bare rey trey ey Se Sobwte! a aad ae firm > oD Te et ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY. CONDUCTED BY Sir W. JARDINE, Bart.—P. J. SELBY, Esa. AND Dr JOHNSTON. “ Rerum naturalium sagax Indagator.” VOLUME SECOND. W. H. LIZARS, EDINBURGH ; S. HIGHLEY, 32, FLEET STREET, LONDON; AND W. CURRY, JUN. & CO., DUBLIN. MDCCCXXXVIII. “‘ Omnes res create sunt divine sapientie et potenti testes, divitie felicitatis humanze ; ex harum usu bonitas Creatoris ; ex pulchritudine sapientia Domini; ex ceconomia in conseryatione, proportione, renovatione, potentia majestatis elucet. Earum itaque indagatio ab hominibus sibi relictis semper estimata; a veré eruditis et sapientibus semper exculta; male doctis et barbaris semper inimiea fuit.”—Linn. PSN US oe me PRINTED BY JOHN STARK, EDINBURGH. — OH } ARS9xX (Y fl CONTENTS. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. No. VII. J. Account of a Botanical Excursion in the Alps of the Canton of Valais, Switzerland, in August 18355; and Catalogue of the Plants collected, with occasional Remarks. By R. J. SoHurrLEworru, Esq. Page } Ii. On the Dentition and other Characters of the British Shrews, with re- ference to M. Duvernoy’s recent researches into the structure of this genus of Animals. By the Rev. LEoNaRD JENYNS, M. A. F.L.S., F. Z. S., &c. = = f ie III. Contributions to the Natural History of Ireland. By WILLIAM Tuompson, Esq. Vice-President of the Belfast Natural History Society, - Ss A = = IV. Cheloniorum Tabula Analytica. Auctore Caroto L. BONAPARTE, Muxiniani Princip. - = “ = V. Miscellanea Zoclogica. By Grorce Jounston, M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, = - No. VIII. I. Notes on the Land and Fresh Water Mollusca of Great Britain, with a revised list of Species. _By Josuua ALDER, Member of the Natu- ral History Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, - II. On the Botany of Erris, County Mayo, and a notice of several addi- tions to the Flora Hibernica. By CHARLES C. Bapineton, M. A. F. L. S., &c. - = - - - Ill. Notes upon Subaquatic Insects, with the descripticn of a New Genus of British Staphylinide. By J. O. WEsTWwoop, F.L.S., &c. IV. The Natural History of the British Entomostraca. By WriLLiamM Barry, Surgeon, H. C. 8. Continued, 4 = V. Directions for the preservation of Sea Plants, with Miscellaneous Re- marks on a number of species collected at Cairnlough Bay, on the Coast of Antrim, in the months of May and June 1836. By JamEs S. DrumMonpD, M. D. President of the Belfast Natural History Society, &c. ~ - - - - = V1. Observations on the Caprimulgus Europeus (Night-Jar.) By Dr W. B. CLarkE, Ipswich, - = - - = VII. On the advancement of Local Botany in the environs of London, with remarks relative to the Dispersion of Plants in that vicinity, and the formation of plans exhibiting the Distribution of Species over locali- ties. By Danret Cooper, Curator to the Botanical Society of London, &c. - = ~ - - 58 63 101 1V VIII. IX. ae II. IV. VI. III. IV. Vv. VI. Vil. Contents. Contributions to the Natural History of Ireland. By WitLi1am TuHomrson, Esq. Vice-President of the Belfast Natural History So- ciety. Continued, - - - Page Account of a Botanical Excursion in the Alps of the Canton of Valais, Switzerland, in August 18355 and Catalogue of the Plants collected, with occasional Remarks. By R. J. SauTTLEWwoRTH, Esq. Con- tinued, - - - - - No. IX. On the British Species of the Genus Cerastium, being an attempt to elucidate their distinctive characters. By CHartEs C. BaBING- ton, M.A., F. L. S., &c. - = f = Characters and Descriptions of the Dipterous Insects indigenous to Britain. By James Duncan, M.W.S., &c. &c. Continued, . On the existence of a second membrane in the Asci of Fungi. By the Rev. M. J. BERKELEY, M. A., F. L. S., - - Observations on the Gemme of Bryum androe ohne By GEORGE DicxiE, Esq. Surgeon, Aberdeen, - - - On a peculiar structure in Shells; with some shace reine on the Shell of Spharulites. By Joun Epwarp Gray, F.R.S., &c. ~ Localities of Scottish Coleoptera. By the Rev. Wint1am LITTLE, No. X. » Historical Notice of Antoine Laurent de Jussieu. By M. Ap. BRONGNIART, = - = = = - Notes on the Ornithology of Norway. By W. C. HrwiTson, Esq. . The British Cerastia: a Supplement to a former Essay. By C. C. BaBineTon, F.L.S., &c. Plate 1X. Continued, The Natural History of British Zoophytes. By GEoncE JOHNSTON, M. D. Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. (Con- tinued from Vol. i. p. 447,) o = 3 i On a Confervoid State of Mucor Clavatus, Lk. By the Rev. M. J. BERKELEY, M.A., F. L.S., = 5 No. XI. . The Fauna of Twizell. By P. J. SEnBy, Esq. (Continued,) . A Notice, with the results, of a Botanical Expedition to Guernsey and Jersey, in July and August 1837. By CHARLES C. BaBINGTON, M.A., F.L.S., &c. - - - = - The Natural History of the British Entomostraca. No. IV. By WiLu1aM Barrp, Surgeon H.C.S., &c. - . Remarks on the Mosses found in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen. By G. Dicxik, Esq. - - - - - Observations on some New or Obscure Species of Plants. No. I. By G. A. WALKER ARNOTT, LL. D., F.L.S., &c. 3 Contributions to the Natural History of Ireland. By WiLi1am THompson, Esq. Vice-President of the Belfast Natural History Society. ‘4 6 s £ st A x Dr Robert H. Schomburgh’s description of Victoria Regina, Gray. Plate XII. : - - eS a = 170 180 319 340 387 397 400 412 419 427 440 Contents. VIII. Contribution towards a knowledge of the Crenilabri (Cuv.) of Ireland, including Descriptions of Species apparently new to Science. By Witiiam THompson, Esq. Vice-President of the Natural History Society of Belfast. Plates XIII. and XIV. = Page No, XII. I. A Revision of the Genera of Bats (Vespertilionide), and the Description of some new Genera and Species. By JoHN EDWARD Gray, F. R. S., President of the Botanical Society of London, &c. &c. II. Account of a Botanical Excursion in the Alps of the Canton of Valais, Switzerland, in August 1835 ; and Catalogue of the Plants collected, with occasional Remarks. By R. J. SauTTLEWORTH, Esq. (Con- tinued from p. 196,) o i os a 5 I1I. An attempt to ascertain the Faunaof Shropshire and North Wales. By Tuomas C. Eyton, F. Z.S. ~ - - - 1V. Observations on some New or Obscure Species of Plants. Wo. II. By G. A. WaLKER ARNOTT, LL. D., F. L.S., &c. (Continued from page 247,) - - - - REVIEWS AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS. No. VII. I. Icones Plantarum, or Figures with brief descriptive characters and re- marks of New or Rare Plants, selected from the Author’s Herbarium. By Sir W. J. Hooker, K. H., LL. D., &c. - i II. Dr Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopedia. Natural History. Natural History and Classification of Birds. By W. Swatnson, Esq. = III. An Analysis of the British Ferns and their Allies. With Copper-plate engravings of every Species and Variety. By GrorcE W. FRANCIs, PERIODICALS. Loudon’s Magazine of Natural History, = = af Companion to Botanical Magazine, - - = Annales des Sciences Naturelles, - - - 2 Annalen der Physik und Chemie, - = = No. IX. Manuel de Malacologie et de Conchyliologie. Par H. M. DucroTay DE BLAINVILLE. Manuel de I’Histoire Naturelle des Mollusques et de leur Coquilles. Par M. SanDER Rane. The Genera of Recent and Fossil Shells; for the use of Students in Con- chology and Geology. By GEORGE BRETTINGHAM SOWERBY. The Elements of Modern Conchology ; with Definitions of all the Tribes, Families, and Genera, Recent and Fossil. For the use of Students and Travellers. By WILLIAM Swainson, Esq. Elements of Conchology, according to the Linnean System, illustrated by 28 plates drawn from Nature. By the Rey. E. I. Burrow, A. M. F.L. 5S. - = - - = 442 543 vi Contents. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. Fauna Japonica. Auctore Po. Fr. De SrEBoLD.—Ophidii elaborantibus C. J. TeEmminck et H. SCHLEGEL, - - Page A Synopsis of the Birds of Australia and the adjacent Islands. By Joun Gourn, FL: S: Part 10. - - - Catalogue of the Cellulares or Flowerless Plants of Great Britain, or those included in the Linnzan class Cryptogamia ; compiled from Sir W. J. Hooker’s English Flora, Vol. V.; Sir J. EK. Smith’s English Flora, Vol. IV. ; Mackay’s Flora Hibernica; Henslow’s Catalogue of British Plants, and other sources. By W. A. LercutTon, B. A. F. B. S. Ed., A History of British Birds, Indigenous and Migratory, including their organi- zation, habits, and relations, remarks on Classification and Nomenclature ; an account of the principal Organs of Birds, and observations relative to practical Ornithology. Illustrated by numerous ee By WILLIAM Macecitnivray. Vol. I. - - - Report by MM. De Blainville, Isidore Geoffroy, a Dumeril, on M. Perche- ron’s work entitled Bibliographie Entomologique. - TRANSACTIONS AND PERIODICALS. Transactions of the Philosophical and Literary Society of Leeds, consisting of papers read before the Society. Vol. I. Part I. - Loudon’s Magazine of Natural History. New Series. May and June 1837, Companion to Botanical Magazine. By Sir W. J. HooKER, Professor of Bo- tany in the University of Glasgow, - - = e Annales des Sciences Naturelles. Zoologie,- MM. AUDOUIN et MitnE-ED- WARDS. Botanique, MM. Ap. BRONGNIART et GUILLEMIN, - American Journal of Sciences and Arts. Conducted by BENJAMIN SILLI- MAN, M.D. LL.D. Vol. XXXII. No. 1. April 2837, - - No X. Voyage Scientifique en Moree, - - : S BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. A History of British Birds). By WiLLiam YARRELL, F. 1. S., Secretary to the Zoological Society. Illustrated by a Wood-cut of each Species, and numerous Vignettes. No. 1. - - - - - The Birds of Australia and the adjacent Islands. By JoHN GouLD, F.L.S. Part 1. - = - - - - Icones Avium, or Figures and Descriptions of New and interesting Birds from various parts of the Globe. By Joun Gouin, F. L.S. Forming a Sup- plement to his former works. Part 1. e 5 rs Supplement to the Flora Metropolitana, or Botanical Rambles within thirty miles of London. By Danrex Cooper, A.L.S., E 2 PERIODICALS. Loudon’s Magazine of Natural History. New Series. July and August 1837. Continued from p. 276, = = z 3 Companion to the Botanical Magazine. By Sir W. J. HOOKER, Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow. Continued from p. 276, = Annales des Sciences Naturelles. Zoologie, MM. AuDOUIN et MILNE-HD- warps. Botanique, MM. Ap. BRONGNIART et GUILLEMIN, - Magazin de Zoologie, Journal destiné a ctablir une correspondence entre les 266 266 267 267 269 271 276 276 278 344 360 Contents. zoologistes de tous les pays, et a leur faciliter les Moyens de publier les es- péces nouvelles on peu connues qu’ils possedent. Par FV. EK. GuEkin-ME- NEVILLE, 7 = - - - Page No. XI. Dr Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopedia. Natural History. Natural History and Classification of Birds. By W. Swainson, Esq, A. C. G., F. R.S. L., &c. - = - Se - z PERIODICALS. Loudon’s Magazine of Natural History. New Series. September and Oc- tober 1837, - - - - " - Annales des Sciences Naturelles. Zoologie, MM. AuDOWIN et MILNE-ED- WARDS. Botanique, MM. Ap. BRONGNIART et GUILLEMIN, - The American Journal of Science and Arts. Conducted by BENJAMIN SIL- LIMaN, M. D. - - - - - Magazin de Zoologie, Journal destiné a faciliter aux Zoologistes de tous les pays, les Moyens de publier leur Trauvaux, et les espéces nouvelles on peu connues quils possedent. Par F. KE. GUERIN-MENEVILLE, - Miller’s Archiv. fiir Anatomie Physiologie, &c. - - Linnza,—Ein Journal fiir die Botanik, &c. - - - No. XII. Dr Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopedia. Natural History. Natural History and Classification of Birds. By W. Swarnson, Esq. A. C. G., F.R.S. L., &c. Vol. II. (Continued from p. 461,) = BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. Tentamen Pteridographiz, seu Genera Filicaceatum, presertim juxta venarum decursum et distributionem exposita. Auctore, CaRoLO Bor. PREst. Prage, 1836. 8vo. Pp. 290, = - = = Bryologia Europea, seu Genera Muscorum Europeorum Monographice illus- trata. Auctoribus, BrucH et W. P. ScoimePER. Fasc. I. cum Tab. xi. Stuttgartie, 1837. to, - = A Encyclopedia Britannica, edited by Professor NaprER. Article Mammalia, INTELLIGENCE. No. VII. Zoological, 92.—-Miscellaneous 93.—Proceedings of Societies, 5 2 No. IX. Zoological, 283.—-Botanical, 285,— Miscellaneous, - = No. X. Zoological, 365.—Botanical, 366.—Miscellaneous, 570—Report of the Seventh Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 370.— Obituary, - - = = = No. XI. Zoological, 471-—Botanical, 472.—Miscellaneous, 474.—Proceedings of So- cieties, 477.—Obituary, = = = g No. XII. Botanical, - - ~ Vil 361 593 560 560 561 389 or = Conirostres, Accipiter, - - Dentirostres, Buteo, = = Fissirostres, Cymindis, - - Tenuirostres, Aquila, - - Rasores. These analogies and relations he proceeds to trace with great skill, and we regret that our limits will not permit us to follow them in de- tail. He then enters into the examination of the five leading ge- neric groups, commencing with the genus Falco, as the most typi- cal of the whole family. The subgenus Falco, the first noticed, * For a figure and description of this bird, see Vol. IJ. plate 66, Ilustra- tions of Ornithology, by Sir William Jardine, Mr Selby, &c. VOE. Ie. NO. 7. F 82 Classification of Birds. contains the true Falcons, distinguished by a single tooth on the upper mandible, with an incipient festoon or sinuation behind it ; next to it he places the subgenus Harpugus, (the Bidens of Spix), with two small teethin the upper mandible, the wings more rounded, and the scutellation of the tarsi different from that of Falco. The passage between Harpagus and Falco is effected by the F. cwru- lescens of Linneus. The third group is marked by F. lophotes of Temminck, evidently an aberrant form, and probably the rasorial type. The fourth is his subgenus Aviceda, a bird with which we are not acquainted ; and the fifth he thinks may probably prove to be the Gampsonyx Smainsoni of Vigors, which in some respects seems to unite the characters of Buteo and Falco. The circle of the genus, or division Accipiter, he commences with Ictinia, Vieill. as a form connecting Lophotes with the accipitrine falcons: this is followed by the typical subgenus Accipiter, well characterized by the sparrowhawk. The third is that of Astur, or goshawk group, and as a fourth form belonging to it, he proposes the Pondicherry eagle, (Aquila Pondicerianus, auct.) a bird which, in our estima- tion, has a nearer affinity to the aquiline group. The fifth form has not yet been recognized. The genus Aquila, the first of the aberrant groups of the Falco- nid, contains four types, represented by Pandion, Harpyia, Aquila, and Ibycter, the second and third being the typical and subtypical groups, while Pandion represents the aquatic or fissirostral type, and Ibycter the rasorial : the fifth, or tenuirostral form, he thinks, may possibly be represented by Asturina, Vieill. The Milvine or kite division, represented by the genus Cymindis, he enters by means of Polyborus, an American group nearly related to Ibycter; this is followed by the genus Cymindis, the pre-emi- nent type, all the members of which belong to South America. Next to it he thinks it likely that the genus Elanus will take its place, and this view we are inclined to adopt, looking at specimens of species now before us. The bill we perceive is as much hooked, and similar in form to that of Cymindis. The characters of the feet are peculiar, the interior toe being longer than the exterior, and the hinder toe shorter than either: the claws are sharp and strong, and all of them rounded beneath, as in Pandion ; the under one in addi- tion has a sharp projecting edge on its inner side. ‘The wings are long, the feathers broad, with the first quill emarginate near the tip. The tail is nearly even, or very slightly forked. This form is immediately followed by Vigors’s genus, Nauclerus, represented by the fork-tail kite of America, which, from its swallow like form and Classification of Birds. a3 powers of flight, evidently forms the fissirostral type of the Milvine circle, thus bringing it into immediate contact with the common kite of Europe, which we think he very properly excludes from this division, and places among the buzzards as its fissirostral form. The fifth form of Cymindis he thinks it is not improbable may be Vieillot’s genus Circetus, but we know too little of this group to give an opinion as to the correctness of the supposition. The last division is that of the Buzzards, which, by some of its members, leads back again to the typical Falcons. “This group, as he observes, might with more propriety have been called Harriers, as it is the genus Circus which exhibits the fissirostral type of the whole family in the greatest perfection. The subtypical form he considers to be re- presented by Buteo lagopus, in which subgenus he also leaves the common buzzard and other similar forms. In regard to the genus Pernis (honey-buzzard), had the author enjoyed the opportunity of examining the specimens now before us, he would, we think, have found little hesitation in pronouncing it to be the tenuirostral type of the division, as it exhibits the characters of a weak and slender bill, with feet and claws less raptorial in structure than any of its congeners. The common kite, Milvus vulgaris, Temm. as we have previously observed, is considered the fissirostral fourm of the divi- sion. The fifth or rasorial type is not indicated by Mr Swainson ; may it not be represented by the Falco cristatellus, Temm. the Spi- zaetus cristatellus of Jardine and Selby? From the Falconide, he proceeds to trace the natural series of the Strigide or owls, confining his exposition to the primary divi- sions and genera only. The passage from the Falconide is well marked in the genus Czrcus, where we perceive the first indications of that peculiar ruff of tiled feathers, which surrounds the head, and is seen in its highest developement in the Strigine or typical owls. The formation of the ear, the eye, and facial disk, being the pe- culiar distinctions of this family, he naturally forms his primary groups upon the greater or less developement of these organs. The first, or typical group is therefore, that in which the facial disk is very large and perfect, with large ears, and in general an ample operculum. ‘The second or subtypical, with a large facial disk, but small or moderate sized ears, the head furnished with egrets. The third or aberrant group with the circle of the ear small and des- titute of an operculum, the facial disk imperfect or obsolete, and the head without egrets. This group is as usual divisible into three, each of which possesses its distinguishing characters. The first group is typically represented by the common white or barn owl of this 84 Classification of B irds. country, (St. flammea) ; init he also places, and we think very pro- perly, our long and short-eared owls (Oius vulgaris, and Ot. bra- chyotos ), considering them rasorial types. A third form is that of Strix Tengmalmi: to this group he gives the name of Scolophilus. A fourth is represented by the huge Strza cinerea of the northern zoology, for which he proposes the generic or subgeneric name of Scotiaptex. The fifth, which ought to represent the raptorial type, is not indicated: why should not the S¢. stridula or some of its nearly allied congeners supply the deficiency ? The 2d division, or as he terms it genus, Aso, contains, Ist, the true horned-owls, of which the great European horned-owl, and the Virginian species may be considered representations. A second form is that of Bubo arcticus of the northern zoology, now made Heliap- tex arcticus, and a third he thinks is represented by the Scops Owls. As the only type of the first aberrant group, stands the great white owl or genus Nyctea, distinguished by its very small ears, and with- out any ruff or series of stiff feathers encircling the head, the eye- brows also perfect like those of the falcons, and its habits are diur- nal. His genus Nyctipetes, formed of the small South American owls, which possess no marginal ruff, with small ears destitute of an operculum, and which are perfectly separated from the small Kuro- pean owls, or his genus Scotophilus, form a fourth group ; and the fifth is composed of the hawk-owls or genus Surnia of Dumeril, pos- sessing a small head, without a facial disk, along cuneated tail, and diurnal habits. Such is his outline of the primary groups of this hitherto confused, and, we may add, neglected family of the order, and so far as we can judge from the forms we have been able to con- sult, they appear founded on the true aflinities of the species. It will be seen that he has rejected some of the modern genera, as Noctua, Ulula, &c. at the same time he has found it necessary to institute others, such as Scotiaptex, Scotophilus, Heliaptex, and Nyctipetes. Much, however, remains to be done to fill up the de- tails of the various groups, which can only be effected by a strict analysis of the species, a matter not easily accomplished, as there are few collections which contain a sufficient number of forms belonging to this family, wherewith to institute the necessary cemparison and examination. The concluding chapter enters upon the consideration of the In- sessorial order; but as the exposition only extends to one of its pri- mary divisions, viz. the Dentirostral tribe, we shall merely observe, that he traces the whole of its analogies with the other tribes and families of the order, in a manner that intimates a thorough acquain- Analysis of British Ferns. 85 tance, and a deep analytical investigation of the subject. Any fur- ther observations we must postpone till after the publication of ano- ther volume, in which the subject is pursued ; having already ex- tended our analysis to a length we fear both tedious and tiresome, and only to be justified or excused by the importance of the work. III.—An Analysis of the British Ferns and their Allies. With Cop- per-plate engravings of every Species and Variety. By GrorcE W. Francis. Lond. 1837. 8vo. A work we can honestly and heartily recommend,—which ought to be in the hands of every student of the British Ferns, if he de- sires to have a safe and interesting guide in the investigation of this peculiarly attractive family, and if he is anxious to encourage the labours of an enthusiastic fellow-botanist. In the “ Introduction” the author enters with some detail into the characters, structure, reproduction, geographical! distribution, and virtues of the families in which British species occur,—following which there is a synopsis of the genera. The species are then de- scribed one by one. Here we have a very copious list of Habitats, a selected number of Synonyms derived from personal study of the respective authors, and a good description, embracing a regular spe- cification of all the variations and varieties, evidently deduced from an extensive comparison of specimens from many and distant locali- ties. There is, however, a singular variety of Aspidium Filix-mas which does not seem to have come under Mr Francis’ notice,—where the frond, not above a span in height, is simply pinnate with undi- vided oblong crenated leaves. It is something like Grammitis ce- terach ; and that the peculiarities are not dependent on immaturity is obvious from the fact that the plant is loaded with fruit. We are assured that this variety is frequent in some parts of Ireland, although not mentioned in the “ Flora Hibernica.” The figures are miniatures, but, with scarcely an exception, hap- pily express the habit and character of the species, and will, we are confident, answer every purpose that a figure is intended to answer. They are vastly creditable to the talent and skill of the author, by whom they are all drawn and etched ; and when we are told that they are his first essays in these arts, we view them with a consi- derable portion of admiration, for their neatness and elegance is really remarkable. Were we inclined to find any fault with the work it is that there is less of popular matter than there might have been: illustrations 86 Magazine of Natural History. from our poets would have been ornamental, and not incompatible with scientific accuracy or pretension. Our poets—old and living— have sung of Ferns many a time and oft ; they were plants of power in the superstitions of our forefathers, who also drew from them more copiously than we now do for a supply of some little wants, as in- deed, the author has told us, but we should have been pleased to have seen some quaint quotations interwoven with the text in illus- tration of them. Perhaps too the author would have done well to have given a short separate chapter indicating the distribution of our Ferns in relation to their latitudes, peculiar soils and sites ; and we could have wished that, in giving the habitats, the classification of them into English, Welsh, Scottish, Irish and Insular had been more systematically attended to than it has been. Periopicaus.— British. Loudon’s Magazine of Natural History. New Series. March and April 1837. I. Zoology. Buiytu on the Psychological Distinctions between Man and all other Animals, p. 131.—~Srrickuanp on the Inexpediency of altering established Terms in Natural History, p. 127. WestT- woop on Generic Nomenclature, p. 169. STRICKLAND’s Rules for Zoological Nomenclature, p. 173. Dr Moore on the Birds of Devonshire, p. 113 and 176. Hoy’s Notice of two species of Tringa new to the British Islands, with a list of the rarer Birds killed in Suffolk, and the adjoining borders of Norfolk and Essex, from the autumn of 1635 to December 1836, p. 115. W. L. on the breeding of Woodcocks in Selkirkshire, with observations on the Habits of the Black and Red Grouse, and Carrion Crow in Scot- land, p. 118. BuiytH on the Habits and Peculiarities of the common Bottletit or Mufflin (Parus caudatus of Linneus,) p. 199. G. W. on the supposed different species of Viper, p. 183. Observations upon the Salmon in Loch Shin in Sutherland, by JamEs Locu, M. P. p. 208. Gray’s Description of some singularly formed Orthopterous Insects, p. 141. STUTCHBURY on Cypre- cassis, a new genus of univalve shells, p. 214. Cassis rufa of Brug- uiere is the type of this well-defined genus. On Nematura of Benson, a new genus of univalve shells, by G. B. SowErsy, p. 217. CHARLESWORTH on a new Fossil Shell from the Coast of Suf- folk, p. 218. RicuaRpson’s Observations upon the Chronologi- Companion to Botanical Magazine. 87 cal Arrangement of fossiliferous Deposits, by a reference to their organic contents, p. 122. II. Botany. Letter from Gotpine Birp, Esq. in Reply to some observations published in the “‘ Edinburgh Journal of Natural History” upon the cause of Vegetable Divergence, p. 180. The sHorT coMMUNICATIONS relate to—(1.) Preservation of Zoo- logical Specimens. (2.) Variation in the Plumage of Birds. (3.) The Cross-bill. (4.) The Robin. (5.) Sphinx atropos. (6.) Helix virgata. Companion to Botanical Magazine. By Str W. J. Hooxer, Pro- fessor of Botany in the University of Glasgow. (Continued from page 578 of Vol. i.) THE number for February last contains an interesting paper by Dr Graham, Professor of Botany in the University of Edinburgh, on «< the Gamboge tree of Ceylon.” Specimens of the tree have been forwarded to Dr Graham and other scientific persons in Scotland, together with the pure gamboge, by their invaluable correspondent, Mrs Colonel Walker. The result has been, that the tree of Ceylon producing the gamboge is different in species and genus from any of those which were supposed to produce the drug. The gamboge yield- ed by it is equal in quality to that imported from Siam, but regard- ing this there seems to exist no authentic record from what plant it is produced. Dr Graham has formed a new genus from the Ceylon plant, Hebradendron. He refers it to the class and order Monecia (or Diecia) Monadelphia, and places in it two species ; 1. H. cam- bogioides, having for synonyms Garcinea morella, Stalagmilis cam- bogioides, Morris, Cat.—2. H. ellipticum, Garcinia elliptica, Wallich. The paper will be found worthy of perusal. Notes upon some genera and species of Orchidie in the collection formed by M. Drege at the Cape of Good Hope, by J. Lindley, Ph. D. F. B.S. &c. A brief Biographical Sketch of the late Richard Cunningham, Colonial Botanist in New South Wales. This botanist, whose untimely end we had to record in an early number of this Magazine, succeeded as Colonial Botanist to the late Mr Frazer in 1832, on the recommendation of Mr Brown. — His career has been a short one, and we can now only hope that the discoveries he had so successfully commenced will be wrought out by his brother, who has been appointed to the vacant office. The next paper will be now read with interest—Flora Insularum Nove Ze- landiz precursor, or a specimen of the botany of the islands of New 88 Companion to Botanical Magazine. Zealand, concluded by “ those interesting discoveries which Richard Cunningham made during his excursions on the northern island in the portions of the years 1833-4,” (arranged and edited by Allan Cun- ningham.) This paper commences withthe discoveries of Sir J. Banks and Solander, during the first voyage of Captain Cook, and brings them down through the various voyages of discovery, including those of the Coquille and Astrolabe, to 1834. The number for March begins with a continuation of the last paper, which is still further to be continued. On the Sources and Composition of Gamboge, with an examination of some analogous concrete juices, by R. Christison, M. D., Professor of Materia Medica in the University of Edinburgh, a worthy and important supplement to Dr Graham’s paper in the former number. Dr Christison has ana- lysed the varieties of gamboge, including that sent from Ceylon by Mrs Walker. The principal ingredients in all are resin and aribin, in proportions not varying very greatly, and the conclusions arrived at are, that the proportions of the essential ingredients vary in the same species where the situation of the tree is different; that the gamboge tree of Ceylon may be made to yield a pigment as fine and perfect as that of Siam, while in its medicinal qualities it also pos- sesses properties in the fullest perfection ; and it is finally re- commended that our Government, and the settlers at Ceylon, should use a little enterprise in the culture of this tree.. Ilustrations of Indian Botany, principally of the southern parts of the Peninsula, by Dr Wright and G. A. W. Arnot, continued. A description of Spartina alternifolia of Loiseleur, a new British species, by Wil- liam Arnold Broomfield, M. D. concluded in the number for April. There seems to be considerable confusion in the synonyms, and also with some species which have been sent from America as the true S. stricta, The banks of the river Itchen, near Southampton, seem to be the great locality. “ These Spartina swamps extend along each side of the river, beginning just above the village of Itchen, to within afew hundred yards of Norham Bridge, beyond which I have never met with either kind.” Account of a botanical excursion into Brittany, by Joseph Wood, Esq. F. L. S. Description of some new Cistacee, chiefly found by Mr Drummond in the southern- most regions of North America, by E. Spach ; not concluded. Annales des Sciences Naturelles. 89 PERiopicALs.— Foreign. Annales des Sciences Naturelles. Zoologie, MM. Aupouin et MILNE- Epwarps. Sotanique, MM. Av. Broneniart et GuILLEMIN. Crochard & Co. Paris, Septembre 1836. I.— Zoology. Notes sur les caractéres zoologiques des Pulex penetrans, par M. Dueces. The differences between it and the common flea are too slight to be considered of generic importance. Recherches sur V Anatomie du Pentastoma tenioides, par M. Miram. Observa- tions sur les genres Gerboise et Gerbille, par M.¥. Cuvier. Observations sur les Aranetdes, par A. DucEs. Analyse des travaux anat. physiol., et zoolog. présentés a U Acad. des Sciences pendant le mois de Septembre 1836: viz. Rerzius sur la structure des dents: BopvicHoNn sur une espece du genre Canis: THompson sur le tissu dartoide: DomBre Firmas sur la pression atmosphé- rique: DONNE sur les animalcules contenus dans le pus: VANBE- NEDEN sur les caractéres des Cétacés. II.— Botany. Dunia Iter asturicum botanicum, anno 1835 susceptum, auctore J. Gay. Observations sur ascension de la seve dans une Liane, et description d'une nouvelle espéce de Cissus, par C. GAUDICHAND. Muscorum Chilensium species novas descripsit, W. P. Scurmper. Exxtraits du Botanical Register pour Vannée 1835 et le mots de Janvier 1836.——A noticeof Dre CanpoLue’s Prodromus, Vol.v.—— Du véveil et du sommeil des Plantes, par M. Dutrocuet.——* Nova genera ac species Plantarum quas in regno Chilensi, Peruviano et in terra Amazonica, annis 1827 ad 1832, legit Edouard Peeppig et cum Stephano Endlicher descripsit iconibusque illustravit, volumen primum.” A short notice.——~‘ Mantissa Muscorum ad Floram Pe- demontanam, auct. J. de Notaris.” Another short notice.——Rhiso- botrya, genre de plante nouveau de la Flore d' Allemagne, par J. C. Tauscu.——“ Plante Indicx quas in montibus Coimbaturicis ceru- leis, Nilagiri s. Neilgherries dictis, collegit Rev. Bern. Scuarp. Illustravit Dr Jon. Car. Zenker. Decas secunda.” A series of extracts descriptive of the new species described in this work. Annalen der Physik und Chemie. Von PogeEnpvorr. : Vol. xxxviii. pt. 2. On the Structure and Chemical properties of Cartilage and Bone, by J. MuuurEr. This paper may be considered as a sequel to that upon the Comparative Anatomy of the Myxinoidea, of which we gave 90 Annalen der Physik und Chemie. an analysis in our fourth number. It chiefly relates to the Chemical Structure of Cartilage, and the varieties of it which occur in different animals. The analysis of the cartilage of Squalus peregrinus by Chev- reuil, has been followed up with great accuracy by Purkinje, and Deutsch.* The bony cartilage of the higher animals was examined by them in the form of microscopic lamella, the tissue having been previ- ously expelled by means of acid. They then found that this substance contains many minute oval bodies dispersed through it, which, ac- cording to+ Miescher, not only occur in that situation, but also in the callus of re-united bones, in bones imperfectly developed, &c. The dimensions of these bodies are estimated in English lines, at from 0.0048 to 0.0072 in length, by 0.0017 to 0.0030 in breadth. These minute bodies generally lie lengthways in the direction of the layers of cartilage, and are somewhat more opaque than the sur- rounding substances. It is not easy to determine whether they are hollow or solid. They seem to admit of great variety in their struc- ture, in different parts, especially those which occur in the cartilage of the ribs, in which situation they are often found lying confusedly together, and contain apparently a sort of kernel. In the cartila- ginous fishes, the contents of these bodies are more fluid, and in the cartilage of Petromyzon, they vary in different parts, in one place presenting the above-mentioned oval form, in another, cells, divided by thin cartilaginous partitions, and in a third, an intermediate state between these conditions. ‘These bodies frequently also occur in the external, as well as the internal cartilage of certain animals, as for instance in the cuirass of the armadillo ; in cartilaginous bones they are often wanting. They are not met with in the Ostracion, in the tubercular cartilage of the sturgeon, nor in the skeletons of many cartilaginous fishes. They are identical when they are found in the cartilaginous bones of man, of the Mammalia, and of fishes, but in the other cartilage of the two former classes, they present great variations, which are arranged under three distinct heads by Miescher. The glutinous matter contained in the different carti- lages is divided by the author into two classes, to which he applies the terms colla and chondrine, and he also gives the results of va- rious analysis of cartilage in different states of ossification, and taken from various parts of the body. The structure and chemical pro- perties of the bones of the higher animals is next described, followed by a similar detail of those of the cartilaginous fishes. M. Marchand * Deutsch de penitiori ossium structura. Vratisl. 1834. + Miescher de ossium genesi, structura, et vita. Berol. 1836. Annalen der Physik und Chemie. 91 has also extended his researches to the latter class, and finds that the ossified cartilage does not contain a materially less quantity of lime than the bones of the higher vertebrata. The spine of Squa- lus cornubicus, after being exposed to a white heat, till all the animal matter was consumed, left in one instance 41.55, in another 42.068 per cent. of ashes. The following is the result of his ana- lysis. Combustible animal matter, 57.07 Sulphate of soda, ... ... 0.80 Phosphate of lime, __... 32.46 Muriateof do; 4.26. ay-nek eee 2-00 Sulphate of lime, ... ... 1.87 Phosphate of magnesia, ... 1.03 Carbonate ofilime;, 0 jee. 2257 Siliceous earth, argillaceous do. Fluate of lime, ... ... a trace. ITON>, and 1OSS; e esean eee ee 100.00 The Tubercular cartilage of a large ray gave Combustible animal matter, ... 78.46 per cent. Carbonate ofilimes) ssi .se1 0.0) 2267 Phosphate of do, ... ... ... 14.80 Sulphatevotdoy gers Os Ge Bluaterotsdos tem cecn eseel) eeear traces Miuniatero tm Sodaquesmieesecce mechs LO: Sulphate) ofidowescg coeur sce Osa0, Phosphoric acid, magnesia, and loss, 0 14 100.00 No. 11, Vol. xxxix. contains a brief statement of the results of seve= ral experiments upon the electric rays, by M. Matteucci, who thinks that the Natural History of these animals is far from being under- stood, and is therefore still occupied in its investigation. M. Fran- cis Schulze of Berlin has also communicated a preliminary state- ment of his experiments upon equivocal generation, and upon the metamorphoses of Amylum. INTELLIGENCE. ZOOLOGICAL. Bank Vole, Bell.—Arvicola pratensis, Baillon, A. riparia, Jenyns. It is likely that this species is not very local in its distribution, as I have lately detected it in Northumberland. Two specimens, a male and female, were taken at the same time in a hang trap baited with oat-meal, in the garden at Twizell. Their appearance at once at- tracted my attention, as I perceived, even while they remained half concealed in the holes of the trap, that their tail was longer than that of the common vole, and yet very much shorter than that of the long- tailed field-mouse, to which, however, the colour of the back nearly approached. Upon comparing them with the descriptions given by Yarrell and Jenyns, and Bell of the A. pratensis, I found them to agree in every essential particular with that species. In form, the bank vole is scarcely so thick and short as its congener, 4. agrestis, the muzzle more elongate, and the ears longer, and more distinctly seen above the fur. The hairs at the end of the tail, and which ex- tend considerably beyond the bony part, are stiff and elastic. The crown of the head and upper parts are of a reddish-brown inter- mixed with black, the sides were inclined to grey, the under parts yellowish-white, the yellow more strongly indicated on the mesial _ line of the abdomen. ‘The length of the head and body 3} inches, of the tail 15 inches. These are the only individuals I have yet seen, or at least that have attracted my attention as differing from the com- mon vole. It is likely, however, that it will be found upon investi- gation a plentiful species.—P. J. S. — Arvicola pratensis.—My friend R. M. Lingwood, Esq. captured a specimen of this little animal, in my presence, at his house, High- lands, near Uckfield, Sussex, on the 16th of January 1837. This adds another county to those of which it is recorded as being a na- tive. —C. C. BaABINGTON. Rhea.—Mr Darwin has brought home among his other zoological treasures, specimens of a new or second species of Rhea, which ap- pears to take the place of the old species in Patagonia. It is distin- Roology, &c. 93 guished from the R. Americana in being about one-fifth less, and in the tarsi being reticulated and feathered below the knee. Sivatherium.—M. Geoffroy St Hilaire and M. De Blainville have laid before the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, the results of their inquiries regarding the nature of this interesting fossil ani- mal, discovered in the valley of the Markonda, in the southern dis- trict of the Himalaya. The first is of opinion that it is a species of antediluvian giraffe, and has proposed the title of Cameleop. primi- genus for it. M. De Blainville, again, although he alJows it to belong to the group of the ruminants, considers it far removed from the giraffes, and enters into a lengthened detail of his reasons for this difference of opinion. If his arguments are correct, these remains will belong to an animal which cannot be ranked in any of the known genera of Mammalia. Surnia Nyctea, Dumeril.—On the 13th of February last a fine male snowy owl was shot three miles below Selby-on-the-moor, where it had been observed by the miller, at a mill adjoining, for a day or two previous. The moor is well stocked with rabbits, and the owl was most probably preying upon them: it appeared very shy, and when pinioned by the shot was extremely fierce. It was ultimately ‘got into a sack and killed by pressure, when it came into the pos- session of my friend A. Clapham, Ksq. of Potternewton, near Leeds. —H. DENNY. Cepola rubescens, Linn.—Mr P. W. Maclagan informs us that he has lately procured a specimen of this fish, which was caught off Dunure, seven miles south of Ayr, on a whiting line baited with a mussel. Its length is 153 inches. The fisherman who brought it had seen another about six weeks ago.— March 20, 1837. MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. BoranicaL Society oF EpinspureGu, Nov. 10, 1836.—The first meeting of the winter session was held this evening. Professor Graham in the chair. The following members were elected :— Resident, Dr Andrew Douglas Maclagan ; Non-Resident, Mr Ro- bert Ball, Dublin; The Rev. George Gordon, Birnie, Elginshire ; Mr Edwin Lees, Worcester; Dr D. C. Macreight, London ; Mr M. J. F. Sidney, Morpeth ; Mr W. A. Stables, Park, Nairnshire ; Mr W. Thompson, Belfast; Mr H. C. Watson, Thames-Ditton, Sur- 94 M iscellaneaus. rey. Mr Edwin Lees of Worcester was appointed Local Secretary for Worcestershire. Specimens were stated by the Secretary to have been received since last meeting from Dr Tyacke, Mr Shuttleworth, Dr R. C. Alex- ander, Rev. Mr Rutherford, Mr Leighton, Dr Dewar, Mr Watson, Mr Carpenter, Dr Greville, Mr Cruickshank, Mr Lees, Mr Bell, Dr Barry, Mr Spencer Thomson, and Mr Maughan. Donation: « Letter by N. B. Ward, Esq., to Sir W. J. Hooker, on the growth of plants without open exposure to air,” from the author. Mr Carpenter directed the attention of the Society to the advan- tages which might result from their endeavouring to form a collec- tion of vegetable monstrosities, the study of which is now so essen- tial to the philosophic botanist,—since it is from them that the theory of structure is principally deduced, and upon them also that we may expect to found some definite laws regarding the limits of va- riation in each species. He then alluded to some remarks he had formerly made, on the nature of parasitic Fungi, with reference to Verger’s researches, and stated that he considered it still an open question in general physiology, whether a plant or animal might not, by a morbid process, give origin to one lower in the scale ; and, he pointed out the distinction between this view and the old doc- trine of equivocal generation. Dr Balfour exhibited a Carex which had been sent to him by Dr Murray of Aberdeen, found by Messrs Dickie and Templeton in August last, on rocks in Glen-Callader, and which on examination Sir William Hooker had pronounced to be C. rupestris, All. (pe- traca, Wahl.) Dr Graham gave a short summary of what had been done since last meeting in the way of botanical discovery, during the various excursions of the season ; and particularly mentioned the following additional localities for several rare plants. Malazis pa- ludosa, found by Mr James Dewar ; Acinos vulgaris, Silene Anglica and S. noctiflora, by Dr Dewar, the two latter abundantly ; Trzfolium ornithopodioides, by Miss Robertson,—all in the neighbourhood of North Queensferry.—Linnwa borealis, by Mr M‘Nab and Dr Gra- ham, near Dalmahoy Hill. Tulipa sylvestris, by Dr Graham, neighbourhood of Edinburgh. Oenanthe pimpinelloides and Juncus obtusiflorus, by Mr Campbell, near Dunbar. Sazifraga hirculus, by Mr Hunter, on the Pentland Hills, near the source of the Med- wyn. Veronica Buxbaumu, by Dr Dewar, Mr Roberts, and Mr Bell, in various localities near Edinburgh, on both sides of the Forth.—Carex fulva, not unfrequent in several stations near Edin- burgh. Hieracium wmbellatum, by Dr G. M -namely, priority of publication. This of Great Britain. 103 rule is applicable, with few exceptions, to all recent cases, where the species described can be properly made out; but it so happens that it cannot conveniently be brought to bear upon names establish- ed by long use. Any attempt to change these fur such as, though really prior, have not been generally adopted, has usually proved a failure, and only tended to increase the confusion it was meant to avoid. Extent of use, therefore, must be taken into account in judging of established names. I am afraid that on this account we shall be obliged to give up some of the names of Montagu which English authors have hitherto retained on the ground of priority. The “ Testacea Britannica” was published in 1803, and the “ His- toire Naturelle des Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles de la France” in 1806. There was thus a priority of publication in the En- glish work over that of France; but notwithstanding this, the authority of Draparnaud has been so thoroughly established, that, though Montagu’s book has now been known on the continent of Europe for upwards of twenty years, and his synonyms pointed out in the “ Concordance” of Férussac, yet not one of his names has been adopted in preference to those of Draparnaud by a single con- tinental author. Would it not be better, therefore, for the sake of uniformity of nomenclature, that British authors should give up a point which they cannot carry, and agree in adopting the more ge- nerally received names of Draparnaud? In conformity with this view, the names of a few species of Helix have been altered in the following list, from those usually given in British catalogues, Another circumstance which has greatly increased the number of synonyms is the difficulty of making out the species of some of the older writers, particularly those of Linnzus, whose descriptions are often very short and unsatisfactory. Much labour has been in vain bestowed in attempting to ascertain many of the land and fresh water shells of this naturalist, and different authors have referred them to so many different species, that there are instances in which two, three, and even four species have been alternately call- ed by the same Linnzan name, according to the peculiar views of the authors who described them. Turbo muscorum of Linnzeus may be taken as an example. The shell called Turbo muscorum by Montagu, and Pupa muscorum by Fleming, under the belief that it is the Linnzan species, is Pupa umbilicata, Drap. Lamarck, Feé- russac, and others, think differently, and give that name to Pupa marginata, Drap. Draparnaud himself refers it to a third species, Vertigo cylindrica, Fer. which he consequently calls Pupa muscorum. But Dr Turton gives it as his opinion that Pupa edentula, Drap. is the true Turbo muscorum of Linneus. Thus to understand what 104 On the Land and Fresh Water Mollusca Pupa muscorum means in any catalogue, it becomes necessary, in the first place, to know what authority the writer follows. Some species of Helix, Planorbis, and Limneus are in a similar predica- ment. It is certainly better in such a case to drop the disputed name altogether, and adopt another about which no doubt exists. A great preponderance of authority may, however, sometimes in- duce us to retain it. Important as uniformity of nomenclature is on all hands acknow- ledged to be, it would be no easy matter to establish it. The days are past when the authority of one great name was sufficient to carry with it the acquiescence of admiring followers. Science is now a republic, and were Linneus himself to rise from the dead, he would fail to accomplish such an object. It is worth while consider- ing, however, whether a congress of the leading naturalists in each department might not, by mutual concessions, be brought to agree upon adopting a uniform set of specific names. If this were done a great deal would be accomplished towards inducing succeeding writers to adopt the same convenient plan. I mention specific names only, because it is clear that those of general and higher groups, being founded upon our knowledge of nature, must be left to be moditied as that knowledge increases ; but specific names are mere conventional and arbitrary signs ; more or less valuable, indeed, according to their indication of character, yet such as when once adopted it is not necessary afterwards to change. The subject is well worthy the attention of the natural history section of the British Association. I have been led further into the consideration of this subject than is altogether necessary for my present purpose ; but the evil complained of is a serious one. Were this obstruction to our progress once removed, and a set of well digested rules agreed upon, we have a guarantee in the increased and increasing facili- ties of communication now established between naturalists of all countries, and the greater accuracy of description now adopted, that such a barrier would not again arise to ebstruct our path, or deter the youthful inquirer from entering upon the fair field of natural history. It has been attempted, as far as practicable, in the following list, to give; after the name of the genus, that of the author who first instituted it ; but where it has been afterwards restricted, a second name is given, indicating the author who used it in the restricted sense in which it is at present taken. In like manner, after the spe- cific name is placed that of the author who imposed it, without any reference to the genus in which it is now used ; but where the ge- neric appellation has been changed, the name of the author first applying it in that genus is also added. of Great Britain. 105 MOLLUSCA, Cuv. lst Section. MOLLUSCA CEPHALA, Feér. Class. GASTEROPODA, Cuv. Order. PutmonireRA, Flem. (Les Pulmones, Cuv.) + Terrestrial. Fam. Limacip™, Flem. (Les Limaces, Cuv.) Gen. 1. Arion, Férussac. ]. Empiricorum, Fér. Limax ater, Linn. L. Subrufus, Linn. 2. Horlensis, Fér. var. 8. Pfeiffer. Griseus, unicolor, fascid utrinque nigra. Limax fasciatus, Nilsson. Arion circumscriptus, Johnston, Edinb. New Phil. Journ. I follow the opinion of M. de Férussac in making L. fasciatus, Nils. a variety of A. hortensis, Fér. The variety only, if such it be, has yet been noticed in this country, and is common in gardens, woods, &e. Gen. 2. Limax, Linneus, Férussac. . Cinereus, Linn.—Shell: Limacellus Parma, Turt. . Variegatus, ¥ér.—Shell: Limacellus variegatus, Turt. Not uncommon in cellars. 3. Agrestis, Linn.—Shell: Limacellus obliquus, Turt. 4. Carinatus, Leach.—-Shell : Limacellus ungulatus, Turt. 5. Somerbiu, Fér. bo Gen. 3. TrstaceLuus, Cuvier. 1. Haliotoideus, Drap. var. T. scutellum; Sowerby. In addition to the localities in the neighbourhood of London, Dr Turton informs us that this species is found in gardens at Ply- mouth and Bideford. There is good reason, therefore, to suppose that it is a native species. The case is different with T. Maugii, which belongs to a warm climate, and has evidently been introduced along with exotic plants into the nursery where it is now found. Fam. Hexictwa, Jeff. (Les Escargots, Cuv.) Gen. 4. Virrina, Draparnaud. ’ 1. Pelluctda, Mull. Flem. V. Mulleri, Jeff. Var 1. V. Draparnaldi, Jeff. 2. V. Diaphana, Jeff. Mr Jeffreys having kindly favoured me with specimens of his V. 106 On the Land and Fresh Water Mollusca Draparnaldi, I have compared them carefully with specimens of He- licolimax Audebardi, Fér. collected on the continent, and have come to the conclusion that they are not of that species. I am afraid that V. Draparnaldi can only be classed as a variety of V. pellucida, (Helicolimax pellucidus, Fér.) Mr Jeffreys now considers his V. Diaphana to be also a var. of the same. V. Dillwynii appears to be something different, but being founded upon a single dead specimen, it is to be hoped that Mr Jeffreys may be able to obtain additional specimens, and in a living state, in order fully to establish it. Gen. 5. Succrnea, Draparnaud. 1. Amphibia, Drap. 2. Gracilis, Alder. S. oblonga, Turt. < It may require a further investigation to decide whether or not this be really distinct from the foregoing. I have found them plen- tifully within 100 yards of each other, each retaining its characte- ristic marks in the colour of the animal and shape of the shell, and unmixed with the other sort. Some foreign species of this difficult genus, quite as nearly allied as this to S. Amphibia, are neverthe- less considered to be distinct. 3. Oblonga, Drap. Besides the locality mentioned by Mr Jeffreys, who was the first to introduce this desirable species into the British list, it has been found at Bathgate near Glasgow. Specimens obtained from that place were sent me by Mr Kenyon of Preston a few years ago. Gen. 6. Her1x, Linneus, Lamarck. . Pomatia, Linn. . Arbustorum, Linn. « Aspersa, Mull. . Nemoralis, Linn. . Hortensis, Linn. var. H. hibrida, Leach. 6. Limbata, Drap. Found in the neighbourhood of London by Mr G. B. Sowerby, from whom I have specimens. 7. Carthusiana, Drap. H. pallida, Jeff. 8. Carthusianella, Drap. H. rufilabris, Jeff. The var. « of Mr Jeffreys, which he makes synonymous with H. Olivieri, Fér., M. de Férussac considered to be erroneously referred to that species. Both vary very much in size. om WD Ne of Great Britain. 107 9. Obvoluta, Mull. No other locality appears to have been observed for this, since its discovery in Hampshire by Dr Lindsay. 10. Glabella, Drap. H. rufescens, Mont. 1]. Depilata, Pf. H. circinata, Fér. This species is not uncommon on the banks of the sea near Up- per Clapton, Middlesex, where I observed it in 1833. The speci- mens there collected agree perfectly with those of Pfeiffer in Férus- sac’s cabinet. It is not hispid in any stage of growth, but in other respects is scarcely to be distinguished from the following. 12. Concinna, Jeff. This may be a variety of H. hispida, as now supposed by Mr Jef- freys, but is stronger and with the hairs more deciduous than the usual form of that species. It is very generally diffused, common- ly taking the place of H. glabella in situations where the latter is not found. 13. Hispida, Mull. 14, Sericea, Mull. It is difficult to say whether or not this is the H. sericea of Mul- ler. Having introduced it as such on the faith of the Baron de Férussac, I leave it for further investigation. 15. Granulata, Ald. H. hispida, Mont. It is needless to repeat here the observations given on this and the foregoing species in another place. The present is surely dis- tinct. 16. Fusca, Mont. 17. Excavata, Ald. 18. Lucida, Drap. There can be no doubt of this being the H. nitida of Muller, but the name has been so often misapplied, that I feel great reluctance to use it. Lucida, though not altogether free from the same fault, is less liable to be misunderstood. 19. Radiatula, Ald. var. H. vitrina, Fér. Tab. des Moll. 20. Nitidula, Drap. var. H. Helmii, Gilbertson, MS. Mr Gilbertson points out some peculiarities in the habits of the animal, together with the white colour of the shell, as a reason for tonsidering his H. Helmii to be distinct from H. nitidula. Mr G. would do well to publish his observations upon it. 108 On the Land and Fresh Water Mollusea 21. Alliaria, Miller. var. H. glabra, Studer ? Mr Gilbertson finds what he considers to be a variety of this species, much larger than the usual size. This variety appears to be the H. glabra of Studer (Férussac, Tab. des Moll. No. 215,) judging from specimens in M. de Férussac’s cabinet. 22. Cellaria, Mull. Continental specimens of this shell are larger and rather more open in the umbilicus than British ones, which induced M. de Fé- russac to think that they might be distinct. The same remark is ap- plicable to H. nitidula, but in both cases, I think, amounting to no- thing more than a variety. H. nitens, Fér. Tab. des Moll. is only the English variety of this species ina small state. H. nitens of Michaud, if we may judge from the figures, is H. nitidula, Drap. I suspect his H. nitidula is, like that of Pfeiffer, the var 8. of Drap., and H. radiatula of this catalogue. 23. Pura, Ald. var. H. nitidosa, Fér. Much confusion has arisen in the attempt to ascertain the H. ni- tidosa of Férussac, Tab. des Moll. of which neither figure nor de- scription has been published. This arises from his quoting H. niti- dula, var «. Drap. as a synonym. There happens to be no var. «@ ; but the var. 6, which, from his reference to the figures, Férussac must have meant, is our H. radiatula. His specimens are undoubt- edly the horn-coloured variety of our H. pura. 24. Crystallina, Mull. H. hyalina? Fér. Tab. des Moll. No. 224, appears to be a variety of this. 25. Fulva, Drap. var. H. Mortoni, Jeff. A difference of opinion exists between English and continental naturalists, as to whether this species is the H. Trochulus or H, fulva of Muller. This it is impossible now to decide. It is certain, however, that the species now under consideration is the H. trochi- formis of Montagu, and H. fulva of Draparnaud. Férussac has cal- led another shell H. trochiformis, and as Draparnaud’s name is more generally adopted, it is better to acquiesce in it. H. Mortoni, Jeff. is, I think, only a depressed variety of this. There is a small varie- ty, not uncommon, darker coloured, and with very delicate and beau- tiful concentric striz on the base, only visible with a high magnifier, which I at first considered distinct, but on closer examination, slight traces of these striz are also visible on full-grown and decided speci- mens of H. fulva. I have therefore not ventured to separate them. of Great Britain. 109 26. Scarburgensis, Ald. H. lamellata, Jeff. The name of Scarburgensis was given to this elegant little species by its discoverer, Mr Bean of Scarborough, who has done so much for this department of zoology that I feel anxious to retain it in com- pliment to him. It is to be regretted that Mr Bean had not at once published his discoveries, rather than have left them for others to record. Mr Jeffreys’s name is in other respects a better one, and had so far the priority of publication, that the part of the Lin- nean Transactions which contained his Synopsis appeared; while the first part of the Newcastle Natural Histery Society’s Transac- tions was in the press. It may be objected to H. lamellata that Fé- russac has a H. lamellosa, to which it approaches rather too closely. 27. Aculeata, Mull. 28. Pulchella, Mull. var. H. costata, Mull. 29. Pygmea, Drap. Nothwithstanding the information communicated by M. D’Or- bigny to Mr Jeffreys, i still hold the opinion that this is the true H. pygmea of Draparnaud. Many naturalists have erroneously considered it to be the young of H. rupestris. 30. Rupestris, Drap. H. umbilicata, Mont. 31. Rotundata, Mull. 32. Siriata, Drap. H. caperata, Mont. I have not seen any British variety of this shell similar to H. candidula, Studer. 33. Variabilis, Drap. H. virgata, Mont. A very small variety of this, found on the coast of North Devon, is probably the H. maritima, Drap. 34. Pisana, Mull. H. cingenda, Mont. 35. Ericetorum, Linn. Gen. 7. CARocoLua, Lamarck. 1. Lapicida, Linn. Lam. Gen. 8. Bunimus, Bruguiere. 1. Acutus, Mull. Brug. 2. Montanus, Drap. 3. Obdscurus, Mull. Drap. 110 On the Land and Fresh Water Mollusca Bulimus Clavulus, Turt. cannot be considered a native species. It appears, however, to have spread beyond the limits of Mr Miller’s nursery at Bristol, as Mr Williamson of the Manchester museum, showed me specimens obtained from a garden in that neighbourhood. B. Decollatus, Drap. is similarly situated, and has even less claim to be considered as British. Dr Turton introduces B. articulatus, Lam., and B. ventricosus, Drap. into his Manual, and informs us that they were sent to him “ from the plains about Penzance, in Corn- wall ;’ but by whom found or transmitted to him we are not inform- ed. B. articulatus, Lam. is, according to M. de Férussae, a varie- ty of B. acutus ; and if he was right, which there is no reason to doubt, in the specimens he gave me under that name, it is certainly an inhabitant of this country, but not a species. Dr Turton’s shell, however, now in the cabinet of William Clark, Esq. of Bath, is of another and very distinct species, not known, I believe, to inhabit Europe. Some more satisfactory information must, therefore, be ob- tained before admitting this, or the B. ventricosus, into the British list. Bulimus tuberculatus, Turt. appears to have been introduced by some mistake of Captain Blomer, who, I am afraid, was net suffi- ciently careful in keeping his English and Foreign specimens sepa- rate from each other. Gen. 9. AcHATINA, Lamarck. 1. Acicula, Muli, Lam. ‘ 2. Lubrica, Mull. Mich. Most modern authors (Férussac, Michaud, Mencke, Jeffreys, © and Bouillet,) agree in detaching this species from Bulimus. Its close affinity to Achatina foliculus, Lam. points out its place in this genus, but it forms a link between the two. Perhaps Mr Jeffreys’s genus Cionella ought to be adopted for this section of Achatina. A. Octona has no real claim to be considered as British. Gen. 10. Azrca, Leach. 1. Goodalli, Fér. Ald. Gen. 11. Cuausii1a, Draparnaud. 