Skip to main content

Full text of "Annals and magazine of natural history : including zoology, botany and geology"

See other formats 


were <3 
Cer 


erat 
bight 

, x, 
ae Ry: 


Sete aoe 
Fa a a 
Ap ht des tae 
Ree 


nae on Mie * 
Big Pera a 
LPT Re eee be 5 

ma ik spe aes te I 

+ Ae Ae. 

pi pad ac ~ 

Ee ah 4s eo dee 

BHO Y 


Nae ge ght Ss ena A at 


= * 
A tie AP oxy 
ps mt BE et 
Sa Pte 


a ye 


2 Pat rep 
Caos 
eee ae 
a 


Spike gee spice gain we Vga 
erat aed ieee eetnds 
: vig eat An TR Be 

ite ened $= eS has AO 


= 


Ise 


ANNALS OF NATURAL HISTORY; 


MAGAZINE | 


OF 


Rep 


ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, AND GEOLOGY. 


(BEING A CONTINUATION OF THE ‘MAGAZINE OF ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, AND 
SIR W. J. HOOKER’S ‘ BOTANICAL COMPANION. ) 


CONDUCTED BY 
Sir W. JARDINE, Bart.—P. J. SELBY, Esea., 
Dr. JOHNSTON, 
Sir W. J. HOOKER, Recius Proressor or Borany, 


AND 


RICHARD TAYLOR, F.L.S. 


LONDON: 


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


SOLD BY S. HIGHLEY; SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL} SHERWOOD AND CO.; W. WOOD, 
TAVISTOCK STREET ; BAILLIERE, REGENT STREET, AND PARIS: 
LIZARS, AND MACLACHLAN AND STEWART, EDINBURGH ; 
CURRY, DUBLIN: AND ASHER, BERLIN. 


| 183 9)-1839. 


““Omnes res create sunt divine sapientie et potentie testes, livitie felicitatis 
humane: ex harum usu bonitas Creatoris; ex pulchritudine sapie..‘ia Domini; ex 
ceconomia in conservatione, proportione, renovatione, potentia majestatis elucet. 
Earum itaque indagatio ab hominibus sibi relictis semper estimata; a vere eruditis 


et sapientibus semper exculta; male doctis et barbaris semper inimica fuit.”— 
LINN. . 


3 
be 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


Tur Second Volume of the Annals of Natural History 
being now completed, the Editors have the satisfaction 
of being enabled to state, after the experience of a year, 
that the support which their Journal has received from the 
public is at the least sufficient to give the full assurance 
of its permanent establishment. That which above all af- 
fords them the greatest encouragement is the quality and 
quantity of the contributions with which they have been 
supplied by valuable correspondents diligently employed 
in the observation of Nature. Thus aided, they are gra- 
tified at finding that their labours have begun to engage 
attention, not only in their own, but also in other coun- 
tries. Already have some of the contents of this Journal 
been deemed worthy of being transferred into the pages 
of the Annales d’Histoire Naturelle ; whilst expressions 
of approbation and encouragement in the journals and 
correspondence of their contemporaries of Germany, 
Belgium, and the United States lead to the expectation 
that it will be increasingly useful as an established and 


lv ADVERTISEMENT. 


ready medium of communication for the lovers of Na- 
tural History in all parts of the world. | 


The Editors must, however, be allowed earnestly to 
call upon all those to whom the success of such a Work 
may seem important, for their exertions to extend its 
sale, which though just sufficient to ensure permanence, 
and gradually on the increase, is still far short of that 
which its well-wishers might hope for. It can hardly 
be necessary for the Editors to state that their means of 
giving additional interest and value to these Annals, in 
various respects, must necessarily depend upon their 
having a greater sale than will merely cover the expenses 
of Publication. 


P.S. It is hardly possible to speak of the difficulties with which 
Scientific Journals have to struggle in this country in comparison 
with all others, without adverting to the very heavy expense of Post- 
age, and expressing our regret and mortification that nothing has 
yet been done by Government to relieve Science and Literature 
among us from a burthen so enormously oppressive. 


CONTENTS OF VOL. II. 


NUMBER VII. 

I. On some new forms of Arachnida. By W.S. MacLeay, A.M., 
Mamie” C WAG PRM Neca y chess tad cicnvenes 6ccaaviessesce’s Evebsveees page 1 

II. On Fishes new to Ireland. By Witt1am Tuompson, Esq., Vice- 
President of the Natural History Society of Belfast ..........cesseeeeees ° 14 

IIT. Botanical Notes of a Tour in Ireland, with notices of new Bri- 
MR RPN EEE, TALL, TNs nj, ccaysiccnydcaseecctooscccekstasuesce sense oo. 28 

IV. Some account of the genus Langsdorfia. By G. W. Axnort, 
ARB csv evaten aceite GPCR eerE sedenessuatenass AWE sdvass Cydaceehencubobenan dance soe ©6986 

__ V. On a new species of British Fish. By R. Parnexx, M.D., 
RA Ri IE, BME) pics ss cccesucsavirveser segsscdseseueenstenetead secs’ 39 


VI. On the British Shrews. By the Rev. L. Jenyns, M.A., F.L.S. 438 
VII. Flor Insularum Nove Zelandiz Precursor; or a Specimen of 
the Botany of the Island of New Zealand. By AtLan Cunnincuam, Esq. 44 
VIII. An attempt to ascertain the Fauna of Shropshire and North 
Wales. By T. C. Eyton, Esq., F.L.S.  ........0 Asay ss Abi peilbcedenseos pine 52 
IX. Information respecting Botanical Travellers............ euessnvasdns 57 


New Books :—Icones Fungorum hucusque cognitorum, auctore A. C. J. 
Corda ; Commentationes de Leguminosarum Generibus, auctore 
Georgio Bentham; Natural Arrangement and Relations of the Fa- 
mily of Flycatchers, by W. Swainson .........cscscecsescsccesesoes 61-—64 

Proceedings of the Geological Society ; Royal Society of Edinburgh ; 
Royal Irish Academy; Zoological Society ......c..c.cesceeeeeeees 64—77 

Helminthology; Nest and Eggs of the Water Rail; Walking of the 
Seal; Hydré; Meteorological Observations and Table ...... 77—80 


NUMBER VIII. 
X. Observations on the Fur Seal of Commerce. By R. Hamiuton, 


MM Bs tee Ps OFF NE GR IRUDY ) vi vic su cntiecs.ses cies cine Suen edge snegve vaso eas 81 
XI. On Ononis antiquorum. By Epwarp Forster, Esq., F.R.S., 

Vice-President of the Linnean Society...........s060+. ab vunecteiovabess esas 95 
XII. On the Genus Syngnathus. By Prof. B. Frigs .............06 0 96 


XIII. Enumeration of the Plants collected by Rob. Schomburgk, 

Esq., in British Guiana. By Grorce Bentuawy, Esq., F.L.S. ......... 105 
XIV. Illustrations of Indian Botany. By Drs. Wicut and Arnott. 

PAV TM SURE wat Vig hepCltnss coniscsecs sosscgdeceddtsvaessnvedectecoscosassceces 111 
XV. Descriptions of new British Insects. By A. H. Hauipay, Esq. 112 
XVI. Communication respecting Fossil and Recent Infusoria. By 

Py We Rac PRU NURRG:* Ceavscccssscitinsssenesasssiietecslcececesossevascases 121 
XVII. Flore Insularum Nove Zelandiz Precursor; or a Specimen of 

the Botany of the Island of New Zealand. By Aryan Cunninenam, Esq. 125 


New Books :—Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa, by A. 
Smith, M.D.; Wiegmann’s Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte ; Natural 
History and Illustrations of Scottish Salmonide, by Sir William 
Jardine, Bart.; Monographia Anoplurorum Britanniz, by H. 
RIOT, NE Seay cla iesbevchuceresecdedooatvessstecvesesecctescesecns 132—139 


Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh ; Zoological Society ; 
e? British Association ..... Peet seb RAGE CAS SA Fae Ubd owed ebvesevavecs cane 140—156 


Vi CONTENTS. 


Orchidacee ; Collections of Scottish and American Mosses ; Animal of 
Panopeca australis; Industry and Metamorphoses of the Odyneri ; 
Lestris parasiticus ; Copper in Plants; Occurrence of Falco Islan- 
dicus in England; Meteorological Observationsand Table page157—160 


NUMBER IX. 
XVIII. On the Organic Origin of the Potstones or Paramoudras of 


Whitlingham, near Norwich. By Prof. C. G. EHRENBERG  .......0+0+. 161 
XIX. On the Genera Pinus and Abies, with remarks on the Culti- 
vation of some Species. By Capt. S. E. Cook, R.N. ........cecceseees --- 163 
XX. On the Metamorphoses of Crustacea. By Capt. Du Cans, R.N. 
(With Plates.) io i... cs nnssnasecdhsameseeespansestetcsstescanaesshevanscecel suas 178 
XXI. Notes on the Hairy-armed Bat (Vespertilio Leisleri). By 
Taowas Parneg, Esq., Jun. (With a Plate.) «2.2... s,.cscccccccccsceseswes 181 
XXII. Deescriptions of New British Insects. (By A. H. Karen 
EiSq.)" i pecedcccuscessessvacedecseuvanecneuunpiwen d¢ev subse ustyedahl dota sycheuby ine . 183 
XXIII. On the Formation of Fibrous Cells or Tubes of the Liber i in 
Plants. By Prof. J. MEYEN oi .ii. cece cconseroccescseusdessucenbeahensbbep coe 190 
XXIV. On some new Organic Remains in the Flints of Chalk. By 
the Rev. J:.B. Reapz, F.R-S. (With Plates.) - 23. cisccsssceccscasssévsses 191 
XXV. Descriptions of British Chalcidites. By Francis Wauker, 
BUis5o even sav oveuscecsenecausesnbawes take tenses Sus veda sebephunes hetswee Suv ceseseese 198 


XXVI. Flore Insularum Nove Zelandiz Precursor; ora Specimen 
of the Botany of the Islands of New Zeaiand. By ALLAN CunninG- 
HAM, Hess. in c0its das tsccavieci sss cedleavonssaweuun suePisebaves eek ¥asgeiuedseneer aed 205 


New Books :—Plante Javanice rariores, quas in Insula Java legit et 
investigavit ‘I’. Horsfield, M.D.; Monograph of the Caprimul- 
gide, by John Gould, Esq., F.R.S. ; Wiegmann’s Archiv fiir Na- 


tur PesCIChle 52.2. libs viieadoenscesuecvnueepne cha oévenees pasivesabees 214—223 
Proceedings of the Zoological Society ; Botanical Society of Lon- 
don eeesesseeenseseese COeoeeeseteseesereeseeeseeeees @eecoeeeseeeeeseeseesece 996—233 


Cardamine sylvatica; Himalayan Gypaétos ; Occurrence of Nasturtium 
Anceps ; Action of free Carbonic Acid on the Nutrition of Plants ; 
Hybridity in Ferns; Affinities of the Ceratophyllacee; Striped 
Hyzena ; on a representative of the order of Insectivorous Mam- 
malia; Caoutchouc in Plants; Obituary ; Meteorological Obser- 
vations and Table’ ...:s.+s<sdesisasss juve aaciaas daceoseees eseves 2O0—240 


NUMBER X. 


XXVII. Hares on the Greenland and Iceland Falcons, showing 
that they are distinct species. By J. Hancock, Esq. (With a Plate.) 241 
XXVIII. On the Land and Freshwater Mollusca of Algiers and 
Bougia. By Epwarp Forses, Esq. (With two Plates.) ......0s.+0+... 250 
X XIX. On the Habits of the King of the Vultures. By Rozert 
H. ScHomBures, Esq. , <..ecesqsscosessccoes cuseesctsenss@dMatestSPttensntpors) 255 
XXX. On the British species of Lotus. By Cuannes C. Peete 
Mi A., FDS. sscssendescisrseraeveoenys 9 bens seo dp viva vine Fae pebmides biebdevap swale 260 
-XXXI. On F ishes; containing a notice of one species new to the 
British, and of others to the Irish Fauna. By W. Tuompson, Esq. ... 266 
XXXII. On the Wild Cattle of Chillingham Park. By L. Hinv- 
MARSH, TAQ.” <0s iss vcvvesss oasevedusbancadsenceuvessnasteumheeheesisaee se cvseee 274 
XXXIII. On some new or little known Mammalia. By J. E. Gray, 
Esq., F.R.S. (With two Plates.) ...........000 Sies peauinguen dstanetakhaabexe 284 
XXXIV. Catalogue of the Slender-tongued Saurians, with Descrip- 
tions of many new Genera and Species, By J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S. 287 


CONTENTS. Vil 


New Books :—The Honey-Bee: its Natural History, Physiology and 
Management, by E. Bevan, M.D.; Plante Javanice Rariores, 
quas in Insula Java 1802—1818, legit et investigavit T. Horsfield, 
MD sen sshnes UA s i ivis sasvebee Pekin vied veev essa daneenaaae ss page 293, 294 

Proceedings of the Zoological Society .......scesssereseees ape wbtinly ¢h.os'00H 985 300 

On the New Holland Gerboa Rat; new anomalous Reptile; on the 


Fur Seal of Commerce; Habits of the Black Slug; Regulus mo- 
destus, Gould, a British Bird; Meteorological Observations and 


Table Soeveserevves COSC POCO KT ee EOE HHH BeeseeEEeos Seer eserserererereneee 307—312 
NUMBER XI. 
_ XXXV. On the Writings of Goethe relative to Natural History. 
FEF ire SE re esi dab vennecso ys codestvedhceaccvensaeses snbasnns Kendustvees és 313 


XXXVI. Notes on some Shrews brought from Germany, including 
the description of an apparently New Species. By the Rev. L. Jenyns, 
M.A. 


Soccascssenetedeserstccoveoverecs Ceo eeeveceececceccccessosetoescesecseseseeess GLO 
XXXVII. Dusesigibione: of two New Orchideous Plants. By Sir W. 
J. Hooker, F.R.S. (With two Plates.) 0... ..sescccseseceensseeerereeneeees 329 


XXXVIII. Catalogue of the Slender-tongued Saurians, with Descrip- 
tions of many New Genera and Species. By J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S. 331 
~XXXIX. On the Breeding of the Woodcock in Ireland, By W. 


Tuompson, Esq., Vice-Pres. Nat. Hist. Soc. Belfast...... SiisubAabonta sens 337 
' XL. On the Botany of the Channel Islands. By Cuarres C. Ba- 
zincTON, M.A. ...... Siskin PReWaeiee sn sd vodnd Wp hanks ceraound case sovagsensiepese’ 348 


XLI. Descriptions of British Chalecidites. By F. Warxkn, Esq. ... 350 
XLII. Flore Insularum Nove Zelandiz Precursor ; or a Specimen 
of the Botany of the Islands of New Zealand. By Auuan Cunnine- 
MAM, DUMe ces thisdines ubse tn siseae,s Caer eevecsececeseseceseseseeesseecs na dsaets 356 
XLII, Information respecting Botanical Travellers ...... erescsecsees GOO 


New Books :—A Cornish Fauna, being a Compendium of the Natural 
History of the County, by Jonathan Couch, F.L.S.; British Ento- 
mology, vol. xv., by John Curtis, F.L.S. ; Tcones Plantarum, by 
Sir W. J. Hooker, F'.R.S. ; English Botany, by J. D. C. Sowerby ; 
Tijdschrift voor Natuurlijke Geschiedenis en Physiologie ; Icones 
Plantarum Indiz Orientalis, by Dr. R. Wight; A History of the 


Fishes of Madeira, by the Rev. R. 'T. Lowe ...............04. 365—369 
Proceedings of the Royal Society; Linnzean Society ; Wernerian So- 
ciety; Zoological Society.........+6. sganveene bop snk beens eSbeeiece 370—380 


Occurrence of Jackson’s Gull (Larus Jacksonii); Coronated Lump .- 
Fish, new to the British Fauna; French Expedition of Discovery 
to the South Polar Seas ; Occurrence of Viola lactea; Meteor- 
ological Observations and Table .........escesseceeee dees cpsaact 381—384 


NUMBER XII. 


XLIV. On two species of a new South African Genus of the Na- 
tural Order Lhizanthee. By the Hon. W. H, Harvey. (With two 


PAUBOIND 2 acarnskcesieestinciisy os0ssieisnt Rraleaves WeSnpecetiaceutqegaescasvecusaces 385 
XLV. On the Synonymy of Passandra, with Descriptions of all the 
old and of some new Species. By Epwarp Newman, F.L.S. ......... 388 


XLVI. On the Existence of a third Tunic; together with certain 
other peculiarities in the Structure of Pollen. By Herserr Grravp, 
eee PU Oe MOE DS © Bus Cains os ck ny H ny coke dneen ta pncd cncuad sisnenscs 399 
_ XLVII. Observations on several British Fishes, including the de- 
scription of a New Species. By Witiiam Tuomrson, Esq., Vice- 
President of the Natural History Society of Belfast. (With a Plate.) . 402 


Vili CONTENTS. 
XLVIII. Miscellanea Zoologica :—The British Aphroditacee. By 
Gerorce Jounston, M.D. (With three Plates.) ...........scse00e wo. page 424 
XLIX. Enumeration of the Plants collected by Robert Schomburgk, 
Esq., in British Guiana. By Greorce Bentuam, Esq. F.L.S........... 441 
L. Metamorphosis observed in Syngnathus lumbriciformis. By Prof. 


B. Frres. (Witha Plate.) c.sccorseeeereessereveceens Stadinedeueypausecsennes 451 
LI. Information respecting Botanical Travellers ..........ssesssseeseees 455 
NUMBER XIII. SUPPLEMENT. 
Information respecting Botanical Travellers ......... adeedestsbatanenes 457° 
New Books :—Ornithological Biography, by John James Audubon, 
F.R.S.; Genera Plantarum secundum Ordines naturales disposita, 
by S. Endlicher; Icones Flore Germanice, by L. Reichenbach ; 
Iconographia Generum Plantarum, by S. Endlicher ; Icones 
Fungorum hucusque cognitorum, by A. C. J. Corda; ‘Linnzea ; 
Manuals of British Insects, by J. F. Stephens.........0seeeee0 458—466 
Proceedings of the Zoological Society ; Wernerian Society......... 466—478 


Fur Seal of commerce; curious habit of Earth-worms; Occurrence 
of Atriplex rosea; Animal of Modiolus discrepans ; ; Vespertilio 
Leisleri; Note respecting Mr. Babington’s paper on the Botany of 
the Channel Islands; Meteorological Observations and Table 478—482 


PLATES. 


Puates I. II. 


III 


VI. 


XXI. XXII. 


New forms of Arachnida. 
. Motella cimbria. 
IV. 
Vv. 
VII. 
VIII. 
IX. 
x 
a1. XA. 
XII. 
XIII. 
Poe Be 
XV.XVII. 
XVI. 
XVIII. 
KER: RA: 
XXIII. 


Fur Seal of Commerce. 

Acalypha ciliata. 

Metamorphosis of Crustacea. 

Fossil Scales of Fish. 

Infusoria in Flint. 

Hairy-armed Bat; and Feathers of Falcons. 
Mollusca of Algiers. 


Metamorphosis of Syngnathus lumbriciformis. 


Bos brachyceros. 
Pteronura Sandbachii. 
New Orchideous Plants. 
British Fish. 

Structure of Pollen. 
New Rhizanthee. 
British Aphroditacee. 


* 


ERRATA. 


Page 123, line 16, for this is the character read this is a character. 
— 134, line 2 from bottom, for Sterocles read Pterocles. 
135, line 1, for Sternotherus Linneotus read Sternotherus sinuatus. 
138° line 5, , for ciliatory read ciliary. 


184. last line, for $ read 18 ; 
250, line3, after mandible insert, beginning a fresh paragraph, Young or nest saumag®, like, 
&e. 


— 263,6 lines from bottom, for Beche read Beke. 

— 968, line 13, for Willoughbigii read Willughbeii. 

a 269, 270: the aragraphs relative to Salmo feroxr and Anguilla latirostris should have been 
appended as notes after that on Coregonus Pollan 

— 286, line 23, after Archipelago insert under the name of Cynogale Bennettii. 


ass 183, last line of text, for Platypalpus read Pachypalpus. . 


Ann. Nak Hist.Vo\, 1. 


- 


| y 
; PORE : 
Lops Cuanabacoe Myrmarachne melanociphala. 


Ww it 
Rocce, Sd ae be 
a opie = é i. 4 


ANNALS OF NATURAL HISTORY. 


-~ 


I.—On some new Forms of Arachnida. By W. S. 
MacLeay, Esq., A.M., F.L.S., &c. 


[ With Plates. ] 


WHILE I take shame to myself for never having fulfilled a 
promise made months ago to the * Magazine of Zoology and 
Botany,’ I hope to make up for past indolence by contribu- 
ting my mite very frequently in future to its successor ‘The 
Annals of Natural History.’ In the mean time I shall be 
glad if any interest is excited by the novelty of the forms here- 
after described. Four of them at least are very singular, and 
I have selected them as such out of a great variety of new 
forms in my cabinet. 

M. Latreille has somewhere said that it would be difficult 
to discover a spider that cannot find its place in one of 
Walckenaer’s divisions. The truth however is that naturalists 
_as yet know but little of Arachnida. Leon Dufour, Koch, 
and even the distinguished Walckenaer himself, are acquainted 
with but few extra-European forms compared with the im- 
mense variety that exist. The great majority of species are 
inhabitants of warm climates, and being in general extremely 
difficult to preserve, they are therefore rare in our collections. 
Yet no Annulosa are more curious in their structure or per- 
form more important functions in the ceconomy of nature. My 
custom, when I was abroad, was to make sketches of the spe- 
cies while yet alive; which plan I recommend to naturalists 
as the only safe mode of studying these animals. The pencil 
is, for the entomologist, an instrument as necessary to wield 
as the pen. 

I now place the following species before naturalists, in order 
to prove how little is as yet known of even that part of the class 
Arachnida which has been the most studied, namely, Spiders*, 


* For instance, not any one part of the definition given by Mr. Kirby 
(Int. to Ent. vol. iv. p.397) to the Araneidea is correct, except that the 


Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol.2. No.7. Sept.1838. B 


2 Mr. Macleay on some new forms of Arachnida. 


Four of these species will be sufficient to show that this inter- 
esting order has never yet been correctly marked out in any en- 
tomological work. Iam not fond of giving insulated descrip- 
tions without an ulterior object in view; and therefore I may 
as well state that my aim now is to show that a true spider may 
have a distinct head,—that spiders may have an articulated 
thorax and abdomen,—that spiders may have only two eyes,— 
and that those which have eight may have them disposed in 
systems very different from any of the systems hitherto de- 
scribed,—finally, that although spiders in general have their 
labial palpi like feet, some species on the other hand may 
have their true feet like palpi and their labial palpi with- — 
out ungues. Nay, were I to proceed to the other orders of 

Arachnida, I could exhibit facts equally extraordinary with 

respect to the whole class. For the present I shall merely 

say that my mode of distinguishing the order of Araneidea 
from other Arachnida is as follows :— 

Head rarely distinct from thorax. 

Antenne of two joints, the last of which is a moveable corneous 
fang. | 

Labrum and Mandibles confluent with the tongue so as to 

_ form the oral orifice. . 

Mazillary palpi five-jointed. 

Abdomen pedunculated; furnished at the base with two or 
four respiratory apertures, and at the extremity with a . 
spinning apparatus. ? 

Feet with the coxee and tibiee each of two joints. 


Genus NOPS. | 
Antenne* small, not advancing from under the head, the first 


abdomen is furnished with a spinning apparatus. Nor are the four cha- 
racters given to the order by Walckenaer (Hist. Nat. des Ins. Apt. vol. i. 
p. 38) less liable to objection. 

* Walckenaer asks what is the use of calling these organs chelicera or 
antenne. The answer is, that if we give them the old name “ mandibles,” 
we are decidedly wrong ; and that if we call them antenna, we refer them to 
those organs of Ptilota with which they correspond by analogy of position. 
If we dissect a large Nephila when alive, we can easily perceive that these 
organs are not in the mouth, but separated from it by the labrum, which is 
under them, and not above them as Walckenaer erroneously says. The fact 
is, that the part which is called by Walckenaer the “ bandeau” is not the true 
labrum, which is confluent with the mandibles, so as to form what the French 
call the “ languette.” “i 


Ann. Nat. Hest. Vol 1. PLT 


LDetnopis Lapua. 


J Basire, lithe: 


Mr. MacLeay on some new forms of Arachnida. 3 


joint vertical, short, subconical, with the second joint or 
fang small, curved, acute, and of the same colour as first 
joint. 

Eyes only two, placed close together towards the fore part of 
cephalothorax. 

Mazille conspicuous, subquadrate, bent round the mentum 
and having their apex obliquely truncated. 

Maxillary palpi having the first joint very short, the second 
joint obconical and elongate, the third short and bent, 
the fourth straight, obconical, and longer, the fifth or last 
thick, oval, and hirsute. 

Labial palpi pediform with seven joints. 

Mentum separated from the sternum by a transverse furrow ; 
longer than broad with its frontal edge semicircular. 
Head not distinct from thorax. Cephalothorax subtranslucid 
with convex back without hair, obovate, narrowing gra~ 
dually towards the front, which is rounded. Its tegument 
is subcrustaceous, while that of the abdomen is membra- 
naceous. This abdomen is a prolate spheroid terminated. 
by six spinners of which two are inconspicuous and two 
are very prominent. Sternum twice as long as broad, 
oval, flat, and crustaceous. Jeet like the labial palpi 
translucid; the penultimate pair being the shortest. Un- 
gues short, pectinated at base. If there be a third unguis 

it is evanescent. 

Sp. 1. Nops avanasaco#.—Nops sanguineo-rubra, palpis maxillaribus 

articulo ultimo crasso obscuro hirsuto pilis canescentibus ; cephalotho- 
' racis macula oculifera parva nigra, pectore punctato plano; abdomine 
obscuro hirto, fusulis pallidioribus; pedibus versus apicem hirtis; un- 
guibus nigris, 
Long. 5 lin. 

_ The trivial name of this pomarkable spider will serve to com- 

memorate Guanabacoa, the place where first I found it, a place 

in which I long resided, devoting many delightful hours to the 

science of natural history. The genus Nops is easily known 

from all other spiders hitherto described by having only two 

eyes. These are round, black, and when alive very brilliant ; 

but they have no iris. In the species Nops Guanabacoe they 

are set in the middle of a black spot, which is on the fore part 
B2 


4 Mr. MacLeay on some new forms of Arachnida. 


of the egg-shaped cephalothorax. The sternum has vestiges 
of those eminences at the base of the feet which distinguish 
Ariadne and certain American forms of Dysdera. This spi- 
der has only two pulmonary pouches; or if it has four, the 
additional ones are very small. It is common under stones in 
woods; and occurs also, although more rarely, in houses. I 
have never seen it making a web, so that in this respect it 
agrees with some of the Drassi. In fact, it connects the Dys- 
derina, such as Savigny’s subgenus Ariadne, with certain Dras- 
sina, such as Savigny’s subgenus Lachesis. 

The Dysderina form a curious group. In them not only have 
we the eyes varying in number, two, four, six, or eight, but the 
organs of manducation are in some species rudimentary, and 
in others excessively developed. I possess specimens of a 
translucid West Indian spider closely allied to Filistata, and 
having Mygalidous eyes situated on the balloon-shaped cepha- 
lothorax of a Nops. In these specimens the antennez, max- 
illae, &c, are so rudimentary and inconspicuous as would al- 
most make us doubt that the species can be an animal of 
prey, did we not find it making an irregular web in the cor- 
ners and crevices of houses. I call it Hemerachne tenuipes ; 
and on viewing it we can the better understand how Nops and 
Ariadne should have small antennze, while Dysdera erythrina 
has these organs so large. 

I place Nops among the Dysderina, and not among the Dras- 
sina, on account of its hard tegument ; for the Drassina in ge- 
neral have this very tender, and thus we see Clubiona and 
other comparatively delicate genera not only to form the food 
of Hymenoptera like Pelopeus, but even of Diptera. I have 
caught various species of Asilide in the act of devouring 
these tender-skinned spiders, so that if certain spiders live on 
flies, there are also certain flies that feed on spiders. But to 
return to Nops Guanabacoe, the figure I give of it was drawn 
by Mr. Charles Curtis from a dried specimen in my cabinet, 
and coloured from a sketch made by me in Cuba of the live 
animal. I possess another species of the genus which has no 
black spot on the cephalothorax. 

I take this opportunity of saying that I shall be glad to ex- 
change specimens of Nops for specimens of the genus Artema, 


Mr. MacLeay on some new forms of Arachnida. ~ 5 


Walck., or Tessarops. Tessarops is a genus described by 
Rafinesque in the ‘ Annales des Sc. Phys. de Bruxelles, and 
to which some doubt is attached. Although I have no hesi- 
tation in admitting that spiders may occur with four eyes as 
well as with two, six, or eight; still the magnified hind leg as 
figured by Rafinesque, and other circumstances connected 
with the peculiar character of the author, make me agree with 
Latreille in considering the existence of Tessarops maritima 
as extremely apocryphal. If any such being exists, I suspect 
it will be found to have been most incorrectly described, At 
all events, I cannot believe it properly placed by Latreille 
among the saltigrade spiders; nor do I think it can on the 
other hand be very nearly allied to Nops. It seems, if I may 
be allowed to found a conjecture upon a figure so bad and a 
description so lame as those of Rafinesque, to he more closely 
connected with a singularly flat and minute hard-shelled six- 
eyed spider with a sessile abdomen, which is to be found in 
Cuba among old papers and in boxes of insects, and which 
passes off directly to the Acaridea or order of mites. I have 
called it Sclerachne; for its tegument is even more hard in 
proportion to its size than that of the genus Gastracantha of 
Hahn, or any of the cancriform Epeiride which form Wal- 
ckenaer’s genus Plectanus. 
Prare I. Fig. 1. Nops Guanabacoe magnified. 


Genus SELENOPS, Dufour. 


Antenne short, with the first joint subconical, and the second 
joint or fang hooked and sharp. 

Eyes eight, six of which are placed in a semicircle with the 
arch convex forward, the two lateral ones being the 
largest and rather further removed from the intermediate 
four than these are from each other. The remaining two 
eyes, which are the least of all, are anterior, placed one 
on each angle of the head and nearly on the same line 
with the two middle ocelli of the semicircle. 

Mazille straight. | 

Mazillary palpi having the first joint very minute. 

Labial palpi pediform and seven-jointed. 

Mentum rounded at apex. 


6 Mr. MacLeay on some new forms of Arachnida, 


Head not distinct from thorax. Body very flat on the ground 
with the legs also extended flat on the same surface. Ad- 
domen soft with six fusi. 

Of the genus Selenops Walckenaer gives three subgenera, 
Omalosoma, Apharteres, and Aissus. Near to the latter comes 
the following additional form of Selenops, which I shall call 
Hypoplatea. | 

Subgenus HypoPpuaTea. 


Antenne with two teeth on the inner side of the groove of first 
joint. : 

Eyes, the two lateral ones of the arch rather oval in form. 

Mazille subparallelogrammic, being obliquely truncated at 
the inside. 

Mawvillary palpi having their terminal joint the longest and 
crowned with an unguis. 

Mentum semicircular. 

Sternum suborbicular, but posteriorly emarginate. 

Abdomen as wide as the cephalothorax. 

Feet, the last pair but one the longest. Tarsi having a cushion 
surmounted by two very minute ungues. 

Sp. 2. HyropuaTza ceLer.—Hypoplatea flavescenti-grisea, abdomine 
fascia apicali nigra emarginata terminato ; ad basin tripunctato, punctis 
inter pilos ochreo-flavos nigris; femoribus trifasciatis fascia media fulva 
utrinque nigra fasciis externis nigris; tibiis subfasciatis. 

Long. 63 lines. 

This species is common in Cuba, darting in the rainy sea- 
son with extreme velocity over the plastered floors. Its body 
and legs are extended so flatly on the surface on which it 
moves, and moreover it has the Thomisidous faculty of run- 
ning backwards so strongly developed, that it is sure, along 
with various little lizards of the subgenus Spheriodactylus, to 
attract the attention of new comers, when, owing to certain 
qualms inside and torrents of rain outside, they shut them- 
selves up in their apartments to ponder gloomily over the 
novelties of a West Indian climate. I possess other species 
of the genus, but which belong to Walckenaer’s subgenus 
Aissus, and which are only to be found on the trunks of trees, 
These are seen like a ray of light to flash before the entomo- 
logist when they have been dislodged by his stripping off the 


Mr, MacLeay on some new forms of Arachnida, 7 


bark in search of insects. The difference between the West 
Indian subgenera Aissus and Hypoplatea is that in the former 
the first pair of feet are the longest, whereas in Hypoplatea it 
is the penultimate pair; besides in Aissus the two large lateral 
ocelli are round, in Hypoplatea they are oval. The mentum 
of Omalosoma, another subgenus of Selenops, is not truly se- 
micircular, nor does that kind of spider lie so broad and flat 
on the ground as Hypoplatea. In general aspect Hypoplatea 
bears great resemblance to the genus drtamus of Koch, but 
differs from it altogether in the disposition of the eyes. Tha- 
natus, Koch, Artamus, Koch, Selenops, Duf., Philodromus, 
Koch, and Olios of Walckenaer (which last is identical with 
Koch’s Ocypete, a name that cannot stand as it has been else- 
where employed), all form a group of laterigrade spiders which 
perhaps are the swiftest of the whole order, They lie in wait 
for their prey like the saltigrade spiders and those other late- 
rigrade spiders of which Thomisus is the type; but instead of 
leaping on their food like Thomisus, they catch it by their ex- 
treme velocity in running. They differ thus also from the Ly- 
cosina, which regularly hunt down their prey*; and I may take 
this opportunity of observing that Koch makes a gross mis- 
take in placing Walckenaer’s genus Ctenus among the Kraé- 
benspinnen. Ctenus is not a laterigrade spider, but has all the 
habits and structure of the Wolfspinnen, as I know by per- 
sonal experience, the genus being very common in Cuba. 
Latreille is also wrong in calling the Wolfspinnen “ citigrades” 
par excellence, for they are far less swift than the present 
group. 

_ Ihave introduced Hypoplatea in this place, not so much 
from the form being new to science, as in order to show the 
proper mode of considering the ocellar system of spiders 
when we are investigating their affinities. Thanatus and Ar- 
tamus have nearly the typical system. of ocelli which preyails 
throughout the greatest part of the laterigrade spiders, of 
which it may be said that the arch of their eyes is typically 
convex outwards in opposition to that of the Drassina, where 


* On this account Walckenaer is wrong in placing the genus Oxyopes, Lat., 
or his own Sphasus among the Lycosina, 1 have always found these Oxyopes 
on syngenesious flowers sedentary like Thomisi. One large green species of 
Oxyopes is common in Cuba. I call it O. floricola. 


8 Mr. MacLeay on some new forms of Arachnida. 


the arch is typically convex inwards. Now the Thomiside 
in general may be said to have their eight eyes disposed, four 
and four, in two concentric arches, of which the curve is con- 
vex in front. The four ocelli of the inner arch-remain pretty 
nearly in all the Thomiside at equal distances from each other : 
so also do the four of the outer or front arch in Artamus. In 
the nocturnal genus Olios, of which the type is the Aranea ve- 
natoria of Linnzeus and the manners very singular,* the con- 
vexity of the front arch is scarcely to be detected. In the aber- 
rant genus Thanatus, which is close to Ocyale and Dolomedes, 
it is more visible. In Philodromus of Koch we see the four 
front eyes going two and two to each side of the head. In the 
genus Selenops the anomaly is at the extreme, so as to place 
the outer edge of what is ordinarily the front arch in the curve 
of the inner one and the other eyes a little lower. Thus in the 
subgenus Hypoplatea there are six ocelli in an arch convex 
outwards and two others in front, one at each corner of the 
head. The sketch of Hypoplatea celer was taken by me from 
the animal immediately after death. 


Puate I. Fig. 2. Hypoplatea celer magnified. «, system of eyes; 6, men- 
tum, maxilla and maxillary palpus; y, sternum. 


Genus DEINOPIS. 

Antenne proceeding vertically downwards nearly in the same 
plane with the two large eyes. First joint subquadrate, 
the second joint or fang closes inwards. 

Eyes eight, two dorsal and six frontal ; of these last two enor- 
mously large black, shining, spherical eyes occupy the 
half of the front. Under these in the middle are two very 
minute ocelli; and two others also small are placed be- 
low, one on each, outside of the large eyes, but not on 
the same vertical plane with them, for these last two 
small ocelli are somewhat lateral. : 

Mazxille subquadrate, thick, and diverging from the men- 
tum. 

Maxillary palpi with the first joint somewhat dilated; the 
others cylindrical, nearly equal, excepting the last, which 

* Walckenaer is in error when he says that this genus feeds on lizards. I 
believe that no spider lives on Vertebrata. Thomisus morbillosus of the Ap- 


pendix to King’s Survey of the Intratropical Coasts of New Holland belongs 
to the genus Olios. 


Mr. MacLeay on some new forms of Arachnida. 9 


is subovate and terminates in a very minute unguis in the 
female. 

Labial palpi seven-jointed and pediform ; but differ from the 
feet not only in being longer, but also in the joint cor- 
responding with the femora, which is stouter and emargi- 
nate at the base. This joint moreover is furnished nearly 
half-way on the inside with curved setz. The last joints 
of the labial palpi are also thicker than the corresponding 
tarsi of the true feet, and their basal joint.is indistinct. 

Menitum separated from the sternum by a transverse furrow, 
longer than broad, restricted in the middle, and having a 

.  Semicircular apex. 

Body slender, more than five times as long as broad. Head 
confluent with body. Cephalothoragz convex in front, and 
as broad as abdomen, behind broader and depressed, 
The cephalothorax above presents an anterior elevation 
in the form of a pentagon, which is the true head; the 
base of the pentagon being the front of this head, which 
is truncated in front, rounded off at the sides, and canali- 
culated longitudinally in the middle, while each of the 
lateral posterior angles of the pentagon supports a small 
black eye. The head from the base of the above-men- 
tioned pentagon is perpendicularly truncated, and thus 
presents a vertical face, in eae are situated the other 
SIX eyes. 

Sternum of three distinct segments. 

Abdomen more than twice as long as the rest of the body, sub- 
cylindrical, only gradually tapering towards the point. 
Fusi inconspicuous, Feet slender, of which the first pair 
is longer than the third, and the third pair than the se- 
cond, all being long and slender, and having inconspi- 
cuous ungues. 

Sp. 8. Dernopis Lamra.—Deinopis villosa grisea; capite medio lineis 
duabus ochraceis obscuris ; sterno vitta nigra lata utrinque instructo ; 
abdomine punctis quatuor minutis nigrescentibus basalibus, macu- 
lisque duabus versus medium nigris; pedibus maculis nigrescentibus 
variegatis. 

Long. 54 lines. 

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the class Arach- 

nida is the disposition of the segments of their body to become 

confluent. ven when, as for instance in the scorpions, the 


\ ~ 


10 Mr. MacLeay on some new forms of Arachnida. 


segments are in general distinct, the head remains confluent 
with the thorax. In general the dorsal segments have this 
disposition to become confluent more strongly than those of 
the under side; and thus in the cancriform Epeiride we can 
detect the vestiges of articulation on the under side of the ab- 
domen, and in Deinopis on the under side of the cephalotho- 
rax. But what makes the present spider above all others in- 
teresting is the position of the eyes, which are remarkably un- 
equal in size. _ Two of them are dorsal as usual, but the other 
six have a rather novel situation, not being visible when we 
look on the back of the insect. The head, being truncated in 
front, presents, like that of certain saltigrade spiders, or rather 
like certain Crustacea, a vertical face. Half of this face is oc- 
cupied by two enormous black eyes, set in blood-red circular 
rims*, which touch each other laterally, and form irides that 
give our spider a most truculent aspect. This curious system 
of eyes may, however, be easily approximated to that of 
Ctenus, if we-make no account of the truncation of the head. 
I found Deinopis, with the last-mentioned genus and Dolo- 
medes, under stones in the island of Cuba. It must be as- 
signed to the Wolfspinnen of Koch, but it is very unlike any 
of them hitherto known. My drawing was made from it while 
yet alive. I never found the male. 


Prate II. Fig. 3. Deinopis Lamia, magnified. «, front and vertical view 
of head; , sternum, mentum, maxille, and a maxillary palpus. 


Genus MYRMARACHNE. 


Antenne twice as long as head, with the first joint thick, ex- 
serted, subtrigonal, plane above, and armed beneath and 
on the inside with six minute spines; the second joint © 
or fang long, slender, sinuated, and very sharp at the 
point. 

Eyes eight, disposed as in Aftus. 

Mazille short, straight, dilated and rounded off at their ex- 
tremity. 

Mazillary palpi having their first joint small; the second ob- 
conical, subtrigonal, and thrice as long as the third ; the 
third, fourth and fifth forming an obconical club, of which 

_ * This fact proves the affinity of Deinopis to the Lycosina and Saltigrade 


spiders, where the two largest ocelli of the eight may be seen to have the 
pupil, as it were, surrounded by a coloured iris as in Vertebrata. 


Mr. MacLeay on some new forms of Arachnida. 11 


the former is the shortest joint, and the last is by far the 
_ thickest, being truncated and concave at the apex. 

Labial palpi pediform and 7-jointed, only the basal joint is 
evanescent. 

Mentum oval, elongate. 

Body with a subcrustaceous tegument. Head distinct from 
thorax though soldered to it; quadrate and convex on 
the upper side, where the eyes are placed. Thorax ovate, 
narrower and longer than the head, and convex also on 
the upper side. Abdomen subarticulate, arched, pedun- 
culated at the base, swelling in the middle, with a con- 
vex back and dilated margined sides, and then termina- 
ting in a spindle; the peduncle before mentioned being 
slender, cylindrical, and longer than the head. Fee¢ are 
like the labial palpi, but the two first pair are somewhat 
shorter. Ungues not very conspicuous, 

Sp. 4. MyrMARACHNE MELANOCEPHALA.—Myrmarachne capite nigro; an- 
tennarum articulo primo rufo basi flavo; palpis maxillaribus brunneo- 
nigris; thorace abdominisque pedunculo rufis; abdomine nigro ;_ palpis 
labialibus pedibusque piceis. 

Long. 4% lin. 

This handsome spider is a native of Bengal, and I present a 
figure of it, made by my friend Mr, C. Curtis, in order to show 
the relation which it bears to the American subgenus, called 
Myrmecium by Latreille. Myrmarachne is even still more like 
than Myrmecium to an ant.or Mutilla. Its hard corneous en- 
velope, its distinct head, the long peduncle of its abdomen, 
and its insected body, all tend to aid the deception in the 
most striking manner. It evidently comes between Aftus 
Sormicoides, Walck., and Myrmecium rufum, Lat. It has the 
eyes of the former spider, except that the two smallest and 
middle ones are not placed at the margin of the head. With 
the latter spider it agrees in the head being even still more 
perfectly distinct.from the thorax, as well as in the abdomen 
being subarticulate. Myrmecium, however, in its eyes, ap- 
proaches, as Walckenaer observes, to Dolomedes, while the 
antennze are short and of an ordinary form. 

In Myrmarachne melanocephala the antenne are long, stout, 
and the first joint has a tubercle on the upper side of its apex, 
and its whole plane upper side is transversely striated, No- 


12 Mr. MacLeay on some new forms of Arachnida. 


thing is certainly known with respect to the manners of these 
curious spiders, but I suppose, from analogy, that they may 
eventually be found to feed on ants. It has been long known 
that the Volucelle in their larva state live in the nests of the 
Bombi they so much resemble; and I have discovered that 
the larvee of those tropical Bombylit which have such a bee- 
like form live on the larvee of the bees they so strikingly repre- 
sent. Perhaps, in like manner, the object of nature in giving 
such a striking form to this spider is to deceive the ants on 
which they prey. 

Aittus of Walckenaer is a very good subgenus, if the name 
be confined to such ant-like insects as Aranea formicaria of 
DeGeer, and Attus formicoides of Walckenaer. Latreille’s 
name, Salticus, ought therefore to be confined to those salti- 
grade spiders of which the Aranea scenica of Linnzeus may be 
considered the type. This, however, is an use of the two ge- 
neric names the very reverse of that which is proposed by 
Sundevall in his description of the spiders of Sweden. 

Puatel. Fig. 4. Myrmarachne melanocephala, magnified. «, system of 
eyes; 6, antenna; y, abdomen viewed laterally. 


Genus OTIOTHOPS. 


Antenne short, having the first joint transversely vertical, 
subcuneiform, and the second joint or fang minute and 


horizontal. 
Eyes eight; the four frontal ones disposed in a transverse 


line, of which the two on the outside are the least and 
suboyal ; behind these last there are two other eyes placed 
small and round ; and the remaining two are in the mid- 
dle between them only placed further behind; these two 
are so confluent that to the naked eye the spider seems 
to have only seven ocelli. (In my specimen the right 
ocellus is evanescent, and the left is very large and of a 
silvery lustre.) 

Mazille large, subtriangular, truncated at the apex, and 
having the palpi inserted at their very base. 

Mazillary palpi with the penultimate joint short, and the last 
one long, triangular and hirsute. 

Labial palpi vertical, not pediform, six-jointed; first joint 
curved, thick ; second semilunar, much incrassated ; third 


Mr. MacLeay on some new forms of Arachnida. 13 


obconical and less; fourth and fifth simple, the latter 
shortest, and both armed on the outside with a brush, 
while the last joint is appendiculated, pyriform, and at 
the base on the side provided also with a brush. 

Mentum separated from the sternum by a transverse furrow, 
elongate, triangular, with a rounded point, and subar- 
cuated in the middle. 

Body thickish and convex. Head confluent with the thorax. 
Cephalothorax very convex above, narrower before and 
behind, rounded in front and truncated behind, with con- 
vex sides. Abdomen a prolate spheroid, with a hairy mem- 
branaceous tegument. ust six, two being very minute, 
Breast plane, the segments being confluent. Feet dis- 
similar, that is, the two last pair are very different from 
the first pair. These are thicker, darker-coloured, and 
have the penultimate joint on the inside armed with a 
brush of hairs. The ungues of the feet are only two, 
which are inconspicuous, except when greatly magnified*, 

Sp. 5. Orrornors WatckenaErt.— Otiothops cephalothorace glabro pal- 

pisque labialibus castaneo-brunneis ; pedibus brunneo-testaceis; abdo- 
mine nigro hirsuto. 

Long. 5 lin. : 

This hard-skinned spider comes close to the genus Chersis 
of Savigny, or Palpimanus of Dufour. The eyes, however, 
here are totally different, and, moreover, very remarkable from 
the confluence of the two hinder ones. Another singular cha- 
racter is the first pair of feet, which are palpiform, and differ- 
ent in structure from the two last pair; thus demonstrating 
how in Arachnida true feet may become palpiform in the same 
way as, more ordinarily, true palpi become pediform. The con- 
version of the organs of the mouth into organs of locomotion, 
and again of true feet into organs of manducation, is a sin- 
gular characteristic of certain apterous Annulosa. Ottothops, 
like Chersis, has strong points of affinity to the saltigrade spi- 
ders. Our specimen is a female. 

Walckenaer, as an essential character of spiders, lays stress 
on what he calls the eight feet, that is, the labial palpi and 


* Their structure, highly magnified, is figured by Walckenaer in his 
beautiful work, tab. 10. 


14 Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 


six true feet, being unguiculated. Here, however, asin Cher- 
sis, the labial palpi have no ungues at their extremity. More- 
over, these labial palpi have only six joints; differing from 
those of spiders in general, which have seven. 

I have named the species after my old and very distin- 
guished friend Baron Walckenaer, to whom we owe so much 
of our knowledge of Arachnida*. Otiothops Walckenaeri is 
found under stones in the woods of Cuba. My sketch is from 
the life. 

Puare II. Fig. 5. Otiothops Walckenaeri, magnified. , disposition of 
eyes; B, sternum; ¢, first joints of coxee; ¢, first joint of labial palpi; @, labial 
palpi; 4, mentum; y, maxilla; 3, maxillary palpus; «, base of antenna; 
a, abdomen; a, fusi. 


II.—On Fishes new to Ireland. By Wititu1am THompson, 
Ksq., Vice-President of the Natural History Society of 


Belfast. 
‘ [Continued from Vol. I. p. 359.] 


MoTELLA GLAUCA, Jenyns, Mackerel Midge.—Two mi- 
nute specimens—the larger 1? inch long—of Mofeila that I 
have closely examined, and which were obtained at the South 
islands of Arran (off county Clare), by R. Ball, Esq., in June 
1835, agree in every respect with the Ciliata glauca of Couch, 
described in the Magazine of Natural History, vol. v. p.16 ; 
at the same time I cannot perceive any specific difference be- 
tween them and M. Mustela. 

Puycis FurRcATUs, Flem., Common Bork head, —To 
Cortland G. M. Skinner, Esq., of Glynn Park, Carrickfergus, 
I am indebted for a remarkably fine specimen of this fish, 
which was kindly secured for me on its being stated by the 
fishermen who captured it to be a species quite unknown to 
them. It was taken on February 24, 1836 (a calm day), with 
a gaff or hook, as it “lay floundering” on the surface of the 
water; was very violent when brought on board, and before 
dying had struggled so hard as to divest itself of nearly all 
its scales. 

* [ wish, however, that in his excellent volume on Apterous insects in the 


‘Suites de Buffon’ he had not been so fond of changing names. Surely 
Walckenaer can afford to despise the petty credit of assigning a generic 


name. 


_ Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 15 


_ The discrepancies of authors relative to the Phycis furcatus 
induce me to add the following description of this individual : 
length 25 inches ; greatest depth of body 6} inches; weight 
63 Ibs. With Cuvier’s short description (Rég. An. t. 2. p. 335), 
and which is adopted in the ‘Manual of British Vertebrate Ani- 
mals,’ it agrees in only one of the three specific characters, that 
of the first dorsal being more elevated than the second. Its 3rd 
D. ray is longest *, being 3 inches in length, and terminating 
in a filament; the 2nd ray is 2 inches, and the first but 10 
lines long. Upper jaw much the longer; ventral fin, from 
base to extremity of the longer fork, 73 inches ; to that of the 
shorter, 54 inches. Head 5 inches 10 lines long, nearly as 
one to four in length of body; P. fin rather more than half 
the length of the head, and central between the dorsal and 
ventral outline; profile rather angular from D. fin to eye, 
above which it isa little depressed ; eye exceeding an inch in 
diameter ; nostrils double, 3 lines apart ; beard very slight, 
1 inch 2 lines long; 2nd D. and A. fins increase gradually 
in breadth posteriorly, at their termination cut square, or at 
right angles to the body; no spines before the A. fin as in 
those described by Mr. Couch (Linn. Trans., vol. xiv. p. 75) ; 
tail obscurely rounded; lateral line much incurvated for two- 
thirds its length anteriorly ; vent 103 inches from snout; 
“jaws and front of the vomer armed with several rows of 
sharp card- or rasp-like teeth.” | 
D. 9—64; A.54; P.17 (6th longest); V.1; C. 24, 
reckoning all; Br. 7. 

Colour of body lilac grey, becoming paler towards the belly ; 
D. A. and C. fins lilac grey, terminated with black; P. fin 
dark grey; V. fin greyish, towards extremity white; inte- 
rior of gill covers rich purple; eyes silvery round the pupil, 
thence to circumference brown. 

On dissection it proved a male, the milt weighing 114 oz. 
The stomach contained some crustacea and two small whi- 
tings (Merlangus vulgaris). 

Since the above was written, I have learned that a specimen 

_* The error of Pennant and Cuvier in considering the Ist D. ray the long- 


est may perhaps be attributed to a want of due examination, as otherwise it 
does so appear, and more especially in a dried specimen. 


16 Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 


taken about the same place occurred to the late Mr. Templeton 
(Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. i. p.411, New Series). The species 
should consequently have been omitted as an unrecorded Irish 
one; but as a description was drawn up, and specimens had 
not come under the inspection of either Yarrell or Jenyns 
previous to the publication of their respective works, it has 
been considered better with this notice to retain it. 

Puatessa Poxta, Cuv., Pole-—On April 26, 1837, I pro- 
cured, in Belfast market, six specimens of this fish, which had 
been taken along with turbot, &c. at Ardglass, on the coast 
of Down. Such is the difference in the number of rays in 
their fins, especially in the anal, that it seems to me desirable 
to be noticed at full length. 


No. 1. Length 143 inches; D.102; A. 89; V. 6. 

Bo Pt, Emme 102 88 6 

$ooecs 5 Bae Se 108 92 6 

Wi apte eae 110 100 6 

6. Ao ae 102 86 6 

"Kee rest © mre 106 9] 6 

No.1. P.12 on upper, 10 on under side; C. 19 41a Cuv., or 23 altogether. 

2. 12 i 10 . ey ag gi) 8: 
3. Al on each side 19 fi 23 ds 
a 1 f tie ee 
_ 5. 12  onupper,10 onunderside; 19 2 ere 
Se is 10 ‘ ee ite 


Branchiostegous membrane in each specimen consisting of 
five rays; in each likewise a short strong bony spine, directed 
forwards before the anal fin, but which cannot be called a 
spinous ray: in some individuals the skin covers it, in others 
the point is exposed. 

With the short specific characters in the ‘Manual of British 
Vertebrate Animals’ these individuals agree, with one ex- 
ception, that of the lateral line not being “ straight through- 
out its course,” although it is nearly so—from the origin it 
slopes gently over the pectoral fin, and thence to the tail is 
straight. They correspond in every detail with the general 
description in the same work, except in the following particu- 
lars, in which the specimens exhibit considerable difference. 
Mr. Jenyns remarks, “greatest elevation of the [dorsal] fin 
contained five times and a half in the breadth of the body,” 


\ 


Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 17 


p- 459—in some of these it is contained but 3}, in others 4 
and 4} times, and this is not owing to difference of size in in- 
dividuals; in the female specimen, which is of the largest 
size, the dorsal fin is rather lower compared with breadth of 
body than in the others. In the individual examined by Mr. 
Jenyns, the ventral fins are described to have equalled the 
pectorals in length, but in all these the latter are considerably 
longer, in some being one-third, in others one-fourth longer 
than the ventrals. With Mr. Yarrell’s description they gene- 
rally agree. 

- The colour of the upper side of these six specimens is one 
uniform tint, intermediate between the “yellowish brown” 
and “ wood brown” of Syme’s ‘ Nomenclature of Colours.’ 
The fins are all merely of a darker shade, owing to the mem- 
brane being minutely spotted with a deeper brown ; the hinder 
portion of the upper half of the P. fin is black, thus resem- 
bling this fin in all the British species of sole; “the edges of 
all the fins darker than the rest,” as described by Mr. Yarrell ; 
the under side of the three larger is pure white, of the three 
smaller white also, but closely dotted over with extremely mi- 
nute black spots, which, without close examination, give to 
this portion the appearance of soiled white; pupil purplish 
black ; irides silvery, in some of them tinged with gold. 

On dissection, five of these individuals exhibited milt, and 
one of them roe; the ova of a very small size, and the milt 
not much developed. Excepting the stomach of one, which 
was empty, they all contained a few fragments of Solen pellu- 
cidus or minutus ; in addition to this shell, three of them exhi- | 
bited the remains of Ophiure; one, besides the Solen and Ophi- 
ure, presented some crustacea; and another, in addition to the 
Solen, the remains of marine worms, apparently Planarie. 

On May 5, 1837, I obtained a seventh specimen of P. 
Pola, which, like the others, was taken by trawling, at Ard- 
glass. It was 12+ inches long, and exhibited milt moderately 
developed. Its stomach contained fragments of Solen pellu- 
cidus, and a specimen of Bulla lignaria. 

Sotea Lineuua, Rond.*, Red-backed Sole.—On the 23rd 

* Solea parva sive Lingula, Rondeletius ; see his figure of “a petite sole,” 
p- 260; also Willughby’s figure and description, p. 102, F. 8, fig. 1. 

Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol.2. No.7. Sept. 1838. Cc 


18 Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 


of August, 1836, three small specimens of this fish were cap- 
tured by Mr. Hyndman and myself when dredging on a sandy 
bottom off Dundrum, in the county of Down. 


No. 1. Length 33 inches; D. 68; A. 56. 


Boiss hat Ok cal 72-86. 
“VGA WES 66 54. 
No.1. P. 4 upper side, 2 under side; V.5; C.18 altogether. 
2. 4 ” 2 ” 5 18 ”? 
a = 2 ies igeepg 


Breadth of body of No. 1,13 lines. In form they differ con- 
siderably from Solea vulgaris, by tapering towards the tail. 
Dorsal and anal fins similarly connected with the caudal, the 
last ray of each exhibiting a low inconspicuous membrane, 
which extends to the base of the outer caudal ray—these 
three fins, merely touching in this manner, appear at a cursory 
view unconnected. In the number of rays in the fins, and 
characters generally, they correspond with Donovan’s descrip- 
tion of the Pleuronectes variegatus (vol. v. p.117), but differ 
remarkably from his figure in colouring; nor in this respect 
do they agree entirely with Hanmer’s figure (Penn. Brit. Zool., 
vol. il. pl. 48. ed. 1812), with which I consider them identical, 
as they want the blotches of black represented on the dorsal 
and anal fins. They also differ a little from each other in co- 
louring, the largest being of an uniform reddish brown on the 
upper side; the two smaller, of a paler shade, with a series of 
roundish black spots on the body, a short way inwardly from 
the back of the dorsal and anal fins, and a few similar spots on 
the lateral line: in one the spots approaching the fins just 
named are eight in number, in the other they are fewer and 
less conspicuous. In the three specimens all the fins except 
the ventral have, at irregular intervals, an occasional ray black; 
the rays only exhibiting this colour, 

Mr. Jenyns has called attention to the difference of colour 
and number of rays in the fins of the specimen he examined 
(p.468) compared with the individual described by Mr. Han- 
mer. In both respects it appears the species is subject to 
considerable variation. Dr. Parnell has more recently de- 
scribed (Mag. Zool. and Bot., vol. i. p. 527) what he considers 
to be a new species of sole, and names Monochirus minutus ; 


Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 19 


but a comparison of my specimens with his description satis- 
fies me of their identity. The specific character of M. minutus 
is “every sixth or seventh ray of the dorsal and anal fins black,” 
which marking appears in the individuals under consideration, 
though less regularly ; their dorsal fins are connected with the 
caudal as in this fish, although the junction, as before men- 
tioned, is only observable on close examination. Two of my 
three specimens at the same time display “ blackish spots, 
which extend beyond the base of the rays [of the D. and A. 
fins] towards the body of the fish,” a character remarked by 
Dr. Parnell as distinguishing M/, Lingula from his new species. 
My specimens generally possess in common the characters 
of M. Lingula and M. minutus. 

In Mr. Yarrell’s collection there is a dried specimen, 4} 
inches long, from the Mediterranean, identical with mine, and 
like them displaying conspicuously, at irregular intervals, the 
black markings on the dorsal and anal fins*. 


ADDENDUM. 

Solea Lingula and Solea variegata. Belfast, June 18, 1838. 
Among some small fishes taken by dredging within the en- 
trance to Belfast bay by my friend Dr. J. L. Drummond, on 
the 16th instant, and considerately forwarded to me when 
quite recent, were five specimens of Solea, or Monochirus 
(Cuv.). Of these, which with one exception were examined be- 
fore being transferred to spirits, four individuals, varying from 
32 to 44 inches in length, are the Solea Lingula, Rond.; and 
one, 23 inches long, the Pleuronectes variegatus of Donovan. 
In our two latest and best works upon the subject—Yarrell’s 
‘ British Fishes,’ and Jenyns’s ‘ Manual of British Vertebrate 
Animals’—these names are brought together as synonymous, 
or representing but one species, with, however, an expression 
of doubt as to its correctness by the latter author. A compa- 
rative examination of the present examples satisfies me that 
they apply to two distinct species. _ 

In placing the individuals together, the most obvious differ- 

* Dublin, June 1838.—A specimen of this sole 34 inches long, and taken 
at Youghal, is in the collection of R. Ball, Esq. Its upper side does not 
exhibit any variegation of colours, but is of an uniform reddish brown hue. 
The rays of the dorsal and anal fins are occasionally black, as in all indivi« 
duals of this species I have seen. 


Gz 


20 Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 


ences appear in the dark blotches and transverse bands of S. 
variegata (Pleur. variegatus, Don.) contrasted with the com- 
paratively uniform tint of S. Lingula; in the scales of S. varie- 
gata being very much smaller *, in its eyes being relatively to 
each other placed more vertically, in the dorsal and anal fins 
being rather more distant from the caudal fin, and in the 
general form of the body, which tapers less towards the tail ; 
the rays too of the dorsal and anal fins are considerably fewer 
in number than in S. Lingula. 

The colour generally of the S. variegata is very similar to 
that of Donovan’s figure (British Fishes, vol. v. pl. 117), being 
of a pale yellowish brown, with the three conspicuous dark 
transverse markings approximating more the form of bands, 
and equidistant from each other, the last extending entirely 
across the body; the indication of a fourth band appears above 
the termination of the opercle, one (narrow and inconspicuous) 
at the base, and another near the extremity of the caudal fin ; 
the body is likewise marbled with blackish brown, towards, 
and spreading over, the base of the dorsal and anal fins ; be- 
tween the bands are faint markings of pale brown; dorsal 
and anal fins pale yellowish brown, marked irregularly with 
black towards the tail. rey 

The four specimens of S. Lingula, though not all exactly 
of the same shade of colour, are on the upper side of a pale 
brown, entirely and closely freckled over with a darker tint, 
and exhibiting several small roundish dark brown and white 
spots on the body at the base of the dorsal and anal fins, and 
along the lateral line: these brown and white spots are often 
disposed alternately. The largest individual presents in ad- 
dition to them, small white specks over the body generally. 

* Although I here speak only relatively to the size of the scales of S. 
Lingula, the remark may without explanation seem inconsistent with Do- 
novan’s ‘‘ specific character’’ of the variegated sole, in which the scales are 
stated to be “large ;’’ but a reference to his general description will show 
that it is the comparative magnitude ofits scales to:those of the common sole 
(S. vulgaris) to which he alludes, and in which he is correct, as he likewise 
is in describing those of the latter species to be “‘ remarkably diminutive.” 
The scales of my specimen accord in size with those of Donovan’s figure of 
P. variegatus: being reckoned from the origin of the lateral line to the base 
of the rays of the caudal fin (those on the rays not being enumerated) they 
are about eighty-five in number; in the specimen of S. Lingula examined 


there are about seventy scales within the same space. The scales lie more 
closely to the body in S. Lingula than in S, variegata. 


Mr, Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 21 


Rays of dorsal and anal fins occasionally black. Pupil dark 
blue, surrounded by a golden ring of about a hair’s breadth. 
The number of fin-rays in my specimen of S. variegata are 
D. 63, A.49, P:4*, V.4, C. 19 in all. In two of the specimens 
of S. Lingula, varying most from each other in size, there are 
72 rays in the dorsal and 56 in the anal fin; two others have 
the dorsal with 76 and the anal with 58 and 59 rays. 

Both species have papille on the under surface of the head, 
are rough with ciliated scales on the under as well as the up- 
per side, and have the nostrils tubular, but not to such an 
extent as Risso, terming the projection a “ barbillon,” figures 
that of his Monochirus Pegusa. 

The variegated sole of Donovan and Yarrell appears to be 
the same, and with it I consider the individual under consi- 
deration identical. With Mr. Jenyns’s description of S. Lin- 
gula my other specimens accord, as they also do with Mr. 
Hanmer’s description and figure of the red-backed sole (Pen- 
nant’s British Zoology, vol. i. p. 313, pl. 48, ed. 1812), with 
the exception of the black markings on the dorsal and anal 
fins, extending over several rays and their connecting mem- 
brane, instead of being confined to a single ray as in all the 
specimens I have examined. 

It is worthy of investigation whether the Monochirus Pe- 
gusa of Risso (t. 3, p. 258, f. 33, ed. 1826) be different from the 
Solea variegata here treated of. The figure and description 
of that species, though not in every respect accordant with 
each other, present many characters in common with it. 

The S. variegata is here for the first time recorded as occur- 
ring on the coast of Ireland. 


ANGUILLA LATIROSTRIS, Yarr. Broad-nosed Eel—When — 

at Toome (county Antrim) in Sept. 1834, a kind of eel was 

‘described to me as very different from the species (A. acuti- 
rostris) taken there in such abundance when entering the 

river Bann in autumn, on their passage from Lough Neagh 

to the sea. It was called “ Culloch or hunter-eel,” and was 


* This refers to the upper side, in which the second ray is the longest, 
and terminated by a filament; length of this ray and filament 13 line: P. 
fin on under side rudimentary, half a line in length, and rays undistinguish- 
able. 


22 Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 


stated to differ much in appearance and voracity from that 
species. A very intelligent fisherman at another part of the 
lake, distinguishing it by the name of “ Gorb-eel,” bore testi- 
mony to its voracious propensity*. He believes it to live 
chiefly on pollans (Coregonus Pollan), from the circumstance 
of having frequently known it to destroy these fishes when in 
the nets. He considers this species to be stationary in the 
lake, where it is sought for during summer with night lines, 
generally baited with very large worms or small perch: about 
5 Ibs. is the greatest weight he has known it to attain. 

In Belfast market I subsequently saw quantities of this eel 
from the above locality, when they proved to be the A. /ati- 
rostris. On pointing them out to an angling friend, I was as- 
sured that he had seen similar eels from Lough Erne on sale 
in Enniskillen. A correspondent writing from Portumna, in 
allusion it is presumed to this species, mentions a large- 
mouthed eel, which preys much on fish, as an inhabitant of 
the river Shannon. 

Mr. Yarrell observes, “ In its habits the broad-nosed eel 
has not been distinguished by any peculiarity that I am aware 
of from the other common eel” (vol. ii. p. 299), but the follow- 
ing circumstances incline me to believe, in addition to what 
has been mentioned, that there is a further difference in this 
respect. On looking over some thousand eels, taken in the 
nets at Toome on the night of the 24th of Sept., I did not re- 
cognise one of the broad-nosed species, nor have I seen it 
among eels brought from this place to Belfast market, nor 
again with the A. latirostris exposed here for sale, have I de- 
tected the common eel ; but as it is from an examination in a 
very few instances that I speak, this may perhaps apply only 
in general terms. The season at which the two species are 
brought to this market is different, the time for the A. Jati- 
rostris being summer, and autumn for the A. acutirostris. 
The intelligent fisherman before noticed states, however, that 
he has taken both species on his night lines at the same time. 
He knew the broad-nosed from the common eel before it ap- 
peared at the surface, by the greater resistance offered, and 


* Hence probably the name “ Glut Eel,” by which it was known to Pen- 
nant. 


Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 23 


frequently it was brought up twisted round the line in its en-: 
deavours to become extricated from the hook. 

During the summer months the A. latirostris is brought in 
by the tide as it flows over the banks of Belfast bay, and is 
taken by eel-spearers. A specimen 42 inches long that I ex- 
amined, and which was procured off the coast of the county 
Antrim at mid-winter, had in proportion to its size every cha- 
racter as strongly marked as the largest of its species: the 
fleshy prominence on each side of the head and terminating 
at the nape was very conspicuous. 

Ammopytes Tosranus, Bloch. Wide-mouthed Sand-eel. 
—This species is rare on the shores of Ireland as elsewhere 
compared with 4. Lancea. Of the latter, were specimens of 
Ammodytes favoured me by Mr. R. Ball from the coast of 
Cork, and with one exception, all that I have taken from the 
stomachs of the cod and other fishes. Such likewise, judging 
from their size, ( four to nine inches in length’’) are those de- 
scribed in the ‘ Wild Sports of the West’ as sought for on 
the coast of Mayo, and also those taken on the sands adjoining 
the village of Bushfoot near the Giants’ Causeway. In this last 
locality I speak on the authority of a gentleman who has often 
been present at the sand-eel fishing, and who, on being shown 
my specimens of A. Tobianus, remarked that he had never 
seen any of those taken there at all approaching them in size. 
In a paper by Dr. J. D. Marshall on the Statistics and Natural 
History of the island of Rathlin, published in a late part of 
the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, the A. Todianus 
is enumerated among the fishes of the island; but I have the 
authority of the author for stating, that it is the common spe- 
cies now distinguished by the name of A. Lancea*, to which 
he there alluded. . 

August 23, 1836.—On inquiring at Dundrum on the coast 
of Down about sand-eels, I ascertained that two species are 
procured in the extensive sands here; the larger of which is 
called “ Snedden,” and the smaller “ Sand-eel,” and that they 
are throughout the district considered as distinct as any two 
species of fish. This information induced me to attend the 
sand-eel fishing today, when at the extreme of low water I had 


* Both species were until the last few years considered as one, which was 
designated 4. Tobianus. 


- 


24 Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 


the satisfaction of seeing both A. Tobianus and A.Lancea taken 
indiscriminately, From the loose sand covered with water to 
about the depth of nine inches, the persons engaged in this 
occupation with great dexterity drew these fishes from their 
lurking-places, using for the purpose old reaping hooks. 
These are run through the sands with the right hand drawn 
_ towards the left, by which the fish is seized and transferred 

to a basket strapped round the waist and carried in front. 
It is in shape like the angler’s, but much larger and open at 
the top. The A. Tobianus is said to be always scarce here 
compared with the A. Lancea, and is sometimes not to be 
found at all. An intelligent fisherman informed me that 
the greatest quantity he ever took of the former species 
during “one ebb” was twelve or thirteen quarts. It is 
by measure both kinds are estimated and sold, the A. Lancea 
producing from one to two pence the quart, and the “ sned- 
dens”, being more highly prized on account of their superior 
size, one half more. On inquiring how the two species 
are distinguished when of equal size, one man stated by the 
difference of form, and chiefly in that of the head; and an- 
other said he knew them by colour alone. Although the dif- 
ference was in each respect very apparent to myself, I put both 
parties to the test, and found that the one guided by form, and 
the other by colour, drew the 4. Tobianus from his basket 
with equal dexterity, and without a moment’s hesitation 
singled it out from hosts of the A. Lancea. This fishing is car- 
ried on here daily throughout the year except in winter, when: 
being full of spawn the sand-eels are considered unfit to be 
eaten. At other times they are used by all classes of people. 
In the excellent hotel at Dundrum they were served up to us 
at dinner along with salmon, and were fried with crumbs of 
bread strewed over them—for breakfast they are similarly 
cooked, The poorer people dry them in the sun, and in bright 
days the tables and trays of the cottage are sure to be seen set 
out before the doors covered with sand-eels, 

August 27.—At Newcastle, about three miles south of Dun- 
drum, great quantities of sand-eels were taken at the morning- 
ebb of the spring-tide ; by some individuals so many as forty 
quarts. In the evening I reckoned about eighty persons out 
fishing, and haying two one-horse carts in readiness beside 


Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland, 25 


them to carry away the produce; but the harvest that was 
then gathered fell short of requiring such extra aid*. 

Having observed a number of pigs at Newcastle daily fre- 
quenting the sand at the extreme edge of the retiring waves, 
I ascertained, as had been anticipated, that they were in search 
of sand-eels. This however was not the chosen feeding-ground 
of these animals, as I subsequently saw them regularly driven 
out there to forage for themselves. The A. Tobdianus though 
taken here is less frequent than at Dundrum. 

When at Ballywalter, on the coast of Down, and north- 
wards of the last-mentioned place, in May 1836, Ifound a few of 
A. Tobianus by examining the sand-eels which fishermen were 
using as bait, and in the month of March following, obtained 
a specimen along with two of the 4. Lancea from the stomach 
of a sea trout (S. Trutta) taken at Donaghadee. On question- 
ing some fishermen at Portaferry, situated just within the en- 
trance to Strangford Lough, in the same county, respecting 
the two species of sand-eel, I learned that they had not been 
as such distinguished by them. It was however stated, that 
they occasionally obtained much larger individuals than or- 
dinary, which from colour were named “ green-backs,” the 
common being called sand-eels: the former both from supe- 
rior size and different colour must doubtless be the A. Tobia- 
nus. 

Amongst a few fishes found dead on the beach at Cairn- 
lough near Glenarm (county of Antrim) in June 1836, by Dr. 
J. L. Drummond, was a specimen of the 4. Todtanus. In this 
as well as every other instance in which I have seen the last- 
named species, specimens of A. Lancea occurred at the same 
time. : 

In the ‘Wild Sports of the West’ there is a short but 
graphic account of sand-eel fishing by moonlight on the coast 
of Mayo; and at Strangford Lough and other places in the 
north of Ireland it is likewise a favourite pastime of the young 
in the moonlight nights of summer, It is said that from the 
silvery brilliance of the fish being more striking by night than 


’ * “The coast [at Newcastle] affords plenty and variety of sea fish; and 
such quantities of sand-eels have sometimes been taken on it, particularly 
in the late season of scarcity, that the ‘poor carried them away in sacks- 
full.”’—Harris’s Down, (p. 81.) published in 1744, 


26 Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 


day, it is at this time captured with greater facility ; but is it 
not rather for the novelty of dry-land fishing, with the addi- 
tional feature of being achieved by moonlight, that the sport is 
at this time practised*? Although the sand-eel is noticed in 
several of the Statistical Surveys of the Irish counties, there is 
not that I recollect any remark which would lead us to suppose 
that more than one kind has been observed ; but there can be 
little doubt that both species are found elsewhere than on the 
coasts of Down and Antrim. 

The largest specimen of A. Todianus obtained at Dundrum 
was 13 inches long. D.56 (first very short), P. 13, A. 29, C.15. 
In all the characters of form and relative proportion of parts 
it agrees with the descriptions of Yarrell and Jenyns. In 
colour this species is of a dark bluish green, while the 4. Lancea 
is of a sandy hue like the Atherine (4. Presdyter), but tinged 
partially on the back and sides with bluish green. From the 
mouth of the specimen described I took a small individual of 
of its own speciest: Bloch and Couch mention similar in- 
stances. 

The largest A. Lancea procured at Dundrum was 8 inches 
long. D. 54, P. 11, A. 27, C.14. 

Dorsal fin commencing “in a line with the last quarter,’ 
and not above “ the middle” of the pectoral fins. 

SynenatTHus TyPHe, Linn. Deep-nosed Pipe-fish.An 
individual of this species, above 8 inches in length, and ob- 
tained in 1835 at Glendore, county of Cork, by Mr. Allman, 
has been forwarded for my inspection by Mr. R. Ball. Among 
some small fishes taken along with crustacea, &c. in Larne 
Lough (county of Antrim) during the summer of 1836, by 
Mrs. Patterson of Belfast, and very kindly sent to me, was a 
specimen of S. Typhle. Though only 1 inch 2 lines in length, 
every character in proportion to its size was as strongly marked 
as in the adult fish. 

SYNGNATHUS 2ZQUOREUS, Linn. Aiquoreal Pipe-fish.— 
A specimen of this fish taken at Youghal (county Cork) has 

* Mr. Lukis states that in Guernsey they are sought for by moonlight.— 
Yarr. Brit. Fish. vol. ii. p. 324. 

+ An observant friend once saw a sand-eel about four inches in length, 
taken with bait, which was either a os of herring or a composition of 


feathers—the latter a common bait for the coal-fish (Merlangus Carbonarius) 
in the north of Ireland, | 


Mr. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 27 


been submitted to my examination by Mr. R. Ball. Its length 
is 19 inches, rays of dorsal fin 40. It corresponds in all re- 
spects with this species as admirably characterized by Mr. 
Jenyns (p. 486); as also does another individual obtained in 
the autumn of 1836 on the beach near Larne (county Antrim), 
by Mr. James Marks of that town, who presented it to the 
Belfast Museum. This specimen is 21} inches long, but being 
imperfect at the caudal extremity, must when entire have been 
at least one inch more. Its D. rays 41. March 15, 1838. 
I received from George Matthews, Esq. of Spring-vale (county 
Down), a perfect and beautiful specimen of this fish which 
was found on the beach there after a high tide during the 
boisterous weather about the beginning of this month. Its 
length is 221 inches. D. rays 46. Caudal fin apparent to the 
naked eye; its rays distinguished by a lens, 8 in number. 
This Syngnathus was in the present instance preserved and 
forwarded. to me on account of the fishermen being unac- 
quainted with it. 

Synenatuus Opuipion, Bloch. Snake Pipe-fish_ From 
Mr. R. Ball I have received two specimens of S. Ophidion, 
which were procured in 1835 at Glendore (by Mr. Allman) 
and Youghal. The larger one is upwards of a foot in length, 
and with the unimportant difference of i/s having 41 rays on 
the dorsal fin, both individuals agree in every character with 
the descriptions of this species by Jenyns and Yarrell, which 
are much more minute than Bloch’s account of it. Mr. Ball 
has subsequently informed me of his having received a third 
specimen, about 14 inches in length, from Youghal, where it 
was captured in July 1836. Soon after this time I received 
a S. Ophidion from the coast of the county of Antrim. 

HiprocaMPus BREVIROSTRIS, Cuv.? Sea-horse.—Vide 
Zool. Proc., 1837, p. 58, for the first specimen recorded as 
Irish. In addition to the individual there mentioned, a Hip- 
pocampus was taken alive in Belfast Bay in July 1837, by my 
relative Richard Langtry, Esq., and though ordered to be 
preserved for me, was unfortunately lost. . In consequence of 
this, its species, as in the former instance, cannot be given 
with certainty*. 


* I am credibly informed that a Hippocampus was found dead on the 
beach near Youghal, on the southern coast, afew years ago, 


28 Mr. J. Ball’s Botanical Notes of a Tour in Ireland. 


Perromyzon PLANeERI, Cuv. Fringed-lipped Lamprey.— 
I am indebted to Mr. R. Ball for two specimens of this fish, 
which were obtained in the vicinity of Naas, county of Kildare. 
They are 44 and 5 inches in length respectively; the smaller 
one only has the “ anal sheath,” which is two lines long. (See 
fig.in Yarr. B. F. vol. ii. p. 457.) The dentition in these spe- 
cimens is similar to that shown in Mr. Yarrell’s figure of P. 
fluviatilis, and consequently in this character they do not ac- 
cord with his figure of the mouth of P. Planeri ; in this same 
wood-cut however, the chief peculiarity of the species—the 
fringed lip—is well represented. The dentition or “ armature 
of the mouth” of P. fluviatilis and P. Planeri is similar, as re- 
marked by Mr. Jenyns*. 

April 2, 1838. From the Rey. Charles Mayne, Vicar Ge- 
neral of Cashel—to whose kindness I have in several instances 
been indebted for specimens of fishes, &c., from the river 
Shannon—I to-day received a lamprey, 42 inches in length, 
recently taken in the vicinity of Killaloe, and which proved 
to be the P. Planeri. 


Addendum to vol. i. p. 356. 


Gosius GRAcILIS. Dublin, June 1838.—In the collection 
of my friend Robert Ball, Esq. of this city, there are two spe- 
cimens of Gobius gracilis about 3 inches in length, from 
Youghal. On closely comparing them with individuals of 
Gobius minutus of equal size, the differences in so far as they 
are above mentioned are very obvious ; but further, as in those 
before examined, I cannot perceive any constant characters. 


II1.—Botanical Notes of a Tour in Ireland, with Notices of 
some new British Plants. By J. Bauy, Esq., of Christ 
College, Cambridge. 

Tue attention of British naturalists having been recently di- 

rected towards the wide field for investigation which Ireland 

presents to them, it may perhaps not be inappropriate to offer 
some additional information for the botanical tourist, gathered 
* Dublin, June 1838,—Specimens of this Lamprey have lately been re- 


ceived by R, Ball, Esq. from Inch river, about ten miles north-west of 
Youghal. 


Mr. J. Ball’s Botanical Notes of a Tour in Ireland. 29 


during an excursion from Dublip through the northern part 
of the island in the summer of 1837; as also to notice the 
discovery of two or three plants, which are, I believe, new to 
the British Flora. The neighbourhood of Dublin is princi- 
pally rich in some of the more local sea plants; I may men- 
tion as a station for several of these the south-eastern side of 
the rocky point of Killiney Hill, which runs out towards the 
small island of Dalkey. I have here gathered Inula (Lim- 
_ barda, Hook.,) crithmoides, Lavatera arborea, Euphorbia port- 
landica, Linum angustifolium, Statice spathulata, Daucus ma- 
ritimus, &c. Further south, near Bray, Marrubium vulgare 
may be seen more truly wild than it usually is in Ireland, ex- 
tending for some distance along the shore, as also upon the 
common near the town: on banks near the road, between 
Bray and Enniskerry, Hrodium moschatum appears certainly 
indigenous, and near the latter village I have noticed Melissa 
Calamintha (Calamintha officinalis, Hook.), and Polygonum 
minus, Scirpus Savii, Habenaria chlorantha, &c., as also Ge- 
ranium pyrenaicum certainly wild and very common. Lrio- 
phorum pubescens, which has hitherto been found in the boggy 
ground just above the village, is, I fear, extirpated by drain- 
age. In the sand pits on the hill by the Dublin road may be 
noticed Festuca bromoides, and also a remarkable state of 
Meracium Pilosella, apparently intermediate between that 
plant and H. Peleterainum, Merat., which latter is however by 
many botanists considered a miere variety of H. Pilosella. 

In Glen Cree, a valley running from Powerscourt to Lough 
Bray, I have gathered Carex levigata, Senecio viscosus, Pin- 
guicula lusitanica, Myosotis repens, Pyrus Aria, &c.; and on 
the mountains south of Glen Cree I have found a Leontodon 
(Apargia, Hook.), to all appearance distinct from any recog- 
nised British species. If it be possible to judge by mere de- 
scriptions in this difficult genus, I should consider it to be 
L. alpinum, Jacquin, (L. pyrenaicum, Gouan,) though in some 
respects it approaches more near to L. hastile of Linnzeus. 

The neighbourhood of Powerscourt Waterfall is remarkably 
productive in ferns; in addition to the common species, there 
are found here Polypodium phegopteris, Nephrodium oreopteris, 

Hymenophyllum Tunbridgiense and H. Wilsoni (which latter 


30 Mr. J. Ball’s Botanical Notes of a Tour in Ireland. 


is not rare on the Irish mountains), and here for thirty years 
has been known to grow a single frond of the rare Tricho- 
manes brevisetum. On the south side of the stream, below the 
waterfall, and elsewhere in the same neighbourhood, grows a 
species of Nephrodium which Mr. Mackay considers identical 
with N. dumetorum of Smith. The plant however by no 
means agrees with the specimen in Smith’s Herbarium, which 
is nothing but a small diseased specimen of N. dilatatum., 
The present specimen differs widely from any of the forms of 
that variable plant which I have seen; how far these differ- 
ences may be permanent is of course a question to be deter- 
mined by more experienced botanists than myself. Near the 
same place I have observed a concave variety of a Nephrodium 
of the spinulosum tribe*, which may possibly be the same as 
the variety of N. dilatatum mentioned by the Rev. W. Bree in 
Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. iv., though it differs very constantly both 
in form and habit from that plant. I have found it also on the 
Great Sugar Loaf in the County of Wicklow and on Curslieve 
Mountain in Mayo. i 

Salix herbacea may be gathered on rocks at the summit of 
Djouce mountain, and is, I believe, found in similar situations 
on other mountains of this group. Upon the great Sugar 
Loaf, which, like other mountains composed of quartz rock, is 
exceedingly unproductive both in animal and yegetable life, 
almost the only plant of interest is the Melampyrum monta- 
num, Johnstone. This plant, which I have met in a similar 
situation on Curslieve in Mayo, is found by the side of the 
largest gully on the east side of the mountain; it preserves 
very constantly its distinct habit. I am not aware whether it 
has ever been remarked that the form of the lowest pair of 
leaves is always obovato-lanceolate, being quite different from 
that of the superior ones. In boggy ground, at the north-east 
base of the mountain, grows the Wahlenbergia (Campanula, 
L.) hederacea, mentioned by Mr. Mackay as growing upon 
this mountain. In the Dargle, near the bed of the river, may 
be found Meconopsis cambrica, and Bromus giganteus B, and 


* The name spinulosum appears more applicable to this than to any plant 
of this genus, the serratures of the pinnules being all tipped with stiff hairs, 
which converge towards the extremity of each pinnule. 


Mr. J. Ball’s Botanical Notes of a Tour in Ireland. 31 


Bryum punctatum abundant in fructification. Returning to 
Dublin, and procéeding northward along the shore of the bay, 
Linum angustifolium may be found plentifully on banks be- 
tween Clontarf and Howth; on the sandy sea shore Euphorbia 
paralia isabundant. Close to the ruined church of Kilbarrick 
may be seen the five British species of Papaver, P. somni- 
Serum being as truly wild as,it is ever seen in Britain. In ad- 
dition to many rare or local plants mentioned by Mr. Mackay I 
have found in the sandy fields near this spot, Bromus erectus, 
Festuca rubra, and Avena pubescens, and in a marsh near 
Baldoyle, Heliosciadium inundatum. On banks above the vil- 
lage of Howth I have collected a species of Sagina, differing 
in appearance from the described British species, and agree- 
ing very closely with a specimen from Sussex, named by Mr. 
Borrer the Sagina filiformis of Pourret. For many rare plants 
in the neighbourhood of Portmarnock, stations are given in 
Mackay’s Flora Hibernica: I may observe that the species 
of Viola, named in that work V. Curtisii, and which agrees 
with cultivated specimens from a plant so named by Mr. 
Borrer, is not the V. Curtisii of the original description, which 
agrees with V. lutea in having the centre lobe of the sti- 
pules undivided, being probably no more than a variety of that » 
plant ; whilst the plant in question, which is abundant on the 
sandy coasts north of Dublin, and which I have seen also in 
the counties of Down and Derry, is apparently very nearly 
allied to the V. saxatilis of continental writers, which in com- 
mon with all the many named forms of V. tricolor, has the 
middle lobe of the stipule dentate. On the sandy warren near 
Portmarnock I noticed a tetrandrous species of Cerastium, 
which appears to be identical with the C. pedunculatum, de- 
_ scribed and figured by Mr. Babington in vol. ii. p.197. Pl. VI. 
of the Magazine of Zoology and Botany. I may mention ha- 
ving noticed in the county of Dublin the Fumaria parviflora, for 
which only a single station is given in the ‘ Flora Hibernica,’ 
At Clogher Head, in the county Louth, I found in a corn field, 
just above the village, Thlaspi arvense and Lamium incisum, 
both rare in Ireland; and on the summit, Trifolium striatum 
and Trigonella ornithopodioides ; and on steep banks over the 
sea Statice spathulata and a white variety of Anthyllis vulne- 


32 Mr. J. Ball’s Botanical Notes of a Tour in Ireland. 


raria, first found, I believe in Kerry, by Miss Hutchins. Near 
this I likewise found Fedia auricula, and, which is quite as 
rare in Ireland, Lepidium campestre, the place of which plant, 
so familiar to the English botanist, is almost always filled in 
this island by LZ. Smithii. I may mention that the distinctive 
character drawn from the smoothness of the capsule in L. 
Smithii, though very general, cannot be relied upon, the only 
constant character being, as I believe, the comparative length 
of the styles. At Jonesboro’, near Dundalk, I observed a 
white-flowered variety of Galeopsis Tetrahit, the same I believe 
with the var. 8 pubescens of Henslow’s Catalogue of British 
Plants ; it has the leaves ofa more acutely lanceolate form, and 
the whole plant has a softer and more abundant pubescence. 
I may here mention that near Newcastle in the county 
Down, the rare Achillea tomentosa has been found by Miss 
Keown. Sir J. E. Smith mentions his having received this 
plant from Ireland, but no station has before been made known 
for it in that country. The neighbourhood of Belfast is pe- 
culiarly rich in botanical productions, to the stations for many 
of which I was directed by my friend Professor Bryce. I may 
mention some additional objects of interest which have not, I 
believe, been previously noticed. On the south side of the bay, 
between Belfast and Hollywood, I found Atriplex littoralis, 
Blysmus rufus, and Scirpus glaucus. By the side of a sandy 
lane, to the right of the road to Hollywood, I remarked a sin- 
gular straggling variety of Viola lutea, which plant is very 
rare in Ireland. Here also may be found the Rosa Hibernica, 
which has become very scarce in this neighbourhood. Upon 
that interesting botanical station the Cave Hill, I found a late 
single-flowered variety of Sawifraga hypnoides, the flowers of 
which were mostly sessile upon the extremities of the procum- 
bent shoots; some, which had elongated flower stalks, appeared 
identical with the form described by Smith under the name 
of elongella: together with this, upon the south side of the 
hill, 1 found the <Alchemilla vulgaris 8B minor (A. hybrida, 
Pers.) ; it appears to differ in nothing from a@ but in its small 
size and dense white spreading pubescence, which gives it a 
hoary appearance. The finest specimens of the rare Orobanche 
rubra (some of them nearly a foot in height) are to be found 


Mr. J. Ball’s Botanical Notes of a Tour in Ireland. 33 


on the basaltic rocks at the south-east angle of the hill. 
Under bushes at the east side I found Circea intermedia 
very luxuriant both in flower and fruit, as likewise Vicia sy/- 
vatica, &c. At Colin Glen, a few miles from Belfast, I gathered. 
specimens of Rubus saxatilis; and in boggy ground, about half 
way up the Glen, a single specimen of a fern which corre- 
sponds accurately with Smith’s original specimens of Nephro- 
dium cristatum (N. callipteris, DC.).. Nearly in the same 
place I collected Mentha rubra and a Galiwm, apparently of 
the palustre tribe, but without flower or fruit, remarkable for 
the leaves in the whorl being constantly four in number. In 
ascending from the lower woody part of the glen to the rocks 
at the summit, the botanist can scarcely fail to remark the 
gradual transition from a very divided form ‘of Aspidium an- 
gulare through the forms named aculeatum and lobatum, to 
one on the rocks above, which cannot be distinguished from 
A. lonchitis*. Throughout a great part of Antrim I noticed 
Rubus Ideus as the most common species of the genus in 
hedges and woods as also on rocky ground. 

At Coleraine in Derry, Carwm verticillatum is found in great 
abundance by the west bank of the river about a quarter of a 
mile below the town. In a potato field near the same place 
I found Lamium intermedium, which is new to the Irish Flora; 
I also found it in a similar situation near the foot of Ben Bul- 
ben in Sligo, and it is probably not rare in the northern coun- 
ties. On sandy ground, near the mouth of the Baun, I no- 
ticed Gnaphalium minimum and rectum, and Trifolium medium. 
I may direct the attention of the conchologist to the sandy 
coast of Magilligan, which is very productive in marine shells. 
In addition to many rare plants mentioned in the Flora Hi- 
bernica as growing on Ben-ye-venagh, I found many alpine 
species not common in Ireland, Silene acaulis, Dryas octope- 
tala, Saxifraga hypnoides, Salix herbacea; and on Umbragh 
rocks Rubus saxatilis. Throughout the counties of Derry, 
Tyrone, Donegal, and Sligo Galiopsis versicolor is common ; 
but I may observe as somewhat remarkable, that I have never 


* In this glen some rare land shells, Helix fusca and scarburgensis (lamel- 
lata, Drap.), are to be found: for the direction to this spot I am indebted 
to that active naturalist Mr. Thompson of Belfast. 


Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol.2. No.7. Sept, 1838. D 


34 Mr. J. Ball’s Botanical Notes of a Tour in Ireland. 


seen it except in potato fields ; a fact somewhat corroborative 
of the opinion as to its being a luxuriant variety of G. Tetrahit. 
In the neighbourhood of Enniskillen, on the banks of Lake 
Erne, I found Circea intermedia and Galium boreale; and in the 
same locality many species of Mentha might probably be dis- 
criminated by a botanist acquainted with that difficult genus. 
Perhaps the mountains of Sligo offer the most promising field 
to the inquiring naturalist of any part of Ireland. I may 
mention the results of a hurried visit to Ben Bulben, which is 
already known to be a habitat of Arenaria ciliata and many 
other rare plants; on the limestone ledges at the north-west 
angle of the mountain I found Dryas octopetala, Silene acaulis, 
Saxifraga hypnoides and Aizoides, Juniperus nana, and a very 
diminutive variety of Thalictrum minus, which has possibly 
been mistaken for 7. alpinum, said to grow on this mountain. 
A little to the east, on the northern face of the rock, I gathered 
a very large glabrous-fruited form of Carex recurva, probably 
the C. Micheliana of Eng. Bot., and in the same spot Poly- 
gonum viviparum, not mentioned in the Flora Hibernica ; but 
in a notice in the Mag, Nat. Hist. since pointed out to me, 
I find that it was gathered nearly in the same spot many years 
ago by Mr. Murphy. Proceeding eastward along the ledges 
of limestone, which abound in fossils, particularly many spe- 
cies of corals, I found growing in company with Ses/leria ceru- 
lea a grass new to the British Flora, the Keleria valesiaca, 
Gaud. Near the same place I noticed Asplenium viride, Cy- 
stopteris fragilis, &c. On the bogs between Sligo and Bal- 
lina I gathered Gnaphalum rectum, Osmunda regalis, and 
Juncus nigritellus, Eng. Bot. Supp., a plant apparently quite 
distinct from J. lamprocarpus; and near the coast Raphanus 
maritimus and Scirpus Savii, 8. monostachys, a form which I 
have also noticed in Wicklow. Near Ballina Gentiana Amarella 
occurs with white flowers. In the great boggy district of Ty- 
rawley, the herbage consists principally of Rhyncospora alba, 
Schenus nigricans, Eleocharis palustris, Drocera anglica, and 
Osmunda regalis, with a few of the more common carices and 
junci. After passing the night at a cottage about seven miles 
from its base, I next day ascended Curslieve, one of the highest 
mountains in the Erris group. By the side of a stream, descend- 


Mr. J. Ball’s Botanical Notes of a Tour in Ireland, 35 


‘ing from Currough-na-Gorragh, a small lake at a considerable 
elevation on the mountain, I gathered Melampyrum monianum, 
and a concave Nephrodium which I have already mentioned. 
I also found here a species of Hpilobiwm with downy fruit 
somewhat allied to E. alpinum it corresponds accurately with 
the description of EZ. nutans in Reichenbach’s ‘ Flora Excur- 
soria Germanica,’ and Professor Don considers it identical with 
that plant. On the rocks above Currough-na-Gorragh I ob- 
served avariety of Savifraga stellaris with a large spreading pa- 
nicle, the leaves covered with long dense hairs larger and more 
deeply cut than in the ordinary state of the plant. Saxifraga 
umbrosa 8.(S, punctata, Haworth), is abundant on this and all 
the other mountains in this part of Ireland, Between New- 
port and Castlebar I noticed Nepeta Cataria, probably not 
indigenous, growing to the height of three or four feet. The 
limestone district on the banks of Lake Carra near Castlebar, 
is exceedingly productive in rare plants; on the north-eastern 
shore near Moore Hall I found Gentiana verna in fruit, a 
dwarf red-flowered variety of Gentiana Amarella, Gnaphalium 
dioicum, Thalictrum minus, sometimes growing to a large size 

and approaching very near to 7. majus, Galium boreale in 
great luxuriance, &c. To the west of this point I found 
Neottia spiralis and Equisetum variegatum. On a point of 
low rocky land called Derrynany, I found Rhamnus catharti- 
cus and frangula, both very rare in Ireland; Rubia peregrina, 
Euonymus europeus, and a fern in abundant fructification but 
with the capsules all burst, probably a Nephrodium, in which 
case it is allied to N. thelypteris, but differs in its very rigid 
habit, and in having the pinnules finely serrated and wanting 
the characteristic depression of the two lower pinne. 

Near Delphi in Morrisk I noticed Lycopodium selaginoides 
with Savifraga wnbrosa, and. Daboécia (Menziesia, Sm.) poli- 
folia in great abundance, as also Anthemis nobilis, which is a 
rare plant in Ireland. In a walk across the district lying 
between the Mamturk mountains and the group called the 
Twelve Pins, I gathered several of the peculiar plants of this 
district, as Eriocaulon septangulare, Utricularia minor and in- 
termedia, &c.: also on rocks in the bed of the river above 
Lough Inagh, Galium boreale, Thalictrum minus, and Hiera- 

D2 


36 Dr. Arnott on the Genus Langsdorffia. 


cium umbellatum, in a very reduced state and generally with 
only a single flower to each stem. An account of the botany 
of Connamara having been published by my friend Mr. Ba- 
bington in vol. ii. of the Mag. Nat. Hist., it will be unne- 
cessary to add anything further as to this district. On the lime- 
stone rocks at Kilcornan near Galway, I collected Grammitis 
ceterach, Melissa Calamintha, Asperula cynanchica, Euonymus 
europeus, Saxifraga tridactylites, &c.; also, which may ap- 
pear somewhat remarkable, on level ground near the sea, Ju- 
niperus nana in great abundance and luxuriance. 

I cannot close this brief notice without expressing my ob- 
ligations to my friend Mr. Babington for his assistance in the 
determination of many of the plants here mentioned. 

It is hoped that these results of a very hurried visit to some 
little frequented parts of Ireland, may tempt some British na- 
turalists to bestow a more careful examination on the hitherto 
little investigated districts of the west, where there can be no 
doubt that much would be found to repay their exertions. 


IV.—Some Account of the Genus Langsdorffia. By G. W. 
Arnott, Esq., LL.D. 


LANGSDORFFIA Mart. 

Receptacula solitaria, stipites simplices terminantia, unisexualia. ores 
Mascuzt inter paleas clavatas basi complanata in favi modum nexas sessiles. 
Perigonium infundibuliforme, limbo 8—5-fido, laciniis zestivatione indupli- 
cato-valvatis. Stamina 3—5, monadelpha, perigonii laciniis opposita; co- 
lumna solida, tubo perigonii adnata, parte libera anthesis breviore: anther 
connatz, extrorsz, biloculares; loculi zequales, juxta totam longitudinem 
dehiscentes. Ovarit rudimentum nullum. flores reminer (imperfecti?), 
confertissimi, pedicellati. Stylus filiformis simplex. Ovarium stipitatum in 
stylum gracilem attenuatum. Herbz carnosa, stipites e rhizomate hypogeo 
crassiusculo assurgentes, simplices, squamis obsessi, monocephali. Capitula 
unisexualia, alia ex eodem rhizomate mascula, alia feminea. 

1. L. janeirensis; rhizomate repente subsimplici, stipitis squamis arcte 
imbricatis lanceolatis villoso-fimbriatis, perigonio masc. trifido laciniis 
demum patentibus, floribus fem. (glandulam nullam ambientibus ?) infra 
stylum bulboso-granulosis.—L. janeirensis, L. C. Richard, in Mem. du 
Mus. d Hist. Nat. viii. p. 412. t. 19.—L. hypogeea, Mart. Journ. von 
Brasil, ii. p.179; Nov. gen. et sp. iii. p. 181. t. 299. 

Hab. in sylvis umbrosis circa Rio Janeiro. 


As no notice is taken of the glands which in the next are 


Dr. Arnott on the Genus Langsdorffia, | i 


found mixed with the female flowers, I presume that they do 
not exist, but have not myself been so fortunate as to examine 
specimens. 


2. L. indica; rhizomate cespitoso ramoso, stipitis squamis patulis ellip- 
ticis margine glabris, perigonio masc. 4—5-fido laciniis demum reflexis, 
floribus fem. circa glandulam pyriformem stipitatam insertis levibus. 
—L. indica, Wight et Arn. ined.; Hook. Ic. Pl. t. 205, 206.—Bala- 
nophora indica, Wall. Cat. n. 7247.—B. elongata, Blume en pl. Jav. i. 
p. 87? 

Hab. In Peninsula Indiz orientalis prope Courtallum et Cunnawady, 
atque in monte Newere-Ellia in insula Ceylano, Wight. 

Rhizoma carnosum, amorphum, ramosum, ramis brevibus crassis subprae- 
morsis. Caules seu stipites czespitosi, erecti, crassi, 4—6-pollices alti, mono- 
cephali, e basi usque ad capitulum squamis patulis tecti, alii ejusdem czs- 
pitis masculi-flori, alii femini-flori. Foliorum loco squamz obovales vel el- 
lipticze, obtuse, versus basin angustatee, summz consimiles, omnes flavido- 
virentes, carnosz, siccatione rigidulo-membranacee, glaberrime, minime 
ciliolatz, persistentes.—Capitulum masculinum sessile, ovato-globosum vel 
cylindraceo-ovale, obtusissimum, nunc squamis stipitis summis involucratum, 
nunc omnino emersum. Flores numerosi, majusculi, circa axin dense spi- 
ratim dispositi. Axis seu receptaculum crassi stipitis, subcylindraceum, 
apice quandoque paullo crassius, paleis carnosis clavatis apice truncatis basi 
membranaceis ac in favi modum connexis obsitum. Perigonium intra sin- 
gulos alveolos solitarium, sessile, infundibuliforme, paleis subtriplo longius: 
tubus cylindraceus semipollicem fere longus, andrcecio omnino farctus, pedi- 
cellum cylindricum crassiusculum referens: limbus seepius quadrifidus, haud 
raro tamen quinquefidus ; lacinize zequales, duas tresve lineas longe, ovales, 
obtuse, zestivatione induplicato-valvate, dein patentissimz, demum reflexe. 
Stamina monodelpha: columna filamentorum solida tubo perigonii coherens, 
extra tubum breviter exserta: antheree 4—5, laciniis perigonii opposite, 
circa column apicem solidum connate, singule, cordate, biloculares, lo- 
culis zequalibus intus septulo longitudinali secundario biloculatis, per totam 
longitudinem extrorsum dehiscentes, septulis post pollinis emissionem albo- 
membranaceis patulis cristas tenues 16 vel 20 lengitudinales simulantibus. 
Pollen subspheericum, compressiusculum, angulis tribus poriformibus.—Ca- 
pitulum femineum sessile, ovoideum, squamis stipitis summis involucratum. 
Flores innumeri, minutissimi, totam axeos seu receptaculi ovoidei superficiem 
densissime tegentes, pedicellati, laves, fasciculatim dispositi: fasciculi a 
plurimis floribus circa glandulam insertis compositi: glandula obpyriformis, 
fusco-purpurea, semipellucida, obscure cellulosa, stipitata; stipes basi in- 
crassata flores sustinens, supra basin gracilis. Ovarium ovoideum vel sub- 
globosum, seepe inequilaterum, atro-fuscum, basi in pedicellum apice in 
stylum attenuatum, ad styli basin lineola transversali (limbum perigonii co- 
heerentis truncatum verosimiliter indicante) obscurissime notatum, intus ut 
videtur solidum homogeneum ac inovulatum, ideoque forsan in nostris abor= 


38 Dr. Arnott on the Genus Langsdorfiia. 


tivum. Stylus filiformis, levis, apice crassior ac truncatus, structura sub- 
cellulari, ex apice ovarii attenuato tarde deciduus, ovario colore pallidior : 
stylorum apices glandulam supra descriptam vix superantes. 


Richard, in his account of the genus, considers the female 
flowers hitherto known to be imperfect: “ nescio quid imper- 
fecti in omnibus trium capitulorum a me dissectorum floribus 
femineis deprehendens, ad suspicandum alia existere capitula 
perfectioribus onusta floribus moveor.” ~Most-other botanists 
adopt the same view. I have never in the Indian species 
been able to find so perfect a perianth as Richard found in 
that from Brazil; and although the reputed ovaria were much 
more swollen than those which Richard saw, I cannot find the 
smallest trace of an ovule. I should therefore have thought it 
probable that those female capitula which arise from the same 
rhizoma as the male, were always imperfect, and that the fer- 
tile ones were to be found on a different plant, perhaps ac- 
companied by imperfect males; but Dr. Wight has observed 
the ZL. indica in different places and at different times, and 
he seems never to have detected any other than the form 
above described. Blume, if indeed his Balanophora elongata 
be the same as that from Dr. Wight, while he inserts it in 
Balanophora, makes no exception as to the imperfection of any 
of the female flowers: but that plant is referred doubtfully 
by Endlicher to Cynopsole, a new genus, which is said to be 
dicecious (the male only being known), but which may with 
equal probability be held to be moneecious, and would then 
only differ from Langsdorffia indica by “ flores masculi singuli 
bractea canaliculata excepta,”’ instead of these bractea or 
paleze being clavate upwards while their membranaceous bases 
intersect each other and form cells. Blume also says of his 
plant that it is dicecious, but from the account given in the 
generic character of the structure of the monecious species, 
it is obvious that by diecious he only alludes to the capitula 
being unisexual. 

Further observations may thus prove the three to be one 
and the same species. Whether we suppose that Blume saw 
perfect females, and that he found the structure as in the 
genus Balanophora, where the ovaria are “one-ovuled and 
attenuated upwards into a setaceous style,” or that the style 


di 


-banyooxy papdnrg-LNOT 
“SrYQUL 7] “ypbrtay granny DITO 


url josaop fo aorsod MY 


Riess 


S208 


MTA WTA AY POV ey 


Mr. R. Parnell on the Motella cimbria. 39 


described by Richard, and above in Dr. Wight’s species, be- 
longs to a complete but imperfectly observed female flower, 
I cannot draw the conclusion at which Endlicher has arrived, 
that Langsdorffia belongs to the same section of the order as 
Helosis and Scybalium, both with two styles and a bilocular 
ovary : it appears to me to be more intimately related to Ba- 
lanophora, and this relation is confirmed by the female flowers 
of B. indica being placed on glandular partial receptacles, as 
in Balanophora fungosa of Forster. From Balanophora, how- 
ever, Langsdorffia is readily recognised, by the males and fe- 
males being on different, not on the same receptacles, and by 
the ovaria being stalked, so that the ovary, considered along 
with the stalk and style, may almost be called fusiform. If, 
Endlicher, as I incline to think, has described his genus Cy- 
nopsole from imperfect materials, and if Blume’s Balanophora 
— elongata, and Wight’s Langsdorffia indica be referable to it, 
and if the original Langsdorffia janeirensis is really destitute of 
the glands that are intermingled with the female flowers of 
the other, Cynopsole may still be kept up for the eastern species. 

I may here remark that the ovary and style represented by 
Forster agree tolerably well with those observed in Dr.Wight’s 
plant; that Forster, as appears from his manuscripts quoted 
by Richard, was doubtful if what he saw was an ovarium, or 
that it was one-celled, and that he had seen neither pericarp 
nor seed; from which it. may be inferred that the female 
flowers observed were in appearance equally imperfect with 
those of Langsdorffia. It appears, however, from Blume’s ge- 
neric character (en. pl. Jay. i. p. 86) that he had at last ascer- 
tained them to be perfect, and that the fruit is crustaceous 
and one-seeded. : 


V.—On a new Species of British Fish (Motella cimbria). By 
~Ricwarp PARNELL, M.D., F.R.S.E. 
{ With a Plate. ] 


MoTELLA ciMBRIA*, the Four-bearded Rockling. 


Specific characters.—Snout with three barbules, and one 
onthe chin. Plate III. 


* Gadus cimbrius, Linneus. 


40 Mr. R. Parnell on the Motella cimbria. 


Description —From a specimen 14 inches in length. Form 
closely resembling that of the five-bearded rockling, but the 
length of the head is somewhat greater compared to that of 
the body; body elongated, rounded in front, compressed be- 
hind, tapering from the vent to the caudal extremity, greatest 
depth less than the length of the head. Head one-sixth of 
the entire length, caudal fin included, slightly depressed; snout 
blunt, projecting considerably beyond the under jaw; eye 
large, of an oval form, placed high up, and about its own length 
from the point of the snout; operculum rounded, oblique ; 
gill-opening large; gape wide; maxillary extending in a line 
with the posterior margin of the orbit ; teeth sharp, and fine, 
situated in two rows on the under jaw, and in five rows on the 
upper, a few are also placed in a cluster on the anterior part 
of the vomer; dJarbules four, one a little in front of each 
nostril, one at the extremity of the upper lip, and one on the 
chin ; tongue fleshy, smooth, and without teeth. Fins, first 
dorsal obsolete, scarcely discernible, commencing over the 
operculum, and terminating a little in front of the second 
dorsal, composed of a number of short, fine, capillary rays, of 
which the first is the largest, presenting an appearance, ac- 
cording to Linnzeus, of the letter T, but this latter character 
I was unable to recognise in the present example, owing to 
that ray having been somewhat destroyed previously to the 
fish coming into my possession ; second dorsal taking its ori- 
gin in a line over the ends of the pectorals, and terminating 
a little in advance of the caudal, the anterior portion nearly of 
equal height, the rays in the posterior half more sensibly in- 
creasing in length to the last but four, from thence rapidly 
diminishing, the first ray simple, the rest branched ; anal com- 
mencing in a line under the twelfth ray of the second dorsal, 
and ending under the last ray but three of the same fin, in 
form similar to the second dorsal, but the rays scarcely more 
than one half the length, the first ray simple, the rest branched; 
caudal rounded at the extremity, the lengths of the middle 
rays equalling the space between the first and twelfth rays of 
the anal, the lateral rays simple ; ventrals jugular, the second 
rays the longest, about two-thirds the length of the pectoral ; 
pectorals rounded at the extremities, equalling the length of 


Mr. R. Parnell on the Motella cimbria. 41 


the caudal, the first rays stout and simple, the rest branched. 
The fin-rays in number are 
Ist D. 50; 2nd D. 50; P. 16; V.5; A. 43; C. 203 
| Vert. 52. 

Scales small, smooth, and adherent, covering the head, body, 
and membranes of the dorsal, caudal and anal fins; lateral 
line distinct, formed by a number of oval depressions placed 
at intervals from each other, commencing over the operculum, 
taking a bend under the ninth, tenth, and eleventh rays of 
the second dorsal fin, from thence running straight to the 
middle ray of the caudal. Colours, back and sides of a grey- 
ish brown, belly dirty white, second dorsal fin edged with 
white, which is more apparent towards the caudal end; upper 
half of the caudal fin tipped with white ; pectorals, caudal and 
lower parts of the dorsal, dark brown approaching to black ; 
anal and ventrals dusky. 

Two well-known species of Motella are frequently met with 
on our coast, the Motella guinquecirrata and the Motella vul- 
garis; but I am not aware of the Moftella cimbria (Gadus 
cimbrius of Linnzeus) having previously been noticed as a 
British fish. It was found in June last, a little to the east of 
Inchkeith, on a haddock line baited with muscles, and sent 
me by the fishermen of Newhaven, as being the only fish of 
the kind they had ever met with. From its general appearance, 
they at once recognised it to be closely allied to the five-bearded 
rockling (Motella quinquecirrata), a common species through- 
out the coast, but on comparison the differences between them 
were obvious ; and although the two fishes do disagree in some 
particulars, yet it is difficult to point out accurately and satis- 
factorily, to those who are not in the habit of handling them, 
what these particulars are. Some authors, placing no depend- 
ence as a character on the numbers of barbules on the snout, 
consider the five-bearded rockling and the three-bearded rock- 
ling as mere varieties ; but this is not admitted either by Mr. 
Yarrell or by Mr. Jenyns, who very justly consider them as 
deserving of a place as distinct species in their valuable works 
on British Ichthyology. The four-bearded rockling, accord- 
ing to Linnzus, occurs in the Atlantic and Norway seas, and 
is distinguished by the first ray of the anterior dorsal fin pre- 


42 Mr. R. Parnell on the Motella cimbria. 


senting the form of the letter T. On dissecting the specimen 
I examined, I found the stomach filled with shrimps and small 
crabs: the cacal appendages were few in number; the roe 
was large, the ova small and numerous, and apparently in a 
fit state to be deposited. It is probable that the habits of this 
fish are similar to those of the other species, but from its ra- 
rity it is difficult to determine. 

The Motella cimbria differs from Motella quinquecirrata in 
the following respects :—in the snout having but three bar- 
bules ; the head one-sixth of the whole length ; the teeth sharp 
and slender, placed in two rows on the under jaw; the eye 
large, of an oval form; the snout much produced; the gape 
wide ; from the point of the snout to the posterior extremity 
of the maxillary, from thence to the origin of the pectoral, 
equal; the lateral line very distinct; the tips of the upper half 
of the caudal rays white; the second ray of the ventral fin but 
slightly produced; the rays in the anterior half of the second 
dorsal nearly double the lengths of those of the anal; where- 
as in MW, quinquecirrata the snout is furnished with four bar- 
bules; the head one-sixth the length as far as the base of the 
caudal fin; the teeth, blunt and stout, placed in three rows 
on the under jaw; the eye small, nearly circular; the snout 
but slightly produced; the gape rather small; from the point 
of the snout to the posterior extremity of the maxillary, from 
thence to the origin of the ventral, equal; the lateral line very 
indistinct; the caudal fin of a uniform brown; the second ray 
of the ventral fin much produced ; the rays in the anterior 
half of the second dorsal about equal the lengths of those of 
the anal. 

The Motella cimbria differs from Motella vulgaris in the 
snout being produced, and furnished with three barbules ; the 
teeth small, fine and slender, all nearly of equal length and 
size; the anal fin with forty-three rays; the body without 
spots ; whereas in M. vulgaris the snout projects but slightly, 
and is furnished with only two barbules; the teeth irregular, 
long and stout, with small ones at the base, closely arranged 
in many rows; the anal fin with fifty rays; the body with a 
number of large dusky spots. The form and arrangement of 
the teeth in this species are very striking. 


Rev. Li. Jenyns on the British Shrews. 43 


VI.—Additional Note on the British Shrews. By the Rev. 
L. Jenyns, M.A,, F.L.S., &c. 

Srvce the publication of my last memoir I have seen a third 
specimen of the Chestnut shrew in the museum of the Zoolo- 
gical Society ; and on comparing it with my own, I find it so 
exactly similar, both in form and colours, with the sole ex- 
ception of these last being somewhat paler, as to remove all 
doubt in my mind of its being a distinct species from the So- 
rex tetragonurus. The following may serve as the distin- 
guishing characters of these two shrews :— 

1. S. tetragonurus, Herm. (Square-tailed Shrew.)—Snout 
broad, compared with that of the common shrew: feet, fore espe- 
cially, much larger: tail slender, more quadrangular at all ages, 
and slightly attenuated at the tip; clothed with closely-ap- 
pressed hairs in the young state, in age nearly naked: upper 
parts very deep reddish brown; under parts dark yellowishgrey. 

2. 8. castaneus, Jen. (Chestnut Shrew.)—Snout and feet | 
much as in the last species, but the former rather more atte- 
nuated: tail moderately stout, nearly round, well clothed with 
hairs, which form at the extremity a long pencil; upper 
parts, as well as the snout, feet and tail, bright chestnut ; un- 
der parts ash-grey. 

The specimen of this shrew in the Museum of the Zoological 
Society is a female, not yet arrived at full size. The length of the 
_ head and body is 2 in. 13 lin. That of the tail, 1 in. 7} lin. 


With regard to the error* of my considering the British 
water-shrew as distinct from the S. fodiens of the continent, 
I may observe that it has been already in part corrected in my 
last memoir, wherein I stated that further investigation had 
led me to believe that it was the real S. fodiens of Gmelin, as 
well as of Bechstein, Brehm, and Wagler. If it be also the S. 
fodiens of Duvernoy,the error of regarding them as distinct has 
originated, not with me, but with the author just mentioned, 
who must have assigned a wrong type of dentition to his own 
species. And such, from the statement of Nathusius quoted 
by the editor in the last number, would seem to be the case. 

Swaffham Bulbeck, July 31, 1838. 


* Alluded to by Nathusius in his memoir on the European shrews, accord- 
ing to the Editor of this Magazine, to whom I am indebted for drawing my 
attention to the circumstance. See the last number of the Annals, i. 427. 


44 Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 


VII.—Flore Insularum Nove Zelandie Precursor; or a Spe- 
cimen of the Botany of the Islands of New Zealand. By 
ALLAN CUNNINGHAM, Esq. 


[Continued from vol. i. p. 462.] 
CONVOLVULACEA, Juss. 


1. Catystecia, R. Br. 


394. C. sepium. Br. Prodr. i. p. 483. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 250. 
Reem. and Sch. Syst. Veg. iv. p. 182.—Convolvulus sepium. LZ. Engl. Bot. 
t. 313.—C. Tugurionum. Jorst. Prodr. n.74. 

New Zealand (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster. (Northern Island), 
River Thames.—1827, D’Urville. Bay of Islands in marshy ground.—1826. 
A. Cunningham. Wytangy and Keri-Keri rivers.—1834, R. Cunningham. 

395. C. Soldanella. Reem. and Sch. Syst. Veg. iv. p. 184. A. Rich. Fl. 
Nov. Zel. p. 200. Endl. Prodr. Fl, Norf. p. 52.—Convolvulus Soldanella, 
L. Engl. Bot. t. 314. 

Poné incolarum Tolage. D’Urville. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. Tolaga Bay, 
east coast.—1827, D’Urville. Shores of the Bay of Islands.—1834, Rich. 
Cunningham. 

Obs. L’espéce que M. R. Brown a décrite sous le nom de Calystegia re- 
niformis, ne différe en rien du C. Soldanella, Rich. loc. cit. conf. R. Br, 


Prodr. p. 484. 
2. Irpomxa, Jacq. 


396. I. pendula, R. Br. Prodr.i. p. 486. Endl. Prodr. Fl. Norf. p. 52. 


Andr. Rep. 618. 
New Zealand (Northern Island). On the banks of the Hokianga river 


among fern ; also on the Kana-Kana river, Bay of Islands. —1834, 2. Cun- 


ningham. 
3. Dicnonpra, Forst. Char. Gen. 


397. D. repens. Forst. Prodr. n. 134. Br. Prodr.i.p.491, Willd. Sp. 
Pl. 1. p. 1353. Smith Ic. Ined. i. p. 8.4.8. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 201. 
—Steripha reniformis. Banks and Sol. Mss. in Bibl. Banks. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. 1826, Bay of 
Islands.—A. Cunningham.—1834, R. Cunningham. 


GENTIANEZ, Juss. 
1, Gentiana, L. 


398. G. saxosa; corollis quinquefidis campanulatis, floribus longe pedun- 
culatis subumbellatis, foliis caulinis subremotis spathulatis carnosis glabris, 
radicalibus approximatis. Forst. Prodr.n. 132. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 
202. Willd. Sp. Pl. 1. p. 1357. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). On rocks washed by the sea, Dusky Bay. 
—1773, G. Forster.—1791, A. Menzies, 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. A5 


399. G. montana ; corollis quinquefidis campanulato-infundibuliformibus, 
floribus pedunculatis subcorymbosis solitariisve, foliis caulinis remotis sessi- 
libus ellipticis ovatisve, infimis approximatis basi attenuatis. Br. Prodr. 1. 
p. 450. Forst. Prodr. n. 133. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 203. Willd. Sp. 
Pl. 1. p. 1334. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). On the bare and bleak summits of the 
lofiiest mountains.—1773, G. Forster. 


2. Sepma, Soland. R. Br. 
400. S.? gracilis, corollis quinquefidis, calycis carinis simplicibus, foliis 
ovato-oblongis obtusiusculis enerviis, caule gracili tetragono membranaceo, 
capsula cylindrica. 


New Zealand (Northern Island). In bogs at Mangamuka, Hokianga.— 
1834, R. Cunningham. 


I have referred this slender plant to Sebea, notwithstanding the 
spirally twisted anthers, post anthesin; the capsule being bilocular 
and margins of the valves inflexed. It differs from S. ovata, Br. in 
having a long cylindrical capsule, leaves without defined nerves, and 
a habit altogether more slender. 


LOGANIEA, R. Br. in Flind. Voy. 
Von Mart. Nov. Gen. § Sp. Pl. 2. p. 133. 


Flos anisomerius. Calyx liber quinquepartitus. Corolla limbo zquali, 
seu inazequali zstivatione convolutiva. Stamina e corolla isogenea quin- 
que (vel unum). Pollen vittato-trilobum (in Pagamea). Stylus in- 
sertus? Stigma simplex. Capsula bilocularis, placentis originatus vel 
tandem liberis ; aut drupa mono-vel dipyrena, pyrenis mono-dispermis. 
Albumen carnosum vel cartilagineum. Embryo orthotropus, Martius. 


1. Gentostoma*, Forst. 
(Anasser, Juss. Aspi1Losium, Soland.) 


Calyx quinquefidus persistens. Corolla tubulosa vel subcampanulata 
fauce barbata, limbo quinquepartito, laciniis incurvatis vel reflexis. 
Stamina 5, filamenta brevissima in fauce inserta. Anthere biloculares. 
Stigma capitatum. Ovarium biloculare. Capsula 2-locularis, bivalvis, 
valvis integris, marginibus inflexis angustis insertis placentis duabus 
invicem cohzrentibus, et post dehiscentiam valvularum persistentibus. 
Semina numerosa.—Arbores. vel frutices. Folia opposita, petiolata, 


* The other species may be thus distinguished : 

G. rupestre, Forst., arboreum, foliis oblongo-lanceolatis acuminatis con- 
coloribus, corolla laciniis involutis, stigmate capitato sublamelloso. 

Hab. In Insula Tanna. G. Forster. ; 

G. borbonicum, fruticosum, foliis ovatis obtusiusculis.—Anassera. bor- 
bonica.. Lam. Illustr. 1. p.40. Roem, et Sch. Syst. Veg. iv. p. 204. Pers. 
Syn. i. p. 264, 

Hab. In Insula Borbonia. Commerson. 


46 Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 


stipulata, integra, venosa; stipule in vaginas intrapetiolares connate. 
Flores avillares, subverticillati, eymosi. Pedunculi subsimplices, fili- 
formes, bracteis binis medio instructi. 

401, G. ligustrifolium, fruticosum, foliis ellipticis ovatisve acuminatis sub- 
tus discoloribus, laciniis corollz reflexis, stigmate depresso-capitato.—G. 
rupestris. 4. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 207. non Forst.— Aspilotum levigatum,. 
Banks et Sol. Mss. Hunghi hunghi Incol. R. Cunn. 

New Zealand (Northern [sland).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. In dry woods, 
Bay of Islands. —1826, 4. Cunningham,—1827, D’ Urville.—1834, R. Cun- 


ningham, 
APOCYNEZ, R. Br. 


1. Parsonsta, Br, 

402. P. heterophylla; paniculis terminalibus, tubo corollze laciniis calycis 
triplo longiore, foliis ovato-lanceolatis integerrimis mucronatis vel elongato- 
Janceolatis attenuatis repandis, ramulis pubescentibus. Periploca capsularis. 
Forst. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p.205.—Pi Incolarum. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Shady woods at Wangaroa.—1826, 
A. Cunningham. At Hokianga, &c.—1834, R. Cunningham. 

Upon comparing specimens of this plant recently gathered with 
authentic samples of Periploca capsularis, Forst. (in the Banks. Herb.) 
they appear identically the same species, Yet the latter is described 
by its discoverer (Prodr. n, 126) as having small flowers in axillary 
racemes shorter than the leaves, and the tube of the corolla shorter 
than the segments of the calyx. According to Sprengel, Forster’s 
plant is identical with Echites corymbosa (Jacq. Amer.) 


OLEINEX, Hoffmansegg § Link. 
Oza, L. 


403. O. apetala, Vahl. Endl. Prodr. Fl. Norf. p. 56. Roem. et Sch. Syst. 
Veg.i. p.71. Excl. syn. Andrewsit. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). .A tree 25 feet high, on the banks of 
rivers, &c.—1769, Sir Jos. Banks.—1826, 4. Cunningham. 


The iron wood of the earlier colonists on Norfolk island, where it 
attains a height of forty feet. 


SAPOTEA, Juss. 
Acuras, Z. 
404. A. costata. Endl. Prodr. Fl, Norf. p. 49. 
New Zealand (Northern Island). A small tree between the villages of 
Ngaire and Wainai, opposite the Cavallos Isles, off the east coast.—1833, 
R. Cunningham. 


Obs. The specimens with which I have been furnished, without 
fructification, have been compared with those indigenous to Norfolk 
Island; and so far as the venation, general structure and figure of 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 47 


the leaves have enabled me to determine, the New Zealand sea coast 
plant is identical with that elaborately described by M. Endlicher 


from Norfolk Island. 
MYRSINEA, R. Br. 


Myrsine, LZ. 


405. M. Urvillei; glabra, foliis ovatis obtusis integris (undulatis) pellu- 
cido-punctatis, floribus subsessilibus fasciculatis (4) 5-andris polygamis, 
lobis calycinis minimis dentiformibus, antheris sessilibus ovoideis. DC. 
(rev. Nat. Ord. Myrs.) in Linn. Tr. v, 17. p.105.—M, undulata. 4. C. Mss. 
1826.—Merista levigata. Banks et Sol. Mss. 1769.—Suttonia australis. 4, 
Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p.349. t. 38. Tepan Incol. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. In dry woods, 
Bay of Islands.—1826, 4. Cunningham. (Middle Island) Tasman’s Bay. 
1827, D’ Urville. 

406. M.? divaricata; ramis valde divaricatis arcuatis dependentibus 
elabris, foliis (semiuncialibus ad extremitatem ramulorum 2—3) late obcor- 
datis seu emarginatis retusis coriaceis venosis, margine incrassatis, paginis- 
que punctatis, punctis pellucidis rubescentibus, lobis calycinis (quaternis) 
ovatis obtusis glabris, bacca “ globosa” pedicellata nigro-punctata. 

