayer. 2 The heart is slow in its pulsations ; they
are generally from twenty to thirty in the minute.

In the Vnio and Anadonta the sinus, corresponding to that
of the Pecten, lies under the pericardium, receiving anteri-
orly large veins from the mantle, viscera, &c, and posteriorly
other vessels from the posterior part of the body. Part of its
blood goes to the branchial artery on each side, a few twigs
enter the auricles and the remainder goes to the excretory
organs. The vein of the mantle, at one extremity, is con-
nected with the excretory organ. This organ on each side
has a few small veins entering the auricles, but the mass of
its blood enters the branchial artery. The branches of this
vessel are found on the outer side of the inner branchial la-
mina, and on the inner side of the external one. The cor-
responding venous ramuscules enter three veins, one lying
between the two internal bronchia, which sends its blood to
the two others, situated at the superior margin of the external
lamina. These last form the auricles. There is nothing
remarkable in the distribution of the arteries.

Poli found two ventricles in the Area ; there are two like-
wise in some other genera, the shells of which have their
beaks remote. There are never more than two real auricles ;
but dilatations at the commencement of the aorta have been
so called. In the Cardium echinatum, where there are two
posterior aorta, each at its commencement is considerably di-

1 It is rather red in Teredo, according to Home.

2 Mayer, Supplem. zur Lehre vom Kreiselaufe, 1827.

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. 169

lated, and the cavities thus formed have strong muscular co-
lumns on their internal parietes.

The communication between the auricles, effected by a
transverse vein in the Pecten, Spondylus, fyc, is more com-
plete in the oyster, where they are united into one, but there
are still two auriculo-ventricular openings.

The veins, then, do not all enter the branchial artery, some
joining the branchial vein, where it forms the auricles. In
the Pecten we see the visceral blood circulating through the
excreting organs, which return it to the branchial arteries.
The veins between the excreting organs and the sinus, may
be the channels by which the former receive blood from, or
remit it to the latter. The first supposition is perhaps the
correct one, and in this case, this part of the circulation in
the Anadonta, &c, only differs by the visceral blood entering
the sinus before it circulates through the excreting organs ;
and by more of the blood of the sinus going to them. This
distribution is something like a portal system. There is a free
passage from the veins of the mantle into the auricles and
sinus in the Pecten, and into the sinus and tissue of the ex-
cretory organs in the Anadonta, &c. *

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM.

As is known to zootomists, the branchiae of the Lamelli-
branchiata are ciliated for the purpose of exciting currents in
the water. In the Monomyaria and Arcacece there are no
orifices or siphons to the mantle for the inlet and exit of the
water &c. In the Pecten, Spondylus, and Lima the branchiae
of each side are situated on a triangular membrane, at a dis-
tance from those of the other. The two branchice of the same
side are not distinct from each other, and their processes are
disunited, and do not form a continuous membrane as is ge-
nerally the case, but are kept in contact with each other by
lateral processes. In the oyster the branchice have not only
their processes conjoined into a membrane, but the several
laminae are united at their bases. In the Area, Pectunculus,
&c. the branchiae of each side are separate from those of the
other; as they are in Modiola, Mytilus, Lithodomus, and
other genera; but in these latter, the water enters by the pos-
terior fringed extremity of the mantle, and makes its exit by
the separate orifice situated higher up. There is a valve be-

1 Treviranus considers the blood from the branchial veins to pass through
the excretory organs before it enters the auricles. Vanderhoeven was aware
that the venous blood circulated through them, in opposition to the erro-
neous opinion of the former, according to Prof. Grant. Vid. Lancet.

s3

170 ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

low this orifice, and another above, to regulate the currents
in the proper direction. The orifice is lengthened into a tube
in the Lithodomus ; and in the Pinna the anal valve has ta-
ken a lengthened ligulate form. The Uniones only differ from
this in having the branchiae united, and the water appears to
make its exit by insinuating itself between them and the foot,
and so through the orifice. In the Cardium we see two dis-
tinct openings behind ; the water enters by the lower one,
distends the mantle, and this orifice being then closed by the
valve, it gets between the foot and the branchice, and is dis-
charged through the superior orifice. In this animal the pos-
terior extremity of the branchiae is united to the septum be-
tween the orifices, so that the two respiratory cavities only
communicate by the side of the foot. In the Cyclas both the
short tubes open internally below the branchiae, and there is
no passage required between the latter and the foot. The
water in this and similar cases has only access to the spaces
left internally between the lamince of the branchiae (oviducts
of Home) from behind : it is over these spaces that the secre-
tory organs and oviducts commonly open. We find this last
disposition, only with the siphons more developed, in Donax,
Tellina, Psammobia, and many others. There is in these
commonly a valve between the internal orifices ; but the wa-
ter is frequently ejected from both tubes. In the Mactra, Cy-
therea, Venus, and Venerupis, the tubes are more muscular
than in the Tellinidae, &c, and they are more or less united ;
the branchiae are in these often medianly separated. In the
Solen, Hyatella, Mya, Pholas, Teredo, &c, a different dispo-
sition takes place. Here the branchiae are prolonged into the
inferior siphon, and as they are not separated from the base
of the foot within, nor from the mantle without, the water
drawn in through the inferior orifice must make its exit by
the same, or by the anterior opening. But water is likewise
drawn in by the other, and so gets access to the interior in-
ter-laminar spaces of the branchiae ; and by this superior si-
phon the ova, faeces, and secretions are discharged.1 Here
the branchiae are often very long, and the siphons very mus-
cular. We sometimes find small supplementary branchiae, as
in the Psammobia, Pholas, &c, or the external pair may be
shortened in front, as in Mya, Venerupis, and many other ge-
nera. In the Pandora the only appearance of the external

1 We see this also in the Tunicata. By one orifice water enters the re-
spiratory sac, by the other it is drawn into the external meshes of the bran-
chice. The water drawn in by each opening must make its exit by the same.
Those writers who say the contrary must be incorrect, unless the water pass
through the stomach and intestine.

ON THE LAMELLICORNS OF OLIVIER.

171

lamince consists of two very narrow strips at the base of the
others ; this is the case also, according to Blainville, in the
Osteodesma, allied to the former. Though it is not by the
action of the orifices or siphons, or by the relaxation of the
shell-muscles, and the opening of the valves, that the water
is drawn into the mantle, yet these accompany the occurrence;
and though the water commonly escapes in a continuous
stream from the action of the cilia, a sudden ejection of it
frequently takes place, accompanied by a closing of the valves
and a contraction of the siphons. These latter parts have
frequently at their extremities circles of ciliated fringed pro-

cesses.

(To be continued.)

Art. VI. — Observations on the Lamellicoms of Olivier. By The
Rev. F. W. Hope, F.R.S., F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c.

GENUS.

Cetonia.

( Continued from Page 24.J

SPECIES.

1 Goliathus

2 Cacicus

3 Polyphemus

4 micans

5 Chinensis

6 nigrita

7 aurata

8 corticina

9 bimaculata

10 guttata

11 aulica

12 fas cicularis

13 martnorea

14 nitida

15 lanius

16 carnifex

17 fuliginea

18 pubescens

19 hepatica

20 tristis

21 lobata

22 irrorata

23 elongata

24 sinuata

25 Gagates

26 marginatum

27 morio

28 Capensis

29 signata

30 elegam

Sierra Leone

Guinea

Africa

Senegal

China

Ceylon

England

Senegal

C. Good Hope

Sierra Leone

C. Good Hope

Ditto

Tobago

North America

Carolina

C. Good Hope

Senegal

C. Good Hope

St. Domingo

Florida

South America

Ditto

Cayenne

C. Good Hope

Ditto

Senegal

South of France

C. Good Hope

Ditto

Coromandcl

ARRANGEMENT OP AUTHORS.

Goliathus, Lamarck

Mecynorhina, Hope
Dicronorhina, Hope
Agestrata, Escholtz

Cetonia, Fabricius

Coryphe, Gory

Cetonia, Fabricius

Gymnetis, MacLeay

Diplognatha, Goiy.
Oplostomus, MacLeay
Cetonia, Fabricius
Chasmodia, MacLeay
Gymnetis, MacLeay

Cetonia, Fabricius
Cyclidius, MacLeay
Cetonia, Fabricius
Diplognatha, Gory
Cetonia. Fabricius

Coryphe, Gory

172

OBSERVATIONS ON

C ETON I A.

31 4-maculata

32 Africana

33 Iris

34 suturalis

35 fulgida

36 5-lineata

37 Philippensis

38 herbacea

39 sulcata

40 maculata

41 olivacea

42 interrupta

43 bifida

44 crucifera

45 impressa

46 inda

47 cyanea

48 acuminata

49 aurichalcea

50 lurida

51 stolata

52 lugubris

53 histrio

54 versicolor

55 carulea

56 variegata

57 bipunctata

58 areata

59 sanguinolenta

60 (Bquinoctialis

61 argentea

62 irregularis

63 Airto

64 stictica

65 punctulata
66hcemorrhoidalis

67 nitidula

68 Hottentotta

69 cruenta

70 pulverulenta

71 eremita

72 nobilis

73 variabilis

74 fasciata

75 bidens

76 viridula

77 lunulata

78 jM<7ra

79 de'/fo

80 hemiptera

81 lineata

82 nigripes

83 crassipes

84 canaliculata

85 i<7mto

Guinea
Sierra Leone
Surinam
Senegal
Pennsylvania
East Indies
China

North America
Madagascar
Coromandel
Sierra Leone
C. Good Hope
East Indies
Bombay-
East Indies
North America
Java

C. Good Hope
Surat
Brazils
Sierra Leone
C. Good Hope
Egypt
East Indies
Ditto

Tranquebar
Senegal
Virginia
Senegal
Ditto
Mauritius
Mexico
Europe
France
Senegal
C. Good Hope
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Brazils
Europe
England
Germany
England
North America
Ditto
Ditto
Carolina
Virginia
England
C. Good Hope
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Surinam

ARRANGEMENT OF AUTHORS.

Dicronorhina, Hope
Chlorocala, Kirby

Schuppelii, MacLeay
Cetonia, Fabricius
Macronota, Hoffmans.
Cetonia, Fabricius
Macraspis P MacLeay
Cetonia, Fabricius

Schizorhina, Kirby
Diplognatha, Fabricius
Macronota, Hoffmans.
Cetonia, Fabricius
Schizorhina, Kirby
Cetonia, Fabricius

Polybaphes, Kirby

Gymnetis, MacLeay
Cetonia, Fabricius
Agenius, Gory
Cetonia, Fabricius
Polybaphes, Kirby

Cetonia, Fabricius

Genuchus, Kirby

Incas,fcem., Serville
Osmoderma, Serville
Gnorimus, Serville
Gnorimus, Serville
Trichius, Fabricius

Archimedius, Kirby
Valgus, Scriba
Lepitrix, Serville

Pachycnema, Serville
Valgus, Scriba
Chrysophora P Dejean?

THE LAMELLICORNS OF OLIVIER.

173

GENUS.

C ETON I A.

Hexodon.

86 gtabrata

87 bicolor

88 emerita

89 clavata

90 convexa

91 smaragdula

92 4-vittata

93 tetradactyla

94 lucida

95 splendida

96 chrysis

97 brunnipes

98 lineola

99 Surinama

100 striata

101 4 -punctata

102 lateralis

103 pustulata

104 bifrons

105 Bajula

106 holosericea

107 strigosa

108 undata

109 picta

110 maculosa

111 liturata

112 eiweto

113 marginella

114 tricolor

115 tridentata

116 Hebrcea

117 velutina

118 hispida

119 ciliata

120 tigrina

1 reticulatum

2 unicolor

East Indies ?

South America

Ditto

Ditto

St. Domingo

South America

Brazils

Jamaica

Guadaloupe

Cayenne

Surinam

South America

Cayenne

Surinam

Guadaloupe

East Indies

South America

Guadaloupe

South America

Ditto

Surinam

South America

Cayenne

Surinam

South America

Brazils

South America

Sierra Leone

East Indies

Senegal

Equin. Africa

Caffraria

C. Good Hope

South America?

C. Good Hope

Madagascar
Ditto.

ARRANGEMENT OF AUTHORS.

Rutela, Latreille

Chrysophora P
Macraspis, Macleay

Chasmodia, MacLeay
Rutela, Latreille

Popillia, Leach
Macraspis, MacLeay
Cnemida, Kirby
Incas, Serville
Gymnetis, MacLeay

Rhomborhina, Hope
Cetonia, Fabricius
Polybaphes, Kirby
Cetonia, Fabricius
Diplognatha, Gory
Polybaphes, Kirby
Cetonia, Fabricius
Rutela P
Cetonia, Fabricius

Hexodon, Fabricius

Genus 6. Cetonia.

Sp. 1. Goliathus. Now the type of the genus Goliath us:
it is named Drurii by Mr. Westwood. For the genera be-
longing to this important group the reader is referred to the
' Illustrations of the Annulosa of South Africa,' lately pub-
lished by Mr. W. S. MacLeay, and to my observations in
the 'Coleopterist's Manual.'

Sp. 2. Cacicus. Now a Goliathus of Lamarck. Olivier,
with his usual inaccuracy with regard to country, makes

174 OBSERVATIONS ON

this species an inhabitant of South America ; it comes from
the Old World, — from Guinea.

Sp. 4. micans. Now a Dicronorhina of Hope. Mr. Strachan
has brought to England with him a new species of this
genus from the vicinity of Sierra Leone. It most probably
will appear in an early number of the 'Entomological
Transactions' of London. ■

Sp- 6. nigrita. Olivier states his belief that this insect is
only a variety of Macronota Chinensis ; Col. Whithill ob-
tained it from the Concan, and from an examination of the
specimen in the British Museum I consider it as a distinct
species.

Sp. 7. corticina. This is still a Cetonia, and is the Cet. pur-
purascens of Fabricius.

Sp. 9. bimaculata. This insect is not a Gnathocera, but a
Coryphe of Gory; the specific name of \flavomaculata Fab.,
should take precedence of bimaculata.

Sp. 10. guttata. Olivier describes this species as inhabiting
South America. I have received it from Sierra Leone.

Sp. 11. aulica. Still a Cetonia. It appears, however, to
afford ample characters for a sub-genus.

Sp. 13. marmorea. This is now a Gymnetis, MacLeay. Mr.
Kirby has suggested the adoption of another genus, named
by him Marmorina, to which this species with several
others ought to be attached.

Sp. 16. carnifex. Olivier's locality for this species is South
America ; it inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, and belongs
to the genus Diplognatha.

Sp. 1 7. fuliginea. This is now an Oplostomus of MacLeay.
For the details consult his ' Illustrations of the Zoology of
South Africa,' lately published. Olivier gives no locality ;
I have received it from the banks of the Gambia, and Mr.
MacLeay from the Cape.

Sp. 23. elongata. Now a Cyclidius of MacLeay, of which
this species is the type. Cetonia axillaris, Dupont, be-
longs to the same genus. Olivier does not mention the
country from which he received it : Mr. MacLeay and
Mons. Gory give it as a South American insect.

Sp. 31. quadrimaculata. A Dicronorhina, Mihi. The ori-
ginal specimen from which Fabricius and Olivier described
the above insect is now in my possession, and I consider
it as the female of Goliathus Daphnis of Buquet ; Mr.
MacLeay however, regards it as distinct.

1 The insect alluded to at Cetonia 4, appears to be one of the Goliatidce,
and is the male of Cet. torquata, Fab. ; in its characters it seems mediate
between Meet/norhina and Dicronorhina.

THE LAMELLICORNS OF OLIVIER. 175

Sp. 33. Iris. This species is not mentioned in Percheron's
and Gory's Cetoriiidce ; according to Mr. Kirby it belongs
to his genus Chlorocala, and is the typical species.

Sp. 35. fulgida. No locality is stated by Olivier ; it is well
known however to be a North American insect.

Sp. 36. quinquelineata. Two species have been described
with the above name, both of them I believe are from the
East Indies.

Sp. 38. herbacea. This insect is not noticed in Percheron's
and Gory's Monograph ; it is apparently allied to Macraspis

Sp. 44. crucifera. Now a Diploynatha. This insect was
called by Fabricius, Cet. atromaculaia, and is properly
preferred by Gory to the former name. I have repeatedly
received it from Poona and Bombay.

Sp. 46. Inda. The locality of the East Indies is given by
Olivier ; it appears peculiar to North America.

Sp. 47. cyanea. According to Gory this is a Schizorhina ;
the clypeus is bind certainly, but it deviates however from
the type of the genus, and should be separated from Schi-
zorhina, as well as other Asiatic species. Its true locality
is Java.

Sp. 49. aurichalcea. This as well as other species recorded
by Olivier, are omitted in the * Monographic des Cetoines.'

Sp. 51. stolata. Olivier mentions New Holland and Senegal
as the localities of the above insect; with respect to the
former he is in error, it may however occur in Senegal, as
T have received it from Sierra Leone.

Sp 55. ccerulea. Fabricius originally named this insect
quadrimaculata : there are several oriental species closely
allied to it. They ought to be formed into a sub- genus
allied to Gymnetis. The Asiatic Gymnetidce require fur-
ther sub-division.

Sp. 62. irregularis. Olivier does not mention the locality of
this species ; it is evidently a Mexican insect.

Sp. 63. hirta. This insect was originally called Scarabceus
hirtellusbj Linnaeus ; the Sc. squalidus of the same author,
is only a spotless variety of the above.

Sp. 70. pulverulenta. As Olivier does not state the country
from which this insect was received he was probably un-
acquainted with it. The Brazils abound with them.

Sp. 76. viridula. Olivier gives a wrong locality to this insect,
viz. the East Indies ; it occurs only in Northern America.

Sp. 79. Delta. Now an Archimedius of Kirby, one of the
Tricliiida. For an account of the natural groups into
which this genus may be resolved, the reader should con-
sult the third volume of the 'Zoological Journal,' p. 136,

176 OBSERVATIONS ON

where there is an excellent paper by my friend Mr. Kirby.

Sp. 85. ignita. This is most likely a Chrysophora ; if not
it is a Pelidnota of MacLeay.

Sp. 86. glabrata. Olivier gives his opinion that this is an
East Indian insect ; I believe it to belong to South America
and to be one of the Rutelidae.

Sp. 88. emerita. Most likely a true Chrysophora.

Sp. 91. smaragdula. Now a Macraspis of MacLeay. Mr.
Westwood in the new edition of Drury considers this insect
as a Chasmodia. As no mention in the description is made
respecting a divided clypeus, a peculiarity of Chasmodia,
I consider it a Macraspis.

Sp. 92. quadrivittata. The name offucata, Fab., should be
used instead of the above. The Scarabceus ductus of
Drury, is the same insect.

Sp. 97. brunuipes. Now a Chasmodia of MacLeay. It is
probable that Chasm, castanea De Jean, is only an imma-
ture variety of this species. Olivier gives no locality ; it
abounds in the Brazils.

Sp. 98. lineola. Now a Iiutela. This insect is subject to
vary considerably, several of the varieties are considered
as species. Sc. Hesperus of Drury is one of them.

Sp. 101. quadripunctata. Certainly a Popillia of Leach.

Sp. 107. strigosa. This species is apparently unknown to
M.M. Percheron and Gory, as it is omitted in their mono-
graph ; so also is the following species of Olivier, named
Undata.

Sp. 109. picta. This is a true Gymnetis. A specimen is in
my collection, others I have seen which vary much in the
yellow markings.

Sp. 110. maculosa. The name of Gracula used by Fabricius
should take the place of maculosa, on the ground of prio-
rity.

Sp. 111. liturata. Now a Gymnetis. As Olivier has omit-
ted it, I give the Brazils as its true locality.

Sp. 112. cincta. This is now a Rhomborhina of my ' Ma-
nual.' Cet. Taenia of Palisot Beauvois, is the same insect.

Sp. 113. marginella. A Cetonia of authors. Three species
in the European Cabinets are confounded together under
the above name ; they certainly cannot be considered as
mere varieties, their form and proportions being very diffe-
rent.

Sp. 117. velutina. Now a Polybaphes of Kirby. The name
of velutina must be changed : the following are the syno-
nyms of the species.

THE LAMELLICORNS OF OLIVIER. 177

discoidea Fab., ' Syst. Elect.' 2, 158, 116
Cetonia- velutina Oliv., tab. 14, fig. 121

jiammea Vigors, 'Zool. Jour., vol. 2, p. 237, tab. 9.
Sp. 119. ciliata. Most likely a Kutela; if so, its country

will be South America.

In concluding these remarks on the species of Lamellicorns
mentioned by Olivier, two observations will occur to most
entomologists. The first is Olivier's want of a better ac-
quaintance with the Fabrician species ; this is remarkable. It
certainly should not have occurred respecting the species de-
scribed from our English cabinets, as Fabricius and Olivier
described from the self-same specimens ; every species was
labelled by Fabricius, and there ought not, therefore, to have
occurred so many glaring instances of decided neglect. The
second great error of Olivier was an indifference about stating
the countries from which the insects were received. This
blame attaches equally to Linnaeus, Fabricius, and other writ-
ers of the same period, and was the fault of the age in which
they lived : geographical distribution is of mere modern
growth, it is however of very great importance, and will even-
tually be found the best clue to conduct us out of the laby-
rinths of doubt and error, and without it we never can satis-
factorily arrange the families, genera, or even the species of
Insecta.

Olivier's work, as a whole, is one of the best which has
appeared in France or Europe ; although many of the figures
are bad, many again are tolerably faithful portraits of the
species. A. wretchedly miserable work, with Olivier's figures
was published at Nuremberg about 1800, under the title of
' Abbeldungen zuk. Illigeri, Uebersetzung, von Olivier's En-
tomologie.' The plates are so bad that it is rarely admitted
by entomologists into their libraries. Faulty indeed as the
above works may be, they are yet better than none. It is
remarkable, that with the exception of Drury's ' Illustrations
of Exotic Entomology,' the English authors have scarcely
ever published a general work of any magnitude, with plates.
As far as our British Fauna goes however, we greatly sur-
pass the continental writers, as no where in Europe will be
found more valuable Faunas than those of Messrs. Stephens
and Curtis. A publication on the same scale as that of Oli-
vier's would do much to advance the science of Entomology,
and is at the present moment a great desideratum. There
are in England several magnificent collections, able artists,
and unrivalled comparative anatomists, but where is patronage
to stimulate to exertion ? How little is science encouraged,
— how weakly is it supported !

178 STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES

Art. VII. — On the structural differences observable in the Crania
of the four British Species of the Genus Cygnus. By W. G.
Pelerin, Esq.

It may be considered by many that structural variation in
the crania of birds is of little importance ; but I am inclined
to think, from an attentive study of the comparative anatomy
of the class for some years, that it may frequently tend, if not
absolutely to decide species, at least materially to strengthen
the characters. Many species that were long considered dif-
ferent, as the purre, dunlin, &c, had the crania been minute-
ly examined, would have proved identical, and vice versa, as
in the present instances, where the birds are so nearly allied
in point of colour &c. as to have been for years confounded,
it appears to me worthy of attentive consideration.

As some doubts have been lately promulgated on the con-
tinent with regard to the swan characterised by Mr. Yarrell
being specifically different from Cygnus olor, a description
and comparison of the cranium of each may be interesting to
naturalists, and tend to prove satisfactorily that they are dis-
tinct.

The measurement of an adult cranium of each bird is as
follows.

Length from the tip of the bill to the base of the occipital
bone : —

Cyg. immutabilis, 6f in. Cyg. olor, 6| in.

Height from the bottom of the lower mandible when closed
to the top of the protuberance at the base of the bill : —
Cyg. immutabilis, If in. Cyg. olor, 2 in.

Height from the base of the under jaw to the vertex of the
head, just behind the orbit of the eye : —

Cyg. immutabilis, 2^ in. Cyg. olor. 2\ in.

In Cyg. immutabilis the bill is rather more flattened, par-
ticularly in the middle between the dertrum and the nostrils ;
the protuberance at the base of the upper mandible is less de-
veloped, and the top of the skull, instead of being nearly on
a level from thence to the summit of the parietal bones, as in
Cyg. olor, rises gradually to that point, and does not indicate
any sign of the small foramen observable at that part in the
latter species : but the greatest difference is perceptible on

IN THE CRANIA OF. THE BRITISH SWANS. 179

comparing the occipital bones; the upper portion of this bone
in Cyg. immutabilis (a) protrudes considerably more, and
there are two oval foramina (b), one on each side just above
the foramen magnum, which are not present in any specimens
of Cyg. olor that I have examined ; the portion forming the
boundary of the external orifice of the ear (c) is much more
prominent, and the condyle forms a more acute angle with
the basilar portion of the occipital bone.

Skull of Cygnus immutabilis.
A, upper portion of occipital bone. B, oval foramina, C, external orifice of ear.

One of the chief distinctions of Cyg. olor appears to be the
small foramen on the top of the cranium, which 1 have inva-
riably found in this, but never in a single instance in the three
other species : the two foramina in the occipital bone do not
appear so constant, as, although I have always detected them
in Cyg. Bewickii and never in Cyg. olor, they are occasional-
ly observable in Cyg. ferns, but wanting in the greater num-
ber, and even in some, though perceptible, nearly obliterated.

The small size of the head of Cyg. Bewickii, being usually
about one third less than that of Cyg. ferns, and the compa-
rative shortness and breadth of the bill, render it unnecessary
to describe it more minutely, as it would be at once detected
by any observer at all conversant with the subject.

The specimen of Cyg. immutabilis from which the accom-
panying drawing and description are taken, was procured in
the London market, and has been some years in my collec-
tion ; and from a frequent comparison with many crania of
Cyg. olor, from which it uniformly differed in the above par-
ticulars, I considered it as the head of a nearly-allied but dis-

180 DIFFERENCES IN CRANIA OF BRITISH SWANS.

tinct species, although as I never subsequently met with ei-
ther the bird or cranium, I could not identify it with any
recognised or previously described, till Mr. Yarrell having
mentioned to me that he had determined a new swan, con-
founded with, but in reality perfectly separable from Cygnus
olor, I had no doubt that mine was the same species, and on
showing it to him, after a careful investigation, he had no he-
sitation in confirming my views with regard to their identity.
Since writing the above I have dissected the lately charac-
terised goose, which affords additional proof of the utility of
the study of the cranium, and also furnishes a corroboration
that those authors who have not separated the geese from the
bernacles are correct ; this species forming a beautiful con-
necting link between the two : the plumage, colour of the
beak, and legs, assimilate to the true geese, but the greater
portion of its anatomy is that of the bernacles, particularly the
head, as, were it not that it is one third larger, it might be
taken, without attentive consideration, for that of Anser Ber-
nicla, which it exactly resembles in the form of the bill, the
height of the skull, and, wherein it particularly differs from
all the other true geese, the large size of the super-orbital
glands, and corresponding enlargement of the processes of
the lachrymal bones and the depressions over the eyes for
their attachment and insertion, although not near so much
developed as in Anser brenta, in which these glands not
only meet, but lap considerably over each other, and occupy
a depression formed between the orbits for their reception.

65, Great Russel St.,
Bloomsbury Square.

[The new goose referred to above was described by Mr. Bartlett at the
meeting of the Zoological Society, January 8th, 1839, under the name of
Anser phcenicopus, or pink-footed goose. It bears a close resemblance to
the bean goose Anser segetum, for which it is probable that it has often been
mistaken ; but it may readily be distinguished from that species by the legs
and feet, which, in a living or recently-killed specimen, are of a reddish
flesh colour or pink, while the legs and feet of the bean goose are of a yel-
lowish orange ; the bird is smaller, the bill shorter, and the plumage more
inclined to grey than in the bean goose. Mr. Bartlett stated that he had
examined twenty specimens of the new species, in all of which the above
distinguishing characters were present. — Ed."]

ARTIFICIAL ARRANGEMENT OF BRITISH PLANTS. 181

Art. VIII. — On the Artificial Arrangement of some of the more
extensive Natural Orders of British Plants. By Frederick
John Bird, Esq.

( Continued from Vol. 2, n. s., page 609.)

LEGUMINOSJE.

(FABACEjE, Lindl.)

In the analysis of the genera of this order made by Dr.
Lindley, the distinctions upon which the principal divisions
(Loteo? and Video?) are founded consist in the cotyledons ris-
ing above,ror remaining beneath the ground during germina-
tion. To determine, however, which of these two conditions
obtains, is frequently rendered very difficult from the rarity
of specimens, or from their not being met with during the ear-
lier stages of development ; I have therefore been induced to
construct the following table, without reference to the above-
mentioned divisional characters adopted by Dr. Lindley.

The British genera of Leguminosw are contained within
the Linnaean division Diadelphia Decandria.

Stamens monadelphous &

Stamens diadelphous ,..M

A f Calyx 2-lipped B.

(Calyx equal C.

j, (Calyx with the upper lip entire Cytisus.

( Calyx with the upper lip divided D.

£ ( Calyx inflated, 5-toothed, tubular Anthyllis.

\ Calyx close, 5 -cleft, campanulate Ononis.

y. f Calyx, upper lip with 3, lower lip with 2 teeth Ulex.

' (Calyx, upper lip 2-parted, lower lip 3-toothed Genista.

B.

4

» (Leaves with tendrils B.

( Leaves without tendrils F.

R ( Calyx with 5 foliaceous segments Pisum.

°' (Calyx 5-toothed D.

c ( Style curved, ilat, villous in front Lathgrus.

' ( Style not curved, or at right angles with the ovary .. E.
y. ( Style villous at the upper side, fruit many-seeded... Vicia.
(Style smooth, fruit 2- or 4 -seeded Ervum.

j, j Leaves termite F.

(Leaves pinnate or absent K.

Vol. III.— No. 28. n. s. t

182 ON THE ARTIFICIAL ARRANGEMENT

-p (Flowers in loose racemes Melilotus.

\ Flowers in heads or dense spikes G.

p ( Stipules ovate, leafy, pod apterous Lotus.

( Stipules pointed, often awned H.

•n- (Legumes falcate or spiral Medicago.

( Legumes straight I*

-r (Legumes few-seeded Trifolium.

{Legumes many-seeded Trigonella.

■tr ( Leaves pinnate with an odd leaflet L.

(Leaves abruptly pinnate or terminating in a seta....Orobus.

•r (Legumes 2-celled M.

( Legumes many-celled N.

•»*■ (Carina obtuse Astragalus.

' (Carina ending in an exserted point Qpytropis.

*t (Flowers yellow Hippocrepis.

' ( Flowers red, white, or rose-coloured 0.

q ( Stem prostrate, pod with several joints and seeds.... Ornithopus.
(Stem erect, pod with 1 joint and 1 seed Onobrychis.

VMBELLIFEBM.

{APIACEM, Lindl.)

The sub -divisions of this arrangement of the umbelliferous
genera are those originally formed by DeCandolle, and which
are also adopted in Lindley's ' Synopsis ; ' but the characters
on which the "tribes" of the latter author are founded, name-
ly, the primary and secondary ridges of the fruit, have not
been employed, as from their minuteness in many cases, it
frequently becomes difficult to determine the relative situa-
tions which they occupy.

The plants of this very natural assemblage are comprehend-
ed in the Linnaean group Pentandria Digynia.

Sub-divisions.

Fruit with the face flat f

Fruit with the face rolled inwards at the edges, forming a longi-
tudinal furrow f f

Fruit with the face curved inwards from base to apex f f f

, ( Umbels simple, fascicled, or capitate, terminal .. JK
* (Umbels compound, terminal or lateral IS

a*

» (Fruit smooth ; laterally compressed Hydrocotyle.

( Fruit rough with scales or prickles ; roundish B.

g J Flowers in dense heads upon a scaly receptacle Eryngium.

* (Flowers in close umbels; fruit with hooked prickles Sanicula.

OF NATURAL ORDERS OF BRITISH PLANTS. 183

(Fruit compressed laterally B.

( Fruit either rounded, or compressed dorsally N.

(Calyx leafy, 5-toethed Cicuta.

(Calyx obsolete or nearly so C.

(Plants dioecious Trinia.

(Plants hermaphrodite D.

(Leaves simple, undivided Bupleurum.

(Leaves compound, pinnate or divided E.

p ( Fruit crowned with the persistent styles F.

(Fruit not crowned with the styles H.

(Styles straight Conopodium.

(Styles reflexed G.

-, ( Umbels without any involucre Pimpinella.

' (Partial involucre present Slum.

A.
15.
C.
D.

F.

H.

( Fruit apparently single I.

(Fruit apparently double M.

T ( Rays of the umbel not exceeding 4 or 5 Sison.

( Rays of the umbel numerous K.

K.

M.

0.

R.

X.

(Petals ovate, entire Helosciadium,

(Petals inversely cordate, emarginate L.

j ( Channels with single vittce ; leaflets linear Carum.

( Channels without vittce ; leaflets ovate JEgopodium,

(Involucra absent Apium.

(Involucra present Petroselinum,

N ( Fruit taper, or but slightly compressed O.

" ( Fruit much compressed at the back X.

(Ridges of the fruit prickly Daucus.

(Ridges of the fruit not prickly P.

p ( Fruit crowned with the persistent styles Q.

( Fruit not crowned with the styles R.

n ( Styles straight CEnanthe.

u' (Styles reflexed... Seseli.

( Involucra both absent... Fceniculum.

(Partial involucre present S.

^ f Partial involucre 3-leaved, pendulous JEthusa.

( Partial involucre many-leaved T.

T ( Seeds unattached in the dried pericarp ; lvs. fleshy. Crithmum.

' \ Seeds attached in the pericarp ; leaves not fleshy... U.
TJ ( Petals acute at both ends ; leaflets finely divided ...Meum.

(Petals obovate, emarginate W.

w f Leaflets nearly rhomboid, serrated ; flowers white... Ligusticum.
' \ Leaflets linear, not serrated ; flowers yellowish Silaus.

( Fruit flattened, with a thick knotted margin CC .

( Fruit flattened, winged, wings not knotted Y.

Y ( Fruit with a double wing on each side BB.

' (Fruit dilated into a single wing on each side Z.

y ( Ridges of fruit equi-distant, channels with 1-3 vittce. Peucedanum.

' ( Two lateral ridges remote, channels with single vittce. AA.

184 ARRANGEMENT OF BRITISH PLANTS.

a a | Vittte filiform, involucella absent or few-leaved Pastinaca.

( Vittce clavate, involueella many-leaved Heracleum.

j>t> (Calyx 5-toothed, seeds with many vittee Archangelica.

' (Calyx obsolete, channels with single vittce Angelica.

pp ( Channels with single filiform vittce Tordylium.

' (Channels each with 3 vittce Condylocarpus

tt

* ( Fruit armed with prickles B.

( Fruit smooth, or nearly so D.

t» (Fruit beaked Anthriscus.

( Fruit not beaked C.

p ( Fr. with about 4 rows of prickles ; rays of umbel 3..Caucalis.
( Fr. covered with prickles; rays of urab. exceeding 4.Torilis.

j. (Umbels without involucra Smyrnium.

' (Umbels with at least a partial involucre E.

p ( Fruit laterally compressed, linear F.

' ( Fruit laterally compressed, ovate I.

-p (Fruit beaked Scandix.

' ( Fruit beakless H.

tt ( Fruit with blunt ridges ; pericarp solid Chcerophyllum

' (Fruit with acute ridges; pericarp hollow Myrrhis.

T ( Partial involucre 3-lvd. halved ; ridges of fr. crenate. Conium.
( Partial involucre many-lvd. ridges fine or depressed. K.

tt- (Flowers monoecious Echinophora.

' (Flowers hermaphrodite Physospermum

ttt
Fruit globose, partial involucre halved Coriandrum.

The last-named genus is here enumerated as indigenous to
this country, although it is still a matter of doubt whether it
ought to be ranked as such ; but the numerous and wild lo-
calities in which it has been found, together with its frequent
abundance, tend considerably to strengthen the opinion of its
being so.

(To be continued.)

Art. IX. — Observations on the Rodentia, with a view to point out
the groups as indicated by the structure of the Crania, in this Or-
der of Mammals. By G. R. Waterhouse, Esq., Curator to the
Zoological Society, Vice-Pres. of the Entomological Society.
( Continued from page 96).

Family II. — Myoxioe.
Dentition. — Incisors laterally compressed. Molares -Jf,
unequal in size, rooted; the series on each side of each jaw
widely separated and parallel.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA.

185

(a) Skull of Oraphiurus Capensis, seen from above,
ramus of lower jaw of Myoxus avellanarius, (inner side,
beneath.

(ft) the same, seen laterally. (c)
{d) skull of the same seen from

Skull. — Without any post-orbital process to the temporal
bone ; zygomatic process of maxillary bone consisting of a
broad thin plate, the base of which occupies the whole space
between the plane of the palate and that of the upper sur-
face of the skull : this plate perforated by a tolerably large
ant-orbital foramen. Palatine portions of intermaxillary,
maxillary, and palate bones (in Myoxus avellanarius1) on the
same plane. Incisive foramina long and narrow, situated
partially in the intermaxillary and partially in the maxillary
bones; palatine process of the maxillary terminating opposite
the penultimate molar, and followed by a narrow palatine pro-
cess of the palate bone. In the palato-maxillary suture are
two large foramina, and there are two large' posterior palatal
foramina, one on each side, near the inner margin of the last
molar. Glenoid cavity somewhat contracted.

Lower jaw with the descending ramus forming a quadrate
process, which is sometimes perforated. The lower posterior
angle of this process is incurved, and either angular or round-
ed and the upper posterior angle is acute and twisted outwards.

The drawings of the skulls of Myoxus glis, and Graphiu-
rus Capensis, which illustrate M. F. Cuvier's paper in the
' Nouvelles Ajmales du Mus.' vol. i., together with some skulls

1 I have not had an opportunity of examining the palate in the skulls of
any other species of this family.

186

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA,

ofMyoxus avellanarius, now before me, enable me to give the
above characters of the present family.

The general form of the skull of the Myoxidce is interme-
diate between that of the Sciuridce and the Muridce ; the in-
ter-orbital portion is more contracted than in the Sciuridce,
and the nasal bones are proportionately narrower and more
elongated. The species of the present family are readily dis-
tinguished from the Sciuridce by the want of a post-orbital
process and the larger size of the ant-orbital foramen, which,
instead of being placed far forward and low down, is situated
in the thin plate which forms the zygomatic process of the
maxillary bone.

The larger size of the ant-orbital foramen and the imper-
fect state of the palatine process of the palate-bone, lead us
to the Jerboas {Dipus), where the form of the jaw bears a re-
markable resemblance to that of Myoxus, as will be seen.

The genera Myoxus and Graphiurus contain all the spe-
cies I am acquainted with belonging to the Myoxid®.

Family III. — G-ERBOiDiE.

or

Dentition. — Incisors laterally compressed, muiaio T
-§-§-) rooted and unequal in size ; the series on each side of
each jaw parallel and widely separated.

(a) Skull of Dipus hirtipes, seen from above. (6) the same seen laterally. (c) skull of

Dipus sEgyptius, seen from beneath {d) ramus of lower jaw of ditto, inner side.

Skull. — Palatine portions of the intermaxillary, maxillary,
and palatine bones on the same plane, or nearly so. Inci-

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA. 187

sive foramina rather large, long and narrow, situated partly
in the intermaxillaries and partly in the maxillary bones. —
Orbits large, extending far back, and leaving but a narrow
passage for the temporal muscle. Ant-orbital foramen very
large. The arch which incloses the ant-orbital foramen, and
separates this from the orbit, is formed by two bones, the su-
perior maxillary bone and the malar, the latter running pa-
rallel with the former, and articulating with the lachrymal
bone. The maxillary bone may be described as throwing
out two processes, one superior and one inferior, which unite
to form an arch. The superior process is thrown out from
the plane of the upper surface of the skull, and the inferior is
directed outwards from the plane of the palate, and is bifur-
cate, one portion being carried upwards to join the superior
process and form the arch, and the other portion, directed
backwards beneath the malar bone, assists in the formation of
the zygoma. Zygomatic arches slender and curved down-
wards, so that their lower boundary is below the level of the
palate, the hinder portion of the zygoma is horizontally com-
pressed. The glenoid cavity somewhat contracted and ob-
lique in its position, being directed forwards and inwards from
the root of the zygomatic process of the temporal bone, and
extending upon the sphenoid. Palatine process of palate
bone continuing the plane of the palate beyond the line of
the last molars. The inter-parietal bone is large and nearly
of a semicircular form.

Lower jaw with the coronoid process rather small, the con-
dyloid curved inwards : the descending ramus (or posterior
coronoid process, according to Carus) is somewhat quadrate
and perforated, angular in Dipus, and has the lower and pos-
terior portion somewhat rounded in Alactaga. The symphy-
sis menti is of but small extent.

My materials for drawing up the characters of the present
group are very limited : skulls of Dipus Mgyptius, and two
or three figures, are all I have at my command. M. F. Cu-
vier (in his ' Memoire sur les Gerboises,' &c. * ) has figured
the skull of a species of Dipus and that of an Alactaga, and
in both the descending ramus of the lower jaw is perforated.

The skulls of the species of Dipus are remarkable for the
somewhat oblique direction of the glenoid cavity of the tem-
poral bone, and for the great developement of the auditory
bullce, which encroach upon and contract the occipital por-
tion of the cranium. A narrow band of the squamous por-
tion of the temporal bone is extended backwards over the

1 See ' Transactions of the Zoological Society,' Vol. ii. pi. 24.

188 APPLICATION OF PHOTOGENIC DRAWING

auditory bulla, and joins a similar band which forms part of
the supra-occipital bone. In the genus Alactaga the audito-
ry bullae are comparatively small, and the peculiar bands just
described do not appear to exist.

In the form of the lower jaw the genus Dipus very closely
resembles Myoxus, especially My. avellanarius ; in both the
descending ramus is perforated, and in Myoxus as in Dipus
the glenoid cavity of the temporal bone is oblique, though in
a less marked degree. On the other hand we find a conside-
rable resemblance, in the palate and its foramina, between
the animals of the present family and those of the genus Ger-
billus.

The genera Dipus, Alactaga, and Meriones belong to the
present family ; I must observe however that the Dipus Ca-
nadensis, (which constitutes the genus Meriones, according
to most of the later writers), presents a form of skull which,
in many respects, is intermediate between the jerboas and
the dormice {Myoxidce). Comparing the lower jaw of Dipus
JEgyptius with that of Myoxus avellanarius, we perceive
that the coronoid process is proportionately larger in the lat-
ter ; in this respect the Meriones Canadensis agrees with the
dormouse ; it also approaches more nearly to the last-men-
tioned animal in the comparatively small extent of the pala-
tine portion of the palate bone. In the size of the ant-orbital
foramen, the Mer. Canadensis is intermediate between the
two animals with which we are comparing it. This foramen
being larger than in Myoxus, and smaller than in Dipus. In
Mer. Canadensis, as in the jerboas, the portion of the zygo-
matic process of the maxilla which forms the lower boundary
of the ant-orbital passage is thrown out from the plane of the
palate. The incisive foramina are larger in Mer. Canaden-
sis than in Myoxus avellanarius, thus agreeing with Dipus.

(To be continued.)

Art. X. — Observations on the application of Heliographic or Pho-
togenic Drawing to Botanical Purposes ; with an account of an
economic mode of preparing the Paper : in a Letter to the Editor
of the * Magazine of Natural History.' By Golding Bird,
M.D., F.L.S., &c.

Sir,

The mode of fixing the images of the camera
obscura, and copying engravings, by means of the chemical
action of light on paper prepared with a solution of chloride of

TO BOTANICAL TURPOSES. 189

silver, has attracted so much notice, and produced so much
popular excitement, that a few observations on this interest-
ing process will not perhaps be considered out of place in
your Magazine. I venture to occupy your pages with the
less reluctance, because I feel that the application of this he-
liographic or photogenic art will be of immense service to the
botanist, by enabling him to procure beautiful outline draw-
ings of many plants, with a degree of accuracy which, other-
wise, he could not hope to obtain.

That light will act on chloride of silver is by no means
a novel discovery, and paper prepared with it was long ago
used by Ritter and Wollaston, in testing the chemical action
of the rays of the solar spectrum ; still, in this country it was
not, I believe, applied to any purpose likely to be of use to
the naturalist and traveller, until brought into notice by the
researches of Mr. Talbot. It is not a little amusing to ob-
serve how many pretenders to the discovery have started up.
since the announcement of Mr. Talbot's discovery, and that
of M. Daguerre in France. The latter gentleman has, through
M. Arago, at a late meeting of the French Institute, announ-
ced his mode of preparing a sensitive paper, far exceeding
that of Mr. Talbot in delicacy, but otherwise possessing the
same property of indicating intensity of light by depth of
colour, and consequently differing from that marvellous pre-
paration which he is said to possess, and which represents
shadows by depth of colour, precisely as in nature.

M. Daguerre prepares his heliographic paper by immersing
a sheet of thin paper in hydrochloric ether, which has been
kept sufficiently long to be acid ; the paper is then carefully
and completely dried, as this is stated to be essential to its
proper preparation. The paper is next dipped into a solu-
tion of nitrate of silver, (the degree of concentration of which
is not mentioned), and dried without artificial heat in a room
from which every ray of light is carefully excluded. By this
process it acquires a very remarkable facility in being black-
ened on a very slight exposure to light, even when the latter
is by no means intense, indeed by the diffused daylight of
early evening in the month of February. This prepared pa-
per rapidly loses its extreme sensitiveness to light, and finally
becomes not more readily acted upon by the solar beams than
paper dipped in nitrate of silver only. M. Daguerre renders
his drawings permanent by dipping them in water, so as to
dissolve all the undecomposed salt of silver.

This process is very inconvenient, for many reasons, among
which are the difficulty of procuring, as well as the expense
of, hydrochloric ether : on this account I prefer Mr. Talbot's

Vol. III.— No. 28. n. s. u

190 APPLICATION OF PHOTOGENIC DRAWING

process, although it is to be regretted that this gentleman has
not stated more explicitly the proportions in which he uses
the ingredients employed in the preparation of his sensitive
paper. I have performed a set of experiments on this sub-
ject, and can recommend the following proportions as the
most effective and economical. 200 grains of common salt
are to be dissolved in a pint of water, and sheets of thin blue
wove post paper saturated with the solution, which, for this
purpose, should be poured into a dish, and, the paper being
immersed, the application of the solution to every part should
be ensured by the use of a sponge. The paper is then to be
removed, drained of its superfluous moisture, and nearly dried
by pressure between folds of linen or bibulous paper.

240 grains of fused nitrate of silver are then to be dissolved
in 12 fluid ounces of water, and this solution is to be applied
by means of a sponge to one side of each sheet of the previ-
ously prepared paper, which side should be marked with a
pencil, so that when the paper is fit for use the prepared side
may be distinguished. The sheets of paper are then to be
hung upon lines in a dark room to dry, and when nearly free
from moisture, their marked sides are to be once more sponged
over with the solution of silver, and finally dried ; they are
then to be cut into pieces of convenient size, and preserved
from light, or even too much exposure to air, by being wrap-
ped up in several folds of brown paper, and kept in a portfolio.

The proportions above recommended are sufficient for the
preparation of a quire of the kind of paper alluded to ; if
more of the salt of silver were used, the paper would indeed
become darker by the action of light, but its expense would
be proportionally increased : and when prepared in the man-
ner directed, it assumes, by less than a minute's exposure to
the rays of the sun, a rich mulberry brown tint, of sufficient
intensity to define an outline very beautifully, which indeed
is all that is required.

To use this paper, the specimen of which a drawing is re-
quired, is removed from the herbarium, placed on a piece of
the paper, and kept in situ by a pane of common glass press-
ed by weights : a piece of plate glass, however, is preferable,
as it is sufficiently heavy to press the plant close to the pa-
per. The whole is then placed in the sunshine, and in less
than a minute all the uncovered parts of the paper will as-
sume a rich brown tint. The paper should then be removed
from the direct influence of the sun, and placed in a book un-
til the drawing be rendered permanent: the specimen, quite
uninjured by the process, may then be replaced in the herba-
rium, and the drawing of another be taken, and so on. So

TO BOTANICAL PURPOSES. 191

rapidly is this process executed, that twenty-five or thirty
drawings may be obtained in an hour, providing we are fa-
voured with a direct sun-beam ; if, however, we have only the
diffused day-light, five or ten minutes, and sometimes even
more, are required to produce a drawing with well-defined
outlines.

If drawings of recent plants be required, specimens of pro-
per size should be cut, and if not too rigid, placed on a piece
of the paper, and kept in a proper position by means of a pane
of glass, as in the case of dried specimens ; but if the plant
be rigid, the specimens should be placed for twenty-four
hours between folds of blotting-paper, under a heavy weight,
before placing them on the sensitive paper.

Having obtained as many drawings as are required, the
next thing is to fix them, so that their otherwise evanescent
character may not deprive them of their value. For this pur-
pose place them in a dish, and pour cold water over them ;
allow them to soak for ten minutes, and then transfer them to,
or sponge them over with, a solution, made by dissolving an
ounce of common salt in half a pint of water, to which half a
fluid ounce of the tincture of the sesqui-chloride of iron has
been added. The drawings thus prepared may be dried by
pressure between folds of linen, and exposure to the air ; and
may then be examined without danger. On looking at them
every one must be struck with the extreme accuracy with
which every scale, nay, every projecting hair, is preserved on
the paper ; the character and habit of the plant is most beau-
tifully delineated, and if the leaves be not too opake, the
venation is most exquisitely represented ; (this is particularly
the case with the more delicate ferns, as Polypodium Dryop-
teris). Among those classes of plants which appear to be
more fitted than others for representation by this process, may
be ranked the ferns, grasses, and umbelliferous plants ; the
photogenic drawings of the former, are indeed of exquisite
beauty.

The fact of the object being white on a brown ground
does not affect the utility of this mode of making botanic
drawings ; indeed, I almost fancy that their character is bet-
ter preserved by this contrast of tint, than by a coloured out-
line on a white ground. Every one will be fully aware of the
value of this process to the botanist, in obtaining drawings of
rare plants preserved in the herbaria of others, and which he
would otherwise have probably no means of obtaining.

If the drawing of a tree or large shrub be required, a box,
blackened inside, having a hole at one end about 1 J inch in
diameter, must be provided ; in this hole should be placed a

192 EDITORIAL ARTICLE.

lens of 5 or 6 inches focus ; if one of longer focus be used,
the dispersion of light becomes too great to ensure an accurate
representation. When the tree or shrub is well illuminated
by the solar beams, the lens should be presented towards it,
at a distance varying of course with the height of the object.
A piece of card-board should then be placed in the box, a
little beyond the true focus of the lens, and the former moved
until a well-defined bright image of the tree &c. is formed on
the card, of course in an inverted direction. The box is then
to be placed on any convenient support in this position, and
a piece of the prepared paper fixed on the card, the lid of the
box is then to be closed, and the whole left for half an hour,
at the end of which time a beautifully accurate outline of the
object will be found on the paper, which is then to be render-
ed permanent in the usual manner. It is obvious that this
plan is unavailable on a windy day, on account of the branch-
es of the tree &c. being continually moving, so that it is of
far less use to the botanist than the above described process
for obtaining drawings of small specimens.

Various other applications of this paper will suggest them-
selves to the minds of naturalists, but having far exceeded my
intended limits, I conclude by subscribing myself,

Yours very faithfully,
Golding Bird, M.D.
22, Wilmington Square,

March 25th, 1839.

magazine of natural history.

APEIL, 1839.

The Memoir of Madame Power upon the Paper Nautilus and the ce-
phalopodous animal as yet its only known occupant, originally published
in the Proceedings of the Academy of Catania, is concluded in our pre-
sent number : and to those who feel at all curious upon the subject, the
history of this lady's researches will furnish matter of extreme interest.
To us it appears that the observations of Madame Power, in connection
with evidence subsequently drawn from materials in her possession, all
but demonstrate the relation between the poulp and the argonaut-shell,
to be one of necessity and not of convenience. At all events, this long-dis-
puted question will henceforward hold a position very different to that
which it has for a long period occupied ; for it will hardly now be assert-

EDITORIAL ARTICLE. 193

ed that the arguments for and against the parasitic hypothesis are equally
balanced. We admit that in some particulars Madame Power's descrip-
tive details are open to objection, as being sometimes evidently inaccurate ;
but this, to a great extent, may be explained as a consequence re-
sulting from her want of physiological knowledge, and partly from a very
natural wish on her part not to appear ignorant of things which she sup-
posed every body knew. Fortunately it happens that some of the more
important facts bearing upon the question at issue, although originating
in the researches of this lady, do not rest upon her individual testimony
as the sole authority for their existence. M. Sander Rang has fully con-
firmed all that she has stated of the manner in which the poulp applies
its palmated or sail-arms to the keel and sides of the shell ; and Profes-
sor Owen, at a recent meeting of the Zoological Society, communi-
cated the result of his own observations upon the materials placed at his
disposal by Madame Power. In a series of ova exhibiting various stages
of developement, he found in those most advanced the contained embryo
having the distinction of body and head established ; the pigment of the
eyes, the ink in the ink-bladder, the pigmental spots on the skin were dis-
tinctly apparent ; the siphon, the beak, and the arms were also discrimi-
nated by a low microscopic power ; but no trace of the shell. Now Ma-
dame Power has uniformly asserted that the young poulp is excluded naked
from the egg, although fully cognisant of Poli's belief that he had de-
tected the embryo-shell within the ovum ; and the result of Prof. Owen's
examination is therefore strong presumptive evidence in favor of her
statement. With respect to the supposed exception among the testace-
ous Mollusca which the young of the poulp would form, (granting the
condition of its naked exclusion from the egg), and the consequent infe-
rence which might be drawn in favor of the parasitic theory, Mr. Owen
observed that the mode of the development of the ova of Mollusca has not
been investigated even to the amount of one per cent., so that the data
are far too imperfect for arriving at even a general law respecting the
existence of the shell within the ovum, and much less one so precise as
almost to prohibit the possibility of a cephalopod that is born naked se-
creting a shell some days afterwards. The collection of argonauts with
the respective animals brought by Madame Power on her present visit to
this country, consists of twenty specimens in all stages of growth. In
every case Mr. Owen found that the position of the cephalopod with re-
spect to the shell corresponded to that in the pearly nautilus; in the
young specimens the body of the cephalopod was exactly adapted to the
whole cavity of the shell, but was withdrawn from the apex in those of a
larger size, and the deserted place filled with the mucous secretion or ova

194 EDITORIAL ARTICLE.

of the animal. The argonaut-shells which had been perforated or frac-
tured hy Madame Power, and subsequently repaired whilst in her posses-
sion, went very far towards convincing us that the two kinds of repairing
material which we have described on a former occasion1 are deposited by
one and the same mollusc, being merely different stages of a continued
secretive process. Perhaps, however, the most convincing argument put
forward by Mr. Owen, is this. The young cephalopod grows rapidly,
and a uniform correspondence is found between its size and that of the
shell which it inhabits; consequently, upon the parasitic hypothesis, the
young Ocythoe must be engaged in waging continual warfare with the
hypothetical true constructors of the argonaut shell, and the number of
these hypothetical true constructors must infinitely exceed the number
of the hypothetical parasitic occupiers; now from the abundance in
which Madame Power has procured cephalopods and shells, the hypo-
thetical true constructors ought to swarm in the port of Messina, and yet
this great desideratum in the science of Malacology has not only evaded
her observation, but the observation of all other collectors who have ex-
plored the coasts of the Mediterranean.

The entire summary of Mr. Murchison's researches upon the group of
ancient fossiliferous rocks, to which he has applied the term " Silurian
System," has appeared in two quarto volumes, accompanied by a splendid
suite of maps and illustrations. Altogether we think this work must be
regarded as the most important memoir, of a purely geological character,
that has ever appeared in this, or perhaps any other country. Nothing
but the high reputation with which Mr. Murchison's name must always
be associated wherever Geology is known as a science, in connection with
the " Silurian System," can in any way recompense him for the labour it
must have cost in its production. We make this casual allusion to the
appearance of the work, reserving for another occasion a more extended
notice of its contents.

The Report by Mr. De la Beche on the Geology of Devon, and criti-
cal notices of many other geological works acknowledged on our wrap-
per, and with which our library table is almost covered, are, from the
pressure of original articles, postponed for the present.

A work has beeD published within the last few days, entitled ' Proceed-
ings of the Botanical Society of London, from July, 1836, to November,
1838.' We imagine that the majority of metropolitan botanists would
feel somewhat indignant if the condition of botanical science in the ca-
pital of Britain were to be, in any way, tested by the contents of this vo-

' Mag. Nat. Hist.' n. s. vol. i. page 528.

EDITORIAL ARTICLE. 195

lume. The anxiety of the Council to see their own names, or the name
of the Society, in print, has overreached their discretion, or they certainly
would have avoided a public record of their proceedings, so long as the
reading of articles from foreign journals, in lieu of original papers, occu-
pied the business of their monthly meetings. Belonging to the Society in
question, we feel at liberty thus to express our sentiments, because we
think the volume, taken as a whole, is not creditable to the Society, and
calculated rather to keep it in the rear, instead of contributing to place
it on a level with other bodies of a kindred nature. The plant allied to
Nympheea, and transmitted to this country from Guana by Schomburgh,
is figured and described under the name Victoria Regina, Schomburgh,
though in the ' Magazine of Zoology and Botany,' vol ii. page 440, it is
published as Victoria Regina, Gray. The Society, it appears, has adopt-
ed this plant as its emblem, the Queen having, in accordance with the
wish of its discoverer, granted permission for the use of her name to de-
signate the genus. Should Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria
have the curiosity to look at the description of this Royal plant, what
must be her astonishment, if the elements of Botany and the rudiments of
Latin have formed a part of Her Majesty's education, to find that under
the sanction of the Botanical Society of London, or at any rate that of
the Council, this said Royal plant, Victoria Regina, is characterised as
having "foliis orbiculatis, supra reticulato areolatis utrinque glabro; nervis
venisque subtus prominentis aculeatis"

Messrs. Doubleday and Foster have been welcomed on their return
from America, with a dinner by their entomological friends, principally
intended as a public acknowledgment for the time and expense devoted
by these two gentleman to the advancement of science, and the liberal
manner in which they intend to dispose of the rich collection formed dur-
ing their travels.1 On this occasion the uniform cordiality and kindness
they had experienced among American naturalists, was spoken of in the
warmest terms of grateful recollection.

It will be seen by a notice on the second page of the wrapper, that
with the May number of this Magazine a supplementary part, containing
plates will be issued. The introduction of Memoirs illustrated by plates
constitutes a new feature in the publication of this journal, and one to
which we respectfully invite the attention and support of our subscribers.
We have long considered the limiting the illustrations to wood-cuts a

1 It is understood that the collection will be distributed among the pub-
lic cabinets of the metropolis.

196 LIMNORIA TEREBRANS IN PLYMOUTH HARBOUR.

drawback to the Magazine, not only from its excluding certain papers
which would otherwise gain insertion, but by its preventing the work
from taking that rank in scientific literature to which the number and
character of its contributors fairly entitle it. We have thought it better
to publish the plates in a separate form, rather than to make an altera-
tion in the price of the Magazine, intending the purchase of the supple-
ment, (after the issue of the first number), to be quite optional with the
subscribers. It is proposed to publish about three of these supplementary
parts in the course of a twelvemonth, and not in any way to reduce the
number of woodcuts in the body of the Magazine.

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS.

Limnoria terebrans in Plymouth Harbour. — In my paper on
the Teredo and Limnoria (vol. ii. n. s. page 206) I stated that
I had submitted Kyanized wood to the test of the action of
the Limnoria; accordingly on the 12th of January, 1838, I
placed the following pieces of wood on the piles of the Pitch-
House Jetty, in Plymouth Dock- Yard, at low water ; a piece
of American deal, 4 inches by 10^ thick; also a piece of si-
milar dimensions, which had been soaked for two months in
a saturated solution of arsenic ; and two others which had
been prepared with Kyan's solution, by W. Evans, Esq., the
agent of the patentee in this town. On the 12th of the fol-
lowing August, the pieces having all been under water for
seven months, were taken up by some of the dock-yard men
in presence of Mr. Churchward and myself, and they are now
in my possession. It was found that the protected pieces
had all been acted on, though not to quite so great an extent
as the plain piece of deal ; but the specimens were dotted
with Balani and Flustrce, and all contained living Limnoria,
and it was evident that, though retarded, the destruction of
the wood would, in a few months more, have been equally as
certain as where none of the above preparations had been
employed.

It appears to me highly improbable that any protection can
be afforded in cases of this kind, from the employment of so-
luble substances ; for in the instance of the solution of oxide
of arsenic, or of the bi-chloride of mercury (corrosive subli-
mate), which Kyan's solution is known to be, it is evident that
any additional quantity of fluid coming in contact with it,
will dilute it, or re-dissolve any of the salt which might have
been deposited in the pores of the wood, by drying ; the con-

TONES FATUI. — WHITE-HEADED EAGLE. 197

tinual washing of the sea will effectually clear the surface of
the wood of any deleterious matter ; and although the fore-
most depredators may perish in making a lodgement in the
interior, yet myriads are ready to supply their places, and to
maintain the ground already gained, while the continued ac-
tion of the water will tend to assist them in their efforts :
hence I am of opinion that we have not discovered in Kyan's
solution a certain remedy against the destruction of wooden
erections in any of the estuaries around our island.

Since the publication of my paper the Lords of the Admi-
ralty have ordered the flooring of the south building-slip in
this dock-yard to be removed, and replaced with stone.

I have just learned that two arches of the wooden bridge
at Teignmouth have fallen down, in consequence of the piers
having been destroyed by the Teredo ; so that we have here
found another locality for that animal. — Edward Moore,
M.D.— Plymouth, Sept. 20th, 1838.

Ignes fatui. — The existence of this meteor, which I have
endeavoured to confirm in your journal against the doubts of
a correspondent, derives additional support from a statement
communicated in Poggendorf s 'Annalen,' No. 6, 1838, p. 366,
by Prof. Bessel, who made his observations in a perfectly
calm and misty December night. The phenomenon consist-
ed in numerous little flames, which originated over ground in
many places covered with stagnant water, and disappeared,
after having shone forth a short time. The colour of these
flames was somewhat bluish, like that of the impure hydro-
gen generated from iron filings and dilute sulphuric acid. —
The observation was made on one of the large moors in the
Duchy of Bremen, at the distance of a few leagues from the
observatory of Lilienthal. On the ground where the ignes
fatui were seen, much peat had been dug out, and the surface
is consequently uneven. There were hundreds of lights, each
of which lasted about a quarter of a minute. They would of-
ten remain in the same place, but often also move horizon-
tally ; great numbers of them were commonly put into motion
together. These movements were, no doubt, effected by cur-
rents of air, which were not perceived at the place where
Prof. Bessel was. It will be perceived that in every essen-
tial particular the observation agrees with that communicated
by me. — W. Weissenborn. — Weimar, Jan. 20th, 1839.

Curious capture of a White-headed Eagle. —In the mena-
gery at the Pfaueninsel, near Potsdam, there is a white-head-
ed eagle (Falco albicilla), which was caught in the following
curious manner. It was seen to pounce upon a sturgeon in
the river Havel, but the fish was too heavy to be lifted into

Vol. III.— No. 28. n. s. x

198 EAGLE CAPTURED AT SWAFFHAM. — THE BAT.

the air by the biid, though not strong enough to draw the
latter, which struggled with its wings, under the water. —
Thus the fish rushed along on the surface, the two animals
looking much like a boat with the sails spread, until both
were secured by some people who went after them in a boat.
— Id.

Capture of an Eagle at Swaffham. — About the end of De-
cember last a large eagle was observed on Beachamwell war-
ren, about three miles from Swaffham, where it made great
destruction among the rabbits. The warreners tried every
scheme to entrap it, but without success ; as it would not
come down to a bait. On the 5th instant one of the keepers
of John Motteux, Esq., saw it fly into a plantation adjoining
the warren, and by sending a person to the farther side, it
was frightened towards him, when he got a shot at it and
killed it. It proved to be the white-tailed or cinereous eagle
(Falco albicilla, Linn.), weighing lO^lbs., and measuring be-
tween the tips of the wings 7 ft. 5 inches ; it was a male bird,
but not in the adult plumage, the general colour being light
brown, and the tail feathers not perfectly white. I have pre-
served it in my collection of British birds, and on skinning it
found it a complete mass of fat.

There was a pair of the long-tailed duck {Anas glacialis,
Linn.) killed in the beginning of February, in the neighbour-
hood of Lynn, but I was not fortunate enough to get them.
Two pairs of the red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator,
Linn.) were shot about the same time. — Henry Dugmore, Rec-
tor of Pensthorp. — Swaffham, March 12th, 1839.

Early appearance of the common Bat. — I have, the last
two years, observed an unusually early appearance of the com-
mon bat (Vespertilio pipistrellus). On the 6th of March,
1838, at 1 o'clock, P.M., it being a bright, warm, sunny day,
I observed one of these animals flitting about in search of food,
in a garden at Poole, in Dorsetshire ; and although it fre-
quently flew to a considerable distance, it returned again and
again to the same locality, and I continued watching it for a
considerable period. On the following day a similar circum-
stance occurred iii another garden at Poole. This year I have
observed a still earlier appearance of this little animal, viz.,
an the 23rd of February. I was riding on that day from
Brading to Ryde, in the Isle of Wight, at about half-past 5,
P.M. The weather was warm and serene, and the light of
the moon was succeeding to that of the sun, which had lately
set, when I observed a bat hovering about precisely as in a
summer evening. Before arriving at Ryde I saw two more of

THE SWIFT. — IMPROVEMENT IN THE MICROSCOPE. 199

these little creatures, but have not observed any since that
date.— T. Bell Salter.— Ryde, March 15th, 1839.

Note on the Hirundinidce. — On Wednesday, July the 25th,
1838, about a mile from Blackburn, I saw an immense multi-
tude of swifts {Cypselus Apus) ; there were several himdreds
of them : the locality was a print- work and a factory, turned
by a water-wheel, a large lodge of water, and several streams,
close by the river Darwen ; this is always a favourite haunt
of the whole of the swallow tribe, and they are generally met
with there in great numbers, but so large an assemblage of
swifts I never saw before, for of late years there have been
very few of them. Could they, at that early period be pre-
paring for their annual migration ?

On Friday, October 19th, 1838, I saw three swallows ho-
vering in the streets of Blackburn ; they were busy hawking
for flies, were strong on the wing, and apparently adult birds.
— John Skaife. — Blackburn, Oct. 2\st, 1838.

Improvements in the Microscope. — In the ' Magazine of
Natural History' for June, 1838, page 345, was inserted a no-
tice of improvements in the microscope, made by myself. I
have now to inform you of an additional improvement for
equalizing the light, and of a facility in adjusting the focus,
which now scarcely leaves anything to be wished, in the use
of this most invaluable instrument of research in its improved
state.

To equalize the light, I have mounted upon the top of my
graduating tube, an exceedingly finely greyed plate of glass,
and by this means produce the effect, so very desirable, of a
cloud. I thus entirely get rid of the unpleasant glare and
glitter produced by the use of a candle or lamp. The greying
effect was produced on the surface of the glass plate by the
employment of emery, which was suspended in water half a
minute, and was thus levigated in a very high degree indeed.

The adjustment of the focus, so highly necessary to accom-
pany every change in the position of an object, 1 now effect
as follows. I have before stated that Mr. Andrew Ross had
effected the minute adjustment of the focus, by a fine screw
with a milled head. Now, this milled head is placed upon
the top of the stem of the microscope, and I had only to bring
the left hand into use, instead of letting it lie idle as usual,
and to employ it to turn the milled screw-head ; and I thus
at once constantly effected the minute adjustment of the focus
with every change in the position of the object.

I hardly need expatiate upon this great advantage in the
use of the microscope. The right hand is fully employed in
effecting the crossing motions of the stage ; and thus both

200 INSECTS IN SPONGILLA FLUVIATILIS.

hands are most usefully engaged : indeed, after fifty years of
constant use of the microscope, I can truly say that it is only
now that I am perfectly satisfied in the employment of that
instrument. — Thomas Gill. — 125, Strand, March 23rd, 1839.

Anomalous Insect found in Spongilla Jluviatilis. — At the
meeting of the Entomological Society held on the 3rd of De-
cember, 1838, Mr. Westwood read the description of a minute
and anomalous species of insect recently discovered as the in-
habitant of the Spongilla Jluviatilis. These little insects are
scarcely more than one eighth of an inch long, and of a pale
green colour, with six moderately long legs, having, at first
sight, much of the appearance of Aphides. They are, how-
ever, apterous, and of a very peculiar structure, so that not
only is the family doubtful to which they belong, but even
the order and class. The antenna are about half the length
of the body and very slender, and the mouth consists of four
naked seta, exceedingly delicate, porrected, and equalling
the antenna in length ; they arise in pairs at a short distance
apart, and are not inclosed in any sheath, like the setce of
Hemiptera. The body is clothed with numerous long hairs,
and each of the abdominal segments is furnished at the sides
with a pair of long, flattened, articulated filaments, somewhat
like those of the larva of Sialis lutaria, which are evidently
organs of respiration, and are kept in constant agitation in
their watery abode. Mr. Westwood is doubtful whether, not-
withstanding several of their characters, these insects ought
not to be regarded as having arrived at their full growth, as
they possess certain points of resemblance with the perma-
nently apterous Coccida and Aphida, whilst there is no tribe
or family of insects of which they can be regarded as the lar-
va, (except perhaps the anomalous genus Acentropus, that
has been regarded by Stephens as Neuropterous, Curtis as
Trichopterous, and Westwood as Lepidopterous, and of which
the larva is unknown).

Mr. Hogg, F.L.S., by whom these insects were discovered,
during a series of minute investigations upon the Spongilla,
has arrived at the conclusion that the motions of these in-
sects, and the undulations which they produce in the water,
have been mistaken by Laurenti and others for movements of
the sponge itself, and which they have accordingly regarded
as affording proofs of the animality of that substance.

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY.

MAY, 1839.

Art. I. — Extracts from the Proceedings of the Geological Society
of London, relating to the supposed Mammiferous Remains of the
Stonesfield Oolitic Strata. '

" Nov. 21, 1838.— A paper was first read J On the jaws of the Thylacothe-
rium Prevostii (Valenciennes) from Stonesfield,' by Richard Owen, Esq.,
F.G.S., Hunterian Professor, Royal College of Surgeons.

" Doubts having been recently expressed by M. de Blainville, from in-
spection of casts, respecting the mammiferous nature of the fossil jaws found
at Stonesfield, and assigned to the Marsupialia by Baron Cuvier, Mr. Owen
brought the paper before the Society to meet the objections, and to give a
detailed account of the fossils from a careful inspection of the originals. —
In this communication, however, he confined his description chiefly to the
jaws of one of the two genera which have been discovered at Stonesfield,
and characterised by having eleven molars in each ramus of the lower jaw,
reserving to a future occasion an account of the remains of the other genus.

" Mr. Owen commences by observing that the scientific world possesses
ample experience of the truth and tact with which the illustrious Cuvier
formed his judgments of the affinities of an extinct animal from the in-
spection of a fossil fragment ; and that it is only when so distinguished a
comparative anatomist as M. de Blainville questions the determinations,
that it becomes the duty of those who possess the means, to investigate the
nature of the doubts, and reassure the confidence of geologists in their
great guide.

" When Cuvier first hastily examined at Oxford, in 1818, one of the
jaws described in this paper, in the possession of Dr. Buckland, he decided
that it was allied to the Didelphys, (me semblerent de quelque didelphe2) ;
and when doubts were raised by M. Constant Prevost, in 18243, relative to
the age of the Stonesfield slate, Cuvier, from an examination of a drawing
made for the express purpose, was confirmed in his former determination ;
but he added, that the jaw differs from that of all known carnivorous Mam-
malia, in having ten molars in a series in the lower jaw: "il [the drawing]
me confirme dans l'idee que la premiere inspection m'en avoit donnee. —

1 For other papers upon this subject by M.M. De Blainville and Valen-
ciennes, see ' Mag. Nat. Hist.' vol. ii. n. s., p. 639, and vol. iii. pp. 1 & 49.
2'Ossemens Foss.' tome iii. p. 349.

3'Annales des Sciences Nat.' Avril, 1825 ; also the papers of Mr. Bro-
derip and Dr. Fitton in the Zoological Journal, 1828, vol. iii. p. 409.

Vol. III.— No. 29. n. s. y

202 FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD.

C'est celle d'un petit carna,ssier dont les machelieres ressemblent beaucoup
a celles des sarigues ; mais il y a dix de ces dents en serie, nombre que ne
montre aucun carnassier connu." (Oss. Foss. 111. 349. note). It is to be
regretted that the particular data, with the exception of the number of
the teeth, on which Cuvier based his opinion, were not detailed; but he
must have been well aware that the grounds of his belief would be obvious,
on an inspection of the fossil, to every competent anatomist : it is also to
be regretted that he did not assign to the fossil a generic name, and thereby
have prevented much of the reasoning founded on the supposition that he
considered it to have belonged to a true Didelphys.

" Mr. Owen then proceeded to describe the structure of the jaw ; and he
stated that having had in his possession two specimens of the Thylacothe-
rium Prevostii, belonging to Dr. Buckland, he has no hesitation in declar-
ing that their condition is such as to enable any anatomist, conversant with
the established generalizations in comparative osteology, to pronounce there-
from not only the class, but the more restricted group of animals to which
they have belonged. The specimens plainly reveal, first, a convex articular
condyle; secondly, a well-defined impression of what was once a broad, thin,
high, and slightly recurved, triangular, coronoid process, rising immediate-
ly anterior to the condyle, having its basis extended over the whole of the
interspace between the condyle and the commencement of the molar series,
and having a vertical diameter equal to that of the horizontal ramus of the
jaw itself: this impression also exhibits traces of the ridge leading forwards
from the condyle and the depression above it, which characterises the coro-
noid process of the zoophagous marsupials; thirdly, the angle of the jaw is
continued to the same extent below the condyle as the coronoid process
reaches above it, and its apex is continued backwards in the form of a pro-
cess ; fourthly, the parts above described form one continuous portion with
the horizontal ramus of the jaw, neither the articular condyle nor the coro-
noid being distinct pieces, as in reptiles. These are the characters, Mr.
Owen believes, on which Cuvier formed his opinion of the nature of the fos-
sil ; and they have arrested the attention of M. Valenciennes, in his endea-
vours to dissipate the doubts of M. de Blainville.1

" From the examination of a cast the latter, however, has been induced
to infer that there is no trace of a convex condyle, but in place thereof an
articular fissure, somewhat as in the jaws of fishes; that the teeth, instead
of being imbedded in sockets, have their fangs confluent with or anchylosed
to the substance of the jaws, and that the jaw itself presents evident traces
of the composite structure.

" In answer to the first of these positions, Mr. Owen states that the por-
tion of the true condyle which remains in both the specimens of Thylaco-
therium examined by Cuvier and M. Valenciennes, clearly shows that the
condyle was convex, and not concave. It is situated a little above the le-
vel of the grinding surface of the teeth, and projects beyond the vertical
line dropped from the extremity of the coronoid process, but not to the
same extent as in the true Didelphys. In the specimen examined by M.
Valenciennes, the condyle corresponds in position with that of the jaw of
the Dasyurus rather than the Didelphys ; it is convex, as in mammiferous
animals, and not concave as in oviparous. The entire convex condyle ex-
ists in the specimen belonging to the other genus, Phascolotherium, now in
the British Museum, but formerly in the cabinet of Mr. Broderip. Mr.
Owen is of opinion that the entering angle or notch, either above or below

i 'Comptes Rendus,' 1838; Second Semestre, No. 11, Sept. 10, p. 527 et

FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD. 203

the true articular condyle, has been mistaken for " une sorte d'echancrure
articulaire, un peu comme dans les poissons."

" The specimen of the half-jaw of the thylacothere examined by M. Va-
lenciennes, like that which was transmitted to Cuvier, presents the inner
surface to the observer, and exhibits both the orifice of the dental canal and
the symphysis in a perfect state. The foramen in the fossil is situated re-
latively more forward than in the recent opossum and dasyiire, or in the
placental Insectivora, but has the same place as in the marsupial genus
Hypsiprymnus. The symphysis is long and narrow, and is continued for-
ward in the same line with the gently convex inferior margin of the jaw,
which thus tapers gradually to a pointed anterior extremity, precisely as in
the marsupial Insectivora. In the relative length of the symphysis, its form
and position, the jaw of the Thylacotherium precisely corresponds with that
of the Didelphys.

" In addition, however, to these proofs of the mammiferous nature of the
Stonesfield remains, and in part of their having belonged to Marsupialia,
Mr. Owen stated that the jaws exhibit a character hitherto unnoticed by
the able anatomists who have written respecting them, but which, if co-ex-
istent with a convex condyle, would serve to prove the marsupial nature of
a fossil, though all the teeth were wanting.

" In recent marsupials the angle of the jaw is elongated and bent inwards
in the form of a process, varying in shape and development in different
genera. In looking, therefore, directly upon the inferior margin of the
marsupial jaw, we see, in place of the edge of a vertical plate of bone, a
more or less flattened triangular surface or plate of bone extended between
the external ridge and the internal process or inflected angle. In the opos-
sum this process is triangular and trihedral, and directed inwards with the
point slightly curved upwards and extended backwards, in which direction
it is more produced in the small than in the large species of Didelphys.

" Now, if the process from the angle of the jaw in the Stonesfield fossil
had been simply continued backwards, it would have resembled the jaw of
an ordinary placental carnivorous or insectivorous mammal ; but in both
specimens of Thylacotherium, the half-jaws of which exhibit their inner or
mesial surfaces, this process presents a fractured outline, evidently proving
that when entire it must have been produced inwards or mesially, as in the
opossum.

" Mr. Owen then described in great detail the structure of the teeth, and
showed, in reply to M. de Blainville's second objection, that they are not
confluent with the jaw, but are separated from it at their base by a layer of
matter of a distinct colour from the teeth or the jaw, but evidently of the
same nature as the matrix ; and secondly, that the teeth cannot be consider-
ed as presenting an uniform, compressed, tricuspid structure, and being all
of one kind, as M. de Blainville states, but must be divided into two series
as regards their composition. Five, if not six, of the posterior teeth are
quinque-cuspidate, and are molares veri ; some of the molares spurii are
tricuspid and some bicuspid, as in the opossums. An interesting result of
this examination is the observation that the five cusps of the tuberculate
molars are not arranged, as had been supposed, in the same line, but in two
pairs placed transversely to the axis of the jaw, with the fifth cusp anterior,
exactly as in the Didelphys, and totally different from the structure of the
molars in any of the Phocce, to which these very small Mammalia have been
compared : and in reference to this comparison, Mr. Owen again calls at-
tention to the value of the character of the process continued from the an-
gle of the jaw, in the fossils, as strongly contradistinguishing them from the
Phocidce, in none of the species of which is the angle of the jaw so produ-
ced. The Thylacotherium differs from the genus Didelphys in the greater

"204 FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD.

number of its molars, and from every ferine quadruped known at the time
when Cuvier formed his opinion respecting the nature of the fossil. This
difference in the number of the molar teeth, which Cuvier urged as evidence
of the generic distinction of the Stonesfield mammiferous fossils, has since
been regarded as one of the proofs of their saurian nature ; but the excep-
tions by excess to the number seven, assigned by M. de Blainville to the
molar teeth in each ramus of the lower jaw of the insectivorous Mammalia,
are well established aud have been long known. The insectivorous chryso-
chlore, in the order Feres, has eight molars in each ramus of the lower jaw;
the insectivorous armadillos have not fewer ; and in one subgenus (Priodon)
there are more than twenty molar teeth on each side of the lower jaw. The
dental formula of the carnivorous Cetacea, again, demonstrate the fallacy of
the argument against the mammiferous character of the Thylacotherium
founded upon the number of its molar teeth. From the occurrence of the
above exceptions in recent placental Mammalia, the example of alike excess
in the number of molar teeth in the marsupial fossil ought rather to have led
to the expectation of the discovery of a similar case among existing marsu-
pials; and such an addition to our zoological catalogues has, in fact, been
recently made. In the Australian quadruped described by Mr. Waterhouse
under the name of Myrmecobius, an approximation towards the dentition
of the Thylacotherium is exemplified, not only in the number of the molar
teeth, which is nine on each side of the lower jaw in the Myrmecobius, but
also in their relative size, structure, and disposition. Lastly, with respect to
the dentition, Mr. Owen says it must be obvious to all who inspect the fossil,
and compare it with the jaw of a small Didelphys, that contrary to the asser-
tion of M. de Blainville, the teeth and their fangs are arranged with as much
regularity in one as in the other, and that no argument of the saurian na-
ture of the fossil can be founded on this part of its structure.

" With respect to M. de Blainville's assertion that the jaw is compound,
Mr. Owen stated, that the indication of this structure near the lower mar-
gin of the jaw of the Thylacotherium is not a true suture, but a vascular
groove, similar to that which characterises the lower jaw of Didelphys, opos-
sum, and some of the large species of Sorex."

" Dec. 9, 1838. — A paper on the Phascolotherium, being the second part
of the " Description of the remains of marsupial Mammalia, from the
Stonesfield slate," by Richard Owen, Esq., F.G.S., was read.

" Mr. Owen first gave a brief summary of the characters of the Thylaco-
therium, described in the first part of the memoir, and which he conceives
fully prove the mammiferous nature of that fossil. He stated that the re-
mains of the split condyles in the specimen demonstrate their original con-
vex form, which is diametrically opposite to that which characterises the
same part in all reptiles and all ovipara ; — that the size, figure and position
of the coronoid process are such as were never yet witnessed in any except
a zoophagous mammal endowed with a temporal muscle sufficiently deve-
loped to demand so extensive an attachment for working a powerful carni-
vorous jaw; — that the teeth, composed of dense ivory, with crowns covered
with a thick coat of enamel, are everywhere distinct from the substance of
the jaw, but have two fangs deeply embedded in it;— that these teeth, which
belong to the molar series, are of two kinds; the hinder being bristled with
five cusps, four of which are placed in pairs transversely across the crown of
the teeth, and the anterior or false molars, having a different form, and on-
ly two or three cusps — characters never yet found united in the teeth of any
other than a zoophagous mammiferous quadruped ; — that the general form
of the jaw corresponds with the preceding more essential indications of its
mammiferous nature. Fully impressed with the value of these characters,
as determining the class to which the fossils belonged, Mr. Owen stated

FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD. 205

that lie had sought in the next place for secondary characters which might
reveal the group of Mammalia to which the remains could be assigned, and he
had found in the modification of the angle of the jaw, combined with the form,
structure, and proportions of the teeth, sufficient evidence to induce him to
believe that the Thylacotherium was a marsupial quadruped.

"Mr. Owen then recapitulated the objections against the mammiferous
nature of the thylacotherian jaws, from their supposed imperfect state, and
repeated his former assertion, that they are in a condition to allow of these
characters being fully ascertained : he next reviewed, first, the differences
of opinion with respect to the actual structure of the jaw ; and secondly, to
the interpretation of admitted appearances.

"1. As respects the structure. — It has been asserted that the jaws must
belong to cold-blooded Vertebrata, because the articular surface is in the
form of an entering angle ; to which Mr. Owen replies that the articular
surface is supported on a convex condyle, which is met with in no other
class of Vertebrata except in the Mammalia. Again, it is asserted that the
teeth are all of an uniform structure, as in certain reptiles ; but, on refe-
rence to the fossils, Mr. Owen states it will be found that such is not the
case, and that the actual difference in the structure of the teeth strongly
supports the mammiferous theory of the fossils.

"2. With respect to the argument founded on an interpretation of struc-
ture which really exists, the author showed that the Thylacotherium having
eleven molars on each side of the lower jaw, is no objection to its mammi-
ferous nature, because among the placental Carnivora, the Canis Megalotis
has constantly one more grinder on each side of the lower jaw than the usual
number ; because the Chrysochlore among the Insectivora has also eight in-
stead of seven molars in each ramus of the lower jaw; and the Myrmeco-
bius, among the Marsupialia, has nine molars on each side of the lower jaw ;
and because some of the insectivorous armadillos and zoophagous Cetacea
offer still more numerous and reptile-like teeth, with all the true and essen-
tial characters of the mammiferous class. The objection to the false mo-
lars having two fangs Mr. Owen showed was futile, as the greater number
of the spurious molars in every genus of the placental Ferce have two fangs,
and the whole of them in the Marsupialia. If the ascending ramus in the
Stonesfield jaws had been absent, and with it the evidence of their mam-
miferous nature afforded by the condyloid, coronoid and angular processes,
Mr. Owen stated that he conceived the teeth alone would have given suffi-
cient proof, especially in their double fangs, that the fossils do belong to
the highest class of animals.

" In reply to the objections founded on the double fangs of the Basilo-
saurusy Mr. Owen said that the characters of that fossil not having been
fully given, it is doubtful to what class the animal belonged ; and, in an-
swer to the opinion that certain sharks have double fangs, he explained that
the widely bifurcate basis supporting the tooth of the shark, is no part of
the actual tooth, but true bone and ossified parts of the jaw itself, to which
the tooth is anchylosed at one part, and the ligaments of connexion attach-
ed at the other. The form, depth and position of the sockets of the teeth
in the Thylacotherium are precisely similar to those in the small opossums.
The colour of the fossils, Mr. Owen said, could be no objection to those
acquainted with the diversity in this respect, which obtains in the fossil re-
mains of Mammalia. Lastly, with respect to the Thylacotherium, the au-
thor stated that the only trace of compound structure is a mere vascular
groove running along its lower margin, and that a similar structure is pre-
sent in the corresponding part of the lower jaw of some species of opossum,
of the wombat, of the Balcena antarctica, and of the Myrmecobius, though
the groove does not reach so far forward in this animal ; and that a similar

206 FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD.

groove is present near the lower margin, but on the outer side of the jaw,
in the Sorex Indicus.

" Description of the half jaw of the Phascolotherium. — This fossil is a
right ramus of the lower jaw, having its internal or mesial surface exposed.
It once formed the chief ornament of the private collection of Mr. Broderip,
by whom it has since been liberally presented to the British Museum. It
was described by Mr. Broderip in the 'Zoological Journal,' and its distinc-
tion from the Thylacotherium clearly pointed out. The condyle of the jaw
' is entire, standing in bold relief, and presents the same form and degree of
convexity as in the genera Didelphys and Dasyurus. In its being on a le-
vel with the molar teeth, it corresponds with the marsupial genera Dasyu-
rus and Thylacynus, as well as with the placental Zoophaga. The general
form and proportions of the coronoid process closely resemble those in zo-
ophagous marsupials ; but in the depth and form of the entering notch be-
tween the process and the condyle, it corresponds most closely with the
Thylacynus. Judging from the fractured surface of the inwardly reflected
angle, that part had an extended oblique base, similar to the inflected an-
gle of the Thylacynus. In the Phascolotherium, the flattened inferior sur-
face of the jaw, external to the fractured inflected angle, inclines outwards
at an obtuse angle with the plane of the ascending ramus, and not at an
acute angle, as in the Thylacyne and Dasyurus ; but this difference is not
one which approximates the fossil in question to any of the placental Zoo-
phaga : on the contrary, it is in the marsupial genus Phascolomys where a
precisely similar relation of the inferior flattened base to the elevated plate
of the ascending ramus of the jaw is manifested. In the position of the
dental foramen, the phascolothere, like the thylacothere, differs from all
zoophagous marsupials and the placental Ferm ; but in the Hypsiprymnus
and Phascolomys, marsupial Herbivora, the orifice of the dental canal is si-
tuated, as in the Stonesfield fossils, very near the vertical line dropped from
the last molar teeth. The form of the symphysis, in the Phascolotherium,
cannot be truly determined ; but Mr*. Owen is of opinion that it resembles
the symphysis of the Didelphys more than that of the Dasyurus or Thylacynus.

" Mr. Owen agrees with Mr. Broderip in assigning four incisors to each
ramus of the lower jaw of the Phascolotherium, as in the Didelphys; but in
their scattered arrangement they resemble the incisors of the Myrmecobius.
In the relative extent of the alveolar ridge occupied by the grinders, and in
the proportions of the grinders to each other, especially the small size of the
hindermost molar, the Phascolotherium resembles the Myrmecobius more
than it does the opossum, Dasyurus, or Thylacynus ; but in the form of the
crown, the molars of the fossil resemble the Thylacynus more closely than
any other genus of marsupials. In the number of the grinders the Phasco-
lotherium resembles the opossum and Thylacynus, having four true and
three false in each maxillary ramus ; but the molares veri of the fossil differ
from those of the opossum and Thylacotherium in wanting a pointed tuber-
cle on the inner side of the middle large tubercle, and in the same trans-
verse line with it, the place being occupied by a ridge which extends along
the inner side of the base of the crown of the true molars, and projects be-
yond the anterior and posterior smaller cusps, giving the quinquecuspid
appearance to the crown of the tooth. This ridge, which, in Phascolothe-
rium, represents the inner cusps of the true molars in Didelphys and Thy-
lacotherium, is wanting in Thylacynus, in which the true molars are more
simple than in Phascolotherium, though hardly less distinguishable from the
false molars. In the second true molar of Phascolotherium, the internal
ridge is also obsolete at the base of the middle cusp, and this tooth presents
a close resemblance to the corresponding tooth in Thylacynus ; but in the
Thylacynus the two posterior molars increase in size, while in Phascolothe-

FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD. 207

Hum they progressively diminish, as in the Myrtnecobius. As the outer sides
of the grinders in the jaw of the Phascolotherium are imbedded in the ma-
trix, we cannot he sure that there is not a smaller cuspidated ridge sloping
down towards that side, as in the crowns of the teeth of the Myrtnecobius.
But, assuming that all the cusps of the teeth of the Phascolotherium are
exhibited in the fossil, still the crowns of these teeth resemble those of the
Thy lacy nus more than they do those of any placental Insectivora or Phoca,
if even the form of the jaw permitted a comparison of it with that of any of
the seal tribe. Connecting then the close resemblance which the molars of
the Phascolotherium bear to those of the Thylacynus with the similarities of
the ascending ramus of the jaw, Mr. Owen is of opinion that the Stonesfield
fossil was nearly allied to Thylacynus, and that its position in the marsupial
series is between Thylacynus and Didelphys. With respect to the supposed
compound structure of the jaw of the Phascolotherium, Mr. Owen is of
opinion that of the two linear impressions which have been mistaken for
harmonics or toothless sutures, one, a faint, shallow, linear impression, con-
tinued from between the antepenultimate and penultimate molars obliquely
downwards and backwards, to the foramen of the dental artery, is due to
the pressure of a small artery, and that the author possesses the jaw of a
Didelphys Virginiana, which exhibits a similar groove in the same place. —
Moreover, this groove in the Phascolotherium does not occupy the same re-
lative position as any of the contiguous margins of the opercular and den-
tary pieces of a reptile's jaw. The other impression in the jaw of the Phas-
colotherium is a deep groove, continued from the anterior extremity of the
fractured base of the inflected angle, obliquely downwards to the broken
surface of the anterior part of the jaw. Whether this line be due to a vas-
cular impression, or an accidental fracture, is doubtful; but as the lower
jaw of the wombat presents an impression in the precisely corresponding si-
tuation, and which is undoubtedly due to the presence of an artery, Mr.
Owen conceives that this impression is also natural in the Phascolotherium,
but equally unconnected with a compound structure of the jaw; for there
is not any suture in the compound jaw of a reptile which occupies a corre-
sponding situation.

" The most numerous, the most characteristic, and the best marked su-
tures in the compound jaws of a reptile, are those which define the limits
of the coronoid, articular, angular, and surangular pieces, and which are
chiefly conspicuous on the inner side of the posterior part of the jaw. Now
the corresponding surface of the jaw of the Phascolotherium is entire, yet
the smallest traces of sutures, or of any indication that the coronoid or ar-
ticular processes were distinct pieces, cannot be detected ; these processes
are clearly and indisputably continuous, and confluent with the rest of the
ramus of the jaw. So that where sutures ought to be visible, if the jaw of
the Phascolotherium were composite, there are none ; and the hypothetical
sutures that are apparent, do not agree in position with any of the real su-
tures of an oviparous compound jaw.

"Lastly, with reference to the philosophy of pronouncing judgment^ on
the saurian nature of the Stonesfield fossils, from the appearance of sutures,
Mr. Owen offered one remark, the justness of which, he said, would be obvi-
ous alike to those who were, and to those who were not, conversant with
comparative anatomy. The accumulative evidence of the true nature of
the Stonesfield fossils, afforded by the shape of the condyle, coronoid pro-
cess, angle of the jaw, different kinds of teeth, shape of their crowns, double
fangs, implantation in sockets, — the appearance, he repeated, presented by
these important particulars cannot be due to accident ; while those which
favour the evidence of the compound structure of the jaw, may arise from
accidental circumstances."

208 FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD.

" A paper was afterwards read, entitled ' Observations on the structure
and relations of the presumed marsupial remains from the Stonesfield
oolite,' by William Ogilby, Esq., F.G.S.

" These observations are intended by the author to embody only the most
prominent characters of the fossils, and those essential points of structure in
which they are necessarily related to the class of mammifers or of reptiles
respectively. For the sake of putting the several points clearly and impar-
tially, he arranged his observations under the two following heads : —

" 1 . The relations of agreement which subsist between the fossils in ques-
tion and the corresponding bones of recent marsupials and Insectivora.

"2. The characters in which the fossils differ from those families. Mr.
Ogilby confined his remarks to Marsupialia and Insectivora, because it is
to those families only of mammifers that the fossils have been considered by
anatomists to belong ; and to the interior surface of the jaw, as the exterior
is not exhibited in any of the fossil specimens.

"1. In the general outline of the jaws, more especially in that of the
Didelphys (Phascolotherium) Bucklandii, the author states there is a very
close resemblance to the jaw in recent Insectivora and insectivorous marsu-
pials ; but he observes that with respect to the uniform curvature along the
inferior margin, Cuvier has adduced the same structure as distinctive of the
monitors, iguanas, and other true saurian reptiles; so that whatever support
these modifications of structure may give to the question respecting the
marsupial nature of the Stonesfield fossils, as compared with other groups
of mammals, they do not affect the previous question of their mammiferous
nature, as compared with reptiles and fishes. The fossil jaws, Mr. Ogilby
says, agree with those of mammals, and differ from those of all recent rep-
tiles, in not being prolonged backward behind the articulating condyle ; a
character in conjunction with the former relation, which would be, in the
author's opinion, well nigh incontrovertible, if it were absolutely exclusive:
but the extinct saurians, the Pterodactyles, Ichthyosauri, and Plesiosauri,
cotemporaries of the Stonesfield fossils, differ from their recent congeners
in this respect, and agree with mammals. Mr. Ogilby is of opinion that
the condyle is round both in Did. Prevostii and Did. Bucklandii, and is
therefore a very strong point in favour of the mammiferous nature of the
jaws. The angular process, he says, is distinct in one specimen of Did.
Prevostii, and, though broken off in the other, has left a well-defined im-
pression ; but that it agrees in position with the Insectivora, and not the
Marsupialia, being situated in the plane passing through the coronoid pro-
cess and the ramus of the jaw. In the Did. Bucklandii, he conceives, the
process is entirely wanting ; but that there is a slight longitudinal ridge,
partially broken, which might be mistaken for it, though placed at a consi-
derable distance up the jaw, or nearly on a level with the condyle, and not
at the inferior angular rim of the jaw. He is therefore of opinion that the
Did. Bucklandii cannot be properly associated with either the marsupial or
insectivorous mammals. The composition of the teeth, he conceives, can-
not be advanced successfully against the mammiferous nature of the fossils,
because animal matter preponderates over mineral in the teeth of the great
majority of the insectivorous Cheiroptera, as well as in those of the Myrme-
cobius, and other small marsupials. In the jaw of the Did. Prevostii Mr.
Ogilby cannot perceive any appearance of a dentary canal, the fangs of the
teeth, in his opinion, almost reaching the inferior margin of the jaw, and
being implanted completely in the bone ; but in the Did. Bucklandii he
has observed, towards the anterior extremity of the jaw, a hollow space fill-
ed with foreign matter, and very like a dentary canal. The double fangs
of the teeth of Did. Prevostii, and probably of Did. Bucklandii, he says, are
strong points of agreement between the fossils and mammifers in general ;

FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD. 209

but that double roots necessarily indicate, not the mammiferous nature of
the animal, but the compound form of the crowns of the teeth.

" 2. With respect to the most prominent characters by which the Stones-
field fossils are distinguished from recent mammals of the insectivorous and
marsupial families, Mr. Ogilby mentioned, first, the position of the condyle,
which is placed, in the fossil jaws, in a line rather below the level of the
crowns of the teeth ; and he stated that the condyle not being* elevated above
the line in the Dasyurus Ur sinus and Thylacynus Harrisii, is not a valid
argument, because those marsupials are carnivorous. The second point
urged by the author against the opinion that the fossils belonged to insec-
tivorous or marsupial mammifers, is in the nature and arrangement of the
teeth. The number of the molars, he conceives, is a secondary considera-
tion ; but he is convinced that they cannot be separated in the fossil jaws
into true and false, as in Mammalia ; the great length of the fangs, equal
to at least three times the depth of the crowns, he conceives, is a strong
objection to the fossils being placed in that class, as it is a character alto-
gether peculiar and unexampled among mammals ; the form of the teeth
also, he stated, cannot be justly compared to that of any known species of
marsupial or insectivorous mammifer, being, in the author's opinion, simply
tricuspid, and without any appearance of interior lobes. As to the canines
and incisors, Mr. Ogilby said, that the tooth in D. Bucklandii, which has
been called a canine, is not larger than some of the presumed incisors, and
that all of them are so widely separated as to occupy full five-twelfths of
the entire dental line, whilst in the Dasyurus viverrinus, and other species
of insectivorous marsupials, they occupy one-fifth part of the same space.
Their being arranged longitudinally in the same line with the molars, he
conceives, is another objection, because, among all mammals, the incisors
occupy the front of the jaw, and stand at right angles to the line of the
molars. With respect to the supposed compound structure of the jaw, Mr.
Ogilby offered no formal opinion, but contented himself with, simply stat-
ing the appearances ; he, nevertheless, objected to the grooves being con-
sidered the impression of blood vessels, though he admitted that the form
of the jaws is altogether different from that of any known reptile or fish.

" From a due consideration of the whole of the evidence, Mr. Ogilby
stated, in conclusion, that the fossils present so many important and dis-
tinctive characters in common with mammals on the one hand, and cold-
blooded animals on the other, that he does not think naturalists are justi-
fied at present in pronouncing definitively to which class the fossils really
belong."

" A paper was afterwards read, entitled, " Observations on the Teeth of
the Zeuglodon, Basilosaurus of Dr. Harlan," by Richard Owen, Esq.,
F.G.S., Hunterian Professor in the Royal College"" of Surgeons, London.

" During the recent discussions respecting the Stonesfield fossil jaws,
one of the strongest arguments adduced and reiterated by M. de Blainville
and others in support of their saurian nature, was founded on the presumed
existence in America of a fossil reptile possessing teeth with double fangs,
and called by Dr. Harlan, the Basilosaurus. To the validity of this argu-
ment, Mr. Owen refused to assent, until the teeth of the American fossil
had been subjected to a re-examination with an especial view to their al-
leged mode of implantation in the jaw; and until they had been submitted
to the test of the microscopic investigation of their intimate structure with
reference to the true affinities of the animal to which they belonged. The
recent arrival of Dr. Harlan in England with the fossils, and the permis-
sion which he has liberally granted Mr. Owen of having the necessary sec-
Vol. III.— No. 29. x. s. z

210 FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD.

tions made, have enabled him to determine the mammiferous nature of the
fossil.

" Among the parts of the Basilosaurus brought to England by Dr. Har-
lan, are two portions of bone belonging to the upper jaw ; the larger of
them contains three teeth ; the other, the sockets of two teeth. In the
larger specimen, the crowns of the teeth are more or less perfect, and they
are compressed and conical, but with an obtuse apex. The longitudinal
diameter of the middle, and most perfect one, is three inches, the transverse
diameter one inch two lines, and the height above the alveolar process two
inches and a half. The crown is transversely contracted in the middle,
giving its horizontal section an hour-glass form ; and the opposite wide
longitudinal grooves which produce this shape, becoming deeper as the
crown approaches the socket, at length meet and divide the root of the
tooth into two separate fangs. The two teeth in the fore part of the jaw
are smaller than the hinder tooth, and the anterior one appears to be of a
simpler structure.

"A worn-down tooth contained in another portion of jaw, Mr. Owen had
sliced, and it presented the same hour-glass form, the crown being divided
into two irregular, rounded lobes joined by a narrow isthmus or neck. The
anterior lobe is placed obliquely, but the posterior parallel with the axis of
the jaw. The isthmus increases in length as the tooth descends in the
socket until the isthmus finally disappears, and the two portions of the
tooth take on the character of separate fangs. It is evident that the pulp
was originally simple, but that it soon divided into two parts, from which
the growth of the ivory of the teeth proceeded as from two distinct centres,
now separately surrounded by concentric stria of growth, the exterior send-
ing an acute-angled process into the isthmus. The cavitas pulpi, which
is very small in the crown of the tooth, contracts as the crown descends, and
is almost obliterated near the extremity, proving that the teeth were deve-
loped from a. temporary pulp.

" The sockets in the anterior fragment of the upper jaw are indistinct
and filled with hard calcareous matter, but a transverse horizontal section
of the alveolar margin proves that these sockets are single, and that the
teeth lodged therein had single fangs. In the anterior socket, there is an
indication of the transverse median contraction, showing that this tooth
resembled in form, to a certain degree, the posterior tooth. A plaster cast
of a portion of the lower jaw afforded the only means of studying this part
of the fossil. It contains four teeth, of which the two posterior are nearly
contiguous, the next is at an interval of an inch and a half, and the most
anterior of two inches from the preceding. The last tooth is more simple
in form than those behind, and it has been described as a canine. This
fragment of the lower jaw thus confirms the evidence afforded by the frag-
ments of the upper jaw, that the teeth in the Basilosaurus were of two kinds,
the anterior being smaller and simpler in form, and further from each other
than those behind .

" Mr. Owen then proceeded to compare the Basilosaurus with those
animals which have their teeth lodged in distinct sockets ; as the Sphy-
rcena, and its congeners among fishes, the plesiosauroid and crocodi-
lean Sauria, and the class Mammalia ; but as there is no instance of
either fish or reptile having teeth implanted by two fangs in a double
socket, he commences his comparison of the Basilosaurus with those Mam-
malia which most nearly resemble the fossil in other respects. Among the
zoophagous Cetacea the teeth are always similar as to form and structure,
and are invariably implanted in the socket by a broad and simple basis,
and they never have two fangs. Among the herbivorous Cetacea however,
the structure, form, number and mode of implantation of the teeth differ

FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD. 211

considerably. In the manatee, the molars have two long and separate
fangs lodged in deep sockets, and the anterior teeth, when worn down, pre-
sent a form of the crown similar to that of the Basilosaurus, hut the oppo-
site indentations are not so deep ; and the entire grinding surface of the
molars of the manatee differs considerably from those of the Basilosaurus,
the anterior supporting two transverse conical ridges, and the posterior
three. The dugong resembles more nearly the fossil in its molar teeth ;
the anterior ones being smaller and simpler than the posterior, and the
complication of the latter being due to exactly the same kind of modifica-
tion as in the Basilosaurus, viz. a transverse constriction of the crown. The
posterior molar has its longitudinal diameter increased, and its transverse
section approaches to the hour-glass figure, produced by opposite grooves.
There is in this tooth also a tendency to the formation of a double fang,
and the establishment of two centres of radiation for the calcigerous tubes
of the ivory, but the double fang is probably never completed. The teeth
in the dugong moreover are not scattered as in the Basilosaurus.

" Mr. Owen then briefly compared the teeth of the fossil with those of
the Saurians, and stated that he had not found a single instance of agree-
ment in the Basilosaurus with the known dental peculiarities of that class.
From the Mosasaurus the teeth of the American fossil differ in being im-
planted freely in distinct sockets and not anchylosed to the substance of
the jaw ; from the Ichthyosaurus and all the lacertine Sauria in being im-
planted in distinct sockets, and not in a continuous groove ; from the Ple^
siosaurus and crocodilian reptiles from the fangs not being simple and ex-
panding as they descend, but double, diminishing in size as they sink in
the socket, and becoming consolidated by the progressive deposition of
dental substance from temporary pulp in progress of absorption. In the
Enaliosauria aud the Crocodilia, moreover, there are invariably two or
more germs of new teeth in different stages of formation close to or con-
tained within the cavity of the base of the protruded teeth ; but the Basi-
losaurus presents no trace of this characteristic saurian structure. From
the external characters only of the teeth, Mr. Owen therefore infers, that
the fossil was a mammifer of the cetaceous order, and intermediate to the
herbivorous and piscivorous sections of that order, as it now stands in the
Cuvierian system.

" In consequence however of the Basilosaurus having been regarded as
affording an exceptional example among reptiles of teeth having two fangs,
though contrary to all analogy, and as the other characters stated above,
may be considered by the same anatomists to be only exceptions, Mr. Owen
procured sections of the teeth for microscopic examination of their intimate
structure and for comparing it with that of the teeth of other animals.

" In the Sphyrcena and allied fossil fishes which are implanted in sockets,
the teeth are characterised by a continuation of medullary canals, arranged
in a beautifully reticulated manner, extending through the entire substance
of the tooth, and affording innumerable centres of radiation to extremely
fine calcigerous tubes.

" In the Ichthyosaurus and crocodile the pulp cavity is simple and cen-
tral, as in Mammalia, and the calcigerous tubuli radiate from this centre to
every part of the circumference of the tooth, to which they are generally at
right angles. The crown of the tooth in these saurians is covered with ena-
mel, while that part of the tooth which is in the alveolus is surrounded with
a thick layer of cortical substance. In the dolphins which have simple co-
nical teeth like the reptiles, the crown is also covered with enamel and the
base with camentum. But in the cachalot and dugong, the whole of the
teeth is covered with ccsmentum. In the dugong this external layer presents
the same characteristic radiated purkingian corpuscles or cells as in the cce-

212 FOSSIL JAWS FROM STONESFIELD.

mentum of the human teeth, and those of other animals ; but the ccementum
of the dugong differs from that of the pachyderms and ruminants in being
traversed by numerous caleigerous tubes, the corpuscles or cells being scat-
tered in the interstices of these tubes. Now the crowns of the teeth of the
Basilosaurus evidently exhibit in many parts a thin investing layer of a
substance distinct from the body or ivory of the tooth, and the microscopic
examination of a thin layer of this substance proves it to possess the same
characters as the ccementum of the crown of the tooth of the dugong. The
purkingian cells are, in some places, scattered irregularly, but in others are
arranged in parallel rows. The tubes radiating from the cells are wider
than usual at the commencement ; but soon divide and sub-divide, forming
rich reticulations in the interspaces, and communicating with the branches
of the parallel larger tubes. These are placed, as in the dugong, perpen-
dicular to the surface of the tooth, but they are less regularly arranged than
the caleigerous tubes of the ivory, with which, however, they form numerous
continuations. There is a greater proportion of ccementum in the isthmus
of the tooth than elsewhere ; and the worn-down crown of the tooth must
therefore have exhibited a complicated structure. The entire substance of
the ivory of the teeth consists of fine caleigerous tubes radiating from the
centres of the two lobes, without any intermixture of coarser medullary
tubes which characterize the teeth of the Iguanodon ; or the slightest trace
of the reticulated canal, which distinguish the texture of the teeth of the
Sphyrcena and its congeners. The caleigerous tubes undulate regularly,
and like those of the dugong, exhibit more plainly the primary dichotomous
bifurcations, and the subordinate lateral branches given off at acute angles :
they also communicate with numerous minute cells arranged in concentric
lines.

" Thus, the microscopic characters of the texture of the teeth of the great
Basilosaurus are strictly of a mammiferous nature ; and Mr. Owen further
showed that they differ from those of the fossil Edentata, which are also
surrounded by ccementum, in the absence of the coarse central ivory ; and
confirm the inference respecting the position of the fossil in the natural
system drawn from the external aspect of the teeth.

" Mr. Owen then adduced further proofs of the mammiferous and ceta-
ceous character of the Basilosau rus from the structure of the vertebrce, which
proves that the epiphyseal lamince were originally separated from the body
of the vertebrce, but were afterwards united to it. In the bodies of the
smaller vertebrce the epiphyses are wanting, and Mr. Owen agrees with Dr.
Harlan in inferring from the common occurrence of this condition, that
there were originally three separate points of ossification in the body of the
vertebrce ; a character never noticed in the vertebrce of saurians, but a most
prominent one in those of the Cetacea. Another argument in favour of the
mammiferous and cetaceous nature of the Basilosaurus is deduced from the
great capacity of the canal for the spinal chord, which in the Cetacea is
surrounded by an unusually thick plexiform stratum of both arteries and
veins. The cetaceous character is further manifested in the short antero-
posterior extent of the neurapophyses as compared with that of the body
of the vertebra ; in their regular concave posterior margin, and the deve-
lopment of the articular apophyses only from their anterior part : also in
the form and position of the transverse processes, which however present a
greater vertical thickness than in the true Cetacea, and approach in this
respect to the vertebrce of the dugong.

" With respect to the other bones of the Basilosaurus, Mr. Owen stated
that the ribs in their excentric laminated structure are peculiar, and unlike
those of any mammal or saurian. The hollow structure of the lower jaw
of the Basilosaurus, which has been advanced as a proof of its saurian

FL.1.

: our an. . tutu

<^2^--

BIOGRAPHY OF MR. WILLIAM SMITH. 213

nature, Mr. Owen showed occurs also in the lower jaw of the cachalot, and
is therefore equally good for the cetaceous character of the fossil.

"In the compressed shaft of the humerus, and its proportion to the ver-
tebra, the Basilosaurus again approximates to the true Cetacea, as much as
it recedes from the Enaliosaurians ; but in the expansion of the distal ex-
tremity and the form of the articular surface, this humerus stands alone ;
and no one can contemplate the comparative feebleness of this, the princi-
pal bone of the anterior extremity, without agreeing with Dr. Harlan, that
the tail must have been the main organ of locomotion.

"Mr. Owen, in compliance with the suggestion of Dr. Harlan, who, hav-
ing compared with Mr. Owen the microscopic structure of the teeth of the
Basilosaurus with those of the dugong and other. animals, admits the cor-
rectness of the inferences of its mammiferous nature, proposes to substitute
for the name of Basilosaurus that of Zeuglodon, suggested by the form of
the posterior molars, which resemble two teeth tied or yoked together."

Art. II. — Biographical Notice of William Smith, LL.D. By
John Phillips, Esq., F.R.S., Professor of Geology at King's
College, London, &c. &C.1

William Smith was bom on the 23rd of March, 1769, at
Churchill, in Oxfordshire, amidst the oolitic formations from
an investigation of which he was subsequently conducted to
geological discoveries of great importance. He inherited a
small patrimony, but his education and opportunities of ac-
quiring knowledge were very imperfect, till, at the age of
eighteen, he attached himself to the late Mr. Edward Webb,
of Stow-on-the-Wold, to learn the business of land-surveying.
Mr. Webb was a person of singular ability in his profession,
endowed with an original and vigorous intellect, and a sim-
ple and friendly disposition. In these features the pupil re-
sembled the master ; and in all his after life he has entertain-
ed the most grateful recollections of this early friend.

Mr. Webb's practice as a surveyor was extensive, and Mr.
Smith had opportunities of contrasting the lias and red marls
of Worcestershire with the ' stonebrash ' hills of Oxfordshire;
and the distinctions thus brought under his notice as early as
1789, were the germ of that systematic analysis of English
strata which he commenced in 1791.

In 1791 Mr. Smith was employed in surveying an estate at
Nether Stowey, in Somersetshire ; and from this time till 1799
he was continually occupied in the vicinity of Bath, as a land

1 For the Portrait accompanying this Memoir, see Sup. Plate No. 1.

z 3

214 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE

surveyor and civil engineer. In this latter profession, from
1793 till 1799, he was engaged in executing the Somerset
coal-canal. On descending the Somersetshire coal-pits, every
inquiring person would receive from the workmen the account
of the regular sequence of the strata below the 'red ground'
given by Mr. Strachey in the ' Philosophical Transactions '
for 1721 ; but Mr. Smith, guided by previous observations to-
ward a conclusion which perhaps was but dimly apparent to
himself, immediately demanded if the "strata were regular
above the red ground ? *? The answer was such as might be
expected from persons of merely local experience ; the work-
men declared that " there was nothing regular above the red
ground;" and Mr. Smith returned to the surface to .correct
this popular error. In the year 1791, he drew detailed sec-
tions of. the coal-measures pierced at High Littleton and
Timsbury, and represented the unconformity of the red mail
and lias above.

Familiarized from childhood with some of the organic re-
mains of the oolite, and acquainted with the lias and red marl
below, Mr. Smith saw in Somersetshire these strata overly-
ing the coal-measures, and having made detailed sections of
the coal strata, and collected organic remains from these va-
rious deposits, he found himself in possession of new and wide
generalizations, which it became the enjoyment and the la-
bour of his life to unfold.

" In the course of the two following years, while continu-
ing the duties of a surveyor and civil engineer, he became
gradually acquainted with all the minute facts of stratifica-
tion, in the country round Bath ; and for the purpose of bring-
ing to the test the inquiries suggested by his surveys in 1791,
he made two transverse sections along the lines of two paral-
lel valleys intersecting the oolitic group, (determining the ac-
tual elevation of these lines by levels referred to those of the
Somerset coal-canal) ; and ascertained that the several beds,
found in the high escarpments around Bath, were brought
down by an eastern dip, in regular succession, to the level of
his lines of section. During these two years Mr. Smith was
in the constant habit of making collections of fossils, with
strict indications of their localities ; and in completing the
details of his transverse sections, he found, where the beds
themselves were obscure, that he could, by organic remains
alone, determine the true order of succession. During this
period he also extended his surveys through the Cotteswold
hills, and became acquainted with the general facts of the
range of the oolitic escarpment towards the north of Eng-

OF MR. WILLIAM SMITH. 215

land." (Sedgwick, in 'Address to the Geological Society,'
1831).

Early in 1794 he attended Parliament on behalf of the So-
merset coal-canal company; and in his journey from Bath to
London observed the successive escarpments of the oolitic
formations and chalk hills. To this hour he relates with a
peculiar delight, the history of a long journey to the north of
England, with Mr. Palmer and Mr. Perkins, in August, 1794,
undertaken for the purpose of collecting information on ca-
nals and collieries. Seated foremost in the chaise, he ex-
plored every point of broken ground on two lines between
Bath and Newcastle-on-Tyne ; and, instructed by previous
knowledge, he interpreted rightly the contours of distant hills,
and thus traced the strata of Bath to the coast of Whitby,
and the chalk of the Wiltshire downs to the wolds of Lin-
colnshire and Yorkshire. Perhaps no more remarkable proof
of the boldness and sagacity with which he followed out the
principles he had established, can be given, than the fact that
this reconnoissance of the north of England, corrected in de-
tail by a multitude of minute considerations, regarding drain-
age, sites of population, and other circumstances almost un-
noticed except by himself, enabled Mr. Smith, in the year
1800, to colour a small map, in which the geological struc-
ture of the North of England is rightly united to that of the
south, and the range of the oolitic series in particular is re-
presented, in some places very correctly, and in all with a
considerable approach to accuracy.

At this period of his life Mr. Smith was utterly unacquaint-
ed with books treating of the natural history of the earth : he
had no other teacher than that acquired 'habit of observation'
which he has justly recommended to his followers. It is dif-
ficult in these days to conceive of such insulated and inde-
pendent research, as that into which the young philosopher
entered ; rumours at least of the progress of science now cir-
culate through the Cotteswold hills ; and it would be impos-
sible for the most reserved student to be wholly uninfluenced
by them. That Mr. Smith was so uninfluenced is a fact at-
tested by the very nomenclature which he created and esta-
blished in Geology. The 'combrash,' the 'forest marble,' the
' lias,' &c, form a system of names almost barbarous to ears
polite, but so firmly rooted in English Geology, as to consti-
tute a most durable monument of the sagacity and originality
of their author.

In 1795 Mr. Smith became a housekeeper, and immediately
began to arrange his collection of fossils from the vicinity of
Bath, in the order of the strata. His residence in the Cot-

216 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE

tage Crescent, near Bath, was favourable for this object ; and
before 1799 he had coloured geologically the large sheets of
the Somersetshire survey, and a circular map of the vicinity
of Bath. These are very accurate.

By maps and sections, and arranged collections of organic
remains, Mr. Smith endeavoured to explain to many scientific
persons those views regarding the regular succession and con-
tinuity of strata, and the definite distribution of animal and
vegetable forms in the earth, which are now the common pro-
perty of Geology. Among those who heard his explanations
at this early period, may be mentioned Dr. James Anderson,
of Edinburgh ; Mr. Davis, of Longleat ; the Rev. J. Towns-
end author of *■ Travels in Spain;' and the Rev. B. Richardson
of Farley.

The two last-named gentlemen were remarkably able to
appreciate the truth and novelty of such views, both from
their general attainments in Natural History, and their exact
knowledge of the country to which Mr. Smith directed their
attention. Both of them possessed large collections of orga-
nic remains, and both were astonished and incredulous when
their new friend, taking up one fossil after another, stated in-
stantly from what particular rock, and even bed of stone, or
clay, the specimens were derived. Nor were they less sur-
prised when, in the field, 'Strata Smith' (as he was termed)
traced with ease and accuracy the ranges of the rocks, by fol-
lowing the courses of springs, and many other indications of
a change of the sub-strata. Both entered with the zeal of
novelty into the examination of a district which they had of-
ten traversed before; and Mr. Richardson's was the hand
which, in 1799, wrote from Smith's dictation, the original
'Tabular View of the superposition of English strata,' which
has since been presented to the Geological Society of Lon-
don. Copies of this document were given by Mr. Richardson
to Baron Rosencrantz, Dr. Muller of Christian] a, and many
others, in the year 1801 ; and Mr. W Reynolds personally
assured Mr. Smith, that within his own knowledge copies of
it had been sent to the East and West Indies.

Dr. James Anderson earnestly intreated Mr. Smith to lay
his discoveries before the public, and offered the assistance
of his literary experience and connexions to aid him. Possi-
bly the almost continual occupation in which he was now en-
gaged, especially in the draining of land, — for which Geology
had taught him new and certain methods, — may have pre-
vented his complying with these friendly and judicious offers :
the notion, however, once admitted, revived from time to time,
and in 1801 a prospectus was printed, containing proposals

OF MR. WILLIAM SMITH. 217

for publishing by subscription, in 4 to., a work to be entitled
' Accurate delineations and descriptions of the natural order
of the various strata that are found in different parts of Eng-
land and Wales ; with practical observations thereon/ For
this work a small and curious geological map was prepared,
and it was to have been accompanied by a general section of
the strata, showing their proportionate thickness. The pro-
spectus is itself a little essay on the practical applications of
Geology, and displays clearly the enlarged and precise mas-
tery of his subject, which finally led to the completion (in
1815 ! ) of the great ' Delineation of the strata of England and
Wales.' This document is curious and scarce enough to de-
serve to be re-printed entire.

Mr. Smith's engagement as engineer to the Somerset coal-
canal ceased in 1799, and he was from that time, for many
years, almost continually travelling in various directions in
the exercise of his profession. To this he appears not to have
looked so much as a source of profit, as an occasion for seeing
new districts, and completing his general survey of England
and Wales. He was in the habit of attending the agricultu-
ral meetings called ' sheep-shearings,' at Wobum and Holk-
ham, to exhibit his maps and sections for the information of
the assembly. At one of these, in 1804, Sir Joseph Banks
originated a public subscription, to aid in defraying the cost
of publishing his ' Observations on the Strata of England and
Wales.' In 1804 he fixed his nominal residence in London,
(15, Buckingham St., Strand), re-arranged his collection there
on a new and curious plan, and received many distinguished
visitors. But his time was principally passed in Norfolk and
Suffolk, where he accomplished a remarkable work, — stop-
ping out the sea from a vast extent of marsh land. In 1806
the first of his publications appeared, — a ' Treatise on Irriga-
tion,'— from the Norwich press. For one of the successful
efforts at irrigation directed by Mr. Smith, the Society of Arts
awarded their medal.

In 1808 the president and other members of the Geological
Society visited Mr. Smith, and saw his collection of fossils.
In 1811 appeared the first volume of the ' Geological Trans-
actions,' in which Mr. Smith's discoveries regarding organic
remains are noticed ; in 1813 the Rev. W. Townsend pub-
lished the first volume of his curious work, — ' The character
of Moses vindicated,' — containing much information commu-
nicated by Mr. Smith ; and at length, in August, 1815, ap-
peared the long-expected ' Delineation of the Strata of Eng-
land and Wales,' on a new map engraved for the purpose by
Messrs. Carey, of London.

218 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE

An arrangement was made in 1815, by which the British
Museum became possessed of Mr. Smith's whole collection
of organic remains, for the sum of £500. and the task of ar-
ranging and describing this collection, led to the publication
of two works in 4to., entitled ' Strata Identified by Organized
Fossils,' (1815), and ' Stratigraphical System of Organized
Fossils,' (1817), the latter designed as an index to the speci-
mens deposited in the British Museum. In 1818 appeared,
in the ' Edinburgh Review,' the most able, just, and discrimi-
nating survey of the progress of English Geology ever penned;
and if Mr. Smith's friends regretted the late appearance of his
great map, and the slow and difficult growth of his hard-earn-
ed fame, they had reason to be thankful that in the maturity
of geological research, at a time when the progress of conti-
nental science could be rightly appreciated, the delicate task
of estimating the value and originality of his labours was ac-
complished with the taste, truth, and independence which
characterize the writings of Dr. Fitton.

Between the appearance of the great general map in 1815
and the year 1821, Mr. Smith published no less than twenty
geological maps of English counties, often remarkable for
their accuracy ; and he has not desisted from the labour of
preparing others, amidst difficulties and privations such as
few men devoted to science have ever endured. In 1819 Mr.
Smith resigned his residence in London, and had, in fact,
scarcely any home but the rocks until 1823, which year he
passed in Kirby Lonsdale. In 1824 he delivered a course of
lectures on Geology to the members of the Yorkshire Philo-
sophical Society, then recently established; these were re-
peated in the same year, in conjunction with his nephew, Mr.
John Phillips, (now Professor of Geology in King's College,
London), at Scarborough and Hull. A similar effort was
made at Sheffield in 1825, and soon afterwards Mr. Smith
accepted an engagement as agent to Sir J. Johnstone, Bart.,
of Hackness, near Scarborough, and withdrew for a while
from the wandering life and endless labours he had imposed
on himself.

In 1829 one who deeply felt the enthusiasm of active geo-
logical research, was led by curiosity, or a better motive, to
visit the secluded valley of Hackness, and contemplate the
imprisoned energies of an impassioned mind. He found a
patient though disappointed man ; an inflexible activity of
intellect, forced into new and not infertile channels ; a gene-
rous sympathy with the progress of science, shaded only by
deep regret at his own compulsory exclusion from the active
promotion of it. Nothing that could be effected by individu-

OF MR. WILLIAM SMITH. 219

al kindness was omitted by the worthy proprietor of Hack-
ness, to encourage the veteran geologist, whose mind, singu-
larly gifted with the power of living through the past, was
often far away from the spot where his labours, and perhaps
his life, were amusingly and usefully prolonged.

The time, however, came at length, when the young geolo-
gists of England drew from his retirement the unforgotten
leader of their science. The Geological Society of London
awarded the first medal placed at their disposal by the be-
quest of Wollaston, to Mr. William Smith, "in consideration
of his being a great original discoverer in English Geology :
and especially for his being the first, in this country, to dis-
cover and to teach the identification of strata, and to deter-
mine their succession by means of their imbedded fossils."

Professor Sedgwick then occupied the chair of the Geolo-
gical Society, and added to the value of the distinction he
was conferring on Mr. Smith, by a careful estimation and
proof of his right to receive it, and by the acknowledgment
which could come with better grace or greater force from no
living geologist, of his undoubted claim to be recognised as
the * Father of English Geology.' " If," observes this elo-
quent advocate of truth, "in the pride of our present strength,
we were disposed to forget our origin, our very speech would
bewray us ; for we use the language which he taught us in
the infancy of our science. If we, by our united efforts, are
chiselling the ornaments, and slowly raising up the pinnacles
of one of the temples of nature, it was he who gave the plan,
and laid the foundation, and erected a portion of the solid
walls, by the unassisted labour of his hands."

In 1835 he received the degree of LL.D. in Trinity Col-
lege, Dublin.

No man ever withstood more bravely than Mr. Smith, the
pressure of pecuniary difficulties ; they were, in fact, neither
rashly nor recklessly incurred, but inevitably brought on by
the unconquerable desire of personally tracing the strata of
England and Wales. These difficulties were however often
excessive; and after the public tribute to the 'Father of Eng-
lish Geology,' decreed by the Geological Society, it was im-
possible to avoid an anxious fear that in the winter of his age
he would be destitute. An application was made to the
crown, on the part of several eminent men of science, and
persons of high station, in the country, who had known the
practical value of Geology, for the grant of a suitable pension.
An annuity of One Hundred Pounds was the result of this
well-timed application ; and from this limited income, at three
score years and ten, the first English geologist draws his

220 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

scanty support, with no prospect of producing for the public
advantage any part of that mass of information on practical
applications of Geology, which the experience of fifty years
has accumulated,— information which, it may be safely as-
serted, no other man can give to the world.

Art. III. — Monograph of the Genus Sciurus, with Descriptions of
New Species and their Varieties. By J. Bachman, D.D., Presi-
dent ol the Literary and Philosophical Society, Charlestown, South
Carolina, &c.

( Continued from Page 162).

7. Northern Grey and Black Squirrel. Sciurus leucotis.

Grey Squirrel; Pennant's Arctic Zool., vol. i., p. 135; Hist.

Quad. No. 272.
Sci. Carolinensis ; Godman, non Gmel.
Sciurus leucotis ; Gapper, Zool. Journ. vol. v. p. 206, published

about 1830.

Essent. Char. — Larger than the Carolina Grey Squirrel ; tail much
longer than the body ; smaller than the Cat Squirrel ; subject to many va-
rieties in colour.