1. Bidens, Mull. Drap. Turbo laminatus, Mont. The specific name of Bidens has become rather ambiguous on ac- count of having been applied by Linnzus and Muller, to two dis- tinct species. The weight of authorities, however, is so much in fa- vour of retaining it for this species, that I hesitate not to do so. 2. Veniricosa, Drap. T. biplicatus, Mont. of Great Britain. 1T+ Férussac originally referred T. biplicatus, Mont. to C. ventricosa, Drap., but he afterwards adopted the opinion that they were distinct. The British shell is more slender and spindle-shaped than the continental one, but the difference scarcely amounts to any thing more than a variety. 3. Roiphii, Leach. Distinct from C. plicatula, Drap., to which it has been refer- red. 4. Dubia, Drap. Found in several places in the north of England. 5. Rugosa, Drap. var. C. parvula, Turt. The C. parvula of Dr Leach, (specimens in the British Museum, ) of Mr Jeffreys, and of Dr Turton, all belong, I think, to the same variety of C. rugosa, and not to C. parvula of Studer. Turbo labiatus, Mont. (Clausilia solida, Drap.) has long stood in our British catalogues. It is stated to have been found in the neigh- bourhood of London about fifty years ago. The localities named are Hyde Park and Battersea Fields, but it is not now to be found in either of those places, and as the shells of this genus resemble each other very closely, it is probable that there may be some mistake in the species noticed. C. ventricosa is not uncommon at the roots of willows in Battersea Fields. The only specimens of C. solida, Drap. now in collections of British shells, appear to have come from the cabinet of Mr Humphreys, but the evidence of their native origin is not very satisfactory. C. papillaris, Drap. (C. bidens, Turt.) has also obtained a place among our native species. On this subject Mr Forbes has favoured me with the following very satisfactory informa- tion. He says, “ I have lately obtained a manuscript copy of Las- key’s North British Testacea, written by himself, which fully ex- plains the history of the British Clausilia papillaris. He states that it was found by him in Granton Park, near Edinburgh, and that it was imported from abroad in moss round the roots of some exotics.” Turbo (Clausilia) Everetti, Miller, is a variety of C. rugosa. Gen. 12. Bauza, Gray. 1. Fragilis, Drap. Gray. Gen. 13. Pura, Draparnaud. 1. Umbilicata, Drap. 2. Marginata, Drap. 3. Anglica, Fér., Ald. 4, Secale, Drap. 112 On the Land and Fresh Water Mollusca Gen. 14. Vertico, Muller. 1. Edentula, Drap. Pf. V. nitida, Fér. 2. Cylindrica, Fér. Pupa muscorum, Drap. Since Mr Jeffreys’s discovery of this beautiful little species on Durdham Downs, Mr Forbes has met with it near Edinburgh, and has also had it sent him from the west of Scotland. 3. Pygmea, Drap. 4. Alpestris, (Fér.) Ald. Found at Clithero, Lancashire, by Mr Gilbertson ; and in Nor- thumberland by Mr J. Thompson. 5. Substriata, Jeff. Pupa sexdentata, Ald., Turt. 6. Palustris, Leach. Pupa antivertigo, Drap. 7. Pusilla, Muller. 8. Angustior, Jeff. The difference between this species and the preceding appears to be more in the number of teeth than the contour of the sliell, and if the former is permanent, it is undoubtedly the better charac- ter of the two. Fam. CArycuian&, Jeff. Gen. 15. Carycuium, Muller. 1. Minimum, Mull. Gen. 16. Acme, Hartmann. 1. Lineata, Drap., Hart. Fam. CycLostomip2. (Cyclostomacea, Mencke.) Gen. 17. Cycuostoma, Lamarck. 1. Elegans, Mull., Lam. C. Productum, Turt. is a foreign shell picked up in Ireland. C. subcylindricum, Flem. is a marine species (Truncatella Mon- tagui, Lowe, Zool. Journ.) C. truncatum, Jeff. I take to be the same in a different stage of growth. ++ Fluviatile. Fam. Limneavz, Jeff. (Les Limnéens, Fér.) Gen. 18. Puanorzis, Muller. 1. Corneus, Linn., Drap. 2. Marginatus, Drap. var. Pl. rhombeus, Turt. of Great Britain. 113 A variety of this shell, found near Edinburgh, is entirely without keel. Pl. turgidus, Jeff. is also a variety of this. 3. Carinatus, Mull. 4. Disciformis, Jeff. I am not very sure, even after the examination of Mr Jeffreys’s specimens, that I perfectly understand the distinction between this and the preceding species. The degree of carination is so very va- riable in different individuals of the same species, that it is rather fallacious as a distinguishing character. Further observations on this species are desirable. 5. Vortex, Mull. 6. Spirorbis, Mull. 7. Levis, Ald. Besides the localities in Northumberland mentioned in the New- castle Natural History Society’s Transactions, this species has been found in Ireland by W. Thompson, Esq. of Belfast, and there are specimens (unnamed,) in the Museum of the Jardin des Plantes at Paris from Granville; so that, though it has remained so long unnoticed, its range is considerable. 8. Deformis, Lam. Pl. Spirorbis, Drap. Pl. Draparnaldi, Shep. Jeff. Pl. complanatus, Turt. First introduced into our Fauna by the Rev. R. Sheppard, who found it in Suffolk. A specimen in my cabinet, from the reject- ments of the sea near London, was submitted to the inspection of Dr Turton, who pronounced it to be of this species, and only the third he had seen, the two others being in his own cabinet. These latter I do not recollect to have seen in the possession of Mr Clark. Concerning my own specimen, there is considerable doubt whether it be in fact anything more than a variety of Pl. albus. It is a dead and unbleached shell, with a slight marginal keel, but exhibiting faint traces of spiral strize under a magnifier. Mr Jeffreys has two spe- cimens, also dead shells, which he refers to this species. They are from the rejectments of the river Taaf, near Cardiff. PI. compla- natus of Turton’s Manual appears to be this species, though he makes no reference either to Draparnaud or Lamarck. It is rare in the collections of French naturalists. Pfeiffer makes Pl. deformis, Lam. a variety of Pl. albus ; but Ferussac considered it distinct, and called it Pl. acronicus. It is desirable that it should be observed in a living state. 9. Albus, Mull. Var. Pl. glaber, Jeff. ' An examination of Mr Jeffreys’s specimens of Pl. glaber confirms 114 On the Land and Fresh Water Mollusca me in the opinion that it is a variety of this species. In some spe- cimens of Pl. albus, the spiral striz are scarcely discernible, even in a living state, and become quite obliterated in dead shells. 10. Contortus, Linn. Mull. Il. Lineatus, Walker, Jeff. P. clausulatus, Fer. Segmentina lineata, Flem. The tripartite partitions in this shell, though remarkable, are scarcely sufiicient to raise it to the rank of a genus. The animal is exactly that of a Planorbis. 12. Nitidus, Mull. Pl. complanatus, Drap. As the Pl. nitidus of Muller evidently includes both this and the last species, authors differ much in opinion as to which of them should bear the name. To avoid the confusion that has hence arisen, it would be better to drop it entirely, and take for this species the name of lenticularis, which is given to it by some continental au- thors, and is very characteristic. 13. Imbricatus, Mull. Var. Pl. cristatus. Gen. 19. Puysa, Draparnaud. 1]. Fontinalis, Linn. Drap. 2. Hypnorum, Linn. Drap. The difference between the animals of this and the former species perhaps justifies Dr Fleming in establishing the genus Aplexa for the present. A better knowledge of the other animals of this genus would enable us to separate them with more confidence. Three other species of Physa have been described as British. Two of these, Bulla (Physa) rivalis, Maton, and B. fluviatilis, Turt. Mr Jeffreys supposes, with some probability, to be varieties of P. fontinalis. There is every reasen to believe that Physa alba, Turt. is a foreign species. Gen. 20. Limnevs, Draparnaud. 1. Stagnalis, Linn. Drap. Var. H. fragilis, Linn.? Mont. Young, L. Scaturiginum, Turt. 2. Palustris, Linn. Drap. This is a very variable species, and has been divided into three or four by continental authors, upon the propriety of which division it is not easy to decide. There is a reputed variety inhabiting this country (var. 6. Jeff.) which seems to have some claim to the rank of a species. It is found on the margins of rivers in different parts of Great Britain. 115 of England, frequently within tide-way. It never grows to half the usual size of the species found in ponds, and is intermediate between that and the following. 3. Minutus, Drap. A variety of this, much smaller in size, is also found on the mar- gins of rivers. It is the var. y. of Draparnaud, concerning which he says, “ J’ignore si ce n’est pas une espéce distincte.” The small variety is also found in mountain streams. A careful examination of this genus may enable malacologists to discover more definite cha- racters to distinguish this species than those already employed. 4. Elongatus, Drap. 5. Pereger, Drap. Var. 1. L. ovatus, Drap. 2. L. lineatus, Bean. 3. Helix lutea, Mont. 4. Gulnaria lacustris, Leach. 6. Acutus, Jeff. This species is intermediate between L. pereger and L. auricu- larius, and, if not distinct, may, Mr Jeffreys observes, lead us to unite them all into one. It comes very near L. lineatus, Bean. 7- Auricularius, Linn., Drap. 8. Involutus, Thompson, MS. Mr Thompson of Belfast announced the discovery of this beauti- ful new species to the Linnzan Society in 1634, and we shall ne doubt be gratified with a description of it in his promised catalogue -of Irish land and fresh water Mollusca. It would be interesting to know if the animal corresponds with that of L. glutinosus, as this circumstance, taken in conjunction with the shape of the shell, would go far to establish Nilsson’s genus Amphipeplea. 9. Glutinosus, Mull., Drap. Amphipeplea glutinosa, Nils. Concerning L. detritus, which has so long appeared on our lists, I can add nothing to what has already been said by Dr Turton and Mr Jeffreys. Since the former gentleman withdrew his statement of having found this species in Ireland, Mr Bryer remains our only authority for considering it as British ; but whatever the original shell found by Mr Bryer may have been, the specimens now in Eng- lish cabinets appear all to belong to the genus Bulimus, and are most likely foreign. Captain Blomer sent me a foreign Paludina for this shell a few years ago. The genus Auricula has not been included in this catalogue, though one of the species, A. denticulata, may be considered to be more fluviatile than marine. I found this species last summer on 116 On the Land and Fresh }Vater Mollusca the muddy margin of the river Wye, four miles from its junction with the Severn, generally out of the water, but within tide-way. Its habits are somewhat similar to those of some species of Limneus ; indeed, a little further up the same river, nearly opposite Tintern, its place is taken by the small variety of L. palustris before-men- tioned as common in such situations. Fam. AncyL1p®, (Ancylea, Mencke.) Gen. 21. Ancy.us, Geoffroy. 1. Fluviatilis, Mull. 2. Lacustris, Mull. Ord. PECTINIBRANCHIA. (Pectinibranches, Cuv.) Fam. Tursinip&. (Les Sabots, Cuv.) Gen. 22. Patupina, Lamarck. Vivipara, Linn., Lam. . Achatina, Drap., Lam. . Impura, Drap., Lam. . Similis, Drap. 5. Anatina, Drap. Mich. This species has been found in Greenwich marshes by J. E. Gray, Esq. to whom I am indebted for specimens. Though living so far inland, it appears to belong to a littoreal genus, rather than to Pa- ludina, from which it differs in havinga spirally grooved operculum. Cyclostoma acutum, Drap. (Paludina muriatica, Lam.*) is now well known to be a marine species, allied to Turbo Ulvz of English writers, and abundant on many of our sandy coasts. P. Viridis of Turton’s Manual I take to be the young of P. similis, judging from specimens in Mr Clark’s cabinet. His P. stagnorum is probably a more slender variety of the same ; but in the absence of specimens it is impossible to decide. Dr Turton does not give any localities for either of these species. mo bo Gen. 23. Asstm1nEA, Leach. 1. Grayana, Iseach. Allied to the littoreal tribes. Gen. 24. Varvara, Muller. 1. Piscinalis, Mull., Lam. Var. V. depressa, Pfeiffer. * Lamarck refers his P. muriatica to C. anatinum, Drap., but I follow Férus- sac in considering it to be the C. acutum. Michaud places these two in a se- parate division of the genus, which he calls ““ Espéces des eaux saumatres.” of Great Britain. 117 Specimens of V. depressa, Pf. were sent me from Lancashire some years ago by Mr Kenyon. They are exactly similar to those in Férussac’s cabinet, received from Pfeiffer himself ; but it can scarce- ly be considered more than a variety of V. piscinalis. 2. Cristata, Mull. V. spirorbis, Drap. Dr Turton has introduced two other species, V. planorbis. Drap. and V. minuta, Drap. into his Manual, but no specimens of them are now to be found in his cabinet. I took some pains to investigate these two species when in Paris. On examining three of the prin- cipal collections there, those of the Jardin des Plantes, the Baron de Ferussac, and the Prince Rivoli, in the latter only I found any- thing under the name of V. planorbis. The specimens were V. cristata, Mull. M. de Ferussac had specimens under the name of V. minuta from two different individuals. Those from Pfeiffer are, I think, the young of V. cristata; and the others (I forget from whom, but with the name of Draparnaud,) the young of V. piscina- lis. Mr Miller introduced V. minuta into his Catalogue of the Land and Fresh water Shells of the environs of Bristol, but no specimen of it is preserved in the Bristol Museum. Dr Turton says that his V. minuta is the Helix serpuloides of Montagu. ‘This is well known to be a marine shell, referable to the genus Skenea of Fleming. Mr Thompson of Belfast has, however, favoured me with the examina- tion of a shell, which may possibly turn out to be the V. minuta, Drap., though I suspect it to be marine. Fam. Neritiv#&, Turt. (Les Nérites, Cuv.) Gen. 25. NeriTina, Lamarck. 1. Fluviatilis, Lin. Lam. 2d Section. MOLLUSCA ACEPHALA, Fer. (Les Acéphales, Cuv.) Class—CONCHIFERA, Lam. (Acéphales testacés, Cuv.) Ord.—LAMELLIBRANCHIA. (Lamellibranches, Cuv.) Fam.—Mytitipa&. (Les Mytilaces, Fér.) Gen. 26. DREISSENA, Vanbeneden. 1. Polymorpha, Pallas, Vanb. This species, being found in three localities in England, and one in Scotland, seems now to have regularly established itself in our island. Fam. Natapm. (Les Nayades, Fer.) Gen. 27. Anopon, Oken. (Anodonta, Lam.) 1. Cygneus, Lin. Lam. VOL. I. No. 8. I 118 On the Land and Fresh Water Mollusca of Great Britain. . Cellensis, Pf. . Intermedius, Lam. . Anatinus, Lam. . Ventricosus, Pf. or x O bO Gen. 28. Unto, Bruguiere. 1. Margaritiferus, Lin. Nils. 2. Tumidus, Nils. Mysca solida, Turt. ovata, Turt. 3. Pictorum, Linn. Lam. 4, Rostratus, Lam. 5. Batavus, Lam. The foregoing is given as the nearest approximation to a correct list of the British species of Anodon and Unio (according to the views of Pfeiffer) which the present state of our knowledge will allow ; but so various are the opinions of authors on these difficult genera, and so little have the British species been investigated, that we are much in need of further information on the subject. Fam. Cycuap#®, Flem. (Les Cyclades, Fer.) Gen. 29. Cycuas, Bruguiere. . Rivicola, Leach. Cornea, Linn., Lam. . Calyculata, Drap. Var. C. lacustris, Turt. Ald. The Cyelas lacustris of Draparnaud is certainly unknown to Bri- tish naturalists ; but as the species is described by most of the con- tinental authors, we might naturally conclude that they were well acquainted with it. The contrary, however, appears to be the fact. M. de Feérussac, who, from his extensive correspondence, might have been expected to possess the best information on the subject, gave me a variety of C. cornea (frequently found in this country) as the supposed C. lacustris, Drap. This, though slightly rhomboidal in outline, does not agree very well with Draparnaud’s description. Mr Clark has a shell obtained in Devonshire which comes nearer to it. It is to be hoped that this gentleman will shortly lay before the public the store of very valuable information on British Mol- luscous animals of which he is possessed. © BD me Gen. 30. Pistp1um, Pfeiffer. 1. Oblusale, Pf.? Jen. On the Botany of Lrris. 119 2. Pusillum, Turt.? Jen. 3. Nitidum, Jen. 4. Pulchellum, Jen. 5. Henslowianum, Shep. Jen. 6. Cinereum, Ald. 7. Amnicum, Mull., Jen. The excellent monograph of the Rev. L. Jenyns has been impli- _citly followed in this family, with the single exception of the intro- duction of an additional species of Pisidium, describedin the second volume of the Neweastle Natural History Society’s Transactions. Il.—On the Botany of Erris, County Mayo, and a notice of several additions to the Flora Hibernica. By Cuarues C. Basrneton, MiA., FF. L..S., &c. As the western part of Ireland is not well known to English naturalists, a short account of my botanical observations, made dur- ing a tour in the counties of Mayo and Galway, but more particu- larly the former, may perhaps be acceptable. Had this district been even moderately known, I should not have presumed to introduce so very imperfect a sketch of its native flora, but when I find that it is scarcely noticed in Mr Mackay’s Flora Hibernica, I cannot avoid thinking that even these cursory observations may be interesting to British botanists. : It was about the middle of the month of July 1836 when I arriv- ed at Westport, a small town at the head of Clew Bay, county of Mayo, and determined upon visiting the wild district of Erris. But, during a morning walk, previously to starting for that country, I noticed the following plants, most of them, indeed, very common, yet considered worthy of notice, as showing one of the most wester- ly points of their range. It may perhaps be as well to add, that this is the nearest land to America, although this is not the most westerly part of Ireland. On the cultivated land the following plants occurred : Scrophu- laria nodosa, Sonchus oleraceus, S. asper, Circza lutetiana, Veronica agrestis, V. polita. In a bog upon the north side of the harbour, and which is pro- bably sometimes overflowed by the tide: Plantago maritima, Tri- glochin maritimum, Linum catharticum, Glaux maritima, Spergula nodosa, Samolus valerandi, Rumex hydrolapathum, Anagallis te- nella, Carduus pratensis, Ranunculus hederaceus, Hypericum hu- mifusum, Phalaris arundinacea. i also noticed, in the same bog, a species of Rumex differing very 120 On the Botany of Erris. materially from R. crispus, and which I referred, upon the spot, to R. pratensis. It was unfortunately in too young a state for me to obtain any ripe fruit, and my friend, Mr Borrer, was therefore un- able to determine it with certainty from my specimens. It is much to be wished that some botanist, who may visit that county in the autumn, would pay attention to it. I shall point out several other stations for it before concluding this paper. At a distance of forty-three Irish miles from Westport, and at the upper end of Black Sod Bay, is situated the little town of Bell- mullet. This place is the capital and enly town in the barony of Erris. For the greater part of that distance, the road to Bellmullet passes over uncultivated and almost uninhabited bogs and mountains. At Lough Clunon, a few miles from Westport, I gathered Car- duus pratensis, which is common throughout the counties of Mayo and Galway, and also the following plants: Eriophorum angustifo- lium, Erica tetralix, E. cinerea, Potentilla comarum, Myrica gale, Lobelia dortmanna, Habenaria chlorantha, Hieracium paludosum, Hypericum pulchrum, Polypodium vulgare, Blechnum boreale. A few miles farther on by the side of Lough Beltra, a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains, I noticed Polygonum persicaria, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, Raphanus raphanistrum, Pedicu- laris palustris, and upon the ledges of some fine rocks near to the police station, I found the refiexed form of Aspidium dilatatum, which is mentioned in Sir W. Hooker’s Brit. Flora, p. 451, (note ;) and also a very curious variety of Asp. filix-foemina, having its pin- nules very broad and deeply inciso-serrate, the teeth sharp, and sometimes again serrated. A very few specimens occurred, but they were full of fruit. We stopped for the night at a farmer’s cabin, close to the foot of the lofty mountain called Nephin, and having a few hours of day- light remaining, I ascended to nearly its highest point. It consists of a lofty ridge, sloping down gradually at both ends, but very steep upon its sides. The summit is bare, and I only noticed the follow- ing plants: Solidago virgaurea 8. cambrica, Saxifraga umbrosa, Vaccinium vitis-idea, Empetrum nigrum, Melampyrum sylvaticum. In the bogs at its foot were the following : Rhynchospora alba, Drosera anglica, D. rotundifolia, Scheenus nigricans, Gnaphalium sylvaticum, §. rectum, Peplis portula. A small quantity of natural wood occurs upon the lower slope of the mountain, and by the side of a neighbouring river. It consists of Ilex aquifolium, Pyrus aucuparia, Quercus robur, Alnus glutino- sa, Betula alba, and Corylus avellana. They must be considered as On the Botany of Erris. 12] little more than bushes, few of them forming trees. In this wood I noticed Carex extensa and Valeriana officinalis. The road from Nephin towards Erris now passes, for many miles, over an extensive bog, bounded, both towards the north-east and south-west, by lofty mountains. The latter range is of extraordi- nary beauty ; it includes the lofty and rugged summits of Nephin- beg and Curshleve. These mountains would, no doubt, well repay the botanist, but they are nearly inaccessible from the total want of accommodation, even of the poorest kind, within many miles of their base. Their unfrequented recesses are still inhabited by a few red- deer. A. large portion of these bogs might be brought into cultivation at acomparatively small expence. ‘They are seldom perfectly flat, and in many parts their slope is considerable. The subsoil is often of a sandy nature, being apparently formed of the decomposed mica slate and quartz rock from the neighbouring mountains. There is frequently good natural pasture upon the banks of the rivers. This is probably occasioned by the annual supply of sand brought down by the winter torrents. After passing this dreary country, we enter Erris by crossing the large river Owenmore. ‘The road follows its course for some miles, descending a fine valley denominated Glan Co. This valley is sel- dom more than a mile in width, usually much less, and, in almost all parts, might easily be brought into cultivation. It is bounded by hills, which are steep but of moderate elevation, and, but for its total want of trees, would be one of the most beautiful spots in the kingdom. I here noticed Habenaria chlorantha, Potentilla coma- rum, Myosotis repens, M. cespitosa, Carex ovalis, Hypericum quad- rangulum. At the further end of Glan Co is the small village of Bangor. This is a poor place, consisting of a few cabins, and two or three moderate houses. The remaining ten miles to Bellmullet is per- haps the most interesting part of the whole road from Westport, be- ing much varied with bog and mountain, passing near the large sheet of water, Lough Garrowmore, through a narrow pass, denominated Glan Castle, and commanding a succession of grand and extensive views of the Erris mountains, the Isle of Achill and the broad ex- panse of the Atlantic. The entrance to Glan Castle is so narrow as only to admit the road which is cut out of the rock, and a small river to pass between the steep declivities by which it is bounded. Just at its entrance there is a fine basaltic dike, which stands out from the hill side like a stone-wall. In this pass I noticed Hype- ricum androsemum, Scirpus Savii, Aspidium dilatatum, and its con- 122 On the Botany of Erris. cave variety mentioned before ; also Asp. filix-foeemina with fronds of more than five feet in length. I may mention that I captured here a single specimen of Carabus clathratus. The valley of Glan Castle gradually widens into an open undula- ting country, which extends on all sides as far as the ocean. From the top of a slight eminence, a most extensive view is obtained, in- cluding Broad Haven, Black Sod-Bay, the whole extent of the Mul- let, and the distant summits of the mountainous island of Achill. Black Sod Bay and Broad Haven are separated by a very narrow neck of land ; in one place it is not more than 100 yards from sea to sea. The little town of Bellmullet is built upon this neck of land, so that its main street extends to the high-water-mark of both those deep inlets. It has not been many years in existence, and is now in a flourishing state. The northern part of the Mullet is an extensive boggy moor, on which I gathered Drosera rotundifolia, Schcenus nigricans, Helos- ciadium nodiflorum, Myosotis repens, CEnanthe crocata, Osmunda regalis. On a few patches of cultivation Carduus pratensis and Senecio viscosus abound, and in flax-fields, Camelina sativa is frequent. On the western shore I noticed Scirpus Savii, Arenaria peploides, Glaux maritima, Plantago coronopus in a very diminutive state, Spergula nodosa, Anthyllis vulneraria, Orchis latifolia, O. macula- ta, and Papaver dubium. At the distance of about a mile south of Binghamstown, in a lane leading from Drumrhe to Crosslake, I found Callitriche pedunculata in plenty, and, at a short distance to the north of the same place, Lathyrus pratensis and Vicia cracca are common in the pastures. I here noticed the Rumex mentioned be- fore as closely resembling R. pratensis. I may add that it also oc- curs upon the waste ground below Sir R. O’Donnel’s house at New- port, county Mayo. The southern part of the Mullet is being gradually overwhelmed by drifting sands, and the extreme point consists ofa hill of granite. In this sandy district Achillea millefolium puts on a peculiar ap- pearance, becoming quite dwarfy, and extremely woolly. From the top of the granite there is a splendid view of the Isle of Achill, the lofty mountains of Erris, and the Atlantic ocean. After returning to Westport, I again visited Cunnamara. I need say little of that interesting district, having elsewhere given a de- tailed account of it.* I visited several parts of that country on the present occasion, which I had been unable to inspect during my * In Vol. ix. page 119, of Loudon’s Mag. of Natural History. 3 On the Botany of Erris. 123 previous tour, and was still more impressed with the peculiar gran- deur of its mountain scenery. I certainly do not know of any spot in the British Islands which will so well repay a visit. In Cunnamara I made numerous inquiries concerning the bog timber, and was informed that two very distinct kinds of deal are found in great plenty. One of them has a twisted stem, burns with a clear flame and fine scent; it is used for torches, and is called Corchep by the people. The other is not twisted, is far better for the ordinary purposes of timber, and is said to have a much larger root in proportion to its stem than the Pinus sylvestris. I have reason to think that the true Scotch fir (P. sylvestris) has not been found in a wild state in Ireland, nor have I seen any proof of its occurring in the bogs. From its being the only fir known to be a native of Great Britain, it has been taken for granted that it was also the only one in Ireland. I am sorry to see that my friend Mr Mackay has adopted this idea in his valuable Flora Hibernica. He says that the roots of the Scotch fir, obtained from the bogs, are used as torches. This is worthy of experiment, and since the old reots must be plentiful in the Scotch pine forests it may very easily be ascertained.* I need hardly.add that several different layers of bog timber are found, and that therefore there is no reason to doubt that the trees grew upon the bog itself. As no trees are now grow- ing naturally upon the bogs, it is a point of great interest to ascer- tain what species are best suited for so peculiar a situation. I had great hopes of being able to determine at least one of these species, by obtaining some of its cones, but although I was informed by se- veral intelligent men that they were often found, and that they would undertake to obtain them for me, I have recently learned that they have been disappointed in their researches. Eriophorum polystachien is frequent in Cunnamara, and may al- ways be distinguished from E. angustifolium, by its broad, flat, and keeled leaves. At Roundstone I gathered Arabis ciliata, growing in the chinks of granite rocks, and again visited the stations of Eri- * The roots of pine which are found in the Scotch bogs are dug up, split, and used for torches instead of candles, and appear to possess all the qualities of ready and bright combustion ascribed to the Irish bog timber by Mr Mackay. (See Lightfoot, Hooker, &c., and the writings of other botanists of Scotland.) The roots of the Scotch fir (Pinus sylvestris,) which form our modern planta- tions, are in many parts dug out, split, and dried, and are used as lights for spear- ing salmon. The splinters are placed in a narrow grating fixed in the boat, give a clear and brilliant flame, which by keeping the fire supplied may be kept up for hours. Trees that have been blown down are generally preferred for this purpose.—Eps. 124 On Subaquatic Insects. ca Mediterranea and Mackaiana. The former has now been ga- thered in several other parts of Mayo and Galway, and, although the latter is still only known to occur in one spot, yet [ am more and more confirmed in the opinion that it is a truly distinct species. Upon a weoded hill that projects into Lough Corrib, called Drum- sna, I noticed Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense and H. Wilsoni, Ru- bus ideus, Hieracium umbellatum, Scolopendrium vulgare, and the concave variety of Aspidium dilatatum. Near to Flinn’s house there is a great quantity of Osmunda regalis. In conclusion, I would point out the two following plants as new to the Irish flora, 2. e. Callitriche pedunculata, found in the Mullet, and Myosotis repens, which is common in Cunnamara, at Westport, and in Erris. I carefully examined Cushtrower Bay, but was un- able to find Atriplex pedunculata. My friend, E. Hill Esq. of Oxford, informs me that he gathered Eriophorum pubescens at Woodlawn, near Killconnel, county Galway. This is its second Irish station. He also mentions that Miss Trench has discovered Euphorbia peplis at Garreries Cove, near Tramore, county Waterford. This is not contained in my friend Mackay’s Flora Hibernica. Mr Hill was so good as to show me specimens of both these plants. From the accidental loss of a specimen, Fedia auri- cula was omitted by Mr Mackay. I gathered it, as mentioned in Loudon’s Magazine, at Oughterard, county Galway, in the month of August 1835. St John’s College, Cambridge, March 20, 1837. III.—Notes upon Subaquatic Insects, with the description of a New Genus of British Staphylinide. By J. O. WEstwoop, F.L.S. &e. Plate IV. Tue economy and physiological peculiarities of those species of insects and other annulose animals, which, although organized for aerial respiration, are enabled to abide in situations, which are in- deed their natural habitats, where they are for a very considerable period of time entirely submerged beneath the surface of waters, are extremely interesting, and well worthy of a more scientific investi- gation than has hitherto been given to them. The habits of the diving water spider (Argyroneta aquatica, Latr.) have been long ago observed by De Geer and others, but up to the present time, as we learn from Mr Kirby’s Bridgewater Treatise, the precise manner by which this spider is enabled to envelope itself in a dome of air, and On Subaquatic Insects. 125 to descend with its miniature diving-bell to the bottom of the water in which it resides, has not yet been discovered. The observation of spiraculated aquatic imagines will not very greatly assist us in this inquiry, because we find no uniformity existing in their mode of in- spiration ; thus, when the perfect Dyticideous beetles ascend to the surface of the water, they expose the extremity of the body, and thus admit air into the space which exists between the upper surface of the abdomen and the closed elytra ; whereas in the Hydrophilidz the head is brought to the surface of the water, and then one of the clavate antenne is projected, the club of these organs being cover- ed with fine hair. This club is, however, sotwisted that whilst the base is exposed to the air the extremity is brought in contact with the breast, which, as well as the whole under side of the insect, is covered with short silky pubescence. ‘ By this means,” observes Burmeister, “ a communication is made with the external air and that beneath the water covering both the clava of the antenne and the whole under surface of the insect, to which it adheres by means of the coating of down; and by this communication fresh air is trans- mitted to the venter of the insect, and by the same means the ex- pired air is also removed, and the air is likewise transmitted from the ventral surface beneath the elytra, where it is in, and expired by the spiracles there situated.” * This distinction appears to me to result entirely from the pre- sence or absence of the coating of plush or fine down, with which the bodies of some of these insects are provided, because in the Dyti- cid, which do not respire by means of a supply of air coating the underside of the body, we find the body not externally covered with this coating of plush. The genus Nepa offers a still more remarkable modification in the structure of its respiratory organs and mode of respiration. On examining an insect of this genus, the spiracles appear at first sight to be in the ordinary position and of the ordinary form; but we learn from M. Dufour’s admirable Recherches Anatomiques sur les Hemipteres, that these spiracles have no orifice and are quite use- less, the only spiracles being two, which are placed at the base of the anal sete. Thus it is only by thrusting these sete out of the water that the insect can obtain a supply of air.t The insects to which we have directed our attention are en- abled to swim with greater or less facility, and hence it is that they can obtain fresh supplies of external air at pleasure ; moreover, for * Manual of Entomol. p. 392, Shuckard’s translation. + See Brit. Cyclop. Nat. Hist. Vol. ii. p. 870. fig. 150. 126 On Subaquatic Insects. the most part, they frequent still waters, and their movements are not influenced by the agitated state of the fluid in which they reside. But there are other insects which pass a great portion of their lives under water without possessing the power of swimming about, and thus obtaining at will due supplies of air ; and there are others which, in addition to this deficiency, are inhabitants of situations which for hours, days, and even weeks are entirely covered by the rolling tide of the sea, it being only at the period of neap-tides that the spots where they are found are left uncovered by water. M. Dutrochet has endeavoured to explain the manner in which res- piration is effected in the first of these cases, in a memoir upon the larva of a moth, Hydrocampa potamogeta, read before the Acade- mie des Sciences, which, as well as the pupa, resides constantly, although provided with spiracles and not with branchie, beneath the surface of stagnant water. “ I] arrive pour cette chenille,” according to this author, ** qu’ épuissant par l’act de la respiration Yoxygéne de lair atmosphgrique qui Venvironne l’azote restant se dissout dans l’eau et en extrait du gaz oxygéne. Mais en méme temps le gaz acide produit par la respiration se dissout aussi dans Peau et en extrait l’air atmosphérique, dont l’oxygene sert naturel- lement a la respiration et dont l’azote répare la perte du gaz azote dissous.’” This may indeed perhaps be considered as the real solu- tion of the chief inquiry, but there are so many differences both of economy and structure in the subaquatic insects, that it must be evident, that by minutely investigating each, we may arrive with greater certainty at the general truth. Moreover, as in the case of those natatorial species which from time to time come to the sur- face of the water for fresh supplies of air, the respiratory process is probably different from those which are constantly beneath its sur- face, as in the larva of the water moth above-mentioned. We may consider those species which, at certain periods, do obtain supplies of fresh air, but in such small quantities as not to last for their con- sumption for the long space of time they may be submerged, us oc- cupying an intermediate station between these two groups breathing fresh air at one period, and oxygen disengaged from water at another. Of this latter class one of the most interesting species is the Aépus fulvescens, a minute carabideous insect found upon the shores of France and England, and whose economy has been traced by M. Victor Audouin in his “‘ Observations sur un insecte qui passe une grande partie de sa vie sous la mer,” published in the Nouvelles Annales du Museum d’Histoire Naturelle,” Vol. iii. p. 117. This insect is not clothed with a coat of plush on its underside ; but when examined with a lens its head, thorax, legs, antenne, and abdomen On Subaquatic Insects. 127 are found to be furnished with long‘hairs ; and M. Audouin observes that when the insect is plunged into water each of these hairs << re- tient une petite couche du fluide élastique qui, réuni d’abord en petits sphéroides, forme bientét un globule lequel entoure son corps de toutes parts et qui malgre l’agitation qu'il se donne en courant dans l’eau, au fond ou contre les parois du vase ou on la placé ne sechappe jamais.” But this bubble of air is so small that, from the length of time that the insect remains submerged, it must soon become unfitted for respiration. And it is only by adopting the views of M. Dutrochet that we can explain the manner in which the Aépus is enabled to remain beneath the surface of the water. M. Audouin has noticed the large ungues with which this insect is provided, en- abling it to cling firmly to the stones, &c. amongst which it is found ; but in addition to these, the penultimate joint of the anterior tarsi is furnished with a long and curved bristle, meeting the ungues, which, together with the strongly developed jaws and under jaws, indicates very rapacious habits, the former being evidently service- able in securing its prey. We can indeed easily perceive the ne- cessity for activity in an insect situated, as the Aépus must be, be- neath the rolling tide, both in its ordinary motions, and in obtain- ing its supply of food. In a subsequent note, published in the Annales des Sciences Na- turelles, M. Audouin has pointed out the identity between this in- sect and the Cicindela marina of Strom, published in the Nouv. Me- moires de la Société Royale de Danemark, for 1783. Mr Spence, in a short memoir published in the third part of the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, has collected notices from the Transactions of the Old Entomological Society and the British Entomology of Mr Curtis, of two other Coleopterous in- sects having similar habits, namely, Pogonus Burrellii, Haw. the ha- bitation of which is entirely covered with water during the winter, and part of the summer months, and Bledius tricornis, which inha- bits the sand hills near the sea at Cley in Norfolk. In the Entomological Magazine, Number 7, April 1834, is con- tained aninteresting memoir by the Kev. G. T. Rudd upon the habits of Hesperophilus arenarius and Dyschirius —? the former of which was observed by him in great flights settling on the sand below high-water mark. Mr Rudd inquires “‘ what would become of the multitudes that dropped many yards below high-water mark, and burrowed in the sand? Would they again take wing? or would they perish as the flood covered their hiding place? I waited to see the event. The tide rolled on—covered the sands—withtall their inhabitants—and again receded. I disturbed my friends from 128 On Subaquatic Insects. their retreat—they were as lively as if they had been sporting in the sunshine, instead of having been under water for more than half an hour! One point was clear, (confirmed by repeated observations subsequently,) that these Brachelytrous insects have the power of enduring submersion and under salt water for at least half an hour. But why did they leave their burrows at a lower part of the sand ? I had previously often collected on this spot, at different periods of the year, during the neap-tides, and on the most brilliant days, with- out having seen a single Hesperophilus on the wing. It is fair, there- fore, to suppose either that the extraordinary flight I witnessed was a mere casual occurrence, or that, in some way or other, it is te be accounted for by the state of the tide. (It was the first of the spring tides.) On this latter supposition these insects must have been warned by some peculiar instinct to move higher up the sands, and thereby to avoid submersion for a period that probably would have exceeded their power of endurance.” Now the observations of MM. Dutrochet and Audouin, and the perfect analogy between the habits of the Hesperophili, Bledii, and Aépus fulvescens, prove that the immersion of these insects was not a circumstance to which they were unused. And hence, I think, we must look for some other solution to the inquiry why these in- sects were on the wing in such swarms, than that suggested by Mr Rudd. In a later number of the same work, (No. 18, January 1837,) Mr Haliday states that he found Cillenum laterale under stones near low-water mark. ‘ They prey upon sandhoppers, (Talitrus Locus- ta, Leach.) The tide retiring has scarcely uncovered the sand when these little depredators are abroad from their hiding-places, and alert in the chase. A great part of their existence is passed under the sea, and the mede in which they obtain the necessary supply of oxygen during their prolonged submersion, when the small quantity in the air bubble which they convey with them is exhausted, seems to deserve a more particular investigation.” As in Aépus we find the mouth of this insect strongly developed, and the fore-legs are constructed in a peculiar manner, (somewhat analogous to those cf Aépus noticed above,) the upper edge of the tibial notch being furnished with two deflexed spines, between which the end of the moveable spine arising from the opposite angle is received. The spines attached to the basal joints of the anterior tarsi are also very strong. ‘Thus the structure of this insect is equally adapt- ed for its depredatory habits, whilst the strong bristles with which the limbs and body are furnished are similar to those of Aépus. In company with the Cillenum, Mr Haliday discovered a new and On Subaquatic Insects. 129 singular minute brachelytrous insect, which he has described under the name of Diglossa mersa, and in which the powerful structure of the tarsi, tarsal claws, and mandibles, as well as the ciliation of the legs, indicate a mode of life similar to that of Aépus. My friend, Dr Johnston of Berwick, whose investigations upon the submarine invertebrated animals have led him to explore the sea coast in his neighbourhood with so much success, has also met with the Aépus near that town. And in the same situation he discovered several specimens of another brachelytrous insect, together with seve- ral small coleopterous larva and pup, which he has been so good as to place in my hands. These were all taken from under rocks with- in tide mark, fully 200 feet below high-water mark, and within 50 feet of low. water mark, and where at each tide the rocks are co- vered for four hours or thereabouts. The perfect insects in question prove to be undescribed, belong- ing to none of the genera hitherto established in the sub-family Omalides, to which they are referable. The very minute size of the elytra are quite characteristic of the insect, distinguishing it from all the other Omalides, in some of which the elytra nearly cover the abdomen, being of a larger size than usual in this group. Genus, MicraLtymma,* Westw. (Plate IV.) Corpus oblongum, depressum, lateribus abdominis marginatis. An- tenne mediocres, extrorsum crassiores. (Fig. 1 e.) Palpt maxilla- res articulo ultimo preecedenti longiori, elongato-conico. Thorax posticé angustior, capite paullo latior, lateribus rotundatis. Elytra minuta, segmentum primum abdominis vix tegentia. Pedes graci- les. Yibiw extrorsum inermes. Tarsi simplices, longé ciliati, ar- ticulis ultimis elongatis, reliquissimulsumptis aequalibus. (Fig. 1,/-) Ungues simplices, haud basi recurvati. Structura oris—Labrum transversum, margine antico ciliato et trilobato lobis fere wqualibus et rotundatis. (Fig. 1, a.) Mandibule elongato-trigona, acutze, marginibus externis nonnihil arcuatis, se- tigeris, interno fere recto impressione sub apicem. (Fig. 1, 6.) Maz- alle (Fig. 1, c.) elongate, curvate, bilobate, lobo interno gracili apice acuto intus setoso, externo majori sub apicem articulato. Palpi mawvillares maxillis fere duplo longiores, 4-articulate, articulo 1mo brevissimo, 2do triplo longiori ad apicem crassiori, 3tio precedenti duplo breviori, obconico; ultimo longitudine secundi elongato-co- nico. (Fig. 1. g.) Mentum transversum, antice paulo angustius, lateribus subrotundatis, angulis seta longa instructis. Labium * Mixeos, parvus, et Kaduwua, tegmen. 130 On Subaquatic Insects. mento vix angustius, apice profundé emarginato et ciliato. Palpi labiales labio vix longiores 3-articulati, articulis magnitudine sensim decrescentibus. (Fig. 1, d.) Species unica. Micralymma Johnstonis, Westw. (Plate IV. Fig. 1.) Tota nigra, subpubescens, haud nitida, sublevis. Long. corp. 13 lin. Habitat in arenosis ad littora prope villam “ Berwick-upon- Tweed” dictam. In honorem Domine Johnstonis, rerum naturalium pictoris ele- gantissime uxoris Domini G. Johnstonis, et rerum maritimarum ob- scurarum nature scrutatoris eximii, indefessique. This insect is most nearly allied to the genera Anthobium, Oma- lium and Coryphium. From all these, however, it is at once distin- guished by the minute size of the elytra. In Anthobium, moreover, the body is broad and evate; inOmalium the body is also much shorter and broader than in this insect; whilst in Coryphium the head is much broader than the thorax, and the palpi clavate. The trophi are not very different from those of Ceprophilus (Elonium, Leach.) In company with these insects were found specimens of the co- leopterous larvee and pupe from which the accompanying sketches (Fig. 2 and 3) have been taken. The former (Fig. 2) is very long and narrrow, with an oblong flat head, armed with acute sickle- shaped jaws (Fig. 2, m,) having a single very strong external tooth about the middle of the interior margin. The maxille are repre- sented by an elongated stem supporting two articulated lobes, the exterior four-articulated, the two basal joints very thick, and the two terminal joints slender, and the interior two-jointed, the joints of nearly equal length (Fig. 2, mx): the lower lip and its appen- dages (instrumenta labialia) are represented by a square basal joint supporting two thick detached cylindrical scapes, each terminated by a slender two-jointed palpus (Fig. 2, /.) The antenne (Fig. 2, A) are four-jointed, the first, second, and fourth joints of nearly equal length, the third twice as long, and irregularly shaped, hav- ing a lateral appendage. These organs, as well as the different parts of the mouth, are furnished with long curved hairs. Eyes — ? Protho- rax larger than the following joints, which are nearly equal in size, except the terminal one, which is smaller, and terminated by a cy- lindrical proleg, having on each side a slender two-articulated and setose filament. The legs (Fig. 2, 6) consist of three pairs, at- tached in pairs to the three anterior segments of the body. Length of the Jarva a line and three-quarters. On Subaquatic Insects. 131 The pup (Fig. 3 and 3 a) are small, broadly ovate, flattened, with the head concealed beneath the shield-like prothorax ; the an- tennx cases short ; the legs arranged on the breast, not extending beyond the centre of the under side of the abdomen. The wing- cases are very short, not extending beyund the sides of the body ; the front margin of the prothorax is furnished with two very long curved and several shorter bristles. The sides of the abdominal segments are also furnished with very long curved bristles, and this part of the body is terminated by two minute and narrow lobes. It is unquestionable that both these larva and pupe are those of a species of Staphylinide. The similarity of the former with the larve of several species of this family figured by myself in the Zoo- logical Journal, and by Mr Waterhouse in the Transactions of the Entomological Society, Vol. i. leaves no doubt that this is the case with respect to the larva, whilst the minute size of the elytra and the shortness of the antennz in the pupa, also prove that this is also brachelytrous. Hence I feel but little hesitation in regarding these larvee and pupe as those of Micralymma Johnstonis. In all these insects we see the same provision made for occasional respiration and abode beneath the surface of the water. The long hairs with which the legs of the imago are furnished, and the strength of the organs of the mouth, are analogous to what has been noticed in Aipus, whilst a reference to the figures, both of the larve and pupe, will show that the same circumstances exist also in those states. There still remain to be noticed some coleopterous insects, which, although unable to swim, reside at great depths beneath the surface of the water, although unprovided with the long hairs which we have seen are of so much service in Aépus, &c. in retaining the glo- bule of air. To these M. Audouin appears at first to have been inclined to apply the theory of M. Dutrochet, observing, “‘ Je citerai encore plusieurs espéces de Coléoptéres du genre Elmis, que l’on trouve sous les pierres au fond des ruisseaux et que jamais on n’a vu respirer ]’air a leur surface. I] en est (a) de méme des Dryops des Macroniques et des Georisses qui appartiennent a le méme famil- le.’ It appears, however, that, in printing this memoir, the words «* 4 quelques égards” were omitted at the place where I have placed (a). In the copy of this memoir, which the author was so kind as to send me shortly after it was printed, the equivalent words “ 4 peu pres” were introduced with a pen. This is the more requisite to be noticed, because my friend, M. Wesmael of Brussels, has at- tacked M. Audouin upon this point, observing, that, as the surface of the body in Elmis is unfurnished with long hairs, it is unable to retain a bubble of air, whilst on the underside there is observed on 132 History of British Entomostraca. each side a broad longitudinal band, contiguous to the lower margin of the Elytra, formed of a silky plush, which is most probably ser- viceable in retaining the necessary supply of air. The body of Par- nus (Dryops) is entirely covered with this plush, but in Gecryssus it is quite naked, and hence M. Wesmael thinks that it is not sub- aquatic, as supposed by M. Audouin, being, indeed, always found upon damp earth. (Annales Soc. Entomol. de France 1835, p. xl.) The genus Elmis and some others constitute a small tribe, which has been appropriately termed Macrodactyle, from the large size of the claws, which enable these insects to retain their stations in the most violent streams. I ence found many specimens of several species of Elmis under stones in a mill stream, a yard and a half deep, close to the mill-wheel, where the water must have been constantly in agitation. The entire structure of these insects, and especially of the mouth, exhibits a striking contrast with that of Aépus, &c., origi- nating in the difference of their habits and motions, the Elmide ' feeding upon minute aquatic vegetable matter, and their movements being exceedingly slow. The habits of the Enicoceri, as detailed in Mr Wailes’ interesting paper in the Entomological Magazine, No. 3, are somewhat diffe- rent from those of Elmis; but as I have not recent specimens of those insects, I am unable to institute an examination of the cloth- ing of the body, &c. which would doubtless satisfactorily elucidate the cause of such difference. IV.—The Natural History of the British Entomostraca. By W1u- L1AM Bairp, Surgeon, H.C.S. Plate V. (Continued from Vol. i. p- 526.) Sp. II.—Cypris strigata. ‘ Testa reniformi, fusca, fasciis tri- bus albis.” Habitat.—Pool on sea shore, a little above high water-mark, at Thornton Loch, East Lothian. Synonimes.—Cypris strigata, Muller, Zool. Dan. prodrom. p. 199, No. 2387. 1776. Cypris strigata, Muller, Entomostraca, p. 54, tab. iv. fig. 4-6. 1785. Monoe. strigatus, Gmelin, Lin. Syst. Nat. 3002, No. 37. 1788. M. strigatus, Manuel, Encye. Method. Hist. Nat. Tom. vii. p. 726, No. 31. 1792. M. strigatus, Fabricius, Entomol. system, Tom. li. p. 496. 1793. Cypris strigata, Latreille, Hist. Nat. gen. et part. des Crust. &c. Tom. iy. p. 245. 1802. Cypris strigata, Ramdohr, Beyt. zur Naturg. einig. deut. Monoce. arten, pp. 14— 17, tab. iv. fig. 1-14. 1805. Mon. strigatus, Rees’ Cyclopedia, Art. Monoculus. 1819. Mon. bistrigatus? Jurine, Hist. des Monoe. p. 177, pl. 19, fig. 12-13. 1821. Cypris strigata; Desmarest, Cons. Gen. sur les Crust. p. 386. 1825. 4 History of British E-ntomostraca. 135 “«« Shell subovate, glabrous, ciliated at the margin, sublinear at aperture. Valves rather convex, brown, with three white fascie# —the posterior one lunated, middle one oblique, anterior one arched —or, it may be described, valves white on dorsal margin, bound by a brown belt, with two oblique brown spots in the disc.” — Muller. Sp. IV. Cypris vidua, Plate V. Fig. 1. Testa subglobosa, fas- ciis tribus nigris transversis instructa. Habitat. Pond at Greenwich. Canal at Rugby, Warwickshire. Synonimes, Cypris vidua, Muller, Zool.. Dan. prod. p. 199, No. 2884. 1776. Cypris vidua, Muller, Entomost. p. 55, tab. iv. fig. 7-9. 1785. Mon. vidua, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. 5002, No. 42. 1788. Mon. vidua, Manuel, Encyc. Method. Hist. Nat. Tom. vii. p. 726, No. 36, pl. 264, f. 24-6. 1792. Mon. viduatus, Fabricius, Entom. Syst. Tom. ii. p. 496. 1793. Cypris vidua, Zatreille, Hist. Nat. Gen. et Part. des Crust. &c. Tom. iv. p. 249. 1802. Mon. vidua, Rees’ Cyclopedia, Art. Monoculus. 1819. Mon. vidua, Jurine, Hist. des Monoc. &c. p, 175, pl. 19, fig. 5-6. 1821. Cypris vidua, Desmarest, Cons. Gen. sur les Crust. p. 385. 1825. Neither the figure given by Muller, nor that by Jurine, is quite correct. The shell is of a somewhat globular form, a little sinuated on under margin ; beset all round with dense, fine, short hairs ; of a dull white colour, very distinctly marked by having three black, somewhat zig-zag fascie, running transversely across the shell, the most anterior of the three being the smallest. The posterior mar- gin is rather narrower than the anterior, (though Muller makes it the contrary,) but not so much so as is represented by Jurine. An- terior feet provided with long filaments. Sp. V. Cypris Monacha, Plate V. Fig. 2. Testa antice trun- cata, albo et nigro notata. Habitat.—Old Canal near Rugby, Warwickshire.—Newham Loch, Northum- berland.—Dr Johnston. Synonimes, Cypris monacha, Muller, Zool. Dan. prod. p. 199, No. 2390. 1776. Cypris Monacha, Muller, Entomostraca, p. 60, tab. v. fig. 6-8. 1785. Monoe. Monachus, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. 3003, No. 44. 1788. Mon. Monachus. Manuel, Encyc. Method. Hist. Nat. Tom. vii. p. 727, No. 41, pl. 266, f. 34-6. 1:792. Mon. Monachus, Fabricius, Entom. Syst. Tom. ii. p. 497. 1793. Cypris Monacha, Latreille, Hist. Nat. Gen. et Part. des Crust. &c. Tom. iy. p. 247. 1802. Monoe. Monachus, Rees’ Cyclop. Art. Monoculus. 1819 Monoc. Monachus, Jurine, Hist. des Monocles, &c. p. 173, pl. 18, f. 18-14. 1821. Cypris Monacha, Desmarest, Cons. Gen. sur les Crust. p. 384, Pl 55, f. 7. 1825. VOL. 11. No. 8. K 134 History of British Entomostraca. The figure given by Muller is much better than that of Jurine. Shell somewhat of a rhomboidal form; rounded at posterior, and truncated as it were at anterior margin; glabrous, with a few hairs on posterior margin ; surface of shell as it were reticulated, or, as Muller says, marked with small points impressed into, or as it were excavated out of shell. Upper part of shell is nearly of a white co- lour ; lower portion, anterior margin, and part of posterior one, of a black colour, shaded with a yellowish green ; filaments of anterior feet long. A very pretty and well-marked species. Sp. VI. Cypris Candida.—Plate V. Fig. 3. Testa subovata, candidissima, lucenti. Habitat.—Berwickshire ; Roxburghshire ; neighbourhood of London, &c. com- mon. Synonimes, &c.—Poisson nommé Deteuche, Joblot, Observ. d’Hist. Nat. faites avec le Micros. part 2, p. 104, pl. xiii. fig. 0. 1754. Cypris Candida, Muller, Zoolog. Dan. prodrom. p. 199, No. 2385. 1776. Cypris Candida, Do. Entomostraca, p. 62, tab. vi. fig. 7-9. 1785. Monoe. Candidus, Gmelin, Lin. Syst. Nat. 83002, No. 40. 1788. Mon. Candidus, Manuel, Encye. Method. Hist. Nat. Tom. vii. p. 726, No. 34. 1792. Monoe. Candidus, Fabricius, Entomol. Syst. Tom. ii. p. 497. 1793. Cypris Candida, Zatreille, Hist. Nat. Gen. et Part. des Crust. &c. Tom. iv. p. 248. 1802. Mon. Candidus, Rees’ Cyclopedia, Art. Monoculus. 1819. Mon. Candidus, Jurine, Hist. des Monocles, &c. p. 176, pl. 19, fig. 7-8. 1821. Cypris Candida, Desmarest, Consid. Gen. sur les Crust. p. 385. 1825. Cypris lucens, Baird, Trans. Berw. Nat. Club, p. 100, pl. iii. fig. 15. 1835. The figure given by Joblot, referred to above, appears to me to be undoubtedly the Candida, though, curiously enough, Muller him- self refers it to his pubera, while Straus again refers it to his fus- ca. The figure given by Muller is not good, that of Jurine is much better. The shell is smooth and shining, but fringed round the margins with fine hairs of a pure white-colour, with a pearly lustre, nearly opaque, ventricose : anterior extremity narrower and flatter than posterior, which is arched ; upper margin raised, lower some- what reniform ; filaments of anterior feet consist of only three or four short hairs ; animal generally creeps near the bottom of the vessel in which it is kept. Sp. VII. Cypris fusca.—Plate V. Fig. 4. Testa ovata, renifor- mi, fusca. Habitat. Neighbourhood of London. Synonimes. Cypris fusca, Siraus, Mem. de Mus. d’Hist. Nat. Tom. vii. pl. i. fig. 16. 1821. History of British Entomostraca. 135 Cypris fusca, Desmarest, Cons. Gen. sur les Crust. p. 384. 1825. Shell oval ; of a brown-colour, reniform ; anterior extremity nar- rower than posterior, which is rounded and broad ; shell covered with fine hairs ; anterior feet provided with three long filaments ; the rounded posterior extremity and brown-colour sufficiently dis- tinguish this species from Muller’s Candida. Sp. VIII. Cypris reptans.—Plate V. Fig. 5. Testa elongata, stricta, maculis magnis viridibus notata. Habitat.— Yetholm Loch, Roxburghshire. Newham Loch, Northumberland, Dr Johnston. New river, London. Synonimes—Cypris reptans, Baird, Trans. Berw. Nat. Club, p. 99, pl. iii. fig. ie «Shell long, narrow, almost elliptical, nearly plane on upper, and slightly sinuated on under margin ; rather ventricose ; hairy ; densely ciliated on anterior extremity ; the ciliz on posterior extre- mity fewer, but much longer; of a light colour, with dark-green markings, which appear to be rather irregular; both extremities have a large broad green spot, which send out processes as it were towards the centre of shell ; antennae and feet short in comparison with size of shell. I have never seen this species swimming about in the vessel in which I have kept it, but always creeping on the bottom,’—hence its name.—Filaments of anterior feet few and very short. Sp. 1X. Cypris hispida-—Plate V. Fig. 6. Testa ovata, fusca, hispida. Hfabitat.— At Yetholm, Roxburghshire. Ditch near Surrey Zoological Gar- dens, London. Synonimes—Cypris hispida, Baird, Trans. Berw. Nat. Club, p. 99, pl. iii. fig. 14. *¢ Shell almost elliptical ; anterior extremity a little broader than porterior ; rather ventricose ; very roughly and densely hairy ; ofa brown-colour all over, with one or two dark brown marks running across the centre of shell ; both extremities of a darker colour than other parts of shell; the whole shell is very hispid, spines rather than hairs covering the shell ; antennz slender ; sete seldom much divaricated.” Filaments of anterior feet, if any, consist only of two or three short hairs, as in Candida and Reptans ; and like them, this insect is generally to be found at the bottom of the vessel in which it is kept. This circumstance would seem to favour Jurine’s opinion of the important use the anterior feet serve for progressive 136 History of British Entomostraca. motion, as we seldom see those species which have not the filaments long so active in swimming as the others. Sp. X. Cypris Compressa.— Plate V. Fig. 7. Testa plano-ro- tundata, fusco-grisea, compressa. Habitat. Yetholm Loch, Roxburghshire ; Rugby, Warwickshire ; neighbour- hood of London, very common. Synonimes. Cypris Compressa, Baird, Trans. Berw. Nat. Club, p. 100, pl. iii. fig. 16. «¢ Shell round-shaped, compressed, rather narrower anteriorly than posteriorly ; of a brownish gray colour more or less deep; semitransparent ; at either extremity beset with fine hairs—in general the surface of the shell is spotted, as if little pieces were hollowed out of it. Anterior feet provided with three long fila- ments ; eye large ; from the flat compressed shape of shell, its mo- tion through the water is very much like that of some species of Lynceus.” Sp. XI. Cypris minuta.