New Zealand (Northern Island), A shrub found at the head of the Wy- 
caddy river, Bay of Islands; also near the mission station on the Hokianga. 
—1834, 2. Cunningham, 


EPACRIDE, R. Br. 
1, Cyatuopes, Labill. 


407. C. acerosa, foliis lineari-oblongis linearibusve (semiuncialibus) pa- 
tulis cuspidatis subtus glaucis 8—5-nerviis, nerviis extimis pectinatis ramu- 
losis, margine ciliatis, A. Br. Mss. Roem, et Sch. Syst, Veg, iv. p.473.— 
Styphalia acerosa. Banks et Sol. Mss,—Leucopogon Forsteri. 4. Rich, Fl. 
Nov, Zel. p. 216,—Epacris juniperina. Forst. Prodr. n, 71. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos, Banks. Summits of 
hills Wangaroa.—1826, 4. Cunningham. (Middle Island), Astrolabe har- 
bour.—1827, D’ Urville. 

2. Leucorocon, R. Br. 

408. L. fasciculatus, spicis aggregatis solitariisve nutantibus, ovariis tri- 
locularibus, drupis globosis, foliis lanceolatis planiusculis 5-nerviis, margine 
serrulatis, ramulis pubescentibus. 4. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 215.—Epacris 
fasciculata. orst. Prodr. n. 72. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). A large shrub in close forests. Kana 
Kana river, Bay of Islands.—1826, 4, Cunningham. (Middle Island).— 
1773, G. Forster. 

409. L. Fraseri, pumilus, pedunculis brevissimis erectis unifloris, foliis 
confertis imbricatis adpressis erecto-patulisve obovato-oblongis convexius- 
culis mucronatis subtus striatis, marginibus cartilagineis ciliatis scabris, ra- 
mulis tenuissime pubescentibus. 


48 Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 


New Zealand (Northern Island). Among ferns on the hills near the Bay 
of Islands.—1820, C. Fraser.—1834, R. Cunningham. 


3. Penracuonpra, &. Br. 

410. P. pumila. Br. Prody. i. p. 549. Reem. et Sch. Syst. Veg. iv. p. 487. 
A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p.217.—Epacris pumila. Forst. Prodr. n. 70, Linn. 
Suppl. p.138. Pers. Syn. i. p. 174. 

New Zealand (Middle Island), summits of the bleakest and barest moun- 
tains. —1773, G. Forster. 

Obs. Caules subpalmares, erecto-patentes, filiformes, foliosi, ex eadem ra- 
dice plures, basi aphylli subterranei, vix ramosi. Folia minima, ovata, acuta, 
integerrima, 6—7-nervia, umbilicata, apice cartilagineo rubro. ores soli- 
tarii in apice ramulorum sessiles. Forst. 


4, Epacris, Smith, Labiil. 

411. E. pauciflora, foliis rhombeo-ovatis subacuminatis erectis concavis 
imbricatis crassis 3-nerviis muticis, floribus solitariis axillaribus pedicellatis, 
pedicellis multibracteatis, calycibus acutis tubum corollz superantibus, sta- 
minibus inclusis. 4. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 213. 

Toé-toé Incol. see D’ Urville-—Kowangatura. R. Cunningham. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Shores of the Bay of Islands in open 
heaths.—1826, 4. Cunningham.—1827, D’ Urville. 


5. Dracopuytium, Labill. 

412. D. latifolium ; arboreum, foliis linearibus valde attenuatis (sesquipe- 
dalibus) basi dilatatis vaginantibus, paniculis terminalibus ramosis.—Epacris 
latifolia. Banks et Sol. Mss. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Dry woods on the Kana Kana river, 
Bay of Islands.—1769, Sir Jos. Banks.—1826, A. Cunningham. 

413. D., longifolium, arboreum, foliis lineari-lanceolatis acuminatis (seepe 
in ramis junioribus spithameeis) basi dilatatis vaginantibus, racemis latera- 
libus simplicibus reticulatis. R. Br. Mss. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 219. 
Reem, et Sch, Syst. Veg. iv. p. 385.—Epacris longifolia. Forst. Prodr. n.68. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). In woods.—1773, G. Forster. 

414. D. rosmarinifolium, fruticosum, foliis linearibus rigidis erectis (sex- 
quiuncialibus) apice obtusis basi dilatatis vaginantibus, floribus axillaribus 
solitariis. A. Br. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 200. Reem. et Sch. Syst. Veg. 
iv. p. 385.—Epacris rosmarinifolia. Forst. Prodr. n. 69. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). On the summits of the highest mountains. 
—1773, G. Forster. 

415. D. Urvillianum, fruticosum, foliis fasciculatis linearibus acutis rigidis, 
margine retrorsum scaberulis basi dilatata vaginantibus floribus 2—4-spicatis, 
squamulis oblongo-lanceolatis acutis ciliatis, limbi corolle laciniis ovali- 
acuminatis. 4. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 221.—D. attenuatum. 4. C. Mss. 
1826, 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Open fern grounds on the shores of 
the Bay of Islands.—1826, 4. Cunningham. (Middle- i Tasman’s 
Bay on rocks,—1827, D'Urville. 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 49 


416. D, Lessonianum, foliis fasciculatis longioribus linearibus acutis sub- 
ulatis semiteretibus glabris retrorsum scaberulis basi dilatatis subciliatis, 
floribus 6—8 alternis pedicellatis in spicam terminalem dispositis, squamulis 
3—4 longitudine calycis longe acuminatis sepalis ciliatis longitudine corollz, 
limbi laciniis oblongo-lanceolatis. 4. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 223.—D. ros- 
mariniforme. FR. C. Mss. 1834. . 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Banks of the Keri-Keri river, Bay of 
Islands.—1834, 2.Cunningham. (Middle Island,) onrocks.—1827, D’ Urville. 


ERICEA, R&R. Br. 
Gauttueria, LZ. 

417. G. antipoda, caule fruticoso ramoso ramis lanuginosis, foliis obovati- 
orbiculatis obtusis serratis glabris, floribus axillaribus solitariis pedicellatis, 
A. Rich, Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 211. Forst. Prodr. n.196. Willd. &c. 

Ton-aye Incol., D’ Urville.<Kehuhutia, R. Cunningham. 

New Zealand (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster. (Northern Island). 
Open fern lands, Bay of Islands. —1826, 4. Cunningham.—1827, D' Urville. 
—1834, R. Cunningham. 

418. G. rupestris, (R. Br.) caule suffruticoso ramoso, ramulis verrucosis . 
~ non hispidis, foliis elliptico-lanceolatis serrulatis utrinque glabris (uncialibus) 
racemis axillaribus terminalibusve simplicibus folio longioribus, rachi pedi- 
cellisque pilosis.—Andromeda rupestris. Forst. Prodr.n.195. . A. Rich. 
Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 208. t. 27. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). In swamps and on wet rocks.—1773, 
G. Forster. 

419. G. fluviatilis, caulibus suffruticosis procumbentibus, ramis crinitis, 
foliis lineari-lanceolatis obtuse acuminatis petiolatis (semiuncialibus) margine 
revolutis remote serratis, serraturis apiculoque obtusis callosis, supra tenuiter 
pilosis, subtus rugoso-striatis, racemis terminalibus folio multoties longiori- 
bus, pedicello bracteatis villosis—Andromeda rupestris. R, C. Mss. 1834, 
non Lorst. ; 

New Zealand (Northern Island). In the pebbly bed of the Keri-Keri 
river near the Great Fall, Bay of Islands,—1834, Jt. Cunningham. 


CAMPANULACE, &. Br. 
1, Wantenseraia, Schrad, (Campanula, sp. L.) 

Calyx 3—5-fidus. Corolla campanulata, basi tubulosa, limbo 3—5-fida. 
Stamina 83—5, ineequalia, filamenta basi simplicia. Stigma obtusum, 
trilobum, barbatum. Capsula trilocularis, univalvis, apice foramine 
triplici hians. Dissepimenta utrinque placentifera. Semina indefinita, 
pendula. 

420. W. gracilis, caule erecto gracili tereti a basi ramoso glabro aut pi- 
loso, foliis linearibus integris aut dentatis, glabris aut pilosis, floribus termi- 
nalibus ad apicem ramorum solitariis 5-fidis, corolla ovario duplo triplove 
longiori. 4. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel, p.225,—Campanula gracilis. Horst. Prodr. 
n. 84. Br. Prodr.i. p.561. Reem. et Sch. Syst. Veg. v. p.97. Bot. Mag. 
t, 691.—C. polymorpha, var. Sol. Ms. in Bibl. Banks. 

Ann, Nat, Hist, Vol. 2. No.7. Sept. 1838. E 


50 Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 


Punai-uou Incol., R. Cunn. Kouletao, D' Urville. 
Obs. Species polymorpha valde variabilis, cujus hujus varietates e Nova 
Zelandia et Nova Caledonia, in Herb, Banks. vidi. 2. Br. ; 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Among ferns.on the hills, Bay of 
Islands, &c.—1834, I. Cunningham. (Middle Island),.—1773, G. Forster. 
Astrolabe Harbour.—1827, D’Urville. 


: 2. Lopeuia, LZ. 

421. L. alata. Br. Prodr, i.p. 562. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel, p. 227, Reem. 
et Sch, Syst. Veg. v. p.68. Labill, Nov. Holl. i, p. 51. t. 72, 

Pourao Incol. sec. D’ Urville.— Wae-wae-Kou-hou, R. Cunningham. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Sea coast near the Bay of Islands, on 
rocks.—1834, R. Cunningham, (Middle Island), Astrolabe Harbour.— 
1827, D’ Urville. 

422. L. angulata. Forst, Prodr. n. 309. Willd. Sp. Pl.i.p. 951. Reem. 
et Sch. Syst. Veg. v. p.65. A. Rich, Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 227. 

- New Zealand (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster, (Northern Island.) 
Valley of Wangaroa.—1826, 4. Cunningham. 

423. L. littoralis (R. Cunn.) procumbens, glaberrima, caulibus adscen- 
dentibus gracilibus, foliis subrotundo-ovatis grosse dentatis, pedunculo ebrac- 
teato florifero plus duplo brevioribus floribus axillaribus solitariis pedunculis 
fructiferis valde elongatis. : 

New Zealand (Northern Island). On the shores of the Keri-Keri and 
Kana-Kana rivers, Bay of Islands. —1834, R. Cunningham, 

424, L. submersa (R. Cunn.) repens, czespitosa, radicans, foliis (semiun- 
cialibus) lineari-spathulatis obtusis integerrimis subrepandisve infra medium 
attenuatis piligeris, pedunculo ebracteato parum longioribus, staminibus 
epipetalis, | 

New Zealand (Northern Island). In stagnant water, lodged in basins of 
the rock in the bed of the Keri-Keri river, Bay of Islands.—1834, R, Cun- 
ningham. my 

425. L. physaloides, suffruticosa glabra, caule anguloso subramoso, foliis 
ovato-oblongis longe petiolatis acutis inzequaliter serratis, racemis termina- 
libus nutantibus laciniis calycinis linearibus dimidium corollee vix aquanti- 
bus, capsula globosa torulosa. 

Odu vel Oru Incol. vulgo dicitur. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). In damp woods at Wangaroa, Matauri, 
&c., Bay of Islands.—1834, 2. Cunningham. 

Planta (in horto) vix ad basin suffruticosa, duo vel tripedalis, ramulis ro- 
tundato-angulatis purpureo-luridis. olia alterna, ovata, acuta, valde ~ 
prominenti-venosa, petiolata, 3—4 uncias longa, inzequaliter serrata, 
serraturis glanduloso-callosis, petiolis biuncialibus, supra canaliculatis, 
basi incrassatis decurrentibus. Racemi divisi, 6—8-flori. Pedunculi 
alterni unciati, bracteis foliaceis linearibus suffulti. Calycine lacinie 
lineari-lanceolatz, subulatz, acute, corolla plus duplo breviores. Co- 
rolla coerulea, unciam longa, laciniis lanceolatis attenuatis lineatis sta- 
mina equantibus. Anther@ exserte, apice penicillate. Stigma dila- 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 51 


tatum, bilobum, lobis rotundatis supra convexis rms subtus 
concavis dense villosis. 
Obs. In horto regio Kewensi colitur, ubi quotannis floret. 


STYLIDEZ., 
1. Sryiipium, Swartz. Labillardiére. 

426. S. spathulatum, Br, Prodr, i, p.569, A. Rich, Fl, Nov. Zel. p, 229. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Tasman’s Bay (lat. 40% S.).—1827, 
D’ Urville, ‘ 

This plant, a native of the south coast of Australia, is here ad- 
mitted as indigenous also to New Zealand, solely on the authority 
of M, Achille Richard, who has described a plant which was found 
on the shores of Tasman’s Bay in the voyage of L’Astrolabe, and 
which he has referred to Stylidium. He says, ‘‘ Nous avons rapporté 
au Stylid. spathulatum de Brown un seul petit échantillon de ce genre 
qui a été recueilli par le capitaine lui-méme a la baie Tasman. La 
seule différence que notre échantillon nous ait présentée, c’est que 
la hampe est légérement poilue dans sa partie inférieure, tandis que, 
selon la phrase du célébre auteur du ‘ Prodrome de la Nouvelle Hol- 
lande,’ elle serait tout-d-fait glabre. Mais cet différence est de trop 
peu d’importance pour former un caractére distinctif.” A. Rich.l, cit, 

Of this genus, no species was detected in New Zealand, either in 
the several voyages of Cook or in that of Vancouver, and the order 
has hitherto been represented on those islands by the following ge- 


nus only. 
2. Forstera, L. Forster. ° 

427. F. sedifolia. L. fil. Willd. Sp. Pl. 4. p.149.° Pers. Syn. 2. p. 211, 
A. Rich, Fl. Nov. Zel. p.229. Forst. in Nov. Act. Ups. 3. p. 184. tab. 9. 

New Zealand (Middle Island), summits of mountains at Dusky Bay.— 
1773, G. Forster.—1791, Arch. Menzies. 

Obs. Radix perennis. Caulis adscendens, palmaris, radicans. Folia li- 
nearia, carnosa, obtusa, Pedunculi solitarii, uniflori, longissimi, Flores albi, 


fauce rubescente. 
GOODENOVIA, R. Br. 


1, Goopenia, Smith, 


428, G. repens. Br, Prodr,1. p.579. Labill, Nov, Holl.1. p. 53. tab. 
76. A. Rich. Fl. Nov, Zel. p.228, Reem. et Sch. Syst. Veg. 5. p.31.—G. 
radicans. Ram. et Sch. Syst. Veg. 5. p: 32.—G. littoralis. Br. Gen. Re- 
marks i in Flinders’s Voy. 2. p. 561. 

_ Réko-réko Incol. D’Urville. Raumauga, nomen vernaculum sec. R. 
Cunn. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Saltwater creeks, saltwater marshes, &c., 
Wangaroa.—1834, Rich. Cunningham. (Middle sewers aeons shores of 
ereave Harbour,—1827, D’ Urville. 

E2 


52 Mr, Eyton on the Fauna of Shropshire. 


2. Scavota, L. 
429. S.? Nove Zelandia, calyce (quinquepartito?) ovario multo breviore, 
foliis obovatis obtusis valde reticulatis glabris distanter denticulatis, axillis 
barbatis, 


New Zealand (Northern Island). On the sea coast, opposite the Ca- 
vallos Isles.—1834, R. Cunningham. 

From the very imperfect specimens I possess, the genus of this 
remarkable plant cannot be satisfactorily determined. The presence, 
however, of barbated stipuliform appendages at the axillze, as also of 
the bilocular fruit, have induced me to place it here rather than with 
Euphorbiacee, with which habit, &c., seem to indicate its affinity. 

[To be continued. ] 


VIII.—An attempt to ascertain the Fauna of Shropshire and 
North Wales. By T. C. Eyron, Esq., F.LS. 


[Continued from vol. i. p. 293.] 


No. III. Aves. 

Charadrius pluvialis, Linn. (Golden Plover.) Has several times oc- 
curred in the district during winter; is said to breed on the moun- 
tains above Chirk Castle. 

Charadrius Hiaticula, Linn. (Ringed Plover.) Common in the 
neighbourhood of Holyhead and Rhoscolyn, where I have several times 
found the eggs. — | 

Vanellus cristatus, Meyer. (Lapwing.) Common both during 
summer and winter. 

Hematopus ostralegus, Linn. (Oyster Catcher.) Common on 
the Welsh coast. A remarkable change in the form of the bill takes 
place in the young of this species during its progress towards matu- 
rity. On leaving the egg the bill is not very unlike in form to that 
of the golden Plover, and well adapted for picking up minute in- 
sects and mollusca, at that time its natural food; indeed, had it the 
perfect wedge-shaped bill of the adult, the strength necessary to di- 
vide as it were the limpet from the rock would be wanting. 

Squatarola cinerea. (Grey Squatarole.) One specimen has been 
sent to me obtained during last winter near Holyhead. 

Ardea cinerea, Linn. (Common Heron.) Breeds in several lo- 
calities within the district ; numbers of nests may be seen on the pre- 
cipitous rocks in the neighbourhood of the South Stack lighthouse ; 
when the young are nearly fledged, if a noise be made under the 
nests by striking the oars against the side of the boat, they will often 
spring out and falk into the sea, 


Mr. Eyton on the Fauna of Shropshire. 53 


Ardea (Botaurus, Steph.) stellaris, Ray. (Bittern.) Several spe- 
cimens have occurred. A hatch of these birds came off at Cosford 
Pool, near Nufnal, in 1836. 

Nycticoraz europeus, Steph. (Night Heron.) Two specimens 
have occurred within the district; one killed near Wroxeter in the 
young state of plumage, now in the possession of Mr. Stanier of that 
place ; the second on an estate belonging to Bukeley Owen, Esq. in 
Anglesea, in the adult plumage. 

Platalea Leucorodia, Linn. (Spoonbill.) I am informed that a 
specimen isin the collection of a gentleman near Aberystwith, killed 
near that place. 

Scolopax (Numenius, Lath.) arguata, Linn. (Curlew.) Breeds 
on Whixan moss in Shropshire, and in the neighbourhood of Holy- 


_ head. 


Scolopax (Numenius, Lath.) Pheopus, Linn. (Whimbrel Curlew.) 
A specimen is in my collection killed at Betton Pool, near Shrews- 
bury. 

Scolopar Rusticola, Linn. (Woodcock.) Common. 

Scolopax Gallinago, Linn. (Snipe.) Common. 

Scolopar Gallinula. (Jack Snipe.) Common. 

Limosa rufa. (Black-tailed Godwit.) Several specimens have oc- 
curred. 

Tringa subarquata, Gmel. (Pigmy Curlew.) A specimen in my 
collection killed Sept. 1836 on Shrewsbury race-course. 

Tringa alpina, Linn. (Dunlin.) Common everywhere on the 
Welsh coast during summer, and often killed inland during the 
winter months. 

Tringa Schinzii, (Schinz’s Sandpiper.) A specimen killed 
near Stoke Heath is in Sir Rowland Hill’s collection. 

Tringa maritima, Gmel. (Purple Sandpiper.) One specimen 
only, which has been received from Holyhead. 

Phalaropus lobatus, Lath. (Grey Phalarope.) ‘Two or three spe- 
cimens have occurred ; one is in the possession of the Rev. John 
Roch of Clungunford ; another killed near Montford-bridge is in my 
own. 

Tringa (Strepsilas, Il.) Interpres, Linn. (Turnstone.) Common 
on the Anglesea coast. : 

Totanus Calidris, Linn. (Redshank.) I once killed several out of 
a flight of at least fifty near Rhoscolyn. 

Totanus Ochropus, Linn. (Green Sandpiper.) Often killed in- 
land as well as on the coast. 


54 Mr. Eyton on the Fauna of Shropshire. 


Totanus Hypoleucos, Linn. (Common Sandpiper.) Common on 
the coasts and islands. ) 

Rallus aquaticus, Ray. (Water Rail.) Common on the wild moors. 

Crex pratensis, Bechs. (Corn Crake.) Common during the sum- 
mer months. 

Gallinula chloropus, Ray. (Moor Hen.) Common. 

' Fulica atra, Ray. Common. 

Podiceps cristatus, Linn. (Crested Grebe.) Common on the 
meres in the neighbourhood of Ellesmere, where it breeds ; its food 
is entirely vegetable. I have several times attempted to keep this 
bird alive in confinement, but never with success. Both males and 
females possess two pairs of muscles of voice similar to those de- 
scribed by Mr. Yarrell to exist in the Indian Crowned Pigeon. 

Podiceps minor, Lath. (Lesser Grebe.) Common. : 

Colymbus glacialis, Linn. (Northern Diver.) Several specimens 
have occurred both on the meres of Shropshire and on the Severn, 
during winter. The trachea of this as well as the two following is 
acted upon by two pairs of muscles of voice similar to those found in 
the grebe, but stronger. 

Colymbus arcticus, Ray. (Black-throated Diver.) One specimen 
occurred last winter; the trachea as in the last. 

Colymbus septentrionalis, Linn. (Red-throated Diver.) Occurs 
every winter: trachea as in the two preceding. 

Uria Troile, Briss. (Guillemot.) - Common. We are convinced 
that U. Brunnichii is not distinct. 

Fratercula arctica, Steph. (Puffin.) Breed on Priestholm island 
off Beaumaris in the greatest abundance; also at the Skerries off 
Holyhead. | | 

Alca Torda, Linn. (Razor Bill.) Common on the coast. 

Procellaria (Thalassidroma, Leach.) pelagica, Linn. (Stormy Pe- 
trel.) Two or three specimens have occurred both inland and on 
the coast. 

Thalassidroma Leachii, Steph. (Leach’s Petrel.) One specimen 
only has occurred ; it was killed on the Severn near Montford-bridge, 
and is in my collection. 

Lestris,Temm. Birds of this genus are said to have occurred, 
but Ihave never been able to obtain any for examination. 

Gavia (Rissa, Leach.) cinerea, Briss. (Kittiwake.) Common. 

Larus canus, Linn. (Common Gull.) Common. 

Larus argentatus, Brun. (Herring Gull.) Breeds plentifully along 
the whole line of the Welsh coast. 


Mr. Eytog on the Fauna of Shropshire. 55 


Larus fuscus, Linn, (Lesser Black-backed Gull.) One specimen 
is in my collection: killed near Holyhead. 

Larus marinus, Linn. (Greater Black-backed.) Said to breed 
near the South Stack lighthouse, but I have never observed it. My 
specimen was killed feeding at a dead horse near Holyhead. 

Chroicocephalus ridibundus, nobis. (Laughing Gull.) Common. 

Chroicocephalus capistratus, nobis. (Brown-headed Gull.) One 
specimen only has occurred and is in my collection: killed near 
Bangor. 

Sterna arctica, Temm. (Arctic Tern.) Breed on the Skerries : 
the trachea possesses a second pair of muscles of voice besides the 
usual sterno-tracheal ones corresponding to the fifth pair of Mr. Yar- 
rell found in the Raven. 

Sterna marina, Ray. (Common Tern.) Also breeds at the Skerries. 

Sterna Dougallii, Mont. (Roseate Tern.) One specimen is in my 
possession, killed near Longden mill, three or four years ago. 

Phalacrocorax Carbo, Auct. (Common Ray.) Breeds in numbers 
on Holyhead mountain. 

Phalacrocorax Graculus, Lath, (Crested Cormorant.) One or 
two nests of this species are found every year on Cardinal’s Point ; 
both this and the foregoing possess two pairs of muscles of voice, the 
first, the usual sterno-tracheal ones, the second continued from the 
point at which the first pair branch off to the upper rings of the 
bronchie, between which and the last tracheal ring is situated a 
membrane stretched and able to be rendered more or less tense by 
the action of the muscle. 

Sula Bassana, Briss. (Gannet.) I never heard but of the occur- 
rence of one specimen in the district ; it was picked up exhausted, in 
the neighbourhood of Holyhead. 

Mergus Merganser, Ray. (Common Merganser.) Often killed 
on the Welsh lakes and on the Severn during hard weather. 

Mergus albellus, Linn. (Smew.) Found in the same localities 
as the preceding. 

Mergus cucullatus, Linn. (Hooded Merganser.) One specimen 
is in my collection, killed on the Menai Straits during the winter of 
1834 ; itis a young male of the year. 

Mergus Serrator, Linn. (Red-breasted Merganser.) One or two 
specimens occurred last winter on the Severn. 

Clangula chrysophthalmos, Steph. (Common Golden Eye.) Com- 
mon on the coast, and occasionally found on inland waters during 
winter. 


56 Mr. Eyton on the Fauna of Shropshire. 


Fuligula cristata, Steph. (Crested Pochard.) Also-found on the 
coast during winter. 

Fuligula Marila, Steph. (Scaup Duck.) Not nearly so common 
as the other species of the genus, and never killed inland. 

Fuligula ferina, Steph.. (Red-headed Pochard.) Found with the 
preceding always on the sea. 

Melanitta nigra, Bore. (Black Scoter.) Several times obtained 
from the coast. The female of this species has the trachea acted 
upon by two pairs of muscles of voice. i 

Anas Boschas, Linn. (Common Wild Duck.) Common. 

Rhynchaspis clypeata, Steph. (Shoveller.) Not uncommon both 
on the coast and inland during winter. 

Querquedula Crecca, Steph. (Common Teal.) Common in the 
district, and occasionally breeds on the Welsh lakes. 

Mareca fistularis, Steph. (Widgeon.) Common. 

Dafila caudacuta, Steph. (Pintail.) Not uncommon on the Welsh 
coast during winter; the only specimen I ever heard of being killed 
inland, was obtained during the winter 1832-3 on Ruyton brook. 

Tadorna Bellonii, Steph. (Common Shieldrake.) I have more 
than once received this bird from Holyhead. A specimen is in the 
collection of the Shropshire and North Wales Natural History So- 
ciety, killed near Ecleshall, which is the only one I ever heard of 
being killed inland. In the neighbourhood of Holyhead it is called 
the Stranger Duck, and breeds on a point jutting out to sea between 
Rhoscolyn and Abermenai, in its usual place, rabbits’ holes. 

Cygnus ferus, Ray. (Wild Swan.) Upwards of twenty speci- 
mens of this beautiful bird were killed during last winter, 1837, in 
Shropshire. 

Cygnus Bewickii, Yarrell. (Bewick’s Swan.) One specimen was 
killed two or three years ago on the upper part of the Severn; but 
though so many of the common species were met with last winter, 
not one of C. Bewickii occurred. 

Anser Segetum, Steph. (Bean Goose.) Common during hard 
winters onthe Weald moors and Ruggymoor. 

Anser Erythropus, Flem. (Laughing Goose.) Has occasionally 
been killed in the district. 

Bernicla Leucopsis, Bechst. (Common Bernacle.) Several times 
received from Holyhead during winter, and once observed on the 


river or creek separating Holyhead Island from Anglesea during 
summer. 


Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 57 


IX.—IJnformation respecting Botamcal Travellers. 


Unio Irinerarta. 

The following appeal to the friends of natural history, and of bo- 
tany in particular, has recently been published and circulated by the 
Directors of that highly useful Society the ‘‘ Unio Itineraria,” and 
we trust it will not be made in vain. This Society affords an inesti- 
mable opportunity for botanists to enrich their herbaria with plants 
of great rarity from various parts of the world, collected at much 
expense, at great risk, preserved with the greatest care, and named 
by naturalists who are competent to this task, and we do trust 
that some of our readers will be induced by the following statement 
to come forward and encourage so useful and scientific an insti- 

tution. Our friend, John Hunneman, Esq., 9 Queen Street, Soho, 
London, will forward the names and subscriptions to the Directors, 
and will receive and distribute the different collections, so that 
those who may wish to possess these plants will be put to no 
trouble on this account.—Sir W. J, Hooker. 


Particulars respecting M. Schimper’s Abyssinian Journey. 


The important results of the journey to Egypt and Arabia encou- 
raged us to extend the original plan, so as, if possible, to embrace 
Abyssinia, according to our notice of December, 1836. This coun- 
try is so interesting, whether as regards its geographical situation 
or physical structure, the latter having procured it the name of the 
African Switzerland, and has hitherto been so superficially examined, 
that we hoped it would excite the curiosity of scientific individuals 
in general, as well as of the members of this Society ; and trusting 
to receive the needful participation and support, we provided the 
traveller with such a sum of money as appeared requisite. But al- 
though our hopes were tolerably well fulfilled, so far as regarded 
the members of the Unio, and we received sufficient subscriptions to 
cover the first outlay, as originally calculated, yet it shortly proved 
that the expedition was attended with far heavier cost than had been 
anticipated. Circumstances of detention arose :—the traveller found 
it needful to provide himself with presents, wherewith he might pro- 
pitiate favour and obtain leave to proceed. Sometimes indeed the 
offering of these is no matter of choice, but of compulsion. Thus, 
even before entering the country which he was to explore, our tra- 
veller was obliged to have recourse to an English Consular Agent, 
who kindly assisted him in his present necessities with money upon 
our credit. Schimper is now in the interior of the country, at 
Adowa in Abyssinia. He has conciliated the favour of one of the 


58 Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 


native princes, and, except as regards the important want of money, 
he is in a most favourable situation for exploring the whole territory. 
There is nothing to endanger his safety, and we confidently antici- 
pate that the expectations of the subscribers will be amply realized, 
as this naturalist possesses a happy union of the mental and bodily 
properties requisite for his object, if he is furnished with the means 
of prolonging his stay and making excursions in the country. 
We subjoin a short extract from Schimper’s account of his pro- 
gress. He took shipping in the middle of November, 1836, at Suez, 
for Djedda, whence, on the 19th of the following month, he pursued 
his course by water, and early in January reached Massava, which 
is a small island in the Red Sea, close by the coast of Abyssinia. 
There, unfortunately, a whole month’s detention took place, owing 
to a quarrel which had just arisen between two Frenchmen, who re- 
sided in the neighbourhood, and some of the natives, which ended 
in one of the Abyssinians being shot. The Frenchmen fled, but the 
minds of the people were so much exasperated against all foreigners _ 
that the attempt to penetrate into the country would have been 
highly dangerous at that juncture. It was not till the 8th of Febru- 
ary that Schimper could venture to enter the territory of Akiko, 
which he effected by purchasing the permission at considerable cost 
from the Naib there, a Bedoyin prince, who appears to have shown. 
himself a great extortioner. Thence his route lay to Haley, 60 
miles further, but this being the very place where the murder was 
committed, our poor naturalist was exposed to such perils that he 
quitted the town as soon as he could duy leave to do so, leaving be- 
hind six camels’ loads of his property: ‘‘ these,” he says, ‘‘ were af- 
terwards returned to me through the favour of King Ubie, governor 
of Tigre and king of Abyssinia, who received me in his tent and 
showed me much kindness, thanks to the very high recommendations 
which I carried from the Austrian General Consulate at Cairo.” 
Schimper found it necessary to give presents to king Ubie, in order 
to ensure his continued protection: he also dined twice with him in 
his tent, accompanied by the Missionary Blumhardt, of Stuttgard, 
who is likewise settled at Adowa, with his companion in religious la- 
bour Isenberg. The latest accounts from our botanist state, that his 
labours, after he had succeeded in obtaining some money on our credit 
from Mr. Dumreicher, of Alexandria, have been attended with con- 
siderable success. It was his intention to commence in autumn a 
journey to the highest mountain of the Semen range, whose snowy 
peaks were in sight from Adowa; and to explore the country in all 
directions, as the season and climate pérmitted: Among the plants 


Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 59 


which particularly struck him he mentions an arborescent Euphorbia, 
12—20 feet high, which the inhabitants call Koll-Quall; it is pro- 
bably £. officinarum, Linn. He had also noticed five different spe- 
cies of Mimosa, and thought by the aspect of the plants which he 
had already collected, to the number of about 12,000 specimens, 
that one-third of them might prove new. His hopes of performing 
much for the cause of science are high, provided they are not baffled 
by the want of pecuniary means, of which he sorrowfully complains, 
as likely to hasten him home. As matters now stand, our readers 
must perceive that it will either be necessary to aid the traveller li- 
berally with such supplies as the cordial co-operation of the members 
of this Union can easily raise, without any considerable risk to their 
own interests, or else the enterprise must be abandoned. For our 
own parts, we take the liberty of reminding our friends that at the 
very outset we ran the chance of pecuniary loss for the benefit of 
the Society, and have at this very time afresh aided M. Schimper 
with a considerable sum for immediate use, which is not yet covered 
by the subscriptions of the Members, and of which, in strict justice, 
the burden ought not to lie uponus. During the course of the pre- 
sent year there has certainly been granted by the Governments of 
Wurtemberg and of the Grand Duchy of Baden no inconsiderable 
aid towards the expenses of this expedition; but the sums in ques- 
tion fall far short of covering the outlay already made, much more of 
enabling him to proceed with his investigations and his labours ; and 
the liberality of the Grand Duke’s royal Danish Consul at Alexan- 
dria, M. Dumreicher, who thrice, through the English Consular 
Agent at Djedda, advanced money to assist Schimper, while it argues 
the most obliging confidence in the members of the Unio to meet 
these engagements, and in Schimper to exert his best abilities in 
their service, still more powerfully binds the individuals whom he has 
obliged to come forward and relieve M. Dumreicher from this risk 
of loss. 

_ The undersigned will on no account disown in any degree the 
debt which the Unio has thus incurred; they, on the contrary, would 
urge on the Members the advantages which they will severally derive 
from coming forward early to clear these engagements, inasmuch as 
they will have the first selection of the rarest and best plants, and 
will obtain them about one-third cheaper than any purchasers who 
present themselves at a future period. We would therefore again 
invite all the Members of this Society and every friend of botany to 
become contributors towards this expedition, and that, not only from 
motives of justice to the undersigned, but also for their own exclusive 
advantage. As it is calculated that M. Schimper will in these tro- 


60 Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 


pical districts collect at least 2000 species (Mr. Ecklon collected 
thrice that number in the three years he spent in South Africa), it 
will be seen that a treble subscription of 60 florins will not meet 
the value of an entire collection made during the two or three years’ 
absence of M.Schimper. But to those who subscribe 120 florins we 
will ensure to them the future collections at the same rate of sub- 
scription. 

We think that the subscribers may rest assured, that whereas the 
century of species will cost them 15 florins (33 francs), those indi- 
viduals who may apply afterwards will have to pay 20 florins (42 
francs). Up to the present time we admit of contributors coming 
forward to the smaller amount of 50—60 florins: these, however, 
can only claim three or four centuries at the subscription price. We 
again venture to express our hope that such botanical friends as 
possess the means, particularly public cabinets of natural history 
and those individuals who have hitherto been members of the Unio, 
will not forsake us in this important undertaking; and especially that 
they will consider this journey as a national enterprise, which for 
the honour alike of country and of science they will do their best 
to promote. 

As our traveller also collects zoological objects, especially bird- 
skins, fish, and shells, the amateurs of these respective departments 
of natural history may secure a proportion of them, according to 
their subscriptions, observing, however, that the contributions to- 
wards this journey have some analogy to stock, whose value rises 
and falls according to circumstances. The greater, however, be the 
assistance afforded to the traveller, to enable him to prolong his 
stay and in safety to prosecute his researches, the richer may the 
proceeds be expected to prove. 

To those members who take an interest in the productions of the 
Georgian Caucasus, we beg to intimate that fresh packets have just 
arrived from M. Hohenacker, containing 200 species, most of which 
had not been previously sent, and of the rest only individual speci- 
mens. Particulars are mentioned in the Appendix. 

Of the North American plants of the deceased Dr. Frank, there 
remain collections of 100 and of 200 specimens. These will be sold 
at 12 florins and 24 florins, after the period during which the sub- 
scription of 11 florins was admissible shall have closed. 

Lastly, we are enabled to offer to the respected Members of the 
Unio and to other botanists, dried plants from New Holland, which 
the Royal Botanic Society of Ratisbon has transmitted to us for va- 
luation and sale. They were collected by Dr. Lhotsky, at Sydney 
and Port Jackson, and are described by us and consigned to us on 


Bibliographical Notices. 61 


commission. The collections of 100 and 200 species are respect- 
ively prized at 15 florins and 30 florins; and we beg to observe, that 
to those who do not already possess the collections of Sieber, they 
are highly interesting, and the more so as the specimens are incom- 
parably more beautiful and complete than the relics which are still 


on sale of Sieber’s plants. 
Prorressor HocustetTteER, 


Dr. STevDEL. 
Esslingen by Stuttgard, Jan. 1838. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 


Icones Fungorum hucusque cognitorum. Auctore A. C. J. Corda. 
Pragee, 1837. 

Though the present work is not wholly destitute of the faults which 
are chargeable against the other mycologic labours of the author, it 
is one of very great importance. If his matter is not always correct, nor 
his views judicious, we find much that is at least original; and there 
are many observations and discoveries which throw quite a new light 
on several obscure branches of mycology. It would indeed be dif- 
ficult to point out any work of the same size which contains so much 
of interest. The price too is extremely moderate ; and as the specific 
and generic characters and references to the dissections are in Latin, 
though the remarks are in German, it is generally accessible to bota- 
nists, It is much to be desired that the author will meet with suf- 
ficient encouragement to enable him to continue a work which, from 
the style in which it is got up, must necessarily involve a consider- 
ably outlay, and even more brilliant discoveries may be confidently 
expected in other branches of the science. At present there are few 
good figures of the fruit-bearing organs of fungi; and, from our own 
experience, we can bear witness that much remains to be done. 
Mycologists have till lately been in possession of instruments which 
can show only a part of the structure, and many of the more minute 
species have been very imperfectly investigated, nor have the differ- 
ences, which exist at different periods of growth, received sufficient 
attention. Indeed the fructification of the typical group of fungi has 
been altogether misunderstood. 

Among the points of most interest, we shall note the following, 
taken in the order in which they occur. 

The author asserts that Trichothecium roseum is a parasite on hy- 
phomycetous fungi, or Mycelia. Trichothectum domesticum is said 
to occur on the hyphasma of Mucor Mucedo. «This hint is well worth 


62 Bibliographical Notices. 


following up. We have long since been convinced that the com- 
monly received notions of the structure in this genus are incorrect, 
and the published figures very insufficient. We cannot however agree, 
even if the author is correct (which is highly probable), that it has 
any affinity with Puceinia, much less that it belongs to that genus, 
with which he unites it. 

To the correctness of the next point, viz. that Sepedonium roseum - 
accompanies Verticillum cylindrospora, Corda, we can ourselves bear 
testimony. Whether it be a parasite or no demands further in- 
quiry, oles 

There are figures of some very interesting new species of Torula, 
and of some extraordinary productions nearly related to that genus. 

Helicomyces is asserted to be parasitic on the hairs of Spheria ex- 
ilis, Dematia, Helminthosporia, &c., and destitute of any proper 
stroma. Helicotrichum, Nees, therefore, is, contrary to the opinion 
of Fries, a distinct genus. 

Puccinia Bullaria is figured as a Phragmotrichum. If the analysis 
is correct, the species figured must be quite different from what we 
have now before us, which does not differ from other Puccinia, ex- 
cept in being more closely invested with the epidermis. 

Under Helminthosporium apiculatum, a highly interesting analysis 
of the genus is given. ‘The spore consists, Ist, of an outer light 
skin; 2nd, of an inner, hard, coloured, horny skin, which incloses a 
third, which, like the first, is light-coloured. Within this are the 
septa, which have a proper membrane, and are not united at all to 
the third coat, or connected with it. They inclose large drops of oil, 
with which they are also surrounded. ‘The apiculus is formed of a 
proper skin, and merely adheres to the spore, without being clothed 
with any of its coats. The drops of oil are what are sometimes 
called sporidiola, and they require further investigation. We donot 
deny that the cells sometimes contain drops of an oily fluid, but that 
the so-called oil-drops are sometimes true reproductive bodies is 
quite certain. ‘The distinction between the genera Doratomyces and 
Stysanos is well worth attending to, as it throws light upon a matter 
at present somewhat obscure. Some of the latter will probably be 
found to be mere anamorphoses of Aspergitli. Wa 

Chordostylum, Tode, an ill-understood genus, is shown to be allied 
to Pilobolus. The flocci of Trichi@ are shown to be spiral vessels, 
like the elaters of Jungermannia. The genus Chetomium is figured 
as ascigerous, a most interesting fact, which we can ourselves con- 
firm. ‘The matter, however, requires further attention. Myzascia, 
Berk., is probably only a correctly observed Chetomium. ) 


Bibliographical Notices. 63 


The sporidia of Chetomium murorum have a chink on one side, 
like those of the Spheria pedunculata, Dick., and S, hippotrichioides, 
Sow. 

_ The true structure of Spheronema is delineated in a species which 
grows upon the buds of Dahlias, which is almost identical with S. 
blepharistoma, figured in Mag. Bot. and Zool., vol. i, 

The reproductive bodies of Tuber are beautifully figured, under 
Tuber fuscum. In the common truffle we find them just the same, 
and by no means such as represented by Turpin in his memoir on 
that genus. 

The last illustration is perhaps the most important, being a com- 
plete confirmation of the views on the structure of hymenomycetous 
fungi, published in alate number of this journal*. It is most curious 
that Ascherson, Corda, Montague, Leveillé, Brogniart and Decaisne 
should almost at the same time have observed the true structure of 
the hymenium in typical fungi. 

It will not be thought invidious, if after calling attention to so 
many points of interest, (and there are many which we have not no- 
ticed,) we point out a few matters which might mislead. The au- 
thor is certainly too hasty in the proposing new species and genera : 
indeed, many of his species appear to be the conidia of other fungi, 
or anomalous forms of described species, Bispora intermedia appears 
to be a correctly drawn Torula antennata. Halysium atrum is Spilo- 
ma melanopum, EK. B. t. 2858, which has been neglected by authors. 
Its nature isstill doubtful. Periconia byssoides is either incorrectly 
drawn or is not the true plant of Nees, the flocci of which are arti- 
culated and the spores curiously granulated. 

The species figured as Sti/ba appear to belong to other genera. 
Stilbum crystallinum is clearly Aspergillus albus, and Stilbum vulgare 
certainly not the true plant, Stilbum nodosum appears to be young 
Aspergillus maximus. | 

Other points might be noted, but we had rather again call the at- 
tention of our readers to the merits of the work, and recommend it 
yery strongly to their patronage. 


Commentationes de Leguminosarum Generibus. Auctore Georgio 
Bentham. 


During an interesting and extensive tour lately made on the con- 
tinent of Europe, our valued friend Mr. Bentham devoted his time, 
whether in the field or in the public and private museums, to the 


* On the fructification of the Pileate and Clavate Tribes of Hymenomy- 
cetous Fungi, vol. i. p. 81. 


64 Geological Society. 


study of botany, with that energetic zeal which marks his character, 
_and which induces him to labour, not for his own improvement only, 
but for the public good. One of the results of this tour has been 
the publication (at Vienna) of a 4to brochure, of 100 closely printed 
pages, under the title above given. Here are includeda great num- 
ber of most valuable observations on many new genera and species 
of Leguminose, chiefly from the Herbaria of Munich and Vienna, 
where the collections were (as elsewhere) thrown open to him with 
a liberality which has called forth his grateful acknowledgements. 
His work, we are happy to learn from the preface, now that Mr. 
Bentham is returned to London, is but the forerunner of a more ex- 
tensive one on this extensive family of plants. 


The Natural Arrangement and Relations of the Family of Fly-Catchers 
or Muscicapide. By William Swainson, Esq.* 


This work, one of the cheap and beautifully illustrated volumes of 
Sir William Jardine’s Naturalist’s Library, well sustains the charac- 
ter of that popular series. Mr. Swainson’s talent as a zoological 
writer appears to be peculiarly fitted for works of this description,— 
his slight sketches combine the beauty of a work of art, with the di- 
stinctness and accuracy so requisite in subjects connected with na- 
tural history. The text is an extension of the author’s remarks on 
this family, originally published in the Ornithological volumes of 
Lardner’s Encyclopedia, and contains much useful information, 
conveyed in an agreeable manner, and illustrated by thirty accurately 
coloured plates, beautifully engraved by Mr. Lizars. The work is 
published at such a moderate price as to place it within the reach of 
any person wishing to pursue the study of natural history, but who 
may hitherto have been prevented by the high price at which books 
on such subjects are usually brought out. 

Much, however, as we are pleased with the general execution of 
this little volume, we cannot but regret that Mr. Swainson has not 
been more accurate in the orthography of the scientific names. 

The same volume also contains an interesting memoir and plate of 
Baron Haller, the poet, the physiologist, and the naturalist. 


_. PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES, 


GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. ; 
April 4.—A paper was read, entitled, ‘‘ A Description of Viscount - 
Cole’s specimen of Plesiosaurus macrocephalus (Conybeare),” by 


* Jardine’s Naturalist’s Library: Lizars, Edinburgh; Highley, London. 


Geological Society. 65 


Richard Owen, Esq., F.G.S., Hunterian Professor in the College of 
Surgeons, London. 

The author premises his description of the Plesiosaurus macroce- 
phalus, by pointing out the characters of a species of Plesiosaurus, 
which he regards as distinct from the Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus of 
Mr. Conybeare; and which, from the completeness of its skeleton in 
the British Museum and other collections, he selects for a more im- 
mediate comparison with the Plesiosaurus macrocephalus. 

He proposes to call the species thus selected, as a term of com- 
parison, Plesiosaurus Hawkinsii, in honour of the gentleman to whose 
remarkable skill and indefatigable labour, the beautiful and perfect 
skeletons of it are exclusively due. The chief points in which the 
Plesiosaurus Hawkinsii differs from the Pl. dolichodeirus are,—that 
the neck is a little longer than the trunk, instead of being fully equal 
to the body and tail united ;—that it contains twenty-nine cervical 
vertebree, bearing hatched-shaped ribs, instead of thirty-five; and that 
the length of the head is equal to one-tenth part of the total length 
of the skeleton, instead of one-thirteenth part as in the dolichodeirus. 
The Pl. Hawkinsii differs also in the relative shortness and form of 
the ulna and fibula, and in some other minor points. 

Having defined the species selected to illustrate the specific pecu- 
liarities of the PZ. macrocephalus, Mr. Owen next offers some new 
views respecting the elementary composition of a vertebra in the abs- 
tract, suggested principally by a study of the vertebral column in 
the Plesiosauri; for having observed that the vertebral ribs, or the 
elements termed by Geoffroy St. Hilaire paraauz, or para-vertebral 
elements, are not bent down in the caudal region to form the protect - 
ing laminze of the vascular trunks beneath the tail, but are continued 
as shorter rib-like processes through a great part of the tail, co- 
existing with the inferior laminz (also called paraaux by Geoffroy), 
he proposes to call these latter or inferior elements (which remain 
united in the Plesiosauri) ‘ hemapophyses’, in allusion to their physio- 
logical relations with the great blood vessels. The superior laminze 
he denominates on the same principle ‘ neurapophyses’, from their 
being developed to protect the great nervous trunk. The author fur- 
ther observes that the parts or processes of a complicated vertebra 
are of two distinct kinds; some being developed independently in 
separate cartilages, while others are mere projections from these in- 
dependent constituents. 

As examples of the first, or autogenous elements, Mr. Owen in- 
stances the centrum, or body of the vertebre ; the xeurapophyses and 
superior spine; the hemapophyses and inferior spine; and the ribs, or 


Ann. Nat. Hist, Vol.2. No.7. Sept. 1838. F 


66 Geological Society. 


costal processes. The transverse and oblique processes are instances 
of the second, or exogenous parts of a vertebra. 

The vertebree of the Plesiosaurus are then described according to the 
preceding views, and the varying relations of the different vertebral 
elements in different regions of the spine are pointed out. 

The dorsal vertebrae having been determined in previous descrip- 
tions of the skeletons of this genus by their usual anatomical charac- 
ter of affording articular surfaces to ribs, much difficulty has been ex- 
perienced in defining the precise number of the cervical vertebree, in 
consequence of the gradual change of the cervical ribs (hitherto con- 
sidered as transverse processes), from the form of an expanded hatchet 
to that of an elongated style. ‘The author, however, regarding the 
lateral appendages of the spinal column throughout its whole extent 
as modifications of one and the same vertebral element, proposes to 
distinguish the cervical and dorsal regions of the spine by the position 
of the articular surface supporting that lateral element, or rib: thus he 
would call cervical, all those anterior vertebree in which the body af- 
fords the whole or any part of the costal articular surface ; and the 
dorsal series would commence at that vertebra where the costal sur- 
face had first passed upon the neurapophysis. The author finds in 
_the Plesiosaurus Hawkinsii that the costal processes of the two ver- 
tebree which are articulated to the ilium, and which are consequently 
to be regarded as sacral, begin again to slide down from the neurapo- 
physis upon the centrum; and that in the Pl. macrocephalus, where 
the costal appendages are lost, the hodies of the first two vertebrae 
which again begin to exhibit a portion of the costal pit, correspond, 
in their relative situation to the ilia, with the sacral vertebre in the 
more perfect skeletons of the P/. Hawkinsii, In the vertebree which 
succeed the sacral ones, the ribs rapidly descend from the neurapo- 
physes upon the centrum; but the bodies of the caudal vertebra so 
characterized may be distinguished from those of the cervical by the 
absence of a longitudinal groove which traverses the costal pits in 
the cervical region; and also by the presence of the articular surfaces 
for the hemapophyses, The determination of characters in the body 
or central element of a vertebra which point out the region of the 
spine to which it belongs, is the more valuable in the skeletons of 
the Knaliosauri, because in these cold-blooded reptiles ossification is 
tardy in its progress, and anchylosis of the autogenous elements of a 
vertebra rarely takes place; and hence the bodies are often found 
separated and detached from their peripheral appendages. 

After concluding his observations on the structure of the vertebr 
in the Plesiosauri generally, the author next proceeds to point out 


Geological Society. 67 


the specific peculiarities of the cervical, dorsal, sacral, and caudal 
vertebree of the Plestosaurus macrocephalus. 

The bodies of the cervical vertebree of this species may be distin- 
guished from those of the Pl. Hawkinsii and Pl. dolichodeirus by the 
close proximity of the costa! to the neurapophyseal depressions: in this 
respect, indeed, the anterior cervical vertebrae of the P/. macrocephalus 
differ from those of every Plesiosaurus which the author has examined. 
Other minor distinctive characters are also pointed out. The number 
of cervical vertebra in the Pl. macrocephalus is twenty-nine, that of 
Pl. Hawkinsii thirty-one; the length of the neck is twice that of the 
head ; in Pl, Hawkinsii it is three times the length of the head. 

The dorsal vertebrae of the P/. macrocephalus differ from those of 
the Pl. Hawkinsii and Pl. dolichodeirus in being more flattened in the 
antero-posterior direction, and more concave at the sides; true trans- 
verse processes are developed from the neurapophyses to support the 
ribs, as in other Plesiosauri. 

In the sacral vertebrae the medullary canal presents a slight en- 
largement as compared with that in the neck. 

The terminal caudal vertebrein the specimen described are wanting, 
but in those of a perfect skeleton of the Pl. Hawkinsii in the British 
Museum, the author discovered an interesting modification of the sur- 
faces by which the bodies are joined to one another. They are hol- 
lowed out like the vertebra of the Ichthyosaurus, so as to join by 
double coneave surfaces; he conceives this to be, as in the Batrachian 
reptiles, the original structure of all the vertebree, and that it is per- 
manent in those which are most remotely situated from the centre 
and source of vital energy: but Mr. Owen observes, that this arrest 
of development is obviously designed, to give to the tail of the Ple- 
siosaurus the same combination of elasticity with flexibility, which 
characterizes that of fishes. 

After describing the vertebral and sternal ribs of the abdominal 
region, the author next compares the bones of the pectoral and pelvic 
extremities with those of other species of Plesiosauri. In the macro- 
cephalus the ulna is relatively longer and broader, and presents a 
more complete reniform figure than in the Hawkinsit or dolichodet- 
rus, ‘These characters are still more marked in the fibula; the femur 
is longer than the humerus. ‘There are eight ossicles in the carpus, 
and six ossicles in the tarsus ; these latter are so arranged as to allow 
of greater freedom of inflection forwards, and to give a compound 
motion to the stroke of the hinder paddle. 

The author concludes with a detailed account of the structure of 
the cranium, which he compares, at each step, with that of the two 

F 2 


68 Royal Society of Edinburgh. 


principal modifications of the Saurian type, as exemplified in the - 
Crocodilian and Lacertine species ; and he pointsout many particulars 
in which the Plesiosaurus deviates from the Loricate, and corresponds 
with the Lacertine or Squamate group. Amongst these may be no- 
ticed, the predominance of the elongated form in the cranial bones, 
extending from point to point with wide interspaces, and giving to 
the osseous fabric of the head the appearance of a scaffolding ; the 
posterior bifurcation, mesial crista, and foramen of the parietal bone ; 
the form and relative position of the posterior frontals, and especially 
the absence of the ridge which, in the Crocodile, extends like a second 
zygoma longitudinally across the zygomatic cavity. Mr. Owen fur- 
ther dwelt upon the form and position of the zygomatic portion of 
the temporal bone, the bony interspace of the external nostrils, the 
structure of the lower jaw, and particularly on the existence of a wide 
space on each side of the posterior region of the skull, bounded above 
by the arch formed by the bifurcate processes of the parietal and the 
tympanic bones, and opening into the temporal fosse, as evidences 
of the affinity of the Plesiosaurus to the Lacertine Sauria. The cor- 
respondence of the cranial organization of the Plesiosaurus to those of 
the Crocodile, was noticed in the strength of the maxillary apparatus, 
the general form and structure of the upper jaw, and in the nature 
and alveolar lodgement of the teeth. The peculiarities of structure 
referable to the special exigencies of the extinct form of Saurian under 
consideration, were also dwelt upon, and, lastly, those which charac- 
terized the species described, and which illustrate its more imme- 
diate affinities, 


ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 
April 9th.—Dr. Abercrombie, V.P., in the Chair. 


Sir Charles Bell read a paper ‘‘ On the Comparison of the Nerves 
of the Spine with those of the Encephalon.” (Part ii.) 

As this paper bears more directly on physiology than zoology we 
shall be the more brief. ‘This part is chiefly occupied with the portio 
dura of the 7th pair of nerves of the brain, which is peculiar in its 
function, origin, and distribution. Instead of investigating its func- 
tions by experiments, the author stated it could be more humanely 
done by attentive observation on the living, and still more on the 
dying; it is pre-eminently a muscle of respiration, and its influence 
was conspicuous on the countenance through the process of dissolu- 
tion to the last sigh; also in the highest state of excitement, mental 
and bodily, and in the state of greatest repose. Though not a nerve 
of pure sensation or volition, but of respiration, and although the 


Royal Society of Edinburgh. 69 


system to which it belonged at first appeared confused, yet still there 
was method in the complexity. Through nearly the whole animal 
series, its agency might be traced from the most simple up to the 
most complicated; in those instances where respiration was per- 
formed only by the air playing upon the surface; by its being ad- 
mitted into some simple sac, or into tubes, or. by then leading to 
viscera. Even after this, it became associated with other functions, 
as of taste, smell, speech, &c. No wonder then that it was complex ; 
both vital and voluntary actions being most closely associated with it. 
For example, the throat was a common passage for respiration and 
deglutition ; and how admirable that there is so little interference! 
Directions were given for tracing the portio dura from the surface to 
its true origin, in a flat layer spreading out on the pons Varolii or 
nodus cerebri ; its relation to the spinal cord was then shown, as that 
of other nerves, the 8th, 6th, and 4th; its cause and distribution 
was then stated, corresponding to its varied functions, on the lips 
and other parts connected with speech, on expression generally, the 
play of the features, not excluding the eye. That every fibre and 
aperture of the countenance is associated with respiration, is now too 
clear to be disputed ; direct experiments, as well as many of the phe- 
nomena of health, and yet more of disease, most strikingly demon- 
strate it. It acts in laughter, not negatively, or as the result of 
defective influence, but positively ; so in extreme pain, in passion, &c. 
In his next paper the author means to point out in what respects this 
nerve differs from others. 

Dr. Macdonald made a verbal communication on the Osseous 
Structure of Fishes. 

The author had scarcely time to do justice to himself or subject, 
and we have still less in our limited space. He stated he thought 
zoologists attended too little to anatomy, those especially who gave 
themselves to tracing analogies throughout the scale of animated 
nature. He avowed himself an advocate for the quaternary not the 
quinquennary grouping of the series. His attention was first directed 
to the structure of fishes, when comparing the fourth or last portion 
of the first great circle, viz. the vertebrata, with insects. The ana- 
logies here were striking, but great mistakes are generally committed 
regarding them. Starting from the views propounded by Carus, of 
three important portions being fundamental, and which, in ascend- 
ing, are converted into the jaws, the limbs, wings, &c. he traced 
these modifications through the series. Entomologists have almost 
universally erred in establishing analogies with the more complicated 
classes of animals. They state that the lower part of the anterior 


70 _ Royal Irish Academy. 


portion of the body corresponds with the sternum of the vertebrata ; 
whereas in insects there is a complete inversion. This lower part 
to which the limbs are attached does not correspond with the ster- 
num but with the back. Then the internal viscera should be viewed 
in this same relation; they lie upon or are above the back, and are 
truly epigastric not hypogastric. When furnished with wings, if 
with two pair, the anterior proceed from the true thoracic arch, the 
posterior from the pelvic. In the turtle the three arches are beauti- 
fully seen; the pro-thoracic in the jaw, then the thoracic, and finally 
the meta-thoracic or pelvic. In this group, as in some of the neigh- 
bouring ones, from the peculiar arrangement of the pelvic and other 
bones, the heel is turned forwards and the toes backwards. In fishes 
M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire attempted to establish an analogy between ' 
the bones of the operculum and the ossicula of the ear, But this is 
quite wrong: these bones are nothing more than a peculiar arrange- 
ment of the thoracic arch and fore-arm, as may be seen in the osseous 
arrangement, in its connexion with the respiratory function in the 
gills. The Proteus when viewed in its compound character presents 
no exception. Again, not a less common, though equally glaring 
mistake is made with regard to the pectoral fin and the deeper 
seated parts connected with it. Proceeding upon analogical consi- 
derations, the bones have been designated the scapular, proscapular, 
humerus, &c., whereas the true analogy of these parts is not with - 
the shoulder but with the pelvic limb. As the osseous system, cor- 
rectly contemplated, demonstrates this, so do the soft parts, and 
more especially the nerves, whether we look at the nerves of sensa- 
tion or motion, or the portio dura of the 7th. The prothoracic arch, 
as already stated, is found in the jaw, and here the analogy is as 
conspicuous as elsewhere. On looking at the skeleton of the Lophius 
there appeared to be a contradiction, for here we find something so like 
a fin or hand, that it cannot fail to be taken for it; but in seeking for 
it in the recent specimen it is not to be found; in truth it is so rv- 
dimentary, that it never reaches, far less protrudes from, the skin. 
These are merely a few hints upon a very extensive and interesting 
subject, which the author would do well to illustrate in a more 
systematic and satisfactory manner than was possible in a short 
verbal communication. 


ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY. 
May 28, 1838.—Sir W. Hamilton, A.M., President, in the Chair. 
Mr. Ball read a paper, by Wm. Thompson, V.P., Nat. Hist. So- 
ciety of Belfast, ‘‘ On the Irish Hare.” (Lepus Hibernicus.) 


Royal Irish Academy. 71 


This paper commenced with a review of what has been written on 
the subject of the Irish hare, from the time it was brought under the 
notice of English zoologists in 1833, until the present period. Mr. 
Thompson stated, contrary to what has been advanced, that the hare 
of England and Scotland, and that of Ireland, have long been known 
to differ; and that in 1807 the difference in the fur of the two spe- 
cies was alluded to as a matter of common notoriety, in the MS. of 
the late John Templeton, Esq. He further stated, that on account 
of their differing from the Irish species, a number of hares were, up- 
wards of thirty years ago, brought from England and turned out on 
the largest of the Copeland Islands, off the county of Down; and that 
many years since, the Irish hare was, for a similar reason, introduced 
to the island of Islay, off the coast of Scotland. 

The Lepus Hibernicus is considered distinct from all described spe- 
cies. It exhibits, in several respects, characters intermediate be- 
tween the British hares, L. timidus and L. variabilis ; but considered 
generally, more nearly approximates to the former animal. 

The chief result of detailed measurements is shown in the supe- 
rior length of the ears and tail of L. timidus, compared with those of 
L. Hibernicus. The former, or common hare, displays greater diver- 
sity of colour on the head, ears, and body, than the Irish species, 
which again exhibits greater variety in that of the legs. The most 
obvious difference in colour (and which has been unnoticed by 
authors,) is in the tail, the upper surface of which is black in the 
L. timidus, and white, tinged with greyish towards the base, in the 
Irish species. On looking to their osteology, some slight differences 
are observable in the head; the comparatively more horizontal direc- 
tion of the lumbar vertebra in the Irish hare is conspicuous, and like- 
wise the relative shortness of its tail, which, as first recorded by Mr. 
Kyton, contains three vertebra less than that of the English species, 
thirteen only being possessed by the former, and sixteen by the lat- 
ter animal. 

The occasional whiteness of fur in the Irish hare is believed by the 
author to be a consequence of age, and not regulated by the law that 
is understood to affect the Alpine hare, which is considered to change 
its dark summer fur to white at the commencement of every winter. 

The ceconomy and habits of the Irish hare, which generally corre- 
spond with those of the common species, are, together with a com- 
parative description of form, colour, &c., very fully detailed in this 


paper. 


72 Zoological Society. 


ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 


October 24th, 1837.—Richard Owen, Esq., in the Chair. 

The Prince of Musignano read a short communication upon the 
Long-tailed Trogon (Trog. resplendens of Gould). 

The Quesalt, the native name of this species, is a rare bird, and 
very shy in its habits; it is confined to restricted limits, being solely 
found in a peculiar section of the mountainous district of Vera Paz, 
in the province of the same name, now forming one of the five inde- 
pendent states constituting the Federal republic of Central America. 
A single instance is on record of its having been domesticated. It 
builds its nest in the shape of a barrel or bag, open at both ends, by 
which means injury to its long tail-feathers is avoided. The Prince 
stated that he had communicated the present notice of the history of 
the Long-tailed Trogon to an American Journal some years since, . 
and that so long as the year 1826, he had proposed that the specific 
name of Paradiseus should be given to the species. 

Mr. Gray exhibited a drawing of a new species of the genus Te- 
trapturus, in the British Museum, which had been obtained at the 
Cape, and for which he proposed the specific name of Herschelii*. 

Mr. Gray afterwards called the attention of the Meeting to some 
pieces of chalk, which he had recently found in the cliffs at Brighton, 
exhibiting perforations made by the Patella and Pholas, and pre- 
senting appearances which he considered to have been produced in 
the case of the latter genus by the rotatory action of the valves. 

The remarks of Mr. Gray elicited considerable discussion as to 
the manner in which certain molluscous genera penetrate limestone 
rocks and other hard substances, a phenomenon which Mr. Owen 
thought could not be explained upon the supposition of its being 
exclusively caused by a rotation of the valves, but that it was chiefly 
due to the mechanical influence of the currents of water produced by 
the vibratile cilia of the animal, as noticed by Mr. Garner in acom- 
munication made to the Society in 1835. 

Mr. Martin exhibited a new Bat from Fernando Po, belonging to 
the genus Rhinolophus, which he characterised as 

Rurnotopuus Lanperi. Rhin. vellere molli, et pulchré castaneo- 

rufescente ; auribus acutis, patulis, erectis, ad latus exterius emar- 
ginatis, et lobo rotundato accessorio instructis ; prosthemate du- 
plice ; anteriore bidentato cum scypho parvulo ad basin anticam, 
hic ferro-equino membranaceo circumdato ; prosthemate posteriore 


* The description of this species with a plate will be found in vol. i. p. 313 
of this Journal. , 


Zoological Society. 73 


ad basin transversim sinuato, ad apicem acuto ; ferro-equino mem- 
branaceo, lato, margine libero antice bifido ; pollice brevi, gracili, 
in membrand subtis per dimidium incluso: ungue parvulo ; anti- 
brachiis robustis ; cruribus gracilibus ; patagiis nigricantibus. 


une. lin. 

Longitudo corporis cum capite .......... 1 4 
COM REE IAE PO POPBEOO 9 

AUYTUM, wos we eaees oth, WES He2 74 

SUELO OORT 37% prone of wi “21089 8 i 71 

6h, SER CE. AE Oe SRE ARC re 8 

CUES Saw iclaepegeeet eeee 44 
Prosthematis longitudo .......-..eee08. 2 


Alarumamplitado 356058 8 Oe ee ” 


Habitat in Insulé Fernando Po. 

‘‘ This beautiful little species of Bat is a genuine Rhinolophus; the 
nasal appendages consist of a horse-shoe, a crest, and an elevated 
leaf. The horse-shoe is broad with indications of a double furrow; 
its outer margin is free and bifid anteriorly. In its centre is placed 
a little cup-like depression with an elevated rim, from the back of 
which rises a bifid crest not much elevated: the larger apex is the 
posterior of the two. On each side of this crest and behind it, the 
skin continued from the horse-shoe, and forming the base of the leaf, 
is furrowed by two deep but unequal su/c?, with a marked posterior 
ridge, elevated across the base of the leaf, which latter ends in a 
short acute lanceolate point ; posteriorly it is covered with short hairs, 
anteriorly it is nearly naked. Its length is two lines. The ears are 
large, broad, and pointed; the outer margin is emarginate, and passes 
into a large rounded accessory lobe, closing the ear anteriorly. The 
anti-brachia are short, the thumbs small, the tibia slender. 

“The fur is soft and delicate, and of a fine light or rufous chestnut, 
a little darker on the middle of the back; the wings are blackish. 

*« T have ventured to name this species in honour of the late enter- 
prising, but unfortunate Mr. Lander, during whose expedition it was 
taken at Fernando Po.” 

Mr. Martin also communicated to the Meeting the following no- 
tice of a new species of Hedgehog. 

«* Among the specimens of Natural History, from the neighbourhood 
of Trebizond, presented to the Society by Keith Abbot, Esq., is a 
species of Hedgehog, decidedly differing from our well-known British 
species, and appearing to be at present undescribed. It is much 
smaller than the Hrinaceus Europeus, measuring from the tip of the 
muzzle to the root of the tail, over the arch of the back, only 94 inches. 
The spines advance upon the forehead, and overshadow the eyes; 


74 Zoological Society. 


the general colour presented by the spines ‘ en masse’ is mahogany 
brown, but each spine individually taken is yellowish brown for three 
parts of its length from the basal extremity; this colour then becomes 
darker, and again passes into yellowish brown at the extreme apex; 
the annulation, however, is far less decided than in the British ani- 
mal. 2389 

«The ears are short and rounded, a white patch is placed before 
them, and also on the forehead ; the chest is dirty white; the sides 
of the muzzle, and the whole of the under surface are intensely 
blackish, or umbre brown, several long white hairs being intermixed 
with the rest on the shoulders, extending from the chest. 

« The ¢arsi are longer than in #. Europeus. Ina very large speci- 
men of the latter, measuring from the nose to the root of the tail, over 
the back, 144 inches ; the foot from the heel to the end of the middle 
toe, excluding the nail, measures 1 inch #, while in this smaller 


species it measures 1 inch #. 

«« For this species I propose the name of Erinaceus concolor. It may 

be thus characterised. 

‘‘ Erinaceus concotor. Fr. obscure fuscus, spinis in frontem, et 
super oculos obductis ; spinis rigidis, flavescenti-fuscis ad basin, 
apicem versus intense fuscis, apice extremo pallide rufescenti-brun- 
neo; auribus parvis, rotundatis ; rostro breviusculo ; in frontem 
notd albd, necnon ante aures ; pectore sordid albo, vellere cor- 
poris subtis nigrescenti-fusco, pilis longis albis ad humeros 
sparsim intermiatis. 


une. lin. 
«‘ Longitudo corporis, a rostro ad caude basin, super 
MOTMMOR. gcccs ARSE CLS SC ed ae eh ERS Lea at ~ ie 
~Longitudo pedis postici a calce ad ne digiti 
intermedii ungue excluso .......; ud tyes 74 


** Habitat apud Trebizond.” 

Mr. Waterhouse called the attention of the members to two spe- 
cies of Kangaroos, which were upon the table. -One of these had 
lately been procured by the Society, and was from the neighbour- 
hood of Hunter’s River, the other had died in the Menagerie. Of 
this latter species the Society has possessed several living specimens ; 
and there is still one in the Gardens, which was bred there. 

Mr. Waterhouse stated that his object in bringing the animals in 
question before the Meeting, was to show that the specimen from the 
Menagerie was not, as had been supposed, the Macropus ualabatus of 
Lesson, but that it was in fact an undescribed species, being distin- 
guished from that of Lesson, (which Mr. Waterhouse considered as 
identical with the specimen from Hunter’s River,) by the following 


Zoological Society. 75 


characters :—the under parts are grayish white, instead of buff yel- 
low; the ears are rather longer in proportion, and the tail hoary gray, 
white beneath, and with a white tip, instead of being almost totally 
-black. Mr. Waterhouse proposed that the name Macropus Bennett: 
be adopted for this species, and proceeded to characterise it as follows : 
Macrorus Bennertri. Mac. intense cineraceus, regione scapular, 
clunibus, et regione circum-oculari, rufo-brunneis ; corpore subtis 
cinerescenti-albo ; rostro, auribus postice, digitis anticis posii- 
cisque nigris ; lined albescenti viv distinctd ab angulo oris, ad 
genas excurrente ; caudd cinerescente, ad apicem nigrd, et subtis 
sordide flavescenti-albd. 


; une. lin, 

Longitudo ab apice rostri ad caudez basin .... 24 10 

———+—— COUN si ssiseness Tio tae 24 7 
ab apice rostriad marginem oculi .. 3 OQ 
ab apice rostri ad basin auris ...... 5. 10. 
tarsi digitorumque (sine unguibus).. 8 9 
QUPID a a\siis is oA Lele one 16) 08 ad WOH rereBirly -d 


Hab. Nova Cambria Australi. 

** The fur of this animal is rather long and moderately soft; the 
longest hairs on the middle of the back measure about two inches, 
and the shorter about one and a half inches in length. Its general 
line is a very deep gray, inclining to black on the back, somewhat 
paler on the sides of the body, and a rust-like tint is observable on 
the back of the neck and base of ears externally, over the haunches 
and shoulders and in the region of the eye. The under parts of the 
body, and the inner side and fore part of the hinder legs, are of a 
grayish white colour. The muzzle is black, and the crown of the 
head is brown black; an obscure whitish line extends backwards 
from the corners of the mouth, and becomes obliterated on the cheeks; 
the hairs on the lips are dirty white; the chinis blackish. The ears 
are furnished with white hairs internally, and longish black hairs 
externally, excepting at the base. The limbs externally are of the 
same hue as the sides of the body; the fore feet, and the toes of the 
hind feet are black, the outer side of the heel is also black. The 
hairs of the tail (excepting at the base, where they are of the same 
colours and character as those of the body) are rather harsh, black, 
and broadly annulated with silvery white near the apex ; the general 
tint is hoary gray, the white portion of each hair being most conspi« 
cuous ; the apex of the tail is black, and on this part the hairs are 
long and form a kind of tuft; the under side of the tail is white, 
The hairs on the upper part of the body are of a deep slate colour at 
the base, the remaining portion of each hair is black annulated with 
white, or more generally with pale rust colour; on the under parts 


76 Zoological Society. 


of the body, the hairs are of a deep slate colour with the apical por- 
tion white. 

‘< The above descriptions and dimensions are taken from an adult 
male; the two females in the Society’s Museum are of a smaller 
size and paler colour, their prevailing tint being reddish gray : 
around the entrance to the pouch the hairs are of a deep rusty brown 
colour,” 

A species of Mouse from the Cape of Good Hope was next de- 
scribed by Mr. Waterhouse under the name of 

Mus susspinosus.. M. pilis subspinosis, corpore supra fuscescenti- 

griseo ; ad latera flavescente ; subtis niveo, oculis flavido cinctis ; 
caudd cupite corporeque breviore ; auribus mediocribus. 


unc. lin, 
Longitudo ab apice rostri ad caude basin .... 3 4 
CONGR 82 OO OG Ok ahs saa a Soba: eae | 

ab apice rostri ad basin auris ...... 0 1024 

tarsi digttorumque...... re a ye 0 684 


QUIIR. 0/6 INS oO CNT OH LION Goins 

Hab. Cape of Good Hope. 

‘‘ This species is allied to the Mus Cahirinus of Geoffroy; it is, 
however, not so large; and although the hairs are flat and bristle- 
like, they are less harsh than those of the North African species; it 
also differs in its colouring.” 

Mr. Gould introduced to the notice of the Meeting a very singu- 
lar form among the Caprimulgide for which he proposed the generic 


appellation of 
AMBLYPTERUS. 


Rostrum debile et. elongatum. 

Nares elevate et rotundatee. 

Rictus setis robustis instructus, rostro longioribus. 

Ale truncate ; remigibus externis sextis feré eequalibus et falcatis ; 
remigibus 2%, 34°, 4'° ad externum pogonium emarginatis, 7™°, 8Y°, 
9° ad apices elongatis et attenuatis, 10™° abrupte brevi; secondariis 
brevissimis, rotundatis et ab tertiariis tectis, his longissimis. 

Cauda brevissima et quadrata. 

Pedes ambulatorii. 

Tarsi elongati, graciles, squamis indistinctis antice et postice fas- 
ciati; digito intermedio longissimo et gracillimo ; digitis lateralibus 
brevibus et zqualibus; digito postico parvo, debili et libero; ungui- 
bus elongatis, ungue medio pectinato. 

AMBLYPTERUS ANOMALUS. Amb. summo capite, corpore supra et 
alis cinereo-fuscis, singulis plumis nigro irregularitér sparsis et 
maculatis ; primariis nigris, ad bases rubrescenti-cervinis, ad 
apices albis ; secondariis cervinis, nigrescenti-fusco irregulariter 


. Miscellaneous. 77 


fasciatis ; rectricibus caude cervinis, nigrescenti-fusco irregula- 

riter fasciatis et maculatis ; duabus centralibus cinereo-fuscis ; 

gutture, pectore et abdomine ad partem superiorem nigrescenti- 

Suscis, singulis plumis cervino maculatis ; abdomine imo pallide cer- 

vino, singulis plumis nigrescenti-fusco transversim fasciatis ; ros- 

tro fusco ; pedibus pallide fuscis. 
Long. tot. unc. 62; rostri, 1; ale, 52; caude, 3; tarsi, 7. 

Obs. Mr. J. E. Gray believes this bird to be from Demerara, or 
the Brazils; the specimen is in the collection at the British Museum, 
and so far as I am aware is unique. 

Mr. Gould afterwards exhibited a species of Ibis, having many 
characters in common with the [bis religiosa of Cuvier, and two new 
species of the genus Platalea, which were accompanied with the fol- 
lowing descriptions. 

Ibis sTRICTIPENNIS.—Ib. capite et collo superiore nudis, et nigre- 
scenti-fuscis, coeruleo lavatis ; corpore toto, et alis albis, ccrvino 
lavatis ; plumis in guld longis, angustis, lanceolatis et rigidis ; 
primarus ad apices ceeruleo-viridibus ; tertiariis valdé productis 
et nigro-ceruleis, albo sparsis; tarsis et spatio nudo sub ald 
rufo-fuscis. 

Long. tot. unc. 30; rostri, 6; ale, 144; caud@, 6; tarsi, 4. 

Hab. Australia. 

Prataea REGIA. Plat. cristd occipitali pendente et corpore toto, 
pectore excepto, albo ; pectore flavo parum lavato ; fronte facie 
anteriori et guld plumis prorsus nudis ; notd super oculos atque 
in occipite medio aurantiacd. 

Long. tot. unc. 39; rostri,82; ale, 15; caude, 5+; tarsi, 54. 

Hab. Nova Cambria Australi, 

Foem. differt a mare adulto, staturd minore. 

PrataLea FLaviers. Plat. corpore toto albo; parte facici nuda 
angustiore quam in Plat. regia ; parte nudd et rostro aurantiacis; 
pedibus flavis. 

Long. tot. unc. 28; rostri, 74; ale, 144; caude, 543 tarsi, 42. 

Hab. Nova Cambria Australi. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 
HELMINTHOLOGY. 

D.C. M. Dresing, in the Nova Acta Phys. Med. xii., has given 
two papers on Helminthology; one a monograph of the genus Tristoma, 
describing four species, one of them hitherto unknown; and the 
other on some new genera and species of this animal, amongst 
which is a fifth Tristoma.—J. E. Gray. 


78 Miscellaneous. 


NEST AND EGGS OF THE WATER RAIL (Rallus aquaticus). 


The bird had selected for her nest a thick turf of long grass, hollow 
at the bottom, on the side of the reed pond; the nest, about an inch 
and half thick, was composed of withered leaves and rushes ; it was so 
covered by the top of the grass, that neither bird, nest, or eggs could 
be seen; the entrance to and from the nest was through an aperture 
of the grass, directly into the reeds, opposite where any one could 
stand to see the nest. ‘The length of the eggs on an average were 
one inch and a half, some near a tenth more, others near a tenth 
less; weight, seven drachms; colour, light cream, thickly spotted 
at the larger ends with bright rusty red, intermixed with sunk 
faint lilac spots, thinly and finely spotted at the lesser ends with 
the same colours, with a blush of pink over the whole egg, but 
more towards the lesser ends; the yolk a bright blood red, brighter 
than any egg I ever opened, and I think that the pink tint of the 
shell is owing to the redness of the yolk, for after emptying the eggs 
it was hardly perceptible. On the 20th of June I found another 
nest in the same reed pond; the eggs were destroyed; this nest was 
built among the reeds, and very near the water. On the 10th of 
July I obtained a third nest, from the same place, of eleven eggs 
within two or three days of hatching, the nest and situation much 
like the first.—Joun Smitu, Yarmouth. 


WALKING OF THE SEAL. 


The common seal in the Zoological Gardens, when on the land, 
scarcely uses its feet in walking, but only the abdominal muscles, 
jerking itself forward by a series of convulsive actions. It only used 
its fore-feet to assist in balancing itself, and when it turned on one 
side it expanded its hinder feet, which are generally contracted and 
held together, with the depressed forked tail between their base. 
This does not arise from any imperfection in the formation of the 
fore-feet, for it used them as hands to bring bodies near to its mouth. 
—J. HE. Gray. 

HYDRA. 


A. J. Corda, in the Nov. Act. Ph. Med. xviii. 299. t. 14—16, has 
given a very complete anatomy of the brown fresh-water polypus 
(Hydra fusca), showing that the animal is of a much more complex 
organization than was previously supposed, and that the digestive 
cavity is furnished with a short straight canal, ending with a distinct 
vent in the hinder part of the body near the foot or part by which it 
adheres. —J. E. Gray. 


Meteorological Observations. 79 


Register of Meteorological Observations for June 1838, made at Applegarth 
Manse, Dumfries-shire. By the Rev. Wm. Dunbar. 


(Omitted last Month.) 


Days Barometer. Therm, 


of +—— | Wind, | Rain. Weather. 
Month. | 9a.m. | 9p.m. |9a.m./9p.m. 


Junel | 29°80} 29°75} 50 | 49 E, Jen Cold and withering. 
2 | 29°63| 29°58} 494) 49 | sw. ... | Fine: rain: genial. 
3 | 29°54| 29°50} 55 | 52 | ssw..| ... | Showery and sunny. 
4 | 29:49) 29°60) 59 | 53] ss. ... | Showery and warm. 
5 | 29°71 | 29°85) 62 | 525] s.w. eo Showery: thunder. 
6 | 29°96} 30:02} 613) 47 |g byw.) ... Showery : cold v.m. 
7 | 30:05| 30°08] 56 | 454! ssw. .«- | Dry: cool: genial, 
O 8 | 30°13} 30°11} 55 | 483) Nn, &s.} 1°12 | Dry: cool : genial, 
Q | 29°97| 29°71) 54 | 50 | ssw. ... | Dry, but threatening rain. 
10 | 29°48] 29°40/ 50 | 51] s. 0:46 | Wet all day. 
11 | 29°49} 29°50} 56 | 49 | se. | 0°72 | Wet: thunder. 
12 | 29°61 | 29°67) 55 | 493) we. ... | Dry and pleasant. 
13 | 29°68} 29°64) 53 | 51 | ne. ane Dry : rather cool. 
14 | 29°51} 29°50) 51 | 48 | we. | 0°62 | Wet throughout. 
€15 | 29°50} 29-49| 53 | 53.| sw. | 1:80 | Very genial day. 
16. | 29°53) 29°55) 55 | 554) ss. 1°46 | Soft rain all day. 
17 | 29°64} 29°67) 57 | 56 |s.by w.| ... | Fine growing weather. 
18 | 29°55| 29°36| 60 | 57 | nx. | ... | Faira.m.: wet v.m.: thund. 
19 | 29°30} 29°50} 554) 55 | w. | 0°96 | Wet preced® night: dry p.m, 
20 | 29°49) 29:20] 59 | 50 | sw. | 1°32 | Very wet afternoon. 
21 29°21} 29°25| 57 | 51 sw. 3°74 | Fair all day. 
@22 | 29°37} 29°60) 52 | 524) sw. i Showery a.m.: cleared. 
23 | 29°89| 29°91} 60 | 544] ssw. | ... | Fair: fine day. 
24 | 29°80} 29°80} 62 | 56 | ssw. a Fair all day. 
25 | 29°91} 29°93) 56 | 58 | ssw. |... | Fair and mild, 
26 | 29°86) 29°86; 66!... | sz. pa Fair and warm. 
27 |} 29°75) 29°80| 56 | 50] sz. she Wet a.m.: cleared up. 
28 | 29°80} 29°85| 61 | 484] s. ... | Fine summer day. 
29 | 29°87] 29°85} 54 | 54] Ne. «« | Showery, but warm, 
>30 | 29°70} 29°74) 544) 56 | we. | 0°60 | Cloudy and moist, 


Mean. | 29°71 | 29°67; 56 | 513 | 7°26 


METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR JULY 1838. 

Chiswick.—July 1. Cloudy and fine: rain, 2, Sultry: rain. 3. Rain. 4, Hazy: 
fine. 5. Very fine. 6. Heavy rain with thunder; fine. 7,8. Fine. 9—11, Very fine. 
12. Overcast. 13. Very hot: lightning at night. 14. Rain. 15. Showery., 16—22. 
Very fine. 23, Overcast. 24, 25. Fine. 26, Cloudy and fine: rain. 27. Fine. 
28. Very fine : slight rain. 29. Cloudy: rain, 30. Heavy showers. 3]. Very fine. 

‘ Boston.—-July 1, Cloudy: rain early a.m. 2. Cloudy: rain p.m. 3,4. Cloudy. 
5. Fine, 6. Fine: rainrp.m. 7 Fine, 8. Rain. 9, Cloudy. 10. Fine. 11. 
Cloudy: rain early a.m.: rainr.m. 12, Cloudy. 13, Fine: thunder and light- 
ningr.m, 14, Cloudy: rain early a.m.; rainr.m. 15, Fine: rainr.m, 16. 
Cloudy. 17. Fine. 18. Cloudy. 19. Fine. 20—22. Windy. 23, Fine: 
rain p.m. 24. Fine, 25. Cloudy. 26, Fine: rainem. 27. Stormy. 28. 
Fine. 29. Fine: raina.m. 30. Fine: raina.M. 31. Fine. 

Applegarth Manse, Dum/ries-shireo—July 1. Shower a.m,: fairp.m. 2. Fair 
all day. 3,4. Fine summer days, 5. Excellent weather. 6. Warm: thunder : 
rain, 7. Showeryall day. 8. Fair: mild; cool ym. 9, Dull day: very cloudy. 
10, Rain in the afternoon, 11. Rainy all day: fog r.m. 12. Rain: cleared up 
v.M. 13, Showery. 14. Showery allday, 15, Showery: cleared p.m. 16. 
Showery a.M.: cleared, 17. Wetallday. 18. Fineday: moistr.m. 19, 
Showery all day. 20. Fair day, though cool. 21. Fair a.m.: showery p.m. 
22. Fair throughout, 23. Heavy rain: thunder. 24. Fair throughout. 25. 
Fair, but cool. 26. Wet nearly allday. 27. Showerya.m. 28, Showery 
nearly all day. 29,30. Showery p.m. 31. Fair throughout, 


es 2 a a a a ENO RT Ss 


g-LS. 696-3 

eee | 9-1 OFS ang sialic #99 88S Leal LL.os gh-PL| 0-96 | 8-0L | £-£9 | PF-6z | HP-6z | OF-6z | LP6.6z | 8E0-0F | zz0.0€ | “uve 
og | [1% | | gog. |: fumes] a | +s | eg] S| 09] LP 

cg lez.t | LI | ge. a Fees one See PL | 0-09] G.o4 | L-19 | LL-6 | 09-66 | 66-62 | 198-62 | 800-0€ | 788-62 | “IE 
9S ef ee “4 pte _ oi ~ AS ou 2 « " ZL | G-0G | €-1L | P19 | 0S-6% - | 11-62 | 262-62 | 969-62 | $02-62 | ‘of 
ea | Ae, td cca) w biag | wed ex} re < . : ol pa £.99 | L-09 | OF-6% | OF-6% | LO-6Z | 029-62 | 189-62 | 879-63] °6% C 
eo | [OTe] | goroms | eb omd cau lope a = . aL | €-€S| P-0L| 8-19 | €F-6% | G-6% | 12-62 | 114-62 | 918-62 | GZ8-6% | *gz 
Ge ee OS ras: SS Bed me ea ta gb | 12 | 2:29] L-99 | 0-09 | $S-62 | LS-6% | ST-6% | Fog.6z | OF8.6% | 0Z8-6% | °Lz% 
Bee dt ee ee temsret-. wane ¢ 98 1S | o£ | L-6P| §.¢9 | L.09 | $9.62 | 04-62 | 8€-6z | g0L-6z | 266-62 | 286-62 | ‘9% 
og | = Ted fede temel nm | ae tats mk ms spe G-9S - oL | 9-67 | 9-29 | 8-69 | €8-6% | 88-62 | 87-62 | 966-62 | 800-0F | 800-08 | “Sz 
eo leo.o | | | oc bane] ex lems! can H S| 9$| ob | Lo | 8-£S| €.€9| 7-99 88-62 | 88-62 | TH-62 | 016-62 | Z00-0F | 886-62 | “Fe 
zo lpot | | ce | cee fem | ow | ow faeacmn g PF iSgc} Lo] 22 | o£ | F-09| 9.19 | P89 | L8-6% | 66-62 | 99-62 | 986-62 | Z8T-0£ | HEl-0f | “fs 
eg | | ct i | goo. frum | exw | ee | cm ZG} 9S] LG} Bb | F9 | €-29| P.g9 | 0-95 C0-0€ | OL-0€ | 19.62 | OOT-0F | S8I-O€ | 00-0F | °Z 
65 foe to de | pp. fam fom] om | ows zo| g¢| g¢| 19 | Lo | -€S/¢.12|¥-6S | 90-0€ | L6-6z 8h-6z 1£0-0€ | ZET-O€ | 0S0-08 | *17@ 
Op bs bee boss “P-ede | see | ante ge oe cq! 6F | SZ | 8-SS|€.FL | 0-29 | 08-62 | $L-6z | £E-6z | £86.62 | L00-0€ | Z10-0€ | “0% 
a9. | bth ee Lote tani fone | ems | sate 6¢|$FS| 99] 0G | gd | Z-LS| g.aL| 8-99 | 08-62 | 0662 | £9-62 | LS0.0€ | $92-0€ | 990-08 | “61 
6S |Por| [ce | ee fee lemwlems| os sg gS| 19| 19 | £2 |0.09| ¢.€L] 8-£9 | 90-0€ | 00-08 | 67-62 | OOT.OE | £8Z-0F | O10 | “ST 
19 ses |) Ol. eee LIL sax: Usadin | cine lexiea tan te Ag 9S v9 LS PL €.7¢ 0-6L 6-S9 8L-6% 06-62 £5.6% 996-66 1Zz-0€ | ZSt-0£ “LT 
oo. | + 196 L2s.'| Gar. [mse fae | as [ueaens TOS Be Go| SV | SL | E99) LoL | a-S9 06-62 | 9.6% | OF-62 | Pz0-0€ | Z0Z-0£ | 960-08 | “OT 
€9 |€L.0 |€0- |g1..| == apy Ee isk, i se 9S |¥9S\G-99| 19 | EL | 0-65 | 0-89 L-SQ | 05-62 | LZ-6% | 09-6@ | ZZL-6% | $06-6% | ZOL-6% | “ST 
zo joe | tfc | oc | es lupeol ems] can 6¢| 6S|¢-09| 99 | 8 |$-29| g-BZ | £:99 | 61-62 | EF-62 | 90-62 | 699.62 | ZSL-6% | 991-60) “PID 
€9 |g1-0 |90- | 1 - | -s | -m | ms | caeass g¢| 09! g9| 8S | Fg | 2-09} 9-€L | L-69 | 89-62 | 7L-6z | SE-6z | £0g-6z | 900-0 | OF0-0€ | “ET 
oe ee Pl os 1 Wl ye lee te 05 |,0%| 89] 09 | 28 P-19 | ZZ | PLO | 08-62 | ZL-6% | SE-6 | 766-62 | LL0-0€ | OOT-0F | “SI 
19 |SS.0 | | e+ | ee BSS LS pete SR Ego \s/c| 12] 65 | 0g | €-69|€.PL | 9-69 | GL-62 | 62-62 | OF-62 | ZhO-0€ | SIT-0€ | OOT-OE | “IT 
09 | ft eee | ste tems | oem | om ie LS| 9S| to] 09 | 0g | 2-69] 9-PL | o-S9 LL-6% 61.66 OF-62 | Of L-0€ | SBT-0F | Poz-0€ | “OT 
6S |gz-1 |Z0- | ** | gg. |msm loreal <a | sxeasms 48 96 |¢.h9| 99 | SL | Z69| 9-04 | 2-99 | 98-62 | 8-68 | 05-62 | GPI-0F | P9T-OF | Z8I-08 6 
6S |S9.0 |at- |} 11- | Sco. |-ms | «m |ems| ss E6¢| 9S| 09] 9S | ZL | 0-89 | 9-69 | £29 £8.62 | OL-6% | 0£-6% | 666-62 | LLO0-0£ | 896-62} °8 
€9 |€0.0 | |op. | Pre. [ems | ss | oes | cars 48 19| Po] bS | o£ | L.99| EL | €-P9 | $9-6z | $9.60 | £€-66 | 216.62 166-62 | o10-0€ | “L O 
09 | | ] 1 ogo. {ms loayeol «xs “i toc] 69| 12] 29 | LL |%-09|0-VL | 0-F9 | 02-62 06-62 | £7-6z | 966-62 | FO-0€ | 0S0-0F | *9 
6S | | loo. | zoe. | ‘a lore! +s < 09| oL| go| 67 | 1g |9-29|P-1L | 8-49 | 86-62 96-62 | LS-62 | 0g0-0F | 991-0€ | 861-08 | “S 
oo | lot lot. | ogo. | “= fumesl-ms | mn F9| FL| 60] gf | 08 | Z89| 0.99 | $99 | 86-62 | 86-62 | GS-66 | 1ZT-0€ | SPT-O€ | OFL-.0E | “F 
6S | | * |60. | 00g. | *=x jute) +s a zo| z9| zo| 1S | OL |2.69| ¥-12 | 9-9 | 86-62 | 96-62 | 08-62 | Gz0-0€ | $90-08 oLo-0£ | “f 
ig | |ae lpe.| cco. | as jean! os | eas 9¢| 99] 69] 99 | BZ | E29 | L-So | 8-19 | 96-62 | 96-62 | €S-62 | 266-62 | 1£0-0£ | 870-08 % 
ot at ee = S| 7S} 09| 99 | 9L |$-9¢| 0-L9 | G-29 06-62% | 64-62 | OV-62 | £16.62 | 086-62 | 826-60} ‘T 

P 3 $§ SB = | ‘ut “aITys ‘ur’ *dg| ‘un’ . . . . sesadl «ere cane ° 

conceal BB | F | ELS aoa Se oe ES | SE | [somes sees [| eRe | — LE oteh 
aaa § A g S suopuoy| “end Be. :uopuo’y Bie = - BS seienia: (Scctee vansuey ‘aatys-sotagung, | “40sod *MoLMmstyD pe tows Bad 
~Ma(T *UIey “PUIAA “19 ,aUIO ULI I, -roj0uIOIe josktq 


“aurys-snefuny ‘asunypyr yzenSaddy yo avanag ‘ayy fg pup ‘uojsog yo TIVSA “AYN 49 Suopuo f 
’ j $ rT knau ‘younswyy qo hyaroog younynaysozy 347 fo 
UIPIDE) ay} JO NOSAWOUY, “IJ 49 { NOLUTAOY ‘A ‘Aunjausag qunjsissp ay hg hyav0g qohoy ay3 fo sjuaupindp ay} yo apuu suoymarasgQ qungojoLoaza yyy 


“ayn, ‘901s 


‘AL Td I A 28 2 ey 


‘GMIUUG) f0 00g LNT 


‘MP Qenamas. 


ANNALS OF NATURAL HISTORY. 


a 
> 


X.—Observations on the Fur Seal of Commerce. By R. Ha- 
MILTON, Esq., F.R.S.E., M.W.S., &c. 


[ With a Plate. ] 


In soliciting attention to the Fur Seal of Commerce, we need 
scarcely remark that it claims regard in a commercial as well 
as in a scientific point of view. With the existence of the seal 
trade of the northern regions we have for centuries been fami- 
liar ; but this trade must yield both in extent and importance 
to that which more recently has been prosecuted in the south- 
ern hemisphere. The fur seal has not indeed formed the sole 
object of the southern trade, some of its congeners being of 
equal or even greater importance; more especially the pro- 
boscis seal of Peron, which, from its magnitude, not less than 
its nasal appendage, well merits its appellation of the sea 
elephant. 'This species attains the dimensions of 20, 25, and 
even 30 feet in length, with an unwonted proportional bulk, 
thus equalling in dimensions half the size of the great Green- 
land Whale ; and the oil obtained from it is of very superior 
quality. Next however in importance to this giant of the 
group unquestionably comes the fur seal, which has yielded 
its thousands and tens of thousands sterling to the adven- 
turous trader. 

This is not the place to dwell upon the origin or to trace 
the history of the South Sea seal trade, but a few notices may 
not be unacceptable. Soon after Captain Cook’s voyage in the 
Resolution in 1771, he presented an official report concerning 
New Georgia, in which he gave an account of the great num- 
ber of proboscis seals and fur seals which he had encountered 
on the shores of that island. The information speedily tempted 
several enterprising merchants to fit out vessels for the cap- 
ture of these animals. With regard to the oil obtained from 
the former, it has been stated, on most respectable authority, 
that during a period of about fifty years, not less than 20,000 

Ann. Nat, Hist. Vol. 2. No.8. Oct, 1838. G 


82 Mr. R. Hamilton on the Fur Seal of Commerce. 


tons were annually procured from this spot alone for the Lon- 
don market, which at a.very moderate price, say 50/. per ton, 
would yield about 1,000,000/. per annum. With regard again 
to the fur seal, from the same island, the English and others, 
chiefly the Americans, have procured a number of skins which 
cannot be estimated at less than 1,200,000. From the island 
of Desolation also, which Capt. Cook first made known, the 
number has scarcely been smaller nor the profit less; and 
finally, with regard to South Shetland, the number taken off 
by vessels of different nations, during the two years 1821 and 
1822 alone, was not less than 320,000. The value of these 
skins of course varies with the state of the market ; but it is 
in relation to them, it has been stated in the current edition of 
the Encyclopzedia Britannica, that “from about the year 1806 
till 1823 an extensive trade was carried on in the South Seas 
in procuring seal skins, which in that part of the world are 
covered with a fine fur. They were obtained,” it is added, “in 
vast abundance by the first traders, and yielded a very large 
profit. Cargoes of these skins yielded five and six dollars a 
piece in China, and the present price in the English market 
averages from thirty to fifty shillings*.” 

With regard to the fur seal trade alone several thousand 
tons of shipping have annually been employed+; and respect- 
ing the seal trade generally, it has recently been stated that 
the English and Americans, who together nearly engross the 
whole, employ not fewer than sixty vessels of from 250 to 300 
tons burden f. 

It must be regarded as not a little singular, and yet we be- 
lieve it is not more singular than true, that this animal, which 
has been the object of such extensive and profitable pursuit, 
has not hitherto been described by the scientific naturalist ; so 
that were any one to turn to works of science, he would not 
only be unable to ascertain the characters of the fur seal, but 
would even be at a loss to discover whether in the long cata- 
logue of the Phoce which has been accumulated, the fur seal 
has obtained a place. At several distant zras of the science, 
indeed, a few indistinct notices of this’ species of seal may 


* Vol. x. p. 264. Voy. towards the South Pole, Lond. 1825, p. 54, 
{ Lesson, Dict, Class, des Se. Nat, 


Mr. R. Hamilton on the Fur Seal of Commerce. 83 


perhaps be found, under the names of longicollis and Falk- 
landica; and these it may be interesting to consider in the 
sequel. But with these exceptions, which are truly more ap- 
parent than real, it will be found that so far as the records of 
the science are concerned, this animal has hitherto been neither 
recognised nor described. 

It is the object of the following pages to supply these de- 
ficiencies ; not indeed with all the accuracy we could wish, but 
so far as our opportunities permit. We shall first, however, 
premise a word or two respecting the furs of seals. 

A slight examination of the recent skins speedily exhibits 
that two substances sufficiently distinct go to form the coat or 
robe of most seals, as well as of many other animals, These are 
hair, so well known on our own persons, and on most qua- 
drupeds, and a soft woolly down or fur, which usually lies at 
the root of the hair, close to the skin, and which is penetrated 
and covered by the hair. The hair of the different species of 
seals is in very various quantities and of very different qua- 
lities ; as is also the fur, positively and relatively. Sometimes 
the hair is exceedingly coarse and meagre, and accompanied 
with little or no down, so as to be of no more value to the fur- 
rier than the hide of the horse or ox. In other instances the 
hair is copious, soft, long, and silky, so that even without 
down, and still more with it, it is highly esteemed as a fur 
skin, and is used like those of the fox or sable; and once 
more, there are certain species in which the relative quantity 
and quality of the hair is so inferior to that of the fur, that 
the former is disregarded, and is wholly removed, so that no- 
thing is left but the soft woolly down. Of this last descrip- 
tion is the fur seal skin of commerce. We need scarcely add, 
that the skins of a great variety of seals are very extensively 
used both by rude and refined nations. They are employed 
by the former especially, as leather is with us, as articles of 
dress and for domestic purposes, both raw and tanned, and 
sometimes made water-proof. ‘They are also used in their 
natural state, the fur being retained; and in this condition 
some of them are compared to velvet: they are in this way 
extensively employed by savage tribes, and also throughout 
Russia and Asia, and more sparingly among ourselves. But 

G2 


84 Mr. R. Hamilton on the Fur Seal of Commerce. 


thirdly, the proper seal fur of commerce is formed of skins 
from which the hair is removed by art, leaving the under ex- 
quisitely soft and downy covering, which forms an article 
highly prized by all nations. 7 

- In the absence of scientific information respecting the ani- 
mal yielding this fur, we must turn to our navigators and seal 
hunters; and we find that one of the earliest intimations is 
that already alluded to in Capt. Cook’s memorial, which in all 
probability had reference to this seal. Another early notice 
concerning this animal is from the pen of Lieut. Clayton, who 
in the year 1773-4 commanded the English settlement in 
Saunders Island, one of the Falklands, which he characterizes 
as a barren, dreary, desolate, boggy, rocky spot. In his paper 
in the Phil. Trans: 1775, he tells us that four kinds of seals 
were found there, viz. the common seal, the sea lion, the clap- 
mutch, and the fur seal, which last, he says, has its name from 
its coat, which is a fine soft fur ; and it is also thinner-skinned 
than any of the others: he adds, that from these isles a va- 
luable fishery might be carried on*. But still more to the 
point, we have the information derived from the late gallant 
and enterprising Weddell, who, as is well known, with his 
little squadron consisting of the Jane of Leith of 160 tons, 
and the Beaufoy of 65, penetrated in the year 1823 two hun- 
dred and fourteen miles nearer the South Pole than the cele- 
brated Cook or any other navigator had previously done. We 
never heard of this distinguished individual when alive, but 
happy should we feel could we by any means be the humble 
instruments of procuring for his services in our own depart- 
ment the meed of praise they really merit. He was a most 
successful and extensive seal hunter, and engaged in success- 
ive voyages with this single object in view; and, judging from 
his published work+, he was an accomplished and intelligent 
as well as a successful mariner. He invariably and without 
hesitation speaks of the fur seal as one and as distinct from all 
others of the southern hemisphere, which he contradistin- 
guishes as hair seals. He encountered the fur seal in South 
Georgia, among the South Orkneys, and in much greater 


* Phil. Trans., vol. Ixvi. p. 102. 
+ Voyage towards the South Pole. London, 1825. 


Mr. R. Hamilton on the Fur Seal of Commerce. 85 


numbers in the South Shetland islands, which he was the first 
to discover. He expressly states, “that the species of seal 

which inhabits the shores of these last-named islands is ex- 
clusively the fur seal ;” and again he says, “ I have mentioned 
that the only species of seal found in these islands is that pos- 
sessing the fur :” and he adds, “the circumstance of its pos- 
sessing a valuable fur has not been noticed in any description 
of the seal which I have met*.” Our researches have probably 
been somewhat more extended than those of Mr. Weddell, and 
it will be seen that our remarks are very much in accordance 
with his observation. 

Among several other good offices which this gentleman per- 
formed for this department of science, one was his conveying 
to this country, and depositing in the hands of the eminent 
keeper of the Museum of the University of Edimburgh, two 
specimens of the stuffed skins of this animal; and assuredly, 
judging from what he has done in other cases, he would have 
done more, had he not imagined that naturalists on this point 
required no help from him. These two specimens are now in 
the Museum, preserved in excellent order, and though insuffi- 
cient satisfactorily to establish all the characters of the ani- 
mal, yet as supplying the majority of them, we shall present 
a faithful sketch and a detailed description. The specimens 
are very nearly alike in every respect; they appear to have 
been carefully and accurately prepared, and to have been ob- 
tained from female animalst. Judging from the specimens, 
this seal upon the whole is long and slender}, having much 
the shape of a double cone, largest at the middle and tapering 
at both extremities. The head is broad and rather flat; the 
external ear is black, narrow, and pointed. The fore paws are 
precisely in the middle of the animal ; their shape is pyramidal, 
and in addition to the fore paw, properly so called, there is a 
strong projecting membrane running from the tip along the 
posterior margin to the base; they have no vestige of nails. 


* Loe. cit. p. 137, 141-2. 

+ For the accompanying very beautiful drawing I am indebted to the 
kindness and skill of Mr. Stewart, so well known for his faithful and elegant 
sketches of animated nature, and we have no doubt that an acquaintance with 
this drawing alone would enable any one at once to recognise the animal. 

t I would here observe that in noting the characters I have had the valu- 
able assistance of my friend Mr. William Jameson. 


86 Mr. R. Hamilton on the Fur Seal of Commerce. 


The hind flippers are rhomboidal in their shape, and consist 
of the fleshy portion, and a membranous addition, which at its 
termination is divided into five strap-like processes ; there are’ 
nails on all the toes but the great one, those of the three 
middle toes being much the largest and quite straight ; there 
is a curious slashing at the junction of the common skin and 
the membrane,—the skin covered with hair descending to the 
nail, whilst the membrane runs up between the toes more 
than aninch. The coat or robe is composed of hair and fur ; 
the former is very soft, smooth, and compact, of a brownish 
black colour towards the root, and a greyish white towards 


the tip ; it extends considerably beyond the fur, and gives the 


general colouring to the hide: the fur itself is of a uniform 
brownish white colour above, and of a somewhat deep brown 
beneath, and is quite wanting on the extremities. The colour 
of the body is of a uniform whitish grey above, passing gra- 
dually underneath into a reddish: white colour, which i is deep- 
est in the abdominal region. The upper portion of the ex- 
tremities is covered above with a very short brownish black 
hair, which near the body passes into the colour of the back. 
The under portion of both extremities—to the extent of 2 of 
the anterior, and nearly the whole of the posterior—-are naked, 
being quite destitute both of hair and fur. The whiskers are 
brownish black, five rows being present. In one of the spe- 
cimens there is a dark marking under the eyes. We shall 


here subjoin the principal measurements of these Mdinburgh 


specimens. 
ft. inch, lin. 
Length from the snout to the tip of the tail ...secssesssceseeees wo 3 38° 0 
of the tail: siisissceotdes wesc trai rr Te | Hisense jee Oe hind 
Of the Car ss...secsreveevnss sonanedsvoeeseceesees Sonsesdedareres D iebiinenD 
———- from snout to anterior edge of the base of the paw...... } eee OP 
from posterior edge of paw to the root of the tail ......1 5 6 
of fore paw from base to tip ....ssecceceeees Go adeonsccncences as 5 vaca 
of its MeMbranous POrtion ...csrecvessevserscssesecvacees £0 °4°°0 
Greatest breadth of fore paw at base ...escscscsesesees secssstevacvene O 4 0 
its. tip o<ssses weshiccenuad savereecephs OF diave8 
Length of posterior extremity from base to tip....... Po eveceseseens 0 4 +78 
of its membranous portion.....ee0er. bos pon ennenetanes csvese eee eee 
Breadth across the’ back, from the base of one paw to that of 0 0 

the ptber’ . 2ic.6.0t0.. eaicdd. Pearse sstebs 9b Lis seis Qlpok vee sh eth 

Distance from tip of snout to the Car...cecccccoeesesceseccessesvears Gy. Ort 


The angle of the mouth is in the perpendicular of the eye. 


Mr. R. Hamilton on the Fur Seal of Commerce. 87 


To this detailed account of the specimens we must add an 
important character which is supplied by Captain Weddell. 
* Nothing,” he remarks, “ regarding the fur seal is more asto- 
nishing than the disproportion in the size of the male and fe- 
male. A large grown male from the tip of the nose to the ex- 
tremity of the tail is 6 feet 9 mches, while the female is not 
more than 3} feet. This class of the males however is not the 
most numerous, but being physically the most powerful, they 
keep in their possession all the females, to the exclusion of the 
younger branches; hence at the time of parturition the males 

attending the females may be computed to be as one to twenty, 
which shows this to be perhaps the most polygamous of large 
animals.” 

Haxsrrs.—The few particulars which are casually noted by 
this original observer, are so strongly illustrative of the pecu- 
liar habits of this seal, and of many others, that it would be 
improper here to omit them. “These fur seals,” he states, 
“ are in their nature completely gregarious ; but they flock to- 
gether and assemble on the coast at different periods, and in 
distinct classes. 'The males of the largest size go on shore 
about the middle of November, to wait the arrival of the fe- 
males, who of necessity must soon follow, for the purpose of 
bringing forth their young. ‘These in the early part of De- 
cember begin to land, and they are no sooner out of the water 
than they are taken possession of by the males, who have many 
serious battles with each other in procuring their respective 
seraglios ; and by a peculiar instinct they carefully protect the 
females under their charge during the whole period of gesta- 
tion. By the end of December all the female seals have ac- 
complished the purpose of their landing. The time of gesta- 
tion may be considered nearly twelve months, and they seldom 
have more than one at a time, which they suckle and rear ap- 
parently with great affection. By the middle of February, the 
young are able to take the water, and after being taught to 
swim by the mother, they are abandoned on the shore, where 
they remain till their coats of fur and hair are completed. 
During the latter end of February, what are called the dog 
seals go ashore; these are the young seals of the two prece- 
ding years, and such males as, from their want of age and 


- 


88 Mr. R. Hamilton on the Fux Seal of Commerce. 


strength, are not allowed to attend the pregnant females. 
These young seals come on shore for the purpose of renewing 
their annual coats; which being done, by the end of April 
they take the water, and scarcely any are seen on shore again 
till the end of June, when some young seals come up and go 
off alternately. They continue to do this for six or seven 
weeks, and then retire to the water. The large male seals take 
up their places on shore, as has been before described, which 
completes the intercourse all classés have with the shore du- 
ring the whole year. The young are at first black; in a few 
weeks they become grey, and soon after obtain their coat of 
hair and fur. Their sense of smell and hearing are acute; 
and in instinct they are little inferior to the dog; that is, I 
judge their sagacity in the water much exceeds that which 
they exhibit on shore ; for though they are capable of remain- 
ing a certain time on land, their natural element is the water. 
I have estimated the female to be in general at its full growth 
within four years ; but possibly the male is much longer, and 
some which I have contrasted with others of the same size, 
could not from their very old appearance be less than —— 
years. 

“* When these South Shetland seals were first visited cuss 
had no apprehension of danger from meeting men; in fact 
they would lie still while their neighbours were killed and 
skinned ; but latterly they had acquired the habit of preparing 
for danger by placing themselves on rocks, from which they 
could in a moment precipitate themselves into the water. The 
agility of the creature is much greater than from its appear- 
ance an observer would anticipate. I have seen them indeed 
often escape from. men-running fast in pursuit to kill them. 
The absurd story that seals in general defend themselves by 
throwing stones at their pursuers with their tails may be ex- 
plained in this way—that when an animal is chased on a stony 
beach, their mode of propelling themselves is by drawing their 
hind flippers forwards, thereby shortening the body and pro- 
jecting themselves by the tail, which when relieved by the 
effort of the fore flippers, throws up a quantity of stones to 
the distance of some yards.” 

And now to revert to the identification of the fur seal, we 


Mr. R. Hamilton on the Fur Seal of Commerce. 89 


regret that we are not aware of the existence of a cranium of 
this species in any of our museums, and therefore we cannot 
supply its specific characters, or compare them with those of 
any of the established genera. After the foregoing details 
however we need scarcely remark that it is a very different 
animal from the ursine seal, with which M. Lesson, almost 
the only author, so far as we have perceived, who touches upon 
this point, has identified it. This intelligent naturalist, who 
himself spent a considerable time in the antarctic regions, in 
the able article on the Phoca in the ‘ Dictionnaire Classique 
des Sciences Naturelles,’ expressly says, “ L’Otarie de Forster 
est la Phoque a fourriers des pécheurs EKuropéens*;” the Otary 
of Forster, better known under the name of the sea bear or 
‘ursine seal, But we have no positive evidence that the ursine 
seal is a fur seal in contradistinction to a hair seal, in which 
latter character it is unquestionably prized. The difference of 
these two species is, we apprehend, too plain to require much 
elucidation. Concluding with the illustrious Peron, that the 
ursine seal of the southern hemisphere is different from that 
of the northern, which is known as Steller’s sea bear, still the 
descriptions supplied of the southern variety are too specific 
to leave any doubt on the subject. Dampier states that at 
Juan Fernandez the sea bear was found of the size of an ordi- 
nary calf; and Forster remarks that those found in New Year’s 
Island, Staten-land, equal the size assigned by Steller to his 
bear, that is, to that of its terrestrial namesake, of a large — 
size. But in addition to this we have again the valuable testi- 

mony of Mr. Weddell. After what has been stated, no one 

can doubt of his acquaintance with the fur seal. He was also 

familiar with the ursine seal, both as encountered in its haunts. 
and as described by naturalists}; and yet when speaking of 
the ursine seal (so denominated by him) he never once hints 

that its fur has any peculiar value, but on the contrary ex- 

cludes it with the others, and ranks it merely as a hair seal. 

Were any further corroboration on this point required it may 

be found in the testimony of our furriers. We have inquired 

of aconsiderable number of them, and especially of M. L’Ry, 


* Dict. Class. t. xiii, 422. + Voyage, p. 137. 
t Loe. cit. p. 199. 


90 Mr. R. Hamilton on the Fur Seal of Commerce. 


who for years was superintendent of one of the largest fur 
concerns in the metropolis of the empire, and was in the habit 
of overhauling great cargoes of south seal skins; and the only 
response we have obtained is, that there is but one seal which 
has yielded this particular fur. On visiting M. L’Ryhe speedily 
informed us that he happened to have lying by him a skin of 
the true fur seal, which he immediately produced, and it ap- | 
peared manifestly to be identical with the two given by Capt. 
Weddell to the College Museum. The same gentleman in- 
formed us that the fur of this valuable animal is prepared by a 
process quite different from that employed for the others, the 
hair being entirely removed, which is done by heating the 
skin, and then carding it in a peculiar manner with a large 
wooden knife prepared for the purpose: the fur then appears 
in all its perfection. 

But though we consider it was a decided mistake in that 
naturalist, who of all others might have been supposed best 
acquainted with the subject, to confound this fur seal with the 
ursine, yet, as we before hinted, we think it evident there has 
been obscure notices of this seal in former and remote periods 
of the history of the science ; and to these it will be now in- 
teresting shortly to advert.. 

It will be remembered by many that in most of our sy- 
stematic works there is appended to the supposed ascertained 
species of this interesting group, a list of obscure and doubtful 
ones which have long maintained their place, without almost 
anything being known regarding them. In this position we 
find the Falklandica and longicollis, both of which we are 
disposed to consider as the same with the fur seal, and conse- 
quently with each other. All our modern systematists, French 
and English, have ranked the Falklandica as an otary; and 
considering its true value, it is not a little curious that its cha- 
racter and natural history have been so much obscured. This 
seal seems to have been introduced to. notice by Pennant. 
“‘ There has of late,” says he, “ been introduced into the Mu- 
seum of the Royal Society, from the Falkland Islands, another 
seal, the length of which is four feet; its hair is short, cine- 
reous, tipped with dirty white; the nose is short, beset with 
strong black bristles ; the external auricles are short, narrow 
and pointed; the upper teeth are sulcated transversely; the 


Mr. R. Hamilton on the Fur Seal of Commerce. 91 


lower in an opposite direction; on each side of the canine 
there is a lesser or secondary one; the grinders are conoid, 
with a small process on each side near the base: there are no 
claws on the fore feet, but underneath the skin there are evi- 
dent marks of the bones of five toes: the skin extends far be- 
yond their ends. On the toes of the hind legs are four long 
and straight claws, but the skin stretches far beyond, which 
gives them a very pinniform look*,” Shaw’s account is a li- 
teral copy of the above; and this appears to have been all the 
information given to the public by naturalists concerning this 
seal. We are not therefore to wonder at Baron Cuvier’s ex- 
clamation, “Que faire de cette Otarie (O. Falklandica) cendrée, 
tachetée de blanc sale ? Sont ce des Ages, des varietés de l’ours 
de mer; sont ce des espéces? On ne pourra le savoir que 
lorsque des individus bien entiers seront décrits en détail a 
Vextérieur, et au moins pour les parties osseuses de la tétet+.” 
Other French naturalists take precisely the same view of this 
animal which Baron Cuvier did in 1823. Desmarest, three 
years before, in his ‘Mammalogie,’ supplied the characters 
furnished by Pennant without an additional remark. M. Fr. 
Cuvier in the year 1826], and M. Lesson in 1827$, have 
merely introduced it into a list of little more than bare names, 
as a species altogether obscure and unascertained; and the 
last-named distinguished author, in one of the last and best 
treatises on the seals, in 1828, says of it, ““ Espéce peu connue 
et trop incomplétement décrite qu’on puisse l’isoler, ou la rap- 
porter a telle ou telle espéce ||.” 

Though so much difficulty was thus experienced by these 
able naturalists, yet we find that the personal observation of 
Capt. Weddell enabled him at once to identify the Falklandica 
with his fur seal. In relation to this point he unhesitatingly 
says, “The fur seal is what is called in zoology the Phoca 
Falklandica, the Falkland Island seal, a species which has 
been distinguished by naturalists by the peculiarity of its 
shape.” Pennant indeed had stated that it came from the 

* History of Quadrupeds, 3rd edit. 4to, vol. ii. p. 275. ° 
+ Oss. Fossils, tom. v. P, II. p, 214. 
+ Dict. des Scien. Nat. tom. xxxix. 


§ Manuel de Mammalog. in loc. cit. 
|} Dict. Class. des Sc. Nat. tom. xiii. 


92 Mr. R. Hamilton on the Fur Seal of Commerce. 


Falkland Islands; but then these dreary regions are, or we 
must rather say were, rife with many species of seals, and the 
fur seal has long been exterminated from them: besides he gives 
no hint of its possessing a valuable fur. The otary which 
Lesson and Garnat captured at a later period among the Falk- 
land Islands,—the Otaria Molossina of the ‘ Zoologie de la Co- 
quille,’ is quite a different animal from this Fulklandica. The 
French zoologists, who have laboured most in this department, 
from not being interested in the trade, seem never to have re- 
ceived any specimens or drawings of this seal; hence these 
naturalists with all their acumen could have nothing but a 
partial and imperfect conception of this important species. 
But it is quite a different matter with a man living in the 
midst of these animals; to him a hint-or two is sufficient to 
certify its characters and establish its identity. So we believe 
it was with Weddell; and so will it be with any one who ac- 
quires clear and specific notions of the form and appearance of 
this species, and its most nearly allied congeners. | 

Still greater obscurity has prevailed, and with less apology, 
regarding the longicollis. This seal is enumerated as a species 
distinct from the preceding by Pennant and Shaw; and has been 
arranged by Messrs. Desmarest, Fr.Cuvier, and Lesson among 
the earless seals or true Phoce ; whilst Baron Cuvier with his 
wonted acumen refers it rather.to the Otarie; whilst at the same 
time he exclaims, “Que faire de cette mauvaise peau du Musée 
de la Societé Royal, gravée par Parsons, nommée par Pennant 
Phoca longicollis* >”? In turning to what Parsons denomi- 
nates Dr. Grew’s “excellent book of Rarities” of the Royal 
Society, which was published in the year 1694, we find that 
at that date the Museum contained three specimens of seals. 
Two of these he refers to the species vituléna, or common seal ; 
and of the third he remarks, “I find him nowhere distinctly 
mentioned ; he is much slenderer than any of the former ; but 
that wherein he principally differs is the length of his neck ; 
for from his nose to his fore feet, and from thence to his tail, 
are the same measure: as also, that instead of fore feet he has 
rather fins, not having any claws thereon, as have the other 
kinds+.” Dr. Parsons, who entertained the Royal Society with 


* Loc. cit. + Grew’s Catalogue of Rarities, &c. Lond. 1694, p. 95. 


Mr. R. Hamilton on the Fur Seal of Commerce. 93 


a paper on seals in 1750, supplies the next notice concerning 
this animal; and to Dr. Grew’s description he merely adds, 
‘that the head and neck of this species are exactly like those 
of the otter*.” But the most satisfactory witness as to the 
existence of this animal, if not to the identical specimen, is 
the illustrious coadjutor of Buffon, m the Paris Museum, and 
in the publication of the ‘ Histoire Naturelle.’ In their first 
united treatise, published we believe in the year 1767, we find 
the learned Daubenton, when treating of quite a different seal, 
remarking, “ I have seen the dried specimens of two indivi- 
duals of the same kind of seal. The largest appeared full- 
grown, and was not 23 (English) feet long, from the end of 
the snout to the origin of the tail ; the neck was longer andthe 
body shorter than the common seal ; the fore feet were near the 
middle part of the whole body, and it had a small external 
ear. The hair was longer and softer than that of the other 
seals, being an inch long; it was glossy, waving and curled 
in some places. It was black on the upper part of the head, 
neck, and body, and dark brown underneath, and on the feet. 
On separating the hairs, it appeared they were of a pale fawn 
colour at the root. The skin of the sole of the foot was naked, 
and of a brown colour, with very marked rugze or longitudinal 
lines ;.the nails were very small, and the skin which united 
the toes extended. below the nails, and was prolonged much 
beyond them, and terminated in a divided membrane, each 
projecting part of which was of a size proportioned to the toe 
to which it belonged+.” ‘This is the animal which is figured 
im the 47th vol. of the Phil. Trans. From this it will be seen 
that Dr. Shaw, especially after the time of Daubenton, had no 
authority, and on the other hand acted alike gratuitously and 
erroneously in designating this the earless seal of Pennant ; 
by which statement he misled the eminent French naturalists 
we have named, and was the means of introducing that erro- 
neous classification which has so long prevailed. 

Nothing is added concerning the habitat and habits of this 
seal, or of any ceconomic use to which it was applied; which 
is the less to be wondered at, as probably the value of the fur 


* Phil. Trans. vol. xlvii. p. 112. 
+ Hist. Nat. 4to edit. Tom. xiii. p. 414. 


94 Mr, R. Hamilton on the Fur Seal of Commerce. 


seal was not then known. But influenced by only a becoming 
deference to these original and respectable, though not quite 
modern authorities, we think it may be held that these cha- 
racters thus assigned to their specimens are not equivocal. 
Daubenton states that he had seen two specimens of the same 
species, and the other witnesses had examined one individual. 
The animal they describe differs remarkably from all the pre- 
viously described seals, and from nearly all that have been 
subsequently examined ; more especially in having the fore 
paws situated midway between the snout and the tail; it is 
also an otary, according to the two last witnesses, and more- 
over it possesses the very singular flippers, apparently pecu- 
liar to this tribe of animals. Hence, and from other consider- 
ations on which it is unnecessary to enlarge, we conclude that 
this longicollis, like. the Falklandica, may without hesitation 
be considered identical with the fur seal of commerce. 

Although upon the grounds we have stated we think little 
doubt can remain regarding the animal which forms the true 
fur seal of commerce, yet we are persuaded there is still room 
for fresh and additional inquiry. 

We conclude our observations for the present with the fol- 
lowing quotation from Lesson. “The Americans,” he says, 
“regard many seals as fur seals which are unknown to natu- 
ralists, and wholly distinct from each other. Thus, they state 
that the fur seal of Patagonia has a pump behind its head; 
that that of California is of very large dimensions ; that the up- 
land seal, or that which retreats far from the shore, is small and 
exclusively inhabits the Macquarrie islands and Pennanti- 
podes; and finally that the fur seal of the south of New Zea- 
land has other and distinctive characters*.” Of the seals here 
alluded to, we have no evidence whether they are to be regard- 
ed as fur seals in the more limited sense insisted upon in these 
pages, and whose peculiar mode of preparation is difficult, and 
has sometimes been lost sight of; or are fur skins in the more 
popular acceptation of the term as bear and foxes skins are 
usually denominated furs. The truth however may be, that 
many seals would produce in high perfection that article which 
is now so much desiderated, and yields so rich areturn. In 


* Dict, Class, des Scien. Nat, tom, xiii. p. 411, 


Mr. E. Forster on Ononis antiquorum of Linneus. 95 


fact, we have seen the skin of another seal, from the South 
Sea, whose species was unknown, which was dressed as a fur 
skin, and formed a beautiful manufacture ; and the sea otter 
skin, which is second in value only to the sable, is usually pre- 
pared as a fur and not a hair skin. These hints at all events 
should be sufficient to excite the attention of the trader and 
the naturalist, as a matter which is both of commercial and 
of scientific interest. 


XI.—On Ononis antiquorum of Linneus. By Epwarp 
Forster, F.R.S., V.P.L.S. 


Brine rather surprised by a remark made to me by an ex- 
cellent botanist, and assented to by another, that “Mr. Ben- 
tham is mistaken in referring in the Supplement to English 
Botany, our common rest-harrow to Ononis antiquorum of Lin- 
neus,” I was induced to examine the Linnzan specimen, 
when, as I expected, I immediately saw that Bentham was 
decidedly accurate, the specimen agreeing in every respect 
with Ononis spinosa of Hudson, the plant which at this 
time so beautifully adorns our heaths. On turning to Sir 
James Edward Smith’s own Herbarium, I found a foreign spe- 
cimen of the plant in question called O. antiquorum on the 
authority of Mr. West, and-it is plain that Smith so consi- 
dered it, by his remark in English Botany, and afterwards in 
his English Flora, though conceiving it not distinct from O. 
arvensis, he has preferred that name. It is true that the Lin- 
nean specimen is badly dried, but I happen to have one as ill 
done which corresponds exactly. I have thought it right to 
say thus much in justice to my friend Bentham as well as for 
the information of the public, 

From looking into Reichenbach’s ¢ Flora Germanica Excur- 
soria,’ it has appeared to me probable, that the doubt. has 
arisen from trusting implicitly to that auther, who is ac- 
quainted with O. antiquorum by seeing a specimen gathered 
by Tournefort, yet asserts that O. antiquorum Auctorum is 
not that plant of Linnzeus, but O. arvensis B. spinosa, Smith, 
which he keeps distinct from O. antiquorwm of Linnzeus: in 
doing so he is in error, for I must maintain that our plant is 


96 M. Fries on the Genus Syngnathus. 


properly referred to O. antiqguorum of Linneeus and to Anonis 
legitima antiquorum of Tournefort, nor have I any reason to 
doubt its being the Ononis vel Anonis of Pliny. 

Reichenbach refers our O. arvensis to O. repens, Linn. : this 
may admit of some doubt, as the specimen marked vepens and 
one from the Upsal Garden marked both arvensis and spinosa, 
are by no means so convincing as that of O. antiquorum ; yet 
I think it safe to remain as we are, considering the usual and 
healthy state of O. arvensis to be O. spinosa and mitis of the 
‘Species Plantarum,’ and O. arvensis of the ‘Systema Nature’ ; 
when in age the ends of the shoots appear naked, it becomes 
we suppose O. spinosa 8 spinosa, Sp. Pl., and when buried in 
sea sands, O. repens, Sp. Pl. and Sys. Nat., and we adopt the 
name of arvensis after Linnzus himself, who wisely changed it 
from spinosa to arvensis in his twelfth edition of the Systema. 
I cannot perceive sufficient reason for imagining that Linnzeus 
included O. hircina, Jacq., in his O. spinosa mitis. 