This sprightly and very common species, existing in the
northern and middle states, has hitherto been united with the
Carolina grey squirrel ; the name having been first appropri-
ated to the latter, and the present species being, as I shall en-
deavour, in this and the succeeding article, to prove, specifi-
cally distinct, I have proposed for it the above name.

This squirrel seems to have permanently twenty-two teeth;
among a large number procured in different seasons of the
year, and some of them, from the manner in which their teeth
were worn, appearing to be old animals, all presented the
small front molars in the upper jaw, except a single specimen,
and even in this instance, these teeth may have accidentally
dropped out. This permanency in teeth that have been usu-
ally regarded as deciduous, would seem to require an enlarge-
ment of the characters given to this genus ; it will moreover
be seen that the majority of our species are similar to this in
their dental arrangements.

The incisors are strong and compressed, a little smaller
than those of the cat squirrel, convex, and of a deep orange
colour anteriorly ; the upper ones have a sharp cutting edge,
and are chisel-shaped ; the lower are much longer and thin-
ner. The anterior grinder, although round and small, is as
long as the second ; the remaining four grinders are consider-

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 221

ably more excavated than those of the cat squirrel, present-
ing two transverse ridges of enamel. The lower grinders cor-
responding to those above, have also elevated crowns. The
hair is a little softer than that of the cat squirrel, being coars-
est on the forehead.

Form. — Nose rather obtuse ; forehead arched ; whiskers as
long as the head ; ears sharply rounded, concave ; both sides
of the ear covered with hair ; that which clothes the outside
being much the longest. In winter the fur projects upwards,
about three lines beyond the margin.

Colour. — Although this species exists under many varieties
there appear to be two very permanent ones, which I shall
attempt to describe.

1. Grey variety. — The nose, cheek, around the eyes ex-
tending to the insertion of the neck, the upper surface of the
fore, and hind feet, and a stripe along the sides, yellowish
brown ; the ears on their posterior surface are a soiled white,
edged with brown ; on the back from the shoulder there is an
obscure stripe of brown, broadest at its commencement, and
running down to a point at the insertion of the tail ; in a few
specimens this stripe is wanting. On the neck, sides, and
hips the colour is light grey ; the hairs separately are for one
half their length dark cinereous, then light umber, then a nar-
row mark of black, and tipt with white ; a considerable num-
ber of black hairs are interspersed, giving it above a grey co-
lour ; the hairs in the tail are light yellowish brown from the
roots, with three stripes of black, the outer one being widest,
and broadly tipt with white ; the whole under surface is white.

There are other specimens in which the yellowish markings
on the sides and feet are altogether wanting. Dr. Godman
(vol. ii. p. 133) asserts that the golden colour on the hind feet
is a very permanent mark. The specimens from Pennsylva-
nia in my possession have generally this peculiarity, but ma-
ny of those from New York and New England have grey feet,
without the slightest mixture of yellow.

2. Black variety. — This variety I have, on several occa-
sions, seen taken from the same nest with the grey squirrel.
They breed and rear their young together, and the observa-
tions made with regard to the fox squirrel will also apply to
these. This is of the size and form of the grey variety ; it is
a dark brownish black on the whole of the upper surface, a
little lighter beneath. In summer its colour is less black than
in winter. The hairs of the back and sides of the body and
tail are obscurely annulated with yellow. There is here and
there a white hair interspersed among the fur of the body, but
no tuft of white as in Sciurus niger.

222 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

DIMENSIONS.

IN. LIN.

Length of head and body , 11 9

Ditto of tail {vertebra) 10 0

Ditto to the tip 13 0

Height of ear „ 7

Ditto to the end of fur „ 9

Palm to end of middle claw 1 10

Heel to end of middle nail 2 6

Length of fur on the hack „ 7

Breadth of tail with hairs extended 4 2

Geographical Distribution. — The northern limits of this
species is not determined ; it however exists as far as Hud-
son's Bay, was formerly very common in the New England
states, and in the less cultivated portions is still frequently
met with. It is abundant in New York, and in the moun-
tainous portions of Pennsylvania. I have observed it on the
northern mountains of Virginia. It probably extends still
farther south ; in the lower parts of North and South Caroli-
na however it is replaced by a smaller species. The black
variety is more abundant in upper Canada, in the western
part of New York, and in the states of Ohio and Indiana. —
It does not exist in Georgia, Florida, or Alabama; and among
the specimens sent from Louisiana, stated to be of all the spe-
cies existing in that state, I discovered that this squirrel was
not of the number.

Habits. — This appears to be the most active and sprightly
species existing in our Atlantic states. It rises with the sun,
and continues industriously engaged in search of food during
four or five hours in the morning, scratching among leaves,
running over fallen logs, ascending trees, and playfully cours-
ing from limb to limb, — often making almost incredible leaps
from the higher branches of one tree to another. In the mid-
dle of the day it retires for a few hours to its nest, resuming
its active labours and amusements in the afternoon, and con-
tinuing without intermission till the setting of the sun. Dur-
ing the warm weather of spring and summer it prepares itself
a summer house on a tree, but not often at its summit. In
constructing this nest, it does not descend to the earth in
search of materials, but finds them ready at hand on the tree
where it intends to take up its temporary residence. It first
breaks off dried sticks, if they can be procured, to make a su-
perstructure ; if however such materials are not within reach,
it commences gnawing off the green branches of the size of a
thumb, and lays them in the crutch of the tree, or of some
large branch. It then proceeds to the extremities of the
branches, and breaks off those portions that contain tufts of

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 223

leaves, with which a compact nest is constructed, which, in
the inner side, is sometimes lined with such mosses as are
found on the bark of trees. In the preparation of this nest
a pair is usually engaged, for an hour in the morning,
during several successive days ; and the noise they make in
cutting the branches, and dragging them with their leaves to
the nests, can be heard at a great distance. In winter they
reside altogether in holes of trees, where their young, in most
instances, are brought forth. Although a family to the num-
ber of five or six, probably the produce of a pair from the
preceding season, may occupy the same nest during winter,
yet they all pair off in spring, when each couple seems to oc-
cupy a separate nest, in order to engage in the duties of re-
production. The young, in number from four to six, are, in
the northern states, brought forth in May ; they are of quick
growth, and sufficiently advanced in a few weeks to leave the
nest : at such times they are seen clinging around the tree
which contains their domicile, and as soon as .alarmed they
run to the hole, when one of them usually returns, and, pro-
truding his head out of the hole, watches the movements of
the intruder. In this stage of growth they are easily captur-
ed ; their hole is stopped up, another opening is made be-
neath, and they are taken out by the hand protected by a glove.
They soon become tolerably gentle, and are frequently kept
in cages with a wheel attached, in which, as in the interior of
a tread-mill, they amuse themselves in playing for hours to-
gether. Sometimes two are placed together, and they soon
leam to accommodate themselves to the wheel, and move to-
gether with great regularity. However gentle they may be-
come in confinement, no instance has come to my knowledge
of their having produced young in a state of domestication ;
although in a suitable cage such a result would in all proba-
bility be produced. A tame squirrel is, however, a trouble-
some pet ; it is always ready to use its teeth on the fingers of
every intruder on its cage, and does not always spare even its
feeder ; and when permitted to have the freedom of the house,
it soon incurs the displeasure of the prudent housewife by its
habit of gnawing chairs, tables, and books.

During the breeding season the males, like those of deer
and other species, engage in frequent contests, and often bite
and wound each other severely. The story of their emascu-
lating each other on these occasions has been so often repeat-
ed, that it has become a matter of history, and it would now
be somewhat dangerous to set it down as a vulgar error. It
might however be advanced, on the other hand, that the ad-
mission of such skill and refinement in cruelty would be as-

224 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

cribing to the squirrel a higher degree of physical and surgi-
cal knowledge than is possessed by any other quadruped. —
From the observations I have been enabled to make, I have
been led to believe that the error has originated from the fact
that those parts in the male which in one season are greatly
enlarged, are in the other equally diminished, and that in
young males especially, they are drawn into the pelvis by the
contraction of the muscle. As a proof of this, a friend, who
was a strenuous believrer in this spiteful propensity ascribed
to the squirrel, was induced to test the inquiry by an exami-
nation of a suitable number of specimens. He obtained in a
few weeks upwards of thirty males ; —in none of these had
this mutilation taken place. Two however out of this num-
ber were triumphantly brought forward as evidences of the
truth of the doctrine ; on examination it appeared that these
were young animals, with the organs perfect, but concealed in
the manner above stated.

It is generally believed that this species lays up a great
hoard of food as a winter supply ; it may however be reason-
ably doubted whether they are so provident in this respect.
The trees in which they conceal themselves in winter are fre-
quently cut down, and no supply of provisions is ever found
in their nests. In following their tracks in the snow they can-
not be traced to any hoards buried in the ground. I have
moreover observed them during a warm day in winter coming
from great distances into the open fields, in search of a few
dry hickory nuts which were still left suspended on the trees ;
if provisions had been laid up nearer home, they would hardly
have undertaken these long journeys, or exposed themselves
to so much danger in procuring a precarious supply. In fact
this species, in cold climates, seldom leaves its nest in win-
ter, except in a warm sunny day ; and in this state of inacti-
vity and partial torpidity, it requires but little food.

This squirrel feeds upon the various nuts, seeds, and grain
which are periodically sought for by all the species of this
genus, but it seems to prefer the shell-bark (Carya alba) and
the several species of hickory, to any other kind of food. —
Even when the nuts are so green as to afford scarcely any
nourishment, the northern grey squirrel is seen gnawing off
the thick epidermis, which drops to the ground like rain, and
then, with its lower incisors, makes a small linear opening in
the thinnest part of the shell, immediately over the kernel. —
When this part has been extracted it proceeds to another,
till in an incredibly short space of time, the nut is cut longi-
tudinally on its four sides, and the whole kernel secured, leav-
ing the portions of the hard shell untouched. Were, however,

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 225

this species to confine its depredations to the hickory, ches-
nut, beech, oak, and maple, it would be less obnoxious to the
fanner ; but unfortunately for the peace of both, it is fond of
the green corn and young wheat, to which the rightful owner
imagines himself to have a prior claim. A war of extermina-
tion consequently ensues, and various inducements are held
out to tempt the gunner to destroy them. In Pennsylvania
an ancient law existed, offering threepence a head for every
squirrel destroyed, and in one year (1749) the enormous sum
of c£80Q0. was paid out of the treasury, in premiums for the
destruction of these depredators. In several of the northern
and western states the inhabitants, on an appointed day, are
in the habit of turning out on what is called a squirrel-hunt.
They arrange themselves under opposite leaders, each party
being stimulated by the ambition of victory, and of fastening
on the other the expense of a bountiful supper. The hunters
range the forest in every direction, and the accounts given us
of the number of squirrels brought together at the evening
rendezvous, are almost incredible.

In addition to the usual enemies of this species in the
northern states, such as the weasel, fox, lynx, &c, the red-
tailed hawk seems to regard it as his natural and lawful prey.
It is amusing to see the skill and dexterity exercised by both
in the attack and defence. When the hawk is unaccompanied
by his mate, he finds it no easy matter to secure the squirrel ;
unless the latter be unconsciously pounced upon whilst on
the ground, he is enabled, by his dodgings and twistings
round the limb of a tree, to evade the attacks of the hawk for
hours, and frequently worries him into a reluctant retreat. —
But the red-tail, like other robbers, has learnt by experience
that he is most certain of his prey when hunting in couples.
He is frequently accompanied by his mate, especially in the
breeding season, and in this case the contest is soon decided.
They course rapidly, in opposite directions, above and below
the limb ; the attention of the squirrel is thus divided and dis-
tracted, and before he is aware of it, the talons of the hawk
are in his back, and with a shriek of triumph the latter bears
him off, either to the aery of his young, or to some low limb
of a tree, or to a sheltered situation on the ground, where, with
a suspicious glance towards each other, and an occasional
hissing and growling for the choice parts, the hawks devour
their prey.

This species of squirrel has occasionally excited the won-
der of the populace by its wandering habits, and its singu-
lar and long migrations. Like the lemming (Lemmus Nor-
vegicus) of the eastern continent, it is stimulated, either

Vol. III.— No. 29. n. s. 2 a

226 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

from a scarcity of food, or from some other inexplicable in-
stinct, to leave its native haunts, and seek for adventures or
for food in some distant and, to him, unexplored portion of
our land. The newspapers from the west contain frequent
details of these migrations ; they appear to have been more
frequent in former years than at the present time. The far-
mers in the western wilds regard them with sensations which
may be compared to the anxious apprehensions of the east-
ern nations at the flight of the devouring locust. At such
periods, which usually occur in autumn, the squirrels congre-
gate in different districts of the far north-west, and, in irre-
gular troops, bend their way instinctively in an eastern direc-
tion. Mountains and cleared fields, — the head waters of lakes
and broad rivers, — present no unconquerable impediments. —
Onward they come, devouring on their way everything that is
suited to a squirrel's taste, — laying waste the corn and wheat
fields of the farmer ; and as their numbers are thinned by the
gun, the dog and the club, others are ready to fall in the rear
and fill up the ranks, till they occasion infinite mischief and
call forth no empty threats of revenge. It is often enquired
how these little creatures that, on common occasions, have
such an instinctive dread of water, are enabled to cross broad
and rapid rivers, like the Ohio and Hudson for instance. It
is usually asserted, and believed by many, that they carry to
the shore a suitable piece of bark, and seizing the opportuni-
ty of a favourable breeze, seat themselves upon this substitute
for a boat, hoist their broad tails as a sail, and float safely to
the opposite shore. This, together with many other traits of
intelligence ascribed to this species, I suspect to be apocry-
phal. That they do migrate at irregular, and occasionally at
distant periods, is a fact sufficiently established ; but in the
only instance in which I had an opportunity of witnessing
the migrations of the squirrel, it appeared to me that he was
not only an unskilful sailor, but a clumsy swimmer. It was
(as far as my recollection serves me of the period of early life)
in the autumn of 1808 or 9 ; troops of squirrels suddenly and
unexpectedly made their appearance in the neighbourhood,
but among the grey ones were varieties not previously seen in
those parts; some were broadly striped with yellow on the
sides, and a few with a black stripe on each side, bordered
with yellow or brown, resembling the stripes of the little chip-
ping squirrel (Tamias Lysteri). They swam the Hudson in
various places between Waterford and Saratoga; those which
I observed crossing the river were swimming deep and awk-
wardly, their bodies and tails wholly submerged ; several that
had been drowned were carried downward by the stream, and

NOTICES OF IRISH ENTOZOA. 227

those which were so fortunate as to reach the opposite bank
were so wet and fatigued, that the boys stationed there with
clubs found no difficulty in securing them alive or in killing
them. Their migrations on that occasion did not, as far as I
could learn, extend farther eastwardly than the mountains of
Vermont ; many remained in the county of Renssellaer, and
it wras remarked that for several years afterwards the squirrels
were far more numerous than before. It is doubtful whether
any ever return westwardly, but finding forests and food suit-
ed to their taste and habits, they take up their permanent re-
sidence in their newly-explored country ; there they remain
and propagate their species, until they are gradually thinned
off by the effects of improvement, and the dexterity of the
sportsmen around them.

( To le continued.)

Art. IV. — Notices of Irish Entozoa. By James L. Drummond,
M.D., Professor of Anatomy in the Royal Belfast Institution, Pre-
sident of the Belfast Natural History Society.
(Continued from p. 71.)

Anthocephalus rudicornis, Drum.

When about to send a communication to the ' Magazine of
Natural History,' relating to some more of the Echinorhyn-
chi, a fish, which in this part of the world is of rare occur-
rence, appeared in the Belfast market ; namely, a halibut,
(Hippoglossus vulgaris), which weighed 120 tbs. My indefa-
tigable friend, Wm, Thompson, Esq., secured the viscera, at-
tached to which I found a great number of tumors containing
Entozoa ; and, as much of this field of Helminthology re-
mains to be explored, while every fact pertaining to it is of
importance, I have thought it better to put on record the few
observations I could make on the present species, than for-
ward the remarks I had to offer respecting others already well
known.

In the alimentary tube there was not an Entozoon of any
description, but ample amends were made for this by the
luxuriant crop on its external surface. The stomach, liver,
spleen, mesentery, and intestines were everywhere studded
with almost innumerable white or cream-coloured tumors,
from the size of a large pea down to that of a grain of clover
seed ; while, at the same time wrere seen, under the transpa-
rent peritoneal coat of these viscera, numerous Nematoidea
coiled up in spires.

228

NOTICES OF IRISH ENTOZOA.

The smallest vesicular tumors were spherical, but the
larger were all depressed or lenticular, with a round or ellip-
tical outline [Fig. 32, a). On examining these tumors, I had
first to remove the peritoneal covering, under which was a
white, thickish coat, of so soft a consistence that it could not
be torn off like a membrane, but yielded to the forceps. —
When this coat was perforated, a white, curdy fluid could be
pressed out in considerable quantity, and along with it the
Entozoon itself, (or sometimes two from the same capsule), of
very small size, the animal bearing no correspondence in its
bulk to that of the entire tumor.

32

'T7~7~^ r *

Anthocephalus rudicomis, Drum.

{a), portion of the intestine with the attached tumors containing the Anthocephalus. (b), the
Entozoon as it appeared when first removed from a tumor, (c), a protruded rostellum. [d e)
magnified view of the Anthocephalus when compressed, the head and neck protruding.

On getting the animal freed from its habitation, and wash-
ing off all extraneous matter, it appeared of an ovate form,
and was very sluggish, though exhibiting signs of vitality by
soon losing its regular outline, and contracting its margin so
as to form various scallops and indentations ; and after long
watching it in the microscope no farther change could be ob-
served.

I then tried the effect of compression : a specimen was laid

NOTICES OF IRISH ENTOZOA. 229

on a slip of glass in a drop of water, and another slip placed
over it. This had the effect of causing the head, which was
previously invisible, to protrude ; then the neck appeared,
and it became evident that the animal was formed on the mo-
del of the Anthocephali. Four transparent sacs were seen in
the anterior part of the body, {Fig. 32, e) and from these, four
tubes ran up to the head, each evidently containing a rostellum.
After watching in vain for the protrusion of the latter, I had re-
course to stronger pressure, and in several instances succeed-
ed in getting a rostellum to issue from its sheath, and show
that it was constituted as in others of the same family, that it
was crystalline, armed with numerous uncinuli, and that it
was protruded by eversion.

Compared with the bulk of the animal, the rostella are
much larger than in any others of the same family that I
have hitherto examined ; the uncinuli, too, are of greater
comparative magnitude, and the rostella altogether exhibit
less delicacy of workmanship than in any similar organs
I have heretofore observed. The first rostellum which I suc-
ceeded in protruding, reminded me strongly of the appear-
ance of a hairy caterpillar : Jig. 32, c, is the sketch I made of
it at the time, and all those which I afterwards saw bore an
exact resemblance to the first. In one instance only did I
succeed in getting a view of the whole four extruded from
their theccd.

Considerable difficulty was experienced in getting the ani-
mal freed from a small quantity of very tough mucus which
adhered to it, and which, in being torn away, assumed the
appearance of a membrane of great tenuity, but I believe it to
have been mucus alone. The substance of the Entozoon is
granular throughout, having no appearance of vessels, intes-
tine, ovaries, or caudal aperture, but in several specimens,
(not in all), when the head and neck were protruded, a large
transparent space was conspicuous in the anterior end of the
body, in which the head and neck, I presume, had been pre-
viously lodged. — (Fig, 32 d).

That this species has four bothria there can, I think, be
little doubt ; but as, from its sluggishness, the head could
only be seen when compressed, their natural appearance could
not, of course, be ascertained. In several instances, however,
I observed the dilated portions of the head expanding and
contracting (though very slowly) with an undulatory motion
of their margins, like that of the Bothriocephalic Scolex poly-
morphus, &c.

These are all the observations I have been enabled to make
on this species, which, I believe, has not been previously de-

230 DESCRIPTION OF A NEW srECIES OF LAMIA.

scribed, and I have referred it to the genus Anthocephalus, (as
in a former paper I did that which I named Anth. paradoxus),
not on account of its agreeing exactly with the character of
that genus, for it has no caudal vescicle, but because it ap-
proaches more nearly to it than to any other. Much, I be-
lieve, must yet be known concerning the encysted Entozoa,
before a proper arrangement and nomenclature can be applied
to them ; and in the mean time it is perhaps better to refer
them to known genera, at the risk of some inaccuracy, than to
fabricate new names, which, after a time would, in all pro-
bability, have to make way for others of still newer coinage.
The specific title, rudicornis, I have applied on account of
the coarse appearance of the rostella as compared with that
of any others which I have hitherto observed.

The only other Entozoon which I observed in this large
halibut was the Filaria capsularia, which, in great numbers,
lay coiled up in the peritonaeum of the stomach, liver, and in-
testines. But, however copious they might be in these loca-
lities, still the number was small when compared with that
which I detected between the middle and inner coats of the
stomach. The former, or muscular coat of this viscus, in the
halibut, is connected with the inner or mucous coat, through-
out a great part of its extent, by a thick, lax layer of cellular
membrane ; and on separating the one coat from the other, I
found this layer to be, in many places, literally crammed with
the FilaricB. They were in hundreds, each rolled up singly
in a spiral form, but more frequently with several others
under the same covering, forming so many distinct, round,
flattened masses, lying as close to each other as stones in a
pavement.

Belfast, March 5th, 1839.

( To be continued.)

Art. V. — On a new Species of Lamia from the vicinity of the Swan

River, New Holland. By The Rev. F. W. Hope, F.R.S.,

F.L.S., &c, &c, &c.

I send for insertion in your c Magazine of Natural History,1
a description of a new species of Lamia from the vicinity of
the Swan River, in Australia. My chief object in selecting
Lamia is in consequence of the Baron De Jean, in his last
Catalogue, omitting that term altogether, while he coins and
publishes a new name to include under it insects which have
years ago been ably described by the celebrated Fabricius.
If entomologists of the present clay are allowed to expunge,

<N

*i

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF LAMIA. 231

ad libitum, the early Linnean and Fabrician names, and adopt
others merely from caprice, there will be no end of confusion.
Synonymy is always a perplexing study, and it is to prevent
a serious evil gaining further ground, that 1 here protest
against a system sadly too rife amongst naturalists, of chang-
ing well established names. The Baron De Jean, in his Ca-
talogue of 1838, adopts the term Batocera instead of Lamia
of Fabricius ; why a new-fangled term is to be used instead
of an old familiar name, remains to be explained. On the
ground of priority I support the ancient names, and I feel
convinced that there are many others who undoubtedly will
advocate the same cause. Had Lamia been the only Fabri-
cian term expunged by De Jean, I might have passed it over
with a slight remark ; but when I find Buprestis, Stenocho-
rus, and Haltica entirely abandoned, and the genera of Ce-
rambyx, Elater, Cnodidon, and Tritoma sunk into mere sy-
nonyms, and in their place the barbarous terms of Hammati-
cherus, Ampedus, and Amarygmus adopted, it is high time to
speak out, and endeavour to put a stop to an evil which must
embarrass science, and certainly greatly retard its progress.
In concluding my remarks, I quote a passage from the pre-
face of the Baron De Jean's last Catalogue, (vide page 11),
and for the future leave the question in other hands, hoping
that those who wish well for science will oppose a system
which, if acted on, can only lead to inextricable confusion.
" Quoique je me sois toujours prononce contre le principe ex-
clusif de l'adoption du nom le plus anciennement publie, ce
n'est pas cependant que je pense qu' un auteur ait le droit de
changer les noms qui ont ete etablis avant lui, ce n'est nulle-
ment cela que j'ai voulu dire. Je crois, au contraire, qxCil
faut conserver les anciens noms, mais lorsqu'il y en a plusieurs,
on a le droit de choisir, et il faut alors prendre le plus en
usage, ou celui adopte dans Touvrage le plus marquant et le
plus repandu, au lieu de s'attacher uniquement a la date de la
publication." With respect to the above passage I have only
to add " that the ancient names ought to be retained ; " and
acting on the suggestion of the Baron, -I prefer the ancient
Lamia to the modern Batocera, as it is a name in common
usage, and occurs in one of the works of Fabricius, certainly
" le plus marqnant et le plus repandu" viz. the ' Sy sterna
Eleutheratorum.'

Lamia Boisduvalii, Hope. (Sup. Plates No. 2.)
L. Boisduvalii. Long. lin. 25 ; lat. lin. 8.

Nigro-cinerea, thorace bispinoso elylris albidis maculis oraatis, lmme-
ris subspinosis, sutura ad apicem in spinam dcsinentc.

232 DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF LAMIA.

Antenna corpore longiores articulis pedibusque anticis scabris.

Caput postice annulo albido variegatum. Thorax utrinque spinosus
rugisque transversis notatus. Scutellum albovillosum postice rotunda-
tum. Elytra nigro-cinerea basi scabra, seu melius tuberculis, parvis, ni-
tidis, parum elevatis. Apex in medio spinosus. Disco maculis cretaceis
variegato. Corpus infra nigro-cinereum, femoribus anticis tibiisque as-
peris. Plantis fuscis et spongiosis.

This magnificent insect was sent me by my friend Captain
Roe, from the new settlement at Swan River, in Australia. —
It is named in honour of M. Bois Duval, the author of the
6 Voyage de Decouverte de 1' Astrolabe.' The above indivi-
dual is justly considered one of the leading lepidopterists of
Europe. I have mentioned that the Baron De Jean gives
the name of Batocera to true Lamia ; but six species are re-
corded in his last Catalogue, and all of them but one are de-
signated as inhabiting the East Indies : the species alluded
to is Lamia Rubus, Fabr., from the Island of Mauritius. The
true Rubus of Fabricius, however, inhabits the East Indies,
the Rubus from the Isle of France appears distinct, and is, I
believe, as yet undescribed. Lamia according to my views
is only found in Africa and Asia, and some of the adjacent
isles ; three species from the former continent have fallen un-
der my notice, and about twenty from the latter, besides the
species above described. The most magnificent of them all
is Lamia Roy Hi from the Himalaya. According to Mr. W.
W. Saunders, the perfect insect feeds on the blossoms of the
pepal-tree (Ficus religiosa). In the interminable woods of
Travancore, these insects abound ; and from their excessive
numbers and the effects they produce by perforating the trunks
of large and gigantic trees, they act as useful pioneers, tend-
ing to clear the ground, and thin the exuberant vegetation
which there abounds, Some of the native tribes of India in
the vicinity of Travancore, and in the island of Ceylon, feed
on the larvae of Lamiadce, as is the case in Africa with Lamia
gigas, now denominated Omacantha by M. Serville. Col.
Whithill has iu his superb collection many of the larva of
Lamia admirably preserved. It is a subject of regret among
entomologists, that few collectors preserve insects in their ear-
liest stages, in spirits ; when we become better acquainted
with them, and have it in our power to give the anatomical
details of such gigantic forms as belong to the genera Prio-
nus and Lamia, we may naturally expect that much light will
be thrown on the sensorial organs of insects, which are at
present very imperfectly understood.

March, 1839.

€ k

P1.IU.

I

c iO -^

/. 2. ,fs. ■?. Zifrta. . _ <£ tf £if*a. />//•/ .

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SPECIES OF LIMA. 233

Art. VI. — Descriptions of the Species of the Genus Lima, from the
Coralline Crag, in the Cabinet of Searles Valentine Wood,
Esq., late Curator to the Geological Society of London.

13, Bernard St., Russell Square,

March lOih, 1839.

Sir,

During a residence of some years in the county
of Suffolk, I devoted the greater part of my time to collecting
the numerous fossils of the crag, and particularly those of the
inferior beds described under the name of " coralline crag" in
the 'Phil. Mag.' for August, 1835. The whole of my collec-
tion has been lately removed to the metropolis ; and as a con-
siderable number of the species which it contains are new to
science, it is desirable that figures and descriptions of these
should be published, as well as of those shells which have
been described from inferior or imperfect specimens. I there-
fore forward to you the enclosed MSS., and accompanying
series of the genus Lima, and if you think them of sufficient
interest for publication, with illustrations, in the ' Magazine
of Natural History,' I will, on a future occasion, continue the
description of the new species contained in my cabinet.

Yours, «&c.

S. V. Wood.

Editor of the Magazine of Natural History.

The genus Lima, Brug., is characterised as inequilateral
and oblique, with an opening on one side, as the passage for
a byssus : but there are some shells which, though they do
not possess all these distinctions, retain other characters in
common with the true Limes, and cannot with propriety be
entirely removed from the genus. The crag yields two spe-
cies, perfectly equilateral, and apparently closed bivalves, so
far deviating from the generic character that I have thought
it necessary to institute for them a sub-genus, which I pur-
pose to call Limatula. The Plagiostoma of Lluyd has been
long established, and many different species delineated by
Sowerby and other conchologists from the external character
alone; and it is but recently that a specimen has been disco-
vered (I understand now in the possession of Mr. J. D. C.
Sowerby) which shows the hinge to be the same as that of
Lima. Goldfuss unites Plagiostoma to Lima, and has in-
cluded all the species of the former in the latter genus, with
the exception of the Plag. spinosa, which he has altogether
rejected. The only difference that I have been able to ob-
serve between Plagiostoma and Lima is the opening which
Vol. III.— No. 29. n. s. 2 b

234 DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SFECIES OF LIMA.

appears on the anterior side of some of those which belong to
the secondary formations, while those of more modern depo-
sits have the large opening for the byssus f on the posterior
side. I do not know whether I am right as to the universality
of this character, but it is uniform in all the species that I
have examined. Goldfuss has given figures of forty-six spe-
cies, (from the lias to the tertiary inclusive), and Deshayes
six more, from the Paris basin.

1. Lima exilis, Nobis. Suppl. PI. No. 3, fig. 1.

Shell inequilateral, oblique, slightly convex, slender, gaping, costated, (cos-
tee numerous, irregular, small, and distant), hinge-line oblique, ligamen-
tal area large, central pit rectangular, umbones distant, lunula smooth. —
Length, l£ inch, breadth l£ inch, depth one valve T30.

Localities: Coralline crag, Ramsholt.
Red crag, Walton, Essex.

The lines of growth are very distinct, and carried over the
ribs, producing a slight imbrication, giving the whole exte-
rior the characteristic roughness of the file : ribs sharp and
elevated on the anterior slope, but growing indistinct towards
the posterior side ; beyond the slope it is free from strife, the
opening for the byssus is on the posterior side near the hinge,
but it gapes also slightly on the other side near the front ;
the lines of the central pit diverge from the umbo at an angle
of 90°, pit projecting inwards, a slight depression is visible
internally, produced by the ribs, and it has one large, oval,
muscular impression near the posterior side.

This is identical with a recent species in the possession of
Mr. G. B. Sowerby, without name or locality.

2. Lima oblonga, Nobis. PI. 3. fig. 2.

Shell oblong, inequilateral, oblique, depressed, gaping on both sides, cos-
tated, costee slightly waved, projecting beyond the edge, ligamental area
large, hinge-line oblique, umbones distant. Length 1 inch, breadth •&,
depth t|.

Locality: Coralline crag, Ramsholt.

Shell depressed, gaping on both sides, the anterior open-
ing large and somewhat triangular, with an internal margin,
striae numerous, becoming raised into costee as they approach
the anterior slope, beyond which it is smooth, lines of strice
slightly visible internally, and one large, lateral, sub -oval,
muscular impression.

A recent species, Lima tenera, figured and described by
Turton in the ' Zool. Journal,' vol. ii. p. 363, tab. 13, /. 2,
much resembles this in general appearance, and may hereaf-

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SPECIES OF LIMA. 235

ter prove to be a variety of the same, but a specimen of it,
the same valve and the same size as my fossil, kindly lent me
by Mr. G. B. Sowerby for comparison, presented the follow-
ing differences. Posterior opening, wider and shorter, conse-
quently the slope not so great nor the opening so long as in
the recent shell, which is also more oblique, rather deeper,
and the ligamental area not so large as in the fossil, and the
stria are finer and more regular in the recent shell, nor does
our shell deserve the name of tenera or fragilis, (the name
given to it by Dr. Fleming), as it is thick and strong.

I presume it is rare in the crag, not having found the op-
posite valve.

3. Limafragilis, Auct. PI. 3, fig. 3.

Pecten fragilis ; Montague, 'Test. Brit.' p. 63, Supplement.

Localities: Coralline crag, Sutton.

Red crag, Walton, Essex.

The copious description given by Col. Montague leaves
nothing to be added. Our shell appears rather thicker and
firmer, with a very slight difference in the stria.

By no means rare at Sutton ; rather more so in the red crag,
owing probably to its fragility.

4. Lima plicatula, Nobis. PI. 3, fig. 4.

Shell inequilateral, oblique, convex, ovato-orbicular, anterior truncated,
costated, costm 14-16, ligamental area small, oblique, lunula transversely
crenulated. Length -^ of an inch.

Locality : Coralline crag, Sutton.

A small shell and rare ; my specimens not more than ■£? of
an inch in length. The ribs are elevated, and as broad as
the spaces between them, which are strongly imbricated;
the ribs showing slight indentations ; (a) is an enlarged fi-
gure with a portion more highly magnified. One ear on the
posterior side is large and projecting while the other is scarce-
ly visible ; it differs from Lima plicata of Deshayes, inasmuch
as it is smaller and more orbicular. The central liganlental
area is very small and oblique, sloping towards the posterior
side, which is not given in the figure.

Sub-genus Limatvla.

1. L. Limatula ovata, Nobis. PI. 3, fig. 5.

Shell equilateral, ovate, convex, equivalved, closed ? bivalve ; ligamental
area large ; umbones distant, costated, costce 6-8, edge crenulated. —
Length ^ of an inch, breadth jf , depth of single valve ^.

236 THE CROSSBILL BREEDING IN ENGLAND.

Locality : Coralline crag, Sutton.

This shell is very abundant at the above locality. Although
the coralline crag is generally considered to have been a deep
water deposit, it must have been subject to some degree of
agitation, as we find separated those bivalves whose attach-
ment depends solely upon the ligament, and only under very
favourable circumstances are their valves ever united. I have
found some hundred single valves of this species, but never a
double specimen.

The smaller figures are of the natural size, letter a is a mag-
nified representation. There are about seven angular central
ribs, beyond which are very faint traces of striae, in well-pre-
served specimens the ribs are visible internally, giving about
half-a-dozen rough crenulations in front. Ligamental area
large, the lines of the central pit diverging from the umbo at
an angle of about 80°, muscular impression sub-central and
ovate. The shell figured by Brocchi, tab. 14/. 14. is larger
and longer. The young of the following species is much
more cylindrical and not so largely costated.

2. L. Limatula subauriculata, Nobis. PI. 3, fig. 6.
Pecten subauriculata ; Montague, ' Test. Brit.' Supplement, p. 63, t. 29,

Length i an inch, breadth £ of an inch, depth \ of an inch.
Locality : Coralline crag, Sutton and Ramsholt.

(a) is a magnified portion.

This corresponds with Montague's description in every re-
spect, but I have not seen the shell. The central costce are
angulated, dwindling into striae on the sides, visible internal-
ly, crenulating the margin in front. The two opake striae
mentioned by Montague are not shown in the figure, but they
are distinctly visible in two of my specimens. Montague's
shell was only one quarter of an inch in length, breadth half
its length.

Art. VII. — Notice of the discovery of the Nests and Eggs of the
common Crossbill, near Farnham, Surrey. By H. L. Long, Esq.
With additional Remarks by Mr. Yarrell.

It is now fi\e or six years since I began to observe the cross-
bills ; they were at first but few, and rarely seen, now they
are in considerable numbers, and visible every day. If they

THE CROSSBILL BREEDING IN ENGLAND. 237

migrate at all in the summer, some of them, the young birds
perhaps, certainly remain behind, for some are to be seen
here every month in the year.

They generally fly in flocks of from five to twenty, or up-
wards, hurrying along from plantation to plantation with an
irregular flight, and a note expressive of alarm ; when they
are settled the note is changed into one of a lower tone, which
continues in a sort of running colloquial gazouillement, while
they feed on the cones of the larch, the spruce fir, or Scotch
pine. The male bird has a gentle agreeable song, and I have
this year frequently observed one singing, in fine weather,
perched alone upon the summit of a fir.

The appearance of these birds, no longer occasional acci-
dental passengers, but, it would seem, permanently domicili-
ated among us, is very remarkable. If the climate and lati-
tude of England should suit their habits, why should they
not always have been found in our island ?

Perhaps the cause of their appearance is to be ascribed to
the enormous extent of plantations of coniferous trees, — the
growth almost entirely of the present century, and now invit-
ing the crossbills by the abundance of fruit they offer. And
indeed their appearance may be only a re-appearance ; for,
if ever in distant ages the Scotch and spruce firs were com-
mon in Britain, these birds might have inhabited our forests.
Traces of the existence of these trees are too familiar in our
peat-bogs to leave a doubt of their having been originally and
indigenously most abundant ; although the excellence of their
timber, suitable to all purposes, in season at all times of the
year, easily cut, and easily convertible, — led then perhaps to
their reckless consumption and almost total extinction, as it
is now leading, under more prudent management, to their re-
establishment throughout the country. With the re-appear-
ance of these coniferous trees occurs the appearance of the
crossbills which feed upon them.

It seemed probable, after observing them here in every
month of the year, and in increasing numbers annually, that
they bred here ; and, according to M. Neckar's observation,
their nidification commences very early, almost in the winter.
I therefore, early in February last, urged upon the attention
of the labourers hereabouts, to keep a diligent watch in the
plantations; and this day (April 13th) I have had the satis-
faction of receiving a nest with four eggs, from the Holt fo-
rest in this neighbourhood. This is the third nest that has
been met with in the Holt ; the first was taken with two eggs ;
and then, on the 7th of April, one with four young birds, ap-
parently above a fortnight old, which would date the com-

238 THE CROSSBILL BREEDING IN ENGLAND.

mencement of the nest early in the month of March last. —
These three nests were all found in the thick top of a young
Scotch fir, of about thirteen or fourteen years' growth. The
nest is of grass ; the eggs are beautifully shaped, of an agree-
able transparent white, and slightly speckled. In the young
birds the crossing of the mandibles was scarcely discoverable,
in accordance with the remarks in M. Necker's paper. Such
a construction of the bill would indeed be useless, as long as
the parent birds supplied the food. The contents of the crop
of the young birds appear to consist, almost exclusively, of
the blanched seeds of the larch.

I have thus the pleasure of sending, —

1. The top of a young Scotch fir, with the nest of a cross-
bill in it.

2. Two of the eggs.

3. A young bird, (preserved sufficiently to keep a short
time), exhibiting the immature state of the beak.

4. The contents of the crop of the young bird.

M. Necker de Saussure, in his very agreeable " Memoire
sur les Oiseaux des environs de Geneve,1 " (a work upon a
similar plan would be a pleasing addition to English Orni-
thology), has given some interesting details respecting the
crossbill.

Hampton Lodge, near Farnham, Surrey ;
April, 1839.

[Conceiving that the above notice would prove extremely interesting to
Mr. Yarrell, we forwarded the MS. to him, along with the nest, eggs, and
young crossbill : his acknowledgment of their receipt, which we are enabled
to subjoin, gives additional value to Mr. Long's communication- — jEd.~\

Ryder Street, 22nd April, 1839.

Dear Sir,

I am very much obliged by the opportunity
you have afforded me of examining the nest, eggs, and young
bird of our common crossbill ; and if the following descrip-
tions of them are worthy of being appended to the interesting
communication forwarded by your correspondent, they are
very much at your service.

The nest is rather small in proportion to the size of the
bird, being only four inches and a half across the top, out-

1 Lu a la Societe de Physique et d' Histoire Naturelle de Geneve, et ex-
trait du second volume des Memoires de cette Societe. Reprinted in sm.
4to. by Paschaud, Paris and Geneva, 1823.

PLANTS ABOUT KIRTLINGTON. 239

side measure, where it is widest, and the cavity but three
inches in diameter. The outside is strengthened with a few
slender twigs of fir, then a layer of coarse dry grass, lined
with finer grass and a few long hairs. It is lodged close to
the central stem of a Scotch fir, about thirty inches below its
highest point, at the base of the shoots of the year 1837 ; here
the nest is supported underneath by five or six ascending la-
teral branches of the fir, which so entirely conceal it, that it
can scarcely have been perceptible from the ground, and the
occasional visits of the parent birds probably betrayed their
retreat.

The eggs measure seven eighths of an inch in length and
breadth, the colour white, slightly tinged with pale skim-milk
blue, and sparingly speckled with red, which is of a darker
shade on one egg than on the other ; the character of the egg
like that of the greenfinch, but larger, with the smaller por-
tion of red colour not confined to the larger end.

The young bird appears to be about three weeks old, and
measures four inches and a half in length, the wing from the
carpal joint to the end only two inches and a half long, the
base of each primary being covered with its membranous
sheath, or only as yet what is commonly termed pen-feather-
ed. Both mandibles of the beak straight, the under mandi-
ble shutting within the upper; the plumage of the head, back,
rump, and all the under surface of the body greyish white,
tinged with yellow, and streaked longitudinally with dusky
brown ; the feathers of the wings and tail dark brown, edged
and tipped with pale wood brown. Legs and toes flesh colour#

Yours very truly,

Wm. Yarrell.

Editor of the 'Magazine of Natural History.1

Art. VIII. — List of a few Rare or Interesting Plants noticed in the

neighbourhood of Kirtlington, Oxfordshire. By W. Wilson

Saunders, Esq., F.L.S., &c.

Local lists of plants, however small, often prove interesting
to the practical botanist, and with this idea I have drawn up
the following, which pretends to nothing more than pointing
out the localities of a few rare or interesting plants which I
met with last summer in the neighbourhood of Kirtlington.
The country about Kirtlington is gently undulating in its out-
line, and free from wood, except near the parks of Sir George
Dashwood and — Annesley Esq. The river Cherwell bounds

240 PLANTS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF

Kirtlington parish to the west, accompanied by a belt of wet
meadow land ; and to the east, near the village of Weston, is
a very interesting locality called " the Peat-pits," a boggy
tract of very limited extent. Limestone is found at a few feet
below the surface of the soil in all the elevated parts of the
neighbourhood. Oldbury, wThich occurs several times as a lo-
cality, is a portion of Sir G. Dashwood's park at Kirtlington,
adjoining the church-yard.

Salvia pratensis, Linn. This rare plant occurs sparingly in the Green Lane
as it is called, leading from Kirtlington to the western extremity of
Lord Jersey's Park at Middleton. The plants grow close by the road
side, in that part of the lane immediately under Lord Jersey's park, but
at a distance from gardens or buildings. This lane is generally sup-
posed to be the remains of an old Roman road, and the surface of the
soil has probably been undisturbed for ages. •

Fedia dentata, Vahl. Grows abundantly in the corn fields near the loca-
lity for Salvia pratensis.

Schoznus nigricans, Linn. Common in the boggy parts of the Peat-pits at
Weston.

Festuca Myurus, Linn. This grass, so often confounded with Fes. bro-
moides, is common about the village of Kirtlington, where it reaches
from 15 to 18 inches in height, in rich soils.

Avena pubescens, Linn. In dry pastures and by road-sides to the south-
west of the village.

Brachypodium pinnatum, Beauv. Abundant about some shallow stone-
pits at the commencement of the Common through which the road
passes from Middleton to Hayford, near Lord, Jersey's park.

Potamogeton pectinatus, Linn. In the great pond in Kirtlington park.

Myosotis ccespitosa, Schultz. An interesting variety, with the corolla of
a pure white, occurs on the banks of the great pond in Kirtlington
park. The colour of the flower of this variety remains constant under
cultivation.

Campanula hybrida, Linn. Common in the corn-fields to the west of the
village of Kirtlington, especially near the Washford stone-pits.

Ribes rubrum, Linn. A few plants grow in the drier parts of the Peat-pits
at Weston.

CEnanthe peucedanifolia, Poll. Common in the Peat-pits at Weston. —
This is surely a good species; the want of the universal involucre, and
the linear radical leaflets, leaving the difference of locality out of the
question, distinguish it from CEn. pimpinelloides, Linn., and these dif-
ferences I find constant, after examining a great many specimens from
this locality as well as from others.

Silaus pratensis, Besser. Abundant in Oldbury and the parts of the park
adjoining.

Sambucus Ebulus, Linn. In the copse at the boundary of Kirtlington
park through which the foot-way passes from Kirtlington to Weston.
Also by the gate at the entrance to the Peat-pits from Stonehouse farm.

Parnassia palustris, Linn. Occurs sparingly in the Peat-pits to the north
of the little stream which runs through them.

Berberis vulgaris, Linn. A few bushes of this plant occur in the hedges
at the lower part of Oldbury ; and it abounds in the hedges of the lane
leading from Stonehouse farm to the Peat-pits.

Hyacinth us non-scriptus, Linn. A variety with delicate pink flowers grows

KIRTLINGTON, OXFORDSHIRE. 241

in a copse by the side of the canal near the stone-pits at Enslow bridge.

Rumex Hydrolapathum, Huds. Abundant by the side of the Cherwell. —
I have gathered radical leaves of this plant in the above locality which
were 3 feet 6 inches long and 8 inches broad, — the largest leaf produ-
ced by any of our native plants. A thin transverse slice of the leaf-
stalk is a beautiful object under the microscope.

Colchicum autumnale, Linn. This plant abounds in a field to the south
of the village of Kirtlington, called "Galway-close;" and also sparing-
ly in Oldbury.

Silene noctiftora, Linn. In the corn-fields to the right of the foot-way
from Kirtlington to Bletchington. This I insert on the authority of
Miss Mara Saunders, to whom I am indebted for some fine specimens
from this locality, which were gathered last year.

Spiraea Filipendula, Linn. In the drier parts of Kirtlington park, near the
great pond ; and also in the Green lane, near the locality for Salvia
pratensis.

Geum rivale, Linn. In Oldbury, near the spring, and in a meadow near
the Oxford canal, at the very south-west extremity of Kirtlington pa-
rish. In the former locality it occurs from 6 to 10 inches high, with
one or two flowers on a stem ; in the latter, which is much wetter, from
1 foot to 20 inches in height, with several flowers on a stem, and here
and there a flower showing a tendency to become double.

Thalictrum Jlavum, Linn. By the side of the Cherwell, and in the Peat-
pits.

Adonis autumnalis, Lin. Corn-fields between Kirtlington and Bletchington.

Ranunculus aquatilis, var. /3, pantothrix, DC. In wet ditches between
Kirtlington and Bletchington parks.

Acinos vulgaris, Pers. In the corn-fields between Kirtlington park and the
village of Weston.

Pedicularis palustris, Linn. Abundant' in the Peat-pits.

Lin aria minor, Desf. In the same locality as Acinos vulgaris.

Draba verna, Linn. This plant grows to an unusually large size in the
corn-fields near the Washford stone-pits, having flower-stems from 4 to
5 inches long, and many springing from the same root.

Cardamine amara, Linn. By the side of the Oxford canal, in the meadow
at the south-west extremity of Kirtlington parish, mentioned as a lo-
cality for Geum rivale.

Lathyrus Aphaca, Linn. Grows in some abundance in Clay Hill, a large
field on the outskirts of Kirtlington village, on the road to Woodstock.
A field-way runs down the northern side of this field, and the plant
grows between the way and the hedge.

Cnicus eriophorus, Willd. In the lane leading from Stonehouse farm to
the Peat-pits.

An the mis arvensis, Linn. By the sides of the road leading from Kirtling-
ton to Bletchington.

Achillea Ptarmica, Lin. Grows to a very large size, and with a yellow-
ish tinge in the flowers, in the meadows by the side of the Cherwell.

Epipactis palustris, Sw. An interesting variety of this plant, with large
flowers, and pale green stem, bracteas, and calyx, grows in the wet
parts of the Peat-pits, and in appearance is very unlike the usual state
of the plant.

Orchis Morio, Linn. Abounds in Oldbury and the parts of Kirtlington
park adjoining.

Carex intermedia, Gooden. ? A plant which I take to be a variety of this
species, with distant spikelets, occurs in some plenty on a boggy piece
of ground, at the west end of the great pond, in Kirtlington park. It
Vol. III.— No. 29. n. s. 2 c

242 FOSSIL REMAINS OF HYBODTJS

is, I believe, the Carex uliginosa of Suter, not Linnaeus ; but was made
a variety of Car. intermedia by Hegetschweiler, in an edition of Suter's
' Flora Helvetica,' in 1822, with the following character: — "Spicis in-
ferioribus distantibus." I have the same plant from meadows near
Mortlake, Surrey; and Dr. Bromfield has kindly forwarded it to me
from the Isle of Wight. In the Kirtlington locality I could not find
Carex intermedia in its usual state.
paniculata, Linn. In the osier beds near the Cherwell below En-
slow bridge. I insert this locality on the authority of Mr. James Saun-
ders, who showed me a series of specimens he had gathered there.
ampullacea, Gooden. In the Peat-pits, common.

Myriophyllum verticillatum, Linn. In ditches in the meadows between
the Oxford canal and the Cherwell, particularly near the swing bridge.

Salix pentandra, Linn. A tree, bearing sterile catkins, of this beautiful
species of willow, hangs over the spring in Oldbury, and when in flow-
er quite perfumes the air with the fragrance of its blossoms, which are
also much resorted to by bees of various kinds.

Art. IX. — Illustrated Zoological Notices. By Edward Charles-
worth, F.G.S., &c.
( Continued from Vol. i. n. s. p. 534.^

On the Fossil Remains of a Species of HYBODUS, from Lyme Regis.

Our acquaintance with the zoological history of the defen-
sive fin-bones termed Ichtkyodorulites, both as it respects
their specific determination and the group of fishes to which
they appertain, is principally due to the labours of Louis
Agassiz : and a considerable portion of the work now in
course of publication by this eminent naturalist, — the ' Re-
cherches sur les Poissons Fossils,' — is devoted to the illus-
tration and description of these interesting fossils. Ranging
vertically from the deposits of the cretaceous period to those
of the Silurian system, and horizontally throughout an area
of probably unlimited extent, the Ichthyodorulites, owing to
their bony texture and exterior of enamel, have been preserv-
ed during the long period of their entombment with singular
fidelity : and when disinterred from their matrix, assisted by a
knowledge of the teeth, with which these osseous rays were
formerly associated, the ichthyologist may safely venture to
infer their relation to existing types, though all other traces
of the skeleton may have disappeared.

The genus Hybodus is spoken of by Agassiz as being per-
haps the most important of the extinct genera of placoid or
cartilaginous fishes, in which one or both dorsal fins were
armed with these defensive weapons. A large number of
species are already characterised in the ( Poissons Fossils,'

^gvTMur^

V<^AU H*g£

FROM LYME REGIS. 243

the greater portion of which appear to have existed during
the deposition of the secondary rocks of this country. In
1822 Mr. De la Beche figured a spine and jaw of this genus
in the * Transactions of the Geological Society ; ' but fossil
Ichthyology had at that time received little attention, and
even up to a much more recent period, the Ichthyodorulites
were erroneously imagined to belong to genera allied to Ba-
listes or Silurus, although a comparative examination of the
basal termination of these organs would have readily shown
the incorrectness of the supposition. Agassiz, in his general
observations upon the Ichthyodorulites, acknowledges the
valuable assistance which he received from a manuscript pa-
per by Dr. Buckland and Mr. De la Beche, containing the
descriptions of twelve species ; and he remarks that the au-
thors of this paper had then arrived at a knowledge of the
true affinities of the rays in question.

A few weeks since Mr. Edmund Higgins, of Cheltenham,,
a gentleman who has for some time been a very ardent col-
lector of fossil remains, brought for my inspection the beau-
tiful specimen which forms the subject of these observations,,
the joint discovery of himself and Miss Anning, in the lias of
Lyme Regis. Appearing to be the most perfect jaw of the
Hybodus I had yet seen, and to possess a feature altogether
new to the genus, in the presence of a curved spine about
the region of the head, I requested and readily received per-
mission from its owner to draw up the present notice for the
' Magazine of Natural History.'

The specimen consists of two tabular masses, (see Sup-
plementary Plates, No. 4, fig. 1 & 2), on which the teeth are
arranged in a regular series. The larger fragment (of which,
in the engraving, some portion is omitted) is of a quadrate
shape, and from half an inch to three quarters in thickness.
Its anterior border is raised, slightly curved outwards, and
bristled with teeth, which are disposed along it in parallel
rows six deep, the external row being placed upon the ex-
treme edge. The remaining three borders have abruptly bro-
ken edges, and from the section of the interior thus displayed,
the mass, with the exception of a part of the jaw forming the
anterior border, appears to consist of folds of skin and por-
tions of bone, probably of the head, compressed together; but
the whole is so blended with the lias which has filled the in-
terstices, as to render the separation or discrimination of the
parts a matter of impossibility. On one surface, however, of
the mass, the opposite to that represented in the plate, a con-
siderable portion of the skin is preserved apparently uninjured,
and it is seen thickly beset with beautifully enamelled coni-

244 FOSSIL REMAINS OF HYBODUS

cal studs, each of which is attached by a neck to a round and
expanded base, (fig. 5, b & c). The surface of these dermal
points is marked with very prominent cost<e, and their sub-
stance appears to be exactly analogous to that of the teeth.
The portion of the skin of Acrodus, an allied genus, figured
in Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater Treatise, seems to present a
closely analogous character.

Notwithstanding that the teeth in this specimen are very
numerous, and for the most part implanted in the bone by their
original attachments, I have been quite unable to form an idea
respecting the character which the entire jaws would present,
and the relations which they have borne to the surrounding
parts. The fragments of jaws figured by Agassiz, throw no
light upon this matter ; and although in the ' Poissons Fos-
sils ' a great many species are characterised by the osseous
spines, and the genus often alluded to in the remarks upon
Ichthyodorulites, the complete history of its characters and
probable affinities has as yet been postponed. l

I am not able to determine whether the two fragments fi-
gured belong to one and the same side of the mouth, or to
the upper and lower jaws : there is nothing like a symphysis,
nor at the termination of the rows do the teeth present any
decided diminution in size or number, by which the position
of the lateral ligamental articulations might be detected. —
The series of teeth on the larger fragment consists of seven
rows, six deep, disposed along the anterior border of the
mass ; at one extremity the continuity of the series being in-
terrupted by the fractured lateral edge or border of the mass
itself, the rows of teeth are continued nearly to the margin of
the opposite lateral border, but here they make a sudden bend
inwards and backwards, by which their continuity is pre-
served ; the portion so recurved consists of five additional
rows, and its termination about the centre of the mass is
shown in the figure. Reasoning from the analogy of the
jaws in the existing genera of sharks, and also from the ap-
parently forcible displacement of the teeth at the immediate
spot where the bend occurs, this sudden curve would appear
to be the result of accident, rather than the natural disposi-
tion of the parts. The smaller fragment however exhibits a
very similar and equally sudden alteration in the direction of
the rows of teeth, and the same thing may be observed in the
original jaw figured by M. de la Beche in the ? Geological
Transactions.'

I I "believe the 12th livraison of the ' Poissons Fossils' is very shortly ex-
pected, and it may possibly contain the history of the genus Hybodus.

FROM LYME REGIS. 245

A very strong and irregularly shaped bone arises from the
centre of the mass, and, with its base apparently resting up-
on this bone, is placed the curved spine which constitutes
the principal feature of interest in the present specimen. —
From the position which this spine now occupies, it would
appear to have been situated about the region of the head,
bending abruptly forwards directly it emerged from the in-
teguments. The apex of the spine is unfortunately broken
off; but the portion left is about half an inch long, covered
with a smooth glistening coat of enamel, and presenting a
slight but well-defined upper edge. A few elevated and wa-
vy striae are irregularly distributed upon its surface. The
spine arises from a strong, expanded, bony base, which is
formed by three obtuse processes united in a common centre,
one of them extending anteriorly in the median line, and the
other two, which may be termed the lateral processes, at right
angles to the anterior one. Some portions of the surfaces of
these processes would appear to have given attachment to
very strong muscles, (fig. 7 & 8).

At the first glance this hooked spine might be thought to
be related to those which characterise so many species of the
genus Raia of Linnaeus, but its remarkable bony base, and
the general aspect of the organ itself, would seem to indicate
its connexion with more important functions than are pos-
sessed by a mere dermal prickle. In the absence of evidence
to the contrary, I should feel disposed to regard it as a soli-
tary spine, developed in the median line of the frontal region,
and connected with or simply resting upon the bones of the
cranium. In the Chimera monstrosa, to which Hybodus has
some affinity, a horn or frontal process is also present. In this
instance, however, it is only found in the male sex, and the
process itself has none of the formidable character about it
presented by the spine of Hybodus ; having but a compara-
tively slight base, and though the apex is armed with a series
of small prickles, the process itself is, I believe, externally
fleshy, with an internal, slight, bony support. The apparent
analogy, however, is worth a passing notice, because the teeth
of Chimera, although an existing genus, have been found fos-
sil in deposits which also contain the remains of Hybodus.

The teeth in the present specimen vary from half an inch
to three quarters of an inch in length. They are slightly
bowed, with the convexity outwards, and at the same time
arched from above to below, so that the apices of the outer-
most lateral lobes, in many instances, are nearly on the same
level with the base of the central process. The crown of the
tooth slightly projects beyond the osseous root which con-

246 FOSSIL REMAINS OF HYBODUS

nects it with the jaw, the line of separation being marked by
a well-defined sulcus. The crown is composed of a central
conical, blunt process, bounded on either side by four or five
small lobes, which are more or less distinctly developed. A
raised median line extends from the apex to the base of the
central process, both on the inner and external aspects, giv-
ing off* other lines, which diverge, ■ and spreading over the rest
of the process, become suddenly thickened just before they
reach its base. Upon the smaller processes or lobes of the
teeth, the lines also exhibit a strong tendency to converge to-
wards the large central one. The space between these raised
lines is about double that occupied by the lines themselves.
On the internal aspect of the teeth, the lines exhibit, in a
greatly diminished degree, the tendency to converge towards
the central process, (see fig. 4). In many of them indeed, over
the internal surface, the lines are vertical in their direction.
Below, and extending parallel to the groove which separates
the crown from the osseous root, is a prominent ridge, (see fig.
3), but of this there is no corresponding indication on the in-
ternal aspect, (fig. 4).

The above description must be considered as applying to
the apparently normal or typical character of the teeth, many
modifications of which may arise from their position in a par-
ticular part of the jaw, or from accidental circumstances.

The teeth, as shown in the figure, appear to have been uni-
formly directed backwards and inwards, and the lowest row
in the series lies quite flat, as in the recent genera Galeus,
Carcharias, &c. A circumstance worth notice is that the
lowest row in the series is shown, by fractured specimens, to
be fully as capable of taking office as those occupying the
front rank; now the corresponding teeth in many existing
squaloid genera are mere hollow cases, which become gradu-
ally filled with osseous matter as they ascend in the series.

I have been led rather minutely to detail the characters
presented by this fossil jaw, because so large a number of
species are included in the genus, and also because I have
not been able to refer it to any species hitherto described. —
Agassiz has figured the teeth of three species of Hybodus
from the lias of Lyme Regis and Bristol, namely, Hyb. rari-
costatus, reticulatus, and medius. The teeth of the present
species differ from the first of these in the greater size of the
central process, and the less distinct development of the la-
teral ones, and in presenting much more numerous and small-

1 The divergence of these lines is "best shown hy the recumhent teeth
about the middle of the anterior border of the larger fragment, (fig. 1).

FROM LYME REGIS. 247

er striae; from Hyb. reticulatus they are at once distinguished
by the 'bluntness of the dental processes, and the divergence
of the stria upon their surface : the teeth of Hyb. medius
differ in the indistinctness of the division of their crowns into
lobes, and in the regularity of the compressed cones which
their forms exhibit.

By far the greater number of species of Hybodus enume-
rated in the * Poissons Fossils ' are merely known by the Ich-
thyodorulites ; and Agassiz regrets that the rare occurrence
of the teeth and spines under circumstances which establish
their relation to the same individual, compels him to intro-
duce a double nomenclature. It fortunately happens in the
present instance, that in addition to the frontal spine, both
dorsal were also discovered. One of these is represented in
the plate of the natural size, (fig. 9). Its fellow differs in
being about two inches longer, in presenting a much slighter
decrease in the width of the grooved sides, and in having a
smaller number of denticulations. The character of these parts
is so well conveyed by Mr. Sowerby's engraving, that it is
unnecessary for me to enter into any minute description.

In the future identification of this species, it should be
borne in mind that the supposed frontal spine may be lost,
while the jaws or other parts of the skeleton may be pre-
served ; and on the other hand, this singular appendage may
not improbably be common to several species of the genus.
The circumstance of this fossil appearing to be generally un-
known to collectors, even in a detached state, strengthens my
assumption that the shark to which it belonged was not fur-
nished with a series of these spines, and indeed perhaps in-
dicates the rare occurrence of the particular species which it
may serve to characterise. I hope the publication of this
notice may draw the attention of those interested in fossil
Zoology to the subject, but at present Mr. Lonsdale is the
only person of those to whom the fossil in question has been
shown, who had previously seen anything of the kind; and
he tells me that a similar but detached fossil body, also from
the lias, is preserved in the Bath Museum.

Being unable to identify the present species with any one
that has been described, I have called it Hybodus Delabecheii,
M. De la Beche having, I believe, been the first geologist who
drew attention to the fossil remains of the genus.

REFERENCES TO PLATE NO. 4.

Figs. 1 & 2. Tabular masses upon the borders of which the teeth are dis-
posed. The posterior and right lateral borders extend farther than re-

248 SPECIES DES COLEOPTERES.

presented in the engraving. The parts connecting the two fragments are
missing.

Fig. 3 is a small tooth, showing the prominent transverse ridge which marks
the roots on their outer side.

Fig. 4. The inner side of a larger tooth of the form which appears to cha-
racterise the species.

Fig. 5, a, apparently a portion of skin without studs ; e and b, studs of the
natural size. (From the under surface of the mass fig. 1).

Fig. 6, b, a stud magnified.

Figs. 7 & 8. Two views of the supposed frontal curved spine.

Fig. 9. One of the two Ichthyodorulites, or spines supporting the dorsal
fins found with the jaws.

REVIEWS.

Art. I. — Species General des ColSopte'res. Tome 6ieme. Paris, 1839.
Par Ch. Aube.

The Baron Dejean, to whom we are indebted for the first
five volumes of this work, comprising the Cicindelidce and
Carabidae of his magnificent collection, having found it im-
possible, from his numerous political and military avocations,
to continue it with regularity, has confided the descriptions
of the water-beetles, composing the families Dyticida and
Gyrinid<e, to Dr. Charles Aube ; and it is impossible to have
placed the subject in better hands. Already well known by
his monograph on the Pselaphida as a microscopical coleop-
terist, this gentleman has added greatly to his fame by this
elaborate volume of upwards of 800 pages, in which nearly
as many species of aquatic Coleoptera are carefully described.
He has not, judiciously as we think, confined himself to the
collection of Dejean, but being in correspondence with the
chief European entomologists, he has been enabled to produce
a volume, superior, in our opinion, not only as to the extent
of its materials, but also in the style of its execution, to any
of the previous volumes of the work. There are several new
genera established ; and amongst the species we find those
described by Mr. Babington in the ' Transactions of the En-
tomological Society' adopted and referred to, but under names
previously given to them by other writers.

Art. II. — Zeitschrift fur die Entomologie ; Herausgegeben von Ernst
Friedrich Germar. Erster Band Erster Heft. 8vo. 196 pp. 2 plates.
Leipzig, 1839.

Having just received from the author a copy of this work, we
hasten to announce its appearance, being convinced that the

BEALE's HISTORY OF THE SPERM WHALE* 249

re-appearance of the venerable Germar, the friend of Latreille
and Leach, will be hailed with satisfaction by our readers. —
In this, the first number of a work similar in character to his
' Magasin der Entomologie,' are contained memoirs of various
groups of insects by the editor and others. They are as fol-
lows.—

1. A Memoir upon the Scutelleridce, by M. Germar, in
which a great number of species of this interesting group, to-
gether with several new genera, are described, and in which
we find the works of Burmeister, Guerin, &c, and the synop-
tical catalogue of Mr. Hope, carefully cited.

2. A Monograph on the genus Mantissa, by Dr. Erichson,
preceded by various considerations as to the place occupied
by this anomalous genus, together with descriptions of twen-
ty-four species. We may here take occasion to observe that
the author has not consulted the last volume of the ( Ency-
clopedic Methodique,' (wherein his Mant. chalybea has been
previously described under the name of Mant. semihyalina),
nor the f Entomological Magazine,' in which a species has
been described by Mr. Newman : neither is the author ac-
quainted with any Australian species, of which, however, we
are aware of the existence.

3. Memoir on the chemical composition of the fatty mat-
ter and oily secretion of lepidopterous insects, by Professor
Dtibner, of Augsburg.

4. Descriptions of three new genera of Cicadida, by Dr.
Germar : 1st, Clastoptera, near Penthimia, seven American
species : 2nd, Xerophloea, near Gypona, oue Brazilian spe-
cies : 3rd, Phylloscelis, near Eurybrachis, two Pennsylvanian
species.

Art. III. — The Natural History of the Sperm Whale. By Thomas Beale,
late Surgeon to the ' Kent ' and ' Sarah and Elizabeth ' South-Seamen.
London : Van Voorst, 1 839.

The author of this work is favourably known as the writer of
a brief sketch of the natural history of the sperm whale which
was published three or four years since ; and the information
which he then communicated to the public in the shape of a
pamphlet, has been re-printed, and now comes before us in
the more important character of a volume. Since the publica-
tion of his first edition it appears that Mr. Beale has examin-
ed the skeleton of a cachalot in the possession of Sir Clifford
Constable, near Hull, and has thereby been enabled to draw
Vol. III.— No. 29. n. s. 2d

250 beale's history of the srEiiM whale.

up a detailed description of its osteology ; and by freely avail-
ing himself of the labours of his predecessors in his account
of the soft parts, he has thrown together a good summary of
all that is known respecting the anatomical history of this gi-
gantic mammal. His remarks upon the habits &c. of the ca-
chalot, are clearly the result of careful and well-directed ob-
servation ; and though here and there a few passages are
penned a little in the * book-making"* style, yet the volume, up-
on the whole, is a very creditable production, and in some
respects a highly acceptable contribution to the science of
Zoology. Mr. Beale is perfectly satisfied that he has never
encountered more than one species of sperm whale, and that
the Phi/seter macrocephalus of authors, which he tells us has
yet " to assume the station to which it is entitled in the his-
tory of animated nature." It seems that Cuvier and a host
of other distinguished savans who have taken upon them-
selves to write about the sperm whale, have made all sorts of
misrepresentations in their attempts to describe this cetacean,
and the absurdity of the greater part of their lucubrations is
shown up by Mr. Beale in the most able and praiseworthy man-
ner. Our author indeed plainly shows that in handling the
subject he is no respector of persons ; and Sir William Jar-
dine, or even the great Linnaeus, come in for a rap, if he thinks
they have done ought to merit castigation.

Mr. Beale's observations agree in their essential points with
those of Mr. F. Debell Bennett, published in the ' Proceed-
ings of the Zoological Society' for 1837 ; and our author has
therefore the merit of priority. On the subject of the ejec-
tion of a column of water from the spiracle, which has long
been a matter in dispute, we have the following remarks. —

" Out of the thousands of sperm whales which I have seen during my
wanderings in the south and north Pacific Oceans, I have never observed
one of them to eject a column of water from the nostril. I have seen them
at a distance, and I have been within a few yards of several hundreds of
them, and I never saw water pass from the spout-hole. But the column of
thick and dense vapour which is certainly ejected, is exceedingly likely to
mislead the judgment of the casual observer in these matters ; and this co-
lumn does indeed appear very much like a jet of water, when seen at a dis-
tance of one or two miles on a clear day, because of the condensation of the
vapour, which takes place the moment it escapes from the nostril, and its
consequent opacity, which makes it appear of a white colour, and which is
not observed when the whale is close to the spectator, and then it appears
only like a jet of white steam ; the only water in addition is the small quan-
tity that may be lodged in the external fissure of the spout-hole, when the
animal raises it above the surface to breathe, and which is blown up into
the air with the spout, and may probably assist in condensing the vapour
of which it is fonned.

BEALES HISTORY OF THE SPERM WHALE.

251

" It has, however, been stated by some naturalists that it is onlv at times
that this whale projects water from the nostril, and that, thoy say, is at the

25*2 beale's history of the sperm whale.

time of his feeding. How far such an observation can apply to the Green-
land whale, which feeds near the surface, will be noticed in the conclusion
of these remarks ; but I can state here, that such an observation cannot
hold good with regard to the sperm whale, for that creature feeds far below
the surface, and, in so doing, the large male continues in the depths of the
ocean from an hour to an hour and twenty minutes, without once showing
himself above ; so that, if he wishes to eject water from the mouth through
the nostril, to avoid swallowing it, (if, indeed, he has any anatomical ar-
rangement for so doing), it must be performed in the depths of his native
element, into which he descends to feed, and therefore the operation is re-
mote from observation."

Mr. Beale appears to be completely in his element when
describing the chase and capture of this giant of the ocean.

" Let the reader suppose himself on the deck of a south-seaman, cruising
in the North Pacific Ocean at its Japanese confine. He may be musing
over some past event, — the ship may be sailing gently along over the smooth
ocean, every thing around solemnly still, with the sun pouring its intense
rays with dazzling brightness ; suddenly the monotonous quietude is brok-
en by an animated voice from the mast-head exclaiming " there she spouts."
The captain starts on deck in an instant, and inquires " where away ? " but
perhaps the next moment every one aloft and on deck can perceive an enor-
mous whale lying about a quarter of a mile from the ship, on the surface of
the sea, having just come up to breathe, — his large "hump " projecting
three feet out of the water, when at the end of every ten seconds the spout
is seen rushing from the fore-part of his enormous head, followed by the cry
of every one on board, who join heart and soul in the chorus of "there
again!" keeping time with the duration of the spout. But while they have
been looking, a few seconds have expired — they rush into the boats, which
are directly lowered to receive them — and in two minutes from the time of
first observing the whale, three or four boats are down, and are darting
through the water with their utmost speed towards their intended victim,
perhaps accompanied with a song from the headsman, who urges the quick
and powerful plying of the oar with the common whaling chant, of —

"Away my boys, away my boys, 'tis time for us to go."

But we have not time to go with them, and must therefore
refer our readers to the preceding spirited sketch, which forms
one of the series in Mr. Beale's work ; at the same time hear-
tily recommending the volume to their perusal, as containing
a great deal of entertaining matter, blended with really valua-
ble scientific information.

EDITORIAL REMARKS. 253

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

MAY, 1839.

We have this month devoted a portion of the Magazine to the papers
read before the Geological Society, on the zoological characters of the
Stonesfield jaws ; and having previously given translations of the Me-
moirs upon the same subject by MM. de Blainville and Valencienues,
our columns will be found to embody all the reasoning that has been
advanced for and against the mammiferous nature of these fossil re-
mains. The whole subject is one of which the investigation is at-
tended with extraordinary interest, depending, however, not so much
upon the abstract importance attached to the solution of the problem
that has arisen from the " doutes" of M. de Blainville, as upon the
ultimate considerations involved in the issue of the controversy. Are
we mistaken in supposing that the comparative anatomist has obtain-
ed such an insight into those laws which regulate the development of
organic structure, — such a knowledge of the limits assigned to devi-
ation from uniformity in their operation, — that from a characteristic
fragment of a skeleton he shall be able to restore the entire fabric,
determine the element in which it was destined to exist, and the rank
which it held in the scale of creation ?

This inquiry, arising out of the present discussion, naturally forces
itself upon our attention ; and its vital relation to the science of Ge-
ology is so obviously apparent, that the mere allusion to its impor-
tance is all the notice that, in this view, the subject requires. In
approaching the original question, it is hardly possible to shake off
the impression conveyed by negative geological evidence, and to re-
gard the matter as one in which the only legitimate data to guide
our decision, must be sought for in the inductive reasoning of the
comparative anatomist.

The frequency and abundance in which we find terrestrial mam-
mals imbedded in tertiary rocks of marine origin, and the ample evi-
dence which exists of secondary strata having often been deposited by
the waters of bays, estuaries, or rivers, and under conditions which

254 EDITORIAL REMARKS.

must have been favourable for the transportation of terrestrial produc-
tions, are facts which the geologist cannot easily exclude from recol-
lection ; and as the result of geological research in every country of
the world where fossiliferous strata have been studied, the Stonesfield
relics come before him, the one single exception — the solitary record
during that period of the earth's history, of the existence of beings
in the same elevated class in which man himself has been stationed.
We had a few casual remarks to offer on this subject, rather from
a feeling that we ought not to pass by a topic in Paleontology that
has excited such an unusual degree of attention, than, with the
idea of testing the strength of the respective positions assumed dur-
ing the course of the discussion ; but perceiving that our observations
would extend over a greater space than we can venture to afford, we
must take another opportunity of reverting to the subject.

Some numbers of a work have, within the last few days, come un-
der our notice, the publication of which we see with no small share
of surprise, mingled wrth a feeling not far short of indignation. —
The covers bear the following indication of their contents. — " Concho-
logie Mineralogique de la Grande Bretagne, par James Sowerby. —
Traduction Franchise revue, corrigee, augmentee, par L. Agassiz." A
French version of the text of Mr. Sowerby's ' Fossil Conchology,' with
coloured imitations of the accompanying figures, and this published
at one fourth the cost of the original work, is about the last thing
we should have looked for from the hands of Louis Agassiz. The
illustrations, for the most part, are but sorry imitations, though suf-
ficiently characteristic to serve for the identification of the species, and
thus check at least the foreign demand for a work, upon which so
many years of toil have been expended. As a set-off against this un-
due appropriation of the labours of another, — this inroad upon the
property of a fellow-labourer in the field of science, we are told that
"l'utilite d'une edition Franchise du Mineral Conchology, mise a la
portee de toutes les bourses, devant etre incontestable aux yeux de
tous ceux qui favorisent les progres de la Geologic"

Now if some noble patroniser of science in this country, acting un-
der a conviction that an English translation of the 'Poissons Fossils,'
with a fac-simile of the numerous illustrations, would, if published
at ten shillings each part, instead of thirty, be very acceptable to
all those who are favourable to the progress of Geology, were,
either by the aid of a government grant, or from his own private re-

WOODCOCKS BREEDING IN ENGLAND. 255

sources, to carry this idea into execution, the "utilitt" of such an
edition would, in this case, be equally incontestable, and probably no
one would be better able to appreciate its value than Louis Agassiz
himself. We believe the number of copies of Agassiz' work sold
in this country exceeds one hundred, and were this demand sup-
planted by an English translation, we would not venture to predict
how many more livraisons of the 'Poissons Fossils' would be forth-
coming. Of this we feel satisfied, that the ' Fossil Conchology' would
never have been undertaken, if its authors (the Messrs. Sowerby) had
anticipated such a course as that pursued in the present instance by
Agassiz, and if his first speculation succeed, we suppose he will fol-
low it up with a regular system of piracy upon the literary produc-
tions of English naturalists.

Personal knowledge, and a feeling of respect for the proud position
in the zoological world occupied by the author of the ' Poissons Fos-
sils, ' make us, on the present occasion, most reluctant censurers. —
Agassiz has met with the most cordial support on all sides, and in
various ways, from the cultivators of science in this country ; and al-
though it may appear harsh thus to express ourselves, we do not he-
sitate openly to declare our conviction, that in editing a transcript in
the French language of the 'Mineral Conchology of Great Britain,'
its author cannot be said to have really promoted the objects of sci-
ence, still less to have added to his own reputation.

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS.

Breeding of the Woodcock in England. — On the 24th of
March a woodcock was flushed in a wood near my house ;
and on examining the spot from whence it rose, a nest with
four eggs in it was discovered. It was not disturbed for four
or five days ; when, finding it deserted, the eggs were taken
and brought to me, and are now in a glass case. They had
not been sat upon, as upon blowing them they were perfectly
fresh.— E. Eardly Wilmot.—Berkswell, April 11th, 1839.

Iconographie des Insectes Coleopteres, par De Laporte
Comte de Castelneau et H. Gory. — According to the prospec-
tus, the above work was to consist of 20 livraisons ; having
just received the 27th and 28th, I beg leave to offer to your
readers some observations on the publication. Livraison 27
contains twenty-three figures in five plates ; — livraison 28 on-
ly thirteen. The anatomical details are not worthy of com-

256 ICONOGRAPHIE DES COLEOPTERES. — FROG IN AMBER.

parison with those published by M. Guerin, and there are
also other faults requiring notice. A monograph, according
to my views, should give the derivation of the new generic
names adopted by the monographer ; the authors have omit-
ted to give them. Some are easy enough to guess at ; others
are very recondite and obscure, and require some explanation.
Some again exhibit a sad want of taste and euphony. What
is the signification of Temina, and the meaning of the absurd
term of Nascio t Acherusia, Asthrceus, Bulls and Bubastes
require their derivatives to be mentioned. It is high time
that this work should be brought to a close ; if not, subscrib-
ers will probably withdraw their names, and not submit to
receive a fasciculus in which only thirteen species are figured
instead of at least thirty, as there ought to be. We recom-
mend the attention of the authors to the latinity, as absolutely
necessary. The typograpical errors are numerous, and ought
to be corrected. It is to be hoped that the index will be more
perfect than that of the Cetoniada published by M.M. Gory
and Percheron. A word respecting the plates. The figures
are engraved under the superintendence of Dumesnil, and cer-
tainly do him credit ; the colours are too vivid, many of the
species are more like peacocks than the insect originals ; and
the quantity of gum used to set off the colouring comes off,
and damages the appearance of the plates. We have yet
another fault to find ; the Latin descriptions of the species
are too concise, and the French descriptions which follow are
little more than a mere copy of the former ; the whole are so
meagre and scanty that it is impossible to make out any spe-
cies with certainty ; the characteristic distinctions are gene-
rally omitted. So much for the Iconographie, a work which
has only one recommendation, namely, Dusmesnil's engrav-
ings.— F. W. Hope.

New species of frog in yellow amber. — Baron Bulow-Rieth
of Stettin, is in possession of a very curious specimen of a
frog, imbedded in yellow amber, which appears to be the on-
ly known instance of an antediluvian amphibian being hand-
* ed down to our time with its external characters. That this
individual has not been imbedded in the amber by artificial
means, appears evident from its differing specifically from all
living frogs. Mr. Schmidt, of Stettin, considers it to belong
to the true Ranee of the moderns, and that it is nearly allied
to Rana temporaria, Linn., which it resembles in the colour
of the .skin and markings on the legs, but essentially differs
from that species in the thinness and delicacy of the toes,
which taper almost to a point. — W. Weissenborn. — Weimar

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY.

JUNE, 1839,

Art. I — Observations on the History and Classification of the
Marsupial Quadrupeds of Neiv Holland. By W. Ogilby, Esq.
M.A., &c. &c.

( Continued from page 1 37.)

With regard to the history and nomenclature of the mar-
supials, it must be recollected, that, at the period when Lin-
naeus published the 12th edition of the ' Systema Naturae,'
Captain Cook had not yet commenced that brilliant career of
discovery, which has since made us acquainted with the most
remote parts of the habitable globe, and rendered his name
as illustrious as that of Columbus himself. The Australian
mammals were consequently unknown to the Swedish natu-
ralist, and the few marsupial quadrupeds with which he was
acquainted, admitted of an easy and natural classification, in
accordance with the principles of the system which he adopt-
ed. They were accordingly formed into a single genus, nam-
ed Didelphis, (from the nature of the abdominal pouch with
which they were provided, executing, as it were, the func-
tions of a second uterus), and characterised by having ten in-
cisor teeth in the upper and eight in the lower jaw; a cha-
racter the more appropriate from being altogether peculiar to
these animals. This classification, applied as it was to the
American opossums, with which alone Linnaeus was acquaint-
ed, is altogether unobjectionable, and has been adopted, with-
out alteration, by the most judicious of subsequent zoologists ;
but after the discoveries of Cook and other navigators in the
Pacific, and above all, the settlement of the British colony on
the eastern shores of New Holland, had opened to investiga-
tion the Zoology of these distant regions, the dasyures, kan-
garoos, and phalangers of the east were unadvisedly incorpo-
rated in the same genus with the opossums of the western
Vol. III.— No. 30. n. s. 2 e

258 MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND.

world, from the single consideration of the abdominal pouch,
and with an utter disregard of all other organic characters,
however prominent or influential. Thus were the natural
harmony of the genus, and the logical simplicity and preci-
sion of its definition, at once destroyed ; nor was it till many
years afterwards, that the confusion thus introduced, was fi-
nally corrected. Dr. Shaw, the first describer of most of the
Australian marsupials, and the principal author of all this
perplexity, has, at the same time, the merit of having first led
the way towards its subsequent reform, by separating the kan-
garoos and flying phalangers from the true didelphes of Lin-
naeus, and establishing them, in separate genera, under the
denominations of Macropus and Petaurus, by which names
they still continue to be designated. This division was pro-
posed in the first volume of the c Naturalist's Miscellany,'
published in the year 1790, but attracted little notice till M.
Geoffroy St. Hilaire effected a more complete arrangement of
the marsupials in the 'Magasin Encyclopedique ' for 1796.
In that monograph, he restored the genus Didelphis to the
original simplicity which Linnaeus himself had contemplated
at its formation, by separating from it all the Australian spe-
cies which Gmelin and Shaw had incorporated with it ; and,
adopting the Macropus of Shaw, arranged the remaining spe-
cies in two new genera, by the names of Phalangista and Da-
syurus. The following abstract of this distribution, will ex-
hibit more clearly the principles upon which it was founded.

1. Didelphis. Teeth 'g0: Jft ^•, tail naked and prehensile ; toesff; hind

feet with an opposable thumb.

2. Dasyurus. Teeth § : jj : Ifi; tail hairy and unprehensile ; hind thumb

short ; other toes separate.

3. Phalangista. Teeth § : |§ : || ; tail naked and prehensile ; hind thumb

turned backwards ; index and middle hind toe united.

4. Macropus. Teeth § : §§ : || ; tail very long, hairy and unprehensile ; no

hind thumb ; index and middle toe, behind, very small and united,

It will be observed that, in this arrangement, M. Geoffroy
suppresses the genus Petaurus formerly proposed by Shaw,
incorporating the animals thus designated with the phalan-
gers ; though in so doing he has unwittingly stumbled upon
the identical fault which his whole labour was designed to
correct ; introducing into his new genus the very confusion
complained of in the original distribution of Shaw and Gme-
lin, and rendering his definition of the phalangers totally in-
applicable to the majority of the species ; for the petaurists
differ from the phalangers as well by the unprehensile nature
of the tail, as by the possession of lateral membranes. The
only natural genus, therefore, which M. Geoffroy definitely

MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND. 259

formed at this period, was that which still continues to bear
the name of Dasyurus, by which it was then distinguished ;
though he has undoubtedly the farther merit of having at
least indicated the affinities of the phalangers, and the neces-
sity of their generic separation.

Such was the state in which this department of Zoology
continued till the return of Baudin's expedition in 1804 ;
when, to use M. Geoffroy's own words, the rich materials col-
lected by the accompanying naturalists, Peron and Lesueur,
added to the marsupial animals already known on the conti-
nent, new systems of organic modifications, and types of new
genera. From these data the French naturalist was enabled
to establish the genera Perameles and Phascolomys ; though
it must be observed that the animals so denominated, as well
as the dasyures and phalangers before mentioned, had been
long previously described in the works of Shaw, Bewick, and
other British zoologists. Monographs of these, and of some
of the former genera, were afterwards published in successive
volumes of the 'Annales du Museum d' Histoire Naturelle; '
where their characters, according to M. Geoflroy's view of the
subject, were finally settled, and their different species accu-
rately described. From this period nothing farther was at-
tempted in the Zoology of the marsupials, till the appearance
of Illiger' s ' Prodromus Systematis Mammalium et Avium,' in
1811. Three important separations were effected in this va-
luable work : the Cheironectes were distinguished from the
JDidelphes, the Petaurisis from the Phalangers, and the Hyp-
siprymni from the Kangaroos. In adverting to this subject,
M. Geoffroy criticises, * with considerable warmth and asper-
ity of language, the presumption of Illiger in interfering with
the divisions which he had formerly established ; and casts
an unmerited reflection on the memory of the German natu-
ralist, as having been more conversant with the details of
classical philology, than with the organic structure and affi-
nities of the animal kingdom. Nevertheless, the labours of
Illiger must be regarded, by every impartial judge, as the
completion of the work which M. Geoffroy had himself com-
menced, and as presenting the first really natural and unex-
ceptionable generic distribution of marsupial animals. As
such it was adopted by Baron Cuvier, in the 'Regne Animal,'
and its merits have since been tacitly acknowledged by all
subsequent writers, not even excepting M. Geoffroy himself.
M. De Blainville added, in 1814, the new genus Phascolarc-
tos, and M. Temminck, on the appearance of his ' Monogra-

» Diet, des Sci. Nat,, Art. ' Marsupiaux. '

260 MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND.

phies de Mammalogie' in 1824, completed the natural distri-
bution of marsupial quadrupeds, by separating the genera
Thylacinus and Phascogale from the Dasyuri, with which M.
Geoffroy had associated them.

As at present constituted, therefore, the marsupial animals,
excluding the Monotremata of Geoffroy and Cuvier, are ar-
ranged in the following twelve natural genera, thus shortly
characterised. 1

1. Didelphis, Lin. Teeth \p: ft: T^\ tail naked and prehensile; hind feet

with a clawless opposable thumb.

2. Cheironectes, 111. Teeth 'F0: ft: 1ft \ tail naked and unprehensile ? hind

feet palmated and with unopposable thumbs ?

3. Phascogale. Teeth §: ft: ^; the two middle incisors above much long-

er than the lateral ; the molars armed with sharp tubercles; tail un-
prehensile ; toes separate and slender ; the hind thumb tuberculous
and without a claw.

4. Dasyurus, Geoff. Teeth |: ft: §§; tail unprehensile ; feet digitigrade,

with separate prehensile toes, and a rudimentary tubercle in place
of the posterior thumb, in some species.

5. Thylacinus, Temm. Teeth § : ft : lft\ tail unprehensile ; feet digi-

tigrade, five toes on the fore and four on the hind.

6. Perameles, Geoff. Teeth ^ or 'g0 : ft : "3ft or |§ ; two interior toes next

the thumb of hind feet united.

7. Phalangista, 111. Teeth § : g§ : gg ; tail prehensile ; hind thumb op-

posable, and two next toes united.

8. Petaurus, Shaw. Teeth | : gg : $; tail unprehensile ; lateral mem-

branes ; feet like those of Phalangista.

9. Hypsiprymnus, 111. Teeth § : $: §§ ; hind feet much longer than

fore, and with the two interior toes united.

10. Macropus, Shaw. Teeth |: gg: ff ; feet as in Hypsiprymnus.

11. Phascolarctos, De Blainv. Teeth § : $: f§; the toes before separat-

ed into two opposable groups, the two interior on one side, and the
three exterior on the other ; hind thumb opposable, and two next
toes united.

12. Phascolomys, Geoff. Teeth § : gg : f| ; hind thumb very short, and

without a claw, next three toes united.

It will be observed that, from this enumeration of the
genera of marsupials, which are here arranged and defined
according to the prevailing ideas upon the subject, I have
excluded the Halmaturi and some other proposed divisions
of M. F. Cuvier, the Isoodon of M. Is. Geoffroy St. Hilaire,
and the Acrobata of M. Desmarest, as not being founded
upon organic modifications sufficiently influential to entitle
them to the rank of generic groups. With these exceptions,

1 Since the autumn of 1831 , when this paper was written, two new gene-
ra of Marsupials have been added to those here enumerated ; Myrmecobius
by Mr. Waterhouse, and Chceropus by myself. The former is described in
the Transactions, and the latter in the Proceedings, of the Zoological So-
ciety.—W. 0. April, 1839.

MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND. 261

however, I consider the generic distribution of marsupial ani-
mals as approaching more nearly to a perfect and natural
division, than that of almost any other order of mammals, as
at present constituted. Indeed I know of none against which
fewer reasonable or valid objections can be urged, upon this
head; but whilst I concede this just praise to the generic
distribution of the marsupials, I am bound, at the same time,
to acknowledge, that I know of no other order of which the
families, or intermediate groups, are at once so arbitrary, so
illogical, and so entirely inconsistent both with the structure
and economy of the animals. Yet this higher step in gene-
ralization is a most important link in that chain of affinities
which constitutes a good classification ; since upon it depend
not only the scientific character of the system, but even its
practical value, so far as relates to the knowledge of the su-
perior group, and the nature of its composition ; and it be-
comes, therefore, a matter of some consequence, to point out
the errors of the present division, and to endeavour, if possi-
ble, to substitute one less objectionable to logical criticism,
and more conformable to the natural affinities of the animals.
Baron Cuvier, and after him M. Desmarest, divide the order
Marsvpialia into six families ; to which, however, they have
given no distinctive names ; probably because the illustrious
naturalist first named, considered the primary group, at the
period of publishing the first edition of his ' Regne Animal,'
only as a subordinate family of his order Carnivora ; and it
is well known that he was not in the bad habit, which has
since become so prevalent among a very inferior class of imi-
tators, of burdening the memory by assigning useless and
high-sounding appellations to the mere subdivisions of fami-
lies and genera. M. Desmarest, who scrupulously follows the
footsteps of Baron Cuvier in every department of Mammalo-
gy, has not departed from his guide in the present instance ;
nor does the second edition of the ' Regne Animal ' make any
change in this respect, though the primary group is there ele-
vated to the rank of an order, and the subordinate divisions
consequently assume the station of families ; groups which it
was M. Cuvier' s invariable practice to distinguish by appro-
priate names. This, however, had been done some years pre-
viously by the late M. Latreille, who, in his ' Families Natu-
relles,' published in the year 1825, had moreover introduced
some modifications into the divisions of Baron Cuvier, which
have but tended to make it still more confused and unnatural
than it was before ; and only show how imperfectly this emi-
nent entomologist was acquainted with the habits and structure

2e3

262

MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND.

of marsupial quadrupeds. Such as they are, his alterations
in both respects have been adopted by M. Lesson.

But to obtain a clear insight into the merits and defects of
these arrangements, I shall set them forth in the order and
with the definitions of their respective authors. That of M.
Cuvier is as follows.—

"I. Division. Long canines and small in.
cisors in both jaws; the back molars
with pointed tubercles ; and in general
teeth having all the characters of in-
sectivorous mammals

MARIS UPI ALIA J

fDidelphis.

Cheironectes.

Thylacinus.

Phascogale.

Dasyurus.
KPerameles.

Phalangista.

Petaurus.

Hypsiprymnus

II. Division. Six incisors above, and
only two below ; superior canines long
and pointed; inferior small, sometimes
entirely wanting ; hind thumbs oppo-"
sable and without claws ; two follow-
ing toes united ; a large ccecum

III. Division. Incisors, upper canines,
and two hind toes united as in 2nd Di-
vision, but without opposable thumbs
or inferior canines (

IV. Division. Differs from the last on- J ^
ly in having no canines whatever { "

V. Division. Two long incisors below ; (
two long ones in the middle, and a few j Phascolarctos.
rather smaller on each side, above. ... (

^VI. Division. Purely rodent teeth Phaseolomys.

The arrangement of M. Latreille is but little different in
reality, except that it does far more violence to the natural
affinities of the animals than even that of M. Cuvier; but
whilst it is thus inferior, in a philosophical point of view, it
has certainly the merit of greater logical precision, being
founded upon a simple and uniform principle, which the other
is not : it is therefore greatly superior as an artificial method.

I. ENTOMOPHAGA;

Two canines and numerous small-
incisors in both jaws.

f Didelphis.
Cheironectes

(Dasyurus
Thylacinus
Phascogale
^Perameles

II. Carpophaga. ( A . . (Phalangista
Six incisors above; 4suPenorcanmes|pAa,coLe^

no inferior canines (2 superior canines Hypsiprymnus

III. Phyllophaga. (kfMAi*miwi.«%'n*h (Petaurus
No canines in either 6 mcisors above \Macropus

jaw. (2 incisors above Phaseolomys

If simplicity, comprehensiveness, and something at least
approaching to equality of distribution, be the logical ele-

MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND. 263

ments of a good system, and no system destitute of these qua-
lities can be either true to nature or useful in its application
to practical purposes, it is impossible to conceive an arrange-
ment more deficient in these essential characters than that
of M. Cuvier. It is in vain that we here search for any
systematic or leading idea of classification; there is no
principle of method : and the author's only rule appears
to have been some arbitrary and undefined notions of rela-
tions, which he himself has not been able to clothe in lan-
guage. Nor is this the only logical objection, however fatal
to its pretences as a method. Not only is half the number
of genera which belong to the order, comprised in the
first division alone, but no fewer than four but of the six di-
visions of M. Cuvier contain only a single genus each, whilst
there are no less than six families to twelve genera ; circum-
stances which betray either an unpardonably faulty classifi-
cation, or an extremely defective knowledge of the constitu-
ent members of the group. The latter excuse, however, is
by no means admissible ; the generic forms of the marsupials
were perfectly well known to Baron Cuvier, who has denned
and characterised them with his accustomed accuracy and
elegance ; and the real defects of his arrangement will be
found to arise from a slavish adherence to the modifications
of the dentition, and even to the least influential and impor-
tant parts of it; viz. the mere number of the incisors, and the
comparative size and number of the false molars and rudimen-
tary canines ; for it is often difficult among the marsupials to
determine to which of these orders a particular tooth belongs.
This is the only thing like a uniform principle that I can dis-
cover ; but it is so awkwardly mixed up with other extrane-
ous characters, as to deprive the arrangement of simplicity
and precision. The first division, for instance, unites all the
marsupials which have more than six incisors in the upper,
and more than two in the lower jaw, without regard to any
other quality, however prominent or influential. Hence we
find the arborial didelphs, the aquatic yapocks, the digitigrade
thylacines, the saltigrade perameles, the carnivorous dasyures,
the insectivorous phascogales, and the fhigivorous opossums,
some with large caeca, some with small caeca, and some with-
out any caeca whatever, * all jumbled together without distinc-
tion ; and separated from genera to which they are most in-
timately related by the more influential details of their- struc-
ture, habits and appetites, merely because they happen to
agree in the very uninfluential character derived from the

1 On the faith of Dr. Giant. April, 1839.

2()4 MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND.

number of the incisors. The second and fifth divisions of M.
Cuvier's arrangement differ only by the presence or absence
of a small canine, frequently a mere rudiment, and totally de-
void of any assignable influence ; the same remark applies to
the third and fourth divisions, the separation of which is real-
ly no more, as far as the natural and logical principles of
classification are concerned, than a distinction without a dif-
ference ; nor is there any valid reason for separating the opos-
sums from the other Pedimana, or the Perameles from the
kindred saltigrade genera.

The radical defect of this system, in a scientific or zoologi-
cal point of view, and it is an error which systematists con-
stantly fall into, arises from attaching an undue value to slight
modifications of dentition, without attending to the more im-
portant modifications of other organs not less influential ; and
often without even regarding the relations which necessarily
subsist between organic modifications and the habits and eco-
nomy of animal life. It is less troublesome, and perhaps more
gratifying to the vanity of our intellectual powers, to infer
the habits and appetites of animals from their structure, than
to undertake the painful and laborious drudgery of observing
them ourselves, or searching for them among the voluminous
writings of foreign travellers and historians ; yet this latter
process, however tedious and difficult, is the only mode of
investigation which deserves the name, or accords with the
principles of inductive philosophy, or by which Zoology can
eventually pretend to a really scientific character : the other,
or a priori process, is but the spurious and vainglorious phi-
losophy of the schools, which, ever since the days of Bacon,
has been banished from every department of science except
Natural History. He entertains a very erroneous idea of the
science, who fancies himself a zoologist, because perchance
he may be acquainted with the outward forms of animals, and
able to refer any given specimen to its proper genus and spe-
cies ; he is not less mistaken who conceives himself to be a
philosopher, because he has studied their internal structure,
and the modifications of their different organic systems ; these,
no doubt, are most important facts, but they are only facts ;
they are, in conjunction with the observed habits and econo-
my of animals, the phenomena or raw material with which
the scientific zoologist has to work ; and the relations which
subsist between the observed phenomena of structure and
economy, is the only true and genuine philosophy of Zoology;
which, like all philosophy, is the knowledge, not of simple
facts, but of abstract relations. It is only when a distinct,
palpable, and necessary relation subsists between structure

ON THE CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA. 265

and habit, that we are justified in deducing or inferring the
one from the other. This is legitimate induction, but it has
been pushed far beyond its legitimate limits in the hands of
some anatomists and zoologists.

(To be continued.)

Art. II. — On the Classifications of the Amphibia. By John Hogg,
Esq., M.A., F.L.S., C.P.S., &C.1

In my short paper " On the Snake-like Proteus,"" contained in
the first volume of the new series of the ' Magazine of Natu-
ral History,' I assumed the permanency of the gills, — from a
long acquaintance with that remarkable fact, — as the princi-
ple upon which the Proteus ought to be characterised, not
only in conformity with its natural organization, but likewise
in respect to its position in the animal kingdom, as so nearly
approximating to some kinds of fishes.

Whilst examining Mr. Jenyns's excellent ' Manual of Bri-
tish Vertebrate Animals/ I found, at p. 299, that he arranged
our native species in the class Amphibia, and in an order
termed " Caducibranchia," from the gills being "deciduous ;"
it very naturally occurred to me to form for the Proteus ano-
ther order, which I named Manentibranchia, signifying the
gills remaining permanent ; and this I decided on, without
investigating under what orders or groups zoologists (with
the exception of Linnaeus and Cuvier) had distributed the
genera of amphibious animals.

Having lately had an opportunity of paying some attention
to this class of animals, I shall venture, after giving an out-
line of the different arrangements that have been adopted by
several of the modern naturalists, to add one — partly indeed
derived from that of Latreille — which I hope, notwithstand-
ing our imperfect knowledge of the rarer American kinds, may
not altogether be disregarded by those zoologists who are
more conversant in the highly interesting subject of Amphi-
biology.

To begin with Linnaeus. He arranged such of these ani-
mals (except the genus Ccccilia) as were then known, in his
last (the 12th) edition of the ' Systema IS aturae,' 1766, under the
first order, Reptiles, of the third class, — Amphibia; and which
were all comprised in only two genera, — Rana and Lacerta.

Lauren ti, about the same time (1768), publishing his ' Sy-

1 Communicated by the Author. Read at the Linnean Society, Feb. 6, 1838.

266 CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA.

nopsis Reptilium,' — a work which then contained more ac-
curate and further information of these animals, than any
other that had appeared, and is still accounted one of author-
ity and reference, — divided his seven genera into two orders,
viz., those reptiles which leap in their progressive motion,
and those which walk ; as follow.—

Classis.— REPTILIUM.

Ordo I. — Salientia. Genera. — Pipa. Bufo. Rana. Hyla.

Ordo II. — Gradientia. Genera. — Proteus. Triton. Salamandra.

The Count de La Cepede, in the i Hist. Nat. des Quad.
Ovip.' tome i., which was given to science in 1788, naming
them Oviparous Quadrupeds, classed his four genera just as
simply, by taking for his characters the presence and absence
of a tail ; thus. —

Classis I. — Quadrapedes ovipari caudati.

Gen. II. Lacertus. Div. 8. Salamandra.

Classis II. — Quadrapedes ovipari ecaudati.

Genera. — Rana. Hyla. Bufo.

Dumeril, (Zoologie Analytique, 1806), as Daudin had be-
fore done in his beautiful work, — c Hist. Nat. des Reptiles,'
1802, — followed Brongniart, (see his Essai dans le ' Bulletin
de la Societe Philomatique,' No. 36), who in 1799 first di-
vided the class Reptilia into four orders, and in the last of
which he placed these animals. Dumeril distinguished them,
after La Cepede, by the want and presence of a tail, and
merely assigned them new Greek, instead of the old Latin,
titles. His genera are the same as Laurenti's, with the addi-
tion of Siren ; as are here seen.

Classe III.— REPTILES.

Ordre4. Batraciens.

Ire Famille. Anoures. Sans queue.

Genres. — Pipa. Crapaud. Grenouille. Rainette.

2de Famille. Urodeles. Avee une queue.
Genres. — Triton. Salamandre. Protee. Sirene.

The same system is adopted again, but with a new family,
by Oppel in his * Reptilien,' 1811 ; as follows.

Classis III.— REPTILIA.

Ordo III. Nuda, (Klein). Ordo IV. Batracii, (Brongniart).

1. Familia. — Apoda. Genus. Cacilia.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA. 267

2. Familia.— ^-Caudata, (Dumeril).
Genera. — Triton. Salamandra. Proteus. Siren.

3. Familia. — Ecaudata, (Dumeril).
Genera. — Hyla. Rana. Pipa. Bufo.

Merrem published his ' Tentamen Systematis Amphibio-
rum' in the year 1820, wherein he gave a more extended ar-
rangement ; retaining Laurenti's two orders, taken from the
modes of progression of the feet, he added Oppel's order, —
"Apoda" without feet,— and two new tribes; in which lat-
ter he designated those animals that undergo a transforma-
tion, and those that do not But it is worthy of remark, that
he restricts the first tribe, Mutabilia, to only Salamandra
and Molge ; whereas he ought likewise to have included in
that tribe all (equally undergoing metamorphoses in their
young state) the genera of his second order, and to have pla-
ced his Tribus I. — Mutabilia, after " Or do II. — Salientia"
and before the " Genera" which would have rendered his
classification more perfect. The original is this. —

AMPHIBIA.

Classis II.— BATRACHIA.

Ordo I. — Apoda. Genus. — Ccecilia.

Ordo II. — Salientia.
Genera. — Calamita. Rana. Breviceps. Bombinator. Pipa. Bufo.

Ordo III. — Gradientia.

Tribus 1. Mutabilia; i. e. Metamorphosin subeunt.

Genera. — Salamandra. Molge.

Tribus 2. Amphipneusta. Metamorphosis nulla.

G enera. — Pro tens . Siren.

Latreille, five years afterwards, introduced to the world a
still better system, (vide ' Families Naturelles du Regne Ani-
mal,' 1825, p. 104), in which he judiciously founded his two
natural orders upon the branchia being deciduous in some
species, and perennial in others, though in two families he
has followed Dumeril ; thus. —

Seconde Classe. — AMPHIBIES. Amphibia.

Premier Ordre. — Caducibranches. Caducibranchia.

Ire. Famille. — Anoures. Anoura, (Dumeril).

Les Genres. — Pipa. Crapaud. Grenouille. Rainette.

2nd Famille. — Urodeles. Urodela, (Dumeril).

Les Genres.— Salamandre. Triton. Axolotl.

268 CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA.

Second Ordre. — Perennibranches. Perennibranchia.

Ire Famille. — Ichtyo'ides. Ichthyoida.

Les Genres. — Protee. Sirene.

It will be seen that Latreille places the Axoloil (Siredon
pisciformis) amongst the caducibranchious Amphibia, but it
had been previously discovered that its branchice are persist-
ent ; the details of which may be learnt from a paper by Sir
Everard Home, published in the ' Philosophical Transactions'
for the year 1824, p. 419. One of the accompanying plates
accurately represents the external gills as still remaining
on a female Axolotl when in the state of possessing fully de-
veloped ova ria, and just before the ova are shed;1 thereby
proving her to be a perfect animal. Consequently Latreille
should have stationed the Axolotl next to the Proteus in his
second order.

The Baron Cuvier, in both editions of the i Regne Animal '
(1817 and 1829), has merely followed Brongniart in consi-
dering the animals now under our notice, as forming a part of
the third order, and the whole of the fourth order, of Reptiles,
being his third class of Vertebrata.

Dr. Wagler, in his work entitled ' Natiirliches System der
Amphibien,' 1830, calls the class, (after Linnaeus) Amphibia,
in which he separates the different animals, under the names
of Testudines, Crocodili, Lacertae, Serpentes, Angues, making
them his first five orders respectively ; and then follow his

Ordo VI. — C&cilijE.

Familia 1. Hedrceoglossce. Genus. Cacilia.

Ordo VII.— Ranje.

Familia 1. Aglossce. Genus. Asterodactylus, (Pipa).

Familia 2. Phaneroglossce.

Div. 1 . Cauda nulla.

Genera. — Dactyleihra. Rana. Hyla. Ceratophrys. Breviceps. Bombi-
nator. Bufo. Otilopha. Rhinella.

Div. 2. Cauda distincta.

Genera. — Salamandra. Triton.

1 For a similar anatomical plate exhibiting the ovaria and ova of a female
Proteus anguinus, together with its description, see ' Articolo sopra un Pro-
teo femmina, con tavolo di Rusconi,' 1828. We must hope that some able
American zootomist will ere long dissect a mature and oviferous female, of
every one of the remaining Diplopneumenous species, and make the like il-
lustrations, with accurate engravings, in order to determine, after this most
satisfactory manner, the exact form and structure of each animal, in its
perfect state .

CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA. 269

Ordo VIII. — Ichthyodi.

Familia 1. Hedrceoglossi.

Tribus 1 . Branchiis nullis.

Genera. — Menopoma. Amphiuma.

Tribus 2. Branchiis distinctis.

Genera. — Siredon. Proteus. Menobranchus. Siren.

Some of the genera above given are not those of Wagler,
but they are here introduced to avoid an unnecessary increase
of synonymes. The families are characterised by the tongue;
and the other characters are, the absence and presence of a
tail, and of gills. The name of the last order is taken from
. Latreille.

In his ' Synopsis of the Species of the Class Reptilia? ap-
pended to the 9th vol. of Cuvier's ' Animal Kingdom,' trans-
lated by E. Griffith, 1831, Mr. Gray has adopted Merrem's
two tribes, under which he has arranged the following genera.

AMPHIBIA.

Section I. Mutabilia. — Undergoing a transformation. Gills deciduous,
covered with a deciduous operculum.

Genera. — Rana. Ceratophrys. Hyla. Bufo. Rhinella. Otilopha.
Dactylethra. Bombinator. Breviceps. Pipa. Salamandrina. Salaman-
dra. Molge.

Section II. Amphipneusta. — Not undergoing transformation.

Genera. — Proteus. Menobranchus. Siredon. Siren. Pseudobranchus.
Menopoma. Amphiuma. Ccecilia.

With regard to the next classification, Professor Bell ob-
serves,— " it appears to me that no one arrangement hitherto
given sufficiently distinguishes the different forms; and I ven-
ture to propose the following modifications, as more consist-
ent with the diversities of structure in the different groups."

Class.— AMPHIBIA.

Order 1. Amphipneusta. Genera. — Proteus. Siredon. Menobran-
chus Siren. Pseudobranchus.

Order 2. Anoura. Genera. — Rana. Hyla. Ceratophrys. Bufo. Rhi-
nella. Otilopha. Dactylethra. Bombinator. Breviceps.

Order 3. Urodela. Genera. — Salamandrina. Salamandra. Molge.

Order 4. Abranchia. Genera. — Menopoma. Amphiuma.

Order 5. Apoda. Genus. — Ccecilia.

This arrangement comprehending, 1st, the manner of
breathing ; 2ndly, the absence of a tail in the adults ; 3rdly,
the presence of a long tail ; 4thly, the ivant of gills ; and

270 CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA.

5thly, the want of feet ; — as the five different characters
whereby the five several orders are classed, strikes me as be-
ing too varied, and too much departing from simplicity and
uniformity ; which, in my opinion at least, are so essential in
every classification, and in which indeed consist the real abi-
lity and clearness of the methods of arrangement, so manifest
in the Linnean g Sy sterna Naturae.'

Although I may thus differ from my friend Prof. Bell in
his view of the above classification, yet I must be allowed to
call the attention of my readers to his able essay on the Am-
phibia, in which are given instructive and perspicuous de-
scriptions, not only of the anatomical, but also of the physio-
logical structure and organization, of this class of animals. —
The essay is illustrated with many good woodcuts, and is
contained in Todd's * Cyclopaedia/ Part I, p. 90, &c, pub-
lished in June, 1835.

The last arrangement which I have met with, is that intro-
duced by Mr. Kirby, in his Bridgewater Treatise, (vol. ii. p.
415), as here shown.

REPTILES.

Sub-class I. Soft-coated. (Reptilia Malacoderma).

Order 1. Amphibians. Siren. Proteus. Axolotl, &c.

Order 2. Batrachians. Amphiuma. Triton. Salamander. Toad.
Frog. &c.

Next, if one person should be desirous of classifying the
Amphibia, as the Count de La Cepede, M.M. Dumeril, Op-
pel, and others have done, by making the tail, or the absence
of one, the characters of the adult animals, for his two divi-
sions or orders ; the modern genera would then be distributed
in this manner. —

Order I. — Urophora. Tail present.

Genera. — Ccscilia. Salamandra. Salamandrina. Molge. Triton. Me-
nopoma. Amphiuma. Siren. Parvibranchus.1 Proteus. Menobranchus.
Siredon.

Order II. — Andra. Tail wanting.

Genera. — Rana. Ceratophrys. Hyla. Bufo. Rhinella. Otilopha.
Dactylethra. Bombinator. Breviceps. Astrodactylus.

Also, if another person should prefer to characterise these

1 As the generic name Pseudobranchus is apt to convey an incorrect idea,
concerning the use and function of the small gills, in the branchial classi-
fication herein subsequently given, I have thought it right to substitute
that of Parvibranchus for it. See Cuvier's note (2) at p. 121 , tome ii, of the
'Regne Animal, ' edit. 1829.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA. 271

animals by the want or number, of feet, when in their per-
fect or full-grown state, the annexed classification may be
conveniently used.

Order I. — Apoda. Without feet.
Genus. — Ccecilia.

Order II. — Dipoda. With two feet.

Genera. — Siren. Parvibranchus.

Order III. — Tetrapoda. With four feet.

Genera. — Rana, Ceratophrys. Hyla. Bufo. Rhinella. Otilopha.
Dactylethra. Bombinator. Breviceps. Astrodactylus. Salamandra. Sa-
lamandrina. Molge. Triton. Menopoma. Amphiuma. Proteus. Me-
nobranchus. Siredon.

Again, if a third person should arrange all the adult Am-
phibia according to their external forms, or mere shapes, the
genera may be thus placed in four groups, or, as I shall here
call them, orders, for the sake of concinnity.

Order I. — Anguiformia. Snake-like.
Genera. — Cacilia. Amphiuma. Siren. Parvibranchus.

Order II. — Raniformia. Frog-like.

Genera. — Rana. Ceratophrys. Hyla. Bufo. Rhinella. Otilopha.
Dactylethra. Bombinator. Breviceps. Astrodactylus.

Order III. — Lacertiformia. Lizard-like.

Genera. — Salamandra. Salamandrina. Molge. Triton. Menopoma.
Proteus. Menobranchus.

Order IV. — Pisciformia. Fish-like.
Genus. — Siredon.

Having before observed that I selected the permanency of
the external gills for the character of an Order, in which to
place the Proteus ; I will now subjoin an arrangement, in-
cluding both that order, which corresponds with the second
order previously instituted by Latreille, l and also his first
order. To these I have added two more orders; one, Abran-

1 But it is interesting to learn from Prof. Owen's paper mentioned above,
that the eminent John Hunter first suggested the idea of partly character-
ising these animals by their branchiae or gills. Mr. Owen says (p. 214),—.
" the Siren, the Amphiuma, the Kaltewagoe or Menopoma of Harlan, in
short, all the " reptiles douteux " of Cuvier that Mr. Hunter was acquaint-
ed with, he considered as a distinct Class, which he denominates uPneumo-
branchia," in the manuscript which is quoted by Rusconi, in the work
entitled 'Amours des Salamandres Aquatiques,' (p. 12, 1821), and which is
^iow published in the ' Physiol. Cat. of the Hunterian Collection,' vol. ii. p.
145, 1834.

272 CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBTA

cliia, denotes that the gills (so far at least as is yet known)
are always wanting : and another, Imperfectibranchia, sig-
nifies that the gills are either by nature imperfect, or that we
have only at present an imperfect knowledge of them. The
latter, as will be supposed, I have introduced as a provisional
order. This arrangement will be found also to combine all
the characters given in the last three classifications. I have
likewise considered it preferable to agree with that systematic
writer, and several others of the present day, in making the
Amphibia constitute an entire Class by themselves. Yet I
ought to state, that one of the distinctions relied upon for
that object by some zoologists, — respecting the heart of these
animals having but one auricle, and one ventricle, (cor unilo-
cular uniauritum), — and in which Cuvier himself especially
coincided; for, even in his last edition (1829) of the cRegne
Animal,' he remarks that the single auricle is common to,1
and therefore characteristic of, the Batrachian order, — does
not in reality exist, as Prof. Owen lately discovered in his
very skilful dissections of the hearts of some of the doubtful
species, and in particular of that of the Siren lacertina.7- It
appears then from the accounts mentioned in his paper, which
is published in the ' Zoological Transactions,' (vol. i. p. 213,
1835), that the heart of the Amphibia has one uniform exte-
rior, but is in the interior separated into two distinct auri-
cles.2. That distinguished comparative anatomist observes

1 His words are, — " n' ont au cceur qu' une seule oreillette, et un seul ven-
tricule." — 'Regne Animal,' tome ii. p. 101.

2 See the beautiful preparations of the Siren, numbered 912, 913, 914 ;
and particularly 913, A, which shows the internal structure of the two auri-
cles in the heart of that animal, — in the Museum of the Royal College of
Surgeons, in London.

3 Hunter instituted an elegant system of classing those animals which
have a heart {tcaftia) by its cavities, (xoihicci) ; — " for in some animals" (as
he observes) " it has only one, others two, others three, and the most com-
plete of all four cavities ; and this difference of structure forms so many
grand divisions of the animal kingdom, which I must be permitted to call
by the names of Monocoilia, Dicoilia, Tricoilia, and Tetracoilia." — (See
Phys. Cat. vol. ii. p. 147). In the third order, Tricoilia, he places all the
Amphibia, Linn., from their having two auricles and one ventricular cavity;
but his pneumobranchiate tribe he referred to the second order, Dicoilia,
from their having only one externally visible auricle, and one ventricle. —
The Radiata were named Acardia. Upon this system Mr. Owen justly re-
marks,— " like all classifications founded on the variations of a single organ,
the cardiac arrangement is too artificial for general application. — "(Note in
loc. cit.) The same objection cannot equally apply to the branchial classi-
fication here proposed, because the absence and presence of gills form distinct
and externally apparent characteristics in these animals ; whereas, on the
contrary, the chambers of the heart, being internal organs, can only be ex-
amined by very careful dissections.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA. 273

{loc. cit. p. 217), — "the presence of two auricles in the heart
of the reptiles douteux now renders applicable to the whole
class of reptiles the phrase " cor uniloculare biauritum? and
forms an additional argument for retaining as an order of that
class, the Amphibia of Latreille." Nevertheless, for several
reasons, which are unnecessary to be here given in detail, but
more especially on account of the remarkable transformations
undergone by so many of these creatures, and of the branchi-
al apparatus pertaining to almost all the rest, I do consider
myself fully justified in keeping the Amphibia in a class alto-
gether apart from the Reptilia. I will therefore limit the
class " Amphibia " of Linnaeus, to the last family of the ophi-
dians, and to all the batrachians in the fourth order of the
third class, — "Reptiles," — according to the Cuvierian system.
Hence, the present class, Amphibia, will occupy an interme-
diate station between the class Beptilia and the class Pisces;
and in order to show better the connecting link in the great
chain of this portion of the animal creation, whereby the se-
veral kinds of the former approximate to those of the latter,
I place the genus Cacilia the first, on account of its great
resemblance to some of the ophidians, or serpents, with which
indeed many naturalists, besides Cuvier, have classed it. —
and I terminate the amphibians by the family Proteidw,—
which by their permanent and fully-developed gills so closely
approach to fishes ; — and among them, the genus Siredon I
station quite the last, because Sir. pisciformis, the Axolotl,
is in shape and structure most nearly allied to a fish.

Division l.— VERTEBRATA.

Class IV.— AMPHIBIA

Sub-class I. — MONOPNEUMENA. Respiring singly; either by lungs
only, or by gills alone.

Order I. — Abranchia. Gills wanting.

Family 1. CceciliadcE. Body lengthened, slender, snake-like. Tail ex-
tremely short. Legs none.
Genus. — Ccecilia.

Order II. — Caducibranchia. Gills decaying.

Family 1. Ranidce. Adult body short, roundish, or oval, broad. Tail
wanting. Legs four. Tongue long. Tympanum open.

Genera. — Rana. Ceratophrys. Hyla. Bufo. Rhinella. Otilopha,

Might not the Fishes also be clearly arranged in one uniform branchial
classification, by the difference of form, structure, position &c. of their gills?
Vol. III.— No. 30. n. s. 2 f

274 OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA.

Family 2. Dactylethrida. Adult body short, frog-like. Tail none. Legs
four. Tongue distinct. Tympanum hid.

Genera. — Dactylethra. Bombinator. Breviceps.

Family 3. Astrodactylidce. Adult body short, flat, frog-like, tailless. Legs
four. Tongue wanting. Tympanum hid.

Genus. — Astrodactylus. (Pipa).

Family 4. Salamandridce. Adult body long, lizard-like. Tail long. —

Legs four.

Genera. — Salamandra. Salamandrina. Molge. Triton.

Sub-class ll.—DIPLOPNEUMENA. Respiring doubly; both by lungs

and gills.

Order III. — Imperfectibranchia. Gills imperfect.

Family 1. Menopomatidce. Body long, lizard-like; or lengthened, snake-
like; with a tail. Legs four. Gill-like organs internal.
Genera. — Menopoma. Amphiuma.

Order IV. — Manentibranchia. Gills permanent.

Family 1. Sirenidce. Body lengthened, snake-like, having a tail. Legs
two in front. Gills tufted, external.

Genera. — Siren. Parvibranchus.

Family 2. Proteidce. Body long, lizard-like, or fish-like, with a tail. Legs
four. Gills ramified, external.

Genera. — Proteus. Menobranchus. Siredon.
(To be continued.)

Art. III. — Observations on the Rodentia, with a view to point out
the groups as indicated by the structure of the Crania, in this Or-
der of Mammals. By G. R. Waterhouse, Esq., Curator to the
Zoological Society, Vice-Pres. of the Entomological Society.

( Continued from page 188J

Family IV. — MuridjE.

Dentition. — Incisors compressed laterally: molars 44 Sn
one genus -|4)> rooted ; the anterior molar of each series the
largest, and the posterior one the smallest. The series on
each side of each jaw widely separated and parallel.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA.

34

275

(a) upper view of the skull of Mus giganteus. (b) side view of the anterior portion of the

skull. (c) one of the rami of the lower jaw, inner side.

Skull. — Zygomatic process of the maxilla broad, continued
obliquely upwards and outwards from the plane of the palate,
and divided into three parts, one of which is extended back-
wards to articulate with the malar bone, and complete the
zygoma ; the second is continued forwards in the form of a
compressed and almost vertical plate, which serves to defend
a vacuity connected with the nasal cavity. This vacuity is
situated anterior to the orbit, and seems to hold the place of
the lachrymal canal. The production forwards of the verti-
cal plate converts the anterior outlet of the ant-orbital fora-
men into a narrow slit. Connected with this narrow slit,
(through which the infra-orbital nerve passes), there is another
opening of a larger size, and the outlet of which is directed
upwards. Through this upper opening passes a portion of
the maseter muscle. The third division of the zygomatic
process of the maxilla is continued upwards and inwards, ar-
ticulates with the ant-orbital process, and completes the an-
terior boundary of the orbit. The superior maxillary bone
sends backwards a vertically compressed process almost im-
mediately behind the intermaxillary suture. The zygomatic
arch runs obliquely downwards and outwards from the ant-
orbital process, and is recurved at the temporal portion. The
glenoid cavity is of considerable extent in a longitudinal di-
rection, and has a moderate transverse diameter. The pala-

276

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA.

tine portions of the intermaxillary, maxillary, and palatine
bones are all on the same plane, and the posterior margin. of
the latter is almost always situated behind the line of the pos-
terior molars. The incisive foramina are large, and situated
partially in the intermaxillary, and partly in the maxillary
bones. There are two moderately large foramina in the pa-
lato-maxillary suture.

Lower jaw. — The eoronoid process is usually large, and
the condyloid elongated : the descending ramus approaches
more or less to a quadrate form ; the posterior lower angle is
rounded, and the upper angle is acute.

35

(o and b) Psammomys obesus. (c) Gerbillus brevicaudatus. {d) GerbiUus Indicus

(c) anterior part of the skull of Cricetus auratus. (/) side view of the same.

In the form of the lower jaw the Muridce do not differ es-
sentially from the preceding families, the skull however is of

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA. 277

a more elongated form, and the facial portion is proportion-
ately larger as compared with that devoted to the protection
of the brain. One of the most striking characters observable
in the crania of the Muridae, consists in the peculiar thin
plate which is produced anteriorly from the zygomatic pro-
cess of the maxilla. This thin plate (see a, fig. 34, and d,
fig. 35) is usually of considerable extent, and is sometimes
nearly vertical (as in Gerbillus Indicus, fig. 35, d), but is ge-
nerally carried upwards and outwards from the palate, as in
the common rat {Mus decumanus). This plate is proportion-
ately most extended in the species of Gerbillus just men-
tioned, but in other species of the same genus it is very
short ; this is the case in Gerb. brevicaudatus (fig. 35, c)i
Gerb. otarius, Gerb. pygargus, &C.1 In the hamster {Cri-
cetus vulgaris) its outer surface is concave, and in Neotoma
Floridana it is also concave, though in a less degree. Cri-
cetus auratus2 (fig. 35, e and /) is remarkable for the nar-
rowness of this process of the maxilla. In this animal it
does not project so as to protect the opening beneath, which
leads into the nasal cavity, as in nearly all the other species
of th e Muridw which I have examined. In Hydromys
chrysogasler there is a still narrower loop of bone inclosing
the ant-orbital foramen, which is larger than usual, and
there is a remarkable angular process projecting from the low-
er and anterior portion of this loop.

The two animals just mentioned {Cricetus auratus and
Hydromys clirysogaster), and the Rhizomys Sinensis of Mr.
Gray (which is the Nyctocleptes Dekan of M. Temminck),
constitute the only species of the present family, the skulls
of which I have examined, in which the thin plate arising
from the maxilla above described is not produced anteriorly,
as we find it in the rat.

Judging from the figure of the skull of Nyctocleptes Dekan
given by Temminck in his ' Monographies, ' I feel but little
doubt that this animal belongs to the present family ; it offers
however some marked exceptions to the general characters of
the crania of the Muridce: the most remarkable of these is the
want of the thin plate of the maxilla just mentioned, and the
absence of the vertical slit through which (in the genus Mus)

1 See M. F. Cuvier's 'Memoire sur les Gerboises et les Gerbilles,' pub-
lished in the ' Transactions of the Zool. Society,' vol. ii. pt. 2, plr25 & 26.

2 A beautiful new species of hamster, from Aleppo, recently described by
me, and to which I have applied the above specific name, on account of its
rich yellow colouring ; the under parts of the body, however, are nearly
white. The length, measured in a straight line, is 6^ inches, the ears are
about i an inch long, and the tail is about the same length

2f3

278 OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA.

the ant-orbital nerve passes. Here the ant-orbital foramen
constitutes a tolerably large rounded opening, situated near
the upper surface of the skull, and also near the anterior an-
gle of the orbit. The broad spherical condyle also removes
this genus from the typical rats. In Mus Braziliehsis, how-
ever, we may perceive an approach to this spherical form of
the condyle. The great size and strength of the incisors in
Nyctocleples, require a corresponding development of the
temporal and maseter muscles; hence the great width of the
temporal fossae, and strength of the zygomatic arches, charac-
ters which exist in a minor degree in the common hamster.

The skulls of upwards of forty species of the family Muri-
dce have been examined by me, and among these were crania
of the following genera. Mus, Gerbillus, Psammomys, Rei-
throdon, Hydromys, Cricetus, Sigmodon, Neotoma, Hapalotis
and Rhizomys.

The skull of the Mus giganteus has been selected to exhi-
bit the most common form observable in the present group,
and the skulls of Psammomys obesus and Gerbillus brevicau-
datus have been drawn to show the approach made by these
species to those of the preceding family (the Gerboidce). It is
not only in the general form of the skull, with its narrow and
elongated nasal bones, that this affinity is evinced, but what
I consider more important, in the form of the descending ra-
mus of the lower jaw. In several of the specimens from
which M. F. Cuvier's figures of the Gerbilli (in the memoir
before referred to) were taken, it appears that this portion of
the lower jaw was imperfect, but where this was not the case,
they are all represented as having the upper posterior angle
of the descending ramus acute and elongated, as in the Ger-
boidce.

The principal difference between the Gerboidce and the
Gerbilli consists in the size of the ant-orbital foramen, but
in either group this varies considerably, hence in all proba-
bility the discovery of other species will render it necessary
to merge the gerboas into the Muridce. I have thought it
desirable however, for the purpose of drawing attention to
the various modifications observable in the crania of these
animals, to separate these sections, and also to separate the
My oxides from the Muridce, although in so doing I may give
a name to groups which really are not distinct.

The genus Psammomys of M. Ruppell is evidently an off-
shoot (if I may so term it) of the Gerbilli. A skull figured
by M. F. Cuvier,1 as Gerbillus ? very closely resem-
bles that of Psammomys obesus.

1 See Transaetions of the Zoological Society, vol. ii. pt. 2, pi. 26, fig. 1 & 2

FRONTAL SPINE OF HYBODUS. 279

Lower jaw of the common Hamster.

I have also drawn one of the rami of the lower jaw of the
common hamster, since it exhibits a modification of form
which is important, especially to the investigator of fossil
remains.1 The peculiarity in this jaw consists in the ramus
being so curved that the angle is considerably raised above
the line of the symphysis, this line being drawn backwards
from the symphysis menti, and parallel with the crowns of
the molar teeth, as represented by the dotted lines in the
woodcut. If similar dotted lines be introduced in the figure
of the lower jaw of the Mus giganteus, it will be seen that in
that animal the lower boundary of the descending ramus is in
the same line as the lowest anterior portion of the jaw. In
the Arvicoli (which appear to constitute a sub-family of the
great group Muridce) the angle of the jaw, as in Cricetus, is
considerably raised, but excepting in these animals T am not
acquainted with any rodents in which this is the case.
(To be continued).