—Plate V. Fig. 11. Testa ovate-glo- bosa, sub-fusca, parva. Habitat. At Yetholm, Roxburghshire ; Pond near Copenhagen Fields, Lon- : don. Synonimes. Cypris minuta, Baird, Trans. Berw. Nat. Club. p. 99, pl. iii. f. 9. Monoculus ovum? Jurine, Hist. des Monocles, &c. p. 179, pl. 19. f. 18-19. “¢ Shell broader posteriorly than anteriorly ; elevated and round- ed on upper margin ; slightly sinuated on under margin; hairy all around ; of alight brown colour with a tinge of green; body of shell smooth, shining ; anterior feet furnished with a pencil of long filaments.” This is the smallest of all the species I have met with, and approaches very near to the Mon. ovum of Jurine, except that he says his species is perfectly smooth, whereas this one is be- set densely all around shell with short hairs. Sp. XII. Cypris Joanna.—Plate V. Fig. 12. Testa ovato-glo- bosa, fusca, hirta. Habitat. Pool at Abbey St Bathans, Berwickshire. Synon. Cypris Joanna, Baird, Trans. Berw. Nat. Club, p. 99, pl. iii. fig. 8. “«« Shell roundish-ovate ; narrower anteriorly than posteriorly ; of a brown colour, with an orange mark across back of shell and lower margin ; shell beset all round with rigid hairs, and covered with minute black points or dots ; sete of antenne numerous. Differs from Cypris pilosa, Muller, in smaller size, orange mark across shell, and in not being glabrous, but marked all over with black roughish-looking points.” A little larger than C. minuta. History of British Entomostraca. 137 Sp. XIII. Cypris elongata.—Plate V. Fig. 13. Testa alba, cuneiforme, elongata. - Habitat. Yetholm, Roxburghshire. Synon. Cypris elongata, Baird, Trans. Berw. Nat. Club, p. 99, pl. iii, f. 10. «‘ Shell much broader at anterior than posterior extremity, which is narrow and much elongated ; elevated on upper margin towards anterior extremity, and sinuated on under margin more towards the posterior extremity : white ; transparent ; hairy ; setze of antennz five or six ; anterior feet furnished with sete.” Sp. XIV. Cypris Westwoodii.—Plate V. Fig. 14. Testa reni- formi, viride, conica. Habitat. Yetholm Loch, Roxburghshire. Synon. Cypris Westwoodii, Baird, Trans. Berw.;Nat. Club, p. 99, pl. iii. f. 12. «‘ Shell much elevated and rounded on upper margin, and reni- form on under—a little broader at anterior extremity ; green co- loured ; semitransparent ; densely covered with pretty long hairs all over ; second last joint of anterior feet furnished with a pencil of long hairs ; posterior feet furnished with a sete at each articula- tion.” Sp. XV. Cypris gibbosa—Plate V. Fig. 15. Testa rotundo- ovata ; reniformi, gibbosa. Habitat. Ditch near Surrey Zoological gardens, London. Shell roundish-ovate: elevated on upper margin, with a gib- bosity or hump; reniform on under margin ; body of shell smooth, of a light-green colour, paler on anterior extremity ; beset with short fine hairs all round the edges of shell; nearly opaque ; filaments of antenne and anterior feet beautifully plumose. Double the size of C. Westwoodii, to which it approaches somewhat in shape of shell. Sp. XVI. Cypris clavata.—Plate V. Fig. 16.* Testa oblonga, clavata, levi. Habitat. Pond near Copenhagen Fields, London. Body of shell smooth and shining, but beset round margin with short hairs ; of a light grey colour, with an obscure dark-coloured ray running from centre towards posterior extremity, which again is distinctly marked with an orange-coloured spot, oblong, narrower at posterior than anterior extremity, which is rather flattened, mid- dle of valves ventricose ; antenne and feet_rather short in compari- son with size of shell, filaments of both plumose. This species ap- 138 History of British Entomostraca. proaches near to Cypris crassa, Muller, in his description of that species, but differs zz toto from the figure which he gives of it. A species of fossil Cypris occurs in the limestone of Burdiehouse quarry, near Edinburgh, but which I have not had opportunities of sufficiently examining. 2d Genus, CyYTHERE. Bibliographical History.—Otho Fridericus Muller is the first na- turalist that has taken notice of this genus of insects. Before his time they were perfectly unknown, not the slightest mention of their existence having been made by any previous writer. As it is to him that we are indebted for the first information, so it is to him alone that we owe all that we do know, with the exception, I be- lieve, of what few additional particulars will be found in the follow- ing pages. Upon a slight inspection, the Cytheres might be mis- taken for Cyprides ; but their antenne being simple, and free from the pencil of long hairs with which these organs in the Cypris are endowed ; their possessing eight feet ; the want of the long tail, and their inhabiting salt water, sufficiently distinguish the two genera. It is in his “ Entomostraca” that Muller first established this genus, and the above marks of distinction between it and the Cypris, con- stitute almost all the knowledge that he imparts to us concerning it. Meager as it is in details, it has not been enlarged by any suc- ceeding author. Gmelin, in the “ Systema Nature,” 1788 ; Fabri- cius in his “ Entomologia Systematica,” 1793 ; Manuel in the “ En- cyclopedie Methodique,”’ 1792 ; and Latreille in his “ Hist. Nat. Gen. et Part. des Crustacés,” &c. 1802 ; either merely give the spe- cies alone, or repeat the few remarks made by Muller, without mak- ing any comment or original observations of their own. Lamarck, in his “ Hist. Nat. des Animaux sans Vertebres,” 1818, changes Muller’s name, and gives the genus the appellation of Cytherina ; while Desmarest, in his “‘ Consid. Gen. sur les Crustacés,” 1825, in repeating the observations made by Muller, and giving merely his species, adds, that it may turn out that some of the eight feet may be particular organs, and that the number of true feet may be found to be the same as in the Cypris, a conjecture which Latreille also makes in the last edition of ‘‘ Cuvier’s Régne Animal,” 1829. Des- marest moreover says, ‘‘ reasoning from analogy, there is reason to believe that the Cytheres like the Cyprides have their branchial plates attached to the mandibles and jaws, and that their feet are Eistory of British entomostraca. 139 solely destined for locomotion.”* In both these suppositions we shall find he is quite correct. Anatomy.—The shell in almost every respect strictly resembles that of the Cypris, but from their general opacity and minuteness, it is ex- ceedingly dithcult to examine with precision the body of the inclos- ed animal. After repeated attempts, however, to break down the horny opaque shell, I succeeded so far as to discover that, like the Cypris, the body of the insect is divided into two parts, connected with each other by a narrow space, the anterior half containing the eye, antennz, anterior feet, organs of mouth, and two pairs of in- termediate feet ; the posterior half containing the posterior feet, and a short appendix or tail. The eye resembles in appearance and si- tuation that of the Cypris, being single, fixed, and in the form of a black sessile point. Antenne two, (Plate V. Fig. 16. a, a. Fig. 18.) composed each of five articulations, furnished with one or two short setae at the base of each of the three last articulations, and termi- nated by three or four rather longer hairs at the extremity of the last joint, differing very much in this respect from the same organs in the Cypris. As the Cythere has never been seen to swim, these organs may be thus considered as true antenne. ‘The feet are de- cidedly eight in number ; the anterior pair are inserted immediate- ly beneath the antenne, and are by far the strongest of all, (Plate V. Fig. 16., 6. 6. Fig. 19.) They differ in shape from the other pairs, being flatter and falcated in appearance. They consist of four arti- culations ; the first and third being very short. The last gives off from internal edge three spines, and is terminated by two or three short hooks as in the Cypris, while from the base of the second joint there springs a long stiff seta, equalling in length the two last joints, and being divided into three articulations, of which the middle is the longest. This seta is mentioned by Muller as occurring in his Cythere lutea, but is taken notice of by him as being peculiar to it, or at least as not having been seen in any other species. It occurs, however, in all I have examined, and seems to take the place of the pencil of long hairs that is to be found on the penultimate joint of the corresponding pair of feet in the genus Cypris, but the precise use of which I do not understand. The three other pairs of feet (Plate V. Fig. 16, c. Fig. 20.) are exactly like each other, except in length ; they are round and slender, and consist each of four articu- lations, the first of which is the largest, and gives off a short spine at its base ; the last is the shortest, and is terminated by a long curved hook. ‘The first or anterior pair are, as in the Cyprides, di- * P. 387. 140 Yet istory uf British Lntomostraca. rected backwards, whilst the other three are directed forwards. The first of these three pairs are very short, the second a little longer, whilst the third or last pair are the longest of all, being longer than the anterior pair, though much more slender. This last or poste- rior pair appears to arise from near the junction of the two halves of the body, and may supply, as Muller says, the want of the tail. The mouth is situated in the inferior surface of the anterior half of the body, as in the Cypris, and appears to consist of exactly the same organs as in the insects of that genus, though from their extreme minuteness, and want of lengthened opportunities for exa- mination, I have not been able to make out all the parts. The pal- piferous mandibles, and the first pair of jaws with their branchial plates, are the only parts I have been able clearly to make out, and they resemble in almost every respect the corresponding organs of the Cyprides. The mandible (Plate V. Fig. 21.) is formed of two pieces, the larger of the two, or proper mandible, as in the Cypris, being terminated at the superior extremity by a sharp point, and at the lower or incisive extremity by about six pretty strong teeth, while the other part or palpus consists of three joints plentifully supplied at the extremities of the articulations with numerous se- te. I failed, however, in making out the small branchial plate which occurs in this organ in the Cypris. The first pair of jaws, (Plate V. Fig. 22.) as in the Cypris, consists also of two parts ; the square plate with the four fingers, (Fig. 22, a.) the superior of which has two joints, whilst the others have only one, and all terminated by a tuft of hairs ; and the branchial plate (Fig. 22, b.) attached, of an elongated oval form, furnished with fourteen long sete, whick are given off from both sides. As these organs are so very similar to the corresponding organs in the Cypris, I have no doubt that the other parts (the lips and second pair of jaws) are also the same, and that therefore the supposition of Desmarest with respect to some of the intermediate feet being particular organs is incorrect ; and that, as their use and situation indicate, they are all true feet, and used solely for locomotion ; the posterior or fourth pair perhaps serving in addition one of the uses of the tail, that of cleaning the inside of the shell, for which they are well calculated from their length, and the great degree of mobility they possess. The appendix or short tail is of such an irregular figure, that, until better opportunities oc- cur for examination, I shall not attempt a minute description. The internal anatomy I have not been able to make out at all; neither have I ever seen any individuals with ova, though this may be ac- History of British Ientomostraca. 141 counted for from the specimens which I have examined being dis- sected in the winter months. Habits and Manners.—These insects are only to be found in sea water, and may be met with in all the little pools amongst the rocks on the sea shores. They live amongst the fuci and conferve, &c. which are to be found in such pools ; and the naturalist may espe- cially find them in abundance in those beautiful clear little round wells which are so often to be met with hollowed out of the rocks on the shores of our country, which are within reach of the tide, and the water of which is kept sweet and wholesome, by being thus chang- ed twice during every twenty-four hours. In such delightful little pools, clear as crystal when left undisturbed by the receding tide, these interesting little creatures may be found oftenin great numbers sport- ing about amongst the confervzeand corallines, whichso elegantly and fancifully fringe their edges and decorate their sides,—and which form such a glorious subaqueous forest for myriads of living creatures to disport themselves in. Sheltered amongst the “ umbrageous multitude” of stems and branches, and nestling in security in their forest glades, they are safe from the fury of the advancing tide, though lashed up to thunder by the opposing rocks which for a mo- ment check its advance; and weak and powerless though such pigmies seem to be, they are yet foundas numerous and active in their little wells, after the shores have been desolated by the mighty force of the tide which has been driven in, in thunder, by the power of a fierce tempest, as when the waves have rolled gently and calmly to the shore in their sweetest murmurs. ‘These insects have never been seen to swim, invariably walking amongst the branches or leaves ofthe confervze or fuci—amongst which they delight to dwell ; and when shook out from their hiding-places into a bottle or tumbler of water they may be seen to fall in gyrations to the bot- tom, without ever attempting to dart through the watery element, as in the case with the Cyprides. Upon reaching the bottom, they open their shells and creep along the surface of the glass; but when touched or shook they immediately again withdraw themselves within their shell and remain motionless. This inability to swim is no doubt owing to the want of the pencils of long hairs or fila- ments which adorn the antenne and anterior part of the Cyprides, and which we have already seen are the organs by means of which they swim through the watery element in which they live. My op- portunities for observing these insects have been so limited, and the difficulty of keeping them alive, from the rapidity with which sea water becomes putrid when kept in a room in a small vessel, is 142 History of British Entomostraca. so great, that I cannot say any thing further with regard to their economy or habits. The species, however, I have no doubt, are nu- merous, and the labours of any inquirer after them would, I have no doubt, be soon rewarded with great success. Species. Sp. I. Cythere flavida.— Testa oblonga, glabra.” Muller. Habitat. Amongst conferve in pools of sea water amongst the rocks on the shore at Cockburnspath, Berwickshire. Synonymes. Cythere flavida, Muller, Entomost. p. 66, tab. vii. fig. 56. 1785. Monoculus flavidus, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. 8001, No. 33. 1788. Mon. flavidus, Manuel, Encye. Method. Tom. vii. p. 725, No. 27, pl. 266, f. 10-11. 1792. Mon. flavidus, Fabricius, Tom. 1. p. 494. 1793. Cythere flavida, Zatreille, Hist. Nat. &c. Tom. iv. p. 253. 1802. Mon. flavidus, Rees’ Cyclop. Art. Monoculus. 1819. Cythere flavida, Desmarest, Consid. Gen. &c. 1825. «« Shell oblong, of a yellowish colour, smooth, obtuse at each ex- tremity, narrower anteriorly ; antennz scarcely setiferous.” Muller. Sp. II. Cythere reniformis.—Plate V. Fig. 16-22. Testa reni- formi, hirta, valvulis crusta calcarea obductis. Habitat. Coast of Berwickshire, common. Synon. Cythere reniformis, Baird, Trans. Berw. Nat. Club, p. 98, pl. iii. fig. 5. Shell reniform, rough with hairs ; both extremities of nearly equal size ; anterior extremity a little flatter than posterior. Centre of valves covered with a calcareous-looking crust, which is of rather a darker colour than rest of shell, and appears studded all over with short spines ; colour of shell a light brownish yellow. It approaches the Cythera lutea of Muller in shape, but differs somewhat in co- lour, in being roughly hairy, and having the valves covered with the hard crust. Sp. III. Cythere albo-maculata.—Plate V. Fig. 23. Testa ob- longa, sinuata, valvulis crusta calcarea albo-maculata obductis. Habitat. Berwick Bay—not very common. Shell oblong, a little flatter at anterior extremity ; slightly round- ed on upper margin, and deeply sinuated on lower, near anterior ex- tremity. Each extremity and lower margin densely hairy ; middle portion of valves covered with a calcareous-looking crust, as in last species, which is studded all over with short spines, except where it is marked with two white smooth shining spots of considerable size. Shell altogether of a dull-brown colour. History of British Entomostraca. 143 Sp. IV. Cythere alba.—Plate V. Fig. 24. Testa alba, trans- lucida, obovata. Habitat. Sea-shore at Dunbar, East Lothian. Syn. Cythere alba, Baird, Trans. Berw. Nat. Club, p. 98, pl. iii. fig. 6. Shell white, transparent, showing the dark body of insect through it ; hairy round edges ; acute at posterior extremity, and broader at anterior ; a margin round the outer edge of the shell whiter than the rest. Having only once met with this curious species, and an ac- cident happening to the vessel in which it was kept, I am unfortu- nately unable to give a fuller description of it. Sp. V. Cythere variabilis.—Plate V.Fig. 25,a6. Testa ovale, glauca, glabra. Habitat. Coast of Berwickshire, common. Syn. Cythere variabilis, Baird, Trans. Berw. Nat. Club, p. 98, pl. iii. fig. 7, a.b. Shell glaucous, without any hairs, perfectly oval-shaped, ante- rior extremity narrower than posterior ; anterior legs falcate, and furnished with pretty strong claws; antennez slender, without sete. This species varies much in colour, and markings ; some specimens are white, with two black fasciz running transversely across shel], one at posterior margin, the other across the centre of the shell, while the posterior extremity is marked besides by a beautiful red- dish or bright bronze spot. (Fig. 25, a.) Other specimens are of a light flesh-colour, with the edges of shell slightly greenish, and the body of shell marked with dark streaks running across. Some are altogether of a fine flesh-colour, without any marks upon the shell, while others again are of a uniform dark-brown or almost black. (Fig. 25, 6.) All the varieties, however, agree in shape of shell, in size, &c. merely differing in colour and marks. Sp. VI. Cythere aurantia.—Plate V. Fig. 26. Testa ovata, reniformi, glabra, aurantia. Habitat. Beiwick-Bay, not uncommon. Shell rounded and rather prominent on upper margin ; slightly reniform on under; rather broader posteriorly than anteriorly ; smooth, glaucous, of a bright orange-colour ; very minute in size ; antenne setifereus ; anterior feet falcated. Sp. VII. Cythere nigrescens.—Plate V. Fig. 27. Testa extre- mitate postrema acuminata, glabra, sub-nigra. Habitat. Berwick-Bay, not uncommon. 144 Directions for preserving Sea Plants. Shell rounded on upper margin and anteriorly ; terminating pos- teriorly in an acute point, with a gibbous projection on the lower margin, near posterior extremity ; shell quite smooth and free from hairs, of a dirty black-colour, translucent, showing the body of the animal shining through, which is very dark-coloured ; antenne seti- ferous ; anterior feet falcated. Explanation of Plates. Plate XVI. Vol.I. Fig. 1 to 13, Body of Cypris pubera; the shell re- moved; a.anterior lobe ; 6. posterior lobe ; c. eyes ; d. antenne ; e. e. anterior or first pair of feet ; f: f second pair of feet ; g. third pair ; h. mandible and palpus; 2. first pair of jaws with branchial plate; &. tail. Fig. 2, one of the antenne. Fig. 3, one of the anterior legs. Fig. 4, one of the second pair do. Fig. 5, one of the third pair. Fig. 6, the lip (a) and sternum or lower lip (6.) Fig. 7, mandible ; a. man- dible proper ; 0. palpus ; c. small branchial plate. Fig. 8, first pair of jaws ; a. base, with its fingers ; 5. branchial plate with its pecti- niform spines. Fig. 9, second pair of jaws. Fig. 10, tail. Fig. 11, egg. Fig. 12, voung. Fig. 13, adult Cypris pubera. Plate V. Vol. II. Fig. 1, Cypris vidua. Fig. 2,C. Monacha. Fig. 3, C. Candida. Fig. 4, C. fusca. Fig. 5, C.reptans. Fig. 6, C. his- pida. Fig. 7, C. Compressa. Fig. 8, one of the antennex of C. Compressa. Fig. 9, one of the anterior feet of do. Fig. 10, one of the third pair of feet of do. Fig. 11, C. minuta. Fig. 12, C. Joanna. Fig. 13, C. elongata. Fig. 14, C. Westwoodii. Fig. 15, C. gibbosa. Fig. 16, * C. clavata. Fig. 16, Body of Cythere reni- formis, the shell removed. Fig. 17, Cythere reniformis. Fig. 18, one of the antenne of do. Fig. 19, one of the anterior feet of do. Fig. 20, one of the posterior pair of feet of do. Fig. 21, mandible. Fig. 22, first pair of jaws. Fig. 23, Cythere albo-maculata. Fig. 24, C. alba. Fig. 25, C. variabilis, a. and 6. Fig. 26, C. aurantia. Fig. 27, C. nigrescens. (To be continued. ) V.—Divrections for the preservation of Sea Plants, with Miscellane- ous Remarks on a number of species collected at Cairnlough Bay, on the Coast of Antrim, in the months of May and June 1836. By James S. Drummonp, M.D. President of the Belfast Natural History Society, &c. THE first object to be attended to in preserving marine plants is to | have them washed perfectly clean before spreading. There should not be left upon them a particle of sand or other foreign body, unless 3 Directions for preserving Sea Plants. 145 in some rare instances a parasitic species may be thought worthy of keeping, on account of its rarity, or because it may add an additional beauty to the chief specimen. It is a good practice to wash them be- fore leaving the shore either in the sea, or in a rocky pool, or, as is sometimes more convenient in some localities, in a rivulet discharging itself into the ocean, though, as will be afterwards explained, the last practice proves very destructive to the beauty of some species. The foreign bodies to be got rid of are fragments of decayed sea- weeds, sand, gravel, and sometimes portions of the softened surface of sandstone or argillaceous rock on which the specimens may have grown, together with the smaller testacea, and the Corallina officinalis, &c. At Cairnlough Bay I experienced most trouble in this respect from the Ectocarpi, which conferve were so generally diffused, as to be entangled with almost every other species of sea-plant. After the greatest pains which we may take to clean our specimens at the shore, there will generally be found much to do before they can be properly committed to paper, since foreign substances will continue attached to them with much pertinacity even after we may have been satisfied that they are perfectly clean. It is therefore necessary to pre- pare each specimen by examining it in fresh or sea water in a white dish or plate, so that every thing foreign may be detected and re- moved. The next thing to be attended to is the quality of the paper on which the specimens are to be spread ; and here a great error is gene- rally committed, in using it thin and inferior, by which, if the speci- men be worth preserving, it has not proper justice done to it. Much of the beauty, indeed, of many species depends on the goodness of the paper, exactly as a print or drawing will appear better or worse, as it is executed on paper of a good or an inferior kind. Some species, too, contract so much in drying as to pucker the edges of the paper, if it be not sufficiently thick, for example Delesseria laciniata, and this has a very unsightly appearance. That which I have from experience been led to prefer is a thick music-paper. It closely resembles that used for drawing, and the sheet divides into four leaves, of a most con- venient size, each being about an inch and a-half longer and broader than a leaf of this Magazine. These, again, divided into halves answer for small species, and for large specimens we may use the entire folio. We have thus three regular sizes of paper, and this serves to give a uniformity and neatness to a collection not to be obtained by using papers at random, and of casual dimensions. Whatever pains we may have taken to clean the recent specimens, we shall often find, when spreading them, that some foreign particles 146 Directions for preserving Sea Plants. continue attached, and for the removal of these a pair of dissecting forceps, and a camel hair pencil of middle size, will be found very convenient. These, indeed, are almost indispensable, and will be found useful on more occasions than can here be specified. A silver probe, with a blunt and a sharp end, is the most convenient instrument for spreading out, and separating branches from each other, but any thing with a rigid point, such as a large needle, or the handle of the camel- hair pencil sharpened, will answer. A large white dinner-dish serves perfectly well for spreading the specimens in, and all that is farther necessary is a quantity of drying papers, and some sheets of blotting- paper, with three or four flat pieces of deal-board. Nothing answers better for drying than old newspapers, each divided into eight parts, but it is necessary to have a large supply of these. The beautiful and common Plocamium coccineum is one of the most easily preserved species, and may be taken as an example of the mode of proceeding with most of the others. The steps to be pur- sued are as follows,— 1. The specimen is to be perfectly well cleaned. 2. A dinner-dish to be filled about two-thirds with clean fresh water. 3. The paper on which the specimen is to be spread, to be immersed in the water in the dish. 4. The specimen to be then placed on the paper, and spread out by means of the probe and camel-hair pencil. 5. The paper with the specimen on it to be then slowly withdrawn from the dish, sliding it over its edge. 6. The paper with the specimen adhering to it, to be held up by one corner for a minute or two, to drain off the water. 7. To be then laid on a paper, or cloth, upon a table, and the super- fluous water still remaining to be removed by repeated pressure of blotting-paper upon the specimen, beginning this operation at the edges, and gradually encroaching towards the centre till the whole can be pressed upon without danger of any part adhering to the blot- ting-paper, which probably would be the case, were the latter applied at once to the whole specimen. 8. The specimen then to be laid ona couple of drying papers placed on the carpet or a table; two more papers to be laid over it, and then the piece of board, on which latter a few books are to be put, to give the necessary pressure. 9. These papers to be changed every half hour or oftener, till the specimen is sufficiently dry. (A number of specimens with drying papers interposed, may be pressed at once under the same board.) 4 Directions for preserving Sea Plants. 147 Though the above method is in general the best, yet there are va- rious species, and among these the Plocamium coccineum itself, which dry perfectly well by simple exposure to the open air without pressure being had recourse to at all; and some can only be preserved in the latter way, being so glutinous that they will adhere as strongly to the drying paper laid over them as to that on which they are spread. Pressure, however, is necessary after they have dried, for the purpose of flattening them.* After these general remarks, I will now offer some observations relating to several genera and species, following the order in which they are arranged in the English Flora. I believe all the species belonging to the Fucoidez are to be dried in the manner of land plants, after having been previously steeped for some time in fresh water to extract their salt and mucilage. Cys- toseira granulata, which I have repeatedly found on the Larne shore, will adhere imperfectly if spread in water, but it is best treated as a land plant, to be afterwards fixed with mucilage. Halidrys siliquosa, Fucus vesiculosus, and F’. nodosus require very heavy pressure. The air-vesicles of the first may be in part cut longitudinally to show the internal partitions, and of the two last, to diminish their diameter, but this must be done after they are dried, for if done in the recent state they contract and become disfigured. Himanthalia lorea.—Very common on the Antrim coast. It is observed in the English Flora, that the peziza-shaped fronds of this species have been observed “ on exposed rocks in the Orkneys swol- len into a large hollow, exactly spherical, smooth black ball, probably in consequence of the heat of the sun rarifying and expanding the air within.” Ihave seen them this summer ina similarly inflated state, not on exposed rocks, but in pools of water where they could never have been uncovered; they were not black, but of a bright yellow colour, and looked exactly like a parcel of hard-boiled yolks of eggs. Isuspect this inflation to be the effect of disease. Alaria esculenta.—Common on the Antrim coast. Adheres very well to paper when young, more imperfectly when old. It becomes * An indispensable requisite in the drying of marine or fresh water alg is a portion of old rag, neither of a quality too fine or too coarse. When the specimen has been spread, as directed, upon the paper on which it is to remain, a piece of rag sufficient to cover it should be laid over, and then it may be interleaved under the boards, for pressure. The rag prevents the necessity of so much care in taking up the moisture as Mr Drummond requires, never adheres to the speci- mens, but when dry, leaves them, while most of the plants themselves stick firmly to the sheets on which they have been spread.—Eps. 148 Directions for preserving Sea Plants. very transparent in drying, and is a great ornament to the herbarium. In the north of Ireland it is called murlins, and is often gathered for eating, but the part used is the leaflets, and not the midrib, as is com- monly stated. These have a very pleasant taste and flavour, but soon cover the roof of the mouth with a tenacious greenish crust, which causes a sensation somewhat like that of the fat of a heart or kidney. These leaflets or penne are quite membranaceous when young, but in full-grown plants are fleshy, and at their middle a quarter of an inch or more in thickness. Some of my specimens are of a fine light-green colour, others mottled with rich brown, and some are of a golden-yellow. Young specimens in general are of a uniform colour throughout. Laminaria digitata.—This common plant is highly prized on many parts of the Antrim coast as a manure. Every kind, indeed, that is thrown up is used for the same purpose, and in some places it is a common saying, that a sack of sea-wrack will produce a sack of potatoes. After a fresh in-blowing wind, I have seen Cairnlough Bay almost as populous as a fair, from the number of persons that had collected from several miles around with horses and cars to carry off the wrack. In calm or moderate weather the inhabitants of the coast wade in amongst the rocks at low-water with reaping-hooks, and cut away the F. vesiculosus and nodosus with the same object. They often also go out in boats, and cut the tangle with crooked knives fastened to the end of long poles, by which large quantities are ob- tained. On parts of the shore which are too rugged for a wheeled vehicle, the wrack is carried off in creels attached to the backs of ponies, and where these cannot have access, both men and women may be seen toiling from the shore with bagfuls on their backs, or basketfuls on their shoulders. An almost universal opinion prevails, not only at Cairnlough, but on every part of the coast, so far as I have been informed, that a much larger quantity of wrack is thrown ashore during rain than at other times. I inquired from many far- mers, and from gentlemen living on the coast, respecting this, and they all considered it a thing perfectly ascertained. I first heard this opinion some years ago from a friend who lives at Donaghadee, in the county of Down, who stated, that it was quite a common thing for farmers in that neighbourhood to yoke their horses, and go to the beach for wrack as soon as rainy weather came, though, allowing the ‘ wind to be the same, they would not think of doing so if the weather were dry, thinking that this trouble would be useless. I have hada precisely similar account from a gentleman in the neighbourhood of Carrickfergus ; but yet with all this evidence I have not been able, Directions for preserving Sea Plants. 149 from my own observation, to find the least colour for believing that there is any truth in the assertion, though I am puzzled to account for the prevalence of the opinion in places so distant from each other. That there may occasionally be the appearance of more wrack on the shore during rain it is easy to conceive, as plants which are thrown high up during a spring tide in dry weather may continue beyond the reach of the sea-water, shrivelled up, but on the coming of rain will expand and make a show, when before they were undistinguish- able ; but it can scarcely be supposed that this forms the foundation of the opinion I have mentioned. The desire to procure wrack at Cairnlough has increased much of late years, in proportion as its utility has become better known ; and I have at times been somewhat inclined to suspect that cutting the tangle in such quantities as is done, may have had some influence in diminishing the number of fishes in the bay, which are every year becoming more and more scarce, so that where they used to be plen- tiful, the fishermen now say they are scarcely worth the trouble of looking after. They uniformly attribute this failure to the steam- boats passing along the coast. As a manure for potatoes, the sea-wrack is not favourable to their dryness, but it greatly increases their produce, and the ground affords good crops of oats the following year without farther manuring. The stem of L. digitata is round, but at Larne and also at Cairnlough, I have often found it very much compressed, and re- markably smooth throughout, but without any apparent specific dif- ference. L. bulbosa does not adhere to paper, and therefore is to he treated as a land plant. Laminaria saccharina,—Very common, adheres to paper very well when young. Laminaria phyllitis—Common on the Antrim coast. I can scarce- ly consider this as distinct from L. saccharina. I have repeatedly seen the bullated appearance in the centre of the frond even in very young plants, but this nearly disappears in the dried specimen. Dr Greville states, Alg. Brit. p. 34, that it only adheres partly to paper in drying, but I believe that this will depend much on circumstances, for if the specimen be allowed to remain only a short time in fresh water, and be spread before it has lost its mucus, it will adhere pretty well, but less perfectly if permitted a longer stay, unless perhaps that it have remained so long that incipient decomposition has come on. Most of my specimens adhere closely. VOL. 11. NO. 8. L 150 Directions for preserving Sea Plants. Desmarestia aculeata. Common. I found many specimens at Cairn- lough Bay in May, and a few in June, in its young state, with the tufted fringes. When old, it is very frequent lying in large masses on the shore. Dr Greville accurately remarks, that “ old plants do not adhere to paper in drying, and become a little darker. Young plants, still furnished with the pencils of filaments, adhere, and do not change colour at all.”— Alg. Br. p. 38. I must here remark, that because species are found at the extre- mities of a kingdom, it may be very erroneous to suppose that they are common to all the intermediate parts of the coast. In the Flora Hibernica, for instance, it is stated that Desmarestia hgulata is “ not uncommon on any of our shores from the Giant’s Causeway to Ban- try Bay.” Now, during nearly two months spent this summer at Cairnlough Bay, in which scarcely a day passed that I did not examine some part of the shore, I did not find a fragment of it. I have from time to time gathered marine plants at Larne from my boyhood, and IT never saw a trace there of this species, nor do I recollect ever find- ing a specimen of it. but one, which I gathered a few years ago at Bangor, on the county Down, side of Belfast Lough. Dichloria viridis.—Common at Cairnlough, often lying in masses on the shore as large as, and not unlike a horse’s tail. It is to be pre- served in the ordinary way, but, as is properly stated by Dr Greville, “in drying it does not adhere very firmly to paper ;” and the smaller the specimen, this is the more likely to happen; but I have some spe- cimens of large size, whose branches coming in numerous points of contact with the paper, give to each other such a mutual support that the whole adheres with considerable firmness. It will remain a long time unchanged in fresh water, and is little liable to decay itself though it so readily decomposes other species. From a preconceived idea that its solvent powers might have some strong affinity with those of the gastric juice, I was pretty confident that it would possess the quality of reuniting milk, but on making the experiment this summer, I ascertained that it had no such property. When it lies for some time in contact with Plocamium coccineum Piilota plumosa, and some other red-coloured species, it changes them to a bright violet, but this is fugitive, and disappears on drying; the natural red colour continuing as before. Chordaria flagelliformis.—Common at Cairnlough and most parts of our coast. Fine specimens grow on the rocks below Holy- wood near Belfast. Ido not know any species which gives out so great a quantity of mucus after being immersed in fresh water as this. Directions for preserving Sea Plants. 151 Its glutinosity also causes much difficulty in preserving good speci- mens in the usual way, from its strong adhesion to the drying paper placed over it. The best management is to spread it and allow it to dry at leisure exposed to the air; in doing so it gives out a quantity of mucus of a brown colour, which tinges the paper along the sides of each branch, but this gives rather a richness and beauty to the speci- men than acts as a deformity. This mucus often has a glistening ap- pearance like the dried slime of a snail. Chorda Filum.—Very common, growing most luxuriantly in si- tuations somewhat sheltered from the violence of the open sea. It need not be spread in water, but if placed on white paper, and submit- ted to pressure under drying papers, by frequently changing these it will remain firmly attached to the former. By letting it steep in fresh water for several days to deprive it of its elasticity, it may be rolled into a spiral coil and then dried as above. It thus assumes an interest- ing though perhaps unnatural and fantastic appearance. Dictyota dichotoma.—Not uncommon, the variety § (intricata) is very frequent on the Larne shore, though the normal form is rare, grows extremely flaccid soon after immersion in fresh water, and the easiest way to preserve it is to clean it in a plate with sea water, and to spread it immediately on the paper ready to receive it in the fresh water. ; Delesseria sanguinea.—This species has its colour very much beautified by letting it steep in fresh water for five or six hours or longer : this changes it from a garnet to a rich rose red, though it does not always retain when dried the same beauty of tint which it ex- hibits when moist. I found specimens at Cairnlough in June, with the footstalks crowded with fructification, though it is commonly found in this state in winter and spring. It sometimes acquires a monstrous bulk; a single frond of one specimen in my collection ga- thered at Cairnlough Bay in July, measuring in length 103 inches (in- dependent of the footstalk,) and at its middle 74 inches in breadth.* The finest specimens of the usual form of the plant I have ever seen, were gathered at Groomsport on Belfast Lough. Delesseria sinwosa.—The colour of this is also rendered more beau- tiful by steeping several days in fresh water. It is very common on the Antrim coast, and grows to a great size. A frond of one of the * It is excessively plaited at the edges, as are some of the other fronds from the same specimen, which are also cordate at the base in short, the variety 4 (la- tifolia) of Captain Carmichael, Eng. Flor. Vol. v. Part i. p. 285, but consider- ably larger than these described. 152 Directions for preserving Sea Planis. specimens I preserved in June at Cairnlough is 5% inches long from the commencement of its lamina from the footstalk to the point, and is 7 inches broad ; another is 5} inches long, and 73 broad; and a third, 61 inches long, and somewhat more than 7 in breadth. The ciliary fructification is the most common, but the capsular is also frequent in the summer. Nothing can be more easy than to preserve this in the common way- Delesseria alata.—This is also very easily put up, and, like most of the garnet red ones, its colour is brightened by long maceration in fresh water. It grows very luxuriantly on the Antrim coast. Delesseria hypoglossum.—Tolerably frequent. ‘The effect of fresh water on this species is almost instantaneous. When recent it has considerable rigidity, and a large variety, of which I found several spe- cimens at Cairnlough Bay, and which at first sight I could scarcely re- cognize as being this species, was firm and cartilaginous, but after be- ing in the fresh water for a few minutes was perfectly flaccid, and its colour changing rapidly from garnet to orange-red. It may be pre- served in the common way without any trouble, and adheres closely to paper. The same may be remarked of D. ruscifolia, which is much more rare. Notophyllum punctatum.—I found little of it this season. It also, when perfectly recent, is of a garnet red, and is as rigid as silk paper to the touch. When dipped in fresh water it emits a crackling noise, turns rapidly to a rosy orange tint, grows extremely flaccid, and gives out a large quantity of pink colouring-matter. It is so very thin that it dries rapidly, and requires no particular precautions. Notophyllum laceratum.—Common, rigid when recent, becomes flaccid in fresh water, but is not otherwise changed, dries easily. Rhodomenia laciniata.— Abundant, and often very large; is not altered by fresh water, except that it becomes less rigid, and more easily spread after some hours maceration. It is best to change the papers frequently during its desiccation, as it sometimes adheres when this is neglected. I preserved a single specimen at Larne in July, which was so large that I was obliged to separate it into portions, and spread it on four folio leaves, the dimensions of which are as fol- low :—Specimen on first leaf 75 inches from base to top; 14 inches in breadth; specimen on second leaf 71 inches high, and 124 broad ; specimen on third leaf 7 inches high, and 94 broad; specimen on fourth leaf, five portions of the frond occupying the greater part of it. Rhodomenia ciliata.—This species is very rare on the Antrim Directions for preserving Sea Plants. 153 coast, at least in any place I have had an opportunity of visiting. I mention it merely to notice, that it gives a transparency to the paper on which it is spread, as if the latter had been oiled at the points of contact. Rhodomeniapalmata.—Dulse. Dillisch.—Kasily spread, but trouble- some, especially when large, to retain in a flat expanded state on ac- count of its contracting very much as it dries. Dr Greville observes, that “ while rather young, the substance is very thin, slightly lubri- cous, and adheres to paper in drying, but not when in fructification.” —Alg. Br. p. 93. Nothing can be more common than this species, but I have never seen it so extremely abundant as near the Garron Point, about three miles north of Cairnlough. It there seems to oc- cupy the place which Fucus vesiculosus and F. nodosus do on other parts of the coast, and these species which do occur there are quite overgrown with it, as are also the stones and rocks. Large quantities are gathered at this place, and being dried, it is sold at a penny per pound to persons, who afterwards hawk it through the country towns for miles around: I was told that when taken to Ballymena, about fifteen miles from this locality, it is sold at 3d. or 4d. per pound. Dulse is brought in abundance to Belfast from various quarters, and is sold by huxters. Its usual price, as retailed by persons who come direct from the shore, and sell it from door to door, is about 4d. per pound, but in the dried state it is very light and bulky. There are few persons who are not pleased with its taste and favour. In general it is not swallowed, but is chewed, sucked, and then discarded. Dr Greville states, that “both the Scots and Irish wash the plants in fresh water, dry it in the sun, and rolling it up chew it like tobac- co. But it is usually eaten fresh from the sea.”—Alg. Br. p. 94. In this part of the world I have never seen it brought for sale when fresh, nor is it here ever washed in fresh water previously to drying, which, indeed, I should apprehend, would deprive it of those qualities for which it is prized, namely, its flavour and saltness. At Ballycastle, a small variety is found of a very rich claret-colour, growing on rocks, which is more highly valued than the common kind. It is called Craigan Dulse, the latter name, however, being generally given to such as grow on rocks, and which is esteemed more highly than that growing on tangle and other sea-weeds. One favourite way of using dulse is, to cut it very small, and then eat it strewn thick on a slice of bread and butter. Rhodomenia reniformis.—At Cairnlough Bay I found in June a few but very beautiful specimens of this rare species, which adheres 154 Directions for preserving Sea Plants, extremely closely to paper, and is very easily preserved. One speci- men, about three inches long and two broad, of an obovate form, has its margin fringed with nearly fifty lobes, each on a narrow foot- stalk, and having so formal an appearance as rather to resemble a work of art than of nature. These lobes are generally circular, though some are ovate, and others obovate, and in width from the diameter of a pea or less, to that of a sixpence, the smaller ones oc- cupying the torn edges of the frond. Odonthalia dentata.—Common, is very easily spread, but when nearly dry the main stem contracts and separates from the paper, es- pecially in old plants. The extremities of the fronds, however, some- times adhere very well. Laurencia pinnatifida.—When recent is rigid and cartilaginous, but soon gets flaccid in fresh water, and gives out much mucus and colouring matter. If allowed to remain too long in maceration it becomes almost gelatinous, and will then require to be nearly dry by exposure to air, before it is submitted to pressure, when it must be very often changed to prevent adhesion. The var. 8. (’uwcus osmunda, Gmel.) is not very frequent on our coast, though very fine specimens are occasionally thrown ashore. The other varieties are as common as on most coasts. In spreading variety (. it will be often necessary to cut away such superfluous branches, as if retained would encumber the specimen, and give it an indistinct and confused appear- ance. One very important part, indeed, of the art of preserving marine plants is to sufficiently prune luxuriant specimens. Ptilota plumosa, for instance, is often so luxuriant on our coast, that unless much thinned it would form on paper a confused and unsightly mass.* The same remark will apply to several other species. Laurencia obtusa.—I have now found this species on the Antrim coast, north of Belfast Lough, and there, I believe, it only grows on the county Down side, though detached specimens are not unfre- quently thrown on the opposite. About Bangor it is not uncommon, growing in pools of sea water. It is best preserved by letting it be nearly dry before it is pressed. Chylocladia clavellosa.—Common in Belfast Lough, and on the Antrim coast, and of very large size ; should be nearly quite dry be- fore it is submitted to pressure. Chylocladia ovalis.—I never found this species till June last, when * 'This practice may be useful when preserving specimens for examination ; in other cases the character of the species will be entirely lost.—Eps. 3 Directions for preserving Sea Plants. 155 I detected it sparingly in a rocky pool about half-way between Glen- arm and Cairnlough Bay. There were many other pools at the same locality, but it only occurred in the one. It was when growing al- most entirely of a yellowish olive-green, but reddened a little when exposed to the air, and still more when steeped in fresh water. It was in fruit, having granules imbedded in the ramuli. Chylocladia articulata—Common. This and the other Chylo- cladia just mentioned, (the stem of C. ovalis excepted) are so suc- culent, that a person who had seen them only in the dried state could have little idea of the appearance they present in the recent. C. clavellosa when just spread on paper looks so thick, coarse, and com- plicated, that one might almost despair of its becoming fit for presery- ing, yet when simply left to itself it dries away to the greatest de- gree of tenuity, becomes so attached to the paper as to seem incor- porated with it, and forms one of the most beautiful plants of the herbarium. C. articulata is best dried under pressure from the first, and the two or three first times it is changed, it will be advisable to remove the moisture it has discharged by blotting-paper. Spherococcus coronopifolius.—Not unfrequent. This species dries easily in the usual way, but its branches shrink up very much in diameter, I think, to more than one-half their original thickness. It adheres pretty well to paper, and, as remarked in the Flora Hiber- nica, becomes darker in drying. It “ becomes horny in the thicker parts.’ —Grev. Alg. Br. p. 138. Ptilota plumosa.—Common, growing especially on the stems of La- minaria digitata. This beautiful species is much improved for spread- ing by maceration for six or eight days in fresh water. When taken from the sea, (especially large specimens, ) it is so rigid that the smal- ler ramuli escape from pressure and shrink up, thereby deteriorating the beauty of the specimen. This is considerably obviated by long steeping, from which the plant becomes more flaccid and obedient to pressure, and the colour is in general also more beautiful. Old spe- cimens dry sometimes almost black, and this occurs sometimes even after long maceration, for this species retains its colouring matter with great pertinacity. Tridea edulis —Common; but, as every botanist knows, is very sel- dom thrown ashore in a perfect state, being torn and perforated in every possible way. As it grows in pools of water, it may occasion- ally be found in a good state several inches long. It adheres strongly to paper, and is easily preserved. I am inclined to suspect, from the ap- pearance of some of my specimens, that the perforations so common 156 Directions for preserving Sea Plants. in this species are not accidental, but that portions spontaneously se- parate from the frond and drop out. Dumontia filiformis.—Very common. Should be nearly dry before pressure is used. Porphyra laciniata. soieceedicelyt common. This I believe is the only species used in Ireland under the name of Sloke (Laver in England.) It is gathered during the winter months only, the fronds being too tough in the summer. After being properly cleaned, it is stewed with a little butter to prevent its getting a burnt flavour, and is brought to Belfast, where it is sold by measure, usually at the rate of fivepence per quart. Before being brought to table, it is again heated, with an additional quantity of butter, and is usually eaten with vinegar and pepper. I have never heard of any ill effects attri- buted to its use. Porphyra vulgaris.—Frequent on the coast, but so excessively abundant at Cairnlough Bay, that it often proved a serious obstruc- tion to my collecting other species, by covering and hiding them from sight. Dr Greville mentions a specimen 34 feet in length, but I saw many specimens of considerably larger dimensions. It is the most difficult plant I know to preserve in perfection, not that there is any difficulty in spreading and going through the other steps of the process, but because, when it has nearly arrived at the last stage of drying, a moment’s exposure to the air will cause it to contract so instantaneously, that the edges of the paper are immediately drawn towards each other, and, if attempted to be restored without the whole being first damped, the specimen tears through the middle, and becomes of littie value. The edges of the plant adhere strongly to the paper when dry, or nearly so, but the centre does not adhere at all, and being as fine as gold-beaters’ leaf, though having conside- rable strength, it at once loses the little moisture it possesses, on coming in contact with the air, and contracts with a force remarka- ble, when we consider its extreme thinness. If the paper be thin, its four corners will in a moment be brought almost in contact with each other. I believe the best chance of succeeding is, when we suppose that it is almost dry, to have a flat book (such as a music book) held open, and the pressure being taken off, to remove the specimen along with the drying paper covering it, as quickly as pos- sible, between the leaves of the book, which is to he immediately closed, and not opened till next day, or till we are satisfied that the desiccation is absolutely complete. The colour in this species varies very much,—in some specimens Directions for preserving Sea Plants. 157 being pale, and in others a rich reddish-purple ; sometimes a bright orange, which latter, I believe, is the effect of incipient decay. I often observed it at. Cairnlough, when floating in still water, to have an appearance as if it were bordered with white, and on closer in- spection I found that this proceeded from the margin having attached to it in its whole extent minute air bubbles, which in certain lights looked exactly like a regular row of seed-pearl. On disturbing the plant, these bubbles were not very easily dislodged. They appeared equally in shade as in sunshine. Polysiphonia violacea.— Abundant at Cairnlough Bay, in May, and in fruit in June. When put in fresh water, it almost immediately gives out a cloud of colouring matter, of the tint of Roman ochre, and becomes much darker in colour than before. When it has lain for a night in a wet state on the edge of a dish, I have found it on the following day to be almost black. When rolled in a large bunch on the shore by the action of the waves, its long fasciculated branches become so ravelled, that it is almost impossible to get them disengaged from each other, and from this cause I lost some fine specimens, as I found the task of unravelling them too trying for any ordinary degree of human patience. It adheres firmly to paper. Dasya coccinea.—Common. When quite fresh, it is of a garnet-red colour, and, like most others of that tint, it becomes of a beautiful rose pink, when macerated in fresh water. Ceramium rubrum.—I found a number of specimens of this very common plant, with distinct capsules imbedded in the substance of the filaments. The central parts of these were so opaque, that I could not with the microscope distinguish separate seeds, but each globular mass was surrounded by a hyaline ring, and in some speci- mens, where, from decay, the filament had become white, the glo- bules retained the same intensity of colour as in other parts ; shew- ing that their vital properties had protected them from the decaying process to which the part containing them had yielded. I have an interesting specimen of Delesserta sinuosa, which is bleached almost as white as the paper on which it lies; but the cili- ary processes upon its margin, containing the seeds, are of the usual colour and form, a beautiful contrast with the rest. It seems to me indeed not improbable that cases might occur where attention to cir- cumstances of this kind might throw some light on the reproductive parts of some of these tribes. Griffithsia setacea.—Common on the Antrim coast. It was chief- ly in reference to this species that I threw out a caution with regard 158 On the Night-Jar. to cleaning specimens in fresh water, for a very short exposure of it - to the latter deprives it of most of its colour, and materially alters its appearance. By adopting the following method, I find that spe- cimens of this species can be preserved in a much more beautiful state than by any other. I first clean the specimen in a dish containing sea water, and disentangle any branches that may be interwoven, and when ready, I transfer it to a paper lying in fresh water and spread it out. This is done without any trouble, for the plant is still rigid and perfectly tractable, whereas, had it been previously soaked in fresh water, it would be quite flaccid, and not at all somanageable. When spread, the paper is to be held up till it is well drained, and then to be laid flat, the moisture that remains continuing to act on the plant, causes the latter to give out its colouring matter, and this forms a cloud of bright pink surrounding the specimen, giving a richness and beauty to it which cannot in any other way be obtained. Chylo- cladia clavillosa, and some others, treated in a similar way, are also much enriched in appearance by their colouring matter given out. When almost dry pressure is to be applied. - Calithamnion plumula.—Not unfrequent at Cairnlough Bay. I have found it also in Belfast Lough ; but at Larne, which is nearly intermediate between these two places, I have never seen a trace of it. Its colour is brightened by steeping for some hours, or even a night, in fresh water. It may be dried either with or without pres- sure. VI.