It is much to be regretted that in the last edition of the 
British Flora no notice is taken of O. antiquorum; the syno- © 
nym of Engl. Bot.Supp. t. 2658. is referred to in such a manner | 
as to imply that the same thing has been twice described and 
figured; the two plants are not even marked as varieties, 
though the difference is very striking to those who have seen 
them in their native places of growth: but-as my present ob- 
ject is not to point out the distinction, but to check an un- 
founded report, I will only add, if further testimony be re- 
quired, that Professor Don was present when I examined the 
Linnean specimen, and his opinion coincided entirely with 
mine. 

4th September, 1838. 


Vs 


XII.—On the Genus Syngnathus. By B. Fr. Frres*. 


Tue discovery of the remarkable peculiarity existing in the 
sexes, by which the males are not only destined as protectors 
of the eges and of the birth, but are also for this purpose en-. 
dowed with a peculiar organ in which the eggs are deposited, 


* From the German translation by Dr. Gans of Stockholm, in Wiegmann’s 
Archiy, Part III. 1838. 


M. Fries on the Genus Syngnathus, 97 


developed, and hatched, and in which the young in their tender 
state find a sure protection, has obtained for this genus of late 
a greater attention than would else have probably been the 
case. The Royal Swedish Academy contains in its Acts this 
beautiful discovery of C. M. Eckstrém, as also the anatomical 
observations of A. Retzius, which, besides explaining various 
interesting details respecting the internal structure of these 
fish, confirmed the above discovery*. ) 

If I at present recall the attention of the Academy to this 
genus, it is with a view to submit to a systematical exami- 
nation the species which are admitted in our native Fauna 
and into that of England, to add to a distinct knowledge of 
the species by the publication of the results of my personal 
observations, and to endeavour to reduce the synonymy and 
nomenclature to a state of better arrangement than that in 
which I have found it in my predecessors. 

It is not uncommon to find in the field of natural history 
one and the same subject described under many different 
names, and this can hardly be avoided in the progress of the 
science. This however is easily discovered, and as soon rec- 
tified. But the confounding of well-known and generally 
adopted names is of much more importance and more apt to 
cause errors, as such confusion easily escapes the attention of 
others, and requires for its rectification a long and tedious com- 
parison of uthors. With the genus Syngnathus it is not only 
in the old works that we find such errors admitted, but also in 
the most recent, which renders a revision of the species of this 
genus the more necessary. 

The genus Syngnathus, conceived according to the views of 
Cuvier, forms two subdivisions quite natural, which may most 
easily be known by the species of the one possessing pectoral 
fins, while they are missing in all the species forming the se- 
cond subdivision. To designate the first I shall adopt the Swe- 
dish provincial name, and will call them Tangsndillor (on ac- 
count of their quick motions among Algz), and retain for the 


* Latterly Mr. Yarrell has stated that the same discovery was made in 
1785 by an Englishman of the name of Walcott, recorded in his unpublished 
manuscript. 


Ann. Nat. Hist, Vol. 2. No.8. Oct, 1838. HH 


98 M. Fries on the Genus Syngnathus. 


latter the common name Hafsnalar. They may be charac- 
terized in the following manner : 


I, Marsupiau Pripz-risu (Tangsnillor). Syngnathi marsu- 
piales, pinnis pectoralibus instructi. 

Corpore distincte angulato, pinnis caudz, ani, pectoralibusque radiatis ; 
cauda natatoria. Mares in folliculo, marsupii instar, rima longitudinali 
dehiscente, sub cauda proxima infra anum inserto, ultraque medium 
caudze extenso, ova fovent pullosque exclusos includunt. 

II, Opnip1au Prpe-risu (Hafsnalar), Syngnathi ophidii, 
pinnis pectoralibus carentes. 

Corpore tereti, angulis saltem minus conspicuis, pinnis pectoralibus anique 
nullis; cauda prehensili, longa, gracillima, pinna aut nulla aut rudi- 
mentaria. Mares in superficie inferiore abdominis ova in cellulis apertis 
affixa trahunt. 

I, MArsuPiAL Pip8-Fisu*, 

To this subdivision belong the two species S. Acus and S. 
Typhle, which names Linnzeus had adopted in our Fauna. The 
author, after reviewing the various works treating on this sub- 
ject, states, “ Never having been so fortunate as to find more 
than one species of Tangsniillor I had almost come to the con- 
clusion of excluding Typile, in the impression that our Scan- 
dinavian species was the true Acus, but when I received Yar- 
rell’s beautiful work on the British Fish I immediately saw my 
error.” The author then gives the diagnostic and synonyms 
of S. Acus, which we here omit, as they may be found in the 
works of Jenyns and Yarrell, and concludes with the remark, 
“that with the exception of Pennant and Montagu all the 
English Faunists appear to agree with respect to S. dcus, and 
to them must be ascribed the having first given the true dia- 
gnosis between this and the following species (S. Typhle.)” 

Rare on the Swedish coasts, but common on the English, 
where it is said to attain only the length of 16 to 18 English 
inches. 

We have then the diagnosis and synonyms of S. Typhie, 
with the following remark : “This is the most common species 
which occurs on the Swedish coasts both in the Baltic and also 
in the Cattegat. Its general length at these places is between 
9 and 10 Swedish inches. In both seas two coloured varieties 


* As what is stated respecting this first division will be found in general 
in the works of Mr. Jenyns and Yarrell, we have only given an extract of it, 


M. Fries on the Genus Syngnathus. . 99 


are found ; one green with yellow spots and the belly passing 
into a brass yellow, the other olive brown sprinkled with a 
quantity of white spots and markings, with whitish belly. ‘These 
two are also not constant, but between both are a series of 
transitions, They stand in no definite relation to age or sex.” 


IJ, Opnipiau Pipe-Fisu. 

If the Swedish Ichthyologists have been guilty of a confu- 
sion of names in the other division, the English authors on 
the other hand have confounded in a remarkable way the spe- 
cies belonging to this division. Our Fauna has hitherto con- 
tained only one species, S. Ophidion, while the British Fauna 
has three, eguoreus, Ophidion, and lumbriciformis. However, 
so far from these names having designated one and the same 
species with all authors, we here find a great confusion, As 
late observations have shown that the three species occur on 
our coasts, I find myself enabled to trace the origin of these 
errors. With respect to our Ophidion, we should least of 
all expect to find this name in the English Fauna desig- 
nating quite a different species from the one so called by 
us, as this appears to be the most rare which occur on the 
English coasts, and as Englishmen have paid little or no at- 
tention to the descriptions of Artedi, but have held to the 
short specific characters of Linnzeus ; and these proving to be 

nsufficient, sought explanation in Bloch, who has been espe- 
cially unfortunate in the determination of the species of Syn- 
gnathus. That however which was not to be supposed has 
really happened ; in the most recent works treating of the 
British fish the name of Ophidion is reserved to designate 
merely the one sex of the most remarkable species of this sub- 
division, while the other sex is received under the right name 
S. equoreus. Thus we find in Jenyns’s ‘ Manual of Brit. Verteb. 
Animals,’ as also in Yarrell’s ‘ Hist. of Brit. Fish,’ both describe 
rightly the female as S. equoreus, Linn., but call the male S, 
Ophidion, Bloch. I will certainly not maintain that Bloch 
under his Ophidion may not at the same time have included 
ceequoreus ; on the contrary, [rather consider Bloch’s Ophidion 
to be synonymous with the whole subdivision, for the descrip- 
tion may be applied partly to the one, partly to the other spe- 

H2 : 


100 M. Fries on the Genus Syngnathus. 


cies. The specimen which served for the original of his figure 
was probably S. equoreus, Linn.* It is quite certain that the 
name Ophidion must be retained for that species to which 
Linneus first gave it; which this was, we find without any 
shadow of doubt in Artedi, who has given a very complete de- 
scription of it in his ‘ Descript. Spec.’ (P. 1. No. 1). It has also 
latterly been described by all our Swedish authors, without 
exception, under the same name. The only thing which we 
may remark is, that Artedi, and subsequently Linnzus, extend- 
ed the synonymy too far, including a small distinct species, 
which Willoughby has described under the name of Acus lum- 
briciformis. This, which appears to be the most common in 
England, obtained from Pennant and subsequent authors the 
name Ophidion, till Jenyns considered it advisable to transfer 
this designation to the male of eguoreus. The name lumbri- 
ciformis is then again adopted by that writer, but not more 
happily applied ; since he, without noticing it, describes under 
this name the true Ophidion of Linnzus. This is the only 
satisfactory explanation I have been able to find of our Ophi- 
dion also occurring in England. After Jenyns, Yarrell also 
adopts the name lumbriciformis, citing at the same time the 
description of the former, but himself describing under this 
name quite evidently the original species to which this name 
rightly belongs. Although, therefore, none of the above-men- 
tioned authors were acquainted with more than two species of 
pipe fish, yet, on collecting the species adopted by them, we 
have the results that three species occur in England, and this 
is also the case, as I have before mentioned, on our coasts. No 
cause of doubting their identity with the English species has 
occurred to me. 

Before I enter into the special description of our native spe- 
cies I will direct the attention to certain general peculiarities, 
which furnish some important points for the specific descrip- 
tions. 

1. The position of the anal aperture in relation to its distance 
from the snout has already been made use of as a character 


* [The only specimen from Bloch’s collection is in the Berlin Museum, 
and probably served as original for the drawing ; it is however S. Ophidion, 
agreeing at least with the characters assigned to this species by M. I’. Fries, 
—Prof. Wiegmann. ] 


M. Fries on the Genus Syngnathus. 101 


for distinguishing the species. If this character has been ob- 
tained from a comparison of the same sex I would acknowledge 
its justness, but not otherwise ; for the rule, that the anal aper- 
ture in the female is at a far greater distance from the snout 
than in the male, holds good in all pipe fish, and especially in 
S. equoreus is this distinction between both sexes very re- 
markable. The age must also be taken into consideration ; for 
if we compare a young specimen with an old one, both of one 
sex and the same species, we find in the former the distance 
rather shorter than is the case in the latter. 

2. It is worthy of remark, that although the anal a cihea 
in the male is situated closer to the snout than in the female, 
we still find the same number of plates, and of rings formed of 
these, in both sexes, both between anus and head as well as 
between anus and caudal extremity. Hence follows that the 
number of plates affords a very good character for the species 
if their enumeration were not connected with some difficulty 
and uncertainty, as they partly merge into one another, and in 
living and quite fresh specimens it is almost impossible to di- 
stinguish them. 

3. The form of the lela is quite different in the two sexes. 
We may take it as a rule, that the body in the female is higher 
and broader, that there is a raised keel or ridge on the back as 
well as under the belly, which the male, which has a more 
cylindrical trunk, possesses only traces of under the belly. Al- 
though the trunk in living specimens of both sexes scarcely 
exhibits any traces of three ridges running on each side, with 
the exception of one species, where they are more:prominent ; 
yet they are apparent in all, if they have been laid in spirits 
for some time or dried. 

4. The length of the head in proportion to the rest of the body, 
in all small and long fishes, is not constant; disregarding the 
difference which age brings with it in this respect. As in young 
individuals the head is always found relatively longer, we also 
meet in the Syngnathi with considerable individual differences. 

5. The position of the dorsal fins stands always in a rather 
constant proportion to the anal aperture, and if not fixed too 
minutely affords a very good enemies which holds good in 
both sexes. 


102 M. Fries on the Genus Syngnathus. 


6. Therays of the dorsal fins vary, it is true, in number, as is 
the case in most fish ; but the difficulty of counting them with 
certainty renders the character which might hence be adduced 
less applicable, and is undoubtedly the chief cause of the 
different statements which we find in various authors re- 
specting their number. To be able to determine the number 
with certainty, the fins must be spread out under water, and 
the rays counted with the help of a lens. 

7. The colour of the body is quite characteristic for our na- 
tive species, if they are examined when alive, although, as in 
most fishes, it is subject to great variation with respect to 
markings and depth. The colour is, however, for a diagnosis 
of a second-rate value, since in order to determine it, it is ne- 
cessary to have live specimens at hand. It is impossible to 
judge of the colour of a living specimen from one which has 
laid in alcohol. 

8. The length of the snout, in proportion partly to the length, 
partly to the height of the head, I regard as being the cha- 
racter most easily seized for distinguishing the species, and 
shall therefore especially employ this character in the diagnoses. 
The distinction is very perceptible, and indeed no measure- 
ment is necessary: but in order to determine distinctly this 
character by terms, and to leave no room for doubt respecting 
the scale of measurement, I will previously explain that I take 
the length of the snout from its extremity to the centre of the 
eye, and compare this length with the distance from the cen- 
tre of the eye to the posterior edge of the operculum. I am 
convinced from numerous comparisons that this character is 
constant in both sexes and in specimens of different size and 
age of the same species. 

_ In order to distinguish our three native species in the easiest 
way, they- may be divided as follows into two sections. 


* Pinna caudali rudimentaria e radiis 2 brevissimis composita (parte ma- 
jore pinne dorsalis ante latitudinem ani sita.) 


To this section belongs only one species. 


JEquoreat Pire-Fisu, Syngnathus equoreus, Linn.—Trunco sat distincte 
angulato; longitudine rostri distantiam a centro oculi ad marginem 
operculi superante. 

Syn. S. equoreus, Linn. Syst, Nat. i. p. 417; “Mont. in Wern. Mem, i. p. 


M. Fries on the Genus Syngnathus. — 103 


85. pl. 4. f£.1; Penn. Brit. Zool. vol, iii. pl. 23. f.61; Elem, Brit. An. 
. 176. 
2 ng Jenyns’s Manual, p. 486 ; Yarrell’s Brit. Fish, 1. p.335, 
$=S, Ophidion, Jenyns’s Man, p. 487; Yarr, Brit. Fish, I. p. 335, 
' Stenaale, No. 2, Strém., Séndm. beskrif. 

Of allthe Scandinavian species of Syngnathus this is the 
largest and most distinguished. It attains a length of 2 feet. 
The general size of the females amounts to between 18 and 20 
inches ; the males, which appear to be constantly smaller, are 
generally met with between 13 to 16 inches in length. The 
colour is a beautiful burnt or brownish yellow; along the sides 
run rather wavy whitish oblique stripes parallel to each other, 
and which are inclosed by a brown frame. Between head and 
anal aperture are 29to30 plates or rings, and between the aper- 
ture and the caudal extremity about 70. The dorsal fin con- 
sists of 40 to 44 rays, and extends over 12 rings and somewhat 
over the 13th. The trunk of the female is pretty evidently 
octangular ; then at each side proceed three ridges, a rather 
sharp keel on the belly, and along the back is a smaller ridge, 
which appears to pass over into a fold of the skin. The males 
have a more bordered trunk; the lateral ridges and the ven- 
tral keel are more even and the back quite plain, without a 
_ trace either of a ridge or a folding of the skin. In the female 
the anal aperture is situate at about the middle of the body, 
in the male much more anteriorly. Thé males have the eggs 
fastened to the belly in several rows (in 8 to 10). 

This beautiful fish was formerly not admitted in the Swedish 
Fauna; it occurs sparingly if not rarely on the Bohusland 
coasts. : 


** Pinna caudali omnino nulla ( parte majore pinne dorsalis pone latitu- 
dinem ani sita.) 

To this section belong two distinct species, which have pre- 

viously been confounded one with the other. 

_ Common Pirz-Fisu, Syngnathus Ophidion, Linn.—Corpore teretiusculo 
gracili, fere lineari ; longitudine rostri distantiam a centro oculi ad mar- 
ginem operculi equante; ano circa medium corporis sito. 

Syny S. Ophidion. Linn. Fn, Suec, No.375; Syst, Nat. i. 417; Retz. Fn. 
Suec. p. 312. No. 21; Ekstrém, Abh. d, Akad, d, Wiss, 1831. p, 280 ; 
Nilsson, Synops, p. 488. 

S. lumbriciformis, Jenyns’s Man. p. 488. 

| Artedi Descript. Spec. p. 1. No. 1. Synon. p. 2. No. 4. Gener. p. 1.-No. 2. 


104 M. Fries on the Genus Syngnathus. 


The body is very small and of almost equal breadth ; the tail 
gradually diminishes in size, and almost imperceptibly ends 
in an extremely fine point. Of all the species this is the long- 
est in proportion to the height of the body, or about the pro- 
portion 60°1. The usual length amounts to about 9 to 10 
inches. The colour is olive green above, passing into yellow be- 
neath, with a quantity of small, blueish white, frequently round 
spots at the sides, and above the gill covering with a quantity 
of minute beautiful azure blue stripes, which proceed abruptly 
towards the sides of the body. Between head and anal aper- 
ture are situated 30 to 31 rings, and from this last to the cau- 
dal extremity about 60 and above. .The dorsal fin consists of 
34 to 38 rays, and extends over 10 segments -of the body. 
The anal aperture occupies in the male nearly the middle of 
the body; in the females it is found somewhat behind this 
point. The eggs are placed in 3 to 4 rows. : 

This species is very easily distinguished from the following 
one by its longer projecting and somewhat pointed snout, 
which surpasses in some degree in length (reckoned from the 
centre of the eye) the greatest height of the head. 

It is this species which is so very common on our coasts, 
occurring both in the Baltic and Cattegat. The females are | 
in greater plenty than the males. 


Littte Pire-Fisu, Syngnathus lumbriciformis, Yarr.—Corpere teretius- 
culo, crassiore, rostro apice reflexo, breviore, distantiam a centro oculi 
ad marginem operculi non attingente; ano circa anteriorem 4 longitu- 
dinis corporis sito. 

Syn. Acuslumbriciform. Willoughb. Hist. Pisce. p. 160.—Little Pipe Fish. 
Penn, Brit. Zool. p. 23. No. 62.—S. lumbriciform. Yarrell, Brit. Fish. 
ii. p. 340. 

Compared with the preceding species, which most resembles 
this, we have the body somewhat thicker in proportion to its 
length, about 1 to 35—40, the tail is also somewhat thicker. 
This little fish, which only attains a length of 5—6 inches, 
possesses from its short snout, which is bent somewhat up- 
wards and at the extremities is rather obtuse, an appearance 
easily recognizable. The usual colour is chestnut brown, 
which in some is brighter, in others darker; along the back 
are situated irregular large spots of a whitish grey colour, 


Plants collected by Mr. Schomburgk in British Guiana. 105 


which towards the tail become much smaller, and thus give 
it akind of marbled appearance. The distance from the nasal 
extremity to the centre of the eye is shorter than the greatest 
height of the head, and than the distance from the centre of 
the eye to the hinder portion of the gill covering. Between 
head and anal aperture are 19 segments, and between this 
aperture and caudal extremity about 50. 

The dorsal fin consists of 26 rays (in all specimens which I 
have hitherto examined this has been constant) and extends 
only over 7 segments. The anal aperture is situated in the 
male at. the anterior third part of the length of the body. 
The eggs are arranged in four rows. 

I discovered this little recruit to our Fauna on the Bohusland 
coast. Lately I found several specimens, all males, of which 
two had roes. This pipe-fish is probably not so rare, but all 
the specimens I obtained were fished up from the bottom of 
a water 16 fathoms deep, which appears to show that it inha- 
bits deep water; a circumstance, which renders the catching of 
this small fish so difficult, that it easily escapes. . I have never 
seen it caught on the shores. The female I am unacquainted 
with. 


XIII.—Enumerationof thePlants collected byMr.Schomburgk, 
British Guiana. By Grorce Bentuam, Esq., F.LS. 


Mr. Ropexr SchomBurGK was in the year 1834 appointed by the 
Royal Geographical Society to command an expedition into the in- 
terior of British Guiana, with permission at the same time to make, 
on his own account, collections in the various branches of natural 
history, one set being deposited in the British Museum. Having’ 
procured a certain number of subscribers to the dried plants which 
he should collect, it was further arranged that Mr. Schomburgk 
should make them up in sets and forward them to me for transmission 
to the subscribers, and that each species should be marked with cor- 
responding numbers in the several sets, with a view to identifying 
them when published. 

Mr. Schomburgk, having received his final instructions, left 
George Town, Demerara, on the 21st of September, 1835 ; ascended 
the Essequibo, and its tributary, the Rupunoony, as far as the creek 
Anna-y, where he established a temporary habitation or head-quar- 
ters; made several excursions from thence during a stay of about 


106 Mr. G. Bentham’s Enumeration of the Plants 


three months, and returned to George Town in March, 1836. In 
the following month of September he again started for the river 
Courantine, which he ascended in the course of October as far as lat. 
49 214! N., and from November of the same year to March, 1837, was 
spent in an expedition up the river Berbice. In the autumn of 1837 
he again ascended the Essequibo and Rupunoony, and from his former 
post at Anna-y made an excursion to the chain of mountains at the 
sources of that river, and crossed the ridge to the equatorial line, and 
returned to Anna-y, from whence the last accounts are dated in 
February last. Detailed reports of these several expeditions will be 
found in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. vi. p. 
224, vol. vii. p. 285, and in the Reports of the Council of the So- 
ciety for the years 1835-6, 1836-7, and 1837-8, attached to the same 
journal*, 

The length of time thus spent in a tract of country at once so 
little known, and so varied in aspect, in a quarter of the globe where 
vegetation is perhaps the richest, would lead us to expect a most va- 
luable harvest as the result ; but unfortunately a series of disappoint- 
ments, arising from serious accidents as well as from the unhealthiness 
of the climate, counteracted much the persevering endeavours of Mr. 
Schomburgk. The intermittent fevers, which attacked the whole 
party in the first expedition, rendered them incapable of taking the 
necessary precautions to protect their specimens from the unceasing 
rains, and those which they collected to replace them were lost at 
one of the rapids in descending the Essequibo; and in the last ex- 
pedition to the mountains under the line, the difficulty of conveying 
the indispensable means of support wholly precluded them from car- 
rying the paper requisite for drying specimens of the'rich vegetation 
observed. The whole collection consists, however, of about 700 spe- 
cies, gathered chiefly in the Savannahs about Anna-y and along the 
Essequibo and Rupunoony, with a considerable number from the 
shores of the Berbice and Courantine. 

The natural orders the most abundant appear to be Leguminose, 
Melastomacee, Rubiacee, and Composite ; and amongst the most re- 
markable plants, in orders less abundant in species, may be men- 
tioned the splendid water-lily, dedicated by him to Queen Victoria, 
some curious new species of Podostemee, and many Orchidacee of 
great beauty. It had been my intention to enumerate the whole 
collection nearly in the order adopted by DeCandolle in his Prodro- 
mus, but as that would require the having previously determined the 


 * Letters from Mr. Schomburgk, with an account of his journey, will be 
found in our first volume, p. 63. 


collected by Mr. Schomburgk in British Guiana. 107 


whole series, and as circumstances have led me to complete in the 
first instance some of the larger and more distinctly marked orders, 
I have thought it might be of service to the subscribers to publish 
them in the mean time, commencing with the Composite, which ac- 
quire an additional interest from the recent completion of that por- 
tion of DeCandolle’s Prodromus. 

The Museum of Natural History of Paris having recently distri- 
buted a collection of above 300 species from French Guiana, and si- 
milar sets collected in the same country by M. Leprieur having been 
presented to several botanists by Baron Benjamin Delessert, I have 
thought it might be useful to include these two collections in my 
enumeration, both as enabling their possessors to identify their spe- 
cimens, and as affording occasionally data for the geographical distri- 
bution of particular species. 

With a view to the interest of Mr. Schomburgk, whose losses, owing 
chiefly to repeated attacks of fever, have been very severe, I should 
add that several sets of about 500 species each remain undisposed of. 


COMPOSIT, 
Tribe VERNONIACEA, 

1. Sparganophorus Vaillantii, Gertn. DC. Prod. 5. p.11.—Banks of the 
Courantine and of the Currasawaak. Schomburgk, n. 154 & 206. 

2. Vernonia odoratissina, H.B.K. DC, Prod. 5. p.38.—Rocky places 
in Savannahs on the Rupunoony. Schomburgk, n. 97. 

3. Vernonia scorpioides, Pers. DC, Prod. 5. p. 41.— British Guiana. 
Schomburgk, n. 258. 


4. Vernonia tricholepis. DC. Prod. 5. p. 54.—British Guiana. Schom- 
burgk, n. 282,—French Guiana. Herb. Par. n. 152. 

8. Microcephala, foliis oblongo-lanceolatis, capitulis parvis.—British Gui- 
ana. Schomburgk, n. 149. 

Perhaps a different species, but my specimens are too imperfect 
to determine. ¥ 

5. Centratherum muticum, Less. DC. Prod. 5. p. 70.—British Guiana. 
Schomburgk, n. 254. 

6. Elephantopus carolinianus, Willd, DC. Prod. 5. p.86.—British Gui- 
ana. Schomburgk, n. 473 or 4138, 

This plant, which I have also from various parts of Brazil, is pre- 
cisely similar to several of my North American specimens. They 
have the main stem usually corymbose, not dichotomous, and the 
floral leaves larger than in LE. mollis, though seldom longer than 
broad. The #. nudicaulis, judging from Drummond’s Covington 
and Jacksonville specimens, appears to be very near the true EZ. 
mollis. All these species, however, as well as the East Indian 2, 


108 Mr. G. Bentham’s Enumeration of the Plants — 


scaber, run so much into one another as to suggest the probability of 
their being mere varieties of each other. 
7. Elephantosis angustifolia. DC. Prod. 5, p. 87.—British Guiana. 


Schomburgk, n. 612. 
8. Trichospira menthoides, H, B. K. DC. Prod. 5. p. 91. On the Cur- 


rasawaak. Schomburgk, n. 153 and 695. 
9. Pectis elongata, H. B. K. DC. Prod, 5. p. 99.—British Guiana. 
Schomburgk, n. 184. 
Tribe Evratoriacez. 
10. Ooclinium villosum. DC. Prod. 5. p.134.—French Guiana. Herb. 
Par. n. 148 and 151. and Lepricur. 
This is without doubt an Ooclinium. The leaves are often deeper 


toothed than is described. 

11. Ooclinium? clavatum, sp. n., suffruticosum? caule tereti striato scabri- 
usculo, foliis oppositis. distantibus linearibus trinerviis seaberrimis, paniculee 
ramis oppositis apice subtrifidis, ramulis subtricephalis, capitulis subcylin- 
dricis circiter 20-floris, involucri squamis imbricatis appressis striatis apice 
obtusis brevissime appendiculatis deciduis,’receptaculo obovato-clavato.— 
British Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 165. 

The very deciduous involucrum is precisely as in Ooclinium,. with 
which this species is also connected in habit; the receptacle, how- 
ever, is not so decidedly oviform, being obconical in the lower part 
and only slightly convex on the top. Amongst Hupatoria it would 
be nearest related to the #. obscurum, DC. 

12. Eupatorium subvelutinum. DC. Prod. 7. p. 268,—Savannahs of the 
Rupunoony. Schomburgk, n. 76. 

13. Eupatorium conyzoides. DC. Prod. 5. p. 143; var. foliis subtus gla- 
brioribus.— W oods of the Paraime Chain. Schomburgk, n. 72. Flowers blue ; 
var. foliis plerisque supra piloso-hispidis.—E. Maximiliani 6. hispidulum, 
DC. 1. c.?—French Guiana. Herb. Par. n. 154. and Leprieur. 

14. Eupatorium subobtusum. DC. Prod. 5. p.61. French Guiana. 
Herb. Par. n. 149; and Leprieur. 

15. Eupatorium ixodes, sp. n., fruticosum, glabrum, viscosum, ramis te- 
retibus, foliis oppositis vel supremis alternis breviter petiolatis oblongis ob- 
tusis integerrimis vel hine inde sinuato-dentatis basi angustatis rigidis pen- 
ninerviis, paniculz ramis alternis oppositisque apice corymbosis, capitulis 
sessilibus pedicellatisque ovatis 25—30 floris, involucri squamis 4—5-seriatis 
oblongo-linearibus imbricatis dorso subpuberulis, intimis apice breviter ci- 
liatis, acheeniis ad costas scabridis.—Savannahs of the Rupunoony. Schom- 


burgk, n. 79. 

This species comes nearest to L. subobtusum, but is more glutinous, 
the upper leaves and branches of the panicle usually alternate, and 
the squamee of the involucre much more numerous. Flowers, as in 


- ‘collected by Mr. Schomburg in British Guiana. 109 


E.. Salzmannianum and others of the same habit, pink. Leaves very 
similar to those of the Dodonea viscosa. Differs from EL, dodonea- 
folium by the pubescent achzenia, &c. 

16. Mikania racemulosa, sp. n., fruticosa, scandens, ramis teretibus peti- 

olisque pube fusca scabridis, foliis petiolatis late ovatis acuminatis integerri- 
mis, basi obtusis, suprascabris, subtus subvelutino-pubescentibus irregulariter 
penninerviis, ramorum floralium parvis triplinerviis, panicula composita, 
racemis oppositis elongatis terminali longiore, pedicellis bracteola duplo lon- 
gioribus capitulo subzequilongis, involucri squamis oblongo-linearibus apice 
fimbriatis, acheenio glanduloso.—British Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 480. 
_ Leaves 4 to 5 inches long, about 3 broad. Pedicels numerous, 
divaricate, about 2 lines long. Flowers white. This species, very 
well marked amongst the spiciform ones by the flower heads being 
all pedicellate along the axis, is probably allied in this respect to the 
M. Houstonii, which is, however, described as entirely glabrous. 

17. Mikania Hookeriana. DC. Prod. 5. p.195. British Guiana. Schom- 
burgk, n. 479. Flowers white. 

18. Mikania denticulata. DC. Prod. 5. p. 198.—British Guiana. Schom- 
burgk, n. 321. 

19. Mikania convolvulacea. DC. Prod.5. p.199. British Guiana. Schom- 
burgk, n. 93, 

20. Mikania Parkeriana. DC. Prod. 5. p.199.—British Guiana. Schom- 
burgk, n. 310. 

Tribe AsTEROIDEA. 

21. Baccharis leptocephala. DC. Prod. 5. p. 413.—British Guiana. 
Schomburgk, n. 129. 

22. Eclipta erecta, Linn. DC. Prod. 5. p. 490.—British Guiana. .Schom- 
burgk, n. 331. 

Tribe SenrcionipEs. 

23. Tiencourtia glomerata, Cass. DC. Prod. 5. p. 504.—French Guiana, 
Herb. Par. n. 3. 

24. Latreillea glabrata, sp. n., caulibus glabris subramosis, foliis lanceo- 
latis obscure dentatis integerrimisque, petiolis brevissimis supremis subci- 
liatis, involucri squamis latissime obovatis paleisque receptaculi obtusis bre- 
vissime fimbriatis glabris—Dry Savannahs, British Guiana. Schomburgk, 
n. 247. 

Herba perennis. Rhizoma lignosum. Caules pedales, erecti, simplices vel 
opposite ramosi. Folia 3—4 pollices longa, 6—12 lineas lata, sub 5-nervia 
et reticulato-venosa, glaberrima. Capitula 3—7, ad apices caulium et ramo- 
rum umbellato-capitata, supra foliorum par ultimum subsessilia, ovoidea, 
lupuliformia, in vivo nivea, in sicco fusca. Squame involucri veri striate, 
demum achznia involventes. Paleze squamis similes, gradatim minores. 
Corollz radii brevissimz, obscure 3—5-fide, supra profundius fissze, pilis 
paucissimis articulatis; styli rami exserti, glabri, crassi, acuti. Flores 
disci tubulosi, antheris concretis ecaudatis, stylo simplici hispido.—Varietas 
in Brasilia occurrit simillima nisi folia breviora. 


110. Plants collected by My. Schomburgk in British Guiana. 


By some clerical or other error the n. 247 of Schomburgk has been 
referred by DeCandolle (Prod. 7. p. 293.) to a very different plant, 
the Broteroa trinervata, which I have not seen in any of the Guiana 
collections. The true genus Latreillea of DeCandolle, with which 
the present plant agrees perfectly, is very well described in the Pro- 
dromus, and is remarkable for its white heads of flowers, drying like 
the whole plant to a dark brown colour. In addition to the above spe- 
cies and to the two Brazilian ones mentioned by DeCandolle, the 
two following new ones are contained in Pohl’s Brazilian collection. 

L. latifolia, glabra, caule striato, foliis late ovalibus obscure crenatis in- 
tegerrimisque, involucri squamis paleisque receptaculi late obovatis glabrius- 
culis breviter acuminatis subnudis. Folia 4 pollices longa, ultra 2 lata. 
Capitula numerosa, corymboso-capitata. 

The Torrentia (or Torrenia) quinquenervia, Vell. Fl. Flum. 8. t. 149, 
represents this species very well, except that the stem appears to be 
hairy. 

£, linearis, glabra, foliis longe linearibus integerrimis, involucri squamis 
paleisque receptaculi breviter et obtuse acuminatis subnudis.—Folia seepe 
3—4 pollices longa, vix lineam lata. . 

25. Clibadium asperum. DC. Prod. 5. p. 506.—British Guiana. Schom- 
burgk, n. 658.—French Guiana, Leprieur. 

26. Clibadium erosum. DC. Prod. 5. p. 506.—British Guiana. Schom- 
burgk, n. 294. 

27. Unxia camphorata, Linn. f. DC. Prod. 5. p. 507.—Pronacron ra- 
mosissimus, Cass. DC. Prod. 5. p. 508.—Dry savannahs of the Rupunoony. 
Schomburgk, n. 380, 

The Linnean specimen has the double involucrum as described by 
Cassini. ‘The receptacle has usually a few small unequal palez. 


28, Unwxia hirsuta, Rich. DC. Prod. 5. p.507.—French Guiana. Ie- 
prieur. 

29. Acanthospermum xanthioides. DC. Prod. 5. p, 521.—British Guiana. 
Schomburgk, n. 663. 

30. Wedelia scaberrima, sp. n., caule fruticoso, ramis divaricatis hispidis, 
foliis petiolatis ovatis acuminatis serratis, basi obtusis, supra scaberrimis 
hispidis, subtus secabro-pubescentibus triplinerviis, pedicellis 1—8 axillaribus 
terminalibusque folio brevioribus monocephalis hispidis, involucri squamis 
exterioribus ovali-oblongis extus hispidis, interioribus subzquilongis cbo- 
vatis obtusis ciliatis, ligulis 6—8 bifidis, achzenio puberulo calyculo subbi- 
corni fimbriato-ciliato.—Skirts of woods, British Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 
128, Leaves 2 to 3 inches long. Related to W. pulchella and Acapul- 
censis. 

31. Wedelia discoidea, Less. DC. Prod. 5. p. 543,—British Guiana. 
Schomburgk, n.650. Capitula seepissime sexflora. 

32. Wulfia platyglossa. DC. Prod. 5. p. 563 ?-Dry Savannahs, British 
Guiana, Schomburgk, n, 185, 


a 


os 


Drs. Wight and Arnott’s Iilustrations of Indian Botany. 111 


The florets of the ray are from six to ten; they are twice as long 
as the squame of the involucre; yet as they are broad, with several 
veins, as well as on account of the form of the leaves, it is probable 
that this plant belongs rather to the W. platyglossa than to the W. 
stenoglossa, 

33. Bidens bipinnata, Linn, DC, Prod. 5. p. 603.—British Guiana. 
Schomburgk, n. 455. 

34. Cosmos cautlatus, H. B.et K. DC, Prod. 5. p. 606.—French Gui- 
ana. Herb. Par. n. 150. 

35. Schomburgkia calcoides, DC, Prod. 7. p. 294.—British Guiana. 
Schomburgk, n. 474. 

A short time before the publication of the seventh volume of the 
Prodromus a fine Orchidaceous genus was dedicated to Schomburgk, 
by Lindley, in the second part of his ‘ Sertum Orchidaceum,’ which 
renders it necessary to change the name of DeCandolle’s Schom- 
burgkia. Ihave, however, been unwilling so to do until the publi- 
cation of the ninth of his ‘ Collection de Mémoires,” where the plant 
is figured ; as some other generic name will probably there be given 
to it. 

36. Gnaphalium americanum, Mill. DC, Prod. 6. p. 234,—British Gui- 
ana. Schomburgk, n. 573. 

[To be continued. } 


XIV.—Illustrations of Indian Botany. By Drs. Wieut 
and ARNOTT. 
{Continued from vol. i. p. 395, | 
ACALYPHA CILIATA. 
. Plate V. 

Herbacea, spicis androgynis axillaribus densis, floribus superioribus mas- 
culis paucis, foemineis pluribus alternis, involucris hispidis profunde 
fimbriato-ciliatis, foliis longe petiolatis rhombeo-ovatis acuminatis serra- 
tis hispidis. 

Acalypha ciliata. Forsh. Fl. Zigypt. Arab. p. 162. Spreng. Syst. Veget. v. 

3. p. 879. 

Herbaceous, erect, with few branches. Stems hollow, angled, to- 
mentose. Leaves alternate, rhombeo-ovate, acuminate, crenato-ser- 
rate, ciliate on the margins, slightly hairy on both sides. Spikes an- 
drogynous, axillary, shorter than the petioles, furnished at the apex 
with a double stellated appendage, the lacinie of which are villous: 
this body Jussieu considers an abortive male flower. Male flowers 
few superior, extremely minute, clustered within one or several small 
bracteas. Female flowers below, numerous, alternate, inclosed with- 
in a large, cordate, fimbriated, hairy, persistent involucre, Calywx of 


112 Mr. A. H. Haliday on new British Insects 


the male flowers of four sepals, glandular at the margins. Corolla 
none. Jilaments of the stamens very short. Anthers 2-celled : cells 
separate, elongated, ‘‘ verruciform.”” Sepals of the female flowers 3, 
lanceolate, distinct. Corolla 0. Stamens 0. Styles 3, long, divided 
at the apex into several slender lacinize. Capsule 3-celled, 3-valved ; 
cells 4-seeded. Seeds ovate, smooth, brown. 

Frequent in corn-fields in the Tanjore and Cuddalore districts. 
The specimen figured is from the neighbourhood of Dindegul. 

Puate V. Fig. 1, extremity of a spike; f. 2, one of the stellated ap- 
pendages from the same; f. 3, scale with female flowers, magnified. 


XV.—New British Insects indicated in Mr. Curtis’s Guide. 
By A. H. Haripay. 


Tue references are to the genera and species as numbered in 
the 2nd edition; and where the Appendix is referred to, the 
number of the column is added. 


CoLEOPTERA. 
Calathus nubigena, C. 53. 5. 

C. subapterus niger antennarum basi thoracis lateribus pedibusque 
rufescentibus ; thoracis basi utrinque leviter impressa, angulis 
subrectis ; elytris leviter striatis: m. f. Long. 34 lin. 

Under stones on the top of Sliebh Donard, Downshire. 

Omaseus tetricus, C. 37.9. 
Has been lately described under the name Péerostichus gra- 


cilis, Erichson Kof. M. Brand. i. 72. 


HYMENOPTERA. 
Ichneumon phaleratus, C. 484. 153°. 

I, ore orbita scutello et segmentorum marginibus albidis, thorace 
multifariam albido-lineato ; femoribus tibiisque croceis, posticis 
apice nigris, m. f.; facie albida, m.; antennarum semiannulo 
albo, f. Long. 34 lin. 

Ireland, on a willow, September. 

The characters of this species are intermediate between 

Ichneumon and Hoplismenus. 
Tryphon hemosternus, C. 492. 100°. 

T. areola nulla; unguibus denticulatis; pectore pedibusque rufis, 
tibiis posticis basi albidis, apice et ante basin fuscis; terebra crassa 
deflexa, f. Long. 3—34 lin. 

On willows, Ireland, May, &c. 


Mr. A. H. Haliday on new British Insects. 113 


Subgenus Creniscus, C, 492. bis. 
Tibiarum Calcaria 1:1:0, Characteres reliqui subg. Tryphon. 


Tryphon Curtisii, C. 492. 2. 

Ct. unguibus denticulatis; scutello et facie albido-maculatis, seg- 
mentis summo margine albidis; pedibus rufis, tibiis tarsisque 
posticis nigris, crassiusculis, f. Long. 4 lin. 

Ireland, on a willow; June. 

Distinguished from 7. gnathoxanthus and allied species by 
its more robust figure, and the thickness of the hind tibize and 
tarsi, in which respect it resembles a Scolobates. 

Tryphon aurifluus, C. 492. 8. 

Ct. abdomine rufo basi apiceque nigro, segmentis posterioribus 
summo margine albidis; facie albido-maculata; pedibus rufis, 
posticorum femoribus tibiis tarsisque apice nigris, m. f. Long. 
34 lin. 

On willows, Ireland; May—Sept. 

Tryphon pheorrheus, C. 492. 6. 

Ct, pedibus anterioribus ferrugineis, basi nigris ; abdominis apice 
fulvo, m. Long. 3 lin. 

Obs. To the same subgenus are to be referred Tryphon lu- 
cidulus, sexlituratus, gnathoxanthus, sexcinctus, quinquecinctus, 
succinctus, cephalotes, triangulatorius, and several undescribed 
British species, 

Exochus antiquus, C. 493. 2134. 

#, areola quinqueangulari; linea ante alas, facie orbita, pedibusque 

flavis ; posticis basi fulvis, coxis nigris, m. Long. 8 lin. 

Holywood. 

Ezxochus lictor, C. 493. 222%, 

H, areola nulla; clypeo obtusangulo; capite thorace scutelloque 

flavo-maculatis; pedibus flavis, posticis basi fuscis,f/. Long. 3 lin. 

Isle of Wight, Sept.? F. Walker, 

Exochus pectoralis, C. 498. 222¢, 

, areola nulla; facie orbita, pectore, pedibusque anterioribus 
flavis; posticis fulvis, tibiis tarsisque albidis, apice fuscis, m 
Long. 22 lin. 

Eyrecourt, county Galway; September. 

Exochus Talpa, C. 493. 226°. 

#f, areola nulla; abdominis basi scabricula ; scutello immarginato ; 
tibiis anticis ferrugineis, posterioribus summa basi albidis, m. /.; 
antennis thorace non longioribus, f. Long. 14—2 lin. 

Ireland, April—May.—England, F. Walker. 

Ann, Nat, Hist. Vol,2. No.8. Oct, 1838. I 


114 Mr. A. H. Haliday on new British Insects, 


Genus Preriors, Curtis’s Guide, Ist edition. App. 5383. 
Abdomen subpetiolatum postice compressum, elongato-fusiforme. 
Terebra recondita. Thorax brevissimus gibbus. Antenne breves 
subclavate. Facies protuberans, Clypeus basi impressus. Pedes 
breves; calcaria 1; 2:1; ungues denticulati, Areola minuta sub- 
triangularis. : 
Periope auscultator. 
P. segmentis 2° et 3° rufis, basi nigris; tibiis tarsisque fulvis, /f. 
Long. 4 lin.—Confer Ichn, impugnator, Schranck, F, B, 2125. 
In a grove of larches, Eyrecourt, Sept, 


Genus Cryprus.—Subgenus Mrsocuorus. 
* Alarum posticarum nervo anali discreto. 
Cryptus atricilla, C. 508. 338°. : 

M. abdomine compresso petiolato; testaceus, antennis concolori- 
bus, capite abdominisque apice nigris, m. f. Long. 63 lin. 
Holywood, August, September, | 
** Alee posticee nervo anali destitute. 

Cryptus fulgurans, C, 508. 338°. 

M. scutello convexo ; abdomine petiolato; totus testaceus, m. /. 
Long. 3—-3} lin. : 

Holywood, August, September. 

Cryptus olerum, C. 508, 338°. 

The description omitted for the present, as it may prove to 
be a variety of C. splendidulus. 
Cryptus Sylvarum, C. 508. 338°. 

'. M. scutello convexo; abdomine compressiusculo petiolato ; pectore 
rufo ; ore orbita pedibusque testaceis; tibiis posticis pallidioribus, 
basi et apice puncto nigro ; terebra brevissima latissima, f. Lone. 
2—3 lin. 

Var.—Mesothoracis scuto rufo-bilineato. 

England, F. Walker.—Ireland and the yin nag in woods, June 

—August. 

Obs. Distinguished from the other species of the present 
section by its elongate figure and compressed abdomen, and 
in these particulars approaching C. alarius and atricilla of the 
first section. 

Cryptus complanatus, 
M. thorace deplanate-cylindrico; abdomine breviter petiolato, 
segmento 1° apice ruguloso; capite, antennis basi, abdominis 
medio, pedibusque testaceis, coxis posticis fuscis, f, Long, 1} lin, 


Mr. A. H. Haliday on new British Insects. 115 


Var.—Femoribus posticis et apice tibiarum fuscis. 
England, F. Walker. 
Cryptus arenarius, C. 508. 338%. 

M. scutello convexo; abdomine subpetiolato; mesopleuris punc- 
tulatis ; tibiis testaceis, posticis apice fuscis, m. f. Long. 11—2 
lin. 

On Salix argentea, Portmarnock, county Dublin, June. 


Subgenus Piecriscvs, Gr, 


There is so much dissimilarity among the species included 
in this group that I would propose dividing it into two, and 
adding a third for the reception of some small species, which 
I formerly arranged with Xorides, but which agree with the 
genuine Plectisct except in respect of the wings. 


Subgenus Heuicres, C, 509°, 
_ Abdomen petiolatum, segmento 1™° attenuato, lateribus sinuato 
tuberculis mediis. Terebra recondita aut subexerta. Thorax gib- 
bulo-cylindricus. Antenne graciles involute, radicula prominula, 
scapo bulbiformi, oblique exciso, Areola nulla. Pedes graciles, pos- 
tici subelongati. 
- In this group I would place Cryptus inmpurator and erythro- 
stoma, Gr, ; also the following : 
Cryptus fulvicornis, C. 509°, 347. 
Hf, abdominis medio pedibusque testaceis, coxis posticis basi fuscis, 
antennis fusco-testaceis, f. Long. 2 lin. 
Var,—Segmentis intermediis fusco-cingulatis, etiam coxis posticis 
totis fuscis. 
- England, F. Walker.—Ireland. 
I think this is the female of P. eee oom. 
Cryptus cruentatus, C. 509. 346. 
ff, scutello pectore pedibusque rufis, posticorum tibiis apice tar- 
sisque fuscis, f. Long. 3—33 lin. 
Var.—Segmentis intermediis margine castancis. 
- In shady places, Ireland.—England, F. Walker. 
- Very active, and is continually rolling and unrolling the 
spiral of its antenne. 
Cryptus varius, C. 509°. 348. 
_ H. abdominis cingulo pedibusque fulvis, coxis anterioribus, tro- 
chanteribus facie, et linea hamata ante alas, albidis, m. Long, 
23 lin. 
Portmarnock, June, 
12 


116 Mr. A. H. Haliday on new British Insects. 


Subgenus Cuepricus (Xorides spp. C. 542.). 

Abdomen petiolatum, segmenti 1‘ tuberculis mediis s. anticis. 

Thorax gibbulus. Oculi magni protuberantes. Clypeus basi im- 
pressus semicircularis. Antennz pedesque graciles. Areola nulla; 
radius cum cubito medio connivens. ‘Terebra exerta. 

Cryptus pretor, C. 542. 15°. 

C7. antennarum basi pedibusque stramineis, segmento 2° margine 
et sequentibus ochraceis intermediis fusco-maculatis, m. f.; ab- 
domine lanceolato, segmento 1° lineari-elongato levi, terebra 
abdominis longitudine, f. Long. 34 lin. 

In shady places, Ireland. 

Cryptus comes, C. 542. 15°. 

Ci. antennarum basi pedibusque stramineis, abdominis ovati seg- 
mento 2° margine et 3° ochraceis, hoc lateribus fusco-maculato, 
1° nitido substriato; terebra corporis longitudine, f. Long. 2+ lin. 

Cryptus socius, C. 542. 15>. 

C/, antennarum basi pedibusque stramineis, abdominis ovati seg- 
mento 2° margine et 3° ochraceis, hoc lateribus fusco-maculato, 
1° nitido substriato, terebra 2 abdominis longitudine, f. Long. 
24 lin. 

Orgies paganus, C. 542. 154, 

Ci. antennis basi subtus pedibusque stramineis ; abdominis ovati 
segmento 2° margine ochraceo, 1° scabriculo canaliculato ; tere- 
bra + abdominis longitudine, f. Long. 2 lin. 

Eyrecourt, September. 


Subgenus PLEecTiscus. 

Areola minuta oblique transversa. Abdomen rarius subsessile, seg- 

menti 1! tuberculis anticis. Characteres reliqui ut in subg. Clepticus. 

Here Cr. collares. albipalpus, zonatus, &c. find their place. 

Pimpla Senator, C. 516. 118°, 

Eph. segmentis albo-marginatis, intermediis subtransversis, orbitis 
oculorum internis albis, mesothorace rufo albo-maculato, pedibus 
rufis, terebra corporis longitudine, f. Long. 4 lin. 

Intermediate between P. divinator and mediator, resembling 

the first by its shorter figure and the form of the radial areolet, 
the latter in the length of the oviscapt. 
Pimpla phenicea, C. 512. 66°. 

Pol. mesothorace cum scutello rufo, pedibus fulvis, tibiis posticis 
albidis apice fuscis, ore et antennarum basi subtus albidis, m. //. 
Long. 24 lin. 

A variety, as I now believe, of P. percontatoria. 


Mr. A. H. Haliday on new British Insects. 117 
Subgenus AcropactTyLa (Barypus*, C. 490°.) 


Abdomen basi attenuatum, segmentis intermediis obsoletissime im- 
pressis; f. ventre apice fisso, terebra exerta brevi. Areola nulla. 
Tarsi apice incrassati, unguibus lobo infero dilatato obtuso. 


The species of this little group are closely allied to the subg. 
Polysphincta (and to P. percontatoria in particular), but may 
be distinguished by the smoother abdomen attenuate at the 
base, the narrower stigma, and the structure of the claws. 
From certain Pimple of the typical subgenus which agree in 
this last respect, they may be known by the want of the areolet, 
in addition to the former characters. 


Pimpla madida, C. 490°. 2. 

A, abdomine fusco-piceo incisuris nigris, palpis pedibusque stra- 
mineis, posticorum tibiis apice tarsisque fuscis, stigmate fusco, 
m.f. Long. 3 lin. 

England, F. Walker.—Ireland, in shady groves. 

Pimpla degener, C. 490%, 1. 

A. abdomine fusco-piceo incisuris nigris ; antennarum basi subtus, 
palpis, pedibusque stramineis ; posticorum tibiis apice, tarsisque 
fuscis, stigmate stramineo-piceo, metathorace canaliculato, m. /. 
Long. 2 lin. | 

In the same situations with the last. 


Bassus serricornis, C. 522. 36. 

Euc. capitis thoracisque picturis, abdominis fasciis quatuor inter- 
ruptis, coxis anticis et trochanteribus, albidis ; metathoracis ma- 
cula laterali pedibusque fulvis ; posticis apice fuscis, tarsis albo- 
annulatis, m. f.; antennis medio dilatatis serratis, m. ; antennis 
filiformibus, f. Long. 4 lin. 

Wicklow, June. 

Bassus Laricis, C. 521. 30°. 

O. areola irregulari subquadrangulari, segmentis intermediis mar- 
gine antennis pedibusque testaceis, fronte flavo-bimaculata, te- 
rebra subexerta, f. Long. 2 lin. 

On larches, Holywood. 

Porizon linguarius, C. 537. 178%. 

P. proboscide caput superante ; mesopleuris punctatis, sulco late- 
rali nullo; mandibulis, femoribus anticis, tibiisque rufescentibus; 
terebra corporis longitudine, f. Long. 2 lin. 

England, F, Walker. : 


* Barypus, a genus of Carabide. 


118 Mr. A. H. Haliday on new British Insects. 


Obs. The maxille and labium inflected in repose extend as 
far as the coxee of the intermediate legs. 


Genus ATRACTODES, G”. 


* Petiolus condylo triplo longior, gracilis linearis. Abdomen elon-. 


gatum, feminis apice tantum subcompressum et truncatum. 
Atractodes incessor. 

A. abdominis medio pedibusque anterioribus rufis, coxis et tro- 
chanteribus nigris, m. f. Long. 24—5 lin. 

Var.—Tibiis posticis (etiam femoribus basi et subtus) rufis. 

Common. 

Atractodes dioneus, C. 538. 184. 

A. mandibulis (antennis basi subtus), segmentis 2° et 3° basi, pedi- 
busque rufis, coxis posterioribus nigris, m. f. Long. 2—24+ lin. 

Var.—Femoribus posticis (intermediis basi coxisque) fuscis, m. 

Not common in Ireland.—England, J. Curtis and F. Walker. 

Atractodes scrutator. 

A. abdominis medio, mandibulis, pedibusque rufis, m. f. ; antennis 
basi rufis, m.; antennis nigris, aut subtus basi rufis, f. Long. 
2%. lin. | 

Var.—Femoribus tibiisque posticis puncto apicis nigro, /. 

Ireland, Hebrides. —England, F. Walker. 

** Petiolus condylo ad summum duplo longior. Abdomen modo 
apice compressum, fusiforme ; modo compressum s. subcompressum, 
dorso fere lineare, a latere lanceolatum. 

Atractodes vestalis, C. 538. 182. 

A, tibiis testaceis, anterioribus medio posticis apice fuscis; alis 
hyalinis areola subtriangulari, m. f.; abdomine ovato, apice 
subcompresso, f. Long. 2—24 lin. 

Common. | 

This species might perhaps with equal reason be referred 
to the genus Stilpnus; indeed any definite line drawn between 
these two genera must be arbitrary. 

Atractodes gravidus, Gr. 

A.mesothoracis sulcis humeralibus subproductis; abdominis medio, 
femoribus, tibiis, tarsisque rufis; abdominis segmento 1° apice 
sensim dilatato, m. f.; antennis basi subtus rufis, m.; antennis 
validis pubescentibus ; abdomine fusiformi apice subcompresso, 
f. Long. 3—3¥ lin. 

Rare in Ireland. 

Atractodes albo-vinctus, C. 538, 183. 
A, abdominis medio, palpis, pedibusque rufis, coxis posticis nigris, 


ee) ea a ee 


Mr. A, H. Haliday on new British Insects. 119 


m. f.; antennis albo-annulatis, abdomine fusiformi apice com- 
presso, f. Long. 3—4 lin. 

Ireland, not common. 

Atractodes arator, C. 538. 185. 

A, abdominis medio femoribus tibiisque rufis; abdominis seg- 
mento 1° lageneformi, m. f.; antennis gracilibus articulis ex- 
tremis ovatis ; abdomine subcompresso, /. Rene 34. lin. 

Holywood, not common. 

Atractodes Salius, C. 538. 190. 

A, antennis basi, abdominis medio, ore, pedibusque, ferrugineis ; 
femoribus posticis fuscis ; alis corpore brevioribus fumatis, areola 
incompleta; abdomine compresso, segmento 1° apice sensim 
dilatato canaliculato, f. Long. 24—8 lin. 

Eyrecourt, September. 

Atractodes exilis, C. 538. 188. 

A. antennis basi, abdominis medio, ore, pedibusque, ferrugineis ; 
posticorum tibiis apice et femoribus fuscis ; abdomine compresso, 
segmento 1° lineari leviusculo, f. Long. 3 lin. 

England, F. W.—Ireland, very rare. 

Atractodes croceicornis, C. 538. 191. 

A. abdominis medio, antennis, ore, pedibusque, ferrugineis, coxis 
posticis basi fuscis; abdomine compresso, segmento 1° apice 
sensim dilatato, f. Long. 3—34 lin. 

Ireland, rare. 

Atractodes bicolor, Gr. ? | 

A. abdominis dorso medio castaneo; mandibulis pedibusque fer- 
rugineis, coxis posticis basi fuscis ; areola irregulari subtrans- 
versa, m. f.; antennis basi testaceis, m.; antennis basi subtus 
ferrugineis; abdomine compresso, f. Long. 3—3+ lin. 

Var.—Femoribus posticis (mediis basi coxisque) fuscis: etiam 

abdomine antennisque nigris, f. Long. 14—3 lin. 

Common. 

Atractodes piceicornis, C. 538. 186. 

A, abdominis medio mandibulis pedibusque testaceis, coxis po- 
sticis fuscis; abdomine fusiformi apice compresso, 7. Long. 
24 lin. 

Eyrecourt, September. 

Atractodes fumatus, C. 538. 189. 

A, segmento 3° basi femoribus anterioribus tibiisque rufescentibus 
tibiis posticis apice nigris, m. f.; abdomine compresso, f. Long. 
24 lin. 

Var.—Abdomine toto nigro, f. 

Not common. 


120 Mr. A. H. Haliday on new British Insects. 


Atractodes cultellator, C. 538. 187. 

A. mandibulis pedibusque rufis, coxis posterioribus nigris ; abdo- 
mine compresso longissimo, medio rufo piceo (pedibus posticis 
vix breviore), f. Long. 3 lin. 

Holywood. 

Atractodes citator. 

A, capite thoraceque punctatis; abdomine compresso, castanco, 
basi nigro; femoribus anterioribus tibiisque testaceis, posticis 
apice nigris, f. Long. 3 lin. 

Ireland. 

Atractodes? properator. 

A. abdomine testaceo, petiolo nigro; pedibus testaceis, coxis 
posticis basi fuscis; areola nulla, m. f.; antennis subtus testa- 
ceils, m.; antennis tricoloribus, abdominis apice compresso, fe- 
moribus tibiisque posticis breviusculis, f. Long. 2}—34 lin. 

Var.—Coxis posticis totis pallide testaceis, f. 

England, F. Walker.—Near Edinburgh, September. 

This species differs from all the former in many respects. 
The spiracles are placed at the middle of the first abdominal 
segment :—the anterior face of the tibize is beset with minute 
spines :—the proportions of the labial palpi are different, the 
intermediate jomts being very short and the last very long. 
The antennz of the male are not crenulate in the middle. 
The areolet is either totally wanting, or if faintly indicated, it 
is triangular. Notwithstanding these and other differences I 
have left it in this group for the present, as it differs yet more 
widely from Jchneumon ; neither do I think it can with any 
propriety be referred to Mesoleptus, and I know no other 
group with which it is likely to be associated. 


Genus LAMPRONOTA. 

Abdomen subsessile leve convexum, f. ; ventre apice fisso, valvula 
ventrali obtusa, terebra exerta longa. Thorax gibbulo-cylindricus, 
mesothoracis scuto bisulco, metathoracis spiraculis transversis. Ca- 
put oblatum, clypeo transversim impresso. Antenne longe graciles, 
articulo 3° prelongo, 5° et 6° in mare denticulatis. Pedes postici 
elongati validi. Areola nulla. 

I have adopted the group as restricted by Mr. Stephens in 
his synopsis of the genera. It has some resemblance to 
Echthrus, but is perhaps more nearly allied to Acenites; I 
have not a specimen of the latter genus to make the compa- 
rison. 


Prof. Ehrenberg on Fossil and Recent Infusoria. 121 


Lampronota fracticornis. 

LE. tibiis tarsisque anterioribus et femoribus rufis, m. f.; terebra 
abdomine sesquilongiore, f. Long. 44 lin. 

Var.—Segmentis intermediis summo margine rufescentibus. 

England and Scotland, common in woods in autumn, and particu- 

larly on the broom. 
Lampronota crenicornis, B. EK. 407. 

L. pedibus rufis, tibiis tarsisque posticis nigris, m. f.; terebra ab- 
domine breviore, f. Long. 4 lin. 

Holywood, not uncommon, July— September. 

Lampronota denticornis, C. 511. 14°. 

L. femoribus rufis, tibiis tarsisque anterioribus rufis posticis fuscis ; 
abdomine subopaco, segmentis intermediis summo margine cas- 
taneis, m. f.; terebra abdomine breviore, f. Long. 4 lin. 

Ireland, in pine woods, autumn. 

The new species indicated in the families Cyniphide, Proc- 

totrupide, Diapriade and Ceraphronide will be noticed in a 
separate memoir on the British species of those families. 


[To be continued. ] 


XVI.— Communication respecting Fossil and Recent Infusoria 
made to the British Association at Newcastle. By Prof. 
KHRENBERG. 


To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. 


Gentlemen, 


You will much oblige me by inserting the subjoined notice, 
which has been occasioned by the erroneous report in the 
Athenzeum of the statements made by me at the late Meeting 
of the British Association in Newcastle, in the section of bo- 
tany and zoology, which statements, so far as I can recollect, 
were to the following import :— 

For-the purpose of physiological inquiries I have occupied 
myself with the investigation of microscopic organized beings, 
not only in Europe, but also upon several voyages for several 
years in other quarters of the globe. The results of my observa- 
tions had been hitherto scattered in single memoirs, published 
in the Acts of the Royal Academy of Berlin. Within these few 
weeks, however, my large work on this subject has been com- 


122 Prof. Ehrenberg on Fossil and Recent Infusoria. 


pleted*,which consists ofa thick folio volume of text and 64 folio 
copper plates, in which I have endeavoured to bring together 
the whole of our present knowledge of microscopical beings, 
with their history in as complete a state as possible. This book, 
which I had the pleasure of laying before the section, is not 
(as stated) the first volume of a work, but complete and entire 
in itself, and is now in the booksellers’ hands. It contains 
drawings of all the 722 species observed by me up to 1835. 
It is however merely a first essay on this highly interesting 
and at present inexhaustible subject. I then in a few words 
directed the attention of the section to the importance of the 
observation of microscopic beings, as a highly influential zoolo- 
gico-botanical subject, and exhibited earths which were en- 
tirely formed of the shields of some Infusoria. I mentioned 
the eatable infusorial earth from Lillhaggsjon in Sweden, from 
Finland, and from Kliecken near Dessau, where they occur 
in great natural layers. I stated that the greatest layer hitherto 
discovered was to the height of above 28 feet near Lunebourg ; 
that however similar layers have already been found in Africa, 
Asia, and the South Sea Islands. At the same time I noticed 
that I had succeeded in artificially preparing from still exist- 
ing Infusoria very considerable quantities of earth. I exhibited 
a large-glass full of such artificial siliceous earth, in which the 
microscope, however, still evidently and distinctly discovers 
all the forms of the Infusoria constituting it, pounds and tons 
of which earth may easily be prepared. I mentioned in few 
words the still existing controversy between botanists and 
zoologists, both of whom would class in their catalogues these 
microscopic living forms; and I briefly noticed the reasons 
given in detail in my work for each opinion, deciding myself 
in favour of their being animals. 

I also said a few words on the luminosity of the sea, which 
subject in part stands in immediate connexion with these mi- 
croscopic animals, it being regarded an act of animal life; and 
I invited attention to the fact that the luminosity in Infusoria 
and Annulata is an evident voluntary production of sparks, so 
that in the latter there originates a light apparently conti- 
nuous or tranquil to the naked eye, from numerous micro- 


* Ueber Infusionsthierchen, mit einem Atlas von vier und chem Kup- 
fertafeln. Von Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg. 


Prof. Ehrenberg on Fossil and Recent Infusoria. 123 


scopic sparks following each other in quick succession. The 
analogy with electrical phenomena is very close, and it is espe- 
cially worthy of attention that evidently the smallest animals 
give the largest sparks, in proportion to the size of their body, 
and consequently very probably produce the greatest electrical 
tension. : 

I then mentioned the curious formation of double gems in 
Closterium and in the Conferve conjugate, which is figured 
in the plates of the family of the Closterinez, and I concluded 
with the remark on the astonishing great fertility or capa- 
city of increase of microscopic animals, according to which 
an imperceptible corpuscle can become in four days 170 bil- 
lions, or as many single individual animalcules as contained 
in 2 cubic feet of the stone from the polishing slate of Bilin. 
This increase takes place by voluntary division ; and this is 
the character which separates animals from plants. It is true, 
that the gemmation in plants, especially in very simple cells, is 
at times very similar to the division in animals, but this re- 
lates to the form not the formation. A vegetable cell appa- 
rently capable of self division always became one, or contem- 
poraneously many exterior warts (gems) without any change 
in its interior. An animal which is capable of division first 
doubles the inner organs, and subsequently decreases exte- 
riorly in size. Self division proceeds from the interior towards 
the exterior, from the centre to the periphery; gemmation, 
which also occurs in animals, proceeds from the exterior to- 
wards the interior, and forms first a wart, which then gra- 
dually becomes organized. 

A discussion now arose between Prof..Rymer Jones and me. 
Prof. Jones observed, that although he had given himself great 
pains, yet he had never been able to see the structure described 
by me of the interior organization, viz. of the alimentary canal 
of the polygastric Infusoria, although he had found the ex- 
ternal forms to be exactly the same. He had not been able 
to discover any trace of an alimentary canal, and in Para- 
mecium Aurelia and other species he had observed a circular 
motion of the inner cells which could not agree with the for- 
mation I had described. I answered him that such discussions 
then only could lead to a result when they do not merge into 
general but enter into special cases. The mass of relations of 


124 Prof. Ehrenberg on Fossil and Recent Infusoria. 


organization, which after many years of observation have been 
gradually established, could not be brought into doubt by a 
single doubtful fact. The perfect organization of the wheel 
animalcules had been established beyond all question. With 
regard to Paramecium Aurelia, this is one of those forms un- 
favourable to such observations; and it had been expressly 
observed by me that I myself had not been able to recognise 
the alimentary canal in all species of the various genera; but 
on the other hand it was quite evident in a very considerable 
number of species and genera. I stated that in my present 
work this subject had been treated of in detail, and that those 
forms in which the relations are perfectly evident have been 
purposely enumerated. Some of these forms I then exhibited in 
the drawings, and concluded with the remark that the circular 
motion observed by Prof. Jones had already been treated of 
by others (for instance, Dr. Foeke), and had naturally been 
frequently observed by myself. The great contractibility of 
the body of the animalcule was, to less practised observers, 
not seldom a cause of enigmatical phenomena, of which con- 
tinued patient observation of the object would gradually bring 
the explanation. Thus, at times, the intestinal canal of the 
animalcule extends at the expense of the ventral sacs so far, 
that it occupies the whole space of the body, and then the de- 
voured substances, very similar to the ventral sacs, circulate 
in the whole body. Yours, &e. 

London, Sept. 15, 1838. KHRENBERG. 


Ideal figures of Loxodes Bursaria in various states of the extension 
of the alimentary canal, and its inner circular motion, not of the 
ventral sacs, but of the contents of the sacs voided into the canal. 
a the mouth, 6 the alimentary canal, ¢ ventral sacs, w anal aperture. 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 125 


XVII.—Flore Insularum Nove Zelandie Precursor ; or a Spe- 
cimen of the Botany of the Islands of New Zealand. By 
ALLAN CUNNINGHAM, Esq. 

[Continued from p. 52.] 


Composite s. Synantheree. 
I. CICHORACEX, Lessing, 
1. Scorzonera, L. DC. 


430. S.? scapigera (Sol. MSS.) foliis lanceolatis retrorso-dentatis integer- 
rimisve, caulibus gracilibus, scapo unifloro. Forst. Prodr. n. 534, absque 
descript. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. Among fern, 
on the hills, Bay of Islands.—1834, 2. Cunningham. 

_ Anne vere species hujus generis ? 
2. Soncuus, LZ. 

431. S. oleraceus. L. Forst. Prodr. n.282. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel, p. 
230. Lngl. Bot. t. 843. 

Pouro-rona, Incol. D’Urville. 

New Zealand, frequent on the northern and middle Islands.—1773, 
Forster.—1827, D’ Urville. 

3. Pieris, ZL. Lessing. 

432. P. hieracioides. L. Willd. Sp. Pl. 8. p.1556. Engl. Bot. t. 196. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). On the sea coast, near the Bay of 
Islands, rare. —1834, 2. Cunningham. 

433. P. attenuata, caule erecto glabriusculo vel tenuiter hispido, foliis 
elongato-lanceolatis attenuatis integerrimis strigosis, foliolis exterioribus in- 
volucri laxis. 

New‘Zealand (Northern Island). On the hills, among fern, Bay of Islands. 
—1834, R. Cunningham. 


II. VERNONIACEA, Lessing. 
1. Suawia, Forsé. 

Capitulum uniflorum. Pappus biseriatus, setaceus, scaber. Achenium 

hirsutum, teres. Jnvolucrum turbinatum, imbricatum. 

434. S. paniculata. Forst. Gen. 48. tab. 48. Prodr. n.507, Lessing. Syn. 
Gen. Comp. p.156. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 248. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Mercury Bay, Sir Jos. Banks. 
—(Middle Island) 1773, G. Forster. 

Obs. Caulis arboreus, ramosus. Folia alterna, ovato-oblonga, petiolata, 
undulata, obtusa, supra viridia, glabra, subtus sordide albo-tomentosa, bi- 
pollicaria. Panicule terminales axillaresque composite, pedicelli uniflori, 
brevissimi. Involucrum imbricatum, cylindricum, foliolis 5—6 oblongis 
acutis, tribus interioribus longioribus subzequalibus. dchenium solitarium 
oblongum lanatum. Pappus pilosus, basi pubescens. (Za Forstero,) 


126 Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 


Ill. ASTEROIDE, Lessing. p. 161, 
1. Sonipaco, L. Lessing. 


435. S. arborescens, fruticoso-arborea, paniculis corymbosis erectis termi- 
nalibus, foliis ovato-oblongis basi attenuatis petiolatis glabris acutiusculis 
obtusisve repandis, subtus discoloribus, ramulis angulatis glabris (incanisve, 
Forst.). Forst. Prodr.n. 298. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 252. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). A tree 12—15 feet high, in dark humid 
woods on the Kana-Kana and Hokianga rivers.—1826, 4. Cunningham 
(Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster. 

2, Lacenopnora, Cassini, Lessing *, 

ftadius uniserialis foemineus, Discus hermaphroditus. Achenium plano- 

compressum, calvum, rostratum. Lessing. 

436. L. Fosteri, foliis orbiculato-spathulatis crenato-serratis piloso-ciliatis 
petiolo (pollicari) duplo triplove brevioribus, foliolis involucri margine ci- 
liatis, rostro achenio bifido. LL. Commersonii, Cassini in Dict. Se. Nut. 
xxv. p.109. Lessing. p.193. Microcalia australis. 4. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. 
p. 230, tab. 80, Calendula pumila. Pers. Syn. Pl. 2. p,492, Forst. Prodr. 
n. 305. 

The daisy of New Zealand. Zwupu-tupu incolis vulgo dicitur, 

New Zealand (Middle Island),—1773, G, Forster, Astrolabe Bay.— 
1827, D’ Urville (Northern Island.) —1769, Sir Jos, Banks. Sloping shelves 
and in swamps on the shores of the Bay of Islands. —1826, 4. Cunningham. 
—1834, R. Cunningham. 

437. L, lanata, foliis obovato-oblongis obtusis undulatis dentatis, basi 
sensim angustatis utrinque villosis, foliolis involucri glabris membranaceis, 
rostro achenii. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Among fern, between the Waitangy 
and Keri-Keri rivers. —1834, 2. Cunningham. 


3. Aster, L. Cass, ? 

438. A.? holosericeus, Forst. Prodr. n. 296. A, Rich. Fl, Nov. Zel. p. 
248. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). On mossy rocks, at Dusky Bay.—1773, 
G. Forster. . 

Obs. Caules herbacei, 4—5 pedales, erecti. Folia radicalia, spathulato- 
lanceolata, argute dentata seu subserrata, subtus argenteo-holosericea, Ca- 
pitulum solitarium, terminale, amplitudine fere ac in Astere Chinensi, L.-ra- 
diatum. 

439. A.? coriaceus. Forst. Prodr.n. 297, A. Rich, Fl. Nov, Zel, p, 250. 

New Zealand (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster. 


* The type of this genus, a native of Van Diemen’s Land, may be thus 
characterized: L. Billardiert; foliis obovato-oblongis dentatis in petiolum 
attenuatis, undique pilosis, foliolis involucri glabris, rostro achenio integro 
leviter dilatato, L, Billardiére. Cassini in Dict. Se. Nat. xxv. p,109.— 
Bellis stipitata. Labill, Nov. Hol. 2. p. 55. t,205. Pers. Syn. 2. p, 460, 

Hab, In Insula Van Diemen, 1792,— J, J. La Billardiére, 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 127 


Obs. Caulis herbaceus. Folia ovata, coriacea, integra, supra sulcata, 
subtus villosa. Scapus foliosus, uniflorus, lanuginosus. 

‘Cette espece, fort voisine de la précédente, n’en est peut-étre 
qu'une simple variété.”’ 4. Rich, I, cit. 

I have no means of ascertaining to what genus these species, if 
distinct from each other, belong, as Forster says but little of the real 
structure of the achenium, and nothing at all of the form of the pap- 
pus. They appear, however, to be species of Calmisia. Cass. 

4. Haxronia, Caley. D. Don. 

Involucrum polyphyllum imbricatum. losculi radii feeminei ligulati, 

stigmatibus linearibus obtusis, sulco exaratis, margine incrassatis! Disci 
~hermaphroditi. Achenia suleato-angulata. Pappi radiis persistentibus, 
apice penicillatis! D. Don. 

440. H. furfuracea, fruticosa, foliis ellipticis coriaceis petiolatis obtusis, 
margine undulatis integerrimis dentatisve, supra levibus subtus argenteo- 
furfuraceis, corymbis terminalibus, “ radiis ternis.”—Aster furfuraceus. 4. 
Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 246,.—A. elongifolius. 4. Cunn. Ms, 1826. 

Tarata Incolarum fluvii Thames. D’ Urville. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Banks of rivers, at the Bay of Islands. 
1826, A, Cunningham.—1834, R. Cunningham. River Thames.—1827, 
D’ Urville. 

Oss. Frutex 6—10 pedalis, 

5. Virractinia, A. Richard. 

Capitula radiata. Involucrum polyphyllum imbricatum. Receptaculum 
alveolatum. Semiflosculi exteriores foeminei longiores, revoluti; flos- 
culi interiores hermaphroditi tubulosi, graciles. Stamina 5 libera; an- 
theris linearibus, basi abrupte recurvatis. Stigmata duo linearia. Ache- 
nium teres basi stipitatum. Pappus sessilis, fimbriato-pilosus. 

441. V. australis. A. Rich. Fl. Nov, Zel. p. 251.—Brachycoma spathulata. 

Gaud. in Freye. Voy. p. 467. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. (Middle Island.) 
On the sandy rocky shores of the French strait (Passe des Francais). Tas- 
man’s Bay.—1827, D’Urville. 

Planta ramosa, erectiuscula, subpilosa, 6—8 uncias alta. Folia obovali- 
spathulata sub 5-loba, lobo terminali majore obtusa. Capitula terminalia so- 
—litaria. Flores radiati. 

IV. SENECIONIDEA, Lessing. 
1, Bivens, LZ. 

442, B. pilosa. L. Forst. Prodr, n. 283. A, Rich. Fl. Nov, Zel. p, 235. 

Koériki ab indigenis. D’Urville.—Horikike Incolarum secund. R. Cun- 
ningham. 

New Zealand. Most frequent on cultivated ground, chiefly on the North- 
ern Island. G. Forster. D’Urville. R. Cunningham. 

2. Cotuta, LZ, Lessing. 

Capitulum, heterogamum, floribus ¢ uniserialibus seepe sterilibus in 

-ambitu, reliquis $ fertilibus. Achenium calvum, flori foemineo stipi- 

tatum, plano-compressum, flori hermaphrodite sessile et angustius, 


128 Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 


443, C, coronopifolia. L. Forst. Prodr.n.300. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. 
p. 235. : 
New Zealand.—1773, G. Forster. 


3. Myrioayne. Linnea, vi. 219. Lessing. 
Capitulum heterogamum, floribus ? pluriserialibus in ambitu, reliquis § . 
Achenium angulatum, exalatum, calvum, conforme. 

444, M. minuta, foliis subsphathulatis parce serratis, basi sensim angus- 
tatis, capitulis minimis oppositifoliis. Less. Syn. Compos. p. 266.—Cotula 
minuta. Forst. Prodr. 801. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 235.—C. cuneifolia. 
Willd. Sp. Pl. 3. p.2170.—Grangea minuta. Lamarck, Poiret, Dict. x. p. 
$25. 

New Zealand (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster. (Northern Island.) 
Swampy ground at the Bay of Islands. D’ Urville—1834, 2. Cunningham. 


4, Soriva, Ruiz & Pavon. 
(Gymnostyles, Juss.) 


Cor. florum ? pluriserialium in ambitu filiformis persistens et cum ovario 
continua. Achenium apice truncatum bialatum, alis marginalibus. 
Less. Syn. p. 268. 

445. §S. tenella, repens stolonifera, foliis pinnatifidis, apice dilatatis pin- 

nato-lobatis, lobis oblongis incisis, 

New Zealand (Northern Island), on the margins of fresh-water streams. 

—1834, R. Cunningham. 
Anne species distincta a Gymnostyles anthemifolia, Juss. ? 


5. Craspepia, Forst. 
(Cartopium, Sol. Mss. Ricuea, Labill.) 


Capitulum circiter 5-florum. Rachis bracteolata. Pappus uniserialis, plu- 

mosus. Achenium erostre. Less. 

446. C. uniflora (melius Solandri) foliis orbiculato-spathulatis glabris, 
margine albo lanuginoso fimbriatis. Yorst. Prodr. n.386. Willd. Sp. Pl. 3. 
p.2392. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 245.—Cartodium, Sol. Mss. 

New Zealand (Middle Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. Shores of Queen 
Charlotte’s Sound, Cook’s Strait.—1779, G. Forster. 

Quid Craspedia fimbriata (Forst. Mss. in Herb. Mus. Par. ex DC.) in 
litt. e Nova Zelandia (conf. Endl. in Ann. der Wien. Mus. Band 1. p. 109?) 


6. Cassinia, R. Br. 


Involucrum imbricatum, scariosum, pauciflorum. Receptaculum paleis 
distinctis squamis intimis involucri subsimilibus. /Vosculi tubulosi vel 
omnes hermaphroditi vel paucissimi foeminei angustiores in ambitu. 
Anthere (inclusz) basi bisete. Stigmata apice obtuso subtruncato 
hispidulo. Pappus pilosus seu penicillatus, persistens. 

447. C. leptophylla, foliis lineari-lingulatis subter ramulisque incanis co- 
rymbis terminalibus, involucris turbinatis. Br. in Linn, Soc. Tr. 12. p. 126. 
—Calea leptophylla. Forst, Prodr. n, 287. Willd. Sp. Pl.3. A. Rich. Fl. 
Nov. Zel. p. 234, 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 129 


New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Joseph Banks. Sandy ridges 
on the shores of the Hokianga river.—1826, 4. Cunningham. (Middle 
Island.)—1773, G. Forster. 

Obs. Upon further examination of the specimens gathered on the 
shores of the Hokianga river in 1826; and at that period considered 
an unpublished species of Cassinia, I am now disposed to view it as 
Forster’s plant. 

7. Ozoruamnus, R. Br. 

Involucrum imbricatum, scariosum, coloratum. Receptaculum epaleatum, 
glabrum. Jlosculi (pauciores quam 20) tubulosi vel omnes herma- 
phroditi vel paucissimi, foeminei angustiores in ambitu. Anthere (in- 
clus) basi bisete. Stigmata apice obtuso subtruncato hispidulo. 
Pappus sessilis, pilosus, nunc penicillatus, persistens. 

448. O. pinifolia (R. Br.) foliis lanceolatis acerosis glabriusculis margine 
revolutis, corymbo terminalibus congestis, ramulis tomentosis.—Calea pini- 
folia. Forst. Prodr. n. 288. Willd. Sp. Pl. 3. p.1795. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. 
Zel, p. 234. 

New Zealand (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster. 

8. Heticurysum, Persoon. 

449. H, bellidioides. Pers. Syn.2. p.415. Willd. Sp. Pl. 3. p.1911.— 
Xeranthemum bellidioides. Forst. Prodr. n.293. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. 
p. 242. 

New Zealand (Middle Island), Cook’s Strait.—1769, Sir Jos. Banks.— 
1773, G. Forster. 

Obs. Caulis herbaceus, gracilis, ramosus, spithameeus, ramulis apice capi- 
tulo unico terminatis. Folia obovalia, obtusa, apice mucronata, amplexi- 
caulia, superne viridia, subtus cano-tomentosa. Flores magnitudine Bellit 
minuti. Involucrum explanatum, foliolis interioribus longioribus linearibus 
albis externe ima basi tomentosis. Receptaculum planum, nudum. 

9. Gnapuatium, &. Br. 

Capitulum multiflorum, floribus 2 numerosis, pluriserialibus in ambitu. 
Pappus pilosus, uniserialis, conformis. Stylus § ramis apice solo peni- 
cillatis. 4chenium erostre. Rachis tota ebracteolata. 

450. G. luteo-album. L. Willd. 3. p. 1871. A. Rich, Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 236. 

Endl, Prodr. Fl. Norf. p.50. Engl. Bot. t. 1002. 

Ponkatea, incol. D’ Urville, 

New Zealand (Northern Island),—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. River Thames. 
—1827, D. Urville. Bay of Islands.—1833, 2. Cunningham. 

451. G. simplex, herbaceum, caule simplicissimo lanato, foliis inferioribus 
obtusis caulinis oblongo-linearibus subacutis integris utrinque albo-lanatis, 
floribus capitatis. 4. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel, p. 237. 

Pon-katea vulgo dicitur. D’ Urville. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Rocky shores of the harbour of L’Astro- 
labe.—1827, D’Urville. (Northern Island). Bay of Islands.—~-1834, R, 
Cunningham. 


Ann, Nat, Hist. Vol.2. No.8. Oct. 1838. K 


130 Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 


452. G. lanatum, herbaceum lanatum, foliis linearibus oblongis apice cal- 
Joso-mucronatis, corymbis coarctatis, caule simplicissimo. orst. Prodr. n. 
290. Willd. Sp. Pl.3. Endl. Prodr. Fl. Norf. p. 50. A. Rich. Fl, Nov. 
Zel. p. 238. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Astrolabe Harbour. — 1827, D’ Urville.— 
1773, G. Forster. (Northern Island.) On the hills near the Keri-Keri 
Mission Station.—1834, R. Cunningham. 

453. G. (Lasiopogon) involucratum; herbaceum caule erecto simplici, 
foliis lineari-lanceolatis acutis, margine revolutis, supra parce subtus tomen- 
toso-lanatis, capitulis axillaribus sessilibus ad ramulorum apices approxi- 
matis. Endl. Prodr. Fl. Norf. p.50. Forst. Prodr. n. 291. Willd. Sp. Pl. 3. 
A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 241.—Enchiton Fosteri, Cassini in Dict. Sc. Nat. 
lvi. p. 216. 

Ponkatea seu Poaklimon, incol. D’ Urville. 

New Zealand (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster. Astrolabe Harbour. 
—1827, D’Urville. (Northern Island).—-1769, Sir Jos. Banks. Bay of 
Islands. —1833, Rich. Cunningham. 

454. G. Keriense, herbaceum, caule adscendente, foliis lineari- Janceolatis 
acutis enerviis sessilibus semiamplexicaulibus, margine revolutis, supra levi- 
bus viridibus subtus albo-argenteis, pedunculis terminalibus lanatis, corymbo 
laxo. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). In the vicinity of the falls of the Keri- 
Keririver. Bay of Islands.—1833, R. Cunningham. 

455. G. trinerve, fruticosum, caule adscendente tereti levi, foliis lanceo- 
latis acutis sessilibus trinerviis supra glabris subtus albidis (lanugine expla- 
nata relucente) panicula corymbosa terminali laxa. orst. Prodr. n. 289. 
Willd. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 239. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Dusky Bay.—1773, G. Forster.—1791, 
A, Menzies. 

10. Arnica, Cassini? 

Capitulum radiatum. Pappus conformis, setaceus, uniserialis. Stylus 
disci ramis pube longa descendente obsessis truncatis aut cono brevi 
superatis. Less. 

456. 4.? operina. Forst. Prodr.n. 299. Willd. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. 

p. 232. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Dusky Bay.—1773, G. Forster. 

Obs. Caulis fruticosus, orgyalis, diffuse ramosus, levis. olia conferta, 
spathulato-lanceolata, patentia, petiolata, acuta, profunde crenata, crenis 
apice cartilagineis luteis, supra glabra, viridia, trinervia, subtus albo-lanata, 
palmaria, Pedunculi solitarii, terminales, uniflori. lores ampli, disco 
Juteo. Corollul@ hermaphrodite numerosz in disco, foeminez plurimee in 
radio, ligulate, ligula lanceolata 3-dentata. 

An spec. Gerbere Cass. (Dict. Sc. Nat. xviii. p. 459) ? 


11, Senecto, L. Lessing. Syn. p. 391, 
Capitulum heterogamum, rarius homogamum. Pappus pluriserialis seta- 
ceus, caducus, rectus, subequalis, conformis, Stylus § ramis truncatis 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 131 


apice solo penicillatis. Achenium erostre apterum, teretiusculum, 
glaberrimtum seu hirsutiusculum. 

457. S. lautus (Sol. MS.) corollis revolutis, foliis oblongo-lanceolatis pe- 
tiolatis equaliter serratis, summis integerrimis. Vorst. Prodr. n. 535. Willd. 
Sp. Pl. iii. p.1981. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 257. 

New Zealand.—-1769, Sir Jos. Banks.. 

458. S. australis, foliis lanceolato-linearibus acutis glabris coriaceis inte~ 
gerrimis aut basi utrinque dente lineari auctis, floribus radiatis corymbosis, 
radio subreflexa. 4. Rich. in Sert. Astrolab. 181. t.89. Willd. Sp. Pl. iii. 
p.1981. A, Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 257.—S. angustifolius. Sol. Mss. Forst. 
Prodr. n. 589. non L.—S. dryadeus. Sieber, non L. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. 

459. S. neglectus, foliis subcarnosis amplexicaulibus pinnatifidis glabris 
aut pilosiusculis, segmentis plus minus profundis acutis, pedunculis pauci- 
floris, radiis revolutis. 4. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 258. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Astrolabe Harbour.—1827, D’Urville. 

466, S. argutus, caule stricto striato, foliis basi sagittatis lanceolatis argute 
serratis pinnatifidis subtus albidis supremis linearibus integris, floribus pa- 
niculatis, flosculis interioribus 5-dentatis. 4. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 258. 
Endl. Prodr. Fl. Norf. p.51. Sert. Astrolab. p. 104. 

Pon-katea, ineol. D’ Urville. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Pebbly shores of Astrolabe Harbour.— 
- 1827, D’Urville. (Northern Island.) Bay of Islands.—1834, R. Cunning- 
ham. 

461. S. quadridentata, caule erecto striato niveo-tomentoso lanuginoso, 
foliis lineari-lanceolatis subacuminatis tomentosis integerrimis margine re- 
flexis, floribus corymboso-paniculatis, flosculis hermaphroditis 4-dentatis. 
Willd. Sp. Pl. iii. p. 1973. Labill. Nov. Holl, ii. p. 48. t.194. A. Rich. 
Sert. Astrolab. p. 101. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Sea coast near the Bay of Islands.— 
1834, R. Cunningham. 

462. S. hispidulus, caule subsimplici, foliis lanceolato-linearibus acutis 
tuberculato-hispidulis, margine subrevolutis distanter at ineequaliter serratis, 
infra albido-pilosis, ima basi utrinque et approximate bidentatis, floribus 
parvulis corymbosis, flosculis 3—5-fidis, laciniis ovalibus acutis, 4. Rich. 
Sert. Astrolab. p. 92. t. 54. : 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Among fern at Wangaroa.—1833, R. 
Cunningham. 

12. Bracuyeiorttis, Forst. Char. Gen. 46. t. 46. 

Capitulum radiatum, radiis brevissimis recurvis tridentatis.. Pappus den=- 

sus plumosus caducus. Achenium erostre teretiusculum sulcatum. 

463. B. repanda, paniculis decompositis divaricatis terminalibus, foliis el- 
liptico-ovalibus petiolatis repando-sinuatis, supra leevibus, subtus albo-tomen- 
tosis, caule arboreo. Jorst. loc. cit.—Cineraria repanda. Jorst. Prodr, 
n.295. Willd. Sp. Pl. iti. p. 2076. A. Rich, Fl, Nov. Zel. p.250.—C, deal- 
bata, Sol, Mss. in Bibl, Banks, 

K 2 


132 Bibliographical Notices, 


Puka-Puka or Buka-buka, indig. R, Cunningham. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Queen Charlotte’s Sound.— 1 : 69, Sir Jos. 
Banks, (Northern Island.) River sides, Bay of Islands.—1826, 4. Cun- 
ningham. Wangaroa.—1834, R. Cunningham, 

Obs. Arbor 10—15 pedalis. 

The natives call a letter or paper Buka-Buka, from the English 
word book, a quantity of paper bound together; so, where paper has 
been wanting to write a letter, the ample leaf of this plant has been 
used in New Zealand by Europeans, the white underside, even in 
its recent state, taking ink or diluted pigment extremely well; 
hence the modern name of the plant by the natives Buka-Buka! 

464, B. rotundifolia, paniculis paucifloris foliis petiolatis ovato-subrotun- 
dis integerrimis subtus tomentosis. Jorst. Char. Gen. n. 2.—Cineraria ro- 
tundifolia. Forst. Prodr. n. 294. Willd. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 254, 

New Zealand (Middle Island.) Dusky Bay.—1773, G. Forster. 

465. B. Rani; paniculis ramosis multifloris terminalibus, foliis petiolatis 
lato-ellipticis acuminatis repando-serratis, supra glabris, subtus niveo-tomen- 
tosis, caule arboreo. 

Rani, incol. Rich. Cunningham. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Banks of rivers, Bay of Islands, &c.— 
1834, A, Cunningham. 

Obs. Arbor sepe 3-orgyalis et ultra, ramosus; rami valde patentes. Folia 
alterna, elliptica, grosse serrata, subrepanda 2—4 pollicaria. Petioli pa- 
tentes vix longitudine dimidii folii, supra canaliculati. 

The plumose pappus, the short rays of the female florets, and the 
form of the achenium, appear sufficient to justify the separation of 
these plants from Cineraria, to which Forster referred them in his 
‘ Prodromus’, some years after he had published the genus Brachy- 
glottis, which Persoon thinks ought perhaps (for the above reason) 
to be restored, although Forster’s second view has been adopted by 
Willdenow. Lessing more recently, (1832) whose Synopsis Compos. 
appears now to be the text-book in this vast tribe of plants, consi- 
ders them species of Senecio. He says, ‘‘ Genus Brachyglottis, 
Forster’s (pappo plumoso) Jacobea, Thunb., generaque Cassiniana, 
Grammarthion, Dorobea, Obojea (Senecionis seu 2. L. radio revo- 
luto), &c. non sunt separatu digne”’ ab Senecione. 

[To be continued. ] 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES, 


Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa; consisting chiefly of 
Figures and Descriptions of the objects of Natural History collected 
during an Expedition into the interior of South Africa in the years 
1834, 1835, and 1836, fitted out by the *‘ Cape of Good Hope As- 


Bibliographical Notices. 133 


‘ sociation for exploring Central Africa.” By Andrew Smith, M.D., 
Surgeon to the Forces and Director of the Expedition. 4to. Nos. I. 
II. Smith, Elder, and Co., London, 1838. 


This is the work devoted to natural history alluded to in our no- 
tice of the ‘ Zoology of the Beagle’ which has received the support of 
Government by a grant of money to defray the expenses of engraving 
the plates, &c., and being thus in a manner public property, we shall 
have little hesitation in expressing our opinion regarding it. It is 
a selection from the zoological collections brought home by the ex- 
pedition which some years since penetrated into Central Africa under 
the care and superintendence of Dr. Smith, to whose persevering 
zeal in the pursuit of natural history we are mainly indebted for the 
whole plan and execution of the journey. That gentleman we be- 
lieve spent some part of his early career as a student in the Univer- 
sity of Edinburgh at the period when Dr. Barclay as a private lec- 
turer gave a new impulse to natural science by undertaking a series 
of lectures on comparative anatomy. ‘These lectures, novel at the 
time, and attended at first by many as being so, gave a different turn 
to the minds of young men entering the medical profession, and 
called on at an early period to go abroad. Many began to trace the 
beautiful gradations and analogies of structure in the frames of the 
singular animals inhabiting the different countries they visited. We 
can with confidence affirm that many an hour was thus spent which 
might otherwise have been thrown away; and the Barclayan Museum 
in the Hall of the College of Surgeons in Edinburgh will bear testi- 
mony of the assiduity with which many a pupil wrought to add 
something to the collection of his admired and respected teacher. 
Dr. Smith appears to have imbibed much of this zeal, and when en- 
tering on the duties of his profession in a foreign station soon gave 
evidence that he had not attended these lectures in vain—for not only 
was the direction of the Museum at Cape Town much improved, but 
several valuable and novel additions were made to it by his exertions ; 
and the country, which had been explored by Sparrman and Barrow, 
and Le Vaillant, was still found to contain materials unknown and of 
vast interest to the zoologist. An active mind could not however 
rest within the boundaries of the colony, or even within the range 
of some of our enterprising modern travellers; and after several ex- 
cursions of considerable extent, the journey we have alluded to was 
planned and executed, and the first portion of the result is now be- 
fore us. | 

Had this work appeared ten or twelve years since, we and others 
would have held it as a beautiful production and scarcely to be ri- 


134 Bibliographical Notices. 


valled. The numbers before us are no doubt beautiful, but we have 
lately seen so much of the luxury of illustration that we are perhaps 
spoiled and become too fastidious. ‘The work is, comparatively 
speaking, moderate in price, and the figures will answer every pur- 
pose of the naturalist ; but knowing at the same time what London 
can do in this department, and knowing also that a large sum of 
money (£1500)* has been voted by the Treasury for its use, we should 
have liked to have seen every part finished in the highest style of art. 
The plates, entirely lithographic, want boldness, and in some instances 
clearness, or decision in the outline and markings. Lithography 
suits some subjects beautifully, but in a work like that before us a 
combination of styles should be used wherever one was more suit- 
able than another to the subject, and in the representations of most 
of the Mammalia engraving or etching produces the more natural ef- 
fect. The backgrounds and stumps are extremely careless ; witness 
the accompaniments to Echinorhynus obesus, where it may be diffi- 
cult to say what it is intended to represent. Diagrams of the teeth, 
&c., and other structures, should be introduced either on separate 
plates or as wood-cuts ; the latter is the most convenient and does 
not entail more expense. The descriptive part is clear, distinct, and 
scientific, just what it should be; and we can only wish that ‘‘ the 
more detailed account of the manners and habits” proposed to be given 
in an appendix, ‘ hereafter to be published,”’ had been given now. 
Each number contains ten plates, published miscellaneously, but 
numbered so that each department may be arranged separately. In 
No. I. we have Rhinoceros Keitloa, Smith, a new species, and con- 
trasted with the R. bicornis, Linn., to which it is somewhat allied. 
Dr. Smith considers that this animal does not now range higher than 
about 25° S. latitude, though some time back they must have fre- 
quented the vicinity of Latakoo; but from the evidence which was 
collected from the natives he is of opinion that at least another 
distinct and at present unknown species still remains to be discovered. 
3. Falco semitorquatus, Smith. 4. Chizerhis concolor, Smith. Jud- 
ging from the figure we should consider this bird more closely allied 
to Corythaixr of Illiger; it was first met with at nearly 25° S. la- 
titude ; it perched on the highest branches of trees, flitting to and 
fro in search of fruits. 5. Sierocles gutiuralis, Smith, discovered 
about 80 miles eastward of Latakoo. 6. O¢is ruficrista, Smith. 
* These instances of the partial patronage of science by the Treasury 
have, we find, caused some dissatisfaction, as being questionable on the score 
of favouritism, and of the disadvantage at which others have to appear, un- 
aided, before the public; and not merely unaided, but subjeeted to excessive 


fiscal burthens, through the Post Office, the advertisement duty, the sur- 
render of copies to privileged libraries, &c. &c. 


Bibliographical Notices. 135 


7. Sternotherus Linneotus, Sm. 8. Varanus albogularis, Daud. 
9. Bucephalus viridis, Sm. 10, Echinorhynus obesus, Sm.; a spe- 
cies of shark, taken, though rarely, at the Cape of Good Hope; and 
it is worthy of notice, that at alate Meeting of the British Asso- 
ciation Mr. Strickland exhibited a drawing of an undescribed shark, 
taken on the Yorkshire coast, very closely allied in appearance to this, 
and coming into the same genus, No. II. contains: 1. Hrinaceus 
frontalis, Sm., a good figure of a hedgehog, obtained in the districts 
around old Latakoo. 2. Herpestes badius, Sm., from the same 
locality. 3. Sciurus Cepapi, Sm. 4. Prionops Talacoma, Sm. 
5. Crateropus Jardinii, Sm. 6. EHuplectestaha. 7. Philaterus lepidus, 
Sm. 8. Merops Bullockioides, Sm. 9. Pterocles variegatus, Burchell. 
10. Echidna inerassata. 


Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte. In Verbindung mit mehreren Gelehrten, 
herausgegeben von Dr. Ar. Fr. Aug. Wiegmann, Professor an der 
Friederich Wilhelms-Universitaét zu Berlin. Vierter Jahrgang. 
Zweites Heft. Berlin, 1838. 


[Continued from Vol. I. p. 321.] 


The present part contains several very interesting papers, which 
we can but briefly notice in this place. The first article, ‘ Remarks 
on the Caspian Sea,’ by Prof. E. Eichwald of Wilna, has for its 
principal object to establish that the Caspian is independent of the 
Black Sea, a conclusion founded upon its different Fauna. Most of 
the fish found in the Caspian are fresh-water fish; there are however 
several peculiar species from genera which hitherto have been ob- 
served in salt water only. Several new species of fish are described 
by the author, of which we can merely mention the names. The 
most numerous tribe inhabiting this sea, are the Cyprinide, some of 
which are quite peculiar to it. The following are those described as 
new ; Cobitis caspia, Clupea caspia, C. pontica, Atherina caspia, A. pon- 
tica. A new genus allied to the family of the Gobie, the diagnosis 
of which is as follows :-—— 

Bentuornitus. Caput depressum, dilatatum, alepidoti trunci instar ver- 
rucis aculeigeris undique obsitum, operculum branchiale aculeato-ver- 
rucosum, apertura branchialis exigua lateralis, pinnze abdominales sub 
pectoralibus infixee medio connate, pinna dorsi duplex, priore 3-radiata. 

Benthophilus macrocephalus, Gobius sulcatus, G. affinis, G. caspius, 
Syngnathus nigrolineatus and S.caspius. Among the Amphibia we find 
mentioned as most remarkable, Clemmys caspia and Tropidonotus hy- 
drus. T. scutatus, Pall., the author considers to be merely a black va- 
riety of T. natriz; the same is the case with 7. persa, Pall. The sea 


136 Bibliographical Notices. 


is very poor in Crustacea, of which the author notices two new 
species, Gammarus caspius and Stenosoma pusillum. It is also ex- 
ceedingly poor in Mollusca compared with the Black Sea, which is 
ascribed to the following cause ;—that the sea is continually dissolving 
and taking up great quantities of salt, numerous beds of which occur 
in the neighbourhood, at Baku, Sallian, and towards the east coast, 
and in the hot summer the constant evaporation concentrates the 
salt water to such a degree as to render it unfit for the preservation 
of animal life. | 

2. On the dentition of the whale, by Prof. Wiegmann. 

3. Remarks on the skulls of Lutra and Spalax, by H. Nathusius, 

4. Cheloniorum Tabula Analytica, auctore Carolo L. Bonaparte. 

5. A highly interesting paper on Hvadne Normanni, a hitherto un- 
known Entomostracon, by M. Lovén. ‘The Evadne forms a new genus: 
and the author has named the only species with which he is ac- 
quainted after the distinguished naturalist Alex. v. Nordmann, Pro- 
fessor at Odessa, ‘The author has given a detailed anatomy of the 
various organs, comparing them with those of Limaadia, Daphnia, 
Lynceus and Polyphemus. It is a very lively animal and its motions 
are more regular than those of Daphnia. It never proceeds in a 
straight, but generally in a zigzag direction. ‘The scanty knowledge 
of the exotic forms, and the dissimilarity of some of the known ge- 
nera, for instance Daphnia and Cyclops, Cypris and Apus, which un- 
doubtedly will have to be widely separated when we have become 
acquainted with more forms, renders the systematizing at present 
very difficult. Hvadne may be considered as a link, and is most 
closely allied to Polyphemus, Miill.; it may be easily distinguished 
by its enormous thorax. 

6. On Limosa Meyeri, Leisl., and L. rubra, Briss., by Drs. Horn- 
schuch and Schilling. The specific difference of these two birds has 
long been doubtful; to settle this point the authors examined and 
compared a vast number of individuals, and have established the fol- 
lowing specific distinctions :— 

Limosa Meyeri, Leisl. Crown of the head flat; forehead extended, 
from the posterior angle of the nasal aperture to the anterior edge 
of the eye, in the male 10 lines, in the female 11 to 12 lines; lorum 
blackish brown, distinct; the tail white, banded with blackish 
brown. 

Limosa rufa, Briss. Crown of the head prominent ; forehead short, 
from the posterior angle of the nasal aperture to the anterior edge 
of the eyes 8 lines, in the female ? lorum blackish brown only inti- 
mated ; tail white, and banded with blackish brown. 

Summer clothing of the old male.—L. Meyeri, Leisl. The entire 


Bibliographical Notices. 137 


under surface of the body dusky brown. L. rufa, Briss. ‘The entire 
under surface of the body dusky red. 

Summer clothing of the old female.-—L. Meyeri, Leisl. Neck and 
gape tinted with bright dusky brown, with numerous blackish brown 
cross bands and longitudinal stripes; breast white, with large dusky 
brown spots ; the sides blotched with blackish brown cross bands and. 
spots; belly white, towards the front spotted with dusky brown. 

7. Dr. C. Th. Siebold on the female generative organs of the Ta- 
chine. From observations made on the following species which oc- 
cur in the neighbourhood of Dantzic, 1. T. fera; 2. T. tessellata; 3. 
T. grossa; 4. T. hemorrhoidalis; 5, T. vulpina; 6. T. nov. spec.; 8. 
T. flavescens ; 9. T. flavescens? 10. T. larvarum; 11. T. larvarum? 12. 
T.. tristis;—it appears that the female generative organs of the Tachine 
are not organized after a common type, but present very remarkable 
differences of structure; those from No.1 to 7 bringing forth living 
maggots. The vagina is the part subjected to the greatest change 
in the various species, its peculiar forms at times curiously character- 
izing the female generative organs of certain Tachine. In this re- 
spect they may be properly divided into two groups: in the first is 
enumerated all those having a long vagina, while the second group 
contains those possessing a sac-like vagina. I. Group. The eggs col- 
lect in immense quantities in the long vagina of this group, and here 
are developed into maggots, which leave their egg-shell before they 
are deposited by the female. The development of the eggs takes 
place only in the vagina, therefore after they have slid by the mouth 
of the seminal capsules, which are situated at the posterior end of 
the vagina. ‘Those eggs, quite perfectly’ formed, which were met 
with above the mouth of the seminal capsules in the ovaries or ovi- 
ducts, never exhibited any incipient development of the maggot. 
The number of eggs which the vagina contains is immense, “As I 
had taken the pains,” says Dr. Siebold, “‘ to count the brood in 7’, tes- 
sellata, which I found in the vagina, and brought out by an exact 
enumeration 2386 maggots and eggs, I could not bring myself to 
enumerate those which were housed in the vagina of 7. fera, as I was 
convinced on a general view that I should have to count a brood three 
times greater than in 7. ¢essellata. When therefore Reaumur, in his 
‘ Mémoires pour servir  l’Histoire des Insectes,’ t. iv. p. 417, calcu- 
lated the almost incredible number of 20,000 larve in the vagina of a 
female Tachina, this in the end might not be much overrated.” II, 
Group. 'The female Tachine of this group produce fewer eggs than 
those belonging to the first. ‘‘I discovered in their short wide 
sheath generally but one large egg, in which the development of the 


138 Bibliographical Notices. 


maggot had never commenced, so that, at least up to the present 
time, I have observed none of the species of this group to be vivipa- 
rous. It is curious how the seminal fluid and the Spermatozoa con- 
tained in it can arrive in the seminal capsules, situated so far from 
the vulva; in the first group of the Tachine, ciliatory motion cannot 
advance the semina from the anterior commencement of the sheath to 
its very end, since the sheath and the other female generative organs 
do not possess any, and indeed I have hitherto not discovered any 
ciliatory organs in true insects.” 

8. On the genus Scarabus, Montf., by F. H. Troschel. 

9. On some native (German) land snails, by Dr. Aug. Muller. 
The author notices the occurrence of Helix Scarburgensis near Kiel, 
on the coast of the Baltic, and points out the impropriety of giving 
“names of places to new species. The other species mentioned are 
Vertigo plicata and V. pusilla. 

On ‘vegetable Spermatozoa, by J. Meyen. The author directs the 
attention to the existence of the long-tailed Spermatozoa in the an- 
thers of Marchantia polymorpha, 

The first part of a paper on the Motions of Plants (a prize me- 
moir), by M. Dassen ; this we shall notice with the third part. And 
a translation of Mr. Owen’s paper on Guathostoma finishes the pre- 
sent number. | 


Works in the Press. 
Natural History and Illustrations of the Scottish Salmonide. By Sir 
William Jardine, Bart. 


It is proposed, under the above title, to publish a series of plates 
illustrating the different species of the Scottish fishes, which com- 
pose this family, accompanied with a volume of descriptive letter- 
press. 

The plates will amount to from twenty-five to thirty in number, 
elephant folio, so as to admit of the greater part being represented 
of the size of life. On these will be figured all the species of migra- 
tory salmon and of trout, with its varieties, which inhabit or frequent 
the rivers and lochs of Scotland, together with the char, coregoni, 
&c. The very dissimilar appearance which this group of fishes as- 
sumes at different ages and at different seasons, has rendered their 
history extremely difficult to investigate, and has in many instances 
caused a nominal multiplication of species by several being described 
in states apparently very different, while the variation was occasioned 
by the same influence which acts at similar periods on the plumage 
of birds, and to which may be attributed the great confusion so long 


Bibliographical Notices. 139 


existing, and in some degree still continuing, in our knowledge of 
this higher class of living beings. 

Scotland being almost in every part an alpine country, and abound- 
ing in large rivers and innumerable mountain streams, with lochs in 
an equal proportion and variety, affords an ample field for the illus- 
tration of this group. This great characteristic mark of its fresh- 
waters, and opportunities having occurred here more frequently for 
the examination of the various species, and their habits, than in the 
other parts of Great Britain or Ireland, induces the author to restrict 
the work, and give the illustration of this range of country complete 
in itself. At the same time, with a few exceptions, all the British 
species will be represented ; and it is proposed, if a moderate success 
attend the publication of this work, that two additional Fasciculi 
shall be devoted to the illustration of those species and varieties of 
England and Ireland, which do not occur in the sister kingdom. 

The illustrations will be published in Fasciculi of six plates each. 
The first will be ready for delivery to Subscribers in November, and 
will contain figures of, 1. S. Salar, young or Gilse; 2. Do. do. va- 
riety; 3. S. albus of Fleming, or Herling of the Solway ; 4. 8. feroz ; 
5. S. fario, lacustrine varieties; 6. Coregonus Willughbit or Loch- 
maben coregonus. ‘The volume of descriptive letter-press will be 
printed in “an octavo size, and will be published on the completion of 
the illustrations. In this will be detailed, as far as possible, the na- 
tural history of the family, and it will be accompanied with nume- 
rous plates and wood-cuts, illustrating the parts connected with the 
external characters, scaling, structure, food, parasites,.&c. 

Information is earnestly requested on any subject connected with 
the above work, to be addressed to Jardine Hall, by Lockerbie, Dum- 
friesshire. 


Intended to be published by Subscription, in One Volume, demy 
8vo, Monographia Anoplurorum Britannia ; or an Essay on the 
British Species of Parasitic Insects belonging to the order Anoplura 
of Leach. By Henry Denny, Esq. 


The object of the present Monograph is to combine in one vo- 
lume highly magnified figures and descriptions of all the species of 
parasitic insects belonging to the families Pediculide and Nirmide, 
found in Great Britain, ‘‘ many of the individuals of which being the 
companions and consequence of poverty and filth, are regarded in 
general rather as objects of disgust than of attraction: from this 
cause and perhaps too from their minuteness, these insects have hi- 
therto excited less attention amongst naturalists than their singular 


140 Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 


and beautiful forms and structure deserve.” The importance, how- 
ever, of illustrating this tribe will be evident when it is stated that 
almost every species of quadruped and bird has its peculiar parasite, 
and many of them are infested by two, three, or even five distinct 
species—that these offer so great a diversity of colour, form, and 
habits, that none but an entomologist would recognise the family 
to which they belong from any analogy they bear to the more fami- 
liar examples. Notwithstanding the number of individuals conti- 
nually offering themselves to the observer of nature, it is no less 
strange than true there is no one book to which he can refer for the 
purpose of naming them. It must not, however, be inferred from 
this that the subject has been wholly neglected by men of science, 
for so early as 1688 forty species were figured and described by 
Redi, since which we find the illustrious names of Linneus, Geoffroy, 
De Geer, Scopoli, Schranke, Fabricius, Albin, Latreille, Hermann, 
Olfers, Lyonet, Panzer, Leach, Nitzsch, and Children, assisting to 
elucidate this group. But as the labours of many of these natural- 
ists are difficult to come at, and several when procured give little 
more than a catalogue of names, without figures or reference to de- 
scription, few can avail themselves of the benefit they offer. The 
work will form a concise concentration of the information already 
possessed, with original figures, drawn and coloured after nature, and 
will undoubtedly be a valuable addition to the entomological litera- 
ture of this country. 

Mr. Denny will feel greatly obliged by the transmission of exam- 
ples of the different species of Pediculide and Nirmide from the fol- 
lowing quadrupeds and birds :-— 

Fox. Otter. Polecat. Weasel. Squirrel. Hedgehog. Mouse. Rat. 
Shrews. Mole. Dormouse. Guinea Pig. Hare. Seal. Wild Cat. 
Bats, Pine Martin. Goat. 

Kite. Goshawk. Kestril. Eagle. Owl. Little Owl. Roller. 
Nutcracker. Creeper. Wren, Long-tailed Titmouse. Goldfinch. 
Pine Grossbeak. Redstart. Redbreast. Ringouzel. Dipper. Pratincole. 
Bittern. Crane. Night Heron. Ibis. Bustard. Little Bustard. 
Northern Diver. Black Stork. Quail. Hawfinch. 


PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 
BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 


April 12th, 1838.—Robert Maughan, Esq., Member of the Wer- 
nerian Society, in the Chair, 
Mr. Forbes read a paper on the specific claims of Primula acaulis, 


Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 141 


veris, and elatior, in which he contended that instead of three, these 
form but two species, viz. P. acaulis and veris; and that P. elatior 
is not only not a hybrid, but a non-ewistence, inasmuch as after par- 
ticular investigation he had not been able to find any plant at all 
agreeing with the characters of P, elatior as given by Jacquin, who 
was the founder of the species, 

Professor Christison presented some observations on the preser- 
- vation of fruits and other botanical specimens in the moist state, and 
remarked that after numerous experiments made for a series of years 
with various fluids, he had found none which served so well to pre- 
serve both the consistence and colour of fruits, leaves and flowers, as 
a concentrated solution of common salt. Numerous specimens were 
exhibited which had been preserved in this way for one, two, three, 
and five years, among which were sprigs with leaves and ripe and 
unripe fruit of Myristica moschata, Xanthochymus pictorius, Garcinia 
Cambogia, G. Mangostana, Hebradendron cambogioides, Alpinia Car- 
damomum, Mangifera indica, Ricinus communis, Flacourtia inermis, &c. 
In the greater part of these the green tint of the leaves and the pe- 
culiar colour of the fruit seemed to have undergone little alteration. 
When the fruit however is very pulpy,.as in Solanum Lycopersicum, or 
lemons and oranges, a solution of salt is comparatively inapplicable, 
because the fruit shrivels by exosmosis of its fluids, and diluted pyro- 
ligneous acetic acid is found to be preferable, 

Mr. Hamilton read a paper on the Gardens of the Ancient Hebrews, 
treating in succession, lst. Of grounds for the cultivation of the vine, 
the olive, or any single species of fruit tree; 2nd. Of orchards for 
rearing fruit trees in general; 3rd. Of kitchen gardens; 4th. Of 
flower gardens. The paper concluded with assigning the reasons on 
account of which gardens were excluded from the walled cities of 
Judah, and with mentioning certain restrictions on the horticultural 
taste and skill of the people, occasioned by the interference of their 
Doctors and Rabbis. 

May 10th.—Professor Graham, President, in the Chair. 

Mr, Macaulay read the first part of a paper “‘ On the effects of Ve- 
getation on the Atmosphere,” in which the influence of the vegetable 
kingdom on the composition of the atmosphere was treated, After 
detailing various experiments tending to show that different natural 
families may differ in their effects on the atmosphere, and giving an 
abstract of the researches of Priestley, Senebier, Berthollet, Ellis, 
Saussure, Burnet, Morren, Daubeny, and others, Mr. Macaulay 
concluded by presenting a series of propositions which appeared to 
him to contain the present state of our knowledge on this’ subject. 


142 Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 


Dr. Graham read a description of Catasetum discolor, var. luteo- 
aurantiacum, and offered some general observations on the genus Ca- 
tasetum. 

June 14.Dr. Balfour, V.P., in the Chair. 

The Secretary stated that a letter had been received by the Pre- 
sident from William Gibson Craig, Esq., M.P. inclosing a commu- 
nication from Lord John Russell, intimating that Her Majesty had 
been graciously pleased to become Patron of the Botanical Society. 

Dr. Balfour then read a paper by Wm. B. Carpenter, Esq. of Bristol, 
containing a general view of the function of reproduction in vege- 
tables, in which Mr. Carpenter endeavoured to show that the repro- 
ductive system can be traced with increasing complexity, but with- 
out alteration in its essential characters, from the lowest Cryptogamic 
Tribe up to the most perfectly organized flowering plants. 

July 12th.—Professor Graham, President, in the Chair. 

It was stated by the Secretary that the Society had received an 
increase of 77 Members since the date of the last Annual Report in 
1837, and that the total number of Members now amounted to 199, 
in the following proportions. 

British Honorary Members. 6 Non-Resident Members 63 
Foreign Honorary Members 20 Foreign Members .... 27 
Resident Members ...... 82° Associate ie aii 1—199 

Mr. Falconer read an account of a Botanical excursion to one of 
the islands of Hyéres by Mr. Percy in the year 1836, with a list of 
most of the species observed. 

Mr. Macaulay read some observations on several of the species of 
the genus Tortula, communicated by Mr. Robert Stark of Ciren- 
cester. 

Mr. Brand read a paper containing his views on the proper mode 
of arranging the Society’s Herbarium: and forming a catalogue for 
reference. He proposed to divide Great Britain and Ireland, inclu- 
ding the adjacent islands, into 42 districts, grouped according to a 
union of their political and natural boundaries, and he exhibited a 
map of the country arranged on this principle. He proposed to de- 
vote a page of the catalogue to each species, and to have printed on 
it the numbers and names of all the districts, with columns annexed 
for recording the following particulars, namely, the latitude and lon- 
gitude of the centre of each district, and the county whence the spe- 
cimens are obtained ; the condition of the plants in the respective 
districts, as denoted by the marks or signs used in the Society’s 
published catalogue ; the relative situation or habitat of the speci- 
mens furnished, as whether upland, inland or from the coast; the 


Zoological Society. 143 


nature of the soil or rocks where the plants were found; the time of 
their first coming into flower; with a space for general observations. 
The principles and objects of Mr. Brand’s scheme and arrangement 
seemed to be generally approved of, and it was referred to a Com- 
mittee to consider it more fully, and to report to the Meeting in 
November. 


The Society then adjourned till Thursday the 8th of November. 


_ ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 


January 9th, 1838.—Thomas Bell, Esq., in the Chair. 


Mr. Gray exhibited a new species of Perameles, in size and ge- 
neral appearance very closely agreeing with Per. nasutus, but pecu- 
liar for its very short white tail, and in having several indistinct 
broad white bands over the haunches. The species inhabits Van 
_ Diemen’s Land, where it frequents gardens, and commits great havoc 
amongst bulbous roots, which it is said to devour with avidity. 
Mr. Gray proposed for it the name of Per. Gunnit, after its discoverer, 
Mr. Ronald Gunn *. 

It was suggested in the course of some discussion which followed 
Mr. Gray’s observations, that the roots upon which this species was 
supposed to feed, were probably attacked for the purpose of procu- 
ring such insects as might be found in them; and Mr. Owen in re- 
ference to this point alluded to a dissection of a Perameles made by 
Dr. Grant, and published in the Wernerian Transactions, in which 
insects were found tc constitute almost the sale contents of the 
stomach and intestines. 

A very large and beautiful Aneel, of a species hitherto entirely 
unknown, and which had just arrived in England under the care of 
Captain Alexander from the Cape, was in the room for exhibition ; 
and the history of the circumstances under which it had been dis- 
covered, were detailed in the following letter, addressed to the Se- 
cretary, by Capt. W. C. Harris, of the Bombay Engineers. 

Cape Town, South Africa, Oct. 10, 1837. 

Sir,—I beg the favour of your presenting to the Zoological So- 
ciety the accompanying drawing and description of an entirely new 
and very interesting species of Antelope, which I discovered in the 
course of an expedition to the interior of Africa, from whieh I have 
lately returned. A perfect specimen that I brought down has been 
admirably set up by Monsieur Verreaux, the French naturalist at 
Cape Town, and will be sent to London in the course of a few days, 


* Since described in the Annals of Natural History, for April, 1838, 


144 Zoological Society. 


to the care of Dr. Andrew Smith. It would appear to belong to 

the sub-genus Aigocerus, and in form, as well as in other respects, 

bears remote resemblance to the Aigocerus Equina, (Roan Antelope 

or Bastard Gemsbok,) with which it has been confounded by many 

persons imperfectly acquainted with the subject to whom it has 

been exhibited. A comparison of the two animals will, however, 

render the existing difference between them too obvious to demand - 
any observation from me. ? 

During nearly three months that I hunted over the country lying 
between the 24th and 26th parallels of south latitude, within 28° 
and 30° east longitude, I only once met with the Antelope in 
question. On the northern side of the Cashan range of mountains, 
about a degree and a half south of the tropic of Capricorn, I found 
a herd, consisting of nine does and two bucks, and followed them 
until I captured the specimen from which the enclosed drawing 
was made. 

None of the natives of the country were familiar with the appear- 
ance of the animal when first interrogated on the subject, although 
after conferring amongst themselves, they agreed that it was K60- 
kame, (Oryx Capensis,) the Gemsbok ; and, of the many individuals 
to whom it has been shown, a trader named Robert Scoon is the only 
one by whom it has been recognized. He declares that he saw a 
herd of them some years ago near the very spot I have described, 
but could not succeed in killing one. It is, doubtless, very rare; 
and, judging from the formation of the foot, entirely confined to the 
mountains. 

The females are somewhat smaller than the males, are provided 
with shorter and slighter, but similarly shaped horns, and are simi- 
larly marked; a deep chestnut brown, verging upon black, taking 
the place of the glossy black coat of the male. I did not obtain a 
female specimen; but whilst riding down the buck, I had abundant 
opportunities of narrowly observing them within the distance of a few 
yards, and am, therefore, positive as to the correctness of the descrip- 
tion here given. 

I have for the present designated the new Antelope “ Aigocerus 
niger ;” but of course it will rest with the Zoological Society either 
to confirm that name, or to bestow one more appropriate or more 
scientific; and I shall be gratified by their doing so. 


I have the honour to be, sir, 
‘ Your most obedient servant, 
W. C. Harris. 


Zoological Society. 145 


The following description of this interesting addition to the Fauna 
of Southern Africa was appended to the above letter. 


Aigocerus niger. Tur Sasie ANTELOPE, 


Adult male four feet six inches high at the shoulder; nearly nine 
feet in extreme length. Horns thirty-seven inches over the curve, 
placed immediately above the eyes, rather higher than occurs in the 
Aigocerus Equina; flat, slender, sub-erect, and then strongly bent 
back similar-wise *; at first gradually diverging, and then running 
parallel to each other; three-fourths annulated with about thirty 
strongly pronounced, incomplete rings, more rigid on the edges, but 
chiefly broken on the outside of the horn; the remaining one fourth 
smooth, round, slender and pointed. Head somewhat attenuated 
towards the muzzle, and compressed laterally. Carcase robust. 
Withers elevated. Neck broad and flat. Hoofs black, obtuse, and 
rather short. Hair close and smooth: general colour of the coat 
intense glossy black, with an occasional cast of deep chestnut. A 
dirty white streak commencing above each eye, continued by a pen- 
cil of long hairs covering the place of the suborbital pouch, (of 
which cavity no trace is to be found in this Antelope,) and then 
running down the side of the nose to the muzzle, which is entirely 
white; the same colour pervading one half of the cheek, the chin 
and the throat. Ears ten inches long, narrow, tapering and pointed ; 
white within, lively chestnut without, with black pencilled tips. A 
broad half crescent of deep chestnut at the base of each ear, behind. 
A small, entire black muzzle. A copious standing black mane, 
five and a half inches high, somewhat inclined forwards, and extend- 
ing from between the ears to the middle of the back. Hair of the 
throat and neck longer than that of the body. Belly, buttocks, and 
inside of thighs, pure white. A longitudinal dusky white stripe be- 
hind each arm. Fore legs jet black inside and out, with a tinge of 
chestnut on and below the knees. Hind legs black, with a lively 
chestnut patch on and below the hocks. Tail black; long hair 
skirting the posterior edge, and terminating in a tuft which extends 
below the hocks. Sheath tipped with black. 

Female smaller than the male, with smaller, but similarly shaped 
horns. Colour, deep chestnut brown verging upon black. 

Very rare. Gregarious, in small families. Inhabits the great 
mountain range which threads the more eastern parts of Mosele- 
katse’s territory. 

* Scimitar-wise ? 


Aan, Nat. Hist. YVol.2. No.8. Oct, 1838. L 


146 Zoological Society. — 


DIMENSIONS. | 

Inches, Inches. 
Height at shoulder ...... 54 Breadth of neck ........ 16 
Length of body ........ 44 Breadth of fore-arm...... 6 
Length of neck ........ 17. _—‘ Breadth of thigh ........ 6 
Length of head ........ 19 Breadth of fore-leg ...... 24 
Length of tail .......... 25 Breadth of hind-leg...... 3 
Length of hind-quarter .. 19 Length of horns ........ 37 
Depth of chest ........ ... 80 Breadth asunder at base .. 1 
Length of forearm ...... 16 Breadth asunder at tips .. 94 
Fore knee to foot........ 15 Length of ears.......... 10 
Croup to hock .......... 36 Breadthofhead ........ 9 
Hock £0 WG ii ces se 184 


A specimen of a marine snake (Pelamys bicolor) presented to the 
Museum by the Rev. William White, Wesleyan Missionary to the 
New Zealand Association, and which, with several others, had been 
picked up dead upon the beach on the west coast of that country, 
was upon the table; also another portion of the-birds collected by 
Charles Darwin, Esq., to which Mr. Gould in continuation drew the 
attention of the Members. 


January 23.—Richard Owen, Esq., in the Chair. 

A selection of the Mammalia procured by Captain Alexander du- 
ring his recent journey into the country of the Damaras, on the South 
West Coast of Africa, was exhibited, and Mr. Ogilby directed the 
attention of the Society to the new and rare species which it con- 
tained. 

Among the former were the Herpestes melanurus and Cynictis 
Ogilbii of Dr. Smith, the Canis megalotis, &c. The latter consisted 
of five new species, which Mr. Ogilby characterized as follows : 

Macroscelides Alerandri. Fur long and fine, very dark blue- 
black at the root, but pointed with pale sandy-red above, and white 
beneath; ears pretty large, subelliptical, and red behind; whole under 
lip red; ¢arst white; tail long, hairy, and very much attenuated : 
length 5$ inches; tail 4% inches. 

Macroscelides melanotis. Of a rather larger size than the for- 
mer, with large head, dark brown or black ears, rather sandy under 
ip, dunnish white throat and abdomen, but pale reddish brown chest; 
colour of the upper parts much the same, but rather more ashy ; tarsi 
light brown; tail mutilated: length Ginches. 