Art. IV. — Description of the Frontal Spine of a second species of
Hybodus ; from the Wealden Clay, Isle of Wight. By William
Ogilby, Esq., M.A., F.R.A.S., &c. &c.

The beautiful fragment of the jaws of Hybodus Delabechei,
discovered by Mr. Higgins, and described in the last number
of the ' Magazine of Natural History,' whilst it throws a new
and valuable light upon the structure and characters of that
remarkable genus of extinct fishes, has enabled me to ascer-
tain the nature of a small fossil which had been for some time
in my possession, but of which neither myself, nor the scien-
tific friends to whom I showed it, could imagine the origin or
relations. It consists of the tri-furcated base of a cranial
spine, (fig. 37), or rather of the middle and one of the lateral
processes, the corresponding process of the opposite side

1 Fossil remains of a species of this group are figured n the ■ Nouveaux
Memoires de la Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou ; see tome
iii. tab. 20, fig. 6.

•280

FRONTAL SPINE OF HYBODUS

having been broken off, as well as a small portion of the spine
itself; and comes very happily to illustrate some obscure
points, which, from the manner in which the former specimen
is imbedded in the lias, Mr. Charlesworth was obliged to leave
doubtful. I found it myself in the wealden clay, at Sandown,
Isle of Wight, between high and low water mark, partially
exposed by the washing of the previous tide ; and from the
recently fractured surface, it was evident that the spine itself
had been broken and washed off by the waves, only a short
time before I found it.

37

(a) represents the specimen of the natural size, as seen from above, (b c and d) are enlarged
views, the first of the under surface, the second of the upper, and the third as seen sideways.
(c) is a view of the superior surface of Mr. Charlesworth' s specimen of H. Delabechei described
in the last number of the Magazine, of the natural size, introduced for the sake of comparison.

The dimensions of this specimen are considerably smaller
than those of the species figured and described by Mr.
Charlesworth, its texture is more compact, and its gene-
ral figure more symmetrical. The central process is com-
paratively longer, and more regularly formed. It is of a
brownish horn colour, smooth and convex on the upper
surface, but with a shallow longitudinal depression below,

FROM THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 281

bordered on each side by a slightly elevated ridge, and sur-
rounded in front by a partially raised margin, which has
evidently given attachment to a powerful muscle for elevating
and fixing the spine. The symmetrical form and general out-
line of this process, will be better understood from the accom-
panying figures, than from any description however detailed.
Of the lateral processes, the right alone remains ; this is short-
er and less symmetrical than that just described, more gra-
dually rounded on the outer margin, coarse and open in its
texture, and irregularly convex on the under surface. Its
general direction forms an angle of about 45° with the cen-
tral process ; and the whole fossil bears a not unapt resem-
blance to the foot of a minute tapir or rhinoceros. What
may be called the heel, or junction of these three processes,
is likewise irregularly convex, and forms a continuous curve,
when viewed sideways, with the fragment of the spine itself.
This, of which unfortunately a small portion alone remains,
is of a very dense and compact structure internally, as may
be seen by the newly-fractured surface, beautifully striated
externally, and of large dimensions compared with the size
of the whole fragment. This basal portion exhibits none
of the enamel so apparent in the specimen described by Mr.
Charlesworth ; but it turns forward in the same direction, and
appears to have pretty nearly the same general curvature.

However similar the specimen at present under considera-
tion may be to that described in the last number of the Ma-
gazine, in its general form and characters, it is nevertheless
very distinct in those minor traits which constitute specific
differences ; as might indeed be naturally expected from the
geological position of the deposits in which they were respec-
tively found. The bony base of the wealden species is not
more than half the size of that from the lias, though the spine
itself is equally large ; the former, as already mentioned, is
more symmetrical in form and closer in texture ; and the la-
teral processes, instead of standing out at right angles to the
central, have a more forward direction, whilst all the process-
es are longer and more slender. The following are some of
the principal comparative dimensions of both.

LIAS WEALDEN

SPECIMEN. DITTO.

Half distance between the tips of the lateral processes ... .85 in. .45 in.

Distance from the heel to the point of the middle process 1.2 .87

Breadth of the central part of the middle process 55 .28

marginal rim surrounding front of ditto .633 .34

As respects the Hybodus Delabechei, the two latter mea-
surements must be received with caution, as the specimen has
been a little injured in this part by the process of clearing

282 SUPPOSED FRONTAL SPINE OF HYBODUS

away the surrounding lias ; which may also account for its
less symmetrical form, unpolished surface, and the absence of
the marginal rim. The processes in both cases unquestiona-
bly gave attachment to powerful moving muscles ; the central
serving to direct the spine forwards, the lateral to either side,
and all to fix and steady it. From the more expanded direc-
tion of the lateral processes, also, the spine of Hybodus Dela-
bechei must have been capable of a greater extent of motion
from side to side than that of the wealden species ; and the
nature of the instrument itself shows that it must have been
a powerful weapon of offence. The specimen here described
farther proves that, like the horn of the rhinoceros, it was
connected with the bones of the skull, only by muscles ; but,
unlike, that instrument, it must have possessed great powers
of motion. M. Agassiz, is said to have a manuscript note of
the only species of Hybodus which has been hitherto disco-
vered in the wealden formation. Whether the fragment here
described may eventually prove to belong to that or a dif-
ferent species, time must determine ; but it is interesting to
know that the character of the frontal spine, first discovered
by Mr. Charlesworth, is not confined to the Hybodus Dela-
bechei, but common to the whole genus ; or at least to the
males, as in the allied genus Chimara.

Art. V. — Letter addressed to the Editor by Henry Woods, Esq.,
F.L.S., &c, respecting the supposed Frontal Spine of Hybodus in
the Bath Museum.

30, Henrietta St., Bath,

May \2th, 1839.

My Dear Sir,

A letter addressed by you to Mr. H. Jelly
(who, I am sorry to state, has been for some time absent from
Bath in consequence of ill health) having been handed over
to me, I proceed to give you as good an answer as is in my
power.

Before the receipt of your letter to Mr. Jelly, I had search-
ed over the Museum of our Institution for the specimen men-
tioned by Mr. Lonsdale, and was fortunate enough to find it,
or at least that which I consider to be it ; and here you have
the best drawing I can make, which I hope is precise enough
for your purpose. It is of the natural size, and, from some
peculiarities, may indicate another species of Hybodus : fig.
38, a, is a lateral, and b a dorsal view of it. The specimen
measures lj inch in length, and -/-§• of an inch in breadth

IN THE BATH MUSEUM.

283

near the base, which is much mutilated. The apex is unfor-
tunately broken off", but enough remains to show that, wrhen
perfect, it described a reversed curve at the end, as in fig. 38,

38

Spine of Hybodus.

c. Another peculiarity is the barb, or recurved hook, near
the point — a, which, in your specimen, may have been broken
off. Unfortunately, no part of the tri-lobed bony base is at-
tached to this specimen, which has been broken into four
pieces. Two of the three fractures occurred before it was
found ; and I think the curved form of the dorsal aspect is in
a great measure owing to the edges of the fractured parts not
being in exact juxta-position, the interstices being filled with
day.

Two peculiarities, in addition to those above enumerated,
I consider to be worthy of notice. One is a raised and ob-
lique lateral line, as seen in fig. 38, a; and the other, a num-
ber of nearly parallel stria or rug<B on the dorsum, which so
nearly resemble those upon the palatal or dental bones of the

Acrodus , (vulgate Leeches of the quarrymen), that I

cannot help thinking this is rather a palatal than a nasal ap-
pendage, notwithstanding its extraordinary shape. Whether
it may be identical with your specimen, or belong to some
kindred species, or be altogether foreign to it, you must your-
self judge ; at any rate, it appears to me an object of interest,
and you are perfectly welcome to make what use you please
of this communication, which I can only regret is not more
satisfactory both in figure and description.1

Yours very sincerely,

H. Woods.

Editor of the Magazine of Natural History.

1 The specimen was found in the lias at Weston, a village two miles west
of Bath ; and was presented, about twelve or thirteen years ago, to the Mu-
seum of the Institution, by Jacob Wilkinson, Esq.

284 CATALOGUE OF THE MALACOSTRACA

Art.VI. — Catalogue of the Malacostracous Crustacea of South De-
von. By Edward Moore, M.D., F.LS., Secretary to the Ply-
mouth Institution.1

It would appear almost superfluous, after the labours of Mon-
tagu and Leach, to attempt to take up the subject of the
Malacostraca of Devonshire, as it constituted almost the
chief field of their discoveries ; nevertheless, in pursuance of
my original object, to attempt to collect as many illustrations
of the Fauna of this county as circumstances will allow, I
shall make no apology for endeavouring, "haud passibus
aequis," to follow in their steps: with this view I have sought
from all sources within my reach, to ascertain what species
have already been noticed, so as, by arranging them in the
following catalogue, to lay the foundation of a more perfect
acquaintance with some of the natural productions of our
coast. The existence of a very excellent collection in the
Museum of the Plymouth Institution, for which we are prin-
cipally indebted to Mr. Charles Prideaux, of Hatch Arundel,
near Kingsbridge, together with the advantages which I ob-
tain by a correspondence with him and with Mr. J. Couch,
of Polperro, will, I hope, render my catalogue not unaccept-
able to naturalists generally ; and as I observe that Mr. Bell
is shortly about to publish a work on British Malacostraca,
I am unwilling that in the county of Montagu and Leach the
subject should appear to be altogether neglected, possessing
as it does such remarkable advantages for the pursuit. Yet,
after all, it must be confessed that my paper will aim at no
higher pretensions than that of a Catalogue, as in most in-
stances it is almost impossible to obtain information beyond
the mere fact of the occurrence of many species, which, living
in deep water, all chance of obtaining any knowledge of their
habits is precluded. In such cases, although I have been
able to verify most of the observations of my predecessors, I
have preferred letting the fact of existence stand in their
names, merely referring to the works where their communica-
tions are to be found. There are, however, some species
which I have been unable to identify as Devon specimens,
from an inability to obtain access to works not procurable in
this remote part of the scientific world ; a deficiency, how-
ever, the less to be regretted, as it will most probably be sup-
plied in Mr. Bell's expected work on British Crabs, a publi-

1 We received the present catalogue from Dr. Moore in the month of Sep-
tember, 1838 ; but owing to the number of communications in hand, we
have been unable to give it earlier insertion. — Ed.

OF SOUTH DEVON. 285

cation which will be highly acceptable to all naturalists in
this quarter.

In the following paper I have followed Cuvier's ■ Regne
Animal,' in which the Crustacea were arranged by Latreille.

The class Crustacea in the ' Regne Animal * has two sec-
tions, viz., Malacostraca and Entomostraca.

The Malacostraca are composed of five Orders, viz., De-
capoda, Stomapoda, Amphipoda, Lcemodipoda, and Isopoda.

MALACOSTRACA with pediculated moveable eyes.

Order I. — Crustacea Decapoda. These have the head close-
ly united to the thorax, both of which are inclosed in one
entire shell or carapace, divided by lines into different re-
gions, which indicate the places occupied by the principal
interior organs ; they have a vascular and nervous system ;
the lateral borders of the carapace fold down to protect the
branchicBy leaving an opening anteriorly for the passage of
the water; the six jaw-feet are all of different forms, ap-
plied to the mouth, divided into two branches, the exterior
of which is like a small antenna ; the two anterior, and
sometimes the four following feet are talon- shaped, the
last articulation but one is dilated, compressed, and in the
form of a hand.

Family 1. Decapoda brachyura, or short- tailed Decapods.

Genus CANCER.

Section 1. Pinnipedes or swimmers have the last feet with a
flattened or fin- shaped articulation.

Polybius, sub-genus.

P. Henslowii. A tine specimen was obtained from the pilchard-nets at
Bantham, in deep water, by Mr. C. Prideaux, and is now in the col-
lection of the Plymouth Institution.
Portunus, sub-genus.

P. puber, Harbour or Mary Crab. Common on our coast ; three speci-
mens are in the Museum of the Plymouth Institution.

P. mcenas, (Carcinus, Leach), Common shore Crab. Abundant.

P. corrugatus. Dr. Leach says ('Linn. Trans.' vol. xi.) "habitat in Bri-
tannia rarissime ;" and afterwards states that the young was obtained
in Plymouth Sound by Mr. C. Prideaux, who informs me that he pro-
cured it by the trawl net. My friend Mr. Couch, of Polperro, also
states that he has obtained one specimen in his neighbourhood, so that
it may be considered as belonging to our coast, although but rarely
found from its habit of frequenting the deep sea.

P. marmoreus. Frequently obtained at Torcross by Montagu ; Edinb.
Eucycl. vol. vii. p. 391. We have four good specimens in our Muse-
um, presented by Mr. C. Prideaux.

P. depurator, the Flying Crab of fishermen. Not uncommon : we have
two specimens, obtained by the trawl, from Mr. C. Prideaux.

286 CATALOGUE OF THE MALACOSTRACA

P. lividus. One Plymouth specimen in our Museum, from Mr. C. Pri-
deaux, by the trawl ; others have been obtained by Montagu.

P. emarginatus. One specimen found at Torcross ; (Leach, ' Lin. Tran.'
vol. xi., and Edinb. Ency. vii., p. 390). Mr. Prideaux tells me it was
also obtained in Plymouth by Gibbs.

P. pusillus. Two Devon specimens in our Museum from Mr. C. Pri-
deaux.
Platyonichus, sub-genus.

P. variegatus , (Portumnus of Leach, whose designation is changed by
Cuvier, from being " trop rapprochee du mot Portune, deja employee."
It is said to be very common on our sandy shores ; (' Linn. Trans.' xi.
314). Mr. Prideaux informs me it is found in Bigbury Bay.

Section 2. Arcuata, have the shell arched anteriorly, and
all the feet pointed.

Cancer, sub-genus.

C. pagurus, Common Market Crab. Museum of the Plymouth Institu-
tion. Large quantities of these are caught in crab -baskets along our
coast, from Plymouth to Torbay, the majority of which are picked up
by the passing steam boats, and conveyed to Portsmouth and London
for sale.

C. poressa, Oliv., (Xantho Jlorida, Leach). Common in South Devon ;
we have several specimens.
Pi rime la, sub-genus.

P. denticulata. Rare ; we have three specimens, sent by Mr. Prideaux
from Bantham. Mr. Couch finds them in Cornwall, though rarely.
Atelecychus, sub-genus.

A. septemdentatus. Found frequently in Plymouth sound by Mr. Cranch,
Edinb. Ency. vii. 430. A male and female are in our Museum, sent
by Mr. Prideaux.

Section 3. Quadrilatera^ having the carapace square or
heart-shaped, with the front prolonged, inflected, and form-
ing a sort of hood ; tail of seven segments ; eyes on thick
pedicles.

Pilumnus, sub-genus.

P. hirtellus. Obtained only in South Devon, Leach, Edinb. Ency. vii.,
391. It is rare here, we have only three specimens from Mr. C. Pri-
deaux, obtained at Bantham. Mr. Couch states that in Cornwall they
are frequently found in crab-pots at from 4 to 6 fathoms water.
Gonoplax, sub-genus.

G. bispinosa. Abundant in Salcombe Bay (Montagu), and in Plymouth
Sound (Leach, 'Linn. Trans.' xi.) We have four specimens, and there
are others in the possession of different collectors in the town.
Pinnotheres, sub-genus.

P. varians. One Devon specimen is in our Museum, found by Mr. Pri-
deaux in a Cardium. The Pin. pisum (Mytilorum, Latr.) appears to
be the female, (see ' Diet, des Sciences Nat.' t. xxviii, 238), of which
we have four specimens.

P. veterum. Of this we have one Devon specimen. Mr. Prideaux has
found them in oysters as well as Pinnce ; the Pin. pinna appears to be
the same, and was found at Salcombe, Devon, by Montagu and Cranch,
Edinb. Ency. vii. 431.

P. mytili, (Cranchii P). Kingsbridge, Devon ; Edin. Ency., vii. 430.

OF SOUTH DEVON. 287

P. Modioli, (Montagui). Eclinb. Ency.

P. Latreillii. ' Diet, des Sciences Nat.' xxviii.

Section 4. Orbiculata, have the carapace rhomboidal or
ovoid, always solid ; eye-pedicles short ; claws of unequal
length in the males and females, longest in the former ; third
articulation of the exterior jaw-feet always an elongated tri-
angle.

Corystes, sub-genus.

C. cassivelaunus, Pennant; (personatus, Herbst.) Found on our sandy

shores, and sometimes thrown up during storms. We have two males

and two females in our Museum.
Leucosia, {Ebalia, Leach), sub-genus.

L. Pennantii. We have three specimens, obtained by Mr. Prideaux at

Salcombe.
L. Cranchii. Two specimens in our collection, obtained in Plymouth

Sound by Mr. Prideaux.
L. Bryerii. One specimen, obtained with the trawl at Plymouth, by Mr.

Prideaux.

Note. — Ad hoc genus pertinent species indigent Cancer tuberosus, Pen-
nant, ' Brit. Zool.' iv., et Can. tumef actus, Mont, 'Lin. Trans.' ix. (Leach,
1 Linn. Trans.' xi.)

Section 5. Trigonia, have the carapace triangular, pointed
anteriorly, and generally irregular and rough ; claws, espe-
cially of the males, always large and elongated, the last arti-
culation of the exterior jaw-feet always nearly square, or
hexagonal : segments of the tail seven or less : many of them
are called " sea-spiders."

Parthenope, {Eurynome, Leach), sub-genus.

P. aspera. We have eight specimens of this crab, all young, sent by Mr.
Prideaux from Bantham ; who has also obtained them by the trawl in
Plymouth Sound.
Pisa, sub-genus.

P. Gibbsii. First found in Devon by Montagu, 'Linn. Trans.' vol. xi.
Five specimens in our Museum were obtained at Plymouth and Ban-
tham by Mr. Prideaux ; they have also been found by Mr. Couch at
Polperro, Cornwall.
P. Tetraodon, (Blastus, Leach). One specimen sent by Mr. Prideaux,
who informs me that it was also found by Dr. Leach at Teignmouth.
Maia, sub-genus.

M. squinado, Thomback or King Crab ; Corwich Crab, (Cornwall) ; Spi-
der Crab of the Plymouth fishermen. We have several specimens ; it
is common here, and is occasionally eaten, though its forbidding aspect
prevents its general use. It is always destroyed when caught, as the
fishermen imagine it deters the edible crab from entering the crab-pots.
Hyas, sub-genus.
H. araneus. Three specimens in our Museum from Plymouth Sound,

obtained by the trawl.
H. coarctatus. Plymouth Sound and Salcombe ; Leach, 'Linn. Trans.'
xi., 239.

288 CATALOGUE OF THE MALACOSTRACA

Inachus, sub-genus.

I. Dorsettensis. Found in deep water at the mouths of rivers. We have

three specimens from Salcombe ; Mr. Prideaux.
I. dorhynchus. Discovered by Dr. Leach among some of the preceding
species from Kingsbridge estuary. Mr. Couch says it is common in
Cornwall.
I. leptorhynchus, (Leach, ' Mai. Brit.') We have two specimens from
Mr. Prideaux, taken in Bigbury Bay.
Ach^us, sub-genus.

A. Cranchii, (Leach, ' Mai. Brit.' 22). Found, though rarely, in Devon
and Cornwall.
Stenorhynchus, (Macropodia, Leach), sub-genus.

S. tenuirostris. Plymouth Sound. We have four Devon specimens ; it
is also common in Cornwall, according to Mr. Couch.

Family 2. Decapoda macroura, or long-tailed Decapods.
Genus ASTACUS.

Section 1. Anomala, have two or four hind feet, always
smaller than those which precede them ; the under part of the
tail never displays more than four pairs of appendices or false
feet, the lateral fins at the end of the tail do not form, with
the last segment, a fan- shaped extremity.

Pagurus, sub-genus. *

P. Streblonyx ; {Cancer Bernhardus, Linn.) ; Hermit or Soldier Crab. —
Common on our coast. We have several small specimens correspond-
ing to the description of Pag. araneiformis, but which Dr. Leach con-
siders to be the young of the former. Mr. Prideaux tells me that he
found two different species on this coast, one of which has been named
after him by Dr. Leach.
P. Prideauxianust Leach, ' Diet, des Sciences Nat.' tome xxviii.

Section 2. Locustce, have only four pairs of false feet, the
posterior extremity of the fin forming the tail is always more
membranous than the rest; all the feet are nearly alike, and
pointed at the end ; the thorax is almost square, without any
lance-shaped prolongation.

Scyllarus, sub-genus.

S. tridentatus. In the collection of Mr. Comyns, of Dawlish, Edin. En.
vii. 397 ; but I am doubtful if it is a Devonshire specimen.
Palinurus, sub-genus.
P. quadricornis, (Fab.) ; Thorny Lobster, or Sea Cray-Fish. This spe-
cies is sold in our markets under the name of "Crawfish." It is very
common : we have one specimen in the Museum.

Section 3. Astacini, are distinguished from the preceding
by the form of the two anterior feet, which terminate by a di-
dactylous hand ; the extremity of the tail is fan-shaped ; the
thorax is narrow in front and the forehead more or less pointed.

Galathjea, sub-genus.

G. spinigera, oxstrigosa, (Leach); Plaited Lobster. Mr. C. Prideaux has

OF SOUTH DEVON. 289

furnished us with two specimens from the estuary of Salcombe. It is
about 6 inches long.

G. squamifera. Discovered by Montagu in South Devon, where it is not
uncommon. We have four specimens, they are about 5 inches long.
It is common in Cornwall, (Couch).

G. rugosa, or Bamfia. Very rare : Mr. Prideaux has only seen three spe-
cimens, which were obtained by trawling in Plymouth Sound.
Porcellana, sub-genus.

P. platycheles. Found in Devon under stones, at low tides ; Leach, Ed.
Ency. vii. 398. We have four specimens. They are common also in
Cornwall, says Mr. Couch.

P. hexapus, (Pisidia, Leach). Found on the roots of fuci after storms.
We have one Devon specimen.

P. Leachii, Gray. I am not aware if this was found in Devonshire, al-
though it is probable ; it is common in Cornwall, (Couch).
Megalopa, sub-genus.

M. Montagui, (Cancer rhomboidalis, Mont.) Three lines long : found in
Devonshire, Leach, ' Mai. Brit.'

M. armata, (Leach, 'Diet, des Sciences Nat.' tome xxviii). Found in
Bigbury Bay, Prideaux.
Gebia, sub-genus.

G. stellata, (Cancer Astacus stellatus, Mont.) Obtained from Salcombe
estuary, in holes in the sand made by solens &c. It is very rare ; we
have one specimen from that locality.

G. deltaiira. Found in similar situations as the last by Cranch and J.
Sowerby Jun. Leach, ' Linn. Trans.' vol. xi. 342.
Callianassa, sub-genus.

C. subterranea, Found by Montagu in sand at Salcombe, " haud valde
infrequens," Leach, ' Linn. Trans.' xi. 343. We have two specimens
from Mr. Prideaux.
Axius, sub-genus.

A. stirhynchus. Rare : specimens found at Sidmouth and Plymouth,
Leach, 'Linn. Trans.' xi. 343. Mr. Couch has seen it in Cornwall,
and thinks its rarity may only arise from its retired habits.
Astacus, sub-genus.

A. marinus, the Lobster. Common.

A.jluviatilis, (Lat), the river Crawfish. I am doubtful if this be com-
mon in our rivers, as, on trying to procure specimens we are sure to
have the Palinurus sent. We have, however, a good Devon specimen
in our Museum, from Mr. Prideaux.

A. Norvegicus, (Nephrops, Leach). Rare : we have two excellent Devon
specimens in our Museum.

Section 4. Carides, have the body arched and less solid
than in the preceding ; the front is always pointed, compress-
ed, and toothed on its edges ; antennae always advanced, la-
teral ones very long, the exterior jaw-feet, being very long,
resemble antennae ; one of the first pair of feet is often dou-
bled on itself; the segments of the tail are dilated laterally;
the exterior leaflet of the terminal fin always divided into two
by a suture, the middle piece elongated and spinous above ;
the false feet, five pairs in number, are long and foliaceous.

Pen^us, sub-genus.

P. trisulcatus (Leach, ' Mai. Brit.' 42) of our coast is a local variety of the
Vol. III.— No. 30. n. s. 2 g

290 CATALOGUE OF THE MALACOSTRACA

Pen. sulcatus of Olivier according to Cuvier, 'Regne Animal,' iv. 92.
Crangon, sub-species.

C. vulgaris, Shrimp. Common on our coast.

C. spinosus, (Pontophilus, Leach, Egeon loricatus, Risso). Obtained in

Plymouth Sound by Mr. C. Prideaux. Mr. Couch says it is l£ inch

long, with the carapace covered with spines in regular rows, and the

chelce singularly formed : he has only seen one specimen, which was

taken from the stomach of a fish.
Processa, sub-genus.

P. canaliculata, (Nika, Leach). Found at Torcross by Montagu.
Hippolyte, sub-genus.

H. varians. Rocky shores of Devon, plentiful ; Leach, ' Mai. Brit.'
H. inermis. " Habitat cum praecedente ; " Leach, ' Lin. Trans.' xi. 347.

Taken by dredging at Torcross ; ' Linn. Trans.' ix.
H. Prldeauxiana. Devon coast ; Leach, ' Mai. Brit.'
H. Moorii, Plymouth. Named by Leach after a friend and cotempo-

rary of his at Plymouth.
H. Cranchii. Found in the crab-pots here and in Cornwall.
Pandalus, sub-genus.

P. annulicomis. Coast of Devon, common, particularly in summer, when

they yield a greater supply than the true shrimp. Museum of the Ply-
mouth Institution.
Pal^mon, sub-genus.

P. serratus, (Pal. Squilla of Latreille), Prawn. Devon coast ; Leach,

* Linn. Trans.' xi. 343. They are not very common at Plymouth. —

Museum of the Plymouth Institution.
P. Squilla. " Habitat cum praecedente in Danmonia australi vulgate ;"

Leach, ubi supra.
P. varians. " Habitat in Danmonia ; " Leach, ' Linn. Trans.' xi.
Athanas, sub-genus.

A. nitescens. Found in South Devon by Montagu ; Leach, ' Edin. Enc'

vii. 401 .

Section 5. Schizopoda, have the feet void of pincers, slen-
der, and in form of lashes, exclusively adapted for swimming;
the ova are placed between them, and not under the tail ; eye-
pedicles very short ; the front is pointed or beaked, the shell
is thin, and the tail ends in a fin, as usual.

Mysis, sub-genus.

M. spinulosus, (Prannus flexuosus of Leach, 'Edin. Ency.' vii. 401; and
Cancer multipes, Montagu, 'Linn. Trans.' ix.) Mr. Couch states that
this has been named the " Opossum Shrimp," from carrying its ova and
young under the thorax, but that he has reason to think it is the male
only which does this, in a similar manner to the Syngnathi. It is com-
mon in Cornwall as well as here, and migrates regularly into fresh
water.

M. (Cancer scorpionides of Montagu ; Diastylis of Say. See ' Diet,

des Sciences Nat.' tome xxviii. 337).
Nebalia, sub-genus.

N. Herbstii. Placed here by some, this species has been removed by Cu-
vier into Entomostraca, Order Branchiopoda. It is common both in
Devon and Cornwall.

OF SOUTH DEVON. 291

Order II. — Crustacea Stomapoda. These have their bran-
chiae exposed and adherent to five pairs of appendices, situ-
ated under the abdomen (the tail) ; their shell is divided into
two parts, the anterior of which carries the eyes and interme-
diate antennae, or forms the head, without bearing the jaw-
feet ; these organs, as well as the four anterior feet often ap-
proximate the mouth in two converging lines ; hence the
name Stomapoda.

Family 1. Unipeltata, single-shelled Stomapods.

Genus SQUILL A.

Squilla, sub-genus.

S. Desmarestii. We have a good specimen in our Museum from Jersey.
Mr. Couch has found it also at Polperro, which, being very near us, I
have no doubt that future investigation will find it on our coast.

MALACOSTRACA with sessile, immoveable eyes.

Order III. — Crustacea Amphipoda are the only Malacos-
traca of this division, whose mandibles are provided with a
palpus, or whose sub-caudal appendages resemble false or fin
feet, by their cilia, &c. ; in the following orders these parts
are laminae or scales ; these cilia or hairs appear to consti-
tute their branchiae ; many have vescicular pouches between
their feet, the use of which is unknown ; the antemice, mostly
four in number, are advanced, terminating in a point ; body
compressed and curved posteriorly ; appendages of the tail
resemble small articulated stylets ; most of them swim and
leap with facility, always on one side.

Genus GA MM AR US.

Section 1. Those with fourteen feet, all ending in a hook
or point.

Division 1. Uroptera.

Hyperia, sub-genus.

H. (Cancer Gammarus monoculo'ides, Mont. * Linn. Trans.' xi.)

Phrosine, sub-genus.

P. (Can. Gam. Galba. Mont, 'Linn. Trans.' xi.) Plymouth Mu-

seum.

Division 2. Gammarince.

Ione, sub-genus.

I. thoracica, (Oniscus thoracicus, Mont. ' Linn. Trans.' ix.) found on the
Callianassa subterraneat * Edinb. Enc' vii. 406.
Orchestia, sub-genus.

O. littvrea, (Can. Gam. littoreus, Mont. ' Linn. Trans.' ix.) Plymouth
Museum.

292 CATALOGUE OF THE MALACOSTRACA

Talitrus, sub-genus.

T. locusta, (Can. Gam. saltator, Mont. Linn. Trans.' ix.), Sandhopper.
The Tal. littoralis of 'Edin. Ency.' vii. 402. is the female; see ' Linn.
Trans.' xi. 356. Plymouth Museum.
Gammarus, sub-genus.

G. aquaticus, (pulex of ' Edin. Ency.' vii. 402). In fresh water and ri-
vulets, Leach, ' Linn. Trans.' xi. 359.
G. marinus. In the sea, South Devon ; Leach, ' Linn. Trans.' xi.
G. locusta. In tide pools; Mont. ' Linn. Trans.' ix.
G. obtusatus, (Mont. ' Linn. Trans.' ix.)
Melita, sub-genus.

M. palmata. Under stones on the shore at Plymouth ; Leach, ' Ed. En.
vii. 403.

MjERa, sub-genus.

M, grossimana, (Can. Gam. grossimanus). In tide pools ; Mont. ' Linn.
Trans.' ix.
Ampithoe, sub-genus.

A. rubricata. Rare ; Mont. * Linn. Trans.' ix.
Pherusa, sub-genus.

P.fucicola. On fuci, South Devon; Leach, 'Linn. Trans.' xi.
Dexamine, sub-genus.

D. spinosa. At Torcross ; Mont, and Leach, ' Linn. Trans.' xi.
Leucothoe, sub-genus.

L. articulosa. Devon ; Mont. ' Linn. Trans.' vii.
Podocerus, sub-genus.

P. variegatus. On fuci and corallines ; Leach, ' Ed. Ency.' vii. 433.
Jassa, sub-genus.

J. pulchella. On fuci ; Leach, ' Linn. Trans.' xi. 361.

J. (Gam.falcatus, Mont.); Leach, ' Linn. Trans.' xi.

Section 2. Heteropa, with fourteen feet, of which the four
last only are adapted for swimming.

Apsendes, sub-genus.

A. Talpa, (Can. Gam. Talpa, Mont. ' Linn. Trans.' ix).

Section 3. Decempedes, those having ten feet.

Ancens, sub-genus.

A. maxillaris, (Gnathea, Leach ; Can. maxillaris, Mont. 'Linn. Tr.' vii.)
Pranzia, sub-genus.

P. cceruleata, (Oniscus, Mont. ' Linn. Trans.' xi.

Order IV. — Lcemodipoda, present no distinct branchia at
the posterior extremity of the body, have scarcely any tail,
the last two feet being inserted at this end ; and they are the
only Malacostraca in which the two anterior feet form a por-
tion of the head ; their body is linear, composed of eight or
nine articulations ; feet terminated by a strong hook. The
females carry their ova imder the second or third segments of
the body, in a pouch formed of approximated scales.

OF SOUTH DEVON. 293

Genus CYAMUS.

Leptombra, sub-genus.

L. (Proto, Leach ; Can. Gam. pedatus, Mont. ' Linn. Trans.' xi.)

Caprella, sub-genus.

C.phasma, Lamarck, (Cancer phasma, Mont. ■ Linn. Trans.' vii.)

C.penantis. Devon ; Leach, ' Edin. Encyc' vii. 404.

C. acanthifera. Ditto.

Order V. — Isopoda, want palpi to their mandibles; feet
always fourteen in number, unguiculated, and without vesci-
cular appendages at the base ; under part of tail furnished
with leaflets or vescicular pouches, the two exterior usually
covering the others ; body generally flattened ; the females
carry their ova under the breast ; the young are born with the
form and parts proper to their species, and only change the
skin while growing.

Genus ONISCUS.

Section 1. Epicarides.

Bopyrus, sub-genus.

B. crangorum, (Oniscus squillorum, ' Mont. Linn. Trans.' ix.)

Section 2. Cymothoades.

Rocinela, sub-genus.

R. Danmoniensis. Plymouth Sound ; Leach, ' Diet, des Sci. Nat.' xii.
Conilera, sub-genus.

C. Montagui. Sal combe estuary ; Leach, ditto.
Eurydice, sub-genus.

E. pulchra. Bantham, vulgatissime ; Leach.
Limnoria, sub-genus.

L. terebrans. I have shown this to be too common at Plymouth ; see
'Mag. Nat. Hist.' vol. ii., New Series, p. 206.

Section 3. Sph<Bromides.

Sph^roma, sub-genus.

S. serrata. Devon ; Leach, ' Linn. Trans.' xi. 368.

S. Prideauxiana. Leach, ' Diet, des Sci. Nat.' xii.

S. rugicauda. Wierhead on the Tamar ; Leach, ' Ed. En.' vii. 405.
NjEsa, sub-genus.

N. bidentata. Leach, ' Ed. En.' vii. 405.

N. hirsuta, (Campecopea, Leach). Devon; Mont. ' Linn. Trans.' vii.
Cymodocea, sub-genus.

C. truncata. On fuci, rare; ' Ed. Ency.' vii. 433.

C. emarginata. Mount Edgecumbe ; Leach, ' Diet, des Sci. Nat.' xii.
Dynamene, sub-genus.

D. Montagui. Leach, ' Diet, des Sci. Nat.' xii.
Anthura, sub-genus.

A. gracilis, (Oniscus, Mont. ' Linn. Trans.' ix.) Very rare.

294 ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

Section 4. Idoteides.

Idotea, sub-genus.

I. entomon, (Oniscus marinus, Penn.) Plentiful ; 'Ed. Enc.' vii. 404.
Stenosoma, sub-genus.

S. acuminatum. " Semel obvium," Leach, ' Mem. Wern. Soc' ii.

Section 5. Asellotes.

Asellus, sub-genus.

A. vulgaris, (Oniscus, Linn.) Ditches and wells; ' Diet. Sci. Nat.' v.
Oniscoda, sub-genus.

O. (Janira, Leach) maculosa. Devon coast, rare; ' Mem. Wern. Soc' ii.
JjERa, sub-genus.

J. albifrons. Very common ; Leach, ' Ed. En.' vii. 434.

Section 6. Cloportides.

Lig i a, sub-genus.

L. oceanica, (et scopulorum). Rocks, Devon. Museum of the Plymouth
Institution.
Oniscus, sub-genus.

O. Asellus, Wood-louse. Common.
Porcellio, sub-genus.

P. Icevis. Devon, rare ; Leach, ' Edinb. Enc' vii. 406.
Armadillo, sub-genus.

A. vulgaris, (Oniscus, Linn.) Roots of trees and rocks ; Leach, ' Edinb.
Encycl.' vii. 406.

Plymouth, Aug. 28th, 1838.

Art. VII. — On the Anatomy of the Lamellibranchiate Conchiferous
Animals. By Robert Garner, Esq., F.L.S.

( Continued from Page 171 J.
EXCRETORY SYSTEM.

The veins of the mantle are large and numerous^ and are,
when shown by injection, curiously and regularly disposed.
These veins probably furnish the calcareous matter, which
exudes, and forms the shell. They often contain carbonate
of lime, which, examined by the microscope, is seen to be in
the form of minute spicula. At some periods the blood con-
tains more of this matter than at others ; thus in the fresh-
water muscle anatomists have been puzzled to account for

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANOHIATA. 295

the appearance, at certain times, of a greyish matter diffused
over the whole body, and entering into all the tissues. We
know that the shell is more enlarged at some periods than at
others, and this accumulation may precede the deposition, as
a provision for its accomplishment ; or it may be for the pur-
pose of being thrown off by the excretory organs, as it is in
the veins which surround them that the accumulation princi-
pally takes place. The grey matter is certainly composed of
carbonate of lime.

The excretory organs throw off mucus and colouring mat-
ter, as well as carbonate of lime. The latter is often found
within them in concretions of a crystalline appearance, and
of an orange, pink, or purple colour. The situation of these
organs has been described above. In all molluscous animals
they are between the branchiae and veins returning from the
body. In the Pecten, a minute orifice leads directly on each
side into them. The oviducts likewise enter them. Above
each excretory sac leads into a single transverse cavity under
the pericardium. In the Unio &c, an orifice, close to that
of the oviduct, leads into a large cavity of the mantle, under
the pericardium, into which the secreting organ opens by an
internal orifice. Boj anus was not aware of this internal open-
ing, or he probably would not have considered these organs
to be lungs. The external orifice is seen to open at the an-
terior angle formed by the foot and the branchice. The ovi-
duct is also distinct from the sac in Modiola, Mytilus, Litho-
domus, &c, whilst in Tellina, Cardium, Mactra, Pholas,
Mya, and most others, the ova are discharged into the secret-
ing organs. Generally the secreting orifice is near the pos-
terior muscle, and the oviduct more anterior. The former is
often minute and difficult to find, and in the oyster it is ab-
sent altogether, and there is little trace of the excretory or-
gans themselves : here we may conclude, from the great
quantity of calcareous matter thrown off to the internal part
of the valves, that the vessels have not become perfected into
a gland, but, as is common in higher Mollusca, throw off from
their extremities distributed to the mantle, the excretions,
which, in a more perfect organization, are only got rid off by
being secreted by a glandular organ, and thrown out by an
excreting orifice. Swammerdam1 considered these organs to
be concerned in the formation of the shell, as did Poli, who
terms them " the testaceous viscera.'''' Blainville, in his re-
marks on the opinions of Boj anus regarding them, compares
them to kidneys ; and the author thinks he has said much to

1 BiWia Naturae.

296 ANATOMY OF TPIE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

confirm this opinion; and that what happens in the higher
animals with regard to the liver, as to its circulation, takes
place here in these organs. l

An intimate acquaintance with the anatomy of the Radiata
and Mollusca, will show that where there is a shell secreted,
some part of the venous system goes to form a spongy organ
or pair of organs, which communicate with the exterior, and
secrete a calcareous matter, when the system is not unloaded
at the periods of the formation of the shell. Thus, in the
Stellerides, below the calcareous disk, noticed on the dorsal
surface, the veins of the viscera meet, and become conjoined
with a brownish spongy substance, forming two organs which
probably open without, through this disk or plate, and com-
municate on the other hand with certain canals in which the
water circulates.2 The Tunicata, having but a trace of cal-
careous parts, as has been described above, have only a ru-
diment of the secreting organs. In the Gasteropoda, a se-
creting organ always exists when there is a shell. Tt has
two systems of veins, — branches sent from the visceral
veins, the ramifications of which form its tissue, — and others
which enter the auricle from it. In the Patella it opens by
the oviduct and rectum, and is situated over the viscera ;
Blainville considers it to be the organ of respiration in these
animals ; it is here single. There are two in the Chiton ;
their orifices are between the branchial processes, not far from
the openings of the oviducts. In Eolida and Tritonia, na-
ked genera destitute of a shell, the author does not find them.
In the Doris there is a sac, as is described by Cuvier, open-
ing near the anus, which is probably the organ of secretion ;
and in some species of this animal, it may be seen that there
is much calcareous matter in the dorsal tegument. In Bul-
Icea aperta there is a small shell, and also, though unnoticed
by Cuvier, two small glands, situated on each side the mouth,
of a greenish colour ; their situation is perhaps so, from the
disposition of these organs to connect themselves with the
generative outlets, which, in part, are situated in this animal

1 Uric acid has been found in the excretory organ of the Gasteropoda,
Jacobson, 'Journ. de Phys.' t 91 ; and in those of the Lamellibranchiata,
Treviranus, Zeitschrift, &c.

2 From this disk extends likewise, by the side of the dark spongy sub-
stance, into the circular union of the canals, which run in the centre of the
radiated rows of articulated pieces, a cylindrical calcareous part, itself arti-
culated. The author considers this part to be analogous to the stem of the
Pentacrinus, but become internal by the formation of the dorsal integu-
ment. The disk appears to be the base of the pedicle, fixed in Pentacrinus .
The canals are analogous to those for which we see the perforations in the
fossil remains.

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. 297

by the mouth. In the Helix, Buccinum, and all the Gaster-
opoda in which the shell is developed, the excretory organ
(the mucous sac of authors) is large, and its circulation is as
described above. It opens in these by a canal near the anus,
or directly by a wide opening into the respiratory sac. In
the last case, which is general in the branchiated spiral Gas-
teropoda, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the animal,
by means of it, can occasionally respire air, as well as water ;
which last is the ordinary medium of the aeration of its blood.

In the Cephalopoda two papilla open on each side below
the rectum, leading into two cavities communicating toge-
ther, through which the veins of the animal traverse. These
veins, particularly those from the viscera, are covered with
glandular processes or appendages, which secrete matter,
sometimes accumulating into considerable concretions, evi-
dently formed of carbonate of lime. They also give out a
mucous fluid. As has been shown by Cuvier, they commu-
nicate internally with the veins, and air blown into the latter
escapes from their secreting pores into the cavity in which
they are found. The hepatic vein separately enters the cava
before its bifurcation, and does not join the other visceral
veins ; and Cuvier notices that the latter enter the cava in a
direction opposite to the flow of blood, and the orifices of the
visceral and hepatic veins being near, the blood of one might
be directed into the other. Is this an intermediate state of
circulation between that in which the intestinal, ovarian, &c.
blood goes to the liver, and that in which the hepatic, intesti-
nal and ovarian blood all goes to the excretory organ ? The
bile-ducts likewise pass through this cavity, and are also fur-
nished with appendages, which probably secrete a similar
matter to that formed by those of the veins. *

The excretory organs are more or less circumscribed. We
see on their internal surface depressions, which might be mis-
taken for the open orifices of vessels, and in some species air
blown into these openings gains access into canals extending
in the manner of vessels into the contiguous parts of the bo-
dy, and which, from their connection with the water without,
are perhaps analogous to the hydroferous canals in the Radi-
ata. No molluscous animal has been shown to possess ab-
sorbents; hence the necessity of the hard parts being external,
and out of the circulation, as these animals have no means of

1 Cuvier supposes these processes to be for the purpose of absorbing fluids
from the cavities in which they are found. But these cavities are not shut
sacs. Prof. Grant considers the processes on the ducts to be analogous to
the pancreas.

2 H

298 ANATOMY OF TEH LAMELIBRANCHIATA.

providing for the gradual growth and change of an internal
skeleton by the deposition and subtraction of its compound
particles.

CILIA.

The branchice, tentacles, edges of the mantle, extremity of
the foot, internal surface of the siphons, &c. are, in these ani-
mals, more or less covered with vibratile cilia, or seta, for the
purpose of producing currents in the water. In examining,
under the microscope, the intestinal tube of the small British
species of Chiton, taken from the living animal, the author
observed a peculiar motion on the external surface of its pos-
terior part. This arises from the passage of the intestine
through the secreting organs, which lie between the viscera
and the foot. The same has been observed on the intestine
of the Cephalopoda, * which also passes through the secreting
sac, and also on the appendages to the veins of those animals.
The water appears to enter the secreting cavities from the
existence of cilia. The existence of the curious appearance
produced by the existence of the cilia, was noticed by Mul-
ler,2 Heyde,3 Piquemare,4 Leuwenhoek,5 Lister,6 Baker,7
&c. By some of these, from the imperfection of their instru-
ments, the appearance was attributed to the circulation. —
RaspaiP has shown that many of the animalcules described
by authors, are merely vibratile parts of higher animals ; and
many more instances of the same mistake might be given. —
Dr. Sharpey9 has shown that some of the higher Vertebrata
are ciliated, as may be seen in the branchice of the tadpole.
Swammerdam1 and Cams2 in the embryo of the Paludina,
Stiebel3 and Hugi4 in that of the Lymnceus, Grant5 in that
of the Buccinum, and Leuwenhoek,6 Home,7 and Cams8 in
that of the Unio, have noticed a rotatory motion of the em-
bryo in the ovum, evidently owing to the action of these cilia,
though Cams does not attribute it to this cause, and Home

1 Professor Grant notices "a remarkable peristaltic action" of the glands
of the Loligo. Jam. Journal, 1826.

2 Hist. Vermium, &c. 3 Anatomia Mytuli. 4 Ency. Meth. Actinia.

5 Arcana Naturae. 6 Exercit. Anatomic 7 On the Microscope.

8 Bull. Sciences Nat. 1827; Isis, 1829; and Ann. Sci. d'Observation, 1.
9 Edin. Med. & Surg. Journ. 1830. In a paper read before the Linnean
Society, in 1834, the author lays claim to a few observations previously
made by Dr. Sharpey, and recorded in the paper here referred to, in the
Med. & Surg. Journ., which the author had not seen.

1 Bibel der Natur. 2 Von den iEusseren Lebensbedingungen, &c. 1824.

3 Arch, der Physiol, vol. ii. 4 Isis, 1823. 5 Edin. Journ. 1828.

6 Arcan. Natur. 7 Croonian Lecture. 8 Neue Untersuchungen, &c. 1832

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. 299

considered the rotation caused by the vibratile cilia in the
ova of the Acephala to be caused by a species of Vibrio get-
ting into the interior of the embryo, and feeding upon it. —
The latter has given figures of this supposed animalcule in
its different stages of growth, and his representation is merely
that of a branchial process. The author of these pages has
noticed that the hydroferous vessels of the Beroe, and of other
Radiata, are internally covered with cilia. He has not been
able to find them at all in any crustaceous or cirrhopodous
animal ; nor in the water-breathing larvae of insects. Dr.
Sharpey observed them on the branchiae of the Patella and
Chiton, and on those of the Annelides. He was unable to
see them in the Tunicata ; but he might have done so by the
aid of a more powerful lens, covering the meshes of the bran-
chial cavity ; they are remarkably small in these animals. —
On the branchiae of the Cephalopoda the author, though he
has had every facility of investigation, has not found these
organs, so general in water-breathing animals ; if they exist
there, they are particularly minute. They are present in the
Actiniae on the stomach and branchial cavity ; and remarkable
on the thread-like bodies dependant from the sides of the Act.
plumosa. In the Annelides they are only partially found. —
Their use being to excite currents in the water, they are, per-
haps, only found when there is no muscular apparatus to an-
swer that end. These cilia vary in size ; sometimes, invi-
sible with a lens of T\j. of an inch focus, they may, occasion-
ally, be discerned with one of weak power, or even by the
naked eye.

The piercing or excavation of rocks, wood, &c, by these
animals, has been the subject of some dispute, as to the mode
in which it is performed ; and from the ravages committed
by them on shipping, &c, is a matter of interest.1 Some
writers, as Montague,2 Turton,3 and Osier,4 doubting the
possibility of its being effected by the action of the extremi-
ties of the valves, moved by the muscles of the animal, have
supposed the secretion of a solvent fluid. Were the exist-
ence of organs which might secrete it demonstrated, it is not
probable that a fluid capable of dissolving so many different
substances, — rocks of different compositions, wood, lava, ma-
drepores, &c, — could be formed ; or, if so, act on the sur-
rounding bodies without injuring the shell of the animal. —
Others, as Reaumur,5 Argenville,9 &c. have believed that the

1 Blondel, sur les Lithodomes, Mem. Acad. Sci. Par. t. i. Parsons, Phil.
Trans, vol. xv. Rousset, sur les Tarets, 1733. Sellius, Hist. Tered. 1733

2 Linn. Trans. 3 Conchological Dictionary. 4 Phil. Trans. 1826.

5 Mem. Acad. Sciences, 1710. 6 Id. loc. 1712.

300 ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

rocks are bored when soft ; but this certainly, in many cases,
cannot be the case. l They who believe the phenomenon to
be accomplished by the action of the valves, differ as to the
way in which they suppose them to act ; some thinking it is
by a filing, others by a rotatory motion. All animals which
have the power of exciting currents in the water, appear to
be able to excavate the most solid materials when they are
exposed to the action of such currents ; thus other animals,
besides the Lamellibranchiata, have such a power. The
Patella, for instance, when sticking to a rock of soft texture,
forms a hole or pit, sometimes an inch in depth ; and this it
appears to do by the action of the streams of water, brought
in by the circle of branchial processes, situated around the
foot, a cast as it were of which may be seen on the floor of
the cavity. This hole cannot be made by the shell, as it fits
exactly in it, and is of a figure such as to allow of no rotation.
The Hipponyx,7- another similar gasteropode, forms cavities
in the Patella and other shells to which it adheres. In the
piercing bivalves we always find the apices of the valves in a
particular direction, being constantly superior when the bore
is inclined ; and it is certain there can be no rotation, as the
cavity, in many instances, does not admit of it. The crypts
of the Saxicava, for instance, are not circular ; hence M. de
Bellevue and Osier in this instance, suppose them to be formed
by the action of the phosphoric acid secreted by the animal,
and they suppose that genus to inhabit only rocks composed
of carbonate of lime. But it may be asked, in opposition,
how the valves of the animal themselves are preserved un-
touched ? Neither is it true, as the author of this has con-
vinced himself, that the Saxicava is found only in chalky and
limestone rocks. The valves are often rounded at their ex-
tremity, or so thin and fragile as to be ill adapted for mecha-
nical action. When, as in the Pholades, the anterior extre-
mities appear more suited for such an effect, they,- on inspec-
tion, commonly present no appearance of having been worn
by such an usage ; on the contrary, their processes seem quite
perfect, whilst the sides of the valves, from the sliding of the
animal in its cell, are often nearly worn through. It appears
then that the mechanical apparatus of the different boring
animals of this class is insufficient to account for their power
of excavation ; and we must attribute it principally to the ac-

1 The history of the temple of Serapis at Pozzuoli has been brought for-
ward on this point, by many authors. There can be no doubt that it has
been inundated by the sea, at which time its pillars were bored as they are
now seen. See Lyell, Geology ; and Stark, Brewster's Edin. Journ. vol. v
2 Such specimens may be seen in the British Museum.

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. 301

tion of the ciliated foot and tentacles causing a never-ceasing
vortex at the inferior extremity of the cell. In some of these
animals, too, the body is much produced, having the tube of
its mantle garnished with its continuous branchiae, the cilia
of which must give great force to the rushing column of wa-
ter. If any species make use of its valves as adjutory, it
would be the Teredo, which attacks the hard planks of ships.
On inspection, these certainly seem well adapted to act as
line rasps j and though it has been said by Turton that they
do not correspond with the bore, they perhaps are so used,
aided however by the action of the water: here however, par-
ticularly in the young animal, they are very fragile, and would
break if used in a violent rotatory manner. It may be added
that the author has found the Pholas conoides in timber, al-
though its valves do not seem in the least adapted for such
an action. According to Home,1 Hatchett found sawdust in
the stomach of the Teredo, but it is questionable whether this
was anything more than the ordinary pulp therein contained.

Certain Annelides apparently possess this power of exca-
vation. The rocks on our coast are pierced by a minute
worm, probably of the genus Diplotis of Montague. Its mouth
does not seem adapted for such an action, and many, like the
one just named, have their branchiae, mouth, and tentacular
appendages ciliated ; but it remains for future investigation
to decide whether this circumstance gives them the power
which they possess. It appears to be from the action of Vor-
ticellae and other vibratile animalcules, that the erosion noti-
ced in so many shells at the beaks, particularly the fluviatile
ones, takes place. At the beaks the laminae are softer, and
more distant from each other, so that they are more easily
acted upon by destructive agents. We find the valves of the
oyster, Pecten, Lutraria, &c. perforated by small circular
apertures externally, leading into internal cavities. Dr. Buck-
land2 showed this to depend upon the action of a zoophyte,
which Professor Grant3 has particularly examined, and named
Clionia celata. Dr. Buckland considers the holes to be form-
ed by little borers, which the polypes possess : these, how-
ever do not exist, and the author believes the phenomenon to
be caused by the action of the cilia of the animal.4

All the Lamellibranchiata are inhabitants of the water, al-
though some will live for months in a dry place, provided the

1 Lectures on Comparative Anatomy.
2 Rev. W. Coneybeare, on a remarkable class of organic impressions, Geol.
Trans. 1814. 3 Fleming, British Zoology.

4 Many otlier animals, as some of the Cirrhopoda, Radiata, &c. excavate
the rocks without any apparent mechanical means.

302 ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

evaporation of the water within their valves is prevented. —
The Uniones and Anodontae will live a very long time in mud
without the access of any other water than that contained in
it. * It has been said that salt water bivalves will live in fresh
water, and vice versa. Freminviller2 states, that the Unio,
Anodonta, and Cyclas, are found in the Gulf of Livonia, to-
gether with the Tellina, Venus, &c. Nilson 3 says the same
of some part of the Norwegian shore. From the following
experiments the reader will perhaps conclude that in these
places there is an influx of both salt and fresh water. To as-
certain whether respiration could go on, the habitat being so
changed, the author took a portion of the branchiae of a Mac-
tra, and placed it in fresh water for one minute ; the cilia,
strongly in action befere the experiment, stopped in their vi-
bration, and could not be restored by immersion in sea water.
Five grains of common salt were added to an ounce of fresh
water, and a portion of the branchiae placed in the solution,
when the vibration ceased. In a solution of ten grains of
common salt to an ounce of fresh water, the vibration was
continued, as it was in a solution of twenty grains to the ounce.
In a solution of thirty grains to the ounce, it went on for a
time, but shortly stopped. After a portion of branchial mem-
brane had been stopped in its action by momentary immersion
in a strong brine, or in fresh water, it was restored by the se-
cond solution of ten grains to the ounce ; but a Mactra, of
which the branchiae were exposed for a longer period to the
action of fresh water, did not recover itself, though directly
afterwards returned to its native element. Sea water, or a
solution of two grains of common salt to an ounce of fresh
water, immediately stopped vibration in the Cyclas, and other
fresh-water-breathing Mollusca. A minute quantity of car-
bonate of soda added to fresh water, and a rather greater
quantity dissolved in sea water, rendered them irrespirable.
It would seem from this, that although perhaps some of these
animals may bear a slight change as to the freshness or salt-
ness of the water, (and perhaps those species inhabiting estu-
aries do so more than others), yet this capacity must be very
limited. The Cardia, Madras, Amphidesmae, &c, found in
marshes on the coasts, become diseased and die when the
water becomes concentrated by evaporation, or when it loses
its saltness by mixture with fresh. The Mytili found in fresh
water docks, are probably fresh- water species brought from

1 Beudant, sur la possibility de faire vivre des Mollusques fluv. dans les
eaux salees. Stark, Brewst. Edinb. Jour., iv. Adanson, Acad. Sci. 1789.
2 Jamieson's Edin. Journ. vol. iv. 3 Mollusca of Sweden.

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELL1BRANCHIATA. 303

foreign rivers, and which perhaps have survived their immer-
sion in salt water during their voyage, by having kept their
valves constantly closed ; some species of Mytilus are known
to inhabit fresh water. It appears certain, that in those rivers
where the Uniones, Anodontae, and Cyclades abound, they
cease to be found where the water becomes salt.

Having shown the fatal effect which would be produced by
the concentration of the sea water on the branchiae of its bi-
valve inhabitants, it is worth enquiry how, in those animals
which, on the retreat of the tides, are exposed to the desic-
cative action of the sun and air, this concentration is prevent-
ed. Those animals which have naked ciliated branchiae, have
the power of retracting them into sheaths, when they, like
many species of Doris, frequent the bare rocks ; or, if this
power of withdrawing them does not exist, as in other spe-
cies of Doris, the Tritonia, Eolida, &c, they take care to
cover themselves with the wet Algae, or to lurk in shady cre-
vices. The Patella, in hot days, sticks firmly to the rocks,
so as to prevent the escape of the confined moisture. The
Ascidiae frequent pools among the rocks, which are not drain-
ed at low water. The Actinia, Lobularice, &c, adhere to the
dripping under-surface of the cliffs, or frequent shady places.
The Polypi/era either reside in deep water, or find a habitat
where the sun does not reach them. Those Lamellibranchi-
ata which, like the common muscle, are exposed on the bare
rocks to the action of the sun and air, have the valves fitting
to each other most exactly, preventing all evaporation. —
When the valves are open at any part, the animal either in-
habits deep water, as many species of Pecten, or, when left
dry by the ebb of the tide, has the power of burrowing in the
mud or sand. The Gasteropoda also hide themselves from
the sun, although their branchiae are not much exposed. —
Walking along the sandy beach, we see numerous holes lead-
ing to the branchiae of bivalve and other animals, which, by
so boring, protect themselves from the effects of evaporation,
and obtain a supply of water, loaded with nutrient matter.

The phenomenon called " animal phosphorescence" being,
perhaps, peculiar to eiliated animals, the author has endea-
voured to ascertain whether it may not be owing to the vi-
bration of these cilia. In an Annelide, perhaps the Nereis
noctiluca of authors, which presents this phenomenon very
beautifully, covering, in great numbers, the nets of the fisher-
men when they are taken up from ihe sea, he found that the
luminosity stopped when the action of the cilia ceased ; that
it was most vivid when they were most active ; and that the
tremulousness and unsteadiness, occasionally accompanying

304 HON. E. I. company's

the phosphorescence, appeared to correspond with an inter-
ruption which sometimes took place in the vibration of the
cilia. The author would infer from this that the two actions
are concomitant, but he knows of no other proof that the one
is the cause of the other. *

(To be continued.)

Art. VIII. — Letter on the present state of the Hon. Company s
* Botanical ' Garden at Calcutta.

Quousque tandem abutere patientia nostra ?

Sir,

Of the few scientific institutions in India, none
is better and more generally known than the H. E. I. Com-
pany's botanical garden at Calcutta, the store-house in which
the indefatigable industry of Dr. Roxburgh and Dr. Buchanan
Hamilton accumulated the rich treasures of the Indian Flora,
which, augmented by the present superintendent, wTere, a few
years ago, through the liberality of the Hon. Court of Direc-
tors, distributed all over Europe. While this unequalled mu-
nificence has naturally attracted the interest of all botanists
towards the noble establishment, still kept up with the same
munificence in the East, — alas, few but actual visitors are
aware of the rapid decline into which this garden has sunk !

While the home and local governments evince the greatest
anxiety to promote science and spread the light of knowledge
over India, — while, through their fostering care several scien-
tific institutions have of late sprung up in India, — it remains
an enigma how one of the oldest and most useful institutions
should have been allowed to sink to its present state, which
hardly justifies the application of the epithet "botanical" to
the garden.

The latter assertion may probably appear incredible, as it
indeed appeared to the writer, although repeated assertions to

1 Borlase says, and the fishermen believe, that when this phosphorescence
is vivid, it presages a storm. On the luminousness of the Mollusca, see
Pliny, Hist. Nat.; Reaumur, Mem. Acad. Sci. Par. 1723; and Marsigli,
Act. Bon- vol. ii., &c. The observations of Beccaria <Scc. seem to prove that
the light is not owing to any chemical principle, and that it exists in ex-
actly such circumstances as the cilia would continue to vibrate under.

When the cilia have their vibration stopped by any application, they are
no longer visible. From this circumstance, Raspail concludes that their
appearance is an occular deception, due to an emission or scintillation from
the branchia.

BOTANICAL GARDEN AT CALCUTTA. 305

the same effect, have of late years, through the public press,
circulated all over India. Several visits to the garden, paid
with 'a view to ascertain its true state, have tended to confirm
the truth of the statements concerning the Hon. Company's
'botanical' establishment at Calcutta.

On entering the garden the eye is struck with all the gran-
deur of an Indian vegetation. As a pleasure-ground, laid out
in tolerably good taste, and kept in exemplary order by some
hundred and fifty workmen,1 — a more beautiful spot could
hardly be found. But now, — you stop before the nearest tree,
and are desirous of ascertaining its name, its properties, its
habitat, — you ask, of course, for a catalogue ; — there exists
no catalogue'2- of the Hon. Company's 'botanical' garden ! ! !

To some of the trees are tied little slips of bamboo, marked
with Bengallee characters. If you happen to be a Bengallee
scholar, you will wonder at what the writer intended to ex-
press, and after all you will be not a bit wiser than you would
have been, had you never passed an examination in that lan-
guage in Writers' Buildings. You send for one of the " ser-
dar mallees" (native head gardeners), perhaps the only man
upon the establishment who, with no small trouble, is able to
decipher his own hand-writing, in which you, with no less
trouble, may recognise — a Latin name — written and pronoun-
ced in Bengallee ! ! ! The poor native has, at any rate, com-
plied with your wish ; if you like, you may go a step farther,
— ask for the properties or the habitat of the tree ; — whether
the information thus gained is calculated to be of any use, is
another consideration.

Suppose on your way to the gardens you have picked up a
weed from the road-side; it is an old friend of yours, you have
seen it a thousand times in the jungle, and you think you may
now identify it in the ' botanical ' garden. If you happen to
see it there, you think perhaps you may, without a catalogue,
ascertain its name by referring to the herbarium ; — there is no
herbarium in the Covnpanu's ' botanical ' garden. If a man
in India breaks a branch from a tree, and wants to know its
name, he will be obliged to carry his specimen to Europe, and
consult the herbarium of some museum or botanical garden ;
strange as this may appear, it is yet a melancholy truth.

To find out the plan upon which this garden is arranged,
amounts next to an impossibility ; it would at least appear so

1 A by no means astonishing number, considering the vast area ; only
their hands might be employed in something better than keeping the weeds
out of, and the gravel in, the walks.

3Itishardlvneeessaryto observe that Dr. Roxburgh published a catalogue.
Vol. III.— No. 30. n. s. 2 i

306 BOTANICAL GARDEN AT CALCUTTA.

by finding a Nipalese pine surrounded by trees indigenous to
Bengal, or some inhabitants of Malacca, so densely crowded,
in such a ' sable throng,' as though it were the intention of
the superintendent to try, on a large scale, with how little
free access of air vegetation may be carried on. Such heap-
ing together, such disregard to geographical distribution, may
perhaps pass by way of experiment ; whether the total absence
of plots allotted to the Linnean arrangement or the natural
families, in a ' botanical ' garden, may pass under the same
head, is another question : be this as it may, the botanical
student will search in vain for either.

This establishment, forming a no small item in the Com-
pany's annual expenses, ought to prove of some little use to
the public, — particularly now that Calcutta boasts a medical
college for natives. How far the students can study Botany
in a 'botanical' garden, without catalogue, herbarium, artifi-
cial or natural arrangement, is unnecessary to speculate upon;
it would be a more desirable topic for speculation, to point
out the most expedient manner in which this fallen, but still
noble institution, might, instead of proving, as it of late has
done, a bar to science, — be restored to its original purpose,
which the liberality of its supporters and the public at large
have a right to expect ; viz.,that of promoting science, — in
short, that of being a botanical garden.

I remain, Sir,

Your obedient servant,

Philaletes. *

May, 1839.

REVIEWS.

Art. I. — 1. The Coleopterisfs Manual; containing the Lamellicorns of Lin-
n&us and Fabricius. By The Rev. F. W. Hope, F.R.S., F.L.S.,
F.Z.S., &c. &c. 8vo. pp. 126. 4 pi. London : H. G. Bonn, 1837.

2. The Coleopterisfs Manual, part the second ; containing the predaceous
Land and Water Beetles of Linneeus and Fabricius. By the same. 8vo:
pp. 184, 4 col. pi. London: 1838.

The appearance of these works, together with the numerous memoirs
published in our various journals and transactions devoted to Natural
History, fully prove the fact that scientific exotic Entomology, so long
neglected by English entomologists, (if we except the venerated names
of Kirby and Leach), is at length gaining a share of that attention
which had been bestowed, almost exclusively, upon the insect produc-

1 Communicated to the Magazine with an authentic signature. Ed.

COLEOPTERIST S MANUAL. 307

tions of our own island. It would cany us into too wide a field to spe-
culate upon the advantages to be derived from such an extension of
scientific research ; but we cannot but observe, that now that the prin-
ciples of natural classification attract so much of the attention of the
student of Zoology, the absurdity of limiting our views to the produc-
tions of a given spot has become more and more evident. Hence it is
that we find Mr. MacLeay himself remarking, that " if the natural sys-
tem is ever discovered, it will assuredly be in the insect world, where,
owing to the multitudes of species, the linkings of the great chain of
nature will necessarily be most evident." Whilst, however, we admit
this in respect to the natural relations existing among the insect tribes
themselves, there are other, and certainly not less important, views of
the subject to be obtained by the investigation of the species of particu-
lar districts. A knowledge of the geographical distribution of insects,
— their internal and external anatomy, — and, above all, their relation
with nature in general, — may be acquired or improved by the exami-
nation even of local collections, properly studied. Who, for instance,
is not aware of the eminent service rendered to Botany by Mr. Robt.
Brown's work on the Flora of New Holland ? W,e make these re-
marks, being aware how many there are who either suppose that when
they have amassed a large collection of animals, they have done all that
is necessary for science ; or who think, and even constantly assert in
print, that the discovery of the natural system is, or ought to be, the
ne plus ultra — the " ultimus finis" ('Annul. Javan. Pref.') of their
observations.

We are glad to perceive, en passant, that the writer of the works
now under notice has not confined his attention to the latter kind of
investigations. This will appear evident from the following passage,
written in answer to the objection that the lamellicorn beetles (genus
Scarabceus, Linn.) ought not to be placed at the head of the beetle
tribes.1 " There are sufficient reasons why the lamellicorns should pre-
cede Cicindela or Carabus. It is not merely the simple structure of
the stomach, it is not their vast bulk or strength (on which little stress
can be laid), but it is in the important functions they perform, it is in
relation to the economical purposes of the human race, that they ought
to take precedence. They are of greater utility to man than nearly all
other groups, in checking the over-luxuriance of tropical vegetation ;
in reducing to powder the mightiest monarchs of the forest ; in purify-
ing the air by burying all that is noxious and disgusting, and, at the
same time they give fertility to the land, by carrying to the roots of
vegetation the richest of manures. As to numbers, both of genera and
species, they greatly surpass the Cicindelidce or even the Carabidce ;
and in the number of individuals of species, they appear amongst the most
prolific of insects." — (Pt. ii. Pref. p. viii). Without adopting the au-
thor's opinion, that the lamellicorns are to be placed at the head of the
insect tribes, we cannot but admit that these observations are founded

1 This was their position in the writings of Linnaeus and Fabricius, but
the French authors placed the Cicindela and Carabi at the head of the Co-
leoptera from their more perfectly organized mouths.

308 COLEOFTElilST's MANUAL.

upon an extended view of nature, although we are inclined to look at
the subject in a still more general manner, and not to limit the ques-
tion, as Mr. Hope appeal's inclined to do, to the advantages they im-
part to man.

It is time, however, that we should give the reader some account of
these works. Instead of adopting the course pursued by so many of
our modern entomologists, of describing the new species contained in
his magnificent collection, Mr. Hope has thought that it would confer
more service upon science, were he to review the species of beetles de-
scribed by Linnaeus and Fabricius, many of which, either from having
been too concisely described, or from having some erroneous habitat
given to them, have been either entirely overlooked, or greatly confused,
by more recent writers. The attempt to rescue these species from obli-
vion, and to place them in their true genera and subgenera, is worthy of
great praise. The possession by the Linnean Society of the Linnean cabi-
net, as well as of Sir Joseph Banks's collections, described and labelled by
Fabricius, an extensive correspondence with the chief continental wri-
ters, and the possession of a very large collection, containing many
authentic specimens, described by Fabricius, from the collections of
Lee, Drury, Francellon and others, have certainly placed the author iu
a very favourable situation for such an undertaking, which has been
attempted in the following manner.

The first part commences with a table, containing a list of the Lin-
nean Scarabcei and Lucani, the true locality of each species, and its
modern genus or subgenus, each occupying a single line, as in the ta-
ble of the lamellicorns of Olivier given by Mr. Hope in this Magazine
for January last. This is succeeded by a series of observations on ma-
ny of the species, where a change of habitat, genus, &c. is required. —
Then follows a similar table of the lamellicorn beetles described by Fa-
bricius, with similar observations upon the doubtful species. After this
follow the descriptions of various new genera, the majority of which had
been indicated and dissected by Mr. Kirby, whose collection and ma-
nuscripts, now in the possession of the Entomological Society, have
been resorted to. An appendix is given, containing additional notes
and a revision of the family Goliathidce.

The second part commences with a table and similar observations
upon the Linnean CicindeJce and the Fabrician Cicindelida? ; then fol-
low similar tables and observations on the Linnean and Fabrician Ca-
rabi ( Carabida Leach) , and the Linnean and Fabiician aquatic beetles ;
the part terminating with descriptions of some new genera and species.

As the various notes and observations are made in the order in which
the species occur in the works of Linnaeus and Fabricius, it necessarily
happens that much irregularity exists in the arrangement of the great
mass of information conveyed in these pages ; for instance, amongst
the "remarks and annotations on the Linnean Cicindelidce" we find a
tabular sketch, and a long dissertation upon the Carabideous family
Elaphridce, some of the species of which were considered by Linnaeus
as Cicindelce. Again, in the remarks upon the Fabrician " Cicinde-
loidea," we have a tabular list of all the modern genera of that group,
with observations upon each genus ; then follow the remarks upon the

HYMENOPTERA BRITANNICA. 309

Fabrician species, including the descriptions, not only of new genera
founded upon them, but also of completely new species. — We can-
not but think that if these remarks and annotations had exhibited
more method, they would have possessed much more utility ; the
notes upon the species might have been restricted in their extent, in the
same manner as those given upon the species of Olivier in this Maga-
zine. The tabular views given of the modern groups of genera, might
have formed a distinct part of the work, arranged according to their re-
lations ; and the descriptions of all the new genera and species ought
to have been confined to a separate appendix. These, it is true, are
but points of editorial arrangement, and do not in the slightest degree
militate against the value of the facts and observations themselves ; but
we must be allowed to enter our protest, as we perceive that Mr. Mac-
Leay has also done, against the establishment of the mass of new fami-
lies, terminating in idee, into which the old Linnean genera are cut up
by Mr. Hope and some recent French authors, as Messrs Laporte and
Brulle, as well as by Mr. Kirby, in his American insects. The Cara-
bidce alone are formed into no less than forty of such families by Mr.
Hope, without any table being given to show their classification or re-
lations inter se. We must also object to the nomenclature of such
groups. Thus whilst we have Megacephalidce, Manticoridce , Cicin-
delidce, Agridce, &c, formed from the feminine names Megacephala,
&c, we find Clcenhdse, from the masculine Clcenius, AnthrdL&?e, Le-
bradse &c. from the feminine Anthra &c. We do but repeat the opi-
nion already expressed by us in this work, that the uniform termination
in idw, first proposed by Mr. Kirby, ought to be retained for the groups
equivalent with the genera of Linnaeus, and the " families naturelles " of
Latreille. We would also suggest the advantage of the future parts, as
well as the promised second edition, undergoing a more careful revision,
as the present parts exhibit many proofs of great haste in their compo-
sition. For instance, in p. 13 (part ii) Apteressa, Hope, is called both
a genus and a subgenus ; the same thing occurs with Apotomopterus,
(p. 48.) Graphipterus is called Graphiptera (p, 52) ; and numerous
other lapsus calami might be pointed out.

Art. II. — Hymenoptera Britannica; Oxyura. Auctore A. H. Haliday. —
Fascic. l.pp. 16. London : H. Bailliere. 1839.

The present brochure contains the commencement of a Monograph of
the British Oxyurous Hymenoptera, and includes the genus Procto-
trupes, Latr., of which nineteen species are described with great care.
We know no one so well qualified for such a task as Mr. Haliday, and
look forward with interest to the appearance of the succeeding fasciculi
of the work.

310 BREEDING OF THE CROSSBILL IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE.

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS.

Breeding of the Crossbill in Gloucestershire. — On the 13th
of this month (April) as I was passing by a plantation of
larch and Scotch firs, the note- of the crossbill attracted my
attention, (having been from home all the winter I had sup-
posed that these birds had left), and on looking up, I observed
an old bird, that appeared much disturbed at my presence. —
Presently another bird flew into the same tree, which, from
its mottled plumage and difficult flight, I concluded was a
young one. There was a nest at the spot from which this
bird flew, and there appeared to be another bird in it. I left
them for a short time, and, on returning, both the old birds
were in the tree, and one of them was in the act of feeding
the young bird, which fluttered its wings on being fed.

The next day I again visited the tree ; the old birds fled
on my approach, and not being able to see the young bird, I
concluded that it had either been enticed away by the parents,
or that it was in the nest. On climbing up to the nest, how-
ever, I found it deserted; it was placed in the fork of a Scotch
fir, about 20 feet from the ground, and 4 feet from the extre-
mity of the branch. The exterior of the nest was composed
of dead larch and spruce twigs, within which it was formed
of dead grass, and some tender dry stalks of plants, rendered
warm and compact with wool ; and the whole was lined with
horse-hair.

The edge of the nest, on one side, was completely plaster-
ed over with the fceces of the young birds or bird, for I am
inclined to think there was only one reared. I could not dis-
cover, either in the nest or on the ground, any remains of eggs.
The nest had all the appearance of being just deserted : its
diameter was 5 J inches, its depth 2 inches within, and mea-
sured 3 inches across the concavity. I have preserved it as
a specimen.

We have had the crossbills in considerable numbers for the
last two years ; they feed solely on the seeds of the larch, as
those of the spruce fir do not come to perfection here. These
birds have been accused of attacking the apple-orchards in
France ; in 1837 that fruit was very abundant close to a plan-
tation where they were constantly at work, and yet they never
touched it.

P.S. — I have again witnessed the old bird feeding the
young one. — J. Brown. — Cotswold Hills ; April, 1839.

CROSSBILL IN SURREY. — THE SQUIRREL CARNIVOROUS. 311

Breeding of the Crossbill in Surrey. — I ha\re been informed
since I wrote to you, that two nests with eggs had been met
with by the labourers in the Holt forest, but that they did not
observe them until the trees in which they were placed had
been felled, so that the eggs were broken. This was in Fe-
bruary last, — confirmatory of the very early nidification of
this bird. I have been rather surprised at not finding a nest
in the plantation here, although I have caused diligent search
to be made, and the crossbills have been and still continue
numerous. I am disposed to ascribe this to the number of
squirrels we'have, whilst there are very few in the Holt, and
they are great devourers of eggs. I think of proclaiming war
against them very soon. — H. L. Long. — Hampton, near Farn-
ham, Surrey ; May 2nd, 1839.

Carnivorous propensity of the Squirrel. — In the able Mo-
nograph on the genus Sciurus which has appeared in the two
last numbers of your valuable periodical, the author has neg-
lected to notice the fact, that the squirrel is occasionally a
carnivorous animal. The same remark applies to all the
works on Natural History which I have examined. That
such however is the case, I have no hesitation in asserting,
having observed the fact many times during the last three
years. I believe 1 may add that the squirrel prefers animal
food in a living state.

I first observed the fact in the spring of 1836 ; when, hav-
ing occasion to clean out the cage of some young kingfishers
which I had bred up, I left them on the table in a room in
which three half-grown squirrels were allowed to play. On
my return, I found one of the squirrels busily employed in
plucking the feathers from the head of one of the birds. The
following day a young cuckoo was placed in the same situa-
tion, when it was quickly attacked by a squirrel, which seized
it under the wing, where it was safe from the blows aimed at
it by the bird. In a few minutes the animal had eaten a
great portion of the ribs of one side, so that the air inspired
escaped from the wound; it had also eaten through the femur
and muscles of the thigh. Shortly after the other squirrels
joined the first, and partook of the remains of the unfortunate
bird. I several times repeated this experiment, both with
living and dead birds, and invariably found that the squirrels
would forsake their vegetable food for the more agreeable ani-
mal diet.

I was then residing in the heart of Wiltshire, and on men-
tioning the fact to the shepherds, who, by the bye, are fre-
quently very keen observers of the habits of wild animals, I

312 DISTRIBUTION OF THE MARSUPIALIA.

found that it was by no means uncommon for the squirrels to
be seen in the act of devouring young birds, particularly in
the copses that intersect the bleak downs of Wiltshire. In-
deed, one shepherd assured me, that one evening in autumn
he observed a severe struggle between a wood-pigeon and a
squirrel, among the branches of a tree, and that the latter proved
victorious, and began devouring his victim. The fact appears
strange, but I have no reason to doubt the veracity of my in-
formant. I have bred upwards of a dozen squirrels, taken
when a few days old, and in nearly every case have observed
the fact above mentioned. — Charles Coward. — 1," Bridge Ter-
race, Southwark ; April 4th, 1839.

Distribution of the Marsupialia. — The following para-
graph, extracted from a volume that probably has not come
under the notice of many naturalists, is especially interesting
as illustrative of Mr. Swain son's views of the distribution of
marsupial animals. It contains, I believe, the first intimation
that such a group is to be found among the feathered tribes.
The author is a plain sailor, but evidently an observing man,
and ignorant of the importance of the information he conveys
to us.

King Penguin : " They lay but one egg, which they carry
in a pouch under their bellies, very similar to that in which
kangaroos carry their young. In this pouch it remains dur-
ing the period of incubation, which is about seven weeks. —
Their flesh is not good for food, but we used to make use of
their eggs, of which we robbed them, and this they would per-
mit us to do, without making the least resistance, being so
tame that we could catch them with our hands, or knock them
down with a stick, whenever we felt disposed. When rob-
bed of their egg, they would lay again. They commence lay-
ing in November, and by depriving them of their eggs, they
continue to lay till March." "In the Crozet islands, be-
tween 46° and 47° S., between 46° and 50° E."

' Narrative of a Voyage to the South Seas, and Shipwreck
and Residence for two years on an Uninhabited Island ; by
Charles Medgett Goodridge.' P. 45. Exeter : 1838. — Jona-
than Couch. — Polperro, April, 1839.

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATUEAL HISTORY,

JULY, 1839.

Art. I. — On the Relative Ages of the Tertiary Deposits commonly
called " Cray, " in the Counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. By
Charles Lyell, Esq., V.P.G.S.

In the course of last year I visited several parts of the coun-
ties of Norfolk and Suffolk, and examined the tertiary depo-
sits there called "crag," principally with a view of satisfying
myself respecting the following points : — First, the direct su-
perposition of the red to the coralline crag, as first pointed
out in 1835, by Mr. Charlesworth ; * Secondly, whether the
remains of Mammalia were really imbedded in regular and
undisturbed marine strata in the Norwich crag, as affirmed
by the writer above mentioned ; Thirdly, whether the propor-
tion of recent shells, as compared with the extinct, was de-
cidedly larger in the Norwich crag, so as to indicate a pos-
teriority in age relatively to the Suffolk crag.

Red Crag of Suffolk overlies Coralline. — First, in regard
to the superposition of the red to the coralline crag, I found
this fact exhibited in distinct sections at Ramsholt and Tat-
tingstone, as indicated by Mr. Charlesworth, and in quarries
near Sudburn, to which I was directed by Mr. Bunbury. In
both the former localities, — Tattingstone and Ramsholt, — the
red crag rests on the denuded surface of the older or coralline
deposit.

At Sutton, near Woodbridge, in Suffolk, a large excavation
has been made at the point of junction ; and Mr. W. Colches-
ter, a zealous collector of the fossils of these beds, had the
kindness to cause an artificial section to be made, expressly
to enable me to see more distinctly the manner of the junc-

1 London and Edinburgh Phil. Mag. August, 1835, p. 81,
Vol. III.— No. 31. n. s. 2 k

314

RELATIVE AGES OF THE CRAG

tion of the two deposits, which is sufficiently remarkable. —
The older or coralline mass is chiefly composed of commi-
nuted shells and zoophytes, the calcareous sand thus con-
stituted being divided by thin horizontal layers or flags of
impure limestone, which however are not continuous. It is
evident that the calcareous sand had acquired a certain de-
gree of consistency at the bottom of the sea, before the red
crag was thrown down, for it is seen to have been perforated
by numerous Pholades, the tortuous holes of which descend
six or eight feet below the top of the coralline crag, and still
contain the shells of the Pholas, while the remainder of the
cylindrical hollow has been filled with differently-coloured
sand derived from the superincumbent deposit. There is also
another proof of the inferior mass having obtained a certain
degree of consolidation before it was denuded. The loose
upper crag at Sutton does not rest everywhere on a level
foundation of subjacent coralline crag, but abuts abruptly
against a vertical wall or cliff of the older formation, as shown
in the annexed diagram (fig. 39). This buried cliff, eight or

Eed Crag.

Coralline Crag.

ten feet high, may be traced at Sutton, running in a direction
N.E. and S.W., and in some spots may be seen slightly over-
hanging. In consequence of this circumstance, a deceptive
appearance of distinct alternations of red and coralline
crag is often produced, when a vertical section, parallel to
the line of junction, is laid open. Even where the buried
precipice of coralline crag has not been perpendicular, but
merely having a very steep slope, an artificial cut at a high
inclination may so intersect alternately the red and coralline
crag, as to lead to the conclusion which I first entertained at
Sutton, of a real intercalation of the two formations. Some
of the apparent anomalies seen in like manner in the stratifi-
cation of the red crag, may sometimes be ascribed to the de-
position, on the steep sloping sides of submarine sand-banks,
of new matter of a different colour and composition. When
these are afterwards cut through in the steep slope of a sea-
cliff, we occasionally see patches of the more modern bed
adhering like plaster to the face of the older one.
At Tattingstone, in Suffolk, the inferior or coralline crag

OF NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK. 315

consists chiefly of greenish marl, with only a few stony beds.
Here the number of corals is so small, and the shells for the
most part are so comminuted, that the distinctness of the in-
ferior mass from the red crag is far less striking than on the
north of the river Deben. I caused a pit about seven feet
deep to be sunk in the yard at Tattingstone Hall farm, pierc-
ing the lowest part there exposed of the coralline crag,
through green marls, with intervening layers of flaggy lime-
stone, two or three inches thick. At the bottom of this pit I
found marl of the same character, containing a large Nucula,
Venus ovata, and some other shells; when the workmen were
stopped by the quantity of water which flowed in. One of
the flaggy beds of limestone was almost of a brick red colour,
and consisted chiefly of comminuted shells, like the green
marl.

Although the upper crag at the point of junction is here
(at Tattingstone) very like the lower formation, yet we can
recognise it by the presence of Fusus contrarius, Turritella
terebra, and other shells which are wholly wanting in the
lower bed.

Fluvio-marine Crag of Southwold, fyc. — Before offering
any general remarks upon the fossils of the coralline and red
crag, I shall pass on to the consideration of the crag of Nor-
wich, or "mammaliferous crag" as it has been termed by Mr.
Charlesworth, which is the principal object of this paper. —
By examining this crag in the neighbourhood of Southwold
and Norwich, I soon satisfied myself that instead of being of
purely marine origin, like the deposits already alluded to, it
is a fluvio-marine formation, containing everywhere an inter-
mixture of land, fresh-water, and sea shells, with the bones of
Mammalia and fish. I first examined this crag at Thorpe,
near Aldborough, where it extends to the sea-coast, I did
not observe its junction with the subjacent coralline crag,
but was informed by Capt. Alexander that the latter crops
out from beneath it upon the beach, where it is exposed for
200 yards at low water, being there called the "Thorpe rocks,"
which are broken up for building stone. Sizewell gap, seve-
ral miles to the north, is the most northern point to which the
the coralline crag has yet been traced. But it is at Southwold,
about ten miles north of Thorpe, that the Norwich or fluvio-
marine crag is most largely developed. It may there be stu-
died both in a continuous line of sea-cliff, and in several large
pits scattered through the interior. It is very variable in mi-
neral composition, consisting of sand, shingle, loam, and la-
minated clay in regular strata, some of which bear marks of
very tranquil deposition. A thickness of about forty feet is

316 RELATIVE AGES OF THE CRAG

sometimes exposed in one section, as in the cliff at Easton
Bavant, about three quarters of a mile N.E. of Southwold. —
The marine shells are here spread through a thickness of ten
and sometimes fifteen feet, chiefly in the lowest part of the
deposit here laid open. Some of the bivalves, as the Nucula
Cobboldia, Tellina obliqua, and Mya arenaria, have both
valves united, and have not suffered by attrition, although as-
sociated, not only with land and freshwater shells, but with
rolled fish-bones, and the bones and teeth of Mammalia, as
of the elephant, rhinoceros, horse and deer. Capt. Alexan-
der, whom I was so fortunate as to have as my guide, inform-
ed me that in one bed at the base' of the cliff, which is most
rich in marine shells, and which is only from four to six inches
thick, he found the tooth of a horse, buried with sand, in the
mouth of a large specimen of the Fusus striatus. I learnt
from the same gentleman, that the bones of Mammalia are
frequently met with in the same bed as those of fish, marine
shells, and Crustacea ; and in more than one instance I was
enabled myself to verify this fact. He also showed me the
tooth of a Mastodon, washed out of the cliffs between Dun-
wich and Sizewell, which may, without hesitation, be refer-
red to the same formation.

In tracing the fluvio-marine deposit from the cliffs of Eas-
ton Bavant to the northward, in the direction of Kessingland,
I found distinct layers of flinty shingle regularly interposed
between the shelly beds, so that I have no hesitation in refer-
ring to the Norwich crag those strata of sand and shingle on
this coast, which so much resemble the sandy portions of
the plastic clay of the London and Hampshire basins.

I examined, with Capt. Alexander for my guide, several
inland pits of Norwich crag near Southwold; and in one of
these in the parish of Henham, on the property of Lord Strad-
brooke, I picked up mammiferous bones and teeth, from an
undisturbed bed containing marine, freshwater, and terrestrial
shells. Among the freshwater shells I found a species of
Cyrena, which appears to be one of the varieties of that va-
riable species, Cyr. trigonula, found at Grays in Essex, and
elsewhere. In each of the different localities of this neigh-
bourhood, as in those of the red crag of Suffolk, some shells
are found which are not met with at other spots ; the whole
assemblage, however, agrees very closely with that derived
from the pits around Norwich, to the consideration of which
I shall now pass.

Crag near Norwich. — The crag of the neighbourhood of
Norwich is interposed, in patches of variable thickness, be-
tween the chalk, on which it rests, and a dense bed of gravel

OF NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK. 317

by which it is almost everywhere covered. It is only in some
valleys, like that of the Yare, where denudation has extended
down to the fundamental chalk, that the crag is partially ex-
posed at the surface.

The various excavations made for chalk and sand at Bra-
merton and Whitlingham, on the right bank of the Yare, and
at Thorpe and Postwick, on the left bank, places within four
or five miles of Norwich, all agree in presenting beds of sand,
loam, and gravel, in which we observe a mixture of marine,
land, and freshwater shells, with ichthyolites and bones of
Mammalia. It is clear that these beds have been accumu-
lated by successive deposition at the bottom of the sea, near
the mouth of a river. Mr. Woodward, in his account of the
Norfolk crag, has described the drilled surface of the chalk at
Postwick, showing that it had remained for some time expos-
ed to the action of marine perforating animals, before the crag
was thrown down : and similar facts were pointed out to me
by the Rev. Thomas Clowes, of Yarmouth, respecting the
chalk at Whitlingham. That gentleman presented me with a
fragment of chalk, perforated to the depth of several inches by
the Pholas crispata, the shell still remaining at the bottom
of its cylindrical cavity, the upper part of which was filled
with loose sand, which had fallen in from the incumbent crag.
The chalk of this place when bored by the Pholas, was either
exposed in the bed of the tertiary sea, or at least was not yet
covered by a considerable thickness of sand and loam.

Among other observations which prove the gradual depo-
sition of the tertiary strata themselves, I may mention that
Capt. Alexander found the tusk of an elephant at Bramerton,
to which there were many Serpula attached ; a fact which
also demonstrates, together with many others, that the bones
of quadrupeds were really washed down into the sea of the
Norwich crag, and were not introduced afterwards by diluvial
action, as has been sometimes suspected.

Although many freshwater shells have, by dint of careful
search, been detected in the Norwich beds, they are never-
theless rare in comparison with the marine Testacea, and the
terrestrial species are still more rare. Mr. J. B. Wigham
however informs me, that in one of the beds at Thorpe, near
Norwich, there is a great predominance of freshwater shells,
most of which cannot be preserved, as they fall to powder on
being exposed to the air. In the pits of Thorpe last men-
tioned, the same gentleman found the tooth of a Mastodon in
the bottom of the deposit, near the chalk, together with pec-
tens and other marine shells. He also discovered, in 1838,
at Postwick, together with the remains of fish, and marine

318 RELATIVE AGES OF THE CRAG

shells, the left side of the upper jaw of a Mastodon, contain-
ing the second true molar, and in the socket the indication of
another, namely, the first molar. This fragment was suffi-
ciently perfect to enable Mr. Owen, to whom I submitted it,
to refer it to Mastodon longirostris, a species also found at
Eppelsheim. With these remains of a huge pachyderm were
associated the teeth and jaw of a field-mouse, larger and with
stronger teeth than the common species, (Arvicola arvalis,
Cuv.). These fossils were accompanied also by the bones of
birds, together with remains of several fish, such as the Pla-
tax and Myliobates. The horns of stags, together with bones
and teeth of the horse, pig, elephant, and other quadrupeds,
have also been detected at Postwick, Thorpe, Bramerton, and
other localities of crag near Norwich. The association here,
as in so many other places, both in Europe and America, of
the remains of the Mastodon and horse, is remarked by Mr.
Owen as a subject not without interest.

In addition to spots bordering the valley of the Yare, near
Norwich, I visited several others, such as Belaugh and Wrox-
ham, to the north of Norwich, and between that city and
Horstead. In all these I found the same kind of crag inter-
posed between the superficial gravel and the chalk ; the shells
consisting for the most part of Fusus striatum, Turritella te-
rebra, Cerithium punctatum, Pectunculus variabilis, Tellina
obliqua, Tel. calcarea, Cardium edule, and Cyprina vulgaris.

Proportion of recent shells in Norwich Crag. — The infor-
mation which I was most desirous of obtaining respecting the
Norwich crag generally, was the degree of the resemblance of
its shells to those of the Suffolk crag on the one hand, and to
those of the existing seas on the other. In accomplishing
one part of this object, I have been particularly indebted to
Mr. J. B. Wigham, of Norwich, whose labours alone have
nearly doubled the number of shells which had been previ-
ously obtained from this formation, and who has most liberal-
ly placed his entire collection at my disposal. I have also to
acknowledge the assistance of Mr. Fitch, of Norwich. I re-
ceived moreover many shells of the Southwold strata through
the kindness of Capt. Alexander, several of them belonging
to species not yet discovered near Norwich.

But it would have been impossible for me to compare the
Norwich shells, amounting to 111 in number, with those of
the Suffolk crag, had I not obtained the kind assistance of
Mr. Searles Wood, with opportunity of referring to his ex-
tensive collection. Nor would Mr. Wood and I have been
able to institute a thorough comparison of these shells
with recent species, if we had not been assisted by Mr.

OF NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK. 319

George Sowerby. The number of shells of the Norfolk crag
known in 1833, when Woodward published his list, amount-
ed, according to that author, to 85 species ; but so many of
these consisted of mere varieties and monstrosities of a few of
the commonest species, especially Littorina, Fusus, and Pur-
pura, that we have found it necessary to reduce the 85 species,
as named in that list, to about 58, and several even of this num-
ber must again be excluded from a genuine list of Norfolk crag
shells, on the ground of their consisting of fragments, probably
washed in from pre-existing beds of the red or Suffolk crag.
The total number known in 1833 being thus brought down to
less than 60, has been again nearly doubled by the additions
recently made, especially by Mr. Wigham, 19 out of 111 con-
sisting of land and freshwater shells.

It will naturally be thought that the total number is very
small, whether as compared to the shells of the British seas,
or to the Fauna of the Suffolk crag, especially when it is con-
sidered that the scantiness of this number is not owing to any
want of industry on the part of collectors, nor to any paucity
of individual shells. But I have already stated that the de-
posit has a fluvio-marine character, and it is well known that
in brackish water, like the Baltic, or in any great estuary, the
variety of species is far less considerable than in the salt sea,
latitude, climate, and other conditions being the same. A
similar scantiness in the list of species has been remarked in
those tertiary formations which extend along the valley of the
Rhine, from Basle to Mayence, and in which great numbers
of land and freshwater shells are intermingled with marine
species, the same strata including also the bones of Mamma-
lia, and among others, at Eppelsheim, of the Dinotherium
and Mastodon lougirostris.

Of the 92 marine shells of the Norwich crag, Mr. Wood has
recognized 73 as common to the red crag. This enormous
proportion of species common to both (about 78 per cent.),
struck me so forcibly when collecting at South wold and Nor-
wich, that 1 at first began to suspect, that by increasing our
knowledge of the fossils of the Norwich beds we should even-
tually prove them and the red crag to be nearly, if not wholly
of the same age. But the application of another test, name-
ly, the per-centage of recent species, soon led to a very dif-
ferent result, for both in the marine and freshwater shells of
the Norwich crag, we have found between 50 and 60 per cent,
of recent species, and those almost exclusively northern, and
nearly all British shells ; whereas in the red crag, as I shall
afterwards more fully explain, there are only 30 per cent.,

320 RELATIVE AGES OF THE CRAG

and in the coralline crag only 19 per cent., of recent species
of true Mollusca.

That the crag of Norwich was newer than that of the red
crag of Suffolk, had been already implied by Mr. Charlesworth
when he suggested that shells of the former had probably been
washed into the Norwich beds ; and both he and Mr. Wood
had recognized in the assemblage of Norfolk shells, a nearer
approach to the existing British Fauna ; but it is most satis-
factory to have these conjectures borne out by a detailed ex-
amination of the Norfolk and Suffolk shells, a task, in the
execution of which Mr. Wood and myself have had through-
out the assistance of Mr. George Sowerby, without whose
experience and knowledge of the living shells, we could not
have arrived at such positive conclusions.

Only two species of freshwater shells have been hitherto
found in the red crag of Suffolk, and these Mr. Wood col-
lected at Sutton, namely, three individuals of Auricula myo-
sotis, and a single specimen of Planorbis marginatus, belong-
ing to that variety in which the keel is slightly prominent. —
This same variety of Planorbis, as well as the Auricula, have
both been discovered in the Norwich crag. Amongst the other
freshwater species in this crag, I may mention Cyrena trigo-
nula, which occurs both at South wold, and at Crostwick near
Norwich. The land shells consist of Helix hispida and
H. plebeium, common British shells, and two perfect speci-
mens of a Helix found by Capt. Alexander at Southwold,
which bears a very near resemblance to the Helix turonensis,
so common in the faluns of Touraine. Of the 92 marine shells
all, with two or three exceptions, are either species found in
the red crag, or now living, so that a very small number seem
to have been peculiar to this period.

The most difficult point to determine in respect to the fos-
sils of the Norwich crag, is the propriety of excluding certain
species on the ground of their having been probably washed in
from an older bed. The mere circumstance of shells being com-
mon to the red crag, and, at the same time, of extinct species,
raises in itself no fair presumption against their belonging to
the period of the Norwich beds. For some of the commonest
shells, such as Mya lata, Tellina obliqua, Astarte plana,
Tellina pretenuis, Nucula Cobboldics, Auricula pyramidalis,
and some others, are extinct species, and found also in the
red crag of Suffolk : yet no one can doubt that these lived
in the sea of the Norwich crag, as they abound in it in a good
state of preservation, although some of them are fragile shells,
and the Acephala have occasionally both valves united. Nor

OF NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK. 321

have they in general the red ferruginous colour by which the
fossils of the upper crag of Suffolk are tinged. I may how-
ever remark, that the fossils of the Norwich crag have also, in
some places, acquired a yellow ochreous colour, so that the
presence of this character does not at once stamp a shell as
having been derived from the more ancient bed. When there
is only evidence of a few fragments of a remarkable shell, such
as Hinnites Dubuissoni, or when I have only met with one
bouldered specimen, as of Murex alveolatus, and that stained
red, I have rejected them as spurious without hesitation. —
The greater number of specimens of the Fusus contrarius
which are broken or bouldered, may also doubtless be refera-
ble to the same source. This last point however is one of
minor importance, as a conchologist may satisfy himself, by
referring to an extensive series, such as Mr. Wood possesses,
that the Fusus contrarius is merely a sinistral variety of Fus.
striatus, a fossil which properly belongs to the Norwich crag,
and of which Capt. Alexander posseses a reversed specimen
from Bramerton, of the ordiuary striated variety with angular
whorls. The individual last mentioned is quite perfect, and
free from ferruginous stains.

No species of Terebratula was enumerated in Woodward's
list of the Norfolk crag shells, although the species allied to,
if not identical with, Ter. pslttacea, is by no means rare. On
the other hand, Woodward mentions Ter. plicatilis as being
washed out from the chalk into the crag. Mr. Charlesworth
also has spoken of various species of Terebratula, and other
chalk fossils, as of frequent occurrence in the crag of Norfolk.1
I collected many Terebratulce, of the recent species before
mentioned, without ever happening to meet with any derived
from the chalk, the introduction of which therefore appears to
me to have been a local accident.

It becomes a question of greater delicacy and difficulty
when only one entire specimen, or a small number of broken
specimens, of a well-known shell of the red or coralline crag
have been met with. In this predicament the following ten
species appear to stand at present.

1 Voluta Lamberti Cardita concentrica

Cassis bicatenatus Pecten plebeius

Murex costellifer Astarte oblonga

Buccinum elongatum Lucina obliqua

5 Cardium edulifium 10 Mactra arcuata

To exclude all these because of their extreme rarity, would,
I think, be somewhat rash, because we have as yet only soli-

1 Phil. Mag. No. 42. p. 468, Dec. 1835.

32*2 RELATIVE AGES OF THE CRAG

tary examples of some other species which are either quite
peculiar to the Norwich beds, or are recent species never found
in the red crag. Nevertheless, it is worthy of remark, that if
we reduce the list of marine shells by ten, on the ground of
doubts entertained respecting the authenticity of the species
above enumerated, we then find nearly the same per-centage of
recent species in the marine list as is obtained from that com-
prising the land and freshwater shells, namely, 60 per cent.
In regard to the nineteen land and freshwater shells, there is
no possibility of any individual having been washed in from
the purely marine crag of Suffolk ; so that when we have ob-
tained a large number of these, they will yield the safest test
of the analogy of the Fauna to that now existing.

Norwich Crag Older Pleiocene. — To whatever view we may
at present incline respecting some of these doubtful shells, the
Norwich crag will still be referable to some part of the older
pleiocene period, according to the classification which I have
adopted in the ' Principles of Geology,' while the red and co-
ralline crag of Suffolk will each belong to different parts of
the miocene epoch.

It would be foreign to the chief object of the present pa-
per if I were to enter into any details respecting the fossil
shells of the red and coralline crag, the examination of which
could not have been accomplished without access to Mr.
Wood's collection, where almost every species is illustrated
by abundance of individuals. Assisted by Mr. George Sow-
erby and Mr. Wood, I have convinced myself that out of 345
species of coralline crag shells, 67 are identical with recent
species, being about 19 per cent. ; while out of 230 species
from the red crag, 69 agree with living species, being in the
proportion of about 30 per cent.

It is curious that a large proportion of the recent shells
found in the coralline crag, are neither met with in the red
crag nor in the Norwich formation. They disappear in the in-
termediate period, which may be attributed principally to the
fragile nature of many of these shells, and in some cases to
their having been peculiar to deep and tranquil water. If
they should hereafter be detected in beds strictly contempo-
rary with the red crag, it by no means follows that they would
alter the proportion of 30 per cent., because with them we
might expect to bring to light a great number of extinct spe-
cies, some of which would probably agree with extinct spe-
cies of the coralline crag, whilst others would be peculiar to
the red crag.

Newer Pleiocene Deposits in Norfolk. — It also appears,
from an examination in which Mr. Wood, Mr. Sowerby, and

OF NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK. 323

myself have been engaged, of the land and freshwater shells
obtained from the superficial lacustrine or fluviatile deposits
of certain parts of Norfolk, Suffolk, and the basin of the
Thames, that the proportion of recent species in these forma-
tions is much greater than in the Norwich crag, exceeding 90
or 95 per cent., and which I therefore refer to the newer plei-
ocene or pleistocene period. ■ I allude, not only to certain
deposits at Cromer and Mundesley in Norfolk, the shells of
which have been collected by Mr. Fitch, of Norwich, but al-
so to those of Stutton, Grays, Ilford, and other places near
London; many of which have long been celebrated for the
remains of extinct Mammalia.

The chronological order in which these various tertiary
groups follow each other in an ascending series, namely, 1st,
the coralline crag ; 2ndly, the red crag ; 3rdly, the mammal-
iferous or Norwich crag ; and 4thly, the lacustrine strata, with
mammalian remains ; — has been correctly indicated by Mr.
Charlesworth, in a paper communicated by him in 1836, to
the British Association. In that paper he stated that the pro-
portion of extinct to recent shells had not then been ascer-
tained. It is now satisfactory to find that the palaeontological
test of age, as derived from the relative approach to the recent
Fauna, is perfectly in accordance with the independent evi-
dence drawn from superposition, and the included fragments
of older beds. At the same time, the comparative proportion
of recent species in the several formations affords us, I con-
ceive, a considerable insight, not only into the order of se-
quence, but also into the relative distances of the times at
which the deposits were formed.

Extension of the Norwich Crag into Yorkshire. — In a for-
mer number of this Magazine (vol. viii. o. s. p. 355), Mr. Wil-
liam Bean of Scarborough has described a deposit of sand
and clay, containing marine shells, as occurring near Brid-
lington quay. It was exposed, he says, for a few yards only,
on the north side of the harbour, at low water, near the plea-
sure-ground called the "Esplanade." He now informs me
(May, 1839), "that the spot is inaccessible, as the ground has

1 In the Appendix to the French translation of my ' Elements of Geolo-
gy,' I have proposed, for the sake of brevity, to substitute the term Pleio-
cene for Older Pleiocene, and Pleistocene for Newer Pleiocene, from the Greek
nteiarov, most, and naivog, recent. I have been induced to make this inno-
vation, because in proportion as the progress of science calls for subdivisions
of these periods, the longer terms have become more inconvenient. We
have often for example, to speak of the older and newer portion both of the
older and newer pleiocene epochs. To the pleiocene period I have referred
those strata which contain between 40 and 70 per cent of recent species of
shells ; to the pleistocene those in which the per-centage exceeds 70.

324 RELATIVE AGES OF THE CRAG

been levelled, and a wall erected next the sea." I am indebt-
ed to the liberality of this gentleman for having, in immediate
compliance with my request, forwarded to me a set of shells
which he obtained from these beds, that they might be exa-
mined and compared with the collections of fossil and recent
shells in London. They consist of about 35 species, after
omitting certain specimens of Balanus, Pecten, Cardium, and
Astarte, too imperfect to be determined. Of these 35 no less
than 20 are identical with living species, being to the recent
in the proportion of nearly 60 per cent., a per-centage coin-
ciding remarkably with that previously obtained from the
Norwich crag. No less than 26 moreover of the 35 are iden-
tical with species already obtained from the Norwich crag,
which, when we consider that the latter has only yielded as
yet about 100 marine shells, affords sufficient ground for re-
ferring the Yorkshire and Norwich deposits to one and the
same period. Some species, moreover, such as the Nucula
Cobboldiw, so characteristic of the Norwich beds, were found
very abundantly by Mr. Bean near Bridlington. Of the nine
species not as yet known in the Norwich crag, five are recent,
and the other four appear to differ from any previously known
shells, whether fossil or recent. They belong to the genera
Astarte, Turritella, Natica, and Margarita, and, like one or
two extinct shells near Norwich, they may perhaps prove pe-
culiar to the British pleiocene strata. I have received no in-
formation at present, either of mammalian remains or of land
and freshwater shells, in this Yorkshire portion of the Nor-
wich crag.

Contemporaneous Origin of the Suffolk Crag and the Fa-
luns of Touraine. — There is one more subject only to which
I shail allude before concluding. When M. Desnoyers first
explored the faluns of Touraine and the crag of England, of
which he published an account in 1825,1 after visiting Aid-
borough, among other places, and inspecting the coralline
crag of that neighbourhood, he ascribed a contemporaneous
origin to the Suffolk crag and the French faluns. I was then
unwilling to embrace this opinion, for various reasons. In
the first place I imagined that the per-centage of recent spe-
cies, in all parts of the English crag, was much larger than
that of the Touraine beds ; for the shells which I was enabled
to submit to the examination of M. Deshayes in 1829, were
chiefly derived either from the Norwich beds or the red crag,
comparatively small progress having then been made in col-
lecting the fossils of the coralline crag. Admitting that some

1 Mem. de la Soc. d' Hist. Nat. tome ii. p. 238.

OF NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK. 3*25

of the identifications then made by M. Deshayes of crag shells
with recent species, were erroneous, it was still unavoidable
that he should estimate the per-centage for 111 crag shells,
gathered indiscriminately from the Norfolk and Suffolk crag,
much higher than we now find to hold good in the case of
the red or coralline crag taken separately. Secondly, I re-
jected the idea of the Touraine beds being contemporaneous
with the crag, because I had ascertained that the fossils were
almost entirely of distinct species, although the two regions
are not 300 miles distant the one from the other. M. Des-
hayes also pronounced the testaceous Fauna of the crag to
have a very northern aspect, and that of Touraine an almost
tropical character : and yet the crag lies in the 52nd, while
the faluns are in the 48th degree of latitude. I stated in the
first edition of the 'Principles of Geology' (1830), that so
great a discordance in the species of Testacea inhabiting two
contiguous seas could not be paralleled in the present state
of the globe, except where some rare combination of circum-
stances occurs, like that on the opposite sides of the Isthmus
of Suez, where the Red Sea and the Mediterranean are sepa-
rated by a tract of land, connected on the one side with Asia
and on the other with the whole of Africa. There are not
even 10 per cent of the species of Touraine fossil shells iden-
tical with shells of the crag, as Mr. Searles Wood has deter-
mined after examining for me a collection of about 240 shells
which I obtained, in 1837, from M. Dujardin, the same col-
lection from which the figures and descriptions were taken for
M. Dujardin's paper on the faluns, in the Transactions of the
Geological Society of France. Mr. George Sowerby has also
assisted me in the careful examination of the whole of these
Touraine shells, and we have come to the conclusion that the
recent species are in the proportion of 26 per cent.

I am now therefore disposed to come round to the opinion
of M. Desnoyers, that the red and coralline crag may corre-
spond in age generally with the faluns of Touraine ; for al-
though the assemblage of fossils in the one has an extremely
northern, and that of the other a southern and sub-tropical
character, yet they seem to depart almost equally, though in
opposite directions, from the type of the nearest existing
marine Fauna. In the red crag we observe a large develop-
ment of Cyprina, Astarte, and Glycimeris, and of those sec-
tions of Fusus, Buccinum, Purpura, and Trochus which are
now common in the British or Arctic seas, together with the
total absence of even the smallest cones and olives, as well
as cowries, except those of diminutive size. In the coralline
crag many of the same forms occur, with other genera which

326 RELATIVE AGES OF THE CRAG

we should now only meet with in more equatorial latitudes, as
Lingula, Pholadomya, Pyrula, nearly related to Pyr. reticu-
lata, a large Voluta, &e. They are accompanied moreover
by many stone corals of extinct genera, and one of these, the
Anthophyllum, now occurs within the tropics.

Some explanation, perhaps, of the apparent anomaly of
these associations may be sought in the analogy of the present
state of parts of the southern hemisphere, which enjoy a mild
and equable climate. In South America, for example, Mr.
Darwin has shown that certain tropical species and genera
will range to very high latitudes, provided their progress be
not arrested by severe winter's cold. Thus he found on the
east coast of South America, in latitude 39° S., three species
of olive (one of large size), a Voluta and a Terebra, among
the most abundant shells on the mud-banks of Bahia Blanca ;
and a large species of volute has been traced as far south as
lat. 45°, or, according to some accounts, much farther.1 —
Such forms in the northern hemisphere would be characteris-
tic of tropical seas. It is moreover said that in the southern
hemisphere at present, the transition is very sudden from a
latitude to which tropical forms extend, to one not far to the
south, where there is extreme cold. But we have yet to learn
how far such circumstances alone can give rise in the ocean
to abrupt lines of demarcation between distinct geographical
provinces of Testacea.

It appears to me impossible to account for the specific dif-
ference of the marine Faunas of Suffolk and Touraine, as-
suming them to be contemporaneous, without speculating on
some other cause which co-operated perhaps with a state of
climate like that above suggested, so as to prevent a free
range of northern species towards the south, or of the south-
ern species towards the north. Thus, for example, some ge-
ographical barrier, such as an isthmus, may formerly have
existed between Dover and Calais. If Great Britain, thus
joined to the European continent, stretched continuously far
to the north, beyond the Shetland islands ; while at the same
time the Land's End, in Cornwall, was prolonged for some
distance in a southerly direction, the two gulfs then placed
on the opposite sides of the supposed isthmus might, in the
course of time, become the habitations of very distinct assem-
blages of marine animals, the isthmus constituting the extreme
boundary, on one side, of the range of certain tropical ani-
mals, and, on the other, of many arctic species.

1 Journal of Travels in S. America, in Voy. of H. M. S. Beagle, p. 611.

OF NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK.

327

The following list of fossil shells from the Norwich crag is the
joint work of Mr. Searles Wood, F.G.S., Mr. G. Sowerby,
F.L.S., and the author ; the fact of certain species being
common or not to the red and coralline crag of Suffolk, be-
ing given exclusively on the authority of Mr. Wood.

LIST OF FOSSIL SHELLS FROM THE NORWICH CRAG.

The fossil shells in this list have all been found in the immediate neigh-
ourhood of Norwich, except where Southwold is mentioned as the locality.
All the recent species, of which the habitations are not given, belong to the
British seas.

Explanation of the Signs. — The * prefixed to a name implies that the
species is now living ; where a ? is added, the identification has been con-
sidered doubtful, either from the imperfect state of the specimens, or the
want of a sufficient number of fossil or recent individuals to allow of a sa-
tisfactory comparison. In estimating the per-centage of living species, two
of these doubtful cases have been counted as one, the authors anticipating
that at least one half of the number will eventually be identified.

The mark in either of the columns headed 'Hed Crag' and ' Cor.

Crag, ' denotes that the species against which it is placed is also found in
one or both older deposits. l Min. Con.' Sowerby's Mineral Conchology.

MARINE SPECIES.

1*Pholas crispata, Lamarck,

*Solen siliqua, Lamarck,

Mva lata, Min. Con

pullus, including M. subovata of Woodw. list

5* arenaria,

* truncata, Mont

*Lutraria compressa, Lam. (Mactra Listeri of

Woodward),

•P Mactra magna, Woodward, {Mactra stultorumP)...

* solida, Mont. (Mac. ovalis, Min. Con.)

10 arcuata, Min. Con

* subtruncata, Mont. (M. cuneata of Woodw.)

*Amphidesma Boysii, Leach,

n. s. one valve only,

*Corbula nucleus, Lam. (C. rotundata, Min. Con.)

15*Saxicava rugosa, Lamarck,

*Tellina crassa, Mont. (Tel. obtusa, Min. Con.) ...

obliqua, Min. Con

*? ovata, Min. Con. same as Tel. triangularis,

Wahl. (Tel. calcarea of some authors) of Nor-
wegian seas,

Tellin a pretenuis, Woodward,

20* solidula, Montagu, found fossil at Crost-

wick, near Norwich.

-fabula, one valve of fossil from Southwold

*P.

Lucina, n. s. allied to divaricata. Mr. Wood thinks
that the ligament in this species was internal,
k radula, (L. antiquata, Min. Con.)

Red Crag. Cor. Crag

328

RELATIVE AGES OF THE CRAG

Lucina, n. s. allied to Tellina rotundata, Montagu,

25*Donax trunculus, Montagu.

*?AsxARTEj9&ma, Min. Con. (very near Ast. borealis).

* compressa, Mont, (including Ast. angulata

of Woodward's list),

n. s. allied to Ast. obliquata, Min. Con...

oblonga, Min. Con

30*Cyprina islandiea

Cyther&a, n. s. allied to C. lineata, Min. Con. ...
*Venus? paphia, Mont, including Astarte ovalis and

Ast. antiquata of Woodward's list,

Cardita, n. s. a small species,

scalaris, Min. Con.

35 Cardium edulinum, Min. Con

•. edule, (Car. obliquum of Woodward's list)

#Pectunculus pilosus, Lam. (variabilis, Min. Con.

Nucula, n. s. allied to Nuc. margaritacea,

— i Cobboldice, Min. Con

40 allied to Nuc. oblonga, Min. Con.

* PModiola papuana, Lam. (M. vulgaris of authors)
One valve only from Postwick, near Norwich.
Recent species inhabits Norwegian seas.
*Mytilus edulis, (including M. alee formis, Min. Con

and M. antiquorum of Woodward's list),

Pecten plebeius, same as P. sulcatus and P. recon-

ditus, Min. Con

* obsoletus, Min. Con ,

45 princeps, Min. Con ,

*?Anomia striata ?

.*? ephippiumP

undulata,.

*Terebratula psittacea, Lam. Recent species in-
habits Newfoundland.
50 Patella, n. s. allied to P. virginea, including P.
parvula, Woodward, ,

*Calyptr.ea Sinensis, Mont. (Infundibulum clype
um, Woodward).

*Bulla obtusa, Mont. (Bulla minuta, Woodward).

*m cylindracea, Mont. ,

-allied to B. millium.

55 Auricula pyramidalis, Min. Con

Ringic ula ventricosa, Min. Con

* PNatica glaucinoides, perhaps same as Nat. glaucina

n. s. resembling in shape Paludina solida,

Say,

hemiclausa, Min. Con

60 Velutina similis, (Sigaretus similis, Woodward).

, — allied to V. laevigata.

Tornatella, like T. fiammea of E. Indian seas,
but smaller; (Actceon Noce, Min. Con.) ...
*Scalaria grcenlandica, (Sc. similis, Min. Con.)

Recent species inhabits Greenland,

* clathratulus, (Sea. minuta, Min. Con.)

65*?Trochus nitens, (T. tumidus P)

* ? similis, ( T. zizyphinus P)

Red Crag.

Cor. Crag.

OF NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK.

329

Lacuna, n. s. allied to Turbo canalis, Montagu.
*Turbo? ulvce, Mont. (T. minutus, Woodward).

? semicostatus, Woodward.

70*Littorina littorea

* squalida,1 (including Turbo carinatus,

bicarinatuSjSulcatus, ventricosus, elongatus, and
Delphinula carinata of Woodward's list).

n. s. allied to Turbo crassior, Montagu.

*Turritella terebra, Lamarck,

* incrassata, Min. Con

75 Cerithium punctaturn, Woodward,

n. s. allied to C. reticulatum.

Pleurotoma mitrula, Min. Con

*Fusus corneus, Lamarck,

striatus, Min. Con., including F. contrarius,

Min. Con., and Murex angulatus and Mur.

compressus of Woodward's list,

80* despectusP (or variety of Fusus striatus P)

* turricula, (Murex punctuatus, Woodward),

Cancellaria costellifer, (Murex costellifer, Min

Con.),

Cassis bicatenata, Min. Con ,

*?Purpura lapillus P including Murex crispus, elon-
gatus, tapilliformis, and pullus of Woodward's

list, •

85*? bulbiformis, (query, variety of the pre-
ceding).

Buccinum rugosum, Min. Con

— n. s. allied to B. macula,

granulatum, Min. Con

* undatum ,

90 elongatum, Min. Con

Terebra, n. s. allied to Helix elegantissima, Mont
Voluta Lamberti. Min. Con ,

Red Crag.

LAND AND FRESHWATER SPECIES.

*Cyclas amnica.

n. s. allied to Cyclas amnica.

95* ■ cornea.

*?Cyrena trigonula, Wood (Loudon's Mag.) perhaps
same as a recent undescribed species, com-
mon in Lower Egypt.
Helix allied to H. Turonensis.

* hispida, Montagu.

* plebeium, Drap.

100*Auricula myosotis, Drap. fossil from Southwold.

1 The name of Littorina squalida has been given to a recent species from
northern seas, by Messrs. Broderip and Sowerby, in Zool. Journal. Per-
haps when better known it may prove to be only a variety of L. littorea.

Vol. III.— No. 31. n. s. 2 l

330

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

Red Crag.

*?Planorbis corneus P Lam. only one specimen.

*? marginatus ? Montagu ; variety with

keel slightly prominent and marginal

*Planorbis vortex, Lamarck.

*Limnea palustris, (L. tenuis, Woodward).

105 n. s. between L. fossaria, Mont, and L.

elongata, Drap. Query, variety of L. palustris.

* peregra.

allied to peregra.

n. s. from Southwold.

Cor.Crag.

*Valvata piscinalis, Lamarck.
110*?Paludina unicolor P including Pal. obsoleta, me-
dia, and rotundata, of Woodward's list; re-
cent species inhabits Bengal.

* impura, Lamarck.

In addition to the above, fragments of Scalaria foliacea,
Murex alveolatus, Hinnites Dubuissoni, Cardium Parkin-
soni, Car. grcenlandicum, Astarte Danmoniensis ? and other
shells, probably washed out of the red crag. Also a young
Pileopsis, and valve of a Chiton, called by Woodward Chi.
octovalvis ; also a valve of a Cyclas allied to C. rimcola.

The Cirripeda are not mentioned in the above list, as they
have not yet been sufficiently examined ; but at least two
species of Balanus occur, besides some single valves of a
large species allied to B. Uddevallensis, and common to the
red crag, from which stratum they may have been washed out.

Art. II. — Monograph of the Genus Sciurus, with Descriptions of
New Species and their Varieties. By J. Bachman, D.D., Presi-
dent 01 the Literary and Philosophical Society, Charlestown, South
Carolina, &c.

( Continued from page 227.)

8. Little Carolina Grey Squirrel. Sciurus Carolinensis.

Sciurus Carolinensis ; Gmel.

Ecureuil gris de la Carolina; Bosc. vol. ii., p. 96, pi. 29.

Essent. Char. — Smaller than the Northern Grey Squirrel, tail narrow-
er than in that species, the length of the body ; colour above, rusty grey,
white beneath, not subject to vary in colour. Dental formula; Incisors f;
Canines, {$ ; Molars, ff ;— 22.

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 331

This species, which has been described for so many years,
has been invariably considered by authors as identical with
the northern grey squirrel. There are however so many marks
of difference in size, colour, and habits, that any naturalist
who has had an opportunity of comparing specimens, and of
witnessing their difference in habit, will feel himself justified
in regarding them as distinct species.

The head is shorter and the space between the ears propor-
tionately broader, than those of the northern grey squirrel :
the nose also is sharper. The small anterior molar in the
upper jaw is permanent, and not deciduous, as I have invari-
ably found it in all the specimens I ever examined. It is
considerably larger than in the other species, and all my spe-
cimens, which give evidence of the animals having been more
than a year old, instead of having the small, thread-like, sin-
gle tooth, as in the northern species, have a distinct double
tooth with a double crown ; the other molars are not unlike
those of the other species in form, but are shorter and smaller;
the upper incisors are nearly a third shorter. The body is
shorter, less elegant in shape, and has not the appearance of
sprightliness and agility, for which the other species is so
eminently distinguished. The ears, which are nearly trian-
gular in shape, are so slightly clothed with hair internally,
that they may be said to be nearly naked ; externally they
are sparsely clothed with short woolly hair, which, however,
does not extend beyond the margins, as in the other species ;
the nails are shorter and less hooked ; the tail is shorter, and
does not present the broad distichous appearance of the other.

DIMENSIONS.

IN. LIN.

Length of head and body 9 6

Ditto of tail (vertebra) 7 4

Ditto to point of hair 9 6

Height of ear „ 6

Palm to end of middle claw 1 3

Heel to end of middle nail 2 6

Length of fur on the back „ 5

Breadth of tail with hairs extended 3 0

Colour. — Teeth light orange colour ; nails brown, lighter
at the extremities ; whiskers black ; nose and cheeks, and
around the eyes, a slight tinge of rufous grey. The fur on the
back is, for three fourths of its length, dark plumbeous, then
a slight marking of black, edged with brown in some hairs
and black in others, giving it, on the whole upper surface, a
uniform dark ochreous colour. In a few specimens there is
an obscure line of lighter brown along the sides, where the

332 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

ochreous colour prevails, and a tinge of the same colour on
the upper surface of the fore legs, above the knees. The feet
are light grey ; the tail, for three fourths of its length from
the root, is yellowish brown, then black edged with white ;
the throat, inner surface of the legs, and the belly, white.

This species is not subject to run into varieties, which is
so striking a characteristic of the northern grey and black
squirrel. The specimens received from North Carolina, Ala-
bama, Florida, and Louisiana, scarcely present a shade of dif-
ference from those existing in South Carolina, and which I
have described above.

Geographical Distribution.- — This species is exceedingly
abundant in South Carolina, especially in low swampy situa-
tions. A specimen was sent to me from Louisiana, where it
is said not to be abundant. It is common in Alabama and
Mississippi, is found everywhere in the low grounds of Geor-
gia, and is the only species in the southern peninsula of East
Florida. Its northern boundary I have been unable to de-
termine with positive certainty. I have received it from
North Carolina, and have an impression that I saw it in the
southern portions of New Jersey, and that it is not uncom-
mon in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia.

Habits. — This species differs as much in habit from the
northern grey squirrel, as it does in form and colour. After
an intimate acquaintance with the habits of the northern spe-
cies, I was particularly struck with the peculiarities of this, on
the first occasion afforded me of seeing it in the woods. Its
bark has not the fulness of the other, and is much shriller and
more querulous. Instead of mounting high on the tree when
alarmed, as is the case with the northern species, this clings
around the body, on the opposite side, at the distance of
twelve or fourteen feet, often concealing itself beneath the
Spanish moss (Tillandsia usnoides), which hangs trailing
round the tree. When a person who has alarmed it, remains
quiet for a few moments, it has the habit of the northern chick-
aree {Sciurus Hudsonius) of descending a few feet, and taking
a seat on the first convenient limb, as if watching his motions.
It is, however, capable of climbing to the extremity of the
limbs, and leaping from tree to tree, but is less wild than the
northern species, and is as easily approached as the chicka-
ree. The person who is desirous of obtaining the Carolina
squirrel, has only to take his seat for a few moments in any
of the swamps of Carolina, and he will be surprised at the
immense numbers that are running along the logs, and leap-
ing among the surrounding trees. In this manner great num-
bers are killed, and their flesh is juicy and tender.

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 333

Although the Carolina grey squirrel is sometimes seen on
high grounds, among the oak and hickory trees, yet its usual
haunts are in low swampy places, and among the trees over-
hanging our streams and the borders of our rivers. In the
cypress-swamps, covered in many places with several feet of
water during the whole year, it takes up its constant residence,
moving among the entwined branches above with great faci-
lity. Its hole, in such situations, is in the hollow of some
cypress, and on the surrounding tupelos {Nyssa aquatica)
many nests, composed principally of Spanish moss and leaves,
are everywhere seen. In these nests they occasionally depo-
sit their young. These are five or six in number, — brought
forth in March ; and it is generally stated that the female
produces young twice in a season.

This species has one peculiarity which I have not observed
in any other. It may be said to be, in some respects, noc-
turnal, or at least crepuscular, in its habits. In riding along
the by-paths of our swamps, long after sun-set, we are often
startled by the noise of this little squirrel. It scratches among
the leaves, ■ courses from tree to tree, and scatters over the
earth the seeds of the maple &c, which are thrown off from
the extremities of the branches above. I have noticed it by
moon-light, as actively engaged as the flying squirrel. It is
scarcely ever seen in the company of, or even found in the same
neighbourhood with, the fox squirrel ; not so much, proba-
bly, from their having any antipathy to each other, as from the
very different localities suited to the habits of each species.

The habit of the Carolina grey squirrel in roving about late
in the evening, causes it frequently to become the prey of the
Virginian and barred owl, and especially the latter, which is
very abundant in the swamps of Carolina. The owl glides
with noiseless wing through the trees, and the startled squir-
rel is often seized without an effort to escape. The rattle-
snake, black snake, and our southern chicken snake, are oc-
casionally killed with this species in their bodies. They also
frequently furnish the grey fox with a dainty meal ; and the
wild cat (Felis rufa) often captures them by stealth. On two
or three occasions I have had opportunities of witnessing the
dexterity of this prowling thief, in capturing the squirrel. —
Concealing himself in the brush-wood, near some fallen log,
in places frequented by this species, he remains immoveable
for hours together, until the unsuspecting animal passes near
his hiding-place, when he suddenly pounces upon it, and car-
ries it to some neighbouring thicket, where, among the en-
tangled vines of smilax and the wild rose-bush, he devours it
at his leisure.

334 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

9. Dusky Squirrel. Sciurus nigrescens, Bennett.

DIMENSIONS. IN. LIN.

Length from point of nose to root of tail 12 4

Ditto of tail to end of hair 15 4

Tarsus, claws included 2 1\

Nose to ear 2 2\

Height of ear posteriorly „ 8i

Colour. — Prevailing colour black, slightly grizzled on the
body, crown of the head, and legs, with grey; sides of the neck,
groins, upper parts of the thighs and rump, grizzled with pale
yellow; cheeks, chin, throat, neck, breast, and the whole of the
under surface, including the interior of the legs, dingy grey.
Ears well clothed with hairs ; hind part dingy grey, fore part
the colour of the back ; the hairs of the hinder parts of thighs
black. Tail, hairs black at the roots, then grey, then a broad
band of black, and broadly tipt with white. Feet black ; the
hairs of the toes grizzled with white points. Whiskers about
the length of the head, black. Hairs on the back plumbeous
black at the roots, for two thirds of their length, then grey, then
black, and tipt with whitish grey. There are numerous strong
black hairs interspersed over the body.