— Observations on the Caprimulgus Europeus (Night-Jar.) By Dr W. B. CLarkxe, Ipswich. Birps of the genus Caprimulgus are nearly allied to the Hirun- dines, and appear to bear the same relation to them that the owls do to the hawks, or the Bombycidz to the Papilionide, amongst the le- pidopterous Insects. The species more particularly under consideration is the Europzean night-jar, Caprimulgus Huropaus. Its length is about ten inches and a-half. The plumage is of a brown colour, beautifully varied with spots and streaks of light yellowish-brown, white, cinereous, and black. The chin and sides of the mouth marked with white ; and in the male, the tips of the two external tail-feathers, and a spot on the three distal primary feathers of the wings on each side are white. The markings on the different parts of the body are so complex and varied as almost to exceed a perfect description. On the Night-Jar. 159 The night-jar is provided with an extremely wide mouth, which is beautifully constructed for taking its prey, which consists princi- pally of the larger Bombycide. Ihave taken sometimes seven or eight moths, of the size of the yellow underwing, almost entire from the stomach. So beautifully is the mouth adapted for the reception of this kind of prey, that it opens like a trap, and presents a funnel- like aperture to receive the insect that the bird makes a dash at. The vibrisse in this bird are very strong, and can be depressed against the side of the mouth, or erected at pleasure. Not only is the mouth remarkably large, but the vibrissz are so directed when the mouth is open, as to reflect any insect into it which might otherwise have been missed by the bird in its attack. These vibrissz stand out on either side of the mouth more than equal to half the width of the mouth itself, by which means the bird is rendered more sure of the seizure of its prey. The eye of the night-jar has a structure very similar to that of - eagles, hawks, and owls, and is, like the eyes of these, furnished with a strong bony ring, which surrounds the cornea, and strengthens the scle- roticcoat in that part, and renders it so unyielding, that a slight pressure upon the sclerotic coat behind the ring causes the humours of the eye to be forced into a degree of convexity which could not be attained without this provision. By this beautiful yet simple contrivance the eye can be adapted to distant or close vision, according to the increase or decrease of convexity. The cornea has considerable dimensions, which enables the eye to receive a great deal of light, by which means ob- jects become distinctly seen, which would be otherwise invisible in a paucity of light. The sketches y and 6 represent two views of y the eye of the Night-jarr: y is — the lateral view, and 6 is the f front of the same eye: aare- {ij present the situation of the os- \ seous ring. The middle toe of this bird is provided with a singularly pec- tinated claw, with the tooth-like processes pointing, with a gentle curve, inwards and backwards, as the bird sits grasping its perch. It is a difficult thing to decide upon what use this can be to the animal in its economy, for other birds, (the heron for in- 160 On the Night-Jar. stance,) whose habits are extremely different to those of the night- jar, are provided with a pectinated or serrated claw very similar to this. The figure ¢ amongst the sketches represents the claw and part of the middle toe of one of the feet, shewing the serrated form of the claw. The Caprimulgus Europzeus is the only British species of this genus. It is a migratory bird, and generally makes its appearance in England about the latter end of May or the beginning of June, and remains with us generally until the end of September or be- ginning of October. As it proceeds from the eastward, it visits the Island of Malta in the Mediterranean, and the south of France, about a month sooner than it arrives in England. On the other hand, in its passage from our island, it leaves us about the latter end of September, and south of France about the latter end of Octo- ber. Some French authors assert, that in rare instances this spe- cies has been shot in some of the woods and mountainous parts of Vosges in the middle of winter. This species has also been found in the open parts, as well as the woods and rocky parts, of Siberia and Kamtschatka. The night-jar feeds upon insects which it takes in its flight, and this is principally done during the night, and by morning and even- ing twilight, these being the times at which it generally flies, although it may be occasionally seen at intervals during the day ; but this ap- pears principally to be when it has been driven from its diurnal re- treat by some intruder. The plumage is peculiarly soft, which en- ables it, at its pleasure, to pass rapidly through the air without the vibrations of its wings being heard, and nature has so beautifully provided for its safety during its diurnal rest, that it can only, with the greatest difficulty, be discovered amongst the decayed branches and trunks of trees, the dead ferns, and leaves amongst which it hides ; the colours of the plumage much resembling the tints of the bodies amidst which it secretes itself. The bird lays two eggs upon the bare ground where it is a little hollowed out beneath a whin bush, patch of ferns, or some other similar body, which serves as a kind of security or shelter to the parent bird whilst incubating. The egg is large for the size of the bird ; has both ends nearly alike in size, is prettily mottled with brown, relieved by marblings of paler tints of the same colour. To give an idea of the habits of this bird, I shall here insert a few notes that I have made at different times respecting it. When in the middle of a heath in the neighbourhood of this town, and at the distance of a quarter of a mile from any wood, my atten- On the Night-Jar. 161 tion was suddenly arrested by the appearance of a male night-jar, (Caprimulgus Europzus,) which rose from a small spot of bare ground by the side of a whin bush, and after flying about eight or ten yards, alighted upon the ground with its wings and tail expand- ed, and its head turned round towards me : here it remained a few se- conds, and afterwards, slowly fluttered along the ground over the space of four or five yards, describing a curved course, and apparent- ly with difficulty, appearing, by its actions, to imitate a wounded bird labouring to fly. This was doubtlessly done to decoy me away from the spot it had risen from ; but which I walked up to, and there found two eggs lying in a slightly hollowed spot of ground beneath the shelter of a whin bush. One would suppose that the little ani- mal was led by reason to act this admirable part, for the incapability of a wounded bird to rise into the air was so exquisitely represented by this little creature, that an individual unacquainted with the habits of birds might have been led from the site of its eggs, by the idea of his being able to secure it. After fluttering a short distance it rose from the ground, and flew slowly in a curved direction away from me, and was lost amongst the bushes that were thickly dispersed around. Upon a cursory view the eggs struck me as much resem- bling the white stones speckled with lichens which are commonly to be seen upon heaths, from which characters they would very ge- nerally elude the eye of any one walking past them, although he might even be in search of them. Supposing that the bird would soon make its appearance again toe visit its eggs, I was induced to secrete myself as well as I could be- hind a whin bush, about fifteen yards from the spot where the eggs were lying, and from this place I had an opportunity of observing the actions of this interesting little creature. After waiting about a quarter of an hour it came round to the whin bush under which its eggs were lying; over this it lightly skimmed and hovered, as if to ascertain whether its eggs were safe, and then suddenly turning, came flitting directly towards me, and approached within a few feet of my face, and then flew off. This it did two or three times at intervals of ten minutes or thereabouts. It was now about a quarter to nine oclock on the 2Ist of June a. pv. 1832, the sun had set about a quarter of an hour: the evening was mild and fine, and all was still, when the peculiar note of the night-jar was faintly heard, but the bird at this time was not visible: soon after this a faint squeak was heard, and a pair of night-jars were seen in the air, occasionally flut- tering within a few yards of me, and at intervals remaining motion- less in the air with their wings expanded; then fluttering and ho- 162 On the Night-Jar. vering ; then descending nearly to the ground with their wings ex- panded and elevated over their backs, at the same time striking them together, the back of one against that of the other, so as to produce a smart snapping sound. This was often accompanied by a sharp quick sound or squeak. At another time they would skim round me at a few feet distant from the earth,—again they would hover at a short distance from me, occasionally reiterating the sharp squeak before described,—then they would fly to a neighbouring whin bush, and, perching upon the top of it, commence the peculiar sound from which their name (night-jar) is derived, and which precisely resembles the sound produced by a wheel in quick rotation. Then they would rise into the air, again gliding through it without producing the least sound, again hovering, flitting, and squeaking. This they continued until, from the darkness of the night, I could see them no more, al- though I could at the same time distinctly hear them, and knew they were close by me. I observed when these birds were sitting that their wings were a little expanded, the body nearly horizontal, with the head rather elevated. These birds will sit sometimes in a wood perched upon a dead branch of an oak tree, with their bodies in a direction parallel with that of the branch, and in this situation, just as the sun goes down, will commence their jarring or vibrating note, and at in- tervals flit suddenly from this situation through-an opening amongst the trees, skimming and hovering for a short time around and amidst the tops of the neighbouring oak trees, and then settle upon the branch from which they rose, and again commence their jarring note, then again dash into the upper part of the trees at some unwary moth, and again light upon the same bough, repeating this at inter- vals, and each time upon alighting commence their vibrating note, which they continue as long as they maintain their sitting posture. We have not at present been able to detect a bird in the act of mak- ing its vibrating note whilst upon the wing. Upon visiting a spot where these birds are likely to be, as soon as the sun goes down, if the evening be fine, their vibrating note may be heard if the birds are sitting, or their little sudden squeak several times repeated will announce their flight, and presently the little creatures will be seen like airy sprites floating at no great distance from the ground, or over the tops of trees, so prettily and lightly do they seem to float and fan themselves along. Often upon a heath, when the night is fine, yet dark from the lateness of the hour, and the vibrating sound of the night-jar is heard at no great distance, if one walks towards the sound it will soon cease, and after a few seconds of perfect stillness, the sound will be again heard at a distance. If we continue our course On the Advancement of Local Botany near London. 163 we shall find the sound increasing upon us. Upon walking on in the same direction it will soon cease, and after an interval of silence will be heard again at;a distance ; for the eye of the night-jar is so beauti- fully adapted for nocturnal or crepuscular vision, that it observes the approach of an object, although a person is incapable of distin- guishing his companion, or a body the size of himself at the distance of a few feet only. They will wander over a considerable tract of ground in the course of an evening in search of prey, beginning by flitting over the spot near which they have taken up their diurnal abode, and afterwards continuing to fly over some heath or moor at a considerable distance from the place where they were first seen. This bird is by no means common in the neighbourhood of Ipswich, but there are places not very distant from the town where a pair or two of them may be generally found every year. ViI.—On the advancement of Local Botany in the environs of Lon- don, with remarks relative to the Dispersion of Plants in that vicinity, and the formation of plans exhibiting the Distribution of Species over localities. By Dantet Cooper, Curator to the Botanical Society of London, &c. Tue formation of the Botanical Society of London, and the publication of the Flora Metropolitana, or Botanical Rambles within thirty miles of London, have been the means of bringing forward nu- merous papers and plans, exhibiting the distribution of the localities of species in the directions frequented by the metropolitan botanist, and of advancing the objects of local Floras generally. No local Flora of the environs of so extensive a city, and, as will be presently shewn, producing species of so rare occurrence, having been published in a cheap and portable form,* induced me to attempt to arouse the minds of practical men towards the furtherance of this object. In directing their attention to this subject, I had two objects in view: the first, to solicit their aid for the purpose of endeavouring to arrive at a more accurate and actual Flora of the environs of so great a city — the latter, to obtain correspondents who might be willing to join in the establishment of a society for mutual intercourse and benefit. In * About sixty years since “ Curtis’s Flora Londinensis” was published. This work contains plates of all the species that had been found round London. 3 large folio volumes. Mr Warner published a Local Flora on the plants of Woodford, Essex ; and Mr Blackstone of Harefield, Middlesex. The localities in these works cannot be relied on, having both been brought forward upwards of sixty years since. 164 On the Advancement of Local Botany near London. both my objects have been realized to a greater extent than had been expected. Contributors without number have kindly lent their assist- ance towards the accomplishment of the first object, and the second has already manifested itself by the formation of the “ Botanical So- ciety of London.” That local botany is attracting more notice daily throughout the kingdom, is evident from the number of local floras of late years published, and valuable, indeed, they are to the naturalist, —if we consider the immensity of labour, trouble, and time, spared to the lover of nature for other pursuits. The rapid formation of the Botanical Society of London affords a still greater proof of the progress of that department of science, since we find that out of seventy members elected since its formation, (29th Nov. 1836,) two-thirds at least devote the major part of their time to practical botany. That a society embracing the objects it does, has been long a desideratum in the metropolis, cannot be denied, and is evident from the number of its members, and also from the va- rious important memoirs that have been brought forward relating to subjects deserving the attention not only of the practical, but the physiological and geographical botanist. I shall now offer some views respecting the formation of plans, ex- hibiting the actual flora of the vicinity of, or in, any particular loca- lity, in order that the botanist, at a glance of a map or plan of such a locality, would be enabled with greater facility to arrive at or near the spot where any species have been observed to grow. The first idea of this nature was brought before the Botanical Society of London on the 5th January 1837, illustrating a paper which I read on the distribution of plants in one of our principal localities in the immediate vicinity of London,—a locality for years celebrated for the profuse supply of specimens it has yielded to the naturalist. I allude to Battersea Fields, the spot where most of our ancestors and ourselves have often rambled with so much profit and delight. In the subsequent part of this paper, I shall give in a table the number of genera and species found in various localities. In producing plans of this kind, there is but one objection, viz. that many botanists of the’ present day are not content with collecting one, or even half-a-dozen specimens, more particularly if the plant is of uncommon occurrence, and I haye known instances, — where whole species have been rooted out by the eagerness and ava- rice of the collector. Such measures ought not to be adopted to the destruction of the habitats of species. If the plants are annuals it is doing injustice to the rising generation of botanists ; if they are bien- On the Advancement of Local Botany near London. 165 nials or perennials, surely collecting the portion above the earth in most instances is sufficient, without rooting out the species entirely. There are certain plants of which the root is necessary for distinguish- ing and defining specific characters ; in such cases some attention should be paid to the number of species observed in the locality ; bearing in mind the necessity of leaving a sufficient number for the continuance of the propagation of the species. _ It has been observed, by some eminent botanists of the present day, that the formation of the different societies for the exchange of specimens, &c. will in a great measure have the effect of destroying some of our richest loca- lities. Let it not be understood, that the formation of maps and plans of the nature before alluded to, are for the purpose of facilitating these ravages. That in the hands ofthe most avaricious they will do so, I have not the slightest hesitation in acknowledging, but it is to be hoped that not many of those individuals now exist, who would thus damp the ardour and zeal of the rising generation of botanists, and also be the means of retarding science, while the execution of such ideas may prove beneficial to the scientific inquirer. The plan of Battersea Fields before alluded to, exhibited the vari- ous houses, ditches, fields, and other minor but interesting stations, on the scale of two feet to the mile. This plan was executed and the locality surveyed by myself, in order that accuracy might be the result. J afterwards learned that this labour and trouble might have been spared, by inspecting the plan of the parish or parishes from which the rates are made, and therefore, on a scale sufficient for the present purpose ; it is, I understand, generally to be found hanging up in the vestry room, or in the care of the vestry-clerk of the parish. Such plans might be conveniently applied to local Floras, and would be admirable desiderata to such works, numbering the species in the letter-press to correspond with the numbers on the plate ; thus sup- posing the cut to represent a plan of a locality, and the figures some- what the situation of the plants there found. VOL. II. No. 8. M 166 On the Advancement of Local Botany near London. 1. Alisma Damasonium 6. Campanula hederacea 2. Menyanthes trifoliata 7. Galium verum 3. Villarsia nymphzeoides 8. Rhinanthus crista galli 4. Drosera rotundifolia 9. Saxifraga granulata 5. Narthecium ossifragum 10. Butomus umbellatus By using figures in the place of writing or printing the names in full, much unnecessary space can be dispensed with ; and thus a plan of a locality on the scale of three or four inches to the mile, might be conveniently introduced into a duodecimo or octavo volume. Any additional localities the botanist might discover could with facility be marked on the spot in their proper situations, by making additional figures on the plan, which figures of course to agree with the names of the plants upon a separate page. In this way it appears to me that much time might be spared the naturalist for his other pursuits, and also be the means of producing more complete and accurate local Floras than any plan hitherto adopted. In conclusion, I have a few remarks to make upon the dispersion of species in the environs of London. The former hints respecting the eradication of plants will be sufficient to those collectors who are in the habit of herbalizing into various counties. Such individuals must bear in mind, that the lover of natural history is the more or less proud of his country, according to the specimens of interest and value that have been collected in it. Take for instance the county of Surrey—what would it be to the botanist without its orchi- deous and chalk plants, for which it has been long celebrated. At Boxhill, and the hills adjoining, with other places in the neighbour- hood, (and in this, as well as all places hereafter cited, within a dis- tance of thirty miles of London, ) the following lists of orchideous and other uncommon plants have been found. Orchideous Plants. + Ophrys apifera, 30. * Platanthera viridis, + Orchis bircina, 34. + ——-— muscifera, 30. (Banstead Down.) f- militaris, 34. + ———aranifera, 31. + Aceras anthropophora, ™*™ Malaxis paludosa (Rei- arachnites, 30. 90. gate. ) + Anacamptis pyramida- + Orchis maculata, 5,16. Herminium monorchis, lis, 34. mascula, 16. 32. + Gymnadeniaconopsea, + fusca, 34. + Neottia nidus avis. 34. = latifolia, 15. + Listera ovata, 15-34. { Platanthera bifolia, 16, + morio, 34. + Spiranthes autumnalis, 34. en ustulata, 34. 29-30. * Those marked thus * have been recently discovered in this county. + have been also discovered in Kent. The numbers affixed correspond to the pages where the localities may be seen in the “ Flora Metropolitana,” 1836. > On the Advancement of Local Botany near London. 167 } Epipactis grandiflora, + Epipactis ensifolia, 32. + Epipactis latifolia, 4. 30. a) palustris Vili Xanthium strumarium, 8, Narcissus biflorus, 15 Impatiens noli-me-tan- 98. Fritillaria meleagris, 2. gere, 30. Tulipa sylvestris, 3. Dentaria bulbifera, 21. a Thy) HIB) Myosurus minimus, 1,23. Leonurus cardiaca, 21. Scilla autumnalis, 30. Chelidonium laciniatum, Botrychium Junaria, 22. Lilium martagon, 31. 1. Scrophularia vernalis, 22. Chrysosplenium oppositi- Polygonum dumetorum,4. Coronopus didyma, 25. folium, 39. Symphytumtuberesum,3. * Utricularia vulgaris, Vaccinium oxycoccus, 40. Anemoneapennina, 1,39. Astragalus hypoglottis, | Adoxa moschatellina, 40. Melilotus leucantha, 30. 26. Lonicera xylosteum, 40. * Crocus aureus, * Corydalis lutea, Myrica gale, 41. vernus, 15. Hesperis matronalis, 30. Osmunda regalis, 42. From inspecting the above lists it may be easily imagined that the botanist resident in Surrey is not a little proud of his country. The metropolitan botanist also can certainly boast of a Flora perhaps not to be equalled throughout the whole of England. In this district he is particularly rich in orchideous plants. Of the 36 species describ- ed as British, 26 are found dispersed within thirty miles from London. In Kent, it may be observed that the species are not quite so abun- dant, in the ratio of 21 to 36, including two species that have not as yet to my knowledge been found in Surrey, at least within the range before specified, viz. *Orphrys fucifera and Orchis tetropho- santhos, 61. These plants are not confined to the counties of Surrey and Kent, in the London district, as might perhaps be supposed ; they also occur in Essex and Middlesex, but not so frequently. To- wards Harefield and St Albans they make their appearance again in great quantities. We have then in the combined counties of Surrey and Kent, as far as observation has gone, 28 species out of 36 British orchideous plants, the remaining eight being mostly confined to the northern districts. Nor is Kent behind her sister county in other rare plants,—Althea hirsuta, Bupleurum tenuissimum, Hutchinsia petrea, Valerianella calcitrapa, Hyoscyamus niger, Paris quadrifolia, Gentiana ama- rella, and G'. pneumonanthe may be considered but a few of them. With regard to the distribution of the whole of the species within thirty miles of London, I have from careful examination and research arrived at the following result : Lindley’s Ist edition of Synopsis of British Flora. (1. Dichlamydee, Nat. Ord. 67 Genera 370 Species 904 Dicotyledons. {2. Monochlamydee, 14 25 91 | 3. Achlamydez, 5 14 86 86 409 1081 168 On the Advancement of Local Botany near London. 1. Petaloidew, Nat. Ord. 16 Genera 58 Species 147 Monocotyledons, tes Glumacez, 2 69 994 18 127 371 Found within thirty miles of London. (Flora Metropolitana.) (1. Dichlamydee, Nat. Ord. 64 Genera 317 Species 683 Dicotyledons. 42. Monochlamydez, 13 20 72 | 3. Achlamydee, 5 14 49 82 351 804 MTeoR enous 4 Petaloidex, Nat Ord. 16 Genera 46 Species 106 2 yo Ons: * Glumacez, 2 57 137 18 103 243 Total in Lindley’s Synopsis. Dicotyledons, * Nat. Ord. 86 Genera 409 Species 108] Monocotyledons, 18 127 371 104 536 1452 Total in “ Flora Metropolitana.” Dicotyledons, Nat. Ord. 82 Genera 351 Species 804. Monocotyledons, 18 103 243 100 454 1047 Several papers having been read before the Botanical Society of London on the distribution of the number of species in certain loca- lities within a few miles of London, the results might perhaps be in- teresting to some of your readers. Mr Irvine* found 670 species within two miles of Hampstead, Middlesex, and 900 within the same distance of Croydon, Surrey. Dr Macintyre} found 10 genera, in- cluding 23 species of ferns—65 genera, including 136 species of Mo- nocotyledons,—and 265 genera, including 542 species of Dicotyledo- nous plants around Warley Common, Essex. I} have found 61 Na- tural Orders, 214 genera, including 406 species in Battersea Fields, Surrey—some of them of rare occurrence. The following tables have been drawn up from various works, in order to exhibit the number of genera and species contained in some of our local Floras ; the genera and species have not been reduced to a common standard, but have been calculated as they appear in those works. * Mr Irvine’s paper was read, November 17, 1836. } Dr Macintyre’s paper was read, December 15, 1836. t Paper read, January 5, 1837. 169 On the Advancement of Local Botany near London. 0zI _.) ele | ere | so | ste )99r , ree | GIL | 6a | 299 ) ses | FLL , ere ) 18 9 [IROL e *suopa|Ajov0U0 JA) rd cls |ere | eo | ete | 99r | rez | GIL | e6z | co9 62 } He eee = Be aime tear ‘saadg =| = “waaay roadg | sway | -oadg | uoy | ‘vadg | -uay | r90dg | -uay | soadg | -uag | ‘oadg | ‘uay |'pig ‘JeN| ‘STUVTINOSVA Csjurjd oar.) ‘ueyIng 2 sAaso[suy |, “sISUdIPLOIPIg : , ‘sureUNOW! ULIMOpAOUS w1OTA| “quiNyON ‘Tql Jo vaoyy UE role vO EEN (9) LEC) bal SISUsIUOAD(T BIOTA (4) 8I LI 91 Gl bat $1 ral 6zL |} Fee | SLL P28 | 9G | 98% | 189 9L 0s8 | FIF , LrOL | PSP O01 ( 768" | Sse = en z = 5 s § | ect SI Sho | €Ol 8I { | ‘suopat{j000u0 J] 62 bee | SLL £28 eve | 988) | oze ey 0¢8 rir} 709 | 14¢e 28 P68 | CBE y ‘suo pay AsooIC] rvadg | sua | svadg | -uay | -vadg | suag | ‘aad | ued) [PIO WN] s9adg | ‘uay | soadg | -uag |:pig yen] ‘oadg | -uay | ‘sauvIaAoOsvA *SISUIIUOXQ) “U1YSP40JXQ |StsUaTPI0J POO AA 2 ‘SisUaIsLqejueg| Bee 2 : ____B10Fg v10[ PLOT Ped eel POL ol SUM IOS OusINeetOld S| ee uouIea eta S| Il Or 6 8 L 9 Gi | 9¢91 j 12¢ | LI6 | Lee L6 e8ll | IF GOL | 8681 | SBP LOL | eer | 9E¢ rol | chet) Lig | RIeL 4 Sotoe a Eeac eer pS oe NY = pce eete eer aa 2 SESE | 472 8I 08% =| €8 0% 1€& | F0l 12 TLE} Ler 81 } ‘suopay Ayooou0 yA) eC eC o J S : = A Omer] Tet) eee [ete | ef | cos | eee | ce | ton | ise | 98 | tgor| cor | 99 | 42" | 182) -suopersioorg saadg | uay | ‘oadg | suay |-pig 3N] -a0dg "usd |"p1g 3ePN| ‘oodg | ‘uay |:prg yen! ‘90dg | ‘uey |pag yeN| o0dg | ‘ueg | SaUVINOSVA “UOLIpPa 4S ; . UTI Iwo "210. YSU "B10[Y YD}09g ‘e104 Yssaq qisdgudes tappina B10[4 YsHug [ 8se[0 Vy & G I “USHE} WHE OABY Vjep OY} SYIOM yey woa Moys 0} [-gz7 -d] ‘sajou oy} 0} puodseii09 sopqey OY} AoAO peoryd stequinu aL, 170 Contributions to the Notes to Table, p. 169. 1, 2, 3. Magazine of Zoology and Botany. Vol. i. p. 267. 4, 5. Calculation from the Prospectus of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 1836. 6. Flora Metropolitana, or Botanical Rambles within 30 miles of London. By Daniel Cooper. 1886. 7. Flora Cantabrigiensis. By Richard Relham. A. M. 3d edit. Cantab. 1820. 8. Flora of Berwick upon Tweed. By G. Johnston, M. D. Edinburgh, 1829. 9. Flora Woodfordiensis.—A Catalogue of Plants growing at Woodford, Es- sex. By Richard Warner, London, 1771. 10. Flora of Oxfordshire and contiguous counties. By Richard Walker. Ox- ford, 1833. 11. Flora Oxoniensis. By John Sibthorp, M. D. Oxonii, 1794. 12. Flora Devoniensis. By Rey. J. P. Jones, and J. F. Kingston. London, 1829. 13. Flora Glottiana.—A Catalogue of the Indigenous Plants on the banks of the river Clyde, and in the neighbourhood of the city of Glasgow. By Thomas Hopkirk. Glasgow, 1813. 14. Flora Bedfordiensis, comprehending such plants as grow wild in the county of Bedford. By Charles Abbott, M. A. Bedford, 1798. 15. A Catalogue of the Plants of Berwick upon Tweed. By John V. Thomp- son, Surgeon. London, 1807. 16. Flora of Anglesey, in Welsh Botanology. By Hugh Davies. London, 1815. 17. Flora of Northumberland and Durham, in the Botanist’s Guide through those counties. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1805. 18. Flora of the Snowdonian Mountains (rare plants only.) By the Rev. W. Bingley in 1798-1801. (Appendix to Jones’s Illustrations of the Natural Scenery of the Snowdonian Mountains.) London, 1829. VIII.— Contributions to the Natural History of Ireland. By Wit- LIAM ‘THomPSON, Esq. Vice-President of the Belfast Natural His- tory Society. (Continued from p. 57.) No. 3.—On the Birds of the Order Raptores. GosHAwk—Astur palumbarius, Bechst.—“ I have seen a young one got at the rocks of Magilligan (Londonderry.”)—MS. late Mr Templeton, where it is also stated under the head of Gentil Falcon. “ On 25th July 1809, I saw at Carrickfergus a stuffed specimen that had been shot at the Gobbins, (Antrim.”) I have never seen an Irish specimen of this bird. The term gos- hawk or goose*-hawk is commonly applied in the country to any of * Jn reference to its comparatively superior size. Natural Eistory of Ireland. 171 the Falconide of a larger size than those ordinarily met with, such as the common buzzard (Buteo vulgaris,) &c. Sparrow-Hawk—Accipiter fringillarius, Will.—Is common in the enclosed and wooded parts of Ireland. It is certainly the boldest of the British Falconide. I have known this species to be shot in a yard attached to an occupied dwelling-house in the country, where it was discovered by the uproar produced among the inhabitants of the dove-cot. Dr J. D. Marshall was, in October 1833, sent an old female sparrow-hawk, that in pursuit of a thrush (Turdus musicus) followed it into a cottage in the neighbourhood of Belfast, where both were secured. On some stuffed birds being placed near this hawk, she dashed fiercely at them. When bent on spoliation, the sparrow-hawk scruples not to enter even the church itself, as a male bird was about two years since caught by the sexton in New- townbreda Church (Down,) whither it had pursued some small bird, I believe a robin (Sylvia rubecula.) A sparrow-hawk was once ob- served by Mr R. Langtry to strike one of his sea eagles which was perching on his shed; and when his golden eagle was at liberty, he has not only seen it struck by one of these birds in passing, but was once witness to the latter turning back and repeating the imperti- nence. Another ornithological friend, on climbing a tree to one of their nests, and when within a very few yards of it, was attacked by the female bird, and his cap at one stroke sent to the ground. He speedily followed it, lest the next should be on his bare head, but, re- placing the cap more firmly on, he gallantly remounted to the nest, which he had been in the habit almost daily of visiting, and was gra- tified with a sight of the young birds that day hatched, which accounts for the boldness of the parent. He describes the young as being beautiful in their first garb of snow-white down. I have known this species to build only in trees, in Ireland. The stomachs of several specimens examined by me contained the remains of birds alone. KitE—Milvus ictinus, Sav.—Under the name of “ Kite,” a bird appears in many of the statistical surveys of Irish counties, as well as in other catalogues of native birds, but the true Falco milyus or Milvus ictinus has never been seen in Ireland, either by myself or any ornithologist with whom I have communicated, nor am I aware of the existence of a native specimen in any collec- tion. When Ireland presented an aspect different from the present, and was a well-wooded country, the Kite may have been one of our 172 Contributions to the birds, but the larger species of the Falconidz, and chiefly the com- mon buzzard, being in some places called kite and glead, as well gos- hawk or goosehawk, leaves us in uncertainty whether the real Falco milvus was ever indigenous tothe country. And for the same reason the doubt is no way removed even by the “ authority” of the Trish Statutes, in which rewards are offered for the destruction of the ‘‘ kite” as one of the birds of prey. Vide lJth Anne, ch. 7 and 17, Geo. II. ch. 10.* Mr R. Langtry, when at Loch Awe, in Argyleshire, early in the summer of 1833, procured from the nest two young kites, which proved a highly interesting addition to his aviary. They at once became very tame and familiar, and were so gentle in disposition as to be most engaging. Every morning they had their liberty, never flew far, but soared to a great height in the air, and, “ in still repeated circles,” displayed their peculiar and graceful flight. To either lure or “ fist” they always returned when called. Mice were preferred by them to birds or any other food. When these kites were on wing rats let off from the cage-trap were expertly caught by them. Common Buzzarp—Buteo vulgaris, Will.—This species is of common occurrence in Ireland. From the most extensive and best wooded demesnes in Down and Antrim, I have at every season of the year seen specimens. In such localities they build in trees, whence I have heard the young call in Shane’s-Castle Park. The buzzard is also found in the retired, rocky, and mountainous parts of the country, where trees are quite unknown, and there forms its nest in the cliffs. When at Rosheen mountain (before-mentioned as the eyrie of the Golden (?) Eagle) near Dunfanaghy, in June 1832, we saw a pair of buzzards, and heard their young call from the nest on a ledge of rock, midway down a precipice. ‘This we were told had, until the present season, been for many years occupied by a pair of ravens (Corvus corax,) which it was stated did not yield their possession quietly, but fought hard, though in vain, against the buzzards’ usur- pation. My friend being desirous of obtaining the young birds, a man undertook to descend the rock for them in the ordinary way, being secured from falling by a rope fastened about his body, and held by persons above. However, from its impending at the summit, this was rather perilous, and for greater safety he preferred ascending * For etxracts from the Statutes, I am indebted to Francis Whitta, Esq. of Belfast. Natural History of Ireland. 173 from the base; the preventive just mentioned against accidents being in this case likewise resorted to. When the least apprehension of danger was manifested, we endeavoured to dissuade him altogether from the attempt, but his father, an old gray-haired man, insisted, though gain was never thought of, that he should not turn craven, and was so froward in leaning over the cliff to direct his son’s move- ments, that we verily feared his own life would become a sacrifice, but all expostulation was in vain. By this method three young birds were taken, a fourth escaping by flight. The climber said the nest was composed of the strong stems of heather and roots of grasses, and lined with the fur of hares and rabbits, and that it would have held several more than the four birds it contained. The legs of rab- bits and hares were lying about it. When at Macgilligan, in the county Londonderry, in July 1833, I saw a buzzard, which appeared to be the Buteo vulgaris, soaring about the basaltic precipices, and flying from one pinnacle of rock to another, its young being all the while very vociferous, and one of them loudly heard above the others, calling similarly to the male bird brought from Donegal last year, satisfied me respecting its species. The continual and loud cry of the latter bird, as we drove from Dun- fanaghy to the city of Londonderry, proved ludicrously annoying to us, by giving evidence of the contents of our baskets to all persons we met, (it was a holiday,) and thus drawing their attention towards us. The other two buzzards and the eagles remained generally quiet. These three buzzards, but especially the male, became very familiar. When let off in the morning, his favourite perch was upon some stacks of grain, where he remained patiently watching for mice, which he has been seen to catch, but was not always successful, sometimes dashing his talons into the straw, and bringing them out empty. He prefer- red mice to rats, though very expert at lulling both. He was quite a pet bird. One of his favourite tricks was to fly on his master's feet and untie his shoe-strings. But he was likewise very bold; and, taking a dislike to a certain individual, flew at him whenever he ap- peared, and endeavoured to strike him about the head. Against these attacks a walking-stick generally served as a defence; but the buzzard once came upon him unawares, and inflicted a severe blow on the back of his head. This bird occasionally astonished strangers, by smartly striking them on the hat, so as to send it over their ears. At the range of inland rocks called Salagh Braes, and at another similar locality in Antrim, the buzzard nestles, as it is likewise pre- sumed to do at the promontory of Fairhead, in the same county, a pair of these birds having been seen there in June last by my friend 174 Contributions to the Richard K. Sinclaire, Esq. who on the same day observed, in addition to them, pairs of sea-eagles, peregrine falcons, and kestrels, all of which are well known to have eyries there. A native specimen of the buzzard, which I lately examined, had a few feathers half an inch in length about the middle of one of the tarsi, which was bare for nine lines above them. RoUGH-LEGGED Buzzarp—Buteo lagopus, Vig.—About the middle of October 1831, a bird of this species was killed near Dun- donald, in the county of Down.* On dissection, the remains of birds and of a full-grown rat were found in its stomach. It was purchased by Dr J. D. Marshall, and is now in his possession. ‘This bird ac- cords with Temminck’s description of the adult male. It has not any indication of bands on either side of the tail. In Mr Selby’s figure of the female, a band appears near the tip on the under side. About this time two others were seen at Killinchy, in the same county, and one of them shot, but it was, through ignorance, lost as a specimen. Last autumn, the gamekeeper at Tollymore Park de- scribed to me a bird, which, from size, being feathered to the toes, &c. evidently had been of this species. It was shot a few years ago (probably at the same period as the others) in Castlewellan demesne (Down) when carrying off a young rabbit. Honety-Buzzarp—Pernis apivorus, Cuv.—The following no- tice of this species appeared in the Magazine of Natural History for 1833, Vol. vi. p. 447. «“ At a meeting on July 23, 1833, of the Council of the Belfast Na- _ tural History Society, Mr W. Thompson, V. P. stated, that, on the ilth of June last, a fine male specimen of the honey-buzzard, which is unrecorded as having ever before occurred in Ireland, was, when in company with a similar bird, most probably the female, shot by Robert G. Bomford, Esq. in his demesne of Annandale, in the vi- cinity of Belfast; and who, on being informed of the rarity of the bird, had most handsomely presented it to the Belfast Museum. Mr Thompson, who saw the specimen when recent, related, that the bill and forehead were covered with cow-dung, in such a manner as to lead him to suppose the bird had in that substance been searching for insects. On examination of the stomach, which was quite full, it was found to contain a few of the larva, and some fragments of coleop- * This is the individual mentioned in “ Mag. Nat. Hist.” Vol. v. p. 578. Natural History of Ireland. 175 terous insects, several whitish-coloured hairy caterpillars, the pupz of a butterfly, and also of the six-spot burnet-moth (Zygzna filipen- dulz,) together with some pieces of grass, which it is presumed were taken in with this last-named insect, it being on the stalks of grass that the pupe of this species of Zygena are chiefly found. Mr Thompson remarked, that this insectivorous food must to the honey buzzard have heen a matter of choice, the bird being in the full vi- gour of its powers, and the district in which it was killed abounding with such birds, as, were they its wished-for prey, it might have easily captured and destroyed.” The individual thus dwelt upon was a mature male. The bands on the tail exhibit a greater inequality than is represented in any figure I have seen, the first and second being less than an inch apart, the third more than two and a-half inches distant from the second band. Marsu Harrier—Circus rufus, Briss.—I have had opportuni- ties of examining four recent marsh harriers, which were killed in Down and Antrim, but all in different localities—one only was an adult male. A person conversant with birds has mentioned to me, that he once saw an old male bird of this species on the banks of Belfast bay at ebb-tide. A brood of these birds taken a few years ago from the nest on the mountains of the county Monaghan was reared by Captain Bonham of the 10th Hussars, who intended trying them in falconry, but for this purpose they proved most intractable. Some years since, three or four young marsh harriers were brought to Belfast from the moun- tains of Ballynascreen (Londonderry) and I am credibly informed that the species breeds at Claggan (Antrim). It is considered very rare in Donegal.* Mr R. Ball states in a letter to me, that its young have been brought to him at Youghal (Cork). In suitable localities in the counties of Tipperary and Dublin IT am informed that it occurs. On dissection, the stomach of one of the first mentioned was found full of frogs. Hen-Harrier—Circus cyaneus, Flem.—This handsome species is generally distributed in Ireland. In Antrim I have been assured that it breeds at Claggan, and occurs at all seasons in the mountains around Ballymena. From an adult male being seen by an orni- thological friend on the 15th of May near Glenarm, it is probably * Mag. Nat. Hist. Vol. vy. p. 581. 176 Contributions to the indigenous to that neighbourhood. Two mature male specimens were shot, I have been told, near Dublin, in July 1836. The hen- harrier does not appear in Mr Stewart’s published catalogue of the Birds - of Donegal; but in a letter, with which he lately favoured me, that gentleman mentions it as a subsequent addition, but at the same time as arare and only occasional visitant. It is stated by Mr R. Ball to be sometimes shot about Youghal, and is enumerated among the birds seen in August 1835, in Connemara, by Mr Lingwood. * When looking for snipes in a boggy spot in the Belfast mountains, I once shot a female bird of this species, hovering in the manner of a kestrel over it. She was not alarmed by the presence of myself and friend, nor by that of our dogs engaged in “ beating” the ground immediately beneath. A gentleman of my acquaintance has long known “ white hawks” to have their nests every summer in his mountains at Ballynascreen (Londonderry,) where he had two of them last year. They are always placed on the ground among the heath. When at “ the Horn” in 1832, the gamekeeper told me of his having the winter before seen a “ white hawk” strike a curlew (Numenius arquata) in passing, and break its wing, which so disabled the bird, that it became an easy cap- ture to my informant. In a communication lately received from the Rev. Thomas Knox of Toomavara, it 1s remarked under the head «¢ Hen-Harrier”—*“ From the description given by different persons, I have no doubt that this bird frequents the bogs adjoining the Shan- non, where it is called the ‘ white kite.’ I have not been able to get one of them shot, but have seen it at a distance frequently.” A “ large bluish-white hawk” has been mentioned to me by a correspon- dent, as frequent about Clonmel. The localities have been thus par- ticularised, as the ash-coloured harrier may possibly be the species al- luded to under some of the latter appellations. EaGLte Owt—Bubo maximus, Sibbald.—-The only record of the eagle owl’s occurrence in Ireland appears in Mr Stewart’s Catalogue of the Birds of Donegal, in the following words :—“ Four of these birds paid us a visit for two days, after a great storm from the north, when the ground was covered with snow. They have not since been seen here. As I am informed that a pair of them breed in ‘Tory Island, about nine miles to the north of this coast, it is probable that they came from that island, I have heard of them nowhere else.’ “ Mag. Nat. Hist. Vol. ix. p. 128. 7 Ibid. Vol. v. p 581. Natural History of Ireland. 177 Lone-EARED OwL—Olus vulgaris, Flem.—Occurs throughout Ireland, and is resident. Where a sufficient extent of wood exists in Down and Antrim, it is a common species, and is remarked by a cor- respondent to be “ not uncommon” in Tipperary. It is considered rare in Donegal.* I have known this species to be shot in the dusk of the evening, a mile from high-water-mark, in Belfast Bay, by a person waiting in a barrel (sunk in the ooze) for the flying of widgeon. The white owl has in several instances been obtained by these shooters. An individual, well acquainted with the long-eared owl, informs me, that in a close plantation of spruce firs (Abies communis) at Scout- bush, near Carrickfergus, he for several years had its nests, which, in consequence of the trees being young, were placed not higher than six feet from the ground. The Rev. Thomas Knox, in a letter to me, mentions the contents of the stomach ofa long-eared owl, shot at Killaloe, to be “ part ofa rat, the skull of a mouse, and the heads of two sparrows.” A spar- row almost entire was found in the stomach of one examined by myself. SHORT-EARED OWL— Otus brachyotos, Flem.—This species is one of our regular winter visitants in the north of Ireland. October the 13th is the earliest date of its occurrence to me. It has been added to the birds of Donegal by Mr Stewart, since the publication of his catalogue, and its migration in winter to the mountains of Wexford and Tipperary has been communicated to me. I have several times met with, and shot this owl in the neighbour- hood of Belfast, and invariably in wet and boggy places, where snipes might be expected. One of these owls being only wounded, afforded me the opportunity of observing the exceeding brilliancy and depth of its golden eyes. In the stomach of a specimen examined on the 16th December last, I was surprised to find the legs of a purre (Tringa variabilis,) as the localities frequented by the two species at this sea- son are generally very different. Wuits-OwLt—Striv flammea, Linn.—This beautiful species is the most common owl in Ireland. I have had the following evidence of its regular flight to some distance from its domicile, just as twilight commences. Near Belfast there is a considerable extent of low-lying meadows, which are flooded by heavy rains, and at such times are re- * Mag. Nat. Hist. Vol. v- p. 581. 178 Contributions to the sorted to by various species of wild-fowl (Anatide.) The flood never attaining such a height as to cover the banks surrounding these meadows, they are frequented by persons for the purpose of shooting the wild-fowl on their evening flight, and to whom the owl, on as “‘ murderous deeds intent,” occasionally falls a victim. On becoming acquainted with this fact, it occurred to me that the owl’s visit might be in consequence of the flood driving its prey from the meadows to their banks, where, as the only place of refuge, it would be more abundant; but I have ascertained that the owl equally haunts them when the flood is gone. From the distance of half a mile I have seen it flying towards them. The white owl is a well known visitor to the dove-cot, and in such a place, or rather a loft appropriated to pigeons in the town of Belfast, I am informed by an observant friend that a pair once had their nest. This contained four young, which were brought up at the same time with many pigeons. The nests containing the latter were on every side, but the owls never attempted to molest either the parents or their young. As may be conjectured, this owl’s nest was frequently inspected during the progress of the young birds. On the shelf beside them, never less than six, and so many as fifteen mice and young rats (no birds were ever seen) have been observed, and this was the number they had left after the night’s repast. ‘The parent owls when undisturbed remained all day in the pigeon-loft. Of the stomachs of four white owls I have examined, one contain- ed the remains of rats; another of mice; a third was filled to disten- sion with portions of eight mice; and the fourth exhibited only a part of a coleopterous insect of the family Harpalide, that could not when perfect have exceeded nine lines in length. A friend, too, in- forms me, that, on examining the pellets cast by these owls, which he has very frequently done, he has often perceived, in addition to the fur and bones of rats and mice, the wing-cases of beetles shining through them.* The remains of birds he never detected in them. It is only, I believe, in dearth of other prey that this owl attacks any of the feathered tribe. A white owl, kept for upwards of a year in a friend’s house, was from the first kindly disposed to the servant who fed it, but pugna- cious towards its master, instantly striking with its talons at his finger when placed against the cage, but this he in some degree taught it. When spoken to by any one, it returned the recognition by most * I do not recollect these mentioned as the food of the white owl in any work on British Ornithology ; ‘‘ scarabees” are, however, enumerated as such by Temminck, Man d’Orn de Eur. Tom. i. p. 92. Natural History of Ireland. 179 grotesquely moving from one leg to the other on its perch, accompani- ed at, the same time by a bow or inclination of the head sideways. It screamed greatly during the night. Tawny Owt—Ulula stridula, Selby.—This species is mention- ed as Irish in several of the statistical surveys of our counties and other catalogues. It never occurred to the late Mr Templeton, nor have I seen an Irish specimen. Snowy Owt—Swrnia nyctea, Dumeril.—On June 9, 1835, I had the satisfaction of communicating an account of the snowy owl’s ap- pearance in Ireland to the Zoological Society of London, in whose “ proceedings,” 1835, p. 78, it subsequently appeared. The follow- ing is a rather more full account, as the limited scope of that most valuable work renders a condensation of matter for its pages quite ne- cessary. About the 26th of March 1835, a specimen of this bird was sent ina recent state to Dr Adams of Portglenone, (co. Antrim) by a person who had shot it a few days before in that neighbourhood, and who stated that a similar individual had been seen about the place where it was obtained. The specimen was presented by Dr Adams to the Natural History Society of Belfast. It is immature, agreeing with the figure in Mr Selby’s “ Illustrations of British Ornithology.” On the 21st of the same month, as two of my friends were out snipe-shooting at Bruslee, about twenty miles to the south-east of Portglenone, a large white owl, represented by them as twice the size of the common species of that colour (Strix flammea,) rose from the heath within a few yards of one of them, just as he had discharged both barrels at a snipe. His companion fired at it from such a distance, that, with the loss of only a few feathers, it escaped, and afterwards alighted at a short distance. On showing the specimen killed at Portglenone to one of these gentlemen, he recognized it as similar in size and colour to the bird he had seen. In Dublin I subsequently saw a snowy owl, which had been shot in the county Mayo, also in the month of March, and am credibly informed, that a few others were obtained about the same time in different parts of Ireland. One may be mentioned as having been received from the county Longford on the 5th of April by a bird- preserver in Dublin. * * Thave lately heard of the occurrence in Ireland, of three of the rarer species of British Raptores, but have not yet had the facts sufficiently authenticated for introduction here. 180 Botanical Excursion to the IX.— Account of a Botanical Excursion in the Alps of the Canton of Valais, Switzerland, in August 1839 ; and Catalogue of the Plants collected, with occasional Remarks. By R. J. SuurvLeworru, Esq. (Continued from p. 24.) 121]. Aretia tomentosa, Schleich. Rchb.—Androsace, Gaud. H. Ad Fissuras rupium in alpibus supra Tesch. Obs. Variat habitu laxiori vel congesto, et floribus brevissime vel longiuscule pedunculatis. Cl. Gaudin, hae Aretia Hall. Hist. No. 618 y. citavit, et certe descriptio, sua cum forma laxiuscule bene quadrat : sed Hallerus capsulam quadrivalvem descripsit, quam semper quinguevalvem ut in Aretiis Androsacisque omnibus obser- vavi. 122. A. alpina, L. Rehb. Germ. exc. No. 2697. excl. cit. et icone Hall. et Lam. Androsace Gaud. non Lam. Androsace pu- bescens, DC. Aretia, Hall. Hist. No. 618 «a. H. In fissuris rupium M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach. Obs. Optime descripsit nostram plantam cl. Hallerus, l.c. 123. A. pennina, Thomas. A. glacialis, Schleich. Rchb. Germ. exe. No. 2696. Androsace—Gaud. A. alpina, Lam. DC. Aretia, Hall, Hist. No. 618 8. Tab. 11, (« A. villosa, scapis unifloris.”) bona! Hi. In glareosis ad moles glaciales summi jugi alpium supra Teesch. Obs. Et hance speciem bene descripsit cl. Hallerus, ].c, sub var. 6. et corollam roseam observavit, que (nisi fallor) nunquam in A. alpi- na occurrit. Iconem citatam, nostre plante recte a cl. Gaudino re- latam, hue pertinere expressius significavit ipse Hallerus; non ob- stantibus “‘auctorum Hallucinationibus non excusandis.” (Rchb. 1. ¢. No. 2697!) et Reichenbachii ipsius—Species pulcherrima sed in eodem loco mire varians, floribus albis, carneis, roseis, et violaceo- purpureis, cum annulo flavo: caulibus laxis vel congestis, pedun- culisque brevissimis vix lineam unam longis, et spe uncialibus. (huc, Ic. Hall. cit). 124. Androsace maxima, L. H. In arvis incultis inter Varen et Siders, copiose sed exsiccata. 125. A. carnea, L. H. Ad moles glaciales summi jugi alpium supra Tesch. 196. A. obtusifolia, All. Fl. Ped. i. p. 90. No. 326. Tab. 46, f. 1, ejusdem Ped. Spicel. p. 22. Tab. 4, f. 2. Gaud. Rehb. a. sca- pis multifloris. 8. scapo unifloro. A. obtusifolio 4. aretioides, Gaud ? H. In graminosis M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach, et *Zermatt: 8. In M. Fiinelen. Alps of the Valais. 181 Obs. Var. g. differt tantum scapo folia excedenti « var Gaudini, cl. Koch in Deutsl. F]. ii. Aretias Androsacesque pessime exposuit: ex. gr. iconem All. Fl. Ped: ad. A. obtusifoliam, iconem All. Spici, autem ad A. lacteam ducit. Sed Allionius in Flora Ped: 1. c. rem ita exponit: “ Hujus Aretiz iconem Tab. 4. f. 2 et descriptionem dedi Pedem. Speci. p. 22.” 127. A. Chamejasme, Wulf. (In Jacq. Mise. i. p. 194, in descript. A. villosee L. ubi notas differentiales bene exponit.) A. villosa &. Koch. ii. p. 100. H. In graminosis M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach. Obs. Species ab A. villosa, L. et Wulf. 1. c. Tab. 7. f. 3 (in Hel- vetia rarissime in Jurrassi cacuminibus occurrit) omnino distincta, nec cum A. obtusifolia All. confundenda. 128. Primula viscosa, Vill. P. viscosa «. minor, Gaud. P. ciliata Schrank. Koch. P. hirsuta, Rchb. Germ. exc. No. 2726. Pl. crit. vii. ic. 854. an Vill. ? H. Ad moles glaciales M. Fiinelen, et in alpibus supra Tesch. 129. P. farinosa, L. H. In graminosis M. Fiinelen et supra Tzsch. Obs. Planta alpina szepius variat scapo humili, floribus paulo ma- joribus saturatiusque coloratis. 150. Soldanella alpina, L. Willd. Koch. Rchb. Germ. exc. No. 2736, S. Clusii Schmidt. non? Gaud. cf. Rchb.1. c. H. Ad nives deliquescentes M. Gemmi. — 131. Thymus pannonicus, All. «. lanuginosus ; caule foliisque undi- que pilis longis griseis instructis; floribus capitato-spicatis, staminibus inclusis. Th. pannonicus, Gaud. T. pannonicus 8 Rehb. Germ. exc. No. 2118 excl. syn. &. major, Gaud. Helv. iv. p. 82; foliis majoribus punctatis gla- briusculis ; floribus spicato-verticillatis, verticillis remotiusculis, staminibus exsertis. H. «a. ad viam inter Siders et Leuk. 4. inter Stalden et St Nicho- las et alibi in Valesia superiori. Obs. I™* In var. 4—variat etiam undique minute tomentosa. Ad hane varietatem, me judice, sine dubio referendi sunt : Thymus humifusus, M. Bieb! T. Austriacus, Berh! T.montanus, Walds. et Kit ! T. serpyllum exserens, Bess! T. nummularius, M. Bieb. (E Georgia Caucasica specimen unicum a Hohenackero lectum U. T. 1834, possideo.) T. hirsutus, M. Bieb ! (quo T. pilosus Bernh! prope Vindebonas lectus, vix differt) recedit foliis anguste lineari-oblongis uninervis VOL. I. No. 8. N 182 Botanical Excursion to the (in T. pannonico valde 5—nervosis,) nervo exstanti dorso acute ca- rinatis. T. Marschallianus MB! differt etiam foliis angustissime lineari-oblongis, fere linearibus et ex axillis valde foliosis, quasi fas- ciculatis. cf. Koch, Deuts. Fl. iv. p. 312, 313. et Rchb. Germ. exc. No. 2118, 2119. TT. lanuginosus, Schrank ! etiam differt foliis or- biculatis acuminatis. Obs. 2°*. Similitudo cum T. angustifolio non patet, ac certe notis melioribus differt quam “ ramis floriferis longioribus erectioribus villosis et foliis duplo longioribus.” Benth. Lab. Gen. et Sp. p. 345. Certe in spec. meis omnibus et multa ex Helvetia, Germania, Po- dolia, Hungaria, &c. possideo, nunquam folia linearia inveni, sed semper oblonga et oblongo-lanceolata. cf: Benth. 1. c. 132. Ajuga pyramidalis, L. @. alpestris, minor e ceruleo purpuras- cens, foliis floralibus rubris, Gaud. H. In graminosis M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach. Obs. Formam «a. in Helvetia hucusque non inveni. 133. A. chamepitys, Schreb. var. canescens, foliis latioribus incano- lanatis (est forsan forma monstruosa insectis producta.) H. In arvis et incultis prope Varen. 134.* Teucrium montanum, L. H. Zermatt. 135. Nepeta Cataria, L. H. Ad viam inter Siders et Leuk. 136. Leonurus Cardiaca, L. H. Ad viam inter Brieg et Minster. 137. Acinos alpinus, Moench. H. Inter St Nicholas et Zermatt. 138. Calamintha officinalis, Moench. H. In fruticetis saxosis apricisque inter Inden et Varen. 139. Euphrasia officinalis, L. 6.alpestris, Koch. Deuts. FI. iv. p- 349. 68 minima. E, minima, Schleich. Koch. Gaud. E. pratensis, « mi- nima Rchb. H. In graminosis M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach. Obs. Corolla parva lilacina palato flavo, vel seepe tota flava venis purpurascentibus. Forma capsulz, emarginatura, longitudoque styli valde variabiles sunt, et in eodem individuo inconstantes: ab hac varietate vix differt E. officinalis var. alpina Rchb. exsic ! 140. E. salisburgensis, Funk. E. alpina, Dec. Gaud. H. In glareosis arenosisque prope Kandersteg (forma pyramidata, imbricata) ; in graminosis M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach (for- Alps of the Valais. 183 ma parva, debilis) ; et inter St Nicholas et Zermatt ad viam (forma subimbricata, ramosa). Obs. Etiam variabilis sed species rite constituta ; variat foliis omnibus angustis imbricatis, dentibus setaceo-productis, vel latiori- bus distantibus, dentibus minus acuminatis, caule ramosissimo vel subsimplici, rigido vel debili. 141. E. (Odontites) lutea, L. H. In arvis incultis prope Varen. 142. E. (O.) viscosa, L. H. In apricis ad viam inter Inden et Varen. 143. Bartsia alpina, L. H. In M. Gemmi ad lacum infra Schwarrenbach. 144. Pedicularis verticillata, L. H. In M. Gemmi supra Kandersteg et in graminosis supra Schwarrenbach. In alpibus supra Zermatt. Obs. Spica florens capitata, fructifera, valde elongata. 145. P.rostrata, L. Koch. Deutsch. FI. iv. p. 367, Gaud. non Rehb. H. Ad moles glaciales M. Fiinelen et summi jugi alpium supra Tesch. Obs. P. rostrata, Rchb. Germ. exc. No. 2459 et exsic ! est species aliena, P. Jacquini, Koch.1.c. p. 363. Errore Reichenbachii induc- tus, hucusque Pedicularem nostram rostratam a Linnzana diversam et eandem cum P. aspleniifolia Floerke existimavi, sed, preeunte Kochio, has species tres inter se distincte habeo. P. Jacquini, Koch, caule adscendente, foliis bipinnatifidis, spica pluriflora congesta, floribus erectis, calyce glabriusculo, filamentisque pilosis. P. rostrata Rchb. non L. P. rostrata, L. Koch Gaud. caulo prostrato-adscendenti, foliis pinnatifidis, spica pauciflora laxa, interdum uniflora, calyce pubes- centi, filamentisque barbatis. P. aspleniifolia, Floerke, Rchb. Koch., caule erecto, foliis pinna- tifidis, spica pluriflora laxa floribus patulis, calyce lanato, filamen- tisque vage pilosis vel glabriusculis. 146. P. Barrelieri, Rehb. Germ. exc. No. 2465 et exsic! P. adscen- dens Gaud. non Schleich. H. In graminosis M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach. Obs. Glabriuscula, folia pinnatifida lobis profunde incisis, race- mus elongatus, calycis segmenta glabra ciliata subintegra, nec folia- cea ; capsula calyce duplo longior. 147. P. tuberosa, L. Rchb. Germ. exc. No. 2466 et exsic.! P. ad- scendens, Schleich. non Gaud. H. In graminosis alpium supra Tesch. 184 Botanical Excursion to the Obs. Pilosa, folia bipinnatifida, lobis acute dentatis, racemus bre- vis subcapitatus. calycis segmenta pubescentia, foliaceo-incisa ; cap- sula calyce vix longior. 148. Veronica verna, L. H. ad muros inter St Nicholas et Zermatt, copiose. Obs. Specimina mea deflorata sunt, sed capsulis obcordatis com- pressis, lobis divergentibus ciliatis styloque brevissimo ab afiinibus facile distinguenda. 149. V.aphylla, L. «a. flore ceruleo. 4. flore carneo. H. In graminosis ad nives deliquescentes M. Gemmi. 150. V. Teucrium, 1. latifolia Gaud. var. minor, tomentosa, racemo . florifero abbreviato. V. latifolia 6. Pseudochameedrys Rchb. germ. exc. No. 2510 6. H. In locis aridis ad viam inter Thermas Leucenses et Inden. 151. V. fruticulosa, L. H. Ad moles glaciales M. Fine!en. 152. V. alpina, L. H. In M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach in M. Funelen. 153. V. bellidioides, L. H. In M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach. 154. Linaria alpina, DC. «. maculata, palato aurantiaco conspicuo. é, subimmaculata, palato obsolete diluteque ochroleuco. H. In glareosis, M. Schwarzseeberg. Obs. Semina patelliformia, uno latere concavo, altero convexo: immatura ala tenui albida circumdata, matura concoloria nigra. 155. L. italica, Trev. Koch. Deuts. Fl. iv. p. 397, exe. Syn. Dec. L. angustifolia, Rehb. germ. exc. No. 2550, pl. crit. v. ic. 608. opt ! L. genistifolia Ser. exs! Antirrhinum Bauhini, Gaud. H. Ad viam inter Visp et Stalden. Obs. Species distinctissima, nullomodo cum L. genistifolia, Mill. confundenda. Semina L. genistifolize angulato-pyramidata, punc- tata, calycis segmentis capsulam equantibus vel superantibus: in L. italica Trev. semina orbiculata alata patelliformia muriculata, ca- lycis segmentis capsula duplo triplove brevioribus. Antirrhinum angustissimum Lois. (ex. Aix in Sabandia, Balbis) differt foliis om- nibus angustissimis, racemis laxis ; semina matura in exemplaribus meis desunt, sed immatura videntur angulata. L. genistifolia, DC. Fl. fr. No. 2653 “ Les divisions du calyce couvrent presque la cap- sule” et Dub. Bot. Gall. i. p. 346 “ calycis laciniis linearibus acutis capsulam subequantibus” potius ad L. genistifoliam Mull. pertinet. sed note e calyce sumptz forsan variabiles. 156. Antirrhinum Orontium, L. Alps of the Valais. 185 H. In fossis exsiccatis prope Leuk. 157. Physalis Alkekengi, L. H. In vineis prope Varen. 158. Myosotis alpestris, Schmidt. H. In graminosis supra Zermatt et M. Finelen. Obs. Planta variabilis: caulis inferne pilis patentibus hirsutus, superne longe aphyllusracemisque appresse-strigosus; Folia strigoso- hirsuta, pilis longioribus ciliata ; pili calycini vix curvato-hamati. Hue pertinet M. alpestris, Schmidt, Boh! M. alpestris bot. Scot. differt tantum calycibus fructiferis paulo majoribus, caule foliosiori, pilisque magis patentibus. M. Suaveolens, Walds. et Kit! vix differt caule elatiori, foliis calycibusque strigoso-hispidis, pilis ap- pressis, illis, nisi basi, non ciliatis ; quod odorem attinet, plantara amzenissime odoratam in alpibus Bernensibus Stockhorn et viciniis copiose legi, M. lithospermifolia, Horn, (ex exempl. unico a Bal- bisio misso) magis cum planta Scotica congruit, recedit tantum caule elatiori, racemisque axillaribus plurimis ; sed vix species diversa. M. alpestris, Schmidt, magis habita, quam notis bonis a M. sylva- tico differre videtur. 159. M. nana, Vill. Eritrichium nanum, Schrad. H. ad moles glaciales summi jugi alpium supra Tesch. 160. Echinospermum Lappula, Lehm. H. In vineis inter Varen et Siders, et ad viam inter Siders et Leuk. Obs. Variat ramis suberectis vel squarroso-patulis reflexisve. E. squarrosum, Rchb. vix diversum. 161. Cuscuta Epithymum, Sm. H. Ad astragalum Leontinum in pratis alpinis supra Zermatt. Obs. Styli vix exserti. 162. Chlora’ serotina, Koch, Deuts. Fl. iii. p. 32. Rehb. Germ. exc. No. 2809. PI. crit. ili. ic. 351 et 350 (var. @ Koch.) C. perfoliata g pusilla, serotina, foliis sessilibus imperfoliatis conna- tis, Gaud. Helv. iii. p. 18. H{. Copiose in paludosis Valesiz ad Rhodanum prope Pfyn inter Siders et Leuk. cons. Chrysocome Linosyris, L. Obs. Optime descripsit cl. Koch. ]. c. plantam nostram, differt a C. perfoliata, L. Rchb. pl. crit. iii. ic. 349, floribus minoribus, caly- cis segmentis basi altius connatis, duplo latioribus trinervis nervis- 186 Botanical Excursion to the que minoribus reticulatis corollam subequantibus ; foliis in exempl. pinguioribus perfoliatis ovato-acutis, in exempl. pusillis amplexi- cauli-connatis sed imperfoliatis: hue spectat cit. Gaudini. 