Chrysochloris Damarensis. Brown, with a silvery lustre both above 
and below; a yellowish white semicircle extends from eye to eye, 
under the chin, covering the whole of the cheeks, lips and lower jaw ; 
a very marked character which, as well as the peculiar shade of the 


Zoological Society... | 147 


colour, readily distinguishes it from the new species described by Dr. 
Smith: no tail: length 43 inches. | 

Bathyergus Damarensis. A species intermediate in size between 
Capensis and Hottentotus: colour uniform reddish brown both above 
and below, with a large irregularly square white mark on the occiput, 
much larger than in Hoftentotus, and another on each side of the neck 
just under the ears; these two meet on the throat, which is thus 
covered with dirty dunnish white; tail, a large flat stump covered 
with coarse reddish brown bristles, which stand out from it in all 
directions like radii; paws reddish brown: length 84 inches; tail 
1 inch*, 

Graphiurus elegans. Smaller than Graph. Capensis of Cuv., and 
of a purer and deeper ash colour above; the chin, throat, and cheeks 
are covered by alarge patch of pure white, the rest of the under sur- 
face is mixed grey’and ash, and all the tarsi and paws pure white: 
there is a mark of the same colour above and in front of each ear, 
and an oblique white stripe runs from the throat backwards over the 
shoulder, just in front of the arms; an intense black stripe passes 
from the commissure of the mouth, through the eye to the ear; the 
tail is covered with short coarse hair, pure white above, pure black be- 
low, and pencilled or shaded on each side; face greyish ash; whiskers 
abundant, and of a grey colour: length 5 inches; tail 23 inches. 

Mr. Ogilby observed, that the above species, and the one described 
by F. Cuvier, under the name of Graph. Capensis, appeared to him 
to differ in no respect from the genus Myorus, and that in character- 
ising the present animal, he merely made use of the name Graphiurus 
to indicate its relation to that originally described by Cuvier. 

Mr. Ogilby likewise called the attention of the Society to certain 
peculiarities in the structure of the hand, in a living specimen of a 
new species of Galago, which he proposes to call Otolicnus Garnettit, 
after the gentleman to whom he was indebted for the opportunity of 
describing it, and who has already conferred many advantages upon 
science by the introduction of numerous rare and new animals. The 
peculiarity of structure to which Mr. Ogilby alluded, consisted in 
the partially opposable character of the index finger of the fore hands, 
the fingers on these members being divided into two groups, com- 
posed of the thumb and index on one side, and the remaining three 
fingers on the other, as in the Koalas and Pseudocheirs. He re- 


_* This specimen, and the Macroscelides melanotis, were purchased for 
the British Museum, and the remaining three species for the Museum of 
the pn ag Society at the sale of gat covered 8 yigg eae March 8, 
1838, 


L 2 


148 Zoological Society. 


marked that the anterior index in all the inferior Lemuride was weak 
and powerless, and that it had the same tendency to divide with the 
thumb instead of the other fingers in the rest of the Galagos, as well 
as in the Nycticebi, Microcebi, Cheirogalei, and Tarsii, whilst in the 
Potto it was reduced almost to a tubercle. These genera conse- 
quently formed a little group analogous to the Koalas and Pseudo- 
cheirs among the Didelphide, being, exclusive of these animals, the 
only Cheiropeds in which this character occurs; and Mr. Ogilby re- 
garded the fact as a strong confirmation of the truth of the relations 
which he had formerly pointed out as subsisting between these two 
families. The Otolicnus Garnettii is of a uniform dark brown colour 
on every part both above and below; the ears large, black, and 
rather rounded; the tail long, cylindrical and woolly; and the size 
of the animal about that of a small /emur, or considerably larger than 
Oto. Senegalensis. 

A communication was then read to the Meeting by Prof. Owen, 
entitled, ‘‘ Notes on the Anatomy of the Nubian Giraffe.” 

These notes contain the general,results of the anatomical exami- 
nation of three specimens of the Giraffe, which Mr. Owen had been 
so fortunate as to have the opportunity of dissecting; one of the 
three (a male) died in the Society’s Menagerie, and the remaining 
two (male and female) were in the possession of Mr. Cross of the 
Surrey Zoological Gardens. 

The author agrees with Cuvier in considering that the external cha- 
racters of the Giraffe clearly indicate its position in the orderRuminan- 
tia, to be between the genera Cervus and Antilope; the true bony ma- 
terial of its horns. which are covered by a periosteum defended by 
hairy integument, resembling the growing antlers of the Deer; but the 
non-deciduous character of this tegumentary covering to the perios- 
teum, and the consequent permanency of the horns in the Giraffe, 
reminding us of the persistent nature of these organs as it obtains 
throughout the Antelopes. 

The black callous integument on the upper surface in the horns, 
is noticed as a probable indication of a tendency to develope a su- 
perabundance of epidermic material; and Mr. Owen conceives that 
the strong black hair which grows in a matted tuft around their 
extremities may represent, in an unravelled state, the fibres com- 
posing the horny coverings of the core in the horns of the Antelope. 
A few examples occur among both Deer and Antelopes, in which © 
the possession of horns is found in the two sexes, as in the Giraffe ; 
but in this animal these organs present certain peculiar characters 
in the mode of their articulation to the skull, the basis of the horn 


Zoological Society. 149 


being united by sychondrosis to the frontal and parietal bones, con- 
stituting an epiphysis rather than an apophysis of the cranium. With 
regard to the supposed occurrence of a third horn in the male 
Nubian Giraffe, as the osteological details bearing upon this point are 
given in that part of the memoir which embraces the description of 
the skeleton, Mr. Owen in this place merely observes, that the 
evidence afforded by the examination of the two individuals in ques- 
tion was rather opposed to, than in favour of its existence. 

The general form of the Giraffe is obviously modified with 
especial reference to its exigencies and habits; the prolongation and 
extensibility of its hair-clad muzzle, the peculiar development, cy- 
lindrical shape and flexibility of its tongue; the oblique and narrow 
apertures of the nostrils, defended by hair and surrounded with 
cutaneous muscular fibres, enabling the animal to close them at will, 
and thus to protect the olfactory cavity from the fine particles of 
sand which in the storms of the desert would otherwise find ingress, 
are points referred to by the author as exhibiting marked adapta- 
tions of structure in especial harmony with a mode of life consequent 
upon the nature of its food and its geographical distribution. 

For a description of the general external peculiarities of the body 
the author refers to Riippell’s Reise im Nordlichen Africa; Geoffroy 
in the Annales des Sciences, xi. p. 210; Salze, in the Mémoires du 
Museum, xiv. p. 68; and the 5th and 6th volumes of Sir E. Home’s 
Comparative Anatomy. 

The bulk of the paper consists of anatomical details relative to the 
organs of digestion, the sangyiferous system, the nervous system, 
the muscles, and the male and female organs of generation of the 
Giraffe, for which we must refer to the original abstract contained 
in No. 61 of the Society’s ‘‘ Proceedings.” We extract, however, 
the following particulars belonging strictly to the comparative ana- 
tomy and to the zoological relations of this animal. 

The Giraffe differs from every other Ruminant in the form of the 
mouth, which resembles that of the Elk in the non-division and ex- 
tensibility of the hair-clad upper lip, but differs widely from it in 
the elegant tapering shape of the muzzle. The muscles of the 
tongue, both as to number and arrangement, presented no peculi- 
arities of importance, but the nerves were characterized by the beau- 
tiful wavy course in which they were disposed, and by which dis- 
position they are accommodated to the greatly varying length of 
this organ. ‘The erectile tissue, conjectured by Sir Everard Home 
to be present in the tongue of the Giraffe, and to be the cause of 
its extension, has no existence: the only modifications of the vas- 


150 Zooloyical Society. 


cular system worthy of notice were the large size and slight plexiform 
arrangement of the lingual veins at the under part of the base of the 
tongue. The inner surface of the lips, especially where they 
join to form the angles of the niouth, was beset with numerous 
close-set, strong, retroverted and pointed papilla, similar to those 
distributed over the interior of the gullet in the Chelonia; a struc- 
ture which is also present in other Ruminants, 

The palate was beset with about sixteen irregular transverse 
ridges, having a free denticulate edge directed backwards; an appa- 
ratus for detaining the food, and ensuring its deglutition, which Mr, 
Owen notices as especially required in the Giraffe, by reason of the 
small comparative size of its head and jaws: he also refers to the 
mechanical obstacles, which oppose the escape of the food when re- 
gurgitated, in the Ruminantia generally, as the presence of buccal 
papille, &c. as an evidence on which to found an argument of spe- 
cial adaptation or design. ‘This structure is noticed by Cuvier, but 
considered by him as only coexistent with the occurrence of papille 
upon the lining membrane of the stomach, and as a condition of 
parts which furnishes no obvious indication of any connexion with 
final causes; with a view of showing that no such relation of coex- 
istence as that imagined by Cuvier, in the presence of papille upon 
different portions of the alimentary canal, can be positively esta- 
blished, Mr. Owen instances the Turtle, which has these callous 
bodies in great abundance, but entirely restricted to the lining mem- 
brane of the wsophagus, in which situation their use is sufficiently 
apparent. The great omentum, in the female, was studded reticularly 
with fat, as in the Ruminants generally. Inthe male, on raising the 
paunch, the spiral coils of the colon (characteristic of the Ruminants) 
came into view, together with the rest of the jejunum and édium, upon 
the removal of which the third and fourth stomachs, and the small 
liver wholly confined to the right of the mesial plane, were exposed, 
The spleen, as usual m the Ruminantia, had its concave surface 
applied to the left side of the first stomach or rumen. 

The kidneys occupied the usual position in the loins, the right 
one a little more advanced than the left; their figure was rounded 
and compact, as in the Deer and Antelopes, and they were not ex- 
ternally lobated as in the Ox. 

The cells of the reticulum, asin the Reindeer, wereextremely shallow, 
their boundaries appearing only as raised lines; but there was the same 
form and grouping of the cells as obtains throughout the Ruminants 
generally, the arrangement being that by which the greatest number 
are included in the least possible space. 


Zoological Society. . 151 


The folds of the psalterium resembled those of most other Rumi- 
nants. 

The cecum was a simple cylindrical gut, as in other Ruminants ; 
its circumference about six inches. The disposition of the colon re- 
sembled that of the Deer, 

The presence of a gall-bladder, distinguishing the hollow-horned 
from the solid-horned Ruminants, made the investigation of this point 
in the anatomy of the Giraffe one of extreme interest; and Mr. Owen 
remarks, that the result of his examination of three individuals shows 
the caution which should be exercised in generalizing upon the facts 
of a single dissection, 

In the first Giraffe (Mr. Cross’s female) a large gall-bladder was 
present, having the ordinary position and attachments, but presenting 
the unusual structure of a bifid fundus. Upon making a longitu- 
dinal incision down its side, it was found to be divided throughout 
its length by a vertical septum of double mucous membrane, form- 
ing two reservoirs of equal size; the organ in fact was double, each 
bladder having a smooth lining membrane, and communicating sepa- 
rately with the commencement of a single cystic duct, 

Inthe two Giraffes subsequently dissected not avestige of this organ 
could be detected, the bile in them being conveyed by a rather wide 
hepatic duct to the duodenum. Mr. Owen therefore concludes that the 
absence of the gall-bladder is the normal condition, and that the 
Giraffe in this respect has a nearer affinity to the Deer than to the 
Antelopes. 

The cranial plexus of the internal carotid artery was much less 
developed than in the ordinary grazing Ruminants. 

The brain of the Giraffe closely resembled, in its general form, and 
in the number, disposition, and depth of the convolutions, that of the 
Deer; it was more depressed than in the Ox, and the cerebrum was 
wholly anterier to the cerebellum. The anterior contour of the 
cerebral hemispheres was somewhat truncated. 

The olfactory nerves were large, as in most Ruminantia, and ter- 
minated in expanded bulbs, in length 14 inch, in breadth.1 inch: 
these were lodged in special compartments of the cranial cavity. The 
optic nerves and ninth pair were relatively larger than in the Deer. 
The other cerebral nerves presented no peculiarity. 

The spinal chord had a close investment of dura mater, and was 
remarkable for the great length of its cervical portion, which, in the 
Giraffe dissected at the Zoological Gardens, measured upwards of 
three feet, the entire length of the animal from the muzzle to the 
vent being eight feet. Mr. Owen here particularly describes the ap- 
pearance in the origins of the cervical nerves depending upon the 


152 Zoological Society. 


elongation of this part of the spinal chord; the space between the 

lower filaments forming the root of one nerve, and the upper filaments 

of the root of the succeeding nerve was not more than the space be- 

tween the individual filaments of each root; whence it would seem 

that the elongation of the cervical portion of the chord was produced 

by a general and uniform interstitial deposition during foetal develope- 

ment, which thus effected an equable separation of these filaments ;. 
so that.a single nerve, as in the case of the third cervical, might derive 
its origin from a space extending six inches in length. 

In the dissection of the abdominal muscles no peculiarity of im- 
portance was noticed; but in the neck there existed a highly inter- 
esting modification of the parts which effect the retraction of the os 
hyoides. 'The pair of muscles which, as in some other Ruminants, 
combines the offices of sterno-thyroideus and sterno-hyoideus, arose 
in the Giraffe by a single long and slender carneous portion from the 
anterior extremity of the sternum; this fleshy origin was nine inches 
long, and it terminated in a single round tendon six inches in length ; 
the tendon then divided into the two muscles, each division beco- 
ming fleshy, and so continuing for about 16 or 18 inches ; then each 
muscle again became tendinous for the extent of two inches, and 
ultimately carneous again, prior to being inserted in the side of the 
thyroid cartilage, and continued thence in the form of a fascia into 
the os hyoides. 

Mr. Owen observes that this alternation of a non-contractile with a 
contractile tissue, as exhibited by the above structure, displays in a 
most strikmg manner the use of tendon in regulating the amount of 
muscular contraction. Had the sterno-thyroideus been muscular 
throughout its entire length, the contraction of its fibres would have 
been equal to draw down the larynz and os hyoides to an extent quite 
incompatible with the connections of the adjacent parts; but the in- 
tervention of long and slender tendons duly apportions the quantity 
of contractile fibre to the extent of motion required. 

The ligamentum nuche was remarkable for its prodigious develope- 
ment ; it commenced at the sacral vertebra, and receiving, as it ad- 
vanced, accessions from each of the lumbar and dorsal vertebre, be- 
came inserted into the spinous processes of the cervical, the extreme 
portion passing freely over the atlas, and terminating by an expanded 
insertion upon the occipital crest. The bony attachment of the liga- 
ment afforded by the skull was raised considerably above the roof of 
the cranial cavity, the exterior table of the skull being widely sepa- 
rated from the vitreous plate by large sinuses, which commencing 
above the middle of the nasal cavity extended as far posteriorly as be- 
neath the base of the horns; the sinuses were traversed by strong 


Zoological Society. 153 


bony septa, forming a support to the exterior table. The sphenoidal 
sinuses were of large size. 

The nasal cavity occupied the two anterior thirds of the skull, and 
the ossa spongiosa were proportionably developed. 

The condyles of the occiput were remarkable for their great extent 
in the vertical direction, and the inferior and posterior parts of the 
articular surface meet at an acute angle ; a structure which enables 
the Giraffe to elevate the head into a line with the neck, and even to 
incline it slightly backwards. | 

Four longitudinal rows of flattened processes projected from the 
inner surface of the uterus, showing that the fetus is developed in 
the Giraffe by means of a cotyledonous subdivided placenta, as in 
other horned Ruminants, and not, as in the Camel, by an uniform 
vascular villosity of the chorion. 

February 13th, 1838.—William Yarrell, Esq., in the Chair. 

Mr. Martin exhibited an insectivorous animal which had fallen un- 
der his observation in examining a collection of specimens, presented 
some time since to the Museum, by the late William Telfair, Esq. 

In the Zoological Proceedings for March 12th and July 9th, 1833, 
reference is made to a letter of Mr. Telfair’s, accompanying a very 
young insectivorous animal, known to the natives of Madagascar by 
the name “‘Sokinah,” and which Mr. Telfair was disposed to refer to 
the genus Centenes. The above specimen being only seventeen days 
old, its characters could not be satisfactorily determined; but the pre- 
sent animal, which Mr. Martin considers to be the adult of the same 
species, appears to be more nearly related to the genus Krinaceus than 
Centenes; but at the same time it differs so materially in the charac- 
ter of its dentition, as to warrant the establishment of a new genus 
for its reception. Mr. Martin therefore proposed to characterize it 
under the generic appellation of Hchinops, with the specific title of 
E. Telfairi, in memory of the lamented and zealous Corresponding 
Member of the Society from whom it had been received. 


EcHiNnors. 
Corpus superné spinis densis obtectum. 
Rostrum breviusculum. 
Rhinarium, aures, caudaque ut in Hrinaceo. 
Dentes primores $, superiorum duobus intermediis longissimis, 


discretis, cylindraceis, antrorsim versis ; proximis minoribus. 
oe T=] 
Canini 5: 
5—5 : N : . me 
Molares -—,; utrinsects antico 1™° supra, et 3>us infra spuriis ; re- 


liquis, ultimo supra excepto, tricuspidatis, angustis, transversim 


154 Zoological Society. 


positis; ultimo supra angustissimo; molaribus infra inter se feré 
zequalibus, ultimo minore. 

Pedes 5-dactyli, ambulatorii; halluce breviore ; unguibus parvulis, 

compressis ; plantis denudatis. 

Ecuinors Tevrarri. Heh. auribus mediocribus, subrotundatis intis 
atque extis pilis parvulis albidis obsitis ; capite superne pilis fus- 
cis; buecis, mystacibus corporeque subtis sordid? albis, spinis fus- 
cescenti-albis ad basin, apicibus castaneis ; caudd vie apparente, 


unc. lin 
Longitudo corporis totius .............. § 2 
- ab apice rostriad quris basin .. 1 2 
——-——— tarsi, digitorumque ...... ad ates Me 
pr! ee wear ey i's aortas @caok ce. Lom 


Habitat. Madagascar ? 

“‘ Sokinah”’ of the Natives of Madagascar ? 

In the upper jaw the incisors are four in number, and apart; the wre 
middle are large, sub-cylindrical, elongated, and placed at the apex 
of the jaw; the two others are small, and seated behind the former. 
Separated from these by a small space, succeed the canines, similar 
in character to the incisors, but stouter and with a slight posterior 
notch, The molars are five on each side: the first false and simple ; 
the three next transversely elongated, with two external tubercles in 
contact, and one internal; hence their crowns assume the form of an 
elongated triangle, the apex being internal; the fifth molar is a 
slender /amina transversely placed, but not advancing so far laterally 
as the molar preceding it. 

The under jaw presents two small incisors, somewhat apart from 
each other, and directed obliquely forwards; behind these there 
follow on each side in succession three larger and conical teeth, di- 
rected obliquely forwards, and which may be regarded as false molars. 
Separated from the last of these by a small space, succeed four molars 
on each side, vertical and smaller than those aboye, with two tuber- 
cles internally and one externally, so that the worn surface is trian- 
gular, with the apex outwards ; the last is the smallest : the surfaces 
of all are apart, but their bases are in contact. 

Mr. Martin observes, that this system of dentition (very distinct 
from that which characterizes the Tenrecs, (Centenes,) and the ge- 
nus Hriculus of Isidore Geoffroy) presents us with characters which 
decidedly separate Hchinops from Hrinaceus, notwithstanding their 
approximation. In Hrinaceus the upper incisors are six; there are 
no canines, but three false molars on each side, and four true molars, 
of which the last is small and narrow; the others square, with two 
outer and two inner tubercles ; while in the lower jaw, the incisors, 


Zoological Society. 155 


two in number, are very large, followed on each side by two false 
molars, and four true molars. In Echinops, as in Hrinaceus, the feet 
have five toes; the thumb of the fore-feet is small and seated on the 
wrist, the other toes are small, and armed with feeble, compressed, 
hooked claws, the last toe the smallest: the toes of the hind-feet 
resemble those of the fore-feet, and the inner and outer are the 
smallest. The snout, ears, tail, and epiny covering of the upper sur- 
face of the body, as in Hrinaceus. 

The skull, as compared with that of Hrinaceus, was proportion- 
ally very inferior in size; it was more leyel above, and narrower, 
the cranial cavity being contracted, and the muzzle shorter. The 
occipito-parietal ridge was elevated, the zygomatic arches were 
almost obsolete. The palate was narrow, and the posterior foramina, 
which in the hedgehog are large open fissures, were reduced to mi- 
nute orifices. The pelvis was very narrow, and the pubic bones 
were separate in front. 

The vertebral formula was as follows : 


Carvings, Gases rk G8 7 
Darna isis. ea scial deseo eae vigerdd 
Tumbar). seis ere et 7 
ON ee ee hen fy 0k 4s 2 
CAOVROO ee ee eek ea ties 8? 


The ribs consisted on each side of 8 true and 7 false. 

Mr. Yarrell exhibited a recently preserved example of a new spe- 
cies of Swan, closely allied in external appearance to the well-known 
Domestic Swan, but having the legs, toes, and interdigital mem- 
’ branes of a pale ash-grey colour, which in the Cygnus olor, Ill., are 
. deep black. Myr. Yarrell observed, that this species had been known 
to him for some years past as an article of commerce among the 
London dealers in birds, who receive it from the Baltic, and di- 
stinguish it by the name of the Polish Swan. In several instances, 
these swans had produced young in this country, and the cygnets 
when hatched were pure white, like the parent birds, and did not 
assume at any age the brown colour borne for the first two years 
by the young of all the other known species of White Swans. 
Mr. Yarrell considered that this peculiarity was sufficient to entitle 
the bird to be ranked as a distinct species, and in reference to the 
unchangeable colour of the plumage, proposed for it the name of 
Cygnus immutabilis. 

During the late severe weather, flocks of this swan were seen 
“pursuing a southern course along the line of our north-east coast, 
from Scotland to the mouth of the Thames, and several specimens 
were obtained, The specimen exhibited was shot on the Medway, 
where one flock of thirty, and several smaller flocks were seen, — 


156 Eighth Meeting of the British Association. 


BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE,—EIGHTH 
MEETING, HELD AT NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE. 

. Section of Zoology and Botany. 

President.—Sir W. Jardine, Bart. 
Vice-Presidents.—R. K. Greville, LL.D., Rev. L. Jenyns, Rev. F. W. Hope. 
Secretaries.—Messrs. John Edward Gray, R. Owen, John Richardson, M.D. 

Assistant Secretary.—Prof. T. Rymer Jones. - 

Committee.—Messrs. Joshua Alder, John Adamson, C. C. Babington, 
J. E. Bowman, — Bowman, W. Backhouse, Thomas Bell, Thomas Coulter, 
M.D., Messrs. J. H. Fryer, George T. Fox, Albany Hancock, W. C. 
Hewitson, Hon. T. H. Liddell, Mr. Edwin Lankester, Prof. Morren, of 
Liége, Patrick Neill, LL.D., Mr. George Ord (Philadelphia), R. Parnell, 
M.D., Mr. W. Robertson, Capt. James Ross, R.N., Messrs. P. J. Selby, 
W. Thompson, G. Wailes, T. Teale, W. C. Trevelyan, W. Yarrell, Richard 
Taylor, Rev. W. Hincks, Capt. J. Cook, R.N., Messrs. J. Allis, Arthur 
Strickland, H. Watson, G. B, Sowerby, Prof. Ehrenberg, Joseph Woods, 
Prof. Graham, M.D. . 

The following communications were. laid before the. Section ; 
some of which, or authentic abstracts, will be given in our present 
and succeeding Numbers. 

Aug. 20.—On the Botany of the Channel Islands; by C. C. Ba- 
bington, Esq.—On the Formation of Angular Lines on the Shells of 
certain Mollusca; by J. E. Gray, Esq, 

Aug. 21.—On the Wild Cattle of Chillingham Park; by J. Hind- 
marsh, Esq., of Alnwick.—On the Production of Vanilla in Europe ; 
by Prof. Morren, of Li¢ge.—On some new and rare Species of Bri- 
tish Fish; by Dr. Parnell—On the Falco Islandicus of authors; 
by Mr. .J. Hancock.—On the Canis jubatus ; by Col. Sykes.—On 
some Vegetable Monstrosities ; by the Rev. W. Hincks. 

Aug. 22.—On the Gemmiferous Bodies and Vermiform Filaments 
of Actinie ; by Mr. T. P. Teale.—Account of an Inosculation in two 
Trees ; by Mr. Wallace.—On a new Species of Ascaris; by Dr. Bel- 
lingham.—On the Genera Pinus and Abies; by Captain J. E. Cook, 
R.N.—On the modern Classification of Insects; by the Rev. F. W. 
Hope.—On the Ardea alba; by A. Strickland, Esq. 

Aug. 23.—A verbal report on Infusoria was made by Prof. Ehren- 
berg*.—Verbal communications were also made by Dr. Parnell on 
Clupea alba (White Bait) from the Frith of Forth ; by the Rev. Mr. 
Jenyns on some species of Sorex ; and by Mr. Gray on the Boring 
of Pholades.—Report on the present state of our knowledge of the 
Salmonide of Scotland; by Sir W. Jardine.—On the Toes of the 
African Ostrich, and the number of Phalanges in the Toes of other 


* The substance of this report has been communicated to us by M. Ehren - 
berg, and will be found at p. 121. of our present Number.—Ep. 


Miscellaneous. 157 


Birds; by Mr. Allis, of York.—On a hybrid Tetrao, given by Tem- 
minck as a distinct species ; by Dr. Charlton. 

Aug. 25.—On the Sternoptixinee, a family of Osseous Fish; by 
Dr. Handyside.—On the distribution of the Terrestrial Pulmonifera ; 
by E. Forbes. —On the annual appearance of the Lestris tribe on 
the coast of Durham; by E. Backhouse, Esq.—A verbal report on 
the Marsupiata by Mr. R. Owen.—On a new species of Smelt, 
Osmerus hebridicus ; by Mr. Yarrell.—On the application of Botany 
to Agriculture; by Mr. Jerdan.—On noxious Insects occurring in 
the year 1838; by the Rev. F. W. Hope. 


_ MISCELLANEOUS. 


ORCHIDACEZ, 


The public journals have not been wanting in paying due honour 
to the two most magnificent works which have ever appeared upon the 
subject of botany, we mean the Orchidacee of Mexico and Guati- 
mala, by James Bateman, Esq., and the Sertwm Orchidaceum of Prof. 
Lindley. It would be invidious to attempt to draw a comparison 
between them. Each is alike honourable, whether as regards the 
scientific or pictorial department: each treats of the same splendid, 
eminently splendid, family of plants; yet there is norivalry ; and so 
carefully is the introduction of the same species avoided in both, 
that one work may be considered a continuation of the other, and we 
trust they will meet with that encouragement to which their merits 
entitle them. Sure we are that neither the Botanical Magazine nor 
the Botanical Register combined can record the numerous species of 
this favourite group of vegetables so rapidiy as to keep pace with 
their introduction. Mr. Gardner from Brazil alone has sent home 
to our collections many new species, and we have at this moment 
received from Mr. Moss, of Otterspool, Liverpool, a Cattleya, which 
in size, colour and fragrance may be deemed the most remarkable of 
this family. Its flowers are 74 inches across in one direction, 84 inches 
in another, 24 inches in circumference! This will very shortly be 
figured in the Botanical Magazine. 


COLLECTIONS OF SCOTTISH AND AMERICAN MOSSES. 


Such arrangements have been made with the family of the late 
excellent botanist and traveller Mr. Drummond, that the extensive 
collection of mosses made by him in Scotland, and more particularly 
in British North America and in the southern United States, will be 


158 Miscellaneous. 


classed in sets, and offered for sale at the rate of 17. 15s. the 100 
species of Scottish mosses, and 2/. the 100 for those of America; of 
which latter, however, the northern and southern will form se- 
parate sets, several of the northern having been published pre- 
viously to Mr. Drummond’s death, which are already in the possession - 
of those who might therefore now wish to purchase only the southern 
species. The exact number of each set cannot clearly be ascer- 
tained at present (they being in the charge of a botanist, competent 
to the task, who is naming them), except as regards the Scottish 
mosses, of which some sets are already prepared, amounting to from 
220 to 230 species. It is reckoned, upon the average, that there 
may be about 80 or 100 of the southern American mosses, and from 
150 to 180 of the northern ones. ‘They are good specimens and in 
beautiful preservation, and can be had loose or arranged in volumes, 
at the option of the purchaser. Application for sets may be made 
to Sir W. J. Hooker, in whose hands there still remain a few sets of 
Mr. Drummond’s pheenogamous plants from Louisiana and Florida. 


DESCRIPTION OF THE ANIMAL OF PANOPHA AUSTRALIS. 

M. Valenciennes has recently presented a memoir on this subject 
to the Academy of France detailing the internal and external organi- 
zation of Panopea australis. The most recent works on Mollusca 
enumerate but three species. M. Valenciennes has however shown, 
that by combining the materials scattered in the various collections 
and works, that we are at present acquainted with fifteen species of 
shells belonging to this genus, five of them living in the different 
seas of the globe, and the other ten fossil, belonging to the various 
layers of calcaire grossier or to the chalk. Of the living species 
two are found fossil, but completely identical, in the recent forma- 
tions of the argillaceous marls of the environs of Palermo ; one spe- 
cies belongs to the Mediterranean, the other to the Norwegian seas. 
—Compte Rendu, No. 6, August 1838. 


INDUSTRY AND METAMORPHOSES OF THE ODYNERI. 

M. Leon Dufour has recently presented to the Academy of France a 
memoir on the industry and the metamorphoses of this genus of insects, 
describing at the same time several new species. Since the time of 
Reaumur, who made such interesting researches on this subject, sci- 
ence has remained quite at a stand-still. M. Dufour confirms the 
correctness of the facts advanced by Reaumur, corroborating them 
by the description of an analogous but distinct industry in some new 
Odyneri.—Compte Rendu, No. 10, Sept. 1838. 


Meteorological Observations. 159 


LESTRIS PARASITICUS. : 
A mature individual of the Lestris parasiticus, Tem., was shot 
near Whitburn in the county of Durham, about the 24th Oct. 1837, 
and is now in my possession.—J. Hancocx. 


OCCURRENCE OF COPPER IN PLANTS. 

M, Wiegmann, senr., has lately announced that Prof. Sprengel of 
Brunswick had found in the cinders of Trifolium pratense 3 per cent. 
of copper, and that he had also found the same quantity of this 
metal in those of Trifolium pannonicum, cultivated in his garden, the 
soil of which is very different from that whence the Trif. pratense 
had been obtained. M. Sprengel subsequently examined some tre- 
foils grown in a field, the soil of which did not indicate any traces 
of this metal in its composition; and was convinced that its exist- 
ence in the two former was owing to its presence in the ground 
where the plants were cultivated. The fact affirmed by M. Spren- 
gel proves that a small quantity of a noxious substance may be 
absorbed by plants without any prejudice to their development.— 
Flora. 

OCCURRENCE OF FALCO ISLANDICUS IN ENGLAND. 

A specimen of the Iceland Falcon (Falco Islandicus) in first 
plumage was shot at Normanby, Yorkshire, March 1837; and an- 
other individual in the Newcastle Museum, which is a female and in 
the mature plumage, was shot in Northumberland a few years ago. 
These two instances are sufficient to rank the Iceland species as a 
British bird.—J. Hancoox. 


METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR AUGUST 1838. 

Chiswick.— August 1. Very fine: beavy rain at night. 2. Rain. 3. Fine. 4, 
Overcast: slight rain, 5. Cloudy. 6, Sultry, with showers. 7. Showery, 
8, 9. Fine. 10, Overcast. 11—16. Very fine. 17. Hazy: slight rain. 1890, 
Very fine. 21. Showery. 22, Rain. 23. Showery. 24. Cloudy and fine, 
25. Foggy: rain. 26,27. Very fine. 28. Overcast: lightning at night. 
29. Cloudy and fine, 30. Clear anddry. $1. Very fine. 

Boston.— August 1. Fine. 2. Cloudy: rain early a.m. 3. Rain. 4. Fine: 
rainr.M. 5. Fine, 6. Cloudy: rain p.m. 7. Heavy rain with thunder and 
lightning p.m. 8. Cloudy. 9. Fine: rainrm, 10. Cloudy: rainr.m. 11,12. 
Cloudy. 13—15. Fine. 16, Cloudy. 17,18. Fine. 19, 20, Windy. 21, 
Windy: rain early a.m.: rain p.m. 22. Windy: rainr.m. 23, Stormy. 
24,25. Fine. 26. Cloudy. 27. Cloudy: therm. 74°6%m. 28, Cloudy. 
29. Windy: rain early a.m. 30, 31. Fine. 

Applegarth Manse, Dum/ries-shire.—August 1. Rain ?.m.: warm and moist. 
2. Fine day throughout. 3. Fine day: occasional showers. 4. Moist.and 
cloudy. 5, Heavy rainr.m. 6. Very heavy showers. 7. Showery all day, 
8. Fine summerday: coolr.m, 9. Wetthroughout. 10. Fair a,m.: wet 
evening. 11. Drizzling rain s.m.:; fairr.m. 12, Fair: shower p.m. 13, 
Fair: shower at noon. 14. Fair throughout. 15. Fine clear day. 16, Tem. 
perate: cool. 17. Beautiful summer day, 18, Cloudy: moist rm. 19, 20, 
Showery all day. 21. Rainy all day: flood. 22. Showery all day. 23, 24, 
. Fair a.m.: shower p.m... 25. Very moist: raine.M. 26, Fair; warm: cloudy. 

27. Fair, but threatening. 28, Drizzling allday. 29, Clear and cool, 930, 
Temperate, 31, Mild though cloudy. ; 


'y-98 0-69 | 8-29 | SL-6% | SL-6 | 1-62 | PL8.6z | 666-62 | Lh6.6z | ‘ueeyr 


GG fot [ct fet [ose | cans foea! +m | ean | 99] oc g¢| £% | SL | £.05] 8-G9 | 9-09 | £6-62 | L0-0€ | 09.62 | O€1-0€ | €g1-0€ | o61-08 | “1 
IG Joe foot | cee | cee | cafe te] ogg SS| 2G| to] 8€ | IL |9-9F| 9.9 | F-S¢ | O1-0€ | 80-0F | 09.62 | FST-0€ | L6T.0€ 061-0€ | “of 
09 | [Ste | sh "MN | aN | oN | cava | 67] PC 9¢} 6€ | LO |0-19| 0-92 | V-Zg | 80-0 | 16-62 | z-6z | PEl-6z | SLI-oF 0£8-6Z | °6% 


9p PLL] Oo | MS] A | IS | cass (ELS 86S ¢.g9 | 99 | 28 | 0-9] 0.9/ | 0-L9 | 01:62 | 88-62 | 8€.62 | $62.62 | £40.08 980-08 | *8z C 
o9 | |e] | epo. | as] tm | a] eax | 091 66 g9| 6S | 18 | 0-09 | 0.69 | 0-89 | 46-62 | 26-62 | 9F-62 | OL-0£ | SET-0€ | ZEL0€ | *Zz 
8S 09-0 | **" | *" | goo. | S jaeojrmx | sme | LS] gg} og] PG | LL |0-FG/ $.c9 | Z-09 | 68-62 | 36-62 | 29.62 | 060-08 | PZ1-08 | 801-08 ‘9% 
wo | ot | 60. | ee "aS | “wm | "S | tasm | BS IFO] so] gp | 99 | L-6h| S-£9 | 0-Lg | 68-62 | 86-62 | 1S.6z | ¢z0-0€ | O11-08 ZOL-O€ | “SZ 
LG | 7 | G0: | PO. | 610. | “FN "MN | MN) -mnx | OF) GGlo.g¢| Th | 89 |z-1¢| 0-S9 | 0-69 | 66-62 | 06-62 | OF-6z | 296-62 | 160-06 996-62 | “FG 


9G |" |St- jot | ggo. | ‘% |mx| eax} «mew | 16] og g¢| 9b | L9 | ¢.h¢| 0-S9 | 0-6¢ | £2-62 | SP-6z | Lg-gz | SEP-62 | 918-62 | gor.6z | “fs 
GS |< | 90° | GL- | oSo. | *MN] “m | sms} sms |FES| FG} 9c] 0G | 99 |z-h¢| 0.69 | 3-09 | LT-6z | £8-8z | 09-82 | 6hz-62 | EIE.6z TSZ-6% | “°ZS 
2S. | FO--1 60. | *-* “ANS | em | “MS | eapaca | £9! Cc z9| 1G | ZL | G.6¢| 0-69 | $-S9 | 96-82 | 70-62 | g9-8z | SzE-6z | 86-62 | 9ce.6z | *Iz 
LS |" | °°" |€0- | goo. | “S| "| "8 | sms | €Slf9¢] 29] oS | 12 |9.09| 0-€2 | 19 | L2-64.| £5-6z | zz-6z | Lgh-62 618-62 | £8.64 | “07@ 
coat Ml ees Sts ares ae “m [2PS! 70 ¢.b9| 9V| 9L | 9.6¢) 9-0L| V-Lo | £9-62 | 4-62 | SE-6z | 068-62 | T10.0€ | 10.08 | “6T 

09 | ot | | po. | 8 lompvo| -ms | msm [ES] og 09| 9S | 9L | 0.89} $-Z9 | $-Z9 | 00-0€ | PI-08 | 99-62 | got-08 | 6hz-0€ | PSz.08 | “et 
GG fo | to. | + | ‘a8 lapea| -s | «ann [gg¢] co 9S| #9 | OL |0.¢¢) 0.02 | 0-8¢ | VI-O€ | Z1-0€ | £9-6% | SoT.0€ | 9hz-0€ | O61-08 | “LT 


86 “yc | TAN lorpea; "S| sms | OV} LG ic.7¢] €S | SL | ¢.e¢| 0.L9 | 0-29 | PO-0€ | FO-0€ | gS.6z | zgo.0€ | E1-08 | oF-0f | “OT 
SF yy | ce | A Es | as] [goe] 6c] 6g] 6¢ | TL |0.€¢] S-g9 | 319 | O1-0€ | 60-08 | 96-62 | PE1-0€ | 161-06 | scr.of | “ST 
es Cees des Benne Ret “AL [mK ) “MS | cMN ESS FG] Go] oF | ZL | 0.15] 0-12 | 9-09 | LO-0€ | 60-0€ | £9.6z | zh1-0€ | Shz-0€ | zozoe | “FI 
COP pe poste ftp cae | ts) saa | 89 1876) ¢9] 17 | OL |0.29| 9-SL| 0S | L0-0€ | 06-62 | z¥-6z | SLo.0€ | zzz-0€ | F60.08 | “fT 
G9 |LG.0 | v7 | ve | eee “AA | ta | tS | sms 1605! 6G} cg| 19 | SZ |0.19| $02 | 0-L9 | 06-62 | 68.62 | 8-62 | LL0-0€ | 960-08 | ozt-08 | ‘21D 
oO |“ |€0. | vr se | Ms | cm | ms |eueacal gS] 19) on! 2c | SZ 0-29 | 0-3L | V-89 | 78-62 | £L-62 | SE-6Z | 996.62 | 80T-0€ | 960.08 | “IT 
09 |‘ |90. | | s+ | cas | a | sas |-rea-msig69| 9¢| 99| 09 | EL 0-8¢ | 0-69 | 8-€9 | VL-62 | 84-62 | OF-6z | 690-08 | gIT-0€ | PLo.0€ | “OT 
8S jf |e | TO. | ots | MNS) smu | ms | sss | 7S] 96] O9| SS | OL |0.1¢| 0-29 | $-£9 | 08-62 | £6.62 | 09.6z | FoL-0€ | Fzz-0€ | o€z-08 | * 
09 | “** |06- | *** | g90. | “#* juno} -m | =m | oSisze] 6¢| zp | 69 0-F¢ | 0.89 | $-09 | LO-0€ | £6.62 | €7-6z | LZ0-0€ | 9S1-0€ | 9S0.0€ : 
LS 60- | Fo. gee. MN }emn | ems *M &C¢ Zee ¢.19! oS ol 0-S¢ | 0-£9 ¢.Z9 LL-6@ | €S-62 £0-6Z 789-62 | 1L6-6Z TEL.6% 

09 | | | zz | ego. | as] cm | ems] eg 9S |f9¢| tg! 29 | OL | 9.9¢| L.89 | 8-£9 | ZE-6% | $Z-62 | 98-82 | L0S-6z | 269-62 | PzS.6z | ° 
69 [€5-6 |€0. |zt- | 90. | “S| |-ms!} +s | 99] 09] zo| 03 | ob 0.86 | 5-02 | £-€9 | 8%-6Z | 9E-62 | G6.8z | 1€S-6% | F9S-6z | 726.62 


c9 | °°" |60- |} g0- | E10. | “S| ta | «ms | czeacs | 8S /E19 ¢.99| 2G | IL | L.19/ €-1L | 8-99 | 9€-6% | VV-6% | 00-62 | 909.62 | Z8L-62 | 069-62 
Sie “yale Winget PY *S /uryed) -m |-aea smsiZOS | GC z9| 69 | PL | L.g¢/ 0-69 | L-F9 | ZS-6% | SV-62 | $0-6z | 91L-6% | 8OL-6z | 9E1.6% 
09 bis cP. Il Ect. “MS “mM “MS |*IRPA°MS e¢ 09 99 9S 69 Z-6S O.TZ 9-99 CV-62% 85.6% LI-6% EVL-6z PV8-6% VP8-6z 


A AAPISCHROAD 


9S “se [LT | sts | *ak8 farqea) +s *s | VS! 69] €9| LG} SL \¢.¢¢| 9.12 | L-€9 | £L-62 | 16-62 | LP-6z | 706-6z | F10-08 | gS0.0€ | * 
“ule 2} ; fe} amie es ; : a I fh aps he a . . : 
ogous |B | & [SESS age |e aie ee) | EL HO ae | seg fun | weds wee | gg | oN | AEH, frsnitay 
SpucT | 32 | 2 g {008 nou “aah wed re 4.0 aon ‘anys | PS. : : ‘arrys-sorguncy | "Ao wsog “SOLMsty ‘sos Ao] "ggg 

Ng = gs 5 suopuoyt a 5 5 :uopuo’y “sarajuing BS | “9lMstyD ‘20g “Loy : uopuoy TYs"sot asad : UOpuo’y ‘“auoTy 
*yuiod moe P f > & 

i oske 

“MOC “Ulery “pu, *JJOULOULIIY J, $ *1IJIWIOIV J a 


“auiys-sauifuncy ‘asunyy yzunsaddy mw avanag ‘iy 49 pun ‘uojsog yo TIVIA ‘aI 4g Suopuory avau ‘younsiy.7 70 hyawog joungnay.sozy 247 fo 
UapLDE) IY} WV NOSAWOHY, “IJ 49 { NoLAAGOY “Ap ‘hupzauaay qunzsisspy ay2 hig hyara0g yohoar ay; fo Sjuamplnd py ay7z qv apuu suorjnaLasggC Jor2TojoL0g{ap{Tr 


ANNALS OF NATURAL HISTORY. 


— 
oe 


XVIII.—On the Organic Origin of the Potstones or Paramou- 
dras of Whitlingham, near i Sata By Prof. EurenBEeRrG 
of Berlin. 


AT the late Meeting of the British Association in Newcastle, 
Mr. Lyell made a very interesting communication on the verti- 
cal funnel-shaped flint tubes, three feet in length and one in 
width, which are filled with chalk, and traverse the horizontal 
layers of. chalk near Norwich and in Ireland. Mr. Lyell inti- 
mated that these flint tubes, known by the local name of Pot- 
stones or Paramoudras, would probably be found to consist of 


y , Microscopic organized beings, similar to those which had been 


di#eovered ‘in other chalk flints.. Prof. Sedgwick was rather 
of opinion that they had the appearance of being merely petri- 
fied fungi, since they quite resembled some forms of large living 
sponges.. Dr. Buckland, who had formerly considered them 
of organic origin*, at. present abandoned this opinion, and 
viewed them rather as a product of the chemical separation 
of the silica from its mixture with the chalk, supporting him- 
self by direct experiments which had exhibited similar pheeno- 
mena. 

This difference of opinion among geologists of such emi- 
nence and so universally esteemed, induced me to submit these 
stones to a direct microscopic examination. During my stay 
in London in September I obtained from the museum of the 
Geological Society some small fragments of two of these Pa- 
ramoudras, which haye exactly the form of large specimens of 
Spongia Infundibulum. The microscopic examination deter- 
mined the organic nature of these masses. I failed to discover 
in the interior of the stone the strweture of well-preserved 
sponges, which the exterior forms represented, and perceived 
only contorted remains of decomposed vegetables (probably in- 


* See Trans. of Geol. Soc. First Series, vol. iv. p. 413. where figures of 
ea are given.—Epit, 


& Ann, Nat. Hist. Vol. 2, No, 9. Nov. 1838. M 


162 Prof. Ehrenberg on the Origin of the Paramoudras. 


deed sponges), and among these, along with many imperfect 
specimens, some well-preserved microscopic Polythalamia, 
shells, and Infusoria, of the same species which I have found 
diffused in like manner in all flints from the chalk, and which 
therefore very probably may have had great influence at the 
formation of these very extensive layers of stone. I also readily 
recognised well-preserved examples of Xanthidium pilosum and 
fragments of X. ramosum*, together with the Polythalamia, 
which I have mentioned in my memoir on the Berlin flints. 

The sinking of this silica, deriving its origin from organic 
fragments, byits own gravity,in a funnel shape, through a more 
solid but naturally still soft layer of chalk, may probably be 
explained from local circumstances (perhaps from air cavities), 
which caused the yielding of the yet soft subjacent chalk, 
where large horizontal flat masses of silica had collected, and 
could in its pulpy state still sink in the form of a funnel, 
when the superior layer of chalk pressing down on it formed 
the core. A heavier body coming from the upper layers of 
chalk may also have here and there slowly sunk through the 
soft siliceous masses into the under layer of chalk, and have 
left these flint funnels behind as indicators of its passage. In 
the first case, the funnel would always be found closed at the 
- bottom ; in the latter open at the top and bottom. In each case 
it would always be wider at the top and narrower at the 
bottom. If the flint funnels stood with their wider aperture 
directed downwards, a penetrating force may have proceeded 
from below upwards, and in this way ascending gases may 
have operated. Local observations will easily explain further 
this interesting phenomenon. The circumstance of the other 
contemporaneous forms of the English layers of flints being for 
the greater part compressed in flattened plates, speaks against 
the supposition that they were well-preserved sponges in which 
Infusoria and Mollusca happened to be living; and also the 
remaining upright of such large soft forms is not at all pro- 
bable ; nor does the existing internal structure in any way fa- 
vour this view. HHRENBERG. 

* Drawings of these two as well as of several other species of Xanthidium 


occurring in the English flints will be found in the plates illustrating the 
Rey. J. B. Reade’s Paper in the present number.—Enit. 


Capt. 8. E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 163 


XIX.—On the Genera Pinus and Abies, with Remarks on the 
Cultivation of some Species. By Capt. 8. E. Coox, R.N.* 


Tue extraordinary interest which has been excited by the 
introduction of the various species of Pinus within the last 
few years, may make a few observations respecting them, more 
especially on their ceconomic value, acceptable. 

By the zeal and activity of our own and foreign collectors, 
seconded by the assistance of various bodies and of wealthy 
individuals, we are provided with a list of about seventy spe- 
cies of Abies and Pinus, exclusive of the junipers, cedars 
and other kindred Conifere which now ornament our collec- 
tions. The greater part of these may be considered as well- 
defined species or varieties; whilst, as is inevitable from the 
comparative novelty of the subject, and the want of public gar- 
dens and repositories for the purpose of standard reference, 
which to the discredit of the authorities and the prejudice of 
the public good we are yet without, a portion derive their appel- 
lations from the gratuitous assistance of those who are inter- 
ested in multiplying names, and frequently confer them where 
no real distinction exists. 

It would be impossible within moderate limits to give even 
a short notice of this long list individually. At present it is 
intended merely to form them into groups, reserving more de- 
tailed observations for the EKuropzean species, which are by far 
the most interesting in a national and ceconomical point of view, 

We propose to divide the seventy species above-mentioned 
into the following groups: Ist. Old America, if we may use 
the expression, which includes the United States west of the 
Mississippi, and Canada with Labrador, and extends to the li- 
mits of vegetation tothe north. 2nd. Those species which are 
produced in the magnificent range which separates the waters 
of the Atlantic from those of the Pacific, commonly known 
by the barbaric appellation of the Rocky Mountains, for which 
the “ Northern Andes” or some native term, if such could be 
obtained, ought to be substituted. This, which at present | 
forms about fifteen species, we shall designate by the name of 


* Read in the Section of Zoology and Botany at the Meeting of the Bri- 
tish Association, Newcastle, and communicated by the Author, 


M 2 


164 Capt. S.E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 


the “ Douglas group,” as we owe most of our knowledge re- 
specting it to that lamented traveller, whose memory well de- 
serves such a compliment. The 3rd is that of the uplands of 
Mexico, of which we already possess a few specimens. The 
Ath is composed of the species newly discovered to clothe 
parts of the Himalaya mountains. The 5th is that of Europe. 

We should gladly make another division of the Caucasus 
and mountains of the north of Asia, but as yet our information 
is too incomplete to enable this vast portion of the globe to be 
regularly placed in the series. 

The first group, that of the United States and Canada, pre- 
sents every variety of form and size to the number of about 
twenty species. Of the whole of this list, although many of 
them are of the noblest port and dimensions, none produce tim- 
ber of more than second-rate quality, and the greater part only 
of very inferior value. Many of these kinds are found in the 
depth of enormous and primeval forests, where they are shel- 
tered from every wind, and draw their nourishment from the 
richest alluvial soil covered by the successive vegetable depo- 
sits of countless ages, in a climate where a severe but steady 
winter is rapidly succeeded by an almost tropical summer. 
We can easily imagine that under these circumstances the 
rapid growth of timber may be fatal to the solidity of its tex- 
ture, and consequently to its durability ; but how are we to ac- 
count for the same quality pervading that of the species which 
are grown on dry and sandy or rocky uplands, or on the bleak 
coast of Labrador, in climates resembling those of Russia and 
Norway, in which our finest timber is produced? Such, how- 
ever, is the undoubted fact, and it is equally singular that 
none of these species grow well in Europe, our best specimens 
being little more than abortive representations of the indivi- 
duals they are descended from when seen in their native fo- 
rests. As in the ceconomic point of view, therefore, they can 
neither be considered as very useful nor even ornamental, we 
shall not make any further remark upon them. 

Far other anticipations may be indulged in respecting the 
Douglas group. Without being over sanguine, there is little 
doubt that amongst the gigantic species forming it, of which 
we are already acquainted with about fifteen, we shall make 


Capt. S. E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 165 


some valuable additions to our woodlands. One species al- 
ready known, the Adies Douglasii, according to the accounts 
transmitted to Dr. Lindley, which are fully borne out by the 
appearance of the timber and the growth of the young trees 
in every part of England, appears to possess the qualities of 
the larch, of durability, quick growth, and utility when young, 
with the advantage in some respects of beg an evergreen. 
We earnestly entreat all cultivators to attend to this species, 
which, in the absence of seed, which we hope will shortly be 
supplied from our own trees, is readily propagated by cuttings. 
Our acquaintance with these Californian forests is too recent, 
and the habits of the people who frequent them too barbarous, 
to admit of our possessing much certain information respect- 
ing the nature of their timber; but as, by the munificent care 
of the Duke of Devonshire, collectors are now in the country 
for the express purpose of collecting large quantities of cones 
of the kinds already known, and of making further discoveries, 
it is to be hoped we shall soon possess more ample knowledge 
of them. 

It isvery much to be regretted that Government does not take 

advantage of this period of profound tranquillity, and in con- 
cert with the Fur Company cause a line of permanent settle- 
ments to be made across some parts of the chain. By this 
means we should obtain valuable and certain information on 
these and other interesting subjects ; and by carrying the same 
system through Upper Canada, the Anglo-Saxon race would 
be established from Labrador to the Pacific across the whole 
continent of North America. 
_ The species which have been as yet sent from Mexico are 
few in number and of too recent introduction, to warrant delay 
in giving detailed accounts of them, and it is more than pro- 
bable they may be found rather remarkable as tropical species 
than for any superior qualities to be expected from them. 

From the Himalaya range, our species, although as yet but 
few in number, are on a scale we should expect to find in such 
a chain of mountains. The Europzan species are in some degree 
represented amongst them, as we have silver and spruce; and 
there is a cedar in place of that of Western Asia. From the 
comparative advanced state of the inhabitants with those of 
the American forests, we may look for better accounts of the 


166 Capt. S. E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 


quality and durability of their timber ; and the enlightened pa- 
tronage of the India Company, seconded by the unwearied 
zeal and ability of their officers, will no doubt enable us to add 
materially to our list of this interesting region. The Adies 
Webbiana, a gigantic silver fir, probably the noblest of the 
tribe, has not perfectly stood this winter near London, although 
it has in my neighbourhood. It may probably become inured 
to the climate, and the A. Morinda, their spruce, which has 
stood uninjured, well deserves attention. Both species are 
propagated easily by cuttings. 

In the northern parts of the chain our travellers might meet 
with the A. pichta, the silver fir of the Altaian chain, which 
seems to be a most desirable tree to possess ; and in the mean 
time, through the assistance of the Russian Government, which 
in matters of science is extremely liberal, seed might be pro- 
cured in sufficient quantity to make the trial it so well de- 
serves, as it ought to equal in hardiness if not surpass any of 
our European species. 

The last and most interesting group on the whole is un- 
questionably that of Europe. We are now tolerably well ac- 
quainted with the species that are spread over this portion of 
the globe, from the arctic circle to the shores of the Mediter- 
ranean and the confines of Asia and Africa. By far the greater 
part of these are of considerable, and some of surpassing value. 
In taking the range from south to north it will be found that 
the qualities of the timber become more valuable, as the tree 
which produces it grows naturally at a higher elevation, lati- 
tude, and level above the sea, one or both entering into this 
calculation. The same tree which grows spontaneously on the 
shores of the Baltic is never found in a similar situation on 
those of the Mediterranean, but as it approaches the south 
gradually ascends the sides of the mountains in search of a 
more congenial climate. We also find that there is no in- 
stance of a species which grows naturally at a low elevation 
producing good timber, the improvement in quality being as 
nearly as possible in a direct ratio from south to north, or in 
the degree of winter’s cold they are able to resist. 

To prove these positions, which we shall find afterwards to be 
of some importance, we shall proceed to analyse some of the 
principal species, following the descending scale. 


Capt. 8. E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 167 


We may take the P. sylvestris, the hardiness and good 
qualities of the timber of which are so well known, as a point 
to commence from. ‘Two European species only of Pinus to 
my knowledge claim to live at a higher elevation than the 
Scotch fir; these are the P. Cembra and P. uncinata. The 
Cembra grows in the very highest of the northern and central 
Alps, and, wherever I have seen it, above the other forests. 
There are a few remaining on the Montanvet at Chamouny, 
apparently because they were not worth removing, nearly all 
the good specimens in that locality being extinct. It grows 
in the coldest parts of Siberia. The timber is superior to that 
of the sylvestris. 

In like manner the P. uncinata forms a complete zone in the 
high Pyrenees, where it is placed above the sylvestris. The 
timber is of higher value than that of its less hardy congener. 

The sylvestris itself is found from Norway to the south of 
Spain, where I found two ranges of forest; one in the Sierra 
de Guadarrama, or great central chain of Spain, where it forms 
the upper zone; the other in the Sierra de Cuenca (lat. 41°), 
of which it occupies the northern summits, and is floated down 
by the western arm of the Tagus to supply Madrid with build- 
ing materials. This is, as far as I know, its southern habitat. 
Its place in hardiness and value consequently is nearly but not 
quite the first. 

The next in rank are two species which I shall place toge- 
ther, because their geographical site and elevation as well as 
quality seem to indicate the propriety of doing so, although 
they are wholly distinct from each other, the P. Laricio and 
P. hispanica. The P. Laricio is found, as far as any authen- 
tic information we possess goes, exclusively in the central 
parts of the lofty island of Corsica, in lat. 43°, where it grows 
at a moderately high elevation, and does not descend to the 
shores of the Mediterranean. 

The Pinus hispanica, which as yet has been found only in 
Spain, I found to range from the Sierra de Segura, in lat. 39°, 
to the foot of the Pyrenees, in lat. 43°. It grows generally 
at an elevation of 2000 to 3000 feet, and not to my knowledge 
higher nor lower. It has erroneously been represented by 
some writers to extend into France. The fact is, in the local- 
ity where the forests of the hispanica are placed, between the 


168 Capt. S. E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 


rivers Cirna and Essera, it is separated from the French ter- 
ritory by leagues of distance and thousands of feet of eleva- 
tion. The frontier line in that part extends for a great distance 
amid the Siberian altitudes of the Maladetta and Mont Perdu, 
far above the limits of arboreal vegetation. The forest men- 
tioned in the ‘Arboretum?’ as at the Port de Scez, is of uncinata, 
and is Spanish and not French. 

Independently of other differences between these species, 
which are quite distinct, the Laricio is highly resinous, the 
hispanica white and dry in the timber. The former tree as- 
sumes the umbellate form, which the hispanica does not, its 
growth being singularly free and elegant ; and it is more clear 
and transparent both in the bark and foliage than its geogra- 
phical neighbour. 

In the scale we propose the timber of both these species 
ought to be of the middle quality, better than those belowthem, 
and inferior to the preceding species which are higher in the 
scale. This is precisely the case ; and the Laricio is rather the 
better of the two, its habitat beimg colder than that of the 
southern natural site of the P. hispanica. 

The Pinus Pinaster, and Pinea, or stone pine, are next on 
the list. There is little difference in the habitats of these spe- 
cies, or in the value of their timber. I found the Pinaster to oc- 
cupy aregular zone below the sylvestris, in the central range of 
the Guadarrama. _ If there be two varieties, which is doubtful, 
this is identical with the Pin des Landes; and taking altitude 
and latitude both into account, these localities, which are about 
its northern limit, pretty nearly correspond with each other. 

The Pinus Pinea has its most northern natural habitat, 
as far as I know, taking the elevation into account, in the 
plains and uplands of Old Castile, which is further north than 
that assigned to the Pinaster, but it is certainly less hardy 
than that species in other climates. These pines, growing thus 
far north and at a rather high elevation, ought to produce 
good timber, whilst that of both is notoriously the contrary. 
How does this happen? Because these northern sites are not 
the general or exclusive habitats of the species, both of which 
descend to a very low level. . In the same country the Pinea is 
found growing spontaneously in the sandy wastes of Anda- 
lusia, in the Tierra Caliente of Spain, in the zone where the 


Capt. §. E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 169 


palm and the cactus are found along with it ; and the Pinaster 
inhabits the warm valleys of the Serrania de Ronda, at a low 
elevation above the Mediterranean, in a corresponding situa- 
tion to which, along the coast of Provence and in the Ligurian 
Apennines east of Genoa, it is also met with. 

These species, which are next below the Laricio and P. 
hispanica, produce, as follows from the localities assigned to 
them, timber of inferior quality to the species inhabiting the 
zone above them; the Pinea I believe being rather the better 
of the two. 

There now remains the halepensis, of which three varieties 
are found along the shores and inlands of the Mediterranean, 
nearly throughout its whole extent. The three varieties are 
that with large red cones, which is the common, and I think 
only species in Spain, and is probably the more hardy; the 
second has small cones, and was found on the Riviere of 
Genoa; the third is the P. Brutia of Professor Teénore. 
There is a tree in the Botanical Garden at Naples. The 
northern habitat of this tree in Italy is Romagna and the 
Vale of Terni, and in Spain the Alcarria, a high but genial di- 
strict of New Castile, where I found it abundant; below the 
Pinaster and P. sylvestris. Its site is thus the lowest in the 
Kuropeean series ; and whilst the palm of beauty must be ceded 
to it beyond every other in form and colour, for ceconomic 
purposes it is the most worthless of the tribe. A complete 
confirmation of the relative hardiness of this species has been 
afforded last winter. Near London and through the greater 
part of the north of the kingdom the halepensis may be con- 
sidered to be extinct. I have lost two varieties, whilst the P. 
hispanica and Laricio, which were growing by their side, 
are wholly unscathed. 

These observations embrace the principal species of the 
centre and west of Kurope; the P. Pumilio is omitted, as not 
being a timber tree, though it is only precluded by its 
scanty dimensions from being in the first rank, to which its 
port, and hardiness appear to entitle it. 

_ Before we proceed to the Adies and Larix we must notice 
two species which appear to be nearly allied, the fatarica or 
Pallasiana, and the austriaca. 

The locality of the former is the Crimea, and we can scarcely, 


170 Capt. S. E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 


from its occupying a district so distinct from any other, place 
it regularly in the European series. It is, however, beyond 
doubt of the upper or better class, and most probably hereafter 
its true place will be found amongst the zones of the Caucasus 
and Northern Asia. 

The austriaca, which appears to be nearly allied to it, as 
they probably bear about the same relation to each other that 
the hispanica does to the Laricio, has been recently introduced 
by Mr. Lawson of Edinburgh. Not having seen or examined 
the forests which supply it, I cannot yet assign it a specific 
place; but it is no doubt entitled to a very high rank in the 
upper series, and promises to be a most valuable addition to 
our arboretum. 

We now proceed to the Lariz or common larch, which is 
spread from the Southern Alps to Siberia, but I believe never 
grows naturally at a low level, excepting far to the north. The 
most southern site I know it to inhabit is in the high Apen- 
nines, near their junction with the Alps in Piedmont. In this 
part were, and I suppose still are, as I was informed by the 
Piedmontese engineers, vast and almost inaccessible forests of 
trees of the largest dimensions. It is common in the highest 
Piedmontese Alps around Mont Rosa and Mont Blane, and in 
ascending the Great St. Bernard is seen far above every other 
tree. I have little doubt, however, that it once was overtopped 
by the Cemdra, which in the adjoining valley of Chamouny 
holds the highest zone. It thus claims the high place its 
hardiness and value of the timber so fully bear us out in as- 
signing to it, on the theoretic examination of the zones it na- 
turally inhabits. 

In Scotland it appears to thrive at a higher level than the 
sylvestris by the report of the Duke of Athol ; but although a 
most valuable and important fact, it may be from local causes, 
and these observations are confined to the natural position of 
the tree in its original forests. We shall be anxious for future 
information whether the larch of Siberia and of the centre of 
Europe be identical, of which we have some doubts; and it 
would be very desirable to ascertain the fact precisely, which 
could easily be done by correspondence with the Russian Go- 
vernment and the authorities of Odessa. 

The Adies now claim our attention. We do not adopt the 


Capt. S. E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 171 


fanciful term of Picea, and divide the class, because of the 
difficulty of making a true demarcation ; and that the species 
of Europe are too scanty in number to make it necessary. 
Besides these reasons, the term is not truly applied, some 
other pines producing turpentine in greater quantities than 
that on which this name has been conferred. 

The Adies do not supply us with the same extended series 
of observations which we have traced in the Pinus. They are 
also inferior in the absolute quality of their timber to the best 
of the preceding genus, and we suspect, but want data to 
affirm its being generally the case, that is so through the 
groups, and that the Adies fall below the Pinus in ceconomic 
value. It is certainly so in the European series. 

The first in hardiness is the Abies excelsa, or common 
spruce, which ranges from Lapland to Savoy, south of which 
it is not to my knowledge found in the natural state. It cer- 
tainly does not, nor ever did inhabit the Pyrenees, as asserted 
by some writers. It would appear to live further north than 
the sylvestris, its only neighbour in the north of Scandinavia ; 
but it is possible, that dampness of soil, which it resists better 
than any of the tribe, may be the cause of this apparent greater 
degree of hardiness. Although its timber, which is dry and 
light, may not equal that of some of the kindred species in 
utility for some purposes, it is a most valuable tree and well 
worthy more attention than it has received in an ceconomic 
point of view. 

The Abies pectinata, or silver fir, is unquestionably less 
hardy than the last-mentioned species. It ranges less to the 
north and further to the south than either the sylvestris or 
excelsa. Lixtensive forests of it exist in the Pyrenees, where 
it is placed in a regular zone below the P. uncinata and syl- 
vestris, and next above the beech. It descends into the com- 
paratively genial climate of Navarre and the Basque Provinces, 
and as a variety even into Greece. 

The common silver fir is not to my knowledge found be- 
yond the Baltic, and it is probable that those reported to exist 
far north in the East of Europe are the pichta or Altaian 
species. 

A variety has been recently found in Cephalonia, on which 


172 Capt. S. E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 


it is to be regretted that the local name (4. cephalonica) should 
have been conferred, for there can be no doubt that the same 
species forms the capping found by the French Savans who 
recently visited that country, to cover the loftiest summits of 
Mount Taygetus, in the centre of the Peloponnesus, and. hel- 
lenica or greca would have been a better distinctive appella- 
tion. This with the common species of Kurope and the pichia 
forms three varieties, which no doubt will be found to differ 
in quality as in hardiness, when we have the opportunity of 
minutely comparing them. 

These absolute zones or degrees of ability to resist the cold 
can only be collected by extensive observations and compa- 
risons of many regions, but when treated on that scale are con- 
stant and unvaried. There are localities notwithstanding, 
where the species nearly allied in hardiness meet as upon 
neutral ground. The Splugen is one of these. In passing that 
wild mountain, five years since, I took up in the same part 
of the Rheinwald, plants of P. sylvestris, A. excelsa, A. pecti- 
nata, and Larix europeus, which were thus congregated; and 
in judging hastily it might have been inferred that the species 
erew naturally at the same degree in elevation, which, as we 
have demonstrated, would have been erroneous. 

We now proceed to the application of the facts on which 
the foregoing observations are founded, namely, to show the 
practicability of cultivating some species of Pinus on a large 
scale, with a view to the increase of our national resources, 
and to render the payment of enormous sums annually for 
timber hereafter in a great part unnecessary. There is no 
question whatever that the Grampian mountains, instead of 
being as at present, in great part an unproductive waste, 
would, if properly managed, at a cost comparatively trifling, 
enable us not only to provide for our own wants, but even to 
export timber, instead of being, as we are at present, wholly de- 
pendent on foreign countries for this necessary of life. 

We are indebted for our -attention being called to this im- 
portant subject by the prudent and calculating foresight of 
the Dukes of Athol, who in laying the foundation of enormous 
wealth and power for their descendants, have shown the policy 
which ought to be followed by the nation. . 


Capt. S. E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 173 


The last Duke of Athol calculated that the possessor of his 
woodlands on the Tay would in a few years be as rich or 
richer than any individual in Britain! What are these wood- 
lands? They consist of about ten thousand acres of larch, 
planted in great part upon barren moor land, the aggregate 
value of which was a very few hundreds per annum! How 
different our Administrations manage these things! We are 
at this moment almost dependent on foreign Governments for 
permission to buy the timber, which, with hardly any cost, we 
could produce in the same way that this princely fortune has 
been founded. We are now actually buying larch timber 
to build steam boats from the Italians!’ We are annually lay- 
ing out enormous sums for the growth of oak, of which one 
large portion, that of Staffordshire, is avowedly of bad quality, 
whilst no attempt is made to grow fir, of which a rapid and 
most enormous profit may easily be made. ‘To show the re- 
lative value of an acre of larch in the north of Scotland with 
one of oak in the New Forest, or that of Dene, we will take 
the mountainous declivities of the Grampians at 2s. per acre ; 
we take this value, which is very high, because Governments 
always purchase dear, and because only the ground best suited 
to the purpose should be selected. Land which would pro- 
duce larch admirably in the Grampians is worth not more than 
6d. per acre of annual rent. 

In Hampshire or Staffordshire no land which will grow 
good oak is worth much less than 2/. per acre, thus making, at 
the high computation for larch, twenty times the value for the 
same extent. But by the calculations of the Duke of Athol 
ten acres of larch would suffice for the same purpose as seventy- 
five acres of oak, on account of the trees growing so closely, 
and that there is little ground lost. This makes a seventh or 
less ; therefore the respective values of land in the Grampians 
and in the south of England, if applied in this manner, are 
one to one hundred and forty, and the cost of larch compared 
to that of oak would be the one hundred and fortieth part, the 
time required for the maturity of each being taken at seventy 
to seventy-five years. It seems incredible that a subject fraught 
with such momentous consequences to the nation should have 
been wholly or entirely overlooked by those who have the dis- 


174 Capt. S. E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 


posal of our resources, and that no steps should have been 
ever thought of to effect a purpose which would immortalize 
the memories of those who should first set about it, and lay 
the foundation for wiping off the national disgrace of being 
without forests, whilst we have the most ample means of 
creating them. Besides the common and well-known advan- 
tages of the larch, which are in the quick growth and unpa- 
ralleled excellence of the wood, there are other not less cogent 
reasons for recommending it as the chief or staple produce in 
a system of national forests. Not only the thinnings are more 
productive than those of any other tree, but the prodigious 
increase of value in the soil which is derived from the ferti- 
lizing power of its spiculz must be taken into account. In 
fifteen to twenty years lands planted with it could be safely 
let as sheep pasture, and the rents would soon increase so as 
probably to defray the expense of purchase, or at last pay a very 
eood interest for the money expended in the first instance; 
thus adding another increase of national resources by convert- 
ing waste into productive soil. 

Besides the low value of land in these districts, which is so 
strong an ceconomical recommendation, there are others in 
favour of the north of Scotland. The rocks in the Grampians 
are chiefly primary and many of them igneous, which are ex- 
tremely favourable to the growth of timber, especially of the 
larch, which requires free drainage and a dry subsoil. In this 
description of ground alone is the tree seen in its true form 
as in the alpine forests, throwing out enormous arms and vying 
in picturesque beauty with the other inhabitants of the woods. 
It may be urged, in answer to these observations, that there 
are abundant plantations already in the hands of private indi- 
viduals, and that in case’ of need the country will have the 
benefit of their outlay. It is very clear that no certainty can 
exist in such calculations. The caprice, extravagance, avarice, 
or cupidity of private persons may at any time operate to the 
serious injury of the public. What has become of the ancient 
Caledonian forests, the last remains of which have been swept 
away in this generation? The history of the mines which sur- 
round us is sufficient proof how little individuals frequently 
look beyond the moment they require pecuniary supplies. 


Capt. S. E, Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 175 


The volcanic appearance of the heights on every side, and the 
treasures which are being consumed for ever, are sufficient 
proof of the futility of calculating on such resources, and 
show that we ought to create them, as we have the power to 
do, in fee simple, making ourselves alike independent of indi- 
viduals and foreigners. 

By devoting 100,000 acres, which is about the size of the 
larger Highland estates, to this purpose, we should in seventy 
to.seventy-five years, proceeding on the calculation of the Duke 
of Athol, that in the same period his forests would be worth 
five to six millions sterling, be possessed of national capital 
to the amount of fifty to sixty millions in timber alone, besides 
a large tract of mountain pasture returning an ample annual 
revenue, and all this with an outlay in the first instance com- 
paratively trifling. It is needless to observe that this immense 
result cannot be obtained, or even the entire foundation laid, 
in a moment, but must be attained by steady and systematic 
perseverance, like that of the individuals above-mentioned who 
have bequeathed us so noble an example. By the creation of 
forests on this scale, we should make some reparation for the 
consumption and destruction of the vast mineral treasures, on 
which vital staple of national wealth the operations of this ge- 
neration will about that period begin to be seriously felt. 

Although the larch unquestionably far exceeds every other 
tree for the purpose we are speaking of, it would be most de- 
sirable that some of the evergreens should be grown on scales 
according to the results of experience of their utility and the 
fitness of the soil and situation to bring them to perfection. 
It is hardly necessary to observe that we should only recom- 
mend those of first-rate properties, as shown in the list we have 
gone through. 

The P. Cemébra, of which the timber is perhaps superior to 
that of any other species, labours under the disadvantage of 
being extremely slow of growth. However, the trials made in 
this country are as yet not sufficient ; and it can only be fairly 
tried on dry hills or mountain sides, clay soil and flats being 
unsuited to it; and very probably it might be improved by 
grafting the P. sylvestris in the Tchoudy manner. 

. The wncinata is considerably quicker in growth than the 


176 Capt. S. E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 


Cembra, and being superior in quality to the sylvestris, would 
require trial as soon as seeds could be procured in sufficient 
quantity, which at present must be done from the forests in 
the Spanish Pyrenees. The sylvestris of course would have 
its place in localities suited to it. 

The spruce would claim the greatest consideration, especially 
in damp soil, which might be found unfavourable to the larch, 
and where warmth and shelter were required. It is extraor- 
dinary that in a country so congenial with Norway this tree. 
should not have been tried on a larger scale by the Highland 
proprietors. Weremember being struck with the grandeur it 
would impart to the magnificent though denuded fall of Fyers. 

The silver fir would no doubt repay the cultivation in cer- 
tain localities suited to it, its growth being very rapid ; and it 
resists the wind much better than its last-mentioned congener. 
The writer knew an instance where, near Plymouth, the pro- 
prietor of an estate there was offered by the people of the 
dock-yard 100 guineas for a single tree of this species ; it was 
during the war and the highest prices; but as that tree would 
not occupy a space of more than forty feet in diameter, we may 
conceive the value ofan acre covered with such trees*, and its 
age probably was not above seventy years. An establishment 
of the sort we are contemplating would require space to be 
devoted to trials of such other species as might prove desi- 
rable to acclimatize, such, for instance, as the P. austriaca 
and Pallasiana, A. Douglas, A. pichta, &c. &ce. 

We must now conclude with a few hints to individuals on 
other species, more especially to those who reside or have pro- 

* Since this paper was read the writer has received a communication 
from Mr. Salvin of Croxdale, near Durham, who possesses extensive woods 
and has given much attention to the subject. He states that the silver fir, 
when felled and left on the ground, resists the effects of a humid climate and 
damp soil, well fitted for such a trial, better than the larch. As it is per- 
fectly well known that the timber of the one species is very much inferior to 
that of the other, we were at first rather struck with this curious fact. It is 
strongly denied that there is any inferiority or defect in the larch such as is 
apt to be the case when grown in soil unsuited to it, which indeed rather 
affects the inside than the outside of the tree. The solution we suspect to 
be the following: that the heart of the timber is preserved by the turpentine, 
which is deposited in the outer layers; and we hasten to announce this most 
important and valuable information, in order that experiments may be made 


on the silver fir as pile timber, for which, if the phanomenon here men- 
tioned be general, the tree will, in every respect, be most admirably suited. 


Capt. 8. E. Cook on the Genus Pinus and Abies. 177 


perties in the west and south of England. The larch cannot 
be grown to much profit as timber on cold wet lands, what- 
ever be the climate. The pines of the middle class, P. Laricio 
and P, hispanica, we have not the smallest doubt might be 
grown to advantage on Dartmoor or Exmoor, South Wales, 
&e., and it is to be regretted that proprietors should have 
planted so bad and useless a tree as the Pinaster, which has 
been done in some of those counties, where these better spe- 
cies would thrive equally well or better. 

The cedar of Lebanon might be grown for profit by care at 
first in any part of the south of England. They may be easily 
raised from cuttings, the modes of which as well as the grafting 
pines may be found in that excellent work Loudon’s ‘ Arbo- 
retum’, the vast quantity, and condensation of information in 
which makes it invaluable to the tree cultivator. The pre- 
judice against trees raised in this manner is quite unfounded: 
we might with quite as much reason declaim against propaga- 
ting by layers, which, in many species, is our only resource 
when the tree does not ripen seeds in this climate. 

We have one more observation to make respecting the 
larch, which is more particularly addressed to those who pos- 
sess estates in the adjacent counties, and especially in the 
higher and colder parts. It is to call their attention to the 
planting larch as an improver of soil. There is no doubt 
whatever, by draining our cold clays, and planting larch 
alone, that after fifteen to twenty years thinning them to open 
order, sheep could be admitted with perfect safety. After 
that, by regularly opening them out, the land would be prodi- 
giously increased in value as pasture, and the last trees could 
remain until they were wanted, or that the tops should supply 
the unerring information that they had done their best and 
_ must be cut down, It is necessary to observe that belts or 
strips will not answer the purpose, but that planting with this 
view should be in solid masses, or squares or oblongs, from east 
to west, and also that in this system we do not recommend, 
but on the contrary deprecate, the mixture of other trees, 
especially oaks, to the vain and useless hope of growing which 
so much capital is uselessly expended. In short, according 
to our calculation, the larch is to be used merely as a fructifier 

Ann. Nat, Hist. Vol.2. No.9, Nov. 1838, N 


178 Capt. DuCane on the Metamorphosis of Crustacea. 


or ameliorator, the trees remaining to defray the expense and 
loss of time. The prejudice of the damage done to trees by 
sheep is groundless, compared to the benefit to be derived 
from their use as here recommended; and. we are quite sure 
that it could be acted on with the greatest benefit to the land 
and to that of the vicinity by the shelter afforded, and that 
the value of every estate, large or small, would be very much 
increased by the general adoption of sucha plan. . 


Ss. E. Cook. 
- Carlton, 16th August. ‘ 


XX.—Letter from Captain DuCane, R.N., to the Rev. 
LEONARD JENYNS, on the subject of the Metamorphosis of 
Crustacea*, With Plates VI. and VII. 

Southampton, August 20, 1838. 
Sir, 

Tue British Association for the Advancement of Science 
having requested me to present a report at its Meeting at 
Newcastle this year on the subject of the metamorphoses of 
the Crustacea in the Southampton waters, I beg to trouble 
you with the following observations relative to the metamor- 
phoses of the ditch prawn (Palemon variabilis) and common 
shrimp (Crangon vulgaris), which I shall be obliged by your 
laying before the Association. 

I last year, through Mr. MacLeay, presented drawings of 
the larva of the ditch prawn, exhibiting the appearance it pre- 
_ sented from the time of its first exclusion from the egg till 
the end of the third day, when my specimens died. I have not 
this year been able again to obtain the larva of the prawn di- 
rect from the egg; but the ditch which is the locality of this 
particular species, having supplied me with the larva in great 
abundance, I have been enabled very satisfactorily to trace the 
various changes it is subject to in the we eee towards its 
adult state. 

- These changes, as shown in the accompanying drawings, 

are four in number ; the three last may however, I think, rather 

be considered as a gradual and progressive development 


* This important letter arrived at Newcastle too late to be read at the 
Section of Zoology and Botany.—Enir. 


Ann. Nat. Hist. Nol WPI. 


Larva of the )Ditch Frawn. Yalemon variabile. 


TL 


— Vip ' 
= < = : ja—( = J : 
i y=— Ve 
, : = = S lA 4 = 
: me eat 1 =x 
S38 X ae 
§ R 


Sm 
ZOIN \ 
3 Sy, \\s = 
LD) Ss 


; Ann. Nak. ist. Vol MT PL VI. 
Larva of the Litth Prawn. Yaleemon variahile. 


Tai of N”® 546 


44, r WS 


Larva of the Common Shrimp Crangon vulgaris. : 


Capt. DuCane on the Metamorphosis of Crustacea. 179 


of the parts of the adult animal than an actual metamor- 
phosis. 

The drawings Nos. 1 and 2 represent the appearance of the 
larva on its first exclusion from the egg, and excepting in 
being more accurately drawn, I am happy to find that they 
do not differ materially from the hasty sketches I had an op- 
portunity of making last year at the end of the third day. 
No. 1. shows the animal as it appears in motion in the water ; 
No. 2. as viewed when lying on its back, in which position 
the rudiments of the true legs are visible, doubled up under 
the thorax. 

No. 3. is the larva in its second stage, ascertained by ob- 
serving the moult of the former. It has now one serrature on 
the dorsum of the cephalothorax: the eyes have become pe- 
dunculate. It has five pairs of natatory legs; and its proper 
legs, both walking and prehensile, are developed: the rudi- 
ments of subabdominal fins are becoming visible, but the tail 
continues spatulate as before. | 

No. 4. is its third stage, also ascertained by witnessing the 
moult. The larva has now two serratures or spines on the 
cephalothorax, the legs are the same as in the second stage ; 
but the subabdominal fins are more developed, and the tail 
has acquired two leaflets on each side, one of them being de- 
licately fringed, the other still only in a rudimental state. 

Nos. 5. and 6, represent the larva in its fourth or last stage, 
as it appears swimming in the water and lying on its side. I 
have however not had an opportunity of observing the moult 
in this case. It is evidently the same animal as is drawn by 
Mr. Thompson in Jameson’s ‘ Edinburgh Journal’ for July 
1836. The larva has now three serratures, six pairs of false or 
natatory legs, and the true legs resemble those of the full-grown 
or perfect prawn; the subabdominal fins are still further deve- 
~ loped, and the tail also approaches nearly to that of the adult 
animal, which I had the satisfaction of observing in the con- 
dition its next moult brings it to. It then becomes a true Pas 
lemon. 

It is a curious and interesting circumstance in tracing the 
changes of this larva to observe, that through all its conditions 
its movements are retrograde; but no sooner has it divested 

N 2 


180 Capt. DuCane on the Metamorphosis of Crustacea. 


itself of this last envelope and got rid of its natatory legs, 
than the subabdominal fins, which have hitherto been un- 
formed and useless, come out ornamented with a delicate hair- 
like fringe, and become the organs by which the prawn ad- 
vances in the water, and which are kept constantly im the same 
rapid motion that the natatory legs were kept in whilst the ani- 
mal was in its larva state. The animal henceforth also ceases to 
move backwards, excepting for the purpose of avoiding danger. 

Nos. 7. and 8. are drawings of the larva of the common 
shrimp (Crangon vulgaris): the larve were kept seven days 
from the time of their exclusion from the egg, and were then 
destroyed in consequence of my leaving home; they had at that 
period undergone no change. The general character is the 
same as the larva of the prawn, but they have in this stage 
only three pairs of natatory legs; and it is remarkable, that their 
movements, instead of being retrograde like the larvee of the 
prawn, are constantly rotatory, excepting when they come in 
contact with each other: they then dart suddenly off in a la- 
teral direction; the rudiments of the true legs were visible, 
but too minute to be enumerated. 7 

The above particulars, following up as they do the pro- 
gressive changes in the prawn, and confirming the valuable 
observations of Mr. Bhompson as to the fact of the macrourous 
decapods being subject to metamorphosis, will I trust be ac- 
ceptable to the Association, and excuse my troubling you in 
such detail. 

I have the honour to be, Sir, 
Your very obedient Servant, 
Rev. Leonard Jenyns, C. DuCane. 


&e. &e. &e. 


Extract from a Letter on the same subject from Carr. 
DuCang, R.N., to W.S. MacLuay, Esq. 
TueE larvee mentioned in the paper, unfortunately sent too late 
to the British Association, were taken from a salt-water ditch 
in this neighbourhood. I have since hatched the ova of some 
ditch prawns in pure fresh water, although I had previously 
kept them upwards of a month. The larva on quitting the 
ege corresponded precisely with my drawings Nos. 1, and 2, 


Mr. T. Paine on the Hairy-armed Bat. 181 


which I have given as representations of the first stage. On 

the third day after exclusion they had undergone no change ; 

but on the fifth (I had no opportunity of examining them on 

the fourth) several of them had moulted; and on the sixth I. 
had the satisfaction to observe two of them in the very act of 
shaking off their first envelope. The abdominal section was 

cast in one piece, the cephalothorax in a second, and the ani- 

mals were struggling to divest themselves of their antennz 

and legs. I looked at this interesting operation for a consi- 

derable time, and even made some attempts to assist them in 

their endeavours, but they appeared to be exhausted by their 

struggles, and in fact the following morning I found them dead. 

I thus lost the whole of them before they underwent their se- 

cond change; however I was glad to find that these larvae 

after their first metamorphosis had only one spine on the back 

of the cephalothorax, as is represented in fig. 3. 

I have recently been making some observations upon 
Thompson’s “opossum shrimp” (Mysis Fabricit, Leach). It 
is certainly a very interesting animal, but I rarely find one 
with a pouch, and only in one case have I yet found this 
pouch to contain the young. 

I did intend, had I been able to go down to Newcastle, to 
take with me my specimens of different woods as they have 
been eaten by the Limnoria terebrans. I hope now to be able 
to show them to the naturalists at Birmingham. We are 
repairing our pier by substituting new piles covered with iron 
nails for those that have been destroyed by the ravages of that 
animal. 


~XXI.—WNotes on the Hairy-armed Bat (Vespertilio Leisleri), 
and on its occurrence in the Eastern part of Norfolk. By 
Tuomas Paine, Jun., Esq. 
[With a Plate. ] 
Wuen in Norwich a short time since I observed at a bird 
stuffer’s shop in St. Giles some specimens of a bat which was 
unknown to me. Having procured one, it was found on ex- 
amination to be the hairy-armed bat (Vespertilio Leisleri) of 
which a description and figure are given by Mr. Bell in his 
‘ History of British Quadrupeds.’ There were eight others 


182 Mr. T. Paine on the Hairy-armed Bat. 


with it in the shop, all of the same species, and the informa- 
tion given respecting them was, that there were fourteen taken 
from an old hollow tree in a village in the vicinity of Norwich. 
The specimen described was the largest among them. 

_ The Vespertilio Leisleri is smaller than the Noctule, and the 
membrane rather deeper in proportion to the size of the ani- 
mal than in that species; the upper jaw projects considerably 
beyond the under, and rather more than appears in Mr. Bell’s 
figure ; the ears are hairy within, the tragus rounded, scarcely | 
half the length of the ear; the tail is exserted very little, if 
any, beyond the interfemoral membrane. 

_ The muzzle is naked and dusky; the ears horn-colour, edged 
with dusky. The head, neck, shoulders, and all the upper - 
parts of the body are bright chestnut brown; the lower jaw 
nearly black, the throat of a dusky brown, and all the lower 
parts of a dusky yellowish brown; a ridge of hair runs all 
round the body of the bat both above and below on the inter- 
femoral membrane, varying from two to six lines in width ; 
along the fore-arm on the inner surface of the interfemoral 
membrane is a quantity of reddish brown hair, rather thinly 
scattered in the middle, but more close near the wrist, and 
nearly half an inch in width. The membrane is dusky, nearly 
approaching to black. 


inch. line. 
Length of head ......0000. {eevee veesdecusecceesscaveceseaevecns 0 10 
Of head and body .....sscsesceeees Sis ctwaedencae eviews 2 11 
eminem IT CBT oiscigedsnrspineccsontedenccds}pedecucnnghswens toons 0 54 
——————— Of TALUS oo ccenersccncavepcsoedsncsesspesevscdntenseacesh QO» t2°. 
———— Of fore-aYM ...cccccsescevecseeees ceecovscccaccnsoee we 2 0 
from the knee to the extremity of the toes ...... Elite 
of the tail ..... jus aybpdecdceyooesepecepecctpaseasurenpe s a 
Extent of the flying membrane .......sessessscessssceseccees 12-2 


From these measurements it appears that the present speci- 
men is considerably larger than that described by Mr. Bell, 
which was said to be the only English occurrence of this spe- 
cies. His animal was probably a young one, as the colour of © 
the under parts as given in the ‘ British Quadrupeds’ is much 
darker than in this specimen. 

It is said by Mr. Bell to frequent hollow trees, where it 
congregates in vast numbers unaccompanied by any other 
species. 


Mr. A, H. Haliday on new British Insects. 183 


As Mr. Bell’s figure represents the front view of the animal, 
and as no coloured representation of it of which I am aware 
has yet appeared, the dorsal aspect has been chosen for the 
present figure, Plate X.*, which shows the bat of half the na- 
tural size. 

By way of conclusion to this short notice I have only to ob- 
serve, that thevarious species of bats are (in this neighbourhood 
at least) not sufficiently studied, and there is no doubt that by 
diligent research many of those species which are now consi- 
dered rare would be found to be comparatively common, 
and to have been mistaken for those well-known species to 
which the greater part of them are closely allied. 


Great Yarmouth, June, 1838. 


XXII.—New British Insects indicated in Mr. Curtis’s Guide. 
By A. H. Hauipay. 


{Continued from p. 121.] 


DIPTERA. 

Culex detritus, C. 1137. 9°.—Ent. Mag. i. 151. 
_ This seems to be the original C. pipiens of Linneus. The 
' insect described by Meigen under that name is a very differ- 
ent species and not uncommon. 
Bibio nigriventris, C. 1179. 4°.—Ent. Mag. i. 157. 

I have now ascertained that this is the other sex of B, al- 
bipennis. 

Cordyla fulveola, C. 1174, 2. 

This is the other sex of C. fasciata, The sexes in this ge- 
nus differ both in the form of their antennze and the num- 
ber of joints, which also varies according to the species. 
There are two minute ocelli in all that I have examined, but 
they are easily distinguished from the Mycetophile by the en- 
larged basal joint of the palpi, on account of which Macquart 
has called the genus Platypalpus +t. 

* Jt being our intention, as will be seen in the notice on our wrapper, to 
give a supplement of plates at the end of our volume, we must reserve the 
present one for that opportunity.—Epir. 


+ The genus Platypalpus is separated from Tachidromia by Macquart, 
‘ Diptéres du Nord dela France.’ Platyp. Dolichop. &c. p. 92.—E, Newman. 


184 Mr. A. H. Haliday on new British Insects. 


Leia nasuta (Mycetophila id., C. 1173. 17). 

L. fusca abdomine albido-piloso; antennis basi pedibusque flavis ; 
trochanteribus nigris, m. f. Long. 24—8 lin. 

Not uncommon about rivulets at Holywood. 

Add. Wings as in Mycetophila, fig. 21. (Meig. 1. pl. ix.) 
The face of the male is usually armed with a deflected horn 
or spine. There are three ocelli nearly in a line on the vertex, 
which determines its place in the genus Leia. Mycetophila — 
flavipes of Macquart (S. a B. i, 130) seems nearly allied. 
Limnobia Aegle, C. 1157. 37°. 

This is identical with Jdioptera pulchella (Limnobia id, 
Meig. vi. 275. Idioptera maculata, Macq. 8S. a B. i. 94). 
Spania Fallenii, C, 1203. 2.—Ent. Mag. i. 162. 

Notwithstanding the different form of the antenne I am led. 
to consider this as the female of Sp. nigra, which occurs more 
frequently in the same marshes in the month of June. The 
proboscis is longer in the females and the palpi not exactly 
linear. I have no longer any doubt as to the place of this ge- 
nus among the Leptide. 

Medeterus ruficornis, C.1256.5. App. 279. 

M. obscure eneus, fronte thoraceque olivaceis ; antennis brevis- 
simis rufis margine apicis fusco; palpis pedibusque pallidis, 
tarsis fuscis ; nervo transverso ordinario ab ale margine remoto, 
m. f.; hypopygio recondito, m. Long. 14 lin, 

Tarbert, July. 

Dolichopus sabinus, C. 1258. 9°. App. 279. 

D, ciliis genarum albidis; viridi-zneus antennis basi subtus villa 
pedibus pallidis, tarsis nigris basi pallidis; alarum costa ex- 
teriore infuscata, m. f.; tibiis posticis basi variolosis, femoribus 
imberbibus, lamellis albidis, m. Long. 2 lin. 

Killarney and Tarbert. 

Dolichopus signifer, C. 1258. 9° App. 279. 

D. ciliis genarum albis; viridi-zneus femoribus apice tibiisque 
pallidis posticis apice nigris; alarum apice nigricante; m. f. 
femoribus posticis subtus fusco-ciliatis, lamellis albidis, m. 
Long. 2 lin. 

On a sandy islet in Roundstone Bay. 

Platypeza infumata, C, 1248, 14. 

P. cesia halteribus pedibusque fuscis, tarsis basi pallidis ; thoracis 
macula tridentata atra; abdominis fasciis atris, duabus anterio- 
ribus confluentibus, f. Long. 4 lin. 


_ Mr, A. H. Haliday on new British Insects. 185 


Holywood. I saw but lost a second specimen at Roe Park, 
county Derry. 

Add. Wings pure hyaline, 5th nerve scarcely abbreviate, 
cross nerve near the margin. Hind tarsi much dilated at the 
base. The one I possess wants the head, and is otherwise 
injured, having probably been the prey of a spider. 

Musca Morellia importuna, C. 1286. cai 
horterum, C. 1286. 21. 5 

Having been enabled by the kindness of Mr. F. Walker to 
consult Fallen’s original description, I would rectify the di- 
stinction of these species. 1°. M. hortorum. To this belong 
Fallen’s description, and my description of M. importuna 
(Ent. Mag. iv. 149), and probably all the Morellie described by 
Desvoidy. 2°. M. importuna. Thisis M. hortorum of Meigen 
and of my description in the Entomological Magazine, 
Anthomyia monilis, C. 1287. 100 App. 279. 

A. Homalomyia atra abdomine glauco-micante linea dorsali et 
incisuris atris; calyptris fumigatis; tibiis anticis basi pallidis, 
apice fasciculatis ; tarsorum anticorum articulo ultimo orbicu- 
lato, m. Long. 2—2¢ lin. 

Very like A. manicata, but only half the size, and of a deeper 
black. Wings darker, calyptra smoky brown. Middle tibiz 
scarcely incrassate at the tip; thighs of the same pair bearded 
throughout on the under side, and scarcely contracted before 
the tip. The tarsi are shorter, and the terminal joint in the 
fore pair round. 


Not common at Holywood. 

Anthomyia cilipes (A. 12-punctata, C. 1287. 139". App. 279), 

A. Azelia nigra oculis fulgidis, thorace pestice cinereo, abdomine 
cinereo linea dorsali interrupta et puiictis 2 in singulo seg- | 
mento atris; alis fuliginosis; tibiis posticis extus longe villosis, 
m.; cinerea alis hyalinis, abdominis punctis paribus nigris, /. 

Long. 23 lin. 

Twice the size of A. triquetra, and very like it; but distin- 
guishable by the darker wings, and still more by the hairy 
hind tibize of the male. 

Very common about putrescent fungi. 


Gen. ScatorHaca, Subg. Hauirnea, C. App.279, 


Arista subnuda. Ale unguiculate. Tarsi graciliores. 


Femora 
postica maris basi tuberculo villoso. 


186 Mr. A. H. Haliday on new British Insects. 


1. Scatophaga fucorum, C. 1293. 11.—Fallen Scatom. 5. 5. 
S. H. obscure cinerea thorace lineato, antennis palpisque nigris.: 
2. Scatophaga maritima, C. 1293. 11%. App.—Se. fucorum, var. 
Fallen, ibid. : 
S. H. obscure cinerea thorace lineato; margine frontis palporum 
basi tibiisque testaceis. 
Both species are found on the sea coast, but not usually as- 
sociated. The first is more rare or local. 


Gen. Ca@iopa, C. 1320. 

This group will admit of subdivision, and the nomenclature 

of the species has been somewhat confused. 

* Arista glabra. Facies et tibie densissime villosee. Celopa. 

1°. C. pilipes. C. frigida, Meig. vi. 8,—id..Macq. S. a B. ii, 502. 

** Arista glabra. Facies et tibie setis asperse. Pucomyia, C. 

App. 280. . 

2°, C. frigida. Musca id. F.S. Antl. 307. 116. Copromyza id., 
Fallen. Heterom. 6.1. Celopa gravis, Ent. Mag. i. 167. 

3°. C. simplex, Ent. Mag. ibid. 4°. C. parvula, Ent. Mag. ibid. 

*** Arista villosa. Epistoma acute porrecta. Malacomyza, C. 

App. 280. 

4°, C. sciomyzina, Ent. Mag. ibid. 
Saltella sellata, C. 1297. 19. 

S. nigra scutello aterrimo, antennis fuscis, coxis pallidis, f. Long. 
1: lin. 

Holywood. 

Perhaps a variety of S. scuéellaris, fem. 
Sepsis duplicata, C. 1297. 4%. App. 280. 

S. nigra antennis pedibusque fusco-ferrugineis, alarum macula api- 
cali obsoletiore, nervis 2° et 3° nervulo transverso connexis. 
Long. + lin. 

Kent. 

The extraordinary cross nerve is in a line with the ordinary 

one closing the discoidal cell. 
Tephritis spoliata, C. 1300. 15°. App. 280. 

T. Urophora nigella thoracis dorso cinereo, linea ante alas scutel- 
loque flavis; capite genubus tarsorum basi ferrugineis ; alis hy- 
alinis puncto stigmaticali fusco, m. Long. 14 lin. 

Isle of Wight, June; F. Walker. 

Remarkable for the absence of the bands general in the 

wings of this subgenus. 
Tephritis Asteris, C. 1300. 35°. 
Resembles 7. sonchi, and may prove a yariety of that spe- 


Mr. A. H. Haliday on new British Insects. 187 


cies, with the sides of the thorax and the scutel yellow, the 
stigma of the wings lutescent, the costal margin without dusky 
streaks. Bred from puparia found among the seeds of Aster 
Tripolium. 

Tephritis pini, C, 1300. 25%. 

T. Acinia cinerea capite pedibus et segmentorum anteriorum 
marginibus ferrugineis ; alis fusco-reticulatis, maculis 2 costa- 
libus saturatioribus. Long. 2 lin. 

I find this upon pines, but have no knowledge of the larva. 

It may be a variety of 7. flavicauda. 

Oscinis capreolus, C. 1345. 41. App. 282. 

~ QO. nigra nitida, fronte opaca triangule nitido ; alis fuliginosis ; hal- 
teribus fuscanis ; arista crassa dense plumata. 

Resembles O. levigata, but the arista as in O cornuta. 

England; F. Walker. | 

Oscinis rapta, C. 13845. 41%. App. 282. 3 

Resembles O. pallidiventris, but the discoidal cell of the 

wings is open by the absence of the ordinary cross nerve. 

England ; F. Walker. 


Gen. Hetomyza. Subg. Atcoruea, C. App. 280. 

Antenne articulo tertio orbiculato, arista gracillima longa nuda. 

Tibie mediz spinose. Ale costa distincte serrata, areola media- 
stina minuta. 

H., fenestralis is the only British species, 

Helomyza arendria, C. 1828. 34, is the same as Opomyza maculata, 

Macq. 
Sciomyza virgata, C,. 1321. 1. bis. App. 280. 

S. Melina thorace cinerascente ; fronte antennisque ferrugineis ; 
pedibus pallidis, anticis apice fuscis, m. f.; abdomine pallido 
vitta dorsali interrupta cinerea, m; abdomine fusco incisuris 
pallidis, f. Long. 2—2+ lin. 

Oés. The naked arista of this species should be particularly 

observed. } 
_ South of Ireland, July. 


Gen. Sciomyza. Subg. AnticuEera, C. App. 280. 
Arista plumata. Tibiz cilio preeapicali gemino. 


The type of this group is Tetanocera vittata, Ent. Mag. i. 
168. | 


Ochthiphila flavipalpis, C. 1336. 6. App. 281. 
O. elongata cana antennis subtus palpis tibiis tarsisque flavis, m. f. ; 
metatarso postico subincrassato, f. Long. 14—14 lin. 


188 Mr. A. H. Haliday on new British Insects. 


On sandhills along the east coast of Ireland, among the stems of 
the sea reed; May—August. 
Ochthiphila geniculata, C. No. 5, ibid. 

O. cana antennis palpis pedibus nigris, genubus flavis, m. f.; ab- 
domine qudrifariam nigro-punctato, f.; bifariam  obsoletius 
punctato, m. Long. 14 lin, 

On grassy slopes of the Sugar-loaf mountain, county Wicklow, 

May. 


Gen. Hereroneura. Subj. Cuusra (Cleora, C. App. 282.) 


Tibie cilio preapicali nullo. Alarum nervi transyersi subremoti. 
Sp. 1. H. flava Heteromyza flava, Meig. vi. 46. Heteroneura spurca, 
Ent. Mag. i. 171. 


Gen. OpoMyza. Subg. Teruina, C. App. 281. 
Facies impressa, epistomate prominulo nudo. Peristoma elonga- 
tum. Labium cylindricum bigeniculatum. Antennz brevissime 
articulo 3° suborbiculato arista gracili subnuda. Al apice rotun- 
date: nervus transversus ordinarius ab ale margine distans. 
Opomyza illota, C. 1838. 27. App. 281. 
O. Tethina canescens fronte antennisque ferrugineis, facie palpis 
tarsis halteribus albidis, alis albis, m. f. Long. 3—1 lin. 
Somewhat like Oscinis (Siphonella) albipalpis. 
In the flowers of Cakile maritima and Convolvulus soldanella; Kil- 
liney Bay, county Dublin; June. 


Gen. Diasrata. Subg. Camiuua, C. 1337. App. 281. 


Tibie cilio preapicali nullo. Antenne decumbentes facie bre- 
viores, articulo 3° oblongo, arista pectinata. Labium incrassa- 
tum. 

D. glabra. Drosophila id. Fall., Geom. 8.12. Diastata erata, 

C. App. 281. 

Blarney, in July; also in England; F. Walker, 
Obs. This species, though arranged under Drosophila by 
Fallen and Meigen, wants the most prominent characteristics 
of that genus, viz. the hirsute eyes and serrate caudal plates. 

I have therefore referred it to Diastata. 
Spherocera scabricula, C. 1350. 3°, Ent. Mag. iii. 320. 

Having lately met with this species in abundance, I find 
that the specimens from which my description was drawn were - 
pale-coloured from immaturity; but the form of the head and 
hind tarsi, the wings and the white arista will characterize the 
species beyond mistake. | 


Mr. A. H. Haliday on new British Insects. 189 


Limosina arcuata, Macq. C. 1350, 238°. 

Previously described by Fallen under the name /fontinals, 
Suppl. 16. 

The new species of the Hydromyzide indicated in the Guide 
will be noticed in a more general memoir on that tribe. 

HEMIPTERA. 
Aruerrorpes, C. 1046”. 

Corpus apterum lineare deplanatum, abdominis segmentis inter- 
mediis connatis, spiraculis penultimi simplicibus. Antenne dimidio 
corpore breviores, 6-articulatz, articulo ultimo capillaceo attenuato. 
Promuscis thorace brevior, mesosterni sulco incumbens. Femina 
vivipara. 

Atheroides serrulatus, C. 1046". 1 

A, rugulosus subglaber, dupikis et segmenti ultimi marginibus 

denticulatis setosis, m. f. Long. 1 lin. 

On grasses ; common in autumn on the sea-coast at Holywood. 
Atheroides hirtellus, C. 1046. 2 

A, nitidus dorso undique hispidus, antennis pedibusque vage pilo- 

sis, f. Long. 1 lin. 

On Juncus articulatus, Holywood. 

Friosoma pallida, C. App. 279. 

This species, like LZ. ulmi-gallarum, inhabits the leaves of 
the mountain elm ; its follicles are more solid and imbedded 
in the leaves near the base of the midrib, not elevated on a 
foot-stalk. The apterous female is white. The follicles burst 
about the beginning of August. The society is then very nu- 
merous, and the farinose secretion more abundant than in the 
former species. The winged insects are glossy bluish black, 
with the legs rather paler: collar dirty yellow, with a dusky 
transverse line: a row of lateral dots on the abdomen and its 
underside are greenish yellow, as also the promuscis. The 
nervures of the upper wings nearly as in E. ulmi-gallarum, 
but the lower have two nervures (in place of one) springing 
from the subcostal. The joints of the antennz are of differ- 
ent proportions, the sixth being rather longer than the fifth. 

Obs. The genus Eriosoma of Leach was made up of very 
different forms, Several groups have been already distin- 
guished, yiz. 1°. Phyllowera, Fonsc. If the minute species 
with incumbent wings which occurs on the oak (noticed by 
Walker, Ent. Mag. iii. 407) be the Phyllowera roboris, the de- 


190 Dr. Meyen on the Formation of the Tubes of the Liber. 


scription and figures of that species in the Annals of the Ent. 
Soc. Paris, are very inaccurate. 2°. Myzowyle, Blot. 3°. 
Adelges, Vallot. Of this we have two species, A. Laricis, 
Vallot, and A. gallarum abietis, DeG. ; at least I have found no 
cause for generic distinction in the structure, notwithstanding 
the difference of their habitation. If Hriosoma Fagi be assumed 
as the type of this genus, it will be necessary to separate those 
species which inhabit closed follicles on the leaves and shoots 
of plants. In that case I would ae ce the generic name 
Byrsocrypta for these last: 


XXIII.—On the Formation of the Fibre-formed Cells (Fibrous 
Cells) or Tubes of the Liber in Plants. By Dr. J. Mnyven*. 


Wuice engaged last winter with Prof, Mitscherlich in making 
a series of observations on the chemical composition of various 
vegetable substances, the following curious fact attracted our 
notice: that the purified fibres of flax, and also old linen, 
when boiled in muriatic acid, decomposed more or less sud- 
denly into very minute shining particles, which soon settled 
at the bottom of the fluid. On examining them with the mi- 
croscope, these particles appeared to be nearly of the same 
length, and to be formed by a regular decomposition of the flax 
fibres, so that each particle consisted of a small portion of the 
cylindrical or prismatical tubes of the flax fibre. Some portions 
were at times considerably longer ; but then it was more or less 
evident that these also were composed of several small ones, 
which were similar in length to the former. At times, how- 
ever, even the various layers of the thick membrane of which 
flax fibre is composed were separated from each other by the 
action of the boiling muriatic acid. 

The examination of a thin unsized linen paper, which had 
been reduced, by continual boiling in water, to a pulpy mass, 
exhibited in like manner a manifold division of the single flax 
fibres into smaller particles, and of their walls into distinct 
layers: but this subdivision, on which the fabrication of paper 
evidently depends, was far from being comparable with the 


* Translated from Wiegmann’s Archiv, Part IV.,; 1838, 


Rev. J. B. Reade on Organic Remains in Flints. 191 


above-described perfect, and almost regular subdivision pro- 
_ duced by the action of boiling muriatic acid. ; 
Recent examinations into the development of buds have 
shown me that that cellular layer which is subsequently deve- | 
loped into tubes of the liber and so-called ligneous fibre, and 
extends as an uncoloured zone from above the medullary cone 
to the nucleus or rudiment of the bud, consists of extremely 
delicate, rather extended, prismatic, generally 4-, 5-, or 6-sided 
parenchymatous cells, which stand with their ends accurately 
one above the other, and are gradually converted by the ab- 
Sorption of their septa into the long fibrous cells or tubes of 
the liber. The regular abrupt cylindrical tubes into which 
the fibres of flax were decomposed by boiling in muriatic acid, 
are almost exactly of the same length as these tender paren- 
chymatous cells in their fully developed state; and that the 
latter originate from the delicate cells of the medullary sub- 
stance by gradual extension, may easily be observed in the ter- 
minal buds of the horse-chestnut and of the ash. 

On the absorption of the septa of those ce]ls, the superposed 
edges grow so intimately together that their union has not 
hitherto been observed, and the tube thus originated forms the 
first or fundamental layer of the membrane of the fibrous 
cell, the thickening of which follows as usual by deposition 
of new layers on the inner surface. I am induced to pub- 
lish these short notices at present, as they may afford some 
indications tending to explain the origin of the fibres of the 
muscles and nerves of animals; at the same time I would re- 
commend a careful attention to the spiral formations which 
muscular fibre exhibits often quite as plainly as the tubes of 
the liber. It also appears to me that distinct layers are per- 
ceptible in the membrane of the muscular fibre of fish. 


XXIV.—On some new Organic Remains in the Flint of Chatk. 
By the Rev. J. B. aia M.A., F.R.S. With Plates VIII, 
and IX. 

Ivis now very generally admitted that a eeblonist is as much — 

in need of a microscope as of a hammer. Instruments of the 

latter class may indeed be sufficient for the exhumation of the 


192 Rev. J. B. Reade on Organic Remains 


gigantic remains of Tilgate Forest ; but accurately to follow 
out the workings of an Omnipotent agent, and to explore what 
may be justly termed the secret things in the kingdom of na- 
ture, puts into requisition the talent of our ablest opticians. 
Were any proof of this assertion necessary, it would more 
than suffice to refer, on the one hand, to the thousands of mi- 
croscopic bodies which Mr. Lonsdale has discovered in chalk, 
or to the infinitely greater number of far more minute forms 
which Prof. Ehrenberg has discovered in the siliceous earths ; 
and, on the other hand, to bear in mind that the results of 
the latter distinguished philosopher have set at rest the many 
unsatisfactory theories respecting the formation of the siliceous 
nodules of the chalk, and have naturally led to the conjecture, 
that, “as the formless cement in the semiopal of Bilin has — 
been derived from the decomposition of animal remains, so 
also even those parts of chalk flints in which no organic struc- 
ture can be recognised may nevertheless have constituted a 
part of microscopic animalcules.” 

A series of microscopic observations upon. the ashes of plants 
which were commenced in the spring of 1837, led me, by steps 
heretofore stated in a communication to the British Associa- 
tion*, to examine into the condition of silica generally ; and 
I not only can bear testimony to the accuracy of Prof. Ehren- 
berg’s conclusion, that to a very great extent the organic re- 
mains of Infusoria swell the amount of solid matter of the 
crust of the earth, but I am able also to prove by careful ex- 
periments, that in plants certainly, and therefore probably in 
animals, the living principle is endowed with the power of ela- 
borating out of their proper nutriment the solid materials or 
frame-work of their support. And hence the origin, and in 
the present day the increase both of silica and lime. 

With respect to the agency of animalcules secreting carbo- 
nate of lime, it may be observed, that a thin transparent sec- 
tion of the Sussex marble shows in the most satisfactory man- 
ner, that the mouths of the Paludine, instead of being filled up 
with indurated marl, as was once supposed, abound with the 
remains of Cyprides, and that, in point of fact, the entire mass 
of the marble is nothing more than an aggregation of these 

* Seventh Report. Transactions of the Sections, p. 108, 


} . Ann Nat. list. } of. i f (4 VI// 
1 eel 


; S Wy y) 
Ve i Sy tf WY 
MN igs y Ay Wy) 
GA 
B SSS = i 


—— 
— — 
a amen, 2 
_— 

—~ 

“7 

qr 

Ww 


GS 


— 
SO 


(Gy 
WBE 
Wifes 
hie 


Vz 
i] 


WY) 


—--—~— 


| Lens Alious, dei eb lath see ; Printed by]. Basire 
SCALES OF FISHES IN THE FLINT OF CHALK. 


j Ann. Nal Hos: Vol. MH. £L.LX . 


SGALES oF EXISTING FISHES . 


1 
| 


| 


SSS 


hed Gurnard 


a yy 
hy \ 
oy \ 1. Se 
nY f 
SF \ y, y 


~% SF Hy) tt i 
MEANY VE 
))\ So SL “4 

wr Re a) iy ee 


= 


LA = 
Soflaakt (/ 
Rae A ‘Som 
yi) Ye Lt MR 

~ Nie / . 

ty ir A 


gO aay am a, 


a a 


. " lriuntéeed by J Basie 
IN FUSOREA IN Bar sl ee 
Ll Xauthidim furcatum...2.X. crassipes... db PD’ var. 3.X jursulum.—. & DP 
AX. rarnosum 91 DP?! 6X tabrlerum. 9. Pp? 


Ann. Nal Hes Voi. lM. £4 1X . 


SCALES of EXISTING FISHES. 


,, 
~% 
all 


Whetebact 


*) 


A 
\ 
( TOY Mullet 


Vy 


Le ! % - : re nY 
By wweny 

q ‘ .\ : Q N\ 

y. iY FOX WY li 
MY \ 


oz 
7 


hens Udous del vt Lath 
INFUSORIA IN FLINT rs 
1 Xanthidium furcatum._2.X crassipes.— 3. D?var._ 3X. hirsutiaam. — & D* 
4.X._ ramosum._7 D?__ 6X tubiterum —9 P? 


in Flints of the Chatk. 193 


infusoria interspersed with the larger univalve. That the ap- 
parently inorganised particles are derived from the decompo- 
sition of the Cypris will scarcely be doubted, and to what ex- 
tent each individual is capable of yielding a supply of calca- 
reous matter is easily ascertained by incinerating recent ex- 
amples. For it thus appears, that not only is there an inde- 
structible though slender shell covering the body properly so 
called, but the delicate branches of the rami or arms inserted 
on each side of the head, as well as the arms themselves, are 
equally supplied with a frame-work of solid matter. 

But my present object is to allude more particularly to 
some of the fossil contents of flint pebbles and of the flint no- 
dules of chalk. It is now well known that flint of every kind 
is rich in organic remains, and few persons who use the mi- 
croscope at all, have neglected the examination of these minute 
forms which had their little moment of life and enjoyment in 
ages of the most remote antiquity. Perhaps, however, it is 
not so generally understood, that in the hands of a skilful 
geologist a promiscuous series of flint pebbles would be as- 
signed, with the utmost precision, and by means of their fossil 
contents alone, to their proper periods and strata. Yet such 
is the fact, and I have had the pleasure of seeing it verified by 
my friend»Mr. Bowerbank, who lately took advantage of a 
geological tour to establish this curious result. I had, indeed, 
myself suspected that the flint of different strata had not a 
common origin, in consequence of the absence of the Xanthi- 
dium from many of the pebbles of the Brighton beach*. This 
highly interesting animalcule, of which several species occur 
in the flint of Kent and Surrey, I discovered first of all about 
a year ago in the flint of the Sydenham gravel; and this spe~ 
cimen was compared and identified with a French one, then 
but just imported at an expense exceeding 20 francs. I learnt 
on that occasion that Prof. Ehrenberg had already named and 
described this new fossil genus, and to him I am indebted for 
the names of the species which accompany this paper. Of the 
beauty of the drawings it is unnecessary to speak, and their 


* One of these pebbles abounds with remarkably fine examples of Pyzi- 
dicula, and its crystalline state, by no means common to flint nodules, is de- 
cidedly proved by its action on polarized light. 


Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol. 2. No.9. Nov. 1838. O 


194 Rev. J. B. Reade on Organic Remains 


accuracy is secured by the image of the objects having been 
thrown on paper by means of a Camera eye-piece, and then 
carefully traced. At the same time I cannot but observe that 
a magnifying power of 1000 linear, together with Ross’s fine 
adjustment, gives a reality which no drawing can impart. We 
can trace our way down the arms, and penetrate what, com- 
paratively speaking, appears to be a vast sphere, since it is no 
exaggeration to say that it would require nearly a thousand 
million individuals to fill up the image thus presented to the 
mind. 

As to the manipulation of the flint, in order to prepare it 
for the stage of the microscope, the readiest method by far is 
to break a large nodule in half, and from the flat faces to chip 
off thin fragments, which may be attached by means of Canada 
balsam to slips of glass of the usual form, and then coated on 
their outer surface with hard spirit varnish. A hundred spe- 
cimens may be thus cut, mounted, and polished, without trouble 
or expense, and in less time than an expert lapidary could pre- 
pare a single slice with the diamond-mill and polishing tool. 

It is the received opinion among geologists, that the nature 
of the strata of the chalk, and the organic remains which they 
inclose, prove that the chalk was deposited in the tranquil 
depths of an extensive and profound ocean. This conclusion 
is rendered probable by the chambered Nauti and micro- 
scopic Foraminifera of flint, and it will derive additional force 
from a recent very interesting discovery of scales of fossil 
fishes, of great variety of form and in a state of most delicate 
preservation, throughout the entire series of the flint nodules 
both of the chalk and gravel, from Gravesend to Rochester 
and Gillingham*. A few weeks ago a single scale was disco- 
vered by Mr. Darker upon a fragment of flint which he had 
selected for a supply of the Xanthidium, but as he was igno- 
rant of its locality he made no further search for similar re- 
mains: shortly afterwards a pebble was brought to me for my 
usual mode of examination, and upon its surface, I acci- 
dentally discovered the second scale, and had the advantage 
of knowing that I could apply to an inexhaustible store. 


; The rolled flints of the Norfolk gravel-beds also abound with fossil 
scales, 


in Flints of the Chalk. . 195 


These two specimens were exhibited to Prof. Ehrenberg 
during his visit in London, to whom, as to other observers, 
they were previously unknown. That they should so long 
have escaped our notice is to me a marvel, and I can only ac- 
count for it, by making what I feel to be the very extravagant 
supposition, that the flints hitherto examined did not contain 
them. They are not like the infusoria, requiring great ampli- 
fication to be rendered visible at all, but possess, in many cases, 
all the brightness, and more than half the magnitude, ofa silver 
penny; and I am even tempted to ask how our geological 
sportsmen can have overlooked them; for” of the only half 
dozen gun-flints which have ever been in my possession, I 
find a brilliant scale sparkling upon the surface of one of 
them. However, it is now a matter of certainty that we shall 
all find them, and in great numbers. 

The value of this discovery in a geological point of view 
cannot be better stated than in the following extract from 
Prof. Phillips’s ‘Treatise on Geology’*: ‘“ M. Agassiz has 
proved the importance of the indications afforded by the na- 
ture of the dermal covering, and applied it to the classification 
of fishes with peculiar success. Instead of the divisions usu- 
ally adopted from the nature of the skeleton,—cartilaginous 
and osseous fishes,—he distinguishes four great orders of 
fishes from the. nature of their scales, and finds that with these 
differences of scales other great and important distinctions 
harmonize ; but that the possession of a bony or cartilagious 
skeleton is a question of comparative unimportance. The 
abundance and perfection of scales of fishes in a fossil state 
render this view, valuable as it is in recent zoology, absolutely 
essential to a study of the fossil kingdom; for thus a few 
scales remaining, may lead to a knowledge of the species or ge- — 
nera belonging to each epoch, and as portions of fishes are 
found in every one system of strata, from the ancient silurian 
to the most recent of lacustrine deposits, we are presented 
with a second scale of organization nearly as complete and as 
distinctly related to ¢ime, higher in the ranks of creation, and 
therefore more sensibly dependent on physical conditions than 


* Cabinet Cyclopedia. Phillips on Geology, p. 88. 
02 


196 Rey. J. B. Reade on Organic Remains 


the well-known and justly valued series of remains of mol- 
lusca. 

“The orders of fishes, according to their scaly coverings, 

are four; viz. 
* Ist. Scales enamelled. 

* Placoid fishes, whose skin 1s irregularly covered with large 
or small plates, or points of enamel, as the rays and 
sharks* (Etym. wAa€, a broad plate) occur recent, and nu- 
merous in the fossil state, being found in nearly all the 
systems of strata, though the genera are mostly peculiar 
in each system. 

* Ganoid fishes are regularly covered with annular thick 
scales, composed internally of bone, and externally of 
enamel, generally smooth and bright (Etym. yavos, splen- 
dour). Occur recent, but more abundantly in the fossil 
kingdom, in which fifty extinct genera have been recog- 
nized. 

*M. Agassiz appears to have ascertained that the strata be- 

low the cretaceous rocks contain very few, if any, other fishes 
than such as are included in these orders. 


“ 9nd. Scales not enamelled. 


*‘Ctenoid fishes have their scales of a horny or bony sub- 
stance, without enamel; serrated or pectinated on the 
free posterior margin (whence their name, from «revs, a 
comb). 

* Cycloid fishes have smooth horny or bony unenamelled 

scales, entire at the posterior margin, with concentric 
or other lines on the outer surface (Ktym. xuxdos, a 
circle), 

“To the last two orders with unenamelled scales belongs by 
far the greater proportion of existing species of fish, which, 
according to Cuvier, exceeded 5000, but are stated by M. 
Agassiz to amount to 8000. On the contrary, the greater num- 

* A small shark, taken a few years ago near the island of Trinidad and 
now in my possession, has the scales arranged over every part of the body 
and fins with the utmost regularity. ‘They are somewhat oval in form, the 
larger diameter being ~yth and the smaller +3,,th of an inch. Three equi- 
distant ribs strengthen this delicate tissue, and project beyond the posterior 
margin similarly to the ribs of the scale represented in plate viii. No. 25, 


—J.B.R, 


in Flints of the Chatk. 197 


ber of fossil fishes belong to the two orders with enamelled 
scales.” 

It will be evident from an inspection of the plates, that the 
scales now described, with the exception of those represented 
at Nos. 2, 6, and 25, belonged to fishes of the last two orders, 
or those with unenamelled scales, indicating therefore an ap- 
proximation to existing species; and the extraordinary simi- 
larity in general characters between the fossil and recent 
scales will at once be apparent from a comparison of the re- 
spective drawings. The latter were very obligingly supplied 
to me by Mr. Yarrell out of his private and unpublished 
collection, and are from the pencil of Mr. Charles Curtis. 
The former I traced under the microscope with a power of 
about 25 linear, and they were reduced and lithographed by 
Mr. Aldous, who is making larger drawings to preserve their 
relative proportions. 

These scales vary in size from ;3,ths to jth of an inch in 
diameter,* and are arranged in the order of their magnitude. 
The concentric lines, which vary with the age of the fish, are 
the most numerous on No. 10, being nearly 100, whereas there 
are about 14 only on No. 27. In Nos.3. 12.19. there are be~ 
tween 40 and 60. A recent scale in Mr, Yarrell’s collection, 
which measures 83 inches in circumference, has upwards of 300 
concentric circles. The fish from which this scale was taken 
is of the genus Chatessus, Cuv.t, and is now in the British 
Museum. The row of scales along the sides of fishes, forming 
the well-known lateral line, in addition to the structure com- 
mon to the scales of the other parts of the body, are pierced 
through near the centre by a tube which allows the escape of 
the mucous secretion, produced by the glands beneath. Each 
of the scales represented in Nos. 4. 12. 14. 18. exhibits this 
tube with the numerous lines peculiar to the species. It is 
here no doubt that we are to look for scales possessing the 
most decided specific characters, for,as I learn from Mr. Yarrell, 
who has gone into much detail upon this subject which he has 
not yet made public, though scales of the same fish differ in 


* The largest scale I have as yet found is similar to No. 2, and measures 
~oths by =3,ths of an inch. Very fine examples of coniferous wood occur also 
in these flints. 

+ Régne Animal. Edition 1829, vol, ii. p. 320. 


198 Mr. Walker on the British Chalcidites. 


size, and even to a certain extent in form, yet a given series 
of scales from the lateral line, exhibiting a marked difference 
in structure, would undoubtedly indicate a corresponding se- 
ries of species or genera. 

That scale, for such I am now disposed to class it, which is 
represented at No. 13, has given me the most trouble to deci- 
pher. It has, at first sight, the appearance of a tooth, but it 
differs from that of a shark, to which, were it a tooth, it would 
be the most nearly allied by the great length of the fangs. 
And indeed there are no instances of teeth being thus let into 
the jaw; for they are either immoveable and to be considered 
as parts of the bone, or if moveable they are fixed to the skin. 
The subject in question, I believe to be the triple subcutaneous 
insertion of a ventral spine or quasi-scale of a fish nearly al- 
lied to the Diodon orbicularis, or porcupine fish of the present 
period. This similarity no sooner occurred to me than I im- 
mediately boiled a small portion of a Diodon in order to sepa- 
rate the triple-fanged insertion of a spine from its investing 
cartilage, and the only reason of my not figuring the latter 
example is the very satisfactory one of there being no differ- 
ence except that of size to describe. 

I find also with the scales, traces of ribs and fins, soa 
sharp-pointed teeth, and parts of the vertebre, and in a few in- 
stances I have found portions of the body with the scales in 
situ. But here I close this short account of an investigation 
which no right-minded man will prosecute without directing 
his thoughts to Him who of old “ turned the hard rock into a 


standing water, and the flint-stone into a springing well.” 
Peckham, October 5, 1838. 


XXV.—Descriptions of British Chalcidites. By Francis WALKER, 
F.L.S. 
[Continued from vol. i. p. 454.] 

Mas. Corpus sublineare, nitens, scitissime squameum, parce hirtum: ca- 
put transversum, mediocre, subquadratum, convexum, punctatum, parum ni- 
tens, latitudine thoracis ; vertex sat latus; frons abrupte declivis : oculi me- 
diocres, subrotundi, non extantes: ocelli 3 triangulum fingentes, medius 
perparum antepositus : antennz subfiliformes, late, pubescentes, thorace vix 
breviores; articulus 1"° sublinearis, validus; 2"° longicyathiformis; 3"* et 
sequentes latiores, oblongo-quadrati, usque ad 6"™ curtantes; clava fusi- 
formis, acuminata, articulo 6° plus dimidio longior vix latior: thorax longi- 
ovatus, convexus: prothorax transversus, sat bene determinatus, antice an- 


Mr. Walker on the British Chalcidites. 199 


gustus, postice concavus: mesothoracis scutum transversum; parapsidum 
suture bene determinate; paraptera et epimera magna, conspicua, subtri- 
gona; scutellum breviovatum, leve; metascutellum transversum, breve: 
metathorax mediocris : petiolus brevis, crassus: abdomen ovatum, leve, tho- 
race brevius, supra planum, subtus convexum; segmentum 1° magnum; 
2u™ et sequentia brevia, parallela, subeequalia: sexualia exerta: pedes me- 
diocres, recti, simplices, pubescentes, subeequales ; tarsis articulus 1° 2° vix 
brevior, 3"5 1° brevior, 4"8 2° paullo longior : ungues et pulvilli sat magni: 
alze mediocres, pubescentes, non ciliate ; proalis nervus solitus setosus, hu- 
meralis ulnari multo longior, cubitalis radiali multo brevior ad ale apicem 
tendens, apice stigma minutum fere integrum fingens ; metalis nervus costa- 
lis simplex. 

Sp. 27. Cirr. Articas, Mas. Ater fulvo-varius, antenne nigre, pedes fulvi, 

ale sublimpide. 

Ater: caput ad os flavum: oculi et ocelli rufi, illi antice flavo semicincti : 
antenne nigree; articulus 1" subtus fulvus: gula fulva: thorax subtus fulvus : 
prothorax postice viridi-fulvo fasciatus : mesothoracis parapsides fulvee an- 
tice nigro-picee, scutellum fulvum basi nigro-piceum, paraptera et epimera 
fulvo-varia, postscutellum fulvum : petiolus fulvus: abdomen subtus ferru- 
gineum; segmenta 1¥™ et 2"™ apice supra zeneo-ferruginea : sexualia picea: 
pedes fulvi; coxee basi piceee; tarsi supra picei; profemora extus piceo- 
Vittata: alee sublimpide ; squamule fulve; nervifusci. (Corp. long. lin. 
1—14; alar. lin, 1}—14.) 