Described from the original specimen in the Museum of the
Zoological Society ; No. 429 in the catalogue.

10. Collie's Squirrel. Sciurus Collicei, Richardson.1

DIMENSIONS. IN. LIN.

Length from nose to root of tail 10 9

Ditto of tail to end of hair 9 6

Tarsus, including nail 2 5

Height of ear posteriorly „ 6

Nose to ear 2 0

Colour. —Above, grizzled black and buff yellow ; sides of
muzzle, under parts, and inner sides of limbs white. Tail
moderate, the hairs greyish white, three times annulated with
black. Hairs of the body, both above and beneath, grey at
the root; that of the back with a lengthened black tip, and
broadly annulated with buff yellow. The hairs of the head
resemble those of the back, except on the fore part, where
they are annulated with whitish. Top of the muzzle brown,
cheeks greyish. Ears well clothed with hairs, which are in-
ternally of a yellowish colour, externally grizzled with black
and yellow on the fore part, but posteriorly with long whitish
hairs. Hairs of feet white, black at the root ; the whiskers
are as long as the head, composed of bristly black hairs.

Described from the original specimen, deposited by Dr.
Richardson in the Museum of the Zoological Society.

1 Appendix to Captain Beechey's Voyage.

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 335

11. The Black Squirrel. Sciurus niger.

Sciurus niger ; Linn, non Catesby.

Desm. Mammalogie, p. 334.

Godinan ; Nat. Hist. vol. ii, p. 133.

A little larger than the Northern Grey Squirrel. Fur soft and glossy;
ears, nose, and the whole body pure black, a few white tufts of hair inter-
spersed. Dental formula ; Incisors, f; Canines, §g; Molars, ||; — 20.

Much confusion has existed with regard to this species. —
The original Sciurus niger of Catesby is the black variety of
the fox squirrel. It is difficult to decide, from the descrip-
tions of Drs. Harlan and Godman, whether they described
from specimens of the black variety of the northern grey squir-
rel, or of the species which I am about to describe. Indeed,
there is so strong a similarity, that I have admitted it as a
species with some doubt and hesitation. Dr. Richardson has,
under the head of Sciurus niger, (see * Fauna Boreali- Ameri-
cana,' p. 191), described a specimen from Lake Superior, of
what I conceive to be the black variety of the grey squirrel ;
but at the close of the same article (p. 192), he has described
another specimen from Fort William, which answers to the
description of the specimens now before me. There is great
difficulty in finding suitable characters by which the majority
of our species of squirrel can be designated ; but in none is
there greater than in the present. All our naturalists seem to
insist that we have a Sciurus niger, although they have ap-
plied the name to the black varieties of several other species.
As the name, however, is likely to continue on our books, and
as the specimens before me, if they do not establish a true
species, will show a very permanent variety, T shall describe
them under the above name.

Dr. Godman states (Nat. Hist. vol. ii. p. 133), that the
black squirrel has only twenty teeth ; — the specimens before
me have no greater number, with the exception of one, evi-
dently a young animal, a few months old, which has an ad-
ditional tooth on one side, so small that it appears like a white
thread, the opposite and corresponding one having already
been shed. If further examinations go to establish the fact,
that this additional molar in the northern grey squirrel is per-
sistent, and that of the present deciduous, there can be no
doubt of their being distinct species. Its head appears to be
a little shorter and more arched than that of the grey squirrel,
although it is often found that these differences exist among
different individuals of the same species. Incisors compress-
ed, strong, and of a deep orange colour anteriorly. Ears el-
liptical, and slightly rounded at the tip, thickly clothed with

336 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

fur on both surfaces, that on the outer surface in a winter spe-
cimen, extending three lines beyond the margin : there are,
however, no distinct tufts. Whiskers a little longer than the
head; tail long and distichous, thickly clothed with mode-
rately coarse hair.

The fur is softer to the touch than that of the northern grey
squirrel. The whole of the upper and lower surface, as well
as the tail are bright glossy black ; at the roots the hairs are
a little lighter. The summer specimens do not differ materi-
ally in the colour of their fur from the winter ones, except
that they are not so intensely black. In all the specimens I
have had an opportunity of examining, there are small tufts
of white hairs irregularly situated on the under surface, re-
sembling those on the body of the mink. There are also a
few scattered white hairs on the back and tail.

DIMENSIONS.

IN. LIN.

Length of head and body 13 0

Ditto of tail, (vertebra) 9 1

Ditto, including fur 13 0

Palm to end of middle fore claw 1 7

Length of heel to the point of middle claw 2 7

Ditto of fur on the hack „ 8

Breadth of tail with hair extended 5 0

Geographical Distribution. — The specimens from which
this description has been taken were procured, through the
kindness of friends, in the counties of Renssellaer and Queen's,
New York. I have seen it on the borders of Lake Champlain,
at Ogdensburgh, and on the eastern shores of Lake Erie ; al-
so near Niagara, on the Canada side. The individual describ-
ed by Dr. Richardson, and which may be clearly referred to
this species, was obtained by Capt. Bayfield at Fort William,
on Lake Superior. Black squirrels exist through all our
western wilds, and to the northward of the great lakes ; but
whether they are of this species, or the black variety of the
grey squirrel, I have not had the means of deciding.

Habits. — An opportunity was afforded me many years since
of noticing the habits of this species, in the northern parts of
the state of New York. A seat under the shadow of a rock, and
near a stream of water, was, for several successive summers, a
favorite resort for retirement and reading. In the immediate
vicinity were several large trees, in which were a number of
holes, and from which, at almost every hour of the day, were
seen issuing this species of black squirrel. There seemed to
be a dozen of them ; they were all of the same glossy black

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURES. 337

colour ; and although the northern grey squirrel and its black
variety were not rare in that neighbourhood, yet, during a
period of five or six years I never witnessed any other than
the present species in that locality ; and recently, after the
lapse of twenty years, a specimen, from which the above de-
scription was in part drawn up, was sent to me, which had
been procured on that identical spot. They appeared to
possess all the sprightliness of the northern grey squirrel ; —
appearing to prefer valleys and swamps to drier and more ele-
vated situations : and I observed that one of their favourite
trees, to which they retreated on hearing the slightest noise,
was a large white pine (Pinus Slrobus), in the immediate vi-
cinity. I was surprised at sometimes seeing a red squirrel
(Sciurus Hudsonius), which seemed also to have given a pre-
ference to this tree, pursuing the black squirrel, seeming to
quarrel with and scold it vociferously, till the latter was obli-
ged to make its retreat. When the squirrels approached the
stream which ran within a few feet of my seat, they often stop-
ped to drink, and instead of lapping the water like the dog
and cat, they protruded their mouths a considerable distance
into the stream, and drank greedily ; they would afterwards
sit upright, supported by the tarsus, and, with tail erect, busy
themselves for a quarter of an hour in wiping their faces with
their paw^s, the latter being also occasionally dipped in the
water. Their barking and other habits did not seem to differ
from those of the northern grey squirrel.

General Remarks. — I have admitted this as a true species,
not so much in accordance with my own positive conviction,
as partly in deference to the opinions of all our naturalists,
and principally from the consideration that if it be no more
than a variety, it has, by time and succession, been rendered
a permanent race : and as the species differ so widely and
uniformly in colour, we may perhaps be warranted in regard-
ing them as distinct. The only certain mode of deciding whe-
ther this is a true species or merely a variety, would be to as-
certain if the opposite sexes of these differently marked animals
associate and breed together in a state of nature. Where the
produce of two animals, however different in size and colour,
are in the constant habit of propagating their species in a
wild state, we are warranted in pronouncing them identical.
Where, on the contrary, there is no such result, we are com-
pelled to come to an opposite conclusion.

(To be continued.)

Vol. III.— No. 31. n. s. 2 m

388 ON THE MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS

Art. III. — Observations on the History and Classification of the
Marsupial Quadrupeds of Neiv Holland. By W. Ogilby, Esq.,
M.A., &c. &c.

(Continued from page 265).

Tested by these indisputable principles, I have no hesita-
tion in affirming that Cuvier' s distribution of the marsupials
into families is as unphilosophical, as I have already shown
it to be illogical. It proceeds, in fact, upon mere modifica-
tions of dentition, often totally unimportant, and without the
least regard to habit, unless such erroneous habits as are in-
ferred from structure ; which is entirely reversing the order of
induction, and beginning to philosophise at the wrong end.
The alterations introduced by M. Latreille are equally objec-
tionable in a philosophical point of view, though a great im-
provement upon M. Cuvier's arrangement in logical simpli-
city and precision ; they proceed upon the clear and definite
principle of the existence and development of canine teeth in
one or both jaws, or in neither; but as this is a purely arbi-
trary assumption, its results are consequently more confused,
without being more natural, than those of M. Cuvier ; and the
names of Entomophaga, Carpophaga, and Phyllophaga, by
which he has designated his principal groups, are purely ima-
ginary, and have no juster application to the generality of the
animals comprised under them, than they have to the Cetacea
or the Ruminantia. The entire disregard of affinities which
M. Latreille evinces in removing the kangaroo-rats (Hypsi-
prymnus) from the vicinity of the kangaroos, (Macropus), and
the petaurists from the phalangers, with which even the me-
thod of Baron Cuvier left them in contiguity, is not the least
glaring proof of the rashness of his attempts at improvement
in this department of Zoology ; whilst his association of the
Hypsiprymni in the same family with the phalangers and
koolas, and of the petaurists and wombats {Phascolomys) with
the kangaroos, could only have arisen from a total disregard
both of habits and structure, and an obstinate adherence to
a preconceived arbitrary and artificial principle of classifica-
tion. But it is unnecessary to pursue these criticisms farther:
those who have studied the subject, will readily appreciate
the defects of both these arrangements ; and what I have al-
ready said will, I hope, be sufficient to guard the learner from
trusting too implicitly to the reputation of the authors, and
the weight of their authority.

To guide us to a more natural and philosophical arrange-
ment, let us for a moment attend to the modifications which
the two systems of organs, principally employed in governing
the habits and economy of animals, undergo among the mar-

OF NEW HOLLAND. 339

supials. I allude to the organs of mastication, which regulate
the food, and accord with the internal structure of the ali-
mentary canal ; and to the organs of locomotion, upon which
depend all the varied habits, and delicate and complicated
actions of life. The former has been hitherto exclusively at-
tended to by the makers of systems in Mammalogy ; it is not
too much to say, that the latter, and by far the more impor-
tant of the two, has been entirely neglected. Nor have sys-
tematists confined themselves to the really influential modifi-
cations of their favourite organs ; the golden maxim is con-
stantly forgotten, that all modifications are not necessarily
important, merely because they may happen to belong to an
important organ ; and the consequence is, that we have new
methods and new arrangements continually proposed, which
differ from their predecessors, not in any general or philoso-
phical principle of classification, but only in some new com-
bination of minor characters ; which, leading to some slight
difference in the distribution of the animals, is considered a
proof of creative power of mind, and of a capacity for gene-
ralization. Indeed it may be safely affirmed, that it is the
ordinary practice of inquirers in this branch, to commence the
study of Zoology by forming a system of their own, by which
they regulate their future studies, and of which they only dis-
cover the absurdity after having made some advance in the
science ; perhaps after having given it to the world as a great
improvement upon their predecessors. They begin where
they ought to finish ; they commence at the wrong end ; and
attempt to form generalizations before they are acquainted
with particulars : they may gratify their own vanity, but they
render Zoology ridiculous as a science, by departing from that
slow, modest, but sure path of induction, which proceeds pa-
tiently from the investigation of single facts, to compare and
combine them into general propositions, and which is alone
worthy of the name of Philosophy. There is no royal road
to the acquirement of zoological knowledge more than of ma-
thematical ; and he who would pretend to be a philosophical
zoologist, must not only be a diligent student of facts, but
must take care to admit no principles of classification but
such as are founded upon organic characters of appreciable
and admitted influence upon the habits and economy of ani-
mal life. This is the grand and leading principle of scientific
classification ; and it is only owing to a total and culpable
disregard of its authority, that the science of Zoology has
been so long retarded in the development of its really philo-
sophical principles, and so much overburdened by vague, ar-
bitrary and fanciful generalizations.

340 ON THE MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS

These reflections are naturally suggested by an inquiry
into the principles which determine the natural arrangement
of marsupial quadrupeds ; a group of mammals, in which, as
I have endeavoured to show, the distribution into families is
more arbitrary, and less consistent either with the organic
structure of the animals, or with the habits and economy of
their lives, than in any other group of equal value or extent.
I proceed to point out the really influential modifications up-
on which these functions depend, and which alone should be
taken into account in the zoological arrangement of these
animals. And first with regard to their dental system.

Two principal forms of dentition prevail among the marsu-
pials ; which, from the genera in which they may be consi-
dered as characteristically presented, I shall take the liberty
of calling the didelphoid and macropoid forms. The first is
characterised by eight or ten incisors in the upper jaw, and
six or eight in the lower ; distinct, well-developed canines, of
the normal form ; and six, or more commonly seven, molars
on either side, both above and below ; of which two or three
are false, and the remaining four real molars, provided with
sharp tubercles, and adapted to an insectivorous regimen. —
The incisors, which exceed in number those of all other mam-
mals, are small, simple, upright and arranged regularly in a
portion of a small ellipse, the two middle above being gene-
rally a little longer than the lateral, and partially separated
from one another ; the canines, as in all marsupial quadru-
peds, are situated in immediate contact with the intermaxil-
lary suture, and are, generally speaking, of tolerable size ;
but the tubercles on the posterior molars are by no means so
sharp and pointed as in the true Insect ivor a ; and, except
among the smaller species, there is good reason to believe
that insects form but a very small portion of the natural
food of the animals. The Opossums, for instance, notoriously
live upon wild fruits, and it is only when these fail in the
woods, that they betake themselves to an animal diet; the
Thylacines and Dasyures are purely carnivorous ; and the
testimony of all colonial authorities, as well historians and
travellers, as officers and other gentlemen with whom I have
conversed on the subject, agrees in representing the Perame-
les, or, as they are called by the settlers, Bandicoots, as equal-
ly destructive to their potato and com crops, scratching up
and devouring the tubers of the former, as well as all other
kinds of bulbous roots, whether wild or cultivated ; and gree-
dily devouring the tender and milky grains of the young maize.
That they occasionally, perhaps in some situations habitually,
feed upon insects, I have no doubt, as I am well aware that

OF NEW HOLLAND. 341

all the smaller species, not only of marsupials, but likewise of
quadrumanous and carnivorous mammals, do the same ; but
the united testimony of all competent observers who are ac-
quainted with the animals in their native habitats, warrants
us in concluding that the staple of their food is derived from
the vegetable kingdom.

The genera which exhibit this form of dentition are Didel-
pliis, Cheironecies, Thylacinus, Phascogale, Dasyurus, and
Perameles.

The second form of dentition which is exhibited among the
marsupials, consists of six incisors in the upper and only two
in the lower jaw; minute canines, confined to the upper jaw
or wanting altogether, and five or six permanent molars
throughout, separated from the incisors or canines by a va-
cant space of considerable extent, which sometimes contains
one or two minute deciduous teeth, commonly counted as false
molars. The superior incisors are erect and contiguous ; but
the inferior are long, edged, and procumbent in so remarkable
a degree, as to lie entirely in the plane of the inferior ramus
of the lower jaw; the true molars are furnished with blunt
tubercles, and indicate a frugivorous regimen ; whilst the ru-
dimentary false molars of the lower jaw are in some instances
contiguous to the long procumbent incisors, and inclined in
the same direction, so that they ought perhaps more properly
to be regarded as belonging to this class of teeth ; a view of
the subject which tends considerably to break the abruptness
of the transition, and to diminish the hiatus between the den-
tition of these animals and that of the Opossums and Cheiro-
nectes, to which they are so closely related by other influen-
tial parts of their structure.

Though this system of dentition betokens a pre-eminently
frugivorous regimen, it is not to be supposed that the food of
the animals possessing it is exclusively confined to the vege-
table kingdom. On the contrary, those genera which ap-
proach most nearly to the former group in other parts of their
structure, exhibit a marked predilection for animal food ; nor
is there any very striking difference, in this respect, between the
appetites of the Australian phalangers and the American opos-
sums. I have made numerous experiments upon the living
animals, for the purpose of ascertaining this point, and inva-
riably with the same result ; proving that the regimen of the
pedimanous marsupials is really omnivorous, and made up
indifferently of animal and vegetable substances ; a result
which is confirmed by the testimony of all writers. Other
marsupials possessing the macropoid form of dentition, such
as the kangaroos and wombats, are, indeed, restricted to a

342 ON THE MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS

purely vegetable diet ; but their true molars are differently
formed, and the second even departs from this type of denti-
tion, by having only two incisors in the upper as well as in
the under jaw.

This form of dentition is common to the genera Phalangis-
ta, Petaurus, Phascolarctos, Macropus, and Hypsiprymnus.

The next organs to be considered as influencing the habits
and economy of the marsupials, are the extremities. I have
already observed how wofully these organs have been neg-
lected by the makers of systems ; though it is difficult to con-
ceive how scientific zoologists could possibly undervalue or
overlook the instruments of the most important and striking
actions of animal life. Not only do the great function of lo-
comotion, and its thousand varieties and adaptations, whether
to aquatic, arboreal, terrestrial, or aerial habits, depend solely
and entirely upon the extremities ; but the scarcely less im-
portant functions of prehension, manipulation,1 burrowing,
and even the sense of touch, the source of our most excellent
ideas, and the index of intellectual power, reside in the same
organs. The formation and modifications of the extremities,
therefore, do not furnish those merely second-rate characters,
which should justify the philosophical zoologist in postpon-
ing them to slight modifications of dentition, or neglecting
them altogether. On the contrary, as every action and habit
of animal life, except the mere appetite, depend upon these
organs ; as they are the most extensively influential, so their
modifications should hold the most prominent place in every
system, and will be invariably found to lead to the most na-
tural and philosophical arrangements.

The marsupial quadrupeds, always excluding the Mono-
tremata, which cannot be properly compared with other
mammals, present four very distinct and primary influential
modifications of the extremities.

1. The Pedimanous form, where the fingers are long, se-
parate and prehensile, and the hind thumb opposable to the
other toes. The animals consequently possess perfect pow-
ers of prehension and manipulation ; they are entirely arbo-
real, feed indifferently upon vegetable and animal substances,
though preferring the former, and all have a c<ecum of mode-
rate dimensions. This family, which I shall denominate
Cheirogrades,7- from their locomotion being performed by

1 1 use this term as synonymous with the common word, handling.
2 In the paper as originally written, these families were called respectively
Scansores, Cursores, Saltatores, and Fossores : I have now substituted the
names in the text, as more pliant when used adjectively, as in speaking of
saltigrade or digitigvade marsupials, &c. April, 1839.

OF NEW HOLLAND. 343

means of hands, comprises the genera Didelphis and Cheiro-
nectes, with didelphoid teeth ; and Phalangista, Petaurus,
and Phascolarctos, with macropoid.

2. The digitigrade form, in which the functions of pre-
hension and manipulation are very much impaired, or altoge-
ther absent. The hind feet are without opposable thumbs,
which, however, are sometimes represented by a small, mo-
tionless tubercle ; the animals tread only on the toes in walk-
ing, and their pace is confined to the surface of the earth. —
All are characterised by the didelphoid system of dentition, a
regimen principally confined to animal substances, [and an
entire absence of cacum].1 This family, which, from the na-
ture of their pace, I shall denominate Digitigrades,2 com-
prehends the genera Thylacinus, Dasyurus, Phascogale and
Myrmecobius. 3

3. The saltigrade form, in which the posterior extremities
so immeasurably exceed the anterior in length, as to preclude
the ordinary mode of progression on all fours, and to compel
the animals to proceed by a series of successive springs, some-
times from the long hind legs only, sometimes from the hind
to the fore legs, as in the hares and rabbits. The toes of the
fore feet are separate and prehensile, and the animals enjoy
perfect powers of manipulation ; but the conformation of the
hind toes is altogether unique among mammals. The thumb
is tuberculous, or altogether wanting ; the two following toes
are small, slender and inclosed in the same skin, being mark-
ed externally only by their double claw ; the ring finger is
the largest of all, of a size altogether disproportioned to the
other toes, and armed with a powerful triangular claw ; and
the last, or outer finger is of intermediate size, and provided
with a similar claw to that just described. The dentition
comprehends examples of both the systems above character-
ised ; the food of some genera is consequently mixed, though
in all cases it is principally composed of vegetable substan-
ces, and a ccecum, sometimes of very large dimensions and
complicated form, is invariably present. This family, which
I shall call Saltigrades,2 contains the genera Macropus and
Hypsiprymnus with macropoid teeth, and Perameles and
Chceropus* with didelphoid.

4. The plantigrade form, which is confined to the single
genus Phascolomys. The toes here are short, rigid and unpre-
hensile, well adapted for burrowing, and without any power of
manipulation. The animal treads on the entire sole of the

1 1 have inserted this fact on the authority of Dr. Grant.
3 and 4 These two genera have been discovered since the paper was written,
and are now inserted for the first time. — W. O. April, 1839.

344

ON THE MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS

foot in walking, the pace is slow and confined to the surface
of the earth, and the toes are so firmly united as to be alto-
gether destitute of separate motion. The dentition, as far as
regards the number of incisors, may be called rodent, though
it is really very different from that of the true Rodentia ; the
food is exclusively vegetable, and the alimentary canal is
characterised by the presence of a capacious and complicated
ccecum. I distinguish this family by the name of Planti-
grades.'1

The following table exhibits these relations in a more con-
densed form ; and will give a good idea of what I consider to
be the most natural and philosophical arrangement of the
marsupials. Except the kangaroos, they are all of nocturnal
habits.

Macropus

MARSUPIALIA

Marsupiated Mam-
mals

I. Saltigrada

with saltigrade extremities

-mm- .7 1 jLF.Zl*l,# U Lt 1*0

^rZ^S^\Hyp4ryrnnus
Peramelidee .J*"*™*6*

^ and didelphoid teetn I ^h(Bropus

( Myrmecobius

II. Digitigrada \Phascogale

with digitigrade extremities and didelphoid teeth dJasyuruS

\ Thylacinus

(DidelpMda..... { ^^fef

III. Cheirograda

with pedimanous extremi-
ties

and didelphoid teeth

(Phalangista
Petaurus
Phascolarctos

IV. Plantigrada Phascolomys

with plantigrade extremities and rodent teeth

Having thus traced the progressive history of the general
distribution of marsupial quadrupeds, inter se, it remains for
me to offer a few observations upon the rank which the main
group itself ought to occupy among the natural families of
the animal kingdom. M. De Blainville, in his view of the
subject, seems almost disposed to regard the marsupials as
forming a distinct class, parallel to and co-ordinate with the
Mammalia themselves ; and in this sentiment he has been,
to a certain extent, followed by Baron Cuvier. Illiger, less
happy in fixing their position in the graduated scale of ex-
istence, than in defining their generic differences, distributes
them throughout three different orders ; and Latreille, whilst
he regards the marsupials generally as forming a distinct na-
tural order, considers the Monotremata as a separate Class,

OF NEW HOLLAND. 345

intermediate, in rank and position, between birds and mam-
mals. Finally, Baron Cuvier, in tlie second edition of the
'Regne Animal,' adopts the most judicious part of this ar-
rangement, by separating the common marsupials from his
extensive order Carnassiers, with which he had formerly as-
sociated them, to elevate them to the rank of a separate order :
still, however, retaining the Monotremata as a family of the
order Edentata. In this view he had been already preceded
by Temminck, excepting that the eminent zoologist considers
both the Monotremata and the ordinary marsupials as dis-
tinct orders, equivalent to other groups of the same rank and
denomination.

This arrangement appears to me to be more consistent with
the order which nature has herself established, than any other
which has been yet proposed ; unless that I am disposed, af-
ter the example of M. De Blainville, to unite the Monotre-
mata with the other marsupials, rather than to continue them
as a subordinate group among the Edentata. In fact, so long
as the possession of mammary glands is considered as the
distinctive and peculiar characteristic of the class of mam-
mals, so long should the singular modification of these organs
and of their functions, exhibited in the marsupials, entitle
those animals to rank as a primary division, or order of mam-
mals: but I can in no case consider them as an equal and co-
ordinate group, or Class, since their distinctive characteristic
is but a subordinate modification of the general type of or-
ganic structure, common to all mammiferous quadrupeds.

With regard to the Monotremata. also, though the ques-
tion of their viviparous or oviparous production still remains
undecided, I can, under no circumstances, regard them as a
parallel and equivalent group to mammals, birds, and reptiles.
Meckel distinctly asserts the existence of mammary glands in
the female Omithorhynchus ; l and this circumstance alone,
even though the mammce exist merely in a rudimentary form,
and without the accompaniment of the ordinary function, I
esteem sufficient to determine the rank of the Monotremata
as a subordinate group of mammals.2 In fact the simple de-

1 The observations of Meckel have heen fully and most satisfactorily con-
firmed, since this passage was written, by the investigations of Mr. Owen ;
and it is now definitely established that these singular and anomalous ani-
mals, not only lay eggs and hatch them like birds, but likewise support
their young, when excluded from the shell, by means of a thick milky fluid,
which at that period exudes copiously from the glands observed by these
able anatomists.

2 For the following ingenious observations on this subject I am indebted
to the kindness of Professor Agardh, now Bishop of Bergen : and it affords

Vol. III.— No. 31. n. s. 2 n

346 MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS OF NEW HOLLAND.

finition of this class, as mammals, or animals provided with

me great satisfaction to find that my views regarding the value and posi-
tion of the group, Monotremata, so entirely coincide with those of so dis-
tinguished a naturalist. They are contained in a letter dated Lund, in
Sweden, Aug. 3rd, 1833 ; and are a translation from a work recently pub-
lished by Professor Agardh, in the Swedish language, under the name of
*Allman Wext Biologi.'

" The marsupials," says the Professor, " are Mammalia which approach
very nearly to birds ; the Monotremata in particular almost coincide with
them. Not only do the developed form of the hind legs, the deranged func-
tions of the anterior extremities, the position of the body, and the destination
of the tail to govern the pace, all indicate this affinity, but their internal struc-
ture is likewise very similar. They constitute a distinct group of Mamma-
lia, combining carnivorous as well as herbivorous animals, in the same
manner as birds contain predacious as well as frugivorous tribes. They
have no distinct internal uterus, for it is only the connection of the two ovi-
ducts to which that name has hitherto been given ; neither have they a pe-
culiar vagina, for the organ which Daubenton and GeofFroy thus distin-
guish, when they assert that the marsupials have two vagina, belongs rather,
according to the researches of Tyson, to the oviducts or Fallopian tubes :
so that, except in the doubleness of the parts, the marsupials resemble birds
in their organs of generation, as well as in other respects. The embryo
also is brought forth, not as in other Mammalia, perfectly formed ; but it
is produced in the state of an egg, and in that form deposited in the mar-
supium or uterus. Now the egg or embryo of the Mammalia has the pro-
perty of attaching itself to every part of the uterus at the point where the
placenta is formed ; and thus the embryo or egg of the marsupials fastens
itself to the mamma, and there communicates with the arteria epigastrica in
the same manner as in other Mammalia it communicates with the arteria
uterina. It is fastened by a cord resembling the navel-string, (though it is
unknown where this cord passes out from the embryo), which is often so
long that the embryo hangs out of the bag, and which at the moment of
real birth is separated by a rupture, as in the case of the placenta and ordi-
nary uterus. This external uterus, however, does not invariably assume the
form of a purse or bag ; in some instances it consists of simple folds of the
skin, and in the monotremes, even these disappear.

" The monotremes bear a very strong affinity to the ordinary marsupials,
they likewise very closely resemble birds, not alone in the. construction of
the bill, cranium, clavicles, shoulder-bones, sternum, and undeveloped teats,
but especially in their organs of generation. These animals have only one
ovarium developed, as in birds, and both the Echidna and the Ornithorhyn-
chus lay eggs and hatch them. Thus it is that the uterus of the Mammalia
becomes modified in the marsupials, so as to be situated without the body,
and finally vanishes altogether in the Monotremata.

" If we apply these considerations to ascertain the concatenation of the
various groups of animals, in relation to their organs of generation, we find
that it indicates one class, the Mammalia, which have an internal hatching
organ, called the uterus ; another class, the marsupials and monotremes,
in which this hatching organ is placed without the body, vanishing totally
in the latter group, the animals of which lay eggs and hatch them ; and
finally, a third class, birds, in which this property, which is irregular and
limited in the monotremes, becomes fully normal." — Allman Wext Biologi
afC. A. Agardh, p. 453.

ILLUSTRATED ZOOLOGICAL NOTICES. 347

mammary glands, altogether disregards the consideration of
their viviparous production, and must, in strict logical accep-
tation, be taken to include all animals possessing these organs,
even when the function, which they were originally designed
to execute, no longer exists : for, in the progressive degrada-
tion of organic perfection, through successive groups, it is
a necessary condition of existence itself, that the function
should cease, either simultaneously with the organ, or before
it is obliterated ; and this latter phenomenon is so universal-
ly the case with regard to all other organs and functions, that
it ought not to be accounted matter of surprise in the present
instance.

The Monotremata must therefore be regarded as a subor-
dinate group of mammals, but whether of primary or of se-
condary value, whether entitled to rank as an order or only
as a family, is an inquiry which admits of more reasonable
doubt. For my own part, as I consider the existence of the
marsupial bones to be the simple and only unexceptionable
character of the group, to which they are peculiar, I prefer
considering the Monotremata as a subordinate group, or fa-
mily, of this order, rather than elevating them to an indepen-
dent and equal rank, or associating them with a different or-
der. It is true indeed, that, strictly speaking, they come
equally within the definition of M. Cuvier's Edentata, but if
approximated to this order rather than to the other marsupi-
als, the integrity and logical simplicity of the latter group is
destroyed ; for these, as already observed, depend, not upon
the existence of the abdominal pouch, which is not common
to all the species of animals included in the present order,
but properly upon that of the marsupial bones.

Art. IV. — Illustrated Zoological Notices. By Edward Charles-
worth, F.G.S.
{Continued from page 248).

1. On a Specimen of the Lower Jaw of the Mammoth.

2. On a Tooth of the Genus Otodus, Agassiz^from the London Clay.

3. On a Fossil Zoophyte from the Kentish Chalk, inclosing a Cidaris.

The fossil elephant's jaw represented in the accompanying

It appears from this extract that Professor Agardh, like M. De Blain-
ville, is disposed to view the marsupials as forming a distinct class, inter-
mediate between mammals and birds ; I have already stated my reasons
for dissenting from this opinion.

348 ILLUSTRATED ZOOLOGICAL NOTICES.

40

Fossil Jaw of Mammoth.

figure (No. 40), was obtained by a Dover fisherman in 1837,
whilst dredging off the Dogger Bank ; and after having been
offered for sale to the British Museum and other metropolitan
institutions, was purchased by Mr. G. B. Sowerby, in whose
possession it has since remained. It is decidedly the finest
relic of the kind that I have seen ; and the very faithful re-
presentation which I am enabled to publish of it, is due to
the skill of Mr. G. B. Sowerby, jun., by whom the drawing
on wood was executed.

The source from which this noble fossil was derived, — the
bed of the German Ocean, — is that which has more or less
enriched the various museums and private collections through-
out the kingdom : indeed the profusion in which the disjoint-
ed skeletons of the larger Pachydermata, must lie strewn over
the bed of the sea, along the south-eastern coast of England
almost baffles conception. Mr. Samuel Woodward, in his
Geology of Norfolk, supposes that upwards of two thousand
elephants' grinders had been dredged up by the fishermen off
one little village (Hasbro') on the Norfolk coast, in the space
of thirteen years ; and though he does not supply us with the
data upon which he founded his calculation, his statement may
readily be believed when one private collector in that neigh-

FOSSIL JAW OF MAMMOTH. 349

bourhood, — the Rev. James Layton, — speaks of having had
three hundred in his possession. x

It would be a matter of great interest to determine the ex-
tent of the sub-aqueous area over which these fossil remains
are distributed ; but conclusions upon this point must be in
a great measure merely conjectural, as the necessary evidence
can only be obtained where the soundings are sufficiently shal-
low to admit of dredging being carried forward. Until the find-
ing of this jaw off the Dogger Bank, which is somewhere about
midway between the English and Dutch coasts, the greatest
distance from the shore where fossil remains had been met with
was the Knole Sand. At this spot, which is about twenty
miles from the coast, a tusk, weighing ninety-seven pounds,
and measuring nearly ten feet in length, was discovered in 1829.

As in the case with the fossil volutes cast on shore near Har-
wich, the remains of extinct mammals drawn up in the nets
of the oyster-dredgers, and which have perhaps reposed for
thousands of centuries on the bed of the ocean, are in a much
finer state of preservation than those which, in the present
day, are so constantly being exhumed in our inland superfi-
cial deposits. The mammoth's teeth, instead of falling to
pieces as they so frequently do when removed from the soil
in which they are imbedded, in the former case will often bear
slitting and polishing in the same manner as the teeth of the
existing Asiatic elephant. A tusk, taken up off Scarborough
about three years since, by some Yarmouth fishermen, was
so slightly altered in character, that it was sawn up into as
many portions as there were hands in the boat, each man
claiming his share of the ivory for economical purposes.2 In
the present specimen, although the teeth are extremely per-
fect, their condition has more about it than usual of the ordi-
nary character of fossil teeth ; but the firm aspect, and the
increased density and compact structure of the bony material
of the jaw, would at once arrest the attention of an observer,
familiarised only with such osseous remains as are procured
under ordinary circumstances.

We cannot suppose this jaw to have been drifted far from
the original site of its deposition, for although the condyloid
apophyses are gone, if so ponderous a body had been acted
upon by the operation of currents, a separation of the rami at
the symphysis must have taken place. The detached grind-
ers obtained in a similar way are seldom bouldered, and it is

1 See Fairholme's Geology of Scripture. Mr. Layton has subsequently
removed to Sandwich.

2 The portion of this tusk which fell to one of the boat's crew is preserved
in the collection of Mr. Robt. Fitch, at Norwich.

350 ILLUSTRATED ZOOLOGICAL NOTICES.

therefore probable that as the sea encroached upon the land,
these remains, by the gradual falling away of the cliffs, be-
came engulphed, and are now found at the spots where they
were in the first instance deposited, although the level which
they now occupy is necessarily somewhat lower.

Little or nothing has been added by subsequent writers to
the description which the illustrious Cuvier has given us of
the osteological peculiarities which serve to distinguish the
fossil species of the genus Elephas ; and paleontologists
still follow him in referring elephantine remains, in whatever
region they may be found, to one and the same species. A
slighter amount of divergence in the horizontal rami of the
lower jaw, accompanied with a change in the shape of the
canal formed by the approximation of these parts, especially
at its anterior termination ; — grinding teeth wider in propor-
tion to their length, and with more numerous and less fes-
tooned lamina; — are points of distinction referred to by the
above-named distinguished anatomist, when comparing the
skeleton of the mammoth with that of the Asiatic elephant,
the nearest allied of the two existing species. Mr. Sowerby's
drawing admirably displays the form of the anterior termina-
tion of the canal in the present specimen. It is not nearly so
wide as seen in the figures which illustrate Cuvier's observa-
tions, but at the same time it differs materially from that of
the existing species, which, in the adult skeleton, has more
the character of a deep cleft. A short distance from the sym-
physis the canal contracts to about two-thirds the diame-
ter of its anterior termination, and a somewhat similar con-
traction is shown in one of the jaws figured in the 'Ossemens
Fossiles.' The following dimensions may perhaps as well be
recorded.

FT. IN.

Width between the ascending rami at the coronoid processes, ... 1 7
Width of each ascending ramus, measured midway between the

angle of the jaw and the condyloid apophysis, 1 0

Width of canal at the anterior termination, „ 3£

Ditto ditto five inches from the symphysis, „ 2|

Circumference of the symphysis measured from before to behind,

including the process of the mentum (one inch in length) 1 1

From the above dimensions it appears that the diameter of
the anterior termination of the canal, as compared with the
expansion of the ascending rami, is in the proportion of 1 to
6 : in the two lower jaws figured in pi. 5 tome i. of the Osse-
mens Fossiles, this proportion is represented as 1 to 4.

I have remarked an extraordinary disproportion in the re-
lative number of plates, when fossil elephants' teeth from
North America are compared with teeth from the coast of

FOSSIL TOOTH OF OTODUS. 351

Norfolk ; those of the former exceeding the latter in the pro-
portion of at least 2 to 1 : while I have noticed that the teeth
found in the supposed hyaena's retreats, exhibit a proportion
intermediate to these two. 1 fully anticipate that sooner or
later it will be found that several species have been confound-
ed under the name Elephas primogenius.

In the first volume of the new series of this Magazine, p.
226, I have noticed the occurrence of the teeth of a gigantic
shark (Carcharias megalodon) in the red crag of Suffolk, and
have given an engraving of a particularly fine specimen of
that species in the cabinet of Mr. Colchester, of Ipswich. —
The name Otodus has been lately applied by Agassiz ■ to the
largest teeth in the family of sharks which occur in the Lon-
don clay, and the tooth of this genus now figured (41) I be-
lieve to be unique as regards size and perfect state of preser-

41

Tooth of the Fossil Genus Otodus.

vation. It was found in the cliffs at Walton, in Essex, by a
servant of Lord Sidmouth, and Lady Sidmouth obligingly per-
mitted me to remove it from her cabinet for the purpose of in-
serting the present notice. In size the tooth presents us with

1 Figures are given in the last Livraison of the * Poissons Fossiles,' but
no descriptive letter-press.

352

ILLUSTRATED ZOOLOGICAL NOTICES.

an approximation to that of the crag Carcharias, but it differs
widely in its relative proportions, and in the presence of late-
ral denticles. — Its robust form, and the great extent of surface
by which it was implanted in the jaw, indicate its having been
an organ of prodigious power. Its thickness is about equal to
half its width, as seen by the section, fig. 42. That of Carcha-

rias megalodon is only in the proportion of 1 to 4. I am aware
that the teeth in the existing species of Carcharias differ con-
siderably in form, according to the position which they occu-
py in the jaw; but the above proportions will be found to
hold good through a series of specimens, and may therefore
be regarded as depending upon generic distinction. The
edges of the teeth in Otodus are perfectly free from serrations,
and the crag specimens of Carcharias appear so, but in the
latter their absence depends upon attrition. Some of the
squaloid teeth figured in Moreton's Synopsis of the cretace-
ceous fossils of the United States, probably belong to the
present genus.

43

m

Figure 43 is a silicified zoophyte from the Kentish chalk,
which a Cidaris appears very snugly housed, with its

FOSSIL INFUSORIA IN IRELAND. 353

spines in several places projecting through the substance of
the organic body which surrounds it, as at (a). It would, I
think, be a knotty point to determine, in this instance, which
of the two has been the aggressor, — the Ventriculite or the
Cidaris. The former cannot have been simply growing up-
on a dead shell, because the root of the zoophyte is at the
small extremity, and the large spines of the Echinus are still
in connection with the shell to which they belong. This cu-
rious fossil is in the cabinet of my friend Mr. Bowerbank.

Art. V. — On Fossil Infusoria found in the County Down, Ireland.
By James L. Drummond, M.D., Professor of Anatomy in the
Royal Belfast Institution, President of the Belfast Natural History
Society.

When my friend William Thompson, Esq., was at Newcas-
tle (at the base of the Mourne Mountains, County Down) last
autumn, he received a specimen of a very light, white, earthy
substance, which had been found some time previously in
considerable quantity, in that neighbourhood ; and a short
time ago he requested me to investigate its nature, as he felt
assured that it was the same kind of substance as Professor
Bailey had found in a bog at West Point, in America, (as
stated in Silliman's Journal for October, 1838), and which
was composed of fossil infusorial remains. I undertook the
investigation, and soon found that this anticipation was right;
the whole mass consisting of the siliceous remains of organ-
ized microscopic beings, either animal or vegetable. I am
not aware that fossil Infusoria have hitherto been detected
in the British islands, but if not, their discovery is due to Mr.
Thompson, as I have only followed up and ascertained, by
microscopical investigation, that the views which he had pre-
viously entertained were correct.

The substance alluded to is, when dry, of the whiteness of
chalk, but becomes brownish when wet ; it is as light as car-
bonate of magnesia, which it much resembles, but is not act-
ed on by nitric, muriatic, or sulphuric acids, and is indestruct-
ible by fire. The specimen I received was a compact mass,
of the shape, and nearly the size, of an ordinary building-
brick ; it could easily be rubbed down into powder, and had
a coarse and somewhat fibrous fracture ; when a portion was
rubbed between the finger and thumb, it had no grittiness,
but felt like an impalpable powder, and when it was then
blown into the air, it flew about almost like wood-ashes.

Vol. HI.— No. 31. n. s. 2 o

354

FOSSIL INFUSORIA IN IRELAND.

I had learned from my friend and assistant in my anatomi-
cal demonstrations, Mr. Shaw, that during the past summer,
his uncle, Dr. Hunter, of Bryansford (near Newcastle), and
himself, had been making chemical experiments on a singu-
lar substance which had lately been found in that neighbour-
hood ; that they had proved it to be silex, but could ascertain
nothing farther concerning it. On showing the specimen
to Mr. Shaw, he at once knew it to be identical with the
substance which they had been examining ; I accordingly
requested him to write to Bryansford, and obtain all the par-
ticulars he could concerning it, and the following is Dr.
Hunter's answer.

"I should sooner have written, but I waited to procure
accurate information respecting the deposit at Lough-Island
Reavey. l It was found on lowering the water of the lake by
the Bann Company, lying in considerable quantity under a
covering of about a foot of boggy soil. It was in a semi-fluid
state, of the consistence of thick mud, and could be lift-
ed out with a shovel. It soon dried when laid out on the
bank. There is also a stratum of an apparently similar sub-
stance found in a mountain valley to the south of Slieve Ber-
nagh, in the midst of the Mourne range. It cuts out and
shows itself on the face of a bank covered also with a stratum
of peaty soil. There are also detached pieces of what I con-
sider a similar matter occasionally found in the low parts of
the alluvial soil of Corrogs, of these I shall endeavour to pro-
cure specimens, and if possible myself inspect the place where
they are found, and send them to you as soon as possible."
44 . W, „ (

Magnified views of fossil infusorial remains.

On examining many times small portions of the fossil mix-
ed with a little water, on a slip of glass, the whole was found

1 This Lough is a few miles from Bryansford.

FOSSIL INFUSORIA IN IRELAND. 355

to be composed of the bodies represented in fig. 44, of which
the long, linear spicula {a) form at least four-fifths. The next
most abundant are those marked (b), then (c) ; those marked
(d) are still less numerous, and not always seen, though in
some of my examinations the portion of fossil in the micro-
scope consisted of them chiefly. Occasionally confervoid
fragments (e) were seen, and frequently minute annular por-
tions (/), while {g) is very rare. These are all the bodies
which I have observed ; there was no admixture whatever of
unorganized matter, and no medium of cement whatever.

The spicular bodies (a) are joints of the Diatoma elonga-
tum, (( Eng. Flora,' vol. v. pt. 1, page 406). This species
grows in the utmost abundance in a small drain of clear wa-
ter, in the grounds of the Royal Belfast Institution, and its
joints in the microscope are seen to be precisely similar to
the spicular bodies. When the loricated Infusoria are burn-
ed to ashes, the latter are found to be their siliceous coverings
unchanged; and the same thing occurs in the Diatoma, as
was discovered by De Brebisson and Professor Bailey.1 On
burning the Diatoma elongatum to a red heat, I found it,
when cold, to be unchanged in form and appearance, its sharp-
ness of outline being equally well defined as before. The
Navicula tripunctata I found equally unaffected by heat, as
also some other Infusoria with which I am little acquainted.
Of the other bodies in the fossil I as yet know nothing more
than their appearance ; but I think an examination of the
waters in the localities where the deposit is found, would
bring them to light in a recent state.

The deposit which I have now described is evidently of
the same description as that found by Professor Bailey in the
New World, and analogous to what is found in several pla-
ces of the Old ; viz. the Kieselguhr of Franzenbad, and the
deposit in peat-bog near the same place, the Bergmehl of
Santa Fiora, &c, which are formed of fossil infusorial re-
mains.2

Belfast, April 30th, 1839.

1 See paper of the latter on fossil Infusoria discovered in peat-earth at
West Point, in Silliman's Journal for October, 1838.
2 See Edinburgh New PhilosophicalJournal, for January, 1837, p. 183.

356 LETTER FROM PROF. AGASSIZ

Akt. VI. — Letter from Prof. Agassiz on the subject of the French
Edition of the ' Mineral Conchology of Great Britain.'

Neuchatel, Mai 15, 1839.

Monsieur,

Je viens de lire dans votre journal (N. 29) une
incrimination odieuse de la part que j'ai prise a la publication
que fait dans ce moment M. Nicolet, d'une edition a bon mar-
che de la ' Conchy liologie Mineralogique ' de J. Sowerby. —
Rien ne me paroitroit mieux merite que les reproches qui
m'y sont addresses, si les assertions et les insinuations que
renferme cet article n'etoient d'un bout a l'autre perfides ou
mensongeres. Puisque vous avez accueilli cette accusation
dans votre journal, j'attends de votre loyaute que vous y in-
sererez ma justification dans votre plus prochain No.

Malgre V immense importance de l'ouvrage de Sowerby sur
les fossiles d'Angleterre, cette publication n' a pu trouver qu'
un petit nombre d' acquereurs sur le continent. Aussi le con-
naissance que j'ai des etablissements scientifiques des locali-
tes les plus importants d' Europe m'a telle donne la certitude
qu'une edition Francoise ou Allemande de cet ouvrage, si
elle pouvoit etre publiee a meilleur marche que 1' original,
seroit un veritable service rendu a la science, sans nuire en
aucun facon a Vedition originate, qui s'est surtout ecoulees
en pays Anglois. N'y auroit-il pas des lors mauvaise foi a
representer une pareille publication comme une piraterie
systematique ? comme si des traductions d'ouvrages scienti-
fiques ne se feroient pas tous les jours au gre des auteurs, et
a plus fort raison apres leur mort ! et comme si, en fesant ce
que vous, auteur d'un journal scientifique, vous devez savoir
etre de bon droit, je devois causer la ruine des heritiers de
Sowerby, en les privant du benefice d'une publication dont
ils disposent depuis plus de quinze ans, et qui est terminee
depuis dix, apres avoir recu deux volumes posthumes. Mais
il y a plus, lorsque j'ai engage un lithographe d'ici, — M.
Nicolet, — a faire un Sowerby a bon marche, je lui ai fourni
gratuitement la traduction du texte, enrichie de nombreuses
additions et corrections. II est done absolument faux de dire
que l'edition Francoise de Sowerby, dont il s'agit, n'est qu'
une mauvaise contrefacon des planches de Touvrage Anglois,
accompagnee d'une simple translation du texte. Je n'aurois
jamais prete mon nom a une pareille machination. Je dois
done trouver bien etrange la conduite d'un editeur d'un jour-
nal scientifique qui accueille sans examen de pareilles calom-
nies, et je declare positivement mensongeres les insinuations

ON THE TRANSLATION OF MINERAL CONCHOLOGY. 357

que j'aurois entrepris, ou fait entreprendre, cette publication
dans le but d'en faire une affaire de lucre. Au contraire, il n'en
a ete tire que 300 exemplaires, et j'ai mit a l'editeur pour prix
de ma participation, la condition que l'ouvrage ne seroit pas
vendu au-dessus du prix necessaire pour couvrir les fraix de
publication. Je pro teste en outre n' avoir eu aucune intention
de nuire aux editeurs de l'edition originale ; si j'en ai envoye
quelques exemplaires en Angleterre, c'est uniquement afin que
mes amis scientifiques puissent prendre connaissance des
nombreuses additions que j'ai faite a ma traduction. Tout ce-
ci prouve, que dans cette circonstance, comme toujours, j'ai
agi uniquement dans Tinteret de la science. Un illustre geo-
logue Anglois pourroit au besoin rapporter ce que je lui ai
dit a ce sujet, avant de m'occuper de cette traduction.

Ceci m'amene a vous faire encore une observation. J'ap-
prends que pour user de represailles envers moi, (comme si
j'avois commis des hostilites), il se preparoit une souscription
pour favoriser une contrefac.on de mes * Poissons Fossiles,' ac-
compagnee d'une traduction Anglaise du texte, qui puisse etre
publiee a 10s. lalivraison, au lieu de 30s. Permettez-moi de
vous dire ma facon de penser a ce sujet. Si le fait est vrai,
j'envisagerois cet acte, en tant que represaille, comme tout ce
que Ton pourroit imaginer de plus perfide et indigne de tout
homme qui se respecte ; mais si la chose n'avoit lieu que dans
un but d'utilite, je declare aussi franchement que j'appelerois
la reussite de tous mes voeux, esperant voir par la mon ou-
vrage passer entre les mains de quelques cents personnes qui
n'auroient peut-etre pas pu l'acquerir au prix de souscription.
Depuis le nombre de mes souscripteurs m'est approximative-
ment connu, je n'ai fait tirer qu'un petit nombre d'exemplaires
en sus ; mon edition sera done epuisee avant q'une pareille con-
trefa^on puisse etre terminee, et comme j'ai detruis les gra-
vures de mes planches, clans aucun temps je ne serai curieux
de refaire une edition d'un ouvrage qui n'a ete pour moi
qu'une source intarissable de desagremens et de sacrifices,
quelques jouissances intellectuelles qu'il m'ait procure. Si
done l'idee d'une edition a bon marche de mes l Poissons Fos-
siles' n'est pas une mauvaise plaisanterie, je desirerais seri-
eusement connoitre les personnes qui veulent s'en charger ;
j'aurois, j'en suis certain, plusieurs bons conseils a leur donner,
afin de contribuer a leur faire atteindre plus facilement leur
but, qui doit etre, je le pense du moins, de repandre un ou-
vrage envisage comme utile, et non pas uniquement de me
nuire. D'ailleurs, mon ouvrage sera completement acheve
dans un an, avec le 15me livraison que j'espere publier a

358 LETTER FROM PROFESSOR AGASSIZ

Paques prochain; et je m'estimerais heureux de le voir tra-
duit et reproduit sous quelle forme que ce soit.

Esperant que vous voudrez bien inserer le contenu de ma
lettre au complet en le traduisant litteralement, j'ai Vhonneur
de vous prevenir que j'en expedie quelques copies a plusieurs
de mes amis.

Veuillez agreer,

Monsieur,
L'assurance de ma consideration distinguee,

L. Agassiz.

TRANSLATION.

Neuchatel, May 15, 1839.

SIR,

I have just read in the 29th number of your Journal an in-
vidious crimination of the part which I have taken in the cheap edition of
So. Min. Conchology, now in course of publication by M. Nicolet. No-
thing would be more richly merited than the strictures which are there
passed upon me, were it not that the assertions and insinuations which the
article contains are altogether malicious and without foundation. As you
have brought forward this accusation in your journal, I expect from your
sense of honour that you will give publicity to my justification in your
forthcoming number.

Notwithstanding the great importance of Mr. Sowerby's work on the
Fossils of England, this publication has met with but few purchasers on
the continent ; and the knowledge which I possess of the most important
European Scientific Institutions, has assured me that a French or German
edition of the work, published at a lower price, would be rendering a real
service to Science, without in any way proving injurious to the original
edition, for which the principal demand is in England. Would it then
not be unfair to represent such a publication as a systematic piracy ; as
though translations of scientific works were not being made every day with
the consent of authors, and with still greater reason after their death ; and
as if in doing that, which you, as the conductor of a scientific journal,
ought to know I am justified in, I am likely to injure the family of Mr.
Sowerby in depriving them of the benefit of a publication of which they
have had the disposal for more than fifteen years, and which has been com-
pleted ten years, after the addition of two posthumous volumes ? But in
addition to this, when I agreed with a lithographer, M. Nicolet, to bring
out a cheap Sowerby, I gratuitously furnished him with a translation of
the text, enriched with numerous additions and corrections. It is then
altogether untrue to say that the edition in question is but a sorry imitation
of the plates of the English work accompanied by a mere translation of
the text. I should never have lent my name to such a machination. It
appears to me therefore, very strange conduct in the Editor of a scientific
journal to give, without examination, publicity to such calumnies ; and
I affirm that the insinuation of my having entered upon this undertaking
with a view to pecuniary emolument, to be altogether unfounded. On the
contrary, only 300 copies have been struck off, and I agreed with the Edi-
tor as the price of my participation in it, that the work should not be sold

ON THE TRANSLATION OF MINERAL CONCHOLOGY. 859

at a sum above that necessary to cover the expense of its publication. I
protest also, that I had not the least.intention of injuring the Editor of the
original edition : if I have dispatched some copies to England it has been
with the view of letting my scientific friends see the number of additions and
corrections which I have incorporated in my translation. All this proves that
in the present instance, as always, I have only acted from a regard to the
interests of science. An illustrious English geologist can, if required, re-
late what I said to him on this subject before I occupied myself with
the translation.

This leads me to make one other remark to you. I understand, that by
way of reprisal, as though I had committed hostilities, there is in prepa-
ration a subscription to bring out a reprint of my Fossil Fishes, with an
English translation of the text, at 10s. a livraison instead of 30s. Permit
me to tell you my notions upon this subject. If the fact be true, and I am
to regard this act in the light of a reprisal, I must deem it most perfidious
and disreputable ; but if the thing be only undertaken as a matter of uti-
lity, I declare with the same frankness, that I shall be gratified, hoping
thus to see my work pass into the hands of some hundreds of persons who
would not perhaps be able to obtain it at the original subscription price.
As I have now pretty well ascertained the amount of my subscribers, I have
only had a few copies struck off beyond that number, and my edition will
consequently be disposed of before a reprint can be completed ; and as I
have effaced the drawings from the stones, at no future time shall T be de-
sirous of attempting another edition of a work which has all along been to
me a source of vexation and sacrifice, whatever intellectual enjoyment it
may have produced me. If, therefore, a cheap edition of my work be
really seriously talked of, I should like to know the parties who are about
to engage in it, as I should have some advice to give them to enable them
more readily to attain the object which I, at least, think they should have in
view ; viz., the diffusion of a work regarded as useful, and not merely an
attempt to injure me. As my work will be completely finished in a
year, with the 15th livraison, which I hope to publish next Easter, I shall
esteem myself fortunate to see the work translated, in whatever shape it
may appear.

Hoping that you will insert the contents of this letter entire and literally
translated, I have the honour to inform you that I have sent copies to se-
veral of my friends.

Louis Agassiz.

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

JULY, 1839.

Our remarks upon M. Nicolet's French edition of Sowerby's work on the
fossil shells of this country, have drawn forth a reply from Prof. Agassiz,
which should have received a place in our last month's number, had it
not reached us too late for publication. We now insert his letter, with
a translation of its contents, that every publicity in our power may be
given to the vindication which he has put forward. Had the work under
notice originated with none other name than those of the printer, pub-
lisher, and artist, greatly as we might have regretted, for the interests of
science, the non-existence of international protecting enactments, the

360 TRANSLATION OF MINERAL CONCHOLOGY.

matter would have appeared to us one of comparatively trivial importance,
and instead of advancing anything in the shape of reproach or remon-
strance, we should have deemed it the wiser course to have been altoge-
ther silent.

The name, however, of Louis Agassiz, as the Editor and avowed pro-
jector of the reprint, and the plausible statement from a man of such high
scientific reputation, that its cheapness, when compared with the price of
the original work, must necessarily tend to further the progress of Geo-
logy, made us determine, without a moment's hesitation, on the course
which we pursued. For though originating in such a quarter the scheme
threatened to be tenfold more injurious in its operation, we felt that Agas-
siz was bound by so many ties to this country, that he would probably
consider himself amenable to the expression of censure, if publicly di-
rected against him in the columns of an English Journal. We are glad
to find that on this head we have not been mistaken ; and we may add
too that our expectations have been completely realised, in not even the
shadow of an argument being adduced to oppose the views which we
put forward, as to the injurious prospective operation of the part acted
by Agassiz. He repeats, it is true, the substance of the shallow sophism
that we quoted from his preface ; but how does he support the position
which he would there maintain, the assumed " utilite " of the measure
we condemn ? Three hundred cheap Sowerbys, he tells us, will be dis-
seminated over the continent, and pass into the hands of those who would
not otherwise have possessed copies of this important work. But has
Agassiz so little foresight, so small a share of penetration, that he looks
to this one result as the sole and only consequence of the course which
he is pursuing? Can he not perceive that the system which he has com-
menced, if followed up upon the strength of his example, must strike at
the very existence of a class of works upon which the progress of Geolo-
gy is essentially dependent ; — works which convey to us delineations of
new forms as they are brought to light in both the past and existing or-
der of creation ; — which tell their own tale without the aid of a transla-
tor, let the country be what it may to which science is indebted for their
acquisition ; but which, from the heavy cost of their production, and the
limited class among which they circulate, require that kind of support
which is not restricted by the boundaries of clime or country ?

Agassiz has saved us the necessity of selecting an instance by way of
illustration. Singularly enough, the same document which contains the
attempt to justify his conduct, informs us that notwithstanding the un-
exampled support which, although a foreigner, he has in this country re-
ceived, by the aid of public pecuniary grants, and that of most extensive

MINERAL CONCHOLOGY. 361

private subscription, still that his ' Poissons Fossiles ' has been to him
" une source intarissable de desagremens et de sacrifices." Surely then
this, his own experience, might have suggested to Agassiz the impor-
tance of every possible encouragement being held out to the present au-
thor of the ' Mineral Conchology,' with a view to the continuation of that
work, rather than that the continental demand should, for the future, be
supplied by an edition so low in price, that competition on the part of
Mr. Sowerby would be utterly impossible.

As it respects the minor points adverted to by Agassiz, we shall be very
brief. That an English sale of the cheap edition was calculated upon,
we feel satisfied, because a large number of prospectuses have been dis-
patched to this country, and great pains taken to circulate them; but
whether at the instigation of Prof. Agassiz or his lithographer, we cannot
say. The general principle of translating scientific works from one lan-
guage into another is utterly foreign to the question, and cannot possibly
be brought to bear upon those publications whose scientific value is vested
in faithful representations of species, fac similes of which can be at any
time produced at an enormous reduction of expense below that which
they have originally cost the author.

That Agassiz is altogether in error on the subject of the relation in
which the present Mr. James De Carle Sowerby stands in respect to the
1 Mineral Conchology,' is clear from the following passage, which will be
found in No. 105. " To the public the author feels deeply indebted,
and cannot refrain from declaring his gratitude for the encouragement
bestowed upon a work commenced by his lamented father, and in the con-
tinuation of which he himself has incurred so much responsibility." —
Dated Camden Town, July. 1835.1

As to the numerous additions and corrections in the French edition upon
which Agassiz seems to plume himself, we cannot give him a great deal
of credit on this score, when his zeal for science has not induced him to
procure from England such species as are now well known and readily
obtained in a more perfect condition than some of the specimens figured
in the early numbers of Mr. Sowerby's work. And upon the subject of
an English edition of the ' Poissons Fossiles,' though, as far as we are
aware, nothing of the kind is in contemplation, yet if its author really

1 It is hardly necessary to observe that since the publication of the
above number in 1835, English geologists have been anxiously hoping
that Mr. J. de C. Sowerby would again proceed with the continuation of
the ' Mineral Conchology.'
Vol. III.— No. 31. n. s. 2p

362 TERTIARY GEOLOGY OF NORFOLK, &C.

have acted with so little prudence as not to have reserved a supply to
meet the demand that must arise when the work is rendered complete ;
and never intends, after the issue of his 15th livraison, to resume those
labours in ancient Ichthyology which have shed so much light upon this
department of science, and reflected so much lustre on himself ; in that
case most cordially should we adopt his avowed sentiments, and look up-
on a cheap English fac-simile of the ' Poissons Fossiles,' as a matter of
the highest 'utilite.'

A paper from the pen of Mr. Lyell appears in our number for the pre-
sent month, which embodies some results of the highest interest, as bear-
ing upon the tertiary Geology of Norfolk and the adjoining counties. —
The district treated of has long been celebrated for the number and beau-
ty of its fossils ; but until within a very recent period, no suspicion had
been entertained that the fossiliferous beds called "crag" included depo-
sits of distinct geological ages. It is now, however, satisfactorily shown
by the application of the per-centage test to the very extensive series of
crag Testacea in the cabinet of Mr. Searles Wood, that three marine de-
posits, of different and well-marked periods, overlie the chalk and Lon-
don clay in this part of England. This result confirms the general views
upon Tertiary Geology which Mr. Lyell has entertained in opposition to
M. Deshayes, who asserts the existence in the tertiary group, of three de-
finite proportions in the percentage of extinct species, and to one of which
any member of the series may be referred.1

The misapprehension which has so long prevailed respecting the his-
tory of a formation that has so often been looked at with geological
eyes, proves the absolute necessity for extreme caution in deciding upon
the age of deposits that may be situated in less frequently explored loca-
lities.

From the recently published annual reports of the Geological and
Zoological Societies, both these important scientific associations may be
considered in a flourishing condition. The former has been steadily in-
creasing in the amount of its members ; and though the latter has pro-
bably attained its maximum number, and suffered a serious diminution
of income from the unfavourable summers of the two past years, the re-
ceipts have still left a surplus over the expenditure. The Council of the

J"4. Constant proportions (3 per cent., 19 per cent, 52 per cent.) in
the number of recent species, determine the age of the tertiary strata."
Deshayes; translated in Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. i. n. s. p. 12.

REVIEWS. 363

Geological speak with regret of the resignation of their recently-appoint-
ed Curator, Mr. Searles Wood, whose health would not permit him to
continue in office. Referring to the Society's collection of crag fossils,
the Museum-Committee state that Mr. Wood "has added to it most li-
" berally from his private cabinet, and has by this means augmented the
"species of Mollusca and corals from about 100, of which they before
" consisted, to no less than 400, besides inserting many specimens in a
" more perfect state, of species of which the Society already possessed
" some individuals. Duplicates, moreover, of many species common to
" the upper and lower crag, have been introduced for the sake of compa-
" rison ; and the localities of all Mr. Wood's specimens, verified from his
" own observations, have been carefully noted on the tablets. By these
" important donations the number of drawers containing organic remains
" of the crag, has been increased from 10 to 27."

The Zoological Society have recently been so unfortunate as to lose
the chimpanzee and the male and female orangs, all of which were, a
short time since, alive, and exhibited together in the Regent's Park. —
The great object of interest now at the Gardens is the young giraffe, the
birth of which took place about ten days since. No similar instance has
ever previously occurred in Europe.

REVIEWS.

Art. I. — 1. Monographia Chalciditum. By Francis Walker. London:
Bailliere. 1839. 8vo. pp. 330.

2. Hymenoptera Britannica : Alysia. Auctore A. H. Haliday. Fascicu-
lus alter. London : Bailliere. 1839. pp. 32.

The cessation of the publication of the ' Entomological Ma-
gazine,' previous to the completion of the Monographs upon
the Chalcididce by Mr. Walker, and the Ichneumones adsciti
by Mr. Haliday, has compelled these gentlemen to resort to
separate publication for the termination of their memoirs. —
Mr. Walker's work, therefore, instead of being a ' Monogra-
pliia Chalciditum] is a monograph only of four of the genera
of that family, with supplemental species of some of the other
genera described either in the ' Entomological Magazine,' or
the ' Annals of Natural History.' The present volume con-
tains descriptions of 452 species, chiefly inhabitants of this
country, and now for the first time described. It must there-
fore be considered an important addition to our Fauna.

Mr. Flaliday's brochure comprises descriptions of about for-
ty British species "belonging to the Ichneumonideous genus
Alysia and its subgenera, — sixty -one species of the same ge-
nus having been previously described in the * Entomological
Magazine.' It also comprises a very valuable Synopsis of

364 REVIEWS.

the entire order Hymenoptera, upon which the author has
bestowed so much attention, and in which we find the natu-
ral habits of the insects, as well as their structural peculiari-
ties, considered as the ground-work of the classification here
proposed.

It is impossible to compare these two works together with-
out noticing the different mode in which they are written : —
whilst the latter exhibits a lucid methodical arrangement in
all its parts, the former is lamentably deficient therein. For
instance, there is no generic character of Aphelinus and Pter-
optrix ; and almost every species is formed into a distinct
section, apparently of equal rank, without any gradation al
series of groups. Thus, although the species may be well
described specifically ', their generic and subgeneric investiga-
tion will be attended with endless labour, unless the work be
revised. As there are 84 species of Cirrospilus here describ-
ed, it would have been well to have republished the 74 which
have already, or are intended to appear in the i Annals of
Natural History,' and in which they are scattered through
many numbers.

Art. II. — 1. Supplement to the ' History of British Fishes.11 By William

Yarrell, F.L.S. London : Van Voorst. 1839.
2. On the Growth of the Salmon in Fresh Water. By the same Author.

Van Voorst.

The additions made to British Ichthyology in the short pe-
riod that has elapsed since the publication of Mr. Yarrell's
valuable ( History of British Fishes,' have now enabled the
author to increase his work by the descriptions of nearly thir-
ty species. Figures of all these are given in the present sup-
plement, which, with their history, adds 72 pages of matter
to the original publication. Of course, the supplement will
fiud a place in the library of all those who possess a copy of
the previous volumes, in the second edition of which latter
we suppose the additional species will be incorporated. One
of the fishes now recorded by Mr. Yarrell as an acquisition
to the Fauna of the British seas, is also new to Ichthyology
generally; it is a species of the genus Osmerus. captured
near Roth say, in the isle of Bute, and sent to the author by
Mr. William Ewing, of Glasgow. It is described under the
specific name Hebridicus.

The following is a list of the genera to which the additions
contained in the Supplement are referable. — Trigla, 1 ; Peri-
stedion, 1, (from Dr. Edward Moore; described Mag. Nat.
Hist., vol. i. n. s.) ; Gobius, 3 ; Crenilabrus, 2; Abramis, 1 ;
Exoccetus, 1 ; Salmo, 1 ; Coregonus, 2; Motclla, 1 ; Platessa,

NEW SPECIES OF POPILLIA. 365

1 ; Monochirus, 1 ; Echiodon 1, (a new genus recently de-
scribed by Mr. Thompson, in the Transactions of the Zoolo-
gical Society) , Syngnathus, 1 ; Acipenser, 1 ; Echinorhinus,
1 ; Zygmia, 1 ; Rata, 2, (one from vol. ii. of the Mag. Nat.
Hist. n. s. described by Mr. Couch).

Besides the history of the new Fshes, the supplement con-
tains some valuable additional matter relating to species
which were figured in the previous volumes. The most im-
portant article of this description is one upon the growth of
Salmon in fresh water. This has been separately published
in the form of a large brochure, and is illustrated with six
admirably coloured engravings on steel, exhibiting the cha-
racter and natural size of the fish, and its exact appearance
at various stages during the first two years. One novelty in
the supplement with which we are highly gratified, is thus
spoken of in the preface : —

" To render the pictorial part of this Supplement as useful as its size
and character would admit, I have introduced, as vignettes, representations
of the bones of the cranium of several well-known fishes, derived from the
works of Cuvier, Rosentha.ll, and others : and should this part of the plan
be approved as a worthy mode of occupying a portion of that space usually
devoted to lighter subjects, it may, on some future occasion be so enlarged
upon as to include an illustration of one cranium in almost all the princi-
pal genera. In the present instance, however, not to interfere with the
ornamental appearance of these crania, as vignettes, by a repetition of let-
ters or numbers in reference to each particular bone, I have confined the
markings to the Perch only, as here introduced, premising, that a little
useful perseverance will lead to a knowledge of the analogous bones in
other crania."

We have only to add, that in the execution of the cuts, and
the general style of getting up, this volume is on a par with
any one in the series of Mr. Van Voorst's publications.

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS.

Descriptions of New Popillice, fyc. — Mr. Solly having obli-
gingly placed in my hands some specimens of the genus Po-
pillia, which he has received from the East Indies, I hasten
to transmit to you for publication descriptions of those species
which appear to be new.

Popillia varia, Newman.
Antennae nigra? ; caput, prothorax, et scutellum, aenea, clypei margi-
ne antico, prothoracisque marginibus lateralibus luteis { elytra pro-
fundi puncto-striata, lutea, fasciis tribus, quarum antica interrupta,
media flexuosa, postica lata apicali, nigris ; podex nigro-seneus, li-
nea longitudinali lutea. (Corp. long. .5 unc. lat. .325 unc.)
Colour. — Antenna black ; palpi testaceous ; head gold-green with a nar-
row anterior yellow margin to the clypeus ; prothorax gold-green, with the
lateral margins yellow ; scutellum gold-green ; elytra yellow, with the fol-
lowing black markings ; — a marginal line surrounding each elytron, an an-

36*6 NEW SPECIES OF POPILLIA.

tenor transverse band more or less interrupted or broken into spots, (in the
specimen before me four distinct spots supply the place of the band), a me-
dian transverse flexuose band, ancl a broad apical band, in which, on each
elytron, is a minute yellow spot ; the podex is nigro-aeneous, with a central
longitudinal yellow line; the legs have a mutable metallic lustre, the fe-
mora being margined and tipped with yellow ; the produced mesosternum is
yellow, the metasternum has two somewhat triangular yellow spots ; the
underside of the abdomen has various yellow markings.

Inhabits Assam. There are several specimens in Mr.
Solly's cabinet.

Popillia gemma, Newman.
Antennae testaceae ; caput, prothorax, et scutellum caprea ; elytra
puncto-striata, testacea, regione suturali pallidiori ; podex cupreus,
pilis albis bisignatus; pedes testacei fulgore cupreo nitidi. (Corp.
long. .425 unc. lat. .25 unc.)
Colour. — Antenna testaceous ; head, prothorax, and scutellum brilliant
copper-coloured ; elytra testaceous, with a tint of copper colour, the region
of the scutellum being paler ; the podex is brilliantly copper-coloured, and
has two rather diffuse spots composed of white hairs ; the legs are testace-
ous with a varying metallic lustre. Sculpture. — Head thickly punctured ;
prothorax punctured throughout, but posteriorly, near the scutellum, the
punctures are less obvious ; the scutellum is very sparingly punctured ; the
elytra are punctato- striate.

Inhabits Assam. In the cabinet of Mr. Solly.

Genus. — Paracrvsis, Newman.
E Popillid celeberrimi Leach mesosterno mutico nullo modo porrecto
plane differt ; elytra quoque convexiora, figura omnino globosior.

This genus, in the structure of its antenna, instrumenta
clbaria, &c, nearly agrees with Popillia of Leach ; the for-
mation of the legs is also nearly the same, the outer claw of
the fore and middle feet being bifid at the apex : its habit,
however, is very different, its figure almost globose, as in
Coccinella, and the elytra very convex, but the most obvious
structural difference is in the sternum, the prosternum is
produced in a sharp ridge between the fore legs, and the me-
sosternum is depressed and indented, and entirely without the
anteriorly porrected portion so very obvious in the Popilli<B.

Paracrusis cyanipes, Newman.
Rubra, oculis nigris, antennis testaceis, capitulo nigro ; elytris rubris,
glabris, obsolete striato-punctis ; tibiis tarsisque cyaneis. (Corp.
long. .5 unc. lat. .375 .unc.)
Colour. — Red, shining, antennce testaceous, with a black club ; palpi and
mandibles tipped with black ; elytra red ; tibice and tarsi of a bright metal-
lie blue. Sculpture. — Head regularly but not very thickly or deeply punc-
tured, a very distinct line (not. observable in any of the Popillia:), separates
the clypeus from the vertex ; prothorax regularly punctured and completely
surrounded dorsal ly by a slender ridge ; scutellum regularly but sparingly
punctured, broader and shorter than in the species of Popillia ; elytra with
twelve series of punctures, the 1st parallel to the suture, and the interstice
between this and the 2nd three times as wide as either of the other intersti-
ces, and irregularly punctured.

Inhabits Assam. In the cabinet of Mr. Solly.

Edward Newman, Deptford, June, 1839.

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY.

AUGUST, 1839.

Art. I. — On the Classifications of the Amphibia. By John Hogg,
Esq., M.A., F.L.S., C.P.S., &c.

{Continued from page 274.)

It will be here noticed that I have chosen the modes of re-
spiration, and the respiratory organs, for the principal cha-
racters by which to divide the whole class into two leading
sections, or sub-classes. The absence, the decay, and the per-
manency of gills, materially influencing the respiratory system,
and so affording the most natural properties for the subdivi-
sion of the animals into their respective orders, present a clas-
sification, at once simple and uniform. And I cannot but
consider, that these organs furnish the truest characters for
more accurately distinguishing the several groups, not only in
accordance with the most singular and curious phenomena,
which have hitherto been found to arise from their physiolo-
gical conformation, but also in direct explanation of their
common name, 'Amphibia,'' and in farther elucidation of their
supposed amphibiousness.

Some observations explanatory of the sub-classes, orders,
and families adopted by me, may not now be deemed super-
fluous.

The first sub-class comprises the monopneumenous amphi-
bians, or those animals in which the function of respiration is

Voi, III.— No. 32. n. s. 2 q

3()8 CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA.

effected by means of a single breathing- apparatus ; that is to
say, either altogether by lungs alone, or else at first by gills
and then by lungs.

This sub-class includes the first and second orders. The
first order gives the abranchians, viz., such animals as are
never found to be furnished with gills at any time of their
existence ; wherefore they always breathe atmospheric air,
and the consequent circulation of the blood is, of course,
merely pulmonary. There is only one family in this order,
— the CcBciliadce; which naturally constitute a link interme-
diate between, and allied to, both the ophidians and the true
amphibians : to the former they are similar in their external
forms, in having neither legs nor gills, and from their second
lung r being much smaller than the first ; to the latter they
approach in the smallness and shortness of their ribs, and in
the formation of their hyoid bones, from the appearance of
which one might be induced to suspect that some branchial
apparatus once existed, and that a metamorphosis had actu-
ally taken place.

The second order embraces all those animals which (as
yet are known to) undergo any metamorphosis : these are the
frogs, the frog-like amphibians, and the family of salamanders.
In their early forms, larvae or tadpole stages, they breathe by
gills in the water, just as fishes do ; and after their transfor-
mations, or in their perfect state, they respire simply by the
aid of lungs in the atmosphere. Hence, the term ' Caduci-
branchia ' sufficiently points out as well the phenomena ex-
hibited by the changes in the forms of this natural group, as
their most singular qualities, — of first respiring in water by
gills, which, when they have performed their service to the
immature creatures, become obliterated, or decay, together
with their cartilaginous arcs and deciduous lids or opercula ;
—and of afterwards respiring in air by proper and fully-de-
veloped lungs. 2 And the circulation of the blood in the one
case would be branchial,1 but in the other only pulmonary.

1 Cuvier observes, " leur deuxieme poumon est aussi petit que dans les
autres serpens." — 'Regne Animal,' tomeii. p. 99.

2 Les batraciens "ont tous deux poumons egaux, auxquels se joignent,
dans le premier age, des branchies qui ont quelque rapport avec celles des
poissons, et que portent aux deux cotes du col des arceaux cartilagineux,
qui tiennent a 1' os hyoide. La plupart perdent ces branchies et P appareil
qui les supporte, en arrivant a Petat parfait." — Cuvier; ' Regne An. tome
ii. p. 101.

3 The circulation through the external branchial tufts of the young tad-
poles of the common frog, when only three or four days old, affords a very
interesting object for the microscope. The globules of blood may be seen
passing, in a distinct current, down one side of the transparent finger-like

CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA. 369

In this order I have divided the animals into four families,
characterized by the shape of their body when adult, their
tailless form, the presence of a long tail, &c.

I must here observe, that although the adult caducibran-
chians may be well ascertained and correctly specified, we
know little of the exact varieties of form assumed and chang-
ed by the larvae of each species ; to describe indeed the tad-
poles of one or two species of any of the genera of that order,
otherwise than the supposed general appearance of those of
all the species, is clearly incorrect ; for careful investigations
have only been made on the tadpoles of the common frog, the
edible frog, the toad, the aquatic salamander,1 and probably
a very few other species, but of the greater number of those
of the more rare and foreign kinds, we are at present quite
ignorant. So likewise we know nothing of the very first ap-
pearance of the immature animals, — I mean especially when
first produced from the ova, — belonging to the latter, or Am-
phibia Diplopneumena, which are supposed never to trans-
form ; concerning them, I expect, Zoology will some day re-
ceive many curious facts.

The second sub -class, or diplopneumenous kinds of amphi-
bians, are those which respire by the aid of a double breathing
apparatus, namely, by lungs and by gills, or gill-like organs,
both of which the animals simultaneously retain during the
whole period of their life. So that consequently the circula-

processes or lobes of the external branchice, turning round the tips or extre-
mities, and ascending up the opposite side. The blood continues to circu-
late with great velocity, and in a regular and continued stream. This
phenomenon struck me as one of the most beautiful I ever beheld.

1 Those who wish to pay attention to this subject, and " mutatas dicere
formas" of the different larva, I refer to the three following beautifully-il-
lustrated monographs by Dr. Rusconi, as examples worthy of their imita-
tion.— ' Descrizione Anatomica degli organi della circolazione delle Larvae
delle Salamandre Acquatiche:' con tavola : 1817. 'Amoures des Salaman-
dres Aquatiques, et developpement du tetard de ces Salamandres depuis 1'
ceuf jusqu' a l'animal parfait.' 1821 . ' Developpement de la Grenouille
commune, depuis le moment de sa naissance jusqu' a son etat parfait.' —
1826. And see Humboldt and Bonpland's Voyage, vol. i. part 2 plate 13$
for Cuvier's illustrations of the tadpoles of Bufo fuscus and Salamandra
aquatica. Sir E. Home also published in the ' Phil. Trans.' for 1825, p.
81, a paper " On the changes the ovum of the Frog undergoes during the
formation of the Tadpole," illustrated by accurate and beautiful plates
from the pencil of Bauer ; but he has neglected to give a representation of
the singular mode in which the external branchice are often seen to disap-
pear, about the sixth or seventh day from the birth. On one side the little
creatures (in some specimens) exhibit at that age no appearance of exter-
nal tufts ; and on the other side, only the extremities of these tufts are vi-
sible, being nearly drawn urithin the cervical aperture.

370 CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA.

tion maybe named branchipulmonary, that is, both branchial
and pulmonary; and therefore either the one or the other
takes place as the respiration of the animals is aquatic or at-
mospheric- In this sub-class are comprised two orders.

The third order, — Imperfectibranchia, — is provisionally
instituted in consequence of our present imperfect knowledge
of the two American genera, Menopoma and Amphmma,
which alone constitute it.

These extraordinary creatures appear to have only imper-
fect gills, or rather gill-like organs, for they are not known to
possess the external branchial tufts, which permanently be-
long to, and form the chief character of, the following order,
though they are always furnished with the rest of the gill-like
apparatus, viz., the branchial openings on the sides of the
neck, the membranous lids or opercula, and cartilaginous arc
formed from the hyoid bone. From a careful examination of
these organs in the beautiful specimens of the anterior por-
tions of the Amphiuma means1 and the Menopoma Allegha-
niense,2 prepared by the celebrated John Hunter; and after
attentively comparing them with the very similar parts in the
Proteus2 and Sire?i,4 I think I have sufficient grounds, dur-
ing our present confined knowledge at least, for maintaining
that they, in all probability, do some service analogous to the
true gills of the latter, and that they assist in, if they do not
altogether perform, the function of respiration in the water.
I was unable to perceive any particular difference in the struc-
ture of the branchial, pulmonary (except as to the origin of
the pulmonary arteries), and circulatory organs, between the
Amphiuma and the Menopoma, as exhibited in these speci-
mens ; wherefore the description of those organs in the one,
will suffice for both the animals. Mr. Hunter, in his own
account of the dissected specimen of the Amphiuma means
just referred to, and which is lately published in the ' Physi-

1 Numbered 915 in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in
London ; described in the ■ Phys. Cat.' vol. ii. p. 43 ; and figured in Rus-
coni's ' Amours des Salamandres,' pi. 5, fig. 7, where it is named by mistake
" Siren lacertina." See Hunter's own description of it in Cat. vol. ii. p.
150, note.

2 Numbered 916 and 917 in the same Museum; described in Cat. vol.
ii. p. 45 ; also therein figured in plates 23 and 24. For Hunter's account
from his MS., refer to the same Cat. pp. 149 — 154.

3 Vide ' Monografia del Proteo,' da Configliachi e Rusconi ; tab. 4, fig.
8: 1819.

4 See preparation No. 914 in the Museum of the Royal College of Sur-
geons, and the plate illustrative of Prof. Owen's paper in vol. i. of the Zo-
ological Transactions. Also plate 11, part 2, vol. i. Voyage de Humboldt
et Bonpland.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA. 371

ological Catalogue of the Hunterian Collection' (vol. ii. note,
p. 151), calling the imperfect branchial organs gills, thus de-
scribes them. — " The gills are composed of three cartilages,
which are placed in the same manner as gills in fish ; but
these cartilages have neither the pectinated part nor the mush-
room partition, which those of fish have ; their ends are arti-
culated together, and the whole is joined to the extremity of
the same bone as that of the tongue. From the fauces there
is an opening outwards, between the two inferior cartilages of
the gills, for the water to pass. In this opening, which is
oblong, is placed a structure composed of two valves, which
will obstruct the water passing in from without. The two
cartilages which are above the opening, between which the
two arteries pass, are lined on the inside by the membrane of
the fauces, which is not very thin." Next, the aorta, or great
artery, arising from the ventricle of the heart, swells at its
upper part into a bulb-like bag (bulbus arteriosus), from the
extremity of which there proceed eight smaller arteries, four
diverging to the right side and four to the left; one of the
lower arteries, on each side, passes downwards and enters up-
on the top of each lung, along which it ramifies, and forms
the pulmonary artery. x The other arteries branching off from
the arterial bulb on each side, proceed outwards to the gills,
and becoming the branchial arteries, " there wind round and
between the cartilages of those parts,1' both on the left and on
the right side ; thence, coming round towards the back, they
unite into a single trunk on either side, which, running to the
backbone, afterwards constitute (with other branches) the aor-
ta descendens. This organization then proves the circulation
of the blood to be twofold, and in fact branchipulmonary, or
pneumobranchial, as it has been well named by Hunter, for
there are two distinct arteries (pulmonary) leading to the two
lungs, and as many separate branchial arteries wind around
the gill-like organs, as there are such organs or gills in num-
ber.2 This circulation is nearly identical with that of the
animals in the next order of Amphibia, which have complete
and persistent branchice ; the only difference is, that in the
latter the branchial arteries send off branches, which enter and
ramify through the external gill-tufts attached to the ends of
the hyoidean arcs, in order that the blood may be more sub-
jected to the influence of the water. Now, I cannot imagine

1 But the pulmonary artery in the Menopoma springs from the end of one
of the branchial arteries.

2Cuvier says, — "tant que les hranchies subsistent, l'aorte, en sortant du
cceur, se partage en autant de rameaux, de chaque cote, qu'il y a de bran-
chies." 'Regne Animal,' tome ii. p. 101.

372 CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA.

that the whole function of the aquatic respiration in the ma-
nentibranchious amphibians is performed by the external
gills alone, but I conceive it to be not improbable that a por-
tion of it is aided, and in part effected, by the internal bran-
chial arcs themselves. The American authors1 assert that
the Amphiuma and Menopoma have never been seen with
any external gills, but that the rest of the branchial appara-
tus remains unchanged throughout life ; unless then this ap-
paratus be superfluous or useless, (which I cannot suppose
at all likely), I think it more than probable that it performs
the part of real gills to those aquatic animals ; and that the
blood, in circulating through the branchial arteries, which
wind round and between those cartilages, becomes sufficient-
ly aerated by being submitted to the influence of the water
within the cervical apertures, and thus obtains the same ef-
fect or benefit, as if the respiration were carried on in the wa-
ter by means of them and external tufts conjointly, as in the
manentibranchians, or by the similar cartilages with their
pectinated and membranous appendages, as in the fishes. If
so, these two genera are correctly stationed in my diplopnen-
menous sub-class; and it is gratifying to learn that Mr. Hunter
held the like opinion, for he has included them, with the Si-
ren,2 in his class which he termed Pneumobranchia. That
philosophical zootomist, in his ' General Observations3 on the
Pneumobranchiata,'' has admirably stated his view of their
respiration in these two passages. — " This tribe of animals is
widely different from all hitherto known. They are com-
pounded of two grand divisions of the animal kingdom, yet
not so as for all their parts to partake equally of both ; for
some parts incline more to the one of these divisions, other
parts to the other, while a few are pretty distinctly made up
of both, so as to be truly double, just as the parts of gene-
ration are in perfect hermaphrodites, and these parts are the
organs of respiration, to which the circulation must of course
correspond. They hold with respect to respiration, a middle
rank between fish, which breathe water, and those immediate-
ly above them, which breathe air, viz., those called Amphibia
(Linn.), and they are placed in this respect between the two,

1 See Dr. Garden's letter to Linnaeus in Smith's 'Correspondence,' vol. i.
p. 599. Also Dr. Harlan's paper in the Journal of the Acad. Nat. Sci. of
Philadelphia ; vol. iii. p. 54. cum tab. 1823 : and in Annals of the Lyceum
of Nat. Hist, of New York, pp. 223, 270, vol. i. 1824.

2 With the respiratory organs of the Siren lacertina he was long acquaint-
ed, for that animal became one of his first subjects of comparative anatomy.
See his paper in the Phil. Trans, for the year 1706, p. 308.

3 Now published in the Physiol. Cat. vol. ii. pp. 145 140.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA. 373

filling up the scale." "An animal to be truly amphibious,

must have its respiratory apparatus compounded of the pul-
monary and branchial organs, which is the case with this
tribe, for these only can be said, when in the air, to be truly
terrestrial, and when in the water truly aquatic."

Having before shown that the circulating organs are, in
these two genera, both strictly pulmonary and branchial ;
and of these, the latter perhaps most prevail, for on either side
of the aorta, three branchial arteries proceed to the gill-like
parts, whilst only one artery descends upon each lung, and
this organization is said to continue unaltered during the
entire life of the animals ; wherefore, it is almost naturally
certain, that the respiration itself, like the corresponding cir-
culation, is also two-fold, — both branchial or aquatic, and
pulmonary or atmospheric. Again, by comparing these organs
with those of the caducibranchians, or such animals as under-
go a metamorphosis, for example, with those of the water sala-
mander, we see that the branchial arteries proceed in the
same course x in the young or tadpole, when its respiration is
entirely aquatic ; but when the lungs are fully developed,
the pulmonary arteries are prepared for action, and when the
gill apparatus is decayed, all the branchial arteries (except
two) with their branches become obliterated, and the two re-
maining (formerly branchial) arteries unite into one at the
back, and send off a branch directly to the lung ; 2 and since
the gills, the arcs, the apertures, and opercles, in the adult
become quite evanescent, the two arteries (branchial) can no
longer be of any service in aquatic respiration, for they are not
exposed to, or in anywise influenced by, the water. The en-
tire respiration is ever afterwards effected by the lungs alone
in the atmosphere. But it has been already explained that
the branchial arteries continue, in the Amphiuma and Meno-
poma, always to wind round and between the permanent arcs
or gill-like organs, and to expose the blood contained within
them to the water, either passing through the cervical open-
ings, or therein retained by the closing of the persistent lids ;
thus do they differ in a most essential way from the final con-
dition of the similar parts in the mature salamander,2 and in

1 This may be well seen on referring to the plates in Rusconi's 'Amours
des Salamandres,' and to plate 13, part 2, vol. i. Voyage de Humboldt.

2 Cuvier correctly writes, — " dans les especes qui perdent leurs branchies,
les rameaux qui s'y rendent s'obliterent, excepte deux, qui se reunissent
en une artere dorsale, et qui donnent chacun une petite branche au pou-
mon. — C'est une circulation de poisson metamOrphosee en une circulation
de reptile." — Regne Animal, tome ii. p. 102.

3 Compare fig. 6, representing this adult animal anatomically displayed,

374 CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA.

other amphibians which have changed their forms; conse-
quently, from these comparisons I feel tolerably confident,
that some use of those permanent organs, in the animals now
under notice, may be derived by them in the function of re-
spiration whilst in water ; although satisfactory proofs of this
supposition can only be established by future experiments,
to be made for the express purpose of investigating that im-
portant question. The third order comprehends a single
family, which I have named Menopomatidm, by taking the
appropriate title of the genus Menopoma1 for its type.

The retention of external branchial tufts or ramified gills,
with permanent hyoidean arcs, and mostly with lids or oper-
cles, is distinctly intended by the word that denotes this last
order, — Manentibranchia.

The two families I have distinguished principally by the
form of the body and the number of the legs. The genera
will exhibit (among other marks) the variations in the num-
ber of toes.

The comparative naturalist will here with pleasure consider,
how the steps in the gradation of the different respiratory sys-
tems, among the higher classes of the animal kingdom, are
nicely and beautifully varied ; how inimitably and gradually
they lead from the most complete to the inferior development ;
and how the transition from a perfect pulmonary respiration
to a perfect branchial one, is gently, and not instantaneously,
effected. For in the Mammalia, birds, and reptiles, there are
lungs more or less perfect ; in the Amphibia there exist, first,
well-formed lungs without gills ; — secondly, at first perfect
gills and no lungs, afterwards lungs without gills ; — thirdly,
imperfect gills co-existing with lungs ; —fourthly, perfect gills
with less-developed lungs ; — and lastly, in the fishes, most
complete gills, but lungs entirely wanting.

If, however, it should be hereafter found, that the gill-like
organs in the Alenopomatidce are in reality gills, or merely a

in pi. 5 of Rusconi's f Amours, ' with the Amphiuma means, fig. 7 of the
same plate : also examine the preparation of the Surinam toad, No. 917 A,
in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons.

1 Dr. Harlan hestowed that appellation on this genus, because the oper.
cula are persistent : it is derived from ft-svco, maneo, and Tra/xa, operculum.

With regard to the name of the second genus, Dr. Wagler observes, —
"der sippename Amphiuma wird wohl verandert werden miissen. Was soil
Amphiuma heissen ? " The generic name well deserves to be changed. —
What does Amphiuma signify ? I conclude that it is derived from a/Mfpi,
circa, and v(Aa for v<rfj,a, pluvia; — circa pluviam, i. e. aquam habitans, —
from its frequenting pools left by the rain and other waters.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA. 375

peculiar modification of gills, by which the air from the wa-
ter is imparted to the blood in the branchial arteries, I would
then erase the provisional order Imperfectibranchia, and thus
re-arrange the last sub-class : —

Sub-class II.— DIP LOPNEUMEN A.

Order III. — Manentibranchia.

Tribe 1. Internibranchia. Gills plain, internal.

Family. Menopomatidce.

Tribe 2. Externibranchia. Gills tufted or ramified, external.

Families. Sirenidce. Proteidce.

But, on the contrary, should future experiments prove that
the branchial apparatus in the Menopomatidce is decidedly
imperfect, and that it has no share whatever in aquatic respi-
ration, then it will become necessary to modify my classifi-
cation after this manner : — ■

Class IV.— AMPHIBIA.

Sub-class I.-MONOPNEUMENA.

Order I. — Abranchia. Branchial apparatus none.

Family. Cceciliadte.

Order II. — Caducibranchia. Branchial apparatus decaying.

Families. Ranidce. Dactylethridce. Astrodactylidce. Salamandridce.

Order III. — Imperfectibranchia. Branchial apparatus imperfect.

Family. Menopomatidce.

Sub-class II.— DIPLOPNEUMEN A.

Order IV. — Manentibranchia. Branchial apparatus remaining.
Families. Sirenidce. Proteidce.

And lastly, if the Menopomatidce be hereafter ascertained
to undergo a metamorphosis ; and if the very young animals
really possess the external branchiae, but which are very early
deciduous ; which Cuvier thought likely, for he says,— " pro-
bablement qu'ils les perdent d' aussi bonne heure que notre
salamandre terrestre;"1 — and the branchial arcs, lids, and
apertures remain permanent throughout life ; I will, in such
case, propose the following arrangement : —

Class IV.— AMPHIBIA.
Sub-class I.—MONOPNEUMENA.

Vide 'Regne Animal,' tome ii. p. 117, edit. 2.

370 CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA.

Order I. — Abranchia. Gills wanting.
Family. Cceciliadce.
Order II. — Caducibranchia. Gills deciduous.
Tribe 1. Arcucadentia. Branchial arcs deciduous.
Families. Ranidce. Dactylethridce. Astrodactylidce. Salamandridce.
Tribe 2. Arcumanentia. Branchial arcs persistent.
Family. Menopomatidce.
Sub-class II.— DIPLOPNEUMENA.
Order III. — Manentibranchia. Gills permanent.
Families. Sirenidce. Proteidee.
It was my desire to have given fuller definitions of the
several sub-classes, orders, tribes, and families, and to have
added characters of all the genera, which I have here thought
right to adopt ; but professional occupations at present en-
tirely prevent the completion of that task.

With respect however to the word Amphibia, used to de-
nominate this class of animals, its literal meaning signifies
the being able to live both on land and in water, — that is to
say, — the having at the same time two natures or faculties of
life ; namely, the faculty of life in the air, and the faculty of
life in the water. Now, the great vital principle, or original
spring of life, is respiration ; hence, whatever animal has the
faculty of respiring freely both in the atmosphere and in wa-
ter, can alone be strictly called Amphibious. Moreover, lungs
are — in the higher classes of animals — the only apparatus
that can perform the function of the former ; and gills are the
peculiar apparatus adapted to that of the latter. It is there-
fore evident, that all creatures not furnished with both lungs
and gills, are naturally disabled from ever enjoying real am-
phibiousness, or the twofold faculty of life ; and so, none of
the animals of this class, which belong to the Monopneume-
na, can receive the epithet of amphibious in its full and literal
sense; and of those belonging to the Diplop?ieumena9 the
Amphiuma means, the Siren lacertina, and the Proteus an-
guinus, as far as we have yet learned, are alone entitled to it.
It is nevertheless more than very probable, that the greater
number (if not all) of the second sub-class, will hereafter be
proved to be strictly amphibious.

Amongst other interpretations of this word, and in its re-
stricted but more common meaning, nearly the whole of the
monopneumenous animals may be called amphibious,1 for

1 In this sense are to be understood the animals which Cuvier names " les
Amphibies" consisting of the genera Phoca and Trichechus. In his Sys-
tem they form the third and last tribe of the Carnivora.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE AMPHIBIA. 377

the greater part of them, although in their adult state terres-
trial animals, are in the habit of resorting to lakes, ponds, and
other fluviatile places, and are capable of remaining under
the water x for a considerable length of time, without rising to
the surface in order to inhale atmospheric air. In this sense,
then, it is, that we must confine the signification of ampliibi-
ous, as almost universally made use of; and certainly it is to
be so translated in the following lines of the very ancient
poet j —

A'(ji<pi@iov ya$ spooks vo/xm Ba,T()ctx0l<Tl KfowW,
X)ti%TYi<Tai Korea, ynv, kou hep1 ti^acri crajxa JtaXv-^ai.

Homeri Batrach. v. 59.

(For we, amphibious), " by gift from Jove,"
(Do) " leap as well as swim, can range the land
" For food, or diving, seek it in the deep."

Cowper : Trans, v. 79.

Now, whether this power of remaining long submerged
under water, without performing the function of respiration,
arises from the cold blood in these animals, when first suffi-
ciently aerated, being able to continue its slow circulation for
a considerable time together ; or, from the lungs having the
capacity of retaining such a quantity of air, as to permit the
circulation to go on uninterruptedly, for a long period ; or,
from the circulation being in some degree earned on indepen-
dently of the lungs ; because, in these amphibians, the blood
is only in part passed through the lungs and so aerated, while
the other part circulates again from the heart, through the
rest of the body, independent of transmission through the pul-
monary organs ; or from the pulmonary vessels being so small
as to allow the respiration to be suspended, without stopping
the circulation of the blood ; or from whatsoever organic
cause2 it may be considered to be effected, I will leave ana-

xMany of the monopneumenous adult amphibians are admirably adapted
to an aquatic life, in having some of their organs protected against injury
from the water, and in having others so formed as to be of material assist-
ance to them, when diving in that element. Of the former are, the nostrils,
(through which alone many sorts breathe), which are often furnished with
small valves, to prevent both the entrance of water, and the escape of the
air inhaled for respiration ; the ears are usually covered by a membrane, and
the eyes are defended by two, or even three, eyelids : of the latter, are, the
crystalline lenses in the eyes of some kinds, which assume a more spherical
shape, approaching to those in fishes, the toes of the hind feet are frequently
webbed, and the tails, sometimes being compressed, greatly aid in swimming.

2 1 have not made any allusion to a third mode of respiration, with which
some of these animals are endowed ; namely, that of breathing water, or at-
mospheric air, by means of their skin; because, how far this cutaneous re-
spiration is really possessed by, or of actual service to, the different groups
of the Amphibia, is as yet unknown.

378 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

tomists to decide. But I must remark, that notwithstanding
important zootomical examinations have been made upon the
Siren lacertina, the Proteus anguinus, the Siredon piscifor-
mis, the Menopoma Alleghaniense, and the Amphiuma me-
ans ; ' still, experiments directly in reference to the supposed
faculty possessed by these, and other species, of respiring
with ease both in the water and in the atmosphere, ought to
be carefully instituted, on several living and healthy speci-
mens, in various stages of their growth and age, in their na-
tural countries or abodes ; so that it may be ascertained with
certainty how far each of them is to be esteemed amphibious,
how necessary, or useful, the gills or branchial apparatus, and
the lungs individually, may prove to those kinds that are fur-
nished with both these organs ; and how their respiration may
be affected by the variations of temperature, and other atmo-
spheric causes. At the same time, due attention being paid
to any chemical changes that may take place in the water in
which they may be kept. Of the discoveries likely to result
from such investigations, we are now totally ignorant ; but I
feel perfectly assured that such observations would not fail to
afford to science many new and interesting facts, in regard to
the physiological relations of these, as yet, little known, and
most extraordinary animals.

Temple, London ;

February 5th, 1838.

Art. II. — Monograph of the Genus Sciurus, with Descriptions of
Mew Species and their Varieties. By J. Bachman, D.D., Presi-
dent of the Literary and Philosophical Society, Charlestown, South
Carolina, &c.

{Continued from page 337.)

12. Large Louisiana Black Squirrel. Sciurus Audubonii.

To the kindness of J. W. Audubon, Esq., I am indebted for a
specimen of another species of squirrel, of which I have seen
no description. His successful efforts in another department

1 For the details of the organization of the first three animals, see Cuvi-
er's 'Recherches Anatomiques sur les Reptiles Douteux,' (1807) ; publish-
ed at p. 93, in part 2, vol. i. of ' Voyage de Humboldt et Bonpland ; also
MM. Configliachi et Rusconi's Monograph for the Proteus ; and Professor
Owen's and Mr. Hunter's papers already quoted, for the Siren, as well as
the two last animals.

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIUItUS. 379

of Natural History and his having been the discoverer of the
present species, fully entitle him to a much higher tribute
than the above dedication.

Characters. — A little less than Sciurus niger ; ears shorter ; incisors
broader: larger than the little brown squirrel. Tail the length of the bo-
dy ; fur very coarse, glossy and harsh to the touch ; colour above black,
beneath brownish. Dental formula: Incisors |; Canines §§; Molars ff; —
20.

The specimen from which I describe contained the above
number of teeth. If the small anterior molar in the upper
jaw existed in the young, which I suspect to be the case in
all our species, it is deciduous, and we are warranted in ar-
ranging this species among those which have permanently
but twenty teeth. The head is narrower than that of Sciurus
niger. In the upper jaw the anterior molar is triangular in
shape, crowned with three blunt tubercles ; the rest are quad-
rangular, with excavated crowns.

The body is thinner than that of the Sciurus niger, and the
ears, which are triangular in shape, are much shorter ; they
are covered on both surfaces with short adpressed hairs, pre-
senting none of the tuft-like appearances on the outer surface
possessed by several of our other species. Whiskers longer
than the head, extending to the shoulders. The fur on the
back is the coarsest of all our species, with the exception of
that of the fox squirrel {Sciurus vulpinus), black and very
glossy.

Colour. — The incisors, as is the case with nearly all the
species of this genus, are of a deep orange colour ; whiskers
black ; the back, whole of the upper parts, limbs externally,
and feet, are black, with a faint tinge of brown ; many of
the hairs are obscurely annulated with yellowish white. —
The whole under surface, as well as the inner sides of the
thighs and legs, brownish. Most of the hairs are greyish
white at the base, and the remaining portion is annulated with
black and yellow ; in certain parts, however, the hairs are
chiefly of a brown colour. The chin is black, with the ex-
treme tip whitish ; tip of the muzzle brownish. Tail black ;
when viewed from beneath, the hairs exhibit deep yellow an-
nulations : most of the hairs are brownish towards the tip.

There are black varieties of Sciurus leucotis, having the
hairs obscurely annulated ; but the present species may be
distinguished by its much shorter ears, which are well cloth-
ed with hair. The tarsus is shorter in proportion, and the
coarseness of fur will prove a sufficient mark of distinction.

380 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

DIMENSIONS.

IN. L.

Length of head and body 11 6

Ditto of tail, (vertebra) 8 9

Ditto including hair 11 6

Ditto of palm to end of the middle fore claw ... 1 6

Heel to point of longest nail 2 6

Height of ear posteriorly „ 3

Length of fur on the back „ 6

The specimen from which the above description was drawn
up, was procured in the flesh, in the New Orleans market. —
The species is said not to be scarce in Louisiana, but is not
so frequently seen in the swamps as the little brown squirrel.
It keeps more on high grounds, and has all the active restless
and playful habits of the northern grey squirrel.

13. Sooty Squirrel. Sciurus fuliginosus.

I am indebted to J. W. Audubon, Esq. for a specimen of
an interesting little squirrel, obtained at New Orleans, on the
24th March, 1837, which I find agreeing in most particulars
with the specimen in the Philadelphia Museum, referred by
American authors to Sciurus rufiventer.

Dr. Harlan's description does not apply very closely to the
specimen in question, but seems to be, with slight variations,
that of Desmarest's description of Sciurus rufiventer.

The following description is taken from the specimen pro-
cured by Audubon. It was that of an old female, containing
several young ; and I am enabled to state with certainty that
it was an adult animal.

Characters. — A little larger than the Hudson's Bay Squirrel (Sciurus
Hudsonius) ; tail flattish, and much shorter than the body ; general colour
black above, grizzled with brownish yellow ; beneath brownish. Dental
formula ; Incisors, § ; Canines, gg ; Molars, |f ; — 22.

I have given to this species the character of 22 teeth, from
the circumstance of my having found that number in the spe-
cimen from which I described ; the animal could not have
been less than a year old. The anterior molars in the upper
jaw were small. The inner surface of the upper grinders is
obtuse, and the two outer points on each tooth are elevated
and sharper than those of most other species. In the lower
jaw the molars regularly increase in size from the first, which
is the smallest, to the fourth, which is the largest. Head
short and broad ; nose veiy obtuse ; ears short and rounded,

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 381

slightly clothed with hair, feet and claws rather short and
strong ; tail short and flattened, but not broad, resembling
that of the Sciurus Hudsonius. The form of the body, like
that of the little Carolina squirrel, is more indicative of
strength than of agility.

Colour. — The hairs on the upper part of the body, the
limbs externally, and feet, are black, obscurely grizzled with
brownish yellow, On the under parts, with the exception of
the chin and throat, which are greyish, the hairs are annulat-
ed with brownish orange and black, and a greyish white at
the roots. The prevailing colour of the tail above, is black,
the hairs being brown at the base, some of them obscurely
annulated with brown, and at the apex pale brown. On the
under side of the tail the hairs exhibit pale yellowish brown
annulations.

DIMENSIONS.

IN. L.

Length of head and body 10 0

Tail, {vertebra) 6 9

Ditto, including fur 8 6

Length of palm to point of middle fore claw 1 8

Ditto of heel to point of longest nail 2 1

Height of ear posteriorly „ 4

Length of fur on the back „ 7

Weight without intestines, fib.

I am under an impression that this little species is subject
to some variation in colour j the present specimen, and that
in the Philadelphia Museum having a shade of difference, the
latter appearing a little lighter. In Louisiana it is so dark in
colour, as to be called by the French inhabitants " la petite
noir," — the little black squirrel. It is an inhabitant of low
swampy situations along the Mississippi, and is said to be
abundant in its favourite localities.

As yet I am unacquainted with any species of squirrel ful-
ly agreeing with the description of Sciurus rufiventer.

14. Douglass's Squirrel. Sciurus Douglassii, Gray.
Oppoce-poce, Indian name.

Characters. — About one fourth larger than the Hudson's Bay Squir-
rel ; tail shorter than the body ; colour dark brown above, and bright buff
beneath. Dental formula ; Incisors, § ; Canines,

A number of specimens of the species described in this ar-
ticle, were obtained by Dr. J. K. Townsend, in his recent

38*2 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

enterprising journey over the Rocky Mountains. All of them
present the above dental formula, and if the species has, at
any time, the small deciduous front tooth in the upper jaw,
it must drop out at a very early period.

The incisors are a little smaller than those of Sciurus Hud-
sonius. In the upper jaw, the anterior molar, which is the
smallest, has a single rounded eminence on the inner side ;
on the outer edge of the tooth there are two acute points, and
one in front ; the next two grinders, which are of equal size,
have each a similar eminence on the inner side, with a pair
of points externally ; the posterior grinder, although larger,
is not unlike the anterior one. In the lower jaw the bound-
ing ridge of enamel in each tooth forms an anterior and pos-
terior pair of points. The molars increase gradually in size
from the first, which is the smallest, to the posterior one,
which is the largest.

This species, in the form of its body, is not very unlike the
Sciurus Hudsonius ; its ears and tail, however, are much
shorter in proportion, and in other respects, as well as in size,
it differs widely.

Head considerably broader than that of Sciurus Hudsoni-
us; nose less elongated and blunter; body long and slender;
ears rather small, nearly rounded, slightly tufted posteriorly.
As usual in this genus, the third inner toe is the longest, and
not the second, as in the spermophiles.

Colour. — The whiskers, which are longer than the head,
are black. The fur, which is soft and lustrous, is, on the
back, from the roots to near the points, plumbeous, tipped
with brownish grey, with a few lighter-coloured hairs inter-
spersed, giving it a dark brown appearance; when closely ex-
amined, it has the appearance of being thickly sprinkled with
miuute points of rust colour on a black ground. The tail,
which is distichous but not broad, is for three fourths of its
length the colour of the back ; in the middle the fur is plum-
beous at the roots, then irregular markings of brown and black,
tipped with soiled white, giving it a hoary appearance ; on
the extremity of the tail the hairs are black from the roots, and
tipped with light brown. The belly, the inner sides of the
extremities, and the outer surfaces of the feet, together with
the throat and mouth, and a line above and under the eye, are
bright buff. The colours on the upper and under parts are
separated by a line of black, commencing at the shoulders,
and running along the flanks to the thighs. It is widest in
the middle by about three lines, and tapers off to a point. —
The hairs, which project beyond the outer margins of the ears
and form a slight tuft, are dark brown, and in some specimens
black.

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 383

DIMENSIONS.

IN. L.

Length from point of nose to the insertion of tail 8 4

Tail, {vertebrae) 4 6

Ditto, including fur 6 4

Height of ear posteriorly „ 6

Palm to end of middle fore claw 1 4

Heel and middle hind claw 1 10

The specimens of the above squirrel exhibit scarcely any
variations in colour ; they were procured by Mr. Townsend
on the Columbia river. He remarks in his notes, — " This
is a very plentiful species, inhabits the pine trees in this neigh-
bourhood, and, like our common Carolina, lays in a great
quantity of food for consumption during the winter months.
This food consists of the cones of the pine, with a few acorns.
Late in autumn it may be seen very busy in the tops of the
trees, throwing down its winter stock ; after which, assisted
by its mate, it gathers in and stows away its store, in readi-
ness for its long incarceration."

15. The Chickaree Hudson's Bay Squirrel. Red
Squirrel. Sciurus Hudsonius, Pennant.

Common Squirrel; Foster, Phil. Trans, vol. lxii. p. 378, 1772.
Sciurus vulgaris, var. E. ; Erxleben, Syst. an. 1777.
Hudson's Bay Squirrel; Pennant, Arctic Zool. vol. i. p. 116.
Common Squirrel ; Hearne's Journey, p. 385.
Red Barking Squirrel ; Schoolcraft's Journal, p. 273.
Red Squirrel ; Warden's United States, vol. i. p. 330.
Ecureuil de la Baie d 'Hudson; F. Cuvier, Hist. Nat. desMam.
Sciurus Hudsonicus ; Harlan : Godman.

Characters — A third smaller than the Northern Grey Squirrel ; tail
shorter than the body ; ears slightly tufted ; colour reddish above, white
beneath. Dental formula ; Incisors, § ; Canines, gg ; Molars, $ *> — 20.

In the number and arrangement of the teeth there is a great
resemblance between this species and the Townsend's squir-
rel. The present species also, being well known and having
been frequently described, a short description in this place is
merely added for convenient reference.

Forehead slightly arched ; whiskers longer than the head,
black ; nose rather obtuse ; ears somewhat concave, rounded,
clothed with hair ; that which covers the outer surface, dur-
ing winter extends three or four lines beyond the margins ;
tail clothed with long hairs, but not bushy as in the larger
species.

Vol. III.— No. 32. n. s. 2 r

384 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

Colour. — This species varies a little in colour, but in gene-
ral it will not be found to differ widely from the following de-
scription. The ears, upper surface of the fore and hind feet,
and along the foreshoulders and hips, a faint stripe on the
back, and the upper surface of the tail, bright chesnut ; body
above greyish brown, the hairs minutely speckled with red-
dish brown and black. The whole under surface white, with
a narrow black line separating the colours of the upper surface
from those beneath. The under surface of the tail is first ru-
fous, then black, tipped with light brown.

DIMENSIONS.

IN. L.

Length of head and body 8 0

Ditto of tail, (vertebra) 5 0

Ditto including fur 6 6

Palm and middle fore claw 1 2

From heel to point of hind claw 1 10

Geographical Distribution. — The limits of its northern
range are not precisely determined, but all our travellers who
have braved the snows of our polar regions, speak of its ex-
istence as far north as their travels extended. It has been
observed in the 68th or 69th parallel of latitude ; it also ex-
ists in Labrador, Newfoundland, and the Canadas. It is the
most common species in New England and New York, and
is not rare in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It is still seen
in diminished numbers in the mountains of Virginia, although
in the low country of that state it is scarcely known. It is
occasionally met with along the summits of the Alleghanies,
in North Carolina and Tenessee, but is not, that I am aware
of, found farther south.

Habits. — The habits of this little squirrel are, in several
particulars, peculiar. Whilst the larger grey squirrels derive
their sustenance from the buds and nuts of trees, growing in
warm or temperate climates, and are constitutionally fitted,
during winter, to subsist on a small quantity of food, — the
chickaree, on the other hand, has the free circulation of its
blood unimpeded, and exhibits the greatest sprightliness and
activity amidst the snows and frosts of the polar regions. It
consequently is obliged, during this inclement season, to con-
sume as great a quantity of food as at any other. Nature has
therefore instructed it to make provision in the season of abun-
dance, for the long winter that is approaching ; and the quan-
tity of nuts and seeds sometimes laid up in store by this
species is almost incredible. On one occasion I was present
when a bushel and a half of shell-barks (Carya alba) and

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 385

chestnuts were taken from a hollow tree occupied by a single
pair of these industrious creatures. Generally the quantity is
considerably less. It must however be remarked, that the
chickaree has too much foresight to trust to a single hoard,
often having several in different localities. Sometimes they
are found under leaves, or beneath logs and brush-heaps, and
at other times are contained in holes in the ground. These
stores are sometimes only temporarily deposited in some con-
venient situation, to be removed at leisure. When, for in-
stance, nuts are abundant in autumn, large quantities in the
green state, covered by their thick envelope, are collected in
a heap near the tree whence they have fallen ; they are then
covered up with leaves, until the pericarp, or thick outer co-
vering, either falls off or opens, when the squirrel is able to
carry off the nuts more conveniently. But Providence has
placed much food of a different kind within its reach, during
winter. The cones of many of our pines and firs in high
northern latitudes are persistent during winter, and the chick-
aree can be supported by these, even should his other hoards
fail.

This little squirrel seems also to accommodate itself to its
situation in another respect. In Pennsylvania and New York,
where the winters are comparatively mild, it is very commonly
satisfied with a hollow tree as a winter's residence ; but in
Maine, Lower Canada, and farther north, it usually seeks for
an additional protection from the cold, by forming deep bur-
rows in the earth. Nothing is more common than to meet
with five or six squirrel-holes in the ground, near the roots of
some white pine or hemlock ; and these retreats can be easily
found by the vast heaps of scales from the cones of pines and
firs which are, in process of time, accumulated.

This species, as well as the little ground squirrel, is very
commonly found along fences near wheat-fields, and appears,
in autumn, to confine itself more exclusively to wheat and
buckwheat than any of our larger squirrels.

It is one of the noisiest of our species, and its querulous
notes of chick-chick-chick-a-7'ee — chick-a-ree can be heard
among the white pines and hemlocks, at nearly all hours of
the day. It is easily approached, and rarely conceals itself
from the presence of man. Its flesh is juicy and tender.

16. Columbia Pine Squirrel. Sciurus RichardsoniL

Small Brown Squirrel ; Lewis and Clarke, vol. iii. p. 37.
Sciurus Hudsonius, var. (3; Richardson, Fauna Boreali-Ameri-
cana, p. 190.

386 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

Characters. — Smaller than Sciurus Hudsonius ; tail shorter than the
body ; rusty grey above, whitish beneath ; extremity of the tail black.

This small species was first noticed by Lewis and Clarke,
who deposited a specimen in the Philadelphia Museum, where
it still exists. I have compared it with the specimen brought
by Mr. Townsend, and find them identical. Dr. Richardson,
who appears not to have seen it, supposes it to be a mere va-
riety of the Sciurus Hudsonicus : on the contrary, Dr. Towns-
end says in his notes, — " It is evidently a distinct species ;
its habits are very different from those of the Sciurus Hud-
sonicus. It frequents the pine trees in the high range of the
Rocky Mountains, west of the great chain, feeding upon the
seeds contained in the cones. These seeds are large and
white, and contain a good deal of nutriment. The Indians
eat a great quantity of them, and esteem them good. The
note of this squirrel is a loud jarring chatter, very different
from the noise of Sci. Hudsonicus. It is not at all shy, fre-
quently coming down to the foot of the tree to reconnoitre the
passenger, and scolding at him vociferously. It is, I think,
a scarce species."

The difference between these two species can be detected
at a glance, by comparing the specimens. The present spe-
cies, in addition to its being a fourth smaller, and about the
size of the Tamias Lysteri, has less of the reddish brown on
the upper surface ; and may always be distinguished from the
other by the blackness of its tail at the extremity, as also by
the colour of the incisors, which are nearly white, instead of
the deep orange colour of those of Sci. Hudsonius.

Dental formula ; Incisors, § ; Canines, {$ ; Molars, ^ ; — 20.

The upper incisors are small and of a light yellow colour,
the lower are very thin and slender, and nearly white. The
first or deciduous grinder, as in all the smaller species of pine
squirrel that I have examined, is wanting; the remaining
grinders, both in the upper and lower jaws, do not vary ma-
terially from those contained in Douglass's squirrel.

The body of this most diminutive of all the known species
of genuine squirrel in North America, is short, and does not
present that appearance of lightness and agility which distin-
guishes the Sciurus Hudsonius. Head large, less elongated,
forehead more arched, and nose a little more blunt, than in
that species ; ears short ; feet of moderate size ; the third toe
on the fore feet but slightly longer than the second ; claws
compressed, hooked, and acute ; tail shorter than the body ;
the thumb-nail is broad, flat, and blunt.

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 387

Colour. — The fur on the back is dark plumbeous from the
roots, tipped with rusty brown and black, giving it a rusty
grey appearance. It is less rufous than the Sciurus Hudso-
nius, and lighter coloured than Set. Townsendii. The feet,
on their upper surface, are rufous ; on the shoulders, fore-
head, ears, and along the thighs, there is a slight tinge of the
same colour. The whiskers, which are a little longer than the
head, are black. The whole of the under surface, as well as
a line around the eyes, and a small patch above the nostrils,
smoke grey. The tail, for about one half its length, presents
on the upper surface, a dark rufous appearance, many of the
hairs being nearly black, pointed with light rufous ; at the
extremity of the tail, for about an inch and three quarters in
length, the hairs are black, a few of them slightly tipped with
rufous. The hind feet, from the heel to the palms, are thickly
clothed with short, adpressed, light-coloured hairs ; the palms
are naked. The sides are marked by a line of black, com-
mencing at the shoulder, and terminating abruptly on the
flanks ; this line is about two inches in length and four lines
wide.

DIMENSIONS.

IN. L.

Length of head and body 6 2

Tail (vertebra;) .* 3 6

Ditto including fur 5 0

Height of ear posteriorly „ 3

Ditto including fur „ 5

Palm and middle fore claw 1 3

Sole and middle hind claw 1 9

The specimen from which I have described is labelled, —
"Rocky Mts. Aug. 12, 1834."

17. Downy Squirrel. Sciurus lanuginosus.

Characters. — Size of Sciurus Hudsonicus ; ears short, well clothed
with hair; tail shorter than the body; palms and inner surface of the toes
thickly clothed with silky hairs ; fur soft and downy; yellowish grey on the
back, silver grey on the sides, white on the belly.

A singular and beautiful little quadruped, to which I have
conceived the above name appropriate, was sent to me with
the collection of Dr. Townsend. He states in his letter, —
" Of this animal I have no farther knowledge than that it was
killed on the north-west coast, near Sitka-, where it is said to
be common, and given to me by my friend W. F. Tolmie Esq.
surgeon of the Hon. Hudson's Bay Company. I saw three
other specimens from Paget's Sound, in the possession of
Capt. Brotchie, and understood him to say that H was a bur-

388 MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS.

rowing animal." Sitka is, I believe, the principal settlement
of the Russians on Norfolk Sound and Paget' s Sound, a few
degrees north of the Columbia river.

The head is broader than that of Sciurus Hudsonicus, and
the forehead much arched ; the ears, which are situaetd far
back on the head, are short, oval, and thickly clothed with
fur. They are not tufted, as in the Sciurus Hudsonicus, and
Sci. vulgaris of Europe, but a quantity of longer fur, situated
on the outer base of the ear, and rising two or three lines
above the margins, gives the ears the appearance of being
somewhat tufted. In the squirrels generally, the posterior
margin of the ear doubles forward, to form a valve over the
auditory opening, and the anterior one curves in form of a
helix ; in the present species, the margins are less folded than
those of any other which I have examined. Whiskers longer
than the head ; feet and toes short ; rudimental thumb armed
with a broad flat nail ; nails slender, compressed, arched and
acute ; the third on the fore feet is rather the longest, as in
the squirrels. The tail bears some resemblance to that of the
flying squirrel, and is thickly clothed with hair, which is a
little coarser than that on the back. On the fore feet the
palms are only partially covered with hair, but on the hinder
feet the under surface, from the heel even to the extremity of
the nails, is thickly clothed with short soft hairs.

The fur is softer and more downy than that of any other
North American species, and the whole covering of the ani-
mal indicates it to be a native of a cold region.

Dental formula ; Incisors §; Canines gg; Molars ||; — 20.

The upper incisors are smaller and more compressed than
those of Sciurus Hudsonicus : the lower ones are a little long-
er and sharper than the upper. The upper grinders, on their
inner surface, have each an elevated ridge of enamel ; on the
outer crest or edge of the tooth, there are three sharp points
instead of two obtuse elevations, as in the squirrels generally,
and in this particular it approaches the spermophiles. In the
lower jaw the grinders, which are quadrangular in shape, pre-
sent each four sharp points.

Colour. — The teeth are of an orange colour ; under teeth
nearly as dark as the upper : whiskers pale brown ; nails white.
The fur on the back, from the roots to near the extremity, whit-
ish grey, some hairs are annulated near the tips with deep yel-
low, slightly tipped with black ; on the sides annulated with
cream colour. Hind feet above grizzled with black and cream
colour. There is a broad line of white around the eyes ; a
spot of white on the hind part of the head, a little in advance

MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SCIURUS. 389

of the anterior portions on the ears; the nose is white, which
colour extends along the forehead till above the eyes, where
it is gradually blended with the colours on the back. The
cheeks are white, a little greyish beneath the eyes. The whole
of the under surface, including the feet and inner surface of
the legs, pure white to the roots. In the tail the colours are
irregularly blended, with markings of black, brownish yellow
and white. In general it may be said that the tail, when ex-
amined without reference to rudimental hairs, is light ash at
the roots of the hairs, then a broad but not well defined line
of light rufous, then dark brown, and tipt with rufous and
smoke grey.

DIMENSIONS.

IN. L.

Length of head and body 7 11

Tail (yertebrce) 4 8

Ditto including fur 6 0

Palm and middle fore claw 1 0

Sole and middle hind claw 1 9

Length of fur on the back „ 7

Length at the tip of the tail 1 10

Height of ear posteriorly, including fur „ 5

On the back and in the tail there are so many white hairs
interspersed, and the white spot on the head being merely oc-
casioned by a greater number of hairs nearly or wholly white,
that there is great reason to believe that this species becomes
much lighter, if not wholly white, during winter.

In the shape of the head and ears, and in the pointed pro-
jections of the teeth, this species approaches the marmots and
spermophiles ; but in the shape of its body, — its soft fur, — its
curved and acute nails, constructed more for climbing than
digging in the earth, — and in the third toe being longer than
the second, — it must be placed among the squirrels.

In attempting a Monograph of the genus Sciurus, I have
confined myself to descriptions of those species only, which
are either found in the United States of America, and in the
northern parts of that continent, or such as have been disco-
vered along the range of the Rocky Mountains, as far west as
the Pacific Ocean, extending to California. The squirrels of
Mexico, of which there are several species, including Sciurus
hypopyrrhus (Wagler), Sci. albipes and Set. socialis (Wagner,
Beitrage zur Kenntniss der warmblutigen wirbelthiere Ame-

390 GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE.

kas; Dr. J. A. Wagner, Munich), have therefore been omitted.

I have excluded several North American species, referred
by authors to this genus, — such as Sciurus Grammurus, Sci.
lateralis, Sci. Clarkii, &c. — they being more properly refer-
red to Spermophilus ; as also Sci. quadrivittatus and Set;
Lysteri, which belong to the genus Tamias.

Confining myself solely to species which I have personally
examined and compared, I have omitted several which have
been given by authors, and which may yet be detected.

The specimen of Sciurus rufiventer described by Geoffroy
has disappeared from the Paris Museum, and the researches
of naturalists in Louisiana have not been successful in pro-
curing another specimen. It may prove to have been a young
animal, or a variety of some species already known. Sciurus
Lewisii, given by Griffith (Cuv. An. Kingd. vol. iii. p. 190),
escaped my notice in the Philadelphia Museum. The de-
scriptions I have seen of Sci. ludoviciatius, Curtis, being very
short and imperfect extracts from a work (Barton's Medical
and Phys. Journal) which I have had no opportunity of con-
sulting, prevented me from deciding on the species : it may
possibly prove to be the Sci. macrourus of Say, or the species
to which I have attached the name of Sci. Texianus ; in
the latter case his name will have the priority.

Art. III. — Illustrations of the Geology of the South East of Dor-
setshire. By The Rev. W. B. Clarke, A.M., F.G.S.
No. III. — Studland.

The map which is appended to the present number repre-
sents geologically and geographically the coast line of the
district, a portion of which is, in these illustrations, submit-
ted to examination. It is taken from the Ordnance survey,
with such observations added as appear necessary to make it
useful in this investigation, and with the succession of the
formations marked out by division lines, so as to serve gene-
rally for this and the preceding papers.

The portion now to be considered is that which is compre-
hended between the points A and B in the map, from the
extremity of the chalk cliffs at Old Harry, to the commence-
ment of the sand hills between Studland and Little Sea.

The extremity of these cliffs has already been figured, in
the diagram No. 39, vol. i., p. 418 ; and the continuation of

STUDLAND.

391

392

GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE.

them to their junction with the plastic clay at the point C on

the map, is given in the following figure, (45).

45

Chalk Cliffs from Old Harry to the Plastic Clay. South side of Studland Bay

The chalk is, as before mentioned, through a great part of
the space, nearly horizontal ; but it has a gentle dip to the
north-west, which increases as it approaches the plastic clay,
near which it has suffered local derangements. The cliffs
are of a medium softness, but are easily separated into quad-
rangular or trapezoidal blocks, and, where horizontally bed-
ded, are fissured by vertical cracks from top to bottom. They
are also spotted, like the Suffolk chalk, with manganese, and
contain much yellow matter, probably decomposed pyrites.
It is by the instrumentality of these cracks, that the perpen-
dicular buttresses before spoken of occur on either side of the
promontory at Old Harry (vol. ii. p. 131) ; and thus the cliffs
on the south side of Studland Bay, have been separated into
divisions by the action of the sea. As there is nothing mate-
rial between Old Harry Point and the division nearest to the
plastic clay, I have introduced the profile from the point E of fig.
45, as a sufficient illustration of the whole of the phenomena.
It will be seen by the examination of that diagram (fig. 46),

Profile view of Studland cliffs from the point E to Old Harry.

A, Old Harry Point. C c, vertical crack down the cliff. Distance from C to D, 49 paces.

Distance from D to E 28 paces.

that the measure of the decay of the cliffs is, to a certain de-
gree, regulated by these vertical fissures : the line C c in fig.
46 shows this very clearly, for it is impossible that the pro-

STUDLAND.

393

truding and bulging central part of the buttress can resist the
elements long after the sea shall have a little further under-
mined the base. The changes, therefore, in the outline of
these cliffs, cannot be exactly uniform, but must be produced
by different measures of decay ; and it also follows, that that
decay must be of a more rapid character than if there were no
assistance offered by these natural rents.