163. Erythrea pulchella, Fries. y. palustris, Gaud. caule simplici superne dichotomo-paniculato. H. In paludosis Valesiz prope Pfyn. 164. Gentiana ciliata, L. H. In pascuis prope Randaa. 165. G. glacialis, Vill—g. flore albo ty. forma monstruosa, pusilla, caule folioso, foliis elongatis, corolla difformi calyce vix longiori, viridescenti. H. Rarissime in M. Gemmi in graminosis cac. rupium M. Schal- mette et ad nives perennes supra Schwarrenbach. Copiose in M. Schwarzseeberg et cum g et y. satis frequens in graminosis ad moles glaciales summi jugi alpium supra Tesch. 166. G. campestris L. g? alpina mihi—G. chlorefolia N. ab E. e Rehb. Germ exc. No. 2825? Caulibus pedunculisque alatis, calycis segmentis eximie serrulatis, corolla segmentis subrotundo-apiculatis vel orbiculari-obtusiusculis ; foliis cauli- nis ovato-triangularibus obtusiusculis, radicalibus spathulatis petiolatis. H. In ascensu M. Gemmi prope “ die Wintereck.” Obs. Corolle, superiores spe 5-fide, majores quam in G. cam- pestri e Scotia, &c. et folia latiora, premio. Corollz pallide cx- rulez vel purpurascentes. 167. G. obtusifolia, Willd. Koch. Gaud. H. Ad moles glaciales, M. Schwarzseeberg et summi jugi alpium supra Tesch. Obs. Corollz superiores quinquifide, inferiores interdum quadri- fidze: me judice forma alpina G. Germanice, Willd., et hee forsan a G. amarella, L. non diversa. 168.* G. Verna, L. var flore albo. H. Zermatt. 169. G. nivalis, L. Froehl. Mon. p. 83, «. ramosissima, ramis dense foliosis, foliis subimbricatis, 8. elongata, ramosa, foliis remotis. G. nivales 8. Froehl. y. pusilla, simplex, uniflora, interdum subacau- lis. G. nivalis 7. Froehl. exc. syn. Villarsii. H. a. et 8. In ascensu M. Gemmi supra Kandersteg: in Al- pibus supra Zermatt et Tzsch. . ad moles glaciales M. Schwarzseeberg. Obs. Varietates omnes, sed presertim 4. e Scotia accepi. 170. G. asclepiadea, L Alps of the Valais. 187 H. copiose in pratis uliginosis prope Kandersteg. 171.* G. purpurea, L. H. Zermatt. 172. Cynanchum vincetoxicum, R. Br. H. In glareosis inter Stalden et St Nicholas, Obs. Forma monstruosa prostrata ramosa; umbellule ad florem unicum depauperate. eee 173.* Pyrola chlorantha, Sw. H. Zermatt. 174. Erica carnea, Scop.—forma autumnalis, alabastris viridibus. E. herbacea, L. H. In umbrosis M. Gemmi cons. Astrantie minoris supra Kandersteg. 175. Rhododendron ferrugineum, L. H. In M. Finelen. 176. Phyteuma pauciflorum, L. H. In graminosis M. Schwarzseeberg et copiose ad moles glaciales M. Fiieblen.—Supra Tesch. Obs. Variat bracteis late ovatis, et subrotundis, foliis lineari-lan- ceolatis obovato-spathulatis, lineari-spathulatisque, apice dentatis vel integris, plus minusve ciliatis; caule humili vix 6” usque ad 4” alto: persuasus sum, preunte Am. Guthnicko in “ Flora oder Regensburger Bot. Zeitung,” P. globularizfolium Hoppe et Sternb. mere formam proceriorem, P. pauciflora, L. (cf. Rehb. pl. crit. iv. ic. 545, 547—549,) et vix ut varietas enumerandum. 177. P. hemisphericum, L. H. In graminosis M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach. In M. Schwarzseeberg, Funelen, et supra Tesch, et in M. Grimsula supra Obergestelen, ubique copiose. 178. *P. humile, Schleich. Gaud. H. Occurrit rarissima planta in graminosis ad moles glaciales vallis D. Nicolai supra Zermatt, &c. Obs. Bractez interiores demum indurate, acuminatissime fruc- tus superantes, adeo ut capitulis maturis Scabiosarum similes sunt. Folia bractezeque nervo valido exstante percurse sunt. 179. P. orbiculare, L. a. cordatum, Gaud. H. In M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach. 180. P. spicatum, L. Var. glaberrimum, capitulo bracteato, fo- liorum bractearumque dentibus patentibus. 188 Botanical Excursion to the H. In sylvis laricinis inter Zermatt et valleculam Tesch. Obs. Glabritia solummodo, a varietate bracteata, Alp. DC. Mon. p- 198, differre videtur 181. P. betonicefolium, Vill. Gaud. H. In M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach, in M. Fiinelen, et in alpibus supra Tesch. 182. Campanula pusilla, Henke. £. flore albo, magisque pubescens. H. In glareosis M. Gemmi ad nives perennes supra Schwarren- bach, et lacum Dauben. &. rarius, 30-31 Aug. 1836. Obs. Forma alpina differt a subalpina et campestri floribus ma- joribus, habituque laxiori. 183. C. glacialis, n. sp. C. humilis cespitosa pauciflora glabra, foliis radicalibus ovatis ni- tidis dentatis in petiolum ciliatum attenuatis, caulinis lineari-lan- ceolatis : alabastris nutantibus, floribus suberectis ; calycis laciniis subulatis erectis, corolla campanulata lobis erectis inflata, quadru- plo brevioribus. H. In glareosis ad moles glaciales M. Funelen supra Zermatt. Cons. C. pedunculati, Gaud. et Sedi repentis, Schleich. czs- pites magnos laxosque efficiens. Obs. Proxima afhnitas cum C. pusilla, Henke, et C. linifolia, Lam. Alp. DC. AC. pusilla differt corollz forma aliena et statu- ra fere duplo majori, styloque breviori; a C. linifolia habitu nano cespitoso, et corolla inflata suberecta calycis segmentis quadruplo longiori. Forma corolle videtur omnino distincta, est nempe ex- acté campanulata, inferne multo latiori, superne multo angustiori, pro rata, quam in C. pusilla et linifolia. Stylus etiam in C. pusilla fere longitudinis corollz, in nostra planta tertia parte breviori. Species pulcherrima denuo indaganda an jure a C, pusilla diversa. 184. C. linifolia, Lam. C. Valdenses, 8. Gaud. H. In graminosis M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach. 185. C. cenisia, All. Ped. Tab. 6. f. 2. H. Ad moles glaciales summi jugi alpium supra Tesch, in gla- reosis. 186. C. rhomboidalis, L. H. In pratis Valesiz superioris inter Brieg et Munster. 187. C. Trachelium, L. 8. urticefolia. C. urticefolia, Schmidt. Pedunculis unifloris solitariis, calycis segmentis glabriusculis ; corolla pallida. H., Ad sepes Valesie sup. inter Brieg et Munster. 188. *C. spicata, L. H. Zermatt. Alps of the Valais. 189 189. C. barbata, L. H. In pascuis M. Gemmi. 190. Adenostyles candidissima, Cass. Less. A. leucophylla, Rchb. H. In petrosis alpinis valleculea Tasch, paulo infra moles gla- ciales. Obs. Caulis semipedalis, bipedalis et ultra. Capris et pecori videtur grata. 191. Petasites niveus, Baumg. fl. Trans. lass. H. Inglareosis prope Thermas Leucenses. Obs. Folia tantum inveni. 192.* Senecio viscosus, L. H. Zermatt. 193. S. uniflorus, All. Ped. i. No. 728. « Allionii, mihi. S. uniflo- rus All. 1. c. Tab. 17, f. 3. opt. Senecio caule unifioro, foliis ob- longis crenato-incisis, incano-tomentosis. §. corymbosus mihi, caule 3-8 floro, capitulis minoribus, foliis altius incisis interdum subpinnatifidis, incano-tomentosis. Pluk. Tab. 39. f. 6? y. leu- canthemifolius mihi, caule corymboso, capitulis parvis numerosis congestis, foliis spathulato-ovatis, vel lineari-lanceolatis, crenatis vel inciso-pinnatifidis, facie glabriusculis, dorso incanis. S. car- niolicus, Willd. Rchb. S. incanus, Scop. Hoppe exsic! S. leucan- themifolia Lezay ! (in Herb nostr.“ exaltissimaalpe Scaletta, qu Rhetiam ab Eugadino separat.”) Chrysanthemum alpinum ju- _ denbergense Jacobee affine. J. Bauh. Hist. ii. p. 1058 cum icon. et in Herb. Scheuchzeriano ! H. «a. ad moles glaciales M. Fiinelen copiose, et in alpibus su- pra Tesch. (€. cum«a in M. Finelen. Obs. In var. a, formas duas legi, nempe « « macrocephala, capitulis uncialibus et a @ microcephala, capitulis vix semi-unciali- bus: variat etiam foliis plus minusve altius crenato-incisis, indu- mentoque minus copioso. In var. y, quoad foliorum incisionem, et tomentum valde variabilis. 194. S.incanus, L. «. Genuinus mihi, caule simplici corymboso, capitulis coarctatis, foliis spathulato-lanceolatis, ovatisve pinna- tifidis, incano-tomentosis. S. incanus, L. Rehb. germ.exe. Ja- cobea pumila alpina, Bocce. Mus. Tab. 8. opt. (@. elatior mihi, caule superne ramoso corymboso, capitulis laxioribus, foliis spa- thulato-lanceolatis, ovatisve pinnatifidis, radicalibus sepe mere crenato-incisis, incano-tomentosis. H. Ad moles glaciales M. Fiinelen sed parcius. Obs. 1™*. In var. « caulis vix ultra 4-uncialis, capitula mini- ma ; in var. §, caulis semipedalis et ultra. 190 Botanical Excursion to the r Obs. 24%. Inter S. uniflorum, All. et incanum, L. nulla discri- mina specifica adesse, ex observationibus iterum iterumque repetitis (et exempl. per multa e Germania (Styria,) Helvetia et Sabaudia possideo) persuasus sum ; et, nisi auctoritate Willdenowii, Reichen- bachii, Gaudini, &c. obstante, in unam speciem ambos conjunxissem. Var. 8. S. uniflori omnino inter « et y media ; ac var. 6. S. incani fere transitus in var. y leucanthemifolium S. uniflori. Cl. Gau- din, semina S. uniflori, setulis brevissimis parum extantibus adsper- sa, pappumque brevem scabrum descripsit ; et semina S. incani gla- bra et pappum squalide albidum scabriusculumque: sed in exempl. meis S. uniflori, Carniolici et incani nullum discrimen, nisi pappum in S. incano « magis coloratum quam in f. inveni. Semina juniora semper setulis conspicuis adspersa, matura spe glabriuscula ; pap- pus in planta florenti albidus, in fructifera plus minusve coloratus, semper scaber. Si res sicsehabeat, nomen Linneanum aptissimum ita retinendum. Senecio incanus, L. «. Linnei—S. incanus, L. et auct. £6. elatior. y. leucanthemifolius. S. Carniolicus, Willd. et auct. 6. corymbosus, (cf. All. 1. c.) « uniflorus, S. uniflorus All. et auct. 195. §. Doronicum, L. H. In M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach. et* Zermatt. Obs. 1™*, Variat caule uni et multifloro, foliisque plus minusve incanis. Obs. 242. Senecio Scheuchzeri, Gaud! Helv. v. p. 294, vix nisi forma alpestris S. tenuifolii ; specimen a cl. Gaudino descriptum, et in Herb. Scheuchzeriano asservatum, “ Jacobea alpina laciniate, flore Buphthalmi ex Monte Fracto” possideo: involucrum fere ut in S. Jacobea, sed capitula minima ; videtur forma < localitati nata. 196. Arnica scorpioides, L. Aronicum—Rchb. H. In glareosis M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach—in Alpibus supra Zermatt. 197. *A. Doronicum, Jacq. «. foliis caulinis dentatis. Aronicum Doronicum Rcehb. Arnica Clusii, All. Ped. Tab. 17. f. i. (sed maxima) . foliis omnibus angustioribus, subintegerrimis. Aro- nicum glaciale Rchb. an Jacq? Arnica Clusii, var. All. 1. c. f. 2, {sed etiam major.) H. Supra Zermatt. Obs. Limites nullos inter varietates invenio. 198. Chrysocoma Linosyris, L.—g. minor, Hall. Vill. Gaud. Taber- nemontanus, p. 1209, f. 2. opt. H. «. adviam inter Stalden et Visp. §. In paludosis prope Pfyn, inter Siders et Leuk. Alps of the Valais. 191 Obs. Corymbus var. £. valde irregularis, pauciflorus. 199. Aster alpinus, L.—6, flore discoideo. H. In M. Gemmi, * supra Zermatt. 8. in M. Fiinelen. 200. Erigeron uniflorus, L. H. In M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach ; in M. Fiinelen. Obs. Pulcherrima planta ; flores rosei vel albi. Var. calyce plus minusve hirsuto, et huc E. hirsutus, Hoppe. 201. E. alpinus, L. «. minor, uniflorus. Gaud. Helv. v. p. 266. (. ramosus, pedalis et ultra, pedunculis unifloris foliolosis, Gaud. l. c. y. hirsutus, foliis preecipueque caule pilis longis patulis hir- sutis, calyce subtomentoso, pappo dilute carneo, semine longiori. Gaud. 1. c. H. «. In M. Gemmi supra Kandersteg et Schwarrenbach. (§. in M. Gemmi prope Hospitium. y. In alpibus supra Tesch, et prope Randaa. . Obs. In exempl. meis var. y. caulis uniflorus semipedalis anthe- reeque atrofusce. Ad hujus species var. « pertinere videtur E. glabratus, Hoppe. 202. Solidago virgaurea, L. * 8. angustifolia, Gaud. Helv. v. 316. y- pumila, Gaud. 1. c. H. g. Zermatt. y. In M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach. Obs. y. variat, caule foliisque glabriusculis vel pubescentibus, pe- dunculis unifloris vel racemosis, foliis inferioribus lanceolatis in pe- tiolum attenuatis, vel ovalibus, subrotundisve longe petiolatis. Dif- fert a planta campestri floribus facile duplo majoribus, racemo bre- vissimo conjesto, rhizomateque crasso longissime repenti. Ab hoc var. vix differt S. cambrica, Britann. nisi floribus minoribus. 203. Inula Britannica, L. H. In paludosis prope Pfyn. 204. Gnaphalium montanum, L. Rchb. germ. exc. No. 1390. G. arvense, W. et Rchb. 1. c. Gaud.. H. In incultis arenosis inter Stalden et St Nicholas, et in arvis incultis prope Siders. Obs. Mihi etiam non obvie sunt differenti inter Gn. arvense, L. (G. montanum, Willd.) et G. minimum, Sm., sed forsan et ego G. montanum et arvense, L. non bene intelligo. 205. G. Leontopodium, L. «. minus, caule 2-4 unciali vix ultra. B. elatius, caule pedali et ultra, flexuoso, capitulis majoribus, numerosioribus, bracteisque armato-patentibus. H. «a. In M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach, et ad lacum Dauben. 8. In graminosis ad moles glaciales supra Zermatt. Obs. Cum varietate 6. bene convenit icon Rchb. G. Leontopo- 192 Botanical Excursion to the dioidis, Willd., Pl. crit. x. ic. 1292, nisi caule superne ramoso, capi- tulisque laxioribus, sed planta e cultura forsan mutuata. Rchb. l. ec. et de planta culta commentatur. “ Planta imprimis bracteis arcuatis minus tomentosis nec candidis a pulchro nostro G. Leonto- podio diversa,” sed he notz non extant apud Willd. Spec. iii. p. 1894. Notis exceptis, icon Rehb. nostram plantam omnino refert. 206. G. supinum, L. Syst. Veg. (Ed. 13. c. Murray.) G. supinum Lavandulefolium, Bocce. Mus. 107. tab. 85. G. supinum, Gaud. Helv. v. p. 241. dese. bona. Willd. Sp. iii. p. 1888. G. fuscum, var. Rchb. Germ. exc. No. 1397. H. Jn M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach, et in saxosis ad lacum Dauben. * Zermatt. Obs. G. supinum, Sm. Eng. FI. Ed. 24°. iii. p. 416, non hae sed ad sequentem G. pusillum Henke pertinet, ut videtur ex observa- tionibus suis de icone Bocconii citata, nam Gn. supinum lavandule- folium Bocce. a Linn ad suum G. supinum allatum est, et bene re- fert plantam juniorem G. supini, Bot. Helv. et Germ. (Rchb. in germ. exc. No. 1397 in ann. et add. figuram Bocconii ad G. uligino- sum refert.) Utramque specierum e Scotia accepi et in Herbario meo, e fere omnibus localitatibus copiose sed intermixtae extant, et dubitor an vere inter se distinct. Interdum egre distinguende sunt, quan- quam forme extreme valde distinct. G. supinum gaudet foliis la- tioribus minus tomentosis, capitulis sepius capitato-spicatis nume- rosis (4-12,) magis coloratis, brevissime pedicellatis ; caulibus vix cxspitosis, biuncialibus et ultra, spicisque sepissime arcuato-cernuis, occurrit etiam capitulis sparsis, interdum subremotis, pallidiori- busque, sed semper numerosioribus quam in sequenti. Hujus spe- cies varietas videtur G. fuscum, Scop. non Lam. 207. G. pusillum, Henke. Willd sp. iii. p. 1889, Gaud. 1. c. dese. bona. G. alpinum Lightf. Scot. i. p. 470 cum icon. opt. G. su- pinum, Sm. e descr. et annot. H. In M. Schwarzseeberg et Fiinelen. Obs. Descriptio Willdenowiana optima, nisi “ flores sessiles, et calycis squame glabriuscule ex toto fusce.” Phylla nempe pubes- centia, sed multo minus quam in precedenti ; color variabilis. Dif- fert a precedenti caulibus sarmentosis procumbentibus, florentibus magis erectis paucifloris, seepius unifloris, sed interdum quinqueflo- ris ; capitulis omnibus remotis, plus minusz pedicellatis ; foliisque linearibus utrinque argenteo tomentosis. Ab hac specie, videtur, cl. Smith varietatis uni et paucifloris pracedentis non separavit, et for- san recte sed formam spicatam ad Gn. sylvaticum retulit. 208. G. carpathicum Wahl. Carp. Pie cum icone. Gn. alpinum, Alps of the Valais. 193 Gaud. Rehb. pl. crit. viii. ic. 996. (Antennaria hyberborea, Don. Lindl. syn. (?) e Rehb. germ. exc. No. 1398 in add.) H. In. M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach. In. M. Funelen. Obs. In exempl. meis capitula omnia distincte pedunculata. G. carpathicum, Wahl.! differt tantam capitulis congestis, foliisque la- tioribus, sed in icone sux capitula etiam, quoque minus distincte, pedunculata sunt. 209. * G. dioicum, L. H. Zermatt. 210. G. luteo-album, L. H. Ad viam inter St Nicholas et Zermatt et inter Visp et Brieg. 211. Chrysanthemum atratum, L. H. In pascuis M. Gemmi prope Hospitium Schwarrenbach, 29, 30 Aug. 1836. Obs. Cum C. Leucanthemum, L. ut var. alpinum conjunxit cl. Rchb. 212. C. Alpinum, L.— 8 pubescens, Dub. Bot. Gall. i. 272, caule foliisque pubescentibus, squamis ciliatis. C. minimum, Vill. C. al- pinum 8 minimum, Thom. Gaud. H. Ad moles glaciales M. Funelen: in glareosis M. Gemmi su- pra lacum Dauben, 31 Aug. 1836. (. ad moles glaciales supra Zermatt. Obs. C. tomentosum, Lois. Dub. hance varietatem a Rchb. adjec- tum videtur, imprimis squamis ovatis hirsutis distinctum. 213. C. Halleri, Sut. H. In glareosis M. Gemmi ad moles glaciales Lammerngletscher, 31 Aug. 1836. 214. Achillea moschata, Jacq. Rehb. germ exc. No. 1443. A. Livia Scop. Del Ins. Tab. 3. opt. 8. intermedia Rchb. 1. c. A. inter- media Schleich. A. moschata 6. hybrida, Gaud. v. p. 370, foliis villoso-tomentosis, corymbo composito, Hall. Hist. No. 112. 6. H. In glareosis ad moles M. Fiinelen cum var. 6, et summi jugi alpium supra Tesch. Obs. «* A. moschate et nane hybrida proles. Rchb. 1. c.” sed hy- bride, persuasus sum, multo rariores sunt quam autumnat cl. auc- tor. Ad collum radicis presertim var. 3. sepius nidulas lignosas vil- lossissimas, insectis productas inveni. 215. A. Macrophylla, L. H. In M. Grimsula infra Hospitium copiose. 216. A. atrata L. H. In M. Gemmi frequens ; in glareosis supra Schwarrenbach forma humilior magisque pilosa. 194 Botanical Excursion to the Obs. Valde variat quoad foliorum decompositionem et indumen- tum ; caulis superne semper plus minusve piloso-tomentosus, sed sepe, ita ut etiam folia, e toto valde pilosus ; ut opinor, A. clusiana, Tausch et Rehb. Pl. crit. ii. ic. 368, non diversa et vix varietas con- stans, sed tantum forma e localitate orta. 217. A. nana, L. H. In M. Schwarzseeberg ; ad moles glaciales M. Fiinelen et sum- mi jugi alpium supra Tesch. Obs. Variat etiam corymbo laxiusculo, caule foliisque minus vil- losis. 218. A. tomentosa, L. H. In arenosis ad viam inter Stalden et St Nicholas et copiose inter Brieg et Munster. 219. A. setacea, Gaud. W. et Kit? A. cdorata, Murith ! H. Ad viam inter Siders et Leuk. Obs. A. setacea Walds. et Kit! differt foliis latioribus forsan tenuiter dissectis cauleque villosioribus. An ab A. odorata vere distincta planta Kitaibeliana, an ab A. millefolium, nostra? 220. A. millefolium, L. var. foliis, caulibusque vix semipedalibus, tomentoso-villosis et floribus roseis. H. Ad viam inter Siders et Leuk. 221. Artemisia campestris, L. H. In apricis ad viam inter Inden, Varen et Siders. 222. A. nana, Gaud. Helv. V. 231. «. helvetica, gemina, racemo simplici, foliis incanis, capitulis majoribus. A. helvetica Schleich. Rehb. 4. parviflora, Gaud. 1. c., racemo composite, racemulis sub- sexfloris caulem arcte appressis, foliis minus incanis, capitulis paululum minoribus. A. campestris, 8. alpina Schleich. Gaud. exs ! H. In alpibus supra Tesch. Obs. Planta rarissima, A. campestri affinis sed notis bonis distine- ta: caules trientales vix semipedales, adscendentes ; folia plerum- que longe petiolata in « incano-sericea, subbipinnatifida, pinnula- rum laciniis lanceolatis latiusculis. Racemus in @ vix 20-florus, in B. racemuli 3-6 flori. Capitula duplo-triplove majora quam in A. campestri, disco eleganter purpureo, secunda, nutantia. 223. A. valesiaca, All. H. Copiose in apricis inter Varen et Siders. 224. A. glaciales, L. H. In alpibus supra Zermatt—M. Schwarzseeberg. 225. A.spicata, Jacq. Gaud. Helv. V.229. «. floribus pertotum cau- lem laxius spicatis. Gaud. l.c. . floribus superne laxius spicatis, Alps of the Valais. 195 Gaud.l.c. . spica terminali densissima. Gaud. |. c. t 6. foliis caulinis linearibus indivisis. Gaud. l. c. H. «. ad moles glaciales summi jugi alpium supra Tesch. £. in M. Schwarzseeberg et Fiinelen. (. 7, et 6. rarius. In rupibus M. Gemmi supra Schwarrenbach. Obs. Var. + omnes enumeratz variant foliis caulinis palmato-in- cisis, pinnatifidis, et linearibus integris. 226. 4. mutellina, Vill. Gaud. A. rupestris, All. non L. A. glacia- lis Wulf. Hoppe exs! non L. Variat. « foliis caulinis apice tri- fidis, summis simplicibus, pedunculis axillaribus unifloris aphyl- lis, caule valde cepitoso. §. foliis omnibus palmato-pinnatifi- dis argenteo-sericeis, pedunculis axillaribus uniflorus aphyllis, caule humilori. y. foliis radicalibus elongatis, caulinisque subpal- mato-pinnatifidis, pedunculis axillaribus unifloris aphyllis, caule elato. 6. pedunculis axillaribus elongatis foliolosis, plerumque trifloris. A. mutellina, Vill. Dauph. iv. Tab. 35. H. «, y, 6. in glareosis ad moles glaciales supra Tesch. f.et y. In M. Fiinelen. 227. A. Absinthium, L. H. Fere ubique in Valesia vulgaris. 228. Carduus. An nov. sp. ? H. In pascuis alpinis M. Fiinelen satis copiose. Obs. 1™*. Species mihi ignota, sed exemplare unico, quanquam perfecto, novam speciem generis spinosissimi instituere nolo, sed ad nullam specierum Flore Germaniz, Helvetie, Gallizve redigere possum. Carduus foliis lanceolatis decurrentibus pinnatifidis, laciniis inci- so-spinosis ; caule superne nudiusculo unifloro, involucro hemisphe- rico, phyllis linearibus erectis subappressis, nervo valido percur- sis. Caulis pedalis et ultra tomentosus, inferne dense foliosus, foliis decurrentibus ubique alatus spinosusque, superne nudiusculus vel folio unico semidecurrenti instructus ;—Folia, presertim subtus, piloso-tomentosa, utrinque ad nervos pilis crassis valde articulatis intricatis arachnoideo-floccosa, lanceolata fere pinnatifida, laciniis valde approximatis latiusculis spinuloso-dentatis, spina valida ter- minatis: terminali producta ;—Capitulum terminale, sesquunciale erectum vel suberectum, lete purpurascens, pedunculo vix incras- sato tomentoso ; involucrum subtomentosum, phyllis erectis, spina brevissima terminatis. Capitulum duplo major quam in C. acanthoidis, L.:—videtur af- finis C. alpestri Walds et Krit! a quo differt capitulo majori, caule 196 Botanical Excursion to the Alps of the Valais. simplici tomentoso, multo majus alato spinosoque et foliorum laciniis arcti approximatis subtus lanuginoso ‘tomentosis. C. leptophyllus, Gaud. differt, foliis glabris, capitulo multo minori (“ duplo fere minori quam C. deflorati”—in planta nostra duplo fere majori) sed aliis notis bene congruit. C. acuminatus, Gaud. etiam differt capitulis minoribus capitato- ageregatis phyllis omnino patulis. Obs. 24 C. acanthioides, Auct. Brit. videtur certissime, C.‘crispus et pinnatifidus, Rchb. Germ. exc. No. 1893.—Spec. mea ab am Campbell prope Edinburgumlecta, foliis subtus incano-tomentosis vel sublanatis, et capitulis numerosis dense aggregatis gaudent. C. acanthoides Germanorum, Rchb. pl. crit. X. ic. 1319, 20, 21, et exsic! differt capitulis pedunculatis subsolitariis’ majoribusque, et foliis leti virentibus vix pubescentibus. 229.* Saussurea alpina, D. C. H. Zermatt. | Obs. Variat foliis ovato-lanceolatis, lanceolatis lineari-lanceolatisve distincte petiolatis vel in petiolum attenuatis ; involucro phyllis ex.. terioribus ovato-triangularibus viridibus, nigro-marginatis, purpu- rascentibus, vel e toto atropurpureis, appresse pilosis vel glabriuscu- lis, interioribus lanceolatis pilosissimis. 230. Cirsium spinossissimum, Scop. H. Copiose in petrosis, M. Gemmi. 231. Centaurea crupina, L. H. In arvis incultis inter Inden et Varen. Obs. Ochenia magna juniora aureo-grisea appresse sericea, pappo concolori (contra Gaudin,) matura brunneo-nigrescentia. 232. C. Phrygia, L. Gaud. exe. C. austriaca, L. « caule simpli- cissimo unifloro, foliis dentatis scabriusculo-hirtis, opacis, dentibus mucronatis. C. phrygia, 4. Helvetica, Gaud. Helv. v. p. 393. g. ambigua, minor uniflora, foliis caulinis subpellucidis sinuato-den- tatis hirto-pubescentibus basi attenuatis, subtrinervis. C. Phrygia. y. ambigua, y. 8. minor, Gaud. J. c. C. ambigua, Thom. H.* a. Zermatt. 4 In M. Schwarzseeberg. 233. C. cyanus, L. var. pusilla, incana. H. In arvis incultis inter Varen et Siders. 234. C. paniculata, L. var. 4. incana, phyllis appendicibus pallidis. H. In apricis ad viam inter Inden et Varen, Siders et Leuk, et inter Stalden et Visp. (To be continued. ) EDINBURGH : PRINTED BY JOHN STARK, OLD ASSEMBLY CLOSE. MAGAZINE OF ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. I—On the British Species of the Genus Cerastium, being an at- tempt to elucidate their distinctive characters. By Cuaruss C. Bazineton, M.A. F.L.S.&c. (Plate VI.) CERASTIUM, Linn. Calyx of 5 sepals. Petals 5, bifid. Stamens 10-5-4. Styles 5-4. Capsule 1-celled, many-seeded, cylindrical, the apex opening by 10 or 8 erect teeth. A. CerastTil vuueaTi, Fries. The petals equalling or shorter than the calyx. a. PersisTENTEs, Fries. The capsule curved, the petals about equal to the calyx, but sometimes slightly longer. 1. Cerastium vulgatum, Linn. Sm.—Leaves oval, petals about as long as the calyx, sepals lanceolate, acute, and together with the bractez, herbaceousand hairy throughout ; capsule cylindrical, curved, about twice as long as the calyx, fruit-stalks about as long as the calyx. C. vulgatum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 627. Sm. Fl. Brit. 496. Eng. Bot. 789. D. Cand. Prod. i. 415. Reichenb. Icon. Plant. f. 385, 386, 387. Host. Fl. i. Aust. 555. Reichenb. Fl. excurs. 4970. Hooker, Br. Fl. 215. Lind. Syn. 51. Mack. Fl. Hibern. 48. C. viscosum, Huds. Fl. Ang. 200. Curt. Fl. Lond. ed. 1. Wahl. Fl. Suec. (excl. var.) 517. Gaud. Fl. Helv. iii. 240. Fries Nov. Suec. ed. 2, 128. C. glomeratum, Koch, Syn. Fl. Germ. 121. VOL. If. No. 9. Oo 198 : On the British Species Root fibrous. Stems mostly erect, hoary with long spreading hairs, usually glandular. Leaves ovate, often very broad and usually ob- tuse, the lower ones narrowed into a petiole. Flowers aggregated or in dichotomous panicles, upon short stalks, which never exceed the calyx. Sepals lanceolate, acute, entire, the outer ones very slightly membranous, the inner rather more so, hairy throughout. Petals white, scarcely longer than the calyx. Capsule cylindrical, slightly curved upward, about twice the length of the calyx. Seeds very small, tuberculated. In fields, on dry banks, &c. common. April—September. 2. C. viscosum, Linn. Sm.—Leaves oblong, lanceolate, petals about as long as the calyx, sepals oblong-ovate, and, together with the bracteex, membranous at their margins and glabrous apices, cap- sule cylindrical, curved, about twice as long as the calyx, fruit-stalks longer than the calyx. C. viscosum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 627. Sm. 497. Eng Bot. 790. DC. prod. i. 416. Host. 557. Hook. 215. Lind. 51. Mack. 48. C. vulgatum, Huds.200. (JValcott Fl. Brit. plate.) Curt. ed. 1. Wahl. 520. Gaud. iii. 238. Fries, 125. C. triviale, Link. en. hort. Berol. i. 433. Reich. Fl. excurs. 4972, Icon. pl. f. 402, 403. Koch, Syn. 122. fh. holosteoides, Fries. “‘ Glabrous, the stalks with their sides alter- nately pubescent.” C. holosteoides, Fries. nov. ed. 1, 32. Link en. h. Berol., i. 433. Reich. Icon. pl. f. 317, 318. C. vulgatum, f'holosteoides, Fries. ed. 2, 126. C. triviale, 4 holosteoides, Reich. fl. excur.4972. Koch, Syn. 122. Root fibrous and stronger than in C. vulgatum. Stems diffuse, and, unless supported by other plants, prostrate, with their extremities ascending, of a much darker green than the preceding, and covered with shorter pubescence, usually without any ‘glands. Leaves oblong or lanceolate, frequently acute, the lower ones narrowed into a pe- tiole. Flowers collected in small terminal panicles, not forming dense fasciculated heads, as in C. vulgatum, upon stalks which are longer than the calyx. Sepals oblong-ovate, rather obtuse, entire, the apex and margins, particularly the inner one, broadly membranous, but slightly hairy and usually quite glabrous at their tips. Petals white, scarcely longer than the calyx. Capsule as in the preceding species. The seed, according to Gaudin, beautifully muricated, and of about half the size of that‘of C. vulgatum. The whole plant is sometimes glandular, more particularly upon the peduncles and calyx, when it forms the variety glandulosum of of the Genus Cerastium. 199 authors. There is also an alpine form “ var. 6. uliginosum, Schleich.” Reich. and 6. alpinum of Koch, which has broader leaves and larger flowers. In fields on banks, walls, &c. common. May—September. I have not noticed either the variety holosteoides or alpinum in this country. From the very confused state of the synonyms in this first sec- tion, I cannot help thinking that it would be far better to adopt dif- ferent names from those given by Linnezus, that is, C. glomeratum after Thuillier and Mertens and Koch, in place of C. vulgatum of Smith, and C. ¢triviale after Link, Reichenbach and Mertens and Koch, in place of C. viscosum of Smith. b. Fueaces, Fries. The capsule straight, the petals shorter than the calyx. 3. C. semidecandrum, Linn.—Leaves ovate or ovate-oblong, pe- tals shorter than the calyx, sepals lanceolate, broadly membranous at their margins and apex, bractez with their upper half membran- ous, capsule cylindrical, slightly inflated, straight and longer than the calyx, fruit-stalk longer than the calyx, at first reflexed but ulti- mately erect. C. semidecandrum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 627. Sm. Eng. Bot. 1630. Hooker, Lind. De Cand., &c. C. pellucidum, Loisel. Fl. Gall. i. 323. a Friesianum, leaves ovate-oblong, stems filiform and erect. C. semidecandrum, fries, 134. 8. glutinosum, very viscid, leaves ovate, stems thicker, more spreading and decumbent below. C. glutinosum, Fries. 132. C. viscosum, Reichenb. f. 399, 400, 401. C. pumilum, Curt. ? y. macilentum, Fries. glabrous throughout. C. macilentum, Reich. f. 379, 380. Root small, fibrous. Stems nearly erect, except in var £. usually covered with short glandular pubescence. Leaves ovate or oblong, the lower ones narrowed intoa petiole. Flowers in small terminal panicles, often umbellated, upon stalks which are longer than the calyx, and are reflexed after the flower is faded, but ultimately again erect. Sepals lanceolate, somewhat acute, the apex and margins, par- ticularly the inner one, broadly membranous, hairy but nearly gla- brous towards their points, (fig. d.) Petals white, much shorter than the calyx. Capsule cylindrical, not curved, nearly twice as long as the calyx. Seeds minute tuberculated. C. semidecandrum, Lois. is said, by him, not to have the mem- 200 On the British Species od branous margins to the bractex. He has, probably with justice, considered it as a distinct species, but has incorrectly retained the Linnean name for it, rather than for that form to which it has been given by most, if not allother authors. Seringe has retained them both as distinct species in DC. Prod. but in the Botan. Gall. C. pellucidum is considered as a variety of C. semidecandrum. By Reichenbach (Fl. excurs. 4969,) C. semidecandrum, Lois. is re- - ferred to C. pumilum, Cwrt., and considered as distinct from semi- decandrum. I have unfortunately not seen authentic specimens of Curtis’s plant, nor that of Loiseleur. In dry fields and upon walls. April—May. I have not noticed var y. in England. 4. C. pedunculatum. (Plate VI.)—Leaves ovate or oblong, petals much shorter than the calyx, sepals lanceolate, acute, covered with short glandular hairs, their apex and margins membranous, the mar- gins of the bractez slightly membranous, capsule straight, subcylin- drical, equal to or longer than the calyx, always erect, the fruit-bear- ing peduncles two or three times as long as the calyx, stems repeat- edly dichotomous. 5-partitum. Calyx and corolla 5-parted, capsule opening by 10 teeth, and longer than the calyx. 6. 4-partitum. Calyx and corolla 4-parted, capsule opening by & teeth, and about as long as the calyx. PJ. The whole plant covered with short hairs, many of which are glandular. Root small, fibrous. Stems several, from 6 inches to 1 foot in height, erect, repeatedly dichotomous, bearing a flower in each fork, and having very long internodes. Leaves ovate or oblong, usually pointed, small, the lower ones narrowed into a broad petiole, the rest sessile. Flowers scattered, one in the axil of each fork of the stem. The peduncles of the fruit. two, three, or even four times as long as the calyx, always erect and straight. Bractez slightly mem- branous at their margins. Sepals lanceolate, acute, covered with short glandular pubescence, membranous at the margins and apex. Pe- tals much shorter than the calyx. The number of stamens is vari- able, as is usually the case in this genus. Capsule straight, cylindri- cal, as long or rather longer than the calyx, always erect, and never forming an angle with its peduncle. Seeds small and tuberculated, On sandy ground. St Hellens, Isle of Wight. Mr Borrer. South- end, Essex. Annual. May and June. I was for some time inclined to consider this plant as a wane of C. brachypetalum, Desp. but having recently received authentic specimens of that plant from Germany, (No. 389, in Reichenbach’s of the Genus Cerastium. 201 Flora German. exsiccata,) I am led to consider it as a distinct spe- cies. It differs from that plant, at the first glance, by its much more branching habit, and its want of the long shaggy pubescence with which that species is covered in all parts. C. brachypetalum also has its bractez totally destitute of a membranous margin, and the capsules nodding in a remarkable manner, the peduncle itself re- maining straight and erect, but curved at a right angle, just below the calyx. This plant is well represented by Reichenbach in his Plante Crit. Fig. 388. Our plant may be distinguished from C. semidecan- drum by its habit, its slightly membranous bractex, that plant hav- ing them membranous for half their length, and by its capsule being always erect, not at first pendulous, and then (when the seed is per- . fected) erect. 5. C. tetrandrum, Curt. —Leaves elliptical, petals rather shorter than the calyx, sepals lanceolate acute, their apex glabrous and at- tenuated with a central almost excurrent herbaceous line: the two margins broadly membranous, capsules straight, a little longer than the calyx. C. tetrandum, Curt. Lond. Sm. Fl. Brit. 498. Eng. Fl. ii. 332. Hooker, 216. Mack. 48. C. semidecandrum, Bentham in Lindl. Syn. 51. Sagina cerastoides, Sm. in Linn. Trans. ii. 343. Eng. Bot. 166. DC. Prod. 1. 389. Hooker, 216. Moenchia cerastoides, G. Don. Syst. of Bot. i. 420. Esmarchia cerastoides, Reich. fl. excurs. 4954. ? Cerastium pumilum, Koch, Sin. 122 (not Curtis.) Root slender. Stems procumbent, spreading, their extremities ascending, covered with short hair. Leaves elliptical, the lower ones elliptic-oblong, the lowest narrowing into a petiole. Flowers on stalks, which are rather longer than the calyx, but not invari- ably so, as large as those of C. vulgatum. Sepals 4, lanceolate, at- tenuated, acute, broad below, the apex glabrous with the mid-rib continuing to its extreme point in the form of an herbaceous line, bounded on both sides by a broad membranous margin. (Fig. c.) Petals 4, white, shorter than the calyx. <‘‘ Capsule a little longer than the calyx, straight, with 8 long linear teeth. Seeds roughish on the outer edge.” There appears to be some confusion in Sir W. Hooker’s Brit. Flora, which, I think, has not improbably arisen from his having received my C. brachypetalum @ as C. tetrandrum. Ihave also re- cently received from Yarmouth, through the kindness of my friend Mr Ball of Christ’s College, a tetrandrous form of C. semidecandrum. 202 On the British Species In this plant the petals are about half the length of the calyx, and the stems are very short and spreading, but it agrees exactly with the specific characters of C. semidecandrum. On the same root of this Yarmouth plant I have noticed flowers with 4 and 5 sepals, and Mr Ball informs me, that although flowers with 4 sepals and 4 stamens were far the most common, yet that he noticed many cases of the presence of 5 sepals and 5 stamens, I am quite convin- ced that no confidence whatever can be placed upon the number of those parts in this genus. I have therefore omitted them altogether in my specific characters. Under these circumstances I shall only mention the station from which my specimens of this plant were obtained by the kindness of Mr R. B. Bowman of Newcastle, namely, Tynemouth, Northumberland. ‘‘ May—June.” B. Granpiriort, Fries. The petals twice as long as the calyx. 6. C. alpinum, Linn.—Hairy, the stems ascending, leaves ovate, ovate-oblong or lanceolate, flowers few, sepals bluntish, with their margins membranous, bractez wholly herbaceous, or with a narrow membranous margin, capsule at length twice as long as the calyx. C. alpinum, Bentham in Lind. Syn. 51. a. Linneanum, smooth, or clothed with long silky hairs, stem mostly simple, flowers 1, 2, or 3, together in a forked panicle, bracteze slightly membranous at the margin. C. alpinum, Linn. 628. Sm. Eng. Bot. t. 472. Sm. Eng. Fl. ii. 333. Hooker, 217, &c. C. latifolium, Lightf. Fl. Scot. 242. t. 10. 8. piloso-pubescens, Benth. Rough with short bristly hairs, stem branched, flowers usually solitary, bractez often wanting, but when present wanting the membranous margin. C. latifolium, Sm. Eng. Bot. t. 473. Sm. Eng. Fl. ii. 334. Hooker, 217. ; Root strong, creeping, stems mostly erect in var. «, prostrate in var. 8, usually clothed vith spreading hairs. Leaves ovate, varying through all the intermediate forms to lanceolate, placed rather closely upon the stem in var. 6, much more distantly in var. « Flowers. few in number, either solitary or in a dichotomous panicle, upon long stalks. Sepals ovate, with a membranous margin, bluntish, more so in var. @ than a Petals white, nearly three times as long as the calyx. Bractex lanceolate, acute, with a slight membranous margin, usually present in var. a, frequently wanting, and with the margin scarcely at all membranous in var. $8. “‘ Capsule oblong, cylindrical ; when ripe about twice as long as the calyx.” Benth. I have been unable to detect any permanent character to distin- of the Genus Cerastium. 2038 guish C, alpinum and latifolium of Sir J. E. Smith, and have there- fore followed Messrs Bentham and Lindley by considering them as constituting only one species. Their extreme forms certainly are very different, but intermediate states often occur, and it is then al- most impossible to determine to which of the supposed species they ought to be referred. Mr Bentham is of opinion that the C. latifo- ‘tum of our English authors is not the same as the Linnean plant. I have therefore not quoted the Sp. Plant. The peduncles of our plant are said by Koch to be deflexed after the flower has faded, and that is made a point of distinction between it and C. arvense, in which they are described as erect. In the higher mountains of Scotland and Wales. June—August. 7. C. arvense, Linn.—Stems ascending, prostrate below, leaves linear-lanceolate bluntish, flowers in terminal panicles, sepals and bractez lanceolate, slightly acute and broadly membranous at their - margins and apex, capsule at length longer than the calyx. C. arvense, finn. 628. Sm. Eng. Bot. 93. Eng. Fi. ii. 333. Hooker, 217. Mack. 49, &c. C. arvense 1. commune. Gaud. Fl. Helv, iii. 244. Root strong, creeping. Stems decumbent below, the flowering part ascending, covered with fine deflexed hairs. Leaves narrowly lanceolate, often nearly linear, their edges fringed below, placed closely upon the lower parts of the stem, but much more distant upon the upper part. Flowers much more numerous than in C. alpinum, usually about 7 in each di or trichotomous panicle, sometimes amounting to 14 or 15, upon long stalks, which, to- gether with the general stalk of the panicle, are covered with minute spreading glandular hairs, (according to Gaudin the hairs upon the peduncles are sometimes not glandular, and then they are de- flexed like those of the stem.) Sepals and bractee lanceolate, their margins and apex broadly membranous. Petals white, twice as long as the calyx. Capsule oblong, longer (shorter Sym.) than the calyx. In gravelly and chalky places. April—August. Note.—The Cerastium aquaticum, Smith, appears to be more na- turally referred to the genus Stellaria, or, perhaps, in conformi- ty with the views of Fries, to form a genus distinct from either of them. As, however, it is included in the genus Cerastium by Smith, Hooker, and Lindley, I have added its characters and sy- nonyms, together with a few observations upon its nomenclature. 204 British Species of the Genus Cerastium. STELLARIA, Linn. Calyx of 5 sepals. Petals 5, bifid. Stamens 10, rarely 5 or 8. Styles 3, rarely 5. Capsule 1-celled, many seeded, opening with 6, or rarely 5, valves. A. Srrextuarium. Styles 3, the capsule bursting by 6 entire valves. This section includes the whole genus Stellaria of most authors. B. Maracuivum. Styles 5, the capsule bursting with 5 valves, each of which is bifid at its extremity. Larbrea, Ser: in DC. Prod. (not of St Hil.) Malachium, Fries, Reichenb. Koch. S. aquatica, Vill. Leaves cordate-ovate, mostly sessile and semi- amplexicaule, peduncles axillary and solitary, petals rather longer than the calyx, fruit-stalks reflexed. Cerastium aquaticum, Linn. Sp. Pl. 629. Eng. Bot. 538. DC. Prod. iii. 366, (note,) &c. Stellaria aquatica, “ Vill. Delph. iii. 617.” Pers. Syn. i. 500, (not of Seringe in DC. Prod. i. 398.) Larbrea aquatica, Ser. in DC. Prod. i, 395, (not of St Hilaire.) Malachium aquaticum, Fries, “ Hall. 1817, p. 77.’ Nov. Suec, 121. Reichen. Fl. excurs.4967. Koch, Syn. 120. Stellaria pentagyna, Gaud. Fl. Helv. iii. 179. For a detailed description of this plant I would refer to Sm. Eng. Fl. or Gaud. Fl. Helv. The Stellaria aquatica of DC. Prod. i. 398, is St. uliginosa of Curtis and Smith, which is now distinguished as a genus under the name of Larbrea of St Hilaire. Seringe applied this latter name to our plant in De Candolle’s Prodromus, as quoted above. This mistake was corrected in the third volume of that werk, and the genus Larbrea, distinguished by its perigynous stamens, adopted for the St. uliginosa of Curtis. Our plant was, at the same time, referred back to Cerastium. Should it be considered advisable to follow Fries, Reichenbach, and Koch, by separating this plant both from Stellaria and Ceras- tium, the name Malachium conferred upon it by Fries in the year 1817 cannot be retained. A genus of Coleopterous insects having been described under the name of Malachius, and therefore only differing in gender from Malachium, by Fabricius in his Systema Eleutheratorum, which was published in 1801. According to Reichenbach and Koch, the Cerastium manticum, Linn. (Stellaria mantica. DC.) possesses the same structure as our plant. Itis consequently referred by them to the genus Malachium, and will of course be included in our section of that name. St John’s College, Cambridge, April 8, 1837. Descriptions of British Diptera. 205 Il.—Characters and Descriptions of the Dipterous Insects indige- nous to Britain.* By James Duncan, M. W.S., &c. &e. (Con- tinued from p. 459.) Famity BOMBYLIDA, Leach. ANTENN# consisting of three joints, the third not ringed and sur- mounted by an articulated style : proboscis long and porrected hori- zontally from the lower part of the face ; palpi consisting of a single joint ; lead much narrower than the thorax ; the latter very convex above ; legs long and slender ; wings divaricating, and usually hay- ing four posterior cells. The insects included in this family belong principally to the southern parts of Europe and to Africa. Comparatively few, there- fore, fall to be described by the British faunist, and these all ad- mit of being referred to three genera, viz. Bombylius, Phthiria, and Ploas. These may readily be distinguished from each other by the re- lative length of the proboscis, and radical joints of the antenne : Proboscis longer than { Ist joint of antennze much longer than 2d, Bompytius. the head and thorax, ? Ist & 2d joints of antenne short and equal, PaTuirta. Proboscis shorter than the head and thorax, = - Peas. Genus BOMBYLIUS. Antenne inserted close together, the third joint turned outwards ; the radical joint pret- ty long and cylindri- cal, clothed with very long hairs, second joint cup-shaped, likewise hairy, third longandsubfusiform, nearly naked, atte- nuated, surmounted by a short oblique style, which consists of three joints, the central one longest, (Fig. 1 :) labrum very long and spear-shaped, somewhat dilateda little before the point: tongue very long, and ta- “ As these descriptive notices are intended to embrace all the species recorded as British, it forms part of our plan to publish an appendix at intervals, supplying any accidental omission in the original papers, describing new species, and adding new localities, the latter of which have been furnished in great numbers through the attention of our correspondents. By following this method, we shall be enabled to present the subject in as ample, and, we hope, as complete a form, as its present progressive state admits of. 206 Descriptions of British Diptera. pering gradually from the base to the point, which is very acute ; maxille setiform and shorter than the labrum ; lip terminating in two curved lobes : head small and trigonate, hypostome densely hairy : eyes meeting in the male, but separated in the female ; ocelli three, very minute (Fig. 4:) body short and bulky from being covered with fine down ; wings narrow with two discoidal cells, the first pos- terior cell closed, legs very long and slender ; basal joint of the tarsi as long as all the rest ; pulvilli bilobed and very slender. These insects are known at first sight by their downy bodies, long exserted proboscis, and the length and delicacy of their legs. From the first mentioned peculiarity, they bear so much resem- blance to humble bees, that they are known in some parts of England by the name of humble-bee flies. Some of them are vernal insects, but others do not appear earlier than May, and one species, B. minor, is even later in taking wing, at least in Scotland. They fly only during fine weather, and in the middle of the day when the heat of the sun is greatest. ‘They hover over flowers like the hum- ming-bird hawk-moth, employing their long proboscis for a simi- lar purpose, producing at the same time a humming noise—an- other point of resemblance to the insect just named. It is the lat- ter circumstance to which the generic name refers. The following notice applies to B. medius, but it well describes the habits and appearance of the Bombylii generally. <‘ Of all the active, vigi- lant creatures that animate our paths, we have none superior to the little bee-like bombylius; but this creature is to be seen only in the mornings of a few bright days in spring, seeming to delight in the hot windy gleams of that season, presenting an emblem of that por- tion of our year, fugitive and violent. It is, I believe, plentiful no- where. Particularly solicitous cf warmth, it seeks the dry, sunny reflection of some sheltered gravel-walk, or ditch bank in a warm lane; and here it darts and whisks about in ‘seeming continual suspicion of danger ; starting away with angry haste, yet returning immediately to the spot it had left, buffeting and contending with every winged fly that approaches, with a jealous pugnacious fury that keeps it in constant agitation. This action, its long projecting proboscis and its pretty spotted wings, placed at right angles with its body, distinguish our bombylius from every other creature. It appears singularly cautious of settling on the ground. After long hovering over and surveying some open spot, with due deliberation and the utmost gentleness it commits its long delicate feet to the earth; but on the approach of any winged insect, or on the least alarm, is away again to combat or escape. Associates it has none, the approach even of its own race excites its ire, and, darting at Descriptions of British Diptera. 207 them with the celerity of thought, it drives them from its haunts. When a captive, it becomes tame and subdued, and loses all its characteristic bustling and activity, the inspiration of freedom.”* Of the larve of Bombylius no account has yet been given. Fallen presumes that they live in the earth and feed on the roots of plants ; a conjecture which appears probable, when we consider that those of the most nearly related groups afford instances of such an economy. BomBy ius MAJor. (s.) Linn. Donovan's Brit. Ins. ii. pl. 66—Meigen, ii. 190; Curtis, B. E. pl. 613; ¢.—Bom. variegatus, De Geer. vi. 268, pl. 15. fig. 10.—Bom. sinuatus, Mikan, Mono. Bomb. Bohemie, pl. 2, fig. 4.-Bombylius, Harris’ Expos. pl. 47. f. 2. Ground colour of the body black, but the surface entirely covered with soft ochreous-yellow hairs ; head with whitish-yellow hairs ; antenne dark-brown ; hairs of the beard whitish ; on the under- side the hairs are yellowish-white, those covering the breast and the apex of the abdomen black. Wings with the anterior portion brown, that colour extending from the base, where it is widest, nearly to the apex, the internal edge forming asinuated line ; the remaining portion of the wing transparent ; halteres dark brown ; legs pale ferruginous, the tarsi brown. Length of the body 53-6 lines ; probos- cis 3 lines. (Wood-cut, fig. 3.) This insect, which is the largest of our British species, first ap- pears in April and the beginning of May, and occurs occasionally in the more southern parts of England. It probably does not inhabit Scotland. “In plenty at Glanville’s Wootton, New Forest, near Bristol, &c. in the months of April, May, June, and at times may be seen (as was the case in 1826 and 1827,) as early as March.” J. C. Dale, Esq. ‘ Open places in woods, Coomb, Norfolk, &c.” Curtis’ Brit. Ent. “ Vicinity of London,” Stephens’ Catal. « Ihave seen this species twice at Raehills, Dumfries-shire.” Rev. W. Little. BomMBYLIUS MEDIUS. Linn. Donov. Brit. Ins. v. pl. 146, f. 1 ; Mezgen, ii. 196.—Bomb. major, Samou- elle’s Useful Comp. pl. 9. fig. 10.— Wood's Illust. ii. 106, pl. 71.—Bomb. dis- color, Mikan, pl. 2. fig. 1.—Bomb. punctatus, De Geer. vi. pl. 15, fig. 12.— Bombylius, Harris’ Expos. pl. 47, fig. 1. Clothed with soft ochreous hairs, beneath which the surface is black. Head with brownish-yellow hairs, becoming nearly black towards the base of the antennz ; thorax with two lines of black hairs on each side, terminating anteriorly at the insertion of the wing ; the female distinguished by a dorsal line of white down: * Journal of a Naturalist. 208 Descriptions of British Diptera. abdomen having the anterior half clothed with fulvous hairs, the posterior half with black hairs, the female with a white anal spot ; belly entirely covered with black hairs: base and outer border of the wings for nearly two-thirds of their length brown, the remain- der transparent, with a brown spot at the base of each cell: halteres black: legs pale ferruginous, the tarsi dusky at the extremity. 54-64, proboscis 43. «« Middle of April, open places in woods, Norfolk, Essex, and around London.” Curtis, Brit. Ent. «In plenty at Enborne, Berks, several years ago, and in Tidworth woods, Hants, May 1829 ; rare at Glanville’s Wootton.” J.C. Dale, Esq. ‘Common on sunny banks in the spring; but the only species of this genus which I have as yet taken in Cambridgeshire.” Rev. Leonard Jenyns. «« Cambridge and Bath,” C. C. Babington, Esq. BoMBYLIUS PICTUS. Meigen, ii. 198; Mikan, pl. 2, fig. 2. Panzer, Faun. Germ.—Bomb. planicornis, Fabr. Head with dark-brown hairs, the male with two white points over the base of the antenne ; the latter dark-brown, with the third joint flat and very much dilated, ending in a point, but without a distinct style. Thorax clothed with light-brown hairs, changing with the light into white, the back marked with five spots of black hairs, three anteriorly, and two behind; hairs investing the abdomen dark-brown, the sides with alternate fulvous and black tufts, and the hinder extremity with two white spots: belly black, halteres of the same colour ; wings brown at the base and anterior margin to be- yond the middle ; the rest of the surface transparent and spotted nearly as in B. medius, but many of the spots usually larger ; legs pale ferruginous. 5 lines. This insect is admitted on the authority of Mr Stephens, who in- cludes it in his catalogue among our indigenous species ; but we have not ascertained in what part of the country examples occurred. It is no doubt a rare native: it seems doubtful whether it is found in France, and it is considered scarce in Germany, where it was first discovered. BomMBYLIUS POSTICUS. Fabr. Meigen, ii. 200.—Bomb. micans, Meig. Klassif. Body black, invested with fulvous hairs : forehead black in the male, inclining to brown in the female, having a white spot on each side in the former sex, and a single spot in the latter: proboscis, palpi and antenne black, the latter with the third joint a little enlarged in the female: the fulvous hairs covering the body have a whitish schim- 3 _ Descriptions of British Diptera. 209 mer when seen in certain directions, and those on the hinder paré of the abdomen are entirely white: halteres brown ; wings transpa- rent, brown at the base, and having a small pale yellow spot towards the apex ; the base slightly tinged with yellow only in the female. Halteres brown : legs shining yellowish-grey, the inner side of the anterior thighs, and all the tarsi black. 4} lines; proboscis 3 lines. We have to adduce the same authority for regarding this as an indigenous species that was referred to in the preceding instance. Like B. pictus it is a scarce insect even on the continent, and seems to prefer a more southern climate to ours. BoMBYLIUS MINOR. (s.) Linn. Donovan's Brit. Ins. xv. pl. 536; Meigen, ii. 201—Bomb. venosus, Mikan ; Meigen’s Klassif. Considerably less than any of the preceding ; the body black, cover- ed throughout with soft yellowish hairs: whiskers (mystax) ferru- ginous, black at the sides: forehead of the females clothed with red- dish yellow hairs ; antennz and proboscis black. Halteres dark- brown : wings somewhat greyish, the base and outer border tinged with light yellowish brown: legs pale ferruginous, the tarsi obscure. 4 lines: proboscis nearly 23. This is one of the most common species of the genus, and ap- pears to be the only one that extends far tothe north. It occurs in some plenty, in the month of June, in many places near Edinburgh, such as the base of Arthur Seat, fields about Duddingston, and has been taken in Perthshire and other more northern counties. In England it appears to be rather local, but abounds in certain situations. Captain Blomer was accustomed to take it plentifully in Bradley and Cleve Woods, near Teignmouth and Bideford, Devon ; andalso in Wales. It has likewise been observed at High Bickington by Mr Cocks—at Shanklin Chine by Mr Rudd, &c. According to Captain Blomer’s Journal, it seems to be in June and beginning of July that it appears in greatest force. ‘ Avondale, county Wicklow, Ireland, taken once.” 4. H. Haliday, Esq. BomBYLIUS CTENOPTERUS (s.) Mikan, Meigen, ii. 204 ; Macquart’s Diptéres, 382. Brown, the male clothed with fulvous hairs, the female with whitish yellow hairs : hypostome, whiskers and forehead grey : hal- teres white: wings nearly transparent, tinged with yellow at the base, and a considerable way along the exterior border, the margi- nal nervure strongly ciliated at the base: the basilar cells of equal length, whereas in all the species previously described they are un- 210 Descriptions of British Diptera. equal. Legs yellow, the tarsi dark-brown. 42 lines ; proboscis about half that length. «- Devon, Mr J. Cocks, and near Perth,” Curtis’ Brit. Ent. * Do- ver, July 1826.” Mr Ingpen. BompyLius CINERASCENS. Mikan, Monog. pl. iii. Fig. 10 ; Meigen, ii, 212. This small species, which, according to Mr Stephens, has oc- curred in Britain, is thus described by Mikan, to whom we are indebted for a monograph of this tribe of Diptera: whiskers black above, grey beneath: body black, covered throughout with ash- grey hairs; wings transparent, the base black: halteres black : thighs with grey pubescence ; tibiz brown; tarsi black. 23 lines ; proboscis | 2. Grenus—PHTHIRIA. Antenne somewhat shorter than the head, approximating at the base, and directed sideways; first joint short andcylindrical, with afew hairs on the outer side ; second cup-shaped and slightly pubescent ; third fusiform and compressed, nearly double the length of the two others taken together, and having a veryshort bifid style at the apex ; proboscis at least as long as the head and thorax ; labrum grooved beneath ; palpi thick and club-shaped, concealed within the cavity of the mouth: head spherical, the forehead prominent; ocelli three; ab- domen obtusely conical: wings of moderate size, the submarginal cells nearly straight ; first posterior one open ; anal cell closed at the extremity and slightly petiolated : legs long and slender. This genus includes a few small insects which were formerly re- ferred to Usia of Latreille and Volucella of Fabricius. ‘‘ The prin- cipal relations which they have with the Bombylii,” says Mac- quart, “ consist in the length of the proboscis, the approximation of the antenne at the base, and in the form of the third joint of these organs ; but more considerable differences give them a peculiar ha- bit, and render their affinity liable to be misunderstood. The sphe- rical form of the head, and conical shape of the abdomen, the short- ness of the first joint of the antenna, and finally the reticulated ap- pearance of the wings, remove them more or less from the bombylii: in the latter character, indeed, they deviate from the greater part of the family. The nervures are not sinuous as in Anthrax and Mulio ; the first cell of the hinder border is not closed as in the Bombylii; and the anal cell, contrary to what takes place in the ge- nus just named, is closed at its extremity, as in Usia and Geron. 4 Descriptions of British Diptera. 211 Finally, the wings assume an appearance very similar to those of the Empides.’’* As is the case with the Bombylii, we are still unacquainted with the previous states and metamorphoses of these insects. PHTHIRIA PULICARIA. Meigen, ii. 219; Macquart; Curtis, Brit. Ent. pl. 521.—Bomb. pulicarius, Mz- khan, Monog. pl. iv. fig. 14.—Volucella campestris, Fallen.—Phthiria nigra, Meig. Klass. pl. x. fig. 11.—Phthiria pygmaea, Zatr. Gen. Crust. iy. 3.4. Male: deep black; the hypostome clothed with white hairs ; forehead black: the abdomen more or less invested with whitish hairs; halteres dark-brown: wings nearly hyaline, the stigma brown ; legs black. . Female : not so deep black as the other sex; the hypostome white, and the forehead, which is wide and of a dark-brown-colour, has two white spots anteriorly ; thorax with a white stripe on each side, the sides of the breast greyish, with two white spots ; scutellum black, marked with a pale yellow point at the hinder extremity ; halteres white ; wings purely hyaline. 13 line. This appears to be everywhere a rare insect, and was not known to inhabit this country till lately, when it was found by Mr Curtis at Covehithe, in Suffolk. Genus PLOAS. Antenne about the length of the head, placed close together at the base, diverging above ; first joint thick, conical, ‘and hairy ; second cup-shaped, hairy ; third rather long, slender, naked and fusiform, slightly compressed, and terminating in a short two- jointed style: proboscis not much longer than the head: pal- pi cylindrical, terminating in a small sharp point: labrum nearly as long as the proboscis, obtuse ; tongue as long as the proboscis, and pointed : eyes contiguous in the male, remote in the female; the crown with three ocelli ; thorax oval, the surface elevated : wings with three submarginal cells, the first posterior one open ; legs slen- der. The most distinctive character in this genus, which was esta- blished by Latreille, is the thickness of the radical joint of the an- tennz. The proboscis also is much shorter than in the other mem- ‘bers of the same family, so that the insects are obliged to settle on the corolla of flowers to obtain food, instead of sipping it while on * Dipterés du Nord de la France. 212 Descriptions of British Diptera. the wing like the bombylii. Very few species are known ; and al- though that described below has been admitted into our indigenous lists, the fact of its being a native requires confirmation. PLOAS VIRESCENS. Meigen, ii. 231. pl. 19, fig. 6.—Ploas hirticornis, Zatr. Gen. Crust. iv. 312, pl. 15, fig. 7.—- Bomb. Maurus, Mikan, pl. 4, fig. 13.---Conophorus Maurus, Meigen, Klassif. pl. 10, fig. 17. Surface of the body obscure green, nearly black, invested with greyish hairs ; forehead whitish in the male, with fulvous hairs in the female ; first and second joints of the antennz greyish-brown, with very long black hairs ; third joint black. Hairs on the thorax ferruginous ; sides of the breast whitish ; scutellum small, shining black and naked: abdomen rather broad, blackish green, clothed with ferruginous hairs; that of the male with alternate tufts of white and black hairs on the sides : wings brownish at the base, the transverse nervures likewise bordered with brown: tibize yellowish, the thighs and tarsi somewhat obscure. 3—4 lines. The principal station of this insect seems tobe in the South of Eu- rope; but it has been found as far north as Paris ; and specimens in the British Museum are said to have occurred in this country. Famity—CONOPID£. Antenne three-jointed, angular at the base, the third joint with a terminal style; proboscis long and slender, geniculated at the base ; ocelli wanting ; thorax without a cross suture; abdomen curved inwards at the extremity, and consisting of six segments in the female, and seven in the male. As constituted by Dr Leach, and adopted by several other authors, the family Conopidz was made to include the genera arranged be- low as a distinct group under the name of Myopide. This sepa- ration was first made by Macquart, and is rendered necessary by the important difference of character which they present, as will be seen by comparing the respective descriptions. As it now stands, the present family is restricted to the old genus Conops of Lin- neus. Genus CONOPRS, Linn. Antenne rather longer than the head, inserted on a frontal protu- berance, placed close together at the base and diverging at the apex, the radical joint short, slender, and cylindrical, forming an angle with the second, which ishorizontal and elongated, increasing in thickness from the base, and forming with the third a compressed club, ending Descriptions of British Diptera. 