Var. 6.—Mesothoracis scutellum nigrum, apice fulvum: petiolus piceus: 
abdomen supra omnino nigrum. 

Var. y.—Var. @. similis: thorax supra ater : ‘mesothoracis parapsides pos. 
tice fulvee : mesofemora piceo-vittata. 

Var. }.—Var. @. similis: meso- et metatibize fuscee; tarsi nigro-picei. 

July to September ; near London, Isle of Wight. 

Mas. Corpus breve, nitens, scitissime squameum, parce hirtum: caput 
transversum, subquadratum, sat magnum, convexum, punctatum, parum ni- © 
tens, thorace paullo latius; vertex latus; frons abrupte declivis: antennz 
subfiliformes, graciles, thorace multo longiores;. articulus 1s sublinearis ; 
2" longicyathiformis ; 3"° et sequentes longi, lineares, usque ad 6% cur- 
tantes; clava fusiformis, acuminata, articulo 6° multo longior: thorax 
ovatus, convexus : prothorax transversus, bene determinatus, antice angus- 
tior : mesothoracis scutum transversum, breve; parapsidum suture bene 
determinate; paraptera et epimera magna, subtrigona; scutellum brevi- 
ovatum, leeve ; metascutellum conspicuum : metathorax bene determinatus : 
petiolus brevis, crassus : abdomen planum, fere conicum, thorace multo bre- 
vius; segmentum 1" magnum, dorsi fere dimidium occupans; 2¥™ et se- 
quentia brevia, parallela, subeequalia : pedes graciles, simplices, recti, sub- 
zequales ; mesotibize subclavatz ; tarsis articuli 1° et 3"S breviores, 2"° et 4° 
longiores; ungues et pulvilli sat magni: ale pubescentes, non ciliate ; 
nervus humeralis ulnari longior, cubitalis in alee discum declivis radiali multo 
brevior, apice stigma fingens minutum fere integrum. 


200 Mr. Walker on the British Chalcidites. 


Sp. 28. Cirr. Acesius, Mas. Luteus nigro-varius, antenne picee, pedes 
flavi piceo-cincti, mesotarsi fusci, ale subflavescentes. 
’ Luteus: caput nigrum: ‘oculi et ocelli picei: antennee nigro-picez ; arti- 
culi 1"S et 25 lutei, hic basi et ille apice supra picei: prothoracis discus ni- 
gro-piceus : mesothoracis scutum basi nigro-piceum, parapsides flavee, scu- 
tellum paraptera et epimera nigra: metathorax niger : petiolus piceus, apice 
luteus: abdomen nigrum, basi luteum: sexualia flava: pedes flavi; tarsi 
apice fusci; propedum femora extus nigro-picea, tibiz apice fuscze ; meso- 
pedum tibize apice nigro-picee, tarsi fusci: alz subflavescentes ; squamulee 
fulvee; nervi fulvi. (Corp. long. lin. 3—3; alar. lin. 1—14.) 

Var. 6.—Mesothoracis scutum omnino luteum; scutellum rufum, discus 
piceus: abdomen basi ad medium luteum. 

Var. y.—Abdomen basi nigrum ; segmenti 1i discus rufus. 

Var. }.—Var. 8. similis : mesothoracis scutellum omnino rufum. 

Var. ¢.—Var, 6. similis: protibiee omnino flavee. 

Var. ¢.—Petiolus omnino luteus. 

Var. y.—Mesothoracis scutum piceum, parapsides rufe, basi piceze. 

Var. §.—Thorax supra omnino nigro-piceus, 

June to September; near London. Ireland, Mr. Haliday. 

Mas. Corpus sublineare, nitens, subleve, parce hirtum: caput transver- 
sum, mediocre, subquadratum, convexum, punctatum, parum nitens, thora- 
cis latitudine; vertex latus; frons subimpressa, abrupte declivis: antennz 
filiformes, graciles, corpore vix breviores, pilis longioribus vestite ; articulus 
1"S sublinearis ; 2"* longicyathiformis; 3° latus, oblongus; 4"* et sequentes 
longi, lineares, usque ad 7" curtantes; clava longifusiformis, acuminata, 
articulo 7° multo longior; thorax longiovatus, convexus: prothorax trans- 
versus, brevis, conspicuus, postice incurvus: mesothoracis scutum magnum, 
latitudine longius ; parapsidum suture conspicue, postice mutuo accedentes ; 
paraptera et epimera bene determinata; scutellum obconicum ; metascu- 
tellum brevissimum : metathorax conspicuus: petiolus brevissimus, crassus : 
abdomen longiovatum, subglabrum, supra planum, thorace paullo angustius 
vix brevius; segmenta 1° ad 3% magna, 4°™ et sequentia brevia parva; 
pedes graciles, simplices, recti, sat longi; tarsis articuli 1° ad 3%™ subzequales, 
4"s 3° longior ; ungues et pulvilli mediocres: alz breviter ciliate ; nervus 
ulnaris humerali non brevior, radialis vix ullus, cubitalis in ale discum de- 
clivis apice stigma fingens fere integrum. 

Fem. Caput thorace paullo angustius: antenne clavate, thorace non lon- 
giores; articulus 3"* brevissimus; 45 fusiformis ; 6"° et 7's breviores; clava 
longiovata, acuminata, articulo 7° multe longior: abdomen longiovatum, 
apice acuminatum, thorace latius et paullo longius; segmenta transversa, 
parallela, 1"™ magnum, 2¥™ et sequentia parva. 

Sp. 29. Cirr. Armeeus, Mas et Fem. Niger flavo-varius, antenne nigra, 

pedes fulvi piceo-vittati, ale subfulve. ‘ 

Fem. Niger: caput antice et circum oculos flavum : oculi et ocelli picei : 
antennz nigre ; articulus 1" basi flavus: mesothoracis scutum apice et basi 
utrinque flavo marginatum, paraptera et epimera partim flavyo marginata, 


Mr. Walker on the British Chalcidites. 201 


scutellum et postscutellum flava, illum piceo utrinque breviter vittatum et 
medio maculatum ; abdomen zneo-atrum: pedes fulvi; coxa pice; tarsi 
apice picei; profemora basi extus piceo-vittata; mesofemora basi fusco pla- 
giata; metafemora nigro-picea, apice fulva: ale fulvescentes ; squamule 
fulvee; nervi fulvi. 

Mas. Mesothoracis scutum apice piceo utrinque binotatum; pro- et meta- 
femora fusca, apice fulva: mesofemora fulva. (Corp. long. lin. 1—13; 
alar. lin, 14—13.) 

Var. 8. Mas.—Femora omnia fulva. 

Var. vy. Fem.—Mesothoracis parapsides fere omnino flave, scutelli vittes 
obsolete: abdominis segmenti 1: discus ferrugineus: metatibiz pallide 
fusce. 

Var. }. Fem.—Var. y. similis: mesothoracis scutelli macula fulva : meta- 
femora fusca, apice fulva. 

Var. ¢. Fem.—Mesofemora fulva: metafemora pallide fusca, apice fulva. 

Var. €. Fem.—Mesothoracis scutelli macula nigra, vitte obsolete. 

Var. y. Fem.—Var. 3. similis: mesofemora fulva; metatibiz fusce, 

June, September; near London, Isle of Wight, Wales, Scotland. On 
oaks, Tullymore Park, Ireland, Mr. Haliday. 


Sp. 30. Cirr. Metra, Fem. Ochraceus, antenne fusce, abdomen eneo- 

nigrum, pedes fulvi, ale limpida. 

Ochraceus: caput postice et ad ocellos nigro-piceum: oculi et ocelli rufi: 
antennz fusce ; articuli 1"° et 2"5 fulvi, hic basi et ille apice fusci: thoracis 
suturee piceze: mesothoracis scutum antice nigro-piceum, scutellum piceo 
bivittatum : metathorax piceus: petiolus ferrugineus: abdomen ceneo-ni- 
grum, basi ferrugineum: pedes pallide fulvi; genua flava; ungues et pul- 
villi fusci: alze limpide; squamule pallide flavee; nervi concolores. (Corp. 
long. lin. 1; alar. lin. 12.) 

August ; near London. 

Fem. Corpus longum, sublineare, nitens, subleeve, parce hirtum: caput 
parvum, transversum, subquadratum, punctatum, parum nitens, thorace 
paullo angustius; vertex sat latus; frons impressa, abrupte declivis: an- 
tenne graciles, clavate, thorace paullo longiores; articulus 1"S sublinearis ; 
2"s longicyathiformis; 3"° brevissimus ; 4"% fusiformis, longus; 5" et 6"S 
breviores; clava fusiformis, acuminata, articulo 6° multo longior: thorax 
longiovatus, convexus: prothorax transversus, conspicuus, angustus, postice 
incurvus: mesothoracis scutum magnum, latitudine longius ; parapsidum 
suturze conspicuz, postice mutuo accedentes; paraptera et epimera bene 
determinata ; scutellum subrotundum: metascutellum parvum, fere semi- 
circulum fingens: metathorax conspicuus: abdomen longiovatum, thorace 
Jongius, supra planum, subtus carinatum, apice acuminatum et attenuatum, 
segmenta transversa, parallela, subeequalia: petiolus crassus, brevissimus : 
pedes graciles, simplices, recti, sat longi; tarsis articuli 1° ad 3% subzequales, 
4" 3° longior; ungues et pulvilli mediocres: alz breviter ciliate; nervus 
ulnaris humerali non brevior, radialis vix ullus, cubitalis in alee discum de- 
clivis apice stigma fingens fere integrum. 


202 Mr. Walker on the British Chalcidites. 


Sp. 31. Cirr. Eurytus, Fem. Viridis flavo-varius, antenne nigre, pedes 

flavi, ale limpide. 

Leete viridis: caput antice et subtus flavum: oculi et ocelli rufi: an- 
tenne nigre ; articulus 1"° basi et subtus fulvus; 2"8 apice fulvus: thoracis 
discus cupreo-varius: mesothoracis scutum utrinque et postice flavo margi- 
natum, paraptera et epimera flavo partim marginata, scutellum et postscu- 
tellum flava, illi macula ad basin trigona viridis: abdomen cyaneo-viride : 
pedes flavi; coxe virides; ungues et pulvilli pallide fusci; protarsi fulvi : 
alee limpide ; squamulz fulve, antice virides, nervi fulvi. (Corp. long. lin. 
1; alar. lin. 14.) 

Found near London. 

Fem. Corpus angustum, sublineare, nitens, scitissime squameum, parce 
hirtum: caput transversum, breve, convexum, juxta thoraci latum ; vertex 
sat latus; frons abrupte declivis, vix impressa: oculi mediocres, subrotundi, 
extantes: ocelli vertice triangulum fingentes: antennz graciles, extrorsum 
crassiores, corporis dimidio longiores; articulus 1% fusiformis, 2"° Jongiob- 
conicus; 8° et sequentes lineares, ad 5¥™ curtantes ; clava fusiformis, acu- 
minata, articulo 5° fere duplo longior: thorax ovatus, convexus: prothorax 
transversus, brevissimus, supra vix conspicuus: mesothoracis scutum lati- 
tudine longius; parapsides remote, suture bene determinate; scutellum 
obconicum ; paraptera et epimera conspicua: metathorax mediocris: petio- 
lus brevissimus : abdomen fusiforme, planum, acuminatum, thorace longius 
vix angustius; segmenta parallela, 1» magnum, 2™ et sequentia breviora 
subeequalia: pedes graciles, sat longi, subzequales ; tarsis articuli 1"* et 3" 
breviores, 2's et 4s longiores; ungues et pulvilli parvi: alz anguste, ciliate: ; 
nervus ulnaris humerali longior, radialis nullus, cubitalis in ale discum de- 
clivis stigma fingens parvum fere bimucronatum. 

Sp. 32. Cirr. Mandanis, Fem. Viridis cupreo-varius, abdomen basi fer- 

rugineum, antenne picee, pedes flavi, ale sublimpide. 

Lete viridis, cupreo-varius: oculi et ocelli rufi: antenne pices ; articuli 
1"5 et 2"° fulvi, hic supra et ille apice fusci: abdomen viridi-cupreum, basi 
ferrugineum: pedes lete flavi; cox virides; tarsi apice fusci; protarsi 
fulvi, apice picei: alee sublimpidee; squamule fulve; nervi fulvi. (Corp. 
long. lin. +—4; alar. lin, 3—14.) 

July; near London, Scotland. 

Mas. Corpus nitens, leve, parce hirtum: caput parvum, transversum, 
brevissimum, convexum, thorace angustius; vertex angustus; frons im- 
pressa, abrupte declivis : oculi sat magni, subrotundi, extantes : ocelli ver- 
tice triangulum fingentes: antennz subsetacex, graciles, pilis longioribus 
vestitee, corpore multo breviores; articulus 1S sublinearis, gracilis ; 2"* lon- 
gicyathiformis ; 3"° brevis; 4° et sequentes ad 7%™ lineares, subzequales; 
8s et 9"5 sensim angustiores; 10" minutus, acuminatus: thorax ovatus, 
supra planus: prothorax transversus, brevissimus, antice angustior, supra 
conspicuus: mesothoracis scutum longitudine vix latius; parapsidum su- 
ture remotze, conspicuze ; scutellum brevi obconicum; paraptera et epimera 
sat bene determinata: metathorax mediocris: petiolus brevis, gracilis: ab- 


: ; 
Mr. Walker on the British Chalcidites. 203 


domen sublineare, depressum, fere glabrum, apice paullo latius, thorace an- 
gustius non longius ; segmenta transversa, parallela, subaequalia: pedes gra- 
ciles, simplices, subeequales; tarsis articuli 1"° et 3"° breviores, 2"° et 4"5 lon- 
giores; ungues et pulvilli minuti: ale ciliate: proale late; nervus ulnaris 
humerali paullo longior, radialis nullus, cubitalis longus in alee discum de- 
clivis apice stigma fingens minutum fere integrum. 

Fem. Antenne 8-articulate, extrorsum crassiores, corporis dimidio lon- 
giores; articuli 3", 4"° et 5"° lineares, subaequales; clava fusiformis, atte- 
nuata, acuminata, articulo 5° fere duplo longior : abdomen ovatum, acumi- 
natum, subtus carinatum, thoraci fere quoad longum et latum. 


Sp.33. Cirr. Anysis, Mas et Fem. Aéer, abdomen antice flavum, an- 

tenne fulve, pedes flavi, ale limpide. 

Mas. Ater: caput flavum; vertex piceus: oculi et ocelli rufi: antennz 
pallide fulve ; articulus 1“* flavus, supra fulvo-vittatus ; 2"° flavus, basi 
fuscus: abdomen piceum, ante medium flavo-fasciatum; segmentum 1¥™ 
fuscum: sexualia fulva: pedes lete flavi; coxz basi fulvee; ungues et pul- 
villi fulvi: alee limpide ; squamule flavze, antice fuscee; nervi flavi. 

Fem. Aineo-ater: antennis articulus 1"s flavus; 2"° pallide fulvus, basi 
fuscus: abdomen nigro-piceum ; discus antice flavus ; segmentum 1% basi 
' fuscum: coxee basi piceze: ale minime flavescentes. (Corp. long. lin. 
4—; alar. lin. —1. 

Var.’8. Mas.—Antennis articulus 2"* basi fulvus: squamule antice fulvee. 

Var. y. Mas.—Abdomen nigro-piceum, basi piceum, medium ante fulvo 
fasciatum: alis nervi fulvi. 

Var, . Fem.—Abdominis dimidium anticum flavum; segmentum 1¥™ 
basi fulyum : alis nervi fulvi. 

Var. ¢. Fem.—Antennis articulus 1"° fulvus, apice flavus. 

Var. €. Fem.—Antennis articuli 1"* et 2"8 obscure fulvi:; abdomen cupreo- 
piceum, ante medium flavo-fasciatum : alis nervi fulvi. 

Found near London, 

Mas. Corpus nitens, leve, parce hirtum: caput parvum, transversum, 
brevissimum, convexum, thorace angustius; vertex angustus; frons im- 
pressa, abrupte declivis: oculi sat magni, subrotundi, extantes: ocelli ver- 
tice triangulum fingentes: antenne filiformes, graciles, pilis longioribus 
vestitee, corpore multo breviores; articulus 1"’ sublinearis, gracilis; 2"*lon- 
gicyathiformis; 3"* brevis; 4"° et sequentes ad 7™ lineares, subzequales ; 
8"s et 9"* sensim angustiores; 10"* minutus, acuminatus: thorax ovatus, 
supra planus : prothorax transversus, brevissimus, antice angustior, supra 
conspicuus: mesothoracis scutum longitudine vix latius; parapsidum su- 
turee remote, conspicuz ; scutellum brevi-obconicum ; paraptera et epimera 
sat bene determinata: metathorax mediocris: petiolus brevis, gracilis: ab- 
domen depressum, fere glabrum, sublineare, apice paullo latius, thorace an- 
gustius non longius ; segmenta subzequalia: pedes graciles, simplices, sub- 
sequales ; tarsis articuli 1"° et 3% breviores, 2"* et 4"°longiores: ale ci- 
liatee; proalee latee; nervus ulnaris humerali paullo longior, radialis nullus, 
cubitalis in ale discum declivis stigma minutum fingens. 


204. Mr. Walker on the British Chalcidites.. 


Fem. Antenne extrorsum crassiores, corporis dimidio longiores ; articuli 
3° ad 5"™ curtantes ; clava fusiformis, attenuata, acuminata, articulo 5° du- 
plo longior : abdomen ovatum, acuminatum, subtus carinatum, thoraci fere 
quoad longum et latum; segmentum 1"" magnum, 2" et sequentia brevia, 
subzequalia. 

Sp. 34. Cirr. Ecus, Mas et Fem. Viridis, abdomen cupreum basi sepe 

flavum, antenne fulve, pedes flavi, ale limpide. 

Fem. Leete viridis: oculi et ocelli rufi: antenne obscure fulvz ; arti- 
culi 1"s et 2"5 fusci, ille basi flavus: abdomen cupreum, basi fulvescens, 
apice viride: pedes lete flavi; ungues, pulvilli et protarsi fulvi: ale lim- 
pide ; squamulee flave, antice fulvo varie ; nervi flavi. 

Mas. Aineo-viridis: antenne pallide fulve ; articuli 1"* et 2"s fusci, hic 
apice fulvus: abdomen cupreum, basi flavescens, apice viridi-varium. (Corp. 
long. lin. +—%.; alar. lin. 3—1.) 

Var. 8. Fem.—Thorax cyaneo-viridis: abdomen medium ante flavo 
fasciatum: alis nervi flavi. 

Var. y. Fem.—Antennis articuli 1"* et 2"* pallide fusci, hic apice fulvus, 
ille basi flavus: abdomen antice flavum, postice cupreum. 

Var. 3. Fem.—Mesothoracis scutellum eet ise seo abdomen cu- 
preum, apice viride. 

Var. ¢«. Fem.—Metathorax zeneo-viridis: abdomen cupreum; segmenta 
apice viridia: alis nervi fulvi. 

Var. €. Fem.—Var. vy. similis : antennis articulus 1" flavus, apice supra 
pallide fuscus. 

July, October, near London. 

Mas. Corpus sublineare, nitens, scitissime squameum, parce hirtum : caput 
transversum, breve, convexum, thorace latius : antennz clavate, pilis longis 
vestitee, corporis dimidio longiores ; articulus lus latus, longiovatus ; 28 lon- 
gicyathiformis; 3" et sequentes ad 6"™ breves, approximati, sublineares ; 
clava longiovata, articulo 6° plus duplo longior et multo latior : thorax ova- 
tus, convexus: prothorax brevissimus, supra vix conspicuus: mesothoracis 
scutum latitudine longius ; parapsidum suture bene determinate ; scutellum 
breviconicum: metathorax transversus, mediocris: petiolus brevissimus : 
abdomen sublineare, planum, thorace brevius et angustius: pedes graciles: 
alis nervus ulnaris humerali longior, radialis vix ullus, cubitalis sat longus. 

Sp. 35. Cirr. Euedochus, Mas. Viridis, abdomen cupreum, antenne 

flave apice fulve, pedes fiavi, femora nonnunguam obscuriora, ale 
limpide. 

Obscure viridis eneo-varius: oculi et ocelli rufi: antenne lete flave ; 
clava fulva, basi flava: abdomen cupreum: pedes lite flavi; cox virides, 
apice flave ; meso- et metatarsi apice fulvi; protarsi supra pallide fulvi : alze 
limpide ; squamulz flavee, supra fusco notate; nervi flavi. (Corp. long. 
lin. 4—; alar. lin. —1.) 

Var. @.—Antennis articulus 1° cupreus; 4", 5" et 6° supra pallide fulvi; 
clava obscurior: coxee virides ; trochanteres fulvi; pro- et mesofemora basi 
fusca; metafemora viridia, apice flava. 


“Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 205 


On the hazel, Holywood, near Belfast, Ireland, Mr. Haliday. Found 
near London. 

Fem. Corpus longum, angustum, sublineare, nitens, scitissime squameum, 
parce hirtum: caput transversum, breve, thorace paullo latius; vertex la- 
tus; frons abrupte declivis: oculi mediocres : antenne capitate, thorace paullo 
breviores ; articulus 1"° gracilis, fusiformis; 2"* longicyathiformis ; 3"*, 4°° et 
5"° sublineares, zequales ; clava ovata, articulo 5° multo latior et plus duplo 
longior: thorax longiovatus, parum convexus: prothorax conspicuus, lati- 
tudine longior, antice angustus: mesothoracis scutum depressum, latitudine 
longius; parapsidum suture non bene determinatz; seutellum obconicum : 
metathorax mediocris: petiolus brevissimus: abdomen longiovatum, de- 
pressum, apice acuminatum, thorace paullo latius vix longius; segmentum 
1°" magnum, 2°” et sequentia brevia : pedes graciles, simplices, subzequales ; 
tarsis articulus 1" brevis, 4°° longus; ungues et pulvilli minuti: alis nervus 
ulnaris humerali longior, cubitalis sat longior, stigma parvum subfurcatum 
fingens ; radialis brevissimus. 

[To be continued. ] 


XXVI.—Flore Insularum Nove Zelandie Precursor; or a 
Specimen of the Botany of the Islands of New Zealand. 
By ALLAN CUNNINGHAM, Esq. 

[Continued from p. 132.] 
RUBIACE, (Juss), 
(OrEercuLaria£, A. Rich.) 
1. OpercuLaria, Ge@erin., A. Rich. 
466. O. diphylla, foliis , capitulis ex dichotomia ramorum stipitatis 
_ sphericis involucris setoso-hispidis in capitulo pluribus 3—4 floris, corollis 

tetrandris. DC. Prodr. iv. p. 616. Garin. Rem. et Sch. Syst. Veg. iii. 

p.837.—Rubioides diphylla. Soland. Ms. in Bibl. Banks. 

New Zealand.—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. 

467. O. aspera, foliis oblongis scabris venosis, floribus capitatis pedun- 
culis axillaribus. DC. Prodr. iv. p.616. Spreng. Syst. Veg. i. p.885. Gaertn. 
Reem. et Sch. Syst, Veg. iii. p.334.—Rubioides aspera. Sol, Ms. in Bibl. 
Banks. 


2. Gatium, L. Juss. 

468. G. tenuicaule, annuum, caule debili valde attenuato tetragono re- 
trorsum aspero, foliis quaternis spathulato-oblongis acutis basi angustatis 
aculeato-scabris, pedunculis axillaribus subtrifloris, folium subzequantibus, 
fructibus globoso-didymis glabris. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Damp woods on the Keri-Keri and 
Wangaroa rivers.—1834, R. Cunningham. 

469. G. propinqguum, annuum, caule attenuato debili decumbente tetra- 
gono glabro membranaceo, foliis quaternis (4 lineas longis) ellipticis acutis 
petiolatis margine aculeato-hispidis, pedunculis axillaribus solitariis folio vix 
longioribus, fructibus glabris globoso-didymis minutim tuberculatis. 
~ New Zealand (Northern Island). Shaded woods, Wangaroa.—1833, FR. 

_ Cunningham. 


206 Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 


Obs. This species approaches very near to G. humile (Cham. et 
Schlecht. in Linnea, 1825, p. 226.) a native of South America, the 
fruit of which is, however, described as being pubescent. DC. Prodr. 
iy. p. 604. 

Quid Galium umbrosum, Sol. Ms. in Forst. Prodr. n. 500, absque descr. ? 


ex Nova Zelandia. 
3. Coprosma, Forst. 


(Pelaphia, Banks et Sol.) | 

470. C. lucida; foliis ovatis utrinque acuminatis, pedunculis axillaribus 
compositis, floribus subcapitatis, antheris exsertis. DC. Prodr, iv. p. 578. 
Forst. Prodr. n. 188. Reem. et Sch. Syst. Veg. vi. p. 210. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. 
Zel.p.262. Endl. Prodr. Fl. Norf. p. 60. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1773, G. Forster. (Middle Island), 
Bay of Islands, on the banks of rivers. —1826, 4. Cunningham. 

Obs. An species plures hic confuse sunt ? 

471. C. feetidissima, foliis ovato-oblongis angustis confertis glabris, flori- 
bus solitariis terminalibus sessilibus (inter folia conferta) antheris exsertis. 
Forst, Prodr. n. 188. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p.261. DC. Prodr. iv. p. 578. 
Roem. et Sch. Syst. Veg. vi. p. 210.—C conferta. 4. C. Mss, 1826. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Queen Charlotte’s Sound.—1773, G. 
Forster. (Northern Island,) Alluvial banks of rivers, Bay of Islands.— 
1826, 4. Cunningham. 

472. C. propinqua, foliis lanceolato-oblongis obtusissimis glabris, floribus 
solitariis paucis ad apicem ramulorum subsessilibus, ramis brachiatis virgatis 
strictis. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). In shaded woods, Wangaroa.—1833, 
A, Cunningham. 

Obs. Closely allied to the preceding, but the flowers are less 
crowded, and its leaves are smaller. 

473. C. rotundifolia, foliis obovato-subrotundis obtusis subacuminatisve 
petiolatis subtus ramulisque virgatis pilosis, floribus axillaribus ageregatis 
pedicellatis. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). In dry woods at Wangaroa, bearing 
“red drupze.”—Dec. 1833, R. Cunningham. 

474. C. rhamnoides, foliis (parvis) obovato-rotundatis obtusis petiolatis 
glabris margine revolutis tenuissime ciliatis, petiolis ramulisque villosis, flo- 
ribus axillaribus solitariis, ramis brachiatis rigidis patentibus dependentibus 
deflexis. 

New Zealand (Northern Island), Banks of the Keri-Keri river.—1834, 
Rh. Cunningham. 

475. C. gracilis, foliis (parvis) ovato-oblongis petiolatis obtusiusculis mar- 
gine revolutis utrinque glabris, floribus axillaribus solitariis pedicellatis, ra- 
mulis erectis gracilibus villosis. 

New Zealand (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster (fide examplar absque 
fructificatione in Herbario Banks, conservatur). (Northern Island,) a slender 
shrub, in alluvial seil on the banks of the Keri-Keri river, &c., Bay of 
Islands,—1834, 2, Cunningham, bearing red berries in December, 


S4 
at 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 207 


476. C. divaricata, foliis obovato-oblongis obtusis petiolatis glabris, flori- 
bus axillaribus solitariis breviter pedunculatis, ramis divaricatis rigidis, ra- 
mulis tomentosis. | 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Dry woods at Wangaroa.—1826, 2. 
' Cunningham.—1833, R. Cunningham. 

477. C. acerosa, foliis linearibus acerosis obtusis, fasciculatis levibus mar- 
gine revolutis floribus masculis axillaribus solitariis sessilibus tetrandris, ra- 
mulis strictis brevi tomentosis.—Pelaphia acerosa. Sol. Ms. in Bibl. Banks. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. Sandy rocks 
on the Hokianga, near the immediate shore.—1826, 4. Cunningham. Sea 
coast, on the east side, opposite the Cavallos Isles.—1834, BR. Cunning- 
ham. 

Obs. Flores declives dioici. MJasculi tetrandri. Foeminei, stylus bifidus, 
elongatus. 

478. C. repens, (Rich.) caule frutescente prostrato, foliis obovalibus ob- 
tusis margine subsinuatis, pedunculis simplicibus axillaribus brevibus apice 
3—5 floris, fructibus obcordatis. 4. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 264.—C. pusilla, 
Sol. Forst. Prodr. n.518. absq. descr. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Cook’s Strait and Astrolabe Harbour.— 
1827, D’ Urville. 

Obs. Frutex repens, prostratus. Folia opposita, obovalia, integra, gla- 
berrima 2—3 pollicaria, margine subsinuosa basi sensim in petiolum vix pol- 
licarem desinentia. Peduneuli axillares, solitarii. Jructus apice peduncu- 
lorum, 2—5, carnosi, binuculati, nucibus 1-locularibus, 1-spermis. 

479. C. spathulata erecta, virgata, glabra, foliis subrotundis obtusis vel 
emarginatis, basi sensim in petiolum attenuatis, floribus solitariis, stylis lon- 
gissimis. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Shady rocks, Wangaroa, &c.—1826, 
A. Cunningham.—1834, R, Cunningham. 


4. Ronazsea, Aubl., A. Rich. Mém. Soc. Paris, v. p. 270, 

Calyx tubus ovatus, limbus minimus 5-dentatus. Corolla oblonga subin- 
fundibuliformis, lobis 5-petulis acutis, fauce nuda, Anther@ 5, ob- 
longee, incluse. Stigma bilamellatum. Bacca ovata umbilicata, foeta 
nucibus duabus 1-spermis hine planis inde convexis. DC, 

480. &.? australis, foliolis obovalibus obtusis basi sensim in petiolum at- 
tenuatis, pedunculis axillaribus trifurcatis, floribus sessilibus subcapitatis. 
A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 265. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Astrolabe Harbour.—1827, D’Urville. 

Patété, incol., D’ Urville. 

Obs. Arbor sat grandis, dumosa, ramis teretibus, glabris. Folia opposita, 
subcoriacea, glaberrima, supra viridia, subtus pallidiora, 4—5 pollices longa, 
2—3 lata. Flores 3—8 ad apicem pedicellorum sessiles congesti. Fructus 
distincti, ovoidei, pisiformes, subcarnosi, apice brevissime umbilicati, binu- 
culati, nucibus 1-spermis. 

*D’ailleurs le Ron. australis a de lanalogie avec une autre espece 
nouvelle que nous avons désignée, dans notre travail sur les Rubiacées, 
sous le nom de Ronabea morindoides. Cependant le limbe du calice, 


208 Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 


entier dans son bord, est un caractére qui ne s’est offert & nous dans 
aucune autre espéce du genre. Peutétre que si nous avions pu étudier 
organisation des diverses parties de la fleur, nous eussions été porté 
& faire de notre plante un genre nouveau.” A. Rich, 

Affinis Psychotria, sed bacca non costata. 


5. Nertera, Banks in Gerin. Fr. Juss. 
481. N. depressa. DC. iv. p.451. Forst. Prodr.n. 501. Smith Ic. Ined. 
ii. ¢, 28.—-Gomozia granadensis. Mutis in Linn. Suppl. p. 29. 


6. Geopuita, Don, Prodr. Fl. Nep. 136. 
(Psychotria, Sp. L.) 

Calyx 5-partitus, laciniis linearibus patenti-recurvis. Corolla tubulosa, 
fauces pilosz lobis 5 ovatis subrecurvis. Anthere 5 incluse. Stigma 
bifidum. Bacca ovoidea costato-angulata calyce coronata bilocularis 
disperma. 

482. G.? dichondrefolia, hispido-pilosa, foliis (semiuncialibus) latissime 
ellipticis subreniformibusve cordatis acuminatis petiolum zquantibus, flori- 
bus fructibus subsessilibus solitariis terminalibus, 

New Zealand (Northern Island). In dry woods on the shores of the Bay 
of Islands, at Waimaté, Hokianga, &c.--1834, R. Cunningham. “ Bearing 
orange-coloured berries” in December. 

I have been induced to refer this plant (clearly, I conceive,) of 
Rubiacee to Geophila of Don, as much from its habit, as from the struc- 
ture of its fruit, reported to be an orange-coloured bacca. 


7. Viscum, ZL. 

483. V. antarcticum, ramis compresso-teretibus, ramulis ancipitibus, foliis 
oblongo-ovatis basi attenuatis petiolatis obtusis undulatis, enerviis, racemis, 
ramis axillaribus terminalibusve patentibus articulatis. Jorst. Prodr.n.370. 
A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p.269. DC. Prodr, iv. p, 285.—Tupeia antarctica. 
Schlechtend. in Linnea, ii. p. 203. 

New Zealand (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster. (Northern Island,) 
parasitical on Avicennia tomentosa, Br., on the banks of the Kana-Kana river. 
—1834, R. Cunningham. ; 

484. V. pubigerum, ramis teretibus levibus dichotomis, foliis elliptico- 
rhomboideis obtusis basi attenuatis venosis margine asperis, nervo medioramu- 
lisque pubescentibus, floribus terminalibus lateralibusve umbellato-racemosis. 

Tiran-riki, incol., 2. Cunn. . 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Upon several trees on river banks, at 
the Bay of Islands. 4. Cunningham. 

485. V. salicornoides, aphyllum, ramosissimum, ramis teretibus articulatis, 
vaginis dilatatis. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Parasitical on Leptospermum scoparium, 
the Kahikitra of the natives, Keri-Keri river, Bay of Islands.—1834, 2, 
Cunningham. 


8. Lorantuus, LZ. 
486. L. tetrapetalus, L. Forst. Prodr.n. 156. Schult. Syst. Veg. vii. p. 
60. DC. Prodr, iv. p. 295. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 268. 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 209 


New Zealand (Middle Island). Queen Charlotte’s Sound.—1773, G. 
Forster. (Northern Island.) Parasitical on Metrosideros tomentosa, or 
Pohntu-Kana of the natives; is also occasionally on the branches of Vitea lit- 
doralis, their Puriri, in the forests of Wangaroa.—1826, 4. Cunningham.— 
1834, R. Cunningham. 

Folia subpetiolata, opposita, ovalia, obtusa, erecto-patentia. lores ex 
axillis vel cicatricibus foliorum oriuntur, pedunculati, szepe solitarii, seepe 
etiam bini, terni, quaterni, in singulo fasciculo, aurantio-coccinei. 


9. Genus Cornzs affine. 
ALSEUOSMIA. 

Calycis tubus ovario adnatus, limbo supero 4—5-fido, deciduo, laciniis 
ovatis «stivatione valvata. Corolla infundibuliformis, tubo elongato 
calyce multoties longior, fauce imberbi-limbus 5-partitus regularis, la- 
ciniis ovatis acutiusculis, margine divisis sinuato-repandis perzstiva- 
tione valvata, Stamina 5, equalia, brevia, ori tubi inserta et cum la= 
ciniis alterna. Discus epigynus. Anthere ultra faucem exsertz, bi- 
loculares, longitudinaliter dehiscentes: ovarium biloculare, loculis 2—5 
ovulatis vel indefinitis. Stylus elongatus, filiformis, glaber, longitudine 
staminum. Stigma depresso-capitatum indivisum. Bacca turbinata, 
obovata, glabra, infera, 1-locularis, polysperma, aut interdum abortu 
oligosperma. Semina obovata, curvata, obtusa, latere exteriore con- 
vexa, interiore angulata, medio interiore umbilico instructa. Testa 
brunnea, levis, crassa, rugulosa, pulchre reticulata. lbumen copiosum, 
carnosum. Jmbryo minutus, rectus, albumine 4—5'** brevior, dicoty- 
ledoneus, juxta basin albuminis. Cotyledones subfoliacei, sibi incum- 
bentes. Jtadicula brevis, crassa, obtusa, ab umbilico remota. Plumula’ 
inconspicua, Frutices erecti, sempervirentes, 2—3 pedales. Folia al- 
terna, exstipulata, petiolata, oblonga, subintegra seu lobata. Petioli basi 
dilatata. Flores odoratissimi, pedicellati, bracteati, laterales seu termi- 
nales, solitarii aut fasciculati, subracemosi. 


Flores harum plantarum in sylvis natalibus suis, gratissimum late 
spirant odorem, unde nomen Generis, ex aAcos lucus, et evorpia 
gratus odor. 

487. A. linariifolia, foliis (uncialibus) lineari-lanceolatis acuminatis mar- 
gine revolutis, floribus terminalibus solitariis ageregatisve, ramulis virgatis 
pubescentibus, 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Margins of dry woods, Bay of Islands. 
—1826, 4. Cunningham. 

488. A. ligustrifolia, foliis (uncialibus) oblongis oblongo-lanceolatisve ob- 
tusis margine revolutis integerrimis vel rarissime parum dentatis subtus dis- 
coloribus, floribus lateralibus, ramulis tenuissime pubescentibus. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Shaded woods at Wangaroa.—1833, 
ht. Cunningham. 

489. A. Banksii, gracilis, foliis elliptico-oblongis rhomboideisve obtusis 
basi attenuatis longe petiolatis margine revolutis subintegris dentato-repandis 


Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol. 2. No.9. Nov. 1838. P 


210 Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 


lobatisve, floribus lateralibus terminalibusve subsolitariis, ramulis pubescen- 
tibus. Fagoides triloba. Banks et Sol. Mss. in herb. Banks, absque fructifi- 
catione. | 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. Skirts of woods 
on the shores of the Bay of Islands.—1834, R. Cunningham. 

490. A. paleiformis, foliis absque petiolis (vix semiuncialibus) longe pe- 
tiolatis subrotundis rhomboideisve obtusis integerrimis vel parum dentatis 
basi subcordatis simplicibusve, floribus axillaribus subsolitariis, ramulis 
tenuiter virgatis strigoso-pubescentibus. 

New Zealand (Northern Island), Dense forests of Wangaroa, &c.—1833, 
Rich. Cunningham. 

491, A. atriplicifolia, foliis elliptico-rhomboideis subrotundisve, obtusis 
longe petiolatis integris repando-dentatisve, floribus axillaribus ageregatis 
ramulis glabriusculis. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Dry woods at Wangaroa, &c.— 
1833, Rich. Cunningham. 

492. A. Ilex, foliis elliptico-oblongis subacuminatis obtusis integerrimis 
lobatisve, floribus lateralibus terminalibusve fasciculato-racemosis, ramulis 
glabris. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Shaded woods in the country between 
the Bay of Islands and Hokianga River.—1826, 4. Cunningham:—1833, 
R. Cunningham. 

493, A. quercifolia, foliis ovato-oblongis acuminatis petiolatis distanter 
lobatis subintegerrimisve, foliis lateralibus fasciculatis, ramulis gracilibus 
glaberrimis. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Dry woods on the shores of the Bay of 
Islands.—1826, 4. Cunningham. 

494, A. macrophylla, foliis (4—5 uncialibus) oblongis obovatisve coriaceis 
leevibus obtusis basi attenuatis integerrimis dentatisve, floribus oe 
solitariis aggregatisve, ramulis glaberrimis. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Margins of dry woods, Hokianga River, 
&c.—1826, 4. Cunningham. 

This new genus is very closely allied to Cornea, DC., as also to the 
Caprifoliacee and Loranthacee, DC. ; it appears, however, to consti- 
tute a distinct family differing from Cornee in having a monopetalous 
flower and a baccated fruit, pulpy within, containing several seeds ; 
from Caprifoliacee, in the stamens being inserted into the corolla, in 
having an embryo situated at the lower extremity of the albumen, and 
alternate leaves; and from Loranthacee, in having a monopetalous 
flower with a long tube, short segments, with which the stamens are 
alternate, a bilocular ovarium, each cell with several ascending ovules, 
and a minute embryo, several times shorter than the fleshy albumen. 

UMBELLIFERA, Juss. 
1. Hyprocory.e, LZ. 
495. H. elongata, tota villis densis patentibus, foliis longe petiolatis reni- 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 211 


formibus quinquelobis, lobis divaricatis cuneiformibus retusis incisis, incisuris 
tridentatis, umbellis pedunculatis multifloris, mericarpiis-utrinque 1-costatis, 
pedunculis petiolo quater longioribus, caule debili repente. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Wet grounds near the Keri-Keri river, 
Bay of Islands. —1834, R. Cunningham. 

496. H. microphylla, depressa, repens, foliis orbiculato-reniformibus laxe 
pilosis quinquelobis, lobis ingequaliter dentatis, pedunculis glabris petiolo 
subgequalibus, umbellis multifloris (10—12), fructibus glabris didymis, meri- 
’ carpiis utrinque 1-costatis. 

497. H. Nove Zelandia, foliis orbiculato-reniformibus utrinque petiolis- 
que hirtis 7-nerviis obsolete 7-lobatis acute et irregulariter dentatis, pedun- 
culis glabris petiolo quadruplo brevioribus, umbellis dense capitatis 10—12 
floris, fructibus subdidymis utrinque 1-costatis. DC. Prodr. iv. p. 67. 

New Zealand.—1827, D’ Urville. 

Obs. An veré species distincta a preecedente ? 

498. H. dichondrefolia, foliis cordato-reniformibus lobato-crenatis 7-ner- 
viis minutissime scabris, petiolis hirtis pedunculo glabro longioribus, um- 
bellis sub 6—8 floris, fructibus didymis glabris utrinque 1-costatis. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). In bogs at Waimate and Keri-Keri 
river.—1834, R. Cunningham. 

499. H. heteromeria, glabra, foliis reniformibus 7-nerviis obsolete 7- 
lobatis, lobis obtusis crenatis pedunculo petiolo flaccidis multo breviore, um- 
bella 6-—8-flora capitata, fructu hinc leevi, illinc tuberculato-rugoso discolori 
utrinque unicostato. DC. Prodr. iv. p.66. A. Rich. Fl. Nov, Zel. p. 271, 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. 

500. H. compacta, villosa, foliis orbiculato-reniformibus parvulis 7-nerviis 
inciso-dentatis, pedunculis fasciculatis brevissimis, umbellis 15—20 floris 
dense capitatis, fructibus subdidymis utrinque bicostatis. DC. Prodr. iv. 
p. 66. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 271.—H. capitata. Banks et Sol. Ms, in 
Herb. Banks. ; non Pet. Thouarsiti vel Humboldtii. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. 

501. H. moschata, tota hirtella, foliis reniformibus sub 5-lobatis dentatis 
5-nerviis, lobis acutis pedunculis petiolo brevioribus gracilioribus, umbella 
capitata 10-flora, fructibus orbiculato-didymis utrinque bicostatis glabris. 
DC. Prodr. iv. p.67. Forst. Prodr. n. 136. A. Rich, Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 272. 
Rich. Hydr. n. 42. t. 24. ; 

New Zealand (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster. 

502. H. Asiatica. L. Schult, Syst. Veg. vi. p. 348. DC. Prodr. iv. p. 
62. Rich. Hydr. n. 15. f. 11. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Low marshy grounds at Wangaroa.— 
1826, 4. Cunningham,—1833, R. Cunningham. 

2. Perrosetinum, Hoffm. Umb. 
(Apii Sp. L. Spreng.) 

503. P. prostratum, caule procumbente flexuoso, foliis pinnatisectis, seg 
mentis petiolulatis pinnatifidis, laciniis 5—7 lanceolatis, ultimis apice tri- 
fidis, umbellis subsessilibus oppositifoliis involucro submonophyllo. DC, 

P.2 


212 Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 


Prodr. iv. p. 102. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 278.—Apium prostratum. 
Schult, Syst. Veg. vi. p.480. Labill. n. Holl. i. p. 76. t. 103. Venten. Malm. 
t. 81. 

Rau-orou, incol., D’ Urville. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Astrolabe Harbour, on granite rocks.— 
1827, D’Urville. (Northern Island,) sea coast near Wangaroa.—1833, 
Rich. Cunningham. 

504. P. filiforme, caule prostrato filiformi, foliis longe petiolatis 3-folio- 
latis, foliolis cuneatis apice inciso-dentatis, umbellis sessilibus 3—4 radiis. 
A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 278. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Cook's Strait, in swamps.—1827, D’Ur- 
ville, (Northern Island.) On rocks, washed by salt water, Wangaroa,—1833, 
R. Cunningham. 

8. Liausticum, Z. Koch, Umb. 

505. L. Aciphylla, caule vaginato, foliis flabelliformibus multifido-com- 
positis, laciniis linearibus rigidis integerrimis nervosis pungentibus, meri- 
carpiis 3-costatis. Spreng. in Sch. Syst. Veg. vi. p. 554. DC. Prodr. iv. 
p. 159. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 274.—Aciphylla squarrosa. Forst. Gen. 
t. 68. Laserpitium aciphyllum. J. Suppl. Forst. Prodr. n. 139. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Shores of Queen Charlotte’s Sound.— 
1773, G. Forster. 

Obs. Ex Icone certe non est Laserpitium! An proprium doauit DC. 

506. L. Gingidium, caule striato, petiolis vaginantibus laxis, foliis pinna- 
tisectis, segmentis suboblique cordatis oblongo-ovatis obtusis crenatis ner- 
vosis. DC. Prodr. iv. p. 159. Sch. Syst. Veg. vi. p. 552. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. 
Zel. p. 276. Gingidium montanum. Forst. Gen. t. 21. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Mountains, near Queen Charlotte’s 
Sound. 1773, G. Forster. 


4, Prucepanum, Koch, DC. 

507. P.? geniculatum, glabrum ramoso-prostratum, caule tereti striato, 
foliis alternis basi cuncatis integerrimis apice semiorbicularibus crenatis, 
petiolo basi breve et obtuse auriculato, umbella pedunculata 2—3-radiata, 
involucro 2—3-phyllo, umbellulis multifloris apice inflexo-cordatis. Forst. 
DC. Prodr. iv. p. 182. A. Rich, Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 272.—Bowlesia genicu- 
lata. Sch. Syst. Veg. vi. p. 364. Spreng. Umb. p. 14, t. 5. f.11. 

New Zealand (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster. 

Obs. “Certé non est Bowlesia, ob calycem edentatum, petala inflexo-ob- 
cordata, umbellatum radiatum. Non videtur Peucedanum, sed genus fructu 
ignoto me omnino latet.”——-DC. loc. cit. 


5. Apium, L. 


508. A. graveolens. L. Forst. Prodr,n. 141. DC, Prodr. iv. p. 101. 
A. Rich, Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 277. 

New Zealand.—1773, G. Forster. 

Obs. I] est extrémement probable que cette espéce a été introduite par 
les Européens. 4, Rich, Yet Forster found it wild in 1773. 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 213 


ARALIACEA, Juss. 
1. Panax, Z. Forst. 

509. P. simplex, foliis simplicibus petiolatis elliptico-oblongis acutis mu~ 
cronulatis dentato-serratis, racemis terminalibus folio brevioribus. Forst. 
Prodr. n. 399. _ DC. Prodr. iv. p. 253. Sch. Syst. Veg. vi. p. 212. Willd. 
Sp. Pl. 4. p.1152. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 280. t. 31. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Dusky Bay.—1773, G. Forster. 

510. P. arboreum, foliis longe petiolatis, foliolis 3—7 petiolulatis obova- 
libus acutis argute dentatis glabris palmaribus, umbella composita terminali 
aut axillari, radiis 10—12 pollicaribus, involucris involucellisque nullis, flo- 
ribus sepius polygamiis. orst. Prodr. n. 398. DC. Prodr. n.253. Sch: 
Syst. Veg. vi. p.213. Willd. Sp. Pl. 4. p. 1126, A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 
281. 

Wawa-paku, incol., R. Cunn. 

New Zealand (Middle Island). Dusky Bay.—1773, G. Forster. Tas- 
mann’s Bay.—1827, D’Urville. (Northern Island). In shaded forests— 
1826, 4. Cunningham.— 1834, R. Cunningham. 

Obs. Caulis arboreus, 12—15 pedalis, ramosus. 

2. Cussonia, Thunb. Nov. Act. Ups. 

511. C. Lessoni, foliis longe petiolatis digitatis, - foliis 3—5, sessilibus co- 
riaceis integris, oblongo-ellipticis acutis glabris aveniis, floribus racemoso- 
umbellatis terminalibus, fructu 5-loculari. 4. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 285. t. 
32.—Panax ? Lessoni.. DC. Prodr. iv. p. 253, 

Whau-whau, incol., sec. R. Cunningham. 

New Zealand (Northern Island), Bream Bay, on the east coast.—1827, 
D’Urville. Sea shore opposite the Cavallos isles, within the range of the 
tide. —1833, Rich. Cunningham. Frutex 6—10 pedalis. 

3. Ponyscras, Forst. Gen. Lamarck. 

Calycis margo brevis denticulatus. Petala 5—7, sepius 8, lanceolata, 
patentia. Stamina tot quot petala, iis alterna. Stylus 0. Stigmata 
3—5 brevissima erecto-patentia. Bacca globosa calycis margine stig- 
matibusque coronata, 4-locularis, 4-sperma. 

512. P. pinnata. Forst. Gen. t. 32. DC. Prodr. iv. p. 257. Endl. Syn. 

Fl. Norf. Insul. Occ, Austr. in Annal. der Wien. Mus, Band i. p.177. 

New Zealand (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster. (Endl.) 

Frutex. Folia pinnata. Umbella composita seu verticillato-prolifera, 
umbellulis multiradiatis planis, ceet. ign. Genus valde dubium. An Aralie 
sp.? DC. An planta indigena Nove Zelandie? Allan Cunningham. 

4, Aratia, Don. Kunth. DC. 

513. A. Scheffiera, caule fruticoso levi, foliis longe petiolatis glabris digi- 
tatis, foliolis 5-petiolulatis lanceolatis basi attenuatis serrulatis, racemis ter- 
minalibus. Spreng. DC. Prodr. iv. p. 258. Sch. Syst. Veg. vi. p.699. A. 
Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p.283.—A. polygama. Sol. Ms. im Bibl. Banks.— 
Schefflera digitata. orst. Gen, t. 23. 

Paté et Horoika, inco)., R. Cunningham. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir. Jos. Banks. On low flats, 


214 | Bibliographical Notices. 


subject to Wangaroa.—1826, 4. Cunningham.—1833, R. Cunningham. 
(Middle Island),—1773, G. Forster. Astrolabe Harbour.—1827, D’Ur- 
ville, 

Arbor 12—15 pedalis. 

514. A. crassifolia (Sol. Ms.), foliis incrassatis levibus (in planta juve- 
nili) simplicibus elongato-attenuatis remote dentatis dentato-incisisve, ar- 
boris adulti ternatis spathulato-elongatis dentatis obtusis, floribus racemoso- 
umbellatis terminalibus, caule arborescenti. Banks § Sol. Ms. in Bibl. 
Banks (1769).—A. heterophylla. Cunn, Ms. 1826. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, St Jos. Banks. Shaded woods, 
on the shores of the Bay of Islands, Wangaroa, &c.—1826, 4. Cunningham. 
—1833, R. Cunningham. 

Horoika, incol. Arbor polymorpha, 20—31 pedalis. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 

Plante Javanice Rariores, descripte iconibusque illustrate, quas in 
Insula Java, annis 1802—1818, legit et investigavit 'T. Horsfield, 
M.D. e siccis descriptiones et characteres plurimarum elaboravit J. J. 
Bennett; observationes structuram et affinitates presertim respi- 
cientes passim adjecitt R. Brown. Part I.—Allen and Co., Leaden- 
hall Street, 1838. 

This is one of the most valuable contributions, not only to our 
knowledge of the plants of the East, but to Botany in the abstract, 
which has appeared in this country; for the fruits of Dr. Horsfield’s 
researches in Java have elicited some of those profound observations 
on structure from Mr. Brown, which are alone sufficient to stamp the 
work with a classical reputation. 

But independent of these contributions from this eminent Natura- 
list, we view Dr. Horsfield’s work with peculiar satisfaction, from the 
evidence it affords of the sagacity and research of Mr. Bennett, who 
holds the situation of Assistant in the Botanical department of the 
British Museum, and who has given ample proof in the work before 
us of his capacity to follow in the steps of his distmguished principal. 
It is with no little pride that we hail the dawn of areputation which 
is to reflect lustre on our national establishment, for the accuracy and 
learning displayed by Mr. Bennett have placed him high in the rank 
of Botanists ; and when we consider the advantages of his position, 
with one of the most magnificent Herbaria and libraries in Europe 
at his command, and the example under which he has pursued his 
investigations, we look forward with confidence to his maintaining 
by scrupulous care and research, and the principle of pure mental 
integrity, the reputation of the Banksian school, already so eminent 
by the names of Solander, Dryander, and Brown. 


Bibliographical Notices. 215 


The work consists of descriptions and figures of the moreinteresting 
plants selected from an Herbarium of 2196 species, collected by Dr. 
Horsfield in Java between the years 1802 and 1818. This indefa- 
tigable naturalist, whose labours (we say this with a distinct recol- 
lection of his important publications on the zoology of Java) can only 
be fully appreciated by those who have seen his vast collections in the 
Museum of the East India Company, and who is endeared to us by his 
intimate association with the late lamented Sir Stamford Raffles, and 
by his extensive acquirements in all departments of. natural history, 
is one of the faithful servants of a company, which, through the 
spirit communicated to its officers, has certainly been more honoured 
by men of eminence in its employment, than we believe has ever 
fallen to the lot of any other government in ancient or modern times. 
We doubt if an equal number of adventurous and faithful contribu- 
tors to the stock of human knowledge in all its departments, to those 
which for a long succession of years have reflected imperishable ho- 
nour on the East India Company, can be found in the records of any 
other service. When among many others we allude to the names 
of Jones, Wilkins, Marsden, Colebrooke, Raffles, Elphinstone, Mal- 
colm, Roxburgh, Hamilton, Hardwicke, Wallich, Horsfield, Royle, 
men who, in the discharge of important public duties, found time to 
devote themselves successfully to literature and science, and whose 
labours have been fully appreciated by the learned in all countries, we 
cannot but attribute the spirit which animated them to the liberality 
and encouragement of the Board of Directors of the East India Com- 
pany. Dr. Horsfield’s work, from the beauty of its illustrations and 
the copiousness of its text, will rank with the splendid publications 
of Humboldt, Martius, Blume, Wallich, Royle, and we only regret 
that it is to be limited to the particular description of fifty species. 
The first part contains twenty-five plates, and one hundred and four 
pages of letter-press, the greater part of which we owe to Mr. Ben- 
nett ; and in the rapid analysis which we subjoin, we regret that we 
cannot enlarge upon several of his observations, especially those on 
grasses under Ataxia, Sclerachne and Polytoca. We refer to the 
work itself for these important articles, and those on Podocarpus, 
Antiaris, Pouzolzia, and Gunnera, for proofs of the labour bestowed 
by Mr. Bennett in his researches. / 

In the first article, the subject of which is the Polypodium (Di- 
pteris) Horsfieldii, R. Br., Mr. Brown reduces Professor Reinwardt’s 
genus Dipteris to the rank of a subgenus of Polypodium, comprising 
the species here figured, and Polypodium (Dipteris) Wallichii. He 
remarks on the necessity of subdivision in this very extensive genus, 


216: Bibliographical Notices. 


now consisting of about three hundred species, and observes, that 
‘* for such subdivision, not in Polypodium only, but in other extensive 
genera of Ferns, the most obvious as well as the most advantageous 
source of character, seems to be the modifications of vascular struc- 
ture, or the various ramifications of the bundles of vessels, or veins 
of the frond, combined with the relation of the sori to their trunks 
or branches.” This principle of subdivision in Ferns, first employed 
by Mr. Brown himself in the characters of various genera in his 
‘Prodromus Flore Nove Hollandiz,’ has since been adopted with 
considerable advantage by several writers on the subject. The sub- 
genus in question agrees with Drynaria of M. Bory in the position 
of its sori at the point of confluence of several veins, but differs from 
it and from all other groups of Polypodium in the dichotomous rami- 
fication of its primary veins, which is necessarily connected with the 
peculiar division of the frond, and forms, therefore, a character of at 
least equal importance with those on which several groups, of sup- 
posed generic value, have been founded. Setting aside this peculiar 
ramification, there remains no sufficient character to distinguish Di- 
pteris from Drynaria; and Drynaria itself can only be separated from 
a more extensive section comprehending Polypodium plymatodes, &c., 
by the presence of sterile fronds. From this section Mr. Brown 
passes to the consideration of an extensive group, also having ana- 
stomosing veins, but in which the sori are seated on the apices of one, 
or occasionally of two or three ultimate ramuli, included in an area, 
formed by the anastomosing secondary veins. To this section he 
gives the subgeneric name of Phlebodium; and next in affinity to it 
he places a group, most of whose species have simple fronds, and all 
of which are natives of America, to which he assigns the name of 
Cyrtophlebium, its primary parallel veins being ‘‘ connected by trans- 
verse arched branches, from the convex upper side of which generally 
three (and never more than three) upright parallel simple veins 
arise, terminating within the area included between the proximate 
transverse arched branches; of these simple tertiary ramuli the two 
lateral are soriferous, generally below the apex, the middle branch 
being always sterile.” An analogous arrangement, but with some 
modifications, exists in the real species of Cyclophorus, none of which 
are natives of America. Mr. Brown next proceeds to notice an ex- 
tensive and strictly natural group or subgenus, the Lastrea of M. 
Bory, the closest affinity of which he states to be “‘ not to any group 
of Polypodium, but to that section of Gymnogramma, the division of 
whose fronds, and the disposition of veins, are exactly similar, and 
in which the sori form very short lines of like origin.” The distinc- 


Bibliographical Notices. 217 


tion between the two being thus reduced to a difference, generally 
very slight, in the form of the sori, Mr. Brown is of opinion with 
Dr. Blume that these two tribes cannot be generically separated, and 
suggests that “ the section of Gymnogramma referred to should be re- 
moved from that genus, and if still distinguished as a genus or sub- 
genus, might receive the name of Pleurogramma.” With this section 
Meniscium is also manifestly related, as well as that section of Ne- 
phrodium which M. Gaudichaud has separated under the generic 
name of Polystichum; ‘‘ an approximation which appears to be con- 
firmed by more than one fern, entirely agreeing in habit, in undi- 
vided veins and lateral fructification with this group of Nephrodium, 
but having a short linear sorus with an indusium of corresponding 
form, inserted by its longitudinal axis in the middle of the sorus.”’ 
To this group Mr. Brown gives the name of Mesochlena, and ob- 
serves that ‘‘ though in general appearance it is abundantly different 
from Didymochlena, it can only be distinguished from that genus, 
according to my view of the structure of its indusium, by its simple 
veins and lateral sori.” Some observations follow on “ the most ex- 
tensive but least natural section” of the genus, in which none of the 
veins anastomose, and of which Polypodium vulgare is one of the best 
examples; and Mr. Brown concludes this branch of the subject by 
observing: ‘‘ That subgeneric or sectional characters may in several 
instances be obtained or assisted from the seeds of this Natural Order 
is not improbable, and in one case, namely Ceratopteris (or Teleo- 
zoma); including Parkeria in the genus, even the generic character 
- appears chiefly to reside in the seeds, which in their unusual size 
and peculiar marking or striation, entirely agree in all the species 
of the genus, while in the original species the annulus is nearly com- 
plete; and in Parkeria, differing from the rest of the genus in no 
other point whatever, the ring is reduced to a few faint striz.”’ 

In another observation on the same fern, bearing more particu- 
larly on structure, Mr. Brown notices two remarkable points con- 
nected with the organization of the subgenus to which it belongs. 
First, ‘‘ the existence of the complete circle of vasa scalariformia se- 
parating the ligneous or fibrous vessels of the caudex into an outer 
and inner portion,’ which is also found in the caudex of Platyzoma, 
but not of Gletchenia, and in some (probably in all) of the species of 
Anemia. Secondly, the production in Polypodium (Dipteris) Wal- 
lichit, of a gum-like pulpy substance, in which the capsules are im- 
bedded, even when fully formed, and the remains of which may be 
found after the spora are discharged. In the dried specimens this 
pulpy substance had no appearance of organization, but in the living 


218 Bibliographical Notices. 


plant Mr. Brown suspects it to be minutely cellular, in which state 
he has observed it to occur in the nascent sori of several species of 
Polypodium, the peculiarity in the present instance consisting merely 
in its prolonged duration. 

The second article relates to another species of Polypodium (P. 
papillosum, Bl.), which is described by Mr. Bennett as forming part 
of the same section with P. vulgare, and is chiefly remarkable as the 
only described species with immersed sori, belonging to that subdi- 
vision, and for the extent to which the immersion is carried, the sori 
‘being completely buried within the sac, which forms a mammillary 
protuberance of considerable height on the upper surface of thefrond.” 
Mr. Bennett makes some observations on the differences in venation 
which occur in this great section ; and particularly notices two un- 
described species belonging to it as interesting on account of re- 
markable peculiarities connected with their sori. 

The third article has for its subject a grass, formerly indie’ to by 
Mr. Brown, in his ‘ Chloris Melvilliana,’ appended to the narra-. 
tive of Captain Parry’s First Expedition, under the name of Atazia, 
and since introduced by M. Kunth, from the characters there given, 
into his ‘ Enumeratio,’ with the specific name of Horsfieldii. It is 
described by Mr. Brown as in habit and structure exactly interme- 
diate between Anthoranthum and Hierochloe, in conjunction with 
which it forms ‘‘ a very natural and well-characterized section, which 
belongs rather to the tribe Avenacee than to Phalaridee.” ‘In all 
of them,” he observes, ‘‘ the upper valve of the hermaphrodite flos- . 
culus has a single nerve occupying its axis, and one of the two sta- 
mina is placed opposite to this nerve. ‘The co-existence of these two 
characters, both of which are remarkable deviations from the usual 
arrangement in Graminee, seems to invalidate the hypothesis re- 
specting the composition of the inner valve of the flower of this 
family. It might,however, be assumed that the median nerve in 
these genera is formed of two confluent cords, a view to a certain 
extent supported by the somewhat analogous structure in the corolla 
of Composite. It might also be assumed that the stamen belongs to 
the inner or complementary series, which is rarely developed in tri- 
androus grasses.” In connexion with this subject Mr. Brown also 
notices two remarkable genera found in Abyssinia, the one by Dr. 
Riippell, and the other by Professor Ehrenberg; and particularly 
describes the very singular modification of structure which is found 
in the former. 

With reference to the difference in the number of stamina between 
the male and hermaphrodite flowers of Atavia and Hierochloe, Mr. 


Bibliographical Notices. 219 


Bennett proceeds to examine in detail the various modifications 
which take place in grasses in the number of these organs, and the re- 
lation which these modifications severally bear to the composition of 
the perianthium as indicated by its nerves. Adopting the well- 
known hypothesis of Mr. Brown, before referred to, he endeavours 
to show that “‘ the structure of those grasses, in which deviations 
occur from the ordinary number of stamina will be found perfectly 
to accord with this view of the subject, and to afford perhaps some 
additional arguments in its favour.” With this object he passes 
these deviations in review, noting especially those cases in which a 
posterior stamen is coincident with a middle nerve in the inner valve 
of the perianthium; and the rare exceptions in which either of these 
structures is found unaccompanied by the other, for which exceptions 
he endeavours in some degree to account. 

In the two succeeding articles Mr. Brown characterizes two new 
genera of grasses, (Sclerachne and Polytoca) selected to illustrate the 
close affinity subsisting between Coir and Tripsacum, in the very 
gradual transition between which they form two of the intermediate 
stages. This transition is further assisted by another new genus, 
Chionachne, founded on the Coix arundinacea of Willdenow, the distin- 
guishing characters of which are pointed out. Of these several genera 
Mr. Bennett enters into a detailed comparison, which clearly exhibits 
the intimate connexion between them, as well as the near relation 
of Tripsacum to Rottbellia. They all belong to Mr. Brown’s great 
division of Panicee, together with Zea Mays, ‘‘ which is also a nearly 
related grass, being manifestly allied to Polytoca, and one whose 
Paniceous character is so obvious that it is surprising that it should 
not long ago have assumed its proper station in that tribe.” Such 
mistakes in natural affinities as havg taken place with reference to 
Coir, Tripsacum, and Zea, Mr. Bennett thinks, can only be attributed 
*to the want of due attention to the very striking and important 
character by which the Panicee are connected together,” and which 
- in the further subdivision of the order has been in a great degree neg- 
lected and overlooked. 

The sixth article illustrates a genus of Grasses, Leptaspis, founded 
by Mr. Brown in the ‘ Prodromus Flore Nove Hollandie’ on the 
species here figured, which is the Pharus urceolatus of Roxburgh, 
and on a New Holland species discovered by Sir Joseph Banks. Mr. 
Bennett shows that the character of this genus has been much mis- 
understood by later writers, who had had no opportunity of examining 
either of the species ; and points out the differences in structure be- 


220 Bibliographical Notices. 


tween it and Pharus, and the modifications that occur in the two 
species of Leptaspis itself. 

Next follow two remarkable Orchideous plants characterized’ by 
Mr. Brown, of which the first, Hevameria disticha, belonging to the 
tribe of Malazidee is especially remarkable for the number and. mode 
of attachment of its pollen masses, which are described as “ in sin- 
gulo loculo tres (!), quarum due inferiores collaterales, tertia supe- 
rior, omnes apice acuto affixe corpusculo septiformi loculum longi- 
tudinaliter bipartienti et cum eodem deciduz.’’ The other, Phale- 
nopsis, Bl., (Epidendrum amabile, L.) belongs to the tribe of Vandee, 
and is singularly interesting on account of the size and beauty of its 
white odoriferous flowers, the curious structure of its labellum, and 
the mode of attachment of its pollen masses to the stigmatic gland. 
To the account here given. by Mr. Bennett, we may add that it is 
the ‘‘ Visco-Aloes 14ta,” of Kamel in Ray’s ‘ Historia Plantarum,’ 
App. p. 34, pl..20, and of Petiver’s ‘ Gazophylacium,’ t. 103, f..10 ; 
and that it has also been recently found by Mr.. Cuming in the 
Island of Lucon. 

In the ninth article Mr. Bennett describes a species of Freycinetia, 
a genus distinguished from Pandanus by Mr. Brown, and character- 
ized by him in the ‘ Prodromus Flore Nove Hollandiz,’ but only 
recently named by M. Gaudichaud in the botanical part of M. Frey- 
cinet’s ‘ Voyage autour du Monde.’ This genus deviates widely 
in many respects from the true Pandanus, with which Mr. Bennett 
compares or rather contrasts it in various essential points, in many 
of which it approximates the anomalous genera Cyclanthus and Car- 
ludovica. With respect to the position of the embryo, he corrects 
an error of M. Gaudichaud, who had both described and figured it 
as placed at the apex of the albumen instead of at its base. He di- 
vides the known species of Freycinetia, seven in number, into two 
sections, corresponding with those of Pandanus, in the one of which 
the pericarpia are simple and equally coherent, while in the other 
they are collected into partial phalanges, varying in character in the 
different species. ; 

In an article on Podocarpus cupressina, a species first indicated by 
Mr. Brown in M. Mirbel’s. paper on the Geography of Conifere, 
Mr. Bennett adverts to the peculiar character of the genus as given 
by Mr. Brown in his ‘ General Remarks on the Botany of Terra 
Australis,’ and notices the attempt of M. Achille Richard to invali- 
date the comparison there instituted between Podocarpus and Dacry- 
dium. He expresses his surprise that botanists should have concurred 


Bibliographical Notices. 221 


in separating these genera from the true pines, and associating them 
with the yew. ‘That their true position,” he says, ‘‘ is in the Abie- 
tine section of the family was pointed out to me by Mr. Brown when 
placing in my hands the specimens now described. Not only do 
their inverted ovula bear the same relation to the supporting scale 
as in the genera of that group, but we even find in Araucaria an 
analogous structure as regards the confluence of the scale with the 
envelope of the solitary ovulum. Thus Podocarpus might be regarded 
as an Araucaria reduced to a single fertile scale, or at most to three 
such scales, were it not that in the latter there exists, as far as we are 
yet aware, but a single envelope of the seed, while in the former its 
coats are double.” - Mr. Bennett refers to the structure of the male 
organs, and especially of the pollen, as confirmatory of this arrange- 
ment, the pollen of Podocarpus and Dacrydium being perfectly iden- 
tical in structure with that of all the species of Pinus, (with the sin- 
gle exception of the Larch,) while that of the Cupressine, (including 
Tazus) is altogether different and equally remarkable ; ‘‘ the sphe- 
roidal form of its grains, together with the singular mode in which 
their outer coats are ruptured and thrown off, in consequence of the 
great capacity for absorbing moisture possessed by the mucous mat- 
ter surrounding the inner,” having been some years ago pointed out 
to him by Mr. Brown as readily distinguishing that section from the 
greater portion of the true Conifere. He then proceeds to notice 
the successive additions made to the genus Podocarpus, which now 
consists of four or five and twenty species, divisible into four distinct 
and strictly natural sections, distributed over all the great geogra- 
phical divisions of the globe, Europe alone excepted, and extending 
in latitude from the equator to Japan northward, and to New Zea- 
land in the south. These sections he characterizes, and enumerates 
under each the names of the species referrible to it, as far as they are 
known to him by his own examination, or by sufficient figures and 
descriptions. 

Bragantia tomentosa, Bl., forms the subject of the eleventh article, 
in which Mr. Bennett also notices the other species belonging to the 
genus, and adverts to the more essential modifications occurring in 
their structure. He refers to the genus Trimeriza of Professor 
Lindley, which he is of opinion cannot be distinguished from Bra- 
gantia, the characters relied upon for its separation being equally 
found in the original species to which the latter name was first ap- 
plied, and being he thinks of too small importance in so limited a 
group to justify the severing of these from the remaining species. 
He points out the relations of Bragantia to Asarum, Aristolochia and 


222 Bibliographical Notices. 


Thattea, to each of which it approaches in different particulars of its 
structure; and gives in a note some additional information on the 
subject of the latter genus, extracted from the MSS. of Dr, Kenig, 
by whom alone it has yet been found. ? 

[We reserve the conclusion of this review for our next Number. 
—Enpir. | , 


Icones Avium, or Figures and Descriptions of new and interesting 
Species of Birds from various parts of the World. By John Gould, 
F.L.S. Folio. August 1838. . 


Part II. Monocraru or roe. CAPRIMULGID. 

At the meeting of the British Association in 1837 Mr. Gould was 
requested to prepare and write a monograph of the genus Caprimul- 
gus, Linn., the species of which, from the great accession to their 
numbers from various parts of the world, were comparatively un- 
known, while the very singular forms that had been discovered and 
the curious natural habits of the group rendered its history a subject 
of considerable interest to the ornithologist. Mr. Gould in the mean 
time contemplating a voyage to Australia, and haying sailed for that 
land about nine months after the allotment of his task, could only 
commence the work and have the first part ready to be laid before 
the meeting of the British Association at N ewcastle, which both does 
ample credit to the talents of its author, and depicts some of the most 
remarkable forms in the whole range of ornithology. It has been 
made a continuation of the ‘ Icones Avium,’ the first part of which 
we noticed in a former number (No. III. p. 223), and the plan adopt- 
ed has been to figure and describe each species, with the intention of 
entering into their history and habits, as a prefatory or concluding 
essay. 

Part I. contains beautifully executed lithographic figures of eight 
species, from which Mr. Gould has made no less than five new generic 
names. ‘These we cannot criticise until we see the whole of his pro- 
posed arrangement. ‘They are Amblypterus anomalus, G., a small 
species, supposed to be found in Demerara, and remarkable for the 
curved and sickle form of the quill feathers. Nyctydromus Derbyauus, 
G., a South American species, one of those with lengthened tarsi, 
and which Mr. Gould presumes run much on the ground. Ten spe- 
cies are said to be known of this group. Semeiophorus (Macrodipte- 
ryx) vewillarius, G., a very remarkable form and placed here as a sub- 
genus of Macrodipteryx on account of the different structure of the 
wing, the sixth, seventh, and eighth quills gradually lengthening, 
while the ninth stretches to an enormous length. Lyncornis cervini- 


Bibliographical Notices. . oa 


ceps, macrotis and Temminckii, G., three beautiful species from the 
continent and islands of India, remarkable for lengthened egrets, and 
great development of wing. Batrachostomus auritus, G. (Podargus 
auritus, Vig. & Horsf.), and, lastly, Nyctibius pectoralis, G., a na- 
tive of Brazil. 


Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte, In Verbindung mit mehreren Gelehrten, . 
herausgegeben von Dr. Ar. Fr. Aug. Wiegmann, Professor an der 
Friederich Wilhelms-Universitaét zu Berlin. Vierter Jahrgang. 
Lanition Heft. Berlin, 1838. 


[Continued from p. 138.] 


In the last number of the ‘ Annals’ we merely mentioned the in- 
teresting memoir of M. Dassen on the motions of the leaves of Plants* 
intending to give a condensed extract from it when we should have 
occasion to notice the present part of the ‘ Archiv.’ As this however 
has been done by Dr. J. Meyen in his excellent Report on the Progress 
of Physiological Botany during the year 1837, we take the liberty of 
translating the part referring to this paper, which will at the same 
time contain Dr. Meyen’s opinion on the subject. : 

M. Dassen, who has published the beautiful memoir on the motion 
of the leaves of plants, of which Prof. Wiegmann has inserted an extract 
in his journal, has drawn the attention of botanists to a phenomenon 
of leaf-motion hitherto little attended to. The leaves of those plants 
which move are frequently provided with swellings at their base; there 
are however other leaves which move without these swellings. The 
motion of these latter again presents in various plants considerable 
differences, which are more particularly described in this memoir ; it 
consists in the inversion of their natural position, which is sometimes 
performed in the space of a day, but sometimes takes a much longer 
time. M. Dassen displaced some branches of trees and various other 
plants from their natural position, and bound them fast to the 
stem, so that they hung downwards: in the course of a few days 
they had spread themselves out.so much that the upper surface 
of the leaves was again turned upwards. ‘These experiments were 
made in June when vegetation was in full force, and the result was 
the same in all cases. The experiments were then repeated in Oc. 
tober, when most of the branches remained motionless ; only those 
of rose trees, of Robinie, and of herbaceous plants endeavoured to 
regain their previous position. ‘The following question then pre- 


* Onderzoek aangaande de Bladbéwegingen, die niet door aanzwellingen 
ontstaan, 


224 Bibliographical Notices. 


sented itself :—By what is the motion of the branches effected, whether 
by a cause seated in themselves, or by the leaves? To determine this 
question, M. Dassen repeated the experiments on branches with and 
without leaves, and observed that those branches which had been 
deprived of their leaves remained in their unnatural position; the 

leaves were therefore regarded as the cause of this motion of the 
branches. Subsequent experiments were made in order to discover 
the mechanism producing the motion of the leaves, whether the nerves 
of the leaves remained during the process active or passive, &c., and 
the following results were arrived at: that leaves with simple nerves 
and without petioles change their position from the unnatural to the 
natural as well as those with petioles; and 2ndly, that the pa- 
renchyma is the cause and not the nerves. Further observations re- 
specting the mechanism producing the motion of leaves with and 
without petioles gave the following results: 1. All leaves with 
simple veins have the power of self inversion; 2. The apparently 
unpetiolated leaves in which the veins are diffused in a different 
manner, move by a bend in their point of adhesion; 3. The short and 
stiff as well as the long and slender petioles are unfavourable to the 
motion; 4. When the petiole is not too stiff or long, the inversion 
of the leaves is produced by a semi-inversion lengthwise and also by 
a bend of the petiole; 5. In folia peltata the motion takes place partly 
by a bend of the petiole itself, partly by a change in the direction of 
the leaf with reference to the petiole. M. Dassen then proceeds to the 
examination of the causes which produce the motion of leaves: va- 
rious plants stationed in pots were left to grow turned from the 
light, and some even without light in closed boxes. The result was 
highly remarkable: the leaves of those plants which could not turn 
themselves round died, but the remainder were inverted quite as 
quickly in the dark as in the light, whence M. Dassen arrives at the 
conclusion, that light was no more the cause of the direction of the 
leaves upwards than darkness is the cause of the downward direction 
of the root. Neither can the action of heat or that of moisture be re- 
garded as the cause of this motion. Finally M. Dassen passes in 
review those motions of the leaves which take place constantly in the 
course of one day, and even without swellings; these are the phex- 
nomena which, as is well known, were regarded by Linnzus as the 
sleep of plants. M. Dassen considers Linnzeus’s explanation as an 
error into which that great man fell, as wellus all those who have merely 
copied almost word for word from him respecting this point. ‘The 
memoir On the Sleep of Plants, by E. Meyer, which I noticed in my 
report for 1835, as highly interesting and full of laborious research, is 


Biblioyraphical Notices. 225 


especially attacked. J cannot however agree with M. Dassen; for 
all the valuable observations which Meyer had enumerated respect- 
ing this phenomenon may be explained in a different sense, and in 
fact more in accordance with nature, if we start from the general 
point of view, by the periodical occurrence of sleep, which appears to 
be common to all animated beings. M. Dassen placed a pot containing 
Impatiens noli tangere during the night in a dark place, and the re- 
sult was, that the leaves even during the following day retained 
the same direction. Another plant was placed during the daytime 
in a dark place, and for two entire days the leaves retained the usual 
direction which is proper to them in the daytime. From these 
and other experiments M. D. concludes that the motions of plants 
without swellings are caused solely by the process of vegetation, and 
that this is rendered evident as soon as the leaves are exposed to un- 
natural external influences. 

I ask then, whether from the examples cited, the phenomenon 
of vegetable sleep can be denied? On the contrary, phenomena 
exactly similar may be proved to exist in animals. 

The second paper in the present part, by Prof. B. Fries on the genus 
Syngnathus, will be found translated in No. VIII. of this Journal. 

3. Metamorphosis observed in Syngnathus lumbriciformis, by Prof. 
B. Fries. This interesting paper, which will find its place in one of 
our following numbers, contains a most curious fact hitherto unob- 
served in the class of fish ; namely, that the young of this beautiful 
species at their development from the egg have the entire tail covered 
with a fin-like membrane and possess pectoral fins. These at a sub- 
sequent unknown period are thrown off in a way similar to that of 
the larvee of frogs rejecting their tails. 

4. Considerations on the Dentition of the Carnivora (First Part 
Fere) by Prof. Wiegmann. The great length of this memoir and its 
not being concluded in the present part obliges us to reserve the no- 
tice of it till the next part. 

We now come to Prof. Meyen’s Annual Report of the Results of 
the labours in the field of Physiological Botany during the year 1837. 
‘We mentioned in our first notice of this work, vol. i. p. 231. the nature 
and value of these elaborate reports, and expressed our sorrow at not 
being able from want of space to give translations of those on Botany 
and Zoology. ‘The perusal of the present report has increased our 
regret, as it contains detailed analyses and reviews of most of the 
important memoirs and works on physiological botany published du- 
ring the past year. Among others we may mention some by Mirbel, 

Ann, Nat. Hist. Vol. 2. No. 9- Nov. 1838. a 


226 Zoological Society. 


Schleiden, Dutrochet, Meyer, Decaisne, Von Martius, Lindenberg, 
Dassen, Morren, Géppert, Mohl, Martens, Berzelius, Fritzsch, and 
numerous other botanists of celebrity. As, however, the insertion 
of the whole report will be impossible, we shall endeavour to give 
some extracts from it, especially those referring to papers by na- 
turalists of this country. The entire report consists of nearly 
200 octavo closely printed pages, and is, we learn, to be had sepa- 
rately. 


PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 


ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 


February 13th, 1838.— William Yarrell, Esq., in the Chair. 
Mr. Waterhouse exhibited a new species of Squirrel from the So- 
ciety’s Museum, and characterized it as: 


Scrurus susLinEatTus. Sc. supra fusco-olivaceus flavescente lava- 
tus ; lineis dorsalibus quatuor nigris tribus albescentibus, a hume- 
ris ad uropygium excurrentibus ; abdomine flavescente: caudd ni- 
gro flavoque annulatd. 


une. lin. 

Longitudo corporis ab apice rostri ad caude basin,. 6 0 
ab apice rostri ad auris basin.......... 1 25 

caude (pilis inclusis) ...... waited dalba alia ta 0 5 

LAV'S4 GIG OTUMOUE 6.05 6 isd: wlnsieigo en 'ns Aine 
GW seca ns ces a Sate 4 eetths ean 0 25 


Habitat 


«This animal is less than the Palm Squirrel (Sciurus palmarum, 
Auct.), but like that species has four dark and three pale lines on the 
back: these lines, however, are very narrow, and occupy only the cen- 
tral portion of the back ; they are not continued on to the shoulders, 
neither do they extend over the haunches. The general colour is 
olive-brown, a tint arising from the hairs being each minutely an- 
nulated with deep yellow and black. ‘The throat, chest, and rump, 
are whitish, and the belly is yellow. The hairs covering the feet. 
above are annulated like those of the body, but of a deeper tint. 
The tail is cylindrical and rather slender, and exhibits obscure an- 
nulations, each hair being annulated with deep golden yellow and 
black. The fur is short and soft, that on the back is grey at the 
base; on the under parts the hairs are very obscurely tinted with 
grey at the base. The hairs of the moustaches are numerous, 
moderately long, rather slender, and of a black colour. The head 


—? 


Zoological Society. 227 


is very nearly uniform in colour with the body; it is however less 
yellow.” 

Mr. Blyth called the attention of the Society to a peculiarity in 
the structure of the feet in the Trogonide, which he thought had not 
been previously noticed. This family, although zygodactylous, have 
the toes disposed on quite a different principle from the Wood- 
peckers, Parrots, and other birds, which present an analogous struc- 
ture; their first and second toes being opposed to the third and 
fourth, in lieu of the first and fourth to the second and third, in 
consequence of which, that toe, which corresponds to the middle one 
in birds that are not yoke-footed, that is to say, the third or longest 
toe, is the inward of the two forward toes in the Trogon family, and 
the outward in the Woodpeckers and Parrots. 

A continuation of Mr. Owen’s paper, on the Anatomy of the Gi- 
raffe was then read, embracing the principal features of interest in 
the osteological peculiarities of this animal. ‘The abstract will be 
found in No. 62 of the Proceedings, from which the following are 
extracts, 

The author, in the first place, details the result of his investiga- 
tion into the evidence bearing upon the supposition of there being in 
the male Nubian Giraffe a third horn, situated anteriorly in the me- 
sial line of the cranium. 

Upon making a section of the skull of the male Cape Giraffe, the 
anterior protuberance was shown to be due only to a thickening and 
elevation of the anterior extremities of the frontal, and the contiguous 
extremities of the nasal, bones; and in the Nubian Giraffe the ex- 
istence of a third distinct bony nucleus was also satisfactorily nega- 
tived ; for, upon macerating the skulls of individuals which had not 
attained the adult age, the posterior horns became detached from the 
bones of the cranium; but no such separation took place in respect 
to the protuberances forming the supposed third horn, which would 
have been the case had its relation to the cranium been that of a 
distinct epiphysis. 

In both the Cape and Nubian Giraffe, the horns were placed im- 
mediately over the coronal suture, which traversed the centre of their 
expanded bases. The frontal bones were distinct and joined by a 
well-marked suture, continued along the posterior two-thirds of the 
frontal protuberance, or as far as the nasal bones. The sagittal 
suture was persistent on both sides external to the horns. The parietal 
bone was single and anchylosed with the occipital and interparietal 
bones. 

The male Giraffe, in both the Cape and Nubian varieties, has the 
Q 2 


228 Zoological Society. 


horns nearly twice as large as those of the female; the expanded. 
bases of the horns also in the former, meet in the middle line of the 
skull, but in the female the bases of the horns are at least two inches 
apart. 

The nasal bone was bifurcate at its anterior extremity as in the 
Deer, not simply pointed as in most of the Antelopes. 

With respect to the cervical vertebre of the Giraffe, Mr. Owen 
observes, that they are not only remarkable for their great length, 
but also, as has been recently shown by Dr. Blainville, for the ball and 
socket form of the articulations of their bodies; the convexity being 
on the anterior extremity, and the concavity posteriorly, agreeing 
in this particular with the vertebre of the Camel. 

Processes, analogous to the inferior transverse processes in the 
Crocodile, extended downwards and outwards from the lower part of 
the anterior extremity of each of the cervical vertebre (except the 
atlas and dentata), but of much smaller size than the corresponding 
processes in the Camel. 

The perforations for the vertebral arteries were large, and present 
in the seventh as well as in the rest of the cervical vertebre; they were 
situated above the transverse processes in the side of the bodies of 
the vertebre at the base of the superior /amine. Mr. Owen observes, 
that although this position of the arterial foramina.is somewhat pe- 
culiar, yet, in this respect, the Giraffe comes nearer the horned 
Ruminants than the long-necked Camelide. 

In viewing the vertebral column of the Giraffe from above, the 
cervical vertebre are seen to present the broadest bodies; of these 
the third and fourth are the narrowest and longest, the rest gradually 
increasing in breadth and diminishing in length to the seventh: the 
dorsal vertebre thence grow narrower to the ninth, after which the 
vertebre increase in breadth chiefly by the progressive development 
of the transverse processes. 

Mr. Owen remarks, in conclusion, that the order Ruminantia, 
perhaps the most natural in the mammiferous class, if we look to the 
* condition of the organs of nutrition, presents, however, more variety 
than any of the carnivorous orders, in the local development of the 
organs of relation, and the consequent modification of external form : 
the most remarkable of these modifications is undoubtedly that which 
we admire in the Giraffe, and the anatomical peculiarities, which its 
internal organization presents, are principally confined to the skeleton 
in respect to the proportions of its different parts ; and to those parts 
of the muscular and nervous systems immediately relating to the local 
peculiarities in the development of the osseous framework. 


Zoological Society. 229 


February 28, 1838.—Richard Owen, Esq., in the Chair. 

Some observations were made by M. Bibron upon two European 
species of Triton indigenous to this country, Triton cristatus and Trit. 
marmoratus, which many naturalists consider to have been errone- 
ously separated. M. Bibron, however, entertains no doubt whatever 
of their being really distinct, and pointed out a character by which 
he states they may readily be distinguished, and which he believed 
to have been hitherto unnoticed. ‘This distinction consists in the 
form of the upper lip, which in Triton cristatus is so largely de- 
veloped as to overlap the under lip posteriorly when the jaws are 
closed, a condition never present in Trit. marmoratus: 

Mr. Ogilby exhibited and characterized, under the name of Ma- 
cropus rufiventer, a new species of Kangaroo which Mr. Gould had 
received from Tasmania, where it is known by the name of Walla- 
bee*. : 

Mr. Waterhouse exhibited a drawing, and the tail and jaws of a 
new species of Delphinus, which he characterized as 


Detruinus Firzroyi. Delph. supra niger ; capitis corporisque 
lateribus, corporeque subtus, niveis ; caudd, pedibus, labioque 
inferiore, nigris ; fasctis latis duabus per latus utrumque ob- 
Ligue excurrentibus, hujusque coloris fascid utrinque angulo 
oris ad pedem tendente. 


ft. in. lin. 

Total length (measuring along curve of back)...... 5 + 0 
Length from tip of muzzle to vent .............. 310 9 
Length from tip of muzzle to dorsal fin .......... yaaa sa 
Length from tip of muzzle to pectoral............ 1 4 5 
Length from tip of muzzle to eye. . 0: 99 
Length from tip of muzzle to breathing aperture (al 

lowing curve of head) ..... 010 7 
Length from tip of muzzle to angle of mouth . 0... 7.9 
Length of dorsal fin (along the anterior margin). . 1 A alts 
PECIPNE OF UU er oe Pot ee Ce dateete eed SE AEROS 6 4 
Length of pectoral, (along anterior margin)........ Li es 
SEMIN OLRORE: 5 5 ASUS Sin ile etnies © eile pein lees 1 4.65 
Girth of body before dorsal * Skate att eae Th Oy: Ue36 
Girth of body before pectoral fin .........-5...... yi: Si 
Girth of body before tail fin.............. 000... Oey rg 
arirt: Of head over the eyes PTS I 2 0 0 


Habitat, Coast of Patagonia, lat. 42° 30’. (April). 

“This species, which I have taken the liberty of naming after 
Captain Fitzroy, the Commander of the Beagle, approaches, in some 
respects, to the Delphinus superciliosus of the ‘ Voyage de la Co- 
quille,’ but that animal does not possess the oblique dark-gray bands 


* Described by Mr. Ogilby in the Annals of Natural History, vol. i. p. 320, 


230 Zoological Society. 


on the sides of the body; it likewise wants the gray mark which ex- 
tends from the angle of the mouth to the pectoral fins. In the figure, 
the under lip of the Delph. superciliosus is represented as almost white, 
whereas in the present species it is black: judging from the figures, 
there is likewise considerable difference in the form. The figure 
which illustrates this description agrees with the dimensions, which 
were carefully taken by Mr. Darwin immediately after the animal 
was captured, and hence is correct.” 

Mr. Gould exhibited two species of the genus Ptilotis, which he 
characterized as Ptil. ornata, and Piil. flavigula. 


PriLotis ORNATA. Ptil. vertice, alarum marginibus externis, nec- 
non caude olivaceis ; dorso uropygioqgue brunneis ; guld, genis- 
que olivaceo-fuscis ; pectore corporeque subtus cinerescentibus, 
singulis plumis noté latd brunned in medio ornatis; crisso 
pallidé badio plumis fusco striatis, penicillé nitidé flava utrum- 
que colli latus ornante ; noté longitudinali sub oculos olivaced 
primariis rectricibusque caude fuscis, his ad apicem externum 
albis ; rostro nigrescente ; pedibus brunneis. 


Long. tot. 6} unc.; rostri, 3; ale, 3%; caude, 33; tarsi, 4%. 
Hab. Swan River, Australia. 


PTriLOTIS FLAVIGULA. Ptil. capite, nuchd, genis, corporeque infe- 
riore nigro-griseis, hoc colore apud abdomen crissumque olivaceo 
tincto; plumis auricularibus argenteo-cinereis et post has guttd 
flavé ; gulé flavd ; alis, dorso, cauddque, flavescenti-olivaceis ; 

JSemoribus olivaceis ; rostro pedibusque nigrescentibus. 

Long. tot. 8 unc.; rostri, 1; ale, 44; caude, 44; tarsi, 1. 


Hab. Van Diemen’s Land and New South Wales. 


March 18th, 1838.—William Yarrell, Esq., in the Chair. 


Mr. Ogilby read a letter from M. V. der Hoeven, in which the 
writer expresses his belief that the large Salamander preserved in a 
living state at Leyden ought to be regarded as a species of Harlan’s 
genus Menopoma; its specific characters consisting in the absence 
of the branchial apertures, which are present in the species upon 
which Harlan founded his genus. M. V. der Hoeven thinks it pro- 
bable that the branchial apertures were present in the Leyden Sala- 
mander in the young state, and he proposes to adopt the generic 
term Cryptobranchus in preference to that of Menopoma, and to give 
it the specific name of Japonicus. He further states that his obser- 
vations upon this singular reptile will shortly be published in a 
Dutch Journal. 

Mr. Owen observed, with reference to the opinion of M. V. der 
Hoeven respecting the relations of the Gigantic Salamander of 
Japan to the Menopoma of the Alleghany Mountains, that the persist- 


Zoological Society. 231 


ence of branchial apertures was a structure so likely to influence 
not only the habits of an amphibious reptile, but also the struc- 
tural modifications of the osseous and vascular parts of the re- 
spiratory organs, as to render it highly improbable that the Me- 
nopoma should be related generically to a species having no trace 
of those apertures. He thought, therefore, that the question of 
the Menopoma and gigantic Japanese Salamander being different 
species of the same genus, could be entertained only on the sup- 
position, that the branchial apertures were a transitional structure 
in the former reptile as they are in the latter. That this was the 
case he considered as highly improbable; for, besides the ossified 
state of the hyoid apparatus, there was evidence in the Hunterian 
Collection that both the male and female generative organs in. the 
Menopoma have arrived at maturity without any change having taken 
place in the condition of the branchial apparatus usually considered 
as characteristic of the Menopoma. He therefore considered it to be 
undoubtedly generically distinct from the gigantic Salamander of 
Japan, the true affinities of which could only be determined satis- 
factorily after a complete anatomical investigation, especially of its 
sanguiferous, respiratory, and osseous systems. 

Mr. Ogilby exhibited a drawing, made by Major Mitchell, of a 
-Marsupial animal found by that officer on the banks of the river 
Murray, during his late journey in the interior of New South Wales. 
Mr. Ogilby stated his original belief that the animal in question be- 
longed to the Perameles, under which impression he had proposed 
to name it Per. ecaudatus, from its entire want of tail, a cha- 
racter found in no other species of the same group; but a drawing 
of the fore-foot, afterwards found by Major Mitchell, and likewise 
exhibited to the Society on the present occasion, had considerably 
shaken this first opinion, and induced Mr. Ogilby to suspect that 
the animal may eventually form the type of a new genus. Ac- 
cording to Major Mitchell’s drawing, and the notes which he took 
at the time of examining the specimen, it would appear that there 
were only two toes on the fore-feet, which were described as having 
been so perfectly similar to those of a pig, as to have procured for 
the animal the name of the pig-footed bandicoot, among the per- 
sons of the expedition. 

The drawing of the foot, in fact, very closely resembles that of 
the genus Sus in form and characters ; two toes only are represented, 
short, and of equal length; but there is a swelling at the base of 
the first phalanges, which renders it probable that there may be two 
smaller ones behind. The Perameles, on the contrary, have three 


232 Zoological Society. 

middle toes on the fore feet, all of equal length, and armed with 
very long, powerful claws, besides a small rudimentary toe very di- 
stinctly marked on each side. The form and character of the hind 
feet were perfectly similar to those of the Perameles ; as were also 
the teeth, as far as could be judged from the drawing, except that 
the canines did not appear to surpass the anterior molars in point of 
size. The ears were long, elliptical, and nearly naked; the head 
broad between the ears, and very much attenuated towards the muz- 
zle; the body about the size of a small rabbit, and the fur very much 
of the same quality and colour asin that animal. Mr. Ogilby, after 
expressing his confidence in the fidelity of Major Mitchell’s draw- 
ings, and the care with which that gentleman assured him he had 
made the observation in question, expressed his belief that this 
animal would be found to constitute a new genus of Marsupials, 
and proposed for it the provisional name of Cheropus, in allusion to 
the described characters of the fore feet. 

The following is the notice of this animal inserted by Major Mit- 
chell in his journal, on the occasion of first discovering it. ‘“‘ June 16, 
1836. The most remarkable incident of this day’s journey was the 
discovery of an animal of which I had seen only a head in a fossil 
state in the limestone caves of Wellington Valley, where, from its 
very singular form, I supposed it to belong to some extinct species. 
The chief peculiarity then observed was the broad head and very long, 
slender snout, which resembled the narrow neck of a wide bottle ; but 
in the living animal the absence of a tail was still more remarkable. 
The feet, and especially the fore legs, were also singularly formed, the 
latter resembling those of a Pig; and the marsupial opening was 
downwards, and not upwards, as in the Kangaroo and others of that 
class of animals. This quadruped was discovered by the natives on 
the ground ; but on being chased it took refuge ina hollow tree, from 
which they took it alive, all of them declaring that they had never 
before seen an animal of the kind. This was where the party had 
commenced. the journey up the left bank of the Murray, immedi- 
ately after crossing that river.” Such, Mr. Ogilby remarked, was 
all the information he possessed at present with regard to this sin- 
gular animal; but Mr. Gould had promised to examine the original 
specimen on his arrival at Sydney, in the Museum of which town it 
had been deposited; and Mr. Ogilby therefore hoped that, through 
the kindness of that gentleman, he should shortly have it in his 
power to communicate a more detailed description of its form and 
characters to the Society. 


Mr, Waterhouse afterwards called the attention. of the Meeting. 


Botanical Society of London. 233 


to some valuable skins of Mammalia, brought from Africa by Capt. 
Alexander, recently purchased for the Society’s Museum. 


BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 
July 6.—J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S., President, in the Chair. 


A paper was read by the Secretary communicated by Robert 
H. Schomburgk, on the Bertholletia excelsa, accompanied with draw- 
ings of the plant in different stages of its growth. Mr. Gray noticed 
a peculiarity in the seed vessel, which led to some discussion, after 
which the Meeting adjourned. 


August 3rd.—J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S., President, in the Chair. 

Specimens of Polypogon monspeliensis, Poa distans, and P. pro- 
cumbens, Setaria viridis, &c. were exhibited by Dr. Bossey, collected 
near Woolwich.—Mr. Anderson also exhibited numerous living spe- 
cimens of Utricularia vulgaris and Myriophyllum verticillatum, ob- 
tained from the old locality in the ditch around Kew Gardens, which 
were distributed. The Secretary announced a Donation of British 
Plants from Dr. T. B. Salter, of Poole, Dorsetshire. 

A paper was then read by the Curator Daniel Cooper, A.L.S., being 
some notes on a large variety of Ranunculus Flammula, which he had 
found near Reigate, and which approached near to R. Lingua as re- 
gards its habit; the size of the flower however being a sufficient 
character to consider it as the former species, although the whole 
character of the herbage resembled much the latter species; the 
stem varying from 10 to 19 inches in height, and the leaves of con- 
siderable size. Mr. C. also observed that the variety of R. Flam- 
mula, B. reptans, Lightfoot, was exceedingly plentiful on Hampstead 
and other heaths near London. Mr. Cooper then read the details 
of the first excursion made by the Members and President of the 
Society this summer to Woking Common, Surrey, with observations 
on varieties of the plants then found. He observed that this spot was 
selected on account of the easy access by the London and Southampton 
railway. After describing the details of the excursion, it was observed 
that Lycopodium Selago had not been before found so near the metro- 
polis. A variety of Calluna vulgaris was also noticed by Mr. Cooper, 
which appeared to be the Calluna vulgaris hirsuta, of Gerard, 1830, 
and which he considered deserving a place in the recent Floras of 
Britain, the degree of hairiness forming a sufficient character to war- 
rant its insertion. Itis noticed by all the older botanists. A white 
variety of Ajuga reptans was also noticed, together with a very beau- 
tiful fawn-coloured variety of Orchis Morio, one specimen of which 


234 Botanical Society of London. 


was only found. The following were the principal plants met with : 
Ulex nanus, Carex Odcri, Teesdalia nudicaulis, Lycopodium clavatum 
and Selago, Littorella lacustris abundant, Hypericum elodes, Anagallis 
tenella, Luzula congesta, Trigonella ornithopodioides, Hottonia palus- 
tris, Hyoscyamus niger, &c. &c. Mr. Gray noticed a new structure 
in the second year’s tuber of the root of Orchis Morio, which led to 
some discussion. ‘The meeting then adjourned. 


September 7th.—C. Johnson, Esq., V.P., in the Chair. 


A paper was read by the Secretary, communicated by the Cu- 
rator, entitled, ‘‘ Observations on a new principle of Fencing con- 
structed by Mr. Breese, formed according to the laws of vegetable 
physiology.’ It is in fact a natural living fence, and consists simply 
of growing and planting for the purpose trees or shoots of the same 
species, or species of the same genus, and causing them to unite by 
means of the process of “‘ grafting by approach or inarching.” A 
trench being made around the ground intended to be inclosed, the 
young trees or shoots are then planted in two directions a foot from 
each other; one set, for example, pointing or sloping towards the 
north, the other set sloping towards the south. Where they cross each 
other, the bark is removed on both stems, and the two stems are then 
tied together. In the course of a few weeks they unite, and a natural 
living fence is formed, acquiring additional strength every year by 
the deposition ofnew wood sent down from the upper portion of the 
shoot bearing leaves, &c. The advantages possessed by this kind of 
fence over the one usually employed are numerous. It never re- 
quires to be repaired, living wood resisting the action of the weather. 
It increases in strength annually. It never requires to be covered 
with tar, &c. It is cheaper in the first instance than ordinary wooden 
palings. It may be carried up to any height required for fencing. 
It may be composed of trees, or shrubs bearing fruit, or armed with 
prickles. The shoots or small trees to be used are reared in a piece 
of ground appropriated for the purpose, and are kept trimmed and 
run up to the proper height for the intended fence, when they are 
transplanted into the trenches as above described in a good earth. 
The fences which Mr. D. Cooper describes were on the estate of Sir 
Thomas Neave at Dugman Park, Essex, and were formed of ash. 

A communication entitled, ‘‘ Observations on a variety of Poly- 
gonum aviculare, called P. marinum of Hudson, &c. occurring abun- 
dantly in the margin of salt-water ditches in Kent and Essex,” was 
also read from Mr. D. Cooper. The Society then adjourned. 


Miscellaneous. | 235 


MISCELLANEOUS. 
CARDAMINE SYLVATICA, A BRITISH PLANT. 

Having been recently led to re-examine our native Crucifere, I find 
that I have specimens of this species in my Herbarium, gathered in 
the dean at Twizel House, Northumberland, the seat of P. J. Selby, 
Esq. It has been confounded with Cardamine hirsuta, of which my 
specimens are from the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. The former 
is distinguished by the latent pedicels of its pods, which are tipped 
with a style, longer than the breadth of the pod, while in C. hirsuta the 
pedicel is erect and straight, and the style extremely short and obsolete. 
See Koch, Fl. Germ. Syn. i. 43.—Gzrorce Jonnston. 


HIMALAYAN GYPAETOS. 

The species of Gypaétos from the Himalayan range has hitherto 
been considered identical with that of Europe, both by our British 
ornithologists and by Mr. Hodgson resident at Nipaul. Lieut. T. 
Hutton has printed a paper in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of 
Bengal giving minute descriptions and measurements taken while 
residing among the mountain ranges of India, and from which he is 
induced to believe the bird found there to be distinct. ‘‘ The rela- 
- tive length of the quills, together with the black gorget on the lower 
part of the neck, furnish two constant characters, uniformly foreign 
to the bearded vulture of authors, and I have therefore ventured to 
offer it as a distinct species new to science, under the title of 

Gypaétos hemachlanus, supra fusco-niger, subtus ferrugineus, collo obscu- 

rior infra pallidior; collo inferiore nigro circumcincto, primoribus 
rectricibusque cinereis, marginibus nigrescentibus, remige tertio ceteris 


longiore 34 poll. primum excedente. In ceteris G. barbato similis. 
Long. 4 ped. Lat. alarum 8 ped. 6 poll. 


Journ. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, No. 73, p. 20. 


NASTURTIUM ANCEPS, REICHENBACH. 

The plant which I have hitherto considered the same as Nastur- 
tium sylvestre of British botanists, and which grows all along the 
sides of the Tweed (between Coldstream and Berwick), appears ra- 
ther to belong to Nasturtium anceps of Reichenbach. See Koch FI, 
Germ. Syn. i. 35.—Grorcs JoHNsToN. 


ACTION OF FREE CARBONIC ACID ON THE NUTRITION OF PLANTS, 

Dr. Schleiden of Berlin has published in Wiegmann’s Archiv some 
observations on the luxuriant development of various plants in water 
containing carbonic acid. The springs in the valley of Géttingen are 


236 Miscellaneous. 


very rich in free carbonic acid, especially the basins near the Wehnder 
paper-mill, and there is here found a rich and luxuriant vegetation, 
which in spring appears several entire weeks earlier, and continues 
in autumn much later than at other spots of the same district. Dr. 
Schleiden thinks that the free carbonic acid in the water exercises a 
favourable influence on the vegetation, which certainly may be the 
case ; for observations have shown that by the vegetation of plants in 
solar light, the addition of a very small quantity of carbonic acid in 
the surrounding atmosphere produces a much more powerful disen- 
gagement of oxygen than takes place in the common atmosphere.— 
Meyen’s Report for 1837 in Wiegmann’s Archiv, Part III. 1838. 


HYBRIDITY INFERNS. 
M. Martens observed in the Botanical Garden of Louvain, a fern 
which he regardedas a hybrid between Gymnogramma calomelanos and 
G. chrysophylla, to which Bory de St. Vincent proposes to apply the 
name of G. Martensii. At the same time the latter gentleman ob- 
serves that this hybrid formation appears to occur quite commonly 
in nature, for he had received several well-preserved specimens of this 
plant through L’Herminier from Guadaloupe, where it grows in na- 
ture between the two above-mentioned Gymnogramme. He also 
enumerates several other ferns which might be considered as hybrids» 
which are only grounded on supposition: to these however Dr. Meyen 
rather inclines to assent.—Jdid. 


AFFINITIES OF THE CERATOPHYLLACEA, 


Mr. Asa Gray has recently published in the ‘ Lyceum of Nat. Hist.’ 
of New York, a paper on the affinities of the genus Ceratophyllum ; 
it appears to him that a great similarity prevails between the embryos 
of the genera Ceratophyllum and Nelumbium, which he endeavours 
specially to demonstrate, and then places the Ceratophyllacee in the 
immediate vicinity of the Cabombacee and Nelumbiacee. The me- 
moir contains no new observations, nor is there anything new re- 
specting the structure of the Ceratophyllacee. 

Dr. Schleiden in a paper published in one of the late numbers of 
the ‘ Linnea,’ admits only one species of Ceratophyllum, and calls this 
C. vulgare ; a long series of observations are enumerated to prove 
this view. This paper also contains some remarks on the structure 
and affinities of this family.—Jdid. 


STRIPED HYENA, (H. vulgaris.) 
A litter has lately been bred in the Zoological Gardens at Liver- 
pool. ‘The. animals copulated after being together a fortnight. 


Miscellaneous. 237 


The system is most singular. The male continued copulating nearly 
one hour, but I could not observe that they locked like dogs, and 
they did not turn as the latter animals do. The time of gestation 
has been twelve weeks from the first act of copulation ; four cubs 
were produced, which continued blind for nine days.” —J. J. Isaac- 
son, Liverpool Zoological Gardens. 


ON.A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ORDER OF INSECTIVOROUS MAMMALIA 
BELONGING TO NEW HOLLAND... BY M. GERVAIS. 


The animal which is the subject of this note has been recently 
described in England under the name of Myrmecobius fasciatus. by 
Mr. Waterhouse, who considers it as belonging to the class of the 
Didelphides, at the same time noticing the points of resemblance be- 
tween it and certain Insectivora, and principally with the Tupaia or 
Cladobate. M. Gervais, insisting on these resemblances, remarks, 
that, comparing the osseous head of the Myrmecobdius with that of 
the Didelphides, we find in the existence of two palatin holes (instead 
of four as in this group of animals), in the arrangement of the as- 
cending branch of the lower jaw, &c., differences which would rather 
induce us to refer this new. genus to the monodelphial mammifera 
than to the didelphial.—Compte Rendu, No. 14, Oct. 1838. 


CAOUTCHOUC IN PLANTS*. 

The substance caoutchouc is a widely disseminated constituent of 
vegetable fluids. It has hitherto, I believe, been found only in plants 
with milky juice, although its presence in all plants yielding such 
fluid remains to be proved. The presence of caoutchouc in silk has 
been, I believe, attributed to the nature of the fluids of the plants 
on which the caterpillars feed ; but this, although applicable to the 
mulberry plants, can scarcely hold good with the various species of 
Tetranthera on which the Moonga feeds, or with the castor-oil plant, 
the chief food of the Eria, which in Assam does not appear to yield 
milk. Milky juice is often characteristic of certain families, but 
often not; its presence is frequently of importance, as it often af- 
fords valuable indications of affinity, It is remarkable that it is al- 
most unknown in the grand division of Monocotyledonous plants. 
The families in which its presence may be said to be universal are 
Apocquea, Asclepiadea, Campanulacea, Sobeliacea and the great divi- 
sion of Composite, Chicoracea, of which the lettuce is a familiar ex- 
ample. It is of common occurrence in Huphorbiacea and Tulicea, 
which orders may be looked on as the grand sources of caoutchouc, 


* From Mr. Wm. Griffith’s Report. Journ. of the Asiatic Soc. of Bengal. 


238 Miscellaneous. 


Thus, in addition to our Indian plants, the American caoutchouc is 
supposed to be produced by Cecropia peltata, which belongs to Ur- 
ticea and the ule tree of Papantla, from which the caoutchouc of that 
country is obtained, is supposed to belong to the same orders. I 
must, however, observe that Baron Humboldt objects to the suppo- 
sition of Cecropia peltata yielding the American caoutchouc, as its 
juice is difficult to inspissate*. 

The order Euphorbiacea would likewise appear to supply a large 
quantity. Thus Dr. Lindley informs us that the true caoutchouc is 
furnished by Siphonia elastica, Hevia quiancusis of Aublet, a Surinam 
and Brazilian tree ; and it is from a tree of this order that a substance 
resembling caoutchouc is procured in Sierra Leone. 

Some Apocquee are also reported to produce good caoutchouct; 
thus Aricola elastica produces the caoutchouc of Sumatra, and it is 
from this plant that caoutchouc has been produced in Penang and 
exported to England}. Willughbeia edulis is likewise an Indian 
plant from which caoutchouc has been produced, but Roxburgh says 
it is of indifferent quality : unless I have been misled, good caoutchouc 
is obtained from Nerium grandifioreum of Roxburgh. 

It is probably equally abundant in Asclepiadea; one plant of which 
order Cynanchum albifloreum has been stated to yield it of excellent 
quality in Penang. Mr. Royle seems inclined to attribute the great 
tenacity of the fibres of some plants of both these orders to its pre- 
sence, but this supposition seems to me of very doubtful accuracy §. 


OBITUARY. 

The death of the Chevalier Frederic Cuvier (the news of which 
reached us some time ago) has awakened the deepest regret among a 
numerous circle of friends and savans. This excellent man was on 
his return to Paris, from one of those annual journeys which his of- 
fice of Inspector General to the University obliged him to make, and 
was seized with paralysis at Strasbourg; the alleviation is contained 
in the reflection that he was in this city surrounded by friends and 
the best medical aid, but neither affection nor skill could avail, 
and in four days he was no more. He was born at Montbéliard, in 
1773, was called to Paris by his illustrious brother, Baron George 
Cuvier, and became keeper of the Ménagerie at the Jardin des 


* Lindley’s Introduction to Natural System of Botany, p. 176. 

4 Lindley’s Instructions, p. 300. 

+ Royle’s Illustrations, p.329, under Euphorbiacea, and p. 270, under 
Apocquea. 

§ Royle’s Illustrations, p. 274. 


Meteorological Observations. 239 


Plantes in 1804, a place which enabled him to make some precious 
observations on the economy and physiology of animals. These are 
published in the ‘Annales du Muséum,’ and, with other valuable 
works on natural history, led to his election into the Academy of 
Sciences, to the Inspector Generalship of the University, to the Le- 
gion of Honour, to the Royal Society of London, and lastly, to the 
chair of comparative physiology at the Jardin des Plantes. A remark- 
able coincidence exists between his death and that of his brother ; 
like him, he was about to deliver a fresh course of lectures, was at- 
tacked by paralysis, was aware from the first moment of the result 
which must ensue, was anxious to secure the welfare of others, was 
patient under severe sufferings, and was ready to meet his God. As 
a scientific man his loss will be severely felt, for not only did he 
write the above-mentioned works, but was a contributor to several 
of the journals of science, and the principal labourer in the ‘ Histoire 
des Mammiféres,’ published in conjunction with M. Geoffroy St. 
Hilaire. Asa father, a friend, and a brother to the bereaved widow, 
who is thus again visited by heavy calamity, his loss is irreparable, 
and as a master, the very quadrupeds of the Jardin will feel the 
loss of his benevolent cares. M. Cuvier has left a son, who bears 
his noble name with honour.—Atheneum. | 


METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER 1838, 


Chiswick.—Sept. 1—3. Very fine. 4, Foggy: very fine. 5. Fine: rain. 
6. Heavy rain. 7. Showery. 8. Cloudy and cold. 9—12. Very fine. 13,14. 
Overcast and fine. 15. Hazy: very fine. 16,17. Foggy in the mornings: 
very fine. 18. Fine: overcast. 19. Rain; very fine: drizzly. 20. Cloudy. 
21,22. Foggy: very fine. 23. Slight rain: fine: rain at night. 24. Fogey: 
_ heavy rain. 25. Hazy. 26. Foggy: fine. 27. Rain. 28. Foggy: fine. 
29. Foggy: rain. 30. Very fine. 

On the evening of the 16th, about 8 p.m., a luminous arch was observed 
ascending from the west and proceeding in an easterly direction; terminating in 
the zenith, but with an attenuated broad train, bending towards the south. 


Boston.— Sept. 1, 2. Fine. 3. Cloudy. 4,5. Fine. 6. Rain. 7. Fine: 
rain a.m. 8. Cloudy. 9—12. Fine. 13—15. Cloudy. 16. Fine: lively ap- 
pearance of northern lights 8 p.m. 17,18, Cloudy. 19. Fine: rain early a.m. 
20,21. Fine. 22. Foggy. 23. Cloudy: rain at night. 24—26. Cloudy : 
rainr.M. 27. Rain, 28. Fine. 29, 30. Foggy. 


Applegarth Manse, Dum/ries-shire.—Sept. 1. Temperate. 2. Shower a.m.: 
fairr.m. 93. Fair a.m.: wet p.m. 4. Showery great partofthe day. 5. Wet 
allday. 6. Dripping day. 7—9. Fine harvest days. 10, Cloudy. 11. 
Cloudy: moist p.m. 12. Showery throughout. 13. Dull: moist. 14. Moist 
and warm. 15. Mild: warm. 16. Fine harvest day: Aurora. 17. Fine har- 
vest day. 18. Fair till 6 p.m. rain. 19. Fair a.m.: rain. 20. Fair till 3 p.y, - 
rain and thunder. 21. Fair till 5 e..: rain. 22. Showery all day. 23. Fair 
allday. 24. Dripping day: cold. 25. Very moist. 26. Remarkably fine, 
27. Very mild: warmr.m, 28, Fine harvest day. 29. Rather moist. 930, 
Fine harvest day. 


28-1 | 80-Z) ‘wing pas fos | €$ pet ee 9-29 |6.¢¢ | 6-62 | Z6-6% | 9V-6% | VP6-6z G00-0€ | “8° 
"** | 0S0- ZS |F2S op | t9 | ¥-9S| 3-69 | 8-L | 62-0€ | 91-0€ | 89-62 | L61-0€ 00Z-0€ | “of 
ae og |F0S PS | 09 |S-9F| 0-19 | €-99 | Z0-0€ | 00-0€ | 89-62 | V10-0€ 910-0€ | *6z 

gl PS | 2s 1¢ | So |0-SP| L-PS| €-9P | 00-0£ | £6.66 | 8V-6% | $L6-6z 000-06 | *9z 
a9. 91T- f0¢ | PS oF | 6S | 2-6) £-89 | 9-ZS | $8-6% | 6-62 | 9F-62 | 168-6% £98-62 | *Lz 
nb i 0g | 2S eb | 99 |€-Lh| €-S9 | 8-8F | 26-62 | £8-6z | £9-6z | $16.6z 986-62 | ‘oz) 
10- | OSL 0g | ZS zp | 9S | F-0G| €-99| 9-19 | 68-66 | 28-62 | 0-62 | PEL-6% 028-62 | “SZ 
SL. | 9€0- 76P | 9S 6h | 9 |0-19| L-€9 | LFS | £8.62 | 18-6z | VV-62 | 0SL-6z 816-62 | “Pz 
ag eee z¢| FS cr | 60 | L261 9-09 | 9-LS | 02-62 | £9-6 | 62-62 | 998.62 816.62 | “Ez 
EY Nantes £z¢ \¥0S 67 | 69 | @-zP| Z-09 | L-€S | OL.6z | Fe-6z | 09-62 | £68.62 000-08 | *zz 
it ov! sv 9€ | gO | £-97| 8-£9 | 4-09 | $8-6% | 08-62 | SE-6z | 7S8.6% 0S8-62 | “Iz 
oP: gh | 0S ce | 99 |9:FS| 9-86 | 9-L | 02-62 | 89-62 | VE-62 | Shg.6z 969-62 | ‘oz 
$0» ats oS | aS zs | £9 |9-FS| F.09 | P-FS | 04-62 | 06-6 | 62-62 | Stg.6z gv6-62 | “61 
Sa tee QV) OS zo | 9 | ¥-2S| 9-29 | €-LG | 00-0€ | O1-0€ | 65-6 | L10.0€ 9S0-08 | *s1@ 
oe eee Lv \EL¢ o0¢ | oL |£:SS| L-L9 | £-6$ | 1L-0€ | 11-08 | 99-62 | L€0.08 zlo.0€ | “LI 
Eee os So vs | 09 gb | PL | g-0$| &-S9 | 8-99 | $0-0F | £0-0€ | $9.62 | LE0.0€ gL0-0€ | “91 
eI ae gS} 0S 6¢ | o£ | 0-6S| 0-S9 | G-6¢ | GO-0£ | 00-0€ | 9.6% | LS0.0€ 880-08 | “ST 
ty |e S| 8S 9¢ | 69 | §.2S| 0-P9 | 0-19 | 86-62 | 66-62 | £5.62 | 690-08 QPI-O€ | “VI 
eas cbs 9G | 9S cp | 99 |S-1S| 0-S9 | 8-L9 | 00-0€ | SI-0€ | VL.6Z | SEz-0€ BZE-0F | “Ef 
sae Lied 9¢| 9S tr | Zl |S-LP| 0-09 | Z-€S | 97-0€ | OF-0€ | £6.62 | StP-0€ 006-08 | “SI 
Pep a ZG |t9V Le | oL |0-SP|S-6¢ | L-8h | $E-0€ | ZP-0€ | Zo.0€ | EFS-08 gbS-of | “It 
ree ee gv | gv re | g9 |S-9F| S.6¢ | $-1S | ZV-0F | C£-0€ | £6.62 | 10P-0€ 90P-0€ | “or C 
pes Ser ELV 9£ | £9 |S.PF| 0.9¢ | $-1S | Z-0€ | I1-0€ | 79.62 | L0z-0€ 0ZZ-0£ | °6 
9£0- pr 6p ce | oS 10.26 | 0-99 | 0-25 | £6-62 | 9L-62 | F1-62 | Lz9.62 0F9.6¢| °8 
OI- | 0So. 21h |f6P 0¢ | oL | P-25|¢-F9 | S-€9 | L9-6z | ££-6z | 08-82 | TE.62 rre.6z | cL 
Pl | BLe- 1$| 9S 76 | of |0.96|0.69 | &-6S | 02-62 | 92-62 | 99-92 | ZLz-62 062-62} °9 
nas Cpe ZS | 9S 9¢ | SZ |9.69 | 0.69 | O+F9 | LE-6z | 19-62 | 10.62 | FLE.6z Z19-66| °§ 
ae bos zS| 9S cp | OL | 0.25 | 0-69 | 0-65 | $L-62 | 98-62 | EF.6z | 989.6% 366.62} ‘Fb O 
as $25 | F0S ge | EL | 0-€$| 0-99 | 0-09 | 86:62 | 66-62 | 8S-6z | 060-08 061-08} “f 
o£0- oe gh | 9S ch | 12 10.26] $.g9 | $-19 | PO-0€ | 16-62 | 25-62 | €z1-0€ oFLof | ‘% 
% Vo. suas oS} 9S 7S | EL | 0.PS| S-69 | 0-19 | L6-6% | 26-62% | 61-62 | 9L0-0€ BOL-Of | “T 
Q a scat] 
25 = | ures aia urd¢|*ur'eg “UTA | “XBL | UNA! “xeyy [ure 6 ‘urdg | ‘ure Gg) “Ut we, . 
EE 2 tay ee Ba a ELEN Bsa mal set *aILYS-solgun. ae *OLMstyO -20§ 0% Sr 
" g - g ‘I Be -salaguing JMSITD | 90g «Loy : uopUorT gr ak cai OMT + UOPUOT -nqU9 i 
“Urey *Ja}OWOULIOY,T, “sojaUIOIE, Josheq 


‘auiys-sntfungy ‘asunyy yjuvsaddy yo uvanag ‘aN 49 puv ‘uojsog yo TIVIA ‘AN 49 SuopuorT avau ‘youmsyg qv hyaro0g pounynoysozy 947 fo 
UIPLDL) 3Y, YD NOSANOHY, “IJN 49 { NoLUaAOY “aI “Auvjasoag quogsissp ayz hg fjaroog yohog ay fo suaupandpy ayy yo apou, suornasasggQ 102907040972 


" Ann. Nat: List, Vol. NN. PAX. 


Feathers of Falco \slandicus and F. Greenlandicus 


A. lal teather of Joung laico llandicus.| £ Trimarg of Mature latco Crenlandicis 


B.lTrimary of Mature de ae F. Tart eather of Young de a 
D. Lesser weng covert weather fF a? ae 1G Covert teathers of Mature dv ada?’ 


Dorsal view af Vespertilio Leisleri. 


/e Ge natural sixe. 


J Basie, lithe: 


ANNALS OF NATURAL HISTORY. 


a 
Ae 


XXVII.—Remarks on the Greenland and Iceland Falcons, 
showing that they are distinct Species. By Joun Han- 
cocKk*, 

[ With a Plate .] 

THE Grey or Iceland Falcon (Falco Islandicus, Lath.) 

and the White Gyr (Falco Gyrfalco, Linn.) are at present 

considered, I believe, by most English authors as one species. 

Continental writers however disagree much on the subject ; 

some assert that they are perfectly distinct; whilst others 

contend that they are the same species, varying only in con- 

Sequence of age, sex, or climate. It seems strange that any 

difference of opinion should exist respecting species so cha- 

racteristically marked as are those two birds. Our English na- 
turalists, it is true, have had few specimens to examine, or at 
all events our public collections contain yery few individuals ; 
and judging from the scarcity of the species, it is not likely 
that many specimens have found their way into private cabi- 
nets. ‘This is not the case with continental writers ; they have 
been more fortunate in having numerous specimens before 
them, but by assuming that these birds go on changing their 
plumages year after year for a long period, they have been 
led into much confusion, and have not yet arrived at any sa- 
tisfactory conclusion. This being the state of the question, 
and having recently had many opportunities of examining in- 
dividuals of both the Iceland and the Greenland birds, I wish 
to lay before this meeting the result of such examination, 
more particularly as I feel a strong conviction that these birds 
are perfectly distinct. That my reasons for so considering them 
may be as clearly understood as possible, I shall, in the first 
place, detail what led me to this conviction. I shall then 
make some remarks by way of elucidation, and afterwards de- 


* Read in the Natural History Section of the Meeting of the British 
Association, Newcastle, and communicated by the author. 