These vertical fissures are curious also in a more important
geological sense. It is observed that they occur only where
the chalk strata are horizontal, or nearly so ; and that the fis-
sures which traverse the vertical beds are at right angles, or
nearly perpendicular, to the direction of the fault which oc-
curs at Ballard Head, (vol. i. p. 467). Now this, upon the
supposition I have advanced before, should be exactly the
case; and, therefore, these vertical rents are nothing but
joints, traversing the whole solid body of chalk, consequent
upon the strain of elevation. There are two other evidences
of this fact. At the approach of the chalk to the plastic clay,
at the bottom of Studland Bay, represented at I and J in the
diagram (fig, 47), which gives the plan of the cliffs from the

Plan of the chalk cliffs from point E to the plastic clay cliffs, Studland Bay.
At I and J faults numerous. At L, a spring rises from the beach, 11 paces from the cliffs

At N and O, conglomerate. 1 , Plastic clay. 2, Boat-house.

The numbers represent the distance in paces.

point E in the map, and in figs. 45 and 46 looking westward,
faults are very numerous ; and in several cases there is the
plainest proof that the masses have been ground against each
other, as the surface of the chalk is sometimes ground smooth,
and is shining, as if covered with slickensides ; in other in-
stances, the surface at the fault is covered with a thin coating
of yellowish iron, which is striated by scratches exactly after
the manner of the surfaces of faults in the older rocks. The
flints in the vicinity of these faults are all fractured in situ,

394

GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE.

by cracks which have traversed them as well as the chalk ;
and the beds of chalk are compressed into extremely thin la-
mina, the edges being turned up against the portions that yet
retain their horizontality of position, as if, after the upheav-
ing, they had again fallen back, which was also the case, as
I endeavoured to show, in the Ballard Head fault. At I, in
fig. 47, the situation of three faults is shown. The first is in-
dicated by a vertical crack down the cliff', on each side of
which the beds of flint are curved, first dipping to the fault,
and then rising in a curvilinear course at a higher elevation,
as shown in figure 48. A few paces to the eastward the thick
blocks of chalk are succeeded by a mass of about two feet
wide, consisting of lamina from \ to ^ an inch thick, gradu-
ally passing into larger blocks as before, but dipping 11° to
N.W. : ten paces further a similar laminated mass, dipping
to the S.E. occurs, so as to mark the eastern limit of the de-
ranged mass. The beds are here all strongly marked by yel-
low seams, and the fault and strata divisions are coated with
yellow matter, — the flints are also much displaced and shat-
tered. But the most extraordinary appearance is, that the
thinly laminated bed appears to mark an internal derange-
ment in the cliff", for about six feet from the first fault, the face
of the cliff is protected by a continuation of larger beds and
blocks, through an opening in which the smaller lamina are
seen, and, on inspection, this face is separated from the por-
tion behind by a line of fissure which slopes in a slanting di-

Faults in the chalk cliffs, Studland Bay.

A a, vertical fault. B b, line of fault. C, b, D, thin laminee of chalk. E, opening

in the face of the cliff, through which thin lamina, are seen. 1, 2, lines of flint.

At C the flints are fractured and the chalk yellow,— the edge of the fault striated and rubbed.

STUDLAND. 395

rection into the interior of the promontory. This is shown in
fig. 48.

There is a difficulty in comprehending the exact character
of these derangements ; but after considerable observation, I
am inclined to think that these faults are occasioned by the
action of a protruding mass of the lower chalk, pushed up in
an arch-like form from below ; — and that they betoken the
localities of the up-heaving process : it seems impossible to
account for the curvature, compression, and fractured state of
the beds in the middle of a cliff, in any other way. More-
over, the vertical and diagonal joints which exist in the ho-
rizontal beds, are here made to correspond with the altered
condition of those beds. The vertical joints become diago-
nal in the sloping beds, being still at right angles to the strata,
and the diagonal joints appear to pass into lines of stratifica-
tion, which is consonant to theory if we assume, as before ex-
plained, that the diagonal joints were the result of that force
which produced the Ballard Head fault, and are parallels to
it. And if this reasoning be correct, we see that the derange-
ments exhibited on the Ballard Head side of the promontory
are also traceable all through, and consequently, that the
derangements in the plastic clay beds are attributable to the
same causes. For the joints also that traverse the beds of the
plastic clay at the Red Rock, soon to be mentioned, which
dip at about 24° to the northward, are transverse to their di-
rection ; furnishing proof of the universality of the forces that
have operated on the whole of the district, and which are
clearly connected with elevation from below.

The lines at F, G, H, &c. to N, (fig. 47), represent the ver-
tical rents, many of which occur in the short distance of 760
paces, x the whole length from E to the end of the chalk. —
The beach all the way is strewn with masses of chalk and
flints, and plastic clay sand-rock, fallen from the cliffs ; but
it is not wide, and there is no evidence whatever in this part,
of any ancient elevated beach.

Towards the point N (fig. 47), the cliff' of chalk becomes
much lower, and is covered with a thick capping of plastic
clay beds, consisting above of white and yellow sand, and be-
low of a brown conglomerate with clay, abounding at the
junction in springs, which have brought down vast masses,
forming a sort of underclifF, and strewing the shore with frag-
ments.

1 The distance is calculated as one commonly walks along the shore of
the sea, — not exactly in a right line ; and the proportion of the paces is as
55 to 100 feet.

396

GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE.

The conglomerate is composed of clay, fractured flints,
green plastic clay, pebbles, and iron stone, the curvilinear di-
rection of which is deserving of notice. It is seen in fig. 47
that the chalk, at its extremity, is worn into cavities, which
are filled with conglomerate. The portions of chalk are yel-
low, curved, and fractured, and, corresponding to them, the
lowest beds of plastic clay, which consists, in its upper mem-
ber, of a black sand, and in its lower, of a hard iron stone con-
taining hollows filled with crystals of iron, — is arched over the
chalk and broken, evidently proving that the chalk has been
pushed up so as to protrude through the super-incumbent de-
posits, which fill up the intervals between the domes of chalk,
and dip vertically between them, as they ought to do in the
supposition of a regular arch thus formed. The iron stone
being the hardest, and the chalk being acted upon by destruc-
tive agents, in one instance the former remains a perfect arch,
the chalk being removed. Now in these domes of chalk, that
rock is fractured and split, together with its imbedded flints,
as it is a little to the westward. In all these cases of derange-
ment, it is remarkable that the chalk is of a yellowish hue,
which Mr. Lyell conceives to be the result of the iron in the
super-incumbent beds ; but such can hardly be £he case, when
it is observed that these yellow lines are not external mark-
ings, but a portion of the solid matter itself. The chalk here
is evidently composed of alternations of yellow and white lay-
ers, and in many cases most beautiful fragments may be found,
in which the layers are concentric, the nucleus being a white
nodule, and the yellow lines curving round, like the simi-
lar wood-like markings in the Red Rock of the plastic clay,
(fig. 49). The strata are also distinguished by yellow part-
ings, and often on the surface there
are innumerable minute black spots,
together with elegantly branching den-
drites, the latter seeming to result from
the pressure of the colouring liquid in
the squeezing of the beds. This li-
quid seems to have been manganese in
solution. What connection there may
actually have been between the de-
rangements in the beds and these me-
tallic markings, is foreign to our sub-
ject ; but the white beds of chalk are
undisturbed, and the yellow fractured
concentric curves of yellow chalk and curved : and the change of colour

round a nucleus of white. Natu-^ ft sufficient indication of the locali-

ral size. Studland Bay.

ties of disturbance.

Another point to be remarked is, that

STUDLAND. 397

fossils are very rare in this chalk ; here and there a Belemnite
and a Terebratula signify their existence, but although the
flints abound in large nodules, there are scarcely any shells.

The continuation of the chalk from this point is no longer
traceable, save by the plants that occur along the shore and
the recess at the junction of the two lines of cliff; but between
the shore and the hill of Ballard Down, the conformation of
the ground shows that the chalk extends under a thin super-
ficial covering, from behind Studland to the edge of the as-
cent on the road to Swanage, where the steepness of the slope
and the sudden and abrupt stages of ascent, and the broken
character of the fragments of chalk and flint, the latter of
which cover the summit, sufficiently point out the spot where
the vertical chalk is to be found, though the surface is clothed
with a thin vegetation of grass and furze bushes, affording a
scanty herbage for sheep, and a bed for myriads of Helices.

Mr. Lyell (' On the Strata between Christchurch and Stud-
land,' G. T. ii. s. s. p. 287) says that " the junction of the
chalk and sands is buried under a mass of debris ; but frag-
ments of a breccia of flint, imbedded in a ferruginous cement,
are observed immediately above the chalk." He also addu-
ces Dr. Mantell as pointing out a similar breccia, containing
green pebbles, at Seaforth ; and also quotes them as occur-
ring in the North of Hampshire and at Croydon.

Now this breccia or conglomerate consists of sandy loam
and brown clay, with yellow clay, and greenish clay and sand,
containing, not only flints from the chalk, but the pebbles
themselves ; and, as it appears to me, has resulted from the
breaking up of the regularly-deposited lowest plastic clay bed,
and the mixture of flints with it, from a portion of the cliffs
higher than those in which the conglomerate occurs. That
lowest bed is, I conceive, the pebble bed itself, which, in va-
rious parts of this county, as at Lulworth, Hinton Martell,
and Booker's Hill, near Lytchett, occurs in great force im-
mediately over the chalk. It "may also be seen, not only at
Croydon, but in a vast accumulation at Otterton Hill near
Winchester, at Lewisham in Kent, and at Farnborough, where
it lies upon the chalk ; as it may be also seen at the chalk-
pit near Shelley Church, and at Bramford, in the county of
Suffolk. In all these localities I have noticed the occurrence
of pebbles directly, or very nearly so, over the chalk, some-
times imbedded in green, and sometimes in other coloured
sands and marls. These pebbles are also frequent in the sur-
face drift of Dorsetshire, pointing out the former greater ex-
tent of their occurrence ; and, singular enough, at the descent
to the village of Etterbeek from the city of Brussells, and also

398 GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE.

at Tervureen, in the Forest of Soignies, I have found pebbles
perfectly similar in every respect, in the former case occupy-
ing a position in the midst of the beds which are called 'cal-
caire grossier,' and are assumed to be the equivalent of the
London clay.1 I mention these localities, because I think
that the origin of these pebble-beds, and their particular po-
sition in the supra-cretaceous deposits, have not received all
the attention which they deserve. An observation upon the
subject will not be out of place here.

These pebbles invariably occur either in the lower beds of
the plastic clay, or as imbedded in the pudding-stone of Hert-
ford and Dorsetshire, or as in loose aggregations of superfi-
cial drift. In both the latter cases, their original position as
pebbles was doubtless that of the former. Now it is the opin-
ion of several eminent geologists, that the plastic clay beds
have been derived in great measure from the destruction, at
a very early period, of the lower green sand formation, which
is the expressed idea of Professor Phillips, for instance.2 —
('Treatise on Geology,' pp. 165 — 169). And in considering
the origin of these pebbles, I have been led to believe, that
though they are called flint (Blackheath flint), they are not
flint but chert, and derived from the chert beds of the green
sand. Dr. Mitchell (' Mag. Nat. Hist' vol. ii. p. 218) has
very carefully described the true character of these " peculiar
flints," as they occur in the neighbourhood of London, and I
am sure, after that elaborate detail on the subject, no doubt
can remain, that they are not flint, but chert pebbles. There
is nothing extraordinary in admitting such an origin ; — it can-
not be the " countless multitudes" and " millions" of them
which startle the mind ; — for it is a fact, that nearly -^gy of
all the drift gravel in that part of Dorsetshire of which I am
treating, is composed of chert, which I have traced to the
green sand of Devonshire : so that even in modern times,
compared with the plastic clay era, the chert beds of the green
sand have furnished the materials for innumerable beds of
pebbles, of much greater extent than those composing the
Blackheath and Croydon deposits. Analogous to the suppo-

1 It is from this, and other causes, that I am not satisfied with the ar-
rangement which assigns to the Brussells beds the geological cognomen
of ' calcaire grossier.' Mr. Morris has, however, given reasons for us to be-
lieve, that the plastic clay and London clay are of the same formation, al-
though of different divisions — (see Geol. Pro. vol. ii. p. 450), — an arrange-
ment of some importance.

2 Mr. Lyell, however, speaks of " shingle composed of perfectly rolled
chalk-Jlints, with here and there small pebbles of quartz." — Geol. vol. iv. p.
212.

STUDLAND.

399

sition thus mentioned, is Dr. Mitchell's remark that "there is
a spot beyond the boundaries " of his paper, " where such
flints are exceedingly abundant, which is the hill immediate-
ly above the fire-stone quarries, a mile north from Godstone
Green"— (p. 219) Now the fire -si one is the lower green
sand, and at Godstone the pits occur in the side of the chalk
escarpment of Tillingdown, having opposite to them, at little
more than two miles distance to the south, the elevated ridge
of Tilbuster Hill, which consists of chert, and the summit of
which is nearly on a level with the chalk downs.

The subjoined section (P) is given to point out the pecu-

Tilbuster Hill.
/

Section and faults at Tilbuster Hill, near Godstone, Surrey.
1, Sand and loam. 2, Grey sand. 3, Chalk. 4, Grey sand. 5, Sand and

iron stone.

6, Weald clay.

liar position of the chert beds, | which are, in some places,
perfectly fragmentary, so near to the locality where the peb-
bles are found ; and which I cannot help thinking supplied
them. Should further examination lead to the conviction,
that the pebbles above the fire-*tone did come from Tilbuster,
or the beds to which that hill belongs, there is no reason to
deny, that the chert of Surrey was once perfectly sufficient in
extent to have supplied all the beds of transported rolled
fragments that form the accumulations at Croydon, Black-
heath, &c.

Having suggested the above possible origin for the pebbles
of the early tertiary epoch, it remains to say a word as to the
method of their accumulation. This strikes me to have been
occasioned by the very same causes that now produce shin-
gle-banks and beaches on and near the shores of our present
seas, — currents and agitations of the tidal waters, whether of
the ocean or its estuaries. That this is probable is shown by
the fact, that these pebbles are not universally scattered over
the surface of the chalk, but only on such places (where found
in situ) as at once justify the idea of an ancient littoral accu-

1 A sketch of Tilbuster (Tilburstow or Tilvester) Hill is given by Dr. Fit-
ton, G. T. iv. 138, and a description by Dr. Mantell, Geol. S.E. of Engl,
p. 177.

Vol. III.— No. 32. n. s. 2t

400 GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE.

mulation. Take the case of Farnborough for instance (fig. R).

Marrant's Hill. Farnborough.

R ^T~-— ^ . J> Bromley.

The pebbles are there found over the chalk, just at its outcrop
from under the tertiary beds that extend thence to London.
And it will be found, in the generality of cases, that the ac-
cumulation has taken place, not at a distance from what must
have been the shore of the tertiary sea, but on the very limits
of its margin, as defined by the rise of the sloping chalk from
under the horizontal layers of the tertiary beds.

Now, in the case of Studland, the conglomerate with peb-
bles is found exactly at the edge of the basin in the slope of
the lofty chalk range of Ballard Down, just where the plastic
clay series commences ; so is it at Lulworth, for it is at the
foot of the Purbeck downs that the pebbles make their ap-
pearance. But I am bound to admit, that two lines of these
pebbles, regularly imbedded, occur in the sand at Booker's
Hill, Lytchett, at a much higher level above the present sea,
than that at Studland, — and the difference of elevation is pro-
bably 200 or 300 feet ; of which a similar example is afforded
at Hinton Martell, where the pebble-bed is found on the sum-
mit of a high chalk ridge, whilst the lower lands, also cover-
ing the chalk, have traces of these pebbles.

Here there seems a discrepancy, for if these pebbles mark
an ancient littoral accumulation, the tertiary sea must have
stood, in different places of the same geological area, at dif-
ferent elevations ! But to explain this impossibility we have
two solutions at hand. The plastic clay series in south-east
Dorset, has experienced enormous dislocation and denuda-
tion ; and it is not only probable, but proveable, that there
have been depressions and elevations throughout this area. —
Moreover, evidence will be advanced in the course of these
illustrations, to show that during the deposition of the plastic
clay beds, violent denuding and destructive agencies were at
work, and that the first-deposited beds were in some cases, as
at Wareham, and near the station-house, Studland, broken up
to form the constituent portions of a later part of the deposit.
So that the ancient shingle of the plastic clay may have been
removed and re-accumulated upon other spots, which were
then emerging from the general low level to a higher one, un-
under the influence of those up-lifting agencies which we have

AFRICAN RESEARCHES. 401

reason to conclude accompanied the desolating torrents that
have passed over, and excavated and broken up, the first de-
posited beds.

At Studland, where this conglomerate occurs, also is seen
one of the most remarkable proofs of the occurrence of up-
lifting forces after the deposit of the plastic clay ; and this
we shall presently consider. But generally speaking, where
the chalk and super-incumbent deposits have not been shat-
tered and up-heaved, the pebbles in question occur at the out-
crop of the chalk, on the slope of the tertiary basin, and ex-
tend only so far into the interior of the deposits now filling
that basin, as is compatible with the belief that they repre-
sent what they once were, namely, a littoral shingle.

(To be continued).

REVIEWS.

Art, I. — 1. Narrative of an Expedition into Southern Africa, during the
years 1836 and 1837. By Captn. W. C. Harris, H. E. I. Company's
Engineers, &c. Bombay: 1838. Re-published by Murray, London: 1839.

2. An Expedition of Discovery into the Interior of Africa, under the auspi-
ces of Her Majesty's Government, and the Royal Geographical Society. —
By Capt. Sir James Edward Alexander, K.L.S., &c. 2 vols. 12mo.
London : Colburn. 1839.

The steps which have led to a knowledge of the continent of
Africa, viewed in its geographical relations, are so intimately
associated with our insight into the Zoology of this intensely
interesting portion of the globe, that contributions to Natural
History seem almost of necessity to be part and parcel of the
results consequent upon exploring expeditions to its interior.
Bruce, Le Vaillant, Burchell, Rupell, and Smith, are names
too prominently enrolled on the pages that chronicle the pro-
gress of science, to render a syllable of comment on their la-
bours necessary, or on the possession of that true spirit of
philosophical enterprise, and unflinching zeal in the pursuit
of knowledge, which led them to face the perils and difficul-
ties that attend the traveller in his path through the African
forests.

The announcement of the first work on our list, — the nar-
rative of an expedition into Southern Africa by an officer in
the Bombay Engineers, whose name is coupled with a bril-
liant addition to the antelope tribe, in the discovery of that
magnificent species, the Aigocerus niger,1 — led us to antici-

1 Described and figured by Capt. Harris, in the last part of the Zoologi-
cal Transactions.

402 AFRICAN RESEARCHES.

pate, in this quarter, a rich fund of scientific information ;
and our expectations were in no small degree heightened when
we saw it stated in the last number of the Quarterly, that the
work in question would be read with great pleasure by the
zoologist, from the valuable accounts there given of the habits
of animals of the greatest rarity. It is, however, with a con-
siderable feeling of disappointment that we have risen from
a perusal of Capt. Harris's production. The narration he has
given us, it is true, teems with observations upon the four-
footed denizens of the African wilds, but the points upon
which he most frequently and fully enlarges, are, with few
exceptions, restricted to such as bear upon his own shooting
exploits, and generally of but minor import to the naturalist.
If a place is given to a fact of real scientific interest, it is ra-
ther because it has been forced on the writer's attention, than
that he has troubled his brains about anything else than the
number of shots required to kill a giraffe, or the precise spot
in which a ball should be planted to drop a rhinoceros.

Captain Harris commenced his projectile career at the early
age of six, by shooting at sparrows with a blunderbuss ; and
when but sixteen he found himself in Western India, the pos-
sessor of a rifle, before the deadly grooves of which a kite had
but little chance at the distance of one hundred and fifty yards;
whether Jlying or sitting he has left his readers to conjecture.
With so precocious a development of the bump of propulsion,
it may readily be conceived that the rhinoceroses and giraffes
of the wilds of Africa presented targets of no ordinary attrac-
tion to the vivid imagination of the youthful officer. "Often"
he remarks, "did I see at the extremity of a long vista of years
that intervened betwixt me and my furlough, the slender and
swan-like neck of the stately giraffe, bowing distantly to our
better acquaintance ; Behemoth, with his square and mirth-
exciting snout protruded from the yellow waters of a vast ri-
ver, acting the part of master of the ceremonies ; whilst a host
of rhinoceroses, supported by gigantic elephants, eccentrical-
ly horned antelopes, and other fascinating strangers, awaited
their turn of presentation with evident impatience."

The dreams so fondly indulged in by our author were des-
tined to be realized. The Bombay Medical Board ordered
him to the Cape, with a warm recommendation that he should
penetrate into the interior of Africa. And here he begs it may
not be supposed that "sport" was his only object, having,
both from education and taste, an ardent desire to contribute
to the Natural History and Geography of the countries he was
about to explore. The vast preponderance, however, of our
author's "shooting mania" as he terms it, over all other con-

AFRICAN RESEARCHES. . 403

siderations, is but too plainly apparent in the subsequent pa-
ges of his work. The learned reviewer in the Quarterly who,
if sufficiently at home upon zoological matters to distinguish
a sphinx from a griffin, we are sure would feel wofully com-
flustercated * if called upon to define the difference between
a rifle and a marling-spike, is in ecstacies with the exploits
of the gallant captain, — speaks of the shots which leave
nothing more to be wished for from eye, — hand, — lead and
gunpowder, and is perfectly guiltless of giving him credit for
occasionally shooting with a long bow. It is well known in
America, that now and then a Kentucky rifle-shooter attains
such a degree of certainty in bringing down any object with-
in the range of vision, that at length the expenditure of his
powder and ball becomes altogether unnecessary, — racoons
and squirrels " giving in" the moment his piece is brought to
bear upon them, acting probably on the same principle that
induces certain culprits, when they see no possibility of es
caping conviction, to plead guilty, hoping to gain a mitigation
of punishment for having spared the time and trouble of the
judge and jury. If, therefore, we remark, that the recital of
some incidents in the present adventurous narrative, has
strongly brought to our recollection passages in the travels
of the never-yet-rivalled Baron Munchausen, this impression
must not be attributed to our ignorance of what has been
and may be achieved in the way of ball shooting. The
singularly unpleasant situation in which the above celebrated
traveller once found himself placed, in juxta-position with an
individual of the bruin tribe, — and the extraordinary display
of skill and presence of mind by which he extricated himself,
when his stock of ammunition consisted of only two gun-flints,
— proves how much may be accomplished, even with the
most limited resources, if a person will only exert his wits to
the best advantage.

The bagging a stately camelopard in his native wilds, by a
shot from his favorite rifle, was an object of our author's high-
est ambition. But the Captain's first essay in giraffe- shoot-
ing was not destined to be successful.

" I had shot a hartebeest for the savages, when an object which had re-
peatedly attracted my eye — but which I had as often persuaded myself was
nothing more than the branchless stump of some withered tree — suddenly
shifted its position, and the next moment I distinctly perceived that singu-
lar form, of which the apparition had ofttiines visited my slumbers, but

1 For the precise meaning of the word ' comflustercate, ' sec Dr. Peter's
Dictionary of obsolete verbs.

404 AFRICAN RESEARCHES.

upon whose reality I now gazed for the first time. It passed rapidly among
the trees, above the topmost "branches of many of which its graceful head
nodded like some lofty pine — it was the stately, the long-sought giraffe. —
Putting spurs to my horse, and directing the Hottentots to follow, I pre-
sently found myself, half choked with excitement, rattling at the heels of
the tallest of all the mammiferes, whom thus to meet, free on his native
plains, has fallen to the lot of few of the votaries of the chase. Sailing he-
fore me with incredible velocity, his long swan-like neck keeping time to
the eccentric motion of his stilt-like legs — his ample black tail curled above
his back, and whisking in ludicrous concert with the rocking of his dispro-
portioned frame, he glided gallantly along, " like some tall ship upon the
ocean's bosom," and seemed to leave whole leagues behind him at each
stride. The ground was of the most treacherous description ; a rotten black
soil, overgrown with long coarse grass, which concealed from view innumer-
able cracks and fissures, that momentarily threatened to throw down my
horse. For the first five minutes I rather lost than gained ground, and de-
spairing, in such a country, of ever diminishing the distance, or improving
my acquaintance with this ogre in seven-league boots, I dismounted, and
had the satisfaction of hearing two balls tell roundly on his plank-like stern.
But I might as well have fired at a wall ; he neither swerved from his course
nor slackened his pace, and had pushed on so far a-head during the time I
was re-loading, that, after re-mounting, I had some difficulty in even keep-
ing sight of him amongst the trees. Closing again, however, I repeated
the dose on the other quarter, and spurred along my horse, ever and anon
sinking to his fetlock ; the giraffe now flagging at each stride, until, as I
was coming up hand over hand, and success seemed certain, down I came
headlong, — my horse having fallen into a pit, and lodged me close to an
ostriches' nest, in which the old birds were sitting."

Here we have the first novelty in the way of Natural His-
tory,— the male and female ostrich employed at the same time
in the act of incubation. Surely our hero might have had the
adroitness to have tumbled into instead of outside the ostrich-
es' nest, and across one of the old birds, which, starting off
and bolting a-head, would in a jiffey have brought him along-
side of the giraffe. Luckily, both horse and rider found their
legs again, without having sustained any serious damage ;
but the violence of the shock bent the rifle double, and so
nearly detached it from the stock, that it hung only by the
trigger- guard, a mishap, under such circumstances, sufficient
to paralise the energies of any traveller who had not a copy of
Baron Munchausen in his pocket. Lions and black rhino-
ceroses were around, as plentiful as partridges in a Norfolk
turnip-field in the month of September, and the Captain was
alone, and his only weapon the said unfortunate rifle.

To an ordinary mind, or one unpossessed of a shooting ma-
nia, a retreat with all possible dispatch to the camp, would
have appeared the most prudent course in such an emergen-
cy, but not so thought our author ; the object of pursuit was
still in sight, and, " nothing dismayed by this heavy calami-
ty," he remounted his jaded beast. But how was the giraffe

AFRICAN RESEARCHES. 405

to be brought down or a rhinoceros despatched, if such a step
became desirable ? He could make allowance, in taking aim,
for the doubling of his rifle-barrel, and grasp it round so firm-
ly at the breech with his left hand, as to prevent its bursting,
whilst the percussion cap could be exploded by a blow from
his pocket-knife or a stone. The odds were fearfully against
him, but " nothing venture nothing have," and he determined
to go on. The goal of his ambition was at length within his
reach, but ; — he was still doomed to disappointment. —

" In vain Iiooked around for a stone, and sought in every pocket for my
knife, with which to strike the copper cap, and bring ahout ignition, or ham-
string the colossal hut harmless animal, hy whose side I appeared the veri-
est pigmy in the creation — alas, I had lent it to the Hottentots to cut off
the head of the hartebeest. Vainly did I wait for the tardy and rebellious
villains to come to my assistance, making the air ring, and my throat tin-
gle, with reiterated shouts — not a soul appeared ; and in a few minutes, the
giraffe having recovered his wind, and being only slightly wounded in the
hind quarters, shuffled his long legs, twisted his tail over his back, walked
a few steps, then broke into a gallop, and diving into the mazes of the fo-
rest, disappeared from my sight."

On our author's return to the camp, he found that while he
was pursuing the giraffe, his companion in the expedition, a
brother officer and a devoted sportsman, had also damaged
his rifle, by firing it down the throat of an infuriated rhino-
ceros ; an operation by the bye, which we should have felt as
shy of, as that of discharging a bent barrel, by rapping the
nipple with a pocket knife.

"Richardson shortly returned, having been engaged in close conflict with
a rhinoceros. Aroused from a siesta by the smarting of a gun-shot wound,
the infuriated animal had pursued his assailant so closely, that it became
necessary to discharge the second barrel into his mouth, an operation by
which the stock was much disfigured. I employed the rest of the day in
repairing my own weapon with the iron clamp of a box, binding it with a strip
of green hide from the carcase of an eland."

We should have imagined the corpus of his friend Richard-
son to have stood a far greater chance of being " disfigured"
than the stock of the rifle ; but had it been so, we don't for a
moment suppose the Captain would have deemed this a cir-
cumstance of sufficient importance to have entered in his
journal.

The wThite rhinoceros was found to be much less dangerous
than the black, but every four-legged animal seems to have
been pretty much the same to the Captain ; for whenever the
mammiferes, no matter what their genus or species, evinced
the slightest disposition to exceed the rules of propriety, the

406 AFRICAN RESEARCHES.

coup-de-grace was certain to follow from the deadly grooves
of the Captain's rifle.

" About sunset an unwieldy white rhinoceros approached the waggons,
evidently with hostile intentions. There being neither bush nor hollow to
conceal my advance, I crawled towards him amongst the grass, and within
forty yards fired two balls into him. He started, looked around for some
object on which to wreak his vengeance, and actually charged up, with his
eye flashing fire, to within an arm's length of me. Crouching low, howev-
er, I fortunately eluded his vengeance, and he soon afterwards dropped
down dead."

From the abundance in which our author found examples
of the king of beasts, it is satisfactory to find that notwith-
standing the great rage for establishing zoological gardens,
this noble animal will afford sport to African hunters for some
time to come.

" On the bank of the river I observed the perfect skeleton of an elephant.
Near to it 'Lingap suddenly stopped, and pointing with his assegai to a
bush a few yards off, whispered ' TaooJ and T immediately perceived three
lionesses asleep. Ensconcing himself behind his shield, he made signs to
me to fire, which I did into the middle of the party, at the same moment
springing behind a tree, which completely screened me. Thus unceremoni-
ously awakened, the three ladies broke covert, roaring in concert, and dash-
ed into the thick bushes, while we walked as fast as possible in an opposite
direction. In the course of a few minutes we heard several discharges of
musquetry, and an infuriated rhinoceros, streaming with blood, rushed over
the brow of the eminence that we were ascending, and was within pistol-
shot before we were aware of his approach. No bush presenting itself be-
hind which to hide, I threw my cap at him, and 'Lingap striking his shield
and shouting with stentorian lungs, the enraged beast turned off."

On one occasion we find, however, that the Captain's head-
dress inspired a feeling of a very different nature, for whilst
on another giraffe crusade, he tells us, that —

"A white turban, that I wore round my hunting-cap, being dragged off
by a projecting bough, was instantly charged by three rhinoceroses; and
looking over my shoulder, I could see them long afterwards, fagging them-
selves to overtake me."

Had the three rhinoceroses taken into their heads to charge
whilst the turban occupied its legitimate position, our hero
would have stood the chance of a capsize, the unpleasant con-
sequences of which, even a friendly ostriches' nest might not
have averted. So improbable a contingency as this, however,
we will answer for it, never suggested itself to the mind of the
Captain : he had on a former occasion come off victorious,
when simultaneously attacked by three rhinoceroses ; but in
that one instance, he candidly admits that they were very
iron hie some.

AFRICAN RESEARCHES. 407

A rhinoceros which one day committed a most unpardonable
act of familiarity, by bouncing into the midst of a party of
three or four of them, was most unceremoniously despatched
by a bullet sent in at his garret- window ; — a favorite method,
by the bye, with the Captain, of disturbing the meditations
of the Hippopotamus.

" Garret- window," it may be as well to mention en passant,
is a professional term for the organ of vision, though in the
absence of this explanation we fear Capt. Harris will have
given some of his readers the erroneous impression, that the
Hippopotami, like the beavers, erect regular habitations.

From the extraordinary success which attended the Cap-
tain's rifle in the rhinoceros line, our readers will readily
conceive, without going farther into details, that elephants,
lions, alligators, and other descriptions of game, large and
small, had each in their turn a benefit from the grooves of
this formidable weapon. He had taken care to provide himself
at starting, with eighteen thousand bullets, besides an abun-
dance of uncast lead ; and subsequent sportsmen, who are in-
clined to follow a route so rich in the harvest it offers, have,
we should suppose, merely to track the course of the expedi-
tion, by following up the line of skeletons which, thanks to
the shooting mania of Captain Harris, lie whitening in the
sun on the African plains.

A more decided contrast to the work under notice than that
presented by the second on our list, as to general style and
character, cannot well be imagined. Never was there a more
striking illustration of the way in which impressions, con-
veyed by physical facts, are modified under the influence of
individual temperament and preconceived ideas. Captain
Harris is a shrewd, high-spirited, daring, energetic fellow,
whose whole soul is wrapped up in the subject on which he
writes. The detonating principle, and the organ of propul-
sion, may be detected in every stroke of his pen. He looks
at the lions and gigantic African pachyderms, as only created
that he may amuse himself with planting bullets in their gar-
ret-windows. The possibility of his being one day honoured
by serving as a luncheon to his feline majesty, or as a nose-
ball to a black rhinoceros, fertile as is his imagination, never
once comes within the boundary of his speculations. Sir
James Alexander's narrative, if we except the texts of Scrip-
ture, doggrel rhymes, and Latin phrases of three words and a
half, with which it is copiously interlarded, gives you the idea
of the rotation of the waggon-wheel regulating the machin-
ery by which the passing events are committed to paper. —
Here and there a jolt, or a run down a declivity, occasions a

Vol. III.— No. 32. n. s. 2 u

408 AFRICAN RESEARCHES.

slight variation in the moving power; but a slow, jog-trot
pace is the general order of the day. All the rubbishing sto-
ries with which the Namaqua grannies send their brats to
sleep, are crammed into Sir James, who eagerly gulps them
down, and, religiously taking them for gospel, sends them
forth in his j ournal for the edification of his readers. Nothing
in the world would induce our knight errant to bathe in the
Orange river, for fear of being sucked down the horrific jaws
of the Hippopotamus, or swallowed by a " dread Leviathan "
that was reported to have crawled out of the water on one
occasion, and to have devoured a newly-born calf. Nor
would he take a solitary ramble along the luxuriant banks of
this magnificent stream, lest he should be clawed hold of by
a great dog-faced baboon, five feet in height, covered with
long black hair, and which he tells us is infinitely more to be
dreaded than a lion, or a Boschman's poisoned arrow.

The following awkward adventure with one of these hairy
monsters, occurred to Sir James's man-servant. —

" One day, while fishing alone under the trees, he was diverted by the
gambols of some young baboons on the opposite cliffs, when suddenly he
heard a loud ' quah ' behind him : and looking round, he saw a great ba-
boon close to him. Robert had no weapon to defend himself with. The
hairy monster cried ' quah' again, when a number of other baboons were
seen rapidly descending a neighbouring hill. There was no time to be lost
— Robert snatched up a branch which he found at hand, and when the ba-
boon was closing with him, and showing his horrid teeth, with the intention
of biting him to death in the neck, Robert struck desperately at his head ;
the baboon put up his left arm, and received the blow on it, and immedi-
ately wrested the stick out of Robert's hands, though he was a strong sai-
lor. Flight was now Robert's only chance, and he took to his heels as fast
as he could, followed by the baboon, who, though partly crippled by the
blow, still 'quah quahed' after him, till Robert gained the open country,
and the Namaqua encampment, from which he had come, appeared ; — the
baboon then gave up the pursuit."

How gloriously well our travellers would have pulled to-
gether, had they only arranged to have united their forces
at starting ! The gallant Captain espies an elephant in the
distance, flapping its huge ears, and whetting its ivories
against the trunk of a tree ; and, without thinking it necessa-
ry to say a syllable to any one of his party, shoulders his rifle
and marches singly off, with a determination to scrape ac-
quaintance with the lordly animal. If all the hairy baboons
in the universe lay in his way, or were crying " quah" behind
him, he would not so much as condescend to whisk his cap at
them. At forty yards distance he has brought his piece to
bear, and covered the fatal spot behind the shoulder of the
noble beast ; the trigger is about to be pulled, when he finds

AFRICAN RESEARCHES. 409

that his left foot is treading on the tail of a lioness, and that a fe-
rocious-looking rhinoceros is meditating a rush upon him from
a bush on his right. This position of affairs, — " the devil on
one side and the deep sea on the other," to borrow the ex-
pressive language of Sir James, — disturbs the nervous system
of the Captain about as much as the sight of a polecat and
hedgehog would th at of an English grouse-shooter. He knows
that the lioness will trot sulkily off at the report of his rifle,
and if his black friend make a lunge at him, he has only to
pop down into the long grass, and be as safe as a needle in
a hay-stack. The chances are, that he despatches the ele-
phant with one barrel, and with the other gives him a com*
panion in the rhinoceros, to the banks of the Stygian river.

Sir James, in speaking of the river-horse, finding that his
own language is not sufficiently forcible to convey an idea of
this terrific creature, employs that of the inspired volume, — a
plan which we think highly objectionable, unless there were
unquestionable evidence of the particular animal referred to
in sacred history, as having " bones as strong pieces of brass,
and like bars of iron, " and even then the figurative language
of the Scriptures is anything but appropriately introduced. — -
Captain Harris's ideas as to the formidable character of this
monster, may be pretty well gathered from the following pas-
sage. —

" Of all the Mammalia whose portaits, drawn from ill-stuffed specimens,
have been foisted upon the world, Behemoth has perhaps been the most lu-
dicrously misrepresented. I sought in vain for that colossal head — for
those cavern-like jaws, garnished with elephantine tusk — or those ponder-
ous feet with which ' the formidable and ferocious quadruped ' is wont to
' trample down whole fields of corn during a single night ! ' Defenceless
and inoffensive, his shapeless carcass is but feebly supported upon shortand
disproportion ed legs, and his belly almost trailing upon the ground, he may
not inaptly be likened to an overgrown pig. The colour is pinkish brown,
clouded and freckled with a darker tint. Of many that we shot, the larg-
est measured less than five feet at the shoulder ; and the reality falling so
lamentably short of the monstrous conception I had formed, the ' River
Horse,' or < Sea Cow ' was the first, and indeed the only, South African
quadruped in which I felt disappointed,"

We feel bound to express our unqualified approbation of
the greater attention bestowed by Sir James than by Captain
Harris upon the habits of the animals which fell under his no-
tice, notwithstanding the eager desire professed by the latter to
contribute to the Natural History of the country he was about
to explore. A few such notices as the following, scattered
through the pages of the Captain's narrative, would have more
than justified the lavish encomiums of the Quarterly Review.

410 AFRICAN RESEARCHES.

The subject of these observations is evidently an animal al-
together new to science, but which Sir James mistakes for
the black rhinoceros.

u The black rhinoceros, whose domains we seemed now to have invaded,
resembles in general appearance an immense hog ; twelve feet and a half
long, six feet and a half high, girth eight feet and a half, and of the weight
of half a dozen bullocks ; its body is smooth, and there is no hair seen, ex-
cept at the tips of the ears, and the extremity of the tail. The horns of con-
creted hair, the foremost curved like a sabre, and the second resembling a
flattened cone, stand on the nose and above the eye ; in the young animals
the foremost horn is the longest, whilst in the oid ones they are of equal
length, namely, a foot and a half, or more : though the older the rhinoce-
ros the shorter are its horns, as they wear them by sharpening them against
the trees, and by rooting up the ground with them when in a passion.

" When the rhinoceros is quietly pursuing his way through his favourite
glades of mimosa bushes, (which his hooked upper lip enables him readily
to seize, and his powerful grinders to masticate), his horns, fixed loosely on
his skin, make a clapping noise by striking one against the other ; but on
the approach of danger, if his quick ear or keen scent make him aware of
the vicinity of a hunter, the head is quickly raised, and the horns stand
stiff and ready for combat on his terrible front.

" The rhinoceros is often accompanied by a sentinel to give him warning,
a beautiful green-backed and blue-winged bird, about the size of a jay,
which sits on one of his horns. When he is standing at his ease among the
thick bushes, or rubbing himself up against a dwarf tree, stout and strong
like himself, the bird attends him that it may feed on the insects which ei-
ther fly about him, or which are found in the wrinkles of his head and neck.
The creeping hunter, stealthily approaching on the leeward side, carefully
notes the motions of the sentinel-bird ; for he may hear, though he cannot
see, the rhinoceros behind the leafy screen. If the monster moves his head
slightly and without alarm, the bird flies from his horns to his shoulder,
remains there a short time, and then returns to its former strange perch ;
but if the bird, from its more elevated position and better eyes, notes the
approach of danger, and flies up in the air suddenly, then let the hunter
beware ; for the rhinoceros instantly rushes desperately and fearlessly to
wherever he hears the branches crack.

" Thick and clumsy though the legs of the rhinoceros are, yet no man,
unless possessed of the powers of my chief huntsman, Henri ck Buys, can
hope to escape him by fleetness of foot on open ground ; once he has a man
fairly in his wicked eye, and there is no broken ground or bush for conceal-
ment, destruction is certain. The monster, snorting and uttering occasion-
ally a short fiendish scream of rage, bears down in a cloud of dust, tearing
up the ground with his curved plough-share, kicking out his hind legs in a
paroxysm of passion, and thrusting his horns between the trembling legs of
his flying victim, he hurls him into the air as if he were a rag, and the poor
wretch falls many yards off. The brute now looks about for him, and if
there is the least movement of life, he runs at him, rips him open, and tram-
ples him to a mummy ! "

It is to be regretted that Sir James did not adopt the pre-
caution of getting some judicious friend, with a knowledge of
Zoology, to peruse his manuscript before it went through the
press. Here we have the description of an animal, that is

AFRICAN RESEARCHES. 411

certainly for the Jirst time introduced to the notice of natu-
ralists, in size and form resembling the rhinoceros, but differ-
ing so essentially from that genus, that we can hardly suppose
it to belong to the same group. The younger it is the long-
er its horns, and these organs are consequently fully deve-
loped at the period of birth. In the rhinoceros, the horns are
so firmly attached to the bones of the cranium, that in the
adult animal it is a good half hour's work for a man with an
axe to cut them from the skull. In this mammal, which Sir
James erroneously calls a rhinoceros, the horns, it appears,
are moveable, and he supposes them to be simply attached to
the skin, but since their erection as defensive weapons would
require the operation of powerful muscles, they must neces-
sarily be more deeply implanted than he imagines.

In our notice of the Report of the expedition for exploring
Central Africa, under Dr. Andrew Smith,1 we had occasion
to quote a passage in which this enterprising explorer and
talented zoologist looks forward to the time when mind and
matter shall alike proclaim the truth of Mr. Swainson's doc-
trines, and African travellers find little to gather, which does
not corroborate the contents of his interesting volumes. Now
Mr. Swainson has lately informed us, in Dr. Lardner's 'Cabi-
net Cyclopedia,' that in the natural system the rhinoceros and
cassowary mutually represent each other, from the circum-
stance of both possessing a dark protuberance about the fron-
tal region. Had Sir James fortunately possessed a copy of
Mr. Swainson's work, he must have perceived that this crea-
ture, with two dermal excrescences of concreted hair which
produce a noise by clapping against each other, was a genus
among the Mammalia representing the rattle-snake among
the ophidians. We are fully aware that the Crotalus sounds
its rattle when irritated, and has this organ at the tail instead
of the head ; but in the natural system reverse conditions,
instead of weakening analogies, often serve to render them
more striking. It would be a most interesting point to as-
certain if any particular species of "green-backed and blue-
winged fly " holds sentinal guard upon the caudal extremity
of the rattle-snake.

Among other matters interesting to the naturalist, Sir James
notices, in addition to the common lion, of the usual light
brown colour, four others; — one entirely black, with long hair;
a third kind, quite white ; a fourth, with the neck only white ;
and a fifth, with legs striped like a tiger. Had he only pos-
sessed the artistical skill of Captain Harris, as displayed in

1 Mag. Nat. Hist. Vol. i. n. s. p. 101.

412 AFRICAN RESEARCHES.

the beautiful sketch which adorns the last part of the Zoolo-
logical Society's Transactions, science might perhaps have
had the benefit of something more than a mere verbal notice
of these novelties.

As a security against lions, Sir James recommends travel-
lers to take up their quarters close to a colony of pig-faced
baboons ; though from the experience of his man, Robert, we
should have thought this would, in real earnest, be jumping
from the frying-pan into the fire.

A perhaps less objectionable expedient to avoid the con-
tingency of being made a meal of by the king of beasts, ap-
pears to us to arise out of the following relation told by one
of the hunters of the party, — Henrick. —

" ' One night I was asleep in my hut, when I was awoke by a noise out-
side. My wife whispered, * I don't think that is a wolf ; ' on which I got
up, and went out with a keree (or knobbed stick) in my hand, for I had no
gun at that time. Below a tree I saw a cow lying, and as I went to it a
large animal left the cow and came towards me. I stood my ground, and
called out, when a lion (which the large animal was), went off to one side.
I went up to the cow, and found it, and another beyond it, dead. The first
had been ripped up, and the calf only eaten, because the contents of the
stomach of the cow had come out of its mouth and nose, whilst the other
cow had its neck twisted round, and its horns fixed in the ground, so that
its mouth was kept in the air, to prevent the same ejection of food as in the
first cow. I turned its mouth downwards to disgust the lion, and then went
to sleep again.'

" In Henrick's word, during some months' acquaintance, I had implicit
confidence ; and it is quite possible that the lion may feel a peculiar dis-
gust when the above accident happens, and to prevent it could easily with
his mighty paws, fix the horns of cattle in the ground. All this, if true, is
a new and interesting fact in the natural history of the lion."

So absorbed is our author in the scientific interest attached
to this new "fact" in Natural History, as entirely to overlook
the real value of discovering, that in the event of a peculiar
chain of circumstances arising, the lion, instead of treating
himself to his intended meal, has the self-denial to cut his
stick, and march quietly off. Subsequent treaders in his
steps, however, will not fail to appreciate the service rendered
them by Sir James, in the hint which this piece of informa-
tion affords. Instead of starting from the cape with half a
waggon-load of metal in the shape of leaden bullets, and a
score or more barrels of gunpowder, the explorer who intends
acting only on the defensive, and not waging war against every
animal that crosses his path, will now provide himself with a
far more simple and less expensive kind of ammunition. —
His store-chest will have one compartment exclusively ap-
propriated to a well-known powder, extensively manufactured

AFRICAN RESEARCHES. 413

under the name of " tartar emetic," by a worshipful company
whose mills are situated — not on Dartford Common — but
within a stone's throw of Bridge St. Blackfriars ; — equally to
be relied on for the certainty of its propulsive operation, al-
though in its modus operandi differing materially from that
of its black congener. And when the shades of evening close
round, and the hungry roar of rhe prowling monarch reverbe-
rates through the sullen gloom of the African forest, the tra-
veller, having administered a scruple dose to each of the oxen,
and primed himself with a few grains of this explosive mix-
ture,— feels that in the possession of an oesophageal canal,
nature has supplied him with a tube, from the mouth of which
the midnight intrusion of the tyrant of the woods is effectu-
ally repelled, — and in peaceful security takes his siesta, unbro-
ken till the flush of morning, even though the bristly whiskers
of the grim feline marauder, should brush the eyebrows of the
unconscious slumberer.

Although Sir James does not appear to have contributed so
largely as Captain Harris, towards making the rhinoceros a
genus of by-gone days, yet that he now and then had the am-
bition to follow in the Captain's wake, is evident by the fol-
lowing passage. —

" We approached these dangerous animals with some caution, crept upon
them, and got two or three flying shots at them ; but unless they are taken
standing, with deliberate aim at the back-bone, or behind the jaw, good halls
are thrown away upon them ; not that their hide, though more than an inch
thick, is impenetrable in other places to lead and pewter bullets (hard and
heavy), such as mine were, but because the rhinoceros runs away with a
bushel of balls fired through his ribs. In his side they seemed to make no
more impression on him, at the time of receiving them, than so many peas
would, though he may die from them afterwards. So our two first rhino-
ceroses, being continually on the move, escaped from us though we tickled
them roughly."

After the hairy baboon story in the first part of the nar-
rative, for our hero, in vol. ii., to speak with such perfect
sangfroid of " tickling " a rhinoceros, or taking " deliberate
aim at its back-bone," sounds inexpressibly ludicrous. From
the top of a pit-fall, he possibly might so far screw up his
courage as to fire down upon the spinal region of some unfor-
tunate beast impaled on a stake at the bottom ; but let the
rhinoceros be roaming unfettered in his native wilds, with his
horns clapping one against the other, and we'll answer for it,
one clickety -click of these dermal appendages, or even a
glimpse of the blue- winged green-backed sentinel, would send
Sir James, and his whole posse comitatus, down on their mar-
row-bones before you could say " Jack Robinson."

414 AFRICAN RESEARCHES.

Although we cannot, like Captain Harris, boast of an initi-
ation into the mysteries of powder and shot at the early age
of six, yet, from a moderate share of experience in the use of
explosive weapons, were we ever placed in such a predica-
ment, that to save our own bacon, a rhinoceros must be de-
spatched by a single shot, we should certainly feel at a loss
which alternative to select, as attended with the least diffi-
culty of accomplishment, — that of sending a bullet through
the back-bone of the animal when quietly browsing on the
mimosa-leaves, at a respectful distance of forty yards, or al-
lowing it to make its rush, and when ploughing with its horn
the ground at our feet,1 chancing a ball through one of its
sky-lights.

Of the many things which excited the surprise of our au-
thor in the course of his peregrinations, on no occasion does
he express himself in stronger terms of amazement than on
learning that it was possible to make a barrel throw a ball
straight, when it had previously shot crooked. As he has
stated, for the benefit of his fellow officers in Her Majesty's
service, how this piece of conjuration was brought about by
the natives, we shall take the liberty of availing ourselves of
the information, for the benefit of such of our readers, who,
being " field naturalists, " are necessarily interested in the art
of gunnery. —

" This was effected "by placing a second sight near the breech, which was
raised or depressed, shifted from one side to the other, and then fixed when
the ball was found to go straight to the mark."

We have read few passages in the present narrative with
more satisfaction than the following : —

" Here I beg to remark that during the whole journey nothing was kill-
ed wantonly, or that we did not positively require, either as an article of
food, or as a rare object of natural history. I never could, and I trust I
never shall, reconcile myself to the notion which some sportsmen entertain,
that it is manly to destroy as many animals as one can : this thirst for blood
is discreditable. The exploit of which I know some to boast, viz., killing
four elephants in one day, or the same number of Hippopotami, with the
same gun, for mere sport, is surely not praiseworthy."

With a keen relish for the legitimate sports of the field, we
certainly do not envy the feelings of the man who can derive
enjoyment from seeing the plain strewn with the carcasses of

1 May we request that Captain Harris or Sir James Alexander would
have the kindness to state, through our own columns, or those of some other
Natural-History periodical, what the rhinoceros does with its nose, when
at full speed, ploughing up the ground with its horns.

BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 415

elephants, struggling in the agonies of death, or amuse him-
self with galloping after a herd of giraffes, and hearing the
balls from his rifle tell upon the flanks of these most graceful
but defenceless animals.

The favourable opinion, however, which we formed of the
sentiments entertained by our author towards the brute crea-
tion, were somewhat damped by a remark in a subsequent
part of his narrative, in which he tells us " mere sport," as
well as a desire to feed his followers, led him to " gird up his
loins for the chase, and burn with desire to slaughter some of
the larger game."

Did our limits admit of it, we might introduce to our read-
ers the history of a cow with a walking-stick, of an ostrich
that put up its foot, and with its great toe-nail tore open a
Boschman from top to bottom, and of a hairy pig-faced ba-
boon, that entered into the service of a farmer, and faithfully
served him in the capacity of shepherd ; but the length to
which our Review has extended, reluctantly compels us to bid
the travellers adieu.

An Appendix is attached to Sir James Alexander's narra-
tive, in which Messrs. Ogilby, Gray and Waterhouse indicate
the new or rare zoological specimens collected in the course
of the expedition, and Prof. Lindley those in Botany. Capt.
Harris has also inserted at the end of his work, the admea-
surements and description of the specimens he shot, and re-
christens the Aigoceros niger, in honor of its discoverer, Aig.
Harrisii !

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

AUGUST, 1859.

It is perhaps hardly necessary to remind our readers, that the ninth
meeting of the British Aosociation is to be held at Birmingham during
the latter part of the present month. This Association contemplates no
interference with the ground occupied by other Institutions. Its objects are,
— To give a stronger impulse and a more systematic direction to scientific
inquiry,— to promote the intercourse of those who cultivate science in dif-
ferent parts of the British empire, with one another, and ivith foreign phi-
losophers,— to obtain a more general attention to the objects of science, and
a removal of any disadvantages of a public kind, which impede its progress.
Happily conceived and most successfully carried into operation has been
Vol. III.— No. 32. n. s. 2 x

416 AFRICAN RESEARCHES.

this union of the cultivators of science in each of its numerous depart-
ments, to co-operate in promoting- one common object, — the diffusion and
advancement of knowledge. It is in the highest degree gratifying to
contemplate the powers which, in so brief a space, this institution has ac-
quired. In the comparatively short period of eight years, it has appro-
priated many thousand pounds to the immediate purposes in which it
had its origin : whilst the locomotive principle involved in its constitu-
tion, by which each of our provincial towns becomes in its turn a centre
for diffusing the results consequent upon the researches of the previous
year, cannot fail to stir up in different parts of the kingdom, a spirit of
observation, and give an impulse to inquiry that must be attended with
the happiest consequences.

There is one subject on which it may readily be supposed we feel a
more than ordinary interest, and which, on the ground of its being an
impediment to the progress of science, might, unless previous circum-
stances should render such a step unnecessary, fairly come under the con-
sideration of the meeting at Birmingham : we allude to the present rates
of postage. The proposed bill, if not rejected by the House of Peers, will
indeed be a boon to the editors of scientific journals, who, with perhaps
treble the amount of correspondence, have not one tenth the circulation
enjoyed by periodicals of a more popular description. In its relations,
however, at large, to the advancement of science, we are satisfied that the
establishment of a uniform low rate of postage, especially if the example
were followed by foreign governments, would exercise an influence to an
extent it is' perhaps hardly possible to conceive, until the measure shall
have come into actual operation. Should the question not be disposed of
prior to the forthcoming meeting, a petition in its favour from so numer-
ous and influential a body as the British Association, might probably
have weight with some members of the Upper House, and thus contribute
to the furtherance of an object, which every one, having the interests of
science at heart, must earnestly wish to be attained

It may perhaps be thought that our critique upon the recently-pub-
lished narratives of Captain W. C. Harris and Sir James Alexander, oc-
cupies a larger portion of our columns than the merits of their respective
authors entitle them to have received, when other works, of real scientific
importance, and therefore presenting a stronger claim on our attention,
are as yet unnoticed in our pages. In giving, however, so prominent a
place to the works in question, we have been guided by the circumstan-
ces under which they are introduced to the British public, — circumstan-
ces which, we fear, are calculated to invest the contents of these volumes
with a degree of consequence that is spuriously acquired, and which, for
many reasons it would be desirable to counteract.

MINERAL CONCHOLOGY. . 417

Captain Harris's discovery of the beautiful new species of Aigoceros,
which has recently been purchased by the British Museum ; and his draw-
ing and description of this noble antelope, in the last part of the Zoolo-
gical Transactions, have rendered his name as a " naturalist" familiar to
European zoologists. Whilst yielding to him the full share of praise to
which he is entitled, for this interesting addition to the Fauna of South
Africa, we cannot think the general aspect of his narrative justifies the
Quarterly Review, through the medium of its widely circulating pages,
in holding up his volume, for its zoological excellencies, as a pattern to
future African explorers.

Sir James Alexander (the author of the second narrative) went out at
the joint expense of the Government and of the Geographical Society ;
and though he may not have been puffed in the Quarterly, the value of
his discoveries has been acknowledged, in the honor of knighthood being
awarded him on his return.

After witnessing the exciting scenes which must sometimes arise in pe-
netrating through parts of the African continent rarely or never previous-
ly trodden by European footsteps, we can readily conceive that the ima-
gination may become so sensible to impressions, as almost unconsciously
to blend, in some distant hour of retrospection, the realities of the jour-
ney with the adventurous and oft-repeated tales of the native hunters.
But he, who has any sincere regard for the interests of Natural History,
will bear in mind that the philosophical zoologist is anxious to acquire
every possible information respecting the habits of animals which, in com-
paratively little known portions of the globe, come under the notice of
the traveller j and that by the exercise of the most scrupulous fidelity
in recording facts which really pass under his own immediate observa-
tion, he has it in his power essentially to aid the former in the discri-
mination of doubtful species, and in the establishment of those genera-
lizations, which must ever be the higher objects of zoological science.
We trust however that in future African narratives, an author will
not be thought to have been deficient in the use of his eyes, or in his zeal
for Natural History, even though he may not have brushed a lion from
every bush, or heard the noise of the clicking horns of the pseudo rhino-
ceros.

Our geological readers will be gratified to see, by a communication
from Mr. James De Carle Sowerby, that he has at length determined on
the immediate continuation of the ' Mineral Conchology.' As we have
already fully expressed our own opinion upon the general question to
which his letter is directed, it is unnecessary that we should now make
any further allusion to the subject. We may observe, however, that the

418 MINERAL CONCHOLOGY.

foreign demand, — one fourth of the entire number, — is much greater than
we should have supposed ; and we are led therefore to consider the rea-
sons still more urgent, why this demand should not he supplanted by a
continental edition. We think the continuation of this work, and also
the ' Species Conchyliorum ' by Mr. G. B. Sowerby, of such importance,
that it would afford us no slight satisfaction if their claims upon the re-
sources of the British Association, were to be taken into consideration at
the Birmingham meeting.

We have just received the 10th and 12th livraisons of the ' Poissons
Fossiles,' — certainly two of the most beautiful which have yet appeared.
Several plates are appropriated to the Ichthyodorulites and the teeth of
Hybodus, but there is nothing bearing upon the subject of the supposed
frontal spine in this genus. We perceive that the letter addressed to us
by Prof. Agassiz, has been lithographed, and copies inserted in the livrai-
sons of this work.

We have much pleasure in acknowledging the receipt of two portraits,
one of Mr. Children, and the other of Mr. Spence, just published by Mr.
Raddon, formerly a London Artist, but now a resident of Bristol. We
can bear personal testimony to the faithfulness of the first, and we think
highly of both as works of art.

Should Mr. Raddon meet with encouragement, we understand that he
will publish portraits of other distinguished entomologists.

Letter from Mr.. James De Carle Sowerby, on the subject of the
French Edition of Mineral Conchology.

Camden Toivn, July 27, 1839.

Sir,

It is hardly possible that T should remain silent
after seeing, from the strictures you have made on the French
edition of my ' Mineral Conchology,' the great interest you
feel in the cause of that class of authors, whose works are si-
milar in character to this publication. And feeling practically
that unless some protection be afforded them by at least their
brother authors, and the scientific portion of the public, they
must soon be reduced to that small number who are suffi-
ciently opulent to pay for the satisfaction they experience
in their own minds, in being able to contribute to the ad-
vancement of knowledge, I beg to thank you for the man-

MINERAL CONCHOLOGY. 419

ly way in which you have advocated what appears to me to
be the true and lasting interest of science, — the encouragement
of original publications, in opposition to the specious but
fleeting advantages which cheap piracies possess. Such
works only tend to convert what would otherwise be a flow-
ing stream, into a stagnant lake, by cutting off the springs
which had given it life.

Mons. Agassiz has, however, proposed to revise and cor-
rect the work in question ; a proposal which, if earned fully
into effect, would certainly be beneficial to the study of Geo-
logy : but in many instances it will be found that his transla-
tion perpetuates the errors of the original.

The following short history of the work will explain why
revision and correction are necessary, and also account for
the inequalities (justly observed by M. Agassiz) which occur
in the execution of the different parts of it. This statement
is not offered as an excuse for the errors, many of which have
been corrected in the later volumes, but to show that such er-
rors were mostly unavoidable at the time the work was in pro-
gress, and also as being likely to interest all who take a part
in the discussion you have excited.

The first number of the ' Mineral Conchology ' was pub-
lished by the late Mr. James Sowerby, in June, 1812, two
years before Lamarck's i Systeme' appeared. The author be-
ing much more partial to the pictorial department, referred
the principal part of the text to his two eldest sons (myself
and Mr. G. B. Sowerby), while he executed the plates wholly
himself: and he continued his task regularly, even during a
long and painful illness, until within three or four days of his
death in 1822, when a considerable portion of the fourth vo-
lume had been published. For some time previously to this
sad event, it had fallen to my lot to describe the whole of the
shells, and now I was obliged, in addition, to engrave the
plates, a few only having been done in advance by my father.
At the conclusion of the sixth volume, circumstances induced
me to close the work, with a view to commencing it again in
a form more agreeable to the wishes of geologists ; and this
intention has not been lost sight of, for a continual expense
has been incurred in collecting new materials, and many
thanks are due to my friends in responding to my request ;
still however the whole of the indexes are not published, and
chiefly because I have been induced to give up my time to-
wards forwarding the immediate objects of the leading geo-
logists of England, by yielding them the best assistance my
humble talent would permit.

The sale of the 'Mineral Conchology' has only been about

420 LYCOPODIUM INUNDAT-UM.

400 copies, above one fourth of which number has been sent
abroad. The encouragement therefore for carrying on the
work has hitherto been not very great ; but your having di-
rected public attention so strongly to it, and the anxious
wishes of my friends, have stimulated me to determine now
upon its immediate continuation, which I hope to effect in a
month from this time.

I fear I have said too much about myself, but you will
perhaps excuse me if I say a few words in reference to the
translation. Mons. Agassiz has not always improved the ge-
neric characters by the alterations he has made. For instance,

under Solen he says, "Car. Gen. Bivalve longitudinale,"

instead of transversely elongated. In Ammonites the word
"dorsal " is inserted, whereas the siphon is truly ventral ; &c.
Neither has he embodied all the corrections given in the lat-
ter part of the work, indeed he seems not to have consulted
the index in No. 105 in any case. There Cassis is referred
to Cassidaria ; Modiola parallela to Plagiostoma elongatum;
Helicina to Rotella; Helix carinatus to Pleurotomaria, whe-
ther correctly or not, may be a question, but certainly it is
not a Cirrus, (he proposes to name it Cirrus Sowerby) ; Ve-
nus to Cyprina ; Murex to Fusus ; and Vivipara to Palu-
dina : though Agassiz has introduced several of these altera-
tions as his own. Still, some of his remarks are good, and
will not be lost sight of by me.

I am, Sir,

Your's, &c.

J. D. C. Sowerby.

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS.

/ trust I shall have the pleasure of seeing you in London in
July, 1840 ; in the mean time I hope I shall be a little suc-
cessful in procuring a few more objects in Natural History,
worthy the notice of zoologists. The stores I now possess
will occupy the Proceedings in the various branches of Zoo-
logy, for many years to come. — H. Cuming. — Manila, Nov.
18, 1838.

Lycopodium inundatum grows within a hundred yards of
the railway station on Woking Common. — George Luxford,
A.L.S., ^c.— London, July 11, 1839.

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY.

SEPTEMBER, 1839.

Art. I. — Extract from the Proceedings of the Zoological Society, on the
subject of the relation existing between the Argonaut-shell and its cephalo-
podous inhabitant.

February 26th, 1839. — " A highly interesting and valuable series of speci-
mens of thePaper Nautilus (Argonauta Argo), consisting of the animals and
their shells of various sizes, of ova in various stages of development, and of
fractured shells in different stages of reparation, were exhibited and com-
mented on by Professor Owen, to whom they had been transmitted for that
purpose by Madame Jeannette Power. Mr. Owen stated that these speci-
mens formed part of a large collection illustrative of the natural history
of the argonaut, and bearing especially on the long-debated question of
the right of the cephalopod inhabiting the argonaut-shell to be considered
as the true fabricator of that shell.

" This collection was formed by Madame Power in Sicily, in the year
1838, during which period she was engaged in repeating her experiments
and observations on the argonaut, having then full cognizance of the na-
ture of the little parasite (Hectocotylus, Cuv.), which had misled her in re-
gard to the development of the argonaut in a previous suite of experiments
described by her in the Transactions of the Giaenian Academy for 1836.

" As this mistake has been somewhat illogically dwelt on, to depreciate
the value of other observations detailed in Madame Power's Memoir, Mr.
Owen observed, that it was highly satisfactory to find that the most impor-
tant of the statements in that memoir had been subsequently repeated and
confirmed by an able French malacologist, M. Sander Rang. Mr. Owen
then proceeded to recapitulate these points.

" First, with reference to the relative position of the cephalopod to the
shell, Madame Power, in her memoir of 1836, describes the siphon as be-
ing applied to the part of the shell opposite the involuted spire. M. San-
der Rang, who made his observations on the argonaut in the port of Algiers,
after having had cognizance of Madame Power's experiments, states, in
his memoir published in Guerins's * Magazin de Zoologie' (1837), that in
all the argonauts observed by him, the siphon and ventral surface of the
cephalopod were invariably placed against the outer wall or keel of the
shell, and the opposite or dorsal surface of the body next the involuted spire.
" Secondly, with reference to the relative position of the arms of the ce-
phalopod to the shell, and the uses of the dorsal pair of arms, usually called
the " sails, " Madame Power had described these velated arms as being
placed next the involuted spire of the shell, over which they were bent, and
expanded forwards so as to cover and conceal the whole of the shell, and
from which they were occasionally retracted in the living argonaut : she
further made the important discovery that these expanded membranes were
the organs of the original formation and subsequent reparation of the shell,
and ingeniously and justly compared them, in her memoir of 1836, to the
Vol. III.— No. 33. n. s. 2 y

422 PROF. OWEN ON THE ARGONAUT.

two lobes of the mantle of the cowry. These facts are described as the re-
sult of actual observation ; but Madame Power, entertaining the common
belief of the action and use of the velated arms in the sailing of the cepha-
lopod, enters into considerations respecting their proportional strength in
relation to that hypothetical office. The subsequent observations of M.
Rang have fully confirmed the accuracy of Madame Power's description
of the relative position of the so-called sails of the argonaut to the shell ;
and he has published some beautiful figures illustrative of this fact.1

" Thirdly, M. Rang confirms the discovery of Madame Power as to the
faculty possessed by the cephalopod of reproducing its shell, but he was
unable to preserve his captive argonaut sufficiently long to witness the com-
plete deposition of calcareous matter in the new substance by which the
argonaut had repaired the fracture purposely made in its shell.

" There are other observations in the original memoir of Madame Power,
as, e.g. with respect to the flexibility and elasticity of the living shell of the
argonaut ; the great extensibility and pump-like action of the siphon in lo-
comotion ; the use of the velated arms in retaining the shell firmly upon
the cephalopod ; the great voracity of the argonaut ; the constantly fatal
results of depriving it of its shell ; all of which statements are of great in-
terest and novelty in the history of this problematical mollusc, and some of
which likewise receive confirmation in the memoir of M. Sander Rang.

" Notwithstanding, however, that so many additional facts had been thus
brought to bear on the relations subsisting between the argonaut-shell and
its occupant, Mr. Owen observed that the leading malacologists who advo-
cated the parasitic theory, had reiterated their conviction of its truth ; and
even M. Rang, though evidently biassed by what he had observed in favour
of the opposite view, yields so much to the authority of M. de Blainville,
as to declare himself in a state of the most complete uncertainty on the
subject ; — ' Nous nous trouvons en ce moment dans le plus complete incer-
titude.'— Loc. cit.

" In this state of the question a collection of specimens of the argonauts,
such as Madame Power had submitted to the examination of the Zoologi-
cal Society, was of the greatest importance, if impartially and logically con-
sidered with reference to the points at issue ; and Mr. Owen stated, that
having studied this collection with much caTe, he should, in the first place,
restrict himself to such observations and arguments as would naturally flow
from an examination of the specimens themselves, apart from any history
or statement with which they had been accompanied when first placed in
his hands by Madame Power.

" The collection of argonauts, — cephalopods and shells, — preserved in
spirits, included twenty specimens, at different periods of growth, the small-
est having a shell weighing not more than one grain and a half, the re-
mainder increasing, by small gradations, to the common-sized mature in-
dividual.

" Mr. Owen's first attention was directed to the relative position of the
cephalopod to its shell. In every case it corresponded to that which obtains
in the pearly nautilus, the siphon and ventral surface of the cephalopod being
placed next the broad keel forming the external wall of the shell, the dorsal
surface of the body next the involuted spire or internal wall. In most of these
specimens the velated arms, which are nearest the involuted spire, were re-
tracted; but in some of the larger examples they had been admirably pre-
served in a fully-expanded and flexible state, and in their natural position
as envelopes of the shell.

See No. 2 of the Sup. Plates to Mag. Nat. Hist— Ed.

PROF. OWEN ON THE ARGONAUT.

423

" A second fact, of considerable weight in the debated point of the para-
sitism of the argonaut, was afforded by this collection, viz., that in ten of
the younger specimens there were no ova in the shell, but the body of the
cephalopod occupied the whole of the cavity of the shell, to which it accurately
corresponded inform. It was scarcely possible, Mr. Owen observed, to con-
template these specimens without deriving a conviction that the body had
served as the mould upon which the shelly matter had been deposited ; and
with reference to the expanded membranes of the dorsal arms, to which the
office of calcification was assigned by Madame Power and M. Rang, these,
it should be remembered, were, in fact, essentially productions of the man-
tle, and possessed the same structure. It was only in the smaller specimens,
however, that the body filled the shell ; when the ovarium begins to enlarge
the body is drawn from the apex of the shell, and the deserted place is oc-
cupied chiefly by the mucous secretion of the animal, until the ova are de-
posited therein.

" Mr. Owen then reminded the members present, that in former discus-
sions on the nature of the argonaut, he had opposed to the parasitic theory
an observation made by himself on a series of young argonauts, of a differ-
ent species from the Argonauta Argo, all captured at the same time, and
exhibiting different sizes and degrees of growth, viz., the exact correspon-
dence between the size of the shells and that of their inhabitants, every trifling
difference in the bulk of the latter being accompanied with proportional dif-
ferences in the size of the shells which they occupied.1 Madame Power's
collection of young argonauts afforded the means of pursuing this compa-
rison to a much further extent, and Mr. Owen had not only done so in re-
ference to their relative size, but had also weighed the shell and its inha-
bitant separately of each specimen, from the smallest up to that in which
the ov:i were fully developed in the ovarium. The following tabular view
was given of the weights and measurements of ten of the alternate speci-
mens in this series.

A

%
18

B

gra.

21

C

grs.

3f
24

D

grs.

n4

E

grs.

n

62

F

grs.
lOi
82|

G

grs.
1655

H

grs.

18

178

I

grs.

19

214

K

grs
46
384

Weight of the Shell

Weight of the Inhabitants . .

Length of the Shelie

lin.
8

lin.
11

lin.
12

lin.
12|

lin.
15

lin.
22J

lin.
23

lin.
24J

lin.
27

lin.
37

1 Zool. Trans. Vol. ii. pt. ii. p. 115.

2 In each case the cephalopod was removed from the shell, and both were
placed on blotting-paper, to absorb the superfluous liquor ; due care was
taken to weigh each specimen under conditions as precisely similar as pos-
sible.

3 The disproportionate ratio in the increase of the shell B arises from the
additional portion of the shell being thicker and heavier in proportion to
the previously-formed part, than in the subsequent periods of growth, so
that the increase of weight is in a greater ratio than the increase of size.

4 Clusters of ovisacs were conspicuous in D to the naked eye in the ova-
rium, which had already begun to expand under the sexual stimulus.

5 The ovarium has now begun rapidly to enlarge.

6 This admeasurement was taken in a straight line, traversing the longest
diameter of the shell ; it was found impracticable to give any constant ad-
measurement of the cephalopod, in consequence of the varying state of con-
traction and form of its soft and changeable body.

424 PROF. OWEN ON THE ARGONAUT.

" Mr. Owen stated that the correspondence in the progressive increase of
inhabitant and shell, though not strictly conformable, was so close as to
present, in his opinion, an insurmountable objection to the parasitic theory.
In every instance the inhabitant of a larger shell weighed more than that
of a smaller one, even where the difference in the weight of the shell was
but half a grain ; while the few irregularities observed in the progressive
increase of the two could in each case be accounted for, either by the en-
largement of the ovarium, which added to the weight, without a propor-
tional increase to the superficies of the individual ; or, on the other hand,
to a more rapid increase in the thickness of the shell at the earlier periods
of its growth, or to a greater development of the angular processes of the
mouth of the shell, as an individual peculiarity. In a collection of young
parasitic hermit-crabs (Paguri), the smaller specimens are commonly seen
in shells of various species, and frequently very disproportionate bulk ; the
contrary is the case in the young of the argonaut. ' Now these young ce-
phalopods (Mr. Owen observed) grow, like the rest of the class, with great
rapidity ; the differences in the size of many of the young argonauts in
question corresponded with differences of age of a few days at the utmost;'
so that, if the accuracy of the above observations made by Mr. Owen on two
series of two distinct species of argonaut, be admitted,1 ' a naturalist enter-
taining the parasitic theory, must be compelled to suppose that the young
Ocythbeov cephalopodis engaged ina perpetual warfare with the hypothetical
nucleo-branchiate constructor of the argonaut-shell, which shell, to produce
the correspondences above described, the young Ocythoe must change two
or three times a week, if not every day. And nevertheless, although each
prolific cephalopod of the argonaut sends into the world hundreds of little
ones that must be so accommodated, and although, on the parasitical hy-
pothesis, hundreds of the hypothetical nucleo-branchiate constructors of the
argonaut-shell ought to swarm about the port of Messina, where Madame
Power obtained the specimens with which she stocked her molluscous viva-
rium, and notwithstanding that M. de Blainville has called the special at-
tention of naturalist-collectors to the hypothetical true constructor of the
argonaut-shell, as a chief desideratum in Malacology ; and lastly, notwith-
standing this hypothetical nucleo-branchiate mollusc ought, on M. de
Blainville's theory, to be nearly allied to the Atlanta and Carinaria, and
therefore a floating pelagic species, generally to be met with on the surface
of the ocean ; — yet had it still evaded the observation of the numerous ac-
tive collectors engaged in exploring the zoological riches of the Mediter-
ranean in different parts of its coasts.'

" It is in vain to repeat, with reference to the non-discovery of any other
inhabitant of the argonaut than the cephalopod, — ' Ce que ne peut etre
range au nombre des argumens, parceque ce qui n'as pas eu lieu jusqu' a
un moment determine, peut se montrer le moment suivant; ' that ' what is
a fact at the present moment, viz. the non-discovery of the hypothetical
true constructor of the argonaut, may be no longer a fact at the moment
after.' Such an observation could only possess argumentative force in the
absence of other facts showing the high degree of improbability that a float-
ing pteropod or heteropod, sufficiently abundant to have supplied all the
argonauts of the Mediterranean with their shells, could have escaped ob-
servation.'

1 They accord with the statement of Poli, and with the observations of
M. Prevost, founded on a suite of specimens of the argonaut from the size
of one and two inches to three or four inches. These are quoted byM. de
Blainville in his memoir of 1837 (p. 10), but without the deductions which
I have drawn from the same facts.

PROF. OWEN ON THE ARGONAUT. 425

" Mr. Owen then proceeded to state that he had dissected every specimen
in the present collection, in which the absence of ova in the shell left the
sex doubtful, and that they all proved to be females ; this fact rendered it
allowable to conjecture that the calcifying brachial membranes, and con-
sequently the shell, might be sexual characters, and peculiar to the female.
But, he argued, k the known paucity of males as compared with females in
other species of cephalopods, rendered the conjecture to a certain degree
problematical. Should it, however, be hereafter proved that the male ar-
gonaut possessed neither a shell nor the organs for secreting it, this fact
would not render the hypothesis of the parasitism of the female, which does
possess the calcifying membranes, at all the less tenable.'

" With respect to the shell of the argonaut, Professor Owen observed that
' any argument founded on observations on the dried shells in cabinets,
could tend only to mislead the observer. Madame Power's specimens hav-
ing been recently collected, and preserved in alcohol of not too great strength,
manifested much of the original transparency and elasticity of the living
shell. It was obvious, therefore, that light would act in developing the
coloured spots on the contained body of the argonaut ; and this fact is im-
portant in reference to the seventh argument in M. de Blainville's memoir
of 1837, p. 4., in which he asserts that ' those parts of molluscs which are
covered with a shell are constantly white or colourless, but the mantle in-
vesting the body of the argonaut is highly coloured.' Now, if M. de Blain-
ville's object had been to prove that the Ocythoe did not inhabit a shell at
all, the force or purport of this observation would have been intelligible ;
but the question is not whether the body of the Ocythoe is or is not covered
with a shell, but whether it makes or steals that shell. But perhaps the
argument, founded on the supposed opacity of the argonaut shell, was
brought forward merely to prove, that up to a certain period of its exist-
ence the Ocythoe was naked, and that the argonaut-shell was taken posses-
sion of only for some temporary purpose, as for ovipositiom The observa-
tions, however, which I published in 1836 (Cycl. of Anat., Art. Cephalopo-
da, p. 544), proved that the young cephalopod of the argonaut was provided
with a shell prior to the period of oviposition, and that the body entirely
filled the shell at that period. The present collection still more satisfacto-
rily establishes the fact, that the argonaut-shell is not assumed by the ce-
phalopod for a temporary purpose ; for the shell which protects the young
would be wholly inadequate as a nidus for the ova of the mature animal ;
and for what purpose, then, on the parasitic theory, is the shell assumed by
the cephalopod before its ovarium has received the stimulus of sexual de-
velopment ? '

" In Madame Power's recently-collected specimens the shell, after a few
hours' soaking in water, regained so much of its original flexibility as to
demonstrate its power of varying its form with the varying bulk arising
from the respiratory and locomotive actions of the inhabitant.1

" The inductions, therefore, which the present collection of argonauts of
different ages and sizes legitimately sustained, were in exact accordance
with Madame Power's belief that the cephalopod was the true constructor

1 In M. de Blainville's Letter on the Parasitism of the Argonaut (1837),
the following assertion is offered as the tenth argument: — ' La mode de lo-
comotion et de respiration de ces animaux par la contraction et la dilata-
tion alternatives du sac, ne permet pas d'admettre qu'il y ait adherence de
la peau avec la coquille, a moins que de supposer que celle-ci soit flexible
et elastique, et suive tous les mouvemens de celle-la, ce qui est bien loin
de la verite. '

426 PROF. OWEN ON THE ARGONAUT.

of the shell, while no contradictory inference had heen, or could be, dedu-
ced from an examination of the specimens themselves.

" With reference to the second suite of specimens, viz. the ova of the
argonaut in different stages of development, Mr. Owen entered into a de-
tailed account of the new and interesting facts which they revealed. In
the ova most advanced, the distinction of head and body was established ;
the pigment of the eyes, the ink in the ink-bladder, the pigmental spots on
the skin, were distinctly developed ; the siphon, the beak, — which was co-
lourless and almost transparent, — and the arms, were also discernible by a
low microscopic power; the arms were short and simple; the secreting
membranes of the shell were not developed, and of the shell itself there was
no trace.

" In the second memoir of 1838, published by Madame Power, it is stat-
ed that the young argonaut is excluded from the egg, as such, but naked,
twenty-five days after oviposition, and that in ten or twelve days more she
discovered that they had formed their little shell. Mr Owen regretted
that there were no specimens in the present collection exhibiting the com-
mencing formation of the shell ; — these were still a desideratum : but he
proceeded to say, that the observations on the development of the ova of the
Mollusca in general, which science possessed, would be greatly overstated
if one per cent, of the known species of Mollusca were allowed to have been
subjected to such examination ; he could not therefore admit, or indeed
understand, the philosophy of regarding the period of the development of
a mere dermal production, like the shell, as being subject to so precise a
law, that its non-appearance in an embryo-mollusc, prior to its exclusion
from the egg-covering, was to be considered proof positive that such mol-
lusc should never thereafter have the power of secreting a shell. Now it
was evident, from the observation of Madame Power's specimens, indepen-
dently of any statements respecting them, that the expanded membranes of
the dorsal pair of arms are not formed until the development of the embryo
has far advanced : if, therefore, these membranous arms be, as Madame
Power states, the organs of the secretion of the shell, that shell may not be
formed until after the exclusion of the young argonaut.

" The proof that the velated arms possess, like the expansions of the
mantle of the Cyprcea, a calcifying power, was afforded by the third series
of specimens on the table of the Society. These consisted of six shells of
the argonaut, from which Madame Power had removed pieces of shell while
the argonauts were in life and vigour, in her marine vivarium. One of the
shells had been removed from the animal ten minutes after- the fracture ;
another argonaut had lived in the cage two months after being subjected
to the experiments : the remaining specimens exhibited intervening periods
between the removal of a portion of the shell and its reparation. The frac-
tured shell first described had the breach repaired by a thin, transparent,
membranous film ; the piece removed was taken from the middle of the
keel. In a second specimen calcareous matter had been deposited at the
margins of the membrane, where it was attached to the old shell. In a
third specimen, in which a portion of the shell had been removed from the
keel, about two inches from the mouth of the shell, the whole breach had
been repaired by a calcareous layer, differing only in its greater opacity and
irregularity of form from the original shell. In the specimen longest re-
tained after the fracture, a portion had been removed from the margin of
the shell ; here the new material next the broken edge presented the opa-
city characteristic of the repairing substance, but the transition of this sub-
stance into the material of the shell, subsequently added in the ordinary
progress of growth, was so gradual, in the resumption in the repairing ma-
terial of the ordinary clearness and striated structure of the shell, that it

PROF. OWEN ON THE ARGONAUT. 427

was impossible to doubt but that the reparation, as well as the subsequent
growth, had been the effeets of the same agent. The repaired parts of the
shell re-acted precisely like the ordinary shell with nitric acid.

" Mr. Owen then observed that the specimens submitted to the meeting
by Madame Power, possessed in themselves the means of confirming or
refuting her theory of the formative organs of the shell of the argonaut ;
for if the shell were secreted, as in gasteropods &c, by the edge of the man-
tle covering the body, the new material by which the breaches of the shell
had been repaired, should have been deposited on the inside of the frac-
tured edge ; but, on the contrary, it was clearly obvious in two of the spe-
cimens, that the new material had been laid on upon the outside of the
fractured part — as it must have been, supposing the vela or membranous
arms to be the calcifying organs.

" Mr. Owen then recapitulated, as follows, the evidence which, indepen-
dently of any preconceived theory or statement, could be deduced from the
admirable collection of Argonauta Argo, due to the labours of the accom-
plished lady who had contributed so materially to the elucidation of a prob-
lem which had divided the zoological world from the time of Aristotle.

" 1st. The cephalopod of the argonaut constantly maintains the same re-
lative position in its shell.

" 2nd. The young cephalopod manifests the same concordance between
the form of its body and that of the shell, and the same perfect adaptation
of the one to the other, as do the young of other testaceous molluscs.

" 3rd. The young cephalopod entirely fills the cavity of its shell ; the
fundus of the sac begins to be withdrawn from the apex of the shell only
when the ovarium begins to enlarge under the sexual stimulus.

" 4th. The shell of the argonaut corresponds in size with that of its in-
habitant, whatever be the differences in the .latter in that respect. (' The
observations of Poli, of Prevost, and myself, on a series of Argonauta rufa
before cited, are to the same effect.')

" 5th. The shell of the argonaut possesses all the requisite flexibility and
elasticity which the mechanism of respiration and locomotion in the inha-
bitant requires ; it is also permeable to light.

" 6th. The cephalopod inhabiting the argonaut repairs the fractures of its
shell with a material having the same chemical composition as the original
shell, and differing in mechanical properties only in being a little more opake.

u7th. The repairing material is laid on from without the shell, as it
should be according to the theory of the function of the membranous arms
as calcifying organs.

" 8th. When the embryo of the argonaut has reached an advanced stage
of development in ovo, neither the membranous arms nor shell are deve-
loped.

" 9th. The shell of the argonaut does not present any distinctly defined
nucleus.

" Mr. Owen finally proceeded to consider the validity of the best and
latest arguments advanced in favour of the parasitism of the cephalopod
of the argonaut, and commenced with those published in the Proceedings
of the Zool. Society for 1836, p. 122.

"Mr. Gray states, 1st. 'The animal has none of those peculiarities of
organization for the deposition, formation, and growth of the shell, nor
even the muscles for attaching it to the shell, which are found in all other
shell-bearing molluscs ; instead of which, it agrees in form, colour, and
structure with the naked molluscs, especially the naked cephalopods.'

" To this statement it need only be replied, that the cephalopod of the
argonaut possesses two membranous expansions, having the same structure
as the calcifying processes of the mantle in the testaceous molluscs, and

428 l'KOF. OWEN ON THE ARGONAUT.

which Madame Power and M. Sander Rang compare to the lohes of tlic
mantle of Cyprcea ; and that the cephalopod in question, instead of agree-
ing in structure with the naked cephalopods, differs from them precisely
in the presence of conspicuous and largely-developed organs, which present
the closest correspondence in form and structure with the calcifying mem-
branes of the cowries and other testaceous molluscs.

"2ndly. Mr. Gray asserts, ' that the shell of the argonaut is evidently
not moulded on the body of the animal usually found in it, as other shells
are.'

" This assertion, like the preceding, is directly opposed to the fact. But
at the time when it was recorded in our Proceedings, Mr. Gray had proba-
bly not examined the young argonaut. Yet the analogy of other Testacea
might have indicated to him that it was essential to see the young mollusc
before the degree of correspondence between the animal and its shell could
be definitively pronounced upon. Most shell-bearing gastropods, like the
nautilus and argonaut, withdraw their bodies in the progress of growth
from the contracted apex by which their shell commenced, and differ ac-
cordingly in form from that of the original cavity of their shell. The
mode in which the vacated part of the shell is dealt with in different mol-
luscs is extremely various, and reducible to no common law ; in the genus
Magilus, e. g. it is solidified : in some species of Helix, Bulinus, and Ceri-
thium, the deserted part of the shell, after being partitioned off, is decolla-
ted : in the Nautilus, &c, it is camerated. Was it at all improbable that
in the argonaut some other condition of the vacated spire of the shell should
be manifested ? Why should it not be made subservient to the generative
economy of the species ? Yet, because it is neither solidified, decollated,
nor camerated, it is argued in the third place, that the argonaut shell must
have been secreted by some other mollusc than the cephalopod usually
found in it.

" 4thly. Mr. Gray observes, ■ the young shell of the j ust-hatched animal,
which forms the apex of the shell at all periods of its growth, is much larg-
er (ten times) than the eggs contained in the upper part of the cavity of
the argonaut.' The argument here founded on a comparison of the size
of the supposed nucleus of the argonaut-shell with that of the ovum of the
Ocyth'6e,h&s been quoted with approbation by M. de Blainville ; but grant-
ing that the shell of a testaceous mollusc is always formed before the em-
bryo is excluded from the ovum, (which, as I have already shown, is a
postulate, and not an established law) the force of an argument for the
parasitic theory, based on this postulate, wholly depends upon another as-
sumption, viz. that the ovum of a mollusc never enlarges after it has quit-
ted the parent. Now, the first observation which the promulgator of this
argument had the opportunity of making on one of our commonest littoral
Testacea — the whelk, proved to him that the molluscous ovum in that spe-
cies does enlarge after exclusion, and Mr. Gray was subsequently compelled
to admit ' that the size of the nucleus would not offer any difficulty with
respect to the Ocythoe being the maker of the shell which it inhabits.1'

" Whether the other arguments founded by Mr. Gray upon the form of
the body, and the want of perfect adaptation or adhesion of the body to the
shell, &c, are unanswerable, as that experienced Conchologist states that
he considers them to be, must depend upon the degree of weight which the
objections above advanced are allowed to carry.

" With respect to the conclusions as to the parasitism of the Ocythoe,
drawn from observing the relation of the cephalopod to its shell, their in-

1 Magazine of Natural History, New Scries, 1837, p. 248.

PROF. OWEN ON THE ARGONAUT. 429

sufficiency depends upon the circumstance that in forming them the condi-
tion of the mature argonaut has heen considered as applicahle to every
period of its life, and the arguments Nos. 1 and 2 being founded upon
that supposition, thereby fall to the ground. In the argument for the pa-
rasitic theory deduced from the development of the argonaut-shell, a gene-
ral rule, applicable to an extensive primary division of the animal kingdom,
is assumed from the result of extremely scanty observations, which are al-
together inadequate to its establishment.

"'In the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1837, Mr. Charles-
worth proposed an argument in favour of the parasitism of the Ocythoe,
which has the merit — not possessed by those above discussed — of being
founded on the observation of a new fact in the natural history of the ar-
gonaut, viz. that breaches in the shell were repaired by a substance agree-
ing in every respect with the original shell. Mr. Charlesworth has, however,
since admitted that this fact is not valid as evidence of the parasitism of
the cephalopod ; and it is now proved that the transparent film observed by
M. Rang to be deposited by the Ocythoe over the fracture of the argonaut-
shell, would have been converted into a true shelly material if the subject
of his experiment had survived for a longer period.

" * M. d'Orbigny,1 on the other hand, derived from his observations of the
Argonauta Mans, made during his voyage to South America, a belief in the
fallacy of the parasitic theory ; the principal argument of novelty which he
adduces is founded on the integrity of the delicate and flexible margins of
the shell in which the supposed parasite was lodged. M. de Blainville has
refused his assent to the validity of this argument, on the grounds that the
rightful owner of the argonaut-shell might have been very recently expelled
from the specimens described by M. d'Orbigny. As I have elsewhere2 con-
sidered this objection I shall not dwell further upon it, but merely observe
that the experiments of Poli and Ranzani, deduced by M. d'Orbigny in
evidence of the formation of the shell in ovo, are more than suspicious, and
are inadequate to enforce a conviction of the truth of the non-parasitic theory.

" ' The more recent arguments of M. de Blainville3 in favour of the pa-
rasitism of the argonaut, repose partly on statements which are not based on
facts, and partly on the interpretation of actual facts. The false facts are
the following: 1st. That the same species of cephalopod is not always found
in the same species of shell. 2nd. That the natural position of the animal
in the shell varies, the back of the animal being sometimes next the outer
wall of the shell, sometimes next the involuted spire. 3rd. That the ani-
mal does not occupy the posterior part of the shell— (this being true of the
more mature animal only). 4th. That the form of the animal and of its
parts offers no concordance or analogy with the shell. 5th. That the shell
is too opake to have permitted the influence of light in the development of
the coloured pigment in the mantle of the cephalopod of the argonaut. —
6th. That it is very far from being true that the argonaut-shell possesses
the flexibility and elasticity requisite to harmonize with the locomotive and
respiratory movements of the animal. 7th. That the animal suffers no ap-
pearance of inconvenience when deprived of its shell. 8th. That a cepha-
lopod has been discovered in the Sicilian seas like that which inhabits the
argonaut, but without a shell.

" 'With respect to the first six of these statements, it need only to be ob-
served that they are abundantly disproved by the series of specimens now
on the table.

1 Voyage dans l'Amerique Meridionale, Mollusques, p. 10.
2 Zool. Trans", vol. ii. p. 114. 3Ann. d'Anat. et de Physiol. Mai, 1837.
Vol. III.— No. 33. n. s. 2 z

430 PROF. OWEN ON THE ARGONAUT.

" 'As to the seventh statement, its value will be manifest, when the ac-
count given by Mr. Cranch, on which it is founded, is carefully analysed
and considered. Mr. Cranch's observations, as quoted by Dr. Leach, amount
simply to this: — 'When the cephalopod (Argonauta hians, Solander, or
Ocythoe Cranchii, Leach) was adhering, with the vela retracted, to the side
of the vessel of sea-water in which it was placed, the shell could be remov-
ed; ' in other words, there was no muscular adhesion. ' In this state of
captivity some of the cephalopods lost the power of retaining hold of the
shell ; one which had thus left its shell lived several hours, and showed no
desire to return.'

" 'Now had the Ocythoe been a parasite, — supposing that it had ever be-
fore obtained its shell by placing its body in one ready-made, — and had it
been in the habit of repeating this act during its whole period of growth,
as it must have done to produce the concordance in size which the obser-
vations of Poli, Prevost, Madame Power, and myself, establish as a general
fact ; — then the probability would have been greater that the cephalopod
would have returned to, and so manoeuvred as to regain possession of, its
shell : the observation of such a fact would have told as strongly for the
parasitic theory as the phenomena witnessed by Mr. Cranch testify, in my
opinion, against it. I have repeated Mr. Cranch's experiment with a true
parasite, — the common hermit-crab of our coasts ; and I would invite any
naturalist to remove a parasitic Pagurus from its shell, and place it, with the
empty shell, in a basin of sea-water, and see whether the parasite will manifest
no desire to return his body into its accustomed hiding place. In my experi-
ments, the Pagurus lost no time in regaining possession of its shell. As
Mr. Cranch's argonaut survived four hours without showing the least dispo-
sition to return to its shell, instead of concluding therefrom that it had stol-
en it, I infer that such a mode of acquiring a shell was totally foreign to
its instincts and economy,

" ' Madame Power states that the constant result of depriving the argo-
naut of its shell, is a gradual loss of vital power* and ultimate death within
a few hours at furthest. The experiment of M. Sander Rang was followed
by the same result.

'"With respect to the eighth statement, I must say that the weakness of
the side of the question advocated by M. de Blainville is clearly betrayed
by the dubious notice of the Ocythoe by M. Rafinesque having been pressed
into the service of the parasitic theory in the disguise of an established fact.
M. Rang1 informs us, that the entire description of the much talked-of
Ocythoe, as given by its discoverer, is as follows: — 'Appendices tentacu-
laires au nombre de huit, les deux superieures ailes interieurement, a su-
^oirs interieurs, pedoncles, reunis par l'aile laterale, sans aucune membrane
a leur base.' And amongst other just observations on the inadequacy of
this meager indication, to the support of the theory that the cephalopod of
the argonaut naturally existed without its shell, and was identical with the
Ocythoe of Rafinesque, M. Rang adds that the description of the Ocythoe
above cited is equally applicable to any of the species of Octopus to which
M. Ferussac has applied the term iVSliferes.i

" ' I now come to the consideration of the arguments for the parasitism of
the cephalopod of the argonaut, founded by M. de Blainville on undoubt-
ed or admissible facts. The first of these arguments reposes on the often-
repeated statement of the absence of any organ for muscular adhesion in
the cephalopod of the argonaut. I confess, that when I discovered the ce-
phalopod of the Nautilus to be fixed to its shell by two strong muscles, and

1 Guerin's Magazin, p. 31,

PROF. OWEN ON THE ARGONAUT. 431

that the corresponding muscles in the argonaut were very feebly developed,
and lost in the mantle, the absence of analogy between the two cephalo-
pods inclined me, in 1832, to consider as probable the parasitic theory ;
subsequently, however, the consideration of the absence of muscular adhe-
sion in the Carinaria, and of any adhesion at all in the Annelides which
secrete shells, deprived this argument of much of its force.

" ' Secondly, M. de Blainville observes that ' the muscular integument
of the body of the cephalopod is not thinner than that of the naked species,
contrary to that which exists in all conchyliferous molluscs.' But what
mollusc, we may ask, has its whole body covered with a shell so delicate, so
transparent, so flexible and elastic, as is the shell of the living argonaut?1

" ' The dorsal border of the mantle is not free,' observes M. de Blainville.
Granted : and this would be undoubtedly strong proof that the cephalopod
of the argonaut did not secrete its shell, if it were not provided with other
organs for the purpose. In the pearly nautilus, on the other hand, which
has no veliferous arms, the dorsal border of the mantle is so produced that
it can be extended from the involuted spire, which it habitually covers,
over the whole exterior of the shell, just as the argonaut invests its shell
with the transparent films of the dorsal pair of arms : the analogy between
these two testaceous cephalopods is perfect, as regards their relative posi-
tion to the shell, but does not extend to their organs of secreting or of ad-
hering to the shell.2

"' The animal does not occupy the posterior part of its shell. This I
have ranged in the category of false facts, because the statement is only
applicable to the young animal. But granting it were true, as well might
we argue the Helix decollata to be a parasite, because it does not, like Ma-
gilus, retain and fill with shelly secretion the deserted spire of its shells ;
or that Magilus was a parasite because it did not secrete septa at regular
distances, like the Nautilus, or vice versa, as argue the argonaut to be a
parasite because it fills its vacated spire with mucus and with eggs.'

" Finally, Mr. Owen proceeded to state in detail the points which still
remained to be elucidated in the natural history of this most interesting
mollusc. Among other experiments he suggested that the young argonaut
should be deprived of one of the velated arms, and preserved in a marine
vivarium, with the view to determine the influence which such mutilation
might have on the future growth of the shell : but in proposing further ex-
periments, and while admitting that the period of the first formation of the
shell yet remained to be determined, Mr. Owen stated that he regarded the
facts already ascertained to be decisive in proof that the cephalopod of the
argonaut was the true fabricator of its shell."

*M. d'Orbigny truly states, " Les coquilles de 1 'argonaut n'ont pas la
contexture vitreuse des carinaires et des atlantes ; elles sont, au contraire,
demi-cornees, flexibles ; et nous n'en trouvons l'analogue dans aucun autre
des mollusques." — Loc. cit. p. 11.

2" Messrs. de Blainville and Gray conceive me to be in error in the po-
sition I have assigned to the pearly nautilus in its shell, but their argu-
ments on this point are based on the same hasty generalization that has led
to the hypothesis of the parasitism of the argonaut. Judging from the ana-
logies which have been cited in support of their views, it would have been
equally reasonable to have called in question the accuracy of the relative
position which I have assigned to the soft parts of Terebratula and Orbi-
cula, viz., with the ven'tral surface applied to one valve, and the dorsal sur-
face to the other, because in the lamellibranchiate bivalves one valve cor-
responds to the right, and the other to the left, side of the animal.

432 GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE.

Art. II. — Illustrations of the Geology of the South East of Dorset-
shire. By The Rev. W. B. Clarke, A.M., F.G.S.

{Continued from page 401).

Having taken up thus much space with the pebbles contain-
ed in the conglomerate, I now proceed with an examination
of the western side of Studland Bay, and shall follow the
course of the shore northwards.

From the end of the chalk the cliff continues a little far-
ther to the west, but in a recess or nook more backward than
the general direction of the chalk, where the beds composing
it are nearly altogether hidden by an accumulation of fallen
masses, and a profusion of vegetation, which, however, is de-
cidedly such as to mark a chalky substratum. Indeed, chalk-
plants are there in great abundance and perfection ; so that
we may conclude that the surface of the chalk is not much
obscured by other soils. At 22 paces, however, from the
chalk, there is a mottled clay under the cliffs — and at 82 pa-
ces beyond, the east and west line terminates.

The following measurement will give the character of the
cliff from the nook where the junction of the plastic clay beds
and the chalk cliffs takes place.

Station No. 1, 73 paces, path up the cliff, (white sand),
boat-house. (White sand),
yellow sand at bottom of cliff,
road.

crack through the cliff from W. to E.
gate.

yellow clay begins,
end of clay,
blue clay.

end of clay. (Cave in the sand above),
red sand.
Red Rock end.

In the above enumeration, where no mention is made, the
intermediate substance is sand of various degrees of hardness,
and changing from white and yellow to red and brown.

The clays also and sands all rise from under each other,
being stratified at an angle of about 24°, dipping to the north.
At station 4 there is a layer of chalk, embedded in earth and
sand, apparently a natural deposit, immediately over the- sea
beach (which consists of chalk-flints and masses of ferrugin-
ous sand rock), but I am unable to account for it, as it does
not look like an accidental or a designed accumulation of arti-
ficial materials, but like a natural one.

2,

87

y>

3,

108

»,

4,

124

5»

5,

141

»»

6,

132

»

7,

100

J5

8,

28

J>

9,

17

J»

10,

20

5>

11,

22

*>

12,

23

J»

13,

23-

-24

STUDLAND.

433

The following diagram (fig. 50) shows the appearance of
the coast, and the localities mentioned in the preceding mea-
surement.

Coast from the Chalk to the Red Rock, Studland Bay.

1, Chalk. 2, Sand. 3, Conglomerate, based on arched iron stone. 4, Boat-house.

5, Raised beach ? 6, Ravine leading to Studland. 7, Red Rock end. 8, Clay,

yellow sand, mottled sand, ferruginous sand, bright red and yellow sand.

At B and C, fig. 50, (stations 5 and 6 of the enumeration)
— also marked in the map between C and Red Rock end, —
the arrows point out the occurrence of two cracks through the
cliffs, up which there is entrance to the village of Studland.
The appearance of these cracks from the beach, and also from
the sea off Old Harry, is shown in figs. 51 and 52. It is very
evident that they are not mere excavations of the sand, but
produced by the action which caused the inclination of the
beds.

Cracks in the Studland Sand-cliffs.

2^^§L

Plan of the ravines.

The same seen from the sea.

Now, that marked C is the outlet of a deep ravine which
traverses the beds of sand and clay, and in the bottom of which
in winter, runs a little stream of water, which finds its way
through it to the sea. But this stream has not excavated the
openings, which must have been produced by a rent of great
violence, as the banks are nearly perpendicular, and the top
not much wider than the bottom. It is the first of the four
similar rents, which occur along this shore, and which are of

434 GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE.

precisely the same character as the chines of the coast be-
yond Poole Head, and of the back of the Isle of Wight, al-
though of less importance as a feature of landscape.

There is another feature also which marks the character of
these cracks, as well as the chines, — they are all vertical on
the side opposite the chalk. The other, which is in the sup-
posed line of descent from the chalk, slopes to the crack. —
Thus the slope at Studland is to the north ; that on the coast
of Poole Bay to the east : this exactly agrees with theory.

At the approach to the termination of the cliff, known as
the Red Rock, the sands assume a lively yellow and red colour,
closely resembling those of Alum Bay, and are mottled in a
variety of forms, the thickness of the beds being about 25 feet.
Mr. Lyell has mentioned " concentric stains " upon these
sands, " exactly imitating the transverse and oblique sections
of trunks of trees." — (G. T. ii. 283). These, however, are not
mere ' stains] but were produced by different-coloured parti-
cles of sand evidently collected around a nucleus, just as they
might be formed round a stone, or any other small object, on
the present sea-beach,1 and are a portion of the solid sub-
stance of the rock itself, which has been formed by the hard-
ening of the collected sand. The stratification is very perfect,
but the rock (for such it may be called) has been subjected
to some after-action, since the consolidation of the beds ; for
the strata are traversed by lines in an opposite direction,
which divide the rock (without separation) into superficial
parallelograms ; these lines ranging through the c concentric'
curves, and occasionally exhibiting, on a minute scale, all the
characteristics of a fault, — or rather, perhaps, of a shifted mi-
neral vein. In figs. 53, 53 a, 53 b, 53 c, without attending
very minutely to the picturesque or proportional effect, I have
represented the bedding lines and joints ; and below, one of
the shifts or faults, which occurs just above the opening hol-
lowed by the sea, together with some of the concentric curves
and a fault in the sand-rock, near the church at Studland.

1 All sandstones, of whatever geological age, exhibit similar concentric
curves. In the new red this is particularly exemplified, and as one good
example is sufficient, I would mention the columns of the porticoes of that
very magnificent building, the Custom-house at Liverpool, which striking-
ly illustrate the subject. The rock from which they are built was quarried
near the town. So also the old red sand-stone, and the grey-wacke, occa-
sionally show equally striking examples. Various instances of curves which
were produced round a nucleus, are traceable in the stones quarried for
pavement or building materials in Shropshire, Hereford and Monmouth-
shire, and may be well seen in the pavement at Ludlow and Leominster,
especially in Church street in the latter town.

STUDLAND.

435

Studland Bed Kock.

1, Strata lines 2, Joints. 3, Concentric curves. — (53 6).

Se e fig. 53a.

Double shift in the
joints at 6, fig. 53,
magnified.

Joints in the sand rock behind Stud-
land Church. The joints are
lighter coloured.

The shore is strewed with fallen masses of the rock, which
are exceedingly hard ; and this is also the case with the sur-
face of the sand throughout nearly all the cliff, for inscriptions
made in 1809, were quite fresh and perfect in 1837 ; so that
it does not decay rapidly from atmospheric causes. At the
extremity of the Red Rock, and in the fallen masses, there
are a great number of cylindrical tubes, corresponding, as Mr.
Lyell observes, with those of the Isle of Wight and Sussex,
but of which he offers no explanation. They are, certainly,
extremely curious, but I think the circumstance is capable of
solution. On turning round the end of the Red Rock, which
projects a little beyond the rest of the coast, the surface of
the cliff, in a corner facing the north, is seen perforated by
these tubes, many of them of enormous length, and all tra-
versing the rock, not perpendicular to the strata, but to the
horizon. In two or three instances, these tubes occur in a
sort of groove (fig. 54), which descends the whole cliff; and
on examining them, the interior is found to be coated with a
hard oxidized crust, the sand on each side appearing as if it
had been sucked downwards towards the tubes. It would,

430

GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE.

North side of the Red Rock.
1, Tubes in fallen masses. 2, Tubes in grooves in the rock.

thence, appear, that they were produced by the action of wa-
ter, probably rain water, which had filtered down and through
the sand when softer, and coated the surface of its channel
with minute particles of iron washed out of the sand. I am
not altogether theorising here, for on examining, last winter,
a cutting made through Booker's Hill, near Lytchett, (where
the strata are plastic clay sands), I found that the rain had
dripped down the surface of the banks of the new road, and
had entangled in its descent particles of sand, in such a way
as to have formed tubes exactly similar to those at Studland,
through which (of course, near the surface of the section) the
water had run away without spreading. I cannot but con-
jecture, therefore, that such was the origin of the tubes at
Studland, though their date must have been long prior to the
present order of things, yet, clearly, since the rock had as-
sumed its present inclined position. If this explanation be
held insufficient, we must then have recourse to electrical
agency, and it might be easy to find traces of minute veins
which seem to have traversed the rock, and which would jus-
tify the belief of some electrical or magnetic influence subse-
quent to, or contemporaneous with, the mechanical changes
that have affected it. Only, in this case, however similar the
tubes may be to the fulgorites which are formed by lightning
in the sands of Prussia, the vertical direction of the tubes
would not accord with that of the supposed electric veins and
threads, and it seems scarcely probable that such a develop-
ment of electrical agency should have taken place, either
here or at Shanklin. On the whole, therefore, I am inclined
to believe, that these cylindrical tubes are merely rain-chan-

STTJDLAND.

437

nels. » The spot where they so thickly occur is represented
by the letter A, at the extremity of the cliff in the following
section (fig. 55), and the continuation of which is seen in fig.
56.

From the Red Rock to the Preventive Station.
55

Red Rock. — Yellow sandstone rock. 2, Red sand rock. 3, Red clay and sand.

4, Indigo clay, with lignite, 18 feet. 5, Yellow sands and clays.

1, Sand hills. 2, Ravine. 3, Clay and yellow sand. 4, Chalk Downs.

5, Yellow sand and sandstone. 6, Preventive house.

The bearing indicated by the arrow is S. W. by W.

1 The cylindrical tubes of the Isle of Wight are capable of being separated
from the green sand in which they occur, but the tubes of Studland can-
not be separated ; they are evidently portions of the sand-rock itself, where-
as the Isle of Wight tubes appear to be casts of some vegetable body. —
Such also appeare to be the case with certain calcareous tubes in the Main
Island of the Bermudas. These, however, occur in beds of blown sand,
and owe their calcareous incrustation to the infiltration of water, bringing
down calcareous matter with it. " The calcareous tubes," says Lieut. Nel-
son, " are very generally found throughout the islands, apparently aggre-
gated around grass or small roots, as nuclei, which have subsequently de-
cayed. They have almost always an earthy matter running down the axis.
Beds, nay strata, of these tubular deposits, may be found in various parts,
as in the neighbourhood of Tobacco Bay, near St. George's, and in the
bank a little to the westward of Harris' Bay, where the cliffs commence ;
though nowhere to such an extent as at Ireland Island, between Bombay
and the south-west point, where the stratum is about four feet thick, and
corresponds to a similar formation on Skinner's or Tate's Island.

" The cliffs to the westward of Elbow Bay are curiously perforated to a
great extent by similar tubular holes ; but they are there detached from each
other, and are generally vertical and much larger." — On the Geology of the
Bermudas ; by R. J. Nelson, Esq. Lieut. R.E. in G. T. v. 101. the lat-
ter example best suits the case of the Studland tubes.

Vol. III.— No. 33 n. s. 3 a

438 GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE.

The composition of the beds is shown on the diagrams. —
The upper part of the cliff contains, in the red sand, which is
various in hue, and very thin bedded, nodules of white pipe-
clay, which were evidently washed thither from a lower or
distant bed, during the formation of the upper beds They
are all water- worn, and vary in size from a pea to a nine-
pound shot ; the joints of the rock have passed through them
as constituent portions of the mass, but there is an ochreous
deposit of a brighter hue round their outline, as if the parti-
cles of iron in the depositing water, in settling, aggregated
round them. Such examples as these explain the formation
of the darker lines in sand-stone rocks.

Respecting the lignite bed (4 in fig. 55) which occurs here
in connection with red sand, it may be observed, that it well
represents the character of all the lignite beds in the district,
— the enveloping substance being an unctuous indigo-colored
clay when moist, and drying to a brown black, — the particles
of wood then appearing as if they had been charred. They
are extremely minute, and seem to be the relics of some
aquatic plant or Juncus, together with the bark and seed-ves-
sels of a species of pine, but it is frequently impossible to
detect a portion sufficiently large to discover to what it actu-
ally belonged. A similar bed on the other side of Poole Bay,
not far from Bourne Mouth, I found to contain the seed-ves-
sels and wood of a pine. Here the masses of fallen clay and
sand have heaped up a considerable quantity of debris along
the base of the cliffs, and furze-bushes and sand occupy the
space intermediate between it and the entrance to Studland,
which is by a road that passes up another, though smaller,
rent in the cliff, on each side of which there are good trans-
verse sections of the beds of sand traversed by faults, and
strata-lines, and joints, on a small but very instructive scale.
From this rent to another, just 238 paces more to the north-
west, the cliffs of sand are obscured by vegetation, and are
defended below by a wide beach, occupied by the beginning
of the dunes or sand-hills, which stretch across to the entrance
of Poole Harbour, and on the other side of that entrance, as
far as Poole Head. Of these hills of blown sand, mention
will be made in the proper place.

(To be continued.)

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. 439

Art. III. — On the Anatomy of the Lamellibranchiate Conchiferous
Animals. By Robert Garner, Esq., F.L.S.

(Continued from Page 304.)
REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.

Reproduction in these animals was supposed, by some of
the ancient naturalists, to take place by a spontaneous gene-
ration, without the existence of ova ; but this idea has now
been justly exploded. Some modern naturalists have main-
tained, that amongst bivalve species, some individuals are
male and others female. Leuwenhoek1 inferred this, as did
also M.M. Prevost and Dumas;2 and that the ova of the fe-
male, after their rejection, required to be fecundated by the
fluid of the male. Mery3 supposes the existence of male and
female organs in every individual, but that an union of two
individuals is required for impregnation. But there appears
every reason to believe that there is no difference in the indi-
viduals, as to sex, and that the ova are discharged from the
ovaries in a state fit to develope, without the necessity of the
contact of any vivifying fluid ; or, in other words, that they
are fecundated before they leave the ovaries, by testes which
must be conjoined with those organs. No distinct male or-
gans appear to be present. Perhaps Home,4 who mentions
their existence, has mistaken the excretory organs for them,
as have many other anatomists. From what the author has
observed in the Modioli and My Mi, he believes that the or-
gans called ovaria do, at certain periods, secrete the seminal
fluid, which impregnates the ova contained in them, and is
then discharged as an excretion by the oviducts.

These ovaries are always voluminous, containing immense
numbers of ova.5 They are not always circumscribed, but
their ramifications vegetate, as it were, into different parts of
the body. Though two oviducts are developed, the ovaria
are not always distinct from each other, and sometimes, as in
the Pecten, all the ova appear to be discharged by one ovi-
duct alone. When the foot is imperfectly developed, the ova
at certain periods are seen to distend the mantle, as in Myti-
Ins, Modiola, Lithodomus, Hiatella, &c. In the oyster they
are found externally on each side of the liver, and also form

1 Arcana Naturae. 2 Annales des Sci. Nat. vol. vi.

3 Mem. Acad. Sciences. 1701. 4 Lectures on Comp. Anatomy.

5 Poli says the ovaries of a single oyster contain 1 ,200,000 ova.

440 ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

a triangular process, situated between the muscle and the
branchiae. This last is the part we see alone developed in
the Pecten and Spondylus. When the foot is large, the ova
are contained in it, and do not extend into the other parts. —
The orifices of the short oviducts vary in situation, but are
always in connection with the excretory organs, as has been
mentioned above. In the oyster, according to Home, they
open under the mouth, * but in the Anomia they open farther
back, between the branchiae. In Cardium, Solen, Pholas,
Psammobia, Mactra, Venus, Venerupis, My a and many
others, they open by papillae at the posterior part of the foot
into the excretory organs. In Unio, Modiola, Mytilus, Li-
thodomns, Hiafella, and some others perhaps, the orifices of
the eviducts do not open into these organs, and are more or
less distant from their outlets. The ratio of these differences
appears to be the situation of the ovaries. The ovaries are
scarcely visible at some periods : when developed, they often
present an agreeable arborescent appearance. The animals,
in such a state, are considered in season as articles of food. z
The ova leave the oviducts at different periods of the year in
different species ; this however generally takes place in spring
or at the commencement of summer. Poli asserts that some
species discharge their ova more than once in the year. The
ova are contained in the ovaria, enveloped by membranes,
each of which contains several. At an uncertain time before
their discharge, a milky fluid makes its appearance in the ova-
ries, and is itself ejected from the oviducts some time before
the ejection of the ova. When this fluid, which is often of a
light pink colour, is examined with a lens, it is seen to con-
sist of minute oval bodies, not more, perhaps, than the four
thousandth part of an inch long, swimming in a fluid, and
having a very perceptible motion. With a lens of upwards
of the twentieth of an inch focus, these appear simply oval
bodies, without appendages of any sort. Minute species of
Vibrio abound in this fluid, and these, becoming entangled
with the oval bodies, sometimes give the latter the appear-
ance of having appendages.3 Before the appearance of this

1 Home, Croonian Lecture.

2 It is extraordinary that muscles should have a poisonous effect on some
persons at certain times, whilst occasionally they may eat them with impu-
nity; and other persons will partake of the muscles which appear so perni-
cious in certain states of the system, without any bad effects. It appears
to be quite unknown to what this pernicious property may be owing ; it has
Q&en caused death. See Orfila, Moehring, Rondeau, Burrows, and Fodere.

3 Though the author calls in question the facts recorded by such observ-
ers as MM. Prevost and Dumas, with considerable hesitation, he is inclin-
ed to think, with M. Raspail, that they have mistaken the vibratile parts of
other organs for seminal animalcules in these animals.

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. 441

fluid the ova are small, they soon, however, from its influence,
enlarge, and the vitellus becomes coloured by the secretion.
The ova are of different figures in different species. In the
Unto they are round, about the seventieth of an inch in dia-
meter, consisting of a firm shell, containing a colourless fluid,
in which swims a globular yolk. A more transparent spot is
seen on the yolk ; this appears to become prominent, to en-
large, and to be developed into the young muscle.

A remarkable difference exists in bivalves as to the dispo-
sal of the ova when ejected from the oviducts. In the gene-
rality they are immediately discharged from all further con-
nection with the parent, along with the respired water &c. —
In a few species the ova, escaping from the oviducts, remain
for a time in the spaces left in the interior of the branchice
(oviducts of Home) by the want of apposition in the mem-
branes which form them. This is the case in the TJnio and
Anodonta, in which the ova may be found for several months
in the external branchice after leaving the ovaria, distending
these organs in a remarkable manner. It is curious that they
are never found in the internal branchice,1 along the edge of
which they may be seen to be conveyed, enveloped in mucus,
from the oviducts to the openings which are the posterior ter-
minations of the internal interbranchial spaces. They are
not found in these organs after the approach of spring, being
discharged by the anal orifice. In the ova, taken from the
branchice at different periods, we find different appearances.
In some we see merely the cicatricula described above, up-
on the yolk ; in others we see the yolk disappearing between
the valves of the animal, and becoming smaller and of a reti-
culated appearance on its superficies. It is in this stage that
the rotation of the embryo within its ovum, which has often
been noticed, may be witnessed. The rotation varies in quick-
ness ; perhaps, when most lively, there are seven or eight
volutions in a minute. The valves are developed, and the
animal has the power of opening and shutting them before it
leaves the shell. At length the ova crack, and the young
muscles are found free in the branchice adhering by a byssus.2
These have been considered to be merely parasitical animals
by Rathke, who makes of them a new genus under the name

1 Bojanus says lie has found them in the internal branchice. In a valu-
able and learned paper "by Blainville (Ann. Sci. Nat. vol. xiv.), the author
gives an account of all that has been done as to the anatomy of the gene-
rative organs of bivalves ; and of that paper, as well as of the Bibliography
in the Malacologie, the author has availed himself.

2 Called umbilical vessels by Koelreuter and Mangili.

442 ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA.

of Glochidium. He is followed in this opinion by Jabobson, ■
who considers their appearance and structure to preclude the
possibility of their being the young of the animal in which
they are found. The valves are different in shape, being tri-
angular, with the ligament at the short straight side, the other
two sides terminating in a point, at which, in each valve, we
see a process of membrane, dentated on its exterior surface.
Two pointed processes also appear projecting from the inner
surface of the valves. There is no foot developed, and the
muscles are situated on the dorsal edge of the valves, and al-
low them to be opened to a great extent. On inspecting a
very young Unio we see the valves commenced by triangular
nuclei, of the same shape as described above in the embryo ;
and it is by the greater development of the posterior extremi-
ty of the valves, that they gain the form of the full-grown
muscle. The membranes at the points of the valves may be
incipient branchiae and tentacles, the other processes are pro-
bably the nuclei of the teeth of the valve. Home does not
seem to have known the true oviducts, as he considers the
interlaminar spaces of the branchiae to be such. Bojanus
considers the branchiae as uteri, or receptacles for the ova. —
Joerg1 calls the internal branchiae ovaria, and the external
ones testes. The Anodonta anatina and An. cygnea are both
viviparous, as well as the Uniones, though Draparnaud,3 on
the authority of Poiret, denies that the former is so. In the
different species of Cyclas we find from ten to twenty of the
young, some very minute, others much larger, situated in the
internal branchiae on each side. They are discharged one by
one, when they attain about the sixth of an inch in diameter.
The oviducts, in the Cyclas, open over these internal bran-
chiae, and they are only accessible to the water from behind,
as are the external ones of the Unio. Three or four of these
young animals are inclosed in a membranous case, but the
largest are found separate. They sometimes also adhere by
a byssus to different parts of the body of the parent. Turton4
says that in the month of June he has found the old animals
of the Kellia rubra containing about twelve perfectly formed
young ones ; the author knows of no other instances than
those mentioned, of viviparous bivalves. Some species seem
to employ the foot for fixing the ova.

In no case are the ova discharged by the mouth, i or by the
anus.6 Nor is there, in those which are viviparous, any duct

'See paper by Blainville, Ann. Sci. Nat. vol. xiv.

2 Meckel, Comp. Anat. par Jourdain, vol. i. 3 Hist, ties Molliisques.

4 Fleming, Brit. Animals. 5 Treviranns, Zeitschrift. vol. i.

6 Cams, Lehrbuoh, vol. ii.

ANATOMY OF THE LAMELLIBRANCHIATA. 443

or canal leading from the ovaria to the cavities of the bran-
chics. Cams, though incorrect in the opinions formerly pub-
lished by him on this subject, has, ^n another work, ascer-
tained the true anatomy and functions ; and the author can
vouch for his accuracy, as he has obtained nearly the same
results.

DISEASES AND PARASITICAL ANIMALS,

One of the most remarkable circumstances relating to these
animals is the generation of pearls:1 the subject has been
treated of by Home and many other writers. These calcare-
ous concretions appear to be generally formed around abor-
tive ova, as was known to Pliny. The most beautiful ones
are obtained from the Meleagrina margaritifera, which in-
habits the Indian seas. The interior of this shell likewise
furnishes the nacre, or mother of pearl. Pearls of value are
likewise occasionally obtained from the Unto margaritifera,
a British species. Pearls are also common in other bivalves,
as in the Anodontce, Pholades &c, but are never of any beauty.

Numerous parasites inhabit the bodies of the Lamellibran-
chiata. Baer2 has described many of those of the fresh
water species, but has often considered vibratile parts of the
animal to be such.3 His Aspidogaster conchicola is very
common in the pericardium, secreting organs, &c, of the
JJnio and Anodonta. The author found the ovaria of an
Anodonta enormously distended with parasitical ova, which,
ruptured, were each found to contain several young individu-
als of a species of Distoma. The Nnmmulella of Cams ap-
pears to be produced by the rolling upon itself of a branchial
particle. The Peripheres conchilis spermatica of the same
author, abounds in the branchice. Many other animalcules
are also found. In the ovaria of another Anodonta the author
found a parasite in the different stages of its growth. In the
mature state its body is more or less cylindrical in shape, but
varying much at the will of the animal ; at one extremity are
two long appendages, which are spiniferous at their termina-
tion, and, in some individuals have a row of round bodies at-
tached to one side, for part of their length ; these appendages
are contracted with great rapidity, and are then very short.

1 Vogt, ' De Causa Margaritarum,' Nov. Act. Acad. Nat. Cur. vol. viii.

2 Nov. Act. Acad. Nat. Cur. vol. xiii. The author has only seen the ex-
tracts from the papers of Baer in the Bull, des Sci. Nat. and in the Zoo-
logical Journal.

3Raspail, Isis, 1827, &c. See also Gaillon, ' Sur les Animalcules des
Huitres,' Mem. Acad. Rouen, 1820.

444 FOSSIL QUADRUMANOUS REMAINS IN SUFFOLK.

There is an opening by a prominent circular lip, between
these appendages. A contraction separates the part on which
are situated the opening and appendages from the rest of the
body. There appears to be another opening at the opposite
extremity of the animal.

Atr. TV. — Letter from S. V; Wood, Esq., late Curator to the Ge-
ological Society, announcing the discovery of Fossil Quadrumanous
Remains, near Woodbridge, Suffolk.

13 Bernard St., Aug. 21, 1839.

Sir,

Hearing from Mr. Lyell that a mammiferous tooth
had been obtained by Mr. Wm. Colchester, from a clay-pit
at Kingston, near Woodbridge, I was naturally desirous of
visiting the spot, which T did, not without a slight hope of
finding something more, or at least, of inducing a farther
search to be undertaken. The bed in which the tooth was
found lies immediately beneath a stratum of blue clay, which
is used by Mr. Colchester in making bricks; but as the digging
and working are only carried on during the winter, I was
fearful that little could be done before that period. Hearing
however from one of the men that a heap of sand, lying near
the pit, had been thrown aside from those beds, I prevailed
on Mr. Colchester, who was with me, to employ a boy to sift
and search it, thinking it would probably yield something for
the trouble, having myself, in the course of a few minutes,
found several fishes1 teeth upon the surface. I am happy to
say that I have since received a letter from Mr. Colchester,
accompanied by a fossil, of which the annexed /^^ 57

engraving (fig. 57) is a faithful representation.
The specimen has been examined by Mr.
Owen, who has kindly undertaken to give his
opinion respecting it, in a paper to accompa-
ny the present communication.

As this is the first notice of a quadrumanous animal having
been found in England, it is of great importance correctly to
ascertain the age of the bed to which it belongs ; the fossil
itself contains sufficient internal evidence to remove all doubt
of its genuineness, as it has not the least appearance that a
recent tooth would have assumed, conceiving such to have
been accidentally introduced into the heap, even if Mr.
Owen's determination of its extinct character were not a war-
rant for its originality. I received with it one or two frag-

FOUND NEAR WOODB RIDGE, SUFFOLK. 445

ments of bone, not yet satisfactorily identified ; numerous
fishes' teeth, of the genus Lamna ; and a specimen of Turbi-
nolia. The teeth possess the sharpness of recent specimens,
and were probably quietly deposited in their present locality,
but the coral has undergone so much bouldering as to destroy
its character, and defy identification.

The bed whence these remains were obtained is a whit-
ish sand beneath a stratum of tenacious blue clay, situated
by the side of the river, about a mile from Woodbridge, in a
parish commonly called Kyson. This clay may be traced
beneath the crag not more than twenty yards from the pit,
and is a continuation of the same bed which extends over a
large portion of the eastern side of the county of Suffolk. —
Sections of this clay, with overlying crag, may be seen at
Sutton, Bawdsey, Felixstow, &c; and although, in all my
searching for fossils I have never been able to detect a single
shell in the clay deposit, the Septarice which are dredged up
off Harwich contain shells that have been identified with
those of the London clay : and it is fair to assume that as
part of the bed connecting this clay at Felixstow and Wal-
ton-on-the-Naze, there is little doubt of its belonging to the
eocene period ; but at Kyson, which is one of the western li-
mits of the crag, the beds become more irregular, and the
shells are much comminuted ; and at Hasketon, scarcely two
miles further westward, the clay assumes a different charac-
ter, being mixed with the detritus of the older rocks. I have
there picked up shells of the Echini filled with chalk. The
only doubt respecting the bed at Kingston would be whether
it could at all belong to that extensive diluvial deposit which
approaches so near ; as this fossil certainly belongs to some
quadrumanous animal, there is no formation to which it could
be so appropriately assigned as that of the London clay, — the
tropical character of the Fauna as well as of the Flora of that
period, being such as to justify an assumption of a warmer
climate, quite suitable to the existence of our. Macacus. —
However, I have given you the particulars of its discovery,
and I consign the details to abler hands.

I am, &c.

S. V. Wood.

Editor of the Magazine of
Natural History.

Vol. III.— No. 33. n. s. 3 b

446 FOSSIL QUADRUMANOUS REMAINS

Description of the Fossil mentioned in the preceding Letter. By
Rtchard Owen, Esq., Hun terian Professor at the Royal College
of Surgeons.