213 in a point ; style three-jointed, first joint short and indistinct, second dilated, and having a pointed appendage at the apex turned down- wards, third longer and tapering to a point (Fig. 2) ; proboscis hori- zontal and directed forwards ; labrum slender and rigid : the tongue rather longer and likewise very slender ; labrum slenderest in the middle, and terminating in two lobes (Fig. 4:) palpi very small, trun- cated and pilose: head very large, the crown transparent and with- out ocelli: forehead wide in both sexes: abdomen usually much narrowed at the base, and curved downwards at the hinder extre- mity ; the fourth segment in the male provided with a curved horny appendage on the underside: legs rather long and robust ; the thighs slightly compressed before the apex : wings scarcely reaching to the apex of the abdomen, laid horizontally along the body when at rest, the first posterior cell closed and pediculated ; the anal one elongat- ed. (Fig. 6) The insects of this genus have a very peculiar aspect, arising from the great size of the head, narrow base of the abdomen, and the in- curvation of its extremity, which renders them little likely to be confounded with other tribes even by the most inexperienced ob- server. Their prevailing colour, which is black with marks and bands of yellow, gives them at first sight something of the appear- ance of wasps or small ichneumons. They are autumnal insects, seldom appearing in force before August, and the more common kinds continue to frequent the common ragwort and other late flowering plants till the end of October. Notwithstanding the for- midable appearance of the long exserted proboscis, their habits are quite innocuous, the whole of their sustenance being derived from the juices of flowers. Baumhauer was the first to discover that the larve are parasitical, and that they live in the bodies of humble bees. Latreille has witnessed the species named rufipes issue in its adult state from the body of a bee by the incisures of the ab- domen, and similar observations have been made by other naturalists. Upwards of twenty different kinds are known, only eight of which appear to inhabit Britain. VOL. I, No. 9. P 214 Descriptions of British Diptera. CoNnoPs VESICULARIS. Linn. Fabr. Meigen, iv. 209.—Conops cylindrica $. Meig. Klass. Hypostome ferruginous, the eyes bordered with a bright yellow line: forehead ferruginous anteriorly with a black longitudinal line widened at the lower extremity ; the vertex brown and transparent ; antenne ferruginous ; thorax dark-brown, the shoulders and scutel- lum testaceous: abdomen in the male nearly cylindrical, the two first segments black, narrowly edged with fulvous, the third with a fulvous band becoming yellow on the sides, fourth fulvous, black at the base ; the two last entirely fulvous ; abdomen of the female con- tracted at the base, ferruginous, the first segment brown with a ful- vous line, second brown with a yellow band behind, the third black at its anterior edge : legs ferruginous: wings reddish brown at the exterior edge, and pale towards the extremity. 6 —7 lines. A scarce species ; it has occurred near London and in a few other places. “Ihave taken the male in the New Forest, and on Knight- on Heath, Dorset,—dates May 22, 1835, and June 10, 1829.” J. C. Dale, Esq. CoNopPs FLAVIPES. (s.) Linn. Fab. Panzer. Faun. Germ. 1xx. fig. 21, 22.— Meigen, iv. 122.—Conops macrocephala, Samouelle’s Comp. pl. ix. fig. 9.—Conops vesicularis, Harris, Expos. pl. xx. fig. 1.—Conops trifasciata, De Geer. 9. Head fulvous, with a brownish transparent vertex, from which a broad black band extends to the base of the antennz, the latter black ; thorax black with a yellow callosity on each shoulder, and another on each side of the metathorax ; scutellum bordered with yellow: abdomen a little contracted at the base, black, the second and third segments in the male, and the second, third, and fourth in the female, with a yellow posterior band ; the first in both sexes, with a yellow spot on each side, and the two anal segments ash-grey inclining slightly to yellow: halteres yellow, legs also of that colour, the posterior half of the thighs black, and the tarsi brown at the apex: wings tinged with brown, deepest at the outer margin. 5 lines. ( Wood-cut, fig. 5.) This is the most plentiful species of this tribe in Britain. It seems to occur in all parts of England, is rather plentiful in the south of Scotland, and has been traced as far north as Aberdeen- shire. In Scotland it seldom appears before August, and is then usually observed on the common ragwort (Senecio Jacobea,) but in the more southern parts of the island it may be found much earlier. It varies a little particularly in the breadth of the abdominal Descriptions of British Diptera. 215 fasciz. “I find this insect to be common at Glanville’s Wootton, and other places, such as Eslington wood, Caundle Holts, &e.” J. C. Dale, Esq. “ Cambridgeshire. In one of my specimens the ab- domen. is entirely bright yellow above, with the exception of the in- cisures of the segments, which present each a narrow line of black. Is this a mere variety, or a distinct species?” ev, Leonard Jenyns. “© Needwood Forest, Staffordshire. August 1828.” C. C. Babing- ton, Esq. ‘« Near Twizel.” P. J. Selby, Esq. CoONOPS QUADRIFASCIATA. De Geer, vi. pl. 15. fig. 1.—Meigen, iv. 123.—Conops aculeata, Fabr. Similar to the preceding species ; hypostome fulvous, with a play of bright yellow on the sides ; forehead reddish-brown above, black over the antenne, the latter likewise black: thorax black with two yellow callosities on the shoulders, the sides of the breast and me- tathorax with changeable spots of bright yellow ; scutellum entire- ly black: abdomen yellow with four black bands ; the first segment being black, with a yellow callosity on each side, and the hinder margin yellow; second black edged with yellow; third similar, but the yellow band wider ; fourth yellow with a narrow black band ; fifth almost entirely yellow ; sixth yellow: halteres yellow ; legs reddish-yellow ; the tarsi dusky at the extremity ; wings near- ly hyaline in both sexes. 5 lines. Of pretty frequent occurrence in the south of England, but scarce in most other parts of the country. “ Common at Glanville’s Wootton, and other places in this neighbourhood.” J.C. Dale, Esq. ** Near London.” Stephens’ Catal. « Birchwood, Southgate, &c.” Curtis, Brit. Ent. “ Woods at Tollymore, ascent 0. Mourne Moun- tains, county Down.” A. H. Haliday, Esq. CoNoPs ACULEATA. Linn. Meigen, iv. 124.—Conops macrocephala, Harris, Expos. pl. xx. fig. 2, 3. —Conops scutellata, Meigen, Klass. This insect so closely resembles the preceding, that, with a very few exceptions, the same description will apply to both. Head fer- ruginous ; forehead with a black band, the spot on the crown red- dish-brown ; antennz and thorax black, the latter with a yellow spot on the shoulder, and another behind the insertion of the wings ; the sides of the breast with two marks of changeable yellow, having a fine silky lustre ; scutellum yellow : abdomen black with five yellow bands ; legs reddish-yellow, the apex of the tarsi tinged with 216 Descriptions of British Diptera. brown: wings having a brown stripe along the outer border but not reaching to the apex. 43 lines. . Has been found near London, but we have not heard of any other British localities. CoNOPS MACROCEPHALA. Linn. Fabr. Meigen, iv. 125, pl. 36, fig. 27; De Geer, vi. 263; Curtis’ Brit. Ent. pl. 377. Larger than any of the preceding ; black ; head and antenne ferruginous ; face yellow, with a brown streak extending from the crown to the antenne, and a triangular mark of the same colour below them: thorax with a whitish changeable spot on each shoul- der: abdomen having all the incisures yellow or whitish-yellow, the first segment swollen; the second long, and tapering to the hinder extremity, the remainder forming a thick incurved club: halteres and legs ferruginous ; the cox and base of the thighs dark-brown : wings with a broad testaceous stripe along the outer margin. 7 lines. Rare: “ The specimen figured by Mr Curtis was taken by me on 16th August 1624, in my own field at Hurne, Hants, in com- pany with others of the genus. Mr Davis writes me that he took another example in Darenth wood, Kent, but I have not yet been able te compare his specimen with mine, to determine their specific identity.” J. C. Dale, Esq. No other British locality has hither- to been discovered, as far as we know. Conops NIGRA. (S.) De Geer, vi. p. 105, pl. 15, fig. 9; Meigen, iv. 126; Herbs, Gemein Naturg. vill. 117, 5, pl. 70, fig. 5. About the size of the preceding: head reddish-yellow ; the fore- head with a black stripe, and the hypostome with four narrow black lines: region of the mouth likewise black: antennz ferruginous : thorax entirely black, with a small indistinct spot with a yellow play of colour within each shoulder: abdomen likewise black ; the hinder margin of the first and second segments with a very indis- tinct narrow ring of a somewhat paler hue than the rest, the nar- rowest part at the base of the third segment: legs ferruginous ; the cox and base of the thighs black. Halteres yellow, blackish at the base: wings with a broad testaceous stripe covering the ante- rior half. This species is certainly pretty closely allied to C. macrocephala, but it appears sufficiently distinct. Little notice seems to have Descriptions of British Diptera. 217 been taken of it since the time of De Geer, by whom it is figured and described. Like many others of its tribe, it is partial to north- ern climates, and it is probably not very scarce in Sweden. In this country the only example that has occurred was taken by Sir Wil- liam Jardine, on the northern coast of Sutherland, in the summer of 1834. Conors RUFIPES. (S.) Fabr. Meigen, iv. 127.—Conops petiolata, Donovan’s Brit. Insects, xiii. pl. 451. This species differs from all the rest in having the abdomen very narrow at the base, so as to appear placed on a long peduncle. Head fulvous: forehead with a broad black line, and the hypos- tome with three abbreviated lines of that colour : antenne reddish- brown: thorax black, with two whitish points below the shoulders : abdomen with the narrow portion at the base ferruginous ; the third and fourth segments each with a broad black band: legs ferrugi- nous ; the extremity of the tarsi dusky ; the hinder coxex marked with a silvery white spot: halteres bright-yellow: wings with a broad reddish-brown stripe covering the anterior half. 5 lines. The markings of the abdomen are somewhat variable: the third and fourth segments are frequently bright-yellow behind, andthe anal segments more or less tinged with that colour. The insect is one of the more commonkinds, especially inthe southern parts of the country; it seems rare in Scotland. “ Dalmeny.” Rev. William Little. “ I take C. rufipes in Plumley wood, Caundle Holts, &c. in the beginning and middle of August.” J.C. Dale, Esq. “‘ Gamlingay wood, Cambridge- shire, August.” Rev. Leonard Jenyns. ‘ Devil’s ditch, Newmarket Heath, July 1833; likewise near Bath.” C. C. Babington, Esq. ‘© In plenty on umbelliferous flowers by the side of a field, close to a plantation at Hetheselt, Norfolk.” Henry Brown, Esq. (in Curtis’ B. E.) “ London district.” Stephens’ Catal. CONOPS CERIZFORMIS. Megerle, Meigen, iv. 132, pl. 36, fig. 26. General colour black: hypostome reddish-yellow, with a pale- yellow play of colour round the eyes ; forehead black, the crown brownish ; antennx nearly black: thorax of that colour, with a yel- low callosity on each shoulder, and a yellow spot on the metatho- rax: abdomen nearly cylindric, black: the hinder margin of the four first segments ornamented with a yellow band: halteres yel- low: legs ferruginous ; the thighs black in the middle: the tarsi dusky at the apex: wings transparent, with a pale brown streak in the middle of the anterior margin. 5 lines. 218 Descriptions of British Diptera. Rather a scarce species, but occurring at times in the vicinity of London, and in some other parts of England. “I took it in Da- renth wood in 1826, in the beginning of August.” J. C. Dale, Esq. Faminty MYOPIDA. Antenne with the second joint longer than the third ; the style dorsal, and consisting of two joints: proboscis long and slender, ge- nerally geniculated at the base, and near the middle: ocelli three ; face usually very much dilated ; the eyes rather small: winglets minute ; wings lying along the body ; the first posterior cell usually somewhat open, the anal one generally elongated. As above defined, this family comprehends only two British ge- nera, viz. Myopa and Zodion, which are readily distinguished from each other by the former having the proboscis geniculated at the base and middle, and the latter by having it bent at the base only. The presence of ocelli, and other prominent characters separate them decidedly from the Conopid, to which, however, they bear some resemblance in the shape of the body. Genus MYOPA. Antenne with the first joint short and cylindrical ; second rather long, somewhat thickened at the tip, and compressed at the base ; third rounded-ovate, with a short two-jointed style on the back: proboscis geniculated at the base and middle ; labrum, tongue, and palpi variable, the latter generally somewhat elongate and fringed with hairs: inferior part of the face inflated ; the forehead wide in both sexes ; eyes rather small: ocelli three: thorax robust ; abdo- men consisting of six segments, somewhat narrowed at the base, the extremity obtuse and curved inwards ; the fourth segment dilated beneath: legs rather strong, thighs somewhat thickened, the claws and pulvilli much developed: wings lying along the back when at rest ; the anal cell straight. About twenty species belong to this genus, but scarcely more than a third of these have hitherto been found in Britain. The re- markable dilatation of the lower part of the face, in connection with the incurved abdomen, and rather short strong legs, give them a very peculiar aspect. The prevailing colours are rust-red and brown. Although much similarity pervades the species in respect to colour and marking, the structure of the oral organs undergoes considerable modifications, as is occasionally pointed out in the sub- sequent descriptions of the different species. We are still unac- quainted with the larve, but from the analogy which exists between Descriptions of British Diptera. 219 the perfect insects and the Conopide, it is not unreasonable to inter that they are parasitic, Jike those of the tribe just named. The flies derive their nourishment from the juices of flowers. We may expect that the following list of native species will ere long be considerably augmented by the discovery of kinds which have hi- therto been overlooked in this country. MyYopPa PICTA. (s.) Panz. Faun. Germ. liv. 22; Meig. iv. 140. Hypostome white spotted with black, the hinder part of the head with four greyish spots, forming a curved line: forehead ferrugi- nous, the crown dusky-brown ; antenne likewise ferruginous ; the third joint black: thorax dark grey, with longitudinal stripes of deep brown: abdomen testaceous-brown, varying with light-grey reflections, and marked along the back with a row of dark points : legs pubescent, testaceous ; anterior thighs black, with the tip fer- ruginous : tibiz ciliated, and marked with four dusky rings. Hal- teres white ; wings brown, spotted with white. 33-4 lines. A scarce insect, but occurring at times on flowers. It is observ- ed occasionally near London ; and we once found a specimen in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden. MYoPpa BUCCATA. Fabr. Meig.—Conops buccata, Linn. Usually somewhat less than the preceding: hypostome white, without spots ; forehead dark-brown spotted with grey ; antennz entirely testaceous: thorax dark-brown, with ash-coloured bands, the shoulders and sides testaceous ; scutellum dark-brown: abdo- men nearly testaceous or reddish-brown, with light grey reflections, especially on the sides; the anal segments reddish-brown in the males. Legs ferruginous, the thighs with a single dark ring, and the tibize with two, one near the middle, and the other at the apex: tarsi tinged with yellow : wing-scales white ; halteres pale yellow : wings brown, with pale spots. 3-3? lines. Likewise one of the rarer species, of which we have been able to ascertain very few localities. It has been taken in the London dis- trict, but not frequently. MYora TESTacEa. (s.) Fabr. Meig.—Conops testaceus, Linn.---Conops buccata, Gmelin, y. 2895. Very closely related to M. buccata, but distinguished by a few obvious characters. The -inflated portion of the face is white and unspotted, but there is a distinct brown mark on each side, near the 229 Descriptions of British Diptera. margin of the eyes below the antenne ; the latter wholly testace- ous, the terminal joint appearing of a lighter hue, owing to the ab- sence of the black hairs, with which the others are covered. Tho- rax black, with ash-grey lines ; the sides, shoulders, and usually the scutellum reddish, or pitchy brown: abdomen and legs nearly as in M. buccata ; the dark rings on the latter more or less distinct, the femoral one frequently almost effaced. Wings brownish, each of them with a distinct blackish-point on the cross nerve near the cen- tre. 33-4. This insect seems to appear not unfrequently, but at somewhat uncertain intervals, and on some occasions we have observed it in great profusion. ‘This was particularly the case in the neighbour- hood of Edinburgh, in the summer of 1835, when scarcely a flower- ing plant, especially of the umbelliferous kind, could be examined without finding specimens. On ordinary occasions, it occurs pretty frequently, apparently in most parts of England and Scotland, and also in Ireland. It is best distinguished from its associates by the brown mark beneath the eye, and the dark discoidal spot on the disk of the wings. ‘“‘ Bottisham, Cambridgeshire, on the flowers of the barberry ; 3 ate near Cambridge.” Rev. L. Jenyns. “ Near London.” Stephen’s Catal. ‘‘ Holywood on Belfast Lough, county Down; not common.” A. H. Haliday, Esq. “ Jardine Hall, 1837.” Sir W. Jardine, Bart. MyYopa DORSALIS. (s.) Fabr. Meigen.—Conops testacea, Gmelin—Myopa ferruginea, Panzer, Fauna. Germ. xxii. 24.-Conops cessans, Harris, Expos. pl. xx. fig. 4. Prevailing colour testaceous ; face reddish-yellow, with lighter reflections ; forehead brown: antennz reddish-brown: (upper lip very short, the palpi elongated and cylindrical ;) thorax brown or blackish on the surface, the shoulders and sides of the breast inclin- ing to testaceous : abdomen wholly of the latter colour, rather broad and depressed in the male, the first segment somewhat dusky, the others with pale grey reflections at the incisures; halteres pale yel- low ; wing-scales white ; wings light-brown, inclining to yellow at the bases ; legs wholly testaceous, the tarsi paler. 53-6 lines. Not a scarce species, occurring on flowers in the month of July and August. Myopa FERRUGINEA. (s.) Fabr. Meig.---Conops ferruginea, Linn.---Conops bucce, Harris, Expos. pl. xx. fig. 5-9. Similar to the preceding, but usually rather less. Head fulvous, Descriptions of British Diptera. 221 with light reflections on the sides of the hypostome ; forehead hav- ing a black point ; antenne reddish-brown: thorax dark-brown above, the colour disposed in three broad stripes: abdomen narrow and cylindrical, the basal segment, as well as all the rest, ferrugi- nous with grey incisures ; the second segment is a good deal elon- gated, and the terminal ones are very much incurved in the male. 5 lines. Likewise of frequent occurrence, at least in many parts of the country. In Scotland we notice it every summer in the neighbour- hood of Edinburgh and in Roxburghshire, and have seen specimens from other southern counties. “ London district.” Stephen’s Catal. «« Bath.” C. C. Babington, Esq. “ Near Twizel.” P. J. Selby, Esq. « Dundrum, a sandy beach below the Mourne Mountains, Ireland, taken once,” A. H. Haliday, Esq. MYopa FASCIATA. Meig.—Myopa ephippium, Fabr.—Conops fusca, Harris’ Expos. pl. xx. fig. 6,7? A handsome species. and easily distinguished from its associates by its dark-coloured abdomen, ringed with white: face yellow ; forehead with two brown stripes and a shining yellow triangular mark on the crown ; antenne reddish-brown ; the third joint ap- pearing paler: thorax blackish, the shoulders and sides brown: abdomen black ; the second and third segments edged with white behind, and on the sides ; the fourth segment with two black spots anteriorly, all the rest white: halteres pale yellow; legs fulvous- brown, the tibia having a dusky ring near the middle: wings of a uniform brownish colour. 3-4 lines. Apparently somewhat scarce in Britain, but frequent on many parts of the continent. ‘‘ Near London.” Stephens’ Catal. “ Ken- mare, Ireland.’ dA. H. Haliday, Esq. MyYoPa ATRA. (s.) Fabr. Meig.—Myopa annulata, Fabr. Antl. Syst.—M. cinerascens, Meig. Klass. i. 287.—M. maculata, do. 288.—M. micans, do. 289. Very dissimilar to any hitherto described, both on account of its small size, obscure colours, and somewhat peculiar facies ; it appears also to differ in some measure in its habits from the other species. Black ; face yellow, with a silvery-white play of colour ; vertex brown ; antenne (which are rather long in proportion to the size of the body) black, the second joint, and base of the third fulvous on the inner side: upper lip elongated, tongue very long. Tho- 299 On a second membrane rax cinereous, with three black lines, the central one double in the female: abdomen shining black in the male, ash-grey in the fe- male; the second, third, and fourth segments edged with grey in the former sex, and a black dersal streak along the first four seg- ments in the latter: legs black ; the hinder thighs, and occasionally the others also, more or less fulvous: tibiae sometimes yellowish at the base. Halteres white ; wings slightly tinged with brown, the base yellowish, strongly iridescent. 14-2, lines. Varies considerably, which has caused a variety of names to be applied to this species. It is a common insect in most places, and, besides occurring in flowers, is often seen running about warm banks exposed to the sun. Near London, plentifully in some situ- ations. Neighbourhood of Edinburgh, &c. ‘ Everywhere in Ire- laud, on sunny banks.” A. H. Haliday, Esq. MYoPaA PUSILLA. Megerle, Wiedemann, Meigen. Antenne blackish, reddish internally towards the apex: hypos- tome yellow, with a white play of colour; forehead testaceous : thorax shining blackish-grey, with two black lines dilated behind into a triangular spot: abdomen black, with large light-grey spots on the sides : wings brownish towards the costa: legs shining black : hinder thighs at the base and the knee reddish. 13 lines. We have noticed this insect as it is said to have been taken in the vicinity of London, but there can be little doubt that it is a mere variety of M. atra. III.—On the existence of a second membrane in the Asci of Fungi.— By the Rev. M. J. Berxeiey, M. A. F.L.S. Plate VII. M. Morren, in a memoir of the highest physiological interest, (Ann. de Sc. Nat. N. S. Vol. v. p. 257.) has lately made known in the short filaments of Closteria, a genus formerly referred to the In- fusoria, but most certainly, according to his most interesting obser- vations, belonging to the order Algz, the presence of three distinct membranes. The external hyaline tube is closely lined with a de- licate flexible membrane ; besides which there is a third sac proper to the green mass of granules and vesicles. It should seem from the analogy of this genus with Zygnema, that the individual Algz are rather to be considered as extremely reduced threads, than as frustules ; im other words, the genus is rather confervoid than dia- tomaceous ; and therefore their relation to the asci of Fungiis per- 4 in the Asci of Fungi. 993 haps less complete than if the converse were the case. For Mone- ma, a diatomaceous genus, greatly resembles certain asci with their included sporidia ; and I have pointed out in the English Flora the curious analogy between the asci of Spheria entomorhiza and S. ophioglossoides, and the filaments of Schizonema. Be the analogy, however, what it may, between individual Clos- teria and the asci of Fungi, the point to which I now wish to draw attention is the presence of two distinct membranes in the latter organs, besides the proper integument of each sporidium, viz. the external hyaline tube, and a second, answering to the secondary membrane of Closteria, which at first lines the former closely, but is at length more or less detached. The species in which I have seen this most distinctly, are a form of Sphzria populina, Pers. growing in winter and spring on small fallen branches of ash, and Spheria pedunculata, Dicks. and Sow. referred in the English Flora, on the inspection of dry specimens, as a variety to Spheria hypoxylon, but now proved by the detec- tion of recent individuals on the dung of rabbits more or less buried in ant-hills to be a very distinct species, remarkable for several pe- culiarities of structure, which will be adverted to in what follows. The fact, however, being once satisfactorily established in these species, it was clear, from certain anomalous appearances in the con- tents of the asci of various Fungi, that it existed very generally. More especially I have recognized its existence in Sphzria phzo- comes, Reb. (which I have lately found with perfect asci and sep- tate sporidia) ; an undescribed species detected by Mr D. Stock, on Arenaria peploides ; and Patellaria atrata, Fr. In many other cases I have ascertained the presence of a secondary membrane more or less distinctly ; and I have no doubt that it exists in all asci which are surrounded by a distinct transparent border. On submitting to the microscope some of the gelatinous contents of the perithecia of Sph. populina, var. which had been previously moistened, and gently crushed with the point of a lancet, I perceiv- ed that some were snapped asunder, and that from the centre of the fractured part a little hyaline tube projected very much in the same way as is frequently the case in Dentalium entalis. (See Deshayes, Monog. t. 2, f. 2.) This attracted my attention more particularly, and after examining numerous asci I found that it arose from the projection of a fractured portion of a secondary membrane imme- diately enveloping the sporidia, which did not give way so soon as the external tube, which appears to be exceedingly brittle. It is highly transparent, capable of considerable dilatation, but at the 994 On a second membrane same time very contractile, so that when yet zm situ, it frequently becomes nodulose from the pressure of the sporidia, especially if they get out of their natural position, which is mostly, though not universally, with their major axis parallel to the asci. The portion which projects after the asci are fractured, if empty, is generally contracted to a mere thread. In several instances, when the outer tube has been snapped asunder, I have seen a large portion of the inner tube projecting, and in one case it still retained three sporidia. Similar appearances presented themselves in Sph. pedunculata, but, from the circumstance of the sporidia being enveloped in a pellucid mucus, the structure is not always easily made out. The secondary membrane in general adheres very closely to the sporidia, adapting itself to their form, so that the row of sporidia when not as yet dis- arranged presents a moniliform articulated thread ; the dark appa- rent articulations arising probably from the mutual pressure of the sporidia with their mucous coats against each other. Indeed, from the manner in which the sporidia adhere together when the asci are ruptured, I am inclined to think that the secondary membrane is in the present species so extensible, as to form a close covering to the sporidia, however much they may be disarranged. This is not, however, always the case, as the secondary membrane is sometimes perfectly distinct, both before and after the rupture of the asci. This I have seen especially in a remarkable variety, or rather form of the species, in which the receptacle is reduced almost to nothing, and the perithecium solitary. Besides the curious circumstance of the sporidia being coated with mucilage, a circumstance, as far as I know, without parallel in the genus, it is remarkable that they have another equally distinguishing feature, which is the existence of a regular longitudinal depression on one side, so as to resemble very strongly such pollen grains as have a single band. This is best seen when they are divested of their mucilaginous coat, which appears to be uniformly the case before they are discharged. It is by no means common amongst the uterine Fungi to have any ine- qualities in the coat of the sporidia, except such as are septate. At present I recollect but a single instance in the genus Ascobolus, in which I have seen them very strongly wrinkled. They vary remar- kably in form, as will be seen from the accompanying figures, and in some specimens which, in addition to the usual coating of earth, had penetrated through a layer of cow-dung, it is most curious, in consequence, I suppose, of excessive nourishment, the sporidia were uniformly more than twice the ordinary size. The primary membrane, though sometimes rather rigid, is by no in the Asct of Fungi. 225 means universally so. Sometimes it is extremely tender and almost gelatinous, so that if a portion of the inner tube with its sporidia be bent at any part by any peculiar position which the sporidia acquire, the outer tube is also forced outwards, and in consequence the asci are sometimes curiously distorted. In some cases they appear toru- lose, from the pressure of the inclosed sporidia, and occasionally when the sporidia assume by accident a transverse position in the tube, I have seen the whole vessel regularly dilated. The apparent thickness of the walls of asci arises in general from the existence at a certain period of growth of a space between the two membranes, and the great difference of thickness at different parts is now easi- ly explained from the greater contraction of those points of the se- condary membrane. This is, I believe, attached to the primary at the apex. In S. pedunculata it certainly is, in which species there is almost always an articulation a little below the point of attach- ment. M. Morren’s paper is, if I mistake not, calculated to throw light upon the developement of the sporidia themselves. In an early stage of growth the asci contain a mere grumous mass, out of which, probably at the expence of the greater part of the granules of which it is composed as its organization becomes more evident, the sporidia arise. The coat of the sporidia is frequently absorbed before they are discharged, and the asci then contain a number of distinct spo- rules; and sometimes the asci themselves are absorbed, and the whole inner mass of the perithecia consists of sporidia or sporules. These are points to which at present sufficient attention has not been paid, but they would doubtless highly repay the labour of investigaticn. Explanation of Figures. a. Fractured asci of Spheria populina, var. with the secondary membrane projecting. b. One more highly magnified. c. A single sporidium still more highly magnified. d. Fractured asci of Sphzria pedunculata, with their sporidia in- volved in mucilage, and partly covered by the secondary membrane. e. Portion of one of the asci showing the moniliform arrange- ment. f: Sporidia divested of mucilage. g. Asci with one of the paraphyses of a variety of S. peduncula- ta. In one the sporidia are transverse, and the vessel is in conse- quence regularly dilated. h. A distorted ascus of Patellaria atrata, with its divided para- physes. /. One of the sporidia. 226 On the Gemme of Bryum androgynum. IV.—Observations on the Gemme of Bryum androgynum. By Grorce Dicx1z, Esq. Surgeon, Aberdeen. Plate VII. Bryvum androgynum is of rare occurrence in this neighbourhood. It is found growing in the moist earth which fills the crevices of gneiss rocks, generally along with Bryum cespititium. Sir W. J. Hooker, in the second volume of his British Flora, p. 57, remarks that this species is very rarely found bearing capsules, and I have never found it in this state: the reason of this seems very obscure. The gemme, however, being very plentiful, are quite sufficient to keep up the existence of the species: they are extremely abundant in the months of February, March, and April. These bodies occur in clusters on the summit of a stem bearing much resemblance to the setz in other mosses ; it is, however, of a looser texture, ex- cepting toward its summit, where it presents a swelling and a denser tissue. The swollen part at the summit is easily separable from the rest of the stem, as is represented in Fig. 1, where a part has been removed, the other half remaining with the cords which arise from it. The cords just mentioned, when viewed under a high magnifier, appear to be transparent tubes composed of a simple membrane ; each cord supporting a gemma. The gemme at the circumference of the clusters are the first to-arrive at maturity, those in the centre are developed last of all ; and on the same head we find them in several different stages of their growth. At first they are simple transparent vesicles (Fig. 2,) of an oval form, and, by a high magnifier, no matter can be detected in their interior. As they advance in growth a small stalk becomes evident (by this they are attached to the cords formerly mentioned,) and a grumous matter is seen within, (Fig. 3.) When fully matured they present the appearance shown in Figs. 4 and 5, and the substance in their interior assumes a granular appearance ; it now resembles the mat- ter called green fecula by some authors. The gemmz drop off as they arrive at maturity, those at the circumference of the head first, and so on toward the centre until at last the cords alone remain. It appeared to me to be an interesting matter to determine the process of germinatien in the gemme, but considerable difficulty arising from their very small size, for a single gemma is scarcely if at all visible to the naked eye, (the accompanying figures are con- sequently very highly magnified,) the following method was em- ployed. A watch-glass was placed in a saucer with its concavity downwards ; over it a piece of fine gauze was spread, the size of which exceeded that of the glass, consequently its edges were in On the Gemme of Bryum androgynum. 227 contact with the saucer, into which water was poured, but only in quantity sufficient to preserve the gauze in a moist state; several entire gemmiferous heads of Bryum were then placed upon the gauze over the centre of the watch-glass, and the whole apparatus was kept in a moderately warm place not exposed to very bright light, and covered with a bell-glass. After some days some of the gem- mz were detached and examined with a magnifier ; it was found that the contents of many had undergone a remarkable change. The green granular matter had nearly disappeared, and the cavity of each seemed now to be divided by several dark green partitions, (Fig. 6,) and many of them presented a swelling near that part by which they were attached to the cords, (Figs. 7 and 8.) At the end of from fourteen to twenty days, it was observed that in many a small transparent nearly cylindrical tube had been protruded from the part which some days previously had presented a swelling ; Figs. 9, 10, 11, represent this appearance. It was not confined entirely to those whose granular matter had disappeared, for many in which this was still visible had begun to germinate, and the tube in some cases contained a portion of it. ‘This tube or filament was invariably protruded from the same part in every gemma, and never more than one made its appearance in each. The filaments seemed to be not merely a prolongation of the membrane of the gemma, but appeared to have preceeded from its interior, and to have burst the membrane. In only one instance did I remark that the protruded filament presented an articulated appearance, or ra- ther its interior seemed to be divided by several septa. After re- maining more than a month upon the moist gauze, the gemmez had made no further progress in germination. This might have been owing to the gauze not presenting a proper medium for their growth, or perbaps rather from exposure to too strong light ; at the end of this time also, the green fecula had disappeared in all of them, and they resembled Fig. 6. While engaged in these observations, I re- marked, that a leaf of Bryum, which had accidentally fallen on the gauze, and remained there for some time, had thrown out several slender transparent radicles near its place of attachment to the stem, and from the angle between the midrib and the limb of the leaf. May not this be another way in which B. androgynum is propagated ? or even this may be true of every moss. Sir W. J. Hooker says, (British Fl. Vol. ii. p. 74,) that from the points of the leaves of Hookeria lucens roots are often emitted. 228 On a peculiar structure in Shells, V.—On a peculiar structure in Shells ; with some observations on the Shell of Spheruliles. By Joun Epwarp Gray, F. RB. S., &e. Plate VIII. In a paper published in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1833, I have described three kinds of structure found in such shells as had then come under my observation ; but since that pe- riod Mr G. B. Sowerby has given me an oyster-shell, and Messrs Hudson and Bowerbank have lent me a fossil Spherulites,* found in the chalk, each of which exhibits a form of structure which I had not before observed, and which may be designated by the name of cellular. The shells of this structure appear to increase in size in the same manner as others,—the peculiarity consisting in a deposition of one or more series of reticulations, leaving more or less numerous hol- low polygonal cells between each of the lamina of which the shell is formed. The two shells which exhibit this formation show it in a very different state and degree of developement. In the Spheru- lites the entire parietes of the shell, (or at least the whole that is left in a fossil state, for some naturalists, as M. Deshayes and Des- moulin, believe that, from the form of the internal cast, the inner part of the shell is deficient,) are formed of series of continuous longitudinal and transverse ridges, leaving four-sided cavities, which are hollow in the specimens preserved in chalk, while in those that are found in limestone, they are filled up with infiltrated carbonate of lime. The concentric or transverse plates, which are best seen in a longitudinal section of the valves, and which represent the la- minx of growth, though remarkably regular in appearance, vary in the distance they are apart from each other. They are usually much closer together at the lips of the valves, or, in other words, when the animal has nearly reached its full growth ; but sometimes we find them almost equally near in the middle of the cone, which may have been occasioned by some accidental check to the molluse’s regular increase about that period, and which removed or overcome again admitted the animal to progress at its ordinary rate. * This appears to be the fossil which Mr Mantell has indicated, but not de- scribed, under the name of Hippurites Mortonii. I say appears, for on going to Brighton to examine his specimen, I could not obtain permission to have it taken from the case to compare it with that here described. It is certainly not a Hippurites, since it has neither the solid structure, nor the two internal longi- tudinal ribs of that genus. It is the shell figured as a fossil Conia by Mr Hud- son in Loudon’s Magazine of Natural History, Vol. ix. p. 103. 3 and on the shell of Spherulites. 229 When one of these shells is cut across in the axis of the cone, it is then found that the transverse lamin are continued, and the cells which appeared regular in the longitudinal section, are seen to be rather irregular in size and form, but mostly hexangular or pen- tangular. They are deposited on these transverse plates, the next transverse plate or lamina of growth being laid over them ; and as the cells of the next and every succeeding series are exactly simi- lar in form and numbers, there necessarily results that uniformity which we have mentioned in the appearance of the longitudinal fracture, since the parietes of the cells of the different transverse laminz appear in that fracture to be as much continuous with one another as the transverse ones really are. An analogous peculiarity exists in some shells of other structures. Thus in the Pinna, and other shells of a prismatic crystalline structure, the transverse prisms of which the outer coat of the shell is formed, appear to be con- tinuous, though they are each formed of the many transverse lamin of growth which are in succession deposited as the animal enlarges its size: and it is the same with the rhombic crystalline structure. The outer surface of this shell (Spherulites) is lamellar and hard, being formed by the agglutinated outer edges of the transverse laminz of growth ; and the inner surface of the cone is covered with a thin hard plate, which is marked with minute close concentric lines more numerous than the transverse plates of the parietes of the shell ; and the plate is raised at the mouth of the cone a little above the surface of the lip, from which it is separated by a slight groove. The mouth of the lower cone has a smooth concave lip as wide, or rather wider than the thickness of the parietes of the shell, and is marked with some radiating branched impressions, exactly like the impressions which one may suppose to be made by a blood- vessel ; the slenderer and branched part being directed towards the outer edge of the lips. A similar structure is to be observed in other species of this genus fossilized in limestone, but from the size of the cells in these, as appears when specimens of the same magnitude are compared, it is obvious that the whole formation was on a much smaller scale ; and the cells are always filled with infiltrated carbonate of lime, which makes them appear solid, unless the surface of the specimen is slightly disintegrated, or the fracture is wetted and examined with a lens. I can scarcely attempt to explain how the parietes of these cells are formed, nor determine if any fluid has, in their living condition, VOL. II. NO 9. Q 230 On a peculiar Structure in Shells, filled up the cavity between them, though it seems probable that they may have arisen from some peculiarity in the mantle of the animal, developed only when the new laminz were about to be de- posited, and not present or shrunk when the smooth upper surface of the lamina was formed, for it is evident, from the nature of the surface of some specimens, that the parietes of the cells are very gradually deposited on the smooth upper surfaces of the transverse plates of growth. The vein-like grooves above described do not seem to exert any influence over their form, for they are apparent- ly not in any way connected with the distribution of their parietes, while yet they show that there must exist some peculiarity of the mantle to form such peculiar grooves. These shells, and the Hippurites, have occupied considerable at- tention of late, on account of the difficulties which arise in deter- mining their place in the animal kingdom ; for although evidently bivalvular, yet they differ in several particulars from both the free bivalve shells of the Conchifera and the lamplike bivalves of the Brachiopodes, not having the ligaments nor the apical umbones of the former, nor the numerous muscular scars so characteristic of the Crania, which alone resemble them in form among the latter. Two French authors have attempted to explain this difficulty. M. De- france and others having observed that the cast on which the genus Birostrites has been formed is always found in the cavity of these shells, and that as there is a space between the cast and the parietes of the shell, M. Deshayes concludes that the Spherulites are con- chifera provided with a toothed hinge and ligament, and allied to the genus Spondylus, the inner coat of which is lost in the act of fossilization. M. Desmoulins on the other hand believes them to be the shelly cases of a new class of animals of which he ventures to give a theoretical description, allying them to the Ascidia, believing the space between the cast and the shell to be filled up with the cartilaginous mantle of the mollusc. Unfortunately none of the specimens, either from the chalk or the limestone strata, that have come under my notice, exhibit the internal cast as here described, but the specimens from the chalk certainly throw a doubt over both theories, for some have one or more oysters attached to the inner surface of their cavity, and others are pierced with minute branch- ed worm marks exactly like the worm marks so common on the sur- face of existing shells. These facts prove that whatever may have been the structure of the substance which filled up the space said to have been lost in fossilization, (if any such substance ever was and on the shell of Spherulites. 231 present in the species under examination,) it must have been lost before the shell was submitted to the fossilizing process, since other- wise the holes could not have been drilled into, nor the oyster shells attached to, the surface. A somewhat similar structure or appearance is to be observed in some Madrepores, especially in the spaces between the sinuous com- pressed stars of Meandrina, but in these zoophytes the longitudinal places are continuous and first deposited, and the thin transverse la- mine are interrupted and irregular, instead of forming the conti- nuous plates which they do in the Spherulites. Some naturalists have compared the structure with that of Conia and the barnacles, but this must have originated in a very super- ficial view of the matter, for the valves of the barnacles are pierced with conical tubes gradually tapering from the base to the apex of the valve, and they are not cellular but tubular. The base of some barnacles is indeed cellular, and somewhat resembles the structure in question, but in them the longitudinal or rather radiating plates are continued, and the transverse ones, when present, unequal and disposed irregularly in different directions, showing even a more 1r- regular cellular structure than in the Meandrine before referred to. II. The second form of this structure is found in a recent unde- termined species of oyster which I do not know ina perfect state. This shell exhibits the usual lamellar structure of its genus, but the lamine of growth, which give the peculiar antiquated appearance to the common oyster, instead of beirig left free, are bent down so as to produce a nearly even outer surface. When these lamine are broken through, it is ascertained that the spaces under them are filled with a soft purplish spongy mass, composed of minute, rather irregular cells, placed perpendicularly between the plates. When these are near together, the cells extend from one plate to the other, but when they are wider apart, the cells are sometimes interrupted in the centre. They have somewhat the appearance of being casts of the interstices between the prisms of the prismatic structural shells, and are deposited in layers as the other parts of the shell are. I think they may be analogous to the opaque white chalky matter often found interposed between the lamine of the common oyster, but here, though the chalky matter is sometimes seen on the inside of the exterior imbricate foliations, as the cellular structure is found in the shell under more immediate consideration, yet it is to be ob- served more abundantly, and commonly forming a convex spot in _ the disk of the cavity of the oyster, just beyond the scar of the large 232 Localities of Scottish Coleoptera. central adductor muscle ; and sometimes also forming a raised broad belt near the outer margin of the valve, just within the free lamel- lar edge. The chalky matter is deposited in these places in a suc- cession of thin plates, perhaps at the periodical interruptions to the animal’s growth ; and they are covered over with a hard and thicker calcareous plate, more dense and crystalline also in its composition. Explanation of the Plate. Fig. 1. The lip of the lower valve of Spherulites Mortoni, show- ing the vein-like marks.—2. Part of a longitudinal section of S. Mortoni, showing the cancellated structure, nat. size.—3. A longi- tudinal section of Ostrea purpurea, showing the cells on the inner side of the outer plates.—4. A longitudinal section of Ostrea edulis showing the chalky matter ; a. on the inside ; 6. on the inside of the outer plates. ViI.—Localities of Scottish Coleoptera. By the Rev. WiLuIaAmM Livre. A CONSIDERABLE number of the insects contained in the follow- ing list have not hitherto been recorded as Scottish. Others of them have been noticed as such in several entomological works, but with- out any precise locality, or authority being given. A few of the rarer species mentioned in Entomologia Buideasiet and Stephens’s Illustrations, for which new localities have been discovered, are again inserted here. Several of the localities were furnished by en- tomological friends, whose names I have attached to their respective discoveries. It is proposed in some future numbers of this work to give short specific descriptions of all the alengsste not included in the Entomologia Edinensis. Leiochiton arcticus. Moffat Hills, Dumfries-shire, where I have taken, at different times, upwards of a dozen of specimens. Tarus basalis. This insect appears to be widely dispersed, as I have taken it on many of the hills in the west and south of Scotland, and havereceived specimens from Ben-na-muich-duih, Aber- deenshire. Agonum emarginatum. Duddingston Loch. —atratum. Dalmeny Park. — piceum. Ditto. —pelidnum. Raehills, Dumfries-shire. Localities of Scottish Coleoptera. Calathus crocopus. Helobia nivalis. Omaseus orinomum. Steropus Aethiops. Patrobus alpinus. Amara plebeia. Harpalus latus. -- rubripes. Ophonus obscurus. Aepus fulvescens. Blemus paludosus. Ocys currens. Trechus parvulus. ruficollis. collaris. Tachys binotatus. obtusus. Peryphus concinnus. saxatilis Lopha minima. — assimilis. 233 Guillon Links. Andrew Murray, Esq. Ben Lawers ; near the summit. Moffat Hills. Raehills. In decayed birch-trees during winter. Ben Lawers, near the summit. Raehills. Ditto. On the hills near Innerleithen. Raehills. “« Berwick-upon-T weed, in the crevices, and under slaty rocks between tide marks, never above tide mark, and the greater number of the specimens were procured near low water, but not covered above two hours each tide.” Dr Johnston. I have lately found this insect Rare. “ in some abundance, in similar localities near Cramond. Raehills. Very scarce. Dalmeny Park. Raehills. Moffat Hills. Ditto. Raehills. Ditto. Do. Do. cnemerythrus. Banks of the Annan. — atroceruleus. Dalmeny Park. Raehills. Do. Tachypus bipunctatus. Dalmeny Park. Very scarce. Hydroporus frater. Andreae. Bembidium paludosum. Borthwick Castle. —- pallipes. Banks of the Nith, near Dumfries. Coast of Argyleshire. Andrew Murray, Esq. Raehills. --12-pustulatum. Do. ; and Water of Leith. --rufifrons. Dalmeny. ————--- marginatus. Raehills. —--fuscatus. Do. Colymbetes concinnus. Do. —— pulverosus. Forfarshire. 234 Localities of Scottish Coleoptera. Colymbetes oblongus. Raehills. —-aflinis. Do. Gyrinus minutus. In a pool on Hawick Moor, in considerable abundance. Mr W. Lamb. ——-- villosus. In the Jed, near Jedburgh. Heterocerus marginatus. Dalmeny Park, in marshy ground near the shore. Hydrochus crenatus. Braid Hill marshes. A single specimen, found along with Hydrochus brevis, the lat- ter in abundance. Ochthebius marinus. Dalmeny Park, in a marsh by the shore. Enicocerus Gibsoni. Do. Do. Limnebius affinis. Raehills. — lutosus. Inthe Annan, near Moffat. Cercyon bimaculatum. Dalmeny, by the shore. - terminatum. Raehills. —- convexior. Do. - ustulatum. Cramond. ’ Phalacrus aeneus. Raehills, in moss. — ovatus. Do. ; and Cramond. — pulchellus. Do. Leiodes aciculata. Raehills ; Cramond. castanea. Do. ; and near Jedburgh. thoracica. Do. The most abundant of the genus. badia. Cramond. polita. Raehills. testacea. Do. ferruginea. Do. ; and at Cramond. —- litura. Do. do. suturalis, Cramond. nigricollis. | Do. I find the individuals of thisgenuschiefly in autumn. Clambus enshamensis. Raehills. Ptomaphagus velox. Do. —fumatus. Do. Oiceoptoma sinuata. Corstorphine Hill, near Edinburgh. Strongylus fervidus. Raehills. Rare. Campta lutea. Do. abundant in putrid fungi. Meligethes nigrinus. Do. Trichopteryx minutissima. Do. -nana. Wall top, Barnton Park. ———_——- perpusilla. Raehills. Localities of Scottish Coleoptera. 235 Anisarthria melas. Raehills. —--nitida. Do. —-- nitidula. Cramond. Atomaria thoracica. Raehills. -- carbonaria. Do. -- linearis. Do. Myceteea fumata. Raehills. Rare. Tetratoma Ancora. Wall top, near Cramond. Rare. Ips 4-pustulata. Raehills ; found throughout the year under the bank of decayed fir trees. —- ferruginea. Raehills ; found only during summer. Corticaria transversalis. Raehills. Paramecosoma bicolor. Cramond Park. Very rare. Latridius lardarius. Wall top, Barnton Park. Anthrenus musaeorum. Jedburgh. Byrrhus aeneus. Raehills. Rare. Hister 12-striatus. Raehills. — nitidulus. Do. — rotundatus. Do. About the stables, in June. Trox scabri. Jardine Hall. Sir William Jardine, Bart. Phyllopertha Frischii. Guillon Links. Elater brunneus. Raehills. — serraticornis. Dalmeny. —— — semiruber. Raehills, in decayed birch trees during win- ter. Very rare. balteatus. Raehills. Hyeecidusrsgnicoe: i Do. Banks of the Kinnel. — dermestoides. Cyphon griseus. Do. Telephorus pulicarius. Raehills. — ochropus. Do. lituratus. Do. Aplocnemus impressus. Do. Rare. Dasytes eratus. Do. Cis bidentatus. Do. Tomicus bidens. Do. ; also about Jedburgh. Hylesinus sericeus. Do. Baris atriplicis. Halleaths Loch, on rushes. Sir William Jar- dine, Dart. Ceutorhynchus melanocephalus. Raehills. Nedyus floralis. Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. pallidactylus. Raehills. 236 Localities of Scottish Coleoptera. Nedyus melanostigma. Raehills. Quercicola. Walltop, Ravelstone. Andrew Murray, Esq. Rhinoncus pericarpius. Raehills. — castor. Do. crassus. Do. Orchestes scutellaris. Do. == WLITCIS: Do. Anthonomus pedicularius. Do. Notaris bimaculatus. Banks of the Nith, near Dumfries. Pissodes Fabricii. Banks of the North Esk, near Montrose. Mr G. Little. Orthochaetes setiger. Ravelstone ; also in Roxburghshire. Procas picipes. Near Moffat. Hypera Polygoni. Cramond. sublineata. Do. Otiorhynchus maurus. Summit of Hartfell; also in Halleaths Woods. Trachyphlaeus scabriculus. Blackford Hill. Strophosomus rufipes. Raehills. —- nigricans. Cramond Park. ——retusus. Raehills. Rhynchites cylindricus. Do. —-cyaneopennis. Do. Dalmeny Park. ———-— cupreus. Do. On the Alder inSeptember. Ex- tremely rare. Spheeriestes ater. Raehills. On fir-trees, but very rare. -— fovolatus. Cramond. On the top of a wall under a row of beech and elm trees ; found only in October and the beginning of November. Callidium striatum. Forfarshire. Mr G. Little. — variabile. Edinburgh, in a garden in the New Town. Rhagium inquisitor Raehills ; found in abundance during win- — bifasciatum. Ge in decayed fir, and birch trees. Leptura levis. Lord Torphichen’s woods, Mid-Calder. Macroplea Zostere. Loch of Forfar. Dr Macnab. Galeruca tenella. Raehills. Mniophila muscorum. Do. Phaedon aucta. Cramond. — unicolor. Raehills. Abundant on the birch. Chrysomela Hyperici. Dalmeny. —- Banksii. Ayrshire, Dr Macnab. - haemoptera. Hills, North Queensferry. Abundant. Localities of Scottish Coleoptera. 237 Timarcha levigata. Galloway. Rev. Mr Lamb. Melasoma aenea. Raehills, on the alder, in August and September. Cryptocephalus 6-punctatus. Raehills, on the birch. Rare. — Moraei. Sutherlandshire. James Wilson, Esq. Coccinella ocellata, Cramond, one specimen. —— hieroglyphica. Do. Tenebrio obscurus. Between Leith and Portobello. Dr Knapp. Phylan gibbus. Southernness. Sir William Jardine, Bart. Ripiphorus paradoxus. Wall top, Barnton Park, in September. Scydmenus elongatulus. Raehills. Rare. Pselaphus Herbstii. Raehills, in April, under stones. Bryaxis Juncorum. Do. in similar localities. Arcopagus glabricollis. Do. - puncticollis. Do. —. - bulbifer. Do. Bythinus Curtisii. Do. — Burrellii. In moss from Craiglockhart. Dr Greville. Tachinus elongatus. Near Jedburgh. Microsaurus lateralis. | Dalmeny. Dianous rugulosus. Raehills. Syntomium nigroaeneum. Raehills; also near Jedburgh in con- siderable numbers. Acidota crenata. Cramond. Microlymma Johnstone. This insect, of which Dr Johnston was so kind as to send me specimens, I have since found at Dalmeny between loose layers of rock. [ 238 ] REVIEWS AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS. Manuel de Malacologie et de Conchyliologie. Par H. M. Du- CROTAY DE Buainviuwe. Paris, 1825, 8vo. with an Atlas of 100 Plates. Manuel de I Histoire Naturelle des Mollusques et de leur Coquilles. Par M. Sanper Rana. Paris, 1829. 24mo. The Genera of Recent and Fossil Shells ; for the use of Students in Conchology and Geology. By Guorce BrerrincHaM SowERBY. London, v. y. 8vo. The Elements of modern Conchology ; with Definitions of all the Tribes, Families, and Genera, Recent and Fossil. For the use of Students and Travellers. By Wit.1am Swainson, Esq. Lond. 1835. Duod. Elements of Conchology, according to the Linnean System, illustrated by 28 plates drawn from Nature. By the Rev. E. I. Burrow, A.M. F.L.S. Lond. 1836. 2d edit. 8vo. Tue foundations of Conchology were laid by Aristotle on those broad and rational views which characterize all his works on the Natural History of Animals, and which are worthy of his own re- putation as a philosopher, and of the inquisitive and intelligent so- ciety to whom they were delivered. The structure and habits of the creatures embraced in this section of natural science were the main objects of his study, while their relations to the other animated entities by which they are surrounded, and their own mutual affi- nities were not forgotten, although undoubtedly the classification of them appears to have been considered a matter of secondary im- portance, and, such as it is, was rather forced upon him than in- vented to give some degree of method and generalization to the ex- pression of the results of his inquiries. To censure this Father for the incompleteness, or even his want of a conchological system, is inconsiderately done, for it must be obvious that no system can be otherwise than defective and artificial until discovery has, in a long and lingering progress, collected together a large magazine of ma- 3 History of Conchology. 239 terials, among which there shall at least be found a type of every modification of structure exhibited in the class. But in his age the number of Shells known was very confined, and to have advanced beyond the primary divisions of them into univalves, bivaives, and turbinated kinds, could be of no possible utility, and might have been hurtful to a further progress, for “ the over early and peremp- tory reduction of knowledge into arts and methods” is an error from which, as Bacon has justly remarked, “ time commonly receives small augmentation.” * His views were higher, and his researches were pushed in the only direction in which they could be made available. He has left us a history of the Cephalopodes remarka- ble for its fulness and accuracy, and equally remarkable for its exemption from the marvels and puerilities which disfigure the same history as delivered by his successors ; and although there may be less of observation and fact in his account of the shelled molluscans, yet we find the same ends kept ever in view, and the incessant effort to attain his object by attention to the habits of the animals, and an examination of their anatomy. ‘The numerous de- fects, obscurities, and errors which a vain criticism might readily detect in his details under both of these heads, are justly attributable to the accident of position, for he was the first to track the road without the guide of a fixed nomenclature, and without the light which analogy could lend,—anatomy at this period being scarcely practised, and physiology almost unknown. By his own researches he was enabled to characterize several groups of Testacea with some degree of precision, and to acquaint himself with many valuable particulars of their structure and economy, and although some of his general corollaries from these are hasty, yet even in this minor de- partment of study the Stagyrite claims our admiration for his in- dustry and sagacity, and our gratitude for giving us an example of scientific inquiry which it were well to follow. But the spring which welled so pure and copiously had no issue to its waters. Aristotle had no successor in testaceology among his countrymen ; and when literature fled the shores of Attica, and found its unwilling way to Rome, it was unattended by the natural sciences. In the constitution of society among the Romans, it is not difficult to find causes for their total neglect of natural history ; and these operated with peculiar force when Pliny began to collect together the materials of his great encyclopedia. Devoted in an especial manner to a public life, the Romans were negligent of a * Comp. Sprengel Hist. de la Médecine, Vol. i. p. 400. 