¢ This plate will be given in the SurrLement to the present volume.— 
Epir, 


Ann. Nat. Hist, Vol. 2. No.10. Dec. 1838. R 


242 My. J. Hancock on the 


scribe the two species in their various plumages. My atten- 
tion was first drawn to the subject so far back as 1833 by two 
specimens brought from Iceland by Mr. Geo. C, Atkinson as 
the young of the Greenland or white species; one of those is 
now in my possession, and I am satisfied is a mature female 
of the true Iceland bird. At the time I was convinced that 
this was not an immature bird ; the cordated markings on the 
breast and the transverse bars on the flanks were sufficient to 
prove this fact, and it was impossible for a moment to sup- 
pose that a bird so symmetrically and characteristically marked 
should be a mere variety of the Greenland or white falcon. I 
believed it to be a distinct species, and subsequent observa- 
tions have confirmed me in this belief. I was afterwards for- 
tunate enough, through the kindness of my friend Mr.Warham, 
of the Lord Gambier whaler from this port, to possess a. bird 
from Davis’ Straits, which is undoubtedly the young of the 
white bird; in fact it has already got a quill feather of the 
mature dress. This individual has longitudinal dashes or 
blotches on the under parts; a character indicative of youth 
in the Falconide, and which in this instance is perfectly 
analogous to the markings of the young of the peregrine 
falcon, a species most nearly allied. Afterwards I became 
possessed of another young bird which was shot in York- 
shire, March 1837. This has also the longitudinal markings 
on the under parts, and as might be expected, from the time 
it was taken, has commenced to shed its feathers, and has al# 
ready got several new ones on different parts of the body. The 
fresh feathers are precisely similar to those of the bird from 
Iceland which I considered to be mature. This then was cer- 
tainly the young of the Iceland bird. It differs from the young 
of the white bird in one striking particular, viz. that in having 
the bars on the two middle feathers of the tail non-continuous, 
or not opposing each other, whilst they are continuous in the 
young of the latter. (Pl. X. figs. A. and F.) All that was now 
wanting was to discriminate the sexes. I was enabled to do 
this through thé kindness of Mr. W. Proctor, Curator of the 
Durham Museum, whe visited Iceland last year for the pur- 
pose of procuring birds, and the other natural productions of 
that island. After the most indefatigable exertions he ob- 
tained five individuals of the true Iceland falcon. He shot them 


Greenland and Iceland Falcons. 243 


all on the same crags. They are a brood with their two pa- 
rents; there can be no doubt of this, for he saw the old birds 
bring food to the young ones, and he afterwards found in the 
same cliffs, and close to the spot where the birds were killed, 
an old nest which contained in the bottom of it a rotten egg 
buried in dung. Four of these birds were shot on the same 
day, the fifth was killed on the following: it was perched near 
to the nest. I had no difficulty in separating the old from the 
young, or of naming the sexes. Mr, Proctor’s notes taken in 
_ Iceland afterwards proved that I was correct. The old female 
agrees exactly with the individual brought by Mr. Geo. C, 
Atkinson from Iceland. The male is similar to the female, 
only that he is a little brighter in colour, and like the rest of 
the falcons, is considerably smaller. The young are of course 
in the nest plumage (they were shot on the 3rd of August) 
and agree most accurately with the individual taken in York- 
shire, except that the plumage of the latter is a little faded on 
account of its greater age. It had undergone six months or 
upwards extra bleaching. The fading of the plumage is com- 
mon to all birds. I possess a young peregrine which was shot 
previous to its moulting, and it is bleached down from the 
deep brown of the nest plumage to the colour of brown paper. 
All the young have the bars of the tail non-continuous, and 
another immature bird which Mr. Proctor also procured in 
Iceland has the same character, This peculiarity has like- 
wise been observed by Benwicke, who says, in describing a 
young bird from Iceland, that “ the bars of the tail are non- 
continuous.” I had now before me male, female, and five 
young of the Iceland or grey species, and on examining these 
with the male, female, and young of the white or Greenland 
species, no doubt could exist, and the conclusion was easily 
arrived at, that the difference of these two birds is not at least 
the effect of sex or age, unless we adopt the theory common 
amongst ornithologists, that these birds go on varying in 
plumage for a series of years, even after they have attained 
their nuptial dress. This however I shall afterwards show is — 
not the case. Faber, who resided some time in Iceland, and 
who is apparently well acquainted with the species of that 
island, can find no other way of escaping the necessity of ac- 


knowledging it to be a species, than by supposing that the 
R 2 


244 Mr. J. Hancock on the 


white or Greenland bird is “ either an Iceland falcon in a very 
advanced age, or what” he is “much rather disposed to be- 
lieve, an albino variety.” With regard to the former part of 
his supposition, there is nothing that I am aware of in the hi- 
story of the Falconide to warrant such an assumption. They 
do not, like most birds, shed the nest plumage in autumn, but 
retain it until the following spring, when they get the mature 
dress, and I know of no instance of any subsequent change of 
importance, This is the case with the peregrine falcon, which 
is very closely allied to the Iceland species. This fact is well 
known to falconers, though I believe doubted by many orni- 
thologists. Capt. Bonham of the 10th Hussars, who has for 
many years kept a number of peregrines, showed me an indi- 
vidual which had got its mature plumage, and it was then only 
a year old. It had retained its nest plumage until the spring, 
when it moulted and at once assumed the mature dress, and 
he assured me this was always the case. This also takes place 
with the kestrel (Falco Tinnunculus, Linn.), and I believe with 
all the true falcons: occasionally the plumage may afterwards 
become a little brighter, but never any material change takes 
place ; the markings retain their characters, and though the 
bird may be considered a finer and more distinctly marked 
individual, yet the plumage is identically the same in all es- 
sential points. We possess, however, the strongest proof that 
this is the case with the Iceland species. The Yorkshire spe- 
cimen, though in the nest plumage, has, as before remarked, 
got several new feathers which are exactly like those of the 
adult, breeding individuals from Iceland ; thus we have a proof 
that this species gets the mature plumage immediately on shed- 
ding the nest feathers ; and in the two old birds we have evi- 
dence of the strongest nature that their plumage undergoes no 
further change, for it fortunately happens that they are also in 
the process of casting their feathers, and those that are coming 
are perfectly similar to the feathers of the previous year. No- 
thing can be more decisive. It needs no comment. The Ice- 
land species then does not change after it has attained the 
breeding dress. Faber also remarks, that the Iceland bird is 
not mature, that is, it does not breed until it has got yellow 
legs: this is probably the fact; then if he be correct in sup- 
posing that the white or Greenland species is only an Iceland 


Greenland and Iceland Falcons. 945 


bird in a very advanced age, how does it happen that white 
birds are found with blue legs? This very commonly occurs, 
and is characteristic of youth. The truth is, that these spe- 
cimens with blue legs are birds of the previous spring and 
have just cast their grey or nest plumage, and have not yet 
attained the mature colouring of the feet ; I have several spe- 
cimens in this state, some of which are already changing to 
yellow. The want of this colour on the feet is one proof that 
the individual is young, and the spots on the breast of such 
specimens are generally more numerous and larger. The 
young of both species have the feet blue at first; they after- 
wards become of a full dright yellow in the Iceland bird, 
though it remains grey. This is not the case with the Green- 
land species, it becomes white before the legs are yellow, and 
they never attain the bright colour of the former, but continue 
of a pale livid yellow. The latter part of Faber’s supposition 
needs scarcely any remark. It seems absurd to imagine a 
bird so symmetrically marked as the Greenland species, to be 
a mere variety. It is as characteristic in its appearance and 
varies as little as any of its congeners. There is no analogy 
whatever between this bird and those with which he compares 
it. The albino varieties of those birds to which he alludes 
occur perhaps one in a hundred. The Greenland or white 
bird, on the contrary, is more plentiful than the Iceland or 
grey. The exception, therefore, would be more numerous 
than the rule, an anomaly of no very common occurrence ; and 
again, albino varieties are either entirely white or are entirely 
white in irregular patches, but the Greenland falcon is sym- 
metrically marked, as before mentioned, and never becomes 
entirely white, and it varies from the Iceland bird not only in 
being whiter, but also in the markings of the plumage. In 
the former the feathers on the upper parts are white with ar- 
row-shaped spots of dark, in the latter the upper plumage is 
slate colour or grey with lighter spots and bars. (Pl. X. figs. 
D.C. and G.) Perhaps it might be asked, is there not a 
white variety of the Iceland bird as well as a Greenland spe- 
cies? I believe not. I have a white individyal from Iceland, 
and there is no perceptible difference between it and the many 
specimens I have seen and possess from Davis’ Straits. In 


246 Mr. J. Hancock on the 


fact there can be little or no doubt that the white one never 
breeds in Iceland, and that the individuals shot there are 
driven from their more northern haunts by the severity of the 
climate during the winter months. This view of the case is 
corroborated by a remark of Faber, who says, “I only met 
with white birds in winter, and these on the northern parts of 
the island (speaking of Iceland)”; and again, “'The white va- 
riety is rather rare; I have met with it only in the winter 
months.” And Mr. Proctor when there made frequent in- 
quiries about the white gyr, and always received for answer 
that they were extremely rare. He at length, however, pro- 
cured a skin from one of the natives, who said the bird was 
shot during the winter season. It appears to be doubtful 
whether or not the Iceland species inhabits Greenland. Fa- 
bricius and others, it is true, described grey birds as belonging 
to these regions, but it is difficult to say whether these are the 
young of the white gyr or are the Iceland species. From what 
I can learn I am very much inclined to think that this which 
I suppose to be a species is not a resident of those more 
northern countries, or at least is not common there. Messrs. 
Warham and Taylor, Captains of Davis’ Straits whalers from 
this port, inform me that they see only white birds during the 
early part of the season, and it is not until the latter end of 
the year that grey ones make their appearance. ‘This is just 
what might be expected, when we recollect that this bird, like 
its congeners, undoubtedly gets its mature dress or breeding 
plumage at the first moult: the nestlings of the previous sea- 
son get the white plumage before the whalers arrive, and as 
they do not leave the fishing grounds until autumn, they then 
meet with the young of the year in the grey or nest plumage. 

Brehm, who attempted to divide the two species, was unfor- 
tunate in possessing only young birds; this is apparent from 
his describing the Iceland bird as having blue legs, whilst its 
legs in a mature state are full yellow. He could never have 
met with the old bird or he could not have fallen into this 
error. Benwicke appears also to have laboured under the same 
mistake at the time he believed there were two species, for 
he described the one with yellow legs and dark spots on a 
white ground, the other with white spots on a dark ground 


Greenland and Iceland Falcons. 247 


and blue legs, evidently considering the mature Greenland 
falcon as the one species and the young either of this or the 
Iceland bird as the other. He afterwards, however, united 
them, and believed he had obtained a thorough knowledge of 
the subject. He continues nevertheless in error. He de- 
scribes the nest plumage no less than three times over as dif- 
ferent ages. The first is from Iceland, and has the bars on 
the tail non-continuous, like the individuals I possess from that 
island. ‘The other two are from Greenland, and vary very 
slightly, one having only a little more white than the other. 
This is of no importance whatever ; all species are liable to vary 
in this way, and the young birds from the same nest brought by 
Mr. Proctor from Iceland vary as much or more than do those 
two which he has described as birds of different years. He 
afterwards described the mature Greenland falcon, but never 
mentions the mature Iceland: from this it is probable he had 
never seen it. Temminck, however, is acquainted with both 
species, but describes the mature Iceland falcon as the female 
of the Greenland bird. In this he is most certainly wrong, 
for I possess both the sexes of the mature Greenland bird, 
and the only difference perceptible is that the male is perhaps 
a little whiter. The markings are perfectly of the same cha- 
racter ; and as we have before us male and female of the Ice- 
land species, nothing more need be said on this head; and in 
fact Faber has settled this point of the question, for he has 
shown that the plumage of the Greenland bird is not occa- 
sioned by sex. Before I conclude I have to acknowledge my 
obligations to Dr. Charlton of Hesleyside for extracts from 
various German works and for the loan of others. 

I shall now close this paper by describing the two species . 
in their various plumages. I have retained Latham’s name 
of Islandicus for the true Iceland species, as the most appro- 
priate, it being, as far as I am aware, peculiar to that island, 
though I am much inclined to believe that the birds Audubon 
figures and describes as the Iceland or ger falcon is the young 
of this species, and the other species cannot perhaps be better 
named than after the country from which it is most abundantly 
procured. I therefore continue Linneus’ name of Grwn- 
landicus, which he gave the young bird. 

Falco Islandicus. Ground of the upper plumage a dark 


248 Mr. J. Hancock on the 


lead or mouse colour, barred and spotted with cream colour ; 
under parts the ground is buff, marked with streaks, heart- 
shaped spots, and bars of dark mouse colour. Wings reach- 
ing to within about 1} in. of the end of the tail. 

Iceland falcon. Pen. Arc. Zool., Addenda C, vol. i. p. 252. 

Greenland falcon. Pen. Arc. Zool., Addenda D, vol. i. p. 257. 

Collard falcon, Pen. Are, Zool., vol. i. p. 158. 


Falco gyrfaleo, Zur. Linn., vol. i. p. 158, 
Iceland falcon. Lath. No. 50. 


Dimensions. Adult male, length 1 ft. 9 in.; extent of 
wings 3 ft. 10 in. 

Description. Billlead colour, gradually darker towards the 
tip, with ¢wo processes in the upper mandible; irides dark 
brown; cere, orbits and feet bright yellow; crown, occiput, 
and cheeks cream colour, streaked with dark grey or mouse 
colour. The feathers of the upper parts dark slate colour, 
with two or more transverse cream-coloured bars sprinkled 
with ash, the bars increasing in number as the feathers in- 
crease in size, each feather with a narrow edging of the same ; 
primaries several shades darker, with fourteen cream-coloured 
bars on the inner webs, with a few less conspicuous and 
broken bars on the outer webs. Tail rounded, consisting of 
twelve feathers of a dark grey, crossed with twelve or thir- 
teen bars of cream colour mottled with ash; throat nearly 
white ; breast and belly cream colour or buff, the former 
streaked and the latter marked with heart-shaped spots of the 
ground colour of the back; the flanks and under tail coverts 
transversely barred as in the peregrine, but the bars less nu- 
merous. 

Dimensions. Adult female, length 1 foot 11 in.; extent of 
wings 4 feet 2 in. ) 

Desc. In every respect like the male, excepting that she is 
considerably darker. 

Young or nest plumage: bill, cere and legs dark blue; crown 
of the head and occiput cream colour, streaked with dark 
brown; the whole of the upper plumage the same, edged with 
cream colour, with a few spots of the same on the lower 
parts of the scapulars and greater wing coverts; under parts 
cream colour, marked longitudinally with closely set dark 
brown blotches, increasing in size on the vent and flanks; 


Greenland and Iceland Falcons. 249 


thighs streaked with the same ; tail dark, with about ten ash- 
coloured bars (in some specimens these bars are cream colour), 
the bars on the two middle feathers non-continuous. 

Falco Grenlandicus. Ground of the plumage pure white ; 
upper parts elegantly marked with arrow-shaped spots of a 
dark grey; under parts and head streaked with the same; . 
wings reaching to within 2 inches of the end of the tail; se- 
cond primary the longest. 


Gyr falcon. Pen. Are. Zool., vol. i. p. 232. 

Falco Greenlandicus. Zwr. Linn. (this is the young), vol. i. p. 147. 
Falco islandicus. Zur. Linn., vol. i. p. 155. 

Falco candicans. Tur. Linn., vol. i. p. 158. 

Iceland falcon, var. Lath., p.71. 

Spotted Iceland falcon, var. Lath., p.71. 


Dimensions. Adult male, length, 1 foot 9 in. 

Desc, Bill light horn colour, inclining to yellow, with the 
tip darker and a large process in the upper mandible; cere, 
orbits, and feet pale yellow (in some specimens the upper 
parts of the toes are blue) ; ground of the whole plumage pure 
white; crown streaked with narrow lines of dark ash; on the 
occiput the streaks are a little larger, forming an obscure patch 
of darker. The feathers on the back scapulars and lesser wing 
coverts are deeply margined with white, the centre being dark 
ash ; in some the dark occupies the whole of the centre, in 
others (especially towards the lower parts) it is broken up into 
bars, sometimes on the outer web and sometimes on the inner ; 
the markings are arrow-shaped at the tip; wing coverts, se- 
condaries and primaries barred, the bars increasing in number 
in proportion as the feathers increase in size ; towards the tip 
of each of the primaries the dark bar is considerably larger, 
forming a spot at the tip of the wing; this is very conspicuous 
when the bird is flying: the tail is rounded at the end, and 
consists of twelve feathers, which are white, except that the 
two middle ones are barred a little on each side of the shaft ; 
in some specimens all the feathers are barred, and in others 
they are all white; all the under parts pure white, excepting 
a few dashes of dark ash on the flanks. 

_ Dimensions.— Adult female, length, 1 foot 11 in. ; extent 
of wings, 3 feet 10 in. 

Desc. In every respect like the male, except that the dark 


250 Mr. Forbes on the Land and Freshwater 


is a little more in proportion to the white, and in some indi- 
viduals the bill is furnished witlf two processes in the upper 
mandible, like the young of the preceding species, except that 
the bars on the two middle feathers in the tail are continuous. 


Norr.—The day after the above paper was read, two 
mature specimens were received from Iceland ; they are male 
and female, and have just come through the moult, and cor- 
responil exactly in the markings with the breeding individuals 
brought by Mr. Proctor; they are, however, a little brighter 
in colour, occasioned principally by the freshness of the plu- 
mage, and certainly do not vary more than might be expected 
from the difference in the young from the same nest. I may 
also observe that all the mature specimens I have seen from 
Iceland, amounting to seven in number, have the upper man- 
dible furnished with two processes ; whilst in the many Green- 
land specimens I have examined, only two have had the dou- 
ble process, and these were apparently very old individuals. 

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. 

A. Tail-feather of young Falco Islandicus. 3B. Primary of mature ditto. 

D. Lesser wing-covert feather of ditto. 


I. Primary of mature Falco Groenlandicus. fF. Tail-feather of young 
ditto. G. Covert feathers of mature ditto. 


XXVIII.—On the Land and Freshwater Mollusca of Algiers 
and Bougia. By Epwarp Forsgs. 
{ With Plates*. ] 


Durin@ a visit to the regency of Algiers in May 1837, I ob- 
tained forty-five species of land and freshwater Mollusca, chiefly 
collected in the neighbourhoood of the city of Algiers and of 
the town of Bougia (in the province of Constantine). M. Mi- 
chaud, a distinguished French naturalist, published the year 
before a pamphlet entitled, ‘ Catalogue des Testacés vivans 
enyoyés d’Alger, par M. Rozet,? in which he enumerates 
twenty-five species of land and freshwater shells ; but a great 
part of these are not correctly speaking from Algiers, but from 
Oran (near Morocco), where the Fauna of Barbary assumes a 
different aspect, approximating to that of the Canaries on the 
one hand, and to that of Spain on the other. 


* These plates will form part of the SurrLemenrt. 


ac ty N 
ee aah 


Gao 
z 


Ann. Nat. Hist, Wol.tL. P1.X1. 


LBaixtConstantina. 2H. Otthiana, 3. Roseotinada , 


Mollusca of Algiers and Bougia. 251 


Of the shells enumerated in M. Michaud’s Catalogue, I be- 
lieve the following do not occur either in the province of 
Titérie (Algiers) or in that of Constantine. Helix cariosula, 
soluta, alabastrites, and Hieroglyphicula (all new species of 
M. Michaud), Helix vermiculata, Carthusiana, albella, zaphi- 
rina, and conspurcata. Bulimus radiatus, Cyclostoma Voltzi- 
anum (new) and Serruginewm (new). 

Among the forty-five species collected by myself, there are 
several which I have reason, after careful research, to believe 
undescribed, and have accordingly given them names except 
in the case of two species of Limaz. 


Limax. 

1. Limaz cinereus. Gardens near Algiers. 

2. Limax , with the body rounded, head and tentacula 
purple-grey, the back with two dark parallel stripes. Shield 
yellowish-grey, with two dark longitudinal stripes, not conti- 
nuous with those of the body. Length, an inch and a half. 
At Bougia and on the hill of Budjaria near Algiers. 

3. Limax , with the back sharply carinate, grey ; ten- 
tacula dusky ; shield brownish-white, with grey markings. 
Length, one inch. At Bougia, rare. 


7 HE. ix. 

4, Helix aspersa, Mull. Common at Algiers and Bougia, 
The colouring of the shell generally more vivid than in the 
European specimens and the size greater. 

5. Heliw melanostoma, Drap. Algiers, rare. 

6. Helix naticoides, Drap. Not common at Algiers. Fre- 
quent at Bougia, where it abounds on nettles, coming out 
from its retreat after a shower of rain. Grows to a larger size 
than in Europe. 

7. Helix lactea, Mull. Thickets about Algiers ; common. 

8. Helix Constantina, nov. sp. Pl. XI. fig. 1. 

H. testa subglobosa, imperforata, alba, rufo-fasciata ; fauce alba : 

labro expanso, margine reflexo ; columella gibba. 

Animal purplish-grey; foot yellowish-white ; tentacula long, 
slender. In waste places among nettles at Bougia. 

9. Helix candidissima, Drap. On the hill of Budjaria near 
Algiers, abundant. 


252 Mr. Forbes on the Land and Freshwater 
10. Helix Otthiana, nov. sp. Pl. XI. fig. 2, 


Helix orbiculato-depressa, alba, longitudinaliter striata, profunde 
umbilicata: anfractibus quinque, ultimo carinate marginato ; 
apertura angulata, peristomate subreflexo; columella reflexa. 

Breadth 1 inch; height 4. 

Animal very dark grey; tentacula short, obtuse. On rocks 
at Bougia, abundant. I have named this very distinct species 
after my friend and companion in travel Dr. Otth of Berne. 

11. Helix Terverti, Michaud. Animal blueish-grey above 
with four darker longitudinal stripes ; tentacula blueish-grey. 

On the Chamerops humilis at Algiers and Bougia in great 
abundance. 

12. Helix cespitum, Drap. Algiers, frequent. 

13. Helix pisana, Mull. Algiers, abundant on the aloes 
near the sea-shore. 

14. Helix variabilis, Drap. Algiers and Bougia, common. 

15. Helix pyramidata, Drap. On Mount Budjaria near 
Algiers, and at Bougia, plentiful. 

16. Helix conoides, Drap. On the aloes at Algiers. 

17. Helix conica, Drap. Sandy places by the sea at Algiers, 

18. Helix elegans, Drap. At Bougia, abundant. 

19. Helix Rozetti, Michaud. Animal yellowish-white, with 
four grey longitudinal stripes; tentacula grey. Under stones 
on Mount Budjaria. 

20. Helix lenticula, Ferr. Under stones at Algiers and 
Bougia. 

21. Helix lucida, Drap. Two specimens from the rejecta- 
menta of the river Haresh, near Algiers. 

22. Helix cellarea, Mull. On old walls at Bougia, a re- 
markably flattened form. * 

23. Helix apicina, Lam. Under stones by the sea at Al- 
giers. ‘This species is sometimes hairy. | 

24, Helix roseo-tincta, nov. sp. Pl. XI. fig. 3. 

Helix orbiculato-convexa, depressiuscula, pallide cornea, pellucida, 
perforata, pilosa, pilis per series longitudinaliter dispositis ; 
apertura subrotunda, labro interne marginato, roseo-tincto, pe- 
ristomate simplici; apice glabro, papillato. 

Br. 3 inch; height 5%. 

Var. B. levis. 


Mollusca of Algiers and Bougia. 253 


Animal (of both varieties) slender, yellowish-grey ; upper 
tentacula slender, dark towards the apex; lower tentacula 
grey; tail acute. On rocks near Algiers, and on walls at 
Bougia. 

BuLimvus. 

25. Bulimus decollatus, Drap. Not rare at Algiers. Com- 
mon at Bougia; at Monkey mountain near Bougia the cre- 
vices of the rocks are often filled with broken shells of this spe- 
cies and Achatina Poireti, perhaps collected by the monkeys 
for food. The Bulimus decollatus grows to a much larger 
size in North Africa than in Europe. I have specimens an 
inch and a half long. 

26. Bulimus acutus, Drap. Common at Algiers and Bougia. 

27. Bulimus ventricosus, Drap. In moist places on the plain 
of the Metidja, but not so frequent as the last species. 

28. Bulimus pupa, Farr. Common at Algiers. The ani- 
mal is of a uniform dark grey colour. 

29. Bulimus Terverii, Dupotet, Pl. XII. fig.1. MSS. A 
very distinct and interesting species discovered near Bougia 
by Capt. Dupotet, and named by him after M. Terver of 
Lyons. In form it connects Bulimus acutus with Bulimus 
obscurus and montanus. Its colour is corneous with white 
irregular longitudinal stripes. I have taken it from the sur- 
face of rocks at Mount Goriah near Bougia. 


ACHATINA. 


30. Achatina Poireti, Ferr. (A. algira, Philippi; Bulimus 
algirus, Brugiére.) Rare at Algiers; more frequent at Bou- 
gia. ‘The animal is of a bright orange colour. : 

31. Achatina acicula, Lam, Among the rejectamenta of 
the river Haresh. 

32. Achatina follicula, Lam. Frequent at Algiers, under 
stones, in dry places. Animal yellow with the upper ten- 
tacula and two longitudinal stripes on the back dark grey. 

33. Achatina nitidissima, nov. sp. Pl. XII. fig. 2. 

Achatina testa cylindracea, pellucida, leevissima, nitidissima, cor- 

neo-lutescente ; apertura oblonga; anfractibus quinis, ultimo 
majore : apice obtuso. 


Length }. 


254 On the Mollusea of Algiers and Bougia. 


Animal yellow with the back and tentacula grey, Allied 
to Achatina folliculus, but very distinct. The young shell not 
nearly so ventricose, and the adult much more attenuate. In 
mossy places and among leaves at Algiers and Bougia. 


SUCCINEA. 
34, Succinea amphibea, Drap. I found dead specimens of 
this species among the rejectamenta of a rivulet near Algiers. 


Pura. 

35. Pupa umbilicata, Drap. Among the rejectamenta of 
the river Haresh. It probably inhabits the mountains of the 
Lesser Atlas. 

36. Pupa granum, Drap.? Under stones on Mount Bud- 
jaria near Algiers, rare. ; 

CycLosToMA. 
37. Cyclostoma suleatum, Drap. Common at Bougia. 
PALUDINA,. 

38. Paludina acuta, Drap. In rivulets near Algiers, rare. 

39. Paludina Dupotetiana, nov. sp. Pl. XII. fig. 3. 

P. testa minima ovato-conoidea, ventricosa perforata, fusca ; an- 

fractibus quinis teretibus: apertura ovato-rotunda; spira obtusa. 

Long. 5/5; lat. 45. 

Animal black. The shell is generally encrusted with mud ; 
the operculum is corneous and striated. In muddy rivulets 
near the sea at Algiers and Bougia. I have named this little 
species after Captain Dupotet of the 2nd African Legion, to 
whose kindness I owe many interesting species, and whose 
researches will doubtless throw much light on the zoology of 


French Africa. 
ANCYLUS. 


40. Ancylus fluviatilis, Drap. Common in fivulets both at 

Algiers and Bougia. | 

Chie eM Prysa. 

41. Physa contorta, Michaud. Ina fountain on the Metidja. 

~ PLANORBIS, 

42. Planorbis Metidgensis, nov. sp. Pl. XII. fig. 5. 

P. testa albido-cornea, pellucida, irregulariter striata, supra pro- 
funde umbilicata, subtus plana, anfractibus tribus. Apertura ro- 
tundato-lunata, obliqua, subpatula. 

Breadth 5% inch. | 7 


Ann. Nat. Hist.Vol.l. PU 421 


1 Bulamus Tervera. 4 Pistduim Lumstenianiuan. 
2 Achatna nitidissimea . § Planorbts Metidjenses. 
3 Paludina Dupotetiana . 6 Pupa granum ? 

I 


Metamorphosis of Syn gna thus lumebriciformes . 


Mr. R. Schomburgk on the King of the Vultures, 255 


Easily distinguished from Planorbis corneus by the very 
large size of the first whorl (which is wrinkled as well as 
striated), by the number of whorls, and by the great size of 
the aperture, It holds a place intermediate between Planorbis 
corneus and some American allied species, such as Planorbis 
trivolvis. I obtained this fine shell during a hurried and 
dangerous visit to the eastern part of the plain of Metidja, 
where I found it in a fountain along with Physa contorta, 
43, Planorbis marginatus, Drap. (An Planorbis marmo- 

ratus, Michaud, Test. Alg.?) Ditches at Boufarik. 


MELANOPSIS. 
44, Melanopsis buccinoidea, Ferr. On stones in the stream 
at Boufarik. 
PisiDIUM. 
45. Pisidium Lumstenianum, nov. sp. Pl. XII. fig. 4. 
P. testa ovata, oblique trigona, tumida, inequilatera, transversim 
striata, natibus prominentibus, roseo-corneis. 
Br. 4; length 4, inch. 
Fountains in the Metidja. 


XXIX.—On the Habits of the King of the Vultures (Sarcor- 
rhamphus papa). By Roserr H. Scnompurer, C.M. 
B.G.S., Lyceum of Natural History in New York, Hono- 
rary Member of the Bristol Institution, &c. 


Tue most beautiful of the deformed family of the vultures 
is doubtless the Sarcorrhamphus papa, upon which in conse- 
quence the royal title has been bestowed. It is an inhabitant 
of South America, and appears to be abundant in Guiana, 
where it has come under my notice from the coast regions to 
the equator. I might compare it in size, without going to 
actual admeasurement, to a full-grown turkey cock. Its bill 
is two inches in length, and its depth amounts almost to the 
same measure, being 1°9 inch. The upper mandible is covered 
by the cere, and straight in the beginning, but bent at its 
point to a hook; the lower mandible is straight, rounded, and 
scarcely inflected. The nostrils, which are within the cere, 
are lateral and situated close to the ridge of the upper man- 
dibles; they open obliquely towards the point of the beak : 


256 Mr. R. Schomburgk on the King of the Vultures. 


the cere is of a bright orange colour, and continues towards 
the cheeks, where it takes a blueish hue. The beak is from 
the margin of the cere for the extent of a few lines of a deep 
black colour, and from thence it is red to its point. The ridge 
of the upper mandible is surmounted by a fleshy caruncle of 
red colour, which the bird can elevate at will or allow to hang 
over the beak. From the base of the lower mandible arises 
a naked skin of orange colour, which stretches towards the 
lower part of the throat, surrounding likewise the fore and 
hinder part of the head, the cheeks and ears, appearing as a 
wrinkled skin which might be almost called warty, and which 
is covered with black hairs. These are much thicker from the 
regions of the eyes towards the sinciput, and continue along 
the cervix to the nape, where there is a raised integument ; 
as the crown is almost bare, the head might be compared to 
the tonsure of a monk. The wrinkled skin possesses a blueish 
hue, and contrasts strongly with the bright orange of the 
neck. The eyes are surrounded by a red skin; the iris is of 
a pearly white, which is still more set off by the jet black pu- 
pil. Below the nape, the neck is encircled by a ruff of long 
soft feathers of a deep ash colour, which partly covers the 
breast, and as one half of the feathers are directed upwards 
and the other towards the shoulders and breast, the down of 
these feathers becomes visible and forms a white ring in the 
centre of the ruff. The interscapular regions, the scapulars, 
and coverts are cream colour with a roseate hue; the other 
wing feathers, the rump, and the tail are deep black; the breast, 
belly, and thighs white. The wings reach nearly to the end 
of the tail; the second and third quill are the longest; the 
tail is rounded at its extremity. The legs are robust; the 
tarsus reticulated, with three toes before and one behind; 
warty beneath; the talons bent and an inch long. The mid- 
dle toe is the longest and united to the extreme one at the base, 
The female is somewhat larger than the male, and of a uni- 
form black, with the exception of the feathers under the wing, 
which are white. The caruncle is of less size than that of the 
male, and not of that intense black as the feathers; this is 
likewise the case with the naked skin about the neck. : 
In appearance the king of the vultures is one of the most 


Mr. R. Schomburek on the King of the Vultures. 257 


magnificent birds among the feathered tribe; however its 
character corresponds little with its showy vesture ; it is vo- 
racious, unclean, and indolent. Their sense of smelling is un- 
commonly sharp, but it is only used to scent the carrion ; and 
while the eagle devours nothing but what his talons and beak 
have deprived of life, and does not stoop to feed on carcasses, 
the odour of putrefaction possesses every allurement for the 
vulture ; and it gorges itself to such a degree, that after a full 
meal it cannot rise upon its wings for a considerable time. 
The bird has then a most disagreeable smell, which becomes 
almost insupportable, if it be skinned; at other periods, and 
when it has been pressed hard for food, it does not emit that 
unpleasant odour. 

The females appear to be more numerous than the males ; 
but their number has been much exaggerated, they having 
been frequently confounded with the common carrion-crow 
(Cathartes aura), with whom they feed ; indeed the latter may 
be considered their scouts; and the common report is well 
founded, that the carrion-crow does not touch the carcass until 
their majesties and spouses, of which there are frequently se- 
veral present at the entertainment, have satisfied themselves 
to repletion: during that time they are silent and covetous 
spectators, and keep a proper distance, but scarcely have the 
others done when they fall to with voracious appetite. 

Their skill in preparing skeletons is astonishing: they not 
only scrape off the flesh with the greatest nicety, but likewise 
the ligaments and periosteums, without subjecting them pre- 
viously to maceration ; indeed they are perfect masters in their 
art, and vie with the best Anatomical Instructor. When we 
ascended the river Berbice, a cayman was shot and dragged. 
on shore to leave to the vultures and carrion-crows the trouble 
of cleaning the bones. On our return a month after, they had 
performed the operation to our entire satisfaction, and we con- 
cluded from the whiteness and dryness of the bones that a 
fortnight might have elapsed since they finished. The ske- 
leton was subsequently unfortunately lost at the Christmas 
Cataracts by the upsetting of the corial*. At a later period 

* A corial is a boat made solely of the trunk of a tree; they are from 20 
to 40 feet long, and often 4 to 6 feet wide. 

Amn. Nat. Hist, Vol.2. No. 10, Dec, 1838. s 


258 Mr, R. Schomburgk on the King of the Vultures. 


I ascertained the fact, that the carrion-crows do not touch the: 
carcass until the vultures have satisfied themselves. I was at 
a Mr. Sander’s at the upper river Berbice. On the opposite 
shore, the carcass of a cow which died the previous day had 
attracted a numerous assembly of carrion-crows ; they were 
perched on the dry branches of some trees which commanded 
a view of the carcass; there they sat, silent and mournful, 
their attitude not upright but stooping; their wings partly 
hanging down, and their vesture being black, it appeared they 
had assembled to bewail the fate of the departed. There they 
remained the whole morning; none touched the carcass, nor 
did they change their position. In the afternoon our atten- 
tion was attracted by the cry of the negroes, “‘ They come, they 
come !”” We went out, and looking towards the opposite shore, 
we observed. four male vultures and several females flying in 
circles over the place where the cow was lying; the circles be- 
came narrower and narrower, and at last they lighted upon 
some trees in the neighbourhood ; this circumstance was hailed 
by the sable crew, they extended their wings and became un- 
ruly, but the former silence was soon restored. The vultures 
did not immediately attack the dead animal; they withdrew 
their neck in thé ruff, and remained ogling it for some time. 
“Tem be the judshes, and tem sit in court now to hold 
judshement o’er em,” observed the negroes who were standing 
around us; and the remark was so adapted and striking, that 
we could not help smikng at it. After half an hour had 
elapsed, one of the male vultures commenced the entertain- 
ment, and his example was soon followed by the others. 
Towards evening the former had satisfied their appetite, and 
the carrion-crows commenced their feast, where harmony how- 
ever did not appear to be presiding, and scuffles and quarrels 
took place when it concerned a favourite morsel. 

They soar uncommonly high and possess great powers of 
flight. Like the eagle, they hover over one and the same spot 
for a length of time, poise their wings, and please themselves 
in aerial evolutions, until their sharp scent and sight combine 
to show them the direction where their appetite may be satis- 
fied, when they descend in gyratory motions. They do not 
decline animal food of any description, provided it does not 


Mr, R. Schomburgk on the King of the Vultures. 259 


possess life, as they are not known to kill. It is a cowardly 
bird, and does not oppose in single combat an animal from 
which it expects resistance. They rise with heavy wings and 
with great noise. I have not been able to ascertain where 
they build their nests, very likely in the most retired places. 
The carrion-crow (Cathartes aura) constructs it near the coast 
in the sugar fields on the ground. The young males of the 
king of the vultures are in their first year black; they be- 
come black and white-spotted during the second, and are only 
in full plumage during the third year. 

While we camped in Curassawaka, a Carib settlement at 
the river Rupunoony, the Indians brought us three males and 
a female alive. One of the former had ‘been caught in a snare ; 
the others had been shot with the Sarbacan or blowpipe, the 
arrow poisoned with diluted ourari, so that it only stupified 
without killing. One of them died, and the other managed to 
get away ; however one of the males and the female we had for 
several weeks. The female became much sooner reconciled 
to her fate than the male, and allowed herself to be approached; 
but unfortunately she got loose, and as we did not wish to give 
her up on easy terms, a Maconsi Indian was desired to shoot 
her with a poisoned arrow ; the poison was not diluted, and 
she fell a few minutes after from the tree, and all our endea- 
yours to save her by giving her sugar and water, which the 
Indians say is an antidote, proved in vain. A fine and full- 
grown male bird was therefore only left of the four. He was 
indolent while with us, and at the last moment, when he was 
sent to Demerara, he was not tamer than when we received 
him. When we approached, or a dog came near him, he would 
fly up or stretch his neck forth, and attempt to pick with the 
beak, making at the same time a noise like a goose when irri- 
tated or when defending its young. He was generally fed 
upon fish, and never declined when well to eat them fresh ; 
for that purpose he kept his food with his talons and spread 
his wings, picking the flesh from the bones, if the fish was 
large, but swallowed it entire if of a small size. In his vora- 
city he frequently miscalculated the size of his gullet, and the 
fish remained often for some time in it before it was entirely 

$2 


260 Mr. C. Babington on the British Species of Lotus. 


swallowed. He was not partial to entrails, and when they 
were thrown before him, he would put his feet upon them and 
relax immediately to his former stooping position. Before he 
commenced attacking his food, he would turn his head and 
look at it in a squinting way. His eyes were beautiful; in- 
deed I do not know an animal which could vie with those of 
the king of the vultures ; the purest pearl is not whiter than 
his iris. During rainy weather, and during a few days when 
he was sick, he withdrew his neck completely in the ruff; it 
even covered partly the head, leaving only the forehead and 
the beak out. He could not endure the full heat of the sun; 
he panted and showed every sign of being uncomfortable. 

They are easily tamed if taken young. Mr. Glen in Deme- 
rara had a female bird which was so tame that it would lay 
itself before its master’s feet ; and its power of recognition was 
so great, that if it happened to be on the roof of the highest 
house when Mr. Glen walked by in the street, it would de- 
scend rapidly as an arrow, and lie down before his feet, as it 
had been accustomed to do. I saw a full-grown male bird 
which was brought from Surinam to Demerara; it was per- 
fectly tame, and was ultimately sold to the master of an En- 
glish merchantman for the enormous price of twenty pounds 
sterling. 

The Indians when we travelled with them never failed to 
attract our attention to this bird when they discovered one 
soaring in the air. The Maconsis call it Cassana, the Wape- 
shanas Panaourou, the Warrows Wouraerepo. 


XXX.—On the British Species of Lotus. By Cuaruss C. 
Bazsineton, M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., &c. 


Tue British species of Lotus have now been the subject of 
controversy for many years, some most eminent botanists con- 
sidering all our plants to be referable to only two (cornicu- 
latus and angustissimus), others supposing that they constitute 
four, if not five distinct species; but after a careful examina- 
tion of numerous individuals, in their native localities, I have 
come to the conclusion that we possess four quite distinct 


Mr. C. Babington on the British Species of Lotus. 261 


specific forms, namely, L. corniculatus, major, angustissimus, 
and hispidus. LL. tenuis of ‘ Eng. Bot. Suppl.’ (LZ. decuméens, 
Forst.) I am induced to refer as a variety to LZ. corniculatus, 
not having been able to discover any permanent characters, by 
which it may be distinguished from that plant. The form and 
structure of the pod appear to be amongst the most valuable 
characters in this genus, and the direction of the calycine seg- 
ments, more particularly in the two first species, is deserving 
of great attention. ‘The form of the leaves and the quantity 
of pubescence can only be considered as distinguishing va- 
rieties. 3 

The specific characters which I have given may appear 
longer than is desirable, but I have found it impossible to 
condense them into a shorter form without omitting some 
characteristic points of the respective species. I have thought 
it unnecessary to load this paper with synonyms, since I do 
not believe that there is any confusion in that part of the sub- 
ject. 

Lotus, Linn. 


1. L. corniculatus, Linn. (Sp. Pl. 1092.) Vexilli ungue obovato 
transversim camerato, calycis apicibus ante anthesin conniventi- 
bus, laciniis e basi triangulari subulatis tubum suum subequan- 
tibus et corolla multo brevioribus 2 superioribus apicibus con- 
vergentibus, leguminibus ex apice medio rostratis, capitulis 
5—10-floris. 

a,- vulgaris (Koch.) glabriusculus vel sparse pilosus, caulibus 
ascendentibus, foliolis obovatis, stipulis ovatis ineequalibus, ng. 
Bot. t. 2090. 

B. villosus (Ser.) caulibus foliisque villosis. L. villosus, Thuill. 

y. crassifolius (Pers.) pilosus, caulibus humilibus stoloniferis, fo- 
liolis obovatis crassis, stipulis ovatis inzequalibus. 

8. tenuis, glaber vel sparse pilosus, caulibus filiformibus elongatis 
procumbentibus ascendentibusve, foliolis linearibus vel lineari-obo- 
vatis, stipulis semi-ovatis (calycis laciniis brevibus). ng. Bot. t. 
2615. 

Root strong, slightly woody, perennial, in loose sandy soil, 
stoloniferous. Stems spreading, procumbent or ascending, 
hairy or glabrous, varying much in length, solid. Leaflets 
obovate, in 6 linear or linear-obovate, glabrous or slightly hairy, 


262 Mr. C. Babington on the British Species of Lotus. 


in 8 clothed with long spreading hairs, strongly ciliated and 
fleshy in y. Stipules ovate, slightly unequal, in 6 semi-ovate. 
Peduncles long. Bracteas obovate, slightly unequal. Pedicels 
very short, 5—10 together. Calyx segments about as long as 
their own tube, shorter in y, equalling or slightly shorter than 
that of the corolla, their tips not diverging in the bud, the 
points of the two upper ones turned towards each other when 
the flower has expanded, the interstices between the segments 
rounded. Flowers yellow, claw of the standard much dilated 
and vaulted transversely. Pods linear, terete, straight, with a 
long setaceous deflexed rostrum springing exactly from the 
middle of the apex. Seeds numerous, oval, compressed, 
smooth. 

Common throughout the British Islands, in fields, on hedge banks, 
and dry places. 


Fig. 1. L. corniculatus. Fig. 2. L. major. 


<= |= 


VP o 


G1. 42. @2.3.° dh. d. 5. d. 6. dl, 
var. a. var. 9. 


Fig. 1. a. Legume. 6. Unopened bud, to show the direction of the tips 
of the calyx. c. The two upper segments of the calyx, to show the rounded 
space between them and their converging tips. d.1. A lateral leaflet of 
var.@. d.2. The central leaflet of var. a. d.3. A stipule of var. a. 
d,4,, d.5., d.6, The same parts respectively of var. 3. 


Fig. 2. The letters represent the corresponding parts, and all the draw- 
ings are about the natural size, 


d. 3. 


My friend Mr. Borrer, who has had frequent opportunities 
of studying L. ¢enuis in a living state, continues fully convinced 
that it is a truly distinct species, founding its characters upon 
the much shorter segments of the calyx and the elongated 

.procumbent habit of the plant. I am sorry to be obliged to 


Mr. C, Babington on the British Species of Lotus. 263 


differ from so excellent a botanist, but am of opinion that 
those are not sufficient differences upon which to found a 
species in this genus. The plant is more slender in all its 
parts, but I have not been able to detect any differences in 
structure except those mentioned in the description. 

2. L. major, Scop. (Carn. 2. 86.) Vexilli ungue lineari, calycis 
apicibus ante anthesin in stella dispositis, laciniis e basi trian- 
gulari subulatis tubum suum subzequantibus et corolla multo 
brevioribus 2 superioribus divergentibus, leguminibus e sutura 
superiori rostratis, capitulis 8—12-foris, foliolis obovatis, sti- 
pulis ovato-rotundatis inzequalibus. 

a. vulgaris, pilosus, caulibus erectiusculis. Hang. Bot. t. 2091. 

(3. glabriusculus, glaber, foliolorum stipularum bractearum sepalo- 
rumque marginibus et nervis exceptis que longé ciliate sunt, caulibus 
erectis vel procumbentibus. 

Root strong, perennial. Stems erect or ascending 1—3 feet 
high, clothed with long spreading hairs, in 8 glabrous, hollow. 
Leaflets obovate, obtuse, or pointed, covered both above and 
below with long scattered hairs, in 8 the hairs are confined 
to the margins and nerves. Stipules orbicular or short ovate, 
very minutely serrated, hairy like the leaves. Peduncles very 
long. Bractea ovate, the lateral one slightly unequal. Pedi- 
cels very short, 8—12 together. Calyx segments about as 
long as their own tube, longer than that of the corolla, acute, 
their tips spreading like a star before the expansion of the 
bud, the tips of the two upper ones never converging, their 
interstice forming an acute angle. Flowers yellow, claw of 
the standard linear and longitudinally vaulted. Pods linear, 
terete, straight, having a long setaceous straight rostrum 
springing from the upper suture. Seeds numerous, minute. 

Frequent in damper places than the last, but sometimes found in 
very dry places. 

The Rev. Dr. Beche, late Dean of Bristol, was I believe 
the first botanist who noticed the valuable character drawn 
from the stellate tips of the calyx, by which this species may 
at all times be distinguished from /. corniculatus. From 
laying too much stress upon the presence or absence of hairs 
as a specific distinction between these plants, several botanists 


264 Mr. C. Babington on the British Species of Lotus. 


have been induced to consider the characters given above as 
variable, but there is nothing more uncertain in this genus 
than the quantity of the pubescence, unless it is the direction 
ofthe stems. The same species may be found glabrous, hairy, 
or even woolly, and its stems procumbent or erect. I need 
scarcely add, that the field is the right place for examining 
these plants, many of their most permanent differences va- 
nishing when the plant has been pressed and dried for the 
Herbarium. 


3. L. angustissimus, Linn. (Sp. Pl. 1090.) Vexilli ungue lineari 
calycibus ante anthesin rectis, laciniis subulatis tubum suum 
subeequantibus petalis brevioribus, leguminibus e sutura supe- 
riore recte rostratis calyce sextuplo longioribus linearibus. | 
a. Linneanus. Pedunculo florigero folium subzquante, fructifero 
duplo longiori, foliolis stipulisque ovato-lanceolatis acutis, caulibus 
procumbentibus.—L. angustissimus, Linn. Herb. LL. diffusus, Ser. 
in DC. Prod. 2.213. L. angustissimus ( diffusus, Bot. Gall. 1. 
138. | 

B. Seringianus. Pedunculo semper folium subequante, foliolis 
obovato-oblongis stipulisque ovatis acutis, caulibus ascendentibus, 
—L. angustissimus, Ser. in DC. Prod. 2.213. Bot. Gall. 1.137. 


Fig.3. L, angustissimus. 


var. @. var. 6. 
a2. 4,3. d.4,  d.5.° 4.6 
| f y 
YY 4 
‘ ee 
ee 
=< => 


; a. 

Root strong, annual. Stems procumbent or ascending, 
numerous, branched, filiform, covered with long hairs. Leaf- 
lets ovate-lanceolate in var. a, obovate oblong in 8, pointed. 
Stipules oblique ovate-lanceolate and acute in a, ovate, slightly 
attenuated, and less acute in 8. Peduncles about as long as 
the leaves, in a much lengthened when bearing fruit. Bracteas 
lanceolate, usually 3, equalling or shorter than the calyx. 
Pedicels very short, usually solitary. Calyx segments about 
as long as their tube, but shorter than the corolla. Flowers 
yellow, small. Pods five or six times as long as the calyx, 


Mr. C. Babington on the British Species of Lotus. 265 


slender, slightly uneven, subterete, glabrous, having a long 
setaceous straight rostrum springing from the superior suture. 
Seeds minute, orbicular, compressed, pale. 

Hab. var. a. Cornwall, Dr. Jacob. Lanes in Jersey. South coast 
of Alderney, Jethon and Guernsey. Banks of the Volga. Ch. de 
Steven in Sm. Herb. Var. 6. Near Hastings, Mr. Dickson. Devon- 
shire, Dr. Beche. In Jersey. 


4, L. hispidus, Desf. (Cat. Jar. Par. 190.) Vexilli ungue subu- 
lato, calycibus ante anthesin rectis, laciniis subulatis tubo suo 
longioribus petalis brevioribus, leguminibus calyce duplo lon- 
gioribus rugosis teretibus cum rostro elongato setaceo defracto 
in apice medio locato, pedunculo folio semper longiore, foliolis 
obovato-lanceolatis, stipulis semicordatis, caulibus procumbenti- 
bus. DC. Prod. ii. 212. Bot. Gall. 137. Lois. Fl. Gall. t.16. 


Fig.4. L. hispidus. 


a. d.1. a. 2. d, 3. 


Root strong, fibrous, annual. Stems procumbent, nume- 
rous, nearly simple, filiform, covered, as well as the leaves and 
calyx, with long hairs. Leaflets obovate, with a minute point. 
Stipules oblique, semicordate. Bracteas ovate, often solitary, 
about as long as the calyx. Peduncles always longer than the 
leaves. Pedicels very short, solitary, or 2—3 in each head. 
Calyx segments longer than their tube, but shorter than the 
corolla. Flowers, yellow, smail. Pods about twice as long as 
the calyx, thick, slightly uneven, terete, glabrous, having along 
setaceous rostrum which springs from exactly the middle of 
the point and is immediately bent down at a right angle. 
Seeds minute, orbicular, compressed, pale, often with nume- 
rous very small dark spots. 

Hab. Near Penzance, Cornwall, Mr. H. C. Watson. Dartmouth, 
Mr. Woods. Guernsey and Alderney, very common. 

‘The much shorter pod of this species is the most convenient 
distinguishing mark between it and L. angustissimus ; its habit 
also is different, and both of them differ remarkably in ap- 
pearance from the two first species. The great rarity of these 


266 Mr. W. Thompson on a new British Fish. 


plants in England has no doubt caused them to be misunder- 
stood by most of our native botanists, and I feel great plea- 
sure in being able to give the result of my study of the living 
plants in the Channel Islands, where they occur in profusion. 
It appears to me that no two plants can be more truly distinct 
than this species and its predecessor. 

St. John’s College, Cambridge, Oct. 27, 1838. 


XXXI.—On Fishes ; containing a notice of one Species new to 
the British, and of others to the Irish Fauna. By WiuuiamM 
Tuompson, Esq., Vice-President of the Natural History 
Society of Belfast. 

CorEeGONUS CLUPEOIDES, Nillson.? Cunn.—In a letter from 

the Rev. T. Knox, of Toomavara, dated Jan. 29, 1838, and ac- 

companying a specimen of a fish procured at my request, was 
the following observation : “ We have at last been able to get 
the little fish mentioned by the fishermen as being found in 
the Shannon in winter—it was sent from Killaloe. I believe 
it goes down the river with the eels every winter; it takes no 
bait.””. The Rev. C. Mayne of Killaloe—by whose kind at- 
tention the specimen was secured—informs me, in reply to 
some queries, “ that itis called a Cunn by the fishermen of that 
place, who state that it is never taken but in the eel-nets 
about Christmas, when the ‘run of eels’ is nearly over, and 

that they never saw more than seven or eight caught in a 

year, seldom indeed so many.” Killaloe, it should perhaps be 

stated, is not less than eighty miles from the mouth of the 

Shannon. In the hope of ascertaining the occurrence of this 

fish at Portumna, about twenty miles higher up the river, I 

wrote to a correspondent there, at the same time describing 

the species, and on the 24th of March last received the fol- 
lowing reply. ‘ “I think it very uncertain whether there is 
such a fish in the Shannon, but still some old fishermen say 
there is, and that they are a little smaller than the common 
herring, but exactly the same shape and colour ;” and he again 
observes—* after making every inquiry, I learn that about half 

a dozen white fish like herrings were got in Lough Derg [a 

mere expansion of the river Shannon] very near this, about 


Mr. W. Thompson on a new British Fish. 267 


four years ago in the eel-nets, but none since, at least in this 
quarter.” So far only is the history of the species known to 
me: that the white fish were this Coregonus, I think hardly 
admits of doubt. | 

On examining the specimen, the nearest approximation I 
find to it is the Salmo clupeoides of Pallas*, and Cor. clupeoides 
of Nillson+, who with a query marked Pallas’s as synonymous 
with his species. 

Although there is a tolerable general agreement, yet a want 
of accordance in some characters between my specimen and 
the description in the ‘ Zoographia’ renders it doubtful whe- 
ther they be the same fish. Between it and Nillson’s C. clu- 
peoides I perceive no specific (though a considerable indivi- 
dual) difference, and consider them identical, if the phrase 
“tereti-compresso,” applied to the body in his specific charac- 
ters, be taken singly, and be translated, roundly compressed ; 
but if “ tenuet,” applied again to the body in the detailed de- 
scription, mean that it is thin or compressed, the species 
cannot be the same, the individual under consideration being’ 
yery thick for one of the Coregoni. 

Nillson is altogether silent on the history of this species, 
stating merely that it was sent him with other fishes from lake 
Wettern. As this lake communicates with the Baltic, it is to be 
regretted that we are not informed whether the Coregonus be 
stationary in it, or migrate to the sea as the Shannon species 
is believed to do. 

Drsc.—General form, gracefully elongated, sloping equally 
from the centre of back to the head and tail, the anterior and — 
posterior portions of the ventral profile also corresponding to 
each other, but rather more convex than the dorsal; rounded 
in the back (like Atherina Presbyter); considerable thickness 
maintained throughout$. Length 4} inches; depth where 

* Zoographia Russo-Asiatica, iii. pp. 410, 411. To this work I have not 
had access, but am indebted to my friend Mr. Ogilby for transcribing from 
it the full description, and sending it me from London. 

+ Prodromus Ichthyologize Scandinavice, p. 18. 

{ The commencement of the specific characters is ‘‘C. corpore elongato, 
tereti-compresso ;” the detailed description ‘“‘ Corpus elongatum, tenue.” 

§ It is so formed, especially the anterior half, that like the Coregonus qua- 


drilateralis of the ‘ Fauna Boreali-Americana,’ (pl. 89. fig. 1.) it might be 
called “ four-sided with the angles rounded off.” 


268 Mr. W. Thompson on a new British Fish. 


greatest, at origin of dorsal fin, 9 lines, or compared with the 
entire length as 1 to 53; thickness more than half the depth, 
just behind the head 5 lines, the same at the middle, and + of 
an inch before the base of the caudal fin 2 lines; lateral line 
for 1 of an inch from its origin sloping downwards, thence to 
its termination straight, and except at the tail, where it is 
equidistant from each, placed rather nearer the dorsal than 
the ventral profile ; head 11 lines long, or about as 1 to 34 in 
the entire length ; eye large, placed at the distance of its own 
diameter from the snout, and occupying } the length of head; 
upper jaw truncated, lower roundish-oval, and when the mouth 
is closed projecting 4 a line beyond the snout, (in this respect 
exceeding that of the vendace, Cor. Willoughbigu, Jard.) The 
only teeth apparent with the aid of a lens are a few placed 
regularly on both upper and under jaws, none apparent on 
the tongue or the vomer; pre-opercle nearly describing the 
segment of a circle, opercle from the posterior base gradually 
narrowing upwards. Fins; dorsal originating half-way be- 
tween extremity of lower jaw and base of caudal; pectorals 
pointed, nearly # the length of head, these and the ventrals of 
about equal length ; the latter commencing in a line with the 
first quarter of dorsal; when laid close to the body, the dorsal 
approaches the tail more nearly than the ventral ; anal distant 
its own length from the first short ray of caudal; adipose 
ending nearly on the same line as the anal. 


D. 15 (1st very short); P. 15*; V.1+11; A. 16 or 17; 
C. 2012=Br. 7. 

Scales (judging merely from their impressions, they having 
been rubbed off) about 85 on the lateral line, 10? from it to 
the origin of the dorsal fin; and 12? from it to the ventral 
profile: the scales not being always precisely defined, the num- 
bers cannot be accurately determined. 

Colour (in spirits), bluish black along the back, thence 
olive to the lateral line, where it becomes somewhat silvery, 
and beneath it of a bright silver to near the base, where a 
gloss appears as if when recent it had been tinged with pink ; 
belly opake white, slightly tinged with silver anteriorly, oper- 


* This number appears in both fins, which are somewhat injured. 


Mr. W. Thompson on a new British Fish. 269 


cula bright silver, irides silvery, bounded by a blackish line 
above and beneath. : 

Although the expression of “ common” be at variance with 
what I could learn of the history of this species, it is probably 
in allusion to it that Sir Wm. Jardine remarked in a letter to 
me in November 1836, that he had heard of a fish called the 
“ freshwater herring” being common in Lough Derg. 

All the Coregoni hitherto recorded as British are lacustrine 
species, thus rendering the addition to the Fauna of the pre- 
sent one, which frequents the river Shannon, more than or- 
dinarily interesting. That it migrates to the sea, as do others 
of the genus, both in this and the western hemisphere, is by 
no means improbable; but as yet, instead of proof of the fact, 
we have simply the conjecture of fishermen, who would not be 
unlikely to draw such an inference from the mere circumstance 
of capturing it at the same time with eels, which they know to 
be on their migration seawards*. 


Salmo ferox, Jard. and Selby.—As in the instance of the 
last species, I in announcing the Lake Trout to be found in Ire- 


* Coregonus Pollan, Thomp. A few observations on the pollan, the only 
other species of Coregonus yet detected in Ireland, will not be out of place 
here. When my paper on this fish was published (Mag. Zool. and Bot., 
vol. i.) I had seen specimens only from Lough Neagh, but from Harris’s 
History of the County of Down it was quoted, ‘‘ that Lough Harn in the 
county of Fermanagh has the same sort of fish, though not in so great plenty 
[as L. Neagh].” ‘This I am now enabled to verify. That the pollan is not 
“in so great plenty ” there, I became well satisfied during a visit—which 
was indeed a very hurried one—to the lake in the autumn of 1837, when by 
inquiry from many persons I could not learn anything of such a fish. But 
by the kind attention of Viscount Cole, who resides within a few miles of 
Lough Erne, I have been lately favoured with examples of the C. Pollan from 
that locality. On the 22nd of October last, I received a specimen which was 
taken two days before, and was stated to have been the first caught this _ 
season. On the 29th of the same month, I was obligingly supplied with 
more examples; and in a letter dated from Florence Court the preceding day, 
Lord Cole remarked, in reference to the species, ‘‘I have now procured in 
allabout ten or twelve. I cannot make out that they are ever caught in any 
numbers in Lough Earn ; indeed they are never sought after—those which 
I have got were taken in eel-nets in the upper lough. I have heard that 
three or four were caught in the lower lough this year in a drag-net. This 
is all I at present know about them.” 

Since my account of the pollan appeared, I have been favoured by Dr. 
Parnell with a specimen of the Coregonus of Loch Lomond (see his paper on 
this subject in the Annals of Natural History, vol.i. p. 161.) and by Sir Wm. 
Jardine with one of the Uliswater species; both of which are distinct from 
the Cor. Pollan, this having not as yet been found in any of the lakes of 
Great Britain, 


270 Mr, W. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 


land (see Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 
1835, p.81) could with certainty speak of it only as an inha- 
bitant of Lough Neagh. Since that period I have ascertained 
that it frequents Lough Corrib, in the county of Galway ; the 
head of a specimen there taken having been submitted to 
my examination by Mr. R. Ball. More recently, Lord Cole 
has kindly transmitted me a fine example, of about 11 lbs. 
weight, from Lough Erne, thus proving it to be an inhabitant 
of the three largest lakes in Ireland. From all that 1 have 
heard and read, I doubt not that it is found in several other 
of our lakes, perhaps in all of considerable extent throughout 
the country. 

Anguilla latirostris, Yarr,—In my last paper on fishes (see 
Annals, p. 21 of the present volume) this species is stated to 
be called “ Culloch,”’—-by my having adapted the orthography 
to the sound of the word,—at Lough Neagh. It should rather 
have been collach, as by reference to O‘Reilly’s Irish Dic- 
tionary, I have since ascertained this word to imply “ wicked,” 
and hence doubtless the origin of the name, the species being 
characterized as most voracious and as subsisting chiefly on 
other fish. The person who described it to me by the name 
of collach gave a direful account of this propensity, by stating 
that “it drinks the young fry in.” The provincial names of 
Gorb and Glut Eel have obviously been bestowed upon it for 
a similar reason. 


Fishes new to Ireland. 


Exoca:Tus ? Flying-fish.—I am informed by Mr. 
Ball, that according to the testimony of several intelligent 
fishermen at Youghal, flying fishes have in different years 
been seen by them in summer near the southern coast of Ire- 
land :—the accurate manner in which they describe the 
“ flicht,” &c. leaves no doubt on my mind that the fishes al- 
luded to must have been some species of Kvocetus. - 

RANICEPS TRIFURCATUS, Flem, Tadpole Fish.—To Capt. 
Fayrer, R.N. Iam indebted for a specimen of this fish, picked 
up on the 21st September 1837, as it lay floating upon the sea 
off Donaghadee harbour—it was received in a recent state. Its 
agreement with Dr. Johnston’s description (Yarrell’s Brit, 


» 


Mr. W. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 271 


Fish, vol. ii. p. 206.) is so complete, that any except the few 
following notes on the individual seem to be unnecessary. 
Its length is 10} inches; in number the fin rays are 


D. 3—63; A, (somewhat injured) 57? P, 23; V.6; C.36, 


Second ray of the first dorsal fin thrice the length of the 
other rays; second ray of the ventral fins considerably the 
longest ; no tubercles on sides sensible either to sight or touch; 
no lateral line apparent ; *body all over “ smooth and even;” 
cirrus 4} lines long. 

In colour it is entirely of a lilac brown except the belly, 
Which is dirty white very faintly tinged with lilac; folding of 
the lips china-white ; fins all of an uniform lilac black, except 
the ventrals, of which a portion is paler than the rest; inside 
vf mouth pure white ; irides of a yellowish-brown colour. 

PLEURONECTES PUNCTATUS, Bloch. Bloch’s Top-knot. 
—One of these very rare fishes, of which two British speci- 
mens only are on record (the first obtained at Zetland and the 
other at Weymouth), was taken on the 16th of June last, by 
Dr. J. L. Drummond, when dredging within the entrance of 
Belfast bay. Together with the other fishes at the same time 
captured, comprising specimens of Solea Lingula and S. va- 
riegata, it was with kind consideration promptly sent to me. 

The following notes were made from the recent specimen: 
length 42 inches; number of fin-rays 


D. 72 and.3; A. 56 and 5; P.10*; V.6; C.16 in all. 


Compared with a specimen of P. hirtus, Mull. (63 inches 
in length, and likewise taken on the coast of Down7t), the 
ridge between the eyes is much more elevated, the difference 
being strikingly conspicuous when the two species are placed 


* The dorsal fin, strictly considered, has but seventy-two rays, and the 
finlet connected with it extending under the tail three rays; of these the two 
first divide near the base, and each division becomes forked; the third ray 
divides into three near the base, each division likewise becoming forked. 
The anal fin has, independently of a similar finlet, fifty-six rays; finlet with 
five rays, the three last dividing each into two near the base, which divisions 
again, asin the opposite one, become forked. This explanation will perhaps 
account for the less number of D. and A. fin-rays set down te the present 
specimen than is generally attributed to the species. The divisions here 
mentioned have probably been reckoned as distinet rays. Pectoral fin larger 
on the upper than on the under side; ten rays in each. 

} See Proceedings Zool. Soc., 1837, p, 60. 


272 Mr. W. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 


together; lateral line on both sides much arched within the 
range of the pectoral fins, thence straight to the tail. 

The upper side presents as a ground colour a mixture of 
various shades of light brown, with a round dark spot, 3 lines 
in diameter, commencing an inch from the tail; it is likewise 
marked with a very few smaller inconspicuous round dark-co- 
loured spots, and blotched irregularly with very dark rich 
brown. The fins do not exhibit any round spots as shown 
in Dr. Fleming’s figure (Phil. of Zool., vol.i. pl. 3), but are all 
irregularly marked on the upper side with many different 
shades of brown ; irides reddish-golden; under side of body 
white, with a very pale reddish tinge. In all characters not 
mentioned here this specimen accords with Mr. Jenyns’s de- 

scription (p. 462). 

With Mr. Yarrell I agree in considering the Rhombus uni- 
maculatus of Risso (Hist. Nat. Pur. Mer. t. iii. p. 252, f. 35) 
identical with this species. In the number of rays in the fins, 
individuals appear to differ considerably, but perhaps not more 
so than might be expected when so great is their number. 


Mustelus levis and Hinnulus.—I embrace this opportunity 
of offering a few remarks on the identity of the Squalus Mus- 
telus, Linn. (Mustelus levis, Will.), and Sq. Hinnulus, Blain.* 
(Must. stellatus, Risso). As some authors are agreed on this 
subject, it may perhaps be considered unnecessary to treat 
further of it, but I do so im reference to the place S. Hinnulus 
occupies in Mr. Jenyns’s excellent ‘ Manual’, p. 503. Here 
a short description is given of a fish taken at Weymouth, of 
which it is said that it “appears to be identical with the S. 
Hinnulus of Blainville;” afterwards the remark is made, “ that 
it is a great question whether this last be anything more than 
a variety of S. Mustelus.” 

The following observations are on a specimen taken in Bel- 
fast bay on the 16th of July last, and received by me before 
life was extinct. This individual combined in colour Mr. Je- 
nyns’s descriptions of S. /evis and S. Hinnulus, having, as the 
former is described, the “ upper parts of a uniform pearl gray,” 
and being “ paler or almost white beneath ;” at the same time 

* Faune Frangaise, p. 83, pl. 20, f. 2. 


Mr. W. Thompson on Fishes new to Ireland. 273 


presenting with the S. Hinnulus* “a row of small whitish 
spots from the eye towards the first of the branchial openings ; 
lateral line indistinctly? spotted with white; also a moderate 
number of small scattered white spots between the lateral line 
and the dorsal ridge.” The lateral line is in my specimen closely 
spotted with white, of a silvery lustre, from its origin to the 
extremity of the second dorsal fin, where this marking termi- 
nates; but a row of similar spots appears throughout the entire 
tail, beginning at the origin of the caudal fin on the upper side, 
and placed between its margin and the lateral line; “a moderate 
number” of white spots, as described above this line, as far as 
the extremity of the second dorsal fin; these are larger than 
those on the line and have the same silvery lustre; the short 
space intervening between the end of the second dorsal and 
the origin of the caudal fin is spotless. No spots on the body 
below the lateral line, nor on any of the fins, which are pearl 
grey ; the pectorals varied with a whitish tinge along the mar- 
gin, and the first dorsal with a dusky tip. Pupil of the eye 
black ; irides silvery, with iridescent hues; eye 10 lines in 
lengtht, oblong-oval in form. This individual agrees in every 
character with the M. stellatus as described by Risso f, ‘ Hist. 
Nat. ? Eur. Merid.’, t. iii. p. 126. Mr. Yarrell’s figure of M. 
levis (vol. ii. p.393) is avery good representation of this fish. 
The present individual differs from it in having a close row of 
spots along the lateral line, and both lobes at the base of the 
caudal fin conspicuously displayed, the anterior one nearly as 
much so as in the preceding figure of Galeus vulgaris in the 
same work. 

The specimen under description is a female. The stomach 
was filled with brachyurous crustacea, including a perfect and 
full-grown Corystes Cassivelaunus. 

Other specimens of Mustelus levis that I have examined, 
and which were about the same size as the one described, were 
similar in the characters above given; this is mentioned as 
showing that the white spots above the lateral line are not pe- 
culiar to the young fish. See Yarrell, B. F., vol. 1. p. 394. 

* « Brownish-ash” is given as the general colour by Mr. Jenyns; Risso 
describes the M. stellatus to be “‘d’un gris de perle en dessus.” 

+ The Squalus Canicula is so different in this respect, as from the small- 


ness of its eyes to be commonly called blind dog-fish in the north of Ireland. 
t The figure of §. Hinnulusin the ‘ Faune Frangaise’ shows the identity. 


Ann. Nat, Hist, Vol. 2, No.10, Dec, 1838. , 


274 Mr. L. Hindmarsh on the 


XXXII.—On the Wild Cattle of Chillingham Park. By L. 
HinpMArsH, Esq., of Alnwick *, 


Tue history of every country is one of change. This applies not 
only to man and his social relations, but to everything animate 
and inanimate. In some localities the sea has become dry 
Jand ; in others, the soil which once flourished with vegetation 
has become the bed of the ocean. Sterile wastes have been 
transmuted into fertile plains, and dense forests into culti- 
vated fields ; and many of those animals which once roamed 
through them in ferocious independence are swept away, and 
are only found in those historic records which nature has pre- 
served in her great museum of fossil remains. The rapid pro- 
gress of population and culture has accelerated the depopula- 
tion of wild animals, and within a period not very remote, has 
rid this country of many of its ferocious inhabitants. Bears, 
which formerly infested this island, were extirpated at a com- 
paratively early period ; yet there is evidence of their existence 
in Scotland so late as the year 1057, when a Gordon, in reward 
for his prowess in killing one, was directed by the king to 
carry three bears’ heads upon his banner. After them the 
wild boar and wolf were finally exterminated. Of the latter, 
one was however destroyed in Scotland so late as 1680, and 
in Ireland some were found even so far down as 1710. Of the 
wild ox it is probable that one remnant at least survives in the 
wild cattle of Chillingham Park, Northumberland, the pro- 
perty of the Earl of Tankerville. Their origin, character, and 
habits form the subject of the present inquiry. 

In promotion of this object we have been most obligingly 
favoured by their present noble and accomplished proprietor 
with the followimg very interesting account of them, which 
needs no further preface to its introduction in this place. The 
following is an exact copy. 


« Sir, * Grosvenor Square, June 8, 1838. 


‘Some time since I promised to put down upon paper whatever I 
knew as to the origin, or thought most deserving of notice in respect 
to the habits and peculiarities of the wild cattle at Chillingham. I now 
proceed to redeem my promise, begging your pardon for the delay. 


* Read before the late Meeting of the British Association at N eweastle, 
and communicated by the Author, | 


Wild Cattle of Chillingham Park. 275 


* In the first place I must premise that our information as to their 
origin is very scanty. All that we know or believe in respect to it 
rests in great measure on conjecture, supported, however, by certain 
facts and reasonings which lead us to believe in their ancient origin, 
not so much from any direct evidence, as from the improbability of 
any hypothesis ascribing to them a more recent date. I remember 
an old gardener of the name of Moscrop, who died many years ago, 
at the age of perhaps 80 or more, who used to tell of what his father 
had told him as happening to him when a boy, relative to these wild 
cattle, which were then spoken of as wild cattle, and with the same 
sort of curiosity as exists with respect to them at the present day. 

“In my father and grandfather’s time we know that the same ob- 
scurity as to their origin prevailed ; and if we suppose (as no doubt 
was the case) that there were old persons in their time capable of 
carrying back their recollections to the generation still antecedent to 
them, this enables us at once to look back to a pretty considerable 
period, during which no greater knowledge existed as to their origin 
than at the present time. It is fair, however, to say, that I know of 
no document in which they are mentioned at any early period. Any 
reasoning, however, that might be built on their not being so no 
ticed would equally apply to the want of evidence of that which 
‘would be more easily remembered or recollected,—the fact of their 
recent introduction. . 

*« The probability is that they were the ancient breed of the tsland, 
inclosed long since within the boundary of the park. 

. Sir Walter Scott, rather poetically, supposes that they are the 
descendants of those which inhabited the great Caledonian forest 
extending from the Tweed to Glasgow, at the two extremities of 
which, namely at Chillingham and Hamilton, they are found. His 
lines in the ballad ‘ Cadyon Castle,’ describe them pretty accurately 
at the present day : 
* Mightiest of all the beasts of chase, 
That roam in woody Caledon, 
Crushing the forest in his race, 
. The mountain bull comes thundering on, 
‘ Fierce on the hunter’s quiver’d band 
He rolls his eye of swarthy glow, 
Spurns with black hoof and horns the sand, 
And tosses high his mane of snow.’ 


I must observe, however, that those of Hamilton, if ever they were 
of the same breed, have much degenerated, 
«The park of Chillingham is avery ancient one, By a copy of 
T 2 


376 . Mr. L. Hindmarsh on the 


the endowment of the vicarage extracted from the records at Dur- 
ham, and referring to a period certainly as early as the reign of King 
John, about which time, viz. 1220 or thereabouts, the church of 
Chillingham was built, the vicar of Chillingham was, by an agree- 
ment with Robert De Muschamp, to be allowed as much timber as 
he wanted for repairs, of the best oak, out of the Great Wood 
(Magno Bosco) of Chillingham, the remains of which were extant in 
the time of my grandfather. ‘The more ancient part of the castle also 
appears to have been built in the next reign, that of Henry III., since 
which it has been held without interruption by the family of Grey. 
At what period or by what process the park became inclosed, it is 
impossible to say; but as it was closely bounded by the domains of 
the Percies on the one side and by the Hibburnes on the other (the 
latter of whom had been seated there since the time of King John) ; 
and as the chief branch of the Greys always made Chillingham their 
principal residence until it passed inte-the hands of Lord Ossulston, 
by his marriage with the daughter and heiress of Ford Lord Grey, it 
is reasonable to suppose, that in order to secure their cattle, wild and 
tame, they had recourse to an inclosure, probably at an early pe- 
riod. 

*« It is said that there are some other places in which a similar 
breed is found,—Lynn Park, in Cheshire; Hamilton (as I before 
mentioned) ; and Chartley Park (Lord Ferrers). 

** The first I have not seen, but they are described as of a different 
colour, and different in every respect. Those at Hamilton, or rather 
Chatelherault, I have seen, and they in no degree resemble those at 
Chillingham. ‘They have no beauty, no marks of high breeding, no 
wild habits, being kept, when I saw them, in a sort of paddock ; and 
I could hear no history or tradition about them which entitled them 
to be called wild cattle. ‘Those at Chartley park, on the contrary, 
closely resemble ours in every particular, in their colour,—with some 
small difference in the colour of their ears,—their size, general ap- 
pearance, and, as well as I could collect, in their habits. This was 
a very ancient park, belonging formerly to Devereux Earl of Essex, 
who built the bridge over the Trent, to communicate with his chace 
at Cannock and Beaudesert, then belonging to him; and the belief 
is, that these cattle had been there from time immemorial. ‘ 

“With respect to their habits, it is probable that you will learn 
more from Cole, who has been park-keeper at Chillingham for many 
years, than from any information that I can give. I can mention, 
however, sume particulars. ‘They have, in the first place, pre-emi- 
nently all the characteristics of wild animals, with some peculiarities 


Wild Cattle of Chillingham Park. 277 


that are sometimes very curious and amusing. ‘They hide their 
young, feed in the night, basking or sleeping during the day; they 
are fierce when pressed, but, generally speaking, very timorous, 
moving off on the appearance of any one, even at a great distance. 
Yet this varies very much in different seasons of the year, and accord- 
ing to the manner in which they are approached. In summer I have 
been for several weeks at a time without getting a sight of them, 
they, on the slightest appearance of any one, retiring into a wood, 
which serves them as a sanctuary. On the other hand, in winter, 
- when coming down for food into the inner park, and being in con- 
stant contact with people, they will let you almost come among them, 
particularly if on horseback. But then they have also a thousand pecu- 
liarities. ‘They will be feeding sometimes quietly, when if any one 
appears suddenly near them, particularly coming down the wind, they 
will be struck with a sudden panic and gallop off, running one over 
the other, and never stopping till they get into their sanctuary. It 
is observable of them, as of red deer, that they have a peculiar faculty 
of taking advantage of the irregularities of the ground, so that on 
being disturbed, they may traverse the whole park and yet you 
hardly get a sight of them. Their usual mode of retreat is, to get 
up slowly, set off in a walk, then a trot, and seldom begin to gallop 
till they have put the ground between you and them in the manner 
that I have described. 

‘In form they are beautifully shaped, short legs, straight back,. 
horns of a very fine texture, thin skin, so that some of the bulls ap- 
pear of a cream-colour, and they have a peculiar cry, more like that 
of a wild beast than that of ordinary cattle. With all the marks of 
high breeding, they have also some of its defects: they are bad 
breeders, and are much subject to the rash, a complaint common to 
animals bred in and in, which is unquestionably the case with these 
as long as we have any record of them. 

** When they come down into the lower part of the park, which 

‘they do at stated hours, they move like a regiment of cavalry, in 
single files, the bulls leading the van, as, in retreat, it is the bulls that 
bring up the rear. 

** Lord Ossulston was witness to a curious way in which they took 
possession as it were of some new pasture recently laid open to them. 
It was in the evening about sunset. They began by lining the front 
of a small wood, which seemed quite alive with them, when all of a 
sudden they made a dash forward altogether in a line, and charging 
close by him across the plain, they then spread out, and after a little 
time began feeding. 


278 Mr. L. Hindmarsh on the 


** Of their tenacity of life the following is an instance :— 

*« An old bull being to be killed, one of the keepers had proceeded 
to separate him from the rest of the herd, which were feeding in the 
outer park. This the bull resenting, and having been frustrated in 
several attempts to join them by the keeper interposing (the latter 
doing it incautiously), the bull made a rush at him and got him down ; 
he then tossed him three several times, and afterwards knelt down 
upon him and broke in several of his ribs. There being no other 
person present but a boy, the only assistance that could be given him 
was by letting loose a deer-hound, belonging to Lord Ossulston, who . 
immediately attacked the bull, and, by biting his heels, drew him off 
the man, and eventually saved his life. The bull, however, never left : 
the keeper, but kept continually watching and returning to him, giving 
him a toss from time to time. In this state of things, and while the 
dog, with singular sagacity and courage, was holding the bull at bay, 
a messenger came up to the castle, when all the gentlemen came out 
with their rifles and commenced a fire upon the bull, principally by 
a steady good marksman from behind a fence, at the distance of 25 
yards; but it was not till six or seven balls had actually entered the 
head of the animal (one of them passing in at the eye) that he at last 
fell. During the whole time he never flinched nor changed his ground, 
merely shaking his head as he received the several shots. 

«Many more stories might be told of hair-breadth escapes, acci- 
dents of sundry kinds, and an endless variety of peculiar habits obser- 
vable in these animals, as more or less in all animals existing in a wild 
state; but I think I have recapitulated nearly all that my memory 
suggests to me as most deserving of notice, and will only add that if 
you continue in the intention of preparing a paper to be read before 
the approaching scientific assemblage at Newcastle on this subject, 
you are welcome to append this letter to it as containing all the in- © 
formation which I am able to give. 

** | have the pleasure, &c. &c., 


¢ : 66 ” 
« To L. Hindmarsh, Esq.” TANKERVILLE. 


To this very interesting and graphic description little need 
be added, except a few particulars gathered from Mr. Cole, 
who has been park-keeper upwards of 30 years. At present 
there are about 80 in the herd, comprising 25 bulls, 40 cows, 
and 15 steers, of various ages; and no sight can be more beau- 
tiful than they were in the month of June last, when we saw 
them retreating in regular order into their forest sanctuary. 


Wild Cattle of Chillingham Park. 279 


Their perfect symmetry, pure white colour, and fine crescent 
horns, render them, when moving in a body, a very imposing 
object. The eyes, eye-lashes, and tips of the horns alone are 
black ; the muzzle is brown, the inside of the ears red or brown, 
and all the rest of the animal white. Even the bulls have no 
manes, but only a little coarse hair upon the neck ; and they 
fight for supremacy until a few of the most powerful subdue 
the others, who afterwards submit to the rule of superior phy- 
sical strength. If, by accident, a bull gets separated from the 
herd for a day or two, his settled relation seems to be forgotten 3 
for on his rejoining it a fight ensues, and the conflict continues 
until the previous amicable understanding is re-established. 
The cows generally commence breeding at three, and continue 
to breed for a few years. When they calve, they hide their 
young for a week or ten days, and repair to the place of con- 
cealment two or three times a day for the purpose of suckling 
them, Should any person happen to approach their hiding- 
place the calves clap their heads close to the ground and lie 
in form like a hare. The cows suckle their calves nine months. 
The late Mr. Baily of Chillingham relates that he chanced 
to find a hidden calf two days old, very lean and weak ; but 
on stroking its head, it got up, pawed two or three times like 
an old bull, and bellowing loudly, retired a few steps, and then 
bolted at him with all its force. The attack was repeated ; but 
Mr. Baily, aware of its intention, moved aside, and it missed 
him and fell with such force as to prevent its rising. Its cries 
had however alarmed the whole herd, which came to its rescue, 
and forced him to retreat. This fact affords a strong indica- 
tion of the wildness of this breed being natural, and not the 
superinduced result of solitude and seclusion. They bear the 
winter well, but in severe weather will come into a fold to eat 
hay, although they will not taste turnips. They are seldom 
allowed to live more than 8 or 9 years, at which period they 
begin to go back. When slaughtered the steers are usually 
6 years old and weigh about 5 cwts. The beef is finely 
marbled, but in taste scarcely distinguishable from that of the 
domestic ox when fed on grass. By taking the calves at a 
very early age and treating them gently, the present keeper 
succeeded in domesticating an ox and acow. They became 


280. Mr. L. Hindmarsh on the 


as tame as domestic animals, and the ox fed as rapidly as a 
short-horned steer. He lived 18 years, and when at his best 
was computed at 8 cwts. 0 qrs. 14 1bs. The cow only lived 5 
or 6 years. She gave little milk, but the quality was rich. 
She was crossed by a country bull; but her progeny very 
closely resembled herself, being entirely white, excepting the 
ears, which were brown, and the legs, which were mottled. 
In their wild state few die from disease, and in the present 
keeper’s time only two from calving. Mr. Baily states that 
when any one happens to be wounded or has become weak 
and feeble through age or sickness, the rest of the herd set 
upon it and gore it to death. This characteristic is an addi- 
tional and strong proof of their native wildness. 

It is remarkable that during the 33 years Mr. Cole has been 
keeper he has perceived no alteration in their size or habits 
from in-breeding, and that at the present time they are equal 
in every point to what they were when he first knew them. 
About half a dozen, within that period, have had small brown 
or blue spots upon the cheeks and necks ; but these, with any 
defective ones, were always destroyed. 

Although Chartley appears to be the only place where wild 
cattle similar to those of Chillingham are now to be found, 
down to the middle and latter end of last century, there were 
some at Burton Constable in Yorkshire, and at Drumlanrig 
in Dumfries-shire, which corresponded to them in almost every 
respect. Those of Burton Constable (which were swept off 
by a distemper) alone differed from them in having the ears, 
muzzles, and tips of the tails black, whilst in their habits and 
native wildness they were exactly similar. Those of Drum- 
lanrig are described in the following extract from a letter ad- 
dressed by the clergyman of the place to the writer of this 
paper, under date of the 10th July of the present year. He 
says, “In what year the wild cattle came to Drumlanrig I 
have not been able to ascertain. The breed are described as 
being all white, with the exception of the ears and muzzle 
(which were black) and without manes. They went under the 
appellation of the wild Caledonian cattle.’ They were driven 
away about the year 1780. 

_ Of the high antiquity of the Chillingham breed of wild aiie 


Wild Cattle of Chillingham Park. 281 


the facts and reasonings contained in the Earl of Tankerville’s 
letter are sufficient proof. The testimony of the two Moscrops, 
connected with the contemporaries of the first Moscrop, would 
almost carry us back a period of 200 years, when their origin 
seemed to be veiled in the same obscurity as at present exists 
respecting it. To this must be added the negative proof de- 
rivable from the absence of all record of their introduction 
into the park; for had they been brought there in times in 
any degree modern, a circumstance so remarkable was almost 
sure to have been recorded and handed down in a place that 
has so long been the principal residence of a noble family. 
On the contrary supposition that they are the native inhabit- 
ants of the park ; no such record was to be expected; for suc- 
ceeding generations growing up with this familiar knowledge, 
were no more likely to register the circumstance than that the 
sun had risen and set every day during their lives. Their 
antiquity is unquestionable ; and when we connect this fact 
with their natural wildness and characteristic purity, we can 
scarcely doubt that they are the genuine remains of the ab- 
original cattle of the north of England or of Scotland. Of the 
ancient cattle of this district no historic record can be found 
sufficient to mark their character and peculiarities ; but of the 
Caledonian wild cattle we find a very particular and curious 
account in Boethius, who was born in 1470, and published his 
‘Historia Scotorum’ at Paris in 1526. From the edition of 
1574, fol. 6, line 63, we extract the following passage :— 
 Adjacet Argadiz ac Lennos in mediterraneis ager Stir- 
lingi et Monteth, inde haud procul ejusdem nominis oppidum 
Stirlingum cum fortissimo Castello, cui olim nomen fuit Monti 
doloroso. Hic initia olim fuere Calidoniz sylvee, manentibus 
videlicet veteribus adhuc nominibus Callendar et Caldar. Ex- 
currens per Monteth et Erneuallem longo tractu ad Atholiam 
et Loquhabriam usque, gignere. solet ea sylva boves candi- 
dissimos in formam leonis jubam ferentes, czetera mansuetis 
simillimos, verum adeo feros indomitosque atque humanum 
refugientes consortium, ut quas herbas, arboresque, aut fru- 
tices humana contrectatas manu senserint plurimos deinceps 
dies fugiant: capti autem arte quapiam (quod difficillmum 
est) mox paulo pre meestitia moriantur. Quum vero sese peti 


282 Mr. L. Hindmarsh on the 


senserint, in obvium quencunque magno impetu irruentes 
eum prosternunt, non canes, non venabula, nec ferrum ullum 
metuunt.” And after narrating the wonderful deliverance of 
Robert Bruce from one of these wild bulls by the courage and 
prowess of aman who was, in grateful commemoration of the 
circumstance, afterwards named by the king Turnbull, he 
adds, “ Caeterum quum tota olim sylva nasci ea solerent ; in 
una tantum nunc ejus parte reperiuntur, que Cummernald 
appellatur, aliis gula humana ad internecionem redactis.” 
This description is confirmed by Bishop Leslie in his ‘De 
Origine, Moribus, et Rebus Gestis Scotorum,’ published at 
Rome in 1578, 52 years after the work of Boethius. At page 
18 of the edition of 1675, he says,— 

* In Calidonia olim frequens erat sylvestris quidem bos, 
nunc vero rarior, qui colore candidissimo, jubam densam, ac 
demissam instar leonis gestat, truculentus, ac ferus ab humano 
genere abhorrens, ut quecunque homines vel manibus con- 
trectarint, vel halitu perflaverint, ab iis multos post dies om- 
nino abstinuerint .... Ejus carnes cartilaginose, sed saporis 
suavissimi. Erat is olim per illam vastissimam Calidonize 
sylvam frequens, sed humana ingluvie jam assumptus, tribus 
tantum _— est reliquus, Strivilingi, Cummernaldize, et Kin- 
earnie.” 

These passages are most important, not only for their very 
minute description of the wild Caledonian cattle, but for the 
light which they throw upon the cause of their almost total 
extermination. Iven in the time of Boethius they had been 
reduced by an almost universal slaughter to a small remnant; 
and it has been stated that upon the dissolution of the mo- 
nastic establishments of Scotland the few that remained were 
transferred to Drumlanrig. 

On comparing the descriptions of the wild Caledonian cattle 
given by Boethius and Leslie with the previous account of the 
Chillmgham breed at the present day, we cannot but be struck 
with their generally close correspondence. Bating a little hy- 
perbole in the style of the old historians, the resemblance is 
complete in almost every point, excepting that the Chilling- 
ham cattle want the lion-like manes ascribed to the Caledo- 
nian race. This point alone seems to offer any difficulty in 


Wild Catile of Chillingham Park: 283 


the way of their complete identification ; and whether com- 
parative confinement and in-breeding are sufficient to account 
for this difference in the Chillingham cattle must be matter of 
opinion. In other animals they are undoubtedly powerful 
agents of change and modification, and possibly they may in 
some measure have lessened the ruggedness of this species. 
Besides, without questioning the general accuracy of Boethius 
or Leslie, the characteristic style of the passages would seem 
fairly to lead us to interpret the statement respecting their 
leonic manes more by the rule of poetic than of exact zoological 
description. But if we admit (what can scarcely be doubted) 
that the wild cattle of Drumlanrig were the descendants of the 
ancient Caledonian breed, this sole obstacle vanishes ; for they 
had no manes, and their general resemblance to the Chilling- 
ham race is complete. It is true that in the colour of the 
ears there is a trifling difference, but this appears to be an oc- 
casional variety in the species; for Bewick states that about 
40 years ago some of those at Chillingham had black ears, 
that the keeper destroyed them, and that since that period 
this variation has not recurred. The identity of the Drum- 
lanrig cattle with those described by Boethius being granted, 
that of the Chillingham breed can scarcely -be denied. 

Upon the whole, we are inclined to believe that the same 
species of wild cattle prevalent in Scotland had extended to 
the northern districts of England; that in proportion as popu- 
lation and culture advanced, they became here, as in Scotland, 
the subjects of almost universal slaughter; and that a few of those 
that escaped had found sanctuary in the great wood of Chil- 
lingham (as well as in some other ancient forests), where they 
escaped the fury of their destroyers. The only other tenable 
hypothesis is, that after the inclosure of the park at Chilling- 
ham, they had been brought from Scotland and located there 
as a relic of the ancient Caledonian cattle; but the absence of 
all tradition and record upon the subject, and the circumstance 
of asimilar breed having been found in places far removed 
from the Borders, render this supposition less probable than 
the former. 

In speculations of this nature, when the data are so scanty, 
we can scarcely expect to arrive at absolute certainty, but suf- 


284 Mr. J. KE. Gray on some new 


ficient has we think been advanced to justify the hypothesis 
that these are the genuine remains of the ancient cattle of the 
country, and too much praise cannot be given to the public 
spirit of their present noble proprietor for his zealous care to 
preserve, pure and untainted, this interesting relic of the 


zoology of former times. 
Alnwick, August 18, 1838. 


Notre.—The Earl of Tankerville, in writing to Mr. Chil- 
dren that he would most kindly send a skin and skull of 
the wild oxen of Chillingham to the British Museum collec- 
tion, communicated the following interesting particulars, 
which we have taken the liberty of adding to Mr. Hindmarsh’s 
paper :— 

“T forgot to mention in my letter to Mr. Hindmarsh a.cu- 
rious circumstance with respect to the continuation of the 
breed of the wild cattle. Several years since, during the early 
part of the lifetime of my father, the bulls in the herd had 
been reduced to three; two of them fought and killed each 
other, and the third was discovered to be impotent ; so that the 
means of preserving the breed depended on the accident of 
some of the cows producing a bull calf.”—J. E. Gray. 


XXXITI.—On some new or little known Mammalia. By Joun 
EowaArp Gray, F.R.S., Senior Assistant of the Zoological 
Department of the British Museum. 


[ With two Plates. ] 


Caprain Clapperton and Colonel Denham, when they re- 
turned from their expedition:in Northern and Central Africa, 
brought with them two heads of a species of ox, covered 
with their skins. These heads are the specimens which are 
mentioned in Messrs. Children and Vigors’ accounts of the 
animals collected in the expedition, as belonging to the buffalo, 
Bos Bubalus, and they are stated to be called Zamouse by the 
natives ; but, as no particular locality is given for the head, this 
name is probably the one applied to the common buffalo, 
which is found in most parts of North Africa. 

Having some years ago compared these heads with the skull 


eR tne 7 nite Po 


sedan 


Pb hice 
Boe 


ow weno 


we 


% 
: 
i 
ia 

§ 


or little known Mammalia. — 985 


of the common buffalo, Bos Bubalus, and satisfied myself 
from the difference in the form and position of the horns that 
they were a distinct species, in the ‘ Magazine of Natural 
History’ for 1837 (new series, vol. i. p. 589), I indicated them 
as a new species, under the name of Bos brachyceros. 

In the course of this summer, Mr. Cross, of the Surrey Zo- 
ological Gardens, received from Sierra Leone, under the name 
of the Bush Cow, a specimen which serves more fully to esta- 
blish the species. It differs from the buffalo and all the other 
oxen in several important characters, especially in the large 
size and peculiar bearding of the ears, and in being totally de- 
ficient of any dewlap. It also differs from the buffalo in its 
forehead being flatter and quite destitute of the convex form, 
which is so striking in all the varieties of that animal. 

Mr. Cross’s cow is, like the head in the Museum, of a nearly 
uniform pale chestnut colour. The hair is rather scattered, and 
nearly perpendicular to the surface of the body. 'The legs about 
the knees and hocks are rather darker. The ears are very large, 
with two rows of very long hairs on the inner side and a tuft 
of long hairs at the tips. The body is short and barrel-shaped, 
and the tail reaches to the hocks, rather thin and tapering, 
with a tuft of long hairs at the tip. The chest is rounded and 
rather dependent, but without the least appearance of a dew- 
lap, and the horns nearly resemble those of the Museum spe- 
cimen, but are less developed, from the sex and evidently 
greater youth of the animal. The Rey. Mr. Morgan informs 
me that the animal is not rare in the bush near Sierra Leone. 

In the size of the ears this species has some resemblance to 
the “ Pegasse of Angola, Bos Pegasus” of Colonel Hamilton 
Smith, indicated and figured in Griffiths’ ‘ Animal Kingdom,’ 
from a figure which this industrious zoologist found in a col- 
lection of drawings formerly the property of Prince Maurice 
of Nassau, now in the Berlin Library, which Colonel Smith 
thinks was probably intended to represent the Pegasses of 
Congo, mentioned by the Jesuits, and said to have “ ears 
half a yardin length.” But our animal differs from that figure 
in the ears being nearly erect, and in the horn being of quite 
a different form and direction. I have added a slight sketch 
of Mr, Cross’s animal (Plate XITII.), which I hope will en- 


286 Mr. J. E. Gray on some new Mammalia. 


able any person to distinguish this very distinct and interest- 
ing addition to the species of this useful genus. 

In the same paper in which I described the preceding species 
there is the description of a new genus of otter from Demerara, 
‘which is intermediate between the Lutraand Enhydra,” difter- 
ing from both in the side of the tail being expanded into a slight 
fin and in the large size of the fore and hind feet. In a late 
number of ProfessorWiegmann’s Archiv, Part 1V. 1838, he has 
expressed a doubt if the genus is distinct from Enhydris, I have 
therefore added to this paper a copy of a sketch (Pl. XIV.) of 
the animal, which Mr.Gould was so kind as to make for me from 
the original specimen at the meeting of the British Association 
at Liverpool. I think that it will at once dispel M. Wiegmann’s 
doubt, for the tail is much longer (though it is represented 
in the sketch rather too short for my measurement, taken from 
the animal) and more slender, and the fore feet are much 
larger, and the hind ones smaller than in the sea otter, which 
induced me in the original description to observe, that the 
hind feet are “ intermediate in size between those of the otter 
and the fin-shaped feet of the Enhydre.” - 

In the Proceedings of the Zoological Society and in the 
paper above referred to, I described an animal from the is- 
land of the Indian Archipelago, from two specimens, one of 
which was in Sir Stamford Raffles’ collection, and one pur- 
chased by the British Museum. Some time after this descrip- 
tion, M. Blainville, in a paper in the ‘ Annales des Sciences 
Naturelles, figured the skull of this animal under the name 
of Viverra Carcharias; and more recently Dr. S. Muller 
has published a description ofit in his account of the animals 
which he discovered in Borneo, and has formed for it a new 
genus, which he calls Potamophilus barbatus. He says that 
it is called Mampalon by the natives of Borneo, and that the 
genus had not before been described. The name must how- 
ever be changed, as it has already been used in zoology. 

While referring to the animals in the Surrey Zoological 
Garden, I may remark, that on examining the eyes of Her- 
pestes Smithii, described in the paper above referred to, which 
was lately in that collection, but which Mr. Cross, with the 
desire which he has always shown of making his collection as 


“ere secamripa 


Mr. J. E. Gray on the Slender-tongued. Saurians. 287 


useful as he can to the purposes of science, most liberally on 
its death presented to the National Collection, I was struck 
with observing that the pupils of its eyes are oblong and hori- 
zontal like those of the herbivorous quadrupeds, instead of 
being vertical like some of the Feline tribes; for in the Pro- 
ceedings of the Zoological Society I observed that the pupils 
of the eyes of most of the Feline animals are round, and not 
elliptical and vertical as they are generally described. 

We have lately received from M. Wahlberg a specimen of 
the water shrew from North Bothnia, which he considers as a 
Sorex fodiens. It is quite different in the length of the tail 
from our English species, which in the Proceedings of the 
Zoological Society I have called Amphisorex Pennantii, and 
I therefore propose to call it A. Linneana. They may be thus 
described :— ! 

Amphisorex Pennantii.  Blackish-brown, upper lip and 
beneath white, legs blackish, feet grey, tail rather more than 
half the length of the body and head. 

Var. With a white spot near the ears. 

Body and head 39 to 42; tail 21 to 23 lines. 

Inhab. England. ; 

Amphisorex Linneana. Black, upper lip and beneath white, 
legs black, feet grey, tail two-thirds the length of the body 
and head.— Var, With a white spot behind each eye—Body 
and head 47; tail 33 lines. 

Inhab. North Bothnia. 


XXXIV.—Catalogue of the Slender-tongued Saurians, with 
Descriptions of many new Genera and Species. By Jonn 
Kpwarp Gray, Esq., F.R.S., Senior Assistant in the 
Zoological Department of the British Museum, &c. 

[Continued from yol. i. p. 394.] 
E. (Antarchoglosse). Tongue contractile ; head shielded ; scales 
imbricate. 
Fam. [X. Scrnetpa. 
Tonges contractile ; head shielded ; rostral shield small ; eye-lid 
distinct; belly and sides (and generally the back) covered with 


smooth uniform imbricate scales ; vent transverse, linear, with scales 
in front, 


288 Mr. J. E. Gray on the Slender-tongued Saurians. 


* Muzzle produced, subacute, body fusiform, flat beneath, subangular 
on the sides (Scincidee vere). 
Scincus. Ears small with scales in front ; toes short, fringed on 


the sides. 

Scincus officinalis, Schn, Savig. Rept. Egypt. t. 2. f. 8. 

Egypt. Brit. Mus. 

Spaznops, Wagler. Ears none; toes subcylindrical. 

Sphenops sepsoides, Reuse. Scincus sepsoides, Geof’. Sphznops 
capistratus, Wagler. Scincus brachypus, Schn. Savig. Rep. Egypt. 
t. 2. f. 9—10. 

Egypt. Brit. Mus. 

** Muzzle rounded; body fusiform, rounded beneath ; limbs 4, mode- 
rate; toes 5—®5. . 

Cxtzstus. Head with two pair of supernasal scales before the 
frontals; ears large; femoral pores none; scales finely radiately 
grooved ; ears distinct. 

Celestus striatus. Silvery. 

Hab. ? Brit. Mus. 

Tacuyposaurus, Gray. Brachydactylus, A. Smith. Head shields 
normal, (with one pair of supernasal shields) thick, convex and 
hard; scales hard, bony ; femoral pores none; ears distinct. 

Tachydosaurus rugosus,Wagler, Amph. Scincus pachyurus, Peron, 

Young.—Pale brown, yellow varied. Brachydactylus typicus, A, 
Smith. 

New Holland. Brit. Mus. 

Ecerrnia, Gray. Head shields normal, rugulose, subsquamose ; 
scales of back and limbs three-keeled, of tail spinose, verticillate ; 
femoral pores none ; ears distinct. 

Egernia Cunninghami, Gray. Tiliqua Cunninghami, Gray, Proc. 
Zool. Soc. 

New Holland. Brit. Mus. 

Titiqua, Gray. Head shields normal, regular; scales thin, three- 
keeled or smooth; femoral pores none; ears distinct. 


a. Front of ears with 3 or 4 scales. 


* Scales smooth, ear-scales rather large. 
Tiliqua Whitii, Gray. Lacerta scincoides, Shaw, Zool, t. 81. 
New Holland. Brit. Mus. 
Tiliqua elegans, n. s. Pale; spots on the back, streak on sides of the 
neck and body whitish (brown?) in spirits ; scales thin, smooth, in 
§ series on the nape. Ling 


Hab. Brit. Mus. » 


Mr. J. E. Gray on the Slender-tongued Saurians. 289 


Scincus multiseriatus, Cuv. Scincus cyprinus, Cuy., and Tiliqua 
trivittata, Ilust. Ind. Zool. t. appear to belong to this section. 


** Scales smooth ; ear-scales small. 


Tiliqua cyanura. Scincus cyanurus, Lesson. 

New Guinea. 

Tiliqua chinensis, n.s. Silvery, olive, polished ; lateral scales brown 
edged ; beneath white; hind toes unequal, white; tail longer than 
the body. ae 

China. Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua teniolata. Lacerta teniolata, Shaw, White's Journ. t. 82. 
f.1. Scincus undecim-striatus, Kuhl. 


_ N. Holland. Brit. Mus. 
Tiliqua Labillardii. Scincus Labillardii, Cocteau. 
Hab. : Brit. Mus. 
Tiliqua vanicoriensis. Scinc. vanicoriensis, Lesson. 
Vanicoro. . Brit. Mus. 


*KE Scales three-keeled ; ear-scales small. 

Tiliqua bistrigata, Gray, Griff. Anim. Kingd. 

Madagascar. Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua punctata, n. s. Brown olive, whitish speckled} beneath 
silvery, scales brown edged; head pale, brown spotted; tail much 
longer than the body and slender; toes slender. 

Fernando de Noronha. Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua maculata. Olive brown, white spotted ; tail elongate, ta- 
pering ; toes thick. 

Demerara. _ Brit. Mus, 

Tiliqua fasciata, Gray, Griff. Anim. Kingd. Euprepis fasciatus. 
Reuse, Mus. Senkenb. t. 3. f. 2. 

Brazils. Mus, Frankfort. 

Tiliqua carinata, Gray, Zool. Journ. Scincus carinatus, Schn. 
Sc. rufescens, Cuv. Reg. Anim. Sc. bilineatus and Lacerta lateralis, 
Kuhl. 

? Var. Back banded. Scincus nigrofasciatus and Sc. multicarinatus, 
Kuhl. 

India. China. 

Tiliqua subrufa, n. s. Pale whitish, with 6 rather interrupted 
brown streaks and a pale lateral streak; hind toes very unequal, 
elongate, slender. 

Hab. ? Brit. Mus. 3 

Tiliqua affnis, n. s. Pale brown, beneath paler; dorsal scales 
Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol.2. No. 10. Dec. 1838. U 


290 Mr. J. E. Gray on the Slender-tongued Saurians, 


three-keeled, ends truncated, three-taattied hind, toes seus 
elongated, rather slender, 

Hab. : Brit, Maa 

Tiliqua quinquestriata. Pale olive with broad longitudinal streaks, 
beneath pale; sides of neck behind the ears black varied, chin brown, 
white spotted. 

Hab. ————. Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua Napoleonis. Scincus Napoleonis, Cuv.. Brown with three 
pale dorsal streaks; ear-scales four, large; scales three-toothed be- 
hind, three-keeled. | 

New Holland. ; 

Tiliqua punctaia. Pale brown, pale yellow beneath, sides of the 
neck and outside of limbs with small yellow as tail rather long, 
tapering; toes rather short, strong. 

Hab. 


United Pinellas Museum. 


**** Seales 5 or 6-keeled, ear-scales large. 


Tiliqua nigrolutea. Scincus nigroluteus, Quoy. 

Jun.—Scinc, erucotis, Peron, MSS. 

New Holland. © Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua Kingit, Gray. Scine. Nicitensis, Cocteau, MSS. Dark 
brown with small pale spots at the tip of the scales, beneath pale, 
brown spotted; scales 4 or 5 ridged. | : 

New Holland. Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua Bibronit. Scine. Bibronii, Cocteau. Grey; nape with a 
black edged white line ; sides of head and body with a whitish edged 
blackish streak ; scales with 5 sharp keels. 

Hab. —. Mus. Paris. 

Tiliqua capensis, Gray, Griff. Anim. Kingd. Scinc. trivittatus, 
Cuv. Reg. Anim. not Gray. Brown with three longitudinal paler 
streaks, with a series of black spots between the fines. | 

Cape of Good Hope. 


6. Ears nearly hidden by the series of scales i in their front being 
produced and pressed down on them, but without any distinct series 
for the purpose. 

* Scales 3-keeled. 


Tiliqua Aonasinntes Pale brown with dark transverse bhcinay spots, 
and 3 or 5 longitudinal streaks, the central streak broad, the others 
narrower; toes short, rather thick. | 

Island of Ascension. Brit. Mus. 


Mr, J. E. Gray on the Slender-tongued Saurians. 291 


: ** Scales smooth. 

Tiliqua tenuis, Gray, Griff. Anim. Kingd.71. Scinc. erucotis, Pe- 
ron, MSS. 

New Holland. Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua Stoddartit. Scales smooth ; pale olive, scales darker edged ; 
upper part of sides, side of head, and base of the tail with broad 
black bands ; upper lip, sides, throat, and beneath white; lips black 
spotted; limbs darker varied; toes unequal. 

New Holland, Mr. Stoddart. Mus. Chatham. 

Tiliqua Vachellit.. Black with 3 longitudinal brown streaks, the 
middle one becoming wider behind, and marked with a row of small 
spots between the upper bands, and 2 rows of spots on each side, the 
lower ones largest ; sides brown banded; head and lips pale, orbits 
and face shields black varied ; beneath pale; tail pale, base slightly 
black spotted. 

New Holland. Mus. Ckatham. 

Tiliqua leucopsis. Ears deep, with 3 (rarely 4) unequal distinct 
white scales in front ; scales smooth, olive, black varied ; back with 
2 black streaks interrupted with:brown spots; edge of eyelids and 
scales in front of the ears pure opake white, beneath silvery; toes 
elongate, unequal; tail elongate, olive, the upper part of the base 
black spotted. 

New Holland. Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua australis, Ears deep, with 4 unequal rather large white 
scales in front; scales smooth, brown edged; above olive with 4 
blackish brown longitudinal streaks ; the central streak silvery edged, 
and the two lateral ones only separated by a lateral silvery streak ; 
the side brownish white dotted, beneath silvery; tail olive with two 
brown-edged silvery streaks on each side of its base. 

New Holland. Brit.-Mus. 

Tiliqua Buchananiit, Gray. Ears shallow, overlapped by 2 or 3 
whitish superficial scales ; scales smooth, olive, black lined; above 
black and olive varied ; back with a broad black-edged silvery streak 
on each side ; limbs, tail, and sides olive and black dotted, beneath 
silvery. 

New Holland. Brit. Mus. 

 Tiliqua trilineata. Fars deep ; scales hexangular, olive, 
darker edged, with 3 black longitudinal grooves; above olive, with 
narrow black lines between the scales ; witha silvery, and below it a 
broad black, line along each side; beneath silvery; tail elongate, 
compressed ; toes unequal, slender. 

New Holland, Brit, Mus, 

U2 


292 Mr. J. E. Gray on the Slender-tongued Saurians. 


c. Ear holes large, deep, not fringed in front. 


* Scales smooth. 


Tiliqua occidua. Lacerta occidua, Shaw, Zool. iii. 288, ; Sloane, 
Jam, ii. t. 2738. f. 9. 


Jamaica. Brit. Mus. 
Tiliqua similis, Gray. 
Hab. . Brit. Mus. 


Tiliqua Bellii, n. s. Scincus Telfairii, Cocteau, MSS. Pale brown, 
mottled with darker brown and with pale oblique cross bands; beneath 
silvery; head uniform; toes short, thick; tail rather compressed; 
scales rather small in many series at the nape. 

Madagascar. Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua erythrocephala, Scinc. erythrocephalus, Gilliams, Jour. 
Acad. N. 8. P. t. 18. f. 2. 

North America. Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua ocellata. Scine. ocellatus and Scine. variegatus, Schn. 
Scinc. Tiliqua, Daud, iv. f. 56. Lac. ocellata, Linn. Geoff. Rep- 
Egypt. t. 5. f. 2. 

Europe, Sicily, Egypt. Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua Richardi. Scincus Richardi, Cocteau MSS. Bronze; 
head and neck with 4 black streaks. | 

St. Thomas. Mus. Paris. 

Tiliqua Duperreyt. Scinc. Duperreyi, Cocteau MSS. Scales with 
5 white lines like those of Gymnophthalmus. 


Kangaroo Island. Mus. Paris. 
Tiliqua Entrecasteaux. Scinc. Entrecasteaux. 
Van Diemen’s Land. Mus. Paris. 


Tiliqua microcephala, n.s. Olive, varied with black scales, marked 
@vith a narrow central streak and with an indistinct pale streak on 
each side of the back; beneath whitish; legs short; toes short, 
stout. 

Shores of Mediterranean. Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua enea, Gray, Griff. Anim, Kingd. 70. Scinc. mabouya, 
Cocteau. 

_ West Indies, Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua albolabris, n.s. Golden-green with a brown streak on 
each side the head and body (inclosing the eyes and ears) edged 
above and below with a pale streak ; lips white; tail elongate. 

Hab. ——. | Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua Reevesii, n.s. Golden green with a pale spotted black 


Bibliograpical Notices. 293 


streak on each side of the head, body, and tail; beneath silvery ; tail 
very long, slender; feet moderate. 


China. ) Brit. Mus. 
Tiliqua Sloanii, Gray, Griff. Anim. Kingd. (non Syn.) 
Hab. é Brit. Mus. 


** Scales not keeled ; finely closely striated. 


Tiliqua striata. Brown; darker varied, sides with slight irregular 
dark edged white cross bands; ears large, open, round; limbs and 
tail brown varied. | 

Jamaica. Mus. Chatham. 


*** Scales with a central keel and finely longitudinally striated. 
Tiliqua Jamaicensis. Back pale brown; neck with 2, back with 8 
dark edged pale cross bands; palms and soles with large tubercles ; 
ears large, round. , 
Jamaica. Mus. Chatham. 


*KKK Scales strongly 3-keeled. 


 Tiliqua Fernandi, Burton, Proc, Zool. Soc. 1837. Pale brown; 
sides of body brown varied and white spotted, of tail brown, white 
spotted; beneath white, throat brown streaked; toes short, thick, 
strong. 

Fernando Po. Brit. Mus. 

Tiliqua interrupto-punctata. Back olive brown, varied with two 
narrow pale streaks on each side; sides black, with three continued 
white streaks, the lower one broadest and most indistinct, the two 
upper ones continued on the base of the tail; beneath white; tail 
brown. 

Africa, Sierra Leone. 

[To be continued. ] 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 


The Honey-Bee, its Natural History, Physiology, and Management. 
By Edward Bevan, M.D. Van Voorst, 1838. 12mo., 


We are glad to see a new edition of this excellent work. The 
subject is one of never-failing interest; and if we may judge from 
the numerous treatises on bees yearly issuing from the press, both 
in separate volumes and as articles in scientific periodicals, the in- 
terest felt in these wonder-working insects appears to be on the in- 
crease. Dr. Bevan’s ‘ Honey-Bee’ has contributed materially to 
produce this effect, for since the publication of Huber’s ‘ Nouvelles 


294 Bibliographical Notices. 


Observations sur les Abeilles’ in an English dress in 1806, we know 
of no treatise on the subject equal-to the ‘ Honey-Bee’ for accuracy of 
information in respect to the natural history of the insect and minute- 
ness of practical detail. 

The work is divided into two parts, of the first of which nearly 50 
pages are occupied with a general view of the history and physiology 
of the bee, as far as relates to the personal description of the three 
essential members of the bee community, viz. the queen, the worker, 
and the male or drone, particularly as respects the impregnation of 
the queen, the effects of its retardation, and the laying and hatching 
of the eggs. The author then proceeds to give detailed instructions 
for the practical management of the bee, comprehending descriptions 
of the ceconomy of the apiary, of the best form of hives, of the mode 
of proceeding during the season of swarming, of feeding, protecting, 
and transporting the bees at the proper periods, and of the manipu- 
lation of honey and wax. 

In Part II. Dr. Bevan gives an account of the anatomy of the bee ; 
enters into a more enlarged detail of its physiology than had been given 
in Part I., and discusses at considerable length, and with great per- 
spicuity, the senses, instincts, and the wonders of its architecture. 

The work is distinguished by sound philosophical views, and is 
written in a style of classical elegance and simplicity. The author 
professes not to offer much in the way of original discovery, but to 
give a popular view of the present state of apiarian knowledge, hi- 
storical, physiological, and practical; and that he has succeeded in 
his object, the well-deserved popularity of his book, and the conse- 
quent call for a new edition, furnish abundant evidence. The first 
edition was deficient in point of arrangement; this has been satis- 
factorily remedied: many particulars connected with the natural hi- 
story of the insect, formerly stated but briefly, have been enlarged or 
modified conformably with the more advanced state of the science, 
and some additional directions have been given as to practical ma- 
nagement, which well deserve the attention of the bee-master. 


Plante Javanice Rariores, descripte iconibusque illustrate, quas in 
Insula Java, annis 1802—1818, legit et investigavit T. Horsfield, 
M.D. e siccis descriptiones et characteres plurimarum elaboravit J.J. 
Bennett; observationes structuram et afinitates presertim respi- 
cientes passim adjecit R. Brown. Part I.—Allen and Co., Leaden- 


hall Street, 1838. 
[Continued from p. 222.] 


The twelfth article relates to Conocephalus suaveolens, Bl., a genus 
referrible to Mr, Brown’s family of Artocarpee, and nearly related 


Bibliographical Notices. 295 


to the Coussapoa of Aublet. With this genus Mr. Bennett com- 
pares it, as also with Cecropia and Musanga, a genus indicated by 
Mr. Brown in the Appendix to Captain Tuckey’s Narrative ; and 
after noticing the characters common to all the genera named, pro- 
ceeds to give their generic distinctions, all of them except Cecropia 
being but little known; and one of them (Musanga) not having been 
previously described. He adds also the characters of the male flowers 
of the genus Myrianthus of Palisot de Beauvais, with the double view 
of affording materials for comparison with those of Musanga, (to 
which Mr. Brown long since pointed out their resemblance), and of 
introducing a correction in those given by M. de Beauvais. He re- 
fers to M, Gaudichaud’s classification of Urticee, in which Conocc- 
phalus is widely misplaced; and incidentally observes that the He- 
dycarya of Forster, referred by M. Gaudichaud to Artocarpee, “ is 
much more nearly related to that very distinct division of the class 
(as Urticee are now, in accordance with Mr. Brown’s views, gene- 
tally considered) which was long since separated by Jussieu under 
the name of Monimiee.”’ 

The thirteenth article contains a long historical notice of the An- 
tiaris toxicaria, Lesch., the celebrated Upas or Poison-tree of Java, 
on the subject of which so many marvellous tales have long passed 
current. Mr. Bennett traces the history of this poison through a long 
succession of writers, from De Bry’s ‘ India Orientalis,’ down to the 
most recent times, including among many other of the older names, 
those of Herbert, Bontius, Tavernier, Nieuhof, Spielman, Kamel, 
Kempfer, Valentyn, and Rumphius; all of whom relate, either from 
their own observation or on the testimony of natives of Macassar, 
Java, Lucon and the Moluccas, various particulars concerning it. 
In these accounts much of truth and no little falsehood are min- 
gled together; ‘‘quis enim,’’ as Kempfer observes, ‘‘ quicquam 
ex Asiaticorum ore referat, quod figmentis non implicetur?’ In 
all these cases, indeed the falsehood may fairly be traced to the ex- 
travagant assertions of ignorant or interested natives, and implies in 
the authors named no greater blame than that of a credulity com- 
mon to the age in which they lived. Not so in the narrative of 
Fersch, by which the fabulous history of the tree has been most 
widely spread, and which has since been demonstrated to be, from 
beginning to end, a tissue of inventions, founded on the absurd and 
marvellous stories current among the natives, and scarcely relieved 
by a single particle of truth, except the fact (then for the first time 
stated, but long afterwards considered doubtful) that the tree grows 
in the island: of Java. The inquiries of travellers were, however, 


296 Bibliographical Notices. 


stimulated by the sensation produced by this impudent fabrication, 
but their researches remained for some time fruitless ; and it was re- 
served for M. Deschamps, M. Leschenault, Dr. Horsfield, and more 
recently Dr. Blume, to supply us with authentic information on the 
subject. An abstract of the information thus obtained (with the ex- 
ception of that contained in Dr. Blume’s valuable dissertation, which 
did not appear until some time after this article was written); and 
a notice of some of the experiments made with the poisen by Sir 
Benjamin Brodie and others, and of its chemical analysis by MM. 
Pelletier and Caventou, complete the history of the Antiar as here 
given by Mr. Bennett. A few words are added on the subject of 
the botanical affinities of the genus, together with some remarks on 
the distinctive characters of the two species which are known to be- 
Jong to it. 

Pouzolzia pentandra, described by Mr. Bennett in the succeeding 
article, belongs to one of the generic (or probably rather subgeneric) 
divisions of Parietaria, distinguished by M.. Gaudichaud, in his 
sketch of a classification of Urticee. The species of Pouzolzia, 
which are numerous, are again capable of subdivision into two very 
distinct and natural sections, dependent on the development or non- 
development of wings on the fructiferous calyx. Of the species of 
the winged section known to him, which are nine in number, Mr, 
Bennett gives a synopsis, and offers some observations on those of 
the sulcated and wingless group, and on the species indicated by 
M. Gaudichaud. He refers to the terms employed by M. Gandi- 
chaud in characterizing his sections of true Urticee as indicative of 
the belief of that author in the existence of a second point of attach- 
ment of the ovulum at its apex ; and states that ‘‘ the supposed su- 
perior point of attachment of the ovulum has always proved, on a 
close examination, to be merely a membranous and somewhat tubular 
elongation of the margin of the testa surrounding the aperture, which 
is thus placed in close and immediate contact with the base of the 
style,” and in which he has “ never been able to perceive the slightest 
trace of a vascular connexion.” He also notices an oversight of Pro- 
fessor Lindley in describing the entire family of Urticee, as having 
the ‘“radicle always pointing to the hilum,” the contrary structure 
being well known to exist in the great majority of the genera; and 
concludes by pointing out some analogical resemblances between 
Pouzolzia, and certain genera of Polygonee and Chenopodee. 

In the article which follows, on Gunnera macrophylla, Bl., Mr. 
Bennett gives a history of the genus, and adverts to the singular va- 
riety of errors to which it has at various times given rise, as regards 


Bibliographical Notices. 297 


its structure and classification, both in the Linnean and natural 
system. ‘‘ The description of Gunnera macrophylla and the accom- 
panying figure,” he observes, ‘‘ abundantly prove that the affinities 
of the genus have been altogether misunderstood, and that it bears 
at most but a distant relation to Urticee, from which it differs in 
almost every important feature except its solitary seed. It seems 
indeed surprising that a genus known to possess ‘ germen inferum,’ 
should have been so long referred to an order in which, even where 
a partial adhesion takes place of the calyces inter se, as in Artocarpus, 
not the smallest tendency exists to their adhesion with the ovaria. 
But when to this we add the presence of distinct petals, the removal 
of the genus not only from the order, but also from the class to 
which that order is referred, is clearly indicated.” On the subject 
of its real affinities, Mr. Bennett adds that Mr. Brown communicated 
to him in 1835 some highly curious and interesting views, into the 
detail of which he was precluded from entering by Mr. Brown’s 
absence from England while this article was passing through the 
press; and expresses a hope that he will himself hereafter make 
them fully known. A synopsis of the known species of Gunnera 
completes the account of this interesting plant. 

A curious Piperaceous genus, to which Dr. Blume has given the 
name of Zippelia, chiefly remarkable on account of the glochidiate 
prickles with which its berries are muricated throughout, forms the 
subject of the sixteenth article. In it Mr. Bennett makes some ob- 
servations on the question, now no longer doubtful, of the monoco- 
tyledonous or dicotyledonous character of the embryo of the genus 
Piper; and notices some of the obscure genera which have been de- 
scribed as belonging to this restricted family. 

Tetrameles nudiflora, the only known species of a genus named 
and characterized by Mr. Brown in the Appendix to Denham’s Nar- 
rative, forms the subject of the succeeding article. Along with 
Datisca it constitutes “an order very different from any other yet 
established,” to which Mr. Brown has given the name of Datiscee. 
The difference between the two genera in habit and in some minor 
points of structure is considerable; but in all essential particulars 
they are most intimately allied. Mr. Bennett incidentally observes 
that the supposed second species of Datisca, described by Linneus 
under the name of Datisca hirta, belongs unquestionably to the genus 
Rhus, the specimen in the Linnean Herbarium being most probably 
only a contracted specimen of the common Rhus typhina. 

In the next article, under the head of Helicia Javanica, Mr. Ben- 
nett illustrates the history and characters of a Proteaceous genus, 


298 Bibliographical Notices. 


established by Loureiro, and now consisting of eleven species, of 
which a synopsis is here given. It comprehends all the Asiatic Pro- 
teacee at present known. 

The nineteenth and twentieth articles relate to two species of 
Rhododendrum, of which Dr. Blume had formed a genus under the 
name of Vireya. Mr. Bennett states, however, that they do not 
differ in any respect from the former genus. The first described, 
Rhod. Javanicum, is intimately related to Rhod. Ponticum, but has 
larger and more showy flowers; its flowers indeed are the largest in 
the genus. ‘The second, Rhod. retusum, belongs to the same division 
of the genus with Rhod. ferrugineum. In describing them Mr. Ben- 
nett speaks of ‘‘ what is usually regarded as a capitate stigma as an 
indusium surrounding the true stigmata, which are distinct from each 
other, equal in number to the cells of the ovarium, partially or wholly 
adherent to the inner surface of the indusium, sometimes slightly 
projecting beyond it, and generally a little capitate ;” and states that 
Mr. Brown long since showed him “ that a similar organization, 
more or less obvious, occurs very generally in the family, demon- 
strating it more particularly in Salaxis, and such of the other Heaths 
as are commonly described as having a large peltate stigma.” ‘This 
structure he regards as bearing an obvious relation to the more 
strongly marked idusium of Goodenoviee. ; 

In the next article Mr. Bennett characterizes a new genus of Ascle- 
piadee, nearly related to Hoya, but differing from it in some striking, 
if not very essential, characters. To this genus he gives the name of 
Cyrtoceras, and derives its principal distinctive character “ from the 
great comparative elongation of the whole of its sexual apparatus, 
which in Hoya is as remarkably depressed.” We may add that it is 
the Centrostemma of M. Decaisne, since published in the ‘ Annales 
des Sciences Naturelles,’ Nouv. Série, tom. ix. p. 271. 

In the twenty-second article Mr. Bennett describes a species of 
the genus Argostemma of Dr. Wallich, which M. De Candolle has 
placed in immediate apposition with Ophiorhiza, but which Mr. Ben- 
nett considers, in accordance with a suggestion of Mr. Brown, to 
be much more closely related to Hoffmannia. He enters into a de- 
tailed examination of the more remarkable characters of the genus, 
and gives a synopsis of the species at present known, twenty-one in 
number, of which thirteen are here characterized for the first time. 

The twenty-third article offers a striking instance of one of those 
fortunate recoveries of lost plants, which sometimes reward the labours 
of the botanist far more agreeably than the discovery of new. It 
relates to the Linnean genus Lerchea, which having entirely escaped 


Bibliographical Notices. 299 


the observation of later writers, has been recently discarded even 
from the lists of genera published by Dr. Bartling and Professor 
Lindley. Notwithstanding some curious errors in the Linnean cha- 
racter, one of which led to a singular misplacement of it in the Lin- 
neean system, Mr. Brown satisfied himself of the identity of Dr. Hors- 
field’s plant, with that described by Linnzus, long before he found 
the latter in the Linnean Herbarium, in which no specimen existed 
in its proper place or under its published name. He afterwards dis- 
covered, however, among the unarranged plants of that collection 
two several specimens, one of them accompanied by a MS. generic 
character under the name of Codaria; and both in all respects iden- 
tical with the plant here figured and described. ‘T’o the rediscovery of 
the plant must be added that of its true place in the natural system, 
which had’ never even been suspected, the errors of the Linnzean cha- 
racter offering an apparently fatal objection to its position among 
Rubiaceae, where it will henceforward take its place in the neighbour- 
hood of Wendlandia. With this genus, and with the Xanthophytum 
of Dr. Blume, Mr. Bennett compares it, and states that he is strongly 
inclined to regard it as identical with a species originally referred by 
that author to Chiococca, but since transferred by him to Xanthophy- 
tum. He describes its most remarkable peculiarity as consisting “ in 
the large size and occasional cohesions of its epigynous disk. This 
disk, which in the early stage forms merely a thickened fleshy ring 
surrounding the base of the style, and free from any adhesion to the 
corolla, gradually enlarges in most cases so as completely to fill the 
lower half of the tube of the corolla, with the thickened and nar- 
rowed part of which it at length occasionally coheres below the 
point of insertion of the anthers, and even sometimes becomes ad- 
herent with the latter at their base, as well as with the portion of 
the style which it surrounds. More commonly these adhesions do 
not take place; and the fleshy disk is sometimes little or not at all 
developed beyond its original size.” : 

In the twenty-fourth article Mr. Brown describes, under the name 
of Loxotis obliqua, an elegant little plant of the tribe of Cyrtandracee, 
found by himself in the Island of ‘Timor near Coepang in the year 
1803, and since collected by Dr. Horsfield and probably also by Dr. 
Blume in many parts of Java. To the genus Mr. Brown had ori- 
ginally given in his MSS. the name now adopted, but afterwards 
changed it, on the request of Mr. Ferdinand Bauer (whose drawing, 
made on the spot, furnishes the materials for a most beautiful plate) 
for that of Antonia, under which it was introduced by Mr. Bauer 
into a celebrated flower-piece, painted in honour of the late Baron 


300 Zoological Society. 


Jacquin. But the latter name, although well known to the Vienna 
botanists, having been since applied by Pohl to a South American 
genus, it has become necessary to recur to that originally given, 
which may also possibly be set aside if (as there is reason to suspect) 
the genus should prove to be identical with the Rhincoglossum of 
Dr. Blume. ‘ With regard to the genus itself,”’ Mr. Brown ob- 
serves, ‘it may be doubted whether Lowotis and Glossanthus ought 
to be generically distinguished merely or chiefly on account of the 
difference in the number of their antheriferous stamina, especially 
as they entirely agree in habit, in which there is something peculiar. 
It is not a little remarkable, that in some of the more minute and 
less important differences between them, the intermediate structure 
or connecting link should be found in a species sent by Dr. Schiede 
from Mexico (Glossanthus Mewicana, Br. ined.) and that this should 
be the only plant belonging to Cyrtandracee hitherto observed in any 
part of America.” 

The twenty-fifth plate, the last of the present part, represents 
another plant of the same tribe, Loxonia acuminata, the letter-press 
relating to which is postponed to the succeeding part. 

Under the head of each plant, Dr. Horsfield has furnished valuable 
information as to its habit, growth and uses; the precise localities 
in which it was found by him, particularly noting the height above 
the level of the ocean ; its native name, and such other particulars 
as his long residence in Java enabled him to collect. 


PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 


ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 


March 27th, 1838.— William Yarrell, Esq., in the Chair. 