The fossil, the circumstances connected with the discovery
of which are above described, was submitted to me for exa-
mination by Mr. Wood, and it was with peculiar interest and
gratification that I found it to present unequivocal evidence
that it was a part of the skeleton of a true quadrumanous
species. It consists of the alveolus of the last molar of the
right side of the lower jaw, with the anterior part of the base
of the coronoid process, and the tooth entire, in its place. —
The crown of the tooth presents five tubercles, the four ante-
rior ones being arranged in two transverse pairs, the fifth
forming the posterior heel or * talon.' This conformation of
the crown of the last molar of the lower jaw, is characteristic,
as is well known, of two families of catarrhine or Old World
monkeys — the Se?nnopithecidce, including Semnopithecus and
Colobus, and the Macacidae, including Macacus, Cynocepha-
lus, and Papio*

In the Semnopitkecidae the fifth tubercle or talon is large
but simple. In most of the Macacidae it presents two cusps,
the outer one being much larger than the inner one. This
character is well marked in the fossil, which induces me to
refer it to the lower group, or Macacida ; and after a close
comparison with several recent species, it appears to me to
come nearest to the true macacques.

But the fossil exhibits the following differences from the
recent Macaci. The whole tooth is rather narrower in pro-
portion to its length : the transverse ridge at the anterior part
of the tooth, crossing the base of the two anterior tubercles,
is a little more prominent, and passes more obliquely from
the outer to the inner side : the second transverse ridge unit-
ing the first pair of tubercles, rises nearer to their summits.
The portion of jaw is more compressed than the corresponding
part of the jaw in the recent Macaci ; (compare fig. 58, b) :
the internal wall of the socket of the tooth is flatter and much
thinner ; (this character of the fossil is well shown in fig. 58, c):
the ridge on the outer side of the alveolus, which forms the
commencement of the anterior margin of the coronoid pro-
cess, begins closer to the tooth, (as is shown in figs. 57 and
58, a). These characters are sufficiently important and well-
marked to establish the specific distinction of the macacque
to which the portion of jaw belongs, and are the more valu-
able as corroborating the evidence already adduced in proof
that the fragment in question is a true fossil of the stratum
in which it was discovered.

FOUND AT WOODBRIDGE, SUFFOLK.

447

Fig. 57 (p 444) is a view of the fossil showing the outer side of the tooth and jaw, natural size
Fig. 58 A is the same view, magnified two diameters.

B is a view of the fossil looking down upon the grinding surface of the tooth, similarly
magnified. It does not show distinctly the inner small cusp of the ' talon ' or hinder
tubercle.
C. A view of the fossil from the inner side, magnified two diameters.

Fossil remains of Quadrumana have been discovered with-
in a recent period in the tertiary formations of India, of the
South of France, and of the Brazils.

The Indian remains, discovered by Messrs. Baker and Du-
rand, and those subsequently found by Messrs. Falconer and
Cautley, have been referred to a species of Semnopithecus,
as large as the Entellus, and consequently exceeding consi-
derably the present fossil in size.

The portions of fossil quadrumanous lower jaw discovered
by M. Lartet in the South of France, indicate a species of
Hylobates, rather smaller than the Syndactylies, but nearly
allied to that species.

The South American extinct quadrumanes, discovered by
M. Lened in the basin of the Rio des Velhas, it is interesting
to find, are referable to a form peculiar to the New World, and
are most nearly allied to the genus Callithrix ; but the ex-
tinct species are more than double the stature of any of those
which exist at the present day.

Not only therefore is the fact of the existence of quadru-
manous mammals at the tertiary periods of the earth's history
demonstrated, but we have evidence that four of the modifi-
cations of the quadrumanous type at present recognized were
in being at that remote epoch : that is to say, the tail-less ape
(Hylobates), the gentle, vegetable-feeding semnopithecque,
distinguished by its complicated stomach ; the more petu-
lant and omnivorous macacque, and the platyrrhine Colli-
thrix. Lastly, we have the interesting fact established, that

448 PORTION OF AN OPOSSUM'S JAW

the Quadrumana were formerly distributed over parts of the
earth's surface, which at the present day, are so far altered as
regards the climate and vegetable productions, as to be unfit
for their existence.

Art. V. — Illustrated Zoological Notices. By Edward Charles-
worth, F.G.S. &c.

( Continued from page 353 .)

1 . On the discovery of a Portion of an Opossum's Jaw in the London Clay,

near Woodbridge, Suffolk.

2. On some Fossil Teeth of the Genus Lamna,from the same deposit.

A visit to the county of Suffolk, made within the last few
days, has put me in possession of some fossil remains from
the spot in which the fragment of an extinct macacque has
been procured by Mr. Wood ; and as the subject is one of
the highest interest, I am anxious that the additional infor-
mation which 1 have obtained should accompany the impor-
tant communication made by that gentleman to the present
number of the Magazine of Natural History.

I believe it was in the early part of 1837, that Mr. William
Colchester, of Ipswich, who had then recently directed his
attention to the fossils of the crag, showed me the molar tooth
of some small mammiferous animal, which had been taken
from a clay-pit near Woodbridge, quarried for the purpose of
making bricks. From the character of the tooth I saw at once
that it could not be referred to any of our indigenous quad-
rupeds, though I was unable from recollection to determine
the genus, or even family, to which it probably belonged. —
As the tooth was associated with those of sharks, and the
quarry in the London clay district, Mr. Colchester supposed
it to be a London clay fossil ; and upon going over with him
to visit the spot, I saw no reason for suspecting the deposit to
be of more recent date, except the then unprecedented fact of
mammiferous remains occurring so low down in the tertiary
series. Aware of the important nature of the fact, assum-
ing our estimate of the age of the bed to be correct, Mr,
Colchester offered to place the fossil at my disposal, in the
event of my being inclined to record the circumstances of its
discovery in the Magazine of Natural History. I should cer-
tainly have done so at the time, had I not felt that before
announcing so novel a fact in the history of English tertiary
Geology, there were reasons which called for a most careful
examination of such sources of fallacy as might be present.
The visit which I paid to the quarry was a very hurried one,

DISCOVERED AT WOODBRIDGE. 449

and as the crag was not here resting upon the surface of the
clay, the evidence which would have been decisive — that of
immediate superposition, was absent. The clay itself was
destitute of fossils, and its thickness was not greater than
that which may be sometimes seen in far more recent argil-
laceous deposits in Suffolk and Essex, and which deposits
might readily be confounded with the London clay, in the
absence of organic remains. In addition to this, I remarked
that the sharks' teeth, at that time the only fossil remains
found with the mammiferous tooth, were quite as character-
istic of the crag as of the London clay, being all of small
size, and of the forms which are common to both deposits. —
These reasons made me determine to postpone a notice of
this interesting specimen, until I should have satisfied my-
self, as far as possible, as to the antiquity of the stratum in
which it was imbedded. Nearly three years, however, have
now elapsed since its discovery was communicated to me,
and during the hasty visits that I have subsequently paid to
that part of the country, having never put my original inten-
tion into execution, or applied to Mr. Colchester for the spe-
cimen, it was handed over to Mr. Lyell on one of his late
excursions to Suffolk, and I believe will be noticed by him
at the Birmingham meeting of the British Association.

In the early part of the present month I received from Mr.
Wood the fossil remain which forms the subject of the joint
communication from himself and Professor Owen ; and as the
discovery of an extinct quadrumanous animal greatly added
to the importance of no error being committed with regard to
the supposed age of the bed, — for the purpose of setting at
rest any doubt that might still have lingered in my own mind,
I devoted a morning a few days since to the examination of
the spot. After thoroughly exploring the geological features
presented by the beds in the immediate neighbourhood of the
place, I think the quarry may, without any hesitation, be as-
signed to the age of the London clay. Several quarries of
crag occur within half a mile distance ; and on crossing the
river you have, a little nearer the town, a section of the clay
and superimposed crag, similar to that exhibited by the coast
line at Walton and Felixstow.

The annexed sketch, fig. 59, without its being drawn to any
very accurate scale, will convey an idea of the probable sec-
tion which the beds of clay and crag would exhibit on either
side the Deben, the presumed length of the section being
three miles.

450 PORTION OF AN OPOSSUM'S JAW

London Clay. London Clay.

I was much disappointed in this last visit to the quarry to
find that the stratum of sand in which the fossils are found
was not exposed, owing to its lying below the clay, and the
small quantity required in manufacturing the bricks. Some
of the sand however had been laid aside, and was being sifted
by a daughter of one of the workmen, who picked out the
sharks' teeth, which, with about three or four per cent, of
fine shingle, formed the residuum. The teeth were plentiful
enough, but I could not detect the slightest fragment of a
shell. The foreman told me that they had sunk about ten
feet into the sand, without passing through it. It would be
desirable to ascertain at what depth the chalk is there met
with, but this point I had not the means of determining :
probably it is not far below the surface, and this sand may
perhaps separate the chalk from the overlying clay.

Upon my calling on Mr. Colchester, I found that he had
been so fortunate as to have added to his previous discoveries
that of the interesting fragment represented at fig. 60, con-

fa) Portion of the lower jaw of the fossil Opossum, enlarged one half,
(ft) View of the crown of the tooth, twice the natural size ; (seen from within).

sisting of a portion of the right ramus of the lower jaw of an
opossum, in which one of the false molars is happily retain-
ed. The tooth in its symmetrical form, united with the in-
dication of an anterior as well as posterior heel or talon, does
not agree with any species of didelph with which I have as
yet been able to compare it, but I think no doubt can be en-
tertained of the generic or family affinities indicated by the
characters which it exhibits. Judging from the empty alve-
oli on either side, the tooth appears to be the one immediate-
ly succeeding the true molars : its posterior tubercle is
strongly developed, and divided longitudinally by a prominent
ridge, the continuation of which forms the posterior edge of
the body of the tooth. At the base of the anterior root of
the tooth the opening of & for amen is seen, on the outer surface
of the bone.

DISCOVERED AT WOODBRIDGE. 451

It is unnecessary to offer any comments on the interest of
the additions now made to the extinct Fauna of this island,
by the discovery of Quadrumana and marsupials in the Lon-
don clay. These additions probably constitute only the
commencement of a series of discoveries, which will be
brought to light in the same quarter ; as Mr. Colchester, who
holds the quarry, has made arrangements for the careful ex-
amination of all the sand which shall be subsequently remov-
ed. The connection of this enquiry with the subject of M.
d'Orbigny's papers in the Journal of the French Academy,
and the Bulletin of the Geological Society, should not be
overlooked. It seems as though the phenomena in the pre-
sent case would admit an inference very similar to that which
he drew from an examination of the beds above the chalk in
the neighbourhood of Meudon, and respecting which he re-
marks,— " Qu'il existe, a la partie inferieure de Targile plas-
tique, des caracteres nouveaux demontrant surtout que divers
genres de mammiferes vivaient a Tepoque ou cet etage s'est
forme."

H

a & d) Teeth ofLamna agreeing in form with species abundant in the London clay & red crag.
b) Tooth probably of the same genus, but of an undescribed species, provided with quadrate
lateral denticles.
Tooth of Lamna with two pairs of denticles.

A tooth, of which the form probably depends upon its situation having been near the ter-
mination of the series.

I selected a few of the sharks' teeth found in this deposit,
from several hundred in the possession of Mr. Colchester, for
the purpose of illustration. I believe all yet discovered may
be referred to the genus Lamna, and to species which occur
in both the crag and London clay, so that at present the iden-
tification of the bed from the evidence furnished by organ-
ic remains, must be looked upon as a desideratum. The teeth
of the genus Otodus, though not uncommon in the London

45*2 FOSSIL PLANTS OF BRITAIN.

clay of Suffolk, have not been noticed in the present deposit,
whilst, on the other hand, there are no traces of the genus
Carcharias to favor the opinion of its age agreeing with that
of the crag. The average size of one hundred teeth, if com-
pared with the same number from the Harwich cliffs, will be
found about one third smaller. Their colour and general as-
pect corresponds most closely with the appearance presented
by the small sharks' teeth from Malta, and some of the con-
tinental tertiary deposits, and presents a singular contrast
to those found in the red crag, or the ordinary beds of the
London clay formation. As Mr. Wood has remarked, they
do not appear to have been subjected to the slightest boul-
dering, a circumstance satisfactorily established by the per-
fect condition of the lateral denticles.

Art. VI. — A Systematic Catalogue of the Fossil Plants of Britain.
By John Morris Esq.

The study of fossil Botany, equally interesting and impor-
tant as any other branch of Natural History, is rendered more
difficult in consequence of those parts which, in a recent
state, afford the most ready means of generic distinction, be-
ing rarely preserved : however, Botanists, well acquainted
with the structure of existing vegetation, have, by an atten-
tive examination of the best- preserved portions, been enabled
to decipher many of the characters of the ancient Flora. In
the present catalogue I have included not only the fossilized
remains peculiar to Britain, but many of the more interesting
specimens which have hitherto been found only in continen-
tal deposits. The general arrangement of the greater portion
of this catalogue, as well as the generic characters, have been
adopted from the views entertained in the works of Messrs.
Lindley and Hutton,1 Witham, Brongniart,2 Sternberg,3 &c,
and for the cryptogamic part, more especially the Filices, to

1Iindl. and Hutt. ' The Fossil Flora of Great Britain,' by Lindley
and Hutton. London : 1831—1836.

2 Brong. Prod. ' Prodrome d'une Histoire des Vegetaux Fossiles, » par
M. A. Brongniart. Paris: 1828.

Brong. Hist. ' Histoire des Vegetaux Fossiles.' Paris : 1828.

3 Sternb. ' Versuch einer geognostich-botanischen Darstellung der Flo-
ra der Vorwelt,' C. von Sternberg. Leipsie and Prague : parts i. — iv. tab.
1—58, 1820 ; parts v. and vi. tab. 1—26, 1833.

FOSSIL PLANTS OF BRITAIN. 453

a valuable memoir lately published by Prof. Goppert,1 as
well as to some suggestions of Professor and Mr. G. Don.

PLANTM CRYPTOGAM1CM.

Confervites, Brongn.
Filaments simple or branched, divided by internal partitions.

Conf.fasciculata, Brong. Hist. tab. 1, fig. 1. Chalk, Lewes,
Steyning, Norwich. Chalk marl, Hamsay, Isle of Born-
holm.

Conf. . Mant. Geol. Suss. tab. 9, fig. 12. Chalk,

Lewes.

Fucoides, Brongn. {Algacites, Schloth.)

Frond continuous, never articulated, usually not symmetrical or subcy-
lindrical, simple, or oftener branched, naked, or more commonly leafy ; or
membranous, entire, more or less lobed, with no ribs or imperfectly marked
ones, which branch in an irregular manner, and never anastomose.

Fuco. Brongniarti, Mant. tab. 9, fig. 1. Chalk, Lewes.

Targioni, Brong. Hist. tab. 4, fig. 2. Upper green

sand, Bignor, Sussex.

furcatus, Brong. Hist. tab. 5, fig. 1. Stonesfield slate,

Stonesfield, Oxon.

arcuatus, Lindl. and Hutt. ;ii. tab. 185. Ool. shale,

Gristhorpe Bay.

granulatus, Brong. Lias, Lyme Regis. Boll,

Wurtemburg.

Mant. Geol. Suss, page 83. Gault, Norlington,

Blechingly.

T ympanophora, Lindl. z

Tymp. simplex, Lindl. and Hutt. iii. tab. 170 A. Low. ool.

shale, Cloughton Wyke, Scarborough.
racemosa, Lindl. and Hutt. iii. tab. 170 B. Low. ool,

shale, Cloughton Wyke.

Chondrites, Sternb.

Frond cartilaginous, filiform, dichotomously branched, branches cylin-
drical ; compressed in the specimens.

Chond. trichomanoides, Gopp. page 268, tab. 30, fig. 2 b. —
Coal measures, Attendorf.

1 Gopp. ' Systema Filicum Fossilium,' H. R. Goppert. Novorum Ac-
tomm Academiae Csesariae Leopoldino-Carolinae Naturae Curiosorum Sup.
vol. xvii. 1836.

2 Generic characters not determined.

Vol. III.— No. 33. n. s. 3 c

454 FOSSIL PLANTS OF BRITAIN.

FUNGI.

Excipulites, Gopp.

Sessile, naked, and cup-shaped ; perithecia horny, nearly closed, and fi-
nally opening with a rounded entire mouth.

Excip. Neesii, Gopp. page 262, tab. 36, fig. 4. Coal mea-
sures, Waldenburg, Silesia.

Polyporites, Lindl.

Polyp. Bowmanni, Lindl. and Hutt. i. tab. 65. Coal mea-
sures, Denbighshire.

No fossil Hepatica or Musci at present known in England.

FILICES.

Ferns, the stems only known,
Caulopteris, Lindl.

Stem cylindrical, closely marked by large, oblong, convex, uneven scars,
wider than the tortuous depressed spaces that separate them.

Caul, punctata, Gopp. page 449. Lepidodendron puncta-
tum, Sternb. part i., page 13, tab. 4 & 8, fig. 2. Coal
measures, Kauritz, Bohemia.

primceva, Lindl. and Hutt. tab. 42. Sigillaria Lind-

leyi, Brong. Coal measures, Radstock, Bath.

Phillipsii, Lindl. and Hutt. tab. 140, page 161. Coal

measures, Camerton, Somerset.

Singeri, Gopp. tab. 41, fig. 1, 2. Sandstone, Giers-

dorf, Silesia.

Karstenia, Gopp.

Caudex even, covered by cicatrices which are arranged in a spiral man-
ner ; cicatrices orbicular, convex, and teated in the centre, each girded by
an elevated or flattish ring, and often destitute of any ring.

Kars. omphalostigma, Gopp. tab. 33, fig. 1. Coal measures,
Charlottebrunn, Silesia.

mammillaris, Gopp. tab. 33, fig. 4, 5. Coal measures,

Charlottebrunn.

Cottjsa, Gopp.

Stem even, probably ascending, clothed by the lower parts of the stipes,
which are disposed spirally.

Cot. danceoides, Gopp. page 452 ; Jager, tab. 7, fig. 6. Keu-
per, Stuttgard.

FOSSIL PLANTS OF BRITAIN. 455

Tubicaulis, Cotta.

Stem composed of larger and smaller tubiform fasciculi, and surrounded
by a brown sufficiently conspicuous tunic ; the larger tubes converging,
distant, inclosing vescicles, and surrounded by the smaller tubes, which are
arranged without any order ; the vescicles in a transverse section of the
stem presenting a regular form.

Tubie. dubius, Cotta,1 page 25, tab. 1, fig. 3, 4; Gopp. page

456. Locality unknown.
1 primarius, Cotta, tab. 1, fig. 1, 2 ; Gopp. page 454.

Endogenites solenites, Spreng. page 32. Red sandstone,

Freyburg.

ramosus, Cotta, tab. 3, fig. 1 — 3; Gopp. page 455.

solenites, Cotta, tab. 2, fig. 1, 2, 3; Gopp. page 454.

(Endogenites, Spreng.) Red sandstone, Freyburg.

Psaronius, Cotta.

Fasciculi parallel, seated on the stem, and surrounded by brown conspi-
cuous tunics, which are either cylindrical or tubular, or wider, resembling
a copula ; these last are filled by a thick cellular tissue, the former con-
taining small angular columns.

Psar. Asterolithus, Cotta, page 29, tab. 4, fig. 1 — 4. Endo-
genites Asterolithus, Spreng. page 33, fig. 1 ; Starry stone,
Parkinson, i. tab. 8, fig. 3 — 6; Gopp. page 456. Neue
Paka, Bohemia.

Helmintholithus, Cotta, page 31, tab. 5, fig. 1, tab. 6,

fig. 1 — 3, tab. 7, fig. 1, 2; Endogenites Psarolithus, Spreng.
page 37, fig. 5; Parkinson, i. page 410, tab. 8, fig. 1, 2, 5,
7 ; Gopp. page 457. Red sandstone, Chemnitz, in Sax-
ony. Neue Paka, Bohemia.

Ad. Brongniart considers the affinity of Psaronius to arborescent ferns
as very doubtful, and that its internal structure is more analogous to the
base of the stem of some gigantic and arborescent Lycopodium, the two
species above named being only different portions of it ; Psar. Hehnintho-
lithus representing the fibro-vascular axis of the stem of the Lycopocliacea;,
the Psar. Asterolithus corresponding to the exterior cellular tissue of the
same stems. Hist, des Veget. Foss. ii. pp. bl — 67.

Porosus, Cotta.

Stem covered with tube-formed fascicles of vessels, which are conspicu-
ous in the cuticle, the inner part filled with a porous mass destitute of
structure.

Por. communis, Cotta, page 39, tab. 8, fig. 1 — 3; Gopp. page

458. Dresden and Chemnitz.
marginatus, Cotta, page 41, tab. 8, fig. 4, 5; Gopp. page

458. Locality unknown.

1 Die dcndrolithen in Beziehung auf ihren inneren Bau von C. B. Cot-
ta, Dresden, 1832.

456 fossil plants of britain.

Endogenites.

End. erosa, Mant. Geol. South East Eng. page 236, tab. 1,
fig. 4, 5, 7. Hastings sand, Tilgate, &c.

striata, Lindl. and Hutt. tab. 227 A. Coal Measures,

England.

This genus has been placed here on the authority of M. Brongniart, who
considers it has more affinity to the arborescent ferns than to the palms.

The fronds only known.

VARIABLE FERNS.
BOCKSCHIA, Gopp.

Fronds stemless? fan-shaped, with parallel veins; fertile fronds with
5 or 7 plaits, sterile flat. Sori oblong, in two rows, seated on the plaits,
which are bluntly triangular.

Bocks, flabellata, Gopp. tab. 1, fig. 1, 2. Coal measures,
Waldenburg, Silesia.

Pachypteris, Brong.

Fronds pinnate or bipinnate ; leaflets entire, coriaceous, ribless or one-
ribbed, contracted at the base, not adherent to the midrib.

Pach. lanceolata, Brong. Prod, page 50; Brong. Hist.i. page
168, tab. 45, fig. 2 ; Gopp. tab. 1, fig. 4; Sternb. part v.
and vi., page 55. Sphenopteris lanceolata, Phillips, tab.
10, fig. 6. Oolite shale, Saltwick, Yorkshire.

ovata, Brong. Prod, page 50; Hist. i. page 168, tab.

45, fig. 2 ; Sternb. part v. and vi., page 55 ; Gopp. page
180. Neuropteris Icevigata, Phillips, tab. 10, fig. 9. Oo-
lite shale, Saltwick, Yorkshire.

Anomopteris, Brong.

Fronds pinnate ; leaflets linear, entire, somewhat plaited transversely at
the veins, marked with a midrib ; veins simple, perpendicular, curved. —
Fructification of doubtful form.

Anom. Mougeotii, Brong. Prod, page 50 ; Ann. Sci. Nat. vol.
xv. page 439 ; Hist. i. page 257, tab. 79 —81 ; Gopp. tab.
1, fig. 5. Gres bigarre, Sulz-les-bains, Wapelonne.

DANJEACEM, Gopp.

Fronds pinnate, veins transverse. Sporangia adnate to the lower sur-
face, approximating to the margin, and opening by a fissure.

Glockeria, Gopp.

Frond pinnate. Sporangia oval, seated on the secondary veins at the
margin of the frond, and probably dehiscing longitudinally.

FOSSIL PLANTS OF BRITAIN. 457

Clock, marratoides, Gopp. tab. 39, fig. 2, 3. Coal measures,
Charlottebrunn, Silesia.

Dan^ites, Gopp.

Sporangia linear, parallel, seated on the forked secondary veins ; indusi-
um doubtful.

Dan. asplenioides, Gopp. tab. 19, fig. 4,5. Coal measures,
Charlottebrunn.

GLEICHENIEjE, Gopp.
Frond pinnate or bi-pinnate. Sporangia 3 — 6 angled.

Gleichenites, Gopp.
Frond forked, pinnate. Fructification unknown.

Glei. Linkii, Gopp. tab. 2, fig. 1. Coal measures, Charlotte-
brunn, Silesia.

Neesii, Gopp. tab. 3, fig. 1, 2. Fetid limestone, Otten-

dorf, Bohemia.

artemisicefolius, Gopp. page 184. Sphenopteris, Sternb.

part iv. page 15, part v. and vi. page 58 ; Brong. Hist. i.
page 136; a, tripartitus, Sternb. part iv. tab. 54, fig. 1 ;
$, dichotomus, Brong. Hist. tab. 46 ; y, minor, Brong. Hist,
tab. 47. a, Coal measures, Yawdon, Northumberland ; B
and y, Newcastle.

crithmifolius, Gopp. page 185. Sphenopteris, Lindl.

and Hutt. i. tab. 46, page 46 ; Sphen. dichotoma, Sternb.
part v. and vi. jS, affinis; Sphen. affinis, Lindl. and Hutt.
i. tab. 45; Sternb. loc. cit. Coal measures, Bensham, Bur-
die house.

neuropteroides, Gopp. page 186, tab. 4, 5. Greywacke,

Landshut, Silesia.

ASTEROCARPUS,1 G6pp.

Frond bi-pinnate. Sporangia 3 or 4, adhering by their sides, appearing
altogether like a 3- or 4-celled capsule.

Ast. Sternbergii, Gopp. page 188, tab. 6, fig. 1 — 4. Coal

measures, Saarbruck.
lanceolatus, Sternb. ; Gopp. page 382. Keuper, Rhein-

dorf, near Bamberg.
heterophyllus, Sternb. ; Gopp. page 382. Keuper,

Rheindorf.

(To be continued.)

1 Should a closer inspection of these fossils prove that the stellate-like
capsule is rather an ideal than a true form, they may more probably be-
long to Cyatheites, the disposition of the sori resembling the recent genus
Cyathea ; the stellate appearance being produced by the pressure they have
subsequently undergone.

458 PENSILE NEST OF A BRITISH WASP.

Art. VII. — Notes on the Pensile Nests of British Wasps. By W.
E Shuckard, Esq., Librarian to the Royal Society, V.P.E.S., &c.

At the last meeting of the Entomological Society Mr. Barraud
exhibited the small nest of a wasp, which had been found
near Croydon, built in a sparrow's nest, and attached to the
feathers within it. The smallness of the nest, and of the tier
of cells, as well as the peculiar material of which it appeared
composed, led to a discussion, the tendency of which seemed
to support the opinion that it was most probably the nest of
Polistes, — a social wasp not yet found in this country ; but
if not of Polistes, yet certainly of some new species not yet
determined or known. Feeling curious about it, I obtained
the nest to examine, and the following is the result of my in-
spection of it.

The nest consists of three shells, with a space about a
line wide between each, viz., the rudiments of a basal ex-
ternal one, commenced in a spiral direction, the widest por-
tion of which is about half an inch only. The enveloping
one, which gives the form to the nest, and is ovate, about an
inch and a half long, and an inch broad at its widest diame-
ter, and has a circular aperture at its apex, rather more than
4 of an inch across. Within this case, at the base, there is
the commencement of another spiral one, which at its widest
part laps laterally, scarcely farther than the base of the cells ;
and within this, in the centre, is placed the tier of cells, ori-
ginating from a common pedicle, consequently, as usual, the
central ones are the most advanced in structure : altogether
there are fifteen perfect hexagons, the central ones being
nearly four lines deep, and all a little more than two lines in
diameter.

The nest appears to be constructed of the agglutinated par-
ticles of a soft white wood, probably willow, very imperfectly
triturated, which gives it externally a rough granulated ap-
pearance. It is sprinkled with black specks, arising perhaps
from the intermixture of more decayed portions of the wood,
and is of a very fragile texture.

The nature of the material, and its unfinished execution,
as well as the situation in which it was found, appear to me
to be its only peculiarities, and I must necessarily consider it
merely an accidental deviation in material and locality from
the usual nests of the Vespa Britannica of Leach, one of
which is in my possession, and differs only in the following
particulars. I must, however, premise, that I am sure of the

PENSILE NEST OF A BRITISH WASP. 459

identity of the wasp, as the builder of my nest, for the female
was captured within it.

Mine is more globular, and about an inch in diameter eve-
ry way ; it also consists of three shells, the internal one how-
ever envelopes it entirely, excepting the aperture for egress,
which is of the same width as the above ; the second shell
also is entire, and extends to the plane of the mouth of the
inner one ; the external one is, as above, also merely rudimen-
tal, and constructed only on one side, and at its widest part is
about the same size as the former. The tier of cells within
is in about the same state of advancement as the preceding,
and consists of only, apparently, eleven cells, — also perfect
hexagons, and of the same diameter. Its substance is a highly
elaborated papier machee, of a brilliant silvery grey colour,
smooth, and worked spirally, and in consistence it is much
tougher than the above.

It was found suspended from the roof of a summer house
at Hoxton, and given to me by Mr. Norman. The following
is the description of the wasp taken with it, and which I con-
sider to be the Vespa Britannica of Leach.

It is eight lines and a half long. Expansion of the wings
fifteen lines : diameter of abdomen three lines. I Back cover-
ed with long yellowish pubescence : the clypeus, inner edge
of the eyes as far as their emargination, a patch behind the
eyes at their apex, a quadrate anteriorly emarginate mark be-
tween the antennae, the basal joint of the latter in front, and
the mandibles, — all yellow ; the thorax has a broad line on
each side of the pro-thorax, a small spot on each side, be-
neath the origin of the superior wings, and two large semi-
circular marks on the scutellum, — yellow. The abdomen is
yellow, with the base of the first to the fourth segments black,
rather broader in the centre, where it is augulated ; on the
second to the fourth segments there is, on each side, an ob-
scure spot, separated from the black basal band : the legs are
yellow, with the coxae, trochanters, and base of the femora,
black. The wings are obscure, anteriorly fuscescent, and
their nervures pitchy.

The situation in which the first nest was found, is certain-
ly very singular. The wasp must have concluded the spar-
row's nest deserted, or may it have confided in its means of
defence ? But I have no doubt, as I have said above, that it
is merely an accidental deviation, in structure and locality,
from the ordinary nests of the Vespa Britannica.

1 1 give these dimensions particularly to show the relative sizes of the
wasp and of her nest.

460 FOSSIL SHELLS OF THE CRAG.

There are two British wasps which suspend their nests in
exposed situations ; — the one above, and the Vespa Holsatica,
Fab. The nest of the latter is, however, much larger, usually
about the size of a man's head, or somewhat smaller. These
are of a firm texture, and are attached to shrubs ; in the north
they frequently occur in gardens, fixed to gooseberry-bushes.
As to the number of wasps which are natives of this country,
I much doubt if there are as many as cabinets are made to
contain, from their being separated according to the markings
of the abdomen ; for I have myself taken three of these vari-
eties, going in and out of one nest : but I shall shortly pub-
lish the facts which I have collected upon this subject, and
my opinions as to their specific identity and diversity, will be
strengthened by differences of structure as well as of mark-
ings, and indeed I strongly suspect that the Vespa Holsatica
and Vespa Britannica are identical.

31, Robert St., Chelsea,
July 15th, 1839.

Art. VIII.— On the Fossil Shells of the Crag. By S. V. Wood,
Esq. late Curator to the Geological Society of London.

In publishing the following additions to the British tertiary
fossils, some reason should be assigned for classing under
one genus such diversity of forms as is here represented, and
which might otherwise have been distributed among four pro-
posed genera, viz., Bullcea, Bulla, Bullina, Bullinula. It
was my intention so to have arranged them, but upon exami-
nation I found the gradations from the depressed and hidden
spire to one that is highly elevated, to be so minute and al-
most imperceptible, that I knew not where to admit the one
character and reject the other. Mr. G. B. Sowerby, in his
* Genera of Recent and Fossil Shells,' No. 39, has united
Bullcea and Bulla, at the same time remarking the changes
from one to the other to be so gradual, that a distinct gener-
ic line of separation cannot be drawn between them, and
thinks the union of the two genera to be fairly warranted. I
fully concur in this opinion, and in my present descriptions
have only given the genus a little more extension, so as to
include shells whose spires are quite visible, and more ele-
vated than those which have generally been restricted within
the limits of Lamarck's generic character.

The discordance among conchologists respecting the boun-
dary line between different genera, is a subject of little im-

m.

A?

e

*

so

■f

2

J£>.CJSc*ver£y i

FOSSIL SHELLS OF THE CRAG. 461

portance to the geologist, the permanent establishment of
species being all that is required for the purpose of identifi-
cation ; but upon this point it is certainly to be regretted that
there should be any dispute, and until we are well acquainted
with a shell in all its varieties and monstrosities, this must
and always will be the case. The following are all the Bul-
lae belonging to the crag that I have seen ; the descriptions
will always be given from my own specimens, unless when
otherwise expressed.

Bulla quadrata, Nob. Suppl. PI. No. vii. fig. 1.

Shell quadrangular, finely striated, aperture wide, outer lip nearly straight,
inner lip folded back, muscular impression marginal. Apex depressed >
visible. Length j, diameter Tf of an inch.

Coralline crag, Sutton.

Only one perfect specimen of this pretty shell has fallen
into my hands, therefore I presume it rare ; a few imperfect
ones have assisted me in drawing up its character. The
quadrate form of the outer lip renders this shell very distinct,
and not liable to be confounded with any other species. A
slight compression round the upper part of the body-whorl
takes a little from the straight line of the outer lip, which is
much expanded ; the inner lip is not only folded back, form-
ing a small umbilicus, but leaves an elevated ridge inwards,
which produces a flattened depression on that side. Muscu-
lar impression large and conspicuous ; stria fine, numerous,
and diverging.

I have included this very expanded shell among the Bulla
for the reasons above stated, conceiving the expansion of the
aperture alone, to be insufficient for generic distinction.

Bulla catenata, Nob. Fig. 2.

Shell obovate, spire depressed, visible, aperture large, lip arcuated, vertex
truncated, inner lip projecting: sub-umbilicated, striated, sfrk numer-
ous, ornamented ; muscular impression indistinct. Length £, diameter
^ of an inch.

Coralline crag, Sutton.

Two or three specimens only are in my possession, one of
which is sufficiently perfect to exhibit all the characters above
described. The elegant chain- like markings that ornament
this shell are similar to those of Bulla catena, but in other
respects it differs from the description of that species. The
inner lip stands prominently forward, causing a depression be-
hind it ; the outer one is sharp and arcuated, which gives an
oval contour to the shell. The upper part of the outer lip is

Vol. III.— No. 33. n. s. 3d

46*2 FOSSIL SHELLS OF THE CRAG.

truncated, leaving the spire visible, though depressed, with a
slight compression around the upper part of the body-whorl.
The whole marked with strice diverging from the summit.

Bulla dilatata, Nob. Fig. 3.

Shell subcylindrical, vertex truncated, spire depressed, visible, aperture
large, expanding towards the base ; striated, strice diverging, muscular
impression large. Length f, largest diameter 7| of an inch.

Coralline Crag, Sutton.

The spire is visible although depressed, the upper part of
the whorls convex, producing a deep suture or subcanal round
the vertex. The aperture is much expanded, showing the
muscular impression imperfectly divided, being deeply seated
around the base, and slightly visible along the edge of the
outer lip, and again deeply impressed at the upper part. —
The striae are visible at the apex, running round the convo-
lutions of the shell, but diverging towards the base, where
they are almost at right angles with those above. Under a
lens it shows externally a very elegant chain-like appearance,
produced by small oval depressions, similar to those of Bul-
la catenata : it has a slight depression behind the thickened
edge of the inner lip, running to the base.

A recent shell from the coast of Bute, given to me by Mr.
Lyell, is perfectly identical with the above ; but in its recent
state is beautifully transparent, the chain-like strice being vi-
sible on the inside.

Bulla lignaria, Auct. Fig. 4.
Shell ovate, thin, spirally striated, vertex depressed, aperture wide.
Coralline Crag, Ramsholt and Sutton.

Four or five entire specimens, with a few fragments suffi-
cient to allow of a careful comparison, have enabled me to
decide upon the identity of this shell with the well-known re-
cent species. Nothing that I could imagine to be the testa-
ceous gizzard, or even a part of it, has ever come under my
observation. I have only one fragment from the red crag,
but its tenuity is ill adapted to withstand the bouldering of a
littoral deposit, and also its comparative rarity in the coral-
line crag may account for its non-appearance in the upper
bed.

Bulla ventrosa, Nob. Fig. 5.

Shell ovate, globose, striated, spire concealed, aperture suboval, extending
to the apex, narrow above, expanding towards the base, umbilicated. —
Length 7|, diameter ^ of an inch.

Coralline crag, Sutton.

FOSSIL SHELLS OF THE CRAG. 463

A shell figured by Brown, in his Illustrations of British
Conchology, called Diaphana Candida, pi. 38, fig. 13, 14,
somewhat resembles this in outline, but the spire is visible ;
and as there is no accompanying description, little can be said
respecting it. The inner lip is slightly folded back, forming
behind it a small umbilicus, and the outer one expanding
towards the base, forms a compression round the upper part
of the whorl, a character not unusual in many species of this
genus. The aperture diverges from the upper part, assuming
a suboval shape. Externally striated, and the outer lip thick-
ened, behind which is seen the muscular impression.

Bulla conulus, Desh. Fig. 6.

Bulla conulus, Deshayes, Coq. Foss. des Env. de Par. ; pi. 5, fig. 34, 36.

Shell ovato-conical, striated, columella subuniplicated, aperture linear, base
dilated, spire hidden. Length \, diameter £ of an inch.

Coralline Crag, Sutton.

This is one of the few eocene shells found in this deposit.
I presume it to be identical, according to Deshayes' figure
and description, except that he says " basi tenuissime stria-
ta," whereas the crag shell (when not eroded) is striated all
over. There is a shell figured by Brown, called Volvaria
pellucida, which may perhaps be the same, but according to
the figure the upper part is too much truncated.

Bulla concinna, Nob. Fig. 7.

Shell subcylindrical, spirally striated, apex concealed, aperture linear,
slightly gaping at the base, inner lip at the lower part folded over an
umbilicus. Length § of an inch, diameter f of its length.

Coralline Crag, Sutton.
All my specimens have the outer lip broken, but the shell
is very distinct in many points. It is shorter and more gib-
bous than Bulla cylindracea, with the aperture wider. The
distinct lines of growth cut the deep-seated striae at right
angles, giving the shell a pretty cancellated appearance ; the
rounded volutions of the upper part of the shell produce a
funnel-shaped umbilicus in the place of the spire, and the
fold of the inner lip forms a distinct umbilicus at the base. —
Twenty specimens of the shell present not the least variation.

Bulla cylindracea. Fig. 8.

Bulla cylindracea, Montague, Test. Brit. tab. 7, fig. 2.
„ convoluta, Min. Con. tab. 464.

Shell cylindrical, spirally striated, aperture linear, narrow, vertex imibili-
eatcd. Length I an inch.

464 FOSStL SHELLS OF THE CRAG.

Coralline Crag, Sutton. Abundant.

In Montague's description of this shell it is stated to be
smooth, with considerable gloss, as it is also in Fleming's
British Animals, p. 293 ; no mention is made of its having
stria. Nine out of ten of those from the crag are so much
eroded as not to show them, but they are very visible in per-
fect specimens ; this, however, is the case with the recent
shells, it is only in some specimens that the strice can be there
seen. The recent shell appears in general to be rather more
cylindrical, but it corresponds in all other respects.

Bulla subtruncata, Nob. Fig. 9.

Shell cylindrical, smooth, aperture linear, slightly expanded at the base,
vertex depressed, visible. Length, ^, diameter -^ of an inch.

Coralline Crag, Sutton.

This differs from the young of Bulla cylindracea (for which
perhaps it might be mistaken) in having the spire visible al-
though depressed ; it has a slight contraction in the upper
part of the body, which gives an apparent expansion to the
lower part of the outer lip. The whorls are carried rather
above the spire, causing it to be depressed, but distinctly vi-
sible ; outer lip nearly straight ; no striae to be seen in any
of my specimens, however, that may be from erosion or de-
composition.

It appears intermediate between Bulla cylindracea and
Bulla obtusa, differing from the former in having the spire
visible, and from the latter in being longer and more slender.
I am induced to consider it a distinct species, having twenty
specimens presenting the same characters ; there is a possi-
bility of its being the young of cylindracea, with a visible
spire, only that shell is never contracted in its whorls.

Bulla obtusa. Fig. 10.

Bulla Regulbiensis, Turt. Linn. iv. p. 351.

„ minuta, Woodward, Geol. of Norf. tab. 3, fig. 3.

Shell subcylindrical, aperture linear, widening at the pillar, outer lip slight-
ly incurved, vertex elevated, obtuse. Length, tj, diameter ^ of an inch.

Mammaliferous Crag, Bramerton.

This shell, I believe, is peculiar to the newest bed, at least
I have never seen it from either the red or coralline crag. —
The spire of the fossil does not appear, from the few speci-
mens I have seen, to be quite so elevated as that of the recent
shell.

FOSSIL SHELLS OF THE CRAG. 4G5

Bulla olivula, Nob. Fig. 11.

Shell cylindrical, smooth, aperture linear, spire elevated, ohtuse, separating
line canaliculated ? Length j, diameter ^ of an inch.

Coralline Crag, Sutton.

Unfortunately among thirty specimens of this shell which
I have found at the above locality, not more than one pos-
sesses the spire, and that not in the most perfect state ; there-
fore 1 give the characters with some degree of uncertainty. —
The specimen which is least mutilated has a small canal run-
ning round the apex, at the juncture of the upper part of the
body-whorl, similar to that which gives a character to the
genus Oliva. The specimens are much eroded at that part,
(a circumstance not unusual in the slender covering of the
sutures in many of the crag shells), independently of which
there appears a small canal remaining where the covering is
in parts perfect.

A shell of the same size from China, in the possession of
Mr. G. B. Sowerby, much resembles this in having an elevat-
ed obtuse spire, with a canal around it, but it has a fold up-
on the lower part of the inner lip that I do not observe in the
crag species. It differs from Oliva in not having a plicated
columella, and in wanting the notch at the base, peculiar to
that genus. It more resembles, and may hereafter prove the
same as Bulla terebellata, pi. 1, fig. 8, 9, 10, Dubois, Conch.
Foss. du Plat. Wolhyni-Podolien ; but a comparison with the
shell is necessary for such decision.

Three or four shells of this kind are figured by Brown in
his Illustrations of British Conchology, pi. 38, but as they are
without descriptions, it is impossible to say whether they are
intended for representations of shells in their natural size or
magnified. If they be faithfully represented, they present
some intermediate forms, and show the very gradual elevation
of the spire, which renders it so difficult to separate the spe-
cies, and will, I hope, afford additional evidence to justify me
in retaining all these shells (now figured) in the above Lin-
nean genus.

With the exception of Bulla lignaria all the figures are
enlarged, but the natural dimensions of the specimens are
indicated by an annexed cross.

466 TEETH OF MASTODON.

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS.

Teeth of the Mastodon. — I have great pleasure in sending
you a cast from the molar in my possession, which I imagine
to belong to Cuvier's species of the narrow -toothed Mastodon.
I have had the cast painted as nearly as possible to the color
of the original, which is, as you will see, nearly perfect, and
weighs three pounds and three quarters, good weight ; it was
dredged up off Easton Cliff, Suffolk, in June, 1839, between
two and three miles from land.

The half of a molar of a Mastodon, which was found last
year on the beach at Sizewell, and is in my collection, had
every appearance of the crag adhering to it, which, with the
beautiful dark Vandyke colour of these two fossils, the pecu-
liar characteristic of crag osseous remains, — induces me, since
my conversation with you on this subject, to adopt your opin-
ion that these teeth were originally from the crag ; and in fur-
ther evidence, all the teeth, and fragments of teeth, of the
Mastodon, which have been found, are from the mammalifer-
ous or Norwich crag.

Till within the last five years it was doubted whether the
remains of the Mastodon had been discovered in England ; I
therefore think it as well to state the order in which these
teeth have been found, and their number, as near as I can re-
member, and by whom discovered. One tooth, figured by
Dr. Wm. Smith, found at Whitlingham. One presented to
the Geological Society by the Rev. J. Gunn, found at Hors-
tead. A fragment found by the late Mr. Woodward, of
Norwich, at Bramerton. An interesting fragment found at
Bramerton, which I presented to the Norwich Museum. One
found by Mr. Fitch, in Thorpe pit, near Norwich. ■ Two others
found by myself at Bramerton. Two by Mr. Wigham, both,
I believe, from Postwick. A fragment found by myself at
Easton, now in the collection of the Geological Society. —
And one from Easton cliff, of which I send you a sketch, but
which I could not preserve owing to its rotten condition. —
This last was fixed in a large portion of the jaw ; and, with
the two marine ones in my cabinet, makes a total of thirteen.
The tooth found by Mr. Fitch, and the two by Mr. Wigham,
are particularly interesting from their perfect condition ; and
the large marine one in my possession, although not quite
perfect, is a splendid specimen. — H. Alexander. — Southwold,
Juhj 19th, 1839.

1 A second very perfect tooth has lately been obtained by Mr. Fitch, from
the crag, near Norwich. — Ed.

RARE BIRDS. — FIELDFARES BREEDING IN ENGLAND. 467

Capture of rare Birds. — To the instances of the rose-co-
loured pastor mentioned by Mr. Yarrell, I have to add another
(in mature plumage), which occurred in the beginning of last
month at Gwithian, about twelve miles from this place, on
the north coast.

On the 29th April I obtained a fine specimen of the grey-
headed wagtail — a male — having the slight mixture of olive
green in the grey feathers of the head, which Mr. Yarrell
states to be characteristic of the bird of the preceding year.
It was first noticed on the margin of a pool near the sea, be-
tween this place and Marazion.

Two instances of the little gull in this neighbourhood have
come to my knowledge. The first, in St. Ives' Bay, on the
26th of December last, was a young male in moult, and I
suppose in transition to the mature plumage, as several grey
feathers appear among the brown of the back. It seems to
be a rather large specimen, the total length being 12 inches ;
wings from tip to carpal joint, 10J inches ; total extent, 33
inches : tarsus 1 J inch ; middle toe and claw lj inch ; gape
H inch. The central feathers of the tail are 1 inch shorter
than the outermost.

The other was also a male, but in the adult winter plum-
age, and of great beauty. It was shot here, in the harbour,
March 4th, and is said to have been accompanied by another,
which escaped. The only respect in which it differs from
Temminck's description is the colour of the legs and feet,
which were a delicate flesh colour. — D. TV. Mitchell. — Pen-
zance, July, 1839.

On Fieldfares breeding within the British Islands. —
Having seen various eggs presented by Mr. Fairholme to the
British Museum and Zoological Society, as those of the field-
fare and redwing thrushes, I cannot but observe that both
have exactly the appearance of slight varieties of those of the
common missel thrush, and are totally unlike others which
undoubtedly were laid by fieldfares and redwings abroad.

I have recorded, however, in former numbers of this Ma-
gazine, two instances of the redwing propagating in the
southern counties of England, and can now add to them a
case of the fieldfare breeding at Merton, Surrey. About the
end of last May, a friend residing in that neighbourhood, and
who is as well acquainted with the common British land birds
in a state of nature, their notes, flight, habits, &c, as any per-
son well can be, sent a message to me to the effect that a pair
of fieldfares were then breeding in a field belonging to some
grounds which he superintends : it appears that he had been
crossing the field in question, when he was startled by the

468 FIELDFARES BREEDING IN ENGLAND..

chatter of a "pigeon-felt" long after the flocks of this well-
known winter visitant had disappeared for the season ; and
suspecting, therefore, that it might possibly have a nest in
the dense hawthorn tree from which it flew, he was not long
in finding it there. The fieldfares, however, though daily
observed after this, were not disturbed, my friend (who is no
collector) expecting that I would first like to visit the nest as
it stood : but unluckily his message to me was forgotten to
be delivered, and it was only when I chanced to call on him
some weeks afterwards, that the circumstance accidentally
transpired, when we soon proceeded to the spot, in the ex-
pectation that the young were then about half-fledged. They
had flown, however; but the structure of the nest, which
was then taken, was of itself sufficient to remove all doubt of
the matter, being quite different from either that of the black-
bird, song, or missel thrush, (of all three of which, I may re-
mark, several nests were shown to me as we passed through
the garden), so that every evidence, except that of positively
handling the birds or eggs, concurs to substantiate the speci-
fic determination ; and what is more, the old birds have from
time to time been seen subsequently, but never shot at, in the
expectation that they would have built another nest, which
there is reason to believe has not been the case. The nest
(which may be seen by calling at Mr. Bartlett's, 47, Museum
St., Holborn) is chiefly remarkable for the great quantity of
mud with which it is plastered, rendering it extraordinarily
heavy ; in other respects, it agrees nearly with some of those
of the blackbird, and is plentifully lined with coarse dry grass ;
but it is considerably deeper, with more solid and better con-
structed walls, than I remember ever to have seen a black-
bird's nest, with a rim of plaster, half an inch thick, form-
ing its upper margin : it was placed nearly ten feet from the
ground, upon a thick secondary branch of a densely foliaged
hawthorn-tree, which stands alone at a considerable distance
from the hedge and from any other tree. As for missel thrush-
es, song thrushes, and blackbirds, each and all of these spe-
cies may be seen at any time in the locality ; where, some
years ago, I knew of four missel thrushes' nests in a short
double row of oaks and elms bordering the same field : and
I repeat (on account of the scepticism which certain hearers
have expressed to whom I communicated the incident with
its circumstances) that there is not the slightest probability
of a mistake being made concerning the identification of the
species. — Edwd. Blyth. — Aug. 15, 1839.

WILD FOWL IN ST. JAMES'S PARK. 469

Observations on the Wild Fowl in St. James's Park. — It
is remarkable that among the numerous species of wild fowl
which ornament the fine sheet of water in St. James's Park,
the only species of the duck tribe — excluding the geese and
swans — which have propagated, besides the common mallard
duck, is the tufted pochard (Fuligula cristata), a single brood
of which, consisting of five, one of which was soon after de-
stroyed, was hatched in July, 1838 : the rest of the brood
(two of each sex) were reared, and, with some of the old ones,
have been in the habit of taking daily flights to the Serpen-
tine ever since. This season there are three large broods, —
one the progeny of the same female which bred last year, and
which is known by her being pinioned, and the others the
produce of the two young females that were bred on the spot:
so that a single brood once raised in the locality, would seem
to be all that is necessary to secure a permanent stock of
other species. It is curious that the young pochards scarce-
ly ever follow their parents from the time they are three or
four days old, but disperse all over the lake, emitting contin-
ually a loud piping cry, which is characteristic. Far less
dependent on the parents' vigilance and care than the young
mallard ducks, or indeed than any other species so far as my
observation has gone, they seem wonderfully capable of tak-
ing their own part, and scramble for food among the full-grown
larger species, with an alacrity and amount of impudence
that is highly amusing, diving the moment they give offence
by their uncommon boldness, and appearing the next moment
at an inconsiderable distance, quite unabashed, and ready to
renew the affront if occasion should tempt them. These lit-
tle creatures in general lie close under the bank of one of the
islands when their appetite is sated, so that a person may look
for them in vain, though it seldom happens that some of them
are not visible and sufficiently audible ; they as often occur
solitarily as together, and their down is of a dusky black co-
lour, with the usual pale markings (such as are seen in a com-
mon duckling) not very distinct: the eggs are dark olive green*

So domesticated do various species become in this favora-
ble spot for observing their manners, that on regaining the
use of their wings after these had been merely clipped, many
have shown no desire to fly away ; and during the very long
protracted frost of January, 1 838, a flock of widgeons and
pin-tails long lingered circling over the skaters for hours every
day, but at length disappeared, and were probably destroyed
from their want of shyness, as none returned : during the same
period, many of the pochards {cristata and ferina) were
commonly to be seen in the Thames about Westminster and

Vol. III.— No. 33. n. s. 3 e

470 WILD FOWL IN ST. JAMES'S PARK.

Vauxhall bridges, where they were much shot at, but with
little or no effect, as they were there singularly shy of ap-
proach; and others disappeared altogether and returned in
the spring, as did also one of the coots, and some teal. A
pair of bean geese, with the full use of their wings, and pre-
viously supposed to be male and female, each produced nine
eggs which were unimpregnated, but on which they sat for
some weeks : it was supposed that they might possibly have
produced hybrids from a male Canada goose, which constant-
ly associated with them, and posted himself in defence of one
of them while it was incubating ; a circumstance the more
worthy of notice, as an odd female Canada goose of the pre-
ceding year (which species does not breed, however, till the
second season), might have served him at least for a compan-
ion, if not mate. One of these bean geese was stolen early in
last spring, and the other laid and sat again to no purpose ;
for she very rarely associated with a fine new pair of the same
species, introducedlast winter, and which will most probably
rear a brood next year: the latter may now generally be seen
in company with a male of Mr. Bartlett's new species, — the
Anser phcenicopus ; closely allied, but readily distinguishable
by the colour of its legs, inferior size, and certain other cha-
racters of equally invariable occurrence : the old female bean
goose always affecting the society of a flock of knobbed geese
{Anser cygnoides).

It is to be regretted that the spoonbills and other interest-
ing large birds for a considerable while located to the spot,
and which as they soared on wing were certainly an interest-
ing attraction to visitors, have been shot down one by one in
the suburbs of London (both the spoonbills from coming with-
in range of pigeon-matches), to the discredit of even cockney
sportsmen, who could scarcely have missed so large and slow-
winnowing an object. As a general rule, however, the Cul-
tirostres, Cuv., were disposed to snap up the ducklings, &c,
as might be expected ; but it would hardly have been antici-
pated that a bittern would have smashed all the eggs it found,
with intent to pick out, I should suppose, the half-formed
chick, if such existed, which act has been witnessed on more
than one occasion, and suspected on numerous others.

The wholesale destruction of eggs, then, effected by five or
six bitterns, and several herring-gulls, may well be imagined ;
and it is therefore satisfactory to know that the collection will
henceforth be confined to the La?nellirosfres, with the addi-
tion of a few other harmless species, such as coots, from which
no mischief need be apprehended.
• The vast stock of fish which everywhere abound in this

FOSSIL FROM MARYCHURCH. 471

piece of water, rendered it particularly well calculated to
support a few of those very elegant birds — the mergansers, of
which a solitary male smew has now lived there for three
years, acquiring the female colours after midsummer without
shedding any of its feathers, and resuming its breeding dress
at the autumn moult, (none of the diving ducks changing their
plumage twice a year, like the others, although they all un-
dergo an analogous mutation of colour immediately at the
close of the season of propagation). This smew generally
associates with two females of the Clangula vulgaris, and
appears well disposed to breed if it had a mate of its own
species equally tame ; expressing its desires by a very pecu-
liar low rattling note, during the utterance of which the neck
is gradually stretched backward, with the beak pointing for-
ward : it will readily feed on bread, at least at times, for which
it is a particularly able scrambler ; and I have repeatedly seen
it come on shore, and preen its feathers within a few yards of
me, indeed it has taken food from my hand. The brilliancy
of its white nuptial livery renders its rapid evolutions under
water comparatively easy to follow with the eye. — Id.

Note on the Fossil from Mary church, figured in ' Geolog.
Trans? — Last winter I took no little trouble to procure spe-
cimens of the singular fossil of which a figure is given by M.
De la Beche, in the l Geol. Trans.' as having been found at
Marychurch, in this neighbourhood. At that time all my en-
deavours were unsuccessful ; the very first visit, however,
which I paid this winter to a quarry at Barton, near Mary-
church, I procured two fragments, one of which apparently
shows the internal structure, but still so obscurely that I do
not think it worth while to send you a sketch. My fiiend
Dr. Battersby, however, in the course of the past summer,
obtained three specimens from a quarry near Newton Bushel,
which, being "weathered" show something of the interior
surface. As it is mentioned in a note to De la Beche's pa-
per, that a recent specimen allied to the fossil is deposited in
the museum of the Zoological Society, presented by an offi-
cer in the navy,1 you will probably be glad to have a sketch
of the interior surface of the fossil to compare with the recent
specimen.

The plates, when most perfect, are hexagonal and radiated
on the outside (fig. 62). The interior is divided into a num-
ber of little squares by raised lines ; those running in one di-
rection always pass over those in the contrary direction, and

1 On enquiring at the Museum of the Zoological Society, we could not
meet with, or obtain any information respecting, the above specimen. — Ed.

472 NEW METAL. — GRANITE FLOATED ON ICE.

the point of crossing is always immediately underneath the
raised dots in the centres of the plates on the outside. — John
Edw. Lee. — Torquay, 1838.

Interior. Exterior. Each magnified 4 or 5 times.

New Metal. — Mr. Kersten, Professor of Chemistry at the
College of Freiberg, in Saxony, has lately received a letter
from Prof. Berzelius, in which it is stated, that Prof. Mosan-
der of Stockholm has discovered, in the ore called cerite, a
new metal, to which he has given the name of Lantanum.
Its colour is grey, and it appears to be soft and ductile. It
is also contained in the oxide of Cerium which Prof. Kersten
has lately found in Monazite, a new mineral from the Ural
mountains, which was determined by Breithaupt, and sent by
Mr. Kersten to Berzelius for further analysis. Prof. Kersten
has since discovered the same new metal in an ore from Swe-
den, called Godolinite. This fifty-fifth elementary body has
therefore been found already in minerals coming from very
distant localities, and it is somewhat remarkable that the
north of Europe has come in for so large a share in furnish-
ing the simple bodies of modern chemistry. — W. Weissen-
born. — Weimar.

An immense erratic block of Granite has been floated on
the ice, during the winter 1837-38, from Finland to the Island
of Hochland. It weighs about a million of pounds, accord-
ing to the estimation of M. de Baer, who lately communicated
the circumstance to the Academy of St. Petersburgh. — Id.

An Entomological Society has just been formed in Stettin,
whose chief object is to promote our knowledge of the habits
and economy of insects. It is partly on account of this pecu-
liar feature of the Society, and partly as one of the most re-
cent instances of the liberality with which the Prussian go-
vernment encourages every scientific undertaking, that this
Society appears to deserve being more generally noticed.
For M. de Altensheim, the Minister of the Cultus, besides
other liberal support which he has given to it, has carried the
measure, that the Society do 7iot pay for postage throughout
the kingdom. — Id.

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY

OCTOBER, 1839.

Art. I. — On the Natural History of the German Marmot (Hamster).
By W. Weissenborn, Ph. D.

Having been engaged, at different periods of my life, in stu-
dying the habits of the German marmot, I have made various
communications on this curious animal to foreign scientific
societies, more especially to the Zoological Society of Lon-
don ; in consequence of which Mr. Charlesworth did me the
honour of wishing me to draw up a more complete article on
a creature which presents so many interesting and uncommon
features, both in its organization and habits, and with which,
the English, luckily for their agricultural population, have, in
their own country, no opportunities of becoming acquainted.
I have, therefore, arranged all the materials I could collect on
the subject from authentic sources, especially from Dr. Sul-
zer's monograph, as far as it has not become obsolete, adding
to them such of my own observations as I thought sufficiently
substantiated and interesting, and now venture to submit my
article to the readers of the Magazine of Natural History.

I shall begin with a general statement of the most promi-
nent features which render the epithet of " curious " applica-
ble to the German marmot.

1. Its peculiar outward form, in which that of several other
rodents is blended. It has the truncated snout, cleft upper
lip, and downcast under lip, of the hare ; the shape of the
trunk approaches to that of the rat, though it be fuller, whilst
the hamster possesses the short tail of the Hypud&us arvalis,
Illig. As to the relative size of the head, it stands between
the rat and the guinea-pig {Cavia Cobaya, Illig.)

2. The colour of its hair, which presents the great peculi-
arity of being black all over the belly, and of a much paler

Vol. III.— No. 34. n. s. 3 f

474 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER.

tint (greyish brown) on the upper part of the body, in the
common variety.1

3. The buccal pouches, which the German marmot has in
common with but few animals, and which in it are compara-
tively larger than in any other.

4. Its subterranean habits, which besides present many cu-
rious peculiarities.

5. Its hybernation. And

6. Its moral disposition, especially the courage in defend-
ing itself, which it has in common with the badger ; and its
ferocity in devouring its congeners, which it has in common
with the mole.

Synonyms. — Both the zoologist, and the more general ama-
teurs of knowledge, may, in many instances, feel interested
in knowing the different names which apply to the same ani-
mal in different countries or writings. These synonyms often
clearly indicate the localities where the creature is indigenous,
and where it is not so. Such as German marmot, or marmotte
de Strassbourg, will at once show, that our animal is origi-
nally neither found in England, nor in France proper. In the
latter country it was once even exhibited in a strolling mena-
gery, under the curious name of " un animal sauvage d'Alle-
magne, nomme, 'Fruges consumere nati.' " The German
name ' hamster ' has found its way into the Scandinavian (as
also into the Dutch) languages ; and the great Linnaeus pro-
cured his first specimens from an illiterate herbalist, named
Dietrich, residing at a little village called Ziegenhain, near
Jena, whom Linnaeus took for a member of the university,
when he wrote to him, — " Mittas mihi, quseso, animal Ham-
ster dictum." As to the true vernacular names of the German
marmot, we may distinguish two sets, viz., those which are
an imitation of the yelling sound uttered by the animal when
irritated; as Krictsch, Germ.; Krziczieti, Illyr.; Skrzeczeck,
Pol.; Sskrecek, Boh.; Schurks, Serb.; Gringie,llxmg.; Sur-
ka ? Tartar ; the Latin name of Cricetus, which Albertus
Magnus appears to have first used, is perhaps derived from

1 This feature would stand quite isolated among all our indigenous quad-
rupeds, but for its existence in the badger, which coincidence, in my opin-
ion, deserves the attention of the physiologist, as both these species are
crepuscular, winter-sleepers, and live underground. The cause of this pe-
culiar coloration in these two animals, may perhaps he traced to some ge-
neral law of nature, the more so as the mole, which is strictly subterraneous,
is altogether black, although the exclusion of light be, in general, a hin-
drance to the development of pigments. Also in the German marmot,
there is a great tendency to become black all over the body, and the black
variety is extremely common in some localities, whereas albinoes have been
met with only in a few instances.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER. 475

*f*fl», I scream : — and such as have, or appear to have, a dif-
ferent origin, as Arlan, Tart. ; Bakuk, Bashkir; Tsharligan,
Osljak; Chomak, Karbush, Russ. In Germany the animal
has several names of that class, as Kornferkel, corn-farrow;
Kornhamster, corn-storer; and is most commonly called
Hamster.

CRICETUS, Cuv. Gen. Char.— Teeth much like those of the rat ;
tail short, hairy ; huccal pouches, as in some of the apes, widened into
large bags, which serve for carrying home food.

Cricetvs frumentarius.

Description. — Length of the largest male specimens from
the tip of the nose to that of the tail, up to 15 inches Eng. of
which the tail measures scarcely more than 2, the grown fe-
male being smaller by about one fourth. Weight, up to If
th. Shape. — Trunk rather broad than high, x clumsy ; head
oval, nose truncated, upper lip cleft, under lip short and hang-
ing down ; incisor teeth partially exposed ; eyes moderately
large, as well as projecting and almost circular ; ears large,
rounded ; feet rather short, formed more for digging than for
running, with five toes, the thumb being very short in the
fore feet, and furnished with an obtuse nail, whereas the other
nails are long, hooked, and grooved below ; five callosities in
the sole of the fore feet, and six in that of the hind feet ; tail
short, tapering, and becoming rather bare towards the point.
Colour. — Greyish brown (hare-coloured) above, and black
beneath, with three large yellowish spots on each side occu-
pying the flanks, the regions above the shoulders, and that
behind the cheeks, the latter spot being continued towards
and round the mouth. Cheeks, regions round the ears, and
anus russet ; feet white. There is a black variety, rather com-
mon in several neighbourhoods,2 with only the nose and feet
white, and a mixed breed of the common and black variety is
said to exist, and to be grey. Albinoes are very scarce, but
have been occasionally met with.

Senses. — The organ of vision is moderately developed ; the
iris is dark brown, and it is difficult to distinguish it from the
pupil, so that the whole visible portion of the eye-ball appears
of a dark colour. As it is protected only by a few short bris-

1 A fresh-killed hamster, when thrown at random on the ground, will lie
on its hack or belly, whilst a rat will more commonly lie on one of its sides.

2 The black variety was very scarce near Gotha about 1770, when a spe-
cimen was exhibited at court as a great curiosity ; whereas in the beginning
of this century they were of rather common occurrence there. Among three
dozen which I procured about eleven years ago from the vicinity of the
borough of Buttelstadt, five English miles from Weimar, there were four
or five black ones.

476 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER.

ties, forming eye-brows, we must suppose that the animal digs
with its eyes shut ; whereas above ground it must keep them
wide open, as they are the chief instruments for finding food
in the dusk. The smell is very obtuse, as indicated by the
truncated nose. The hearing is acute, as indicated by the
large co?ichw, and it is by the assistance of the ear that
the hamster is chiefly warned of the approach of its ene-
mies, when it will directly rise and sit in an erect posture,
like the hare. The taste is probably the most developed
of the senses, the tongue being very voluminous, and the ani-
mal very fond of varying its food. The touch is rather nice,
as the hamster will grasp nuts &c. with its fore-paws, and
open or eat them in the manner of the squirrel, though far
less skilfully. As to the common feeling , it must be extreme-
ly obtuse, as the hamster does not show the least pleasure in
being caressed, and though it flies into a passion at the least
touch, and screams when wounded, these are symptoms of ill
temper and fury rather than of sensibility.

Movements. — The locomotion of the hamster is slow, parti-
cularly if compared with that of animals of the same size and
order, for instance, the rat. It is easily overtaken by man,
even when making towards its burrow with all possible speed.
When fighting, its movements are violent and heavy, often
missing their object. They are most appropriate to its sub-
terraneous habits, as digging, creeping, and climbing up and
down perpendicular tubes. »

Anatomical peculiarities. — The buccal pouches are two
membranaceous sacs which have a wide communication with
the cavity of the mouth, from whence they extend between
the skin and the muscles, along the neck and the shoulders,
in a somewhat converging direction, so that the shut ends are
nearer each other than the open ones in the buccal cavity. —
These bladders are attached along their inner sides, by cel-
lular fibres and membranes, to the muscles beneath, and by
more delicate ones to the skin. Their posterior end is sur-
rounded by flat muscular fibres, which unite to form a flat
and rather strong muscle. These two muscles continue to
converge, and are attached, close under the musculus quad-
ratus, to the fascia of the latissimus dor si. The membrane
of these bladders is very thin and permeable to the air, where-
fore they soon become shrivelled when blown out and tied
by a ligature. Their outer surface is perfectly smooth, but
the inner one is closely covered with longitudinal and paral-
lel dotted lines, the dots being almost square, and constitut-
ing mucous cells or glandules ; wherefore the inside of the
bladder is constantly wet and slippery, or it would easily be

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER. 477

torn by its contents, which often present rough or sharp sur-
faces. Between their two attachments these bladders, when
empty, extend like two loose narrow canals ; but when full,
they are oval, 2j inches long, and 1 J broad, wherefore their
periphery, where it is widest, measures about 5 J inches. —
When these pouches are filled with food, or blown up by the
animal, its head and neck look as broad again. I scarcely
need say that these pouches present the convenient means of
carrying home food; they contain about 1| ounce of corn
each, or a corresponding quantity of green fodder. The ani-
mal empties them by stroking them from behind with its fore
paws ; the muscle which has been mentioned perhaps facili-
tates this operation by its contractions. The anatomical
characters do not, however, show the possibility of these
pouches being contracted in the manner of the urinary blad-
der ; nor could anything like peristaltic motion be discovered
in fresh-killed specimens, which were still convulsed. They
may serve as a sort of craw or first stomach, as in almost
every hamster that has been dissected, there were found in
them a few grains in a state of maceration ; and 1 have also
observed that the hamster fills its pouches with animal food,
of which he never lays in a store at home. However, the
animal often eats the grain just as it finds it, and therefore
this use of the pouches is not absolute. The stomach is dou-
ble ; the first or left one, into which the oesophagus opens,
offering nothing peculiar in its form, except that the mouth
of the oesophagus is situated at the right extremity of it, which
is in the mesial line, whilst the whole of that stomach is situ-
ated to the left of it. The valve of the cardia or oesophagus
shuts so closely upwards, that the stomachs may be inflated
from the pylorus, and dried in that state, after tying the duo-
denum, without a ligature being put round the oesophagus. —
This is a sure proof of the hamster not being a ruminating
animal, although his stomach is double. Near the cardia the
first stomach opens to the right into the second, which is more
rounded, reddish, smoother and more shining outside, and has
thicker coats than the first ; it is situated to the right of the
mesial line, rather higher than the first, and is a little smaller.
The two unite by the first being, as it were, inserted into the
second, into which it sends two processes, and there is a ru-
dimentary valve between them, which cannot, however, effec-
tually prevent the regurgitation of the chyme, which is much
more fluid in the first than in the second stomach. The ru-
ga are much more prominent in the first than in the second,
which, on its right and upper side, communicates with the
duodenum, without the intervention of a valve. The intestine

3*3

478 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER.

is thin and narrow, presenting almost the same width through-
out ; the inner coat is much furred, and the cwcum is very
large in proportion, as when pulled out it is half as long as
the animal, and its capacity twice that of the stomachs. —
There is no gall-bladder in the five-lobed liver, but the bile
empties itself directly through the biliary canal, which is
formed by the union of five branches ; this structure appears
to bear some relation to the irritable nature of the creature.
The glands are in general very large and numerous. One,
which is situated in the groove between the shoulders, is par-
ticularly remarkable for its size and relations. It is often more
than 1 inch long, J an inch broad, and 2 or 3 lines thick in
the middle. The rein which comes from it penetrates be-
tween the fifth and sixth ribs, on the right side of the spine,
and opens into the vena impar, which is ascending there, and
which in the hamster, as in some of the Amphibia and Ru-
minantia, is paired, one branch being to the right and the
other to the left of the spine, but the latter branch is much
larger than the former. The artery of the said gland is com-
paratively small, and the same may be said in general of the
arteries in proportion to the veins. The weight of the brain
is to that of the whole body about as 1 : 193 ; this organ is
therefore very small. The cerebrum is about three times the
weight of the cerebellum ; its surface is smooth and without
sinuosities, which bears a relation to the great stupidity and
stubborn disposition of the creature. The testes are eight or
nine times as large, from May to August, as they are at other
seasons ; they are nearly the size of pigeons' eggs when fully
developed. The animal can draw them within the cavity of
the abdomen, which provision is necessary, as they would
otherwise be often exposed to dangerous pressure in their en-
larged state.

These are the most remarkable anatomical features which
are peculiar to the German marmot : the dental system pre-
sents nothing anomalous, there being 12 molar and 4 incisor
teeth, as in the rat. I ought not, however, to pass over in
silence two oblong spaces in the integuments, one on each
side of the spine, and parallel with it. They are situated at
a short distance in front of the thighs, and are not always di-
rectly perceptible, as the common hair often closes over them.
But if the hair be blown aside or divided with the fingers,
two spots may be observed, each about an inch in length and
\ of an inch in breadth, slightly tapering towards their extre-
mities, where the hair is much shorter than on the other parts
of the body, and of a dusky brown colour, rather stiff, and
lying close to the skin. In very young specimens, when the

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER. 479

hair is just beginning to appear, these bristly spots are dis-
tinctly visible from their blackish colour, the hair being there
in a more advanced state and of a stronger nature. These
spots may also be perceived on the flesh-side of the skin, by
the roots of their stiff hairs : at a later period the relation is
inverted, the rest of the body becoming covered with denser
and longer hairs, so as to make these spots appear paler on
the flesh-side of the skin. The physiological cause of these
spots it is difficult to point out, the skin being there of the
same thickness and consistency, and not more firmly attached
than anywhere else. As to their end, Dr. Sulzer, whose ex-
cellent observations on the hamster were published in 1774,
confessed that he could not imagine what it might be. Agri-
cola was aware of their existence, but did not trouble himself
about knowing their purpose, as he took them for the effect
of an accidental cause. In treating on the hamster, he says,
" In terrae cavernis habitat angustis, et idcirco pellis, qua
parte utrimque coxam tegit, a pilis est nuda." — (De re metal-
lica et animalia subterran. Basil, 1657, folio, p. 486). In
my opinion, the end of these spots is very evident, as they
appear destined to protect, by their bristly hair which lies
close to the skin, the very portions of the latter which would
be most exposed to being chafed in the burrows, on account
of the proximity of the hip-bones, if left without some special
defence. The furriers know these spots very well, and are
obliged to cut them out and repair the fur, lest it should look
unseemly.

Habitat, Habits, 8$c. — The hamster is met with in the
whole tract of countries extending between the Rhine and
the Ural mountains, and between the German sea and Baltic
to the north, and the Danube to the south, wherever it finds
its congenial soil. It is said also to exist in Siberia, but is
nowhere more common than in Thuringia. Its proper soil is
a deep alluvial mould, with a substratum of clay ; districts
where the ground is dry, strong, and stony, have nothing to
fear from the ravages of the hamster. In the former descrip-
tion of land it is sometimes found even on the slope of low
hills, but there it never multiplies to any extent.

Daily course from the beginning of March to the middle
or end of October, (the period of active life). — During the
day the hamster sits in its burrow, rolled up like a ball, with
the head bent under the chest ; so at least we must conclude
from the observation of specimens kept in captivity. About
sunset the animal begins its first ramble, which lasts till about
midnight, when it rests till an hour before sunrise, in order to
take then a second ramble, which it continues until the glare

480 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER.

of morning drives it back into its dark habitation. It is only
in dark and gloomy weather that the hamster is ever found
above ground whilst the sun is fairly above the horizon. —
During these rambles the movements of the animal are com-
monly slow ; its digitigrade walk is uncouth and creeping,
almost like that of the hedge-hog, and its first object is to
procure grain and other vegetable food, wherewith to fill its
pouches. But as soon as it hears a noise, it raises itself up-
on its hind legs, and stands plantigrade, like a bear ; * and if
the object of its attention be some living prey, as a mouse, it
quickens its pace into a gallop, or " ventre-a-terre." Whilst
quietly walking about its occupations, it is sometimes heard
to utter a succession of short growling sounds ; but when ir-
ritated, even only by some noise, its voice is squeaking and
shrill, and in the height of passion it is not unlike that of a
pig when about to be killed. In collecting food, when the
fore-part of its pouches becomes filled, it strokes them back-
wards with its paws, to make room for a new supply. It does
not thrash the ears with its paws, as has been advanced, but
picks them very dexterously with its teeth, whilst holding
them between its fore paws. When the pouches of the ham-
ster are full, the animal walks home, to add their contents to
its store. When surprised on its way by an enemy, it emp-
ties its pouches by quickly striking that region with its fore
paws, whereby the corn is projected to the distance of a few
feet, whereupon it is ready to fight. When the pouches are
full it cannot fight.

Food. — The hamster, like several of the rodents, is omni-
vorous, but it is more so than any other. Its vegetable diet,
during the summer, consists of green fodder of very different
descriptions, especially Medicago sativa, and other species of
that genus, Hedysarum Onobrychis, the different common
species of Vicia, Lathyrus, Convolvulus, Veronica, Potentil-
la anserina, Papaver Rhceas and Argemone, Alsine media,
salads, cabbages, &c. — these are also found in their burrows
at that season. Roots or bulbs are never met with there, al-
though the hamster will readily eat carrots, turnips, potatoes,
Sac, as well as fruit, in captivity. In autumn and winter the
vegetable food of the hamster consists exclusively of seeds,
as rye, wheat, oats, barley, peas, vetches, horse-beans, millet,
&c. and these are stored up for hybernation. Notwithstand-
ing this great variety of vegetable food with which nature and

1 In this posture the hamster will stand five minutes or longer, staring
attentively, but with a very stupid expression, at some object before him,
for instance, the flame of a candle. One of the fore paws then generally
hangs down lower than the other.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER. 481

agriculture spread his table, the hamster is even more carni-
vorous than herbivorous ; that is to say, he prefers animal
food whenever he can have it. His own species, rats, mice,
small birds, lizards, May-bugs and other chafers, caterpillars
&c, are greedily devoured by him. In eating vertebrated
animals he always begins with the head. When a sparrow
or other small bird, whether alive or dead, is presented to the
hamster, the first and evidently instinctive action of the lat-
ter is to break the wings. I have kept several dozens of this
animal in large rooms, providing them with a great variety of
green fodder, seeds, and artificial dishes, yet every night the
weakest of the company were devoured, and others so severely
wounded that they had no chance of escape the next night.
By this fondness for animal food the hamster in some degree
makes amends for his depredations, for there is no useful ani-
mal to which he is dangerous, not even to the partridge, as
the same fields near Gotha in which the hamsters swarm, are-
well stocked with that bird. Besides, in captivity he eats,
with great delight, all sorts of pastry, bread, butter, cheese,
broth, &c, and is apt to become a great gourmand. On the
other hand, he is not at all addicted to drinking, nor particu-
lar in the choice of it. He can live four weeks without wa-
ter, and his health will not suffer ; and in the fields, as his
rambles do not extend far, he must often content himself for
long periods with dew and the juices of succulent herbs. In
this he is, no doubt, greatly assisted by being underground
about twenty hours out of the twenty-four, which must pre-
vent perspiration in a great degree.

Disposition. — The celebrated Professor Blumenbach used
to say in his lectures, when treating on the Mus decumanus,
" Thank heaven, gentlemen, that species is not as big as an
elephant ; if it were so, the human race would have ceased to
exist long ago." The same might not be said, it is true, with
an equal degree of probability about the hamster, as he is
greatly deficient in that cunning and agility which would
render the ferocity of the Mus decumanus so dangerous and
destructive, if great physical power were superadded to its
other qualities ; yet in point of brutal ferocity the hamster
surpasses even that rat. The latter is more sociable, more
gregarious in its habits ; it will not kill and devour its con-
geners, though of an exceedingly sanguinary disposition, ex-
cept when hard pressed by hunger ; whilst the hamster never
falls in with another individual of its own species, without
trying to make it its prey, the weaker, if not killed, generally
making its escape more or less severely wounded. Even the

482 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER.

two sexes live together and in peace only during the few days
of each breeding season. z With this single exception the
hamster may be said to be constantly at war with every liv-
ing creature or moving object which happens to come near
him. It will jump with equal fury at a waggon-wheel or at
a horse travelling along a road which a hamster is about to
cross in the same place, and a young hamster will sometimes
do so as well as an old one. Horses have now and then been
frightened by the screams and bites of this little animal in the
dusk of the evening, so as to run away. From men or dogs
the animal will commonly, though not always, try to escape;
it then takes the nearest course to its burrow, from which it
is seldom at a great distance. When its pouches are full, it
always takes to its heels at first, and if its burrow be only at
the distance of twenty or thirty yards, it tries to regain it
with its cargo, but never fails to pop its head out of the hole,
screaming furiously in defiance. If the burrow be farther off,
it tries to get a little a-head of its pursuer, in order to have
time to empty its pouches ; whereupon it rises upon its hind
legs and faces its enemy, blowing (whereby the pouches be-
come distended), squeaking, screaming, and jumping against
the intruder to the height of from one to two feet. When the
enemy retreats a little, the hamster hops after him like a frog.
At such times the animal is quite beside itself with fury, car-
ing for no wounds, and fighting till death. 2 Old hamsters do
not usually retreat before man, when sitting before their bur-
rows with their pouches empty ; I have myself killed several
under such circumstances.

Some breeds of dogs, as pointers and large terriers, soon
acquire a knack of killing hamsters at one bite, by catching
them by the middle of the chest; but when the animals are
better matched, the combat is protracted, and the hamster
often succeeds in gaining its burrow, after repeatedly beating
back the dog. This obstinacy in fighting, in spite of all
wounds not absolutely mortal, makes the hamster gain the
victory over the rat. A combat between old individuals of
the two species, lasts very long, but ends with the death of
the rat. In short, as far as my own experience goes, I must
believe the hamster to be the most courageous animal. Un-
fortunately there is no other commendable feature in his dis-

1 For further proofs of the ferocious and reckless disposition of the ham-
ster, see also below, under the head of Propagation.

2 The bites of the hamster penetrate to the depth of half an inch, but are
not particularly dangerous, even when the animal is furious.

GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE. 483

position ; he is perfectly untameable, and cannot be broken
by any sort of education. *

(To be continued.)

Art. II. — Illustrations of the Geology of the South East of Dorset-
shire. By The Rev. W. B. Clarke, A.M., F.G.S.

(Continued from page 238.^

From this examination of the composition of the coast line,
we have now to advert to the phenomena presented by it, in
connection with the underlying chalk. And I have, first, to
remark, that if my attempt to explain the singular conforma-
tion of the curved and vertical chalk beds at Ballard Head
(see Mag. Nat. Hist. Sept. 1837) needed any further elucida-
tion, we have the fullest evidence of the vertical up-cast of
the whole of the chalk between the Ballard Head fault and
Old Harry Point, not only in the derangements on the Stud-
land side, and in the perpendicular rents or fissures through
the nearly horizontal chalk beds, but in the inclination of the
plastic clay beds at the Red Rock cliff. For there is no
means of explaining that inclination, but the supposition of
the chalk having been bodily up-heaved, and lifting with it
the plastic clay beds, which became, in consequence, tilted
up at the point of contact and for some little distance, and
broken into portions by the giving way of the soft strata at
those parts now occupied by the ravines which lead from the
sea to the village of Studland. It is also clear, that if such
were the case at a distance from the chalk, the beds would,
beyond the last point of fracture, retain their original hori-
zontally, which is the case farther off from Studland. This
will appear very plainly, if we see by the map that the plas-
tic clay abuts upon the chalk on the north side of Ballard
Down, far away from the vertical chalk, and, therefore, no-
thing but an elevation of the chalk en masse, or a depression
beyond Studland, subjecting the northern end of the inclined
beds to a down-cast motion (for which there is no evidence
in the vicinity), can have produced the phenomena presented
by the Red Rock and adjacent cliffs.

In order to explain this more fully, it must be mentioned
that the Studland rock is, in some degree, a separate portion
of the plastic clay. Seen from a distant elevation, such as
the hills on the north side of Poole Harbour, Studland ap-
pears to be a small table-land lying on the edges of the east
and north slopes of the chalk, and separated from the moun-

1 Mr. Lens quotes an instance of an albino which became very tame.

484 GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE.

tainous declivities of Studland Heath by a valley. Now such
is actually the case, for between the chalk and Studland there
is a deep diluvial excavation, which, in short, is continued
all along under the chalk, thereby insulating all Studland
Heath and Studland itself by dry straits, one of which now
affords a bed for a winter stream that finds its way through
one of the cracks in the cliffs into the sea. This fact would,
I know, be used differently by some geologists, who contend
that running water scoops out its own channels, even in the
hardest rocks, and, therefore, say they, sand but lightly ag-
glomerated must give way. Thus, the chines along the shore
of Poole Bay, are by Mr. Lyell said to be the result of the
streams that flow through them to the sea. If so, of course,
the Studland ' cracks ■ or chines have no right to be deemed
worth notice. But how stands the case ? A violent and pow-
erful torrent, bearing with it gravel and fragments of angular
rock, tosses these extraneous matters about in the hollows of
its bed, and they, acting like a mechanical machine, bear
away the moistened bed, till they cause that bed to descend
deeper and deeper in the solid rock below ; — and, therefore,
it is said, a sluggish stream must, of necessity, bore away in
sand with less trouble and more effect !

Now, I am not unaware that there may be cases found,
where the torrent has assisted in eating out a deeper channel
to a certain limited extent, — but I am not satisfied with the
assertion that this extent may be unlimited. The river Si-
oule in France is quoted as an example. That river now runs
at a level through nearly vertical walls of basalt and gneiss,
much below what it formerly did ; and this is shown by a
ledge of gravel much above its present bed. This gravel-de-
posit marks a period, it is assumed, when the river had only
eaten down so deep in the solid rock. It is said, that the
Sioule has cut through more than 100 feet of compact basalt,
and at least 50 feet of gneiss.1

But if the theory of these stone-eating waters be tiue, there
ought never to have been any gravel above, left on any ledge,
or else there ought to be a slope of gravel all the way down.
The river has descended certainly, but it must have suspend-

1 See Messrs. Lyell and Murchison ' On the excavation of valleys, as il-
lustrated by the volcanic rocks of Central France ; ' G. P. i. 39, and Edin.
Phil. Journal : also Prof. Sedgwick's Address to the Geol. Society, Feb.
19, 1830, for facts and comments. After giving a luminous account of the
different modes of excavation, the latter distinguished author and observer
sums up with an allusion to the Auvergne rivers. These are great authori-
ties, and it maybe presumptuous to dispute their judgment, — but geologi-
cal doubts often lead to geological truth.

STUDLAND. 485

ed its consumption of rock in order to have left its old bed to
accumulate, — and then eaten away most furiously to have got
so low without any trouble or traces of its progress. Sup-
pose, however, we assume the case of the Sioule to be the
counterpart of the examples presented by raised beaches, —
or what, perhaps, is nearer the fact, that after its old channel
was blocked up by a lava-flood, as was the case, a conveni-
ent operation of volcanic forces suddenly burst open this bar-
rier, and split the rock vertically downward, and the whole
mystery is solved. And if any person will carefully consider
the thousands of examples that are scattered over the surface
of England, — nay, if he will confine himself to known and
familiar cases, those of the chalk range, which is everywhere
fractured to give way to rivers that had no other outlet, — or
those of Herefordshire, which pass through similar openings
in the old red sandstone, — it will be found that rocks of every
formation exhibit one and the same phenomenon respecting
rivers and streams, and that these occupy beds made for them
by disruptions of the strata, and not beds which they have
made for themselves by their own action. And why should
these sandy chines be an exception ?

It is urged that the sand is full of springs, and that, near
Bourne Mouth, under the signal-staff, the cliffs do visibly
founder through the continual action of land-springs. No
doubt such is the case ; but where is the parallel between this
foundering of a whole surface of cliff, and the regular gradual
hollowing out of one deep and deepening channel ? More-
over, it can be shown (and will be) that these chines are
nothing but diluvial furrows, which gave direction to the di-
luvial waters, because they were suddenly formed, and which
now afford a similar passage to the springs that are seen to
well out, not at the level of the top of the sides of the valleys,
but at some distance vertically below that level, — the valleys
being excavated above and beyond their origin. Such also
is the case at Studland. The puny streams that occupy an
inch or two in depth of the ravines through which they flow,
rise a considerable way vertically above the height of the
walls of the ravines, and before they reach the ravines have
not excavated the sand over which they run, but follow the
natural declivity of the ground. It may, finally, be said, —
look at Niagara ! — (sic parvis componere magna) — see how it
has eaten its way backward towards Lake Erie ! The rea-
son of this retrograde reform — this ' advancing of three steps
backwards1 — is obvious. The soft marl is destroyed, and,
therefore, the limestone inter stratified with it is destroyed; —
but has Niagara, since the day it left its old fall at Queens-

486 GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE.

town, eaten a deeper and deeper bed vertically down by its
own mighty powers ? If it has not accomplished such a pur-
pose, what is to be said of the solvent powers of our English
rivers, that have, without any display or any thunder, chisel-
led out such enormous gorges and ravines, many hundred feet
deep, through solid masses of the very hardest quartzose rock,
as is the case in the border district of England and Wales
with those diminutive rivers the Teme, the Onny, and the
Wye, where they break through the escarpments presented
to them ? Those rivers I quote purposely, because it can be
shown that where they so break through, there are great dis-
locations of the strata from causes which are not at all doubt-
ful, but clearly volcanic in their origin, — and the channels of
the rivers themselves occupy cracks transverse to the direc-
tion of the rocks they traverse. And if we compare the two
examples — making allowance, of course, for the great differ-
ence in every item between the condition of the old red sand-
stone and plastic clay districts, we shall see that on a small
scale, the same phenomena were acted over again in the ter-
tiary epoch which did such great things at the period when
the older secondary and transition rocks were ruptured.

That these cracks at Studland are regular fissures, and not
accidental channels for rain water, is shown by following
them to their source, and measuring their direction. That
for instance which is marked 6 in fig. 56, opens upon the
shore in continuation of the passage through the lofty plastic
clay hills behind, and the opening through the chalk at Three-
forked Down, by which the road is traversed from Swanage
to Studland, and its direction ranges from S.W. by W. and
N.E. by E. Just under the signal -house, where the cliff is
from 16 to 20 feet high, the hard beds of sand stone are split
vertically down, leaving a space of about three feet between

63

Fault in the Ravine to the right of the signal-house, Studland.

the walls ; on the south side the beds dipping to the N.E. at
about 24°, exactly agreeing with the dip at the Red Rock,

STUDLAND.

487

of which they are a prolongation. The right side of this
crack forms the left of an insulated mass, filling up the mid-
dle of the ravine, on the right of which the beds are horizon-
tal (fig. 63).

The farther end of the ravine closes abruptly, but the view
beyond it is given in fig. 64.

C, Chalk.

P C, Plastic clay. The arrow shows the direction of the ravine,
arrow points out the opening in the chalk at Three-forked Down.

The dotted

Continuing the examination of the surface along this table-
land, we discover that a declination of the level takes place
from the head of this ravine to the head of that on the south
side of the Red Rock, which passes under a cliff of yellow
and red sand, extending from under the church-yard, and
capped by a bed of whitish sandy clay (used for walls of
buildings), which is naturally split into quadrilateral frag-
ments ; the dip of these beds being from the southern chalk
of Ballard Down. So that Studland may be considered as a
square mass of country, leaning upon the chalk on the south-
ern and eastern sides, and dipping from it in those directions,
as it would naturally do upon the supposition of its having
been deposited upon the slopes of the chalk, and afterwards
subjected to the forces of elevation by which the chalk has
been deranged.

That this must be the exact state of the case is confirmed
by the condition of the country intervening between Studland
and the chalk ridge of Ballard Down. The plastic clay be-
hind Studland ranges, in Studland Heath, to a level nearly as
high as the summit of Ballard Down itself, but it has been
subjected to violent denudating agents, and a deep valley,

/. 65

Studland Heath.

C C, Chalk Downs.

1, Devil's night-cap.
Three-forked Down.

2, Pipe-clay heds.
4, Shore.

3, Opening at

488

GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTH EAST OF DORSETSHIRE.

rising in the centre, but trough-like on each side, marks the
space between the two formations.

The appearance of this district from the coast is shown in
fig. 65, and the transverse section across the diluvial hollow
is given in fig. 66. It is premature to allude to the connec-

BallardDown. Three-forked Down. Nine Barrow Down. Studland Heath.

t I /

J^»" ToSludland.

Valley between the Chalk and Plastic Clay, — between Studland and Ballard Down.

1, Chalk.

2, Plastic clay.

tion between the diluvial and the uplifting forces, but it may
be here safely mentioned, that the very aspect of the district
about Studland, from the summit of Ballard Down, and from
various stations in the ascent thither, demonstrably convince
the observer, that though violent denuding forces have exca-
vated the deep valleys and hollows between the chalk and the
sea, these valleys and hollows, whether longitudinal or trans-
verse, owe their primary development to preceding causes,
that uplifted, split, and convulsed the lower beds of chalk,
and the superimposed tertiary deposits that now only exist in
part.

And since we have seen in this investigation, that the lines
of direction in these dislocations coincide with the longitu-
dinal and transverse directions of the chalk elevation — and
these again with those of the sub-cretaceous formations, it
follows, that the derangements in the plastic clay of Studland
owe their existence to the very same phenomena as have, in
the same linear directions, produced such striking alterations
in the arrangement of the country beyond the area of the
chalk-field.

Subsequent investigations will more fully explain the ex-
tent of these derangements, but sufficient has now been said
to illustrate the phenomena of the plastic clay, at its junc-
tion with the chalk at Studland Bay ; — all of which are, evi-

ON THE GENUS HYMENOTES. 489

dently, the result of elevating forces, that in this district have
left proofs too palpable to be denied.

Presteigne, Radnorshire.

Art. III. — On Hymenotes, a Genus of exotic Orthopterous Insects.
By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. &c.

The philosophical principle that Nature, ever ready in re-
sources, arrives at the same result in various methods, is
nowhere so capable of demonstration as in the insect tribes,
where, owing to their immense numbers, far exceeding in fact
the number of all the rest of the species of the animal king-
dom taken together, it must necessarily happen, from the
necessarily great modification of form exhibited amongst so
many animals, that the great functions of existence must be
carried on in different ways.

The preservation of the creature, one of the great primary
objects of all its energies, as well as of its organic structure
(necessary for the display of such energies), is not only ef-
fected by active operations, but also by those passive means
of resistance afforded by the peculiar structure and shape ei-
ther of the body or of its different parts. It would carry me
into too wide a field to give examples in support of this prin-
ciple, which must be strongly perceived by all who take more
than a superficial view of the workings and works of the cre-
ation. The particular group of insects which is the subject
of this paper, exhibits an interesting instance of it which it
will be worth while to notice, proving as it does that where
one organ, having a particular function necessary for exist-
ence, is either atrophied or diminished in extent, another or-
gan takes up such function, and thus supplies its place, while
at the same time it retains its normal, or as we may say origi-
nal function. Ordinarily speaking the back of insects is not
generally of a solid texture ; where solidity is given to it the
wings are more particularly membranous ; where it is less so-
lid the wings, or more strictly speaking, one pair, become
thickened, so as to defend the real wings, which from their
large size require to be packed up, (of which the common
earwig forms a beautiful example), as well as the back of the
abdomen. Such is especially the case in beetles, where the
wing-covers attain their strongest consistence, and serve unit-
edly to form a powerful shield or case, whence the very name
of the order, Coleoptera, or wings in a case. In other instan-

Vol. III.— No. 34. n. s. 3 g

490 ON THE GENUS HYMENOTES.

ces we find this shield consisting of a single piece, being then
named the scutellum, and which in some tribes of Hemiptera
becomes so large as entirely to cover the back of the abdo-
men, wings, and wing-covers. Such is the case in a singular
degree in the genus Coptosoma, the peculiar structure of
which I have described in this Magazine (vol. ii. n. s. p. 26).
Such is also the case in other portions of the family of Cimi-
cidce thence named Scutelleridm, and in some singular Hy-
menopterous insects forming the genus Thoracantha, in one
of which (Thor. Latreillei, Guerin) this scutellum exhibits
all the appearance of two elytra soldered together. In other
tribes, again, we find this shield composed of a piece still
nearer to the head, namely the dorsum of the prothorax,
which is immensely developed backwards, covering not only
the back of the abdomen i, but also the whole of the mesotho-
rax and its scutellum, metathorax, and wings. This struc-
ture is of much rarer occurrence than either of the former,
occurring in various species of Linnaean Cicada, where the
armature of this part is most anomalous, and in a few genera
of Orthopterous insects, including that which is the subject
of this paper: this peculiarity, in conjunction with the salta-
torial powers of the insects, their musical talents and herbi-
vorous habits, evidently prove that the order Homoptera of
Latreille (to which the Cicada belong) is the true analogue
of the order Orthoptera to which these insects are to be re-
ferred.

Linnaeus, in the earlier editions of the c Systema Naturae,'
proposed a division in the genus Cicada which he named
Foliacea, with the character " thorace compresso-membrana-
ceo ; " the insects belonging to this division are truly Homop-
terous, and now constitute the genus Membracis of Fabricius.
The dorsum of the prothorax is of immense size, compressed,
not thicker than writing paper, and elevated over the entire
body, extending in fact considerably in front of the head.

Felton described two remarkable insects in the Philosophi-
cal Transactions for 1764 (vol. liv. p. 55, published in 1765),
in a paper entitled "An Account of a singular species of Wasp
and Locust" which he had met with in Jamaica. The fol-
lowing is his description of the "locust."

" Rhombea Cicada, thorace compresso, membranaceo, foliaceo, sub-
rhombeo, postice latiore.

*' The thorax is like a leaf that is raised perpendicularly from the body,
and is three times as broad as the body, but the same length. This leaf is
very near of a rhomboid figure, a little broader or rather higher over the
back, it is membranaceous, probably brownish ; (when alive half pellucid,
with two spots that are more pellucid or transparent ; the larger one is very
near the middle, but the smaller lower). The margins are waved, especial-

ON THE GENUS HYMENOTES. 491

Iv towards the hind angle ; over the fore part of the hody the leaf is double.
The abdomen is a little longer projected backwards than the leaf of the thorax.

" The insect had not yet got its coleoptera and wings.

" The hind thighs that are thicker have on the upper side an additional
narrow membrane added to them.

" The head and maxillee [mandibles] are very like those of the gryllus's;
but there is such an affinity between this and the Cicada foliata, Linn. Syst.
Nat. 435, 6, that I should think it the same species if the thorax of this
was not broader behind towards the end.

" The antenna are broke off, else from their length, one might learn to
what genus the tribe Linnaeus calls Cicada foliacece (Syst. Nat. p. 435)
should be referred, for I am in doubt whether Linnaeus ever has seen per-
fect specimens of them."

The figure which accompanied this description (pi. 6. fig.
sinist.) I have copied in my fig. 67, 1 ; from which, in con-
junction with Fel ton's description of the hind legs and man-
dibles, it will be perceived that the insect is in fact a locust,
or at least that it belongs to the saltatorial Orthoptera. Lin-
naeus however, in the last edition of the ' Systema Naturae,'
introduced Felton's insect amongst his Cicada foliacea, un-
der the name of Cicada rhombea, erroneously referring to
Backer instead of Felton, and evidently either considering
that the English author had inaccurately described and figur-
ed his insect, which ought to have been represented with the
structure of Membracis, or overlooking the manifest differ-
ences between the true Homopterous Cicadas foliacea and
Felton's Orthopterous insect, thus confounding a very strong
relation of analogy for one of affinity.

In the Banksian collection in the possession of the Linne-
an Society, named by Fabricius, is contained an insect nearly
agreeing with that of Felton, placed at the head of the true
Membraces, and named Membracis rhombea, with the local-
ity " Jamaica. Poore." This insect I have represented at 2
in fig. 67, together with its appearance as seen from above, 2
a, and the part which remains of its mutilated antenna at 2 b.
It is evidently not the specimen described by Felton, because
that was given to the Royal Society, the collections of which
Society, as I learn, were subsequently transferred to the Brit-
ish Museum, and Felton's insect is most likely destroyed. —
Moreover, the Banksian specimen has part of its antenna
remaining, whilst Felton describes his insect as having the
antenna broken off. I am particular in making these obser-
vations, in order that the specific identity of the Banksian
specimen with Felton's may be proved, especially as both are
from the same island in the West Indies, and the general out-
line of the thoracic shield is very similar in both, The foli-
aceous structure of the thighs notched like edges of a leaf, in
the Banksian specimen, seems to indicate a different species,

492

ON THE GENUS HYMENOTES.

67

%^

r,.a

WESTWOOD . PET.

1, Hymenotes rhombea. 2, Membracis rhombea. 2 a, same seen from above. 2 &, re-

mains of antenna. 3, Hymenotes triangularis. 3 a, basal joints of antenna. 3 6

anterior tarsus. 3 c, posterior tarsus. 4, Hymenotes Sagrai. 5, Hymenotes

platycoris. 5 o, head seen sideways. 5 b. Antenna magnified. 5 c, posterior tarsus.
6, Phyllochoreia unicolor. 6 a, head seen in front. 6 b, antenna. 6 c, anterior tarsus.

ON THE GENUS HYMENOTES. 493

especially as Felton describes his insect as having an addi-
tional narrow membrane on the upper side of the hind thighs,
without noticing that it is notched, or representing any such
character. The antennae of the Banksian specimen are very
slender, and although there are only nine joints remaining,
they extend considerably beyond the front of the thoracic
shield, the two basal joints being very short and thickened.

Having discovered amongst the insects collected at Manil-
la by Mr. Cuming, an insect closely allied to the preceding,
I communicated a description of the two species to the Zoo-
logical Society, on the 14th November, 1837, and which was
published in the Proceedings of the Society of that date. —
The following are the characters of the genus which I pro-
posed for their reception.

" Hyme notes. Genus novum e familia Locustidarum, Tetrici affine. —
Corpus valcle compressum. Caput mediocre obliquum. Antenna breves
gracillimae filiformes, articulo lmo crasso, rotundato, 2ndo multo minori,
reliquis longitudine sensim crescentibus. Prothorax maximus, foliaceus val-
de compressus, folium aridum exacte referens, supra et ante caput angulariter
porrectus, valde elevatus et postice supra abdomen protensus ; parte posti-
ca subtus, pro receptione alarum et abdominis, canaliculata, prosternum in
collare pro receptione oris formatum. Pedes inter se basi longe distantes,
femoribus praesertim posticis foliaceis, tarsis posticis 3-articulatis," articulo
lmo subtus sub-biarticulato, articulo 2ndo minutissimo ; quatuor anticis
sub-biarticulatis, articulo lmo subtus sub-biarticulato. Ungues longi sub-
tus dente minuto armati. Pulvilli nulli.

Species 1. — Hymenotes rhombea. Rhombea cicada, Felton in PhiK Trans.
1764, p. 55, pi. 6. Cicada rhombea, Linn. Syst. Nat. 2, 704. Membra-
cis rhombea, Fabr. Ento. Syst. 4, 8, 2. Syst. Rh. 7.— Alata. Habitat
Jamaica. (Fig. 67, 1).

Species 1*, (an distincta). Insectum in Musaeo Banksiano (Mus. Soc. Lin.)
supra delineatum. Habitat Jamaica. (Fig. 67, 2).

Species 2. — Hymenotes S-angularis. Hym. fusca, protliorace sub-trian-
gulari, margine, e fronte ad medium integro et curvato, dein ad apicem
obliquo, serrato, femoribus anticis vix foliaceis, posticis latioribus, supra
irregulariter incisis.

Corp. long. lin. 5%. Long, protboracis lin. 8. Habitat Manilla, D.
Cuming. (Fig. 67, 3; 3 a, basal joints of antennae; 3 b, anterior tarsus ;
3 c, posterior tarsus).

Subsequently M. Serville, unacquainted with my memoir
above referred to, published the description of another spe-
cies of the same genus, for which he proposed the admirable
(but synonymical) name of Choriphyllum (dancing leaf) in
his volume upon the Orthoptera in the ' Suites a BufFon.' —
The following are its specific characters.

Species 3. — Hijmenotes Sagrai. Long. 8 lignes, mesure de l'origine de la
membrane a son extremite. II est entierement d'un gris terreux, la

494 ON THE GENUS HYMENOTES.

membrane qui recouvre le corps s'eleve au dessus du thorax, d'environ
quatre lignes ; chaque face laterale presente de six a sept nervures trans-
versales saillantes, assez egalement espacees : cette membrane est d'un
brun feuille-morte, transparente dans son premier tiers, opaque ensuite,
son bord superieur est presque arrondi, sinueux dans quelques endroits ;
la partie qui deborde la tete, finit en pointeet forme une sorte de grande
crochet, la partie posterieure de la membrane de passant l'abdomen est
tronquee droit et carrement, a son extremite. Antennes et pattes de la
couleur du corps; cuisses posterieures fortes, elargies : carenes superieures
des deux dernieres jambes munies de fines epines. Je n'ai pas pu dis-
tinguer le sexe.

Un individu unique communique par M. De la Sagra, qui l'a rappor-
te de Pile de Cuba.

Syn. — Choriphyllum Sagrai, Serville, Hist. Nat. Ins. Orthopt. p. 755,
pi. 8, fig. 5. (Fig. 67, 4 ; copied from Serville).

Another species from Africa has also recently been present-
ed to the British Museum by the Rev. D. F. Morgan, of which
the following are the characters.

Species 4. — Hymenotes platycorys. Hym. fusca, granulosa, pronoto supra
in folium maximum integrum rotundatum elevato, angulo postico inciso,
femoribus foliaceis posticis margine supero, (nisi ad apicem) integro.

Corp. long. lin. 6£. Habitat in Africa occidentali (Sierra Leone). —
D. Morgan. (Fig. 67, 5).

The colour, in one specimen, is entirely of a dark rusty
brown, with the tips of the thighs darker ; but in the other,
the elevated leaf of the pronotum is varied with paler colour,
as in my figure. The head is elevated into an irregular tooth-
ed ridge between the eyes, the centre being impressed, (fig.
67, 5 a, the head seen sideways). The pronotum is elevated
into a nearly semicircular leaf, produced into a deflexed point
before the head, and extending considerably beyond the ex-
tremity of the body behind ; it is very finely granulose, and
with slight irregular veins ; its edge at the posterior part is
finely serrated, and the posterior angle is notched : its lower
division is composed of two leaves, which slightly open for
the reception of the back, but in its upper portion these two
leaves are soldered together into one plate. The antennce
(fig. 67, 5 b) are short and 14-jointed, very slender, except
the two basal joints, which are thickened, and the two or three
terminal joints, which form a very slight club : they are con-
siderably shorter than in Hym. rhombea. The prosternum is
produced like a cravat over the hinder part of the mouth. —
The four anterior femora are dilated and scalloped on the
lower edge, the two posterior are much thicker, serrated on
the under side with several larger blunt teeth ; they are entire
on the upper side, except near the tip, where they are irregu-
larly spinose : the four anterior tibia are dilated at the base;

ON THE GENUS HYMENOTES, 495

the posterior tarsi are 3-jointed, the basal joint having, on
the under side, the appearance of being composed of three
joints, (fig. 67, 5 c).

The Rev. F. W. Hope has communicated to me a singular
Indian species belonging to the family Locustidce, having the
pronotum elevated into a large and compressed leaf, but which
belongs to the section containing the locust, the tarsi having
a large pulvillus between the ungues, but the prosternum
has no point. It is very nearly allied to the Indian species
described by Serville under the name of Chorotypus fenes-
trate, but differs in several particulars. It may be thus
characterized.

Phyllochoreia. Corpus valde compressum. Fades (fig. 67, 6 a) plana
verticalis, parte infera latiori, lateribus angulatis, supra oculos rotundato-
elevata. Oculi magni laterales. Antenna (fig. 67, 6 b) breves gracillimae
14-articulatae, artieulis discretis, 2 basalibus crassis, terminalibus paullo
crassioribus. Prothorax in folium compressissimum ultra dimidium abdo-
minis extensum elevatus, antice supra caput truncatus, postice acutus et ex
apice ad basin pedum intermediorum oblique truncatus. Alee ultra api-
cem pronoti extensae. Prosternum inerme. Pedes 4 antici simplices, tar-
sis 3-articulatis, articulo lmo subtiis sub-triarticulato ; pulvillo magno inter
ungues, (fig. 67, 6 c). Pedes 2 postici detereti.

Species 1. — Phyllochoreia unicolor. Tota pallide luteo-fusca, pronoto
brunnescenti, linea teUuissima nigra utrinque inter oculos et mandibu-
las ducta.

Corp. long. lin. 13. Habitat in India orientali. D. Whithill. In
Musaeo D. Hope. (Fig. 67, 6).

In addition to the preceding insects there are several others
belonging to the family of the locusts (Locustida, Leach,
Acridi, Latr.) which have the pronotum elevated into leaf-
like appendages over the back, but in none is this structure
so conspicuous as in those figured above. Such are the ge-
nera Monachidium of Serville, so named from the cowl-like
appearance of this appendage, and composed of Brasilian
species ; Teratodes of Brulle, formed for the reception of the
Indian Gryllus monticollis of Gray, figured in the English
translation of the ' Animal Kingdom, ' pi. 64, (but previously
described by Thunberg under another name), and to which
Serville also unites the Gryllus scutatus of Stoll ; and Derico-
rys of Serville, the type of which is an Egyptian species. —
In the neighbouring family Gryllidce, (including the grass-
hoppers with long antenna), the genus Hyper liomala has the
hind part of the pronotum extended backwards entirely over
the wings and body, but depressed, with a longitudinal su-
ture, exactly like a pair of elytra.

496 NOTICE OF UNDESCRIBED FOSSILS

Art. IV. — A Notice of some undescribed Organic Remains which
have recently been discovered in the London Clay Formation. By
Nathaniel Thomas Wetherell, Esq., F.G.S., M.R.C.S., &c.

The fossil bodies represented in plates viii. and ix. of the
Supplementary Illustrations, were found between Euston
Square and Kilburn, in the excavations for the London and
Birmingham Kail-road. They occurred at depths varying
from twelve to forty feet; London clay being exposed at
this place within a few feet of the vegetable mould. When
I first examined these fossils, they appeared so very different
from any I had previously seen, that I determined to lose no
time in obtaining as good a series of them as possible. There
exists among several of my geological friends a difference of
opinion as to their real nature ; some having regarded them
as Spongites, while others have supposed them to be of ve-
getable origin. For my own part I am quite doubtful to what
class they belong, and therefore prefer leaving the question
open to further investigation, before proposing any generic
name. The two copper plates which accompany this notice
have been engraved by Mr. J. De C. Sowerby, and I cannot
help observing that he has delineated the figures very accu-
rately. I will now proceed to give some account of a few of
the specimens, but I must first state that I employ botanical
terms, with the view of making my descriptions more clearly
understood.

One of the specimens (plate ix. fig. 1) is leaf-shaped, flat-
tened, and curved to one side ; width four inches and three
quarters, length uncertain, owing to the upper part having
been broken off; thickness half an inch. The whole of the
anterior and posterior surfaces is studded with a profusion of
small bodies, for the most part of an oval form, and a few of
them have a furrow down the middle. In one part these bo-
dies are nearly cylindrical, and so regularly placed in relation
to each other, that they appear like the lateral arms of a Pent-
acrinite.

Fig. 1 a. — Oviform bodies magnified, some of them show-
ing the longitudinal furrow.

Fig. 2. — A fine portion of a large stem dividing into four
branches, arising from which may be distinctly seen several
smaller ones, diverging in different directions. Like fig. 1
this specimen is covered with the small oviform bodies.

Fig. 3 is also a fragment of a stem, with the bases of two
branches, the upper one of the size of a goose quill, the low-
er one much smaller. Besides having the same kind of ovi-

FROM THE LONDON CLAY. 497

form bodies on its surface, as are noticed in the descriptions
of the two preceding figures, several raised and slightly curved
lines pass perpendicularly along the stem and divide at inter-
vals, giving a scabrous appearance to that portion of the sur-
face where they occur.

Fig. 4 is a round stem, two inches long and nearly half an
inch in diameter. On this specimen are seen the rudiments
of several branches, and in some parts furrows or depressions,
along which the branches appear to have passed after being
given off.

Plate viii. fig. 1. — This extraordinary and beautiful frag-
ment is in a fine state of preservation. It is quadrangular,
nearly straight, and embossed with a number of anastomos-
ing branches, curiously built up of small oviform bodies.—
How much farther this fossil extended it is impossible to say,
as the broken ends are of the same diameter as the middle.

Fig. 1 a. — A portion of the above magnified.

Fig. 2 represents a fragment with similar branches to those
of the specimen in fig. 1, ramifying on a thin partly cylindri-
cal portion of the fossil.

Fig. 3. — In the centre of this figure is a slender round stem
divided into two branches, which soon expand and become
flattened ; the terminations have been both broken off. At
the upper part is seen a transverse section, showing the inter-
nal structure of another portion. Tt is uncertain whether all
these parts belong to one and the same fossil.

Fig. 4. — This specimen is of an oval shape, tapering at its
lower part into a kind of leaf-stalk. From its upper part on
the left side two branches are given off, and at the top is
the rudiment of a third. From the hardness of the matrix the
centre is not well shown.

Fig. 5. — This fossil is curved backwards and to one side,
having a broad sulcus along the centre, which is partly filled
with hardened matrix. The inferior termination is rounded,
and inclines rather forward. The surface is covered with
small oviform bodies.

Fig. 6. — Nearly flat, edges rounded, and slightly raised. —
On the upper part of the fossil is a projection on each side ;
from these projections the edges above and below slant in-
wards. At the upper termination is a small notch, the lower
one is imperfect.

Fig. 7. — Oval, length one inch, breadth three quarters of
an inch. The centre of this fossil is shaped like a fan, owing
to a depression on each side.

Fig. 8. — Oval, nearly flat, the surface thickly covered with

Vol. III.— No. 34. 3 h

498 UNDESCRIBED FOSSILS FROM THE LONDON CLAY.

small oviform bodies. The base of this and the two preced-
ing specimens presents a rough appearance, as if it had been
attached to a branch or stem.

Fig. 9. — Leaf-shaped, flattish, edges rounded, upper end
rough, length two inches and a quarter, breadth nearly one
inch. Dividing at the basis into two flat processes, the up-
per one crossing obliquely over the under.

Fig. 10. — This singular fossil is remarkably thin. It ex-
pands very much at its upper part, which is curved downward
and to one side. On its surface are a number of small ribs,
passing parallel to each other but at unequal distances, curving
with the fossil, and meeting nearly together at the top. From
the lower part on the right side a small branch is given off.

Fig. 11. — A flattened stem dividing about midway into two
or more compressed branches.

Fig. 12. — View of a polished transverse section, showing
the internal structure.

Fig. 12 a. — Magnified view of a portion of the above.

Fig. 13. — View of a polished longitudinal section of a leaf-
shaped fossil, showing its internal structure.

Fig. 14. — View of a polished transverse section. On exa-
mining the centre of this specimen, a magnified view of which
is given at fig. 14 a, it appears as if a group of the same kind
of oviform bodies had been cut through, which, in the descrip-
tions of many of the preceding figures, have so frequently
been noticed as occurring on the outer surface. This group
is surrounded with curved lines, similar to those represented
in the section of fig. 12.

Fig. 15— Round, about the size of a goose-quill, and
curved spirally, terminating at its lower part in four or five
small rounded processes. The upper end has a rough sur-
face, as if it had been broken.

This specimen was found near Kilburn, by my friend H.
B. Burford, Esq., of Lisson Grove.

At page 17, vol. ii. of the 4 Proceedings of the Geological
Society,' is a notice of a paper by Mr. Richardson, on the
coast-section from Whitstable to the North Foreland. The
sketch of this paper which is given in the Proceedings con-
cludes as follows. — "A minute description is given of the
Septaria which are said to be very numerous, and to have
the surface often covered with small ramifications, resembling
branches flattened by pressure."

In this sketch no mention is made of anastomosing branch-
es, nor is anything said of the small oviform bodies which
have been so constantly met with in my specimens. Again,

MONOGRAPH OF THE ECHINODERMATA. 499

the branches which I have found do not merely ramify on the
surface, but also in many instances pervade every part of the
interior of the stone. Still I cannot help thinking, from their
being described as " resembling branches flattened by pres-
sure," that they will on comparison be found allied to them ;
and if so, another locality, many miles distant from mine,
must be added.

[t will be observed that some of the fossils are almost black.
This has arisen from the use of diluted muriatic acid when I
first began to clean them, which acted powerfully on the fos-
sil as well as the matrix. It is, however, necessary to notice
that in many instances the fossil itself is of a dark colour.

I trust that when the nature of these remains is more fully
made out, additional light will be thrown on some of those
singular forms of the flint which are often discovered in the
chalk formation, and the origin of many of which still remains
in obscurity. From several specimens of flint which I have
examined, I am of opinion that these curious fossils do actu-
ally occur in this formation ; and it appears the more proba-
ble, from the fact that several of the same genera,1 and at
least one species of shell {Terebratula strlatula), are found
in both strata.

Highgaie, May 15, 1839.

REVIEWS.

Art. I. — Monographie des Echinodermes. Par Lotus Agassiz. Neuchatel.

Livraison 1.

It is with extreme satisfaction that we see Professor Agassiz
commencing the publication of an illustrated Monograph
upon the Echinodermata. The remarkable forms of the
Echinites, and the excellent state of preservation in which
the fossil species are found, have always rendered them
objects of interest, and constantly attracted the notice of
naturalists. Our own countryman, Dr. Woodward, in the
catalogue of his famous collection, was probably among the
first who attempted their classification, which was followed
by many of the early writers. He adopted a twofold divi-
sion ; — first, the Spatagi, having two openings, either both
at the base of the shell, or one at the edge or centre of the
base, and the other near to, or in, the opposite margin ; and

1 For example, the Nautilus, Pentacrinite, Ophiura, Spatangus, &c. I
have also found in the matrix, in close contact with my fossils, Spirolinites,
and a species of Rotalia,

500 MONOGRAPH OF THE ECHINODERMATA.

secondly, the Echini, possessing only one aperture at the
base. In 1784, Klein published his 'Dispositio Naturalis
Echinodermatum,' which added considerably to the know-
ledge of these fossils. He classed them according to the
situation of the mouth and vent, a plan which has been con-
tinued, and in part adopted, in every succeeding arrangement.
In dividing them into classes, sections, and genera, he
made use of the following nomenclature : —

EMMESOSTOMI.— Mouth in the centre of the base.

APOMESOSTOMI.— Mouth out of the centre.

And the further subdivided classes were, —

Anocysti. Vent in the upper part.
Cidaris, Clypei.

Catocysti. Vent in the under part.
Fibula, Cassides, Scuta, Placenta.

Pleurocysti. Vent in the side.

Subsequently Breyne, Van Phelsum, and Leske, assuming
for a groundwork the sections of Klein, proposed a different
ent classification ; — the first reducing the genera to seven, —
the second forming them into twenty, — and the last again
curtailing them to ten. Lamarck, however, instituted consi-
derable alterations; and without overlooking, as a primary
character, the position of the mouth and vent, he established
generic distinctions from the size and form of the ambulacra.
The following is an outline of his division.

1. The vent below the margin ; in the lower surface ; or in the margin
* The mouth beneath, always central.

Scutella.

Clypeaster. ■ Ambulacra contracted.

Fibularia.

EchinoneusA Ambuhcm compiete.

Cralerites. ) r

** The mouth beneath, not central, but approaching the margin.
Ananchites. Spatanyus.

2. The vent above the margin, and consequently dorsal.

a. The vent dorsal, but approaching the margin.

Cassidulus. Nucleolites.

b. The anus dorsal and vertical ; the shell regular.

Echinus. Cidarites.

Several authors have since introduced various modifications

MONOGRAPH OF THE ECH1NODERMATA. 501

of Lamarck's divisions, and in 1839 Agassiz proposed to se-
parate the Echini into three natural families — Spatangi, Cly-
peastres, and Cidarites.

1. Spatangi.

Disaster. Holaster. Ananchytes. Hemipneustes. Micraster. Spatan-
gus. Amphidetus. Brissus. Schizaster.

2. Clypeastres.

Catopygus. Pygaster. Galerites. Discoidea. Clypeus. Nucleolites.
Cassidulus. Fibularia. Echinoneus. Echinolampas. Clypeaster. Echi-
narachnius. Scutella.

3. Cidarites.

Cidaris. Diadema. Astropyga. Salenia. Echinometra. Arbacia.
Echinus.

With more immediate reference to the part before us, Mr.
Gray, in the Zoological Proceedings of 1835, has suggested
a subdivision of the genus Echinus into what he considers
four natural genera, viz., — Arbacia, Salenia, Echinus, and
Echinometra, from a belief that some of the characters on
which the genus had been founded, such as the number of
the tesserae and the pores in the ambulacra, were discovered
to be inconstant.

The genus Salenia, as originally established by Mr. Gray,
was characterized by having the ambulacral arese narrower
than the interambulacral ; by having only one large imperfo-
rate tubercle upon each coronal plate, and of which the ova-
rial and the interovarial plates (united together so that they
cannot be easily separated) form a salient disk, traversed by
the anal apparatus [appareil), of which the opening is some-
times central, sometimes anterior, and sometimes posterior.
Agassiz, however, finding differences in the oviductal appa-
ratus, has been induced to raise the genus Salenia into a fa-
mily consisting of four genera, according to the modifications
presented by this apparatus ; viz., Salenia, properly so called,
Goniopygus, Peltasies, and Goniophorus. No recent species
are known, and the fossil ones are entirely confined to the
cretaceous series.

Salenia, Gray, Agas.

Having a single plate placed in the middle of the oviduc-
tal apparatus, called the superanal plate, and which, accord-
ing to its position opposite to the anal opening, renders the
anus always eccentric, sometimes throwing it in front and
sometimes behind. This superanal plate is generally of the
same size as the ovarial plates, and forms with them, as well
as with the five interovarial plates, a circular disk, variously
notched in its contour.

502 MONOGRAPH OF THE ECHINODERMATA.

Goniopygvs, Agas.

Differs from Salenia in the absence of the superanal plate ;
and the ovarial plates are not united throughout their length
to the interovarial, from which it results that the oviductal
apparatus constantly presents a decagonal rosette ; * the in-
terambulacral areae are much less tubercular than in the other
genera of this family ; the coronal plates in the upper part of
the shell often bear only a single large tubercle ; a character
peculiar to this genus is the absence of the radiating grooves
on the tubercles of the interambulacral areae.

Peltastes, Agas.

The altogether peculiar form of the oviductal apparatus
(resembling a shield) in several species, has induced the au-
thor to raise them to the dignity of a genus. The ovarial plates
extend over a considerable portion of the interambulacral
areae, surrounded on each side by the interovarial plates, to
which they are united throughout their whole length, so that
instead of a star of ten rays, there is only a single pentagonal
rosette.

Goniophorus, Agas.

This genus is very closely allied to Salenia, but distin-
guished from it, as well as from the two preceding genera, by
the peculiar structure of the oviductal plate, the surface of
which is covered with rigid and salient ridges, which are not
sutures, the latter being scarcely visible to the naked eye ;
besides the interovarial and ovarial plates there is a large su-
peranal plate, which, placed (as in Peltastes and the second
division of Salenia) between the anterior ovarials and the
anal aperture, pushes away the latter backwards ; the form
of the whole apparatus is that of a pentagon, whose salient
angles are formed by the interovarial plates.

The plates of this the first part are neatly executed, and
the more important characters illustrated by magnified views.
In calling the attention of naturalists to this Monograph, we
think but one opinion can be entertained as to its value in
relation to the sciences of Geology and Zoology ; and we
most sincerely trust that success will attend the labours of
its author, whose intimate acquaintance with the subject pe-
culiarly qualifies him for undertaking the elucidation of one
of the most interesting groups in the whole animal kingdom.

1 One of the principal characters of Goniopygus appears to he the central
anal opening, which is sometimes circular, sometimes angular, according
to the species.

ELEMENTS OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY. 503

Art. II. — Elements of British Entomology ; containing a General Intro-
duction to the Science, a Systematic Description of all the Genera, and a
List of all the Species, of British Insects, with a History of their Trans-
formations, Habits, Economy, and Distribution, with outline figures of the
Families, and their Larvce and Pupce, an explanation of the technical terms,
and full directions for collecting. By W. E. Shuckard, Libr. R. S., Au-
thor of the " Essay on the Fossorial Hymenoptera." Part I. illustrated
with 50 wood-cuts. London: Bailliere. 1839. 8vo. pp. 240.

M. Macquart, in the introduction to his new work upon ex-
otic Dlptera, speaks of the recent progress which Entomology
has made in this country as most singular. " En Angleterre"
says he, " TEntomologie a pris un essor tres-remarquable,
graces aux travaux si connues de Kirby," &c; and the work
whose lengthy title is given above will, when completed, add
considerably to the grounds for the eulogium of the French
dipterologist.

The present first part commences with the technical de-
scription of the order Coleoptera, leaving the general intro-
duction to the science, including the primary distribution of
the insect tribes, for a future number. As the paging of the
present number commences with 1, we would suggest that
the promised introduction should be paged in a different type,
so as to allow of its being placed at the commencement of the
volume, its legitimate situation, rather than at the end.

Three pages are devoted to the general sketch of the order
of beetles, in which the author states his conviction " that the
advantages to be derived from the tarsal system, in its gene-
ral application, by facilitating a familiarity with the order,
much more than counterbalance the inconvenience of regard-
ing as exceptions to the rule, those genera which do not har-
monize with it, but which their affinities will not allow to be
displaced." He accordingly adopts the four primary divisions
of Latreille, for which he retains the names Pentamera,
Heteromera, Tetramera, and Trimera, notwithstanding the
acknowledged incorrectness of the two latter names, and the
alterations suggested by some recent authors for their correc-
tion.

As some variations are suggested in the arrangement of the
families and subfamilies of the Pentamera, it may be useful
to give the following sketch of the distribution which is here
proposed. The Pentamerous beetles, or those which have
five joints in each of their six tarsi, are divided into five sub-
divisions, namely, the Adephagi, Brachelytra, Helocera,
Petalocera, and Prionocera. The first four of these five di-
visions, constituting the first of the four divisions of the first
order (Coleoptera), entirely occupy the present part.

504 ELEMENTS OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY.

The first subdivision, Adephagi, forms two tribes, the Ge-
odephaga and the Hydradephaga ; the first of these consists
of two races, 1st, the Eupterina (comprising the single family
Cicindelidce), and 2nd, the Euti'echina (given as the nomen-
clature of Kirby and Spence1), composed of six families,
Brachinidce, Scaritidae, Harpalidce (divided into six minor
groups, Harpalinii Pcecilini, Amarini, Anchomenini, Trichi-
ni, and Licinini), Carabidce, Elaphridce, and Bembidiidce. —
The Hydradephaga in like manner consist of two races, 1st,
the Eunechina, composed of the single family Dytiscidce, di-
vided, after Erichson, into two subfamilies, Haliplites (com-
posed of two groups, Haliplini Erichs., and Pelobini, Erichs.),
and Dytiscites (formed of three groups, Hydroporini, Er.,
Colymbetini, Er., and Dytiscini, Er.), and 2nd, the Gy rone-
china, composed of the single family Gyrinus.

The second subdivision, Brachelytra, comprises seven
families, Omalida, Oxytelida, Stenidce, Staphylinidai , Ta-
chinida, Aleocharidce, Pselaphidce.

The third subdivision, Helocera, comprises three tribes;
1, Clavicornes, composed of the fourteen families, Scydmceni-
d<e, Agathidiidae, Scaphidiida, Cholevidae, Sphceritidce, Ne-
crophoridcB (given as that of Shuckard, but first proposed by
Kirby, in the i Fauna Boreali-Americana'), Silphidce, Nitidu-
lidce, Engidce, Dermestidce, Byrrhidm, Heteroceridce, Parni-
d<B and Elmidae ; 2nd, the Palpicornes, composed of four
families, Spercheida, Helophorida, Hydrophilida, and Sphce-
ridiidce; 3rd, the Fracticornes, consisting of the single family
Histerida.

The fourth subdivision, Petalocera, is composed of two
tribes ; 1st, the Pectinicomes (or family Lucanidce), and 2nd,
the Lamellicornes, forming two races, Saprophaga, consisting
of the four families, Geotrupidce, Scarabaeidce, Aphodiid<By
and Trogida ; 2nd, the Thalerophaga, composed of two fa-
milies, Melolonthidce and Cetoniidce.