240 History of Conchology. study, which, so far from enhancing their reputation with the peo- ple, required a comparative seclusion to be successfully pursued ; while the disrelish for every science requiring a continuous and so- ber observation of facts and experiments was heightened, at the period we refer to, by a general luxury that had risen to an almost incredible pitch, and by the mental excitability produced by their foreign conquests and discoveries ;—for the tales of their travellers, and the new and uncommon animals sent home from every quarter to supply the theatre and circus, had rendered the minds of the people—one and all—pliant to credulity, and apt to receive every monstrous tale, and equally indisposed to attend to the simple phe- nomena displayed in the ordinary economy of animal life. Pliny largely participated the taste and credulity of his age, and hence his work is the very antitype of the Greeks,—ample in its details of the use and value of pearls and Tyrian purple, of anecdotes of the follies of the rich in their dress, and in their dishes of snails and oysters, &c.; while he caters from every source wonderful sto- ries of the feats of gigantic cuttles, and of the surprising intelli- gence and habits of these and other molluscans which God verily hath made, in harmony with their lower organization, feeble of instinct and power. ‘To Conchology as a science he has added nothing which Aristotle did not supply ; but he furnishes some anecdotes for a chapter on its economical applications, and has graced its history with some tramontane and amusing fictions. Of the ancients, Aristotle and Pliny are the only names which merit quotation in a history of conchology, and many centuries elapse before we again meet with one whose writings give some indication of its progress. The turmoil of society which accom- panied and followed the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, —the engrossing nature of the religion and superstitions of the dark ages,—the exclusive attention bestowed on the writings of the ancients at the revival of letters,—and the higher claims of higher studies when civility and wealth had begun to diffuse a taste for original compositions, and gave encouragement and leisure to men of science and letters,—were all obliterative of a pursuit which was solely ornamental, and had no attraction except to those chosen few who found in the contemplation of Nature’s works their principal gratification. That this number was not inconsiderable is certain, for otherwise it seems impossible to account for the publication of the vo- luminous and expensively illustrated books on natural history, which issued from the press within, or shortly after, the first century after the discovery of printing. And indeed the monastic system, and its History of Conchology. QA] institutions, must have been favourable to tle growth of such feel- ings, giving the necessary leisure and seclusion, while nature, pre- senting daily her works and phenomena, and her seasonal changes to these recluses, dull but not dead to their influence, insensibly operated and gave direction to the employment of their minds. It may be that these earliest works were not devoted even in part to conchology, but Natural History as one never advances without ad- vantage to every department, and even this minor branch had soon its due share of love and notice. The vast volumes of Albertus Magnus,* Rondeletius, + Gesner{ and Aldrovandus§ contain each of them books devoted to it, and although the original facts they disclose are very few in proportion to the mass heaped up in their folios, yet the criticism they have often received as the receptacles of lumber rather than museums of well-arranged records, seems to be unnecessarily harsh and severe. ‘The study of the ancients, and the elucidation of their difficulties, was still a favourite object with men of literature, and when these early naturalists betook them- selves to the writings which had come down to them rather than to the observation of things themselves, they but followed the bent of their compeers, and consulted the taste of their age. Their works are laberious compilations, in which every thing, however remotely connected with the subject in hand, good or bad, true or false,— whether recorded by grave philosopher, or sung or feigned by poet or traveller,—finds a place without any nicety as to its probable- ness, or conformity to the organization of the animals. On the con- trary, there is evidently a strong predilection in their worthy au- thors to retail and believe every tale of instinct or use which might raise the object, however low and loathly, in our estimation,—a greater love of the marvels of Pliny than of the sobrieties of Aris- totle. Still with all their faults, the reader will find them not void of novelty, either in philosophical remark or in the record of new creatures ; and the plan adopted by them of giving figures of the species was a most important step towards facilitating the progress of the science. To look for any thing that deserves the name of System in their works appears next to absurd: they evidently had not yet felt its want, and had no distinct idea of the necessity or utility of any beyond what gave a convenient heading to their chapters. What little they do give us of arrangement may be said to be literally borrowed from Aristotle. The writings of this period afford good evidence of a growing and * 1495. + 1554. + 1558. § 1599. 242 Histery of Conchology. considerably extended taste for the contemplation of Shells, which was kept alive and diffused by the activity of a daily enlarging com- merce furnishing, to collectors and amateurs, numerous novelties of uncommon forms and beauty to gratify, and at the same time to sti- mulate their curiosity. Hence also the origin of museums, of which Aldrovandus is usually said to have set the example ; and of these Shells made a large and favourite part from their beauty and variety, and from the ease with which they were procured and preserved. These museums soon became rather numerous in Italy and Germany, and although they were undoubtedly formed more for the gratifica- tion of the taste of their owners, than with any views towards science, and hence arranged in fantastic and picturesque designs, still it is from their institution that we date the origin of Conchology as a separate branch of natural history. The catalogues published of a few of the most considerable of these museums are among the works generally enumerated as worthy of quotation in the history of Conchology, and it was the love of making collections of shells se- parately, that evidently gave origin to the works of Bonanni and Lister, the first which treated exclusively of these natural objects. Bonanni’s work was published in the year 1681, and from its title—“ Recreatio Mentis et Oculi in observatione Animalium tes- taceorum”—was probably intended to be a book of luxury, exhibit- ing in its plates whatever amongst shells might please the eye or refocate the unoccupied mind. It is properly speaking, however, an introduction to Conchology, and in this view of it, the volume becomes interesting, since it affords the means by which the extent of the knowledge of Conchology at that period may be estimated. Of the writings of his immediate predecessors he speaks very slightingly : they remind him, he says, by their boastings when these are compared with their deeds, of those birds which floating aloft in the heavens draw notice by the amplitude of their spread of wing and the fulness of their plumage, but captured and plucked, the exility of their corpse proves to the sportsman how much he had been deceived! ‘The treatise is divided into four parts: in the first, he proves, to his own satisfaction, that the study of shells is not a puerile but a wise and profitable cccupation; investigates the mode of generation both of living and fossilized species ; declares the fit materials from which they are formed, and takes occasion to talk learnedly of water, earths, nitre and petrifying humours; he de- seants on their colours, forms, and properties by which the Creator renders them visible to the privileged minds of philosophers ; and lastly, enumerates their other uses to man, and what relates to them History of Conchology. 243 as precious ornaments for museums, of the more remarkable of which we have a particular account in his 12th chapter. In the second part Bonanni describes each shell separately, noticing their parts, form, colours, names, and the seas which they inhabit.—In the third part he propounds about 40 problems or hard questions, annexing reasons or “ an argument” to the dark and doubtful, by which a ray of truth may be thrown on them, and they may be made visible at least to the mental eye ; he shews that pearls cannot be formed from dew, as Pliny would persuade us, that they are not the young but a disease of conchs ; he explains why a shell applied to the ear seems, by its murmurings, to lament its native sea ; inquires into the causes of shells being more abundant in the sea than on the land, and especially in the Indian Ocean, where they are also more beautifully pictured ; why they are principally coloured on the ex- terior ; wherefore they grow hard, seeing they are formed out of soft water ; why they are twisted into many spires ; why their snails have scarcely any diversity of members ; why they are destitute of teeth, a heart, and bones; why nature denies them bile, and a liver and a spleen ; why they grow lean on the wane of the moon ; why they are slow and stoltish ; why the juice of the Pholas is luminous at night ; why among their various colours the cerulean is not to be found ; and other such problems hitherto unargued or propounded,— not omitting to inquire learnedly whether the Remora, that stayed the ship sent from Periander on a cruel voyage to the Cape of Gnidos, was actually the shell called in consequence the Venus-shell, and “ in regard whereof, the inhabitants of Gnidos doe honour and consecrate the said Porcellane within their temple of Venus.” —The fourth and last part is occupied with the plates and figures describ- ed in the second, distributed into three classes, viz. the univalves not turbinate, the bivalves, and the turbinate univalves. This slight outline of Bonanni's book is all our space will permit us to give, and is perhaps sufficient to enable the reader to appre- ciate its value, and the character of the writer. He was a Jesuit, with attainments and natural talents which, though respectable, certainly do not raise him above the level of his age,—perhaps he was under it,—better acquainted with the writings of his predeces- sors than of his contemporaries,—with the tastes of a virtuoso rather than of the man of science, skilful in all the vain logomachies of the schoolmen, and willing to give a ready assent to every thing which had ancient authority in its favour, but jealous and distrust- ful of all that was novel, and of every discovery that would carry knowledge forward. Hence we find his anatomy of shell-fish in- 244 History of Conchology. ferior to that of Aristctle’s, and his arrangement of them the same ; hence his advocacy of the doctrine of spontaneous generation, when his contemporary Redi had demonstrated its absurdity ; hence his exclusive attention to the form and colour of shells to his total over- sight of conchology as a branch of general physiology ; hence also his fondness in propounding, his copiousness in solving occult ques- tions which, if resolved, were of no utility, but which were really beyond the province of human inquiry ; hence the discussion where- fore shellfish were defective in this and that organ, without the slightest effort to ascertain whether that deficiency was a fact ; and hence, in short, the reason that his volume contains not a single fact additional to the stock of knowledge in his own province, for we do not find that he has “ treated of the formation of shells in a manner more philosophical than could have been expected at such a period,” as Maton and Rackett have asserted. But we have no wish to depreciate Bonanni, who, as we have already mentioned, was a man of learning and repute, and it is not discreditable to an author that he is affirmed not to have anticipated his age: we have drawn his character as we think fairly, and it is a fair representa- tion too, of the bulk of conchologists of his time, who obviously had little other object in the study than to indulge their love of virtuoso- ship. Philippo Bonanni and Dr Martin Lister were co-equals in the date of the publication of their works,* but in character they were men of remote eras. Jister was not less learned than the Jesuit, but of that he made no parade, and if he had drunk of the logic of the schoolmen, his tutored mind had seen its folly, for we never find him indulging in disquisitions about things inscrutable or use- less. Full of the medical knowledge of the day, Lister betook him- self, following the bent of his genius, to a patient anatomy of the animals which tenant and construct the shells that had won his ad- miration, and, allowing for the state of anatomy then, we do not hesitate to say that his Exercitationes deserve to rank beside those of Poli and Cuvier. ‘They are replete with accurate descriptions, not unmixed it is true with error, and some things he had overlook- ed and mistaken, but to mark these as blots on his diligence or re- putation were uncandid and unfair to him who leaves the olden ways and deviates into a new country, in which he has to open up the roads. In every page Lister proves himself a laborious and ob- servant anatomist and naturalist ; while his disquisitions and di- gressions relative to the leaning of his discoveries on the physiolo- * Lister’s works were published between the years 1669 and 1697. 4 History of Conchology. 245 gical questions which divided the then medical world afford the fullest proof of his acuteness, judgment, and extensive learning.* His works deserve the attentive perusal of every student in con- chology, who will not fail to reap advantage from the task, even though he should go to it acquainted with the subject from recent authorities. Lister was a true naturalist, and the first conchologist of decid- ed eminence. His anatomical works show how clearly he under- stood that the structure of the animals was the main object of our study,—its only sure foundation, and its best claim on our atten- tion,— but he was also very observant of the habits, instincts, and peculiarities of snail and shell, and was at the same time zealous to acquire an extensive and accurate knowledge of species, to which end he sacrificed much. At his own cost, and with the labour of years, he completed and published a volume of plates, which is the pride of collectors, and is prized to this day for its utility. << His figures,” Dr Maton and the Rev. Mr Hackett tell us, “ both in point of number and faithfulness, are with reason still held in such high estimation, that no person attached to this branch of natural history can advance in it without the constant use of them, nor without finding them preferable for reference to many more splen- did engravings which have succeeded them.’+t—“ This admirable volume,” says Dr Turton, “‘ contains one thousand and fifty-five plates, besides twenty-one of anatomical figures, all drawn from original specimens by his two daughters, Susanna and Anna. Con- sidering the state of natural science at the time this work was first issued, one hundred and thirty-three years since, it is impossible to contemplate this stupendous effort of genius and industry, without admiration at the grandeur of the design, and the correctness of its execution.” { It was Lister’s intention, after the publication of this volume of plates, to have proceeded with an anatomical description of every family or genus in its proper order, if God should grant him life and leisure, but from adverse health he was not permitted to do more than to anatomize the terrestrial slugs and snails, some fresh- water Turbines, one or two of the marine Buccina, anda part of the Bivalves. The design was worthy of the man, and is a fine example of unwearied assiduity, which nought but a genuine enthusiasm + His opinions relative to the functions of the liver in Mollusca appear de- serving of more attention than they have yet received. See the Exer. Anat. de Cochleis, p. 79, &c. + Lin. Trans. vii. p. 138. ° ¢ Conchological Dictionary, Introd. p. xvi. VOL. II. NO. 9. R 246 History of Conchology. could have kept alive. If perchance, says he, a stranger should be told that this man had devoted his years to the dissection of ani- malcules and snails, it might provoke his contempt or laughter, un- less, indeed, the dissector was another Harvey, Malpighi, or a Redi; but I do not vehemently yearn for the applause of any one» having had my reward, for these exercises which were my pleasure and delight in youth, now that I am old they are my solace. And now when I am, from a failure of sight, compelled to use the mi- croscope, and find that by its aid I can again enjoy myself in those studies, which have been long denied to the unassisted eye, I re- joice greatly.* We do love to dwell on the character ef this man. Learned in his profession, and attaining its highest honours,—for he was physician to Queen Anne,—we now see him refocating his jaded spirits in the contemplation of his collections of shells, and enjoying, with a rapture which minds framed like his only feel, all their beauties and symmetries and singularities ;—again we see him examining with a fatherly pride and pleasure the drawings which his daughters, who stand beside him, had laboured to finish before the duties of the day permitted their beloved parent to retire to his ease and study,—and at a more leisured season we see him, bent somewhat with ageand infirmities,t anatomizing with the zeal and skill of his youth the creatures which he loved so well to study, now his keen eye kindling as the thought crosses him, that in this structure there was a ray which shed light on some obscurity in his own frame, —now lost in wonder at some display of a mechanism which can have but one author, while involuntarily he breathes the hymn,— « Oh altitudo! In his tam parvis, atque tam nullis, que ratio? quanta vis! quam inextricabilis perfectio !” Lister then greatly advanced conchology by rescuing it from the charge of frivolity, by an unrivalled series of illustrations of species, by many novel remarks on their habits, by a very complete history of the species of his native land, and chiefly by giving us some ex- cellent essays on the structure and physiology of the Mollusca which had been neglected since the time of Aristotle, for the isolated no- tices of a few species by Willis, Redi, Harderus, and Swammer- dam, however good, had no influence on conchology, while those of Lister are epochal. He was fully aware too of the importance of system in this study, but he had not critically examined its real objects and use, and his classification, though elaborate, claims no praise of superiority. The habitat affords the character for his pri- * Exercit. Anat. des Cochleis, p. 2, + See the Preface to the App. Hist. Anim. Ang. History of Conchology. 247 mary divisions or books,—hence shells are divided into the land, fresh-water, marine bivalve, and marine univalve classes ; and the mode in which these are subdivided more resembles the synoptical tables which the French botanists now frequently prefix to their floras, constructed without any regard to the aftinities of the objects they approximate, and solely intended to hunt down a species, than what is usually understood by a system in natural history. So far as we remember (for his works are not all of them by us, and years have elapsed since their perusal,) the manner in which the shell is formed, and its relation to the snail, occupied no part of Lister’s investigations, but previous to his decease the true solution of the problem was discovered by the illustrious Reaumur.* No experimental inquiry had hitherto been made on the subject, and the remarks in reference to it in conchological writers were scatter- ed, vague, and hypothetical ; while the opinion of better informed physiologists appears to have been that the shells were organized parts of the animal, which grew and increased with the latter by receiving nutriment and material from the body ; that there was in fact nothing peculiar in the formation of shell, but that its growth depended, like the growth of other parts, on the circulation of juices within itself, and on the assimilation and addition of new matter. NReaumur was never content with reasoning on a point which experiment alone could solve, and with his usual ability and success he instituted numerous experiments on the subject un- der review. ‘They were principally made on land snails (Helix,) but not restricted to them, for by confining fluviatile and marine species, both univalve and bivalve, in baskets framed so as to admit the water, and at the same time prevent the escape of the crea- tures, he was enabled to show that his theory was applicable to the whole class. He proved in this manner that the shell was enlarged by the deposition of calcareous matter to the edges of the aperture, and that this deposition was made in successive layers ; that there was no increase from the intusception of calcareous matter, no ad- ditional increase from any action in the shell itself, but that the whole was a successive transudation from certain parts of the living tenant, to which the shell was an inorganic covering. It was ob- jected to him that snails just issued from the egg had as many whorls as the parent, but the falsity of this observation was to Reaumur of easy proof, who found that these young had only one, * « De la Formation et de l’accroissement des Coquilles des Animanx tant terrestres qu’ aquatiques, soit de mer soit de riviere,” in Mem. de l’Acad. Roy. des Sc. 1709. 248 History of Conchology. or not more than a whorl and a-half ; and his theory, divested of the mechanical phraseology in which some of its details are explain- ed, remains essentially correct. Besides the establishing of this discovery so important in scientific conchology, Reaumur enriched it with much curious and interesting matter. His inquiry into the mechanism by which the limpets fix themselves so firmly, and the . byssiferous bivalves spin their silken cables ; his accurate descrip- tion of the structure of the shell of the Pinna; and his experimen- tal essay on the purple dye of the Buccinum, suggested to him by the excellent paper on the same subject by Mr Cole of Bristol, are favourable specimens of his talent for observation, and real addi- tions to the stock of our knowledge, while they captivate us by the elegant and copious style in which they are written, and by the clearness of their details. These labours and discoveries, and the high character of their authors, render the conclusion of the 16th, and the beginning of the ~ 17th century, unquestionably the most interesting period in the history of conchology. Ray, who discovered the peculiar hermaphro- ditism of the snail, was the intimate friend of Lister,—Petiver and Sloane, celebrated for their museums, had entered the field ere he retired,— Balfour and Sibbald in Scotland were his contemporaries, and the latter his correspondent,—Poupart and Mery, two French anatomists of deserved celebrity, carried their researches in the same direction,—and Swammerdam, Leewenhoeck, and Rumphius* in Holland,—all these men were each in their way advancing con- chology with a rapidity hitherto unexampled and not yet surpassed. We are apt, dazzled by this galaxy, to fix our attention too exclu- sively on the anatomical and physiological branches of the science, but let us not forget to note the benefit it received by the zeal of collectors, who were now importing species in great numbers from every quarter of the globe, and congregating them in museums which became celebrated throughout Europe for their richness. In England those of Petiver and Sloane surpassed all others ; the col- lection of Sir Andrew Balfour of the University of Edinburgh was considerable ;+ but it was in Holland that the passion of forming * Or rather Scheinvoet, a Dutch physician, who was the real author of Rum- phius’ Thesaurus. See D’Argenville’s Conchyliog. p. 27. + Sibbald’s Auctarium Musei Balfouriani “ does not treat of Testacea ex- clusively, but comprehends a variety of subjects, which were contained in the collection of Sir Andrew Balfour, Knight, M. D.—a collection presented to the University of Edinburgh, and considerably augmented by the intimate friend of the donor, who described the whole in the work above-mentioned. Unfortu- History of Conchology. 249 cabinets of shells became most prevalent. “ Rich individuals stu- died to outvie one another in that country, as much in the expen- siveness and extent of their collections, as in the splendour of their equipages and retinue ; and the sums which were given for a Cedo- nulli or a Wentletrap, would appear too enormous to deserve belief, if such accounts were not authenticated by the most respectable writers of that day. Rumphius himself informs us in his preface to the ‘ Amboinshe Rariteitkamer,’ that a shell described in this work cost no less than 500 Dutch florins.”* In all this, of course, there was much less the love of science than the mere indulgence of a peculiar taste or rivalry that wealth or a natural disposition had engendered ; and it is not easy to determine whether the good which it cannot be denied conchology derived from this zeal of col- lectors, was not overbalanced by the character of virtuosism it was calculated to fix on all its cultivators, and the new direction which it unquestionably gave to their studies. + It was to this zeal that we owe several expensive books of plates which were now prepared for the press, and published under the auspices usually of some nately for the reputation of this University among naturalists, a very small part of the collection is now remaining. ‘ Such,’ says Mr Pennant, ‘ has been the negligence of past times, that scarce a specimen of the noble collection deposited in it by Sir Andrew Balfour is to be met with, any more than the great additions made to it by Sir Robert Sibbald.’—( Scotch Tour, 1766, p. 246.) Such is too often the fate of public collections; and so slight or so transient is any respect for the laudable intentions of generous individuals towards public bodies, that common care is rarely taken to preserve from destruction what escapes the hand of peculation and robbery.”—Lin. Trans. vii. p. 144. * Lin. Trans. vil. p. 150.—“ In 1753, at the sale of Commodore Lisle’s shells at Langford’s, four Wentletraps were sold for L. 75, 12s.” Da Costa’s Elem. of Conchology, p. 204.—‘ A specimen of Conus cedonulli has been valued at 300 guineas.” Dillwyn’s Catalogue, p. 376.—‘‘ Ammiralium varietates nitidas, Turbinis scalaris et Ostree Mallei «emulas nobilitavit docta ignoran- tia, pretiavit quam patiuntur opes stultitia, emtitavit barbara luxuria.”—Lin. Syst. 1167. + They did not of course escape the observation and the lash of the satiyist. “* But what in oddness can be more sublime Than Sloane, the foremost toyman of his time ? His nice ambition lies in curious fancies, His daughter’s portion a rick Shell inhances, And Ashmole’s baby-house is, in his view, Britannia’s golden mine, a rich Peru !’— Youne. It is almost needless to remind the reader of the amusing papers in ridicule of the collectors in the * Spectator’ and ‘ Rambler,’ but the irony of the latter in his No. 82, is more than compensated by his defence of these ‘ much injured’ men in his Nos, 84 and 85. 250 History of Conchology- wealthy amateur, and which, though too often occupying a promi- nent place in the history of conchology, have little merit excepting what they derive from the draughtsman and engraver. Hence also the repeated attempts on the part of the more studious to arrange the objects in quest after some novel or more convenient system, for without a regular specification of their contents it was evident no correct idea could be imparted of the extent and worth of the collection. In indicating the progress of ‘ Method,’ however, it is necessary to go back a little. We have seen that Aristotle had three orders of Testacea,—Univalves, Bivalves and the Turbinated,—but the class itself and these divisions were loosely detined ; and the same vagueness is to be found in the writings of those authors who fol- lowed his method. Perhaps Dr Walter Charleton, Physician in Ordinary to Charles II. was the first who had a full conviction of the importance of system, but his attempt to arrange the Mollusca is very faulty.* The Limaces he places with apodous insects ; and aquatic animals being divided as usual into the sanguineous and exsanguineous, the remaining molluscans are arranged under two classes—viz. the mollia or molluscula and the testacea. The first embraces all the cuttles and the Lepus marinus or Aplysia ; the se- cond the shelled tribes whose primary sections are the same as those of Aristotle’s, while his genera, in general without definitions, rest on characters of little or no value. Jean-Daniel Major, Profes- sor of Practical Medicine in the University of Keil, in the dutchy of Holstein, was the next to make the attempt, (1675,) which is pro- nounced by two critics, to whose opinion much deference has been shown, to be “ infinitely too complicated and ramifying to admit of any useful application.” Sibbald, Grew, Bonanni, Lister, Langius, Hebenstreit, Tournefort, D’Argenville, and Klein are perhaps the principal who followed in their wake, but it is evident that they had all entered on their task without a previous study of what the real object and use of method was, what principles were to guide them in framing the various sections, or what the relative bearing of these divisions on one another should be. The division of shells primarily into Multivalve, Bivalve, and Univalve had perhaps superseded the Aristotelian, and many new divisions of secondary rate were of course invented, but they were arbitrary, founded on no common principle, either too lax or too complex to be applicable in practice, cumbersome to the memory, and clumsy in writing. To analyse * Onomastikon Zoikon. Lond. 1671. 4to. 3 History of Conchology. 251 these methods would be wearisome and unprofitable,—they were next to useless when promulgated, and have now no attraction even in the eyes of the pure conchologist. It is when we rise from their examination that we are in the best mood to appreciate the merits of Linnzus, and feel inclined to nod in complacent assentation to all the pans which have been so often sung to his praise. Linneus having, with a tact characteristic of his genius for sys- tem, divided invertebrated animals into two great classes—Insecta and Vermes,—was less happy in his reduction of the latter into their secondary groups or orders. The testaceous mollusca occupy one order by themselves, in which there are four sections of equal value— the multivalve, bivalve (Conche,) the univalves with a regular spire (Cochlew_), and the univalves without a regular spire.* In each section there are several genera defined with neat precision,— the characters of the multivalves being derived from the position of the valves,—of the bivalves from the number and structure of the hinge-teeth, or, in the absence of these, from a part influencing the opening of the valves,—of the Cochlew from the unilocular or mul- tilocular shell, but in most from the formation of the aperture ; while in the last division the shape of the shell affords the means of dis- criminating them, excepting in Teredo, which is defined “ T. in- trusa ligno,” in evident contrariety to his principles and his better custom. The naked tribes are placed in the order denominated “« Mollusca,” where they stand, in ‘‘ admired disorder,” with radi- ated zoophytes, annelidans, parasitical worms, and the Echinoder- mata, which latter, however, are better in this strange miscellany, than they were when they stood either amongst simple or multi- valved shells. In estimating the merits of this system it is not fair to look back from our present vantage ground, and magnify its detects by a compa- rison with modern classifications : we are in candour to place ourselves behind its author, and looking forward, say how far his efforts have been useful or quickening.t Standing thus we trust to offend none of his admirers when we admit that there is nothing in its principle of a novel character: the soft mollusca were previously recognized and better assorted by Charleton ; and every one of the sections, and, if * The expounders of Linnzus’ system do not adopt this last division,—why it is difficult to say. By disregarding it they have injured the naturalness of the method. + The first edition of the ‘ Systema Nature’ was published in 1735, but 1758 is properly the year which gave birth to his conchological system, when the 10th edition was published. It was perfected in 1766. 252 History of Conchology. we mistake not, of the genera also, of the shelled tribes had been al- ready recognized. It labours under the censure of having too small regard to the animal, a censure in some degree just, for assuredly more was known of these than the definitions of the “ Systema” would lead us to suppose ; and it had still less regard to the position of the groups in reference to their organical afhnities. It often as- sociates species of dissimilar habits ; and species are found in almost every genus at variance with the character of this, and where con- sequently the student ought not to have sought for them. The su- periority of it lies in its simplicity ; in the regulated subordination of all its parts ; in the admirable sagacity with which the families or genera are limited ; in the assumption cf more stable characters for these, and for the clear distinct manner in which they are ap- plied ; in the suitableness of its nomenclature ; in the invention of trivial names which gave a facility in writing hitherto unknown, and was a welcome relief to the memory ; in the conciseness of the spe- cific characters and the skill with which those characters were chos- en; in the regular indication of the stations which the species oc- eupy on the globe; and in the beauty of the more extended de- scriptions, and the peculiar felicity of language in which the thoughts suggested by any remarkable structure in the species under review are conveyed to us. That merits of this kind should secure him something more than approbation was natural: there was much ex- cellence in it which prejudice or jealousy only could not see, and which folly alone would have rejected ; and while every collector and amateur found it easy to be understood, ready in practice, and neat in nomenclaturing their cabinets, their pursuit assumed the garb of science when they could tell the scorner that they were following the steps, and had the sanction, of a man whose genius has justly won him a place in the first rank of those whom succeeding ages con- tinue to venerate for the good they have done in the promotion of useful knowledge. While the eyes of almost all were turned to this northern fant nary for light to guide them in their pursuit, or as an object by barking at which a few drew notice on their littleness, Jussieu of Paris, the admirer of Linneus’ genius and industry, and his corre- spondent, was explaining to his select but few disciples the princi- ples of what has been commonly called the “. Natural System.” Jussieu’s profound studies were confined to botany, but he had col- leagues and contemporaries who attempted their application to con- chology, and whose want of success is to be ascribed mainly to the meagerness of the anatomy of the mollusca then attained, to the few-= History of Conchology. 253 ness of the observations made on the living species, and in part also to the imperfection of the views of the authors. Daubenton, the colleague of Buffon, so early as 1743, insisted on a knowledge of the animal as necessary to form a natural classification of shells ; and in 1756, Guettard, who was the personal friend of Jussieu, not only gave his sanction to this opinion, but shewed its practicability and excellence by defining, from the peculiarities of the animal and shell combined, a considerable number of the univalves, comprehending among these, in evident agreement with their relations, though con- trary to general use, the slugs, the Aplysia, and the Bullea. But the fullest attempt of this kind. was made by Adanson, whose work on Senegal was published some years before Linnzus had given the last revision to his system. Impelled by an indomitable enthu- siasm, Adanson visited Senegal, under many disadvantages, to ex- amine and describe the natural productions of a tropical climate ; and for this purpose he made very extensive collections in every depart- ment of nature, but of his great work the first volume only, contain- ing the outline of his travels and his account of the shells, was ever given to the public. The character of this volume has risen with the progress of the science, and it is more valued by the concholo- gists of the present day than it was by the contemporaries of its au- thor. He had some personal peculiarities—too visible in his writings —which could not fail to hurt his popularity : an austere tempera- ment, which caused him to treat his fellow-labourers with contemptu- ous acerbity,—a mind that would neither bend to nor treat with re- spect the prejudices as he deemed them of his age,—an unflinching severity in criticising the writings of others, and a pertinacious tenacity of his own views,—while some barbarisms he attempted to introduce into the nomenclature of conchology repelled the na- turalists of a too nice taste, and the very extent of his requirements from those who claimed to be naturalists operated against him, for it was not to be supposed that mere collectors or virtuosos were to enter on so difficult a path, or would be willing to allow themselves to be pushed aside as idlers, and put without the pale of the scien- tific circle. That very beauty, he exclaims, which by its variety has attracted the regards of men to shells has become an obstacle to their knowledge. ‘ La coquille seule dépositaire de cette riche parure, a fait mépriser l’animal auquel elle servoit de couverture, et est devenue seule l’objet de l’admiration de quelques natura- listes. Epris, comme les curieux, de la beauté frappante de ses couleurs, ils n’ont pas jugé que l'habitant fit digne de leurs re- cherches, et le difficulté de se le procurer a chaque instant, n’a pas 254 History of Conchology. peu contribué a augmenter leur dédain. Ils se sont done bornés 4 l’examen des coquilles, ils n’en ont considéré que le forme, celle de son ouverture, on le nombre de ses pieces ; c’est d’elle seule qu’ils ont voulu tirer leurs caracteres primitifs et distinctifs: de-la cette foule de systémes aussi peu satisfaisans les uns que les autres.’”* At a seasun when ‘ Systems’ were all in vogue Adanson, with characteristic boldness, declared himself their enemy as being worse than useless, fit ouly to amuse triflers, certain to lead to error and alienate us from true views of the objects in question, and so easy of invention to boot that several equally good might be made by one of common experience and capacity. ‘The history of conchology had already offered too many examples of the truth of this assertion, and he was not slack to give additional specimens in its illustration. But notwithstanding his philippick against them, Adanson, in some measure, forgot his own principles, and was little less of a systema- tist than those were whom he censured. Shell-fish were, according to him, distinguishable in the first place into “ Limacons” and “ Con- ques ;” the former were subdivided into univalves and operculated univalves, and the Conques into bivalves and multivalves; these primary families were still further divided into smaller groups from the position of the eyes in the Limacons, and from the figure of the respiratory tubes in the Conques. Now it was a pure arbitrariness in him to fix upon the operculum as a part or organ of primary value, for there is nothing in its use or position to justify the choice, nor did he attempt, by any analysis, to show that it was a regulator of structure and habits; and it was equally arbitrary to divide the bi- valves into two sections on the mere existence of afew additional pieces over the hinge, for these pieces were not proved to be an index to the animal’s economy. But Adanson’s services to conchology are very great,—of those its labourers who have passed in review we place him next to Lister. He has the merit of having altogether remoy- ed from the Testacea the Lepas and Balani, whose structure he saw was modelled after the type of another category ; his interesting dis- covery of the Vermetus was a fine illustration of the shell being of itself useless as a character in natural history ; and his knowledge of affinities was made evident by the acuteness which lead him to ap- proximate the Teredo to the Pholas. If not the first to point out the importance of the operculum, he was undoubtedly the first who knew its value as an index to natural relationship hetween genera ; perhaps the first who was fully aware that the entireness or canali- * Hist. des Coquillages, pref. v. History of Conchology. 255 culate formation of the aperture of the shell gave an insight into the habits of the snail in regard to food ; the first too to point out fully the influence of age and sex in altering the shape of the shell, and more especially of its aperture ; the first to describe and delineate the animal tenant of many genera; and although his attention was ex- clusively directed to external characters, yet we are above all in- debted to him for his strong advocacy of the maxim that the anatomy of the animal was the sole sure foundation of a rational arrangement which had in view the mutual affinities of the objects it attempted to classify, and present them not fancifully commixed as they might be placed in amuseum, but according to those characters which nature it- self had given them of affinity or dissemblance. “ There is then,” he says, ‘ in shell-fish something more to consider than their shells ; the snail which tenants them ought to guide our methodical arrange- ments, to be our only regulator, since it is the principal part, that which gives to the exterior skeleton its form, size, hardness, colours, and all the other peculiarities in it which we admire. If we atten- tively examine this new and forgotten race, if we consider individual- ly the members of it, we shall discover in their manners, in their ac- tions, in their movements and manner of life, an infinitude of curious circumstances, of facts interesting and fitted to arrest the attention of every zealous and intelligent observer; we shall perceive in the organism of their bodies a great number of parts remarkable in their structure and use; and in entering into details we shall soon be com- pelled to grant that this study is no childish play, but as thorny and full of difficulties as any other in the wide range of natural history.”* The example of Adanson was followed by Geoffroy who, in a his- tory of the shells found in the vicinity of Paris, attempted to arrange them on the external anatomy of their animals ; and by Muller, who described in the same manner the mollusca of the north of Europe. The writings of Muller are still deservedly held in high estimation. They contain the descriptions of many novelties, and his descriptions of them, as well as of species previously known, are remarkable for their accuracy ; they are thickly strewed with notices of the exter- nal anatomy and habits of those he had examined alive ; and his style of writing is interesting, rising occasionally to eloquence. As an ob- server and teller of what he had observed, he claims a place among the first, but he was the discoverer of no fact in their structure or physiology of any consequence—we speak in reference to the mol- lusca only; and his systematic efforts were limited and partial, al- *“ Lib. sup. cit. pref. x. 256 History of Conchology. though he sometimes drops a hint on the subject, which makes us almost believe that he was capable of better things, had he had courage to have made the attempt.* In relation to the mollusca he clearly saw the impropriety of making the presence or absence of the shell an ordinal character; and he knew, vaguely it may be, the affinity between the bivalvular mollusca and the Tunicata. “ For what”— we translate his words—“ are the Testacea but mollusca furnished with a shell, and what are mollusca but Testacea destitute of it ? There is the most exact agreement of the tenants of the univalve shells which are called Helices with the naked slugs; and an agree- ment not to be overlooked of bivalves with the Ascidia ; and the very error of our predecessors, who said that slugs were merely snails which had crept out of their shells, proves their near affinity. Besides the insensible but evident transition of nature from the naked Limax to the testaceous—passing from the former, which at most has the mere rudiment of an internal shell to the latter by means of the Buccinum (Lymnza) glutinosum, which conceals its membranous shell under a fleshy mantle, supports plainly our opinion. Therefore I do not doubt that a future age will join together the naked slugs and the shelled snails, which authors have separated into different orders.” “‘ If we wish,” he writes in another place, “ properly to know and discriminate natural objects, they must be considered in every point of view and in all states, so far as human imbecility will permit. The attaimment of knowledge is thus indeed rendered more difficult, but at the same time more pleasant and accurate ; genera indeed are mul- tiplied, but by this way only, if by any, can species ever be determin- ed. This is the alpha and omega of our labours, since systems and methods and genera are arbitrary and framed by the narrow limits of our knowledge. Nature acknowledges one division of created bodies only—the living and brute matter—spurning for the most part the arrangements of systematists into classes and orders, families and genera, and her productions are often so affined that their limits can never be strictly fixed. Characters derived from the interior and ex- terior structure of bodies deceive us not solely in the higher divisions ; and even the manner of life and the mode of propagation do not af- ford any certain distinctions either in those races which are visible or in those which are invisible to the naked eye. There is therefore only one family, and one Father of all, who has marked with a con- stant character all species whatever from the Monad to the turret- “ His ‘ Method,’ as detailed by himself, is as artificial as the Linnzean, and ac- tually less in harmony with the animal organization. History of Concholoqy. 257 bearing Elephant, and has distinguished Man alone with a reasonable soul.” * - The celebrated Pallas was another who at this period had ob- tained a glimpse of the true relations of the mollusca as a class even clearer than Miiller,+ but he did not pursue the subject, and as his slight incidental notice, though it might have originated inquiry in a predisposed mind, was not otherwise of a nature to produce any effect, so the pains of Geoffroy and Miiller were equally unproductive. The authority of Linneeus prevailed every where. The force of his genius having swept away all previous systems, there was no other safety for a naturalist, than to take refuge in the Linnean ark, which floated on the surface proud amid the ruins,—the systems of his contempo- raries also sinking one after another in the waters of forgetfulness. His disciples were distinguished by their enthusiasm in the pursuit of nature, and their love of their master; and the facility with which they found their discoveries were registered, and the easy nature of the discoveries which sufficed to give them a certain reputation, re- quiring nought but zeal, opportunity, and a knowledge of the ‘ Sys- tema’ not difficult to be acquired, rivetted their attachments. In England nothing was tolerated that was not according to the letter of Linneus: his works were a code of laws which, like an act of Parliament, was to be interpreted verbally, and the spirit of them was unseen or overlooked. Under his reforming hand, Conchology having passed “ from confusion and incongruity to lucid order and sim- plicity,” the slightest attempt to alter this order was treated as an attempt to replunge us into the chaos, whence he had brought us, and further improvement or alteration was declared to be futile, since the “ beauties” of the Linnean “ must perpetuate its pre-eminence.” Were it shewn that, from the very subsidiary station the animal was made to occupy in this system, there was a fear attention should be drawn from the object most worthy of it, we were seriously told that the animal, even could it be procured, which was doubtful, would never present those “ permanent and obvious points of distinction” indispensable in the application of a system meant to be practical. Wherein does the animal differ, it was asked in a tone of triumph, signifying that reply was impossible,—‘ wherein does the animal differ from an unshapen mass of lifeless matter when coiled up with- in its shelly habitation? And how are its natural shape and appen- dages to be examined, but by the knife of an anatomist?” { Were it proved, what indeed was most palpable, that species of opposite “ See the Prefatio to his Verm. Ter. et Fluv. Vol. i. 1773. + Mise. Zool. p. 72, 73. Lug. Batay. 1778. ¢ Lin. Trans. vii. p. 177. 258 History of’ Conchology. habits and habitations were huddled together under a common head, it was answered that to derive characters from such particulars was contrary to axiom and unphilosophical ; and if it were demonstrative that the class of Testacea, as a whole, was constituted of heterogene- ous disparates,—as for example when Pallas indicated the difference between this class and the Serpule,—what then? Nature gloried in variety and oppositions, and was herself systemless,* as if it were possible to believe that He who made every thing in wisdom and order had shook His creatures from His hand, with the same wanton unordered profusion that the poet has represented the jocund May, flinging the flowerets from her teeming lap. Such were the futile reasons by which this System was upheld, and so firm was its des- potism that, until within these twenty years, there was little or no relaxation on its hold of public opinion ; and its evil effects are too evident in the superficialness of the productions which emanated from this school. Even in France the Linnean system soon became little iess pre- dominant under the leading of Bruguiere, but the regard the French paid to it was ofa less slavish character than it had assumed in Britain. Bruguiere, though a Linnean in principle, carried forward in some de- gree the system of his master by intercalating several new and ob- viously necessary genera; and he was otherwise aconchologist of high- er attainments than any England could at that period boast of. He cannot be said to have promoted conchology in any very sensible de- gree, but he made no effort to arrest it, or detain the science at the stage where Linnzeus had left it. Nor indeed is it perhaps possible to stop the march of any, however trivial the branch of science, to perfec- tion. Like the operations of Nature in her living productions ever tend- ing to maturity, there are periods of acceleration and delay, and causes may for a season induce a sickly weakness that waits long for a re- medy, but come at last this will. Conchology was now in her sickly time,—nevertheless in a state of constant advancement. Ellis, Baster, Bohadtch, Pallas, Muller, Forskal, Solander, and Otho Fabricius, all of whom might have seen Linnzus in the flesh, and were his imme- diate successors, drew attention to the naked molluscans in particu- * « Nature does not seem to have observed any system, and an artificial one will ever be attended with anomalies. Whatever method therefore most readily leads to the subject under investigation, is certainly the best, and in this case it is of small importance where that subject is placed, or how far it is removed from others to which it seems to bear a general resemblance.”—Maton in Pul- teney’s Life of Linnzus, p. 238.—Sir J. E. Smith also allows himself to talk of the “ irregularities of Nature,” as an apology for some inconsistencies in the zoological works of Linneus.—Tracts, p. 136. History of Concholoqy. 259 lar whose curious variety was enticing and provocative to further quest ; Herissant, Scopoli, Bruguiere, and Olivi, described many spe- cies with their animals, and entered too into physiological questions which it was worthy reasonable men to solve; Knorr, Davila, Mar- tini and Chemnitz, Schroter, Born, Pennant, Da Costa, and Martyn, set forth at intervals volumes of figures more numerous in species and more correct than had been hitherto attempted; and the minute or microscopic species, which notwithstanding their littleness have played a most important part in the revolutions of our globe, were well illustrated in the works of Soldani, Plancus, Boys and Walker, and of Fichtel and Moll. Yet this array of names only proves a wider spread of the study,—the students may have been, and we think were, mediocrists, —many of them were simply ichniographistsand col- lectors.* We can remember no discovery by. which to distinguish the period, for the developement or improvement of an artificial sys- tem, the accumulation of species, and their more accurate discrimi- nation, though points of considerable importance, are not sufficient- ly so to mark an era. Perhaps the most curious and interesting discovery that was made in it is that of the capability of the snail to reproduce its tentacula, eyes, and head, when these have been cut off, —the phenomena of which singular reintegration were amply eluci- dated by the experiments of Spallanzani, Bonnet, and others. The first to raise us from this enchained slumber was Cuvier. Be- fore this great naturalist entered the field, Poli, a Neapolitan physi- cian, had indeed anatomized with admirable skill the bivalved mollus- ca of his native shores, and had constructed a new arrangement of them from the characters of the animal alone, but partly from the political position of Europe, partly from the very expensive fashion in which Poli’s work was published, and its consequent extremely limited circulation, and in part also from the partial application of his system and its didactick character, the erroneousness of his gene- ral views, and the novelty of his nomenclature,—we cannot trace its influence either as diffusive or propulsive of conchology. The result * It is most especially necessary to except from this remark John Hunter, but his labours and views were not published, and were not appreciated. “ John Hunter was a great discoverer in his own science ; but one who well knew him has told us, that few of his contemporaries perceived the ultimate object of his pursuits ; and his strong and solitary genius laboured to perfect his designs without the solace of sympathy, without one cheering approbation.”—D Israeli’s Literary Character, Vol. i. p. 146. See Abernethy’s Physiological Lectures, p. 193, for a list of the Mollusca anatomized and exhibited in Hunter’s Museum ; also p. 217, 263. 260 History of Conchology. of Cuvier’s labowrs was happily very different. In 1788, when he was scarcely nineteen years of age, circumstances fixed Cuvier for a time at Caen in Normandy. His sojourn on the borders of the sea indu- ced him, already an enthusiast in natural history, to study marine ani- mals, more especially the mollusca, and the anatomies of them which he now made conducted him to the developement of his great views on the whole of the animal kingdom. With unwearied zeal he col- lected the materials which were at no distant date to become the basis of a classification which run through all its details in a harmo- nious parallelism with the developement of organization, so that the student of it when in search of the name and place of the object in his hand was necessitated simultaneously to acquire a knowledge of its principal structural peculiarities, on which, again, as Cuvier beautifully explained, all its habits in relation to food, to habitation, and to locomotion were made dependant. The Linnzan system of avertebrated animals, even in its primary sections, rested on a single external character. The Insecta were antennulated, and the Vermes were tentaculated avertebrates. Had the character been constant or even general, it might have kad some claim for adoption, but to a want of constancy was added the fundamental defect of its imap- preciable influence over the organisms of the body. Cuvier’s object being to give us not merely a key to the name, but to make that key open at the same time a knowledge of the structure and relations of the creature, such arbitrary assumption of a character was to him useless. After innumerable dissections had made him familiar with many structures, and after a careful consideration of the respective value of characters, as shown in their constancy and influence on the economy of the species, Cuvier, resolved to divide the animal king- dom, not as hitherto into two, but into four principal sub-kingdoms, drawing their lines of separation from differences exhibited in the plan on which their muscular, their nervous, and their circulating systems were formed. “ There exist in nature,” he says, “fowr prin- cipal forms, or general plans, according to which all animals seem to have been modelled, and the ulterior divisions of which, whatever name the naturalist may apply to them, are but comparatively slight modifications, founded on developement or addition of certain parts, which do not change the essence of the plan.” Of these forms the mollusca furnish the second, of which the essential character is de- rived from the peculiar arrangement of the nervous system, consist- ing of some ganglions scattered as it were irregularly through the body, and from each of which nerves radiate to its various organs. As there is no skeleton, so the muscles are attached to the skin, History of Conchology. 261 which forms a soft contractile envelope protected, in many species by a shell. The greater number possess the senses of taste and sight, but the last is often wanting. “Only one family can boast of the organ of hearing; they have always a complete system of circulation, and organs peculiarly adapted to respiration ; those of digestion and secretion are nearly as complicated as the same organs in vertebrated animals.”* The sub-kingdom, characterized and limited by those im- portant features, is next divided into six classes, the characters of which are mostly derived from the organs of locomotion, or others not less influential. Thus the Cephalopodes bear their feet and arms like a coronet round the summit of the head; the Pteropodes swim in their native seas by fin-like oars ; and the Gasteropodes crawl on the belly by means of a flat disk or sole. Reaching now tribes among whom the organs of motion are less developed, and accordingly less influential on their manners, Cuvier resorts to others. Thus the fourth class is named Acéphales, because it is strikingly distinguished by the want of head and amorphous form of its constituents ; the Brachiopodes are equally acephalous, but near the mouth they have two fringed fleshy organs which simulate feet; and the Cirropodes have several pairs of subarticulated fringed feet, in addition to a multi- valved shell of a peculiar construction. The orders of these classes, when the class admits of further subdivision, rest upon distinct dif- ferences in the structure and position of the branchiz or respiratory organs ; and when we reflect a moment on the paramount necessity of these to the animal, and their necessary co-adaptation to its locali- ty and wants, it is scarcely possible to conceive that a happier choice could have been made. It were unsuitable to our purpose to explain at greater length the Cuvierian system. Enough has been said to show its vast superiori- ty to all that had preceded it ; and the solidity of its basis is proved by the fact that the numerous recent discoveries in this department have not shaken it, or altered its principles. The lower divisions and sections have been improved and increased, the definitions have been rendered more technical and precise, but every method which has fol- lowed, both in its outline and main features, are merely modifications, and very slight ones, of Cuvier’s. He always regarded his labours in this field with peculiar satisfaction, and watched their offspring with some degree of jealousy, unwilling that the parentage should be either doubtful or divided. <“ It is well known,” he says, “ how much care and time I have devoted to the anatomy of the mollusca in general, * Memoirs of Cuvier by Mrs Lee, p. 107-9. VOL. II. No. 9. s 262 History of Conchology. and in particular to the knowledge of the naked mollusca. The de- termination of the class, its principal divisions and subdivisions, all re- pose upon my own observations, for the magnificent work of M. Poli aided me no further than by some descriptions, and some anatomies useful to my end, and these were confined to the multivalves and bi- valves. I have verified all the facts which that able anatomist has furnished me, and, as I think, have determined with more accuracy the functions of some organs. I have also sought to characterize the animals to which the principal forms of shells belong, and to classify these in accordance with the organization of their inhabitants, leaving the ulterior divisions of them into genera and subgenera, to those who devote themselves in particular to this kind of work.” * Did not our pages, on which we have already too much transgressed with this subject, forbid the attempt, we would gladly go on to trace the effects of Cuvier'’s example and views. It must suffice to say, that they raised the character of the conchologist, and gave a more philosophical tone to his pursuit ; they originated a new school, with better directed zeal, and a higher aim, and numbers became disciples when they saw that here as much satisfaction and profit was to be reapedasinthe study of almost any other class, for it may be laid down as an axiom that no branch of natural history, however apparently trifling, “ but may be ennobled by the manner in which it is pursued ; and when the student carries all its wonders back to the one Great Source, the smallest worm and the most beautiful of his cwn species will afford him subjects for the deepest contemplation.” For some years Cu- vier’s system, even in France, divided the favour of naturalists with the more artfully constructed one of Lamarck, remarkable for the precision and neatness of all its details, and its better adaptation to the purposes of the mere nomenclaturist ; and in Britain we knew little of Cuvier, until the peace of 1816 had restored a friendly corre- spondence between the men of science of Europe, and it was some years later still until his merits as a naturalist were appreciated, and his system began to weaken and dissolve our Linnean prejudices. To indicate the modifications which this system has been made to undergo in the hands of Lamarck, Gray, Blainville, Oken, Latreille, &c. is here impossible ;—the same with the improvements proposed on the arrangement of the Cephalopodes and Brachiopodes by Owen, of the Pteropodes by Sander Rang, of the pulmoniferous Gasteropo- des by De Ferrusac, of the Bivalves by Deshayes, and of the shelless Acephales by Savigny. We must pass over in the same silence the * Regne Animal, i. Pref. p. xxvi. History of Conchology. 