A Dugong preserved in spirit having been presented to the Mu- 
seum by Alexander John Kerr, Esq., of Penang, Mr. Owen com- 
municated to the meeting some notes descriptive of the principal 
viscera in this remarkable aquatic mammal, and a statement of the 
relative proportions exhibited by its several parts, in comparison with 
the dimensions of a Dugong published by Sir Stamford Raffles in 
the Phil. Trans., 1820, and of two other specimens which Mr. Owen 
had on previous occasions examined in the Society’s collection. From 
these notes, as given in No. 68 of the Society’s ‘ Proceedings,’ the 
following are extracts. 

Mr. Owen remarks, that ‘‘ The external form of the Dugong is 
not so well calculated for moving rapidly through the water as that 


Zoological Society. 301 


of the Dolphin and other carnivorous Cetacea, which subsist by a per- 
petual pursuit of living animals. In these the snout is conical, and 
peculiarly elongated, and in some, as the Delphinus Gangeticus, the 
jaws are produced to.an extreme length, so as to give them every 
advantage in seizing their swift and slippery prey; whilst, in the 
herbivorous Dugong, the snout is as remarkable for its obtuse, trun- 
cate character ;—a form, however, which is equally advantageous to 
it, and well adapted to its habits of browzing upon the alge and 
JSuct which grow upon the submarine rocks of the Indian seas. 

«* As, from the fixed nature of the Dugong’s food, the motions 
of the animal during the time of feeding must relate more imme- 
diately to the necessity of coming to the surface to respire, its tail, 
the principal locomotive organ of ascent and descent, is propor- 
tionally greater than in the true Cetacea, its breadth being rather 
more than one-third the length of the whole body. 

“* But the most important external differences are seen in the 
presence of the membrana niciitans, in the anterior position of the 
nostrils, and in the situation of the mamme, which are pectoral, or 
rather axillary, being situated just behind the roots of the flippers; 
in the female specimen examined their base was about the size of a 
shilling, and they projected about half an inch from the surface. 

** A considerable ridge extends along the middle of the upper sur- 
face of the posterior part of the back, which is continged upon and 
terminates in the tail. 

** The mouth and tongue corresponded with the descriptions already 
published of these remarkable structures. The opening of the larynx 
is chiefly defended, during the submarine mastication of the vege- 
table matters constituting the food of the Dugong, by the extreme 
contraction of the faucial aperture, which resembles that of the Ca- 
pybara. It is not traversed. by a pyramidal /arynz, as in the true 
Cetacea. 

“« The stomach of this singular act presents, as Sir Everard 
Home has justly observed, some of the peculiarities met with in the 
Whale tribe, the Peccari and Hippopotamus, and the Beaver: like 
the first, it is divided into distinct compartments; like the second 
and third, it has pouches superadded to and communicating with it; 
and, like the last, it is provided with a remarkable glandular ap- 
paratus near the cardia. 

**'To the left of the cardia there projects into the stomach a rounded 
mammilloid eminence, whose base is 2 inches in diameter, and whose 
apex presents an oblique crescentic orifice about 3 lines in diameter ; 
on drawing aside the margins of this orifice, I found that, instead of its 


302 Zoological Society. 


being the outlet of asimple.mass of follicular glands, it led.to.a wide, 
flattened, winding sinus, and that its cireumference.was formed by the 
termination of a:membrane spirally disposed in about eight or ten 
turns, and increasing in breadth at each gyration, having both.sur- 
faces covered with the orifices of numerous glandular follicles, and 
the interspaces filled with a cream-like secretion. ‘This structure, 
which adds another peculiarity to the stomach of the Dugong, and 
one met with in the cecum only in a few other Mammalia, viz. that 
of having its blind end occupied by.a spiral membrane, I have found 
in all the specimens dissected at the Society; and in each case the - 
gland was infested by Ascarides, hereafter to be described, which 
left impressions upon the spiral membrane. 

« The orifice leading to the pyloric cavity of the stomach is pro- 
vided with a circular and valvular production of the inner membrane 
of the stomach. Immediately beyond -this valve are the orifices of 
the two cecal appendages, situated 14 inch apart at the upper and 
rather towards the posterior side of the cavity ; these orifices were 
about an inch in diameter, but the inferior orifice was the larger 
of the two. Small quantities of comminuted sea weeds were found in 
both these. receptacles. 

“From the complexity of the stomach, the great .extent of the 
alimentary canal, its vast muscular power, and glandular appendages, 
the digestive functions must be extremely vigorous inthis animal. The 
vigour of the digestive functions obviously relates, in the herbivorous 
section of Cetacea, to the low. organized indigestible character of their 
nutriment ; but the complicated stomach and long intestinal canal of 
the carnivorous Ceéacea.must have other relations ‘than to the kind 
of food. These modifications of the digestive system, for example, 
cannot be.so explained.in the Grampus, which preys on the highly 
organized Mammalia.of its own class. It is not :to the nature of 
the food, but to the quantity of nutriment that is required to be 
obtained from it, that I conceive the peculiarities of the digestive 
system in the carnivorous Cetacea to relate. In no other Carnivora 
is the same quantity of blood, the same mass of fat.to be eliminated 
from the raw material of the food; the digestive system is, there- 
fore, perfected in these warm-blooded carnivorous Mammalia to 
meet the contingencies. of their aquatic life. ; 

‘«* The omentum is continued from the great curvature both of.the 
cardiac and pyloric divisions of the stomach; though short, it is 
much more distinctly developed than in the carnivorous Cefacea ; it 
contains no adipose matter.” 

Having described various other particulars connected with the chy- 


Zoological Society. 303 


lopoietic viscera, and the individual differences which they presented 
in the three specimens dissected, Mr. Owen proceeded to observe as 
follows :— 

“ The views taken by Cuvier of the natural affinities of the Du- 
gong and other herbivorous Cetacea, as expressed in his latest clas- 
sification, in which they form part of the same order as the carnivo- 
rous Cefacea, are undoubtedly questionable, and have been dissented 
from by De Blainville and other eminent authorities in zoology. If, 
indeed, the object of every good classification be, what Cuvier states 
it to be, to enable the naturalist to express in general propositions 
structures and attributes common to each given group, the conjunc- 
tion of the Dugong with the Dolphin fails in this respect in regard 
to almost all the important points of internal organization. 

«In proceeding with our investigation of the abdominal viscera, 
we find, with respect to the biliary organs, that the Dugong deviates 
in a marked degree from the ordinary Cetacea in the presence of a 
well-developed gall-bladder. Daubenton found a gall-bladder in the 
Manatee; but the presence of this organ is not constant in the her- 
bivorous Cetacea, for in the Northern Manatee (Séellerus borealis, 
Cuv.), according to Steller*, the gall-bladder is wanting, and its 
absence seems to be compensated by the enormous width of the duc- 
tus communis choledochus, which would admit the five fingers united. 

‘« All the three specimens presented the same remarkable extent of 
separation of the two ventricles of the heart which Raffles and Home 
have described in the individuals dissected by them, and which Rup- 
pell ¢ observed in the Dugong of the Red Sea (Halicore Tabernaculi, 
R.). This condition of the heart was first noticed by Daubenton in 
the fetus of the Manatee; and is also described by the unfortunate 
Steller in the genus worthily consecrated to his name, in which, how- 
ever, the apical cleft of the heart extended upwards only one third 
of the way towards the base. In the Dugong it reaches half-way 
towards the base. The carnivorous Cetacea do not participate with 
the herbivorous section in this interesting structure. 

‘In the smoothness and evenness of their exterior, and their general 
form, the auricles of the Dugong resemble those of the Turtle (Che- 
lone): the appendix can hardly be said to exist in either. There is one 
superior cava only, not two as in the elephant. 

«The peculiar form, structure, and position of the lungs have been 
so accurately described and figured by Raffles, Home, and Rippel, 

* See Novi Commentarit Acad. Scient. Petrop, t. a. 1751. 


+ Beschreibung des im Rothen Meere vorkommenden Dugong. 4to, Frank= 
furt, 1833, p. 106, 


304 Zoological Society. 


that I have only to observe the close agreement with these accounts 
which the structure of the parts presented in the three Dugongs dis- 
sected by me; Daubenton* and Humboldtt describe and figure a 
precisely similar condition of the respiratory apparatus in the Ma- 
natee. Steller describes the same extension of the lungs along the 
dorsal aspect in the Sted/erus, which he aptly compares to the posi- 
tion of the lungs in the bird, but without their fixation to the pari- 
etes of the chest, so characteristic of that class. 'The Chelonian 
reptiles, perhaps, offer a closer resemblance} to the herbivorous Ce- 
tacea in this respect; and it is worthy of remark that the air-cells 
of the lungs are larger in the Dugong than in any other Mammals. 
In the carnivorous Cetacea the air-cells are remarkably minute, and 
the lungs more compactly shaped and lodged in a shorter thoraz. 

‘‘ There are but three true tracheal rings anterior to the bifurcation 
of the air-tube: the first of these is remarkable for its superior 
size, which forms an intermediate transition between the cricoid and 
the second tracheal ring. The tube is somewhat flattened from be- 
fore backwards; its circumference is 5 inches; its antero-posterior 
diameter 1 inch. In the Balenide the tracheal rings are deficient 
at the anterior part of their circumference. The spiral disposition of 
the cartilages of the air-tubes, of which Home has given a figure, in 
the Dugong, is described with more detail by Steller in the Northern 
Manatee. It is a structure which best facilitates the lengthening 
and shortening of the lungs, whose change of bulk in respiration, 
owing to their peculiar form and position, probably takes place chiefly 
in that direction. 

«« Amongst the true Ce/acea we have observed that it is those which 
subsist on the lowest organized animal substance, as the Balenide, 
which approach the nearest to the herbivorous species, in having the 
additional complexity of the cecum celi; and it is interesting to find 
that the same affinity is manifested in the structure of the larynz. 
The epiglottis and arytenoid cartilages, for example, are relatively 
shorter in the Balenoptera than in Delphinus ; and, as Mr. Hunter 
has observed, they are connected together by the membranes of the 
laryne only at their base; and not wrapped together or surrounded 
by that membrane as far as their apices, as in the Dolphins. In the 
Balenoptera also, the apices of these cartilages are not expanded, as 

* Buffon, vol. xiii. 

+ Wiegmann’s Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte, 1838, pl. ii. fig. 5. 

{ This resemblance is further exemplified in the shortness of the trachea, 
the completeness of its cartilaginous rings, the length of the bronchial tubes, 


and the extension of their cartilaginous structure far into the substance of 
the lungs in the Dugong. 


Zoological Society. 305. 


in the Dolphins, but diminish to an obtuse extremity. These points 
of resemblance to the condition of the /arynz in the Dugong and 
Manatee are carried still further in the Mysticete Whale, at least in 
the fetus dissected by me, and in which both the epiglottis and ary- 
tenoid cartilages were relatively much shorter, and the thyroid car- 
tilage larger and more convex than in the Piked Whale (Balenoptera). 
The thyroid cartilage is, however, a single piece in both genera of 
Balenide, though deeply notched above and below; and the larynx 
presents several interesting individual peculiarities, which, however, 
the minute and accurate descriptions and illustrations of this organ 
in both the Balenoptere and Balene, published by Prof. G. Sandi- 
fort*, preclude the necessity of further dwelling upon. 

“ The generative organs being those which are most remotely re- 
lated to the habits and food of an animal, I have always regarded as 
affording very clear indications of its true affinities. We are the 
least likely, in the modifications of these organs, to mistake a merely 
adaptive for an essential character. The true Cetacea, as is well 
known, have no trace of vesicule seminales; but I found these bags 
present and of large size in the male specimen of our Dugongs. 

‘« The bones are chiefly remarkable, as in the Manatee, for their 
dense texture, and the non-development of medullary cavities in 
them: this reptile-like condition of the skeleton is further exem- 
plified in the loose connexion of the bones of the head. The bones 
are not loaded with oil, as in the Cetacea. All the specimens pre- 
sented 7 cervical and 19 costal vertebre, corresponding to the 19 
pairs of ribs; but the number of the remaining vertebre exceeded 
that ascribed to the Dugong by Home and Cuvier, there being at 
least 30, making in all 55. The affinity of the Dugong to the Pa- 
chydermata is thus again illustrated by the great number of the ribs. 
The lower jaw is articulated to the cranium by a true synovial cap- 
sule, reflected over cartilaginous surfaces, and not, as in the carni- 
vorous. Cetacea, by a coarse and oily ligamentous substance. 

** It has been’ suggested that the use of the projecting tusks in the 
Dugeng is to detach fuci from the rocks to which they adhere: 
one can hardly, however, assign any important function in relation 
to nutrition to parts which are limited to the male sex; but it must 
be remembered that the function was assigned by a physiologist who 
supposed that the tusks in question were specific and not sexual 
characters, and that the imperfect tusks, which are peculiar to the 
female, were the predecessors of the projecting tusks, and, in fact, 


* Nieuwe Verhandelingen der Koninklik, Niederlandishe Instituut, Deel. 
iii. p. 224, pl. I1—V. 
Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol. 2. No. 10. Dec. 1838. x 


306 Zoological Society. 


deciduous teeth. This opinion of Sir Everard Home was first called 
in question by Dr. Knox*, who, having detected the supposed, de- 
ciduous tusks in the head of a nearly full-grown Dugong, rejected with 
great justice the opinion of Home, that they are deciduous teeth ; 
and he truly observes, that no evidence had been given to prove 
the existence of deciduous tusks at all in the Dugongt. 

‘‘T need hardly observe that the tusks of the Dugong, being im- 
planted in the intermaxillary bones, are to be regarded, like the tusks 
of the Elephant, as incisors. Now both sexes of the Dugong, as of 
the Elephant, do, in fact, possess deciduous or milk-tusks, but they 
are much smaller than the female permanent tusks or supposed de- 
ciduous teeth of Home. 

‘In the skull of a male Dugong which had molares = the sock- 
ets of the deciduous incisors were obliterated, and the points of the 
permanent ones projected from their sockets. In only one out of 
seven crania of the Dugong which I have examined, have I found 
incisors in the lower jaw; they were two in number, one in the cor- 
responding socket of each ramus, which sockets were much deeper 
than the rest. These teeth were smaller and more bent than the 
deciduous incisors of the upper jaw. They are obviously analogous 
to the rudimental teeth which have been described in the jaws of 
the foetal Whale. 

‘« The short and thick neck, fin-like fore-legs, want of hind-legs, 
caudal tegumentary fin, smooth, naked, and almost hairless integu- 
ment, are all modifications of external form, by which the Dugongs 
and Manatees are adapted to play their part in the waters: but the 
kind of part which they are to play in that element depends on or- 
ganic characters which mainly if not exclusively reveal their true 
affinities. Now we have seen that the whole of the internal struc- 
ture in the herbivorous Cetacea differs as widely from that of the 
carnivorous Cetacea, as do their habits: that the amount of varia- 
tion is as great as well could be in animals of the same class, exist- 
ing in the same great deep. The junction of the Dugongs and 
Manatees with the true Whales cannot therefore be admitted in a 
distribution of animals according to their organization. With much 
superficial resemblance they have little real or organic resemblance 
to the Walrus, which exhibits an extreme modification of the am- 


* Edinb. Phil. Trans. xi. p, 389. 

+ “The milk-tusks of the Dugong have never been seen by any one; 
that is, I have not heard of the existence of any preparation showing the 
germs of the milk or permanent teeth, together or in succession.”—Dr. 
Knox, loc. cit, p. 398. 


Miscellaneous. 307 


phibious carnivorous type. I conclude, therefore, that-the Dugong 
and its congeners must either form a group apart, or be joined, as 
in the classification of M. De Blainville, with the Pachyderms, with 
which the herbivorous Cetacea have the nearest affinities, and to 
which they seem to have been more immediately linked by the now 
lost genus Deinotherium.” 

Some prepared specimens belonging to the genera Siphunculus 
and Asterias, collected by Mr. Harvey upon the Devonshire coast, 
and presented to the Society, were upon the table, to which Mr. Owen 
drew the attention of the Meeting. The Chairman read an extract 
of a letter from the former gentleman, in which he stated that a con- 
siderable number of the Red-band Fish (Cepola rubescens) had been 
picked up on the beach near Teignmouth. One of these specimens 
sent by Mr. Harvey was exhibited by Mr. Yarrell, who observed 
that these fish are rarely captured, owing to their keeping very near 
the bottom, and their shape allowing them to pass through the 
meshes of the fishermen’s nets. In severe storms, however, shoals 
of this Cepola are sometimes killed by being driven against the bot- 
tom, or dashed against the rocks, and are then thrown on shore dead. 
Mr. Yarrell remarked that he had heard of two or three instances 
of this kind recently occurring on the British coast. 


— 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


THE NEW HOLLAND GERBOA RAT (HAPALOTIS ALBIPES, LICHT.) BY 
JOHN EDWARD GRAY, F.R.S8., &c. 


The Trustees of the Museum have recently purchased of Dr. John 
Lhotsky a perfect specimen of the Hapalotis albipes, described by 
Professor Lichtenstein in 1827, ‘ Darstellung der Saéugethiere;’ t. 29, 
from a specimen sent to Berlin in 1824 by Dr. Sieber; and a second 
which was sent to Berlin by Dr. Lhotsky was put up for sale there 
on the 6th of April 1837, and bought by the Royal Museum. 

Our specimen differs from that described by Prof. Lichtenstein in 
having the tail as long as the body, and the tip of it, which was most 
probably wanting in the Berlin specimen, is covered with long ex- 
panding hairs; the upper side of the tail is dark-brown, and the 
under side and the pencil of long hairs at the tip is white. Dr. Licht-- 
enstein in his description says the tail is only one third the length 
_ of the body, but in his figure represents it as half the length of the 
body and head. The ears of our specimen are covered externally 
with short appressed hairs, those of the front half being brown, and 

x 2 


308 Miscellaneous. 


the hinder half white. M. Lichtenstein describes them as nearly 
naked and thin. | 

The thumbs of the fore feet are furnished with small blunt rudi- 
mentary claws ; the hair of the back is thickly interspersed with long 
taper-pointed black hairs. 

The cutting teeth are yellow, rounded, and without any grooves 
in front and shelving at the point within; the grinders are =—.; the 
crown of the front upper is oblong longitudinal, and furnished with 
three oblong transverse ridges, and three small rounded tubercles on 
the inner side; one opposite the inner edge of each of the larger, 
ridges ; the second upper has two oblong transverse ridges on the 
outer side and three small tubercles on the inner; the hinder upper. 
has two oblong transverse ridges extending over the whole width of 
the tooth behind, and a small row of tubercles at the front inner 
angle. The front lower grinder is formed of three, rather folded, 
oblong, transverse ridges, the second and third tooth are each formed. 
of only two similar ridges, the ridges of the hinder tooth and espe- 
cially the hinder ridge being the smallest. 

This description nearly agrees with that given by Lichtenstein, 
but he supposes that one of the inner rounded tubercles of the upper 
middle tooth belongs to the anterior one. Notwithstanding these 
discrepancies between the description of the Berlin animal and the 
one in our collection, I have no doubt that they are intended for the 
same species, especially as Dr. Lhotsky informs me that the one 
we have purchased is similar to that he sent to Berlin, which was 
named Hapalotis albipes by Lichtenstein himself in the sale catalogue’ 
p- v. lot 3. 

There is a specimen called a native rabbit in Mr. Caley’s collection 
in the Museum of the Linnean Society, which exactly agrees with our 
animal in all particulars, except that its ears are naked and semitrans- 
parent as they are described by Professor Lichtenstein; but from their 
appearance I am inclined to believe that they have been accidentally 
denuded, which is very probable, as the scarf skin on the ears of our 
specimen appears to be very easily deciduous. The specimen in the 
Linnean Society’s collection has been recently described by Mr. 
Ogilby under the name of Conilurus constructor, Linn. Trans. xviii. 
125, where that gentleman has given an interesting account of its 
habits, extracted from the notes of Major Mitchell. The general 
appearance of the animal so much resembles a Gerboa, that if it 
were not for the great difference in size given in Major Mitchell’s 
sketch, I should be inclined to believe that it is the animal which 
this enterprising traveller has figured in his work as a species of 


Miscellaneous. 309 


that genus. This animal is interesting as being the third genus 
of true Glirine mammals found on the Australian continent, viz. 
Hydromys, Hapalotis, and Pseudomys. Indeed the number of non- 
marsupial mammalia appears to be rapidly increasing as we become 
better acquainted with the animals of Australia. Thus I now know 
of three species of insectivorous bats inhabiting that continent, one 
belonging to a peculiar genus Nyctophilus, and two to Molossus. 


NEW ANOMALOUS REPTILE. 

Dr. John Natterer, the industrious collector, who has lately re- 
turned to Vienna from South America with his large collections, has 
published in the ‘ Annals of the Vienna Museum’ (ii. p. 167.) under 
the name of Lepidosiren paradoxa, a new anomalous reptile, which 
has much the appearance of an eel, but is covered with large netted 
scales, and the body is furnished with four simple elongated taper- 
ing legs; the front pair being placed on the back edge of the upper 
part of the spiracles, and the hinder pair on the under side of the 
hinder part of the body. The jaws are furnished with strong trun- 
cated teeth, and the vent, which is circular and plaited, is placed on 
the left of the centre of the under side of the body, just behind 
the base of the left hind leg. It was discovered in the Brazils near 
the river Amazon, and grows to three feet. They had two speci- 
mens in the Vienna Museum; one of them has been put into the 
hands of Professor 'Th. Bischoff for the purpose of being dissected. — 


J, BE. Gray. 
ON THE FUR SEAL OF COMMERCE. 


In one of your last numbers there is an interesting paper, by Mr. 
Hamilton, on the fur seal of commerce, illustrated by a figure, which 
the author supposes will ‘‘ enable any one at once to recognise the 
animal.” Unfortunately, this is not the case, as from the want 
of details of the teeth, of a more minute description of the whiskers, 
ears, and various other parts which form the specific characters of 
these very intricate animals, we gain nothing from the paper but 
that the fur-seal is an Ofaria or Eared Seal, for the colour can scarcely 
be considered of any importance when we know the great changes it 
undergoes during growth in the other species of the genus. I am 
induced to make these remarks in the hope of inducing Mr. Hamilton 
to extend his description, as I am very desirous of ascertaining if 
his seal is the same as that which I described some time ago in the 
‘ Magazine of Natural History’ (1837), under the name Leptonyr 
Wedellii, from two specimens which were collected by the Hon. 
Capt. Fitzroy, and by him presented to the British Museum.—J., E. 
Gray, 


310 Miscellaneous. 


HABITS OF SNAILS OR BLACK SLUGS (4RION ATER.). 


Several instances have been adduced of the land Helices eating 
meat and other extraordinary substances, and I have often observed 
the garden snails (Helix aspersa) eating the paper of the posting 
bills from the walls of the environs of London after a shower, but I 
was not aware until the other day, when I was near Newcastle, that 
they would eat inorganic matter. But having met with a black slug, 
(Arion ater,) and for safety'placed it in a box with some sea-sand, just 
taken from the sea for the purpose of examining the fragments of 
animal matter which renders it luminous when trodden on in the 
dark, I was surprised on opening it to observe that the slug had been 
eating the sand, until its feces, which were first of a green vege- 
table colour, were entirely composed of pure sand, united together 
into their usual form by a little mucus. When first the slug was 
placed in the box, the irritation of the salt caused it to emit a quantity 
of mucus, but it very shortly became reconciled to its abode, and 
lived in it for several days, though the box was open; butat length 
escaped.—J. E. Gray. 


REGULUS MODESTUS, GOULD, A BRITISH BIRD. 


I beg to hand you a notice of a very scarce and interesting species 
of Regulus, which I shot on the banks near Hartley, on the coast of 
Northumberland, on the 26th of last September ; it corresponds ex- 
actly with Gould’s Regulus modestus, a species so extremely rare, 
that he considers the individual from which he described as unique 
in the continental collections. The description of my bird, which 
will now entitle this species to a place in the British Fauna, is as fol- 
lows : 

Length, 4;'; in.; breadth, 65 in.; length from the carpus to the 
end of the wing: 2;/, in.; tail, 1,1, in.; the bill from the gape to the 
tip nearly ;% in., and from the tips of the feathers, which extend to 
the extremity of the nostrils, } in. 

The whole of the upper titans a greenish tolewa:s on the centre 
of the crown of the head is a streak of paler; a light lemon-coloured 
streak extends over the eye from the base of the bill to the occiput ; 
a short streak of the same colour passes beneath the eye, and a nar- 
row band of dusky passes through the eye and reaches the termina- 
tion of the auriculars. The under parts pale yellow ; the ridge of the 
wing bright lemon colour; wing feathers dusky, edged with pale 
yellow, becoming broader on the secondaries ; two conspicuous bands 
of lemcn colour cross the coverts; the wings reach to within 2in. of 


Meteorological Observations, 311 


the end of the tail. Bill brown, with the under mandible paler at 
the base ; mouth yellow; legs and toes brown with the under surface 
of the toes inclining to yellow; claws brown. Its manners, as far as 
I had an opportunity of observing them, were so like those of the 
golden-crested wren, that at first I mistook it for that species. It 
was continually in motion, flitting from place to place in search of 
insects on umbelliferous plants, and such other herbage as the bleak 
banks of the Northumberland coast affords: such a situation could 
not be at all suited to the habits of this species, and there can be 
little doubt that it had arrived at the coast previous to or immediately 
after its autumnal migrations—J. Hancock, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 
Note.—When Mr. Gould’s figure appeared in the ‘ Birds of Eu- 
rope,’ we expressed an opinion that this might only prove a young 
bird of some of the other species, and we rejoice that an opportu- 
nity has now occurred of clearing this doubt. Mr. Hancock has 
stated to Mr. Selby that the covering of the nostrils in his specimen 
consists of various feathers and not of a single plumulet as in the 
other Regul: this will afford a distinguishing mark, and will more- 
over destroy the importance of the structure as a generic character. 
We would recommend, however, that the nestling or first plumage 


of the Regulus aurocapillus and ignicapillus should still be examined. 
—Enprr. 


METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR OCTOBER 1838. 


Chiswick.—Oct.1. Hazy. 2. Cloudy: fine. 3. Fine. 4. Very fine. 5. 
Hazy: fine. 6,7. Overcast. 8,9. Bleak and cold. 10. Cloudy. 11. Cloudy 
and fine. 12. Clear and cold: slight snow. 13. Clear: showery : frosty at 
night. 14. Overcast : showery: frosty atnight. 15,16. Cloudy. 17,18. Fine, 
19, Overeast: clear and fine. 20. Rain: overcast. 2I—24, Cloudy and fine. 
25. Foggy: clear at night. 26. Fine, 27. Cloudy: stormy and wet at night. 
28. Hazy: heavy rain: violent hurricane from s.w. during the night. 29. Clear 
and windy. 30. Fine. 31. Heavy rain, 


Boston,— Oct. J. Cloudy. 2,3. Fine. 4. Cloudy. 5. Fine. 6,7. Cloudy. 
8. Cloudy: rainr.m. 9-11, Cloudy. 12. Stormy: snowem. 13, Fine: 
ice this morning one eighth of an inch thick. 14, Cloudy: rain em. 15. Cloudy. 
16, Cloudy: stormy p.m. 17,18, Fine: stormyr.m. 19—21. Fine. 22, 23, 
Cloudy. 24. Cloudy: rainearlya.m. 25. Cloudy. 26. Cloudy: rain early 
A.M. 27. Fine: stormy with raine.m. 28. Fine: rainr.m. 29. Stormy : 
rain early am. 30. Fine. 31. Cloudy. 


Applegarth Manse, Dum/fries-shire.—Oct. 1,2. Fine harvest days. $. Ditto, 
but cloudy: frosty p.m. 4, 5. Very warm: frost rime. 6. Warm: not a breath 
of wind. 7. Mild day, but cloudy. 8, Fine harvest day. 9, Ditto, but 
threatening rain. 10. Still lowering and threatening rain. 11. High wind: 
slight shower. 12. Dry andcold. 13. Ditto: snow showers passing. 14, 
Wet ali day. 15. Moist and stormy. 16. Wet allday. 17. Dryingday. 18, 
Wetallday. 19. Drying again. 20. Clear and drying. 21, 22. Moist: 
showers p.M. 23. Fair a.m.: cameonrain, 24. Showery. 25. Very wet p.m. 
26. Rivers in flood: drying rm. 27. Showery all day: flood again. 28. Hoar 
frost a.m.: fine e.m. 29. Partial showers. 30. Fine day: slight rains. 31, 
Fair: wet afternoon. 


‘uvayy |PE-P |SE-1 | 9€-2) -uing aa OV | LV | g.09,BE-EF/2E-PS|0-LP | L-PS |g.1g | 8-62 | $8-6% | Sh-6z |£16-66 | 990-0€ | £66-62 | “vay 
1 | Ly {08 | St | ta eal ax | “N. | Zh! HE] IV] ZE | ES |0-0F] 0.2¢| EEF | LV-6z | BL-62 | 9-62 | 6SL-6z | OF8.6z | bzg-60] “IE 
aes oS. | ** | ‘Mm |uyeoi*ms} “% | of] ob| Eb] oF | 99 |0-07] L.2¢|£-9F | 19-62 | LV-6% | 0€-62 | OFL-6z | PLL-6z | OFL-60| “of 

gc. eee ogs. “MA "MN | *MS “IBA *MS/ZOP OV C.cPV of PS LV ZLS o-6P 8£-6% 91-6% GL-8% 08Z-6% ZOL-6% 9S£-6% "6% 


4 9€- 6P- | gp. | *s juypeoj-ms| om aV| 6€| gh| SV} 6S |%-1P| 9.9¢ | 9-19 | ZE-62 | EV-62 | 01-62 | FOP-6z | L19-6z | 869-62 | °*9z 
c 06.2 O8- |; “ [*MS | “mM jms; °S | OF S67 S.zb| Lb | LS |£-17| £.6¢ | L-60 | €€.62 | EF-62 | SF-6z | SSL.6z | 068-6z | 226-62 | “Zz 
fe wee [VOr | "| ter | ts | ta | cay | tas | Bb lFOS| LG] of | Z9 | 0-67] z.gG | €-L5 | PL.62 | €F-62 | 61-62 | S6L-6z | $z6.6z | 082-62 | *9z C 
ee 3 "| E10. | “MS | “a | cas | "MS |F0S| OF! LG| gb | 8S | 0-99) 6.6¢ | 4-08 | 08-62 | 06.62 | 02-62 | Lh6-6z | 990.06 | gI1-0€ | “Sz 
Ce fc [8 | ir | 80: | 7s jeares| -m | *s | ab|gos) 99] 6 | £9 |L€S/ 0.96] 0-5 | 98.62 | 05-62 | 12-62 | ZhL-65 | 826.62 | OFL.60 | “Fz 
vs | ems june] +s S| aS lEPG| So} 29 | LS |8-VS! 0.19 | L-99 | 1S-6% | OL-6% | ZP-62 | SoL-6z | 126.62 | 096-62 | “fz 


4 Beet. Sle %., "aS ¥2S| S| LO| €S | 19 | LSS z%-19 | V-LS | 98-62 | 16-62 | 65-62 | EF0-0€ | 911.08 | 9S1.08 | “zz 
TG [cre | oe *e | TMAS UTC) “MS | "S| BS FBS |G-GS| VS | H9 | V-8P| S-€9 | 8-SS | £0-0€ | £0.0€ | 79-62 | 196-62 | 092-0€ | 96Z-0€ | “Iz 
of lotr | «|S Mx | “a | ca | “as | gh| ZS] gS] IV | 99 | O-PS] €.6¢|8-L9 | 10-08 | 28.62 | 09.62 | £26.62 | 661-08 | 880-08 | ‘oz 
gg eae £0. ANA | “MN | tan [IBA “MS! gh! Bh! Z| Sb | 29 | GOP] P.gS | BLS | 08-62 VL-62 | ZP-62 | €£8-6z | €L0-0€ | 016-62} “61 
ee Ses Ree TM PAN | twas [BA “AS! QF! Zh) Gh] sb | PS |O-BP! €.6¢| B-9F | 6£-6z | LL-6z | $9.62 | 198-6z | £10-0€ | PS0-08 | “g1@ 
et os 9) | G21. [*# [*MN| ma | "Ss FOP /ELb| bs] LE | GG |S-€9] 0.19 | $-PS | 67-62 | GO-62 | 9L.8% | £62.62 | ShS.6z | 262-6 | “LI 
ey | | Le | ‘a [rmx | sms [ava sas! ZC| PG] 9¢| 19 | 09 |8-8P| L.6¢ | L-SS | P0.6z | 62-62 | F0.6z | zhb-6z | Pg0-6z | F19-6z | °91 
ee Glo. | "# |x| sm | “m |Ezg] og] 1g] LP | 99 |¥-0F| g.£¢ | 8-15 | 0€-6z | 9-62 | 80.62 | 919.62 | 999-62 | PLS-66| “St 
Be oe | [O@ | TPM |S [ims "8 | gh! pb] ib] oz | OF |8.cE| 0.cp|F-1P | 82-62 | 99-63 | PY-6z | L6P-6z | 626-62 | 706.62 | “P1 
Pr lot. | ee (ee | el deme | LAN] IM | 8€| PE S-98) 80 | PP | P98) €.09 | P-6E | 28-62 | 82-62 | OF-6z | 908.62 | $L6-6z | Z9L.62 | “EI 
gh |v | we GO| MN | ON [MAN] M1 PE! OF| SH Bh | LD | 8-20] L.6¢ | B-97 | 79-62 | 65-62 | 12-62 | LS9.6z | SSL-6z | 299-62 | “BI 
a yet ie: Rare SMS" orTea) “AAs | “NSS | P| OS| ZS] 6 | 09 | 6-67] €.F¢ | 8-ZS | 66-62 | SL.6z | LV.6z | 698.62 | OOT-0F | 966-62 | *T1 
ee ee ee AN [BO) “MAN “ANA OF /EZS| 6] Bh | LS | 0-0] 9.Lg | E-TS | 00-0€ | OT.0€ | VL-62 | 6ST-0€ | FEt-0€ | O€2-0€ | “01D 
lk ey ne wpe) "aN | “MN | OG) 0f| 0G] Lh | 9G |0.67| L.G¢ | V-2S | €%-0€ | €-0€ | 68-62 | 90€-0€ | Loe-o€ | 09£-08 | *6 
Tp [ce [eee [ee | ce | em eee] S| CAN | ab /foS| sb] LP | 99 | 9-9 | 6.9 | 0-25 | 88-08 | 8E-0F | 26-62 | ISE-0E | ZIP-0€ | ZSE-0F | °8 
Gp [eee |e face | ce fee (RUM) BN | CANS |Hop| 6F| 2S] Lb | 99 |z-6P|S.PS| V-19 | £€-0€ | OF-0€ | £6.62 | EPE-0€ | SBE-0F | ZLE-OF | *L 
QV {Z0-0 | t+ | eee | wee fe AN | “AN | “ENN | 0S /¥6€| LP) 6h | 99 |6.97| 9.9¢| 8-6P | IP-0f | LE.0€ | 26.62 | OLE-0€ | O1F-0€ | ZLE.0€ | °9 
ap fee fee fee | ce eae Reel Z| S| Ph] oF! OF) oF | 6 |9.0 | 8.99 | L-6F | LE-0€ | LE-0E | 06-62 | BEE-0€ | 90b-0€ | ZSE.0£ | “S 
og lt fe foe | ce fea [PES] OX | oh] ob] 19] LE | 19 |Z£9]Z-19 | O-1S | OF-0€ | EF-0E | £6-62 | OLE-0€ | S6E-08 | P6E-0f | “P 
gq [ct | oe foe | cee deme fe | oe] ne | Phish |S-9S) oF | Fo |8-Lh] 7.09 | £95 | 0S-0€ | L6-08 | -0€ | 9oF-0€ | PrP-0€ | Bzb-0f | “€ O 
= eae ep “PEN |r] oe) "XT gpl zg] 9S] Lb} £9 |z.2S| 9.16 | P99 | 86-08 | 26-0€ | 06.62 | BPE-0E | Lop-0f | 9SE.08 | *% 
z GRE Lat “=| "X |“ [e6p] po ices) 1g] 6¢ |9.2¢| 9.09 | 819 | PP-0€ | 2h-08 | €8-6z | giE-0€ | Z¢¢-0€ | goe-0£ | *T 

“ule § Q hs Q | TS 

r90C *£ Ze w >} cure artys mS) our ur'dg/*Ur'eg| copy | “UIAL | “XB | ULL | *xepy |'ure 6 | ‘urdg | ‘wreeg “ul “xe : = 

pc Toda Pele | § ‘208404 wot ang | 2 3 mon sail a 3 2 —— -roistgax-yag aged a ae tl 
ia = e s é. suopuo'y E e : UOpUO'] | -sarzuing BS “MUMS | 205 “hoy : OpuoTy dITYSs"satUING MOMstyO s uobUD'T sine 

“aod "uUley “pul *19JOULOULIIY J, *1aJVWIOIV josktq 


"aurys-satfuncy ‘asunyy yinsajddp yo uvanng ‘Aj 49 pun ‘uozsog yo TIVaA ‘ITN 49 Suopuory anau ‘younsiy7 yo Ayarv0g poungmoysozy ay fo 
UIPLDD) 9Y} 70 NOSAWOHY, “AJ 49 { NOLUTAOY “AY ‘Aunzasoag qunjsissp ay} hq hya0g yohoy ay3 fo sjuampindpy ay} 70 apou suornasasg” purgsojoLoa;9 IT 


ANNALS OF NATURAL HISTORY. 


-— 
—_ 


XXXV.—On the Writings of Goethe relative to Natural 
History. By M. F.G. Picrer*. 


Tue labours of Goethe in natural history had for their object 
comparative anatomy, botany, and geology. All bear the 
stamp of the loftiness of conception and profoundness of view 
which are characteristic of genius ; they treat of the most im- 
portant, but also sometimes of the most disputed points of or- 
ganization; we would therefore confine ourselves to the part 
which we can best appreciate, and chiefly point out the ser- 
vices he has rendered to comparative anatomy. But pre- 
viously, and in order to explain how and to what extent Goethe 
was an anatomist, it is indispensable to take a slight view of 
his life and the epoch of his labours. 

Born and reared at Frankfort on the Maine, Goethe directed 
his first studies, as he himself tells us, to the knowledge of 
ancient and modern languages. His literary taste displayed 
itself early, and some poetical essays completed these first la- 
bours. No circumstance had ever as yet led him to study 
nature, and at most a vague desire of acquiring a knowledge 
of her laws now and then crossed his mind. “ Here and there 
in my poetical essays,” says he in the sketch which in 1831 he 
gave of his botanical studies, “ are to be perceived some traces 
of a passionate love for the country, and of an earnest desire 
to penetrate the great secret of the constant creation and an- 
nihilation of beings; but this desire evaporated in vain and 
useless contemplations.” 

It was at Strasbourg, in 1770, that he first set about the 
study of the natural sciences. Having come to this city to 
take the degree of doctor of laws, he gave to this pursuit so 
much time only as was strictly necessary, and followed with 
ardour courses of chemistry, anatomy, medicine, and even of 

eee from the Bibliothéque Universelle de Genéve, vol. xv. 
p. 338, 

Ann. Nat, Hist, Vol.2, No.11. Jan, 1839. ¥ 


314 M. Pictet on the Writings of Goethe 


midwifery. He returned to Germany with a very decided 
taste for these sciences, a taste which his abode at Weimar 
still continued to cherish. Living much in the country in the 
midst of a society of learned men, making frequent botanical 
excursions, and availing himself of every opportunity of im- 
proving and exercising his talent for observation, he made 
himself acquainted with the principal phenomena of vegeta- 
tion, and from this epoch is to be dated the origination of his 
principal ideas of botanical organography. 

He describes himself afterwards as working at Jena with 
ardour at the collections of comparative anatomy, the import- 
ance of which for instruction was more and more felt ; the col- 
lections of that city still contain several preparations from his 
hands. By this means he acquired an exact and detailed 
knowledge of animal forms, and laid up for himself important 
materials for his subsequent labours. “1 sawed,” said he, 
“ and cleaved bones and sculls in every direction, in order to 
obtain foreseen or unforeseen lights on the structure of bones.” . 
And indeed osteology was the department of zoology with 
which afterwards he was principally occupied. At this period 
he became the rival and friend of the anatomist Loder, and 
from that time he hardly ever ceased working at comparative 
anatomy, either to learn what had been done before him, or 
to extend the boundaries of the science and suggest improved 
methods. Fourteen memoirs or notices, composed from 1786 
to 1832, bear witness to his continued interest for this study. 
His memoirs, however, did not always meet with an encoura- 
ging reception. Thus, when he had drawn up an account of 
his discovery of the intermaxillary bone in man, he sent it to 
Camper, who praised him for the composition, gave him ad- 
vice about the drawings, but did not admit the results. Blu- 
menbach also refused to admit its truth. In spite of the 
formidable disapprobation of two of the most celebrated ana- 
tomists of Germany, Goethe was not discouraged ; but it was 
not till forty years afterwards that his ideas on the intermax- 
illary bone were adopted by all naturalists. This is unfortu- 
nately the history of most of the discoveries which swerve 
from the track of generally received ideas. 

_ Goethe was very tenacious of his reputation as a naturalist, 


relative to Natural History. 315 


and was particularly desirous that the results to which he had 
come should not be attributed to a brilliant imagination, but 
that they should be regarded as the fruits of long and earnest 
labours. He concludes the history of his botanical studies 
with these words: “ For half a century and more I have been 
known as a poet in my own country and even to foreigners, 
and no one dreams of denying me this talent. But what is 
not so generally known, what has not been sufficiently taken 
into consideration, is that I have worked earnestly and for a long 
time at the physical and physiological phenomena of nature, 
that I have observed in silence with the perseverance which 
devotion alone can give. Also when my Essay on the know- 
ledge of the Laws of development of the Plant, printed in 
German forty years ago, excited attention, first in Switzerland, 
then in France, people knew not how to express their asto- 
nishment, that a poet, usually occupied with intellectual phe- 
nomena, which are from the fountain of sentiment and ima- 
gination, turning an instant from his course, had by the way 
made so important a discovery. It is to controvert this mis- 
taken notion that this preface has been written. It is intended 
to show that I have devoted a great part of my life to the 
study of natural history, to which I was drawn by a passionate 
taste. It was not by the sudden and unexpected inspiration 
of a genius endowed with extraordinary faculties, it was by 
continued studies, that I arrived at this result.” 

Thus then we may look upon Goethe as a true naturalist, 
who, if he had not had so great a reputation as a poet, would 
long since have been quoted amongst the men of science, for 
whom Germany is illustrious. He advanced science, and well 
understood its requirements. He studied with ardour the facts 
upon which it rests, and, as he himself tells us, he arrived at 
general laws by a comparison of details. Assuredly we do 
not wish to deny the share which the strength of his imagi- 
nation may have had; this noble gift has in general been the 
endowment of all those who have advanced science by new 
conceptions and felicitous theories. But we no longer live in an 
age, when theories, which are but the produce of this faculty, 
brilliant as it may be, can be regarded as a progress. The 
imagination is to be admitted only when it generalizes facts, 

y 2 


316 M. Pictet on the Writings of Goethe 


when it deduces consequences from them, and by these means 
throws a vivid light upon a subject which without its aid would 
have remained inert and obscure. It was this species of 
imagination that directed the labours of Goethe. It is the 
glory inherent in its results that he lays claim to; a glory 
which we shall justify by an inquiry into the services which 
he has rendered this science, and into the manner in which he 
has viewed some of the important questions which have been 
debated in these latter years. 

It was natural for Goethe, a German and a poet, to set out 
from the principle of the unity of organic composition in its 
widest acceptation ; and in fact, the greater part of his labours 
were directed to the demonstration of this law, which tends 
every day more and more to become the basis of comparative 
anatomy. In this respect he preceded all the naturalists of. 
his age; he has indeed been outstripped since, and some Ger- 
man anatomists have gone much further in this path, at that 
time new. ‘Time will show whether they have proceeded in 
it with as much success. Goethe quickly perceived that ana- 
tomical determinations were tainted with a diversity opposed 
to the progress of the science; he felt that a rallying point 
was wanting for these conclusions, that they must be uni- 
form in all animals, and that, without this principle, confusion 
and the want of a rule must necessarily make the study of 
comparative anatomy difficult and even impossible. He was 
not slow in observing that this rallying point was the principle 
of unity of organic composition, and that the discovery of this 
law must alter the face ofthe science, by giving it for a basis 
the unity which reigns in nature. It was he, it seems, who 
if he did not catch the first glimpse, at least, who first clearly 
comprehended this important fact. But he did not imme- 
diately publish his ideas upon this subject, so that the con- 
stant progress of science led to its being discovered in the in- 
terval, in France, by Geoffroy St. Hilaire. The regeneration 
of comparative anatomy set out then at the same time from 
these two countries ; and if these discoveries have brought on 
such animated debates, we should, I think, only attribute 
them to the too great promptitude which the innovators have 
been desirous of displaying, for the principle of unity of or- 


relative to’ Natural History. 317 


ganic composition can no longer be denied within certain 
limits: the labours of those even who have opposed it when 
it was put forth in all its generality, are grounded upon this 
principle in a more confined view. All discussion at the pre- 
sent day can have for its object only the fixing these limits, 
and we do not think that the state of the science will admit of 
this being done with any security. 

Setting out from these principles, the illustrious author, of 
whose works we are giving an analysis, published some me- 
moirs which may be referred to two classes. The first relates 
to the method which should serve asa guide in the researches 
of comparative anatomy. The second is the discovery of some 
particular facts having a relation to the demonstration of the 
principle. In the first class we shall principally quote the 
. memoir entitled, On the necessity of the establishment of a 
Type in order to facilitate the study of Comparative Anatomy. 
The ancient method, which consists in comparing man with 
animals and these with one another, is lengthy, destitute of 
fixed principles, and has only led to incomplete results. It 
is necessary with regard to each species to note the differences 
and resemblances to others; and although the natural methods 
have greatly facilitated these comparisons by diminishing the 
number of beings to compare, still one may say with Goethe, 
that comparative anatomy, viewed in this manner, is “ a work 
impossible, infinite, which, if by a miracle it should one day 
be accomplished, would be without results as without limits.” 

The notion of an ideal type, created, by abstraction, from 
the assemblage of the parts common to all animals, supposes 
a philosophical survey of organization as a whole, puts in evi- 
dence, at the outset, the prominent points, allows all descrip- 
tions to be reduced to the comparison of the species to the 
type, by this very means makes it possible to compare all these 
descriptions with one another, and thus the labour becomes 
easier and more philosophical. The possibility of creating this 
type flows from the law of unity of organic composition ; and. 
the idea of the type is nothing else than the perfect conception 
of this law; for if we suppose the organs analogous and si- 
milarly arranged, this state and this arrangement in com- 
mon, considered-as an abstraction made from individual forms 


318 M. Pictet on the Writings of Goethe 


and variations, naturally constitute the type, which accord- 
ingly cannot be confounded with any species more than the 
whole can be confounded with a part. | 

It may be conceived how much such a method is preferable 
to that, so frequently employed, of taking man as a type, when 
his very perfection makes him, in most cases, very unfit for 
this purpose. 

The creation of the type necessarily varies according to the 
objects of comparison. If we wish to study a particular 
class, the type may be more defined, the characters in common 
being more numerous, The type the most difficult to esta- 
blish will be the animal type, for to seize it perfectly, it will be 
necessary to have a perfect idea of the parts common to all 
animals, or in other words, to have exhausted the study of 
analogies, Thus the establishment of types will be a feeling 
our way, and the perfect type the result of the science at its 
zenith, as the imperfect type will be the amount of this sci- 
ence at some certain period, and the basis upon which it will 
lean in order to continue its progress. 

The type being once created, Goethe applies himself to its 
comparison with individual forms, and, in this analysis, sets out 
from the principle that diversity has no other origin than this ; 
that,in the development, one part becomes predominant at the 
expense of some other, and vice versd. He admits with respect 
hereto the influence of surrounding media and of exterior causes 
generally, by the force of which the nutritive matter is directed 
in superabundance and under certain forms to particular parts, 
so as to produce there a hypertrophy, always followed by an 
atrophy in some other part of the same being, because the 
nutritive matter is diverted from it to the gain of the former. 
He supposes that a certain formative or plastic force is given 
to every being, and that if it be directed to one point the con- 
sequence must necessarily be inverse modifications with re- 


3? 


gard to the others*, The general total,” says he, “in the 


* To make this idea intelligible to those who are little accustomed to 
these theories, I shall cite the instance of the reptiles, in which we see the 
plastic force sometimes direct itself upon the vertebrae, sometimes upon the 
feet. Starting from the lizard, as a mean point, we come on one side to the 
frog, in which the feet, by.an excessive development, subject the ribs to 
atrophy; and on the other side we find the serpent, in which the develop- 


relative to Natural History. 319 


budget of nature is fixed; but she is free to dispose of parti- 
cular sums by any appropriation that may please her. In 
order to spend on one side, she is forced to ceconomize on the 
other, and nature can therefore never run in debt nor become 
bankrupt.” It is easy here to recognise the principle put forth 
by M. Geoffroy Saint Hilaire under the name of the balance 
of organs. 

These considerations may be applied in two ways; either in 
the comparing of beings with one another, and the result of this 
observation is to show the general type modified by the above 
law according to the part which the species acts in nature and 
the medium in which it dwells; or in comparing with each 
other the different parts of the same being, a study in which 
the same balance is perceived, and which leads to generaliza- 
tions of a more difficult character and included generally 
under the name of the law of homology. We shall here leave 
these discussions concerning the type, and shall not follow 
the author in the applications he makes of them when he pro- 
duces the model of an osteological type for the Mammifere, 
and analyses the variations of the bones and the characters by 
which they may be known; an analysis of high importance 
from its applications, but which would carry us beyond. our 
intended limits. 

Under the second head, that of special labours, we always 
discover the same drift and the same philosophical views. 
One of the most generally known is the discovery of the in- 
termawillary bone in man. It is known that most of the Mam- 
miferze have both sides of the upper jaw formed of two bones, 
the one external and largest, which contains the molary and 
canine teeth, and which is the mawillary properly so called; the 
other internal, smaller, which contains the incisors, and which 
has received the name of the incisive or intermazillary bone. 
These two bones are not separate in man at the adult age. 

The naturalists of the past century had eagerly laid hold of 


ment of the ribs brings with it the disappearance of the feet. This latter exam- 
ple has even this remarkable circumstance, that all the transitions are to be 
seen, at first in the Scincide, which have more ribs than the lizards and 
smaller feet ; then in the Sepside, which have almost the ribs of serpents 
and the rudiments of feet; and lastly in d4nguis, which comes still nearer to 
the serpents, and whose limbs are not externally visible. 


320 M. Pictet on the Writings of Goethe 


this fact as tending to establish that man and the animals 
have not a common structure. Feeling what an immense di- 
stance separates man from the rest of the creation, they 
sought with care for all the differences of organization by 
which this distance could be increased; not perceiving that 
these details of structure are nothing in comparison with dif- 
ferences of a higher order, which alone can establish an im- 
passable barrier. Goethe understood and demonstrated that 
in this particular, as in others, the organic materials which con- 
stitute the body of man are the same as those which compose 
that of animals. He proved that man, at every age, ‘shows 
traces of the bipartiteness of the bones of the jaw, and that it 
is possible by certain criteria to find, in the adult, in a portion 
of the maxillary, the true incisive bone of the Mammiferze. He 
confirmed this view of the matter by proving that in the child 
at its birth the two bones are separate and distinct, and that 
the only difference that can be pointed out in regard to this 
is, that in man they are consolidated very early by the ope- 
ration of life, whilst in the greater part of the Mammiferz 
they unite late, and in some not at all. This discovery of 
Goethe, although bearing upon a detail which may appear 
minute, has been of importance, inasmuch as his inquiry was 
one of the first conceived in this spirit of establishing analo- 
gies, an idea which has been so fertile in beautiful results. 
We have said already how long a time was necessary for the 
adoption of this opinion. 

The principle of the head being composed of vertebra, that 
remarkable application of the law of homology, had also struck 
Goethe before the time when first it was submitted to the ex- 
amination of anatomists ; but he did not publish his ideas re- 
specting it, and consequently he cannot be considered as its 
author. We know that the bones of the skull, formerly con- 
sidered as special formations, have subsequently to the be- 
ginning of this century been viewed in a different light by 
some naturalists. As the brain is the prolongation of the 
spinal marrow, so the skull is, according to these anatomists, 
the prolongation of the spinal column. The brain differs from 
the spinal marrow by its expansion; the skull differs from the 
vertebrae by a greater development of the superposed laminz 


relative to Natural History. 321 


of the nervous system. In accordance with these considerations 
the skull has been decomposed into three vertebra, and the 
face into three others, placed relatively to each other like the 
vertebree of the body, but much more developed in the parts 
which envelop the brain, because this organ is much more de- 
veloped than the spinal marrow. ‘Thus these bones are no 
longer a special formation, but a repetition of the preceding 
formations. 

M. Martius relates, in one of the notes which he has added 
to his translation, that the poet, as he walked in the cemetery 
of the Jews at Lido, near Venice, picked up on the sand the 
head of a ram, the skull of which was split longitudinally, and 
that whilst looking at it the idea instantly struck him that the 
face was composed of vertebre ; the transition from the an- 
terior sphenoide to the ethmoide seemed evident to him at the 
first glance. This was in 1791, and at this time he did not 
make known his idea. Sixteen years later it was laid down 
by Oken that the head was composed of six vertebra. Ac- 
cording to Carus, this discovery may have been the result of 
an inspiration altogether resembling in its circumstances that 
of Goethe. Being in one of the ancient forests of the Brocken, 
Oken saw at his feet a stag’s head perfectly bleached ; he 
picked it up, turned it, examined it, and cried out, “’Tis a ver- 
tebral column!” M. Dumeril at the same time in France, from 
considerations entirely different, announced to the Institute 
the analogy of the head and the vertebrze,—an idea which 
was at this period received with astonishment and even with 
disapprobation. 

We may moreover notice among the special labours of 
Goethe, his observations on the researches of Dr. Jagger 
upon the subject of the fossil bulls found in the neighbour- 
hood of Stuttgard. Goethe seeks to prove in this article, that 
the differences which exist between fossil and recent bulls 
may be looked upon as the result of the perfecting of the spe- 
cies during the centuries which separate the two periods. 
His argument affords interest; but it seems to us that the 
poet plays almost as leading a part in it as the naturalist. 

Goethe took great interest in the famous discussion raised 
in 1830 in the Academy of Sciences of Paris, upon the prin- 


322 M. Pictet on the Writings of Goethe. 


ciple which we have stated above. Every one remembers, that 
in these debates, perhaps the most remarkable that ever took 
place in a learned assembly upon a question relating to na- 
tural history, M. Cuvier, strong in his power of observation, 
his immense labours, and the rigour of his zoological method, 
denied to the unity of organic composition the right of being 
erected into a general law. He acknowledged it within certain 
limits, but would not admit of any other analogies than those 
which were rigorously demonstrated, and rejected all general- 
ization conceived a priori and not yet proved by facts. M. 
Geoffroy St. Hilaire on his part, also attended by a numerous 
train of remarkable labours and important researches, gave 
himself up to his fancy, to predetermine the general laws of 
organization, which he conceived were revealed to him by those 
which are known. He required that the unity of organic com- 
position should be recognised @ priori, leaving to the progress 
of the science the business of demonstrating it in-its details 
in succeeding ages. We have said enough to show that. 
Goethe, with almost the entire body of German philosophers, 
rendering justice to the science and talents of the two illus- 
trious champions, were sharers in Geoffroy’s views of the sub- 
ject. He has given his countrymen a history of this great 
struggle between analysis and synthesis; for he felt that it was 
a Kuropean question, and that it was agitated for Germany 
as well as for France. These two countries, ordained to march 
at the head of comparative anatomy* had till then but little 
understood each other, and Goethe saw well that this discus- 
sion was the beginning of a new era, in which the synthetical 
ideas of the Germans would be more and more appreciated in 
France. The school at the head of which Geoffroy St, Hilaire 
placed himself was destined to bring about this union, in 
which the development of the science is so deeply interested. 
Goethe was happy in seeing this school appreciate the valu- 
able labours of his countrymen and himself, and with the me- 
moirs of this change his literary course terminated. The ana- 
lysis of which we speak is the last work which came from the 
pen of this great writer. 
* “ Faits pour marcher a la téte,” so says our author.—TRanst. 


Rev. L. J enyns on some German Shrews. 323 


XXXVI.—WNotes on some Shrews brought from Germany by 

 W. Ogilby, Esq., including the description of an apparently 
New Species. By the Rey. Leonarp Jenyns, M.A., 
F.L.S., &c. 


Mr. Ocixsy, on his return from Germany in the autumn of 
1837, brought with him a small collection of shrews, which 
had been all obtained in the neighbourhood of Francfort-upon- 
Mayne. These he very obligingly submitted to my inspec- 
tion, allowing me to compare them with our British-species, 
and to describe any amongst them which might appear new. 
The collection consists of fourteen individuals, referrible to at 
least five distinct species, one of which is either undescribed, 
or not described with sufficient accuracy to be recognised. It 
has appeared to me that it would be advantageous to science 
to publish the characters of this new species, as well as any 
notes relating to the others which might serve to make them 
better known to the naturalists of this country. I shall take 
them in the order in which they arrange themselves according 
to Duvernoy’s views adverted to in my former memoirs, pre- 
mising only, that all the specimens, with the exception of two 
or three duplicates which I was kindly permitted to retain, 
have been deposited in the museum of the Zoological Society. 


I, Sorex, Duv. 


(1.) S. Araneus, Geoff.—The dentition of this species fur- 
nishes the type of Duvernoy’s first subdivision of the genus 
Sorex. That of the specimen examined accords accurately with 
the description of that author, excepting that the upper mid- 
dle incisors are not in contact at their extremities. The snout 
is of the same form as that of the S. ¢e¢ragonurus of this country, 
and attenuated to about the same degree; but it is more de- 
cidedly emarginate at the tip between the nostrils. It is also 
somewhat broader between the eyes, in consequence of their 
being placed further back than in the species last men- 
tioned. The distance between the eyes is contained very 
nearly, but not quite, twice in the distance from the eye to 
the end of the snout. The ears are much more developed and 
stand more out of the fur than in any of the British shrews, 


324 Rey. L. Jenyns on some German Shrews, 


and the same character may be observed in all the species be- 
longing to this section. The feet are of moderate size, of about 
the same length as in the S. tetragonurus, but not altogether 
so strong; the claws especially are shorter and weaker, and 
apparently not so well calculated for digging. The disposition 
of the tubercles, which varies but little in the species of this 
genus, is also similar; but the tubercles themselves are larger, 
those in particular beneath the last phalanges of the toes on 
the fore feet. The tail is of about the same length, but of a 
very different form, being nearly round or free from angles, 
and decidedly stouter at the root than at the tip, towards which 
it gradually tapers. It is also furnished with long conspicu- 
ous whitish hairs*, scattered here and there among the other 
shorter ones. ‘There is little or no pencil at the extremity, but 
possibly it may have been worn from age. The colour of 
the upper parts and sides of the body is brown tinged with 
reddish, that of the under parts yellowish grey: the lips and 
feet appear to have been flesh-colour. 


Dimensions. 

In. Lin. 
Length of the head and body .........esccesssscseevecesesceceees vos 2 OF 

Of the tail {s.,,<.idhescachobhndsntraesybedauekeesiauaeannae et re 

of the hind foot (from the heel to the extremity of 

the CLAWE)< sis ie cevivnsisloqideasadagniuphesdeshieeyiaessupovbuontneds On) 

~ of the fore foot (from the wrist in like manner) ...... 0 °4 

of the ears (measured from behind) ..........seeeeeneees ee - 
From’ ear-to © .iic.s.iivnesssiidece dds sseabseatnbbdocds sipeui bons 0.23 
to the end of the snout .....sccccessseseceees bs ope Penbe 0. 84 


There is a second specimen in the collection which appears 
referrible to the above species, but which nevertheless differs 
in a few particulars. The snout is longer, especially that por- 
tion of it between the ear and the eye. The tail is shorter, 
and not quite so stout at the base, though still tapering at 
the tip: the long scattered hairs are not quite so numerous, 
The dentition, feet, and colours are similar. The entire length 
of this specimen is 2 inches 7} lines. The length of the tail 
1 inch 34 lines. 

* Mr. Waterhouse first drew my attention to these long interspersed hairs, 


which appear to be found in all the species belonging to Duvernoy’s first 
section. 


~ —_— 


with the description of a new Species. 325 


(2.) 8. Leucodon, Herm.—The collection contains two adult 
and four immature individuals of this species. In the adult 
the upper middle incisors are rather less curved than those of 
the S. Araneus last described, and with the spur behind less 
developed. They are quite separate throughout their whole 
length in one of the specimens, but in contact at their tips in 
the other. The second and third lateral incisors above are 
also smaller in relation to the first. 'The lower middle incisors 
are long and slightly recurved. The snout is of the same form 
as in the last species, but its proportions a little different, the 
distance from the ear to the eye being one-third less. This is 
in consequence of the upper margin of the auricle being 
brought rather more forward. The head does not appear so 
full or large, the crown between the ears being more depressed. 
The feet are similar, but the tubercles on the soles somewhat 
smaller. ‘The tail is shorter, and less tapering at the extre- 
mity; the long scattered hairs more numerous. The colours 
are considerably darker above and paler beneath; that of the 
upper parts is very deep reddish brown, that of the under 
pure silvery grey; the two are separated on the sides by a 
tolerably well-marked line. 

In the young individuals of this species the teeth are not all 
apparent, the lateral incisors being still invested with the skin 
of the periosteum. ‘The middle incisors are much shorter than 
in the adult *. The snout also is more obtuse, and in three 


_ of the specimens the distance from the ear to the eye is rela- 


tively greater. In the fourth, however, the proportion of this 
part is the same as in the adult, showing that too great stress 
must not be laid upon this character. The colours are ex- 
actly similar. 


Dimensions of the two adult specimens. 


Gg la td 
. . n, in. 

Length of the head and body.........ssseeees 3. 0 2 9 
WE SEE RIE <i ulncus canis tes peentedey ob bi2 boa 

OGL CHE BING F008 cis. c0 5); xcedadesadis cos 0 0. 63 

BE ERG LOG. F008: csi civ oncncsapindsecds 0 4 0 4 

Pe SIG PAIS viscs sci sbccrepevacceeetends O: iF 

MOTE ORE SOC VE 5 _ wsasesavechcrexracasnscrcnaene O-..2 O} ze 
to the end of the snout .......+c085 0 8 Os e7d 


* Ihave already noticed the peculiarities of the teeth in these young spe- re 


cimens ina former memoir, See Ann, of Nat. Hist., vol. i. P, 427, 


326 Rey. L. Jenyns on some German Shrews, 


The length of the young specimens, exclusive of the tail, 
varies from 2 inches 4 lines to 2 inches 7 lines. 

Duvernoy at one time seems to have entertained a doubt 
as to this species being distinct from the S. Araneus, but in 
my opinion there cannot be a question about it. 


Il. Ampuisorex, Duv. 


(3.) S. tetragonurus, Herm.—Two specimens in the collec- 
tion, to one of which I found the name of tetragonurus at- 
tached, accord so exactly with the square-tailed shrew of this 
country, described in a former paper (Ann. Nat. Hist., vol. ii. 
p- 43), as to leave not a doubt in my mind of their identity, 
or of our English species being the true ¢etragonurus of the 
continent. In fact there is not the slightest difference in any 
one of their characters. The larger of the specimens mea- 
sures 2 inches 11 lines, with a tail of 1 inch 5} lines. The 
smaller measures 2 inches 7} lines, with a tail of 1 inch 6 
lines. The former is evidently a very old individual, the teeth 
being much worn, and the tail nearly naked and almost quite 
square. 

_ A third specimen seems also referrible to this species, but 
differs from both those just alluded to in being less bulky for its 
length, with the head not so broad, and the snout more atte- 
nuated. The dentition is nearly similar, but the fifth lateral 
incisor above is rather more obvious from without, and the 
first four do not diminish in size quite so rapidly. The feet 
are similar. The tail also is of the same form, as well as thick- 
ness, but better clothed with hairs, the hairs being longer, 
especially the pencil at the extremity, and standing more out. 
The colour of the under parts is somewhat darker, or of a more 
dirty ash-grey, and blends more gradually at the sides with, 
that of the upper. The length of this specimen is 2 inches 5 
lines. Its proportions, with the exception above alluded to, 
are not materially different from those observed in the other 
individuals. 

(4.) S. labiosus, Nob.—By this name I propose to designate a 
species which, though very nearly allied to the S. tetragonurus; 
_ offers, I think, sufficient peculiarities to be considered distinct. 
If it had been already noticed by any author, it has not been 
described in such a manner as to admit of its being identified, 


_ with the description of a new Species. . 327 


or possibly it may have been confounded with the one just 
mentioned. In many of its characters it approaches the S. 
cunicularius of Bechstein, which, in a former paper, I consi- 
dered, though perhaps erroneously, as synonymous with the 
square-tailed shrew of this country. There are two specimens 
of this new species in the collection, precisely similar, except- 
ing that one is a trifle larger than the other. Both, how- 
ever, have the appearance of being young, and I suspect that 
in the adult state they would exceed the ordinary dimensions 
of the species last noticed. They are of different sexes, and the 
female, which is the smaller of the two, does not appear, from 
the contracted state of the uterus and its appendages, to have 
been ever impregnated. 

In its general form, this species, as already observed, resem- 
bles the S. tetragonurus, so much so indeed as to render a de- 
tailed description unnecessary. It chiefly differs in the snout 
being broader before the eyes, more swollen about the lips, and 
more obtuse at the extremity. ‘The head also appears longer, © 
the distance being greater from the ear to the eye. The cra. 
nium, however, when extracted from the investing integuments, 
is precisely similar both in size and form. The dentition is 
the same. The feet are decidedly broader and stronger; the 
claws long, and well formed for digging. The tail is rather 
better clothed with hair, and the hairs not so appressed. The 
colours are for the most part similar, but somewhat darker on 
the under parts. 


Dimensions. 
3 (Male.) (Female,) 
In. Lin. In. Lin, 
Length of the head and body......cseseceeeeee 2 64 2 44 
of the head.....cecaces bekcabavneanesiee Q:? £14 
OR EERE ciscihids Accu kakean cas chek 8 re 
Oe GRO: TING LAGE: ca cecs cccictaden cwrcess QO 64 0 53 
of the fore foot ....... SRE Seon gran O 43 O.:4 
at AI CUED. ccs i ckkwiania sd sad cneuananes 0. 1%. Oar i 
From €Av £0. CYC. cocrsaeserecccceseees cerseeccease 0 44 0 4 
to the end of the snout ........00+. 0 10 0 9 


I have termed this species labiosus or full-lipped, in refer- 
ence to its most distinguishing peculiarity. This character, 
however, is only noticeable when compared with that of the 
other species in the same section, The lips are not more 


328 Rey. L. Jenyns on some German Shrews. 


tumid, or the snout broader, than in the water-shrew, though 
nearly as much so as in that species, 

(5.) S. pygmeus, Pall. A single individual of this species, 
first discovered by Pallas, and within these few years so well 
described and represented by Gloger*, exists in the collection. 
The species is remarkably distinguished from every other I 
am acquainted with by its small size, slender form, long nar- 
row head, with the snout very much produced and attenuated. 
The distance between the eyes is contained more than two 
and a half times between the eye and the extremity of the 
snout. The whiskers are very long. The dentition is for the 
most part similar to that of the S. rusticus described in a 
former paper. The fifth lateral incisor above is visible from 
without, and not out of the line. The ears are slightly larger 
than in the S. tetragonurus, and somewhat less concealed 
by the hair. The feet are much more slender than in the spe- 
cies last mentioned, but rather stronger than in the S. rus- 
ticus: the toes very bristly, the bristles projecting further 
beyond the roots of the nails than in either of the two species 
just alluded to: the claws sharp and curved. The tail is 
rather thick, roundish, and well clothed with longish hairs, 
which stand out at the sides, and form at the extremity a mo- 
derately long pencil projecting two lines or more beyond the 
bone. The colour of the upper parts is reddish brown or 
rusty ; that of the lower greyish white, tinged with red. The 
lips and feet are white, tinged with reddish. The tail bright 


fulyous above, paler beneath. 


Dimensions. 

In Lin 
Length of the head and body ........sseseceees 2 24 
OF the head = sircudsvccasensvens eraswcorviis 0 92 

OF the tall 6506 cceeiessaindewiess fawkes 1 4 

of the ind Loot © ciiciésvcssvscsassevcers 0 5 
of the fore foot isni:;<cescecagevusveees sonen 0 22 
moe OF tO CRVG*— cisue's'spveanadegraness ba uneweel 0 13 
From. ear t0 €Y€ © sesavicscsececccssecucccnangnsses 0 33 
From ear to the end of the snout......ccccceees 0 Si 


This species appears to have been formerly involved in some 
obscurity ; but its history has been well cleared up by Gloger, 


* Noy. Act, Leop. tom. xiii, 2. p, 481, pl. 25, 


& 


Ann. Nat Hist: Vol. PUXV, A 


Nt 
0" 


‘ 


* 
} 


ex leurothallis artstata. 


: Ai Mire: FANE, Vol. PLIVIL ! . 


- 


4 


) 
awit agit 2 


Ye 


) 
WV 


'  Stelis foliosa. 


Sir W. J. Hooker on two new Orchideous Plants. 329 


to whose paper I beg to refer the naturalists of this country, 
as containing a most detailed account of all its characters. It 
is the S. ewilis of Gmelin. 

P.S. Since the above notes were written I have seen Na- 
thusius’s paper on the European shrews, alluded to by the 
editor in a former number of this journal*. He does not ap- 
pear to admit of more than two species belonging to the group 
termed by Duvernoy Ampuisorex. Of course, therefore, that 
which I have above named S. ladiosus is either unknown to 
- him, or, what is perhaps more probable, would pass as a mere 
variety of the S. tefragonurus. And I am far from saying that 
this last opinion might not ultimately prove correct. Never- 
theless, as I have seen two specimens exactly similar, I feel 
induced for the present to consider it as distinct. 

I may also state, that since it clearly appears now that the 
S. tetragonurus of Hermann was known to Linneus, and the 
very species originally described by him in the first edition of 
the § Fauna Suecica,’ under the name of S. vulgaris, it will be 
proper, in accordance with Nathusius, to adopt the name last 
mentioned for this species, and to allow that of tetragonurus 
to sinkas asynonym. It willalso be advisable to transfer the 
English name of common shrew from the S. rusticus to this 
species, which is far more abundant in this country, and seems 
to be the species most universally distributed throughout 
Kurope. Those naturalists who wish to have an English name 
for everything might call the former the rustic shrew. 


Swaffham Bulbeck, Nov. 28, 1838. 


XXX VII.—Description of two new Orchideous Plants, from 
the Collection of C. 8S. Parker, Esq. BySirW.J. Hooker, 
L.L.D., Reg. Prof. Bot. Glasgow, F.R.S., L.S. 


[ With Plates. ] 


1. PLEUROTHALLIS ARISTATA. 


Nana, foliis petiolatis spathulatis, racemo paucifloro, sepalis equalibus 
lanceolatis aristato-acuminatissimis maculatis 3-nervibus 2 lateralibus 
basi connatis, petalis sextuplo minoribus oblongo-acuminatis longe ci- 


* Vol. i. p. 427, note. st 
+ In the second edition of that work the name is changed to Araneus. 


Ann, Nat. Hist. Vol. 2. No.11. Jan. 1839. Z 


330 Sir W. J. Hooker on two new Orchideous Plants. 


liatis uninervibus, labello trilobo, lobo medio elliptico pubescenti-velu- | 
tino. (Plate XV.) 

Hiab. British Guiana. 

Cultivated in the stove of C. S. Parker, Esq., of Liverpool, 
having been received with many other rarities from Deme- 
rara. Whole plant scarcely 3 inches high. _ Leaves 3, in our 
specimen spathulate, acute, an inch or an inch and a half 
long, including the slender petiole into which it gradually 
tapers. Scape very slender, twice as long as the leaves, bear- 
ing a raceme of 3-—4 flowers half an inch long. Perianth 
erect. Sepals equal, lanceolate, 3-nerved, concave, dingy 
yellow, spotted with purple, much acuminated, so as to be al- 
most aristate at the extremity, the two lateral ones united at 
their base. Petals about one third the length, and about one 
third the breadth of the sepals, oblong, 1-neryed, acuminate, 
almost aristate, and strongly ciliated at the margin, Lip as 
long as the petals, fleshy, contracted a little above the base, 
narrow, oblong, 3-lobed, the side lobes obtuse, incuryed, the 
middle one elliptical, clothed on the upper side with velvety 
down. Column wingless, slender, shorter than the petals. 
Anther conical, oblique. 

The two lateral sepals are but slightly doititiined, and 
though not serrate they are concave below, so that this plant 
seems almost to combine the characters of Specklinia with 
Pleurothallis. 

Plate XV. A. Pleurothallis aristata, nat. size. Fig. 1, flower; fig. 2, 
the same laid open; fig. 3, petal; fig. 4, labellum; fig. 5, column and an- 
ther, magnified. 

: 2, STELIS FOLIOSA. 

Nana, foliis subtribus lineari-oblongis, scapo foliis breviore, spica sub- 
compacta, floribus subcernuis, petalis lingulatis sepala subzequantibus, 
labello trilobo, medio dense glanduloso. (Plate X VII.) 

Hab, British Guiana; whence it was introduced in a living state by C. 

S. Parker, Esq. ; 

Root small, fibrous. Leaves 3—4, of which 2 are nearly 
equal in length, 2—3 inches long, linear oblong, rather waved, 
below there are one or two smaller ones. Scape shorter 
than the foliage, bearing a short and rather compact spike 
of 12—14 flowers, throughout of this same uniform pale 
greenish colour, slightly drooping, each subtended by a small 


Mr. J. E. Gray on the Slender-tongued Saurians. 331 


acute bractea, Sepals equal, broadly oval or nearly orbicular, 
very concave. Petals lingulate, obtuse, slightly concave. Lip 
equal in length with the petals, divided to the middle into three 
obtuse segments, of which the middle one is the largest and 
broadest: the centre of the lip is clothed with a broad line of 
dense glandular down, reaching from the base almost to the 
apex. Column much shorter than the perianth, thick, fleshy, 
rhomboid, Anther hemispherical. vee 

Plate XVII.* A. Stelis foliosa, nat. size; fig. 1, flower-bud; fig. 2, 
flower expanded, in its natural position ; fig. 3, the same inverted and more 
expanded; fig. 4, column ; fig. 5, petals; fig. 6, labellum ; fig. 7, side view 
of the labellum ; fig. 8, pollen masses, magnified. 


XXX VIII.— Catalogue of the Slender-tongued Saurians, with 
Descriptions of many new Genera and Species. By Joun 
Epwarp Gray, Esq., F.R.S., Senior Assistant in the 
Zoological Department of the British Museum, &c. 


[Continued from p. 293. ] 


Dasta. Toes 5—5, short, lower joint rather thick, with transverse 
plaits beneath, upper ones compressed and slightly arched; the index 
and middle finger equal, the next finger a little shorter, thumb large ; 
ears closed over by the scales, not apparent (nor apparently fringed); - 
muzzle short, rounded; tail tapering. 

Dasia olivacea. Olive, back of the head-shield black; the back 
with 12 cross series of scales with a central white spot and a black 
spot on the sides; the band sometimes interrupted; scales 3 or 5 
keeled, 3 or 5 toothed behind, the 2 lateral keels close together ; 
hinder part of the sides, and sides of the tail with 2 broad white 
streaks; chin and beneath green, not spotted. 

Prince of Wales's Island. Mus. Chatham. 
 Aprasta. Head small, with 2 pairs of rather large frontal shields, 
which also cover the cheeks; a large 6-sided elongate vertebral, and 
a pair of small superciliary, shields ; labial shields rather larger, few ; 
eyes large, round, eyelids rudimentary, pupil round ; nostrils small, 
in the suture between the top of the first labial and anterior frontal 
plate ; muzzle rounded, rather produced. Ears none; body cylin- 
drical elongate, covered with uniform hexangular smooth scales; 


* This plate will form part of the SurrpLemznt. 
Zz 2 


332 Mr.J. E. Gray on the Slender-tongued Saurians. 


tail as long as the body, rather tapering, covered with scales like the 
body, those on the under side being rather the largest. 

Aprasia pulchella. Pale olive; head brown lined; scales pale 
edged, those of the back and sides with 1 or 3 oblong longitudinal 
spots forming interrupted lines ; beneath pale greyish, scales darker 
edged ; tail brown lined and beneath whitish. Length of body 24, 
of tail 13 inches. The scales of the occiput are rather larger than 
the rest, "and the front of the vent is covered with scales Like the rest 
of the body. 

New Holland. Brit. Mus. 

Herinia. Ears none; otherwise like Tiligua, toes 5—5; scales 
smooth, thick. 

Herinia capensis. Pale olive; back darker varied, with a silvery 
streak on each side; sides dark brown ; beneath silvery white. 

Cape of Good Hope. 


*KK Muzzle rounded ; body subcylindrical, elongate ; limbs 4, far apart. 


Riopa, Gray. Toes 5—5, unequal; ears distinct; head shields 
normal ; front toes much longer, the two inner more slender than 
the rest. 

Riopa punctata, Seba, ii. t. 12. f. 16. Seps scincoides, Cuv. Ly- 
gosoma punctata, Gray, Anim. Kingd. Scincus Cuvieri, Cocteau. 

Bengal. Brit. Mus. 

Riopa Ruppellii, Seps scincoides, Mus. Francfort, not Cuv. Pale 
olive, silvery, very finely punctuated, with a whitish streak on each 
side, edged beneath with a dark line; beneath whitish. 

Arabia Petrea ? Mus. Francfort. 

Riopa Brougainvillii, Scincus Brougainvillii, Cocteau MSS. Bronze 
olive ; back with two or four interrupted series of black spots with 
a broad dark brown stripe from the eyes over the legs on each side ; 
belly and lower parts of the sides pale and black spotted ; tail brown, 
sides dark varied, the front toes rather longer than in the former. 

New Holland. 

Lyaosoma, Gray. Toes 5—5; ears distinct; head shields ? 

Lygosoma abdominalis, Lacerta abdominalis, Thunb. L. serpens, 
Gray, Zool. Journ. not Synon. 

India, Java. Brit. Mus. 

Lygosoma australis, n. s. Back dark golden brown, darker varied, 
with a broad pale golden streak down each side; sides grey, closely 
black dotted. 

New Holland. Mus. Chatham. 

Cu1amezza, n, g. Toes 4—~4; ears very small ? or none? head like 


‘Mr. J. E. Gray on the Slender-tongued Saurians. 333 


Tiliqua, but with the vertebral shields placed one before the other, 
and no anterior occipital one. 

Chiamela lineata. Golden brown, with longitudinal black lines, 
one placed in the centre of each series of scales; head brown; 
shields pale-edged. 

India. Brit. Mus. 

Chiamela Duvaucellit, Scincus Duvaucellii, Cocteau? Pale with a 
series of minute black specks; sides dark, white-spotted. 

N. Holland, King George’s Sound. Mus. Paris. 

Exactly like Scincus Duvaucellii in colour and form, but toes 4—4 
thicker, shorter and of different proportional length. 

Terrapactyius, Cuy. Toes 4—4; ears none; head with one 
rostral, one anterior, and one posterior frontal, separated by two 
small shields; two vertebral, three occipital and four or five super- 
ciliary shields. 

Tetradactylus decresiensis, Cuv. Pale brown, with three dark 
brown dorsal streaks, the central streak broadest and interrupted. 

N. Holland. Mus. Paris. 

Ristetta. Toes 4—5, short; ears distinct; head shields ? 

Ristella Rurkii. Crown and back pale brown, shining ; scales 6- 
rowed, each of four central rows with a blackish central spot, forming 
four longitudinal series of spots; sides white-dotted ; chin and belly 
white. 

North India, Dr. Rurk. Mus. Chatham. 

~Haeria. Toes 5-—4, rudimentary, nearly equal, compressed, 
clawed ; head shielded ; ears small, dot-like; scales smooth, equal, 
with white netted lines. 

Hagria Vosmaerii, Scincus Vosmaerii, Cocteau. Brown, minutely 
black dotted, beneath pale. 

Java. Mus. Paris. 

Tripactyuus, Cuv. Toes 3—3; ears ? head shields ? 

Tridactylus decresiensis, Cuv. Pale brown with dark longitudinal 
lines, beneath whitish, brown netted. 

New Holland. Mus. Paris. . 

Srps, Merr. Zygnis, Fitz. Toes 3—3; ears distinct, deep; head 
shields like Tiligua, but rostral scales longer; nasals very small, and 
no anterior occipital shield. 

Seps tridactylus, Rapp. Seps Chalcidica, Risso. 

Seps vittata, Leuckart, Breves, 1818. 

_ Seps multivirgatus, Boie. Mus. Leyden. 

Sraruos, Gray. Perameles, Wiegm. Toes 3—38; ears none; 

eyelid distinct; head shields like Ti/iqua, but without any posterior 


334 Mr. J. E. Gray on the Slender-tongued Saurians. 


frontal shields, the anterior frontal being large and placed in front 
of the vertebral, and the anterior occipital plates rather large. 
Siaphos equalis, Gray, Griff. A. K. Peromeles equalis, Wieg. 
Seps equalis, Gray, Ann. Phil, 1828. 
Hab. ? Brit. Mus. 


kk Muzzle rounded ; body subcylindrical ; legs two, posterior, placed 
on the side of the vent ending in one or two acute toes. 


Opuiopes, Wagler, Feet tapering, acute, undivided ; ears none ; 
eyelid distinct. 

Ophiodes striatus, Pygopus striatus, Spi. Braz. Seps fragilis, 
Raddi. Pseudopus Olfersii, Lichst. Mus. Paris. 

Jun.—Pygopus Caryococea, Spix. Braz. 

Brazils, Brit. Mus. 


we Muzzle rounded ; body subcylindrical ; legs none. 


Aneuis. Ears hid; eyelids distinct. 

A. fragilis, Linn. Brit. Mus. 
Srevana, Gray. Otophis, Fitz.? Ears exposed. 
Siguana Ottonis, Gray, Griff. Anim. Kingd.; Otoph. Eryx, Fitz.? | 


Europe. Mus. Breslau. 
Srenostoma, Fitz. Ears none? eyelids none. 
Stenostoma ? 


Tortrix melanostriata from Russel, Ind. Rept. 1. 148. appears to 
form a new genus of this division. 

Dorrra. Ears hid; head with three vertebral plates, the frontal 
pair between the small first vertebral and the larger second one, the 
third between the oblique occipital ones ; eyebrows and cheeks co- 
vered with small scales; ventral scales not larger than the rest. 

Dorfia punctata. Crown and back white; nape with a central 
black streak ending in a line of black spots; cheek, sides, and be- 
neath black; lower lip white-dotted. Hoge. 

Cape of Good Hope. Mus. Chatham. 

GyMNoOPHTHALMID&. ‘Tongue contractile, head shielded, rostral 
shields small rounded; eyelid none ; back, belly, and sides covered 
with smooth uniform imbricate scales; vent transverse linear, with 
scales in front, 

Microueris, n. g. Toes 5—5; ears large ; head depressed; scales 
moderately grooved; head with five vertebral plates. 

Microlepis undulata. Tiliqua microlepis, Gray, Griff. Anim. Kingd. 
71. Silvery, back with brown wavy bands. 

Hab. ? Brit. Mus. 

AspLerHarus. ‘Toes 5—5 ; ears distinct; front of vent shielded ; 


Mr. J. E. Gray on the Slender-tongued Saurians. 335 


scales six-sided, divided by a central transverse white line, with six 
or eight longitudinal lines on each side. 

A, panonicus, Fitz. Berol. Mag. 1824. t. 14, 

A. cupreus, n.s. Golden green, brown mottled, with a narrow pale 
green sinuous streak on sides of the back. 

Hab. ? ‘Brit. Mus. 

GymnopuTHatmus. Toes 4—5, ‘* Wagler.” Ears ? 

G. lineata, Lacerta lineata and L. 4-lineata, Gmel. G. 4-lineata, 
Neuwied, Braz. 

Hab. ? Mus. Berlin. 

CryprospLerHarus, Wiegmann. Petia, MSS. Gray. Toes 5—6; 
ears ? front of vent scaly; scales ? 

Crypt. Leschenaultii, Wiegmann. Ablepharus Leschenaultii, Cocteau 
Mag. Zool. t. 1. 

Crypt. pecilopleurus, Wiegmann, Act, Acad. Nat. Cur. xvii. t. 18. 
fi, 

Lerista, Bell. ‘Toes 2—3); ears none. 

Lerista lineata, Bell, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1. 99. 

Australasia. Mus. Bell. 

Ruopona (Rhodonide). Rostral plate rather produced, large de- 
pressed, with a rather sharp edge; feet rudimentary ; nostrils supe- 
rior in the centre of an oblique triangular scale, occupying the back 
edge of the rostral plate; vertebral plates three, one behind the other, 
the middle largest, hinder triangular; superciliary plates moderate ; 
ears very small, nearly hid? eyes small, with only rudimentary eye- 
lids, Body elongate, subcylindrical, covered with uniform small im- 
bricate scales ; feet four, far apart, the front ones rudimentary, short, 
small, conical, undivided, ending in a'simple claw, hinder small, weak, 
with a distinct knee, and ending in two very unequal clawed toes ; 
tail elongate, cylindrical, tapering, 

Rhodona punctata. Grey brown, back with rows of small black 
spots, those of the middle of the back and tail largest ; labial scales 
brown-edged. Body four, tail three inches. Eyes small. 

New Holland. | 

The genus Rhodona appears to form a distinct family, (characterized 
by the form of the rostral shield, the position of the nostrils, and the 
number of the vertebral shields,) which I propose to call Rhodonide. 
Probably the genus Lerista of Bell may belong to the same group, 
but the form and number of the head shields of that genus has not 
been described. 

Sorrp14, Gray (Rhodonide?), Head small, rostral plate rather pro- 


336 Mr. J. E. Gray on the Slender-tongued Saurians. 


duced, large, with a rather sharp edge, lower one similar, but smaller ; 
nostrils subsuperior in the centre of an oblique triangular nasal scale 
occupying the under edge of the rostral; vertebral plates three, one 
behind the other, the middle one largest, the hinder triangular; eyes 
small with only rudimentary eyelids; ears none. Body elongate, 
subcylindrical, covered with uniform smooth imbricate scales; feet 
two, rudimentary, simple, tapering, ending in a single claw placed 
on each side of the two przeanal shields; tail elongate, cylindrical, 
tapering, with a central series of similar scales beneath. 

Soridia lineata. Silvery, with distant rows of minute black specks 
and a broad black streak down each side. Length of body 14; 
of tail 14 inch. 

Hab. Australasia. 

Acontiap&. Head shielded, rostral shield large, cup-shaped, in- 
closing the end of the muzzle; nostril dot-like in the middle of the 
sides of the rostral shield, with a posterior groove to its hinder edge; 
chin shield like the rostral, but smaller. Body subcylindrical, 
covered with smooth imbricate scales; feet rudimentary, some- 
times wanting; tongue short, like the Scincide; scales with a 
transverse central line, and close parallel longitudinal white internal 
lines. 

Ness1A, n. g. Body cylindrical, head shielded; ears distinct, dot- 
like ; feet very short, rudimentary, divided into three very short sub- 
equal toes; claws sharp, central rather the longest; eyes distinct; 


eyelids ? Tail thick, elongate, cylindrical. 

Nessia Burtonii, Pale brown, centre of scales darker, beneath 
pale. 

Hab. Mus. Chatham. 


Named after Dr. Burton of Chatham. ~ 

Evesia, n. g. Head shielded, with three vertebral shields, two 
first large and transverse, four-sided, 3rd triangular, and several 
oblique occipital shields, loreal shield long; body and tail subcy- 
lindrical, covered with equal smooth six-sided scales; feet four, 
simple, thin, weak, rudimentary, far apart, covered with scales, end 
undivided, ragged. 

Evesia monodactylus, Bell, Pale brown, scales smooth, dark edged ; 
tail darker. 

Hab. Mus. Bell. 

BrrEs. aps subcylindrical; legs two, posterior, on the sides of 
the vent, feet unequally 2-lobed; ears none. 

Bipes anguineus, Merrem. Anguis bipes, Linn. Seba, i. t. 86. f. 3. 


Mr. W. Thompson on the Breeding of the Woodcock. 337 


Lacerta bipes, Gmelin. Seps lineata, Harlan, Journal Acad. Philad. 
Iv ti 18s fi 2. 

Cape of Good Hope. Brit. Mus. 

Bipes Gronovii. Pygodactylus Gronovii. | Mus. Leyden. 

Aconrras. Body cylindrical, apodal ; eyes distinct, oblong, large, 
surrounded with a series of scales; scales with parallel white longi- 
tudinal internal lines, which are divided into two series by a central 
cross line (best seen in the white scales). 

Acontias meleagris. White with the hinder edges of the ‘upper 
scales dark brown. 


Cape of Good Hope. Mus. Chatham. 
Var. Above brown, beneath white. 
Cape of Good Hope. Mus. Chatham. 


XXXIX.—On the Breeding of the Woodcock (Scolopax rus- 
ticola, Linn.), in Ireland. By Wm. Tuompson, Esq., Vice- 
President of the Natural History Society of Belfast. 


In the 1st volume of the *‘ Annals of Natural History,’ (p.158.) 
I alluded to the circumstance of woodcocks having bred within 
the last few years in some of the northern, central, and south- 
ern counties; at the same time stating it to be my intention 
to reserve a detailed notice of the fact, until the species should 
in due order come to be treated of in my intended series of 
papers on the birds of Ireland. The subject being however 
interesting in more than a mere ornithological point of view, 
it is considered better now to publish my notes upon it, 
leaving the general history of the bird, independently of this 
part of its ceconomy, for the place just mentioned. 

Of the occasional breeding of the woodcock in England, in- 
stances have been recorded in the chief works on ornithology 
published in that country within the last seventy years. Thus 
Pennant informs us, that “in Case-wood, near Tunbridge, a 
few breed almost annually ; the young having been shot there 
in the beginning of August*.” He adds, “ I do not recollect 
that any have been discovered to have bred in North Britain,” 
p- 367. Latham states that “a brace of them were shot in 
Chellenden Wood by the gamekeeper to Horace Mann, Esq., 


* Brit. Zool. vol. ii. p. 366. ed. 1776. 


338 Mr. W. Thompson on the Breeding of 


May 1, 1769, and another brace the day before; they were 
sitting on their young*.” This author gives one other in- 
stance, in which a friend of his met with a woodcock on its 
nest, in a wood near Farningham, Kent. In his Ornithological 
Dictionary+, Montagu mentions his having received eggs of 
this bird from near Battel in Sussex; and in the Supplement 
to the same work, relates, on the authority of Mr. Foljambe, 
that in May 1802, a half-fledged woodcock was taken in 
Brodsworth Wood, near Doncaster, in Yorkshire; and that 
on the 5th of April 1805, a brood of four was hatched at 
Shireoaks, near Worksop, Nottinghamshire. Mr. Selby nar- 
rates, that “in Northumberland, the woodcock has been 
known to breed in the woods about Netherwitton,” and adds, 
“‘T have now in my collection eggs taken from a nest in Pig- 
don Wood, not far from Morpeth{.” Within the last few 
years we learn from the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological So- 
ciety of London,’ and the periodicals devoted to Natural Hi- 
story§, that the number of woodcocks nestling in England and 
Scotland is greatly on the increase; and, as may be inferred, 
the number of these birds occurring during summer in Ire- 
land has likewise been increasing within the same period. 

Of the woodcock’s actual breeding in this country I have 
not seen any record, and of its presence here in summer only 
the following notice, which appeared first in a newspaper— 
the Belfast Commercial Chronicle—and subsequently in a more 
abiding place, having been transferred to the pages of the 
Magazine of Natural History. “ Onthe 8th of August 1828, 
a fine woodcock was shot in Florida demesne, county of Down ; 
as it was seen in the course of the spring, it is supposed to 
have remained in the country since last winter,” vol. ii. p. 87. 
By the late T. F. Neligan, Eisq., of Tralee, a young and ardent 
naturalist (whose recent death is much to be deplored), I was 
informed that a woodcock had been seen in the county of. 
Kerry in the month of July 1832||. In the county of Antrim, 


* Gen. Syn. of Birds, vol. ili. parti. p. 130. 1785, 

+ Published in 1802; the Supp. in 1813: see article Woodcock. 

+ Illus. Brit. Orn. vol. ii. p. 108. 1833. 

§ See Magazine of Natural History, vol. i. p. 83, vol. ii. p. 86; vol. v. 
p. 570; vol. viii. p. 612; vol. ix. p. 543.—New Series, vol.1. p. 52, 121, 
337, 439. 

| It is thought proper to notice odd birds seen at this season, as they can 


the Woodcock in Ireland. 339 


at the opposite extremity of Ireland from that of Kerry, a pair 
of these birds bred at Claggan, the property of Earl O’Neil 
in 1834. My informant, the gamekeeper, states that in the 
month of April in that year, a nest was found containing four 
eggs, all of which were successfully incubated ; it was placed 
in a slight depression of the ground under a hazel, and had a 
little grass and moss in the bottom for the reception of the 
eges : the bird was very tame when on the nest, and permitted 
the approach of my informant within a yard of her*, This 
same year (1834), I saw a young woodcock in the shop of Mr, 
Glennon, bird preserver, &c. Dublin, who “set it up”; he 
informed me that it was shot at Wilton in the county of Wex- 
ford, and was received by him in a recent state on the 8th or 
9th of May: he at the same time stated, that in the preceding 
summer of 1833, a young bird of this species, shot in company 
with one of its parents at the seat of Lord de Vesci in Queen’s 
county, was sent him to be preserved, and was likewise for- 
warded when recent. By Thomas Walker, Esq. of Belmont, 
near Wexford, I have been favoured with the following par- 
ticulars under date of May 19, 1837. As to the breeding of 
woodcocks in this country, I was in the second week of May 
sent a couple of young ones half-fledged +, that were taken out 
of a nest at Wilton in this county, the seat of Mr. Alcock, 
The nest was on the ground among brushwood, and the cry 
of the young birds like the sound produced by a child’s 
whistle, At the time I received the young birds, there was at 
Ballyarthur, county of Wicklow, the seat of Mr. Bailey, a nest 
with four eggs in it; this is the third year they have bred at 
Wilton.” Mr. Walker on another occasion mentioned the 
woodcock as frequenting for a similar purpose the covers of 
Killoughrim Wood in the county of Wexford, and remarked 
upon the young indigenous specimens he had examined, that 
* although fully as large as old birds, they had not got the 
strong feathers in the tail, but instead a soft curly down.” In 


hardly be presumed in every instance to have been solitary individuals, 
though their mates may have escaped notice. 

* The tameness of the woodcock in its nest is mentioned by Pennant and 
Latham, and from the observation of many persons who have witnessed it, 
seems to be universal. 


- > For one of these I am indebted to Mr. Walker. 


340 Mr. W. Thompson on the Breeding of 


the month of June or July 1836, a woodcock was shot, and 
another seen about the same time at Springvale, county of 
Down, the residence of Major Matthews. On the 4th of June 
1837, an old female bird was killed at the vale of Ovoca, county 
Wicklow. In May 1838, a woodcock was captured at Stor- 
mont near Belfast. 

At Tullamore Park in the county of Down (the seat of 
Lord Roden), beautifully situated at the base of the mountains 
of Mourne, and possessing considerable variety of surface, 
abundance of wood of various size, and occasional moist and 
open glades, which even in the driest summer would afford 
food to the woodcock, this bird has bred of late years. From 
the intelligent gamekeeper I have learnt the following inter- 
esting particulars. In 1835 he first (though living here since 
1828) became acquainted with their continuing throughout 
the summer in the park. The first nest he saw, which had 
just the appearance of a partridge’s or pheasant’s, was situated 
on damp ground in a young plantation, and at the root of a 
young larch fir. It contained four eggs, on which the old bird 
sat so close as to allow him and other persons to approach 
within a foot, but when they came near she was always ob- 
served to hide her bill to its base in the grass or withered 
ferns about the nest; the eggs were all productive, and were 
he thinks incubated for three weeks. The young left the nest 
just after birth, and were not again seen until able to use their 
wings, when they frequently appeared about the place: the 
male bird remained about a dozen paces from the nest during 
the incubation of his partner. From having seen other wood- 
cocks in the park this summer, it was believed that they must 
also have nests, but this one only was discovered ; eventually 
however, a second pair of woodcocks was sprung along with 
five young ones, the old birds taking first to flight: the young’ 
—completely feathered except on the head and neck, where 
down was still displayed—were now able to fly over the trees, 
whilst those produced in the nest first mentioned, were but 
three days “ out.” 

In the summer of 1836, my informant saw in one day five 
old woodcocks in the park; and though he had not any of their 
nests this year, he on one occasion saw three young birds. 


the Woodcock in Ireland. to ae 


He is of opinion that woodcocks pair before leaving this 
country in the spring for more northern climates, and re- 
marks, that in their evening flight at this season they “ twist” 
amazingly, the hinder one following the foremost through 
every curve or sinuosity of its course, which is extremely 
rapid.. Their call may now be expressed by the word hisp, 
and. by the accurate repetition of which he has brought them 
back when flying past him; during the breeding season they, 
in addition to this, have calls which sound like waap-waap— 
weep-weep, succeeding each other, and repeated as here set 
down: both sexes are considered to make use of the two calls, 
At the season of incubation, they call at early dawn, and at 
this period their flight is very different from that in the month 
of March, being now slow or with the wings scarcely moving ; 
but occasionally they may be seen circling about “as if in 
play,” at allevents, describing sucha course as evinces that they 
cannot be in search of food. In winter, my informant believes: 
_ woodcocks to have a regular line of flight from the covers to 
their feeding-ground, and acting upon his belief, has, by taking 
his stand at particular spots, shot many in flying over them. 
In 1837 three nests were found at Tullamore, the first early 
in the month of April, when it was surrounded with snow; 
they were all sheltered by young trees, and one of them within 
twenty yards of where a nest had been the preceding year: 
in each were four eggs, all of which were productive, the 
young appearing in April. The nests here have in every in- 
stance been in slight hollows of the ground, with a little grass 
or dead leaves in the bottom for lining. To withdraw atten- 
tion from one of these nests when containing young, the pa- 
rent tumbled about as if wounded, thus feigning to a greater 
extent than the gamekeeper had ever before witnessed in any 
species of bird; and at the same time she gave utterance to a 
note distinct from those before mentioned, or as expressed to 
me, “screaching with rage*.” The young birds are said to 
be beautiful in the down, being mottled with black where their 
parents are so, and cream-coloured where they are brown. 


* When disturbed during incubation, they merely fluttered off the eggs, 
and alighted at a short distance. 


342 Mr. W. ‘Thompson on the Breeding of 


About the second week of June, a fourth brood was seen, of 
which the nest was not found. 

In 1838, one nest containing four eggs (which may be con- 
sidered the ordinary number) was observed in the park ; the 
young appeared in April: by the middle of this month they 
have generally come out here*. Long after the general de- 
parture of the woodcocks for the north this year, the game- 
keeper saw what he believed to be five distinct brace of these 
birds in one portion of the park, and considers that they were 
more numerous than in any previous summer. ‘The nests 
were not discovered as usual, in consequence of boys, by whom 
they were all found on former occasions, not having been em- 
ployed in the young plantations. Daily throughout the year, 
the gamekeeper now either sees or hears woodcocks without 
going out of his way or attending to them; indeed they fly 
very much about his cottage, situated in a beautiful open glade, 
and from about its door may be seen on wing every evening. 
I obtained this information when at Tullamore Park in the 
month of August 1836, and in June last}. On the 28th of 
this month I visited the park in the hope of seeing some of 
these birds, but the evening was so fine and light that they 
did not commence flying until it was very late, and then dark- 
ness suddenly came on. At half-past nine o’clock the first 


* In the 9th volume of the ‘ Magazine of Natural History’ (p. 543) it is 
stated of three nests found in a wood near Derby, that the young were 
hatched in the month of April. In vol. i. (New Series) of this same work, it 
is remarked, in a notice of its breeding in Ross-shire, that the woodcock 
“hatches early, often at the latter end of March, but generally by the first 
week of April.’’ On the 10th of this latter month, the writer of the commu- 
nication to the Magazine, saw woodcocks sitting on their nests, one of which 
contained eggs. 

+ Some few points on which naturalists are agreed have perhaps been 
unnecessarily introduced, but coming from an intelligent man who has had 
ample means for observation, it was considered better to include them, In 
proof of Tullamore Park and its vicinity being a favourite resort of the wood- 
cock, it may be stated, that the gamekeeper has with a brace of pointers 
killed eight brace of these birds during a forenoon in the heath skirting the 
plantations, and with the aid of one dog and a boy to beat the covers, has 
shot ten brace within a similar time in the park. In the severe snow storm 
of 1827, three gentleman on a visit here, and not going out before noon, 
killed and bagged seventy-five brace in three days; and giving themselvesno ° 
trouble in looking after wounded birds, many more which had fallen by 
their guns were afterwards picked up. During the month of January 1838, 
about 100 brace were obtained by occasional shooting. The gamekeeper 
considers that he has seen so many as eighty brace in one day. 


the Woodcock in Ireland. | 343 


were heard, when a pair swept past within about thirty yards, 
uttering the two calls before described, and in the order in 
which they have been set down. From this time, and until 
half an hour had elapsed—when it was in vain to attempt 
seeing them—several were heard, and all, I think, single birds, 
which gave utterance only to the other call stated to resemble 
in sound the word hisp quickly uttered. 

The description of the habits of these birds about the period 
of incubation, given by the gamekeeper at Tullamore Park, 
strongly reminded me of the first good account I had read of 
them, which is contained in a highly interesting notice of the 
breeding of woodcocks in Ross-shire, communicated by Sir 
F. Mackenzie to the Zoological Society of London*. The 
manner of flight is so different after the birds are paired, from 
what the sportsman is accustomed to witness at other periods, 
that I am induced to call attention to the similarity of testi- 
mony in the two cases. “Than the flight of the woodcock 
before and after incubation, Sir F. Mackenzie states that he 
knows nothing more rapid, as for an hour or two about dusk 
he (probably the male, though two have been seen pursuing 
each other) flies in large circles over the tops of the trees.” 
To a sportsman, at least, words could not better convey an 
idea of the velocity of its flight than those of my informant, 
who, an experienced “ shot,” describes it to be such on these 
occasions that he cannot “get his gun upon them,” or in 
other words, if the uninitiated require explanation, a velocity 
so great as to prevent his taking aim. 

‘In a communication made by my friend Mr. Selby to the 
‘ Magazine of Zoology and Botany,’ on “the woodcock 
breeding in Scotland,” it is asked, “ What reason is to be as- 
signed for this change in their habits? Is it to be attributed 
to a change in our seasons, or are we to look for it in the 
great increase of woods or plantations so general over all the 
island, affording these birds additional and secure retreats, 
as well as an abundant and constant supply of food?” vol. i, 
p-201. Although it is not for me to attempt an explanation 
of that, respecting which Mr. Selby appears dubious, it may 
perhaps be allowed me to offer a few observations on the most 


* Proceedings of Zool. Society, 1832, Part II, p. 133, 


344 Mr. W. Thompson on the Breeding of 


interesting points in connexion with the subject, or, to speak 
more particularly, on the causes which have influenced these 
birds to remain through the summer with us. 

In the first place, it must not be overlooked, that during 
the last few years, the number of woodcocks stated to have 
continued throughout the year has increased so much in 
England and Scotland, that, during the same time, there has 
been greater attention bestowed on such facts than at any 
former period, and in consequence, there have been periodical 
publications—the Magazine of Natural History leading the 
van—in which any isolated instance of the kind might be re- 
corded, that would hitherto have been unpublished. But even 
taking this circumstance into consideration, there cannot I 
think be the least doubt that there has been an increase in 
those countries; and in Ireland there unquestionably has 
been*. 

That this originated from wounded birds unable to under- 
take the vernal migration seems the most untenable of all 
reasons which have been assigned for it, inasmuch as the 
same cause existed previously. Why should the number of 
wounded birds have been greater over the British Islands ge- 
nerally within the last few years than at any former period ? 
Did our sportsmen become at once more numerous, and is 
their aim less sure? Of what avail are all the “ appliances 
and means” of modern “ warfare,” as the patent cartridge, 
patent wadding, and percussion caps, if more wounded and 
unbagged birds are left behind than formerly ? 

The spread of plantations over the face of the country ap- 
pears to be the predisposing cause, though insufficient to ac- 
count altogether for the circumstance. These countries cer- 
tainly had always abundance of places adapted to the nestling 
of the woodcock ; and though plantations, chiefly in tracts un- 
suited to cultivation, have been very much extended of late 
years, others again, especially in Scotland and Ireland, of na- 
tive growth, and from the excellent cover they afforded, admi- 
rably adapted to this end, have been swept away, and the 


* This fact appears the more singular on account of the number of wood:-: 
cocks that winter in the British Islands having diminished rather than in- 
creased of late years. 


the Woodcock in Ireland, 345 


ground they occupied been converted to purposes of pasture 
or tillage. It may be remarked, that plantations of very dif- 
ferent character are selected by the woodcock for its nest: thus 
Sir F. Mackenzie observes, “the soil where the nests were 
found (at Conan, Ross-shire) is gravelly and rather dry; the 
grass tolerably long, without underwood, and the trees, oak, 
birch, and larch, not exceeding 30 years’ growth.” In another 
instance, where three nests were found in the same wood near 
Derby, we learn that “the underwood was thin and of not 
more than from seven to ten years’ growth*.” Again, we are 
told, that of two nests at Brahan Castle, in Ross-shire, the one 
“was in withered grass, partially screened by spray and bram- 
bles,” the other “amongst pruned branches at the root of a 
large larch treet.” The nests before mentioned, in the coun-. 
ties of Antrim and Wexford, are said to have been in thickets, 
The sites pointed out to me at Tullamore park were all in an 
extensive young plantation, consisting chiefly of larch fir, ap- 
parently of about eight years’ growth; here there is not much 
other cover, the place having originally been a heath-covered 
tract: it however joins a park rich in fine timber and a pro- 
fusion of underwood. A friend just returned from shooting 
in Inverness-shire informs me, that in an indigenous birch 
wood, on the banks of Loch Ruthven, and containing but 
little coppice, some pairs of woodcocks have nestled for the 
last few years. 

Our “change of seasons,” or more equable climate of late 
years, by reason of the milder winters, and the summers being 
colder and more humid, speaking in general terms, than they 
were even at a recent period,—although the nearer they ap- 
proximate, the more widely they, in this very respect, differ 
from those of high northern latitudes, to which the woodcock 
chiefly resorts to breed, seems to have had much influence 
- on the increased number of these birds, which at all events 
breed, and it may be, remain permanently in the British 
islands{. It appears evident too, that it was not caused by 
the peculiar suitability of any one, two, or three summers, as 


* Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. ix. p. 543. 

+ Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. i. p.121. New series. 

t It is very obvious, that warm dry summers in these countries, as for in- 
stance those of 1825 or 1826, would be ill adapted to the woodcock’s feeding, 


Ann, Nat, Hist. Vol,2. No.11. Jan, 1839. 2a 


346 Mr. W. Thompson on the Breeding of 


for the last few years woodcocks have been gradually increa- 
sing at this season. The general augmentation cannot, I con- 
ceive, be attributed merely to the circumstance of the first 
young birds bred in the country having continued to multiply 
therein. That they have done so, however, may be fairly con- 
sidered as evinced in the annual increase of the species about 
its chief habitats, but is not, I think, sufficient to account 
for the presence of these birds in the widely distant localities 
in which they have occurred. Most migratory birds appear 
to be in some degree affected by latitude in their movements, 
as well as by the isotherial and isothermal lines, or those under 
which the mean heat of summer and of winter is the same. 
From them the woodcock apparently differs, in being influ- 
enced solely by climate in the selection of its summer haunts. 
In the warmest countries it frequents, this species is believed 
merely to ascend from the plains to the highest mountains to 
breed*, It is so in the extreme south of Europe, if my in- 
formant be correct in stating that they nestle in summer in 
the mountains of Albania, where in the lowlands they are abun- 
dant during winter. To the Alps they resort in numbers in 
the breeding season; but here another question arises, which 
will apply to all but the most southern countries, to which al- 
lusion has just been made. 

Are the birds which breed in the mountains of the extreme 
south of Europe the same. individuals which frequent their 
base in the winter, or are they from a greater distance, those 
from their base migrating further northwards, and is this “ the 
order of their going” from south to north throughout Europe ? 
According to this view, the British Islands would be looked 
upon as the most northern limits of the flight of such indivi- 
duals as nestle here, and we may readily in such case imagine 
the birds to be attracted in their vernal flight by the first suit- 
able places, in these islands or elsewhere, that may occur, and 
at once take possession of them. The two following state- 
ments, although they may not go far enough to establish this 
point, yet seem to favour it in regard to some localities, Sir 
F. Mackenzie remarks, with reference to Conan in Ross-shire, 
“It is probable that the parent birds sought’this spot for the 


* Latham, loe. cit, 


the Woodcock in Ireland. 347 


purpose of breeding, as they must have arrived in the spring 
from other localities; for those who shot in the covers till 
February declare that they did not know of a single woodcock 
being then left in them, and had there been two or three the 
keeper must have been aware of it*.” In the ‘ Magazine of 
Natural History’ for 1832 (vol. v. p.570) it is stated in con- 
nexion with their having bred every season for the few 
years preceding in the woodlands about Darnaway Castle, the 
seat of the Earl of Moray, “that when the winter set in, the 
woodcock almost entirely deserted the Darnaway forest.” 
The following extract from an admirable memoir by M. Necker 
on the birds of the neighbourhood of Geneva, illustrates this 
further. ‘“ La Bécasse (Scolopax rusticola) ouvre la marche 
des oiseaux voyageurs, et c’est déja vers la fin de Février ou 
le commencement de Mars que l’on voit arriver dans les fo- 
réts au pied des montagnes, ces troupes qui viennent proba- 
blement de V’Italie, de PEspagne, et du midi de la France; 
ou elles ont trouvé un hiver doux, une terre humide et non 
durcie par les gelées ; elles attendent que les neiges des mon- 
taenes basses soient fondues, et nous quittent encore au mois 
d’Avril pour nicher dans les lieux élevés et froidst.” But 
proof is wanted, and it would be difficult to be procured, whe- 
ther the woodcocks generally, that breed in the British Islands, 
constantly abide therein, or are of that vast number which 
leave the more southern countries in the spring in search 
of suitable climates in which to rear their broods, and where 
they remain during the summer only. When, however, I con- 
sider that the climate of Ireland of late was not unsuitable 
to this bird at any period of the year, and as it became the 
more suitable, that in localities otherwise favourable, the num- 
ber of woodcocks remaining during summer increased the 
more; that in their chief haunts the species was always to be 
met with in the interval between which the young broods had 
strength enough to wing their way to more southern coun- 


* In the spring of 1836 numbers of woodcocks were met with in Tulla- 
more park after the ordinary time that the eggs are considered to be laid. 
On the 7th of April the gamekeeper killed 42, and on the 11th 33 brace of 
these birds. In such quantity they had never been known to remain so 
Jate, 

+ Mémoires d’Histoire Naturelle, &c. de Genéve, tom. ii. part 1, p. 35, 


2A2 


348 Mr.C. Babington on the Botany 


tries, and the great body of migratory individuals arrived from 
the north; I am disposed to believe, as in the case of their 
ally the common snipe (Scolopax gallinago), that the small 
proportion of woodcocks which breed in this country are per- 
manent residents. 

I have not touched upon the subject of any change in the 
great breeding haunts of the woodcock in high northern lati- 
tudes, from my inability to learn anything satisfactory about 
the matter. It has been stated indeed that the eggs have 
been much used in Sweden of late years, but it seems impro- 
bable that any change in regions so far remote as the ordinary 
summer haunts of the woodcock can affect the question of its 
breeding within the British islands. 


XL.—On the Botany of the Channel Islands. By CHARLES 
C. Basineton, M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., &c.* 


Havine last year had the pleasure of submitting to this Section an 
account of my botanical observations in the islands of Guernsey and 
Jersey}, I should not have ventured to occupy the time of this 
Meeting with anything further on the subject had I not been so 
fortunate as to make several additions to the Channel Islands Flora 
during the last few weeks. 

I will proceed to mention the names of those plants which had 
not been noticed in the islands before the present year. 

Ranunculus ophioglossifolius. In avery wet marsh in Jersey. 

Orchis laxiflora. Common in wet places in Jersey and Guernsey. 

Linaria pelisseriana. In one place upon a dry hill side, amongst 
Ulex europeus, in Jersey. 

Myriophyllum alterniflorum. In marsh ditches in Guernsey. 

Polygala oxyptera. This is probably a variety of P. vulgaris, but 
has been distinguished by several eminent continental botanists. It 
is frequent in all the islands, and has been gathered by myself near 
Liverpool. 

Ononis reclinata. This plant is very common in Alderney, but has 
not been noticed in the other islands. It was found several years 
since on the coast of Galloway in Scotland, by Dr. Graham. 

Potamogeton plantagineus. In damp pits from which peat has been 

* Read before the Nat. Hist. Sec. of the British Association, at Newcastle, 


Aug. 20, 1838, and communicated by the Author. 
+ Published in Mag. of Zool. and Bot., ii. 397. 


of the Channel Islands. 349 


taken, in Guernsey. Mr. W. Wilson Sanders informs me that he has | 
gathered it in ditches at Ham Ponds, near Sandwich, Kent. 

Carex punctata. In wet marshes, in Guernsey. ‘This plant has 
been submitted to the inspection of Dr. Boott, from whom a mono- 
graph on this difficult genus is shortly expected, and he has conferred 
the name*. It has, I believe, been noticed in several parts of En- 
gland. 

The following additional species have been gathered in these 
islands, but not in Britain. 

Neotiia estivalis, in Jersey. 

Sinapis incana, in Jersey. Noticed this summer plentifully in 
Alderney. 

Mercurialis ambigua, in Jersey. ‘This appears to be only a variety 
of M. annua, but is probably the plant of the younger Linnzus. 

Atriplex rosea. Jersey and Guernsey. I believe that this will be 
found to exist upon the south coast of England. 

Arthrolobium ebracteatum, in Guernsey. During the present year 
I have found this plant in plenty in Alderney. 

These five were first gathered by myself; the following had been 
noticed by other botanists previously to my visit. 


Allium spherocephalon. Armeria plantaginea. 
Bromus maximus. Echium violaceum. 
Festuca sabulicola. Centaurea Isnardi. 
Brassica Cheiranthus. Lagurus ovatus. 
Scirpus pungens. Juncus capitatus. 


The total number of flowering plants and ferns which have been no- 
ticed in the islands amounts to above 760, of which 20 have not as 
yet been gathered in Britain. Alderney and Sark have been less care- 
fully examined than Jersey and Guernsey, as I was not able to de- 
vote more than a week to each of them, and very little has been 
done by other botanists. The number of plants which I observed in 
Alderney is about 330, and in Sark 252; the little island of Jethon 
supplied me with 115 species, and an adjoining conical rock, called 
Crevichon, is inhabited by 22 species, nearly the whole herbage con- 
sisting of Silene maritima. - 

In conclusion I may be allowed to mention that I am about to 
publish an outline of the Flora of the islands, under the name of 
‘ Primitize Flore Sarnicz,’ and shall be much obliged to any bota- 
nist who may favour me with information on the subject. 

Since this paper was read at Newcastle I have learned that 47. 
throlobium ebracteatum has been discovered (in April 1838) in abun- 


* Ts there not a Carex punctata, Gaud.? (457 Reich, Flor. Excurs.)—Eprrt. 


350 Mr. Walker on the British Chalcidites. 


dance on 'Tresco, one of the Scilly islands, by Miss White of that 
place. Mr. Woods has gathered Brassica Cheiranthus on the sands 
near Penard Castle, near Swansea; and Potamogeton plantagineus 
exists in Sir J. E. Smith’s herbarium, gathered by Mr. D. Turner, at 
Diss, in Norfolk, and Dr. H. Thompson, in the south of Scotland. 
In the herbarium of Dr. Johnston, of Berwick, is a specimen ob- 
tained by Dr. R. D. Thompson in Ferny Rig marsh, Berwickshire, and 
I possess a sample of it, gathered by myself in Bottisham fen, Cam- 
bridgeshire. In all these cases the plant has been referred to a wrong 
species, but was suspected to be distinct by Dr. R. D. Thompson. 
I have lately gathered Atriplex rosea on the coasts of Holy Island 
(Lindisfarn), Berwick, and the Forth near Newhaven, and Mr. 
Borrer has sent it to me from the Sussex coast. 


St. John’s College, Cambridge, Oct. 27, 1838. 


XLI.—Descriptions of British Chalcidites. By Francis WALKER, 
F.L.S, 


[Continued from p. 205. ] 


Sp. 36. Cirr. Cyrrhus, Fem. Cyaneus, antenne nigre, pedes cyanei, tarsi 
fulvi, protibie flave, ale limpide. 


Obscure cyaneus: oculi et ocelli rufi: antenne nigra; articulus 1" ni- 
gro-cyaneus: pedes cyanei ; trochanteres fulvi; genua flava; tarsi fulvi, basi 
flavi, apice fusci; propedum tibize flavee extus fulvo vittate, tarsi pallide 
fusci: ale limpide; squamulz fuscee, antice cyanez ; nervi fusci. (Corp. 
long. lin. $; alar. lin. 1.) 

June, near London. 

Fem. Corpus gracillimum, sublineare, nitens, scitissime squameum, parce 
hirtum: caput transversum, breve, convexum, thorace latius; antennz 
graciles, extrorsum crassiores, corporis dimidio longiores; articulus 1"* gra- 
cilis, sublinearis; 2"* longicyathiformis ; 4"* 3° brevior ; 5"% adhuc brevior ; 
clava fusiformis, acuminata, articulo 5° plus dimidio longior : thorax longi- 
ovatus, convexus : prothorax brevissimus, supra vix conspicuus: mesotho- 
racis scutum latitudine longius; parapsidum suture bene determinate ; scu- 
tellum breviconicum, metathorax transversus, mediocris: petiolus brevissi- 
mus: abdomen longi-fusiforme, thorace multo longius, supra planum, subtus 
carinatum, apice acuminatum : oviductus exertus, brevis: pedes graciles : 
alis nervus ulnaris humerali longior, radialis vix ullus, cubitalis sat longus, 

Sp. 37. Cirr. Mycerinus, Fem. Cupreus viridi-varius, antenne fusce, 

pedes fulvi; ale limpide. 

Nigro-cupreus : oculi et ocelli rufi: antennz pallide fuscze, subtus fulvee : 
thoracis latera viridi-varia: oviductus vagine nigra: pedes fulvi; coxe 


Mr. Walker on the British Chalcidites. 351 


nigro-cuprez ; femora pallide fusca ; tarsi flavi, apice fusci ; protarsi obscu- 
riores: ale limpide; squamule pice; nervi fulvi, metalis flavi. (Corp. 
long. lin. 1; alar. lin. 14.) 

Found near London. 

Fem. Corpus longum, angustum, nitens, scitissime squameum, parce hir- 
tum : caput mediocre, transversum, breve, convexum, thorace vix angustius ; 
vertex latus; frons abrupte declivis, parum impressa: oculi mediocres, sub- 
rotundi, non extantes : antennz subclavatz, corporis dimidio longiores ; ar- 
ticulus 1"* longissimus, gracilis, sublinearis ; 2" longicyathiformis ; 3"°, 4"° et 
58 lineares, subeequales; clava fusiformis, acuminata, articulo 5° fere duplo 
Jongior: thorax ovatus, convexus: prothorax transversus, brevissimus, supra 
conspicuus: mesothoracis scutum latitudine longius, dorso foveolatum ; pa~- 
rapsides remotze, suturee bene determinate, postice mutuo accedentes; pa- 
raptera et epimera conspicua; scutellum obconicum : metathorax mediocris : 
abdomen fusiforme, acuminatum, thorace longius et angustius, supra de- 
pressum, subtus carinatum ; segmenta transversa, brevia, subeequalia: pedes 
mediocres, simplices, subaquales; tarsis articuli 1"° et 3°° breviores, 2S 
et 4"* longiores; ungues et pulvilli parvi: ale mediocres, non ciliate ; 
nervus ulnaris crassus, humerali fere longior, radialis vix ullus, cubitalis sat 
longus in ale discum declivis, apice stigma fingens, bimucronatum. 


‘ 


Sp. 88. Cirr. Adalia, Fem. Viridi-cyaneus, antenne picee, pedes flavi, 
femora viridia, ale limpide. 


Leete viridis cupreo-varius: oculi et ocelli rufi: antenne nigro-piceex; 
articuli 1°° et 2°. viridi-picei: abdomen cyaneo-viride cupreo-varium : ovi- 
ductus vaginee fusce : pedes flavi; coxz virides ; femora viridia, apice flava ; 
tarsi apice fusci: protarsi fulvi: ale limpide; squamule pice; nervi 
proalis fusci, basi flavi, metalis flavi. (Corp. long. lin. 14; alar. lin. 14.) 

Var. 8.—Abdomen cyaneum, apicem versus minime cupreo-varium. 

Var. y.—Lete cyaneo-viridis: antennz pice ; articuli 1"* et 2" virides: 
abdomen eeneo-varium; protarsi fusci: proalis nervi fulvi. 

Var. §.—Abdomen lete cyaneum, basi viridi-zneum. 

May, June; near London, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Scotland. 

Fem. Corpus angustum, nitens, scitissime squameum, parce hirtum: caput 
mediocre, transversum, breve, convexum, thorace fere latius, vertex latus ; 
frons impressa, abrupte declivis: oculi mediocres: antenne graciles, ex- 
trorsum crassiores, corporis dimidio longiores; articulus 1"* longifusiformis, 
validus; 2"* longicyathiformis ; 3° et sequentes longi, sublineares, usque ad 
5"™ paullulum curtantes et latescentes; clava fusiformis, articulo 5° paullo 
latior et multo longior: thorax longiovatus, parum convexus: prothorax 
transversus, parvus, supra conspicuus: mesothoracis scutum latitudine lon- 
gius ; parapsidum suture bene determinate; scutellum obconicim: meta- 
thorax mediocris: petiolus brevissimus : abdomen fusiforme, supra planum, 
subtus carinatum, apice attenuatum et acuminatum, thorace paullo longius 
et latius; segmentum 1°" magnum; 2"™ et sequentia transversa, brevia : 
pedes graciles, simplices, subzequales ; tarsis articulus 1" 2° brevior, 3"° Li 


352 Mr. Walker on the British Chalcidites. 


longitudine, 4s 3° longior; ungues et pulvilli mediocres: ale anguste; 
nervus ulnaris humerali paullo longior, radialis brevissimus, cubitalis sat 
longus, apice stigma fingens, parvum ‘subfurcatum. 


Sp. 39. Cirr. Orithyia, Fem. neo-cupreus viridi-varius, antenne picee, 

pedes flavi, ale fulvescentes. 

Cupreo-zeneus: oculi et ocelli rufi: antenne picez ; articulus 1"° nigro- 
zeneus, subtus et basi fulvus: abdomen viridi-cupreum: oviductus pallide 
rufus: pedes flavi; coxe virides; tarsi apice fusci; protarsi pallide fusci : 
alz fulvescentes; squamule fulve ; nervi fulvi. (Corp. long. lin. 1;—14; 
alar. lin. 13—2.). 

Var. 3.—Viridis : abdominis discus cupreus. 

Var. y.—Caput viride: thorax viridi-eneus ; discus cupreus. 

June, September; near London, Isle of Wight. Near Belfast, Ireland, 
Mr. Haliday. 

Mas. Corpus robustum, nitens, pubescens, scite squameum, parce hirtum : 
caput transversum, breve, convexum, juxta thoraci latum: vertex latus ; 
frons abrupte declivis: oculi mediocres, non extantes: antenne filiformes, 
hirtee, corpore breviores ; articulus 1"* sublinearis: 2"* longicyathiformis ; 
3"S et sequentes ad 6¥™ longi, lineares, subzequales ; clava fusiformis, longis- 
sima, acuminata, articulo 6° plus duplo longior: thorax ovatus, crassus, con- 
vexus: prothorax transversus, brevissimus, supra conspicuus : mesothoracis 
scutum foveolatum, latitudine vix longius; parapsidum suture bene deter- 
minate; scutellum obconicum, bifoveolatum; paraptera et epimera con- 
spicua: metathorax mediocris : petiolus crassus brevissimus : abdomen sub- 
lineare, planum, thorace angustius et paullo brevius ; segmentum 1¥™ maxi- 
mum; 2¥™ et sequentia breviora, transversa: sexualia exerta: pedes me- 
diocres: alee non ciliate; nervus ulnaris humerali longior, radialis nullus, 
cubitalis longus, in alze discum declivis. 

Fem. Caput thorace vix angustius: antenne extrorsum crassiores; arti- 
culi 3"5 et sequentes longi, lineares, ad 5% curtantes ; clava fusiformis, acu- 
minata, articulo 5° fere duplo longior : abdomen longiovatum, acuminatum, 
subtus carinatum, thorace fere longius non latius. 