In placing the Brachelytra immediately after the aquatic
beetles, a situation not assigned to them by English writers,
our author has followed the views of Latreille, and Kirby (in
the i Fauna Boreali-Americana'). He has, however, given
no reasons for such an opinion, and he even objects (p. 118)
to the affinity suggested by Dr. Heer between the larvae of
the Staphylini and Dytisci. Of all the recent arrangements
relative to the location of the Brachelytra, that suggested by

1 Kirby and Spence (Introd. to Entomol. vol. iv. p. 392) employ the name
Eupodina for the whole of the Linnaean Carabi ; Mr. Kirby, in the Fauna
Boreali-Americana, uses the word Eutrecha for part only of the Linnaean
Carabi. These authors have not employed the name Eutrechina.

ELEMENTS OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY. 505

Dr. Erichson appears to us the most natural, namely, its im-
mediate connexion with the Silphidce. Mr. Shuckard also
strongly objects to the introduction of the Gyrinidce amongst
the Hydradephagous Adepkagi, advancing various reasons
against their relation, such as the possession of four eyes, the
different position of the legs, and structure of those limbs, the
great dissimilarity in their trophi and antennce, and to crown
all, the total dissimilarity in their larva, &c. Notwithstand-
ing these strong peculiarities, we cannot however but consider
that the Gyrinidce. are properly located amongst the Adeplia-
ga, the activity of their motions and their strong powers of
voracity, eminently qualifying them for such a relation, and
far outweighing, in our opinion, structural variations of minor
import.

We are glad to find the great mass of the clavicorn beetles,
including the Xylophaga, continued en masse, contrary to
Latreille's plan of separating the latter from the more evident-
ly Pentamerous clavicorns. The situation of the SpliGeridiida
at the end of the palpicorn aquatic beetles, succeeded by the
Histeridce, and these by the Lucanidce, is very natural, al-
though these various relations had been pointed out by pre-
ceding writers.

The great value of the work however consists in the cha-
racters of the genera, of which three hundred and thirty-two
are described in this first part, (being about half of the order
of beetles) ; indeed it would have been more correct to have
styled the work a systematic description of the genera of Brit-
ish insects, rather than to have designated it by its present
more comprehensive title-page. Each genus, on an average,
occupies about half a page ; the characters being about as
long as (and often very similar to) those of Stephens' Illus-
trations : ■ in like manner also the genera in each family are
tabularized, the table being however in English instead of
Latin. The derivation of generic names is also given, a very
advantageous plan pursued by Brulle and others, and which
serves in a much more certain manner to fix a long series of
names in the memory, than when given without any such de-
finition. Under each genus are given short details of the
natural history of such of the species as may have been no-
ticed, but it may be readily conceived how many genera there
are which are destitute of any such observations, and of which
the mere existence of the few cabinet species is all that is
known of the genus ; hence the superiority of the plan pur-

1 Compare for instance the characters of Medon in p. 104, with those given
by Stephens, Mand. vol. v. p. 273.
Vol. III.— No. 34. n. s. 3 i

506 ELEMENTS OF BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY.

sued by Mr. Stephens and others, of giving these details of
natural history under the family rather than under the gene-
ra. The account of each genus is terminated by a list of the
names of the species belonging to it, but not a single species
is described, so that the student has no means of identifying
a single insect.

Owing to the indefatigable researches of our late writers,
Curtis and Stephens, and the still more recent generic Synop-
sis of Westwood, much novelty was not to be expected in the
list of genera, a few have however been added1, not indicated
by the writers above mentioned ; they are as follows, namely,
Pelecyphorus, Nordmann, (allied to Ocypus and Goerius,7-
type Staphylinus picipes, Gyll.3); Ocalea, Erichs., (allied to
Bolitochara, type Ocal. castanea); Cryptarcha, Shk., (sepa-
rated from Strongylus, types Str. strigata and imperialis) ;
Pithyophagus, Shk., (separated from Ips, type Ips ferrugi-
nea) ; and Pediacus, Shk., (separated from Cucujus, from
which we think it is improperly far removed, type Cue. der-
mesto'ides). In addition to these novelties, there are various
remarks scattered through the book deserving of notice, and
proving a careful spirit of observation ; as for instance in the
arrangement of the genera of Brachinidae, the observation on
the rank of Cychrus, (we cannot however agree that this ge-
nus, although so strikingly characterized, is to be considered
as equivalent to the entire family Cicindelidce, comprising as
it does such diverse forms as Colliuris, Cicindela and Man-
ticora) ; the remarks on the anomalous Dytici with double-
formed females, the author being of opinion that there must
be a recondite character not yet discovered, whereby the
males [of the smooth and furrowed backed females] may be
separated, thus confirming Mr. Kirby's genus Leionotus for
the smooth-backed females; an observation with which we
cannot coincide; the remarks on the specific names of Goerius
olens, Bolitobius lunulatus, Lomechusa emarginata (which
must be rejected from the British Fauna) ; &c.

1 Some additional genera as well as species might have been added, had
the author consulted other recent periodical works, as for instance the 'Bul-
letin' of the Moscow Natural-History Society, wherein Chandoir published
a new distribution of part of the Harpalida, or the ' Naturalist,' in which
Mr. Rylands has described some new British species of Amara.

2 In a note to this genus is a sweeping condemnation of " modern ento-
mologists" for adopting the learning of MoufFet without acknowledgment;
the author might have made one exception at least, by referring to the In-
trod. to Mod. Classif. of Insects, p. 163.

3 In introducing this, and some other interesting insects to which we
might allude, it would at least have been satisfactory to have mentioned
their locality, time of capture, &c.

BRITISH COLEOPTERA DELINEATED. 507

The work is carefully printed ; the outline woodcuts are
chiefly copied from Panzer, and are by no means satisfactory ;
and more than half of the families are not illustrated by figures
of their preparatory states. The work is announced to be
completed in three parts, but the genera alone, on the plan
here pursued, will occupy at least five such parts as the pre-
sent, independently of the other portions of the work proposed
to be given in the the title-page.

Art. III. — British Coleoptera Delineated ; consisting of Figures of all the
Genera of British Beetles. Drawn in outline by W. Spry, M.E.S. —
Edited by W. Shuckard, Lib. R. S., author of " Essay on the Fossorial
Hymenoptera," and the " Elements of British Entomology."

The prospectus of this useful work correctly observes, that
" whilst the most elaborate description must fail to convey a
distinct idea of the great variety that occur[s] in the forms of
the genera of Coleoptera, neither can the best drawing give
the requisite detail of all particulars ; hence the pen and
pencil must lend each other mutual help. With this object
therefore in view, and with a wish to supply the deficiency of
one of these desiderata, the present work, consisting of out-
line figures of the whole series of the genera of British bee-
tles has been commenced." These figures are exceedingly
characteristic, six or eight being placed upon each plate, con-
veying a very satisfactory notion of the forms of the genera
intended to be represented ; in fact we know of no figures
which surpass them in this respect, except those of Mr.
Haliday published in the ' Entomological Magazine.' The
pencil has done its part well and laboriously — the pen has
contributed descriptions, not of the genera, but of the species
represented. If the work be intended as a supplement to the
' Elements of British Entomology,' it answers its purpose
completely; if not, then descriptions, or at least, descrip-
tive tables, of the genera, ought to bave been added. And we
would strongly recommend Mr. Spry, who has evidently taken
so great a share of the labour of the work, to have a second
set of text printed, in which the pen may so lend its help to
the pencil, that both the desiderata above mentioned may be
obtained, and the work rendered what it deserves to be, inde-
pendent of any other, and not as it now is, a mere supplement
to other works.

The work appears in parts, each containing six plates il-
lustrating nearly fifty genera. The plates appear irregularly,
and amongst the Xylophaga we find the Lyctus nitidns, Gyll.

508 PROF. EHRENBERG ON THE INFUSORIA.

(a species not hitherto recorded as British) introduced, and
formed into a separate genus named Teredus.

Art. IV. — Die Infusions thierchen, als vollkommene Organismen; ein Blick
in das tie/ere organische Leben der Natur. Nebst einem Atlas von 64 col.
Kupfertafeln, gezeichnet von Verfasser. Von Prof. Eh re n berg. Royal
folio. Verlag von Ludw. Voss, Leipzig.1

This work, which may truly be looked upon as marking an
epoch in Natural History, contains on 133 printed sheets the
results which the most skilful and successful observer with
the microscope has obtained during many years of laborious
and persevering research, in different parts of the globe. It
may be said that the microscope has become, in the hands of
Prof. Ehrenberg, a means of information not less important
than the telescope has been, and still is, in those of the Her-
schels. And as Sir John Herschel did not restrict his inqui-
ry to our hemisphere, so has Prof. Ehrenberg studied the
minute organic productions of nature in distant parts; in
Afiica and Arabia (1820), and in the North of Asia (1829),
thus arriving at important conclusions as to the geographical
distribution of the animalcula. Any one, besides, who is at
all familiar with the discoveries made in this branch of sci-
ence during the last twenty years, must be sufficiently con-
vinced that the work, whose title is given above, is not the
production of some fortunate combination of circumstances,
but the slowly-matured fruit of steady and deep inquiry. —
Thus the author has succeeded in establishing two great na-
tural laws, which may have been anticipated by some, but
which have never been proved before. 1. That the animal
organization is perfect, in all its principal systems, to the
extreme limit of vision assisted by the most powerful micro-
scopes ; and, 2. TJiat the microscopic animalcula exercise a
very great and direct influence on inorganic nature.

One of the inferences drawn from the first law is the great
improbability of these animalcula, as well as organic bodies
in general, being ever produced by spontaneous generation.

In the Infusoria themselves Prof. Ehrenberg has either
confirmed or first established a considerable number of very
curious qualities and relations, which are highly interesting
in a physiological and other points of view, the most impor-
tant of which we briefly enumerate.

1 The Infusoria (microscopic animalcula) as perfect Organisms; a glance
into the deeper organic life of Nature. With an Atlas of 64 coloured plates
after drawings executed by the author, &c.

PROF. EHRENBERG ON THE INFUSORIA. 509

1. Most (probably all) microscopic animalcula are highly
organized animals. 2. They form, according to their struc-
ture, two well-defined classes. 3. Their geographical distri-
bution in four of the parts of the world follows the same laws
as that of other animals. 4. They cause extensive volumes
of water to be coloured in different ways, and occasion a pe-
culiar phosphorescence of the sea by the light they develope.
5. They form a peculiar sort of living earth ; and as 41,000
millions of them are often within the volume of one cubic inch,
the absolute number of these animalcula is certainly greater
than that of all other living creatures taken together ; the ag-
gregate volume is even likely to be in favour of the animal-
cula. 6. They possess the greatest power of generation known
within the range of organic nature ; one individual being able
to procreate many millions within a few hours' time. 7. The
animalcula form indestructible earths, stones, and rocks, by
means of their siliceous testa ; with an admixture of lime or
soda they may serve to prepare glass ; they may be used for
making floating bricks, which were previously known to the
ancients ; they serve as flints, as tripoli, as ochre, for manur-
ing land, and for eating, in the shape of mountain meal, which
fills the stomach with a harmless stay. They are sometimes
injurious by killing fish in ponds, in making clear water tur-
bid, and in creating miasma ; but that they give rise to the
plague, cholera morbus, and other pestilential diseases, has
never been shown in a credible manner. 8. As far as obser-
vation goes the animalcula never sleep. 9. They exist as
Entozoa in men and animals, the Spermatozoa not being taken
into consideration here. 10. They themselves are infested
with lice as well as Entozoa, and on the former, again, other
parasites have been observed. 11. They are, in general, af-
fected by external agents, much in the same manner as the
larger organic beings. 12. The microscopic animalcula be-
ing extremely light, they are elevated by the weakest currents,
and often carried into the atmosphere. 13. Those observers
who think they have seen how these minute creatures sud-
denly spring from inert matter, have altogether overlooked
their complicated structure. 14. It has been found possible
to refer to certain limits or organic laws, the wonderful and
constant changes of form which some of these animalcula
present. 15. That the organism of these animalcula is com-
paratively powerful, is evinced by the strength of their teeth
and of their apparatus for mastication ; they are also posses-
sed of the same mental faculties as other animals. 16. The
observation of these microscopic beings has led to a more
precise definition of what constitutes an animal, as distinct

510 DEATH OF DR. SMITH. — BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

from plants, in making us better acquainted with the systems
of which the latter are destitute. — W. W. — Weimar.

THE

MAGAZINE OF NATUKAL HISTORY.
October, 1839.

Amongst the Short Communications in our present Number, will be
found some brief particulars relating to the death of Dr. William Smith,
whose sudden decease took place, on the 28th of August last, whilst vi-
siting at the house of George Baker, Esq., the author of the well-known
work on the History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire. Having but
a short time since seen this acknowledged founder of the English school
of Geology, in the apparent enjoyment of the most robust health, and in
the possession of bodily and mental powers that rendered him still fresh
and eager for employment in the field of scientific research, it was with
no small share of painful surprise, that we received intelligence of the
melancholy event.

The attention of our readers has been so lately drawn to his history,
in the biographical sketch of his life and writings which appeared in this
Journal a few months since, from the pen of Professor Phillips, and the
great geological importance of his early observations is so universally
admitted, that it is not necessary for us to extend our tribute of respect
to his memory, beyond a passing allusion to his decease. We cannot,
however, refrain from expressing the high gratification which we feel
that it should have been in our power to give publicity to so faithful a
representation of the ■ Father of English Geology,' as the admirable
likeness which accompanied the above-mentioned Memoir.

The columns of the 'Athenaeum ' have on this, as on former occasions,
for several weeks been principally occupied with reports of the Proceed-
ings transacted during the late assembling of the British Association ;
and though the Birmingham meeting, from peculiar circumstances, had
its proportion of attending members reduced, there appears to have been
a very fair supply of communications brought under the consideration
of the different sections. In the Natural History department we observe
that Messrs. Forbes and Goodsir furnished a joint account of a visit paid
by those gentlemen to the islands of Shetland and Orkney, during which
they appear to have made some particularly interesting additions to our
marine invertebrate Fauna, in the discovery of a very large Tubularia,

BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 511

referrible to a new genus, and many undescribed species of Holothuria,
Eolida, <Scc. Mr. Lyell made some observations upon the marsupial and
quadrumanous remains from the London clay near Woodbridge, and
mentioned the discovery of some teeth belonging to the larger Carnivora
in the red crag of the same neighbourhood; — a tertiary deposit in
which traces of terrestrial mammals had not previously been recorded. —
Some little doubt appears to have existed in the mind of Mr. Lyell, as to
the contemporaneous deposition of the red crag and the stratum from
which the mammiferous teeth were taken, the possibility of their hav-
ing been subsequently introduced through fissures in the quarry be-
ing suggested. This part of the crag has been so extensively explored
without any traces of land animals being observed, that the question
is one which should be examined with extreme caution ; as, however, the
remains of quadrupeds occur abundantly in the mammaliferous crag, and
occasionally, as it now appears, in the London clay of the same neigh-
bourhood, we may anticipate that sooner or later indications of their
existence will be found in the whole of the tertiary rocks which occupy
that district.

Professor Schonbren of Basle informed the Geological Section that
Agassiz had just commenced the publication of a supplement to his
' Poissons Fossiles', which he had dedicated to the British Association,
as an acknowledgement of his gratitude for the assistance afforded him
by that body. This announcement completely nullifies the proposition
not very shrewdly, as we think, put forward by Agassiz in his late vindi-
catory epistle, wherein he intimates his perfect willingness that cheap
fac similes of his plates should be published in England, as the com-
pletion of his own work, and the removal of the drawings from the litho-
graphic stones, would render such a proceeding beneficial to science,
without being injurious to his own interest. The 'Poissons Fossiles*
and the ' Mineral Conchology,' from their nature, are necessarily con-
tinuous publications, unless a want of means or inclination on the part
of their respective authors to carry them forward, puts a temporary or
final interruption to their progress.1

Among the recommendations resolved upon by the Association, we
notice one from the Geological section, recommending, " that application

1 The attempt to obtain a sale in this country of the French edition of
the • Mineral Conchology,' has been a total failure. We learn from
M. Agassiz's Agent, that only one copy has been disposed of, and that
to the author of the original work !

512 sir james Alexander's

should be made to the trustees of the British Museum, to have the shells
in that institution so arranged as to facilitate comparison of the actually
existing shells, with fossil remains and impressions in rocks." From the
manner in which this recommendation is worded in the Athenaeum Re-
port, its precise meaning is not clearly apparent. The systematic arrange-
ment and naming of the collection of British testacea in the national
collection, would he of the most essential aid to the geological inquirer,
and, as this has been a consummation long and most ardently hoped for,
but as yet in vain, we understand the above recommendation as a round-
about but ingeniously delicate way of attempting to get so important an
object effected.

We see with pleasure in the leading article of the Athenaeum, a few
brief but well-timed observations on the abuse directed by the Times
newspaper against the British Association as a scientific body. That the
attack in question has originated in the grossest ignorance on the part of
its promulgators, of the constitution and real objects of the Association,
there can be little doubt ; and the regret with which we must confess
we have seen the course pursued by the latter journal, has arisen more
from witnessing such a prostitution of the talent and extensive influence
which it commands, than from the apprehension of any injurious effect
being produced in the quarter against which its hostility has been pointed.

Sir James Alexander has paid us the same compliment with which, on
a late and somewhat similar occasion, he favoured the editor of the Athe-
naeum, having written us a letter expressive of his displeasure at our late
review of his exploring expedition.1 He has the incivility to style our
very handsome notice of his original discoveries, " a disparaging critique
upon those portions of his narrative which relate to Natural History." —
We are sorry to find that we did not give the narrative that attentive pe-
rusal which was certainly incumbent upon us in our editorial capacity,
for it appears that had we done this, we might have seen that Sir James
" repeatedly entered the waters of the Orange, and wandered along its
banks, in spite of the dread Leviathan and hairy monsters." Further-
more, Sir James tells us, " He [the reviewer] strangely concludes that
because my attendant fled from the attack of a five-feet high baboon, I
must also have had a salutary dread of these animals. I never was at-
tacked by a baboon, and never fled from one."

1 The letter is given verbatim on the wrapper.

AFRICAN DISCOVERIES. 513

The positive assurance in Sir James Alexander's own hand-writing,
that he never did fly from a baboon while on his African expedition of
discovery, is so completely satisfactory, that it was altogether unnecessary
to render it doubly so, by connecting it with the circumstance of his not
having been attached by one. In truth, we must candidly admit, that
our first impression was too hastily formed, for although Sir James, up-
on the strength of facts of which he was immediately cognisant, states
that these baboons murder travellers by biting them to death in the neck,
and that they are more to be dreaded than the poisoned arrows of the
Boschmen, our assumption nevertheless, that he had a salutary dread of
these monsters, cannot be supported by a course of legitimate induction,
although in these times of liberal criticism we think the inference to
that effect will not be regarded as very far-fetched.

Sir James goes on to observe, — "Again he sneers at my assertion that
when the rhinoceros is quietly pursuing his way among the mimosa-bush-
es, his horns strike against each other. It appeared to me they did so,
— the natives confirmed this, — and will your reviewer maintain that both
horns are so firmly fixed in the bone of the head that they cannot touch
each other at any period of their growth, and when the skin of the rhi-
noceros is not stiffened with passion ? " We cannot help feeling that
this is rather a delicate subject to handle, because it involves the personal
observation of Sir James; from the specimens however of the two-horned
rhinoceros which have come under our own notice, we should certainly
have inferred that if the animal were quietly moving amongst the mimo-
sa-bushes, a clapping noise would not be produced by the horns striking
together, but the individuals examined by us unfortunately happen, in all
cases, to have had the skin stiffened, and though not exactly from the
same cause as that alluded to by Sir James, yet, as it appears that this
condition is opposed to the above phenomenon going forward, it would
not be fair, upon such data, to throw any doubt upon Sir James Alex-
ander's statement, backed by that of the natives. We do not, however,
think much importance should be attached to the latter circumstance,
for had it appeared to our traveller during his African peregrinations, that
the side of the moon which illumines that portion of the earth presented
an aspect very much resembling green cheese, it is more than probable
that the natives would have coincided in this opinion, had Sir James con-
sulted them upon the subject. To have differed from him indeed, would
have been equivalent to calling in question his powers of correct discri-
mination, and this would have been tantamount to calling in question
the discrimination of the Geographical Society, in deputing Sir James
to be their representative.

Vol. III.— No. 34. n. s. 3 k

514 sir james Alexander's African discoveries.

The most important part of the communication with which we have been
honoured, is an intimation from Sir James (somewhat obscurely worded),
that he deems it necessary to give some public proof of his courage, for
which purpose he demands the name of the anonymous Reviewer. With
that true nobleness, and delicacy of feeling, which ought to be an inva-
riable attribute of knighthood, Sir James scorns to take advantage of
the Editor's name being openly placed on the wrapper of the journal
containing the offensive critique, and recollecting the motto, ' Palmam
qui meruit ferat, ' his indignation is solely directed towards the said
anonymous personage. We must, however, tell Sir James Alexander,
that in this matter we deem him to be altogether at fault. It will rea-
dily be supposed that we feel a proper sort of editorial affection for our es-
tablishment of reviewers, and that we do not hand them over to the tender
mercies of knight-errants and rhinoceros-shooters, without just and rea-
sonable cause should arise to warrant our so doing. Now, throughout
the article complained of, not the most distant suspicion is mooted of any
want of courage on the part of Sir James as it respects the genus Homo;
the " salutary dread " attributed to him, was of a race of gigantic Quad-
rumana, and which he expressly tells us are infinitely more to be feared
than the most savage of our own species. We therefore dispute altoge-
ther the validity of the grounds upon which Sir James would found his
challenge, since it is clear that no possible object would be gained if he
had the satisfaction of tickling' our reviewer with one of his ■ hard and
heavy bullets,' for the imputation, as it respects the baboons, would re-
main precisely as it now stands.

If Sir James be in real earnest about setting himself right with the
public upon this point, the obvious course under the circumstances is for
him to despatch his attendant, Robert, with proper assistance, to the
Orange River, for the purpose of capturing and bringing alive to this
country, one of the I hairy monsters.' Sir James may then, in single
combat, have an opportunity of publicly displaying his prowess, and in
the event of his success, we should recommend him to add the skin of
his vanquished opponent to the collection of Quadrumana in the nation-
al Museum, or that of the Zoological Society.

We have every reason for believing that in the event of the Geogra-
phical Society again availing themselves of Sir James Alexander's ser-
vices to superintend another African expedition of discovery, that he will
receive special instructions to make mention in his narrative of nothing
that he may hear, and only half of what he may see ; and we can assure
him that a volume coming before us, written under these circumstances,
would not give rise to a disparaging critique in the Magazine of Natural
History.

DEATH OF DR. SMITH. 515

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS.

Extract of a Letter from George Baker, Esq. referring to
the death of Dr. William Smith. — "My sister and I had
long looked forward with pleasure to attending the meeting
of the British Association at Birmingham; — we had antici
pated finding many of our distant friends there, — and what
added still more to our promised enjoyment, Dr. Smith wrote
to say he would come and geologize in our neighbourhood
with us for a few days, on his way to Birmingham.

" He came to us from London on the Tuesday before the
meeting He seemed slightly indisposed with a cold, but we
drove about thirty miles the next day in a direction suggested
by himself, to examine a point of doubtful stratification. On
Thursday he walked with us nearly two miles, to see some
fossil bones. On Friday a bilious diarrhoea came on, and
much against his inclination I consulted my friend Dr. Ro-
bertson, who hoped he would be sufficiently well to accom-
pany us to Birmingham on Monday. He went a short drive
with us that evening, and even on Monday morning, the attack
having subsided, we thought he would be able to go with us
by the rail-road ; but when he came down stairs (for he had
not been confined to his bed) he was evidently too weak to
bear the journey, and we began to be alarmed. I went im-
mediately to Birmingham for his nephew, Professor Phillips,
and returned with him early the next morning, when the Doc-
tor appeared so comfortable, and gave us such a circumstan-
tial and connected account of his movements, and the geolo-
gical observations he had made during his visits since the
Oxford agricultural meeting, that Professor Phillips thought
we were needlessly alarmed, and that he might venture to re-
turn to Birmingham in the afternoon. But when we went up
again after breakfast, an evident and rapid change had taken
place ; he was in a state of drowsy torpor, from which (al-
though, if roused, he answered questions rationally to the last)
he never rallied. The powers of nature were exhausted, and
he kept gradually (or rather rapidly) sinking till the following
night (Wednesday), when he breathed his last without a sigh
or a groan. From the first moment of his attack he suffered
no pain, and his constant reply to every inquiry if he felt any
pain, was " None at all." The comparative suddenness of his
death was a great shock to us, and it seems even now like a
dream. May we realise it by attending to its awful warning,
" be ye also ready."

* He often expressed a wish that as his geological research-

51 G MIGRATION OF DRAGON-FLIES

es began, so they might end with, and his bones rest on, the
oolite ; and it is rather remarkable that this wish is realised
in our church-yard (St. Peter's), where the Professor and I
followed his remains on the Monday after his decease1'. —
(Addressed to the Editor, and dated Northampton, Sept. 23,
1839).

Great Migration of Dragon-flies observed in Germany. —
On the 30th and 31st of last May immense cloud-like swarms
of dragon-flies passed in rapid succession over the town of
Weimar and its neighbourhood. The general direction of the
migration was from South by West to North by East. The
migration had been likewise observed in all the villages situ-
ated a few miles to the east or west. The insects arrived in
a vigorous state, some of the flocks flying as high as 150 feet
above the level of the river Ilm, and striking against the win-
dows of a house situated on an eminence ; others passing*
through the streets. The specimens caught there were those
of Libellula depressa, at least, all that I have seen were of
that species.

Being anxious to ascertain the range of this migration, I
tried to collect every possible information from various pa-
pers, but all I could learn from that source was, that cloud-
like swarms of dragon-flies had been seen at Gottingen on
the 1st of June, at Eisenach on the 30th and 31st of May
(flying from East to West), and at Calais on the 14th of June,
on their way towards the Netherlands. Those seen at Eis-
enach were likewise Libellula depressa ; those observed at
Calais appeared to belong to a different species, as they were
described as being thick, and about 3 inches long.

Being rather disappointed in my expectation of finding
news from many quarters respecting the same phenomenon,
I endeavoured to procure more information by means of a
public advertisement; whereby I learned that the swarms of
dragon-flies had been seen about the same time as they were
here, in the neighbourhoods of Leipzig, Alsleben, Aschersle-
ben, and Halle. The information which Dr. Buhle, the in-
spector of the Zoological Museum of Halle, had the kindness
to impart, was particularly valuable. The specimens caught
at that place belong to Libellula qiiadrimaculata. The first
swarms arrived there in the afternoon of the 30th of May, a
short time before a thunder-storm. 1 They flew very rapidly
from South to North. On the 31st of May similar flocks fol-
lowed their predecessors in the same direction ; most of them

1 1 see from my meteorological journal that we had a thunder-storm here
hoth on the 30th and the 31st of May, and two on the 1st of June.

OBSERVED IN GERMANY. 517

passed at the height of 7 or 8 feet, catching insects as they
flew on. On June 1st and 2nd, straggling parties of five or
six were observed, always keeping the same direction-. With-
in a league to the east of Halle these swarms were everywhere
observed. To the west the whole valley was inundated by
the river Saale. Libellula quadrimaculata is rather scarce
at other times about Halle, as Lib. depressa is about Weimar.

As far as the information which I have been able to collect
goes, this migration has extended from the 51st to the 52nd
degree of latitude, and has been observed within 27° 40' and
30° east of Ferro. But the instance of Calais renders it pro-
bable that it has extended over a great part of Europe, wher-
ever the same meteorological circumstances have prevailed.

Several of the larger species of Libellula do occasionally
migrate, but the phenomenon is of rare occurrence, and the
circumstances which bring about such an uncommonly nu-
merous development of the perfect insect must be very peculiar.

The last migration of dragon-flies (before that commemo-
rated in this article) which was observed at Weimar, took
place on the 28th of June, 1816. The insects in that instance
also belonged to the same species — Libellula depressa. They
were then, as recently, taken for locusts by the common peo-
ple, and the superstitious saw in them the harbingers of fa-
mine and war.

The year 1816 was extremely wet, and 1817 equally so,
but it appears that the dragon-flies did not migrate that year.
Though such migrations must be very destructive to the spe-
cies, yet this cannot be the reason why the phenomenon was
not observed in 1817, as the Libellula require more than one
year to become perfect insects. The difference of the dates
of the 30th and 31st of May, 1839, and the 28th of June, 1816,
is also remarkable ; but I cannot account for it, as I am de-
ficient in regular observations upon the weather during the
spring months of 1816 : it proves, however, how greatly the
time of their development differs in different seasons.

As to the great multiplication of these insects about the end
of May in the present year, it is by no means mysterious. —
From the beginning of that month to the 21st, the weather
had been exceedingly rainy ; rivers and lakes overflowed and
spread their inundation over immense areas of low grounds,
whereby myriads of the pupa l of the Libellula which, under
other circumstances, would have remained in deep water, and
become the prey of their many enemies, were brought into
shallow water, and the hot weather from May 21st to May

1 Or larvce in the stage answering to that of the chrysalis.

ol8 EXISTENCE OF THE TOAD WITHOUT FOOD.

29th, converted these shallows into true hot-beds. The nu-
merous thunder-storms (at Weimar there were four) during
that week must have greatly encouraged their rapid develop-
ment into perfect insects, and so those clouds of winged in-
sects rose almost at once from the temporary swamps, and
were immediately obliged to migrate in order to satisfy their
appetite, as these species are very voracious.

In these migrations they follow the direction of the rivers,
and they appear always to fly with the current, to whatever
quarter the river may flow, near which they happen to be,
although they do not keep close by it, as they must spread
over wide districts in order to subsist. If with the directions
above mentioned we compare the following statements, I think
my opinion will be found sufficiently established. Near Wei-
mar the river Ilm begins to flow from south-west to north-east
after having flowed from the north ; near Halle the Saale
flows due northwards ; near Eisenach the Nesse follows a
westerly direction towards the Werra. — W. Weissenborn. —
Weimar, Aug. 27, 1839.

Existence of the Toad without Food. — In the Mag. Nat.
Hist. vol. ix p. 316, we have an account of a toad that was
immured, by way of experiment, in a block of stone, for the
space of thirty-eight years, and at the end of that period was
found alive.

On the 10th of September, 183(3, I had a living toad put
into the ground at a depth of three feet from the surface, in a
bed of flinty gravel ; a flower-pot reversed was placed over
it, to prevent the toad from being crushed by the pressure of
the earth above. The hole was then filled up and the surface
cropped, the spot selected being a garden.

The pit was reopened on the 29th of last August, after hav-
ing been closed for three years all but ten days ; and the toad
was found alive, and used all its exertions to crawl away as
soon as the flower-pot was removed. It was not a full-grown
animal when taken, neither did it appear to have increased in
size during its incarceration, its legs and thighs indeed were
very slender, compared with the limbs of toads generally ;
but this difference probably arose from the disuse of those
limbs during confinement.

I have very good reason to think that the animal would
have survived after its long imprisonment, had it not been
most injudiciously placed in the sun for three days, in a south-
ern aspect, after it was taken out of the ground, for the pur-
pose of gratifying the curiosity of any one who might wish
to see it. — John Brown. — Stanuay, Sept. 12, 1839.

CAPTURE OF AN IMMENSE SAW- FISH. 519

Capture of an immense Saw-Jish at Trinidad. — Being in
the Gulf of Paria in the ship's cutter, on the 15th of April,
1839, T fell in with a Spanish canoe, manned by two men,
then in great distress, who requested me to save their lives
and canoe, with which request I immediately complied ; and
going alongside for that purpose, I discovered that they had
got a large saw-fish entangled in their turtle-net, which was
towing them out to sea, and but for my assistance they must
have lost either their canoe or their net, or perhaps both, which
were their only means of subsistence. Having only two boys
with me in the boat at the time, I desired them to cut the
fish away, which they refused to do ; I then took the bight of
the net from them, and with the joint endeavours of themselves
and my boat's crew, we succeeded in hauling up the net, and
to our astonishment, after great exertions, we raised the saw
of the fish about eight feet above the surface of the sea. It
was a fortunate circumstance that the fish came up with the
belly towards the boat, or it would have cut the boat in two.

I had abandoned all idea of taking the fish, until, by great
good luck, it made towards the land, when T made another at-
tempt, and having about fifty fathom of 2-| inch rope in the
boat, we succeeded in making a running bowline knot round
the saw of the fish, and this we fortunately made fast on shore,
at Point-a-Pierre : when the fish found itself secured it plun-
ged so violently that I could not prevail on any one to go near
it, the appearance it presented was truly awful. I immedi-
ately went alongside the 'Lima' packet, Capt. Singleton, and
got the assistance of all his ship's crew, (mine being away for
sugar). By the time they arrived the fish was rather less vi-
olent ; we hauled upon the net again, in which it was still
entangled, and got another fifty fathoms of line made fast to
the saw, and attempted to haul it towards the shore, but al-
though mustering thirty hands, we could not move it an inch.
By this time the negroes belonging to Mr. Dan glad's estate
came flocking to our assistance, making, together with the
Spaniards, about one hundred in number ; we then hauled on
both ropes for nearly the whole of the day, before the fish be-
came exhausted. On landing it on the beach we found, to
our great surprise, that it was considerably longer than the
cutter, which measured 17 feet. On endeavouring to raise
the fish it became most desperate, sweeping with its saw from
side to side, so that we were compelled to get strong guy ropes
to prevent it from cutting us to pieces. After that one of the
Spaniards got on its back, and at great risk cut through the
joint of the tail, when animation was completely suspended :
it was then measured, and found to be 22 feet long and 8 feet

5*20 EASTERN COUNTIES' RAILWAY.

broad, and weighed nearly 5 tons. The liver filled a beef-
tierce, and on opening the body we found several eggs, the
size of 18-lb. carronade shot; these the negroes craved as a
great luxury. The only part which I retained was the head,
which I cut off below the lower jaw ; it is now in a fine state
of preservation, and the largest, I should say, in the world. ■
Wm. K. J. Wilson , Commander ', Halifax Packet. — Lombard
St. Chambers, Ylth Sept. 1839.

Cuttings of the Eastern Counties'1 Railway, at Stratford,
Essex. — The eastern counties' railway passes near to the
church, where there is a deep cutting, and on the east side of
the bridge, on the road to Laytonstone, is a stratum of gravel
ten feet thick, containing chiefly chalk flints. Below the
gravel is a bed of sand, two feet in thickness.

There is a second bridge about a hundred and fifty yards
to the east of the first, and at this second bridge, and on the
east side of it, in September, 1838, when the sections were
fresh, the strata were to be seen more fully developed, being
there sixteen feet deep. The upper stratum is the gravel, be-
low which is a yellow and greenish sand, and lowrer still is a
mixture of sand and blue clay, being together the upper part
of the London clay formation.

In the bed of sand were many shells, most of them crushed
and in fragments, and in some places in great abundance. —
Occasionally the sand was consolidated into sandstone, and
in the pieces of sandstone the shells were well preserved, and
many very perfect specimens were obtained. Immediately
under the sand is a mixture of sand and blue clay, in which
are masses of shells, some crushed, others entire.

In some places the bed of crushed shells was two feet thick,
in others, not six inches. There were also pieces of blueish
sandy limestone, in which were masses of shells, and sharks'
teeth were also found.

The shells are recognized to be, Rostellaria Sowerbii, Na-
tica glancinoides, Ostrea Bellovacina, Pectunculus breviros-
tris, Citherea Morrisii, Cardium Plumsteadianum, Melania
inquinata, and a Tellina. The Ostrea Bellovacina is the
same as Ostrea pulchra, also called Ostrea variabilis. This
shell, as well as the Cardium Plumsteadianum and Melania
inquinata is found on the opposite side of the river, in the
Blackheath district. The London clay at Stratford is about
200 feet deep. — James Mitchell. — June, 1839.

1 The head is now being prepared in London for the Wisheach Museum.

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY

NOVEMBER, 1839.

Art. I. — On the Genus Argonauta. By M. Rang.1

It will, perhaps, be thought extraordinary that after all the
learned dissertations which have been published upon the
poulp of the argonaut, and especially after the lucid and
convincing memoir which M. de Blainville has just inserted
in the third number of the ' French and Foreign Annals of
Anatomy and Physiology,' we should yet undertake to treat
anew upon this subject, having, besides, nothing very novel
or important to advance.

We thought however, after the reading of the memoir re-
ferred to, that we ought to bring forward the note which gave
rise to it, and of which M. de Blainville had been able to
reproduce only a few sentences. Besides which the memoir
itself gives us occasion to offer some remarks, as much with
a view to rectify certain facts which concern ourselves, as to
state our opinion as observers of some others.

This is therefore, in a few words, the history of the note in
question, of M. de Blainville's memoir, and of the present
article.

Finding ourselves at Algiers, where the poulps and shells
of the argonaut are sometimes to be met with even in the
middle of the harbour and along the quays, we were able to
study at our ease this curious animal, and to see whether, by
thus studying, we could obtain thence such data as would
confirm or weaken the widely diverging opinions which men

1 Translated from an article in Guerin's Magasin de Zoologie, entitled
" Documents pour servir a l'histoire naturelle des Cephalopodes crypto-
dibranches, par M. Rang."

Vol. III.— No. 35. n. s. 3 l

522 M. SANDER RANG

of great merit have put forth on this subject. We were for-
tunate enough to notice some new facts, and our first impres-
sion was, we confess, that our discoveries were perhaps
favorable to the opinion that this cephalopod does not para-
sitically occupy the shell in which it resides ; we proposed
on our return to France, to present these as simple facts re-
sulting from our own observations, but without adding any
reasoning, or drawing from them any exact inferences, to the
one among our zoologists who has most especially devoted
his attention to this matter, and who has for a long period,
and almost singly, maintained his opinion with a power of
conviction, which on the part of so learned and enlightened
a man is very likely at least to suspend the judgment of
others.

We had an interview with M. de Blainville, and he was
struck with our remarks ; he consented to lay a note from us
before the Institute ; and was desirous that he should
himself, together with M. Dumeril, be charged with the
office of reporting upon our observations.

M. de Blainville had then in his hands the interesting ob-
servations which Madame Power had just made upon the
argonaut, and which had conducted us to new discoveries ;
he had besides a crowd of documents on the same subject,
and we consider ourselves happy to have been the means of
inducing on his part, the publication of a memoir which
throws so much light upon the subject it treats of, and which
has at the same time the advantage, if not of deciding the
question, at least of settling more precisely the opinion and
the arguments of that naturalist; as well as of awakening and
stimulating anew the ardour of travellers, who alone can fur-
nish the means to solve this zoological problem of nearly two
thousand years.

The report of M. de Blainville was read by him to the
Academy of Science, at the sitting of April 24, 1837, and
printed immediately in the next number of the ' Comptes-
rendus' and in many metropolitan journals, which were eager
to give at least some extracts from it.

M. de Blainville did not confine himself to this ; for hav-
ing added this report to fresh dissertations on the same sub-
ject, he formed it into the memoir, or rather the letter of which
we speak here, and which is to be found in the third number
of the i Annales Francaises et Etrangeres d'Anatomie et de
Physiologic'

Note. — Upon the poitlp of the argonaut. Sent to the Aca-
demy of Sciences. — Madame Power, a French lady living at
Messina, has just communicated to us the experiment she

ON THE ARGONAUT. 523

lias made upon thepoulp of the argonaut, by means of which
she has ascertained that this mollusc repairs the fractures
which may happen to its shell. Being ourselves then at
Algiers, where these animals sometimes abound, we wished
to try the experiment, and in order to accomplish it repeated
step by step the mode of procedure which had been so fa-
vourable to that lady's observations.

We had also another end in view, that of doing justice, if,
as we believed, there was occasion to do so, to all those mar-
vellous things, which, since the time of Aristotle, so many
naturalists have so complaisantly repeated, concerning the
navigation with sail and oar, of this mollusc.

To arrive at a conviction of the incorrectness of these re-
citals, we had but one means to employ, which was to find
out the true use of the very dilatable elliptic lobes borne by
two of the arms of the poulp, and which naturalists had so
picturesquely considered as the sailing apparatus of this new
species of navigator; a point which no one that we are
aware of has yet thought of studying, although many profess
to have seen the mollusc in a living state ; and which never-
theless, if once well ascertained, may be of great weight in
the decision of the question still pending, as to whether the
poulp holds its property in the shell by right of birth or by
right of conquest.

We shall first remark that we succeeded completely in a
repetition of Madame Power's experiment. A fracture in one
of these shells, the animal of which lived six days in our
basin, was found repaired and completely closed ; but not-
withstanding our inclination to adopt the poulp with palma-
ted arms as the true constructor of the argonaut, we could not,
like that lady, consider the experiment as conclusive, in a
discussion which is supported on all sides by so many facts
and objections, and in which investigations have gone so far
without being able to settle the question entirely. In fact
the renovated part is but a thin transparent plate, a mere dia-
phragm which has neither the texture, solidity, nor white-
ness of the rest of the shell, and taking an irregular form as
if it had not been produced by the same means and the same
organs ; in a word it reminds us exactly of what happens
among snails when the shell is broken ; and we know that in
that case, the collier l of the animal which alone has produced
the shell, does not assist in the work of reparation.

However this may be, the fact of which Madame Power
has apprised us is new, and an interesting circumstance in

1 Collier' — the thickened and glandular margin of the mantle. — Ed.

524 M. SANDER RANG

the history of the poulp of the argonaut ; and the manner in
which the experiment has been conducted denotes, on her
part, great accuracy of observation, and a laudable zeal for
the progress of science.

We now proceed to the second remark we have to make,
and which concerns the use of the elliptic lobes of two of the
arms of the poulp. We have watched many of these animals
in their shells, some at liberty in the sea, which we followed
by coasting along near them in a rowing boat ; others, as we
have already said, in a basin, where they enjoyed a seeming
liberty ; and after all we must confess that we have seen no-
thing in the habits and manoeuvres of these animals which
resembled the things that have been related of them; — positive
fables which have been preserved by some authors merely
through their love of the marvellous, or their too great confi-
dence in the observations of the ancient naturalists.

We have on the other handmade the following discoveries.
In the first place we remarked that many authors have wrongly
represented the poulp in the shell, placing the palmated arms
in front, that is to say, on the outer edge of the opening ;
we find even in the beautiful plates of a recent work of M.M.
Ferrussac and d'Orbigny, a figure in which the animal is
turned one way, whilst in the remainder of the plates it is
turned another. If it were true that the mollusc is sometimes
situated one way and sometimes another, we might take ad-
vantage of this circumstance to strengthen the opinion of
those who maintain the poulp to be a parasite ; but as among
the great number of specimens we have studied, not one has
presented to us an anomaly of this kind, we can cite this fact
in support of the contrary opinion, for it naturally leads us
to suppose that the position of the mollusc in its protecting
covering, is not an accidental circumstance, but rather the
consequence of their mutual identity, and of an absolute ne-
cessity.

The two palmated arms are always behind, that is to say
they lie near the retreating spire ; and we consider that part
of the poulp which terminates in front as being ventral, and
the opposite part, which includes the bag and the opening
leading to the branchiae, as dorsal. When the poulp creeps,
as we are about to shew that it does, these palmated arms
might still be called posterior arms, because it is they which
terminate behind the locomotive disc.

We observed that these palmated arms, from the point of
coming out of the shell, embrace it, extending from the two
margins of the keel, whilst their membranous lobes spread
themselves over the two sides, which they carpet entirely, as

OTS THE ARGONAUT. 5*25

far as the anterior edge of the opening. Under whatever cir-
cumstances we have observed this mollusc, we have seen it
thus disposed. It will be enquired perhaps, how then can
it raise itself from the bottom and sport about at the surface
of the water, as it is sometimes seen to do ? It is simply by
the ordinary means used by calmars and cephalopods in ge-
neral ; and which consists in alternately admitting and eject-
ing the sea water into and from the dorsal cavity, producing
a backward movement, which is sometimes very rapid.

When the poulp crept upon the bottom of the basin, it
presented to us the appearance of a pectinibranchiate gaste-
ropod ; the disc which surrounds the mouth and which easily
dilates itself to a great extent, being spread upon the surface
of the ground like the foot of a gasteropod. The head showed
itself above, furnished with lateral eyes and tentacles ; the
body concealing itself in a covering shell, whose outer edge
shelters in front the tube corresponding to the arms, which
like the siphon of a pectinibranchiate mollusc is carried back-
wards. The two anterior arms represent the tentacula; and
the four lateral arms those tentaculiform expansions, which
among the Monodontes and the Litiopes are disposed in a
serpentine manner about the animal during its progression ;
finally the two posterior arms, carpeting with their lobes the
two sides of the shell, merely left between them a narrow
space of separation in the median line of the keel.

It is in this state that we have observed the poulp crawl-
ing upon its disc ; but this time it went forward, and its
speed was so considerable as to clear a great space of ground
in a little time. If anything happened to disquiet it, it re-
treated into the shell, which immediately losing its equili-
brium, turned over upon its side.

After this description, should we not be tempted to esta-
blish a relation between the cephalopods and the gasteropods,
and the poulp of the argonaut on one side, and the Carinaria,
Atlantes, &c. on the other ?

We deceive ourselves perhaps ; but it seems to us that the
knowledge we have just obtained of the use of these palmated
arms comes in to corroborate the opinion of those who make
the poulp the constructor of the shell. What inferences may
we not in fact be led to draw from these well established re-
lations between the animal and the shell ; from the form of
these lobes, which exist in no other cephalopod than the
poulp of the argonaut ; and which have never been wanting
in those we have been acquainted with, proving that this
disposition is expressly on account of the shell ; from the
use of these lobes as a mantle, covering the whole in the

520 M. SANDER RANG

manner of so many other molluscs, — lobes which would be
useless if the animal had not had a shell from its birth ; and
finally from that remarkable colouring at the base of the pal-
mated arms which is reproduced in so complete a manner
upon the corresponding part of the shell ?

Such was the note which we remitted to the Academy of
Sciences, during one of the sittings of the month of March
1837, a note which, as we have already said, was sent to a
commission composed of M.M. de Blainville and Dumeril,in
order to make a report of it agreeably to the desire we had
expressed; for our object in taking the step, was simply to
provoke on the part of these naturalists, but more especially
M. de Blainville, the most decided supporter of the parasitic
theory, an examination of the new facts we brought into view,
in order to deduce from them inferences which might on one
side or the other, tend to the determination of the question.

We have related in what an obliging manner this natural-
ist replied to our request, in undertaking to make the report
we desired; and how he afterwards returned to the subject
in a memoir in which he examined all that has hitherto been
said upon this interesting problem.

It is upon the occasion of this memoir, which resumes so
well the past thread of the argument, that we enter into the
details which follow, in order to complete our note, and make
known in its place and order what further our researches
concerning the poulp of the argonaut have enabled us to dis-
cover.

We are about in the first place to resume the observations
indicated in the note, and then to deduce from them inferences
which in our opinion may be drawn from them. We shall
then pass on to the examination of some facts or arguments
presented by different naturalists ; but before commencing
we shall divest ourselves of all personal bias as to the parasitic
or non-parasitic nature of the poulp ; which in conscience,
there is but little difficulty in doing, for it seems to us that
we are at this moment in the most complete uncertainty. It
is the truth that we wish for ; and in order to find it we
know no other means than to examine calmly and candidly
the pro and con of each argument, as well as the value of
the observations and hypotheses that have been presented.

The newly detailed facts in the note in question are : —

1st. The belief more or less generally entertained since the
time of Aristotle, respecting the skilful manoeuvres of the
poulp of the argonaut in progressing by the help of sails and
oars, on the surface of the water, is false.

ON THE ARGONAUT. 527

2nd. The arms which are provided with membranes in the
poulp have no other function than that of enveloping the shell
in which the animal lives, and that for a determinate object.

3d. The poulp with its shell progresses in the open sea in
the same manner as the other cryptodibranchial cephalopods.

4th. When at the bottom of the sea the poulp creeps upon
an infundibuliform disk represented by the junction of the arms
at their base, covered with the shell, and the part reputed
ventral above ; having in this posture the apppearance of a
gasteropodous mollusc.

Let us now see what consequences we can deduce from
these four established facts.

Fabulous Navigation of the Argonaut. — We shall say but
little on this subject, only remarking that in giving a formal
contradiction to those persons who have pleased themselves
with trumpeting the marvellous recital of the ancients, and who,
doubtless not finding it extraordinary enough, have yet more
enriched it from the fertility of their own imaginations, our
observations bring down the locomotive powers and habits
of this mollusc to a normal state, that is to say, to what ob
tains among other animals of the same class, and it is a reform
which no naturalist that we know of has yet dared to make,
though we are well persuaded that many among them put
little or no faith in these artificial descriptions.

A very natural reflection flows from what we have just said :
how could the important question relating to the argonaut
possibly proceed in a clear and straightforward manner, when
we see that for about two thousand years we have pleased
ourselves with going aside into the fields of the picturesque ;
and that naturalists of high repute even, admitted it all with-
out a previous examination.

If these men had dreamed of verifying facts, they would
have discovered the real use of the supposed sails, and the
question being earlier carried out would perhaps by this time
have been resolved.

Use of the arms furnished with membranous lobes. — In
discovering the use of the arms provided with membranous
lobes, we thought at the first glance that the solution of the
problem lay there ; and it was this impression which led us
to express ourselves in the manner we did in our note trans-
mitted to the Academy. One of the first sensations we felt
was astonishment at what we saw ; since so many naturalists
who have professed to know the argonaut with its poulp in
a living state, had pointed out nothing similar; and this cir-
cumstance which led us to reflect earnestly, encouraged us
to carry on our observations with the most minute attention.

528 M. SANDER RANG

It seemed to us that we were at that instant enjoying an es-
pecial good fortune that we only owed to chance, and which
no naturalist had enjoyed before us.

Many days' experience however, proved to us that it was
no particular good fortune ; for the poulps that we were
watching all presented to us the same fact, and that inva-
riably !

In order to be better understood, and to leave no doubt as
to the position which this mollusc presents in the shell where
it is constantly found, we will give a fresh description of it,
following, step by step, that which has been the most perfect
of our experiments.

The poulp with its shell, lying motionless at the bottom of
the vase in which we had just placed it, struck us first by the
brilliancy and richness of its hues, which our sketch is far
from conveying. It was little more than a shapeless mass
that we had before our eyes ; but this mass was all silvery,
and a cloud of spots of the most beautiful rose colour, as well
as a very fine dotting of the same, heightened its beauty. A
long semicircular band, of a vivid ultramarine blue, which
melted away insensibly, was very strongly marked at one of
its extremities ; l the shell was nowhere visible, but with a
little attention we could easily recognize its general form, and
we could even distinguish some grooves of its surface, as well
as the tubercles of the keel. A large membrane covered all,
and this membrane was that of the arms, which so peculiarly
characterise the poulp of the argonaut. The animal was so
entirely shut up in its abode, that the head and the base of
its arms were very little raised above the edges of the open-
ing of the shell. On each side of the head, between it and
the partition wall of the shell, a small space left free allowed
the eyes of the mollusc to see what was without, and their
sharp and fixed gaze appeared to announce that the animal
watched attentively what was passing around it. The slen-
der arms were folded back from their base, and inserted very
deeply round the body of the poulp, in such a manner as to
fill in part the empty spaces which the head must naturally
leave in the much larger opening of the shell. Of these six
arms, the two lower2 (or abdominal) ones descended on each

1 This band of ultra-marine blue is represented in the drawing which
M. Rang has given as extending from the bases of the palmated arms of
the poulp, along the course of the keel of the shell for about half its
length. — Ed.

2 To conform to custom, but without admitting the correctness of the
principle, we designate the membraniferous arms as being superior, that
is to say on the dorsal side, and the two opposite arms as being inferior.

i

i:

I

1

0

ON THE ARGONAUT. 529

side the whole length of the carina, leaving a space between
them, within which we perceived to open, the extremity of the
tube of the animal ; whilst the four others were disposed, two
to the right and two to the left, in the middle part of the
opening, contracted and irregularly bent back. As to the
higher arms, their disposition was altogether different from
that of the others. Prolonging themselves towards the re-
treating part of the spire, one on each side, they encountered
the keel by the tangent line, and, without again quitting it,
stretched out as far as its exterior extremity, insinuating them-
selves between the tubercles, and in such a manner that there
remained in the median line of the keel, only a narrow space
that was not covered.

The membranous portions of these arms, dilated beyond
anything we could have pictured to ourselves while knowing
the animal merely by specimens preserved in spirits of wine,
were spread over the two lateral surfaces of the shell, in
such a manner as to cover it completely, from the base of the
hard edge [bord calleux] to the anterior extremity of the
edge of the opening, and consequently the keel. The appli-
cation of these membranes was direct, and without any puck-
ering or irregularity whatever : the lower part of the two large
arms, being completely stretched, formed a kind of bridge
over the cavity left between the back of the mollusc and the
retreating portion of the spire, in which the extremity of a
cluster of ova was floating.

We have thought it right to bring forward this new descrip-
tion, in order to make more evident what is wanting in the
plate which accompanies M. de Blainville's letter, and in
which the artist has not sufficiently pourtrayed the peculiar-
ity which relates to the membranes of the large arms. It, in
fact, appears to us, that the animal being represented as con-
tracted in its shell, the six arms which are not membranifer-
ous ought not to float freely about on the outside, but that
they should be bent back within, as we have just said, and
as we represent them in our third plate ; 1 then the siphon
ought not to appear, not being of sufficient length to do so ;
and the large arms, instead of taking the direction along the
base of the lateral angle of the shell, ought to carry them-
selves directly lengthwise along the keel, to follow it to its
extremity, and the membrane should carpet the surface of
the shell.

It is very true that when the mollusc contracts itself, it
frequently draws in, more or less completely, its large arms

1 Plate 6 of our Supplementary Illustrations. — Ed.
Vol. III.— No. 35. n. s. 3 m

530 M SANDER RANG

and their membranes, and this is perhaps what they wished
to represent ; but even then we shall show that they are in
error, for when the poulp makes this movement, which ap-
pears to be a voluntary one, it draws in its arms backwards,
and uncovers the shell only in front, so that the anterior edge
of the membrane retires parallel to itself, as well as to the
furrows of the shell. As to the reversion of a portion of the
membrane which is represented, — we have never observed it,
and we must remark with respect to it, that this membrane,
which, in the living animal, appears as we have already said
closely applied to every part of the shell, merely glides over
it when it retires or advances, exactly as do the lobes of the
mantle of the cowries and olives, or merely the appendages
of the latter. We must further observe that we have never
seen the eggs in the place where they are represented in the
plate in question, but much more within the opening.

To return to the description of our poulp, which we left
contracted within the argonaut- shell, and watching, with an
attentive eye, whatever took place around it; we now see it
extending itself from out its shell, and protruding six of its
arms, then it throws itself into violent motion, and travels
over the basin in all directions, often dashing itself against
the sides. It is easy for us to observe that in these different
movements the body leans a little towards the anterior part
of the shell ; and that the long slender arms, very much ex-
tended and gathered into a close bundle, are carried before it,
as well as the tube, which shows itself open and very much
protruded. The large arms are extended along the keel, and
their membranes carpet the whole of the shell. As to loco-
motion, it is effected in the ordinary manner of poulps, that
is to say, it progresses backwards by means of the contraction
of the sac, and the expulsion of water through the siphon. —
We have endeavoured in our second plate1 to represent the
disposition of the mollusc of the argonaut under these cir-
cumstances ; and it appears to us easy to see that all is there
contrived in a manner the most favorable for accelerating the
progression of the animal. In fact the lightness of the shell,
its narrow and keeled form, its width, least at the part which,
presenting itself first, has to cleave the ambient element; —
that membrane, which on each side carpets the shell, like a
sheath intended to make its inequalities disappear, and to fa-
cilitate the gliding of the water ; — this bundle of arms extend-
ed behind the animal, to oppose the least possible resistance;
and then, lastly, the two arms stretched like a bridge over the

1 Plate 5 of the Supplementary Illustrations. — Ed.

&:f.

mmm*>-

l //s/r"

/'

ON THE ARGONAUT. 531

cavity of eggs, and appearing as if placed there to prevent
the water from rushing into this cavity, and opposing a re-
sistance there : — do not all these things appear exactly adapt-
ed for a locomotion which should be effected with quickness
and facility ? In truth, it must be allowed, that whatever be
the fabricator of the shell, it is very appropriate to the wants
of the mollusc which to this day we have never ceased to find
in it.

We thought we perceived in its movements in open water
that the poulp of the argonaut had its back uppermost, and
consequently the tube below ; it is true however that we have
not constantly seen it so : and this last circumstance we have
been able to observe with much more certainty in specimens
of poulps whose arms had been deprived of their membranes. x

Our poulp being fatigued with the useless efforts which it
had made in the narrow space where it was confined, and
perhaps hurt by the shocks it had sustained against the side
of the basin, allowed itself to fall to the bottom, and half
contracted itself in order to take some repose ; after which it
exhibited to us another spectacle which we were far from ex-
pecting. Fixing some of the air-holes of its free arms upon
the bottom of the basin, it erected itself upon its head, spread-
ing out its disc and carrying the shell straight above it, and
in the normal position of the shells of the gasteropods ; then
beginning to crawl, it presented the appearance of a pectini-
branchiate mollusc, as we have said in our note to the Aca-
demy of Sciences, without wishing to deduce from it any other
relation of agreement than that of a general disposition in the
posture and employment of some of its organs. Half drawn
back into its shell, this mollusc appeared to crawl upon its
disc, the palmatures2 of which were a little raised to follow
the movements of its arms. The body was hid in the shell;
the siphon placed in the anterior part of it, was turned for-
wards ; those of its arms which were at liberty were very
much protruded, and twisting round, two before and two on
each side, like so many appendages or tentacles ; and finally,
the base of the two large arms seemed to prolong backwards
the locomotive surface, then rising along the keel they again

1 If it he really the fact that the side on which the siphon is placed is
ventral, this manner in which the poulp generally swims, namely, with the
back upwards, would be an anomaly amongst the pelagian molluscs, all of
which swim with the ventral side upwards.

2 It will perhaps excite surprise to hear us talk of palmatures in these
poulps, since they have hitherto been unnoticed. They nevertheless exist,
though it is often difficult to see them in specimens preserved in spirits of
wine.

532 M. SANDER HANG ON THE ARGONAUT.

covered it with their large membranes, as we saw when the
poulp was swimming in deep water.

In this new disposition, it will be seen that the difference
is great ; for it consists in means and a mode which are no
longer the same, and also in the position of the animal, which
is such that it finds itself turned over, the ventral surface be-
ing uppermost. Thus this mollusc, at once pelagic and lit-
toral, presents a most singular anomaly ; when it swims at
the surface of the water having its ventral part lowermost,
and when it crawls along the bottom having it, on the con-
trary, uppermost ; — two things which are completely contrary
to what we see among the pelagian molluscs on the one side,
and the littoral molluscs on the other. May not this
seeming anomaly arise from the circumstance of habit, rather
than a profound study, having led us to designate by the
name of the ventral part that in which the siphon and the
opening of the branchial sac are found, and by that of the
dorsal part that which is opposed to it, whilst perhaps it is
just the contrary ? However, the learned Professor, whose
opinion upon these matters has so much weight with us, re-
jects altogether this last idea.

In this new locomotive power of the mollusc (in which we
are of opinion that reptation, as it is generally understood
among the Mollusca, was only apparent, the suckers really
causing the motion) its progress was slow, and quite differ-
ent from what we had previously seen. It worked itself for-
wards, like the gasteropodous Mollusca.

To terminate a description already perhaps too long, but
which we judged necessary, in order to give a clear idea of
our last observations, we will mention that when the poulp
was at the point of death, it drew in, by little and little, its
large arms and their membranes, and contracted them upon
themselves and all the other arms, so as to obstruct the open-
ing of the shell. At this moment we moved the shell, and
the poulp immediately separated itself from it, not voluntari-
ly but accidentally, for it no longer held it in any way. It
appeared at first to reanimate itself a little, made some move-
ments in the basin, walking upon its head, then fell from
weakness, and very soon died. All this passed in less than
ten minutes. We should add that we have repeated these
experiments upon many specimens.

(To be continued.)

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER. 533

Art. II. — On the Natural History of the German Marmot (Ham-
ster). By W. Weissenborn, Ph. D.

( Continued from page 483,) .

Enemies. — Dogs of almost any breed are very eager to de-
stroy the hamster, but never devour it. They are, I believe,
in many neighbourhoods the great means of preventing the
hamster from multiplying to an injurious extent. Many a
plodding citizen is working for the good of the community,
in wending his way homewards, accompanied by his dog,
from some distant ale-house in the dusk of the evening ; for
whilst he talks on politics, his dog is more usefully occupied
in killing hamsters in the neighbouring fields, which in seve-
ral instances have been thoroughly got rid of, pro tempore,
along the roads leading to places of public resort, where
the ale happened to be good. The fox destroys a great many
hamsters, but their most inveterate enemy is the pole-cat,
which wages the same unrelenting war against the hamster,
as the weasel does with the rat. The pole-cat makes its chief
food of the hamster during autumn, penetrating into its bur-
rows, and taking up its abode there, if convenient, where he
lays up a store of often as many as ten dead hamsters. This
is a well known feature in the habits of the pole-cat, as for
instance, in the neighbourhood of rivers large stores of eels
have been found in the burrow of that animal. The large
owls are also among the enemies of the hamster. On the
means employed by man to destroy this animal, we shall treat
further below. But I ought to mention among its enemies,
two parasitic creatures, both discovered by Dr. Sulzer. The
first is the Acarus criceti (ovalis, albus, pellucidus, pedibus
aequalibus, aeque dissitis, obtusis) ; this mite is about half
as large as the head of a flea ; it has eight equidistant feet of
e^ual length and thickness, which are as long as the body is
broad. The foremost pair has eight joints, those farther behind
have more. They are hairy and truncated. Head pointed,
very small, with two antenna, that are twice as long as the
head, and after embracing the latter converge towards their
extremities. They resemble the feet, but are naked. When
the insect is replete with blood, its belly, which is bristly
here and there, looks red. It runs rather quick, is found on
old and young, even sucking specimens, and does not leave
the animal during its winter sleep, which it does not share.
The hamster diggers are often bitten by these Acari, which
cause severe burning and itching, as they dig themselves
into the skin. After eight or ten hours, however, all pain
ceases, and the parasite cannot continue in existence on man

534 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER.

for any length of time. Sulzer has moreover found in the
duodenum a tape-worm, but which he could extract only in
fragments. It was extremely flimsy, and its joints were
broader than long.

Propagation. — About the end of April the hamsters begin
to copulate. The male visits the female in her burrow, and
resides with her for a few days only. They then evince suf-
ficient mutual love to defend each other. Sometimes two
males meet in the burrow of the same female, when a furious
battle begins, which ends in the death or flight of the weaker.
The manner in which they copulate is not known, as this
act takes place underground, and has never been observed in
captivity, although much pains have been taken to make^hem
propagate in rooms. As soon as the act is completed the
female drives the male away. The duration of pregnancy is
not known, but it is about four weeks. Many females have
been taken when the males were with them. They grew big
and thin again, without their litter appearing ; this is explain-
ed by an observation of Dr. Sulzer's, who saw a female which
he had kept for some time, in the very act of devouring a
young one to which she had just given birth. He killed her,
and found in the uterus six others which were capable of
living. When taken out of the foetal membranes they were
blueish, but became almost as red as blood when dry. Six
hours after, nascent hairs were distinctly perceived. When
a female is caught with her litter, she will continue to suckle
them. The young are born blind and naked, but with the
full number of their teeth. Their blindness lasts eight or
nine days. The number of one litter is from 6 to 18, accord-
ing to the age and size of the female, which brings two litters
at least every year. As the young of the first litter get fit
for propagation within the same season, an old female may
produce up to 100 individuals of her species in one year.
The age to which the animal lives appears to be eight or ten
years. The young grow very rapidly, and begin to dig when
but a fortnight old. It is a curious fact, that though the
male and female, when alone, will make a stout defence, when
dug after by men, long before they are driven to the farthest
end of their burrows, yet the female, when with her litter,
will leave them in the lurch, stop the turn-again passage of
her burrow with earth, and dig away as fast as she can, often
as many as four or five feet from the place where she has left
her young ones, before one can get at her. Were she to dig
in a perpendicular, instead of a horizontal direction, she
might be almost sure to escape for good.

Burrows. — The subterraneous habitations of the hamster

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER. 535

are differently constructed, according to the age, sex and soil.
Yet what all the burrows have in common with each other,
may be reduced to the following terms. Each burrow has
two openings at least, one of which descends obliquely, the
other perpendicularly. The former is excavated from with-
out, the latter from within, wherefore the whole of the earth
which is carried above ground is lying before the former,
which is called the creeping hole, whilst the other bears the
name of the 'plunging hole, and may often be sounded with
a wand, to the depth of 3 or 4 feet. But before it opens into
one of the chambers it always bends a considerable way to
one side. As the chambers are situated between the creeping
and plunging-holes, it is generally found that when a burrow
has only two holes, the bend of the plunging-hole is turned
towards the creeping-hole. The external openings of the
two holes are at the distance of at least 4, sometimes as many
as 10, feet from each other. The creeping-hole is not in such
constant use as the other, and in an inhabited burrow it is
regularly found stopped with earth at about 1 foot from its
mouth, for a length of about half a foot. The plunging-hole
is never stopped in summer. A hamster-burrow is at once
known from either that of the mole or of the Mus amphibius
by the heap of earth never being hemispherical, but rather
flat and spreading, and by its presenting the sub-soil on its
surface. The chambers which approach more or less to the
oval shape, are more vaulted in the ceiling than in the floor.
Their volume is between that of an ox-bladder and four times
that size. The one serving for the habitation (the nest-cham-
ber) is commonly small, and furnished with a litter of soft and
fine straw. It is the nearest to the creeping-hole. It com-
monly presents three openings, one in the continuation of
the creeping-hole, one leading to the plunging-hole, and one
communicating with the store chambers, of which there are
one, two, three, or more. The passage which leads to the
creeping-hole becomes wider at a short distance from the
nest-chamber, and there the hamster deposits its excrements.
The store-chambers contain each from one to twelve pounds
of corn or other seeds. Young individuals construct only one,
which is not even large ; but the old, especially males, which
have much leisure to lay up stores, have sometimes as many
as five store-chambers of the largest size, containing up to
65flbs. of corn, or 1 cwt. of horse beans together. If large
seeds, as horse beans, peas, vetches, &c, be at hand, the
store is commonly larger in proportion. The chambers are
completely filled with the seeds, which are rammed into them
so as to constitute true silos. Sometimes the passages lead-

536 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER.

ing from one chamber to the other are likewise filled with
corn, &c. The corn and other seeds are collected at random,
as they present themselves most conveniently during the
nightly rambles of the hamster. If the chambers are found
filled with a particular kind of seed each, this is merely acci-
dental. Thus sometimes summer corn is found in one cham-
ber, and winter corn in another, but a hamster whose burrow
happens to be in a winter field of rye, wheat, &c, will first
collect of this, and after the field has been reaped, he will be
obliged to resort to some other field, where the harvest is
still standing. Often rye, wheat, peas, vetches, flax-husks,
&c, are all, or partly, found mixed together in the same
chamber. Sometimes, below these store-rooms others are
found, into which the seeds have been transported when they
have begun to germinate. I need therefore scarcely say that
the hamster does not show any sense of order in collecting,
nor does he bite out the germ or corculum of the seeds, to
prevent them from germinating, as has been advanced. The
burrow where the female has her young, differs in some es-
sential points. It has but one creeping, but often as many
as eight plunging-holes, distributed over a space of 8 or 10
feet in diameter. These plunging-holes all terminate in
the nest-chamber, and such a burrow is generally abandoned
as soon as the mother drives her young away from her. The
young dig, during the first months of their independance,
burrows only two feet deep, in which there is but one nest
and one store -chamber, the latter containing but 4 or 5 lbs. of
seeds, and which have but one creeping and one plunging-
hole. The young of the first litter, which propagate the
same season, dig larger burrows in autumn, and all interme-
diate sizes between the largest and smallest may then be
found. The depth of the burrows is determined by the nature
of the soil and the seasons. Those in stony and strong land
are less deep than those in loose, rich mould. Those con-
structed in spring, when no corn is collected, are compara-
tively shallow. The later in the season the deeper they are
constructed, and the winter-burrows often descend to the
depth of six or seven feet.

(To be continued.)

DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO HEMIPTEROUS INSECTS. 537

Art. III. — Description of two Hemipterous Insects. By Mr. Adam
White, M.E.S., M.B.S.

Of the habits of the Hemiptera, except in one instance, little
or nothing is known ; a few scattered notices in Wolff's work
and a paper by Hausmann being, as far as I am aware, nearly
the sum and substance of what has been registered on the
economy of an order of insects, numerous in species, ever
varied in form, often most beautifully coloured, and frequently
curiously sculptured. In the scutellated division, two species
of which I intend to describe in this paper, an Indian species,
Plataspis silphoides, (Tetyra silphoides, Fab.) is stated by
M. Westermann of Copenhagen, to be found in great profusion
in rice fields, upon the crops of which it is believed by the
natives to commit great havoc. ■

It would be difficult to find out the principles upon which
entomologists have acted, in assigning the various terms of
Scutellera, Tetyra, and Thyreocoris, — three generic names
established in the same year, and evidently intended by their
respective authors, Lamarck,2 Fabricius, 3 and Schrank4, to
be applied to that one and the same group of insects, indi-
cated by Linnaeus in his ' Systema Naturae' as " Cimices scu-
tellati ; scutello longitudine abdominis". Had those succeed-
ing naturalists, who have adopted all three names in their
divisions (rendered necessary by the discovery of many new
species), proceeded upon the plan laid down by some scien-
tific legislators, of considering the first species described as
the type of the genus, the matter would have been set at rest ;
Cimex nobilis, L., in that case, would have been universally
regarded as the type of Scutellera ; Cimex imperialis, Fabr.,
the type of Tetyra; and the beautifully marked Cim. lineatus,
L., would have settled down as the Thyreocoris lineata of
Schrank.

Dr. Leach, however, applied the first of these names to the
set of insects to which Cim, nobilis, signatus, &c. belong ;
the second to the species lineatus, maurus, fuliginosus, in-
unctus, scarabceoides and their allies ; while he restricted the
name Thyreocoris to Schrank's last species the Cimex globus,

1 Silbermann, ' Revue Entomologique,' I. 3e livr. p. 111.
2 Syst. des Animaux sans Vert. p. 293, (Paris, 1801).
3 Systema Rhyngotorum, p. 128, (ed. Brunsvigag, 1803. I have never
seen the 1st edition of this work, referred to by Cuvier in the alphabetical
table of authors, given in the ' Regne Animal,' and by Percheron in his Bib-
liographic Entomologique, as being published in 1801).

4 Fauna Boica, II. abth. 1, p. 67, (Ingolstadt, 1801).
Vol. III.— No. 35, n. s. 3 n

538 DESCRIPTIONS OF

Fabr.1 He did not include, as Burmeister and Germar do,
the broad-headed insects, closely allied to the globus division,
in his genus Thyreocoris, for we find him shortly afterwards
publishing in the appendix to ' Bowdich's Mission to Ashan-
tee' a large red-spotted black species as the Canopus punc-
tatus.2 Wolff regarded the Tetyra lateralis, Fabr., 'Icones
Cimicum'jtab.l?, fig. 169, a species near the Tel. Scarabceoides
as the type of the genus T/tyreocoris, — see his posthumous
MSS. published by his father in the preface to the 5th fascicle
of his elaborate and indispensable work. By Burmeister,3
Spinola4 and Germar,5 all three terms are employed, though
in many instances in different acceptations.

Hope,6 Halm,7 and Laporte8 reject, and perhaps very
properly, the names of Telyra and Thyreocoris; the two
first give the name to that division to which the first species
to be described belongs, while Laporte applies to the genus
the name of Graphosoma. I follow the example of Laporte,
Spinola, and partly of Germar in the application of the name,
for though Lamarck afterwards quoted the Cimex linealus as
forming part of his genus Sculellera, (Hist. Nat. des Anim.
sans Vert. iii. p. 491) his originally described character of the
sculellum entirely covering the hemelyira, would have exclu-
ded it. (Systeme des Anim. &c. p. 293.)

With regard to the second species, I follow Laporte, Spi-
nola and Westwood, in giving the generic name of Coptosoma,
Laporte, to that small-headed, 2-jointed-/arms division, of
which Cimex globus is the type, while to the broad-headed

« Zoological Miscellany, vol. I. p. 36 (1814).— The Doctor's MSS. in a
very useful compendium of British Annulosa, published by Mr. Samouelle.
Encyc. Edin. vol. ix. quoted by Mr. Stephens in the second part of his
Systematic Catalogue, p. 338.

2 P. 496 (Appendix No. 4). Mr. G. R. Gray has published a figure and
description of this species in the 2nd vol. of Griffith's Translation of Cuvi-
er's Animal Kingdom, p. 233, pi. 92, fig. 2. It may be mentioned that it
is in the 4th Appendix of Bowdich's Mission that Leach instituted the ge-
nera Teffius and Pelrognatha, the Carditis Meyerlei,~Fabr. being the type of
the former, and the Lamia gigas, Fabr. of the latter ; so that the name
Omacanlha of Serville must give place to Pelrognatha on the score of
priority, Bowdich's Mission having been published in 1819, and the 4th
volume of theAnuales de Soc Entom.de France, containing Serville's dis-
tinguished labours, in 1835.

3 Handbuch &c. ii. 1 abth. Berlin, 1835.
4 Essai sur les genres d'Insectes appartenants a l'ordre des Hemipteres,
&c. Genes. 1837.

5 Zeitschrift fur die Entomologie, heft 1, 1839.

6 Catalogue of Hemiptera, London, 1838.

7 Essai &c. in Guerin's Magasin de Zool. 1832.

8 Wanzenartigen Insecten, Nurnberg, 1831.

TWO HEMIPTEROUS INSECTS. 539

division, Laporte's name Platycephala would be applied,
were it not that, as Mr. Westwood has pointed out, the name
has been pre-occupied ; I am rather inclined to think that
Serville's Brachyplatys is synonymous with Laporte's genus,
in which case Mr. Westwood's name Plataspis must be re-
jected, on the score of its being given after the publication
of Boisduval's ' Faune Entomologique de l'Ocean Pacifi^^,'
p. 627, 1832.

Boisduval, in the work mentioned above, remarks that the
extremity of the scutellum in the male of Brachyplatys is
notched, Mr. Westwood however, in his excellent paper on
Coptosoma, published in the 2nd vol. of this series,1 has
pointed out that it is the female that is so distinguished ; the
transverse folding of the anterior wings seems to me, to be
implied by Burmeister in his expression " die Haut zurneck-
geschlagen," as is the occurrence of two joints only to the
tarsus. My inexperienced eyes can only detect four joints
to the antennae in the species described below, but this, added
to the female having a blunt clypeus, as well as notched scu-
tellum, and both sexes having Hie femora much compressed,
as well as the last joints of the antennae, which are also hairy,
with a few other rostral characters, may perhaps indicate that
the insect is entitled to generic separation ; but I am unwil-
ling at present to give a name, lest it should be afterwards
quoted as among the things that were.

I cannot see how Halin and.Spinola can possibly apply
the term Thyreocoris to a division, not a species of which is
quoted by Schrank as belonging to his genus. I am then of
opinion that the Telyra scarabaeoides, lateralis and helopio-
ides, three species figured by Wolff, as well as many of, if not
all, the species included by Germar in his definition of the
genus Odonloscelis, the type of which as given by Laporte
himself in his ' Essai' p. 74, is the Telyra fuliginosa of Fabr.,
(Ursocoris fully inosus) Hahn, Arclocoris fuliginosus, Germar,
(p. 47.) I propose to name the genus (which seems almost as
peculiar to the new world, as Coptosoma and Plataspis are to
the old) Corimelaena, the type being the Telyra lateralis of
Fabr. and Cor. scarabaeoides, helopioides, niliduloides and
albipennis, being included in it ; it is unnecessary to take up
space in describing the characters, as they are already done
in such an able manner by Professor Germar, in his ' Zeits-
chrift,' I. pp. 36 and 37. Our first species, Graphosoma
Wilsoni, the specific character, merely, of which is given
beneath, comes near the G. semipunciatum of authors, from

1 Mag. Nat. Hist. New Series, ii. pp. 23, 29.

540

DESCRIPTIONS OF

which however, it is abundantly distinct. In the elongated
form of the head and sctttellum, as well as in having the sides
of the scutellum distinctly sinuated in the middle, it more
nearly approaches a species from Teneriffe, in the collection
of the British Museum, to which I applied the name Gar.
interruptum, in a paper on several new genera and species
of Hemiptera, read several months ago before the Entomo-
logical Society.

a, Grwphosoma Wilsoni, magnified.
c, Plataspis ( ? ) coracina, fem. magnified
e, part of upper side of head &c. of female.

b, Ditto, lateral view, natural size.
d, lateral view; natural size.
/, head of male, viewed from above.

I characterize my species as follows : —
Graphosoma Wilsoni, n. sp. fig. 68, a.

G. sanguineum, thorace punctis 8 distinctis, striaque postica laterali,
nigris ; scutello basi punctis 4 nigris, lateralibus elongatis et acuminatis ;
subtus flavum (in spec, mortuis) nigro punctatum. Long. lin. 6.

Hah. in Persia.

In Mus. Dom. Wilson, Edinensis, nature, insectorum praesertira, scru-
tatoris diligentissimi, et ' Entomologiae Edinensis' cum Dom. Duncan,
auctoris.

This species was brought over by Mr. Wilson's brother-
in-law, Sir John MacLean, along with many other fine insects
and spiders, for the opportunity of examining and describing
which, I am indebted to the great kindness of Mr. Wilson.

The second species may be thus described : —

Plataspis (?) coracina, n. sp. fig. 68, c.

P. aeneo-nigra, nitida (pectoreque solum fuliginoso), thoracis lateribus
hemelytrorumque basi, abdominisque lateribus fulvo anguste marginatis.

Mas, clypeo antice rotundato,) j lin 53
Fcem. „ „ truncate J °* 4*

Hah. in Java. In Mus. Doctoris Greville, 'Scottish Cryptogamic Flora
celeberrimi auctoris, turn insectorum turn plantarum studiosissimi.

TWO HEMIPTEROUS INSECTS. 541

I have alluded above to a paper on Hemiptera, as yet un-
published; I subjoin the characters there given of the

Graphosoma interruptum.

G, nigrum, thorace lineis tribus, dorsali solum elongato, arcubus partis pos-
terioribus flavis (in vita rubris ?), scutello lineis tribus, margineque tenui
flavis.

I subjoin also the characters of a few of the other species
there described, expecting the Society to publish my figures
and particular descriptions.

Of the Cimex costatus of Fabricius, a species seemingly
unknown on the continent, I have made a genus, which, to
the remarkably raised edges of the canal for the beak, so pro-
minent in the genus Solenosthedium of Spinola, Coeloglossa
of Germar, (both founded by their respective authors on the
same species, — the Cimex lynceus of Fabricius, figured in
Coquebert's Illustr. Iconogr. tab. 10, fig. 7), adds a thorax
semicircularly dilated behind, as well as other characters to
be pointed out elsewhere.

I name it Coleotichus, the species Col. costatus, the origi-
nal specimen of which is still to be seen in the Banksian col-
lection of insects, bequeathed to the Linnean Society. In the
British Museum cabinet there are two specimens of this rare
insect, presented by Mr. Children, the officer of the zoologi-
cal department. Mr. Shuckard tells me he has a second spe-
cies in his collection, but this I have not yet seen.

Another elongated thick species, kindly lent me by Mr.
Newman from the valuable collection of the Entomological
Club, would enter, I believe, into Germar's genus Calliphara,
but not having the specimen beside me, I cannot exactly make
out whether it may not more properly belong to Scutellera.
Its specific character may be given as follows.

Calliphara (Scutellera ? J bifasciata, n. sp.

C. luteo-aurantiaca ; an tennis, capite, thoracis fascia postica transversa,
scutelli macula dorsali fasciaque post medium transversa, tibiisque, caeru-
lescenti-viridibus. Long. lat.

Hah. in insula Maris Pacifici Dom. Newman ignota.
An elegant species sent by Mr. Daniel Wheeler to the En-
tomological Club.

Another species, placed by me in Laporte's genus Calidea
{Callidea Burm. and Germ.), I characterize as follows ; it is
a most beautiful species, but the antenna unfortunately are
wanting.

54*2 DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO HEMIPTEROUS INSECTS.

Calidea parent u?n, n. sp.

C. supra ochraceo-rubra, maculis 12 nigris, thoracis 4, prioribus minutis,
scutelli 8, 5 basi : • : , 3 post medium ■ . ■ , capite supra (2 maculis rubris
exceptis), pectore, abdominisque maculis lateralibus, pedibusque nitidis,
nigro-violaceis. Long. lin. 8f : lat thor. lin. 4-g-.

Hab. in Australia. In Mus. Brit.

Another species is very strikingly marked ; I call it,
Tectocoris Childreni. n. sp.

T. luteo-fulva, thorace maculis 4, scutello 11, atris, subtus nigresceuti-
purpurea, pedibus viridibus. Long. lin. 8^ ; lat. thor. lin. o£.
Hah. in Nepalia ?

Found in the valuable collection of insects bequeathed by
Major-General Hardwicke to the British Museum, and named
in honour of John George Children, Esq., late Secretary to
the Royal Society, whose collection, books, and advice have
been ever at my service.

Many other species I have described in the paper above
alluded to ; a rather hairy one from Sierra Leone, of a beau-
tiful dark green colour, with six black spots on the thorax,
and seven on the scutellum, with a dorsal line extending from
the base to beyond the second pair of spots, I have named Ca-
lidea Moryani, after the chaplain of the colony at Sierra Le-
one, who, amongst many valuable insects sent to the national
collection, has communicated a specimen of the remarkable
Hymenopterous genus, Agaon of Dalman, as pointed out to
me by Mr. Westwood.

In that paper I also characterized a genus of Coreida from
Nepal, somewhat connected with Menenotus (Lap.), agree-
ing with it in the lateral dilatations of the thorax being bent
forwards and upwards, but differing from both it and Cerbus
in the proportions of the joints of the antenna, the basal joint
being longest, the second, third, and fourth differing but lit-
tle in length, the last slightly bent, and in the veining of the
hemelytra. The femora, in both sexes, more or less thick-
ened, and all the tibia, in both sexes of the typical species,
dilated.

I name the genus, from the "winged" neck, Derepteryx ;
the first species being Der. Grayii, of a brown colour, the
thorax rough with tubercles, while in the second — Der. Hard-
wickii — the tibia, in our specimen (a female) are sim-
ple, the thorax above being comparatively smooth. I have
named the first species after John Edward Gray, Esq. F.R.S.
whose uniform extreme kindness, and assistance in my sci-
entific pursuits, I embrace this opportunity of gratefully ac-
knowledging.

FOSSIL PLANTS OF BRITAIN. 543

Another very flat genus, the precise locality of which, in
the system, I have not yet ascertained, though it may be near
Phytocoris, wants the ocelli, and is of an oblong elliptical form,
the head being small and somewhat square, with a distinct
neck behind the rather prominent eyes ; the thorax is nar-
rowest in front, gradually increasing in breadth behind, scu-
tellum large, as is the coriaceous part of the hemelytra ; legs
long and fringed with hairs ; antennce wanting in our speci-
men, all but the basal joint, which proceeds from a slightly
projecting lobe on the upper side of the head ; the beak is
short, not reaching far beyond the first pair of legs : the spe-
cies is 7 lines long, and nlay be characterized as follows. —

Caliprepes Grayii.

C. virescenti-luteus, thorace maculis 2 dorsalibus posticis triangularibus,
scutello 2 basalibus, rubris : hemelytrorum parte coriacea, linea apicali
transversa, viridi, — membranacea, linea basali obscura.

Hob. in Nepalia ? Coll. Mus. Brit.

Named in honour of George Robert Gray, Esq. late Secre-
tary to the Entomological Society of London, whose works
on insects, but especially on Orthoptera, must always rank
among the most important Entomological publications of the
present day.

Art. IV. — A Systematic Catalogue of the Fossil Plants of Britain.
By John Morris Esq.

(Continued from page 457).

NEUROPTERIDES, Gopp.

Frond simple, pinnate or bi-pinnate. Secondary veins issuing in num-
bers from the midrib, which does not extend to the apex of the pinnule ;
or, all the veins are forked, and rise in a fan-shaped manner from the base
of the pinnule; the midrib being scarcely apparent.

Neuropteris, Brong.

Frond pinnate or bi-pinnate. Pinnce or pinnulce cordate or subcordate
at their base, rarely adnate or decurrent. Midrib thick, not extended to
the apex, secondary veins numerous, slender, usually forked and curved.
Sori lanceolate, even, (with an indusium), arising from the veins of the apex
of the pinnule, and often placed on the bifurcations.

544 FOSSIL PLANTS OF BrvITAIN.

* Pinna or pinnulce cordate, rarely subcordate or truncate.

Neurop. attenuata, Lindl. and Hutt. iii. tab. 174. Coal

Measures, Newcastle.
smilacifolia, Sternb. part ii. pages 29, 33, part iv. page

16, excluding the synonyme of Scheuchzer ; Gopp. page

191 ; Neur opt. acuminata, Brong. Prod, page 53 ; Hist. i.

page 229, tab. 63, fig. 4; Lind. & Hutt. page 143, tab 51.

Coal measures, Schmalkalden and Dickeberg, Germany;

Felling, England.

cordata, Brong. Hist. i. page 229, tab. 64, fig. 5 ; Lind.

and Hutt. page 119, tab. 41 ; Sternb. part v. and vi. page
60. Coal measures, Leebotwood, England ; Alais and St.
Etienne, France ; Waldenburg.

— Scheuchzeri, Hoffm. iv. page 151, fig. 1 — 4; Karst.
Arch. xiii. tab. 2, page 27 ; Sternb. v. and vi. page 70. —
Phillites miner alls, Lluid,1 page 12, tab. 5. Osmunda,
Scheuch. tab. 10, fig. 3. Coal measures, Osnabruck; Wil-
lekesbarre; England.

angustifolia, Brong. Hist, page 231, tab. 64, fig. 8, 4;

Sternb. v. and vi. page 70. Coal measures, Bath ; Wil-
lekesbarre ; Radnitz ; Waldenburg.

acutifolia, Brong. i. p. 231, tab. 64, fig. 6,7; Sternb.

v. and vi. tab. 19, fig. 4. Coal measures, Bath; Willeks-
barre ; Bohemia ; Waldenburg.

— Voltzii, Brong. Prod, page 54; Hist, page 232, tab. 67;
Sternb. v. and vi. page 70. Gres bigarre, Strasburg.

crenulata, Brong. Hist. i. page 234, tab. 64, fig. 2, (ex-

cluding synonymes) ; Sternb. v. and vi. page 71. Coal
measures, Saarbrtick.

macrophylla, Brong. Hist. i. page 235, tab. 65, fig. 1 ;

Sternb. v. and vi. page 71. Coal measures, Dunkerton ;
Somerset.

Cistii, Brong. Prod, page 53; Hist. i. page 238, tab. 70,

fig. 3. Coal measures, Willeksbarre.

Grangeri, Brong. Prod, page 53; Hist. i. page 237,

tab. 68, fig. 1; Sternb. v. and vi. page 71. Coal measures,
Zanesville, U. States.

rotundifolia, Brong. Prod, page 51 ; Hist. i. page 238,

tab. 70, fig. 1 ; Sternb. v. and vi. page 71 ; Gopp. tab. 1,
fig. 6. Coal measures, Du Plessis, France. Alpine oolite,
La Roche Macot ; Col de Balme.

— Jlexuosa, Sternb. part iv. page 16, part v. and vi. page
71 ; Brong. Hist. i. page 239, tab. 65, fig. 2, 3, tab. 68, fig.

1 Lithophylacii Britannici Ichnographia, 1760.

FOSSIL PLANTS OF BRITAIN. 545

2. Osmunda gigantea, var. 0, Sternb. part iii. page 36, tab.
32, fig. 2 ; GeoL Trans. 2nd series, vol. i. page 45, tab. 7,
fig. 2. Coal measures, Axminster and Camerton, England;
Saarbriick; France; Waldenburg, Silesia. Alpine oolite.
La Roche Macot. (Culm J, Devon.

gigantea, Sternb, part iv. page 16, part v. and vi. page

72 ; Brong. Prod, page 54 ; Hist. i. page 240, tab. 69
Lindl. and Hutt. page 145, tab. 52 ; Gopp. page 196. —
Coal measures, Silesia ; Saarbriick, Bohemia ; Newcastle,
England. Alpine oolite, Servoz, Savoy.
— tenuifolia, Sternb. part v. andvi. page 72; Brong. Hist,
i. page 241, tab. 72, fig. 3 ; Gopp. page 197; Bronn,1 i. tab.
7. fig. 4. Coal measures, Saarbruck ; Silesia ; Newcastle.
Alpine oolite, Petit- cceur.

Loshii, Brong. Prod, page 53 ; Hist, page 242, tab. 73 ;

Sternb. part v. and vi. page 72; Gopp. page 198. Lzth-
osmunda minor, &c. Lluid. tab. 4, fig. 189. Coal measures,
Newcastle, Lowmoor ; Willekesbarre ; Silesia ; Valencien-
nes ; Liege.

— heterophylla, Sternb. part iv. page 17, part v. and vi.
page 73 ; Brong. Prod, page 53 ; Hist. i. page 243, tab. 71,
Nenr. Loshii, Brong. Hist. i. tab. 72. fig. 1 ; Gopp. page
198. Coal measures, Charleroi ; Saarbruck.2

Brongniartii, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 73. Neur.

heterophylla, Brong. Hist. i. tab. 72, fig. 2 ; Gopp. page
199. Coal measures, Charleroi ; Saarbruck.

Soretii, Brong. Hist. i. page 244, tab. 70, fig. 2; Sternb.

part v. and vi. page 73. Coal measures, Newcastle. Al-
pine oolite, La Roche Macot, Tarentaise.
— microphylla, Brong. Hist. i. page 245, tab. 74, fig. 6 ;
Sternb. part v. and vi. page 73. Coal measures, Willekes-
barre.

Gaillardoti, Brong. Hist. i. page 245, tab. 74, fig. 3;

Sternb. part v. and vi. page 73 ; Gopp. page 200. Mus-
chelkalk, Luneville.

— Dufresnoyi, Brong. Hist. i. page 246, tab. 74, fig. 4, 5;
Gopp. page 200. Otopteris Dufresnoyi, Lindl. and Hutt.
ii. page 142. Red sandstone, Lodeves, France.

— elegans, Brong. Hist. i. page 247, tab. 72, fig. 1, 2 ;

1 Lethaea Geognostica.

2 The Neuropteris Loshii of Brong. Hist. tab. 72, fig. 1 , has been placed
as a synonym of Neur. heterophylla upon the authority of Prof. Goppert,
although it appears to differ in decreasing much less rapidly than the lat-
ter, and the terminal portion is consequently not lanceolate, which Brong-
niart considers characteristic of Neur. heterophylla.

Vol. III.— No. 35. n. s. 3 o

•46 FOSSIL PLANTS OF BRITAIN.

Stemb. part v. and vi. page 73; Gopp. page 201. Red
sandstone, Sulz-les-Bains.

plicata, Sternb. part iv. page 16, part v. and vi. tab. 19,

a .

fig. 1 — 3; Brong. Hist. i. page 248; Gopp. page 201.
Coal measures, Bohemia; Silesia.

— obovata, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 74, tab. 19, fig. 2
Brong. Hist. i. page 248 ; Gopp. page 202. Coal mea-
sures, Bohemia.

** Pinnae or pinnulce obtuse at the "base, (never cordate).

— Lindleyana, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 73 ; Gopp. page
202. Neur. Loshii, Lindl. and Hutt. i. page 139, tab. 49,
excluding synonymes). Coal measures, Felling, England.

thymifolia, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 75 ; Gopp. page

203. Neur. Soretii, Lindl. and Hutt. i. page 141, tab. 50,
(excluding synonyms). Coal measures, Felling.

*** Pinna or pinnulce adnate, the lower ones sometimes decurrent.
oblongata, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 75, tab. 22, fig.

1 ; Brong. Hist. i. page 249 ; Gopp. page 203. Coal mea-
sures, Poulton, Temsbury, Somerset.

decurrens, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 75, tab. 20, fig.

2 ; Brong. Hist. i. page 249 ; Gopp. page 203. Coal mea-
sures.

conferta, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 75, tab. 22, fig. 5;

Gopp. page 204. Coal measures, Bohemia ; Silesia.

alpina, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 76, tab. 22, fig. 2 ;

Gopp. page 204.

recentior, Lindl. and Hutt. i. page 195, tab. 68; Gopp.

page 205 ; Sternb. part v. and vi. page 76. Oolite shale,
Gristhorpe Bay.

ligata, Lindl. and Hutt. i. page 197, tab. 69; Sternb.

part v. and vi. page 76. Pecopteris ligata, Phillips,1 tab.
8, fig. 14. Oolite shale, Gristhorpe Bay.
— serrata, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 76. Odontopteris
crenulata, Brong. Hist. i. page 254, tab. 78, fig. 2. Coal
measures, Terasson, France.

lobifolia, Phillips, tab. 8, fig. 13; Gopp. page 206.—

Pecopteris lobifolia, Lindl. and Hutt. iii. tab. 179. Oolite
shale, Haiburn, Yorkshire.

— bistriata, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 76 ; Gopp. page
206, Maschau, Bohemia.

— dickebergensis, Hoffm. Karst. Archiv. xiii. part 2, page

1 Illustrations of the Geology of Yorkshire, part 1, 1836.

FOSSIL FLANTS OF BRITAIN. 547

271 ; Sternb. part v. and vi. page 77 ; Gopp. page 207.—
Coal measures, Osnabruck.

ovata, Hoffm. loc. cit. page 272 ; Sternb. part v. and vi.

page 77 ; Gopp. page 207. Coal measures, Osnabruck.

Doubtful species.

distans, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 77 ; Brong. Hist.

i. page 250 ; Gopp. page 207. Coal measures, Eschwei-
ler, Germany.

Martini, Sternb.; Gopp. page 208. Phytolithus Os-

munda regalis, Mart. tab. 19, fig. 1 — 3. Coal measures,
Chesterfield ; Alfreton.

Odontopteris, Brong.

Frond pinnate or bipinnate. Pinnce or pinnulce adnate by their base to
the rachis, or free, generally oblique, midrib wanting or scarcely visible. —
Veins very fine, equal, simple or forked, springing from the rachis.

* Veins subparallel, equal, straight, simple or dichotomous.

a. Frond digitate-pinnate.

Odont. digitata, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 77, tab. 23, fig.
3 ; Gopp. page 209. Oolite shale, Yorkshire.

b. Frond pinnate.
undulata, Sternb. part v. and vi. tab. 25, fig. 1 ; Gopp.

page 209. Oolite shale, Yorkshire.
— falcata, Sternb. part v. and vi. tab. 23, fig. 1 ; Gopp.
page 210. Oolite shale, Yorkshire.

Schmidelii, Sternb. part v. and vi. tab. 35, fig. 2. Neu-

ropt. dubia, Sternb. part iv. page 17. Homstone, Baruth.
— Bechei, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 78 ; Gopp. page
210; De la Beche, Geol. Trans. 2nd. series, vol. i. tab. 7,
fig. 3. Oolite, Mamers, France. Lias, Axminster.

Bucklandi, Sternb. part v. & vi. page 79 ; Gopp. page

211. Filicites Bucklandi, Brong.; De la Beche, Geolog.
Trans. 2nd series, vol. i. tab. vii. fig. 2. Lias, Axminster.

* * Veins arched, ascending, simple or dichotomous.
a. Frond pinnate.
— acuminata, Gopp. page 211. Otopteris acuminata,
Lindl. and Hutt. ii. tab. 132. Oolite shale, Scarborough.
Otopteris, Gopp. page 211. Otopteris obtusa, Lindl.

and Hutt. ii. tab. 128. Lias, Memberg ; Polden Hill
Upper oolite shale, Scarborough.

b. Frond bipinnate or bipinnatifid.

Brardii, Brong. Prod, page 60 ; Hist. i. page 252, tab

548 NOTES ON IRISH NATURAL HISTORY.

75, 76; Sternb. part v. and vi. page 79; Gopp. page 212.
Otopteris crenulata, Brong. Hist. i. tab. 78, fig. 1. Coal
measures, Terasson, France. Alpine oolile, Petit-cceur.
minor, Brong. Prod, page 60 ; Hist. i. page 253, tab.

77; Sternb. part v. and vi. page 79; Gopp. page 213. —
Coal measures, Terasson ; St. Etienne.

Schlotheirnii, Brong. Hist. i. page 256, tab. 78, fig. 5 ;

Sternb. part v. and vi. page 79; Gopp. page 213. Neu-
ropteris nummularia, Sternb. part iv. page 17. Filicites
osmundceformis, Schloth. Petref. page 412, tab. 3, fig. 5. —
Coal measures, Manebaeh, Germany.

— obtvsa, Brong. Prod, page 60 ; Hist, i. page 255, tab.
78, fig. 3, 4; Gopp. page 214. Coal measures, Terasson,
France. Alpine oolite, Col d'Ecuelle, near Chamonix.
Lindleyana, Sternb. part v. and vi. page 78; Gopp.

page 214, tab. 1, fig. 7, 8, var. £. Odont. obtusa, Lindl. &
Hutt. i. tab. 40. Coal measures, Leebotwood; /3, Silesia.
— Bergeri, Gopp. page 215. Lias, Coburg, Saxony.

(To he continued?)

Art. V. — Notes on Irish Natural History, more especially Ferns.
By Edward Newman, Esq., F.L.S., &c.

The most trivial notes on any branch of Natural History are
always so acceptable to myself, that I am perhaps too confi-
dent in supposing that my own careless memoranda may be
pleasing to others. On the 28th of last June I landed at
Newry, and, with knapsack on back, marched off in a north-
erly direction, to see with my own eyes a country of which
Englishmen in general know something less than of Kamkat-
cha or South Australia. From Belfast to Fairhead I coasted
the county of Antrim, with the exception of a few miles ; and
although I found nothing particularly striking, yet the fine
sea-views, commanding the coast of Scotland, the Isles of
Arran, Bute, Jura, Islay, &c, and the singular Ailsa Craig,
amply repay the pedestrian for his time. Fairhead is really
grand ; the basalt is irregularly columnar, quite perpendicu-
lar, and of great height: during the lapse of ages it seems
gradually to have given way, vast disrupted masses being
crowded and jammed together below the cliff, in wild and
wonderful confusion. The height of the cliff is about 650
feet above the sea ; of this, a portion measuring perhaps 300
feet is perfectly perpendicular, the remainder is a mass of
fragments decreasing in height till it reaches the sea.

NOTES ON IRISH NATURAL HISTORY. 549

On this cliff I first saw the red-legged crow, and watched
it feeding its young in the fissures of the inaccessible preci-
pice : compared with our crow, rook, or j ackdaw, it is a grace-
ful bird; its flight is easy and elegant, and its gait, when
perched, very pleasing. The hooded crow and raven are also
abundant here, and the latter wonderfully familiar. Ferns
were abundant; Asplenium marinum occurs in profusion,
and grows to a large size, but the fronds of the present year
were very immature, and those of last season beginning to
decay. In the basaltic cliff is a remarkable fissure, across
which a mass has fallen and forms a natural bridge ; through
this fissure is a foot-way called the ' Grey Man's Path,' lead-
ing under the bridge to the top of the cliff; this path is liter-
ally " strewed with flowers," and among them the beautiful
Papaver Cambricum was very conspicuous and abundant.

The singular little island of Carrick-a-Rede, its flexible
bridge of ropes, and the neighbouring sea-caves roofed with
Asplenium marinum, are well worth a visit; and so is the
Giant's Causeway a few miles to the westward, for of a sure-
ty it is most curious, but when the terms "stupendous," "gi-
gantic," "sublime," &c. are given to this curiosity, they are
certainly misapplied. When the guides first tell him " that
is the Causeway," and point to a low, brown, tame-looking,
sea-beach, the most phlegmatic man in the world must inevi-
tably feel disappointed ; but as he walks onwards and finds
that he is treading on the tops of basaltic pillars, of various
but regular figures, triangles, squares, pentagons, hexagons,
and heptagons, he cannot but be struck with the curiosity of
the affair. Compared with Staffa, the Giant's Causeway is so
insignificant that I am persuaded that were it on the beach of
that magnificent basaltic island, it would never have been no-
ticed up to the present hour. The guides here are a great
and insuperable annoyance, and their name is Legion ; they
are of no use whatever, and by what title they hold the right
of worrying strangers I am quite at a loss to ascertain.

Donegal is a fine county for the naturalist ; here are vast
and unbroken tracts of mountains, and here man, that is, ci-
vilized man, has rarely set his foot. The bog is covered with
the common ling [Calluna vulgaris), and a variety of Carices
and coarse sour grasses ; a few scattered sheep, and an oc-
casional flock of twenty or thirty white goats, may here and
there be seen wandering over the boggy waste. You scarcely
ever see a tree, although the bog contains the remains of the
trees of former ages. The abundant and almost universal oc-
currence of the remains of vast timber-trees in the wastes of
Scotland and Ireland, where trees are now almost as rare as

550 NOTES ON IRISH NATURAL HISTORY.

churches, and where indeed they can scarcely be coaxed to
grow at all, has never yet been satisfactorily explained. A
favourite theory on this subject is, that in time of war the fo-
rests were cleared, lest they should form a shelter in cases of
pursuit : a second theory is, that copper and lead ore were
conveyed from Cornwall and Wales to the coast of Ireland,
in order to be smelted, and that whole forests were levelled
for the supply of fuel. The fragments of trees remaining ap-
pear to be preserved by the bog, and to have suffered little or
nothing from the action of moisture. The recent timber must
not be confounded with the trunks often found still lower in
the bog, and which are fairly entitled to rank as bog fossils,
being evidently coeval with the bones of the extinct Irish
elks and cattle. The more recent timber is mostly oak and
Scotch fir.

The north-western extremity of the county Donegal is wild,
grand, and mountainous ; the summits are very lofty, white,
and perfectly without vegetation. Having selected Arrigal
as the highest peak, I made the ascent, which is by no means
difficult, a good road having been cut along its shoulder, and
passing within a thousand perpendicular feet of its summit.
The summit is a sharp crescent-shaped ridge ; the descent
on the inside of the crescent is very precipitous and remarka-
bly barren : the form of the mountain is what is usually termed
volcanic, and deep within the vast excavation which may be
regarded as analogous to a crater, is a still lake. The view
is very fine ; the lakes, mountain -peaks, sea-bays and islands
being almost innumerable. The base of the mountains of
this district is boggy and very rough, higher up is a belt of
heath, and above this is the region of bare stone.

After sleeping in a hut at the foot of Arrigal I turned
southward, crossing the Glendoan mountains, and so reached
Docharty bridge. The Glendoan chain is of less height, and
the summits more rounded : you may often walk forty or fifty
yards on an unbroken slab of stone, perfectly bare, and
bleached by the action of wind and rain. On reaching the
lower country about Docharty Bridge, Osmunda regalis
appears in profusion, sometimes fringing the margin of the
streams like a continuous hedge, sometimes rising from the
bog in large isolated bushes. I could not but contrast the
fem productions of this wild county with those of Argyle-
shire and Caernarvonshire, which in their desolate mountain-
ous character are somewhat similar. Cryptogramma crispa is
nowhere to be seen ; of Polypodium Phegopteris and Dryop-
teris I did not find a single frond ; and of Aspidium Oreop-
teris, the most common fern of the Scotch and Welch moun-

MODIOLI ENCLOSED IN LITHODOMI. 551

tains, I saw a tolerable sprinkling near Milroy Bay, and one
single plant at Docharty Bridge ; in the mountain tract be-
tween these localities it does not once occur. In the moun-
tain lakes Isoetes is not uncommon. Athyrium Jilix-fcemina
is ubiquitous ; Nephrodium filix-mas comparatively rare :
Nephr. dllatatum is common, and of three distinct types of
form ; — the first elongate, broad, drooping, and nearly flat ;
the second short, rigid, erect, brownish green, and convex ;
the third short, less rigid and erect, bright pale green, and
concave, not simply as a frond, but every pinna and pinnule
also concave. The second form I believe to be Aspidium
dumetorum of Smith ; the third is the Asp. dumetorum of
Mackay, the Asp. dilatatum var. concavum of Babington, and
the Asp. spinulosum of the Botanic Garden at Belfast, &c.
This form is far more distinct and constant than any variety
we possess in England, where the plant is confined pretty
much to the first form mentioned above ; every botanist se-
lecting one or two fronds broader or narrower, longer or short-
er, larger or smaller, more rigid or more pendulous than the
rest, and naming them Aspidium spinulosum or (happy de-
ception ! ) Asp. rigidum.

( To be continued).

Art. VI. — On the Fossil Shells of the genus Modiola being frequent-
ly found in the Bath Oolite, enclosed in the Shells of the genus
Lithodomus. By The Rev. H. Jelly.

In the superior members of the great oolite formation in the
neighbourhood of Bath there occur masses, sometimes of con-
siderable size, of a kind of Astr&a, perforated most profusely
by several species of Lithodomi. Among these, specimens
repeatedly occur in which three or four or even more shells
lie encased as it were, the one by the other, in such a man-
ner as leaves it extremely difficult to account for their collo-
cation. Having had a series of these in my possession for
several years, and still without discovering any satisfactory
solution of the problem, I am desirous of calling the attention
of conchologists to the subject, through the medium of your
valuable Magazine, and of ascertaining in this way whether
any facts in the history of recent shells of this or any other
allied family, can be adduced in explanation of what I cannot
but think a very anomalous circumstance in the natural his-
tory of the tribe. I send you some specimens by way of il-

55*2 MODIOLI ENCLOSED IN LTTHODOMI.

lustration, and will briefly subjoin such observations as I have
made, with a view to explain the appearances they present.

69

a, the Lithodomus containing one or more specimens of Modiola. b, the opposite

side of the same specimen, but with the external shell broken away, so as to show one of the
contained Modiolce. c, a Lithodomus in which, from the gaping of the valves of the

inclosed Modiolce, three or four individuals may be distinguished.

The size of the figures is eniarged by half a diameter.

1. It will be observed in the specimen (fig. 69 a) that the
outer shell is extremely different from that which it contains
(see b). Now although I have repeatedly detected a similar
arrangement — the outer smooth shell (Lithodoinus) with its
strongly-marked lines of growth containing, and the sharp,
angulated, reticulated shell (Modiola?) being contained — yet
I never met with an instance in which this order was reversed.
This I conceive to be a particular of some importance.

2. Among the many specimens that have come under my
observation, I have never seen a single instance in which the
contained Modiola (?) could be distinctly shown to be a bor-
ing shell. Even when it appears to occupy a perforation by
itself, the difference in size between the hole in which it is
situated and itself, and sometimes other circumstances addi-
tional to this, seem to show that it is merely the inhabitant
but not the fabricator of the orifice in which it has existed.

3. In cases in which there are more than one contained
shell (as shown by fig. 69. c), the additional ones are, I be-
lieve, uniformly of the same species with the first- contained
shell, which is constantly a Modiola and never a Lithodomus.

4. Although these shells are almost invariably found enve-
loping one another like a nest of pill-boxes, yet I have in one
instance seen two small ones placed endwise, the one towards
the other, filling up the cavity of a much larger Lithodomus.

After what I have said it is scarcely necessary to add that
I consider the contained shell a true Modiola, and conse-
quently not a boring animal : — that it occupied the cavities
formed in the coral by the Lithodomi, and very frequently
filled the unoccupied shells of the Lithodomi themselves. —
But although it might be supposed that one Modiola when

ON THE STRATA OF LINCOLN. 553

young had made its way within the half-closed valves of a
Lithodomus, it is difficult to imagine that this process could
go on in a second, third, or even fourth instance, since in each
case the death of the previous inhabitant must have been a
necessary condition ; and the former occupant, which could
have obtained entrance only in a very young state, must have
lived long enough to fill the entire cavity with its shell. It
is difficult also to account for the fact of the same species only
of Modiola enveloping each other, upon the supposition of a
fortuitous occupation of the empty shell by the young animal ;
since as there are more than one species of Modiola in the
same locality, it would have been quite as easy for one of
these to have made its way in as the other.

A case somewhat analogous had recently come under my
observation through the kindness of a friend, in the instance
of the Saxicava rugosa, in the interior of which specimens of
Venerupis perforans are sometimes met with. But in this
case the size of the contained shell does not at all correspond
with that which contains it, and moreover the one Venerupis
does not in any instance contain another.

[A series of specimens illustrative of the present communication have
been kindly submitted to our examination by Mr. Jelly ; and from these
we selected the two of which representations are given (fig. 69). We can
suggest no other explanation but the obvious one of supposing that the dead
shell of the Lithodomus was occupied by a Modiola, and the Modiola itself
subsequently occupied by a smaller individual of its own species ; the same
thing being repeated, in some instances, five or six times. The introduc-
tion however of the Modiola in the adult state would be opposed by the
physical condition in which the Lithodomus is placed. Any suggestions or
observations from our conchological readers, bearing upon this curious fact,
would be acceptable. — Ed.]

Art. VII. — An Account of the Strata of Lincoln, from a recent
Survey, commencing North of the Cathedral, and descending to
the bed of the River. Drawn up by Mr. Wm. Bedford.1

The strata may be comprised in twenty-six beds, which
slightly vary and thin off, in some parts ; but lie horizontally,
from six to eighteen inches in thickness, (with the exception
of the Upper Oolite), till we descend to the Ochry Ferrugi-
nous-stone beds.

1. Alluvial soil, from six to ten inches in thickness.

2. Rubbly stone; — Cardia or stone cockles are profusely

distributed here.

1 Communicated by Sir Edward Ff. Bromhead, Bart.
Vol. III.— No. 35, n. s. 3 p

554 ON THE STRATA OF LINCOLN.

3. Called the Blue bed, a hard limestone, wherein spar and

crystalline cockles are found.

4. Knobbly or Boss rubble ; — contains casts of shells.

A layer of marie lies underneath.

5. The Shell bed ; — stone cockles in great variety are found

in this bed.

A layer of marie lies underneath.

6. The Blue Limestone bed ; — contains the Mactra, a kind

of muscle.

7. Three beds of the Grey Limestone, each bed intercepted

with marie ; — oysters, Murex, the lobster- tailed nautilus
or miller's thumb, and the Chiton, [? — Ed.] are found
in these beds.

8. Three beds of fractured limestone, each bed intercepted

with a layer of marie,

9. A strong limestone bed called the Roof bed, under which
the ancient builders excavated or rather mined, for supe-
rior stone for building the Cathedral, which may account
for the numerous caverns and subterraneous places to a
great extent. A very large portion of the upper part of
Lincoln, and nearly the whole of Eastgate, is thus un-
dermined.

10. Three thin knobbly beds intercepted with marie.

11. The Oolite Freestone bed; — calc spar occurs here in
rhombic and prismatic crystals. Large Ammonites, and
the Teredo or Lapis Syringoides, and fossil wood, are
found in this bed.

12. The Silver bed ; — it abounds with cornbrash and Archi-

medes shells ; it is allied to the forest-marble, and when
faced, is used for chimney-pieces and for floors of pas-
sages ; it decomposes oily matters, and is a durable stone
for buildings in dry situations ; — prismatic and rhomboid
calc spar is found in this bed.

13. A bed of good building stone, superior to the silver bed,

about sixteen inches in thickness ; — this bed abounds in
some parts with cornbrash and Archimedes shells, the
same as the silver bed ; in other parts it is free from
cornbrash. Between the fissures in this bed, the agaric
mineral occurs in delicate opaque crystals. The dag-
ger shells, razor-sheath, and various other shells, are
found in this bed.

14. Two beds of good stone, with oolite disseminated, useful
for foundations and building purposes. In the first bed
fossilized branches of trees sometimes occur, lying hori-
zontally. Prismatic calc spar in bold crystals occurs in
this bed.

ON THE STRATA OF LINCOLN. 555

The quarrymen in the present day do not work below
these beds. '

15. The Oolite2 or Roe-stone bed is nearly two feet in thick-
ness. Newport Arch, erected nearly 1700 years ago, and
for its Roman origin an object of much interest to travel-
lers, was built of the stone from the oolite bed. It is a
hard oolite, and becomes harder by exposure to a humid
atmosphere, which may account for its durability. In
some parts of this stratum it is Blue-hearted. Large
blocks of this oolite may be seen in the main street, a
little above the Hospital gates, being the remains of the
south Roman gate, long since destroyed. The Cathedral
is evidently built of the stone from the silver bed — of
that which underlies the silver bed — and from the beds
now used for foundations and walls, with a portion of the
oolite bed. John of Gaunt's house, now a modernized
dwelling, and many years the residence of the late Mr.
Boot, seems chiefly built of this oolite.

16. A bed of indurated clay, six inches in thickness.

17. A bed of very hard blue stone, which divides itself into

two beds, by a flaw passing longitudinally through the
middle.

A bed of very hard indurated clay, four inches thick,
divides the above bed from

18. A thin bed of hard fine sandstone, firmly united to

19. The Grey oolite bed, which is as firmly united to

20. The White oolite bed. These three contiguous beds form

indeed one massive bed, nearly four feet in thickness,
equal in hardness to the oolite bed of which Newport
Arch is built. About an inch of clay intervenes between
this white oolite and the

21. Lower oolite bed, which is not so hard as the beds above,

and which lies upon a bed of yellow ochry earth, under-
neath which the springs begin to appear.3

22. 4 Ochry ferruginous-stone bed ; — the spring water near

Monks' House flows through its fissures, and deposits
the ferruginous ochre as it streams along.

23. Ferruginous gravel and sand bed, underneath which Py-
rites in masses occur in some parts, just as we enter the

1 The stone-quarries are the best places for examining the strata.
2 The oolite will not burn into quicklime.

3 There are no springs in the lower part of Lincoln, the water obtained
there by the sinking of wells, is the river water, which is filtered through
the sand bed.

4 This may be seen to advantage at the north-east corner of the Monk's
Leas.

556 ON THE STRUCTURE AND HABITS

24. Thick bed of Chinch clay ; x Ammonites, Nautili, and

Belemnites occur in this bed.

25. Ferruginous gravel and sand bed, — intervenes between

the two beds of clay, with nodules of iron Pyrites.

26. Thick bed of Blue clay-shale, an excellent clay, when

ground, for tiles and floor-bricks. In this bed are three
seams of rubbly ironstone- clay, which dip towards the
east, from three to four inches in thickness ; — the second
seam is two feet below the first, and the third seam be-
tween three and four feet below the second. Fossilized
oysters, muscles, and periwinkles are found in this bed.
This clay bed is of great thickness, and declines with the
slope of the hill ; it dips beneath the sand bed of the ri-
ver, and rises again as we ascend Cross o' Cliff hill.
The minerals and fossils of the various beds have been

carefully selected for the Museum of the Lincoln Mechanics'

Institution.

Art. VIII. — On the Structure and Habits of the Physalia (ofCuvier)
or Portuguese Man- of- War ; Holothuria Physalis, of Linnmus. —
By Jonathan Couch, Esq., F.L.S.

I have not been able to find in any book to which I have ac-
cess, such an account of the Physalia as affords an insight
into its manner of existence, or adequately represents its pe-
culiarities of form or structure. The former, indeed, may be
regarded as very simple, as is the case with the greater part
of animals which are low in the scale of organization. But
wherein they are deficient in extent of endowment, they obtain
compensation in the precision of that one function with which
their existence is identified ; and in this respect our judgment
in regard to some of the obscure or ill-understood functions
of the organs of higher animals, may be informed and cor-
rected by what is more clearly — because more singly — seen
in the actions of these creatures.

In the days of Pennant the Physalia had not been recog-
nized in the British seas. Yet it is not of rare occurrence,
and sometimes appears in considerable numbers, keeping in a
loose arrangement of companies, floating buoyantly on the
surface, and carried wherever the wind and tide are disposed
to bear them.

1 In the descent of the Steep Hill, the great thoroughfare of Lincoln, the
clay is indurated, and cannot be made plastic. This clay-shale is from 60
to 90 feet in thickness, and must he bored through into the heart of a rocky
crust lying below, before water can be obtained. Water can only be ob-
tained above and below this indurated clay.

OF THE PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR. 557

To a cursory observer the appearance of this animal is that
of a bladder rilled with air, with a low, longitudinal crest,
supposed to resemble a sail both in shape and function, and
many tendrils of various lengths hanging loosely in the water
below; without a visible orifice or organs of voluntary motion.

More closely examined in its native element, it is found to
possess a front which is marked by a small perpendicularly
oval space, thinner than the neighbouring surface, and con-
veying the idea of a mouth ; and to the inner side of which
is attached an organization presently to be described more at
length.

From the margin of what, for the sake of distinction, I have
designated the oral space, a number of lines proceed longitu-
dinally along the surface, converging again near the pointed
posterior portion, round a space and apparent aperture in a
line not exactly straight above the extremity. Examined
within, the wall of this membrane is encircled by another set
of fibres, which encompass the sides at right angles to the
former ; and it is by the combined action of these, that the
complicated motions are performed of which the creature is
capable.

What is denominated the sail or crest, is a plaited mem-
brane passing lengthwise from a short distance above the oral
space, to within about an equal distance of the posterior ex-
tremity. It varies a little in breadth in different specimens,
but in a large individual is about an inch in height, with an
edge on the summit, but spreading below like the ridge of a
house, and within the eavity is divided into segments. The
structure of the inflated body is diaphanous ; and viewed by
the aid of light on the anterior portion of the right side, ris-
ing above the tendrils with which below it is connected, is
an extended opacity, irregularly circular above, and well de-
fined, indicating a structure differing from the other portion,
though not such as interferes with the arrangement of the
muscular fibres.

The tendrils are of three sorts. The first, towards the front,
are placed on and under one side of the ordinary line of sus-
pension in the water : they are short, clustering, and tufted
on their pedicles. The other two sorts of tendrils are long ;
some a few inches, and some nearly a yard in length, but
none placed behind the middle of the body; and the first
elongated ones, placed below, are formed of a thread of mem-
brane accompanied and encircled by a line of flattened beads,
which obey the influence of the will in contraction, extension
and lateral motion. The third sort are the longest ; their base
is thick and firm, having the muscular structure continued

558 ON THE STRUCTURE AND HABITS

along their course, and at the end a membranous dilatation,
from which springs a thread encircled by a beaded line, which
at first is convoluted and doubled on the base, and then ac-
companies the thread to the end. The peduncles of these
latter tendrils, about an inch in length, are fixed higher on the
side than the former; but seem exceedingly liable to injury,
since it is rare that all of them are perfect. The membranous
threads appear to be the branchiae, but the anterior branched
tendrils seem rather to be absorbent organs, like the roots of
a tree, affording the only source of nutriment, which I ima-
gine to be assimilated in the reddish side of the internal sac;
and which, besides its redness, is of a rather thicker substance
than the surrounding structure.

In its healthy state the colours of this animal are beautiful ;
the crest being striped alternately with light blue and crimson
or pink, and the sides similarly tinted, with reflections. The
tendrils are of a darker blue, and sometimes a dull purple. —
Examined within there is a thin membranous structure, which
is necessarily pierced when the cavity is opened. On its an-
terior portion it is firmly attached to what I have denominated
the oral space ; it is also, but very slightly, attached posteri-,
orly ; and along the upper margin there is a varying number
of branched appendages, each of which occupies a portion of
the chambers of the crest. In some specimens, where the
crest is low, they are fewer, less branched, and more obtuse ;
in others, long, slender and much divaricated. In the living
state this membranous structure is so closely applied to the
external muscular parietes, as not to be discerned through it,
the cavity appearing empty. They are also so little adher-
ent, except at the end, as to separate spontaneously ; but still
between them both is a slight villous coat, adhering to the
external or containing portion, and which is the chief, if not
the only seat of the colour. It is probable that the chief in-
terchange of vital action is through this structure, which, al-
though so slight and unadherent, is as closely connected as
in some other animals or structures in which no more certain
mode of communication has been traced. Many morbid
growths in the human body have even less connection with
the common vitality. This internal sac contains nothing but
air, which appears to be secreted into it by the crest, that
being its chief, if not the only office. No trace of food can
be found, nor any separate organization, except a reddish
thickening, already alluded to, at one portion of the surface.
It is this which appears externally ; and it seems just to owe
its appearauce to vascularity, though no separate vessel can
be distinguished ; it is probably the seat of the vital actions,

OF THE PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR. 559

from which the splendid colours, and the acrid fluid covering
the surface, as well as the ordinary supply of nutriment, are
derived.

It has been a general opinion that the air in the cavity of
the body is collected at the will of the animal, and that it can
be expelled at pleasure, or through fear of danger. Neither
of these ideas, however, appears to be accurate ; for in regard
to its accumulation, it is clearly not received from without,
and as to the power of expulsion in any manner of haste, es-
pecially in storms, and to enable it to sink from danger, com-
mon observation proves the contrary ; for they are seen float-
ing on the most turbulent waves, and are frequently thrown
ashore in tempests. Examination, indeed, cannot fail to per-
suade any one that a creature with so little of solid substance
in its composition, cannot be made to sink without the almost
total expulsion of its air, which ordinary mechanical com-
pression does but little towards effecting ; and when this ex-
pulsion is procured by puncture, which may amount to what
the creature can effect by great effort, the animal may be made
to shrink into a comparatively small compass, without at all
approaching to a condition in which it can sink below the
surface. I have discharged nine-tenths of the contained air,
thereby causing a shrivelling of the external membrane, with-
out bringing it to a state in which it did not swim buoyantly
on the water.

But an examination of the Physalia when in undisturbed
liberty will show that the real use of the inflated condition is
not buoyancy alone. The accumulation of air will then be
seen absolutely necessary as a fulcrum or point of support for
the action of the muscular structure ; and accordingly, the
creature, by the contractions of portions of its surface and the
relaxations of others, projects the oral extremity into the form
of a snout, lifts or moves it towards either side, and depresses
portions of the centre, lengthening or shortening itself, and
especially dilating towards the side from which the tendons
are dependant, according to its pleasure. But perhaps none
of its actions are so capable of displaying the management of
a complicated intention, as those by which the animal con-
trives to fall on its side from its more usual position with the
crest aloft. The anterior portion is first dilated, by which a
basis is formed capable of sustaining the whole bulk : the
hinder part, for about a third of the length, is then rendered
slender and elevated ; in which condition but little of the sur-
face is immersed, and a very small degree of inclination to
either side causes it to fall over, with the crest on the surface

560 STRUCTURE AND HABITS OF THE PHYSALIA.

of the sea : a position perhaps rendered necessary when, from
drying winds, the top of the membrane has become rigid. —
Its most favourite position in the water is resumed by again
taking an elongated shape ; and it must be remembered that
these actions take place in an animal, in which minute re-
search has not been able to detect a nervous system. These
motions also, of a creature inflated with air, derive much in-
terest from the explanation they afford of those faculties of
some animals which appear to have received an erroneous or
imperfect interpretation. Thus the prehensile organs of Echi-
nus and Asterias, which are hollow, and capable of being
drawn close to or within the body, are described as being pro-
truded by simply propelling a fluid along their course, which
fluid, when no longer wanted for this purpose, is again re-
turned to the cavity. At this point the explanation ends ;
propulsion being regarded as the sole object of the function.
Such, however, does not appear to be the case ; the disten-
sion effected by the propulsion of fluid in the radiate animals,
and of air in Physalia, being only the first step in the pro-
cess, and providing a fulcrum for the support of muscular ef-
fort the chief object in view. In the tube of the Lepades the
action is of a similar kind, though more complicated, owing
perhaps to its annulated structure. The distension caused by
the contained fluid in the latter is less considerable, and the
animal sometimes hangs in a flaccid state, at its full length.
When about to move, compression of the fluid fixes the cen-
tre of motion, which is rendered still more energetic by col-
lecting and fixing it at the root, or in particular departments.

The remarks here offered may be extended to many of the
voluntary motions of other animals of soft texture ; develop-
ing a contrivance by which apparent contrarieties are recon-
ciled, and creatures having so little firmness in their com-
position enabled to perform motions requiring tense support :
the fulcrum which in the higher animals is the heaviest por-
tion of their structure, and acts by gravity as well as strength,
being in them no less effective as a moving power, and yet so
light as to serve the office of a balloon.

It is well known that the Physalia, and several species of
Medusa, are capable of inflicting a stinging sensation on the
hands that touch them. The certainty of this admits of no
doubt; the effect being severe even in persons whose skin
cannot be supposed endued with remarkable delicacy. A
sailor-boy, a short time since, was so severely affected from
handling a single specimen, that the skin peeled from the
whole surface of his hand. Yet, with the intention of expe-

PLANTS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF SWANSEA. 561

riencing this, I have repeatedly handled numerous specimens
of both genera, swimming at large and out of the water, liv-
ing and dead, yet without being made sensible of any unplea-
sant effect. *

Art. IX. — A Catalogue of some of the most interesting Plants col-
lected in the neighbourhood of Swansea, Glamorganshire, during
the past Summer [1839]. By Thomas Bruges Flower, Esq.,
F.L.S.

Ranunculus Lingua. In great abundance on Cromlyn bog and Neath
canal.

Trollius Europaus. " On the banks of the Dylais, above the waterfall at
Aberdylais, and in moist meadows between Pont nedd Vachu and
Usgord Eynon Gard." — Dillwyn.

Helleborus fcetidus. In the woods at Park mill, towards Pennard cas-
tle, in great abundance.

Delphinium Consolida. I have not been able to detect this plant in Swan-
sea Bay ; it is mentioned in New Bot. Gui. as growing there in plenty

Nymph^ea alba. Abundantly in the canal going to Neath.

Meconopsis Cambrica. " At the waterfalls about Pont nedd Vachu, in
the Dylais Valley above Aberdylais, plentiful." — Dillwyn.

Glaucium luteum. Frequent about Salthouse point, and in many places
by the sea-shore.