263 anatomical and physiological discoveries which so remarkably distin- guish the few last years, and have given that fulness and perfection to the knowledge of molluscans which Linnzans were never weary of telling us was unattainable. Berkeley, Blainville, Bojanus, Carus, Chamisso, Deshayes, D’Orbigny, Dumas, Grant, Gray, Jacobson, Milne-Edwards, Muller, Owen, Lund, Sander Rang, Roux, Savigny, Sharpey, Unger, Vanbeneden, Armand de Quatrefages, Prevost,— to these naturalists our homage is justly due for their labours in this field, which, however, we should remember, was comparatively bar- ren, until Cuvier made evident its natural productiveness, and taught us to plough deeper in the soil. Such is a very hurried sketch of the history of a department of the animal kingdom, to which we confess our partiality, and to which the works placed at the head of this article are intended to introduce us. None of them come up to our ideas of what an ‘ Introduction’ ought to be, and in none of them will the student find a compendious view of the actual state of conchology in reference to the anatomy, physiology, economy, and systematic classification of its members. Blainville’s Manuel, indeed, is the only one which makes this pre- tence, and had it been complete (which it was not) at the date of its publication, subsequent discovery would now have rendered it defec- tive. It is, however, even in its plan and design discommendable as an introductory work. The division of it into two books, one appro- priated to the animals, and the other to the shells, seems to us un- fortunate, as tending to divide what ought ever to be studied in close connection ; and his plan of describing the anatomy of the organs i distinct and widely apart chapters, from the functions of them, is liable to the same objection. His chapters considered separately are dry and sketchy,—no spirit in his style, nor vigour in his delinea- tions, no wandering into pleasant digressions, no indulgence in higher and aberrant contemplations, when the wonders of structure—its beauties and singularities open upon him in such a manner as might seem enough “ to excitate the earthiest soul.” Indeed Blainville has made his book rather an exposition of his own views, and of his own system, than an introduction to what was known and done by others ; and as his system has not been adopted, nor his nomenclature ap- proved, the value of the work is thus much lowered to a student. With these deductions, however, he will find in it much information not accessible otherwise in so compendious a form,—a manual he will not often read, but which he must frequently consult. Sander Rang might, without a charge of immodesty, have inscrib- ed on his title-page, the “ parva sed apta” which Mr Swainson has, 264 History of Conchology. with so little propriety and a good deal of vanity, adopted. This excellent volume is an exposition of Cuvier’s system of molluscans» with such alterations and additions as recent discoveries seem to have rendered advisable and necessary. It contains a very ample charac- ter of the classes, orders, families, and genera, in which, as is becom- ing, the attention is principally directed to those exhibited by the living animal. He informs us that his materials were chiefly taken from the works of Adanson, Poli, Cuvier, and Blainville ; but from his proper study, and during his travels as an officer of marines, he had been able to compare their descriptions, made in general on dead spe- cimens, with the animal in life, and had hence been able to rectify -some errors and add new characters. The “ discours sommaire” con- tains a rapid but spirited and correct review of the exterior anatomy and principal internal viscera ; and throughout we have scattered no- tices on the habits of numerous species of great interest. Some of these we would have willingly transferred to our review, had: our space allowed ; and this is the less necessary as the volume ought to be in the hands of every conchologist. It is, however, too systema- tic in its plan to be considered elementary, for those details of struc- ture, function, and habits, which are not subservient to system, have been purposely excluded, while they must constitute the base of every introduction worthy of attention. The “ Genera” of Sowerby is just the opposite of Rang’s. The latter is a very small and a very cheap volume, the former is a work of large extent and great expence ; the one treats of living creatures, and in every page there is evidence of a warm enthusiasm in their study, the other concerns itself with the shell only, and the letter- press is sobered down to suit the gravity of science. Sowerby’s book is in fact intended rather for the collector of a cabinet of shells, than for the student of living mollusca, and to the geologist it is perhaps indispensable. The genera are carefully defined, and the limits of each exactly pointed out, and illustrated by a series of admirable fi- gures drawn from characteristic specimens. It is to be regretted that this work has been so long in course of publication, now we imagine some twelve or fourteen years,—for the incompleted state in which it is left detracts from its usefulness, and renders its consultation very irksome and inconvenient. We refrain from giving an opinion of Mr Swainson’s Elements, for humble critics are incompetent to estimate the worth of a pam- phlet which the author avows was written because he excells in the knowledge of the subject, and because he had not met with any in- troduction which his children would not hereafter have to unlearn / History of Conchology. 265 To this severity of censure his predecessors may naturally demur, and, perhaps, there is some ground for retaliation, but that is an affair be- tween themselves with which we need not meddle. To our children, or readers, we cannot for our part recommend the boastful “ Elements,” because we would wish them to be something better than amateurs, and to know something more of conchology than the names of the things they collect. The work is written in evident obedience to the adage—“ a great book is a great evil;’—and in 62 duodecimo pages we find an explanation of the few terms used in describing shells, a distribution of these after the quinary plan, not more success- ful than Oken’s was when he arranged them after the sacred number of four, with definitions of all the genera simply and neatly done, but the characters derived exclusively from the shells; and lastly a chap- ter on collecting, preserving, and arranging these bodies, and a plan of study. We shall defer our exposition of Mr Swainson’s system until the publication of “ the Conchological volume of Dr Lardner’s Cabinet of Natural History shortly to be published.” “‘ It is easier to refute error than to establish truth:” quoth the Rey. Mr Burrow with sententious profoundness, “ thus, the several writers who have dissented from the Linnean school have, indeed, satisfactorily pointed out some flaws in the great fabric of the ‘ Sys- tema Nature ;’ but in attempting to eradicate the faulty parts, and to supply their place more fitly, they have injured some of the main sup- ports, and have nearly involved the whole edifice in ruin. (Very pretty !)—The following pages are devoted to the task of facilitating the study of conchology, on the method of the Swedish naturalist ; and they are written under the firm persuasion, that a material change is dangerous even in speculative matters, when the principle has stood the test of general consent, and when the means of reaching perfection are not yet, or, perhaps, may never be, attainable.”—Such is the twaddle—and there is much more of the same sort of stuff— with which Mr B. recommends his ¢ Elements,’ containing, in this year A. D. 1836, nothing more than a dry unprofitable exposition of the Linnzan system, the spirit of which the author does not compre- hend. Living remote from “ public haunt,” and consequently in igno- rance of the progress of conchology among the metropolitan connois- seurs, we had concluded that the race of Linnzeans had become ex- tinct, but it seems we have erred in our haste, and that some of them are still in a living active state, for it were otherwise a sad prospect to his publisher were this reverend gentleman to be alone left lke “ The late-blown rose ** Lingering after all the rest.” 266 Fauna Japonica, &e. It is from a full conviction that such productions as the one before us lessen and degrade a favourite pursuit in the eyes of all rational men, and make it a laughing-stock to the satirical, that we feel cal- led upon to protest upon their being received as evidence touching the nature of our studies. So we willingly consign this one to our high- est shelf, where it shall remain to gather the dust that already co- vers, with a thick and undisturbed repose, the very similar volumes ‘of Mr Brookes and Captain Brown, and the “ exquisite Conchologist’s Companion” of Miss Mary Roberts, who, however, sometimes enlivens her pages with a sort of quixotical sentimentalism and a blundering absurdity that provokes a smile ;—and thus only doth she surpass her competitors. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. Fauna Japonica. Auctore Pu. Fr. De Sirso~tp.—Ophidii ela- borantibus C. J. Temminck et H. Scutecer. Fol. Lugduni Batav. Tue Erpetologie of Japan has hitherto been sparingly illustrated. The present number of this interesting work, commencing the Ophi- di, is therefore an important addition to our knowledge of the natu- ral history of the Japanese empire. Former naturalists have borne testimony that that department of the Fauna was very circumscribed, and the present researches, in the words of Temminck and Schlegel, have preduced “ collections a la verité riches en individus, mais ou les espéces sont toujours bornées a un nombre tres-limité.” The spe- cies here described are only ten in number : 3 species of Coluber, 2 of Tropidonatus, 1 Trigonocephalus, and 4 Hydrophis. The plates are lithographic and nicely executed, but uncoloured; hence all the ge- neric characters, and the expression of the scaling are distinctly seen, while we have to regret the want of those vivid tints which gene- rally adorn the exterior of these creatures. A part of the introductory portion of the whole work is also given, which we shall notice more in detail at an early period. A Synopsis of the Birds of Australia and the adjacent Islands. By Joun Goutp, F.L. S. Part II. Royal 8vo. 1837. The second number of this peculiarly managed work has just been forwarded to us. It equals its predecessor in the beauty of its finish- ing, and we have illustrations of the characters of forty species, com- prised in the genera Monarcha, Amadina, Pardalotus, Platycercus, Nanodes, Meliphaga, Acanthorhynchus, (a genus formed from the 4 Catalogue of Flowerless Plants of Great Britain. 267 Meliphaga tenuriostris of Vig. and Horsf. ;) Coturnix, Hemipodius, gialitis, (a name proposed by Vieillot for a family among the Gral- latores, here used as a generic title for the form of Charadrius re- presented by the little ring-dotterel Ch. hiaticula ;) Himantopus, of which the species described, H. palmatus, Gould, is extremely interest- ing, as exhibiting a complete palmation or web between the toes, and thus running into the avosets, Recurvirostra, Oxyura, and Sterna. Catalogue of the Cellulares or Flowerless Plants of Great Britain, or those included in the Linnean class Cryptogamia ; compiled from Sir W. J. Hooker’s English Flora, Vol. V.; Sir J. E. Smith’s English Flora, Vol. [V.; Mackay’s Flora Hibernica ; Henslow’s Catalogue of British Plants, and other sources. By W. A. Lricu- ton, B. A., F. B.S. Ed. 8vo. London, Longman, 1837. This sheet, as indicated by the title, is a mere catalogue, which has been deemed necessary on account of “ the increased and increasing study of the Cryptogamic tribes.” It is intended to facilitate the in- terchange of species, to afford a convenient index for the herbarium, and, if interleaved, to serve as a book for memoranda, regarding some of the rarer species. For the above purposes this catalogue cannot fail to be useful, and, being printed on a single large sheet, it can be transmitted by mail at the charge of a single postage, and afterwards cut and folded, as its possessor may find most convenient. The price of the sheet is sixpence. A History of British Birds, Indigenous and Migratory, including their organization, habits, and relations, remarks on Classification and Nomenclature ; an account of the principal organs of birds, and observations relative to practical Ornithology. Illustrated by numerous engravings. By Witit1am Maceitiivray. Vol. I. 8vo. London, 1837. The work bearing the above title is a thick octavo volume of 631 pages, having for its object “ to lay before the public, descriptions of the birds of Great Britain, more extended and, if possible, more cor- rect than any previously offered.”* We do not wish to appear unne- cessarily critical regarding the manner in which Mr Macgillivray has accomplished this object, but we should not act fairly to our subseri- bers were we to say that it is done successfully. The writing ap- pears to us an affected attempt to imitate the styles of Isaac Walton and of Audubon, which, being extremely peculiar, can only be relished " Preface. 268 History of British Birds. in the originals,;—and here, as in the case of similar imitations, we desiderate their freshness, and dislike the misplaced quaintness of ex- pression. It appears trifling, while the meaning is by no means dis- tinctly conveyed. The incidental remarks and digressions liberally dispersed through the volume, (often totally irrelevant to the sub- ject, see p. 125,) are sometimes expressed scarcely with a kindly feeling, and seem to show an inclination to undervalue the opinions of others when a unison of ideas cannot be found. This book is composed of two parts: The first, introductory ; the second commences the history of the birds themselves belonging to four of the orders, which our author has thought necessary to form on principles of his own, and which are “ doubtless excellent and ad- mirable in the eyes of their inventor.” The introductory portion * contains, first, “ remarks on classifica- tion and nomenclature,” and “ samples” of systems are given in out- lines of those of Linnzus and Vieillot. Next fellows an exposition of our author's own system. This is “ primarily divided into four groups, sections, or sub-classes, determined by their mode of life,” and they come in the place of the familiar divisions of “ land and water birds.’t They are, I. Aérial birds, Aves Aérize or Volitorie ; II. Ter- restrial, Aves Terrestres or Ambulatoriz ; III. Amphibious or wading, Aves Littorales or Grallatorize ; IV. Aquatic birds, or Natatoriz. These again are separated into no fewer than Nineteen Orders, each section containing four, except the second, in which seven have been placed. We cannot consider this system more simple or comprehen- sive than many of its predecessors, and we do not think the nomen- clature improved by the introduction of sectional or generic titles, such as, Volitatores, Deglubitores, Raptatores, Palpatores, &c. or in another language, of Plunderers, Cooers, Huskers, Gropers, Probers, &c. &c. ; but “ methods spring up and die like mushrooms, and for the same reason; they are composed of flimsy and unsub- stantial materials easily elaborated.” Of the concluding part of the introduction, “ Remarks on the structure of birds,” we havea higher opinion. It is a subject interest- ing from the little attention which has hitherto been given to it, par- ticularly in this country, and from the great importance which the knowledge of structure is in our generalizations upon the func- tions of the different parts, and the economy and habits of the indivi- duals. This part, though short, is well done. The anatomy is con- “ Introduction, p. 15. + Ibid, p. 16. + Ibid, p. 19. Report on Percheron’s Bibliographie Entomologique. 269 cisely detailed, without any of the affectedness of style which we dis- like so much elsewhere, and it is illustrated by nine engravings well wrought from the pencil of the author, exhibiting views of the oste- ology, the muscular arrangement, and the digestive organs in the principal divisions. The second part of the book, occupying 500 pages, is devoted to the history of four of the orders “ Rasores, Scrapers. Gemitores, Cooers. Deglubibitores, Huskers. Vagatores, Wanderers.” ‘This de- scription or historical part wants condensation ; it is much too length- ened, without bringing together the information which is really of use to the student of British ornithology. It is illustrated by wood- cuts of most of the parts which are essential in the system, as generic, many of which are well drawn and executed. We are treated also with “ Practical Ornithology,” in chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4, but these lessons we dislike im toto, both in substance and in spirit. Report by MM. De Blainville, Isidore Geoffroy. and Dumeril, on M. Percheron’s work entitled Bibliographie Entomologique. Those who particularly devote themselves to the study of one branch of natural history, have a great interest in becoming acquaint- ed with the works already published on the special object of research or observation with which they are occupied. Accordingly the great- er part of authors make it a rule to indicate in general works the sources whence they have derived their information, and are careful at the same time to arrange their citations in chronological order. M. Percheron, who has long been assiduously engaged in the study of insects, on some genera of which he has already published some very good monographs, such as those on Cetonia and Passalus, has strongly felt the necessity of arranging the works from which he ob- tained useful intelligence, in a series according to their dates. He had accordingly drawn up at first for his own use, a catalogue of all the entomological books whose titles he had become acquainted with, and undertook laborious researches to ascertain as many as possible : this he conceived it would be of advantage to the science, and to those who cultivate it, to publish for general use. He has made it his object to inscribe all the writings relating to insects, considered under the different relations of form, structure, classification, manner, habits, utility, injuries, &c. in a word, all the works on entomology. Such is the work which M. Percheron is about to publish, and of which all the sheets hitherto printed have been examined by the above-named commissioners. It is a simple catalogue, in alphabetical order, of the names of authors, with the indication of the complete 270 Report on M. Percheron’s Bibliographie Entomologique. title of their works, the date of their publication, and, where that was practicable, a notice of the period and the place of the birth and death of these naturalists. Unfortunately these simple indications contain no abridged notice of the contents of these works, and are unaccompani- ed with critical observations, yet such additions are of great interest on account of the judgments which they embrace. After this first part of the work, which forms nearly three-fourths or a volume and a half, the author has drawn up a table of the ar- ticles in the order of the subjects and chronology ; this is divided into chapters. The first comprehends the names of the authors who have written on insects, but under certain points of view only, such as the damages they may occasion, which our author names their nocibility ; then in relation to their utility in agriculture, in the arts, in medicine, or in the general economy of nature, regarded in a philo- sophical manner. The second chapter indicates the books which treat of insects in regard to their general natural history, zoological or entomological. It is here that we find inserted travellers, museo- graphers, micrographers. ‘The third and last chapter makes us ac- quainted with the works which have treated of insects exclusively, such as memoirs relating to the formation and preservation of ento- mological museums ; the generalities of their modes of life and meta- morphoses ; special works on the anatomy, physiology, and classifica- tion of insects; such as contain only observations on their different countries ; and finally, all the works which have treated of the orders in particular, whether relating to all the genera, or those of some par- ticular country, or such productions as have appeared under the title of monographs. Such is the order in which the name of every author is here inserted and repeated according to the date of publi- cation. We cannot disguise the fact, that the execution of this Biblhiographie still leaves something to be desired, for we have remarked in it seve- ral important omissions, and we find books and memoirs inserted which have no relation to insects. However, the work may be of great benefit to entomologists: it will no doubt greatly facilitate their re- searches, and really promote the ulterior progress of the study of that branch of natural history.* * Comptes rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l Academie des Sciences, 6th February 1837. Transactions of the Leeds Philosophical Society. 271 TRANSACTIONS AND PERIODICALS—British. Transactions of the Philosophical and Literary Society of Leeds, consisting of papers read before the Society. Vol. I. Part I. 8vo. Longman & Co. London. 1837. Before noticing this volume, it may be satisfactory to our readers to be informed of the progress of the Society whose Transactions it proposes to detail. The following sketch was forwarded to us for in- sertion in our last Number, but circumstances prevented us then availing ourselves of the kindness of its author. “In Leeds, above forty years ago, a Philosophical Society was established, which consisted of only a small number of members, and of whose proceedings norecords remain. Amongst the number, two names have come down to us, Dr Priestley and William Hey, Esq. F. R. S. The society, however, did not meet with that support which its found- ers had expected, and, like many similar ones, gradually fell off, and became extinct. It is perhaps not too much to conjecture, that, al- though we have no certain or regular minutes of their meetings, yet at some of these, the splendid discoveries of Dr Priestley might have had their origin, and that, in consequence of some discussion, he might have been stimulated to make experiments, which, but for such dis- cussion, would never have been made. When the Doctor left Leeds, he was succeeded at the Mill Hill Chapel by the Rev. William Wood, F. L. S., &c., whose name as a botanist and general naturalist is well known. He was author of Zoographia, and for some time con- ducted the natural history department in the Annual Review, as well as many of the articles on botany in Rees’s Cyclopedia. Mr Wood died in 1809, from which period, for many years, there does not appear to have been any attempt, either individually or jointly, to promote scientific pursuits,—at least, if such were the case, it is now forgotten. In the autumn of 1818, however, a reaction began to be manifest, and a letter appeared in the Leeds Mercury, signed Leodiensis, suggesting the formation of a Philosophical Society. The proposal was received with approbation by a number of intelligent and public-spirited individuals, and a meeting was held at the Court- House, December 11, 1818, to concert measures, with a view to the accomplishment of so desirable an object. The venerable William Hey, Esq., whose memory will ever be associated with the history of the intellectual, religious, and local interests of Leeds, presided on the occasion, when, after a protracted discussion in reference to the ob- ject and scope of the projected institution, it was resolved that a so- 272 = Transactions of the Leeds Philosophical Society. ciety should be founded on the most ‘comprehensive principles, and should include all branches of science and literature, excluding all topics connected with politics, religion, and ethics. Fora short time the meetings were held in the Court-House, after which a subscription was opened for the erection of a suitable building, which, in a few months, amounted toa sum so considerable as to justify the purchase of land, and the commencement of other active operations. The first stone was laid by Benjamin Gott, Esq. the 9th of July 1819, at the south-east corner of the present handsome edifice, and underneath it were deposited several coins of the reign of George III. The pro- gress of the building was slower than had been anticipated, in conse- quence of unavoidable circumstances. It was soon discovered that the sum originally specified as adequate to its completion was insufii- cient for that purpose, and the work was consequently at a stand. The munificent spirit of Benjamin Gott and John Marshall, Esqs., which reflects equal honour upon those respected individuals and the town to which they belong, interposed with a noble alacrity to extricate the ris- ing institution from the alarming dilemma in which it appeared to be placed. These gentlemen generously took each five additional L. 100 — shares, and by that seasonable effort of liberality, relieved the society from the difficulties which threatened it. The first meeting of the first session was held on April 6, 1821, on which occasion the late C. T. Thackrah delivered an introductory essay. This has since heen printed for the society. The building is of stone, with two fronts, and sur- rounded with pallisadoes, and consists of a lecture-room, laboratory, li- brary-room, waiting-room, entrance hall, and resident curator’s apart- ments on the first floor, above which are threeapartments, one devoted to geology and mineralogy, in whichare arranged about 4000 specimens of minerals and fossils, —the former arranged according to their chemi- cal affinities after Phillips,—the latter according to the stratification after Smith. The nucleus of these collections were principally the gifts of one of its late curators, E. S. George, F. L. S.—The minerals were a few years since considerably augmented by an extensive purchase of the sale of Sir Alexander Crichton’s minerals, by which very fine specimens were added of malachite, chromate of lead, Vauquelinite, Lapis lazuli, emerald, tourmaline, garnets, &c. One of the gems of the collection is an erolite or meteoric stone weighing 1 lb. 70z. which fell at Aigle, in the department of Orne, France. The geological de- partment, although containing some very fine and unique specimens, is very far from what it should be, considering the vast facilities offered by the coal-pits and stone quarries so numerous in the immediate vi- cinity, abounding as they do with organic remains. With such advan- 3 Z'ransactions of the Leeds Philosophical Society. OM: tages at its disposal, the Leeds collection ought to possess one of the finest series of carboniferous remains in the kingdom. Such a series could only be formed by the united labour of several individuals inte- rested in the science, who would visit the localities, of which, however, in most provincial institutions, there are unfortunately but few,—the majority contributing to the funds, but prevented by mercantile affairs or other pursuits from giving their time to the fagging department. Amongst the specimens are two uniqueheads of Megalicthys Hibberti, anda portion of its body ; many fine Calamites, Asterophyllites, Lepido- dendra, Sigillariz, Lepidostrobi, Pecopteri and Equiseti, from the coal measures ; a Sigilaria nine feet in height, from the sandstone near Wakefield ; remains of Ichthysosauri from Whitby ; fine mass of Ophiura Milleri from Scarbro’ ; bones of the Mammoth of the banks of the Ohio ; splendid lily encrinite from the Dutchy of Brunswick ; a tolerably good series of shells from the calcaire grossiere of the Paris basin, besides illustrations of the organic remains of the moun- tain limestone, Kelloway rock, coralline oolite, chalk crag, &c. The second room 43 feet by , and 20 in height, surrounded by a gallery, is devoted to zoology, the first nucleus for which was a collection of 135 species of British birds, by the liberality of its first and lamented curator, John Atkinson, F. L. 8. Surgeon. To the orni- thological department, considerable accessions have since been made, both foreign and British. Amongst the most attractive are, per- haps, a case of South American birds from Charles Waterton, Esq. the well known author of the Wanderings, a specimen of the rare Trogon Pawvoninus, Trinidad goatsucker, king of the vultures, ostrich, Argus pheasant, and several of the Rhamphastide. The collection of Mammalia, like that in most provincial museums, is but small. It contains, however, a very fine skull of the Asiatic elephant, a wild boar, lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, Polar and brown bear, wolf, kan- garoo, seals, head of the walrus, porcupine, several simiz, examples of the genera Galeopithecus, Dasypus, Ornithorynchus, Nasuta, Di- delphis, Procyon, Bradypus, &c. The fish are nearly all in spirits, and principally from the Mediterranean. The greatest rarity is a specimen of the spiny shark, in a bad state of preservation, caught near Scarbro’, and which is, I believe, the only British example in the kingdom. ‘There is also a fine sturgeon, 9 feet in length, caught near Selby, and a specimen of Malthe vespertilio. The department of comparative anatomy is very limited, consisting of about thirty skeletons of animals, birds, and fishes, and a highly interesting series of forty-two wet and dry preparations, exhibiting the anatomy and phy- slology of the genus Limaz. Among the invertebrate tribes, the 274 Transactions of the Leeds Philosophical Society. museum possesses some interesting examples of the different classes of the Zoophytes. The most prominent is a specimen of Meandrina labyrinthica, weighing 16 stone: of the Pteropods, there is Cymbu- lia Peronii: of Gasteropods, Glaucus Scyllea, Doris, Aplysia: of Echinodermata, there are Sipunculus, Holothuria, several genera of the Echinides, Asteria, Ophiura, Buryale verrucosa and Comatula: of Acalepha, Actinea and Physalia, &c. The insects, which occupy nearly two glass-covered tables, include some rare and beautiful ex- amples of the orders, and are arranged according to the system of Dr Leach, which was the most popular at the time, uniting the exotics and natives in the same case, the better to keep up the chain of affi- nity, and exhibit the gradual approximation of one form to another. The Crustacea are arranged also according to the views of that lament- ed naturalist. The shells according to Lamarck, which three depart- ments, although not numerous, are highly respectable ones. The third room contains antiquities, works of art, and the dresses, &c. of uncivilized nations. The object of principal interest in this room is a very fine mummy of a priest, who lived during the reign of Ra- messes V. upwards of 3000 years since, in a remarkably high state of preservation, enclosed in a coffin of elaborate workmanship. The head is bare, probably in conformity with the rites of priesthood. The pupils are distinctly visible in the orbits, and during an examination of the skull a few years since, the dura mater with its falx, was found to be quite perfect, the brain having been extracted through the nos- trils, by breaking down the ethmoid bone. ‘The muscles are by no means dry, but, on the contrary, allowed of being dissected, and the sciatic nerve traced. An account of this mummy was published by the Society five or six years since. ‘There are also some curious re- mains of Terra cotta, from Cuzco, the ancient capital of Peru, toge- ther with some human skulls from the same spot. These have a sin- gular appearance, from being artificially flattened on the right side and top towards the back part. The library has never created that-in- terest which such a feature of the institution must have been expect- ed to do, and, consequently, is not extensive, containing only about 600 volumes on the various branches of science, with the transactions of public bodies and journals of the day. Here is also deposited the chemical, electrical, and galvanic apparatus. The Society consists of about 67 proprietors, 125 ordinary members, and 100 subscribers ; the first, having paid L. 100 towards the erection of the building, are shareholders, with the power of transferring or bequeathing the share, and exempt from all annual subscriptions and fines; the ordinary members, those who hold a three guinea share, with an annual sub- Transactions of the Leeds Philosophical Society. 275 scription of two guineas; and the last, subscribers annually of one guinea, having no interest in the property of the Society, or voice in its deliberations. Meetings are held the first and third Fridays in every month, from November to May, inclusive, for the reading of papers and essays by the members, to which each has the power of admitting astranger. In addition thereare annually two or three courses of lectures, by some public lecturer of eminence, amongst whom there have been Dr Dalton, Professor Grant, Professor Phillips, James Montgomery, Esq. Edward Taylor, Esq. &c. From the commence- ment of the Society 240 papers have been read on various branches of literature and science. The private collections in Leeds are, first, a valuable museum of Natural History, &c. in Commercial Street, the property of Mr John Calvert, admission ls.;—very extensive collections of shells, corals, and minerals, belonging to Miss Banks and Miss Rhodes ;—the col- lection of comparative and human anatomy, belonging to the Leeds School of Medicine, and a collection of comparative anatomy and Natural History, especially of the Invertebrata, belonging to Mr Teale.” H. D. The well “ got-up” volume before us is the first part of a proposed se- ries of Transactions, and it gives us pleasure to know that the circum- stances of the Society are now so prosperous as to enable it to publish a portion of the valuable papers which haveand may hereafter come before it. From the abstract of the papers read since 1819, given in a short introduction to the volume, we perceive that the leaning of the great proportion of its members is more towards literary pursuits than the study of zoology and botany. Nevertheless, there is a fair propor- tion of papers devoted to interesting subjects in both these branches. Wehavenow printed “ on the Bed of the Mississippi, by the late JoHn Luccock, Esq., read in November 1824, prepared from a personal knowledge of the course of the river obtained in a lengthened journey made in the previous year.” An interesting paper in favour of the theory of the gradual corrosion or wearing of the barriers which stem the great common lakes, with the author's opinion of the former pro- bable extent of water on the surface of the now existing North Ame- rican continent. On the varieties of water, by Witt1am West, read November 1829. A description of the internal structure of various Limaces, found in the neighbourhood of Leeds, by THomas NuNNELEY, read November 1834 : illustrated by seven plates lightly but distinctly executed. Abstract of a notice of certain Roman Coin Moulds, by Joun Hey. On the Anatomy of Actinea cori- 276 Magazine of Natural History, §¢. acea, by THomAS PripGin TEALE. On Aleyonella stagnorum by the same author—both good papers. Of the latter we have alrea- dy had occasion to speak in a former Number of this Journal. Four plates are devoted to the illustrations of these papers.——On the Yorkshire Coal-field, by Mr Epwarp S. Groreg, F. L.S., read No- vember 1836. Loudon’s Magazine of Natural History. New Series. May and June 1837. I. Zoology. SHucKARD on Generic Nomenclature, p. 248. WEST WooD’s Observations in Reply to Mr Shuckard, p. 316. Briytea on the Reconciliation of certain apparent Discrepancies observable in the Mode in which the seasonable and progressive Changes of Colour are effected in the Fur of Mammalians and Feathers of Birds; with va- rious Observations on Moulting, p. 259 and 300. Dr Moore on the Climbing and Gallinaceous Birds of Devonshire, p. 227. Moore on the Wading Birds of Devonshire, p. 319.— Cuar es- wortH’s Notice of the Teeth of Carcharias megalodon in the Red Crag of Suffolk, p. 225. On the Structure of the Fossil Saurians, p- 284. Westwoop’s Description of a new Genus of British pa- rasitic Hymenopterous Insect, p. 257. J. E. Gray on the en- largement of the Eggs of some marine Molluscans during the period of their hatching, p. 247. II. Botany. . Birp on the Existence of electric Currents in Vegetable Struc- tures, p. 240, and p. 293. Brown on the Preservation of Bota- nical Specimens from the attacks of Insects, p. 311. Companion to Botanical Magazine. By Sir W. J. Hooker, Pro- fessor of Botany in the University of Glasgow. THE continuation of this work from our last notice, p. 87, contains, first, A sequel to the illustrations of Indian Betany by Wricut and ARNOT, with a plate of Acalypha Alnifolia. New Ceylonese Me- lastomacee, by G.A. W. Arnot. The species described were collect- ed by Colonel Walker, and transmitted to Drs Hooker and Graham. Seven species of Sonerila, and the same number of the Genus Osheckia. Characters of new species of Indian Acanthacez, by Professor Cu. Gottrr. Nees Von ESENBECK. Synopsis of the East Indian species of Drosera and Parnassia, by G.A. WALKER ARNOT. Notes on a collection of plants made in the Province of Asturias, in the year Companion to Botanical Magazine. 277 1835 by M. Durien, by N. I. Wincu, Esq. &c. This is continued into the following number, with remarks on the distribution of each species to Britain and Ireland. 412 species are noticed in whole, of which 162 belong to the Cryptogamia. Flore insularum nove Zelandiz precursor; or a specimen of the Botany of the Islands of New Zealand, by ALLAN CUNNINGHAM, Esq., continued from a former number, contains the Fucoidez, Lichenes, and Musci Calyp- trati. Remarks on M. Spach’s memoir on the Cistacez, a letter from Dr Lindley in defence of some allegations made upon that gentleman’s accuracy in a former paper. Botanical informa- tion :—1. A favourable notice of the Musci Angusiani, or a col- lection of the dried mosses of Angus and Forfarshire, preparing by Mr W. Garpiner Jun. Dundee, a work to be comprised in 7 or 8 12mo fasciculi, at the price of 3s. 6d. each. 2. Dr J. F. Lippold. We formerly mentioned the intention of this gentleman to proceed to Madeira with the view chiefly of collecting plants, but also to prepare other objects of natural history. A letter has been received from the Doctor intimating his safe arrival at the island, his friendly reception by Mr Lowe, and his delight in witnessing the luxuriance of vegeta- tion. Collections of plants are expected during June. It is not propos- ed that Dr Lippold should remain longer than the present summer at his present station, and his new expedition has not yet been fixed on; but we shall doubtless have due intimation of the time and the terms of subscription, through the worthy periodical we are now re- viewing. 3. Notice of the “ Herbarium of the late John D. Pres- cott, Esq. of St Petersburgh, an eminent merchant of that place, and who has lately died suddenly. His leisure hours were devoted to the study of plants and enriching his harbarium, which latter is perhaps exceeded by few in Europe, especially that portion of it relating to the Russian Empire.” It is warranted to contain 25,000 species, and is now offered for sale at the price of L. 1000. 4, The an- nouncement of the first arrival of dried Brazilian plants from Dr Gardner, who visited South America to collect species for subscrib- ers, accompanied by a long letter, which cannot fail to be most in- teresting to them, and to botanists in general. He was about to start for the Organ Mountains at the date of his dispatches, and an ac- count of the expedition and his degree of success may be shortly expected. by VOL. Il. No. 9. 278 Annales des Sciences Naturelles. TRANSACTIONS AND PERIODICALS.—Foreign. Annales des Sciences Naturelles. Zoologie, MM. Aupoutn et MILnE- Epwanrps. Botanique, MM. Av. BRonGnrart et GUILLEMIN. Crochard & Co. Paris, Octobre, Novembre, et Decembre 1836. I.— Zoology. The October Number begins with a continuation of Ducss’ in- teresting andelaborate Observations sur les Avranéides, which are now apparently brought to a close. The other papers are,—Note sur des animaux qui colorant en rouge les marais salans, par M. Payen. Examen des Crustaces rapportés dela saline de Marignane, par M AvupoulIn. Observations préliminaires sur existence dInfusoires fossiles et sur leur profusion dans la nature, par M. EHRENBERG. Du Fore des animaux sans veriebres en général, et particulierement sur celui de plusieurs Crustaces, par M. Duver- NOY. Analyse des trauvaue présentés a (Acad. des Sc. pendant le mois d’ Oct. 1836: viz. Notes sur quelques ossemens fossiles de l Alsace et du Jura, par DuveRnoy. Eixpériences sur Vélectri- cité de la Torpille, par M. Marrerucct. Expériences sur la Torpille, par M. Cottapon. The contents of the Number for November are— Observations Zoologiques sur les Pagures et description d'un nouveau genre de la tribu des Pagurtens, par M. M1tne-Epwarps. Quelques obser- vations d’ Helminthologie, par M. Cuaries LEBLonp. Enume- ration de quelques especes de Reptiles provenant de la Barbarie, par M. P. Gervais. Remarques sur UVévaluation de la Tem- perature de la surface du Globe pendant la période tertiaire, dapres la nature des debris organiques qui s'y rapportent, par M. E. Dr Beaumont.——-Analyse des travaux &c. viz. MM. BLAINvILLE et Duranp sur un chameau fossile. Lettres de M. Dusarvin sur. les Polypiers fossiles de la Crave. _ The Number for December is enriched with Mitne-Epwarps’ Observations sur les Polypiers fossiles du genre Eschare; and a notice, by the same eminent person, sur un nouveau genre de Poly- piers fossiles de la famille des Eschariens nommé Mélicérite. These papers are illustrated by a series of excellent figures. Carac- teres du genre Plagiodonte et description du Plagiodontia Adium, par M. F. Cuvier. One of the Glires, little less than a hare, and nearly allied to Capromys, from which it is generically distinguish- ed by some peculiarities in the structure of its teeth, which Cuvier fully details. The animals are called in Saint-Domingo ‘ Rat-Cayes,’ 3 Annales des Sciences Naturelles. 279 which signifies house-rats, whence the specific name: they do in- deed approach inhabited places, but only during the night, for they - shun the light of day. The male and female rarely separate. Their principal food consists of roots and fruit, and, like all the frugivo- rous Glires, they are very good for the table ; and the Haitians, who are fond of dainties, search after them so carefully that the house- rat has now become very rare. Notice sur quelques Parasites et produits organiques du Lombric terrestre pour servir a sa physio- logie, par M. Suriray. Additions au Mémoire de M. Duczs sur les Araneides. Analyse des travaux, &c. pendant le mois de Decembre: viz. Rapport de M. Dumeri sur plusieurs mémoires concernant diverses espéces d’insectes par M. Roprneau Desvoipy. Rapport sur un mémoire de M. Desuayes intitulé, Observa- tions générales sur le genre Belemnite, par M. DE BuarnviLue. Des Rapports de la teratologie avec les sciences anatomiques et zoologiques, par M. Isrp. GEorrroi St Hrnarre. Recherches sur les rapports qui existent entre les propriétés nutritives de di- verses substances végétales et la proportion d’azote qui entre dans leur composition, par M. Boussingautr. Rapport sur un mé- moire de M. Rozninreau Desvorpy, ayant pour titre, ‘ Sur des che- nilles qui ont vécu dans les intestins de /homme, qui y ont subi leur mue et qui en ont été expulsées vivantes par l’estomac, par M. Du- MERIL.’ I].— Botany. Octobre.— Observatious sur la propagation des Algues, par J. AGARDH,—the son of the celebrated Swedish algologist, whose fame he promises to extend and increase. The following are the inferences which Agardh deduces from the observations detailed in this excel- lent essay :—I1°. The division of the Alge into the articulated and inarticulated, hitherto adopted in all classifications, is inapplicable in the present state of our knowledge of them, and destroys the most marked affinities.—2°. If it is wished to distribute the Algz into two more natural groups, the following may be substituted : a. LoosPpERME& (JVostochinee, Oscillatorinee, Confervee, Conjugate, Eecio- carpee, Ulvacee, et Siphonee.) Materia granulosa interna uniuscujusque loculi (cellule, articuli vel tubi) frondem consituentis, tandem in fructi- ficationem abeunte ; sporidiis maturitate motu praeditis, et singulis locu- lis per porum unicum egredientibus, demum per extentionem evolutis.— Viridescentes, incolw precipue aque dulcis, marisque minus salsi (in ‘scrobiculis sinubusque, rarissime in aperto vel profundiori mari. ) b. FucoiwE® (Ceramiee, Floridea, auct. Sphacellariee, et Fucoidee, Ag.) Fructificatione vel receptaculis propriis inclusa vel soris plus minus ex- tensis frondi immersis collecta, Sporis locomotivitate destitutis, ger- 280 Annales des Sciences Naturelles. minatione per membranam exteriorem novos utriculos emittentibus.— Rosez et olivacew, omnes thalassiophyt, illa maris aperti et profundi- oris potissimum incol, he sinubus tranquillioribus (apud nos, an sem- per ?) plerumque prive. 3°. The movement of the sporules is not limited to the fresh-water Algz, nor is it common to all Cryptophytes. It does not depend on any external circumstances, but on the contrary, is intimately con- nected with the vital phenomena of all the beings in which it is ob- served. It is not the expression of an animal life, although it has the appearance of this; and we ought not to compare it with the movements observed in the Diatomaceze.—4°. Both kind of organs of fructification of the Floridee are capable of propagating the spe- cies, and the one is never the rudiment or the young state of the other.—5°. The Algze never grow from the reunion of several seeds, but each seed (seminule) produces its own individual.—6°. The theory of metamorphosis of modern algologists is based on facts which ought to be explained otherwise than they have yet been. The DurizI iter asturicum botanicum, anno 1835 susceptum, auctore J. Gay. Synopsis des Gerandiées, tribu des Scrophularinées, par M. G. BenTHAm, from the “ Companion to the Botanical Magazine.” Notice sur quelques cryptogames nouvelles, par J. DESMAZIER- ES. Observations sur les Diatomées, par M. pe BREBISSON. Note de M. Turpin, ajoutée aux observations de M. DE BREBISSON. This observer has discovered that the shell of the true Diatomacez is composed of silex, in which he has been anticipated by Ehrenberg, but his experiments are nevertheless very valuable, as confirmative of a discovery which has given origin to some curious researches on the composition and formation of tripoli and similar deposits. Description de VEuphrasia Jaubertiana, nouvelle espece du sous- genre Odontites, par A. BoREAU. Novembre. Organographie des Cistacées, par EpouARD SPACH. Quelques observations relatives aux genres Scilla et Ur- ginea,—deux genres a établir dans la famille des Liliacées, et descrip- tion d'une espéce nouvelle, par AD. STEINHEIL.— Sur le Lythrum alternifolium, par M. BorEAu. Sur la faculté que posséedent les plantes @absorber les infusions colorées par leurs racines, par J. G. Towers. Sur la faculté dabsorption attribuée aux spongioles des racines par M. KNiGurt. This and the preceding are trans- lations from the Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London. Note sur deux nouvelles espéces du genre Spitzelia, par M. C. H. SCHULTZ. Enumeration des plantes decouvertes par les voya- transformations of one species into another are illusory. American Journal of Sciences and Arts. 281 geurs, dans les Iles dela Société, principalement dans celle de Taiti, por J. B. A. GUILLEMIN. Decembre.— Notice sur les Plantes cryptogames récemment dé- couvertes en France, contenant aussi Vindication précise des locali- tés de quelques espéces les plus rares de la Flore Francaise, par C. MOonrTAGNE. Durraer iler Austuricum Botanicum, continued. ——Biasolettia et Kladnikia, deux nouveaux genres de la famille des Ombelliferes, par le Prof. Kocu. A translation from the ‘ Flora.’ ——Conspectus Monographie Cistacearum, auctore Epuarpo SPAcH. Rapport fait d Vv Académie des Sciences par MM. de MrreBeLt, Dutrrocuer, et Aug. pe Saint-HILaire, rapporteur, sur un Mémoire relatif a la structure et au développement des organes générateurs d'une espéce de Marsilea trouvée par M. Esprit FABRE dans les environs d’ Agde. American Journal of Sciences and Arts. Conducted by BENJAMIN Situman, M. D., LL.D. Vol. xxxii.No. 1. April 1837. New- haven. London agent, O. Rich. The April number of this long established and important Ameri- can periodical has just reached us, commencing the present year. The following is a condensed abstract of its zoological and botanical papers. I. Zoology. On the C&conomical uses of some species of Testacea, p. 53.—— History of the Mytilus Margaritiferus, Linn., Mya Margaritifera, Linn., and Pinna rotundata? Linn. These historical accounts are compiled from various sources, to which references are given. We may remark, however, that the fishing, if such it may be called, of the second species, the “ horse muscle,” is much more general in the north of Scotland than the author supposes, and the shell much more plentiful, literally paving the bottoms of some of the streams. In many parts they are gathered into large heaps and either rotted, or the pearl immediately extracted. We here aliude to what is pro- vincially termed the ‘“‘ Horse Muscle” as mentioned by the author of the paper. We are not so sure that it is the M. Margaritifera of Linn. This paper will be continued.——Notice of the Shad and Shad fisheries of the river Delaware, by Samuen Howeuxi, M.D. Nota scientific, but nevertheless an interesting paper. The shad (no scientific name for the fish is given) enters the Delaware for the purpose of spawning in prodigious numbers about the middle of March, and are fished in various ways, but chiefly by what are cal- 282 American Journal of Sciences and Arts. led « Gilling-Seines,” from taking the fish in the meshes by the gills. The river continues at its height until the beginning of May, and the season terminates about the 20th June. The annual amount taken by those seines and drift nets is calculated at about one million five hundred thousand, worth, at the usual price, about one hundred thousand dollars. The principal market is Philadelphia—We should like to see a scientific description of this fish with a little more detail given to his habits during the ascent of the river. We would recommend also the examination of the liquid contents of the stomach, which is said to contain nothing solid, with a high magni- fying power.——Description of a new Trilobite, by Jacon GREEN, M. D., p. 167. Calymena phlyctzinodes, Green, considered analo- gous to the C. variolaris of Dudley in England. II. Botany. Account of an excursion to mount Katahdin, in Maine, by Profes- sor J. W. Baiuey, p. 20. The excursion seems to have been un- dertaken rather hurriedly, and the time at the disposal of the party was much too short. The country, however, was wild and interest- ing, and might furnish materials for a valuable paper, were the journey undertaken at leisure, and the members of the expedition active and enterprising, rigidly examining the mountain and its en- circling cypress swamps.——Remarks on the natural order Cycadez, with a description of the ovula and seeds of Cycas revoluta, Wild. by A. J. Downine, p. 45. A lithographic figure accompanies the paper. Theremarks chiefly refer to the impregnation of the female flowers, and the alliance of this family to the Conifere. There are several mineralogical and meteorological papers in this Number. [ 283 ] INTELLIGENCE. ZOOLOGICAL. Irish Hare, (Lepus Hibernicus, Yarrell.)—Mr Yarrell was, I be- lieve, the first zoologist who observed that a considerable difference existed in the external character of the Irish and common hares. His account will be found in the proceedings of the Zoological So- ciety for July 23, 1833, since which time Mr Bell, in his History of British Quadrupeds, has described both of them, characteriz- ing the Irish hare under the name of L. Hibernicus. I am not, however, aware that any observations on the anatomical distinc- tions of the two species have been made public, With a view, there- fore, of filling up the blank to a certain degree, this paper is written. On placing the skeletons of the two species in juxtaposition, the most obvious distinguishing characters are the greater size altogether of the skeleton, the greater length of the lateral processes of the lumbar vertebra, the superior breadth of the scapula, the greater breadth of the ribs, the greater length of the humerus in proportion to that of the ulna, (which is scarcely longer than in the common hare,) together with the much larger size of the cranium and in- ferior maxillary bones in the Irish hare.. These differences would probably distinguish it as a species distinct from the common hare, did no other characters exist. In the numbering of the vertebre and ribs they do not differ, ex- cept as to the caudal ones, which in the Irish hare are 13, and in the English 16; the sacral in both are 4, the lumbar 7, the dorsal 12, and cervical 7, making the total number in the Irish hare 43, and in the common hare 46. The ribs in each species are 12. The males of both species are smaller than the females in all their admeasurements. The intes- tinal canal is in the male of the Irish hare nearly two feet shorter than in the female. The following table will shew the relative measurements in the female of each species, of some of the principal bones, and of the intestinal canal. L. timidus, F. L. Hibernicus, F. Length of the intestinal canal from sto- mach to anus, = 3 14 ft. J in. 18 ft. 6 in. Length from cecum to anus, = 3 6 Avian) - of cecum, = = OO iW nataney | 284 Soology. I.ength of humerus, = - a> in. 3,4; in. — ulna, ~ - 5S 35 ——- femur, - ; 45 4.5, ——_—— tibia, - - 4, 419 cranium, - - 335 Ve Breadth of cranium, - - 18, 1 —- scapula, = 5 13 i T. C. Eyton. Lutjanus rupestris—A specimen of this interesting fish has been taken on the coast of North Wales.—T. C. Ey ron. Clausiha Rolphii.—Specimens of this interesting British shell have been forwarded to me by my friend, Mr C. Finch, who dis- covered it in the old habitat, Charlton Wood, Kent, last May.— DANIEL CoopEr. Ehrenberg’s Infusoria.—In making a recent communication te the Academy of Sciences respecting the double nature of the organs of generation in the infusoria, M. de Humboldt announced that the great work of this author, on that singular class of animals, is very nearly completed, and will be published in a short time. It will contain engravings of 492 of the polygastric infusoria, and 163 of the rotiferee, from drawings made by M. Ehrenberg. Proposed New Work on American Skulls.—A work, to be entitled « Crania Americana; or a comparative view of the skulls of vari- ous aboriginal nations of North and South America,” is noticed in the last number of Silliman’s Journal, as having been for some time contemplated by Dr Samuel Morton. The work is proposed to be of a folio size, and to contain from twenty-five to thirty lithographic plates, on which “ at least fifty skulls will be represented, with such national, individual, and anatomical illustrations, as can be obtained in reference to each. The work will be preceded by an zntroduc- tion, embracing a general view of the five great races of men, and followed by an exposition of the probable origin of the American tribes.” Fossil footsteps in Sandstone and Graywacke.—Professor Hitch- cock has discovered in the valley of the Connecticut River, the im- prints of what he considers fourteen new species. Some bear so near a resemblance to the feet of living saurians, that they have been denominated Sauriodichnites. The Professor says, “ I have Botanical. 285 no certain evidence as yet that any of these impressions were made by four-footed animals, although, in respect to two or three species, I have strong suspicions that such was the fact. I have sometimes thought they might have been made by pterodactyles; yet they have in general fewer toes than those described by Cuvier and Buck- land. Within a few weeks past I have found on the flag-stones, in the city of New York, some marks, which I suspect were made by the feet of a didactylous quadruped, which, like the Marsupialia, moved by leaps. The rock is slaty graywacke, from the banks of the Hudson, between Albany and the Highlands.” Drawings of these marks, with the tracts of living birds, have been prepared, and will be published so soon as the localities are again examined.—Sil- liman’s Journal, Aprii 1837. BOTANICAL. Blysmus Compressus.—I was not aware, until informed by my friend, the Rev. W. Wood, that this plant had been found in the neighbourhood of London, (not having seen any station for it.) It is, however, most plentiful in a bog at Beddington Park gate, near Carshalton, Surrey.—DanieL Cooper. BorawnicaL Sociery oF Epinpureu, January 12th 1837.— Professor Graham in the Chair. The following members were elected :—Resident, Mr J. H. Branfoot, Mr R. Wilbraham Fal- coner, Mr George A. Martin, Mr J. W. Mudge, Mr John Percy, Mr Thomas R. H. Thomson, Mr Edward Wells. Non-Resident, The Right Hon. The Countess of Dalhousie, Dalhousie Castle ; Dr Allman, Dublin; Mr H. Baber, Trin. Coll. Cambridge; Dr Frederick Farre, London; Professor Henslow, Cambridge; Mr G. Quekett., London; Mr C. A. Stevens, Trin. Coll. Cambridge.— Specimens were stated by the Secretary to have been received since last meeting from Dr Alexander, Dr Macreight, Mr N. B. Ward, Mr Baber, Mr Stevens, Professor Henslow, Mr Babington, Mr Lloyd, Mr Mack, Mr Lindsay Carnegie, Dr Walker Arnott, Dr Van Rensselaer, Mr Veronge, Mr R. W. Falconer, Mr White, Mr Christy, Mr Munby, Dr Graham, Dr M‘Nab, Mr J. M«Nab, Mr Brand, Mr Stables, Mr Martin, and Dr Pollexfen.— Donations to the library were announced from David Steuart, Esq. and C. C. Babington, Esq. Mr Percy read an account of an excursion to the “ Jardin de la Mer de Glace” at Chamouni, which was made in July last, with the view of exploring the botany of that elevated spot in the Alps 286 Botanical. ° of Savoy. Mr Percy strongly recommended the Brezon, a moun- tain about fifteen miles from Geneva, to the attention of botanists who commence their excursions in Savoy, as it not only presents a great variety of alpine plants, but affords the greatest facilities for obtaining them. The “ Jardin” was described as consisting of a few exposed and almost naked masses of rock, occupying only a small triangular area, which is bounded by the “ Moraines” of the adjacent glaciers ; and the appellation “‘ garden” was stated to be merely applied by comparison with the desert around. An enume- ration was given of 33 Phancgamous and 6 Cryptogamous species, which were collected at the Jardin, from an elevation of 9000 feet above the level of the sea. Mr Campbell read a letter from Mr R. Ball, Dublin, to Sir W. J. Hooker, mentioning that Erica vagans had been discovered by Dr Burkett, on an islet on the coast of Waterford, near Tramore in Ireland. Dr Barry exhibited specimens of the plants collected by him in his ascent of Mont Blanc, 16-18th September 1834. A list of the plants collected by Dr Barry, so far as named, was communi- cated by him; dividing them first, into those from below the snow line, which was stated to be in that Lat. 8000 feet above the sea ; and, second, those from the Grand Mulet rock, about 9000 feet above the sea, or nearly 2000 feet above the line of perpetual snow. The Curator, Mr J. M