Matthiola sinuata. On the sands between Swansea and the Mumbles,
but is now much less plentiful than formerly.

Cochlearia danica. Very abundant on rocks about the Mumbles light-
house.

Draba aizoides. " Found growing in the greatest abundance on the walls
of Pennard castle, near Swansea, where it was first noticed by the late
Mr. Lucas." It was still in great plenty when I visited the spot, Au-
gust, 1839.

Thlaspi alpestre. " About Pont nedd Vachu." — Dillwyn.

Hutchinsia petrcea. On the walls of Pennard castle.

Teesdalia nudicaulis. " On wastes and roadsides about Swansea, not un-
common ." — Dillwyn.

Lepidium Smithii. Everywhere on the sea-shore.

Draba, " The station given for this plant is now destroyed, the

ground having been built upon." — Dillwyn.

ruderale. " Occasionally found on rubbish-heaps and ballast-

banks about Swansea." — Di
Brassica cheiranthus. " This interesting plant was detected on the sands
near Pennard castle, in the summer of 1838, by Mr. Woods." It was
still plentiful in the place mentioned when I visited the spot in com-
pany with my friend C. C. Babington, Esq. in August last.

1 Some interesting remarks on the Physalia, which perhaps may not have
fallen under the observation of Mr. Couch, are to be found in the ' Pro-
ceedings of the Zool. Society for 1837, page 43, by Mr. George Bennett.
— Ed.

Vol III.— No. 35, n.s. 3q

56*2 CATALOGUE OF PLANTS

Crambe maritima. " Rocks about Port Eynon." — Dillwyn.

Diplotaxis tenuifolia. Very frequent about Fox-hole, in company with
Dipt, muralis.

Viola lutea. "The Black Mountain has been noticed as a habitat of this
plant since the days of Merrett ; and though generally an inhabitant
of mountains, I have found it growing on Cromlyn burrows." — Dillw.

Helianthemum canum. On the Worms head, plentifully.

Drosera rotundifolia. Very frequent in many places.

longifolia. " Cromlyn bogs with Dros. anglica." — Dillwyn.

Hypericum Androscemum. Frequent about Singleton, Neath, and Brit-
ton Ferry.

calycinum. " In Nicholston wood, near Penrice castle." —

Dillwyn.

Dianthus Armeria. Banks about Britton ferry.

Saponaria officinalis. Frequent about the sands at Singleton, and in ma-
ny other places.

Spergula nodosa. On the sand-hills between Swansea and the Mumbles.

Cerastium tetrandrum. " On sand-hills, not uncommon, growing with
Cer. semidecandruniy of which I am satisfied it is nothing more than a
variety." — Dillwyn.

Geranium sanguineum. In abundance on the sands near Pennard castle,
and " on cliffs in Gower." — Dillwyn.

pyrenaicum. Between Swansea and Cromlyn.

Erodium cicutarium. Common. The var. a, incanum, is also met with
plentifully on the sands near Swansea. Although by many botanists
considered to be only a variety of the above, I cannot satisfy myself
respecting it, and should therefore recommend it to further investiga-
tion.

Rhamnus catharticus. Frequent in Cline wood, in company with Rham.
Frangula.

Melilotus leucantha. Frequent on the ballast-banks about Swansea.

TRiFOLiuM/ra^i/mm. Salt-house point and banks of Neath canal.

— — — glomeratum. ) u Qn Swansea and Skitt burrows."— Dillwyn.

scabrum. J J *

Lathyrus sylvestris. " About the top of the cliff, on the right of the en-
trance to Caswell bay." — Dillwyn. And about Oystermouth castle.

Cerasus Padus. " Pont nedd Vachu, but not so plentiful as it is about
Merthyr Tydfil."— Dillwyn.

Rosa spinosissima. " On the sand-hills between Swansea and the Mum-
bles, very abundant." — Dillwyn.

Potentilla verna. Above the cliffs, between Port Eynon and the Worms-
head.

Sanguisorba officinalis. Common in boggy meadows at Witch-tree bridge,
and also at Neath.

Pyrus torminalis. " Neath valley, and woods about Penrice." — Dillwyn.

Epilobium roseum. Cromlyn bog, and by the side of the canal going to
Neath.

Oenothera biennis. Naturalized in many places about Swansea and Brit-
ton ferry.

Myriophyllum spicatum. Cromlyn bog.

Hippuris vulgaris. In boggy places about Cromlyn burrows.

(Enanthe pimpinello'ides . Marshy places near Port Tennant, and in other
places, frequent.

Carum verticillatum. "In great plenty in meadows near Cocket." — Dill.

Hydrocotyle vulgaris. Frequent in boggy situations.

COLLECTED IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF SWANSEA. 563

Asperula Cynanchica. In plenty at Pennard castle, and beyond the

Mumbles.
Lobelia Dortmanna. " Lakes at Pont nedd Vachu and Aberpergain." —

Dillwyn.
Inula crithmdides. On the rocks beyond the Mumbles, in plenty.
Aster Tripolium. Marshes about Port Tennant and Salt-house point.
Solidago Virgaurea, var. Cambrica. Frequent in the woods about Cwm

Neath.
Gnaphalium Margaritaceum. "Near Clydach, on the road-side between

Witch-tree bridge and Neath Abbey, and in other places." — Dilluryn.
dioicum. " On the mountains above Pont nedd Vachu." —

Dillwyn.
Senecio viscosus. On the wastes a little above high water mark, between

the ferry and the entrance to Port Tennant.

erraticus. Frequent about Singleton. This plant is quite distinct

from Sen. aquaticus, and well deserving of attention ; (see Bab. Flor.
Sarn.)

Artemisia maritima. - About Port Tennant and Salt-house point.

Achillea Ptarmica. Frequent in many places.

Cnicus eriophorus. " Occasionally found on the road-side between Neath
and Pile, and is much more common at the eastern extremity of the
county." — Dillwyn.

Carduus tenuifiorus. Fabian's bay, and many places by the sea-side.

Lactuca virosa. On the walls of Oystermouth castle, plentiful.

Hieracium paludosum. " On the rocky shore of the Neath river, and about
Uscoed, Eynon Gard, near Pont nedd Vachu." — Dillwyn.

Lithospermum purpuro-caruleum. "Abundant in several places on the
coast of Gower, particularly in Nicholston wood." — Dillwyn.

Anchusa sempervirens. " At Bagland near Neath, and about the ruins of
Neath Abbey." — Dillwyn.

Convolvulus sepium, var. incarnatus. Fabian's bay, and frequent about
Neath.

Soldanella. On the sand-hills between Swansea and the

Mumbles, frequent.

Statice spathulata. On the rocks between the Mumbles and Casewell
bay, in great plenty.

Andromeda polifolia. Cromlyn bog, chiefly towards its northern extremity.

Erythr^ea pulchella. Salt-house point, and frequent beyond the Mumbles.

Verbascum nigrum. Frequent about Britton ferry.

Blattaria. In fields near the Infirmary, and about Newton.

Utricularia minor. On Cromlyn bog.

Bartsia viscosa. " Plentifully in marshy fields in Cromlyn dingle and
other similar situations." — Dillwyn.

Orobanche barbata. On ivy on the walls of Oystermouth castle, and al-
so at Britton ferry.

Mentha rotundifolia. Very abundant about Britton ferry, and " at Pen-
rice castle." — Dillwyn.

Scutellaria minor. In boggy places, frequent.

Polygonum Raii. About Neath and Fabian's bay.

Bistorta. In damp meadows, but not general.

Reseda fruticulosa. Fields near the Infirmary.

Euphorbi a portlandica. Frequent about the Mumbles and Carsewell bay.

Myrica Gale. Cromlyn bog.

Acorus Calamus. " Britton ferry."— Mr. Player.

Sparganium nutans. Frequent about Cromlyn bog and Singleton marsh.

Ruppia maritima. Neath canal and Salt-house point.

564 ELECTRIC EEL AT THE ADELAIDE GALLERY.

Alisma natans. Cromlyn bog and near Singleton.

- ranunculo'ides. Skitty bogs.

Neottia spiralis. On the Town -bill and Mumbles.

Listera Nidus-avis. " In a small wood near Pondandive." — Dillwyn.

Asparagus officinalis. Singleton marsh.

Scilla verna. " Plentiful about the Mumbles light-house, and the Worms-
head.' ' — Dillwyn .

Juncus acutus. Cromlyn burrows and Britton ferry.

Narthecium ossifragum. In boggy ground, frequent.

Eriophorum vaginatum. Cromlyn bogs.

Cladium Mariscus. By the side of the canal going to Neath, and on
Cromlyn bog.

Carex dioica. " Boggy places about the waterfall at Aberdylais." — Dill.

stellulata. \

— ' curta.

strigosa. [-Cromlyn and Skitty bogs.

limosa.

ampullacea. ,

armaria. Frequent between Swansea and the Mumbles.

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS.

Electric Eel at the Adelaide Gallery. — I feel persuaded that
your readers will be interested in hearing that the Gymnotus
I described in my letter to you, is still living and thriving.
Kept in a room daily frequented by multitudes of persons,
with only a borrowed light from a skylight, and never feeling
the direct rays of the sun ; confined in a vessel in which it
cannot now stretch itself out at full length ; kept warm by
water artificially heated ; and fed with fish not indigenous to
the country it inhabits ; — what must be the power of adapta-
tion to external circumstances possessed by the animal which
admits of its not only living, but even growing and increas-
ing in strength, under such a total change of habits, food and
climate !

I believe you remember that when we first began to expe-
riment on its electrical powers, we could only produce those
phenomena which depend on the tension of the electricity,
as the spark, &c, by employing secondary currents; now,
on the contrary, we have discarded Henry's coil from our
apparatus, and invariably succeed, not only in obtaining a
direct spark, but even the deflagration of gold leaves, these
leaves being mutually attracted from a sensible distance and
burning on coming into contact : if this arises partly from
increased skill in our mode of manipulation, it must also be
assigned in an equal degree to increased power in the eel.

Nevertheless, convinced as I am that not even the vital
power of this animal can long withstand so total a change

YOUNG OF THE CROSSBILL. — ACHATINA ACICULA. 565

in its natural habits, I should be very glad to transfer it to
some Institution, where, while it could enjoy fresher air and
direct light, it would meet with attention to temperature and
cleanliness equal to what it has had from us ; and in that case
I see no reason why it might not be kept alive for years. —
Thomas Bradley, Director. — Royal Gallery of Practical Sci-
ence, Adelaide Street, Oct. 23, 1839. «

Young of Loxia curvirostra, Temm. (Cross-bill.) — On
the 10th of July, 1839, as I was riding under some fir-trees,
my attention was attracted by the peculiar note of the Loxia
curvirostra ; my stopping to pry too minutely into their ac-
tions caused them to change their quarters to an ash tree,
where they and their motions were more distinctly discernible,
and I could clearly see, and watched for a considerable time
the two old ones, in shabby plumage, and four young ones,
full two- thirds grown, which appeared very hungry and ex-
ceedingly clamorous for food, fluttering their wings, opening
their beaks, and incessantly importuning the parent birds for
sustenance ; thus proving, if additional proof were wanting,
that the cross-bills do occasionally build and breed here, al-
though it is probably of rare occurrence, which is not to be
accounted for, as so many do remain during that season of
the year when all our other birds are engaged in the usual
and necessary occupation of reproduction. — Joseph Clarke.
—Saffron Walden, Oct. 18th, 1839.

Note on Achatina acicula. — Of all the British land shells,
the remnants of this species seem to be found in the most
singular places. Instances are, I believe, recorded where
these shells have been found in Danish coffins, &c. I beg
to add another instance of this shell being found in connexion
with Danish remains. While carefully examining the tym-
panum of a skull found at Limbury, a hamlet of Luton, Bed-
fordshire, in conjunction with old pottery, urns and a key, sup-
posed to be of Danish origin, I was rather surprised to find
in addition to the perfect chain of bones, the lower two whorls
and a half of a shell, which upon examinination proved to
be the remains of Achatina acicula, (Agate shell) a species
of rare occurrence at the present time in the vicinity of Lu-
ton. How this shell could have found its way into the cavity
of the ear I do not pretend to say. I merely bring it forward
as another proof of the species having been again discovered
in connection with Danish remains. — Daniel Cooper, Sur-
geon, 82, Blackfriars Road, London.

1 For Mr. Bradley's former letter on the Gymnotus, see Mag. Nat. Hist.
Vol. ii. n. s. (1838), p. 668.

566 DERIVATION OF "ADDER."

Derivation of the Name of the Adder, [Viper). — Professor
Bell in his history of British Reptiles, when giving the ety-
mology of the word adder, as one of the names of the viper,
states that it was anciently written Nedre, which he derives
from the Saxon N<edre, nether or lower, in allusion to its
creeping position ; — a derivation too far-fetched, in my opin-
ion, when there is one much better nearer at hand, viz. —
"Neidr" the ancient British, and also the modern Welch
name of the reptile in question. In the plural form it is
much more apparent, — " Nadroedd" (the word is used for
the common snake as well as the viper) ; by only altering the
Welsh plural termination for the English one, — Nadrs, — the
name is formed at once. The change of neidr into adder is
not so bad as what has happened to a companion of it, viz.,
the change of" glein neidr'" into "adder* claim" or "snakes'
claim" the " anguinum ovum " of the ancients, the supersti-
tious virtues of which are not yet lost in the estimation of
many of the ignorant country people, although it has sunk
very much in its dignity, being now chiefly accounted valua-
ble as a cure for wens or glandular swellings of the neck, in-
stead of insuring to its possessor all sublunary prosperity, as
it used to do in ancient days. The manner of forming the
glein neidr, as preserved by tradition to the present day, and
as I have heard it related by several persons, who knew not
it had ever been described by any author, differs but little
from the account given by Pliny many centuries ago. The
modern version being that it is formed of the saliva of adders
upon the body of one of their number, which accounts for the
perforation in it. After it is fully formed it must be snatched
away by the observer (who must have concealed himself from
the observation of the adders) ; as soon as he has obtained it
he must fly with the greatest speed he can possibly exert, un-
til he crosses some stream of water, it matters not how small
it be, a running drain or ditch will suffice to stop the pursu-
ers : but if he should be overtaken by the adders, it would be
instant death to him, as from their excited state their poison
would be doubly powerful. I had one of these articles pre-
sented to me some years ago, by a believer in its virtues, in
whose family it had been for several generations. It is an
irregular, roundish bead, about ■§• of an inch long and f of an
inch in diameter ; the perforation being about J of an inch
in diameter. The colour is a bright green and the substance
apparently glassy, and it is deeply striated longitudinally. —
James Bladon. — Pontypool.

Projection of its eggs by the Crane-Fig. — Having seen it
stated in some entomological works that the eggs of the

0V1P0S1TI0N OF CRANE-FLY. — COUNT STERNBERG. 567

crane-fly and some others were propelled to a great distance
like pellets from a pop-gun, I could not conceive what power
could reside in the ovipositor to produce such effects, as from
their conformation it could not be done by the compression
of air. I at last caught a gravid female just upon the point
of laying its eggs. When it began to lay they were propel-
led about three inches in a direct line from it. I could then
by the aid of a lens perceive by the successive distension and
contraction of the last segment of the abdomen, the passage
of the egg down the egg-tube. When it came between the
valves at the apex of the abdomen it remained a short time
stationary, when I observed at the base of the valves a strong
muscular contraction, which kept increasing until the egg
was forced out by the pressure of the valves upon it. In
exactly the same manner we oftentimes see children in sport
shooting the pippins (seeds) of apples from between the tips
of the thumb and fore finger. It will be evident from the
above description that it can be only very hard or smooth-
shelled eggs that can be ejected in the manner described. —
Id.

Count Caspar Sternberg- Serowitz. — ( Born on the 6th of
January, 1761), died on the 20th of December, 1838, at Brz-
ezina, near Radnitz, in Bohemia. In literature his fame rests
chiefly on his Fossil Flora, ('Versuch einer geognostisch-bo-
tanischen Darstellung der Flora der Vorwelt, Prag. 1825'),
though his other botanical works, as that on the Saxifragea,
the Asclepiadece, and the Flora of Bohemia, are likewise held
in deserved and high esteem. In his country he will always
be honoured as one of its greatest benefactors. In 1822 the
National Museum of Prague was chiefly founded through his
exertions and liberality. He became the president of that
institution, to which he had presented his great collections
and library, and the existence of it has hitherto so much de-
pended on his individual support, that the Bohemian States
must make up the deficiency, or the institution will perish. —
TV. TVeissenborn. — Weimar.

Nature of mineral precipitates. — At the meeting of the
Society of Friends of Natural History, held at Berlin, Jan-
uary 1 5th, Mr. Link communicated some observations on the
formation of crystals. If fresh precipitates of many of the
minerals are examined, they are found to be entirely composed
of little globular bodies, which change, under the eye of the
observer, into the crystals peculiar to the metal. This, how-
ever, is not effected by their juxtaposition, but by their
bursting into each other, and uniting like soap-bubbles. —
That these globules are hollow is not only proved by their

568 EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM MR. GOULD.

difference in size in the same precipitate, but also by the
angular and irregular forms which they present when dried
up. — Id.

A valuable collection brought together in Borneo for the
Dutch government, but whose acquisition was refused by the
latter, has been bought by the government of Belgium, and
the city of Brussels, for 30,000 fr. It contains eight skele-
tons and skins of the orang-utang, skeletons of the rhinoce-
ros, tiger, bear, &c, a stuffed crocodile, 30 ft. long, several
fossil remains, and 1200 birds. The share of the government
has been distributed among the universities of Liege, Lou-
vain, Brussels, and such towns as possess Museums, for
instance, Tournay. — Id.

Of the Ushar or Abuk, (Asclepias procera) of the Senaar.
— Dr. Max Koch, a Bavarian traveller, gives the following
description in one of his letters. It is a tree with broad
leaves of a very bright green, and peculiar to the Sennaar.
The seeds of it are enveloped in a fine silk, wherefore it is
also called Asheyr (silk-tree.) In the plain of Gohr the na-
tives use that substance for the matches of their guns. The
milk-like sap which oozes from the young twigs, is collected
and sent to Jerusalem, where the druggists prescribe it
against inveterate colds. The flower is poisonous. A
French physician in Dongola was poisoned with it in coffee,
with which the dried and powdered flowers had been mixed.
— Id.

Extract of a Letter from Mr. Gould, the Ornithologist,
dated June 30, City of Adelaide, South Australia. — " I wish
it were in my power to give you a faithful picture of this
famed city of two years standing. People live in tents, and
customs are so different from what they have been used to,
that I really wonder how they reconcile themselves to their
new mode of life. On the whole, however, I think South
Australia may be considered as flourishing, and its condition
will ultimately be prosperous.

The Zoology here, from what I have already seen, is likely
to be of a most interesting description, totally different in its
nature from that of Sydney, but probably approaching nearer
in its character to the productions found beyond the Liver-
pool range, or what is more properly called the interior of
New South Wales." — J. Gould. — Addressed to Mr. Prince,
Broad Street, Golden Square.

THE MAGAZINE

OF

NATURAL HISTORY

DECEMBER, 1839.

Art. I.— Notes on Irish Natural History, more especially Ferns
By Edward Newman, Esq., F.L.S., &c.

{Continued from page 551.)

On the ruins of Castle O'Donnel I found a number of the
commoner ferns, and among them a few fronds of Scolopen-
drium vulgare. On the banks of Lough Derg, Osmunda
regalis again made its appearance in abundance. It was late
in the evening when I reached this celebrated lake, and
crossed to its wonder-working island, on which hundreds of
invalids, and cripples, and sinners, were patiently awaiting
miraculous cures for body and mind. This little island is
built to the water's edge, and a solitary sycamore is the only
tree it nourishes. I passed through Pettigoe, along the east
side of Loch Erne, and between the upper and lower lough
to Inniskillin and Manorhamilton. In approaching Sligo the
country assumed a different appearance to any I had before
seen ; the hills had rounded summits and rocky precipitous
sides. The number and variety of ferns here greatly increased;
Cystopteris fragilis was most abundant and polymorphous,
as it ever is when once established in a congenial habitat. —
Scolopendrium vulgare hung its bright green streamers from
the rocks, and filled the hedge-rows, for near Sligo there are
hedge-rows. Asplenium Adiantum-nigrum, Rut a-mur aria,
and Trichomanes were everywhere abundant, more particu-
larly on the stone walls.

At Ballisodare is a very fine rapid of the Owenbeg. This
stream is of respectable width, and roars, foams, and dashes
along over a slaty-looking bottom in fine style : the rapid is,

Vol. III.— No. 36, n. s. 3 r

570 NOTES ON IRISH NATURAL HISTORY.

properly speaking, a succession of falls; the bed of the river
seems to be broken into a series of unequal steps, ceasing on-
ly when its waters mingle with those of the Atlantic. I was
told that great numbers of salmon annually amuse themselves
by leaping at these falls, and that some sunnount them all ;
the majority however find the labour too severe, and are car-
ried back to the sea, or captured, bruised and exhausted, on
the shelves of rock. From Ballisodare to Ballina the road is
over a dreary bog, and without interest ; thence to Crossmo-
lina its character is the same, but here I left the usual track,
and, rounding the base of the huge Slieve Nephin, found a
way to Newport. Below Nephin is a finely- wooded bog;
there appeared to be nothing like cultivation, and the wood
seems quite a natural one. Newport is a miserable place ;
the traveller will find no rest there. It is the only town I had
ever entered in which I could find no inn, but here there is
none at all ; some twenty or thirty filthy spirit-shops, but no-
thing like an inn.

The next morning there was a wind blowing against which
it was all but impossible to stand ; it blew clouds of spray
off the surface of the river : however I was early on my way,
skirting Clew Bay, and gazing on its innumerable islands. — -
I would fain have gathered some information about these
beautiful spots of verdure ; but alas ! everything here is to be
received with hesitation. The number of islands is variously
stated by almost every one you meet, but the favourite num-
ber is three hundred and sixty-five — one for every day in
the year, a number corresponding precisely with the lakes
of Glengariff. Of these islands one hundred and seventy are
well cultivated and inhabited. Looking over this wilderness
of isles, Croagh Patrick fills up the horizon, its summit hid-
den in the clouds. On the banks of Clew Bay I found Erica
Mediterranea in the greatest abundance ; I first saw it close
to the road, after passing the little village of Molyrhany, — a
cluster of some dozen or eighteen cabins, and from this spot
as you enter Coraan Achill it is scattered in profusion over
hundreds of acres : I speak of the heath known at present
by our botanists as E7'ica Mediterranean but I have heard
many doubts expressed as to the propriety of this name,
and from what I could gather I am inclined to believe that
this heath will turn out an undescribed species. In walking
among this heath I found it, on the average, up to my shoul-
ders in height, some rather higher, and a good deal much
lower. Below the heath the bog was thickly sprinkled with
Pinguicula Lusitanica.

At Achill Sound there is an inn lately erected, and here a

NOTES ON IRISH NATURAL HISTORY 571

ferry-boat takes you across to the island of Achill. The sea
was very rough, the raft had broken adrift with the violence
of the waves, and the people said it was " too severe " to at-
tempt the passage. However, there appeared nothing worth
waiting for, so, after talking a good bit, the raft was obtained,
but directly I was on board a wave gave it a cant, and T un-
fortunately lost my centre of gravity, fell against a seat, and
in an instant lay sprawling on the bottom, having scarified
one shin in performing the summerset. I mention this, as a
hint to future pedestrians, because the wound was a constant
walking-companion the rest of my journey, and a considerable
drawback to its pleasure. At night I reached " the Settle-
ment," an establishment for the purpose of inducing the na-
tives to renounce the doctrines of the Church of Rome for
those of the Church of England.

The island of Achill is more like a foreign land than any I
have visited ; the natives reside in huts, which a good deal
resemble those of the Esquimaux Indians ; they are without
chimneys or windows, and the roof seems continuous with
the walls : the interior is generally undivided, and is tenanted
by men, women, children, pigs and poultry, and often goats
and cows. These little cabins or huts are built in what may
be called loose clusters, varying from twenty to eighty in a
cluster ; these clusters or villages are sixteen in number, some
of them are summer residences only, and are entirely deserted
in the winter; — others winter residences only, and deserted
in the summer. The island of Achill is very mountainous :
it rises principally towards the west, where it attains a great
elevation, and then falls perpendicularly to the sea : it seems
like a remote corner of some vast continent, which has sunk
for ever beneath the waves : its soil, like that of the greater
part of the west of Ireland, is bog, or, as it is termed, turf,
and this is covered with heath and sedge, intermixed here
and there with a fine velvety turf. The inhabitants possess
a good number of cows, sheep, and goats ; the latter are al-
most invariably white, and ramble the mountains in large
flocks. The heaths are Calluna vulgaris, Erica cinerea and
Tetralix, of all which I found beautiful white varieties. Se-
dum anglicum occurs in great abundance on the rocks, and
Anagallis tenella forms, in many places, a pink turf, so pro-
fusely does it flower.

In birds the island appears to be poor ; it is doubtless vi-
sited by a variety of sea birds, but I saw nothing but gulls
and terns. Eagles are very abundant, particularly (perhaps
exclusively) Aquila albicilla : and of hawks I saw several
species. The red-legged crow breeds in the cliffs; and I

57*2 NOTES ON IRISH NATURAL HISTORY.

found a colony of this bird in a look-out station, built when
our government was afflicted with the Napoleonphobia, but
now a mass of ruins : these birds did not seem abundant. —
Curlews appeared to be breeding here ; their whistle was in-
cessant, and the old ones would constantly rise before me, and
counterfeit inability to fly, as if desirous of enticing me away
from their nests or young.

The first morning after my arrival in Achill, I walked over
the cliffs at Cim to Achill-head. The cliffs at Cim are said
to be more than 1000 feet in perpendicular height; Achill-
head, the extreme western point, is much lower, I should fan-
cy less than 500 feet: but turning thence northward, I reached
the summit of Slieve Croaghan, a height more than double
that of Cim, and sliced down perpendicularly to the Atlantic.
I imagine this cliff has never been measured ; it was variously
stated to me at 2000, 2300, and 2600 feet : I am not compe-
tent to form an accurate opinion of its height, but as I lay
quietly looking over it, I could not hear the huge waves of the
Atlantic, as they broke in foam along its base. This might
arise in part from the roaring sound of the wind among the
rocks around me, or even from the wind sweeping away the
sound of the waves in some other direction ; but it gave an
idea of vast depth that I never before realized. From this
point I coasted the north of the island, and found near the
margin of the cliff a beautiful little fresh-water lake, surround-
ed by an amphitheatre of hills. I should think its surface
was 600 feet above the sea, and its distance from the edge of
the cliff scarcely 300. I doubt whether any Englishman but
myself has ever seen this lone and beautiful sheet of water ;
its singularly round form, the depth of the basin in which it
reposes, the. precipitous sides of that basin, its height above
the sea, — all these are characters of no ordinary interest. As it
was not yet evening, and the weather very fine, I ascended
Slieve Mor on my way to the Settlement, an operation of an
hour and a half, in order to see the sun set in the ocean from
that elevated point. It was a glorious sight, but when he was
gone night came on almost immediately, and I had to find
my way to the Settlement after nightfall, in a country to which
I was an utter stranger, where there was no track, and no tree,
house, or any other object to mark the way.

The next day I walked along the top of the cliff south-
ward ; this height is called Menaan ; it is the favourite resort
of eagles, hawks, gulls, and red-legged crows. Although
magnificent in comparison with any cliffs I have seen in Eng-
land,— and although the natives collecting sea- wrack on the
sands below were visible only as specks, the nature of which

NOTES ON IRISH NATURAL HISTORY. 573

I could not have determined with the naked eye; — yet Me-
naan is a mere plaything compared with the stupendous Croag-
han, and sinks into insignificance. The summit of this cliff
is thickly covered with plants, and I doubt not would amply
reward the botanist who would carefully explore it. The
plants, dwarfish though they be, are not sufficiently humble to
escape the power of the Atlantie breezes. There is an extent
of miles covered with a dense net-work of vegetation, every
twig of which leans away from the ocean; this network or mat
springs beneath the feet with great elasticity : it is principally
composed of Salix herbacea, Salix repens, Arbutus Uva-urs?y
Juniperus nanus, Calluna vulgaris, Erica cinerea, and a va-
riety of Carices. Descending from these heights I visited a
farm in the bosom of the mountains ; it is the only one of any
extent in the island, and is occupied by a Mr. Long. I no-
tice this farm as bearing on the extreme productiveness of
the soil of Achill ; it had abundant crops of oats and pota-
toes, the former so heavy that the only fear respecting them
was that they would be laid by the high winds. The soil
will produce oats and wheat, year after year, without manure,
but wheat is not a desirable crop on account of the want of a
good market. Mr. Long's garden contained cabbages, sa-
voys, sea-cale, broad beans, peas, early potatoes, carrots, pars-
nips, lettuces, onions and turnips, all of them kept free from
weeds, and in a slate of vigour and luxuriance that would not
be despised by the London market-gardeners. The farm con-
sists of 600 acres. From this farm to the village of Dukinelly
the land is well cultivated, although divided into infinitely
small patches. The entire island is the nominal property of
the Marquis of Sligo, but let for ever to Sir Richard O'Don-
nel, who, when the land is reclaimed and producing crops,
obtains the enormous rent of one shilling per Irish acre from
his tenantry.

The natives of Achill are charged with being thieves and
murderers ; and if I were to place full reliance on all I heard
at the Settlement, they would appear to be so. Mr. Long,
however, with everything constantly exposed, — walls and
hedges being here unknown, and living amongst a population
from whom he has no power at all to defend himself, has ne-
ver lost even a potato. I allude not to this subject politically ;
but bearing in mind solely the natural history of the island and
its capability of improvement, I pronounce without hesita-
tion, that if goodness of soil, lowness of rent, cheapness of
labour and safety of property be recommendations, — then
that no spot I have ever seen is more likely to reward the
emigrant than the island of Achill. Would that some unpo-

3 it 3

574 NOTES ON IRISH NATURAL HISTORY.

litical and imsectarian philanthropists, — men who took a hu-
man view of the human wants and human failings of these
poor islanders, — would settle among them, and place in their
hands the plough and the spade, teach the children to read
and write, the boys to make shoes and coats, to fish, and to
dig, and rake, and sow, and reap, and build houses, and the
girls to knit, and spin, and make gowns, — use them like
brothers, sisters, and children, — then might this island be-
come a centre of happiness and prosperity.

At Mr. Long's, on the banks thrown up to divide the fields,
and in land not yet fully reclaimed, I observed Osmunda re-
galis in most luxuriant bushes ; he complained of it as a weed
that gave much trouble. Aspidium dilatatum was equally
common : in the former part of my paper, at page 551, I spoke
of the Irish concave variety as being the Asp. dumetorum of
Mackay, supposing that the Asp. dumetorum of Smith was dif-
ferent. I have since learned from Mr. Moore, of Dublin, that
he has seen the very plants on which Sir J. E. Smith founded
his species ; they are still growing in the Botanic Garden at
Liverpool, and are decidedly of that variety called dumetorum
by Mackay, concavum by Babington, and recurvum byBree,
in < Mag. Nat. Hist.' vol. iv. p. 162> fig. 32,— the figure is
a very good one. I saw the specimens myself when at Liver-
pool towards the end of August last, but not meeting with
Mr. Sheppard the curator, I was not aware they were those to
which Sir J. E. Smith alludes. I am anxious to correct my
error on this subject, as the observation implied an inaccu-
racy on the part of Mr. Mackay. Mr. Babington' s plant (the
identical specimen is before me) is elongated, and rendered
more vigorous by having grown in the vicinity of a waterfall.

Coasting the island as nearly as I could accomplish it from
Dukinelly, I at length reached Achill Sound, and then cross-
ed to the inn on the other side. Near this place I observed
a great quantity of heath ; some of the Erica cinerea being
beautifully white. I also gathered what at the time appeared
to me an unusual variety of Erica Tetralix, the leaves being
shorter, broader, and very white beneath ; I afterwards learned
that this is the Erica Mackaiana. I am too shallow a bo-
tanist to offer any opinion as to its being specifically distinct,
particularly as it is stamped with the weighty authority of Sir
W. J. Hooker.

Returning over Coraan Achill to Newport, I bent my course
southward to Westport, and thence to the little place called
Leenanc, at the head of the Killery. The scenery here is wild
and picturesque ; the rocks are covered with Saxifraga um-
broza, I use the name in ignorance, not knowing the genera

NOTES ON IRISH NATURAL HISTORY. 575

and species into which that plant has been divided : I had
better say " London Pride," for we cockneys, who cultivate
the plant in our sooty gardens, generally combine the species
under this one familiar term. It is very delightful to see this
plant in its native wilds, adorning the rugged rocks with its
elegant panicle of flowers ; in such situations it seems to pos-
sess an interest which we never attach to it in a state of cul-
tivation.

Immediately on starting from the little inn at Leenane, or
" Jack Joyce's " as it is usually termed, I found the first spe-
cimen I had seen of the Irish heath, — Menziesia poli folia :
up to that moment I was unacquainted with the plant, and
its appearance was as pleasing as it was unexpected. The
scenery here is fine ; the Killery, a little creek or arm of the
sea, runs up to Leenane between two picturesque chains of
hills, and travellers usually hire a boat and disport themselves
on the water, in order to obtain a better view of these hills.
An excellent road has lately been made from Leenane to Clif-
den, but the day being very fine, I prolonged the journey by
turning off to the left, among the hills, and was repaid by
some very pretty scenery. Behind me, or rather, to my left,
rose that singular group of hills called the Twelve Pins, and
before me, through occasional openings, I frequently saw the
sea. There is but little cultivation in these parts ; the bog
appears rich, and capable of producing good crops ;, the
heaths are luxuriant beyond anything I had ever seen ; the
day was very warm and the walking good, the bog being
firm and elastic, and in the best possible state for progression.
It was evening when I reached the little inn at Clifden.

The next morning I arrived at Roundstone, a place with
which a naturalist must be pleased. On approaching it, an
enormous seal {Halichceriis GrypJms), apparently 8 or 9 feet
long, and of a light or whitish colour, with a black face, and
another, much less and nearly black, were basking in the sun-
shine on a rock in the bay. These seals are most abundant
all round the coast of Cunnemara, from Galway to the Kil-
lery ; indeed I imagine on nearly every part of the coast of
Ireland : they are strong, resolute, and ferocious animals, and
totally different from the Phoca vitulina, which is, in these
respects, the very reverse. Halicharus Gryphus grows oc-
casionally to an enormous size, sometimes attaining even the
length of 12 feet; and Mr. Ball of Dublin told me of one he
had killed at Howth harbour, which he believed to weigh five
hundred pounds. Phoca vitulina occurs not unfrequently on
the north coast of Ireland and among the Scotch islands, but
it appears to be nearly expelled from the southern half of Ire-

576 NOTES ON IRISH NATURAL HISTORY.

land by the more powerful and savage species above referred
to, much in the same manner as the old English black rat has
yielded to the more powerful animal from Asia, known as the
brown or Norway rat.

I ascended Urrisbeg, a rugged little hill at the back of the
town, and was very much delighted with the singular view
from its summit : the sinuosity of the ocean-coast, and the
multiplicity of islands in the sea, and of lakes on the land, is
very remarkable. All over this district Menziesia grows in
the utmost profusion, and at the base of Urrisbeg occurs Eri-
ca Mediterranean though not abundantly, and here it was first
discovered by Mr. Mackay. This plant has since been re-
corded as occurring in En-is, and on the side of the Mullrea
mountain, near the Killery ; but I believe I have the pleasure
of first recording its most abundant habitat — Coraan Achill.
At the foot of Urrisbeg, on the shore of Lough Bulard, Mr.
Babington found Adiantum Capillus- Veneris. When at
Roundstone, I was not aware of the exact locality, and
searched for this rare plant in vain, having no more precise
habitat than "near Roundstone." But though unsuccessful
in this instance, I was delighted with the variety of ferns
which I here found among the boulders by the sea. Aspidi-
um aculeatum and dilatatum, Nephrodium filix-mas, Athy-
rium jilix-foemina, Blechnum boreale, Asplenium marinum,
Aspl. Adiantum-nigrum, Aspl. Tricliomanes, Aspl. Ruta-mu-
raria, Pteris aquilina, and Osmnnda regalis, are crowded
together in profusion and endless variety. In the evening I
dined with some great men's great men, or rent-collectors for
land-proprietors, and from them I learned much as to the fish-
ing &c. in this district. The salmon-fisheries are perhaps the
best in the world : about four miles from Roundstone is one
taken by a Scotchman, in which, the day I was there, two
hundred and eighty-seven salmon were taken. The contract-
or, I was told, had taken the fishery at 2d. per fish. The
fishery was the property of Mr. Martin of Ballinahinch.

On our breakfast-table next morning were herrings, two
kinds of trout, and salmon, all three in the perfection of fresh-
ness; indeed the fish of the west of Ireland is beyond all
comparison the finest in flavour that I ever ate ; it is fresh,
and in all probability had been swimming at large within an
hour of its being placed on the table. The white trout of the
west of Ireland is a fish with which I was before unacquaint-
ed ; as a species it is perfectly distinct from the salmon or trout
Mr. Yarrell, in his ' History of British Fishes,' vol. ii. p. 37,*
says that the Salmo trutta of Linnaeus, the sea trout of Flem-
ing, and his salmon trout, is the white trout of Ireland ; but

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER. 577

there is not a close correspondence between the two. In con-
tradistinction to the common trout, the flesh of the white trout
is of richer flavour, and of a deeper orange colour ; its skin is
much thicker and more oily, its colour bright silvery, with
the exception of the back, which is darker ; it is destitute of
orange spots. It is taken abundantly in salt water, and very
seldom in fresh.

After breakfast I resumed my knapsack and turned my back
on Roundstone, amidst pelting rain. I saw two eagles soar-
ing in circles far above the summit of Urrisbeg, and others
sailing majestically on their way to and from the Twelve Pins.
I stopped awhile at the salmon-fishery : to this spot the ang-
lers of England — the real knowing ones — find their way,
and, enveloped in Mackintoshes, stand for hours at the pools,
whipping them with a fly. I saw an extremely fashionable-
looking man at this locale; he was accompanied by a Mr. Larry,
a very knowing native, who killed the fish of which he — the
Englishman — was to be supposed the executioner. The
salmon were pounded in, like sheep in a fold, and patiently
awaited the evening's hawl; the Englishman threw his fly with
untiring diligence, and drew it spinning over the water ; the
huge salmon leaped around it almost every second, and I saw
Larry hawl to shore a fish of at least eight pounds weight ;
this will doubtless cut a conspicuous figure in my unknown
countryman's journal : it was on the 17th of July, 1839.

Ballinahinch, like most of the towns laid down in the maps
of Cunnemara, is a single house, the residence of the Martin
of Galway for the time being, a man possessing land suffi-
cient for a German principality. It is a pleasant spot, sur-
rounded by the wildest scenery that can be imagined, and the
bog half covered with the beautiful Menziesia.

(To be continued.)

Art. II.— Oh the Natural History of the German Marmot (Ham-
ster). By W. Weissenborn, Ph. D.

(Continued from page 536.)

Hybernation. — About the beginning or middle of October
the hamsters shut their burrows, first the creeping-holes and
then the plunging-holes. With occasional interruptions,
they fill the whole length of the passages, with earth formed
into little rounded lumps of the size of a pea or French bean,
which, though they be rammed together very firmly, and ef-

578 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER.

fectually keep out the cold, yet admit of a partial circulation
of air. The nest is of the average size of an ox-bladder, and
filled with the softest straw. It communicates with the store-
chambers, as before stated ; and the animal continues awake
for about two months, during which it consumes about two
thirds of its stores and becomes very fat, till the winter fairly
sets in, when it becomes torpid. After the middle of Febru-
ary one generally finds the first hamsters that are awake ; ■
but unless the sun shine very warm, they do not open their
holes, but occupy themselves with digging new canals, &c,
as it would seem merely for the sake of exercise. At this
season one finds but two or three handfuls of corn left. About
the middle of March they usually begin to open their bur-
rows, commencing with the plunging-hole, which they throw
open very widely, so that it resembles the burrow of a rabbit.
They abandon their winter-burrows soon after, and dig new
ones ; they take rambles and collect young weeds, as well as
the fresh-sown summer corn, whereby they become very inju-
rious. The male awakes from his winter sleep sooner than
the female; and herein we may observe a very interesting pro-
vision of nature. The female, on account of the care neces-
sary to be bestowed on her progeny, not having time to collect
so large a store as the male, digs her winter-burrow much
deeper, whereby she the sooner becomes torpid, and awakes
later than the male ; and but for this many would die of hun-
ger. All the hamsters which have been dug out in winter
were males, the females lying so deep that the traces of their
burrow have been lost before getting at them. They seldom
open their holes before the beginning of April.

When a torpid hamster is dug out, it is found lying on one
side, rolled up in a lump ; the head being under the belly,
which is embraced by the fore-paws, the hind-paws being
joined above the snout. The animal is perfectly clean, and
the hairs, especially the whiskers, beautifully arranged. The
hairs are stiff, and their becoming pliant marks the first stage
of the animal's awaking. The eyes are closed ; and if open-
ed by artificial means, they shut again spontaneously. The
animal does not breathe. When opened in this torpid state,
it does not show any symptom of feeling pain, although the

1 As an exception, I have a few times seen hamsters, even at an earlier
season, basking before the creeping-hole of their burrows, in the sunshine of
a bright winter day. The creeping -hole was thrown wide open on such oc-
casions; the animals retreated on my approach ; and had they not, in every
instance of that sort, peeped out again in defiance, with their well-known
squeaking-, I could not positively state that I had seen hamsters behaving
thus in the middle of winter.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER. 579

respiration returns at long intervals ; the heart contracts only
fourteen or fifteen times in a minute ; whereas, in the animal
when awake, it does so at least one hundred and fifty times.
The blood is far more bright and fluid than in summer, and
its surface is covered with oily spots. The intestines are mo-
tionless, and neither alcohol nor sulphuric acid are able to
make them contract : they are partly filled with chyme and
excrements. The fat is rather solid, and the bladder partly
filled with urine. A torpid hamster may be carried in the
pocket for miles from the fields without awaking. If brought
into a moderately warm room it gradually awakes : the feet
by degrees assume a more natural position ; the breathing
begins with deep and rare inspirations ; the animal is then
sensible to stimuli of various kinds ; it stretches itself, utters
a disagreeable rattling sound, and at last opens its eyes. It
then totters about as if intoxicated, and frequently falls on
one side in trying to attain a sitting posture. When this point
has been gained it remains quiet for a while, then walks about
and directly begins to eat if food be thrown before it. The
time in which they become perfectly awake in a moderately
warm room, is two hours in very cold weather, when their
sleep is proportionately sound, but much less in warm weather.
The principal external cause of the torpidity of the ham-
ster is the lowness of the temperature of the medium in which
it happens to be. Underground a temperature of + 6° or 7°
Reaum. is competent to effect it ; when kept in a box above
ground, the animal will fall asleep at a temperature of +5°
R., but awake from time to time. In heated rooms the state
of torpidity never takes place ; but although the hamster will
thus sometimes live through the winter, it is drowsy, ill, and
often dies. It is evident that the closing of the burrows, by
which the external agents are in a great measure excluded,
must be instrumental in bringing about the torpid state much
earlier than it would otherwise take place. Then, I suspect,
the influence of the earth itself has a similar tendency ; this
opinion I may support by the following observation. In my
youth, in company with a few more boys, I once gave chase
to a pair of dormice [Myoxus nitela). We secured one, the
other entered a hole in the slope of a sandy hill. I went home
to fetch the necessary instruments and returned in about half
an hour, and after digging only a length of a few feet, I found
the dormouse fast asleep, though the burrow continued much
farther. Thinking I had killed the animal with the pickaxe,
I took it carefully in my hand, when, after having handled it
a short time, it made its escape so rapidly that only the skin
of its tail remained between my fingers. I succeeded how-

580 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER.

ever in catching it again, and found that it had sustained no
other injury.

As to the physiological points which appear to be most
closely related to the hybernation, they are, 1st, the great de-
velopment of the venous in proportion to the arterial system ;
2ndly, the peculiar composition of the blood, which never per-
fectly coagulates, the more solid parts retaining a certain de-
gree of fluidity, and the more watery portion not becoming
transparent and nearly colourless, as in most other animals,
but constituting a crimson-coloured fluid ; when the hamster
is torpid, these qualities of the blood exist to a greater degree
than in summer : and lastly, the condition of the fat, which,
as in other winter-sleepers, for instance, the badger, hedge-
hog, dormouse, bat &c. is oily, and chiefly composed of elaine. x

Injury and Use. — As the hamsters consume a great quan-
tity of valuable green fodder as well as corn, from the time it
begins to ripen, during spring, summer, and autumn, — and as
an old one sometimes lays up a winter store of 1 cwt. of
horse-beans, or 65 lbs. of corn, &c, which is lost to the pro-
prietor or farmer, it may be imagined what a calamity this
animal must be to the agricultural population, where the soil
is favorable to its excessive multiplication, and where no ex-
traordinary means are resorted to, in order to check its pro-
pagation. It is true that nature herself puts a stop to the
hamsters1 multiplying to an indefinite extent, by epizootics,
or other causes, which cannot be precisely determined ;2 but
she does so much later than the interest of man requires. —
The parishes which are much infested with this nuisance,
have therefore, from an early period, paid premiums out of
their public money for dead hamsters which were brought to
the proper office. Latterly this has been done in several do-
minions of Germany with more regularity, and more systemat-
ically than before ; and as 1 think it will interest the readers
of this journal, I shall communicate here an extract from the
official records kept at the mansion-house of Goth a, and com-
prehending a period of twenty-one years. It commences in
1817, when a general crusade was undertaken, which had the

1 Haller's opinion, that the right auricle of the heart loses its sensibility
latest, among all the organs, is confirmed in a striking manner in the in-
stance of the hamster. If, in a living hamster, the heart he exposed by
laying open the chest, it will continue to heat for about seven minutes, then
become motionless for a short time, whereupon the right auricle begins to
beat alone, the pulsations being at first about 110 in a minute, continuing
for an hour and a half or even two hours, and becoming gradually slower,
till at last only two are observed within a minute.

2 Migrations of this animal have never been observed, as far as I know ;
but in some vears it is scarce, without the cause being known.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER. 581

effect of greatly reducing the number of hamsters ; and since
that period the magistracy have succeeded in preventing the
multiplication of the animal from becoming a public calamity.

Years.

1817 ...,

Number of Hamsters delivered
at the mansion-house of Gotha.

111,817

Sums paii

Doll.

.. 2,237

.. 197

.. 285

.. 103

.. 122

.. 273

88

.. 181

.. 205

.. 148

.. 320

.. 125

.. 112

.. 234

.. 397

.. 186

20

49

39

21

43

i in Premiums,
Gros. Pfen.
19 7

1818 ...

13,054

21 1

1819 ...

22,370

14 7

1820 ...

7,331

14 6

1821 ...

8,689

20 8

1822 ...

19,087

14 6

1823 ...

5,429

23 1

1824 ...

12,084

23 10

1825 ...

14,248

15 0

1826 ...

7,002

7 10

1827 ...

14,735

19 8

1828 ....

6,133

13 7

1829 ...,

5,686

11 3

1830 ...

10,049

0 i

7 9

1831 ...

18,953

1832 ...,

8,288

9 8

1833 ....

1834 ...,

886

2,692

19 7
15 9

1835 ....

2,282

4 3

1836 ....

1,101

3 6

1837 ....

1,923

0 0

Total, 286,839 5,396 19 91

During this whole period old females were paid for at the
rate of 1 groschen (1 Jd.) each, old males at 6, 4, or 3 pfennige
in different years, and young ones at 1 pfennig2 throughout.
If we look back to more remote times, we find that in the
years 1699, 1710, 1751, and 1761, orders were issued by the
government of Gotha to destroy the hamsters. They must
have been very numerous in the beginning of the eighteenth
century, as in 1721, 54,429 (19,145 old and 35,284 young)
hamsters were paid for at the mansion-house of Gotha, as
well as 25,707 in the neighbouring villages. After the mid-
dle of the same century their numbers had decreased, as the
registers kept at the mansion-house of Gotha record 27,574
(6629 old and 20,945 young) from Michaelmas 1768 to Mi-
chaelmas 1769, and 22,812 (7244 old and 15,568 young),
during the twelve months beginning with Michaelmas 1771.
It ought to be understood that the whole of the fields be-

1 From this table it appears that very wet years are as favourable to the
increase of the hamster as dry and hot ones. For 1817 was a very wet year
as well as its predecessor, and yet in the five years of 1822, 1825, 1827, 1830
and 1831, the hamsters contrived to become comparatively very numerous.

2 There are 12 pfennige to a groschen. One fourth of the premiums was
paid out of the public funds, and three fourths by the proprietors or farmers.

58*2 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER.

longing to the town of Gotha comprise an area of less than
7000 English acres.

Although the injury done by the hamsters greatly overbalan-
ces their usefulness, yet the latter is by no means trifling.
They firstly destroy a great many field-mice, larvae, insects,
and other vermin ; then their fur is esteemed for lining coats,
night-gowns, &c, as being light and durable. A good one
is paid at the rate of 1 Jd. Lastly, their flesh is a very good
and wholesome dish, and but for the stupid prejudice which
prevails against it, the more easy classes of society might
relish it as much as the ancient Romans did that of marmots
and dormice.1 However, it is thrown away to rot, and
thought fit food only for gipsies or the poorest people, who
do consume it in some neighbourhoods. The gardeners of
Erfurt do, and the poor people in Silesia are said to eat a
great many hamsters. Hunerwolf (see Ephem. Nat. Cur.
Dec. II. Ao. viii. obs. 16, pag. 59) says that a poor old la-
bourer at Arnstadt in Thuringia, who had for some time
wholly subsisted on hamster-corn and hamster-meat, died of
a sort of leprosy. This is the only instance in which bad
consequences have been ascribed to that description of food,
and the conclusion is evidently fallacious, as the man in
question was probably affected with scabies senilis.

Besides, the stores which the hamsters collect in their
burrows are partially reclaimed by such people as possess or
farm no land. Where hamsters abound, they effect a sort
of equitable arrangement between the proprietors or farmers
and the cottagers. The hamster insists on his natural right
to steal the corn, and the cottager avails himself of the posi-
tive law to sacrifice the thief and possess himself of the stolen
property. At Gotha the hamster-diggers have to take out a
license. They are mostly labourers or soldiers, and if skilled
in this branch of their profession they gain a good livelihood.
From March till St. John's day, when the fur of the hamster
is finest, they dig after the animal merely for the sake of the
fur and the premium, which they get on producing the skins
at the mansion-house, where the tails are cut off and burnt.
The hamster-diggers have the right to dig even in the fields
sown with white crops till St. John's day, but they must fill
the excavation again with the earth, which they need not do
in the stubble fields. Then there is a pause till the winter-
corn is cut, when they dig both for the animal and the store

1 For the table, the hamster should he obtained about the time that the
animal first becomes torpid (about the beginning of November), when it is
in high condition, and may be killed without exciting its passion.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER. 583

in the burrows, which however is very small at that season,
and never exceeds 8 lbs. But after the summer- corn has
been reaped, and throughout the autumn, the trouble of the
hamster diggers is much better repaid, as they often find
50lbs. or more of corn in one burrow. The wheat and rye
are cleaned and washed by them, and after having become
dry they are as good for household purposes as any other.
Barley, oats, peas, beans, french-beans, &c, obtained in this
manner are commonly sold at half the price of what they
cost in the market, and used for feeding pigs or poultry, with-
out the same careful preparation to which wheat and rye are
subjected. At the season when the hamsters are persecuted
only for obtaining the skins, a skilful hamster-digger may
catch (and has often caught) as many as 120, both young
and old, on the same day ; and in autumn, when two com-
rades commonly work together, a pair of hamster-diggers
have sometimes obtained 400lbs. of corn, &c, within the
same time.

Methods of catching and destroying the hamster. —The
most usual way in which the animal is caught, is by digging
it out of its burrow. For this operation a spade is used, and
a peculiar kind of instrument consisting of an iron rod about
a foot and half long, and having a sharp hook on one end,
and a little shovel or scraper on the other. The hook is used
to pull the animal out as soon as it makes its appearance in
the course of the operation of digging, which begins from
the creeping-hole ; the scraper serves to keep the canal clear
and to loosen the contents of the store-chambers. Besides,
the people have sacks, into which to put the hamsters, corn,
&c. They see the burrows at a considerable distance by the
heap of earth. When this is small, and the holes are narrow
and little distant from each other, they know that the inha-
bitant is young, that there is scarcely any corn, and that they
will get only 1 pfennig for the trouble of digging out such a
burrow, as the skin is of no value. Therefore they leave
such a hamster alone, that he may grow old and profitable.
But if the burrow have many plunging-holes, which are
smooth and not mouldy, they know that it is inhabited by a
female with her young. It is then worth while to dig after a
litter of from five to eighteen young ones, which are got at
with but little trouble. Formerly, when only 3 pfen. were
paid for the old one at the mansion-house, she was allowed
to escape, in order that she might bring more grist to the mill
by producing a fresh litter, and she is sure to make the best
of her way by digging onward in an horizontal direction ; but
now, as her price is 1 gro. there is inducement enough to dig

584 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HAMSTER.

after her, and quarter is no longer granted her. If the heap
before the creeping-hole be very large, and mixed with much
chaff and pieces of straw, — and if a well-trodden plunging-
hole exist at the distance of six feet or more, — the burrow
belongs to an old male ; and the hamster- digger exults in the
prospect of a good prize. If the season be not far advanced,
the people possess themselves only of the stores, sparing the
old knowing fellow, not out of gratitude, but that he may col-
lect another store that very season. No legislation, unless
incompatible with true justice can prevent the hamster-dig-
gers from doing what they think most profitable to them-
selves, so far as the killing or sparing of the animals is con-
cerned. x

The hamsters are also easily caught in traps set before their
holes. The different kinds of rat-traps will answer the pur-
pose with more certainty for the hamster than for the rat, the
former being far less cautious. The trap in most general use
is a pot dug into the ground, the cover of which shuts when
the hamster enters to take the bait. There is also a very sim-
ple trap, the construction of which is founded on the irritable
disposition of the hamster. In the middle of a board ten
inches square, is made a hole four inches in diameter. A
strong nail projects from each side of the board, near the rim
of the hole ; the sharp points of the nails are bent into the
hole, so as to be opposite each other, with a distance of about
two inches between them. There are nooses at the four cor-
ners of the board, which is fixed over the plunging-hole by
means of pegs driven into the ground. In trying to leave or
to enter its burrow, the hamster glides over one of the nails
and is pricked by the other, upon which the animal gets into
a passion, and in rushing violently backwards, after having
been repeatedly wounded by the point opposite, he is impaled
by the nail over which he first glided.

The animal may also be forced to leave its burrow by pour-
ing into it a large quantity of water, which is perhaps the
most convenient method, if a large tun or a cart can be had,
and the object be merely to destroy the animal, without ob-
taining its stores.

Weimar, August 25th, 1839.

1 The laws which were given for the cercles of Magdeburg and Halber-
stadt, in August 1696 and May 1714, were more arbitrary. The proprietors
were ordered to deliver at the justice's, each year, fifteen hamster-skins for
every rood (30 acres) of land ; and the cottagers had each to furnish ten
skins. For every skin that was wanting in these numbers, they had to pay
a fine of 2 groschen.

NATURAL HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 585

Art. III. — Zoological Motes on a few Species obtained from the
South West of Scotland. By William Thompson, Esq., F.L.S.
&c. — Vice-President of the Natural History Society of Belfast.

I shall here follow up a few notes commenced in this Ma-
gazine in 1838, (p. 18), with reference to the occurrence of
some of the rarer, or otherwise interesting species, procured
within a limited portion of the south-west of Scotland.

Chestnut Shrew. Sorex castaneus, Jenyns., ' Ann. Nat.
Hist.' v. ii. p. 43. From the neighbourhood of Ballantrae1
I have received specimens of shrews, which, from agreement
with Mr. Jenyns' description, I am disposed to regard as the
Sor. castaneus. Some of the species belonging to this genus
approach so closely, that it is almost necessary to have a
comparison of specimens before a certain conclusion can be
arrived at, — in the present instance I have not had this ad-
vantage, but judge from the comparison of the individuals
under consideration, with others belonging to the most nearly
allied species, Sor. tetragonurus, of which I possess two
specimens (of different ages) so named by Mr. Jenyns, — the
one taken at Twizell, and favoured me by P. J. Selby, Esq.,
the other taken by myself at Leamington, Warwickshire.

Ciliated Shrew. Sorex ciliatus, Sowerby ; Sor. remifer
of subsequent British authors. Of this well-marked species
I obtained, when at Ballantrae, in August last, an individual
taken in the immediate neighbourhood.

Bank Vole. Arvicola pratensis, Baillon; Bell's 'Brit.
Quad.' p. 330. Of this handsome species, distinguished as
British only a few years since, I have obtained two specimens
from the vicinity of Ballantrae. Mr. Macgillivray mentions
its occurrence at " Kelso and Bathgate, in the county of Lin-
lithgow." * Naturalists' Library, Brit. Quad.' p. 272.

Pomarine Skua. Lestris Pomarinus, Temm. I am in-
debted to a friend for the examination of a specimen of this
bird, which was kindly brought from Ballantrae to Belfast
for the purpose ; it is a young bird of the year, and was "found
dead on the beach near this village, in the winter of 1837-8.
The following measurements may perhaps enable any one
interested in the subject, to judge that it is the species here
set down.

1 To my friend John Sinclaire, Esq. and to Dr. Wylie, I am indebted
for all specimens hence obtained.

3 s

586 NATURAL HISTORY OF

IN. LINES.

Length total 19 9

„ excluding central tail feathers (which are rounded

at the extremity) 19 2

„ of wing 14 2

„ of hill above, measuring curve 1 7

„ of hill to rictus 2 3

„ of naked tibia „ 7

„ of tarsus 2 1

„ of middle toe and nail 2 1

Two-spotted Goby. Gobius Ruthensparii> Euph. Go-
bius bipunctatus, Yarr. — Of this fish, I, a few years ago, ob-
tained specimens from Portpatrick, through the kindness of
Capt. Fayrer, R.N. It is recorded as inhabiting the eastern
coast of Scotland, by Dr. Johnston and Dr. Parnell.

Variable Wrasse. Labrm variabilis, Thomps. ; " Lab. ma-
culatus, Bloch. ; I have seen taken commonly on the rocky
coasts of Wigton and Ayrshire. It seems common in such
localities around the British Islands.

Montagu's Sucker, Liparis Montagui, Flem., has on
two occasions been sent me from Portpatrick by Capt. Fayrer.
In one instance four individuals were taken at the same time
adhering to sea- weed (Fuci) after it had been thrown ashore
for manure. Dr. Johnston has met with this species on the
coast of Berwickshire.

^Equoreal Pipe-fish. Syngnathus mquoreus, Linn. I
have been favoured with a beautiful and perfect specimen of
this fish, 20 inches in length, and which, along with a still
larger one, was found dead on the beach near Ballantrae in
the summer of 1838. In this specimen, as in the last I noticed,
(Ann. Nat. Hist.), a caudal fin, though very minute, little
more than half a line in length, is distinctly visible to the
naked eye ; under the lens five rays are very apparent.

The Worm Pipe-fish. Syngnathus lumbriciformis, Je-
nyns., has been procured at Portpatrick, and thence kindly
sent me by Capt. Fayrer. This species, and the S. cequoreus
have been obtained on the eastern coast of Scotland, near
Berwick-on-Tweed, by Dr. Johnston; but to Dr. Parnell, who
has so successfully investigated the Ichthyology of the Frith
of Forth ■ and other portions of the British coast, neither they
nor the Liparis Montagui have occurred.

Eight-armed Cuttle. Octopus octopodia, Flem. l Br.
Anim.' Penn. ' Brit. Zool.' vol. iv. p. 44, pi. 28, fig. 44. A

1 See Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 159.
1 Here the first British specimen of the Syng. cequoreus on record, was
obtained by Sir Robert Sibbald.

THE SOUTH-WEST OF SCOTLAND. 587

specimen of this cuttle-fish favoured me by Capt. Fayrer, was
found on the shore (I believe) at Portpatrick, in April 1835.
The length of body is 3 inches, the breadth 2j, head 1 J, arms
7 inches. This individual differs only from that described
by Dr. Grant, ' Flem. Brit. Anim.' p. 254, in size, and in the
trivial difference of the arms being webbed beyond the twelfth
sucker. The specimens which I have seen cast ashore on
the opposite coast of Ireland were generally about the size of
the present one.

Horrid Crab. (Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. iv. p. 6, pi. 8, fig.
14.) Lithodes Maja, Leach. By Dr. Wylie, of Ballantrae,
I have been favoured with a very fine specimen of this crab,
which was taken in a herring net there in the summer of 1838,
and in water from twenty to thirty fathoms in depth. It was
brought to Dr. W. by the fishermen, as a species they had
never before met with.

Hyas coarctatus, Leach. In April 1835, specimens of this
crab were sent me from Portpatrick by Capt. Fayrer.

Long-horned Crab. (Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. iv. p. 3, pi.
1, fig. 3.) Porcellana longicornis, Edw. Crust, t. 2, p. 257.
Received with the last.

Plaited Lobster. (Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. iv. p. 15, pi. 14).
Galathea strigosa, Fabr. Received with the last.

Long-clawed Lobster. (Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. iv. p. 14,
pi. 13). Galathea rugosa, Edw. Crust, t. ii. p. 274. Re-
ceived with the last.

All the species here enumerated, except the three first
mentioned, have been obtained on the opposite coast of Ire-
land.

Belfast, Nov, 12th, 1839.

Art. IV. — On the Monkeys known to the Chinese, from the native
authorities. By Samuel Birch, Esq. Assist, in the Dept. of Ant.
of the Eng. Sec. Brit. Mus.; Assist. Sec. to the Archaeological
Institute of Rome.

At a period not very remote the writer of the present article,
to aid the researches of a naturalist relative to the monkeys
known to the Chinese, undertook a series of translations from
the ' San tsae too hwuy,' or ' Pictorial Encyclopedia of the
Three Sciences/ of the descriptions annexed to the plates of
the various monkeys that are found in the division of Zoolo-
gy in that exceedingly interesting work. The great Ency-
clopedia of Ma twan lin did not at that time, to the writer's
knowledge, exist in London ; and the distractions incident to

588 ON THE MONKEYS KNOWN TO THE CHINESE.

the business of life have not allowed him the leisure to inspect
a copy of it, should it be in the possession of University Col-
lege, in the splendid library of Dr. Morrison. Although the
'Kang-he tsze teen' was not minutely examined, it was occa-
sionally referred to ; but since Chinese plates are far better
than descriptions for the general enquirer, the ' San tsae too
too hwuy ' was the work chiefly consulted, and other works
used in a subsidiary point of view, to eke out its deficiencies.
Some idea seemed fixed in the naturalist's mind that a higher
order of apes than either the oran-otan, or chimpanzee, had
been said to exist in China; and accordingly the native
authorities were most diligently searched, in order to find the
animal in question, and the results, such as they are, are now
at the disposal of zoologists.

The oldest work which contains pictorial illustrations, is
the ' Shan hae king,' or * Book of hills and streams,' a very
dull itinerary of the empire, full of mythological ideas relating
to " dragon -haunted streams and elf-frequented hills," but
excessively monotonous and prosy in its general narrative. —
It is illustrated with an ample commentary, and was written
during the dynasty of Han ; being of some archaeological in-
terest, but tiring to the patience of the general reader. In
this book appears a plate of an animal called Sing-sing or
Sang-sang ; and the account, as well as the plate, have been
implicitly followed by the Encyclopedia which appeared un-
der the dynasty of Ming. As this is the animal called oran-
otan by the Jesuits and Dr. Morrison, a short description of
the plate is necessary. As figured, it is essentially man ; it
stands erect, with a broad human countenance, and mass of
frontal brain ; it has feet, not hands, on its posterior extremi-
ties : in its left hand, articulated as in mankind, it holds a
bunch of fruit, in its right, a young animal of the same class.
The features are Caucasian, and its hair reaches from the
crown of the head, whence it falls in rich profusion, to the
earth. " In its exterior appearance," says the Shan hae king,
" it is like an ape ; it walks with its face down, runs erect,
and comes out of the Chaouyaou hills." — (Plate iii. 1). The
description annexed to the plate of the ' San tsae too hwuy '
states, — "Tseo shan yew show chwang joo yu, luy Me-how,
fa-chuy ta ; keang-tung shan chung yih yew ming Sing-sing
nang yen." " In the Tseo magpie hills there are animals whose
external appearance islike an ape's of the Mehow species; their
hair reaches to the earth. In the Keangtung hills there are
animals called Singsing, that can speak." — (Zoology, Book
iv. Art. 39). In the ' Kang-he tsze tsen,' under the article
Sing, are collected a number of accounts from other diction-

ON THE MONKIES KNOWN TO THE CHINESE. 589

aries relative to this animal ; and as this work forms an inte-
gral part of every Chinese library, it will be unnecessary to
quote the original text, since it is readily accessible to sino-
logists in general. Sing, (after the usual preliminaries as to
pronimciation), " The Yupeen1 observes that the Sing are like
dogs with a human face ; the Kwangyun that they are like
an ape ; the Urh ya shih show that they are small, and ad-
dicted to weeping ; the Shan hae king, that it has a man's
face, a swine's body, can converse, and is found in the Fung
ke heen of Keaoule (Cochin China) ; also that its external
appearance is like a Hwan,z and that its cry resembles a pig's
squeak, or a child's weeping ; the Leo ke-le, that the Singsing
can speak, but is nevertheless a beast." Nearly similar sto-
ries are given of the Sang.

The term " swine's body" does not ill apply to the compa-
rative nakedness of the oran-otan's, when considered in rela-
tion with the other apes, as a reference to any specimen will
fairly prove. The conversational powers of this animal is a
fiction purely Chinese, from its mournful chattering note. —
But the most interesting account of it is in the Ching tsze
tung Dictionary ; where, after narrating at some length the
manner of catching them, by means of wine and wooden
shoes, the following opinions of ancient works are quoted on
the subject. "The Sho wan says that the Sing-sing make a
hasty noise, like a dog's bark, and nothing more. Toopo,
in the account of the southern hills, gives a plate repre-
senting a Sang-sang like a monkey. In the description of the
interior southern rivers, it is stated, there are plates repre-
senting the Sang-sang like a dog, also a Sing-sing whose ex-
ternal appearance resembles a monkey. It can speak, and
each part has three feet. The original representation is like
an ape, it runs erect, but walks prone to the earth, like a dog.
It is said to be naturally addicted to wine, and fond of light-
ing a fire. It can speak, that is to say, it can emit a sound
like a child, and it knows how to keep up a conversation. —
There are two sorts of Sing-sing and Sang-sang, the great and
small ; and without doubt they can speak as a dog does to a
dog, by assuming a kind of angry note. However, Too and
the plates are 'at spear and shield' (contradict each other) ;
if they are in the shape of a dog they cannot speak like a man.
In the Shan hae king in the account of the interior southern

1 ' Gems Arranged,' a Dictionary mentioned in Dr. Morrison's preface,
as well as the Kwang yim. The Urh ya, a quarto-sized work, is pictorial
like the San tsae &c.

2 This animal is sometimes said to be like a wild swine, at others like a
wild dog.

590 ON THE MONKEYS KNOWN TO THE CHINESE.

rivers it is stated, that three hundred le up in the woody dis-
trict of Tsowsze there are male Sang-sang. In the history of
the eastern latter Hans, it is said that there exists a tradition
among the southern barbarians, that the Yen-mang foreigners
have birds called Hoke (game cocks ?) and Sang-sang." Tn
the Japano-Chinese Encyclopedia entitled the 'Heuen cheuen
too hwuy,' or 'Collection of Plates explaining Sounds,' a
copy of which is in the possession of the British Museum,
and is the identical one brought by Kaempfer from Japan,
purchased of him by Sir Hans Sloane, and from which
many of the plates in his work are taken ; — is a plate (part
xii. 9) of the Sing-sing, here evidently an oran-otan walking
erect, with large ears, black body, and short cur-like tail.
There is no description attached to it.

From the mass of evidence presented upon this subject, —
evidence so totally discrepant and conflicting, comparatively
little can be gleaned. The Sing-sing is most probably the
oran-otan, elevated by popular tradition into a rank interme-
diate between man and monkey. In the natural history of a
people who have committed errors so gross and ludicrous, as
will be shown in the course of this communication, — and
who admit into their system every monstrosity that mor-
bid imagination has conceived, the assumption is almost prov-
ed. At the same time it comes within the limits of the circle
of probabilities, that in the interior, so unexplored, so wild,
and so infested by brigandage, there may exist a race of men
driven out of the pale of human civilization, like the Cargot
or the Guoita, and degraded by popular opinion into animals ;
or that in a country where infant exposure is tolerated through
the maximum of its population, some idiots, whose life has
been spent amidst the mountains, may have presented the
melancholy spectacle of a humanity so depraved that its fel-
low-wearers have refused to admit it into their privileges.

Another type that falls into this class is the * Joojin, or
"man-like." In the ' Shan hae king' it is called Tung yang
(eastern sun man), and placed among the races of men ; but in
the San tsae &c. it is arranged among beasts. If ever it had
existence, it must have been man. It walks erect, is not quad-
rumanous, and the only circumstance that could have given
rise to a notion of its being a beast, must have been the extraor-
dinary appearance of the head, which, in the engravings, looks
as if an incision had been made in the skin of the forehead,

1 The Joo jin is apparently the oran-otan, but has the addition of hair.
For the indications of the scientific names of the animal, the writer is in-
debted to John Edward Gray, Esq. of the British Museum.

ON THE MONKEYS KNOWN TO THE CHINESE. 591

and the cuticle thrown down over the mouth, entirely cover-
ing the eyes, and rendering the visage totally irrecognisable.
The plates and descriptions are the same in both, viz. —
"Tung-yang kwo yew Yu-yu, Urh ya tso fuh-fuh chwang e
jin hih shin pa fa, keen jin tsih seaou seaou, tsih yen ke-muh
Too-po yun fuh-fuh wae show pa fa Sing-suh hwo jin seaou
chin-yen kemuh chung nae Kaou- taou fan wei go tsan." — "In
the kingdom of Tung yang are inhabitants which the Urh ya
calls Fuhfuh ; their appearance is human, with black body
and straggling hair. When they behold mankind they smile,
then become alarmed and screen their eyes. Toopo says that
the Fuhfuh are monsters with straggling hair and Sings' feet,
and that when they catch men they smile, become alarmed,
screen their eyes, burst out into a loud wail, and turn back
to kill us."

The Tung-yang (eastern sun) kingdom may possibly refer
to the Corea. The word Fuhfuh is here wTritten with the sub-
stitution of the sixtieth for the ninety-fourth radical of the
language, an occurrence not uncommon in Chinese literature.
From the term, Sings' feet, it is evident that the writer con-
templated the hand-shaped foot (to use such a term) of the
ape tribe, as distinguished from that of man. Analogous to
this monkey is the Fuhfuh, of which some account is given
under its name in the Kang he &c. — " The Urhya &c. affirms
that it is like a man, with straggling hair, walks rapidly and
eats men. The Shan hae king, that in appearance they are
like men, with long lips, with black hairy body ; they turn
back and follow men's footsteps when they see them, and then
laugh. In the hills of Keaoukwang, and also in the Nang
kang district, are beasts of a large size, ten cubits long, com-
monly called Shan too. The Shan hae king calls them
Neaouyang (vicious goats), and also Kan. In the chapter
of kings in the Annals of Chow, the northern provinces are
said to call them Toolow (babblers)." Similar accounts are
given of this animal in the 'Ching tze tung,' and in the Ja-
pano-Chinese Encyclopedia is a plate representing the Fuh-
fuh sitting upright. The lower extremities of the animal are
not visible ; but from what is seen, it bears considerable re-
semblance to the mandrills, or ribbed-nose baboons. It is
called in Japanese fi-ti. Fuh-fuh yew tso fuh-fuh ming ne-
aouyang hwo e ( ? ) Shantoo yih tung. " The fuh-fuh, ■ also

1 See second reduplication in the text. In the preface or abstract of con-
tents, after the character Sing1, Zyao occurs some Japanese at the side of Fuh;
Fi-fi ; by the aid of Mr. Medhurst's Vocabulary the two terms have been
made out, but the reading of the Hiragana character is not easy. The
Fuhfuh is not very distinct, and is the Simla Nasutus or Papio Maimon.

592 OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA.

written thus, called Neaouyang or Shantoo." (Heuen &c.,
Part 12, Zoology, page 9).

This closes the chain of evidence collected relative to the
animals which have any pretensions to rank in their works
with mankind. The observations made with regard to the
Sing-sing apply very nearly here. The same difference of
native opinion casts the same doubt upon the authenticity of
their accounts. Natural History, as a science even of obser-
vation, has been, and under the present system always will
be, at a low condition among a people, where all knowledge
but that of government and morals, ranks scarcely above the
mechanical arts. The collection of a few popular traditions,
— the rough delineation of objects as vaguely seen, not com-
prehended,— has been all that China can boast; and the
practical and deeply-theoretical examinations and inductions
which build up the towering structure of western lore, must
be infused into them from without, the Chinese have it not in
them, and, with their distaste for innovation, they never can
examine the products of nature with the eye of accuracy and
generalizing power. The Zoology of the San tsae too hwuy is
a glaring instance of this ; the fabulous and the true — imagi-
nation and observation — are alike blended in a disorder start-
ling to a European eye. The ' Urhya' is rather more correct,
for it has at least the merit of arrangement in great classes,
wide and abrupt in their transitions, but still holding out suf-
ficient landmarks for future improvement. The ' Shan hae
king ' is one mass of confusion ; it rejects indignantly all ar-
rangement. The Japanese Encyclopedia has a mere glim-
mering of presenting its animals according to their type ; — an
idea feebly maintained. The only work in which the writer
of the present article has seen any allusion to the modern sys-
tem, was in one apparently new, where the artist had, in ad-
dition to some birds, depicted the claws and beaks, which
must have been gathered from some European work, since
such was utterly beyond Chinese power. Yet we must still
concede to the Chinese that they have observed and noted, to
the best of their ability, the animals existing in their own
country, and have most signally failed where they have relied
on mistaken information afforded from external sources ; and
that European writers of their date present as little truth.

(To be continued.)

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA. 593

Art. V. — Observations on the Rodentia, with a view to point out
the groups as indicated by the structure of the Crania, in this Or-
der of Mammals. By G. R. Waterhouse, Esq., Curator to the
Zoological Society, Vice-Pres. of the Entomological Society.

( Continued from page 279.)
Family V. — Arvicolidje.

Dentition. — Incisors as broad as deep, nearly cylindrical :
molars ■§-§■> or ii> rootless.

Skull. — Ant-orbital opening of moderate size, or small ;
anterior root of the zygoma thrown up from the plane of the
palate : temporal bone produced anteriorly and laterally, and
encroaching on the temporal fossa? : palate more or less con-
tracted in front, the inter-molar portion descending more or
less below the level of the anterior portion.

Lower jaw. — Coronoid process large (usually very large) ;
articular surface of the condyles broad, — in some species with
the transverse diameter equal to the longitudinal : descend-
ing ramus with the angles twisted outwards, and situated
above the plane of the crowns of the molar teeth. ■

The genera Castor, Ondatra, Arvicola, Lemmus, Geomys and Spalax,
belong to this family.

A transverse section of an incisor tooth, in Arvicola presents
a nearly circular figure (fig. 70,) and in this respect differs
from Mus, in which the incisors {m) are almost always com-
pressed and deeper from front to back, and where the sides
and front are nearly flat. In the molar teeth in the present
family the folds of the enamel generally divide the tooth into
angular-shaped portions, as represented in the figure of the
skull of Ondatra, and these teeth are rootless, and continue
to grow at the base as they wear away at the opposite extre-
mity ; but in aged individuals the supply of pulp decreases,
and the base of the tooth begins to divide into two or three
false fangs, as in fig. 70, k, which represents a molar tooth of
very old specimen of the Muskwash. I say false fangs, for
these roots are of an irregular form and unlike the true fangs
of the rat's molars.

1 The only rodents I am acquainted with, besides the Arvicolidce, in
which the descending ramus of the jaw is thus raised, are those belonging
to the genus Cricetus, but here this process is of the same form as that of
the rat, and the space occupied by the molar teeth is remarkably small,
whereas in the Arvicolidce it is great.

3 T

594

OBSERVATIONS OK THE RODENTIA.

The molar teeth of Spalax [n and o) possess the same ir-
regular-formed and imperfect fangs as are found in old speci-
mens of Arvicola and Ondatra, but apparently they have
these fangs at an early age, and thus evince approach, as
regards the teeth, to the Muridae. The cranium in the Arvi-
colida is usually rather broad, and proportionately shorter
than in the Muridce ; in Ondatra, Arvicola, and Lemmus,

70

Skull and lower jaw of Ondatra zibethica.

(k) molar tooth of an aged specimen of Ondatra. (J) section of incisor tooth of Arvicola.

[m) section of incisor of Mus. (n) and (o) molar teeth of Spalax.

the temporal bone is produced anteriorly and laterally, and
in some of the species forms an angle, as in Arvicola am-

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA. 595

phibia, and Ondatra {a) ; in Lemmus Norvegicus and many
of the smaller species of Arvicola this portion is rounded ;
in the remaining three genera, Geomys, Spalax and Castor,
the temporal bone is less produced ; it nevertheless encroach-
es considerably on the temporal fossce in these genera. The
superior maxillary bone sends backwards a lamellar process
(b in the figures), in most of the species of the present family,
as in the Muridas ; Castor and Geomys, however, afford ex-
ceptions. These two genera differ moreover in having a very
small ant-orbital opening, which is situated far forward ; in
the former there is a projecting fold of bone which protects
the anterior outlet of this opening. In most Arvicolidce, the
malar bone is broad and vertically compressed; it is im-
mensely developed in the beaver, and unlike other species of
the present group, runs up to join the lachrymal bone.1 On
the other hand, in the two genera Spalax and Geomys, it is
small and very slender.

The anterior root of the zygoma is in the form of a thin
plate, of considerable extent. This plate is oblique in its
position, and its lower edge is emarginated as in the rats.
The genus Spalax forms an exception, this plate being of
but small extent.

The incisive foramina are tolerably large in Ondatra, Ar-
vicola and Lemmus, but small in the remaining genera ; they
are always situated partly in the inter-maxillary and partly
in the maxillary bones, excepting in Geomys and Castor,
where they are confined to the inter-maxillaries.

The palate is moderately broad and but slightly contracted
between the anterior molars, in Arvicola, Ondatra and Lem-
mus ; in Spalax and Geomys it is narrow, and in the beaver
it is much contracted between the anterior pair of molars,
but expands posteriorly. The skull in Geomys (fig. 71) is
remarkable for the peculiar form of the posterior portion of
the palate. The two pterygoid bones converge and meet in
front, where they expand, and joining with the palatine bones
form a horizontal platform, which is situated between the
hinder pair of molars, and considerably below the plane of
the palate ; opening on to this platform are two large fora-
mina, which are the outlets of two horizontal canals : these
canals run under the palatine bones, and open in front of
them, and are then continued forwards on the palatine portion
of the superior maxillary bone, in the form of two deep grooves.
A similar structure may be seen, but in a less marked degree,
in the common water-rat, and some other Arvicola.

1 The malar bone of the heaver differs also from other Arvicolidce, inas-
much as it enters into the composition of the glenoid cavity.

596

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA.
71

Skull and lower jaw of Oeomys umbrinus ?

The same skull (Geomys) possesses two or three other pe-
culiar characters which are worthy of notice, particularly
the broadly expanded and almost flat form of the glenoid
cavity of the temporal bone, the very small size of the ant-
orbital foramina, which consist merely of two short vertical
slits, and the straightness of the nasal bones ; these are but
very slightly broader at the apex than at the base, and not
distinctly expanded in front as in other Arvicolce. The in-
terparietal bone is small and nearly of a semicircular form.

72

Skull and lower jaw of Spalax typhlus.

The skull of Spalax typhlus (fig. 72), like that of Geomys,
has a broad and very slightly concave glenoid cavity to the

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTU. 597

temporal bone ; behind this cavity the temporal bone is di-
lated, and forms a large and deep hollow, which apparently
receives the broad condyle of the lower jaw when it is drawn
back. The ant-orbital outlet is larger than in other Arvico-
lid(B. In the skull before me the suture between the nasal
bones is completely obliterated in front.1 But the most re-
markable character in this skull is the form of the occiput (d),
which is enormously large, and instead of being as usual ver-
tical, in its oblique direction2 reminds us of the occiput in
the Cetacea, seals, and some other aquatic mammals.

The upper and lower margins of the occipital opening, in
nearly all the skulls of Arvicolida which I have examined,
are situated in the same vertical line, that is to say, a straight
line touching the upper and lower boundaries of the foramen
magnum is at right angles with the plane of the skull. Upon
first observing this character in the beaver3 and Ondatra, I
imagined that having connexion with the position of the head,
it might be attributed to the aquatic habits of these animals,
being aware that the same character was found also in the
seals, whales, and some other aquatic mammals ; I perceived
however, upon further examination, that in the Coypus
[Myopotamus Coypus) and the Capibara {Hydrochceres Ca-
pibara), two other aquatic rodents, the upper and lower
boundaries of the occipital foramen did not differ in this
respect from the terrestrial species; whereas, on the other
hand, in Spalax, the lower boundary of this opening projects
beyond the upper, and forms an angle of about 93° ; it is re-
markable therefore, that the great angle formed by the boun-
daries of the occiput occurs in all the Arvicolidce. In Arvi-
cola agrestis and Geomys umbrinus ? the upper margin of the
foramen magnum projects slightly beyond the lower, yet in
these animals the upper and lower boundaries of this open-
ing approach more nearly to a vertical line than usual.

The form of the lower jaw in the animals of the present
family affords an easy character by which they may be dis-
tinguished from other rodents, at least from those whose skulls
I have examined : the peculiar position of the angle of the
jaw, however, is not striking unless the jaw be placed in its
natural position, that is, so that all the molars meet those of

1 In the skull of a species of Geomys I find the nasal bones anchylosed
in like manner.

9 In the crania of Arvicolce and Ondatra, there is a slight approach evinced
to this form of occiput, and in Geomys the occiput slopes forwards in a
considerable degree.

3 1 ought to say the adult beaver, for in the young animal the upper
boundary of the foramen magnum projects over the lower.

598

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA.

the upper jaw, and not as represented in Cuvier's plate in the
Ossemens Fossiles, vol v. pt. 1, pi. 3. I mention this because
being myself in the habit of twisting the jaw of these rodents in
an unnatural position when comparing them with others, it was
some time before I perceived its peculiar characters, charac-
ters which are important, inasmuch as they are combined
with numerous others.

Skull and lower jaw of Castor Fiber.

Upon comparing the jaw of the beaver [Castor Fiber) with
that of other rodents, the most striking characters consist in
the large size of the coronoid process and the form and posi-
tion of the descending ramus, or that part (* in the figures)
which lies below and behind the alveolus of the inferior inci-
sor. In the species of rodents belonging to the several fami-
lies already pointed out, the descending ramus approaches
more or less to a quadrate form, the upper posterior angle
being generally acute, but the lower part more or less round-
ed. The descending ramus of the beaver differs in being
more extended in the direction parallel with the dental por-
tion of the jaw, and less extended in a transverse direction;
and if the jaw be placed in its natural position the angle (*)
is situated above the plane of the symphysis menti, or above

OBSERVATIONS ON THE RODENTIA. 599

the lower line e e, which is drawn parallel with the grinding
surface of the molar teeth, represented by the upper line e e
in the figures ; the angle (**) is much elevated, and in fact
is situated above the upper horizontal line just mentioned.
Now it will be seen upon referring to the figure of the jaw of
Ondatra, th at the same characters exist, — the j aw of this animal
differs from that found in other rodents in the same manner,
here, however, the angle ** is considerably produced, and
somewhat twisted outwards ; the transverse diameter is pro-
portionately rather less, and the longitudinal greater. In
Arvicola and Lemmus, with the same general characters, we
find the descending ramus still more twisted ; here the greater
portion of this process has assumed an almost horizontal po-
sition. The jaw of Spalax differs from that of Arvicola in
the comparatively small transverse diameter of the descend-
ing ramus, and its greater longitudinal extent; the upper
angle is directed outwards, and forms a small nearly semicir-
cular platform, which is oblique in its position ; the lower
incisor is remarkably long, and extends backwards and out-
wards with its thin covering of bone beyond the condyle, so
that the jaw appears as if it had a double condyloid process.
The apex of the coronoid process is situated above the con-
dyle, as in the beaver, in the form and height of the coronoid
process however, Geomys approaches still nearer to the bea-
ver. The peculiar form of the posterior part of the jaw of
Spalax occurs also in Geomys, excepting that here the lower
portion of the descending ramus is still narrower, and is
merely represented by a slight ridge which runs along the
under side of the alveolus of the inferior incisor ; the upper
portion assumes the form of a semicircular and nearly hori-
zontal platform (the upper surface of which is slightly con-
cave), which is situated on the outer side of the alveolus of
the incisor, a little below the level of the articular surface of
the condyle. As we view the jaw from above, the condyle is
the innermost of three processes : the projecting plate, or
angle of the jaw just described, being the outermost, and the
bony covering of the posterior portion of the incisor being
situated between the two.

The three skulls figured afford types of all the forms which
I have met with in the Arvicolidce. The skull of Ondatra
resembles that of the water-rat, and that of the lemming
[Lemmus norvegicus) differs only in being proportionately
broader and shorter, and in one or two points of minor im-
portance. Like the species of Arvicola and Ondatra, the
lemming has an opening in the temporal bone, situated be-

600

PUPA OF NECRODES LITTORALIS.

hind the zygomatic process. * This opening is very large in
the common water-rat ; in the beaver the corresponding open-
ing is small.

Art. VI,

-Description of the Pupa of Necrodes littoralis.
By Henry Buist, Esq.

When collecting insects on the 5th of this month (October)
among the sand-hills which stretch along the sea coast to the
north of St. Andrews, T picked up the pupa — which I sup-
pose to be that of Necrodes littoralis — from which the accom-
panying drawings were made. Fig. 1, represents the pupa
in its natural position, and shows its under side ; fig. 2, re-
presents it spread out in the way that Coleoptera are gene-
rally set, and exhibits the upper side.

74

Pupa of Necrodes littoralis.

The pupa is about an inch in length and entirely of a pale
white colour ; the head is applied against the breast (fig. 1) ;
the antenna} are club-shaped and lie along the sides of the
thorax ; the eyes are represented by a patch of a purplish
colour ; the thorax is covered with scattered brown hairs, and
there are three larger ones of the same colour on each of the

A similar opening is observable in the skulls of many rodents.

PUPA OF NECRODES LITTORALIS. 601

anterior angles ; the scutellum, as in the perfect insect, is
large ; the elytra are short and folded over the sides of the
body, and marked with three elevated lines, similar to those
on the perfect insect ; the wings are longer and meet on the
under side of the abdomen ; each segment of the abdomen is
furnished at the sides with a large brown hair, and there are
two anal ones. The two anterior pair of legs are folded over
the breast and are quite exposed; the posterior pair are co-
vered by the wing-cases, a small portion of the tibia and
femur only appearing beyond the body. The joints of the
antennae and tarsi of the future insect are perfectly visible
when held between the observer and the light.

That this is the pupa of Necrodes lilt oralis I am led to
believe1 from its great similarity to the perfect beetle, and
from my having taken almost at the same time a specimen of
the perfect insect from the carcass of a horse close by. It
is very probable that the larva buries in the sand and there
changes its state. When handled it moved the abdomen in
the same way as the pupae of butterflies and moths do. It
was infested by a small species of mite (Acarus ?).

Mr. Westwood does not appear to be acquainted with the
pupae of the Silphidae, for in illustrating the transformations
of this family (to which Necrodes littoralis belongs) in his
truly valuable i Introduction to the Classification of Insects,'
he copies his figures of the larva and pupa of Necrophorus
humator from ' Hosel's Insect. Belustig.' vol. iv. pi 1, and
states that the larvae, when full grown, " form for themselves
a cell under ground, with the inner surface smooth and shin-
ing, and in which they assume the pupa state, being at first
of a whitish colour, and having two strong anal spines, where-
by they are enabled to turn themselves about in their cell ;
as they advance to maturity they gradually assume a darker
colour."2 On comparing my figures with those of Rosel, as
given by Westwood, we find the hairs on each segment of the
abdomen, which are so conspicuous on my specimen, are en-
tirely wanting in his ; the apex of the abdomen is also differ-
ent ; but the thorax appears, as in my specimen, to be cover-
ed with hairs.

Law Park, near St. Andrews, Fifeshire,
\bth Oct. 1839.

1 Before I reached home the specimen from having met with some inju-
ry, was dead, and thus I was deprived of the most certain means of proving
that it really is the -pupa of the insect spoken of. I have not since had an
opportunity of visiting the spot, or of ohtaining another specimen.

2 Westwood's ' Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects,' vol.
i. page 138, fig. 10 (8 and 9).

3 u

602 ON COLLECTING LAND AND FRESH-WATER SHELLS.

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS,

Remarks on the mode of collecting Land and Fresh-water
Shells, — There is, perhaps, no portion of the Fauna of our
country of greater interest and more easily collected than the
land and fresh-water shells, requiring but little exertion for
their capture. The land species are to be found abundantly
(particularly after rain, when they ramble forth to feed upon
moistened herbage) in hedges, on banks, trees, walls and pal-
ings, among moss, under stones, &c, but more especially
among the rejectamenta of rivers, when the tide has swept
many of the smaller species from the banks, and deposited
them again on its receding. In dust collected from various
places, such as the tops of old walls, where the leaves of ivy
or other plants have formed a bed by their decay, many cu-
rious and minute species may also be found.

Those of fresh water are to be found either in slow or run-
ning streams, in still waters, on aquatic plants, in mud, in
ditches adhering to stones, &c. &c. It has been found ne-
cessary, on account of the minute character of some of the
species of fresh-water shells, to make use of a net formed ei-
ther of wire-gauze, or the article denominated lenoe, to the
depth of an inch or more, to collect them. This net being
fixed to an iron ring at the end of a staff, can with the great-
est facility be made use of in those situations where shells
abound. When it is required to search for those species
which are generally slightly buried in the mud, or at the bot-
toms of ponds and ditches, such as the different species of
Pisidium, the method to be adopted is to skim the surface of
the mud so that it may easily enter the net, and by bringing
the net to the surface of the water, and gradually moving it
from side to side, the superfluous mud will be washed through
the meshes of the gauze, leaving the small shells intermingled
with pebbles &c. in the net. In this collection it is easy to
distinguish the shells from the superfluous matter by means
of a lens, and with the assistance of a small pair of forceps,
they may be removed from the mass and placed in any con-
venient receptacle.

Having thus collected both land and fresh-water shells,
with their inhabitants alive, it is necessary to destroy and ex-
tract the animal, in order to clean the shell for the cabinet.
To accomplish this, they must be placed in boiling water,
and after remaining in it for the space of ten minutes, decant

GOSHAWKS IN THE POSSESSION OF THE LATE MR. HOY. 603

and add cold water. The extraction of the animal is the next
step, and for this purpose a pin or needle (for the smaller
species) is to be introduced into the shell, and the animal
taken out. The shell must then be well washed with water ;
if it be of a delicate texture, a camels' hair pencil may be
used with much advantage to clear away any small particles
of dirt that may adhere to the interior. The shell being
cleaned and the species ascertained, the preparation employed
for fixing them to the card, is a mixture of gum, sugar, and
starch, which has been found to answer the purpose better
than plain gum, as being more tenacious. — Daniel Cooper,
Surgeon, A.L.S., Curator B.S.L., fyc. — 82, Blackfriars Road,
London, Oct. 16, 1839.

Notice of some Goshawks in the possession of the late
Mr. Hoy. — In the early part of the month of September last,
Mr. Hoy visited London on his way to his residence at Stoke
Nayland, in Suffolk ; he had been on the continent in order
to obtain some goshawks, for the purpose of hawking, to
which sport he was much attached ; and, 1 believe few per-
sons better understood the nature, habits, and the modes of
training and using birds of prey, than himself. He mentioned
to me long since, that he kept several hobbies ( Falco sub-
buteo) about his residence, giving them their full liberty the
whole summer, and allowing them to range about the country
as they pleased, but always using them to come to him every
day at three o'clock to be fed ; at which time he would walk
into a field adjoining the house, and, by whistling or waving
a glove in the air, although the birds were not before visible,
they might be seen coming towards him with great rapidity,
and alight one after another upon his arm to take their meal,
after which they would fly off, and perhaps not be seen until
the following day. Sometimes at a distance of three or four
miles from the house, he has seen one or more of them, and
by making the usual sign, they would alight upon his hand ;
but it was necessary to confine them before the season of mi-
gration, or they would leave and not return, after they had be-
come wild — as was proved by trying the experiment. Du-
ring the short stay Mr. Hoy made in September last, I called
upon him for the purpose of seeing the goshawks : there were
four of them, three males and one female, — the female, a bird
of the year, was the largest and most powerful bird of the
species I ever saw ; Mr. Hoy told me she could secure with
ease a full-grown hare.

With regard to using these birds, Mr. Hoy informed me that
their habits, mode of flight, &c, were much better suited to an
enclosed district like Stoke Nayland, than those of the peregrine

604 DEATH OF MR. HOY. — CHA*LK VENTRICULITE.

falcon. When used or taken into the field, the wing of a
bird, or the thin end of an ox tail, is generally held in the
hand to engage their attention, which they are constantly bit-
ing and tearing without being able to satisfy their appetites,
as that would render them unfit for work. They do not require
to be hooded, but have bells attached to their legs, ( for the
purpose of giving notice of their situation when they alight,
which would otherwise be difficult to ascertain), and a leather
strap by which they are held ; it is also necessary to have
spaniels to hunt up the birds, upon the appearance of which,
the hawk flies from the hand with incredible swiftness direct
at the game, taking it generally in the first attempt, but should
he fail, he will perch on some elevated situation, and remain
until the game is again started, and is rarely known to miss a
second time ; when the hawk has captured the game, he is
rewarded with a small piece of meat, or a pigeon's head, to
induce him to give up the prey : if the hawk be allowed to
range at pleasure, by whistling it will return with a swiftness
truly astonishing, and finding it cannot stop suddenly to set-
tle without striking you with great force, it will glide past,
form a circle round you, and alight with the greatest ease,
and in the most gentle manner, upon the hand. — A. D. hart-
lett.—Nov. 20th, 1839.

[The death of Mr. Hoy, whose contributions have often
appeared in the Magazine of Natural History, took place
about two months since, under peculiarly painful circumstan-
ces. He had placed a quantity of damp gunpowder in an
oven, for the purpose of drying, and which he unfortunately
omitted to remove. The result of this negligence was an ex-
plosion, which was expected to prove fatal to one of his ser-
vants ; and the anxiety of mind naturally attendant upon so
distressing an event, brought on an attack of fever which ter-
minated fatally at his residence in Suffolk. M. Hoy devoted
his time almost entirely to the cultivation of Ornithology, and
was in the frequent habit of visiting the continental localities
which are favourable for the resort of the British species
during the season of incubation. He was in possession of a
large share of valuable information relative to the indigenous
birds of this country ; and the readiness with which, at all
times, he was willing to aid the enquiries of his fellow-natu-
ralists, will render his loss a subject of sincere regret. — Ed.]

Note on the Chalk- Ventriculite figured in page 352. — The
specimen is clearly the base of a Ventriculite, with the
radicle-processes attached to an Echinus ; for I cannot as-
sent to the remark, " that the Ventriculite cannot have been

FRONTAL SPINE OF HYBODUS.— MUS MESSORIUS. 605

growing on a dead shell,"— -for the root of the Ventriculite is
not at the smaller extremity,
but at the larger. Flints of
this shape are very common ;
the marking * shows the sec-
tion of the stem of the enclosed
zoophyte, the openings, o, are
the hollows left by the radicle-
processes. I fear you will
scarcely understand my mean-
ing from this hurried scrawl ; I
but I have so little leisure at
my command, that I am com-
pelled to write in great haste. °
— G. A- Mantell. — Crescent Lodge, Clapham Common.

[Our best thanks are due to Dr. Mantell for kindly correcting an error
into which we had fallen in our remarks on the Ventriculite, a tribe of fos-
sils to which, as it is well known, he has most successfully given his atten-
tion.— Ed.]

Extract of a Letter from Miss Anning, referring to the
supposed frontal spine in the genus Hybodus. — " In reply to
your request I beg to say that the hooked tooth is by no means
new ; I believe that M. De la Beche described it fifteen years
since in the Geological Transactions, I am not positive ; but
I know that I then discovered a specimen, with about a hun-
dred palatal teeth, and four of the hooked teeth, as I have
since done several times with different specimens. I had a
conversation with Agassiz on this subject ; his remark was
that they were the teeth by which the fish seized its prey, —
milling it afterwards with its palatal teeth. I am only sur-
prised that he has not mentioned it in his work. We gene-
rally find the Ichthyodorulites with them, as well as cartila-
ginous bones." — Mary Anning. — Lyme Regis, April 7, 1839.

[As Miss Anning speaks of 100 palatal teeth, she probably refers to
the genus Acrodus, which may very possibly be furnished with an organ
similar to the one possessed by Hybodus, as the genera are closely allied.
Mr. De la Beche makes no allusion to its existence in the Geological
Transactions. — Ed.]

On the disappearance of the Mus messorius, Shaw, (Har-
vest mouse); followed by a notice of Mus sylvaticus, Linn.
(Field or Wood mouse). — These beautiful little red mice
{Mus messorius) were three or four years ago very abundant,
as I used to cause a notice to be given me when a rick in the
neighbourhood was to be taken into the barn, as they take
refuge in the lowest part of the rick, burrowing in the ground
underneath ; and I have seen scores of the little tame crea-

Vol. III.^No. 36. n. s. 3 x

606 DISAPPEARANCE OF THE MUS MESSORIUS.

tures, for they are the most tame, although not the most fami-
liar of all the tribe, the Myoxus avellanarius, Desm. not ex-
cepted, never attempting to bite eyen when hurt. The next
sentence will exhibit them in a different light ; I have known
nine individuals of this species kept in confinement together;
they were very voracious, eating any thing which was given
to them : although plentifully supplied with a variety of food,
the horrible little vermin were such cannibals in disposition,
as to prefer eating each other, which they actually did till
only one remained, the disposition of the creature thus being
a striking contrast to its pretty outward exterior, and otherwise
docile habits. These little animals seem to have been almost
entirely destroyed by the dry summer and autumn of 1836, per-
haps the subsequent and following winters may have contri-
buted, but with all my endeavours, and searchings, and offered
rewards, I had never been able to procure one after, and from
every person who I supposed knew any thing about the mat-
ter, I received the same sort of answer, that they used to be
plentiful, but they had not seen one for two or three years. —
This autumn, after incessant trouble, I have succeeded in
procuring altogether five, old and young, one of which is now
alive, very tame, but mistrustful, eating almost any thing ; it
is very fond of a piece of apple, and has no objection to a
little bit of meat, preferring most other things to bread. The
whole genus of Mus appear to be of sanguine and selfish dis-
positions, even the Mus sylvaticus is not exempt from the
latter charge. A nest of the Mus sylvaticus, Desm. (field or
wood mouse) containing its builder with her progeny, was
ploughed out: the man observing the little beast running very
heavily and awkwardly, soon overtook and dispatched it, and
was surprised to find two young ones clinging so tenaciously
to the teats of their dam, as to obstruct her escape, and facili-
tate her destruction, nor after the death of their parent could
they be removed without some force, demonstrating the affec-
tion of the young for the spring of life to be very strong, but
the desire of escape in the dam stronger than parental affec-
tion.— Joseph Clarke. — Saffron Walden. — Oct, 1839.

GENERAL INDEX.

Achatina acicula found within a human skull,
565

Achill island described by Mr. Newman, 571

Adder, supposed derivation of the name, 566

Agardh, Prof, his views upon the Marsupialia
quoted by Mr. Ogilby, 346

Agassiz, Prof, his opinion on the supposed mam-
miferous remains at Stonesfield, referred to, 3
strictures upon his reprint of Sowerby's Mine-
ral Conchology, 254; his vindicatory letter,
356 ; Mr Sowerby's observations upon, 420 ;
his letter lithographed for distribution, 418

Aigoceros niger, discovery of by Capt. Harris
noticed, 401

Amphibia, on the Classifications of the, by Mr.
Hogg, 265, 367

Amphicoma vulpina, note upon by Mr. Double-
day, 97

Amphidesma decussatum, Bean, n. sp. from the
cornbrash of Scarborough, described, 59

Amphigonus, Agass. reference to the name by M.
Valenciennes, 9

Amphitherium referred to byM. Valenciennes, 3

Ampfriuma, referred to by Mr. Hogg, 370

Anas glacialis killed at Lynn, 198

Annulosa, by W. S. MacLeay, in the 'Illustra-
tions of the Zoology of South Africa,' reviewed,
38

Atwmia semistriata, Bean, n. sp. from the corn-
brash of Scarborough described & figured, 61

Anomuptcris, characters of the genus, 456

Anser phcenicopus, Bartlett, n. sp. characters of
noticed, 180

Anthocephalus rudicornis, Drummond, n. sp.
described and figured, 228

Anthophyllum, its occurence in the coralline crag,
326

Ardea alba, instances of its capture in Britain,
30

Argonauta. — Researches of Delia Chiaja upon>
noticed by Dr. Cox, 99

•— Observations and experiments of Ma-
dame Power, 101 : her notice of the opinions
of previous observers, 102 : manner in which
she prosecuted her observations at Messina,
103 : her description of the poulp and its mem-
branous arms, 104: natural habits of the ani-
mals, and period at which they most abound,
105 : her description of the development of the
supposed embryo, 150 : experiments upon the
reparative power possessed by the poulp, 152
correction of her error respecting the supposed
young poulps, 153

■ Summary of Madame Power's obser-
vations, and of Prof. Owen's arguments:
against the parasitic theory, in the general
editorial article, 194

Abstract of Prof. Owen's paper from

the Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 421 :
evidence deduced against the parasitic theory
from the examination of the poulps and their
shells collected by Madame Power, 422 : exa-
mination of the arguments in favour of the
parasitic theory — those of Mr. Gray, 427: of
Messrs. Charlesworth, D'Orbigny, and Blain-
ville, 429: of Mr. Cranch and M. Bang, 430:
points in the history of the subject still requi-
ring elucidation, 431,

Arvicola arvalis, remains of in the crag, 318; —
Arv. pratensis, procured by Mr. Wm. Thomp-
son at Ballantrae, 585

Asclepias procera, characters of, 568

Aspidium dumetorum, Mr. Newman's correction
of an error relating to, 574

Asplenium marinum, observations relating to,
549

Asterocarpus, characters of the genus, 457

Auricula myosotis, found by Mr. Wood in the
crag of Sutton, 320

Avicula longicostata, Stutchbury, n. sp. describ-
ed and figured, 163

Baboon, Sir James Alexander's description of a
large African species, 408

Ballard Head referred to by Mr. Clarke, 393

Bank Vole, see Arvicola pratensis

Basilosaurus, comparison of with the Stonesfield
fossils, 55

Buckschia, characters of the genus, 456

Botanical Society, see Society.

Botheratiotherium, objected to as a generic name
by M. De Blainville, 56

Breccia of Dorsetshire described by Rev. W. B.
Clarke, 397

Bridlington tertiary deposit of shells referred to
by Mr. Lyell, 323

British Association, editorial remarks upon, 415

Bulla, fossil species of, from the crag, described
by Mr. S. V. Wood, 460 ; B. undulata, Bean,
n. sp. described and figured, 61

Byssus, description of, in the Cmchifera, 126

Calcutta, Botanic Garden at, 304

Calidea parentum, White, n. sp. described, 542

Caliprepes Grayii, White, n. sp. described, 543

Calliphara bifasciata, White, n. sp. descr. 541

Cardium globosum, Bean, n. sp. from the corn-
brash of Scarborough, described and figured,
60

Castor Fiber, skull of figured, 598

Caterpillars, singular procession of observed in
South Australia by Mr. Davis, 146

Caulopteris, characters of the genus, 454

Ceraptei-us, Mr. MacLeay's Memoir on noticed,
42

Cetacea, fossil remains of obtained at Heme Bay
by Mr Richardson, 99

Cetoniidm, new species of, 24

Cetonia,, Mr. MacLeay's arrangement of criticis-
ed, 38

Cetonia, present arrangement of the species for-
merly included in that genus, 171

Cheadle, Staffordshire, on the Natural History
of, by Mr. James Carter, 72

Children, Mr. Portrait of noticed, 418

Chimpanzee, death of the one at the Zoological
Gardens noticed, 363

Chirotherium, observations on by Dr. Grant, 46

Chloroperla, new species of described, 86

Chondrites, characters of the genus, 453

Cidaris within a fossil zoophyte, figured and de-
scribed, 352

Clangula vulgaris, remarks on by Mr. Blvth,
471

Colchester, Mr. his discovery of fossil Mammalia
in the London clay, 448

Conchology, Mineral, of Great Britain, Agassiz'
translation of noticed, 254

608

GENERAL INDEX,

Conferrites, characters of the genus, 453

( ■...•iiln-ash, Catalogue of its fossils at Scarbo-
rough, by Mr. Bean, 57

Cottcca, characters of the genus, 454

Crag, the relative ages of its separate deposits
considered, 313; niammaliferous, list of its fos-
sil shells, 327; fossils, presentation of to the
Geological Society by Mr. "Wood, 363

Crane-fly, projection of its eggs, 566

Cricetus auratus, cranium of figured, 276; Cri.
frumentarius, general description of, 473 ; its
anatomy, 476 ; habits, 479 ; food, 480 ; dispo-
sition, 481 ; enemies, 533 ; propagation, 534 ;
hybernation, 577; injury and use, 580; me-
thods of catching and destroying, 583; Cri.
vulgaris, lower jaw of figured, 279

Crossbill, see Lox'ia curvirostra.

Crustacea, Mr. MacLeay's remarks on criticised,
42 ; malacostracous, catalogue of, occurring on
the coast of South Devon, by Dr. Moore, 284

Cuttle-fish, see Octopvs.

Cyynus, remarks on the crania of British species
of, by Mr. Pelerin, 178; Cyg. immutabilis,
cranium of figured and described, by Mr. Pe-
lerin, 179

Cypselus Apus, large assemblage of at Black-
burn, 199

Cyrena trigonula, occurrence of in the crag at
Southwold, 316

Danceacece, characters of, 456

Danceites, characters of the genus, 457

Darwin, Mr. his researches in South America
referred to by Mr. Lyell, 326

Deshayes, M. his opinion respecting the propor-
tion of the extinct to recent crag species, 325

Desnoyers, M. his Memoir on the crag and fa-
luns* of Touraine, 324

Diatoma found fossil in Ireland, 353

Dipus hirtipes, skull of figured, 186

Dogger Bank, fossil jaw of Mammoth procured
there, 348

Dorsetshire, Geology of the south-east of, 390

Dragon-flies, great migration of in Germany, 516

Eagle, white-headed, see Falco albicilla.

Echinodermata, their arrangement by M. Agas-
siz, 501

Echinorhynchus filicolUs, described and figd.
66; Ech. Hystrix, described and figured, 63

Eel, electric, see Gymnotus electricus.

Egret, great, see Ardea alba.

Endoyenites, British species of, 456

Entozoa, Irish, papers on by Dr. Drummond,63

Erica Mediterrauea, found by Mr. Newman at
Clew Bay, 570

Eudicella, White, new generic name for a section
of the genus Guliathus, 29

Eustheuia, reference to by Mr. Newman, 32 ; —
Eust. Thalia, Newman* n. sp. described, 33

Excipulites, characters of the genus, 454

Falco ulbicilla, siugular capture of at Potsdam,
197; capture of at Swafl'ham, 198

Ferns, Irish, notes on by Mr Newman, 548

Fieldfares, on their breeding in Britain, 467

Filaria capsularia, occurrence of in the halibut
noticed by Dr. Drummond, 230

Elamborough Head, locality for fossil zoophytes,

Foot-marks, fossil, in the Stourton stone-quar-
ries, observations on by Dr. Grant, 43
Fox squirrel, see Sciurus capistratus.
Frog, extinct species of found in amber, 256
Fucoides, characters of the genus, 453
Fuhyvla cristata, brood of reared in St. James's

Park, 469
Galathea strigosa and rugosa found at Portpa-

trick, 587
Geomys umbrimis, skull of figured, 596
Gobillus brrvkaudatus, cranium of figured, 276
GcrS. Indkus, cranium of figured, 276

Giants' Causeway noticed, 549

Giraffe, birth of at the Zoological Gardens, 363 ;
chace of described by Capt. Harris, 404

Gleicheniece, characters of, 457

Gleichenites, characters of the genus, 457

Glockeria, characters of the genus, 456

Gobius bipunctatus taken at Portpatrick, 586

Goliathus, remarks upon the genus, 27; Gol.
Morgani, White, n. sp. described and figd. 28

Goniophorus, Agass. characters of the genus, 502

Goniopyyus, Agass. characters of the genus, 502

G oshawks, manner of using in the field, 603

Granite, erratic block of, 472

Graphosoma interruptum, White, n. sp. describ-
ed, 541 ; Graph. Wusoni, White, n. sp. de-
scribed, 540

Gray, Mr. J. E., his opinion on the parasitism
of the argonaut referred to, 428

Gymnotus electricus, notice of by Mr. Bradley,
564

Halichcerus Gryphus observed at Boundstone,
575

Hamster, see Cricetus frumentarius

Hasbro, remains of Mammoth found there, 348

Hectocotylus mistaken by Madame Power for the
young of the argonaut, 421

Helix hispida found in the mammaliferous crag,
320

Heterotherium, Blainv. reference to the name,
by M.Valenciennes. 9

Hexodon, species of, 173

Hippopotamus described by Capt. Harris, 409

Holothuria Physalis, see Physalia.

Hoy, Mr. J. D. notice of his decease, 604

Hyas coarctatus found at Portpatrick, 587

Hybodus Delabechei, Charlesworth, n. sp. de-
scribed, 243

Hybodus, on the supposed frontal spine of, by
Mr. Charlesworth, 245 ; on a second species of
the frontal spine of, by Mr. Ogilby, 279 ; on a
supposed spine of in the Bath Museum, 282 ;
note respecting by Miss Aiming, 605

Hymenotes, observations on the genus> by Mr.
Westwood, 489

Hystricina, Waterhouse, proposed section of the
Rodenlia, 92

Ichthyodorulites, observations on, 242

Ignes fatui, observations on by Prof. Bessel, 197

Infusoria, fossil, discovery of in Ireland, record-
ed by Dr. Drummond, 353 ; researches of Prof.
Ehrenberg relating to the, 508

Isocardia tiiangularis, Bean, n. sp. from the
cornbrash of Scarborough, described ana figd.
60

Isogenus, new species of, described by Mr. New-
man, 84

Karstenia, characters of the genus, 454

Kentucky rifle-shooters, skill of, 403

Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, list of rare plants found
there by Mr. Saunders, 239

Lamellibranchiata, their anatomy, 123 ; muscu-
lar system, 126 ; nervous system, 129 ; diges-
tive system, 164 ; circulating system, 167, re-
spiratory system, 169 ; reproductive system,
439 ; diseases and parasitical animals, 443

Lamellicorn Beetles, observations on by Mr.
Hope, 17

Lamia Boisduvalii, Hope, n. sp. described, 230 ;
Lamia Lucia, Newman, n. sp. described, 147

Lantauvm, discovered by Prof. Kersten, 472

LegvminQMB, artificial arrangement of the gene-
ra, by Mr. Bird, 181

Leporma, Waterhouse, proposed term for a sec-
tion of the Ilocloitia, 93

Leptot erla, Newman, n. g. described, 89

Lettrts Pomarinvs procured at Ballantrae, 585 ;
dimensions of, 586

LibfUvta dcj rcssa and quadrimacidata, migra-
tion of, 516

GENERAL INDEX.

609

Lima, observations on the genus, by Mr. S. V.
Wood, 233 ; on the fossil species in the crag,
described by Mr. Wood, 234

Limatula, S. V. Wood, new sub-genus for a sec-
tion of Lima, 235

Limnoria terebrans, its destructiveness to Kyan-
ized wood recorded by Dr. Moore, 196

Lincoln, notice of the strata in the neighbourhood
of, 553

Lion, new fact in the Natural History of, 412

Liparis Montagui, sent from Portpatrick, 586

Lithodes Maja, sent from Ballantrae, 585

Lithodomus, fossil, containing shells of the ge-
nus Modiola, 551

Littorina punctura, Bean, n. sp. described and
figured, 62

London clay, unknown fossil remains from, de-
scribed by Mr. Wetherell, 496

Long, Mr. his farm at Achill noticed, 573

Lough Derg, 569

Loxia curvirostra, on the discovery of the nest
and eggs of near Farnham, 236 ; young of ob-
served at Saffron Walden, 565; breeding of in
Gloucestershire, noticed by Mr. Brown, 310 ;
in Surrey, by Mr. Long, 311

Lycopodium inundatum, locality for, 420

Macacus, fossil , discovery of in the London clay
near Woodbridge, 444 ; description of by Prof.
Owen, 446

Mammoth, fossil jaw of, described and figd. 348

Manentibranchia, name proposed by Mr. Hogg
for a section of the Amphibia, 375

Marmot, German, see Oricetus frumentarius.

Marsupialia (fossil), traces of erroneously sup-
posed to occur in the New Red Sandstone of
Germany, 44 ; found in the London clay near
Woodbridge, Suffolk, 448

■ Remains of from Stonesfield treated

on by M. Valenciennes, 1 ; his reference to Cu-
vier's opinion, 1 ; to those of Grant, De Blain-
ville, and Agassiz, 3; his own examination and
description of the original specimens, 5 ; com-
parison of with the Inscctivora and Amphibia
7 , his objections to the generic names, — Am-
phiyonus, Amphitherium, or Heterotherium,
proposal of the name Thylacotherium, 9

New doubts upon by M. De Blainville,

49; his reference to the opinions of other zoo-
logists, 50 ; quotation of the opinion given by
Agassiz in Leonhard and Bronn's Journal, 51 ;
his reply to the views of M. Valenciennes, 52;
reference to the Basilosaurus, 55 ; his wish to
retain the name of Amphitherium, and objec-
tion to that of Bothcratiotherium, 56

■ Abstract of Prof. Owen's paper on the

Thylacotherium Prcvostii, from the Proceed-
ings of the Geological Society, 201; osteologi-
cal characters exhibited by the specimens, and
reasons for regarding them as mammiferous
and marsupial in their nature, 220 ; approxi-
mation of the dentition to that of the genus
Myrmecobius, 204

■ Abstract of Prof. Owen's paper on the

Phascolotherium, 204: recapitulation of the
evidence for and against the mammiferous cha-
racter of the Thylacotherium, 205: objection
founded on the double fangs of the Basilosau-
rus considered, 205: characters of the jaw in
Phascolotherium, 206: its supposed compound
structure, 207 : comparison of with the jaws of
IleptUia, 207

Abstract of Mr. Ogilby's paper on the

structure and relations of the presumed mar-
supial jaws from Stonesfield, 208 : comparison
of their characters with those of recent marsu-
pials and Insect irora, 208: uncertain nature
of the assumed affinities to the Mammalia in
preference to the RepiUia, 209
Allusion to the discussion on the Stones-

field remains, in the general editorial article
253

Marsupialia (recent), history and classification
of the species inhabiting New Holland, by Mr.
Ogilby, 130 : alteration of his opinion as to the
integrity of the group, Marsupialia, 130 : con-
trast of the New Holland marsupials, to the
Mammalia generally of the Old World, 132 :
limited number of the species and genera, 133:
of the individuals of each species, 135 : anato-
my of the Marsupialia in relation to the pro-
ductive functions, 135 : original constitution of
the genus Didclphis, 257: classification of
Shaw and M. Geof. St. Hilaire, 258 : impor-
tant additions to the group by llliger, 259 : dis-
tribution into twelve natural genera, with their
characters, 360 : arrangements of Baron Cuvi-
er, Desmarest, and Latreille, 261 : relation be-
tween habits and economy in respect to clas-
sification, 264: objections to Latreille's ar-
rangement, 336 : kind of food and character of
dentition noticed in relation to natural classifi-
cation, 340: modifications exhibited by the ex-
tremities, 342 : arrangement of Mr. Ogilby, 344:
the rank which the entire group ought to occu-
py, 344

Marychurch, singular fossil from the neighbour-
hood of, 471

Mastodon, teeth of in the crag of Southwold, 466;
Mast, lonyirostris, jaw of discovered in the
crag near Norwich, 318

Melolontha, present arrangement of the species
formerly included in that genus, 17

Menoporna referred to by Mr. Hogg, 370

Meteorolites, fall of at the Cape, described by Mr.
Thompson, 145

Microscope, improvements in by Mr. Gill, 199

Mineral precipitates, new fact relating to, 567

Conchology, see Agassiz. Mr Sowerby's

intention to proceed with its publication, 417
Monkeys, notices of such as are found in the Chi-
nese writings, 587
Modiola found fossil within the shell of the Li.

thodomi, 551
Monotremata, zoological relations of treated on

by Mr. Ogilby, 345
Murina, Waterhouse, term proposed for a sec-
tion of the Rodentia, 92
Mus giganteus, cranium of figured, 275
Navicula tripunctata, found in Ireland, 355
Necrodes litloralis, pupa of figured and describ-
ed, 560
Nephrodium dilatatum, its three distinct types of

form, 551
Ncuropterides, Gopp. characters of, 543
Neuropteris, Brong., characters of the genus,

543
Norwich, crag of, treated upon, 316
Octopus octopodia procured at Portpatrick, 586
Odontoptosis, Brong., characters of the genus,

547
Ondatra zibethica, cranium of figured, 599
Opossum, see Marsupialia.
Ornithorhynchus, manner of rearing its young

345
Osmerus, capture of a new species near Rothsay,

364
Otaria, reference to the angle of the jaw, 8
Otodus, tooth of figured and described, 351
Pac/rypteris, characters of the genus, 456
Payurus referred to by Prof. Owen, 424
Paper Nautilus, see Argonauta.
Park, St. James's, remarks on the Water Fowl

preserved there, 469
Partridge, Red-legged, see Pcrdix rubra.
Pastor, rose-coloured, taken at Penzance, 467
Peltastes, Agass. characters of the genus, 502
Pcntamera, Mr. Shuckard's arrangement of, 505
Ptrdix rubra, on the habits of and introduction

610

GENERAL INDEX.

into England, by Dr. Clarke, 142

Perla abnormis described, 35 ; Perla Lycorias,
Newman, n. sp. described, 35 ; Perla Xanthe-
nes described, 35

Perlites, synonymy of, 32

Phascolotherium, characters of by Prof.Owen,204

Phoca, dentition of referred to, 7

Pholades, occurrence of in the coralline crag no-
ticed by Mr. Lyell, 314

Photogenic paper, on the mode of preparing, by
Dr. G. Bird, 188

Physeter macrocephalus, see Sperm whale.

Physalia, on the structure and habits of, by Mr.
Couch, 556

Pipe-fish, see Syngnathus.

Planorbis marginatus, found by Mr. Wood in
the crag at Sutton, 320

Plataspis (?) coraciua, White, n. sp. describ. 540

Plates, Supplementary, intended publication of
noticed, 196

Platygenia MacLeaii, Samouelle, n. sp. describ-
ed and figured, 25

Polistes, supposed nest of, 458

Polyporites, species of, 454

Pomarine Skua, see Lestris Pomarinus.

Popillice, new species of described by Mr. New-
man, 365

Porcellana longicornis found at Portpatrick, 587

Porosus, characters of the genus, 455

Postage, scientific importance of reduction in the
rates of, 416

Proteus, referred to by Mr. Hogg, 370

Psammomys obesus, cranium of figured, 276

Psaronius, characters of the genus, 455

Pteronarcys biloba described, 34 ; Pter. regalis
described, 34 ; Pter. Proteus described, 34

Quadrumana see Macacus.

Quarterly Review, opinion of Capt. Harris's ex-
pedition in the, 403

Railway, Eastern Counties', fossils found in the
cuttings of, 520

Rhinoceros, black, Sir Jas. Alexander's account
of, 410; shooting exploits of Capt. Harris, 406

Rodentia, on the cranial osteology of the group,
by Mr. Waterhouse, 90; 184; 274; 592

Rotalia, occurring upon Vermetus Bognoriensis
figured and described by Mr. Wetherell, 162

Saffron Walden, notice of scarce birds occurring
at, 99

Salenia, characters of the genus, 501

Salmon-fisheries near Roundstone, 576

Sanguinolaria parvula, Bean, n. sp. from the
combrash of Scarborough, described and figur-
ed, 59

Saw-fish, capture of an immense specimen in the
Gulf of Paria, 519

Say, Thos. list of his entomological writings, by
Mr. Doubleday, 139

Saxifraga umbrosa grows near Westport, 574

Sciurus vulgaris, skull of figured & described 94

general remarks on the genus, and on the

species inhabiting North America, by Dr.
Bachman, 113; Wei. capistratus, 117; Texia-
nus, 154: sub-auratus,\hb: magnicaudatus,
157; cinereus, 159: aureogaster, 158: leucotis
220 : nigrescens, 334 : Collicei, 334 : niyer,
335: Audubonii, 378: fuliginosus, 380: Doug-
lassii, 381 : Hudsonicus, 383 : Richardsonii,
385 : lanuginosus, 387 : rufiventer, 390

Scolopendrium vulgare on the ruins of Castle O'
Donnel and hedge-rows near Sligo, 569

Selborne, on the Botany of, by Mr. Pamplin, 137

Shells, chemical composition of, 123 ; colorations
of, 123

Shrew, see Sorex.

Siphonia anguilla, Lee, n. sp. described and fi-
gured, 18 ; Siph. clavata, Lee, n. sp. described
and figured, 12 .

Silurian System, Mr. Murchison's work on no-
ticed, 194

Siren, referred to by Mr. Hogg, 370

Slieve Croaghan, great height of, 572

Sligo, ferns of its neighbourhood, 569

Smith, Dr. Wm Biographical Notice of by Prof.

Phillips, 213 ; decease of noticed, 510, 515
Snow-crystals, on some singular forms of, by

Messrs. Thompson and Patterson, 107
Society, Botanical of London, extract from their
Annual Report, 148 ; their Proceedings no-
ticed, 194

- Entomological, of Stettin, 472

Geological, extract from Proceedings of

relating to the Stonesfield mammiferous re-
mains, 201
Sorex castaneus and Sor. remifer, taken at Bal-

lantrae, 585
Southwold, crag-deposits of, 315
Spalax typhlus, cranium of figured, 595
Spence, Mr. Portrait of noticed, 418
Sperm Whale, Mr. Beale's work on revwd. 249
Spongia ampulla, Lee, n. sp. described and fi-
gured, 15 ; Sp. catablastes, Lee, n sp. describ-
ed and figured, 13 ; Sp. fastigiata, Lee, n. sp.
described and figured, 14 ; Sp. ftuviatilis, oc-
currence of an anomalous insect in, described
by Mr. Westwood, 200; Sp. radiciformis
found at Bridlington, 11
Squirrels, North American, see Sciurus.
Squirrel, on the carnivorous propensity of, 311
Sternberg, Count Caspar, decease of noticed, 567
Strepitores, classification of the birds in that

group, by Mr. Blyth, 76
Studland, see Dorsetshire.
Swansea, Botany of, 561
Syngnathus ccquoreus, found at Ballantrae, 586

lumbriciformis, sent from Portpatrick, 586

Tectocoris Childreni, White, n. sp. descrbd. 542
Terebratula vsittacea, occurrence of in the crag

near Norwich referred to by Mr. Lyell, 321
Teredo, occurrence of at Teignmouth, 197
Teredus, generic name proposed for Lyctus niti'

dus, 507
Thylacotherium, generic m?me proposed by M.
Valenciennes for the Stonesfield supposed mar-
supials, 9; Thylac. Prevostii, on the charac-
ters of, by Prof. Owen, 201
Toad, its existence without food, 511
Touraine, faluns of, compared with the deposits

of the crag, 324
Trichius, characters of referred to, 24
Trout, white, of Ireland differs from the common

trout, 577
Tubicaulis, characters of the genus, 455
Tubipora incrustans, Bean, n. sp. described, 58
Tusks, fossil elephants', occurrence of at the

Knole sand and Scarborough, 349
Tympanophm-a, species of the genus, 453
Udotea cancellata, Lee, u. sp. described and fi-

fiured, 17
Ushar, see Asclepias proceras.
Valves, articulation of in the Mollusca, 124
Ventriculite growing upon a Cidaris, page 352 ;

note on by Dr. Mantell, 604
Vespa Britannica, nest of described, 459 ; Vcspa
Holsatica, its supposed identity with Vespa
Britannica, 460
Vespertilio jripistrellus, early appearance of, 198
Victoria rcgina, reference to, 195
Viper, see Adder
Wigham, Mr. J. B , his collection of crag shells

319
Woodcock's nest at Berkswell, 255
Woodward, Mr. Samuel, his list of crag species

referred to, 319
Zeuglodon, Owen, n g. described, 209
Zoological Notices by Mr. Charlesworth, 242
Zoophytes, new fossil species liom the Yorkshire

chaik, io xcgvTr3aJs£^x

GENERAL INDEX. 611

CORRECTIONS OF ERRATA

I>AGE. LINE. EKBATA. CORRECTIONS

228 12 intestine liver.

243 37 displaced displayed*

245 41 length width.*

286 27 Atelycychus Atelycyclus.

292 32 Apsendes Apseudes.

292 35 Ancens Anceus.

292 37 Pranzia Praniza.

293 2 Leptombra Leptomera.

In page 239, line 12,—
For " seven eighths of an inch in length and breadth,"
Bead " seven eighths of an inch in length, and five eighths in breadth.*

These two errata will not be found in the whole of the impression, as they were noticed
before it was all printed off.

END OF THE THIRD VOLUME.

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