Sp. 40. Cirr. Tachos, Mas et Fem. Viridis, antenne picee, pedes flavi, 

femora viridia, ale limpide. 

Mas. Cyaneo-viridis : oculi et ocelli rufi: antennz picez ; articuli 1"S et 
2"5 atri: abdomen cyaneo-viride; discus purpureo-cyaneus : sexualia fulva; 
pedes fulvi; coxee nigro-virides; femora nigro-viridia: tarsi flavi, apice 
fusci; protarsi fulvi: alee limpidze; squamule virides, proalis nervi fulvi, 
metalis flavi. 

Fem. Nigro-viridis : abdomen viridi-zeneum ; discus si CaN Mae (Corp. 
long. lin. 1—14,; alar. lin. 13-13.) 

Mas. Corpus robustum, nitens, pubescens, scite squameum, parce hirtum : 
caput transversum, breve, convexum, juxta thoraci latum; vertex latus; 
frons abrupte declivis: oculi mediocres, non extantes: antenne filiformes, 
hirte, corpore breviores; articulus 1"* sublinearis; 2%* longicyathiformis ; 


Mr. Walker on the British Chalcidites. 353 


3"s et sequentes ad 6" longi, lineares, subzequales ; clava fusiformis, longis- 
sima, acuminata, articulo 6° plus duplo longior: thorax ovatus, crassus, 
convexus: prothorax transversus, brevissimus, supra conspicuus : meso- 
thoracis scutum foveolatum, latitudine vix longius; parapsidum suture bene 
determinate; scutellum obconicum, bifoveolatum; paraptera et epimera 
conspicua: metathorax mediocris: petiolus crassus, brevissimus : abdomen 
sublineare, planum, thorace angustius et paullo brevius; segmentum 19™ 
maximum; 2% et sequentia breviora, transversa: sexualia exerta: pedes 
mediocres, subzequales ; tarsis articuli 1"S et 3"5 breviores, 2"* et 4" longi- 
ores ; ungues et pulvilli parvi: ale mediocres, non ciliate; nervus ulnaris 
humerali longior, radialis nullus, cubitalis longius in ale discum declivis, 
apice stigma fingens, bimucronatum. 

Fem. Caput thorace vix angustius: antennz extrorsum crassiores ; arti- 
culi 3° ad 5¥™ curtantes; clava fusiformis, acuminata, articulo 5° fere duplo 
longior: abdomen ovatum, thorace brevius et angustius; segmenta trans- 
versa, 1% magnum, 2"™ et sequentia breviora. 


Sp. 41. Cirr. Attalus, Mas et Fem. Viridis mas. aut eneus fem., abdo- 
men cupreum, antenne nigre, pedes flavi, femora nigra, tibie fusco 
cincta, ale limpide. 

Mas. Nigro-viridis: oculi et ocelli rufi: antennez nigrz; articuli 1s et 
2"8 nigro-virides: abdomen nigro-cupreum, basi cupreo-viride: sexualia 
fusca: pedes fulvi; coxe virides; femora nigra, apice flava; tarsi flavi, 
apice fusci ; metatibize basi fuscze: protarsi pallide fusci: ale limpide: 
squamule piceze; nervi fusci. 

Fem. Cupreo-zeneus : caput viride cupreo-varium : antennis articuli 1"* et 
2"s picei, hic apice et ille subtus basique ferruginei: abdomen viridi-cu- 
preum: alis nervi fulvi, basi fusci. (Corp. long. lin. 3—1; alar. lin. 
14—1}.) 

Var. 6. Mas.—Metatibie omnino fulve. 

Var. y. Mas.—Var. 8. similis : protarsi fulvi, apice fusci. 

Var. }. Mas.—Mesothoracis scutellum viridi-cupreum. 

Var. ¢, Mas.—Mesotibiz pallide fusce, apice et basi fulvee ; metatibize 
fuscee. 

Var. €. Mas.—Abdomen basi viridi-cyaneum : protibiz obscure fuscz ; 
meso- et meta-tibize picez. 

Var. y. Fem.—Antennis articuli 1"* et 2"° omnino nigro-virides. 

Var. 6. Fem.—Thorax obscure zneo-viridis. 

Var. t. Fem.—Abdomen viride, basi late viridi-cupreum. 

Var, x. Fem.—Thorax viridis. 

Var. x. Fem.—Var. x. similis: metatibie omnino fulve. 

June; near London, Isle of Wight. Ireland, Mr. Haliday. 


Sp. 42. Cirr. Agathocles, Mas et Fem. Cyaneus aut viridis, abdomen 
cupreum, antenne nigre aut picee, pedes nigri, tarsi flavi, ale lim- 
pide. 


Mas. Cyaneo-ater: oculi et ocelli rufi: antennz pice; articuli 1" et 


354 Mr. Walker on the British Chalcidites. 


2"s nigri: abdomen nigro-cupreum : sexualia fusca: pedes nigri; trochan- 
teres picei; genua flava; tarsi flavi, apice fusci; propedum tibiz picee, 
apice fulvz, tarsi fulvi: ale limpide ; squamule picez ; proalis nervi fusci 
metalis flavi. 

Fem. Atro-viridis: abdomen nigro-viride, cupreo-varium: pedes nigri; 
trochanteres picei; genua fulva; tibie pices; tarsi flavi, apice fusci; pro- 
tibize fulvee ; protarsi fulvi: alis nervi fulvi. (Corp. long. lin. 3; alar. lin. 
14.) 

Var. 8. Mas.—Nigro-cyaneus : antennz nigre ; articuli 1"° et 2"° nigro- 
cyanei: abdomen nigro-cupreum: pedes nigri; trochanteres fulvi; genua 
fulva ; tarsi flavi, apice fusci; protarsi fulvi. 

Var. y. Mas.—Protibiz fulve ; meso- et metatibize picee. 

Var. 3. Mas.—Var. y. similis: protibie basi et apice flave. 

Var. «. Fem.—Cyaneo-viridis; antenne nigre; articuli 1"° et 2" atri: 
abdomen cupreum, viridi-varium: pedes picei; coxe nigre; trochanteres 
fulvi; femora nigra; genua fulva; tarsi flavi, apice fusci; propedum tibize 

fulvze, tarsi fusci: proalis nervi flavi. 

Var. €. Fem.—Propedum tibiz piceze, tarsi apice fusci. 

July; near London. 
Mas. Corpus sublineare, nitens, scitissime squameum, parce hirtum: ca- 
put transversum, breve, convexum, juxta thoraci latum ; vertex latus ; frons 
abrupte declivis, non impressa: oculi mediocres, subrotundi, non extantes : 
antenne filiformes, non ciliate, corpore paullo breviores; articulus 1" ya- 
lidus, fusiformis ; 2"* longicyathiformis; 3" et sequentes ad 6"™ lineares, 
subeequales; clava fusiformis, acuminata, articulo 6° fere duplo longior : 
thorax ovatus, convexus: prothorax transversus, brevissimus, supra vix con- 
spicuus: mesothoracis scutum latitudine longius, dorso foveolatum ; para- 
psidum suturee remote, conspicue ; scutellum obconicum, bifoveolatum ; pa- 
raptera et epimera bene determinata: metathorax mediocris: petiolus brevis, 
crassus: abdomen ovatum, planum, thorace angustius et brevius ; segmenta 
parallela, 1"™ magnum, 2"™ et sequentia breviora subzequalia: sexualia 
exerta : pedes mediocres, simplices, subzequales ; tarsis articuli 1" et 3"° bre- 
viores, 2"5 et 4"° longiores; ungues et pulvilli parvi: proalz late, non ci- 
liatee ; nervus ulnaris humerali non brevior, radialis nullus, cubitalis sat 
longus in alz discum declivis, apice stigma fingens, minutum bimucronatum. 

Fem. Antenne extrorsum crassiores, corporis dimidio longiores; articuli 
3° ad 5"™ curtantes; clava attenuata: abdomen breviovatum, supra planum, 
subtus carinatum, apice acuminatum, thorace brevius et fere latius. 


Sp. 43. Cirr. Julis, Mas et Fem. Cyaneus, antenne nigre@, pedes cyanei, 

tibie picee aut fusce, tarsi pallidiores, ale limpide. 

Mas. Cyaneus: oculi et ocelli obscure rufi: antenne nigre; articuli 
1's et 2"Snigro-cyanei: abdomen basi cyaneo-zeneum : sexualia fulva: pedes 
fulvi ; coxee cyanez ; femora cyanea; tibize piceze; tarsi apice fusci; pro- 
pedum tibize fulve, tarsi fusci: ale limpide; squamule fulvze; proalis 
nervi fulvi, metalis flavi. 


Mr, Walker on the British Chalcidites. 355 


Fem. Abdomen cyaneo-viride; discus late purpureo-cyaneus, (Corp. 
long. lin. $—14; alar. lin, 1—14.) 

Var. 6. Fem.—Thoracis latera cyaneo-viridia: abdominis discus cupreus: 
pedes cyanei; trochanteres picei; genua flava; tibie fusce; tarsi fusci, 
basi flavi; protibize piceze: proalis nervi fusci. 

May; near London. 

Fem. Corpus breve, crassum, nitens, scitissime squameum, parce hirtum : 
caput transversum, breve, convexum, juxta thoraci latum ; vertex latus; 
frons abrupte declivis, non impressa: oculi mediocres: antenne sublineares, 
valide, corporis dimidio longiores; articulus 1"s sublinearis ; 2"* longifusi- 
formis ; 3"5, 4"5 et 5° longiovati, subequales ; clava fusiformis, acuminata, 
articulo 5° fere duplo longior: thorax ovatus, valde convexus: prothorax 
transversus, supra vix conspicuus : mesothoracis scutum latitudine longius ; 
parapsidum suture remote, bene determinate ; scutellum obconicum, bifo- 
veolatum: metathorax mediocris: petiolus brevissimus: abdomen ovatum, 
planum, thorace brevius, subtus carinatum, apice acuminatum ; segmentum 
1X magnum, 2"™ et sequentia breviora, transversa: pedes validi; tarsis 
articulus 1"° 2° brevior, 2"° 3° longior, 4"* 2° longior; ungues et pulvilli 
parvi: ale late ; nervus ulnaris humerali non brevior, radialis nullus, cu- 
bitalis sat longus. 


Sp. 44. Cirr. Ilithyia, Fem. Cyaneo-viridis, antenne nigre, pedes Jue, 
femora viridia, ale sublimpide. 


Obscure cyaneo-viridis: oculi et ocelli rufi: antenne nigre; articuli 1" 
et 2"° nigro-virides: abdomen lete viride, apice supra cyaneum ; pedes vi- 
rides ; trochanteres fusci; genua fulva; tibice fuscee; tarsi fusci, basi fulvi: 
alee sublimpide ; squamule piceo-virides ; nervi fusci. (Corp. long. lin. 1 
alar. lin. 14.) 

Scotland. 

Mas. Corpus robustum, nitens, pubescens, scite squameum, parce hirtum : 
caput transversum, breve, convexum, juxta thoraci latum: antenne fili- 
formes, hirtz, corpore breviores: articulus 1"° fusiformis ; 2"* longicyathi- 
formis ; 3"° et sequentes longi, lineares, subeequales ; clava fusiformis, acu- 
minata, articulo 6° duplo longior: thorax ovatus, crassus, convexus: pro- 
thorax transyersus, brevissimus, supra conspicuus: mesothoracis scutum 
foveolatum, latitudine vix longius; parapsidum suturz bene determinate ; 
scutellum obconicum, bifoveolatum ; paraptera et epimera conspicua: me- 
tathorax mediocris: petiolus crassus, brevissimus: abdomen sublineare, 
planum, thorace angustius et paullo brevius: pedes mediocres: alz non ci- 
liate ; nervus ulnaris humerali longior, radialis nullus, cubitalis longus in 
alz discum declivis. 


[To be continued. ] 


356 Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 


XLII.—Flore Insularum Nove Zelandie Precursor; or a 
Specimen of the Botany of the Islands of New Zealand. 
By ALLAN CuNNINGHAM, Esq. 

[Continued from p. 214. ] 
SAXIFRAGACEA, DC. (Escallonica, sp. R. Br.) 
1. Quintinta, Alph. De Cand. 

Calycis tubus ovario adherens, nervis 10 subnotatus: limbus 5-dentatus, 
persistens. Petala 5-obovata. Stamina 5, patentia, petalis alterna. 
Stylus columnari-filiformis. Stigma peltato-capitatum, 4—5-lobum. 
Capsula stylo calycinisque dentibus coronata, 5-locularis, dissepimentis 
subincompletis, loculis polyspermis. Semina parva, ovato-compressa.— 
Arbores 20-30 pedales. Folia alterna, petiolata, coriacea, integra seu 
serrata. Flores spicati, vel paniculati, albi. 

515. Q. serrata; foliis ovato-lanceolatis lanceolatisve acuminatis undula- 
tis serratis supra farinoso-squamatis, subtus punctatis fuscatis, spicis 
axiliaribus ramosis multifloris folio brevioribus. 4. C. Ms. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Forests at the sources of the Kana- 
Kana river and elsewhere, on the shores of the Bay of Islands, flowering in 
November.—1826, 4. Cunningham. 

Obs.* Arbor sempervirens, elegans, ramosa, 20-30 pedalis. Rami alterni, 
teretes, glabri. Folia alterna, breve petiolata, coriacea, 3—4 pollices longa. 


* The type of this genus, a native of New South Wales, may be thus cha- 

racterized :— 
_ Q. Siebert (melius integrifolia), foliis ovato-acuminatis coriaceis venosis 
integerrimis glabris subtus discoloribus, paniculis terminalibus ramosis, ramis 
patentibus. Alph. De Cand. in.Monogr. Campan. (1830), p. 92. DC. Prodr. 
iv. p. 5.—Ericineis Campanulaceisve affinis. Sieb. Pl. Sic. Nov. Holl., p. 
261. 

Hab. In Nova Cambria Australi, in sylvis densis humidis prope littora. 
—1834, R. Brown.—1818, 4. Cunningham. 

A remarkable tree, assuming occasionally (like some Ficz) of equinoctial 
countries) a parasitical growth, as will appear from the following memoran- 
dum, made some years ago in one of its native forests. Itmay be premised, 
that in the centre of the Blue Mountain chain, directly west from Port 
Jackson, is a remarkable eminence, called Tomah, the height of which, 
above the level of the ocean, has been ascertained to exceed 3500 feet. Be- 
fore the axe of the colonist was carried to the base of that mountain, in the 
great chain, viz. prior to 1823, Tomah had its flanks and summits clothed 
with a dense vegetation, consisting of timber trees, loving shade and moisture, 
laden with orchideous Epiphytes, and borne down heavily by gigantic climb- 
ers; and beneath them, in deep shade, flourished many a noble specimen of 
an arborescent fern (the Cibotium Billardiert of Kaulfuss), which was not 
previously known to exist in New South Wales. On the side of the mountain 
was then to be observed a remarkable instance of the disposition of the 
Quintinia to attach itself to other plants by means of cauline roots, that may 
be worthy notice. 

A large Quintinia (Sieberi, A. DC.) grew near to an aged Cibotium, 
full 35 feet high, and having a distinct trunk in the soil. At about 6 feet 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. = 357 


2. Weinmannta, L. 

516. W. betulina, foliis ternatis impari-pinnatisque : foliolis obovatis co- 
riaceis obtusis basi angustatis crenato-serratis venosis, rachi ramulis pedun- 
culisque pubescentibus, racemis terminalibus multifloris, petalis obovatis 
obtusis calyce paulo longioribus. 

New Zealand (Northern Island), Damp woods on the east coast.—1826, 
A. Cunningham, 

Obs. Arbor (sempervirens) triginta pedalis. oliola coriacea. Racemi 
2—4 pollicares, confertiflori. Capsula ovata, acuminata, pube adpressa raro 
conspersa. Semina apice penicillata. 

517. W. fuchsioides, foliis simplicibus ternatisve ovato-oblongis acumi- 
natis coriaceis reticulato-venosis serratis basi attenuatis longe petiolatissubtus 
discoloribus, petiolis ramulisque pubescentibus, racemis terminalibus multi- 
floris folio duplo triplove longioribus, sepalis lanceolatis, petalis lato-ovatis 
obtusis calyce longioribus, ovariis villosis, stylis stamina zequantibus. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). Shaded forests, margins of woods, &c., 
Bay of Islands.—1826, 4, Cunningham.—1834, R. Cunningham. 

Obs. Arbuscula ramosa. Folia sesqui v. 2-pollices longa, basi angustata, 
crenato-serrata, subtus rubro-venosa ut in Fuchsia. Racemi densiflori, 4—5 
unciales. Pedunculi pubescentes. Capsule subrotunde, costate, pilis te- | 
nuissimis patentibus conspersee. Semina basi apiceque barbata. 

518. W. sylvicola (Sol.), foliis ternatis impari-pinnatisve : foliolis ellipticis 
acuminatis obtusiusculisve coriaceis petiolatis basi attenuatis crenato- 
serratis utrinque glabris, racemis elongatis densifloris folio plus duplo lon- 
gioribus, fasciculis subverticellatis 4-—6-floris, ramulis pedunculisque pubi- 
geris. Sol. Mss. in Bibl. Banks. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. Dry woods in 
the country intermediate to Hokianga and the Bay of Islands.—1826, 4. 
Cunningham. 

Obs. Arbuscula 15—20 pedalis. Foliola crassa, ovalia, obtusa, subtus 


from the ground, however, the roots which the former had thrown out from 
its stem had got hold of the fern tree, the caudex of which they enveloped 
by numerous folds, so as to present but one trunk of great bulk for upwards 
of 20 feet. Above this, however, was to be perceived the rough bark of the 
Quintinia on one side, and the rugged caudex of the fern on the other, the 
trunks of both continuing firmly united, as if grafted into each other, until 
near their summits, where they separated; the Quintinia exhibiting a 
branching umbrageous head, while the Cibotium spread forth its noble tufts 
of fronds, evidently not in the slightest degree inconvenienced by the em- 
brace of the aerial roots of the other, throughout nearly its whole length of 
caudex. 

it may here be added, that all the specimens of Cibotium, examined at that 
period on the Tomah mountain, had young seedlings of the Quintinia grow- 
ing on their trunks, upon which, being well rooted, they assumed all the ha- 
bit and aspect of some kinds of wild fig in intratropical regions, that live and 
grow as well without earth, in the hollow branch or trunk of a tree, as they 
do when they happen to fall to the ground and theretake root. (Memoran- 
dum 2nd Dec, 1823. A.C.) | 


358 Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand. 


venosa. acemi copiosi, interdum bini, spicati, tripollicares. Stamina ex- 
serta, subzequalia. Pedicelli floribus longiores. Capsula ovata, villosiuscula, 
costata. Discus hypogynus 8-glandulosus. Seminum structura mihi ignota. 


3. Letospermum, Don. 
(Weinmannie sp. L. Forst.) 

Calyx 4-fidus, deciduus. Petala 4. Stamina 8. Discus hypogynus planus, 
integer. Capsula ab apice septicido-dehiscens: loculis polyspermis. 
Semina minuta, oblonga, glabra.—Arbores sempervirentes (Nove Ze- 
landie et Tahitensis). Folia simplicia, impari-pinnataque, serrata. 
Stipule caduce. Flores racemosi. 

519. L. racemosa, petiolis apice articulatis, racemis subsolitariis. Don. 
in Edinb, New Phil. Journ. (June 1830) p. 8.—Weinmannia racemosa. L. 
Forst. Prodr. n.173, Willd. Sp. Pl. 2. p. 438. DC. Prodr. iv. p.8.. A. 
Rich. Fl, Nov. Zel. p. 321.—W., speciosa. Banks and Sol. Mss. in Bibl. 
Banks, 

Towai, incol., &. C. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. In shaded 
woods and on the margins of running steams near the Bay of Islands.— 
1826, A. Cunningham. (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster. Astrolabe 
Harbour.—1827, D’Urville. . 

Obs. Arbor robusta, triginta vel quadriginta pedalis. Folia lato-elliptica, 
vel elliptico-oblonga, subtus pulchre venulosa, 2—3-pollicaria. tacemi ter- 
minales, plerumque bini, 3—4-unciales. 

In Mr. Don’s monograph of this family the author gives New Zea- 
land as the locality of LZ. parviflorum, on the authority of Forster. 
Having, however, examined a specimen of that rare plant in the 
Banksian Herbarium, where Tahiti alone is marked as its native 
country, it appears evident that itis a mistake of this learned writer, 
occasioned possibly by his having just previously described the type 
of the genus, which both Sir Jos. Banks and Forster found in great 
abundance in New Zealand. Weinmannia parviflora of Forster has 
been found only in the forests of Tahiti. 

4. ACKAMA. 

Calyx 5-partitus, persistens ; laciniis lineari-spathulatis. Petala 5, inte- 
gra, decidua. Stamina 10, eequalia. Discus hupogynus subcrateriformis, 
dentatus, seu 10-glandulosus. Capsula ab apice septicido-dehiscens, 
loculis polyspermis. Semina minuta, ovata, rostrata, testa spadicea : co- 
riacea, glabra. 

The name of this distinct genus has been invented by anagram- 

mizing that given to the tree by the natives. 

520. A. rosefolia.—W ecinmannia rosefolia, 4. C. Mss. 1826. 

New Zealand (Northern Island). In shaded woods near the Hokianga 


river, where it usually flowers in September.—1826, 4. Cunningham.— 
1834, R. Cunningham, 


Specimen of the Botany of New Zealand, 359 


Meka-maka, insul, R, Cunningham. 

Obs, Arbor 30-pedalis. Ramuli dense cinereo-pilosi. Folia pinnata: 
foliola 4—6-juga cum impari, sesqui vel biuncialia, elliptica, acuta, serrata 
(serraturis attenuatis), breve petiolata, glabra, subtus discolorata, pen- 
ninervia attamen pilosa. lores terminales, paniculati, paniculis ramosis, 
laxis, dense lanatis, pilis stellatis. Petala lineari-spathulata, segmentis calycis 
aequalia. Stamina incumbentia. Styli divaricati. Ovarium copiose to- 
mentosum. Capsula subrotunda, ecostata, strigosa. 

CRASSULACEX, DC. 
Titta#a, Mich. L. 

521. 7. verticillaris ; caule basi prostrato radicante, ramis adscendentibus, 
foliis oppositis oblongo-linearibus, floribus quadrifidis ad axillas congesto- 
verticillatis, aliis sessilibus (immaturis ’), aliis pedicellatis. DC. Prodr. iii. 
p. 382. Endl. Syn. Fl. Insul. Oc. Austr. in Ann. des Wien. Mus. Band i. 
p.177.—T, muscosa. Forst. Prodr.n.61, A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 322, 
non Linn. conf. Endl. 

New Zealand (Middle Island).—1773, G. Forster. 


FICOIDEA, Juss. 
1. MeseMBRYANTHEMUM, L, 

522. M. australe. Soland., in Hort. Kew. ed. 1. vol, ii. p. 187. Willd. Sp. 
Pl. ii. p. 1047. Haw. Misc. Nat. p. 79. DC. Prodr, iii. p. 428. Endl. 
- Prodr. Fl, Norf. p.72. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks, H. K. loc. cit. 

Obs. Caulis semiteres, glaber, prostratus. Folia triquetra, glaucescentia, 
punctulata, levia, incurvantia. Pedunculus obtuse anceps, basi bibracteatus. 
Flores mediocres, dilute rubicundi. Calyx 5-fidus. Stigmata 5, subulata. 

2. Terraconia, L. 

523. 7. eapansa. Soland. in Hort. Kew, ed. 1. vol. ii. p. 178. Willd. Sp. 
Pl. ii. p, 1024, DC. Prodr. iii, p. 452. Endl, Prodr, Fi, Norf. p.72. A. 
Rich. p. 320. Plant. Crass, t. 114. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos, Banks, 

New Zealand Spinach, 

PASSIFLOREZ, Juss. 
Passirtora, L. (Granadilla Tournef.) 

524, P.tetrandra; glabra, foliis ovali-oblongis acuminatis integerrimis 
eglandulosis. DC, Prodr. iii. p. 323. Banks et Sol. Mss. in Bibl. Banks. 

Ku-papa, incol. RR. C. 

New Zealand (Northern Island).—1769, Sir Jos. Banks. Near the Wai- 
maté and on the margins of forests at the head of Kana- Kana river, Bay of 
Islands. —1833, R. Cunningham. 

Obs. Pedunculi ramosi, triflori. Calyx 4-lobus. Stamina 4, Involucrum 
nullum, aut minimum. ores parvi, virescentes. 

CUCURBITACE, Juss, 
Sicyos, LZ. 
525, S. australis, foliis cordato-reniformibus angulatis denticulatis scabri- 


360 Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 


usculis, cirrhis trifidis, pedunculis masculis corymboso-racemosis, elongatis, 
femineis brevibus glomerato-capitatis, fructibus ovatis, echinatis, semine ovato 
basi acuto, apice obtusiusculo. Endl. Prodr. Fl. Norf. p. 67.—S. angulata. 
Forst. Pr. n. 368. A. Rich. Fl. Nov. Zel. p. 323, non Linn. Icon Bauer 
ined. t. 110. 

Pohue, incol., R. C. 

New Zealand (Middle Island)—1773, G. Forster (Northern Island), 
Among underwood on the sea coast, Wangaroa, &c.—1833, Rich. Cunning- 
ham. 

[To be continued. ] 


XLIII.—Jnformation respecting Botanical Travellers. 
Unio IvinERARIA. 


Extract from Dr. Steudel’s Letter, dated dug. 24, 1838. 


Tue general accounts which we continue to receive respecting 
M. Schimper’s travels in Abyssinia are very satisfactory, although 
the letters with which this naturalist favours us are mostly short and 
not so full of detail as we could desire. 

Since the announcement, given by us in January last, of M. Schim- 
per’s proceedings, we have received tidings which bring down our 
information to the end of March, at which period he was in good 
health, and, together with the most favourable prognostications as to 
the ultimate success of his journey, he had already augmented his 
collection to the number of 50,000 dried specimens of plants, con- 
sisting of about 600 distinct species, many of which were new. Dif- 
ficulties had recently threatened to put a step to M. Schimper’s pro- 
gress. The Abyssinian priests had succeeded by their intrigues in ob- 
taining an order from the reigning powers for the expulsion of the 
missionaries, hitherto so favourably received in that country, and this 
mandate was also to extend to every European. Our traveller 
having received due intimation of this measure, forthwith applied by 
a suitable memorial to Prince Ubie, whose patronage he particularly 
enjoyed, and earnestly petitioned for leave to remain in the country 
under the prince’s special protection. ‘This request, backed by the 
present of a handsome double-barrelled gun, produced the desired 
effect ; so that M. Schimper, if he be only provided with the needful 
pecuniary assistance, entertains no doubt of fully accomplishing the 
object of his journey. In his last letter he computes that he has 
hardly collected one tenth of the rich Flora of Abyssinia, and that 
two years will probably be required to complete the collection. 


Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 361 


Dr. Steudel is of opinion that in case the specimens already ob- 
tained reached Europe in safety, the sale of them will cover all the 
expenses already incurred ; and as the most difficult part of the un-~ 
dertaking may be considered as overcome, the risk which subscribers 
might have to run is very materially diminished. 

In September 1838, the following additional information was 
printed in German and circulated among the friends of the Unio Iti- 
neraria. 

The travels of M. Schimper in Abyssinia are still prosecuted. 
The collections which he has made in that country, consisting chiefly 
of dried plants, were deposited at the date of his last letter (April 
1838) in fifteen chests, and were lying at Adoa, the place of his 
temporary sojourn. The choice was offered him, whether to proceed. 
to Europe,’carrying his collections with him, or to remain in Abyssi- 
nia with the object of exploring the high mountainous country of 
Semea and the valleys of Schoho. In the latter case, he must leave 
the treasures that he had already amassed in Adoa, as the heavy 
charges attendant on their despatch to Massava on the Red Sea and 
thence to Egypt would exhaust all his funds, and forbid his prose- 
cuting the aforesaid researches in Abyssinia. His decision has been 
to pursue his way to those districts, hitherto unexplored, which lie 
under the special jurisdiction of Prince Ubie; and this great chief, 
_ mollified by petitions and presents, exempts M. Schimper from the 
decree of banishment recently passed against all Europeans, and 
which hastened from Adoa the missionaries Blumhardt and Isenberg, 
with whom our traveller had been residing there, and who had 
shown him much kindness. These estimable individuals confirm to. 
the fullest extent the statement that Schimper has sent us respect- 
ing the value of his collections, and also speak most highly of his 
exertions. Hitherto, M. Schimper’s labours have been confined to 
the moderately elevated ground that lies about Adoa; but if he can 
also investigate the high mountain ranges, a most interesting epoch - 
will take place in the annals of botanical research with respect to 
Abyssinia. ‘This consideration and the desire to perfect his labours 
induced M. Schimper to expose himself to new fatigues and dangers, 
through which we hope that. his previous experience and the sound 
constitution that he possesses will enable him to pass unharmed. 

The most essential requisite is now that the traveller should be 
furnished with fresh remittances, so that on his return from the 
journey in hand, he may be enabled to incur the expense of despatch- 
ing his collections. The removal of these numerous packages and, 
the permission to forward them over a considerable extent of coun- 

Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol. 2. No.11. Jan. 1839. 28 


362 Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 


try must be obtained by making numerous presents to Prince Ubie 
and his subaltern officers, petty chieftains, &c. The cost of travel- 
ling with goods to the Red Sea is likewise very heavy. Some little 
provision has been already made, according to our former request, 
to meet these expenses; and here we beg to tender our thanks for 
the promptitude with which many of the: members of the Unio have 
come forward, so that (including a contribution from our Govern- 
ment to the amount of 300 florins) we have already been enabled ‘to 
devote 6000 florins to the object of this journey. About 2000 florins 
more will probably be required, and we therefore particularly look 
to those members of the Unio who have as yet contributed nothing 
on this occasion, or only subscribed the simple and customary sum 
of 30 florins, and earnestly request that they will now come forward 
with contributions of money. Such friends of botany and well- 
wishers to our cause as have not yet been connected with this insti- 
tution, we beg to inform that by subscriptions of 30, 60, 90, 120, 
and 130 Rhenish florins (65, 130, 195, 260, and 300 francs) they 
may look to receive (if no peculiar disaster occurs) respectively 
200, 400, 600, 800 and 1200 species of dried plants from Abyssinia, 
or other natural productions, for details respecting which we must 
refer them to our printed appeal of January of this year. The many 
novelties that rewarded Schimper’s journey in Arabia, particularly 
the province of Hedsches, entitle us to entertain high expectations 
from his labours in Abyssinia. We particularly recommend the sub- 
ject of Schimper’s journey to the attention of the friends of natural 
science who are to meet this month at Fribourg, and only regret 
that we cannot personally attend and urge the subject. 

The present opportunity permits us to mention that some small 
collections remain unsold from the former journeys, viz. 


Ist. Arabian Plants, collections of 200 species at 30 florins (65 francs.) 
—_———- 100 — 15 florins (33 francs.) 
2nd. N. American Plants, (Ohio district) col. of 200 spe. at 24 fl. (50 fr.) 
3rd. Georgio-Caucasian Plants, col. of 320 species at 40 florins (86 francs.) 
| 200 25 florins. This is the 


fifth delivery. 


Lastly, we have undertaken the commission of disposing of col- 
lections made from the Flora of Portugal and the Azores this summer 
by MM. Guthrick and Hochsteller, jun., in the environs of Lisbon, 
(the greater part however at the Azores,) during a journey which 
these naturalists made at their own expense. Purchasers may have 
either complete collections of 200-—300 species at 12 florins (25-fr.), 
or smaller ones of 100 to 150 species at 10 to 15 florins, the latter 


: Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 363 


it must be observed containing a beautiful suite of the Lisbon Flora, 
and a great number of rare and novel species; for instance, some 
undescribed Carices, a new Laurus, a new Vaccinium, a large-flowered 
new species of Huphrasia, an undescribed Frankenia and Veronica, 
together with several recent discoveries, the fruits of the Rev. Mr. 
Lowe’s labours in Madeira. For these, subscriptions are received 
of from 10 to 36 florins (22 to 75 francs, which must be sent free 
of postage), and for which the collections will be transmitted early 
in the following year. | 
f Prorgssorn HocusTerrer. 
Dr. Stevpe. 
Esslingen, Sept, 10, 1838. 


We learn by letters lately received from Switzerland, that Dr. 
Brunner of Berne has returned from the Cape de Verd Islands with 
a collection of from 500 to 600 species of plants, which it is his in- 
‘tention to offer to botanists at the rate of about .2/..the hundred spe- 
cies. 


Mr. Gardner is prosecuting his botanical researches in Brazil 
with unabated ardour. At p. 463 of vol. i. we mentioned his arrival 
at Pernambuco, and gave some account of the vegetation of that di- 
strict, which he had communicated in a letter dated Jan. 24, 1838. 

Since that period several letters have reached us from this enter- 
prising naturalist (the last dated in July of this year), from which 
we extract the following passages. 

“‘ Maceio, Province of Alagoas, April 5, 1838. 

“TI am highly gratified to hear that my collections from the Organ 
Mountains give so much satisfaction. After the labour bestowed on 
collecting and preserving them, this intelligence becomes doubly 
agreeable. It is peculiarly pleasant to me to know that the Cactus 
which I named after my noble and generous patron the Duke of 
Bedford is doing so well in the Glasgow Botanic Garden. Itisa 
remarkably pretty species, and will soon, I trust, blossom with you ; 
the specimen which I first saw, and of which the discovery gave me 
more delight than I can describe, was adorned with upwards of 200 
flowers. 

«« Since I last wrote to you I have done and suffered a good deal, 
having been within an inch-of the grave from a severe attack of dy- 
sentery while on a voyage up the Rio San Francisco. On the 30th 
of January I left Pernambuco in a canoe for this place, where I pur- 

2B 2 


‘364 Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 


posed to spend two months, till the rainy season should set in, and 
then proceed into the interior. The Rio San Francisco being so near, 
I determined on visiting it, knowing that in these tropical countries 
the margins of rivers generally afford good botanizing. After col- 
lecting a few plants in the vicinity of this place, I embarked in a Jan- 
gada for Peba, a village five leagues to the north of the mouth of the 
San Francisco river, the heavy surf which breaks on the bar not al- 
lowing small craft to approach nearer, and from thence made my 
way in a bullock cart to the village of Piassabussa, situated on the 
north bank of the river, and two leagues from its outlet. It was night 
when I arrived, but next morning I was highly delighted with the 
sight of that magnificent stream, then discharging, as usual at that 
season, its greatest quantity of water, and more swollen by the late 
rains than it has been since the year 1792. The flat country on 
both sides was inundated to a great extent, and hundreds of families 
obliged to quit theix dwellings, which were either carried away or 
quite submerged. From Piassabussa I again embarked in a canoe 
for the Villa do Penedo, situated five leagues higher up, and there 
I spent a few days in the house of the Juiz Derita, a very excellent 
kind man, a lover of science and particularly fond of botany, although 
he attends more to the theoretical than the practical part of it. My 
great wish was to reach the magnificent falls, nearly 200 miles 
nearer the source of the river, 60 miles of which must be travelled 
overland. Every one dissuaded me from the attempt, particularly 
at this season, when the ground is so much burned up that it is im- 
possible to find grass and water for horses. Still I determined to 
proceed, and hired a canoe to convey me as far as the stream was 
navigable; and just as we had reached this point, 100 miles up, 
close to the Ilha do San Pedro, a large island in the river, a tre- 
mendous storm overtook us in the middle of the stream. Sucha 
hurricane I never witnessed. Before we could reach the lee side of 
‘the river, there more than a league broad, our canoe had nearly upset; 
and would certainly have done so, when we must all have been 
drowned, but for the exertions of my black servant and myself, for 
the crew were so terrified as to lose all presence of mind, and they 
gave no assistance; and the night was dark, the river broad, and 
the current strong. The thunder and lightning and rain exceeded all 
I couldimagine. Drenched to the skin we reached the shore, and 
remained till daybreak in our wet clothes, and the consequence to 
me was a severe attack of dysentery. For several days there was no 
prespect of my recovery, and more than once I attempted to write 
what I considered would be my last letters to Sir W. J. Hooker and 


Bibliographical.Notices. 365 


another friend, when my disease took a favourable turn, and I soon 
_ recovered sufficient strength to return to the Villa do Penedo, where. ; 
my kind friend the Juiz gave me a most welcome reception. His at- 
tentions accelerated my amendment, and I soon began to make con- 
siderable collections in the neighbourhood. In going up the river I 
had obtained many valuable things, chiefly Leguminose and Loran- 
thacee; and on the Ilha San Pedro, where I remained during my illness, 
there were a great variety of fine Cacti, of which, spite of my great 
debility, 1 brought away three large cases. Some of the species attain 
a height of nearly thirty feet, and have stems three feet in circum- 
ference. A beautiful Melocactus particularly attracted my attention, 
and I trust the plants of it that I collected will do well. Many of 
the Cacti are no doubt new. I only found two species of Orchidee. 
The island is chiefly inhabited by civilized Indians. It is my inten- 
tion to take these collections to Pernambuco and ship them from. 
thence ; and I will at the same time give you a full account of my 
voyage and the vegetation of the country through which I passed. 
Since I came back I have visited the city of Alagoas, which is situated 
on the margin of a large lake, about six leagues from this place.. I 
was much pleased to find there fine specimens of Mayaca fluviatilis 
(Aublet) and Cabomba aquatica of the same author. 
. “Anylittle information which my friends can communicate respect- 
ing the progress of science at home will be gratefully received by | 
me. I trust that I may be allowed to receive regularly the numbers 
of the ‘ Companion to the Botanical Magazine,’ for I assure you that. 
it is really a ‘ companion’ to me in this lonely life, where 
I wander forth alone, and find no kindred eye 
To gaze with me on the flowery earth and the glory of the sky. 
(Mr. Gardner’s subsequent letters will appear in our next.] 


9 5 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 


A Cornish Fauna, being a compendium of the Natural History of the 
: County. Part I. Containing the Vertebrate, Crustacean, and a 

portion of the Radiate Animals, By Jonathan Couch, F.L.S., &c. 
_ 8vo. Truro, 1838. 


_. This is another of those little works which are daily rendering the 
knowledge of our native Fauna more complete, while at the same time 
it serves as a guide to the collection belonging to the Scientific In- 
stitution of the district. Mr. Couch has long been known as an ob- 
serving naturalist, and as particularly conversant with the ichthyology 
of the Cornish coasts, and in the short Fauna now before us we have 


366 Bibliographical Notices. 


both many interesting remarks as ‘‘ occasional correction of what is 
believed to be an error, or an addition of something in which our 
native species may differ from the. same kinds in other districts,” 
with the characters of several species which the author considers 
new, either to our Fauna or entirely so to science. The lists of the 
mammalia and birds are the most scanty, and we have little doubt 
that further research will soon add to their enlargement. The other 
departments are much fuller and exhibit a rich series. The follow- 
ing observations suggested themselves while perusing the work. Of 
the bats, six species are enumerated, though it is supposed more 
may exist. ‘There will also be found additions to the Sorices and 
Arvicole. The Cetacea show a good list ; thirteen species are enu- 
merated. Speaking of the porpoise it is remarked, “I have known 
it take a bait, though it commonly proves too strong for the line.” 
(We have more than once proposed to an angling friend to fish for 
this animal with the.rod and line.) ©The falling motion in this and 
some of the others is accounted for ‘ by the situation of the nostrils 
on the anterior part of the top of the head, to breathe through which, 
the body must be placed in somewhat of an erect posture, from 
which to descend, it passes through a considerable portion of a 
circle.” 

Among the birds the Raptores are comparatively rare. ‘The Noc- 
tua? funerea as British, rests on the authority of a specimen taken 
on the Cornish coast. Of the Insessores the golden Oriole alights 
occasionally cn the fishing boats. We regret to observe that the 
Cornish chough or red-legged crow is decreasing in numbers ‘‘ owing 
to persecution from those who supply specimens to naturalists.” 
The hoopoe is met with so frequently, ‘‘as to justify me in saying 
that it is not uncommon in Cornwall.’”’ Two instances of the alpine 
Swift having occurred are mentioned. Natatores: the little gull is 
stated to have been taken two or three times; and a new gull is 
given under the title of L. Jacksonti, Couch, for the characters of 
which see our Miscellanea, where we have printed them, as more 
likely there to attract attention. Procellaria glacialis, Puffinus, An- 
glorum, cinerea, pelagica, and Leachii are all given. 

Among the reptiles we have the Rana esculenta introduced, but 
with some hesitation. There have been several notices of this spe- 
cies occurring both in England and Scotland, but without sufficient 
authenticity, and the subject is worthy of more strict inquiry. 

Fishes. Here we have an ample list, and in it several additions 
and corrections to Mr, Yarrell’s work, which that gentleman will 

doubtless use in his forthcoming supplement. The Serranus Couchit; 


Bibliographical Notices. 367 


Yarr., is considered identical with Polyprion cernuum, Cuy. and Vall. 
_ Hemulon formosum or squirrel fish, a native of the West Indian Seas, 
has been once taken. Sciena Aquila has been taken twice. Cyclo- 
pterus coronatus,coronated Lump fish of Couch, and considered new to 
science—one specimen however has only been examined, of a very 
small size ; see our Miscellanea for characters. At the conclusion of 
this list there are some important remarks on the time and ceconomy 
of spawning of many of the fishes commercially used, together with 
some hints regarding the improvement of our fishing regulations. 
This is a much more important subject than most people are at pre- 
sent willing to suppose, and these remarks deserve attention. 
Of the Crustaceous animals, fifty-four species are enumerated ; 
five Lepadea, and of the Radiated animals, twenty-three. We trust 
the second part of this Fauna will speedily appear. 


British Entomology. By J. Curtis, F.L.S. 

"Since we last noticed this work Nos. 175 to 180 have been pub- 
lished, which complete the 15th volume. 

Lampyris noctiluca (the Glow-worm), Rhagio Heyshami, Ephe- 
mera cognata (the May-fly), Harpocera Burmeisteri, Libellula rubi- 
cunda, Anthicus tibialis, Molanna angustata, Coccus Aceris, and Phy- 
tosus spinifer are amongst the most interesting novelties, and there 
is a very beautiful plate of the rare Clostera anachoreta and its cater- 
pillar. We would also call the attention of botanists to the faithful 
figures of Astragalus hypoglottis, Sagittaria sagittifolia, Arabis stricta, 

Osmunda regalis, Althea officinalis, Milium effusum, Hutchinsia pe- 
trea, Oxyria reniformis, Acorus Calamus, Zannichellia palustris, Me- 
littis grandiflora, &c. 

We are happy to find that Mr. Curtis is preparing for the press a 
Synopsis or Britisu Insects, the orders to be published in separate 

volumes. This will undoubtedly be an agreeable present tovall lovers 
of entomology, especially those who have not ready access to large 
libraries. 

Entomologists are earnestly invited to supply Mr. Curtis with du- 
plicate specimens of those insects which he does not possess, or to lend 
him such species as maybe required for describing. 


Icones Plantarum. By Sir W. J. Hooker. 


The fifth part of this work, or the first half of the third volume, 
_has recently appeared, with fifty plates, from Tabs. CCI. to CCL. in- 
clusive. This portion is particularly rich in new South American 
plants from the collections of Mr. Gardner, Mathews, Professor W. 
Jameson, &c, 


368 Biblioyraphical Notices. 


The same author has just completed the second part of Mr. Bauer’s 
‘ Illustrations of the Genera of Ferns’; and the seventh part of the 
‘Botany of Capt. Beechey’s Voyage’ will soon be ready. These two 
works, and the ‘ Flora Boreali-Americana,’ of which Part X. is in a 
state of great forwardness, are published by H. G. Bohn, 4, York 
Street, Covent Garden. 


We have just received the forty-seventh number of Mr. Sowerby’s 
‘ Supplement to English Botany.’ It contains plates and descriptions 
of Polygonum larum, Reich. and Borr. in Hook. Brit. Fl., ed. 4. nete ; 
Lotus hispidus, Loisel, which we have been disposed to consider as 
not specifically distinct from L. angustissimus, and it occurs in 
Jersey with that species; Chara pulchella, Wallr., ‘‘ principally di- 
stinguished from C. Hedwigii by its more flexible stems and oblong 
nucules ;” and Tetraspora lubrica, Agardh, and Hook. in E. Fl. 5. 
p. 313. . 


Tijdschrift voor Natuurlijke Geschiedenis en Physiologie ; edited by 
Prof. J. Van der Hoeven and Prof. W. H. de Vriese, Leiden, 1837. 


Part I and II. 

These contain the following original articles, besides reviews and 
notices. ; 

Some remarks on the northern Whale, Balenoptera rostrata. By 
W. Vrolik.—On the Sargasso or Gulf-weed. By F. A. W. Miquel. 
—Some remarks on the origin of the green colour and changes of 
form in the stem of plants. By Dr. J. Wttewaall.—Researches re- 
specting the motion of leaves which do not originate from swellings. 
By M. Dassen.— [The principal results contained in this memoir 
have been noticed at p. 223. of this Journal.]—Additions to our 
knowledge of the simple eyes of articulated animals. By A. Brants. 
—Experiments on the action of poisons on plants. By F. A. W. 
Miquel.—On the cause of the brand in Physalia. By P. W. Korthals. 
—Some notices of G. R. Treviranus. By J. Van der Hoeven. 


Part III. and IV. 1838. 

Hints on the origin of monstrous births, and on the doctrine of 
misformations. By W. Vrolik.—Contributions to the natural history 
of man. By J. Van der Hoeven.—The vegetation of the Northern 
Nertherlands compared with that of the Prussian Rhine Provinces. 
By F. A.W. Miquel.—Contributions to the solution of the question, 
whether Lemna arrhiza, auct. be a permanent distinct species, or 
merely a development form of some other species of the same genus. 
By J. F. Hoffmann.—On the periodical secretion of blood from the 
generative organs in some domestic animals, especially in the cow, 


Bibliographical Notices. 369 


and remarks on this phenomenon in reference to the human kind. 
By A. Numan.—Geological and mineralogical notices on the Island 
of Borneo. By L. Hérner.—On the covering of the stigma in the Sce- 
volacee and Goodeniacee. By P. W. Korthals.—Remarks on the gi- 
_-gantic Salamander of Japan. By J. Van der Hoeven. [Noticed at 
p. 413.]—The biforines of Turpin, a new discovery in the crystallo- 
graphy of the vegetable kingdom. By W.H. De Vries.—On Lepi- 
dosiren paradoxa. By J. Van der Hoeven. [A notice of this reptile 
was inserted in our last number at p. 309.]—Nove species Cycade- 
arum Africe Australis, quas descriptionibus et figuris illustravit W. 
‘H. De Vries. 
Works in the Press. 
Dr. Robert Wight, Surgeon H. E. I. C. service, is preparing for 
publication an ‘Icones Plantarum Indiz Orientalis,’ or Figures of 
Indian Plants described in Wight and Arnott’s ‘ Prodromus Flor 
Peninsule Ind. Or.,’ and in Wight’s ‘ Illustrations of Indian Botany,’ 
now in the course of publication in India. This is to appear at 
Madras in monthly numbers, each containing ten lithographed un- 
coloured quarto plates, for one rupee or about one shilling and nine- 
pence sterling. The grand object of this work may be summed up 
in a few words :—To give to India (so far as the limited resources 
of a private individual will permit) that which England has so long 
enjoyed in Smith’s English Botany, a standard botanical work of re- 
ference, by the publication of correct figures of as many Indian 
‘plants as the author can accomplish, and in the shortest possible 
time. To reduce the price and increase the rapidity of publication, 
there will be no letter-press descriptions, but a simple reference to 
the ‘ Prodromus’ by numbering the plates uniform with the run- 
ning numbers of that work, except when new plants are introduced; 
and for the descriptions then necessary no additional charge will be 
made. The first number was expected to appear on the Ist of July. 


A History of the Fishes of Madeira. By the Rev. R. T. Lowe. 
With original figures from nature of all the species, by the Hon. 
C. E. C. Norton and Miss Young. 

‘The materials for this undertaking are the result of several years’ 
patient investigation and continued revisal on the spot. Several of 
the genera, and of the species more than one fourth part, are either 
new or have been hitherto imperfectly described. ‘The figures will 
be all engraved and coloured by the same hands which, in co-ope- 
ration with the author, have originally drawn them, a combination 
much in favour of their accuracy and correctness. ? 


370 Royal Society. 


PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 


ROYAL SOCIETY. June 21, 1838. 


‘“‘ On the action of light upon the colour of the River Sponge.’’ 
By John Hogg, M.A., F.L.S., C.P.S8., &c., Fellow of St. Peter’s Col- 
lege, Cambridge. Communicated by Thomas Bell, Esq., F.R.S. 

The author found that the green colour of the Spongilla fluviatilis, 
or river sponge, is acquired solely through the agency of light, and 
is lost when the sponge is removed from its influence. As this does 
not appear to be the case with Actinie, the Hydra viridis, or any 
other Polype, the author is disposed to consider this production as 
being nearer allied to the Alge or Fungi, than to any tribe belonging 
to the animal kingdom*. 

«On the Geometrical Forms of Turbinated and Discoid Shells.’ 
By the Rev. H. Moseley, Professor of Natural Philosophy and As- 
tronomy in King’s College, London. Communicated by Thomas Bell, 
Esq., F.R.S. : 

This paper is occupied by an investigation of certain mathemati- 
cal principles which the author considers as governing the formation 
of turbinated and discoid shells. According to these views, all such 
shells may be conceived to be generated. by the revolution about a 
fixed axis of the perimeter of a geometrical figure, which, remaining 
always similar to itself, increases continually its dimensions. The 
spiral lines which are observable on the opercula of certain classes 
of shells, taken in connexion with the well-known properties of the 
logarithmic or equiangular spiral, appear to have suggested the idea, 
that not only the boundary of the operculum, which measures the 
sectional expansion of a shell, but also the spiral lines, which in 
general are well marked both externally and internally in the shell 
itself, are curves of this nature. 

From an examination of the spirals marked on opercula, it appears 
that the increase of their substance takes place on one margin only; 
the other margin still retaining the spiral form, and acquiring an in- 
crease of length by successive additions in the direction of the curve. 
As in the logarithmic spiral the distances of successive spires, mea- 
sured on the same radius vector produced from the pole, from 
each other, are respectively in geometrical progression, if similar 
distances between the successive whorls on the opercula of shells be 
found to observe the same law, it will follow that these whorls must 
bave a similar form; and that such is the case, the author shows by a 


* (Mr. Gray arrived at the same conclusion, but on physiological grounds, 
some years since. See Zoological Journal, vol. i. p. 50.—Ko1r. ] 


Royal Society. 371: 


variety of numerical results obtained by careful measurements on 
three different opercula of shells of the order Turbo. That such is 
the law of nature in the formation of this class of shells is rendered 
probable by the instances adduced by the author, in which a con- 
formity to this law is found to exist. 

From the known properties of the logarithmic spiral the author 
concludes that the law of the geometrical description of turbinated 
shells is, that they are generated by the revolution about a fixed, 
axis, (namely, the axis of the shell,) of a curve, which continually 
varies its dimensions according to the law, that each linear incre+ 
ment shall vary as the existing dimensions of the line of which it is 
the increment. If such be the law of nature, the whorls of the shell, 
as well as the spires on the operculum, must have the form of the 
logarithmic spiral; and that this is likewise the case is shown by 
the almost perfect accordance of numerical results, deduced from the 
property of that curve, with those deduced from a great variety of 
careful measurements made of the distances between successive 
whorls on radii vectores drawn on shells of the Turbo duplicatus, 
Turbo phasianus, Buccinum subulatum, and in a fine section of a 
Nautilus pompilius. The author further states that, besides the results 
given in the paper, a great number of measurements were similarly 
made upon other shells of the genera Trochus, Strombus, and Murezr, 
all confirmatory of the law in question. 

One of the interesting deductions which the author has derived 
from the prevalence of this law in the generation of the shells of a 
large class of mollusca, is that a distinction may be expected to arise 
with regard to the growth of land and of aquatic shells, the latter 
serving both as a habitation and as a float to the animal which forms 
it; and that, although the facility of varying its position at every 
period of its growth may remain the same, it is necessary that the 
enlargement of the capacity of the float should bear a constant ratio 
to the corresponding increment of its body; a ratio which always 
assigns a greater amount to the increment of the capacity of the shell 
than to the corresponding increment of the bulk of the animal. 

Another conclusion deducible from the law of formation here con- 
sidered is, that the growth of the animal corresponding to a given 
increment in the angle of the generating curve, will always be pro- 
portional to the bulk it has then attained ; and if the physical vital 
energies of the animal be proportional to its actual bulk, its growth, 
in any given time, will be proportional to its growth up to that time. 
Hence the whole angle of revolution of the curve generating the 
shell will be proportional to the whole corresponding time of the 


372 Linnean Society. 


animal’s growth; and therefore, the whole number of whorls and 
parts of whorls will, at any period, be proportional to its age. 

The form of the molluscous animal remaining always similar to 
itself, the surface of the organ by which it deposits its shell will 
vary as the square of the linear dimensions; but as the deposition 
of its shell must vary as the cube of the same dimensions, there must 
be an increased functional activity of the organ, varying as the sim- 
ple linear dimensions. 

Since to each species of shell there must correspond a particular 
number expressing the ratio of the geometrical progression of the 
similar successive linear dimensions of the whorls; and since the 
constant angle of the particular logarithmic spiral, which is affected 
by that species of shell, is deducible from this number, the author 
considers that, connected as the form of the shell is with the cir- 
cumstances of the animal’s growth and the manner of its existence, 
this number, or the angle of the particular spiral, determinable as. 
it is in each case by actual measurement, may be available for the 
purposes of classification, and may suggest relations by which, 
eventually, they may become linked with characteristic forms, and 
modes of molluscous existence. 

The concluding portion of the paper contains a mathematical dis< 
cussion of certain geometrical and mechanical elements of a con- 
choidal surface. ‘These are, the extent of the surface itself; the vo- 
lume contained by it; the centre of gravity of the surface, and also 
of the volume, in each case, when the generating figure revolves 
about a fixed axis without any other motion, and also when it has, 
besides this, a motion of translation in the direction of that axis; 
and, lastly, the angle of the spiral. The author states that his ob- 
ject in this inquiry is the application of these elements to a discussion 
of the hydraulic theory of shells. The constant angle of the spiral, 
which each particular species affects, being connected by a necessary 
relation with the ceconomy of the material of the habitation of each, 
with its stability, and the condition of its buoyancy, it is therefore 
necessary to determine the value of this angle, 


- 


LINNAZAN SOCIETY. 
Nov. 6, 1838.—Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair. 


Read a letter from Mr. Jonathan Couch, F.L.S., giving an account 
of a single specimen of Wilson’s Petrel (Procellaria Wilsont) having: 
been found dead in a field near Polperro in Cornwall, about the 
middle of August last, at a time when the stormy petrel (P. pe- 


Linnean Society. 373- 


lagica) abounded on the coast, most probably driven thither by the 
state of the weather at that period. Mr. Couch had therefore no 
difficulty in. instituting a comparison between it and a specimen of © 
the common species in nearly equal condition, and the following is 
the result. 


Weight of the stormy petrel 4 drams, 35 grains; of Wilson’s petrel § 
drams, 2 scruples. 


LBMENE Fis hs wicca caeneies siavestiessssiis G6 inches ....02iicsss 7 inches. 
Spread of wings ...s.+e06 pdepiney 6 a BAD re) Fei aclowesaesb 14 — 
Wings extended beyond the tail .... 4 —- — ssaeseceeeecres t+ — 
With the legs extended, the toes 


extend short of the tail......... \ 1 line: Beyond the’ tail’; in.\2 Ia. 


The stormy petrel is feathered just to the basal joint; but in 
‘Wilson’s petrel the feathers only approach within 4 lines of it. In 
the former the tarsus is in length 1 line short of an inch, in the 
latter 1 inch 4 lines, and equally slender with the former; and the 
hinder toe is so minute that it might escape any but attentive ex- 
amination. In the bill the markings are more strongly defined, with 
the terminal hook longer and sharper. The prominence of the fore- 
head is less than in the more common species. Colour of the head 
black, with a hoary tint, lighter on the throat. The back, belly, wings, 
and tail are ferruginous, lighter on the wing coverts ; the rump white, 
and a little of the same at the vent. Tarsi and feet black, with a 
longitudinal stripe of sulphur-yellow, more of a golden at the bor- 
‘ders or the web between each toe. ; 

The stouter configuration of this species enabling better to escape 
the violence of a storm may be ascribed perhaps as a reason why it 
is not more often found on our coasts. 

On examining the stomach of a stormy petrel Mr. Couch found 
about half an inch of a common tallow candle, of a size so dispro- 
portionate to the bill and gullet of the bird, that it seems wonder‘ul 
how it could have been able to swallow it. 

Read also Observations on the Cause of Ergot. By Mr. John 
Smith, A.L.S. : 

The nature and origin of the substance called ergot, which occurs in 
the spikes of rye and many other grasses, have been involved in much 
obscurity; and even that eminent Fungologist Professor Fries, appears 
to be entirely unacquainted with its real structure, the discovery 
of which is clearly due to the author of the present communication, 
who has shown that the ergot is a morbid condition of the albumen, 
occasioned by the attack of a minute parasitic fungus, the sporules 
of which he supposes to be conveyed to the ovulum along with the 


374 Linnean Society. 


pollen. Early one morning during the last-autumn Mr. Smith’s 
‘attention was attracted by observing several large drops of a 
brown-coloured fluid suspended from a spike of a species of Elymus, 
in which were several full-grown ergots, and others in a younger 
state. ‘The fluid was viscid and had a saccharine flavour, On sub- 
jecting a portion of it to the microscope, it was found to be full of 
innumerable minute, oblong, transparent bodies, varying from the 
3000th to the 7000th of an inch, and resembling the sporules of 
fungi, and slightly bent, having a somewhat indistinct spot at each 
end. On applying a drop of water to a full-grown ergot, multitudes of 
these bodies became disengaged from its surface, and issued from the 
cracks or longitudinal fissures which generally characterize the fully 
developed ergot: These bodies imparted to the water a milky ap- 
pearance. He observed the same bodies on ergots of all ages and 
sizes, aud on opening the unexpanded flowers of ergot-bearing spikes, 
they were met with in abundance on the different organs, especially on 
the anthers ; for on cutting an anther and applying water, they were 
seen to float out along with the pollen. They were also observed 
‘on the ovarium, and in little clusters on the hairs and feathery stig- 
mata. These bodies are found to accompany the ergot through 
all its stages, and are present even before the fecundation of the oya- 
rium, at least before the discharge of the pollen, and consequently 
before there is any appearance of an ergot, they therefore cannot he 
the sporules, but must be the cellules of the minute fungus itself. 
On examining an ergot, the surface before being moistened presents 
under the microscope the appearance of a thin whitish-pruinose 
crust, which, on the application of moisture, speedily separates into 
myriads of the minute transparent cellules before mentioned. On 
viewing the ergot in the dry state under the microscope, the pruinose 
appearance of the crust will be found to arise from these bodies being 
united together longitudinally, forming slightly elevated spicule, but 
crowded underneath and forming a kind of crust. These cellules so 
united present the appearance of slender-jointed filaments, either 
simple or branched, in which state they occur likewise on the 
anthers. Mr. Smith regards these cellules as the articulations of a 
minute filamentous fungus which is developed in the early stage of 
the flower, and propagating itself by the separation of the joints 
and impregnating the soil or the perfect seeds of the grass, which on 
germination and subsequent development carry up some of the re- 
productive matter of the fungus, which again developes itself in- the 
flower, in the manner that Mr. Francis Bauer has shown to take 
place in the propagation of the smut and grain-worms in wheat. 


Linnean Society. 375 


The Chairman announced to the Meeting that the late Nathaniel 
John Winch, Esq., of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, had bequeathed to the 
Society his entire Herbarium, consisting of upwards of 12,000 spe- 
cies of plants, together with his library of Natural History. 


November 20.—Mr. Forster, V.P., in the Chair. 


_ Read the Description of a new Genus of Plants belonging to the 
Natural Family Bignoniacee. By Professor Don, Libr. L.S. 

The subject of this paper was collected by Capt. Sir James Ed- 
ward Alexander, during a journey through the interior of Southern 
Africa to the western coast. The plant was discovered by that en- 
terprising traveller in the open desert, called the Kei Kaap, in Great 
Namaqua Land, in 25° S. latitude and 17° E. longitude. It is a 
thorny bush, about six feet high, with small simple, hoary, wrinkled 
leaves and large white flowers. ‘There can be no doubt that the 
plant belongs to the Bignoniacee, although in habit it bears a stronger 
resemblance to Verbenacee, especially to Duranta and Gmelina. In 
its spathaceous calyx and regular funnel-shaped corolla the genus 
comes near to Spathodea, but is abundantly distinguished from it by 
the cells of the anthers being parallel and connate from the middle 
upwards. On the specimen were two expanded flowers and a bud. 
The calyx in all three had six teeth, and both the expanded flowers 
had a six-cleft limb ; one of these had seven stamens, and the other, 
as well as the bud, six, so that this last may be regarded as the 
normal number. 

The following are the name and characters of this new genus. 


Caropuractes. Calyx spathaceus, hinc fissus, inde 6-dentatus. Corolla 
infundibuliformis: limbo 6-lobo, patenti, equali. Stamina 6, raro 7, 
subzequalia, exserta. Aatherarum loculi paralleli, e medio sursum con- 
nati. Ovarium abbreviatum, conicum, biloculare ? . 

Frutex (namaquensis) erectus spinosus. Folia fasciculata, simplicia, 
Flores laterales, subsessiles, speciosi, albi. 

Sp. 1. C. Alexandri. 


There was also read an account of a new species of Lepidosperma. 
By Dr. John Lhotsky: 

This species is nearly allied to the Lepidosperma elatior of Labil- 
lardiére, and is remarkable for the great length of its leaves, varying 
from 10 to 15 and even 20 feet. A specimen exhibited to the meet- 
ing had the leaf upwards of 13 feet long. It was discovered by 
Dr. Lhotsky in Tasman’s Peninsula, Van Diemen’s Land, growing 
in a dense jungle, through which its long slender leaves contrive to 
penetrate. It is termed ‘‘ Cutting Grass,’’ and like the other spe- 


376 Zoological Society. 


cies of this Cyperaceous genus is characterized by the sharp edges 
of its leaves, which inflict wounds on the unwary traveller who 
happens to pass the plant hastily. 


WERNERIAN NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
The 32nd Session of this Society commenced last week, when the 
following gentlemen were elected office-bearers for 1839: 
President. 
Robert Jameson, Esq., F.R.SS.L. and E., Professor of Natural History in 
the University of Edinburgh. 


Vice-Presidents. 


Dr. Charles Anderson, M.R.C.S. Dr. R. K. Greville, F.R.S. 
William Copland, Esq., F.R.S.E. John Sligo, Esq., F.R.S.E, 


Secretary,—Dr. Pat. Neill, F.R.S.E. 
Assistant-Secretary,—T, J. Torrie, Esq., F.R.S.E. 
Treasurer,—A. G. Ellis, Esq. 
Librarian,—James Wilson, Esq., F.R.S.E. 
Painter, —P. Syme, Esq. 

Assistant,—W. H. Townsend, Esq. 


E. 


Council. 
Dr. Walter Adam, F.R.C.P. ) W. A. Cadell, Esq., F.R.SS.L. & E. 
Dr. William Macdonald, F.R.S.E. | Dr. Robert Hamilton, F.R.S.E. 
Dr. Martin Barry, F.R.S.E. Dr. Robert Graham, F.R.S.E. 


Rob. James Hay Cunningham, Esq. | Sir William Newbigging, F.R.S.E. 

The seventh volume of the Society’s Memoirs has just been pub- 
lished by Messrs. Black, containing the Essays by Mr. R. J. H. Cun- 
ningham and Dr. Parnell, for which honorary premiums were lately 
awarded ; the former on the geology of the Lothians, illustrated by 
thirty-five coloured sections and a geological map, and the latter on 
the Ichthyology of the Forth District, illustrated by sixty-seven en- 
graved figures. 


ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
April 10, 1838.—Rev. John Barlow in the Chair. 

The first communication laid before the meeting was a description 
by Mr. Owen of the organs of deglutition in the Giraffe, being a 
supplementary note to his former memoir on the anatomy of that 
animal *. 

Mr. Owen observes that since the Giraffes have been at the Gar- 
dens, they have not been known to utter vocal sounds, except once, 
at the time of coition, when the male uttered a cry like that of the 
Deer; and the incapacity of the species in this respect would seem 
to be indicated by the structure of the glottis, the rima of which 


* [The abstract of the former memoir will be found at p. 227.—Eprr.] 


Zoological Society. 377 


is permanently open for the space of a line, so that the chords 
cannot be brought into mutual apposition. 

The modifications of the organs of deglutition accompanying this 
open condition of the fissure leading into the windpipe are very re- 
markable, and unlike any of the few deviations from the ordinary 
structures of the fauces and glottis hitherto noticed by anatomists 
in other animals (as in the Elephant, Camels, Cetacea and certain 
Rodentia, &c.). 

On looking down the mouth into the fauces the cavity appears to 
be as completely closed asin the Capzbara; but instead of narrowing 
in an infundibular form to a small circular depression, it is termi- 
nated by a transverse slit through which projects a soft, rounded, 
valvular ridge, formed by the broad superior margin of the epig/ottis, 
which is folded down upon itself at that part. The surface of the 
Jfauces is broken by large risings and depressions, or is coarsely 
corrugated. 

At the posterior part of the soft palate there is an oval glandular 
body about one inch in long diameter. 

The tonsils are well-developed glands communicating with the 
fauces by a single wide opening, or fossa, and thus exhibiting a 
higher type of structure than they present in the human subject, 
where the mucous follicles terminate by several separate apertures. 
They are two inches in length and one in breadth. 

Mr. Owen then proceeded to read the first part of a paper on 
the Anatomy of the Apteryr; the body of that bird having recently 
been presented to the Society’s Museum by the Earl of Derby. The — 
results of the anatomical examination, communicated to the Meeting 
on this occasion, embrace a detailed description of the parts con- 
nected with the digestive apparatus. 

Commencing with the beak, Mr. Owen notices the general super- 
ficial resemblance which it bears to that of the Curlew and Jbis, 
though it differs essentially from this organ in the slender-billed 
waders, by having the perforations of the nostrils near the apez, 
and the base covered with a cere. The cere terminates anteriorly 
in a concave or lunated curve, resembling that of the Rhea. Two 
narrow grooves extend from the angles or cresses of the cere along 
each side of the mandible, the upper groove being continued to the 
truncated extremity of the mandible, the lower one leading into the 
external nostril, which forms, as it were, the dilated termination of 
the groove, and this occupies a position of which there is no other 
known.example throughout the class of birds. 

The cere was about an inch in length, furnished at its sides with 
Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol.2. No. 11. Jan. 1839. 2¢ 


378 Zoological Society. 


short stiff plumes and hairs, while at its base a number of long black 
bristles are given off, the presence of which, in conjunction with the 
extension of sensitive skin upon the beak, is considered by Mr. 
Owen to indicate the importance of the sense of touch to the Apte- 
ryz, and to correspond with the account given of its nocturnal 
habits. The general form of the beak is adapted for insertion into 
crevices and holes, in search of insects, which were found to consti- 
tute in part the contents of the gizzard. 

The tongue, as in all the struthious birds, was short and simple, 
yet presented nevertheless a greater relative development. It was 
of a compressed, narrow, elongated, triangular form, with the apex 
truncate and slightly notched; the lateral and posterior margins 
entire; 8 lines in length, 4 lines broad at the base, 1 line across 
the apex. 

The esophagus at its upper caitveislee was half an inch in Gaeuiah, 
but rapidly diminished to a breadth of three lines, of which size it 
continued to the commencement of the proventriculus; its position 
was to the right of the cervical vertebrae, and a little behind and to 
the right of the trachea, to which latter it was closely connected. 

The stomach was small, measuring less than two inches both in 
its longitudinal and transverse diameters: in shape it had more 
the character of a membranous stomach than of a gizzard, being 
of a regular oval-rounded form. The muscular fibres were not ar- 
ranged in the definite masses called digastrici and laterales, but 
radiated from two tendinous centres of about two-thirds of an inch 
in the longest diameter. Upon the inner surface of the gizzard were 
two protuberances, one at the lower and one at the upper end of the 
posterior part. The situation of the latter was such with respect 
to the cardiac and pyloric openings, that Mr. Owen conceives it 
would tend to close these openings during the forcible contraction 
of the fibres at the upper part of the gizzard, and thus probably in 
some measure regulate the passage of food into this cavity, by re- 
taining a portion in the proventriculus, until the gizzard should have 
become emptied of its previous contents. 

A narrow pyloric passage of about three lines in length eeheaied 
from the upper extremity of the gizzard into the duodenum ; there 
was no sphincter present, and no pyloric pouch, as in the Ostrich, 
but the cuticle was continued into the duodenum about three lines 
beyond the pylorus. 

The stomach was entirely concealed by a large omental adipose 
process, continued from that of the peritoneum, and upon the longi- 
tudinal division of which so much of the stomach was expose! as 


Zoological Society. — 379 


projected between the lobes of the liver; its position was towards 
the left side of the abdomen. 

The small intestines had a general diameter of three lines, their 
size slightly diminishing on approaching the rectum. The ceca at 
their commencement rather exceeded in diameter that of the lium; 
their capacity slightly increasing to near their blind extremities, 
where, having attained the diameter of about five lines, they sud- 
denly taper to an obtuse point. The anterior half of the rectum 
was contracted and the lining membrane thrown into longitudinal 
folds, but these gradually subsided in the second or dilated portion. 
The rectum communicated with the urinary dilatation by a small 
semilunar aperture, from which several short ruge radiated. This 
compartment of the cloaca was not expanded into a large receptacle 
as in the Ostrich, but offered the same proportional size as in the 
Emeu, measuring about two-thirds of an inch in length and the 
same in diameter. The external compartment of the cloaca con- 
tained a large single penis retracted spirally, and one inch and a half in 
length when extended. It was traversed by an urethral groove, the 
sides of which were not beset with papille as in the Gander, but 
simply wrinkled transversely. At the back part of the cloaca there 
was a small bursa half an inch in length, and communicating by a 
wide longitudinal aperture with the external compartment. 

The gizzard contained a greenish yellow pulpy substance, and 
numerous filamentary bodies, amongst which a few slender legs of 
insects and portions of the down of the Apteryx were the only re- 
cognizable organized parts; it also contained a few pebbles. 

The liver consisted of two large lobes, connected by a narrow 
isthmus, the right being the larger and of a subtriangular figure ; 
the left was more quadrangular in shape. 

With respect to the physiological relations of the apparatus, 
Mr. Owen remarks that the whole is harmoniously co-adapted to 
the instruments of prehension which characterize the Apteryz. - 

A beak framed to seize and transmit to the gullet small objects, 
is succeeded by a simple and narrow muscular canal. The food 
being of an animal nature, and taken in small and successive quan- 
tities, is digested as fast as it is obtained, and therefore the esophagus 
is not required to be modified to serve as a reservoir, either by its 
extreme width, or a partial dilatation. The proventriculus, in the 
comparative simplicity of its glands, and the gizzard, in its small size 
and medium strength, more forcibly bespeak structures adapted for 
the bruising and chymification of animal substances, presenting, as 
do worms and the softer orders of insects, a moderate resistance. 

2c 2 


380 Zoological Society. 


The length of the intestines, which somewhat exceeds that of the- 
slender-billed insectivorous waders, and the size of the ceca, are con- 
sidered by Mr. Owen to indicate an intention, that this bird, which 
is so remarkably restricted in its locomotive powers, should have 
every needful or practicable advantage in extracting from its low- 
organized animal diet, all the nutriment that it can yield. 

April 24th.—R. C. Griffith, Esq., in the Chair. 

Some notes by Mr. Martin were read, On the visceral anatomy 
of the Spotted Cavy, Celogenus subniger, taken from the examina- 
tion of a male specimen which had died suddenly in the Menagerie 
of the Society. The length of the head and body along the spine 
measured about 1 foot 10 inches. 

On opening the abdomen, the large folds of the cecum presented 
themselves, occupying the whole of the umbilical and epigastric re- 
gions, while to the left appeared the coils of small intestine; and a 
portion of the stomach was seen to emerge from below the edge of 
the left portion of the liver. The omentum was of very small extent, 
destitute of fat, and crumpled up beneath the stomach. 

The duodenum commenced in the form of a large pear-shaped 
sac, which measured in length 2? inches, when the intestine as- 
sumed its ordinary size, namely about half an inch in diameter. The 
dimension of the sac at its largest part was four inches in circum- 
ference. This pyriform commencement of the duodenum obtains in 
many Rodents, and also in some Jnsectivora; among the former may 
be noticed the Coypus, Capromys, and Anema: in the insectivorous 
animal lately described (Zool. Proc. 1838, p. 17.) under the name 
of Echinops Telfairi, the same structure also is remarkable. The 
course of the duodenum was as follows: leaving the pylorus and 
loosely attached by mesentery, it described an arch over the 
right kidney, whence it passed over the spine to the left kidney ; it 
then turned back to the spine, and there making several abrupt con- 
volutions merged into the jejunum. In the sacculated part two 
areole of glandular follicles were apparent through the parietes. 
As in the Agouti, (Zool. Proc. 1834, p. 82.) the stomach had a con- 
striction between its cardiac and pyloric portion; in which point 
(as does the Agouti,) it differs from the Acouchi, the dissection of 
which will be found in the Proc. of Com. of Sci. &c., 1831, p. 75. 
The length of the stomach undistended, or but slightly so, was 6 
inches; the cardiac portions swelled out to the extent of nearly 
2 inches beyond the entrance of the wsophagus, and its pyloric. ex- 
tremity swelled out into a process on each side, as in the Agouti. 
A muscular band, commencing at the entrance of the esophagus, 


Miscellaneous. Ws 381 


passed longitudinally along the stomach, contracting the greater 
curve into sacculi, especially at the constricted portion. The length 
of the wsophagus within the abdomen was one inch and a quarter. 

The length of the small intestines was very great, the measure- 
ment being 21 fect 8 inches. | 

The cecum was large, irregularly, multitudinously, but not deeply 
sacculated ; in form it was gently conical, terminating in a subacute 
apex; its length 2 feet 4 inches, its basal circumference about 7 
inches. When blown up it formed a spiral turn and a half. The 
large intestines at their commencement were about 7 inches in circum- 
ference, the decrease being gradual. The lining membrane of the 
colon formed a series of regular longitudinal strie, gradually disap- 
pearing as the intestine narrowed, until at length they finally disap- 
peared. The colon in its course followed the circular sweep of the 
cecum to which it was attached by a riband of mesentery 14 inch 
in breadth. 

At about two feet from its origin the colon merges into a flat layer 
of circular folds, the intestine making four distinct gyrations; from, 
this part to the anus the intestine measured 9 feet 3 inches. 

The circular fold above noticed is analogous to the long loose 
fold observed in the same parts of the intestine in other Rodentia, 
as the Coypus, and Capromys, and which is noticed in the respective 
accounts of the dissection of those animals in the Zoological Pro- 
ceedings. 

The lungs consisted of three right and two left lobes. The 
heart: was round, and firm in texture, the left ventricle being very 
stout; the apex exhibited a slight tendency to a bifid figure. The 
aorta at its arch sent off first an arteria innominata, which divided 
into a right subclavian, and a right and a left carotid; then secondly, 
at a quarter of an inch further, a left subclavian, in an undivided 
condition. er : 

The generative organs agreed closely with those of the Acouchi. 

The tongue was 34 inches long, fleshy, rounded‘at the tip; the 
upper surface villose, with fine close hairy papille ; at its base were 
numerous, large, mucous follicles. 


~ 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


LARUS JACKSONII, JACKSON'S GULL. 


Mr. Couch, in his lately published ‘ Fauna of Cornwall,’ has intro- 
duced a species of Larus under the above name as new to science, 


382 | Miscellaneous. 


He considers it as hitherto confounded with the herring gull, and in 
the plumage it agrees in every respect, except that it seems to be 
more glossy. They differ however materially in size, the new bird 
being about a pound heavier, about four inches longer, and in 
the expanse of the wings exceeding the herring gull by nine 
inches. In L. Jacksonii the bill is far stouter in proportion and 
much paler; the legs of a livid flesh colour, and the membrane. of 
the finest silky texture to feeiing and sight. They seem equally 
common with the herring gull. In a genus so nearly allied as the 
gulls, this bird may have been overlooked, and we would suggest 
that Mr. Couch should send specimens to Mr. Selby and Mr. Yarrell 
for examination and comparison.—Covucu, Fauna of Cornwall, p. 28. 


CYCLOPTERUS CORONATUS, CORONATED LUMP FISH, COUCH. 


Of this species, new to the British Fauna if not to science, I have 
examined only one specimen; the small size of which causes me to 
suppose that it has hitherto been overlooked from its likeness to the 
young of the common lump fish. The specimen was about eight 
lines in length, of the same general proportions. About the centre 
of gravity, near the summit of the back, is a wide and moderately 
long fin, the extremity declining; the second dorsal separated from 
the first by an interval, and placed opposite the anal. Colour, a 
dark green on the back, lighter on the sides, whitish below, a silvery 
line across the head, uniting the posterior portion of the eyes, and 
from this on each side a line running forward, approximating and 
then receding at right angles, thus resembling the Greek Q, but 
with a square instead of a circular summit. The specific name is 
from this mark. The differences between this and the common lump 
fish are, the entire want of tubercules, which in the latter give a 
grotesque appearance to the back, the want of the flat space between 
the termination of the ridge and the (only) dorsal fin; and more 
especially in the moderately elongated first dorsal fin, which bears no 
resemblance to the vestige of fin described as possessed by the painted 
lump fish.—Covucu, Fauna of Cornwall, p. 48. 


FRENCH EXPEDITION OF DISCOVERY TO THE SOUTH POLAR SEAS. 


This expedition, undertaken by the French Government, under 
the command of M. D’Urville, has completely failed. The vessels, 
Astrolabe and Zelée, were not able to penetrate beyond the 64° south, 
being fully 10° short of the parallel reached by Weddel. They were 
stopped by a compact barrier of ice, and found the whole sea in the 
latitude we have mentioned completely frozen. 


Meteorological Observations. $83 


VIOLA LACTEA. 


A very excellent botanist and one of our most “ zealous” pupils, 
John Nicholson, Esq., of Lincoln, has found a very remarkable state 
of Viola lactea, Linn., ‘ E. Bot.’ t. 445, in the neighbourhood of that 
city (at Boultham Lane, on both sides of the road), in habit so un- 
like the figure just quoted that it might at first sight be taken for a 
distinct species. Except at the base the stems are quite erect, and 
many of the specimens from a foot to eighteen inches tall, with the 
leaves and peduncles very remote from each other, and many of the 
flowers apetalous. Reichenbach’s V. lactea, ‘ Iconogr. Bot.’ t. 99; 
however, admirably represents this variety, only that the latter is much 
smaller, not above a span high. Its flowers are very pale blue, al- 
most milk-coloured, otherwise it is hardly to be distinguished from 
some states of Viola montana, L.—Sin W. J. Hooker. 


METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR NOVEMBER 1838. 


Chiswick.— Nov. 1. Overcast: rain: clear at night. 2,3. Fine. 4, Rain. 
5. Fine. 6. Very fine. 7. Rain: fine: windy at night. 8. Clear and fine: 
rain. 9. Heavy rain. 10. Clearand fine. 11. Dense fog. 12. Clear and 
cold. 13. Frosty: fine. 14. Frosty and foggy. 15,16. Foggy. 17. Foggy : 
fine. 18,19. Rain. 20. Cold haze. 21—23. Foggy. 24. Bleak and cold. 
25, 26. Frosty. 27. Overcast. 28. Heavy rain: hurricane at night. 29. 
Boisterous with heavy rain: much thunder and lightning at night. 30. Rain. 
fine. 


Boston.— Nov. 1. Fine: rain early a.m. 2, 3. Fine: rainr.m. 4. Cloudy: 
raine.M. 5. Cloudy. 6. Fine. 7. Cloudy: rain early a.m. 8. Fine. 9, 10. 
Cloudy. 11. Foggy. 12,13. Fine. 14. Foggy. 15. Cloudy. 16, 17. Foggy. 
18. Cloudy: rain a.m. and p.m. 19. Stormy. 20, 21. Cloudy. 22. Cloudy: 
rainearly a.m. 23, 24. Cloudy. 25, 26. Fine. 27. Stormy. 28, Cloudy : 
stormy with rain r.m. 29. Stormy: rain early a.m. 30. Stormy. 


Applegarth Manse, Dum/ries-shire.—Nov. 1. Heavy showers: hail. 2. Fair 
but cloudy. 3. Frequent showers. 4. Fair andcloudy. 5. Moist: slight 
showers. 6. Fair: one slight shower. 7. Rainall day: high flood. 8. Occa- 
sional showers. 9. Fine day. 10. Fine day: rainr.m. 11. Fine day after 
snow. 12. Hard frost: clearand serene. 13. Temperate. 14. Cloudy and 
raw. 15. Thick fog. 16. Cleared up: dry. 17. Rain inthe night: cold. 
- 18. Cold drying day: snow on hills. 19. Cold and threatening a fall. 20. 
Still cold, yet dry. 21. Still threatening a fall. 22-26. Cold anddry. 27. 
Cold: snow three inchesdeep. 28. Wetin the night: dittorm1. 29. Very 
wet day and stormy. $0. Showery and stormy: flood, 


$-8E SEL-2 | 

*uvoTyT . . yo 
We (LS-P | LI-1/99-€) -aing Ae 4 9-LE}6.9E $-0F £0.96 /6.gh | 6-8€| g.9h| 6-Ih | 0$-68 | 1£-62 | 02.62 | 6LP-6z | £50-62 | 089-62 | -aeagy 
ae ee | | Sor 

ee “* | OCP. |msm | “mM | +s “aS Vv} SV\¢.gvi ev | eg LV | P6- c. ® : 

rad Of: | Efe ie a ES pee 9 V-9P | 0-26 | 9 6-8% | 05-82 | £P-8G 0£0-6z | 02-62 | 896-2 | ‘of 
ao of ide toe eg ee a a fe WH) OS) PF | ES | g.1h| L-19|L-8F| 81-86 | BI-8% | BB-8% | £L9.gz | 6L9-8s | 899-66 | “6z 
Ge 4° | elgg | Te lene [cet cae ; 9€) IV) OF | ES | 9.66) ¢.ch | 8-1P| 1€-8% | 86-86 | SL-8% | LIL-gz | 1£0-62 | 0F0-66 | “gz 
Be tnz.g | ott Piees | ce orl ae |e “ é 1€) 1€| ve | LV 0.08] &-PE | 8-EE | ¥z-6z | VV.6% | Lz-6% | L0z-6z | 699-62 | 067-62 | “Lz 
Bio eed. aes fe 8 ve; VE!) Le | OF | ¢.zE| g-LE | L-ZE| 9L-6z | 98-68 | 65-66 198.6 | 916-62 | 088-62 | “9% 
GE oe fee fee | ose bag fete lege | -amm | 2elete| PE} 9% | 6€ | P-2€/ 9-66 | £8€ | 96-60 | PO.0€ | 89-60 | 886-65, | 9£0-0£ | 166-62 | “Sz 
OF fo | te | ogo. | a loeol va | aN FE TOE| BE) €% | OV | 9.LE| €-FH | 8-8 | 16-62 | LL.6z | £€-66 | 189-62 | 899-6 | 895-62 | “bz C 
Oe lem enc) seco. a beet aN foe) oF) IV) 9€ | 1S | Lzp|S-Lh| LF | 99-62 | 09.62 | £2-6% | 019-6z | G09-6z | FIS-6%| *€z 
OE | ete tt met oe | og t oa 3 gf; av) LE | of | P.ge|¢.cr | V-Ph | 0F-6z | 8¥-62 | $6-8% | b81-6z | 90F-6z | 991-62 | *Zs 
Of | |e te | ogy. | ex lupeol cay | “ENN F9S| 9€| OF) 6F | OF | F.9¢| Lob | 4-8E | 09-62 | GS.6% | 61-68  £9%-6z | SSP.6z | O1V-66 | “Iz 
6£ |oz-0 |¢r. lor.| Zze. | <a lean lan | vax | 22|p9%|S-0F| SE | OF | 8-LE) 8.6£ | 8-86 | 99.66 | 71-62 | 66-66 | 695-6e | LL9-6z | 959.66 | ‘oz 
ob | ls lop. | oz |can lueol-an | ON wElr9e | BV) LE | IP | g.ob) 0-Gh |0-0P | ZL.6z | LL.6z | LE-6% | OFS-6z | 689-62 | 995-62 | “61 
ete cathe t-te empl ont te [oe o€| 0) 6€ | OF | 0.zh| Lor | LEP | 98.62 | 98-62 | €£-62 | 09-62 | 099-6z | ZE9-66 | “SI 
1H | jet fee | see | ems lupeol «yw | oa peeteee oV| OF | If |o.1%)| Lg |8-17 | LL-6% | 89-62 | VE-62 | L69.62 | ZLL-6z | 9VL-62 | “LI®@ 
BE ft fe fet ove | ts loneol «a | <x (OV/r9f| IV) SE | OF | g.1h)| s-Sh | LEP | 65-62 | BS-6% | O£-6% | 989.62 | LEL.6z | 869-62 | “91 
VE | fet fee | eee fess uupeol vg | ow perce) oF] IV | SP | z.ge| L.gh | 0-2 | ZL-6z | 16-6 | SS-62 | 08-62 | 686-62 | 126-62 | “ST 
Of | fet fee | cee | ems funpwol sa | ON SElFFE | 9%) BE | SP \e.ce| L-L | 8-LE| S1-0€ | 8z-0F | 86-62 | 790.08 | F9z-0€ | OSZ-0€ | “VT 
SE 0-0 | o* | err | eee fom Oo leapeol ean | ON gcse; 1€| Sz | gP | L.c¢|9.9P | 6-LE| 9£-0€ | OF-0€ | £0-0€ | S21.0€ | coP.o€ | V2V-0F | “€1 
ee te | ee eg Stele bm | gee o£ 9.98 | Lz | LP | ¢.L¢| 9.11 | O-LE | VE-OF | 8z-0F | 08-62 | 9BI-0€ | .68€-0€ | 960-08 | “aI 
Bp ft | eee eee | Fog. 4 an” fempeol “me | “as pag 9€| Z| VE! CF | o9.6¢| 0.87 | V-EF | 96-62 | 69.6% | LZ-6% | SE9.6z | 0£8.6z | VS9-6% | “11 
Sv | | Jot. | oz. |tms jupeo| eye | “MNAN rIe) 8€ eV) 86 | 0G | G.6¢| €.0¢| 8-EV | 02-62 | OL.6% | $Z-6% | 0L-62 | 928-6% | 80L-6Z | “Ol 
ob | 1 log. | pra | cme [ean | spe (tea “ms _on|Fer | GE | 2g (Sor L-VS | £-90 | Ob-6z | Lz-62 | L6-8%  VLE.62 | 065.6% | OLE-62 | “6 D 
Sb |“ Igt- |zo- | 00]. |-ms junpeo| «ng “tea -as | 2°Y| OV (9-87 | PY | LS |€-67| LLc | 1-08 | 90-62 | G1-68 | 6 | LEV.66 | 950.66 | 185-60 | *8 
B61 | fog: | lms’ hurl see ae Forty £S| Lv | 19 | 6.0r| P.Pg | LES | 00-62 | Lz-6z | £9.62 | gbv.62 | £6P.6z | 297-62 | “L 
oy |S6-1 |¢0. | «- | ogo. | -m laea segs a 1 of 6€| Z| 99 |68€1|¢.0¢| 7-07 | 19-62 | OL-6% | 82-62% | L49-6% | £4.62 | G7L-6% | “9 
1 | °* {Sp loo. | ger} faye ae is ge | xoV 9° 6Z | 2S | L.of|z-1¢| V-9F | 99-62% | £€.6% | SL-8% | P0t-62 | £09.63 | 9G1-64 | “S 
se f° li] | geo. | +s lupes ie Ge eee aV 6€ | 9S | 9.07 | 6-Lb | 9:SP | $0-6% | 68.8% | SV-82 | VH8-8% | HE0.6z | 8P8-8% | ‘V 
op | | Ho. |} Llo. | ms lmzeo tg s op} 1f| LE) ov | ZS p.9€| z.gh | 8-6£ | B0-6z | 6-6 | TI-6% | 790-62 | o9b-6z | P9P-6z | “f 
ov |i steer. | gee. |-me. lupeol oc | om | PE gf} ov) 0€ | 6F | Lge] 0.1g| “IV | 10-62 | 1-66 | 26-8% | 91£-62 | Pzh-6z | 8SE-64 | “6 O 

fae) - eee _ _9f oF |0.SP 9€ | GS | 9.68) 2.67 L-8V | 0z-6z | O£-6% | 96-8% | LLE-6% | 9zh.6z | O@F-6% | “I 

roog ‘hoy! SE | F | cures | “ors m2) -ureg jurdelureg) oo | OU! “Xe | ary |: “urS6| “ard at tae ‘ul y aap | oa 

:puorz oe . 2 og ont Boot ‘ysoq SE] ‘203 Ku aa re) ee ~esuaseshios er urd § | “Ure g me $e TAT Kw BE As ‘AON 

= e | § é. Be ‘UOPUOT| -soryguing| BS | PPS | 595 ‘Loy :uopuory | MFUS"S9! Fung U0 Wsog *youmsty9 : uopuo’y dyoane 

hapa | “Urey “PULA *19jaUIOULIIY J, -rajauoreg oe sealers 


"aunys-sarsfuncy ‘asunyy yzsvsajddp yo avanag ‘ij fg pup ‘uojsogr yo T1va A‘4N 49 £ , 
WW 49 fuopuoy avau ‘youmsiyg yo hjai0g jounynaysozy ay2 fo 
M9PID) 34] WD NOSAWOHT, “IQ 49 ! NoLUTAOY “AY ‘Aumzauoay quozsissp ayy hg hjaoog pohogy ayz fo Sjuaupivdp ay3 yo apou we sie oN LON 


Nee 
oe 


AS Ro Sae RE 
anes acti hide cso Reta aie tee LEN eee ean ees ey 


Ako 
SSS ss wdge 


OPP PP OPT 


} 
sit 
\ 


oe % ae 


SSS EA, 


SS SS 


ZTE" / 


| ENON te 


My stropetaton Thomit. 


ME. 


Pact Peg PD Mee TES OE, SAC wet bg ae gee: meen oat ee en aS Tee a a ae 1 
i oe hs alias * 5 VS mes ae etal Lee cone dete Nae ai tite ete toy | Fintrcy 
oo = ‘ . RIC SAT Soe > Earth ort anes We ce MCE rh Me 


sn 


& Wy Stropetaton If blemannl » 


ANNALS OF NATURAL HISTORY. 


— 


XLIV.—On two Species of a new South African Genus of 
the Natural Order RuizaAnrHea of Blume. By the 
Honourable W. H. Harvey. Communicated by Sir W. J. 
Hooker, Reg. Prof. Bot. Glasgow, F.R.S., L.S.. With 
Plates XIX. and XX.* 


HAVING lately received from my valued friend Mr. Harvey 

the drawings here represented, and the following descriptions 

of two extremely interesting plants of Blume’s Rhizanthee, 

I cannot do better than lay them before the public in the 

state in which I have received them, without venturing to 

offer any remarks of my own respecting vegetable produc- 

tions, whose structure, to be rightly understood, must be ex- 

amined in a recent state, and such an opportunity is of rare 

occurrence with any naturalist. Mr. Harvey indeed has not 

had it in his power to compare his plants with the figures and 

descriptions of allied genera of Richard or of Endlicher in his 

valuable ‘ Meletemata Botanica,’ and hence he was led to 

think it possible that they might be referred to Scybalium of 
the latter author; but the characters are extremely different in 

the two, and I have little hesitation in adopting the name 

suggested by Mr. Harvey, from the spoon-shaped form of the 

segments of the perianth, Mystropetalon.. It seems to belong 

to the group of Balanophoree. Probably the Phelypea san- 

guinea of Thunberg, which Jussieu refers to Cytinus, and of. 
which Persoon makes the genus Hypolepis, may be one of 
these ; but that plant is so ill defined by its discoverer, (who 

appears to be. the only person to whom it is known,) that we 

cannot possibly come to any satisfactory conclusion ; yet “ si 

auctori aliqua fides habenda,” as Endlicher remarks, it must 

be something very different; his being a “ dicecious plant, 

with a 6-lobed perianth, a short style and capitate stigma.” 


* [These Plates will be found in the SuppLemenr published with the pre- 
sent Number.—Ebir. ] 


Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol.2. No.12. Fed. 1839. ae is 


386 W. H. Harvey on two New Species of Rhizanthez. 


MysTROPETALON, Harv. MS. 


Gen. Cuar.—Flowers monecious, in dense spikes, the 
males forming the upper, the females the lower half of the 
spike. Bractee 3 under each flower, one (anterior) generally 
free, 2 (Jateral) more or less combined. 

MALE: Perianth tripartite, the segments spathulate, un- 
guiculate, the two posterior combined. Stamens two, oppo- 
site to, and inserted on the posterior segments of the perianth, 
conniving, but not combined; anthers versatile, 2-celled, 
opening longitudinally ; pollen cubical, with fluted angles !— 
A very minute abortive ovary. 

FEMALE: Perianth sub-globose or tubular, tridentate, su- 
perior, deciduous. Torus? fleshy, cup-like, expanded round 
the base of the ovary, but attached to it only by a central 
point, finally deciduous with the ovary, to which it remains 
attached! Ovary ellipsoidal, attenuated at the base, containing 
a fleshy mass (without distinction of ovules?!). Fruit inde- 
hiscent, ellipsoidal, with a very thin juicy pericarp, and crus- 
taceous endocarp, containing an indefinite number of minute 
sporules, into which the whole of the fleshy mass of the ovary 
appears to be dissolved. 


Specific characters. 

1. Mystropetalon Thomii, Harv. MS.—Anterior bractez broadly ob- 
long, (in anthesis,) one-third longer than the lateral. Limbs of 
the segments of the male perianth lanceolate; female perianth 
sub-globose, obtusely tridentate (Pl. XIX.). 

Hab. ‘‘ About.Caledon Baths.” Rev. Dr. Thom, who pointed it 
out to Mr. Bowie in 1818. Same locality, Ecklon, 1831. Mr. Pole- 

mann, 1837. 


Stem thick and fleshy, closely covered with linear, obtuse, 
smooth scales, the uppermost often bearded at or about the 
apex, the lowermost sometimes elongated, and sometimes all 
are so. Spike very dense, 3—4 inches long, obtuse. 

Mauss: Anterior bractea oblong, of nearly equal breadth 
throughout, obtuse, bearded at the apex and along the promi- 
nent keel, ciliated at the margins; the beard and cilia long, 
orange. Lateral bractez combined at base, sometimes nearly 
free, oblong, obtuse, membranous, sometimes ciliate along the 


W. H. Harvey on two New Species of Rhizanthes. 387 


keel, more than half as long (generally 3rds) as the anterior, 
dark purplish-red at the apex, pale below; the anterior red 
with yellow margins. Perianth, segments united at base into 
a cup, the anterior nearly as long as the posterior, limb lanceo- 
late obtuse, somewhat concave, dark brown-red ; claws yel- 
low, flat or slightly channeled. Filaments subulate, robust ; 
anthers distinct ; pollen cubical, with fluted angles. 

Femaues: Anterior bractea as in the male; lateral (in 
anthesis) rather longer than it, boat-shaped, acute, with a 
sharp ciliate keel, distinct; in fruit very much enlarged, and 
much longer than the anterior, yellow with red tips. Limé 
of the perianth subglobose or ellipsoidal, obtusely trifid or tri- 
crenate, red. Style much exserted, filiform. Ovary oval-ob- 
long, seated in a white, fleshy, cup-like torus, to whose centre 
it is attached by the attenuated base, dark red, minutely hispi- 
dulous, containing a fleshy mass, in the centre of which is a 
white body, of whose nature I cannot satisfy myself. In some 
ovaries it is very obscure. Ripe fruit deciduous, with the 
torus (which surrounds its base very much like the arillus of 
a seed) resembling the ovary, and but little enlarged, dark 
vinous red, slightly fleshy, with a thin but hard crustaceous 
endocarp. Contents, myriads of minute, white, cellular bodies, 
into which the fleshy mass of the ovary is dissolved. 

M. Thomii. A. flowering plant. B. plant in fruit, nat. size. 
Fig. 1. female flower (anthesis); 1*. ditto, in fruit; 2. ditto, back 
view ; 3. ditto, with the bractez removed; 4. female perianth, which 
varies in form; 5. male bractee; 6. ditto, separated; 7. ditto, hack 
view ; 8. male flower; 9. male perianth; 10. ditto, dissected. 


2. Mystropetalon Polemanni, Harv. MS. Anterior bractea spathu- 
late, with a narrow claw; limbs of the segments of the male pe- 


rianth elliptical, very concave; female perianth tubular, trifid (Pl. 
XX.). 3 


Hab. At Hoouw Hoch Pass, Mrs. Denys, who communicated the 
only specimen yet seen to Mr. Polemann, from whom I received it. 


M. Polemanni, fig. 1. female flower (anthesis), front view; 2. ditto, 
back view; 3. ditto, the anterior bractea removed, and the lateral 
pulled open; 4. 5. different views of the perianth; 6. base of the 
ovary, showing its insertion into the torus? 7. ovary and torus? cut 
through ; 8, front view of the male bractez; 9. back view of ditto; 

2D2 


388 Mr. E. Newman on the Genus Passandra, 


10. and 11. male flower, different views, one more advanced than 
the other; 12. segments of the male flower separated; 13. anther; 
14. pollen. 

[M. Polemanni agrees with M. Thomii in most particulars, 
except such as are noted in the figures. The colour of its 
flowers is however very much brighter; that of the beards of 
its bracteze a bright orange, the perianth carmine.—W.H.H.] 


XLV.—On the Synonymy of Passandra, with Descriptions 
of all the old and of a few new Species. By Enwarp 
Newman, F.L.S. 


Class COLEOPTERA. Natural Order CUCUJITES. 


(conomy.—On this subject little appears to be known: 
from their depressed shape and their close resemblance to the 
true Cucywji, the Passandre are supposed to be wood-feeding 
insects. : 

Geographical Distribution Gambia, Cape of Good Hope, 
Sumatra, Java, Carolina, Cuba, Brazil. 

Authorities and Genera.—The genus Passandra was esta- 
blished by Dalman in the appendix to Schénherr’s ‘ Synony- 
mia Insectorum,’ in the year 1817. The only species referred 
to the genus was P. sexstriata, an insect nearly as large as 
Passalus cornutus, and inhabiting Sierra Leone and some other 
parts of Africa. A second. species was described by Mr. G. 
R. Gray in the English translation of Cuvier’s ‘ Régne Ani- 
mal.’ A third species I described in the ‘ Entomological 
Magazine.’ 

Closely allied to Passandra of Dalman is a genus of my own 
characterized in the ‘ Entomological Magazine’ under the 
name Hectarthrum, of which one species, H. curtipes, from 
Western Africa, is described. 

Very nearly related to Passandra and Hectarthrum is a 
third genus, characterized by Mr. Westwood in the ‘ Zoolo- | 
gical Journal’ under the name of Catogenus, and by Perty in 
his account of the Annulosa of Brazil, collected by Spix and 
Martius, under the name of Jsonotus. Mr. Westwood refers 
to the Cucujus rufus as his type, and M. Perty describes a 


with Descriptions of some New Species. -389 


-new species. To this genus belongs the Anisocerus of Hope*. 
The name Catogenus has the claim to priority. 

Fabricius in the genus Cucujus describes four insects re- 
ferrible to one or other of the above genera ; but unfortunately, 
little anticipating the capture of several kindred species, he 
has not described them with sufficient. accuracy to establish 
their identity without a comparison of specimens. 

Did not these subdivisions exist I should scarcely be in- 
clined to propose them; however, I think it better not to 
undo hastily what has been done with care. I shall not hesi- 
tate to employ them. 


Genus Passanpra, Dalman. 

Linear, depressed, and in habit somewhat resembling Pas- 
salus ; head porrected, of nearly the same breadth as the pro- 
thorax, and having a deep transverse posterior furrow ; eyes 
small, lateral, roundish, and but little prominent. The an- 
tennz are 11-jointed, rather more than half the length of the 
body, and inserted near the base of the mandibles; the 1st 
oint is stout and obovate, the second short and almost sphe- 
rical, the remainder are nearly equal, obconic, rather com- 
pressed, and each produced at its apex interiorly; the last 
joint is larger than the rest, more compressed and obliquely 
truncate. The head is impressed posteriorly by a very deep 
transverse furrow. The tarsi are 5-jointed, but the basal joint 
is very short and nearly obsolete +. 


Sp. 1. Pass. sexstriata. (Corp. long. 1:4 unc. lat. 4 unc.) 

m oy - Dalman, Schonherr’s Syn. Ins. Appen- 
dix, p. 146. 

Head, prothorax, femora, and entire underside obscure red, 
the other parts black and shining. The head has a deep trans- 
_ verse furrow parallel to the anterior margin of the prothorax ; 
at each posterior angle of the head this is joined by a longitu- 


* But not Jsocerus of Illiger as quoted by Mr. Westwood in the ‘ Zoolo- 
gical Journal,’ and by the Count Dejean in his ‘ Catalogue des Coleoptéres,’ 
Isocerus being merely a synonym of Parandra. 

+ The instrumenta cibaria of each genus have been carefully and elabo- 
rately described by the author who has proposed it. I do not repeat them, 
finding the three descriptions nearly identical, having nothing additional to 
offer, and considering moreover that they are by no means essential to the 
object of this paper. 


390 Mr. E. Newman on the Genus Passandra, 


dinal marginal furrow which originates near the base of the 
antenna and passes above the eye; anteriorly the head has 
three deep impressions, of which the middle one occupies the 
clypeus, and the lateral ones are nearly approximate to it, 
but rather further back towards the crown of the head. The 
prothorax has a posterior and marginal lateral ridge which is 
produced on each side the head; dorsally, rather behind the 
middle, it had two obscure impressions. Each elytron has three 
longitudinal furrows ; the 1st is deep, near the suture, origin- 
ating by the side of the scutellum and extending to the apex; 
the second also deep, originating dorsally near the shoulder, 
but ceasing considerably before the apex; the third is vague 
and shallow, originating laterally considerably below the 
shoulder, passing round the termination of the second and 
ceasing near the apex. 

Inhabits Sierra Leone. A single specimen obligingly lent me for 
description is in the cabinet of the Rev. F. W. Hope. A very 
lengthened, minute and accurate description of this insect by Dalman 
will be found in the Appendix to Schénherr’s Synonymia Insec- 
torum, p. 146. 


Sp. 2. Pass. Columbus. (Corp. long. 1-2 unc. ; lat *325 une.) _ 


% OF Newman, ‘ Entomological Magazine,’ 
vol. v. p. 398. 


Pitchy black, shining, with an obscure longitudinal stripe of 
red on each elytron. The head has a deep transverse furrow 
nearly parallel to the anterior margin of the prothorax ; at each 
posterior angle of the head this is joined by a longitudinal mar- 
ginal furrow, which originates near the mandibles, curves out- 
wards to the base of the antenna, and passes abéve the eye; 
anteriorly the head has one deep impression occupying the 
clypeus, and on each side of this a vague and diffuse linear 
impression extends from each mandible to the great transverse 
furrow. ‘The prothorax has a posterior and lateral marginal 
ridge which is acutely produced on each side of the head; 
dorsally it has two abbreviated furrows, originating almost 
close to the anterior margin and ceasing at about two thirds of 
the entire length of the prothorax; these furrows are very 
distant and considerably nearer the lateral margins than the 


with Descriptions of some New Species. 391 


centre of the prothorax. Each elytron has two deep longitu- 
dinal furrows, the first originating by the side of the scutellum 
and extending to the apex; the second originating dorsally 
near the shoulder and terminating considerably before the 
apex; exterior to this furrow are several ill-defined and in- 
constant linear impressions. 

Inhabits Brazil. A single specimen (from which the description 
is taken) is in the cabinet of the Entomological Club; a second is 


in that of the Rev. F. W. Hope, and three others in that of Mr. 
Children. 


Sp. 3. Pass. fasciata. (Corp. long. 65 une. lat. +2 unc.) 
” A G. R. Gray, Translation of the Régne 
Animal of Cuvier by Griffith and others, Insecta, vol. ii. p. 93. 
Parandra ,, G. R. Gray, loc. cit. tab. lx. fig. 2. and 
tab. lxxv. fig. 1. anatomical detail. 

Deep red, extremely glabrous; antennz pitchy black ; elytra 
red, with a sutural and marginal black longitudinal stripe on 
each; tibize black. In sculptural markings those given with 
the preceding species will nearly describe the present; the 
impression on the clypeus is less deep ; the prothorax is more 
attenuated posteriorly, and the posterior angles are more pro- 
minently and acutely produced ; exterior to the second furrow 
of each elytron is a very distinct longitudinal linear impression 
abbreviated at each end. 

Inhabits the Island of Cuba. A single specimen is in the cabinet 
of the Rev. F. W. Hope, and two in that of Mr. Children. 


Genus Hecrarturum, Newman. 

In habit resembling Passandra, but having the antennz 
considerablyshorter, moniliform, and more or less incrassated 
in the middle; the joints separately are shorter and more ro- 
bust, often nearly circular, and the terminal joint is rarely 
larger, and in some species smaller than the rest ; itis com- 
pressed and truncate. In one sex the antenne are obviously 
incrassated in the middle, the sixth joint being the largest. 
The head has a deep transverse furrow, and two equally deep 
frontal longitudinal furrows, which unite with the transverse 
one. The tarsi are 5-jointed, the basal joint being shorter than 
the rest. > 


392 Mr. E. Newman on the Genus Passandra, 


Sp. 1. Hect. curtipes. (Corp. long. *65-unc.; lat. *325 unc.) 
fi ms Newman, ‘ Entomological Magazine,’ vol. v- 
p. 398. 

Black shining, the abdomen, coxee, femora, and @ large oval 
spot near the apex of each elytron red. The head has a deep 
but diffuse transverse furrow posteriorly; at each posterior 
angle of the head this is joined by a shallow but clearly de- 
fined sinuous longitudinal marginal furrow, which originates at 
the base of the mandible and passes by the antennz and above 
the eye; the clypeus has on each side an elongate tubercular 
elevation ; again on each side beyond this is a vague longitu- 
dinal impression, which posteriorly assumes the character of 
a deep furrow, and these two unite with the great transverse 
furrow. ‘The prothorax has an extremely slender posterior 
and lateral marginal ridge, also ‘two impressed longitudinal 
dorsal furrows; these originate in the anterior margin, and 
proceed in a direct line one to each posterior angle. Each ely- 
tron has two deep longitudinal furrows; the first originates 
by the side of the scutellum and extends to the apex; the 
second originates dorsally, near the shoulder, and ceases con- 
siderably before the apex. 

Inhabits Senegal. The specimen from which the description is 


taken I believe to be unique, in the cabinet of the Entomological 
Club. 


Sp. 2. Hect. gigas. 

Cucujus gigas, Fabricius, ‘ Syst. Eleu.,’ vol. ii. p. 92. 

“ Body very large for the genus Cucujus, depressed, smooth, 
black and shinmg. The margin of the prothorax unarmed. 
Elytra glabrous, black, with two distant impressed furrows ; 
and between these, towards the apex, a large red spot.”— Fad. 

“Inhabits Guinea. In the Museum of M. Sehestedt.”— Fab. It 
is very evident that this resembles the previously described species, 
but the anomalous antenne and the furrows of the prothorax could 
scarcely have escaped the careful eye of Fabricius. 


Sp. 3. Hect. brevifossum: Atra, glaberrima, abdomine pedi- 
busque piceis: prothoracis strie due laterales, singuli elytri tres, 
fossulaque brevissima antica inter primam et secundam. (Corp. 
long. *7 unc.; lat. ‘2 unc.) 
Brilliantly shining black, the abdomen and legs inclining 


with Descriptions of some new Species. 393 


to pitchy red. The head has an extremely deep transverse 
furrow, parallel to the anterior margin of the prothorax ; at 
each extremity this is joined by a slight longitudinal marginal 
furrow, which passes above the antenna and eye ; the clypeus 
has an oval impression, and behind it on each side is a very 
deep longitudinal furrow; these last unite with the great 
transverse furrow. The prothorax has a posterior and lateral 
slender marginal ridge ;. anteriorly this is angular, but not 
produced by the side of the head; posteriorly it is incrassated 
in the middle, and as it were turned back over the disk of the 
prothorax ; on each side it has dorsally an obvious but not 
deep furrow, originating near the anterior margin, and termi- 
nating in the posterior angle. Each elytron has four furrows : 
the first originates by the side of the scutellum and terminates 
in the apical angle; the second is very short, scarcely a sixth 
of the entire length of the elytron, and situated near the an-— 
terior extremity of the third, which originates dorsally near 
the shoulder, and ceases considerably before reaching the api- - 
cal angle; the fourth is equidistant from the third and the 
marginal ridge of the elytron ; itis less deep than the others ; 
it originates laterally, considerably below the shoulder, and 
surpasses the third, but still does not reach the apical angle. 

Inhabits the island of Java. One example, from which the above 
description is taken, is in the cabinet of the Rev. F. W. Hope. A 
second is in the British Museum, but its habitat is unknown. A 
third, of much larger size than either of the foregoing, is in the 
cabinet of Mr. Children, and this last has the antenne very much 
incrassated in the middle. 


Sp. 4. Hect. trigeminum. Afra nitida, femoribus piceis : pro- 
thoracis stri@ due laterales, singuli elytri tres, quarum interna 
longior , intermedia brevior, externa mediocris. (Long. corp. *75 
unc. ; lat. *2 unc.) 

The colour is black and very shining; there is no trace of 
any other hue except in the femora, which incline to ‘pitehy 
black. The head has a deep transverse furrow near its pos- 
terior margin; at each posterior angle of the head this is 
joined by a longitudinal marginal furrow, which originates near 
the base of the antenna,.and passes above the eye; the cly- 
peus has a diffuse oval impression, and on each side of this 


394 Mr. E, Newman on the Genus Passandra, 


commences a deep longitudinal furrow; these two unite 
with the great transverse furrow. The prothorax has a pos- 
terior and lateral marginal ridge; this, in the centre of the 
posterior margin, is incrassated, and as it were folded back on 
the disk: from each posterior angle of the prothorax arises a 
small keel-like ridge; this meets a longitudinal discoidal fur- 
row, which, after nearly touching the anterior margin, turns 
inwards along the margin, and nearly unites with the corre- 
sponding furrow of the opposite side. Each elytron has 
three furrows ; the first originates by the side of the scutellum 
and extends to the apical angle; the second dorsal, but distant 
from the first ; it originates considerably below the basal mar- 
gin and ceases as much before the apex ; the third is near the 
second and extends beyond it at both ends. 

There are two examples of this insect in the British Museum ; 
from the largest of these, whose dimensions are given above, the de- 
scription is taken; the second specimen agrees in every particular 
except that it is scarcely half the size. There is no record preserved 
of the habitat or donor. 


Sp. 5. Hect. heros. 

Cucujus heros, Fabricius. ‘Syst. Eleu.,’ vol. 11. p. 92. 

“In habit and size this species resembles Cucujus gigas. 
The antennz are short, stout, moniliform, and in one sex with 
the joints prominent beneath, serrated. The head has stout 
porrected mandibles and a bisulcated forehead ; the prothorax 
is flat, black, and has a furrow on each side. The elytra are 
black, immaculate, and unequally striated. The body is black, 
the femora red.”—Fab. loc. cit. 

‘‘ Inhabits the island of Sumatra: in the museum of Mr. Lund.”— 
Fab. This cannot, as I imagine, be identical with the preceding ; the 
three obvious furrows on each elytron in H. trigeminum could 
scarcely be described as ‘‘ elytra inzqualiter striata.” The femora 
moreover are not red, 


Sp. 6. Hect. bistriatum. (Corp. long. *54 une. lat. +14 unc.) 
Passandra_ ,, Castelnau, ‘ Hist. Nat. des Animaux ar- 
ticulés,’ Ins. vol. ii. p.384. 
Black and very shining, the abdomen and legs inclining to 
pitchy red. The form of this insect is lmear and more cy- 
lindrical, the antenne are moniliform and stout. The sculp- 


with Descriptions of some New Species. 395 


ture of the head is precisely as in H. trigeminum above de- 
scribed, except that the impression on the clypeus is inter- 
rupted posteriorly by the anterior extremity of a raised gla- 
brous elevation, which occurs between the two deep longitu- 
dinal furrows. The prothorax is precisely as in that species. 
Each elytron has two furrows; the first originates by the side of 
the scutellum and terminates in the apical angle; the second 
originates dorsally near the shoulder and ceases considerably 
before the apical angle; at the base of the elytra, equidistant 
from these striz, is a deep puncture. 

Inhabits the island of Java. I am indebted to the Rev. F. W. 
Hope and Mr. Shuckard, who possess the only examples I have 
seen, for the opportunity of describing this species. 


Sp. 7. Hect. gemelliparum. Nigra, nitida, abdomine pedibusque 
piceis: prothoracis strie quatuor, due distantes laterales indi- 
stincte postice abbreviate, due approximate discoidales profunde 
brevissime, postice ; singuli elytri strie quatuor pariter dispo- 
site. (Corp. long. °6 unc. lat. ‘16 unc.) 

Black and shining, the abdomen and legs inclining to pitchy 
red. The form linear and subcylindrical, the antennz moni- 
liform, the sculpture of the head as in H. trigeminum. The 
prothorax has a posterior and lateral marginal ridge, the pos- 
terior part incrassated, reflexed, and notched in the middle; 
on each side it has dorsally an obvious but not deep furrow, 
which reaches neither the anterior nor posterior margin : near 
the posterior margin, but not adjoining it, rise two deep ab- 
breviated furrows ; at the base they are nearly approximate, 
but diverge anteriorly and cease abruptly at the centre of the 
disk of the prothorax. Each elytron has four strie in pairs ; 
the first of these extends from the side of the scutellum to the 
apical angle ; the second, approximate to the first, is consider- 
ably abbreviated at both extremities ; the third distant from 
the second and equally abbreviated at both extremities; the 
fourth approximates to the third, which it surpasses at both 
extremities, but reaches neither the base nor apex of the 
elytron. 

Inhabits Senegal. A single specimen above described is in the 
cabinet of the Rev. F. W. Hope; asecond in that of Mr. Westwood, 
both obligingly lent me for description. 


396 Mr. E. Newman on the Genus Passandra, 


Sp. 8. Hect. semifuscum. Caput et prothorax fusca, cetera obscure 
Serruginea; linee prothoracis due laterales; antice obsolete, discus 
complanatus, punctatus ; singuli elytri strie quatuor pariter dis- 
posite. (Corp. long. *4 unc. lat. ‘08 unc.) 

Head and prothorax dark brown, elytra, abdomen and legs 
ferruginous. The head is rugose; there is a very obvious 
impression on or rather behind the clypeus; the transverse 
and longitudinal furrows of the head are deep and very di- 
stinct; the antenne are somewhat more slender, and the joints 
more elongate than in the others of this genus; the terminal 
_ Joint is also much larger. The prothorax has a posterior and 
lateral marginal ridge, the posterior portion being incrassated, 
reflexed, and notched in the middle; on each side a line arises 
from the posterior angle, and proceeding upwards towards the 
anterior margin ceases at about half the length of the protho- 
rax. Each elytron has four striz in pairs; the first originates 
by the side of the scutellum and extends to the apical angle ; 
the second, approximate to the first, is considerably abbreviated 
at each end; the third, distant from the second, is also abbre- 
viated at each end, but extends rather below the second; the 
fourth approximates to the third, originates nearer the shoulder, 
and extends rather below it. | 

Habitat unknown. ‘There is one specimen in the cabinet of the 
British Museum without record of its locality. 


Sp. 9. Hect. rufipenne. 
Cucujus rufipennis, Fab., ‘ Syst. Eleu.’ ii. 98. 
“ Black, with the elytra alone ferruginous.”—Fab. loc. cit. 
‘Inhabits the island of Sumatra. In the museum of M. Sehestedt.”’ 
The brief description of this species agrees tolerably well with 
H. semifuscum, but as it enters into no particulars whatever as to the 
sculpture, it would be inexcusable to conclude from so trivial a simi- 
larity as that of colour that the species were identical. 


Genus Catocenus, Westwood. Isonotus, Perty. Aniso- 
| cerus, Hope. 

Antenne moniliform and of equal thickness throughout. 
Head with two deep frontal longitudinal furrows which do not 
reach the transverse posterior furrow. The tarsi are very di- 
stinctly 5-jointed. 


with Descriptions of some New Species. 397° 


Sp. 1. Cato. carinatus.. Obscure ferruginea: prothorax crebre- 
punctatus : singuli elytri strie due, interstitiis punctis et quadri- 
lineatis. (Corp. long. *45 une. lat. ‘075 unc.) 

Entirely of a dusky ferruginous or pitchy red, not very 
shining. The form is depressed, linear, and very narrow. The 
antenne are of nearly uniform substance, each joint externally 
incrassated; the terminal joint is slightly longer but not thicker 
than the rest. The head has a deep transverse furrow near 
its posterior margin ; at each extremity this is joined by a la- 
teral marginal furrow, which originates near the insertion of 
the mandible, and passes above the antenna and eye: in front 
of the transverse furrow, but quite unconnected with it, are 
two deep elongate impressions, and between these is a very 
slightly marked line, which proceeds from the middle of the 
transverse furrow to the clypeus, where it terminates in a cir- 
cular impression. The prothorax has a very slender posterior 
and lateral marginal ridge. Each elytron has two furrows; 
the first originating on one side of the scutellum and termi- 
nating in the apical angle, the second originating dorsally near 
the shoulder and terminating considerably before the apical 
angle; the interstice between these furrows has four distinct 
lines, which become obliterated before the apex. The head, 
prothorax, and elytra are thickly punctured, the pup on 
the elytra requiring a lens of high power. 

Inhabits the Cape of Good Hope. I am indebted to the Rev. F. 
W. Hope for the loan of one specimen, and to Mr. Westwood for 
that of another. The name of carinata, Klug, has long been attached 
to this species, but I am not aware of a previous description. Spe- 
cifically this is distinct from the following, but I can discover no cha- 
racters of distinction of higher importance than those of sculpture, 
which so obviously mark the species throughout the family. | 


Sp. 2. Cato. castaneus. (Corp. long. 55 unc. lat. °125 unc.) 
Isonotus castaneus, Perty, ‘Animal. Artic. of Brazil.’ 
p- 114. tab. xxii. fig. 15. 

Ferruginous, shining. Form less elongate than in C. cari- 
natus, body scarcely so flat, and antenne not so long in pro- 
portion to the body; the sculpture of the head exactly as in 
that species. Prothorax very shining, but under a lens of 
moderate power very obviously punctured ; the disk is very:flat 


398 Mr. E. Newman on the Genus Passandra. 


and has two obvious impressions. Each elytron has six fur- 
rows, united in pairs at the base ; the fifth ceases at about half 
the length of the elytron; the sixth is rudimental only. 

Inhabits Brazil. A single specimen is in the cabinet of the Rev. 
F. W. Hope, and three others in that of Mr. Children. 


Sp. 8. Cato. rufus. (Corp. long. 475 unc. lat. ‘1 unc.) 
», rufus, Westwood, ‘Zoological Journal,’ vol. v. p. 215. 
Sup. tab. xlvi. fig. 2. 
Cucujus rufus, Fabricius, ‘EntomologiaSystematica,’ Supp. 
p. 123. No. 2. 
a », Fabricius, ‘Systema Eleutheratorum,’ vol. ii. 
p. 93. 
This species so closely corresponds with the foregoing that 
I have considerable hesitation in considering them distinct. 
The present insect is rather less in size, rather less glabrous, 
and scarcely so broad in proportion to its length: there is 
again a difference of habitat, the Cucujus rufus of Fabricius 
inhabiting the United States, and the Isonotus castaneus of 
Perty inhabiting Brazil; and I may remark it is a circum- 
stance of extremely rare occurrence that the same species is 
common to both countries. That the present insect is the 
Cucujus rufus of Fabricius appears pretty evident from that 
author’s description, which I subjoin below. There is a spe- 
cimen in the cabinet of the British Museum, a second in that 
of the Entomological Club (donor J. O. Westwood), and a 
third in that of Mr. Westwood, which is the identical speci- 
men described by him in the ‘Zoological Journal’ as the type 
of his genus Catogenus, and which he has kindly placed in my 
hands for examination and description. It is useless to repeat 
the description already given with C. castaneus; the reader 
must refer to that species, notice the slight variation above al- 
luded to, and add the following description from Fabricius in 
the ‘ Entomologia Systematica,’ remembering also the differ- 
ent locality ; a subject formerly so much neglected, that I find 
it a matter of difficulty to obtain the habitat of any rare spe- 
cies if it happen to boast of any antiquity. 
Description of Cucujus rufus by Fabricius. 
“* Cucujus depressus, rufus, elytris striatis. 
“« Habitat in Carolina Dom. Bosc. 


me 


Pao ee 


annette 


the Structure 


Mr. H. Giraud on the Structure of Pollen. 399 


“Magnus in hoc genere. Antenne corpore paullo breviores, 
crass, rufe; articulis distinctis cylindricis. Caput rufam. 
Thorax planus, depressus, margine utrinque antice posticeque 
acutiusculo. Elytra striata. Pedes breves compressi.”’ 


Sp. 4. Cato. puncticollis. Ferruginea, obscura; prothorar ru- 
gose punctatus, medio late depressus, linea mediana longitudinalt 
glabra: singuli elytri strie sex, exteriores indistincte. (Corp. 
long. *4 unc. ; lat. ‘1 unc.) 


Ferruginous, with very little gloss. Form very short and 
stout, depressed, linear; antennz hairy; head sculpture al- 
most precisely as in the two preceding species. The protho- 
rax is coarsely punctured, and has a large but shallow dorsal 
impression more rugosely punctured than the other parts, and 
through the middle of this passes a raised longitudinal gla- 
brous line. Each elytron has six equidistant striz, the two 
nearest the suture are united at the base: these, as well as 
the third and fourth, are clearly defined; the fifth and sixth 
are slight and indistinct. 

Inhabits North America. The Rev. F. W. Hope, to whom I am 
indebted for the opportunity of describing this species, has labelled 


it ‘‘rufus, Fab.” He possessed a second specimen, very much 
smaller, which he considers distinct. 


é. 
—.—— 


XLVI.—-On the Existence of a Third Tunic, together with 
certain other peculiarities in the Structure of Pollen. By 
Hersert Grravp, F.B.S.E., Mem. Med. Soc. Edin. 


[ With a Plate. ] 


In pursuing a series of observations on the structure and 
functions of pollen, some points of anatomical peculiarity have 
been presented to my notice which may not be wholly devoid 
of interest. 

The existence of two membranes or tunics in the pollen- 
grain has long since been satisfactorily determined by Brong- 
niart, Amici, and Brown, and is proved in a most decisive 
manner by the effects produced upon pollen by the action of 
sulphuric acid; for when immersed in the dilute acid, the 
pollen is seen to swell until suddenly a rupture takes place 
in the outer tunic, upon which, however, neither the fovilla 


400 Mr. H. Giraud on some peculiarities in 


nor granules are emitted, but this outer membrane gradually 
removes from off the grain, which still retains its original 
figure, and incloses its contents as perfectly as ever. Instances 
of this kind of action are represented in Plate XVIII. Fig. 1. 
shows the pollen of Fritillaria meleagris with part of its outer 
tunic removed. Fig. 2. the pollen-grain wholly denuded of 
its outer tunic. Fig. 3. a portion of the outer tunic removed. 
Fig. 4. the pollen of Liiium Martagon, its outer tunic thin and 
_ transparent, rent and falling off. By employing this method, 
I have succeeded in detecting a third tunic in the pollen of 
Crocus vernus. When immersed in diluted sulphuric acid 
the pollen-grain swells (fig. 5.), its outer tunic bursts and is 
deciduous, as is represented at fig. 6. At this stage the next 
tunic, thin and transparent, may be clearly defined; but after 
a short interval, it expands, exposing within it a third tunic, 
which incloses the pollenic granules and fovilla (fig. 7.). 

In examining the pollen of Polemonium ceruleum, immersed 
in water, with a power of about 500, the surface of the grains 
appeared studded with very minute and perfectly opake 
bodies, some of which left the grain, and floated in the water 
on the object-glass (fig. 8. a.). Upon looking more atten-. 
tively at these bodies, I found that each possessed a sponta- 
neous and independent motion, exactly similar to that pos- 
sessed by the globules of the blood, or to that which Brong- 
niart describes as having witnessed in the granules of the pol- 
len of the Gourd and of the Mallow. Although I could de- 
tect no grains that had burst, still I supposed that these 
bodies might be the pollen granules, and that therefore this 
was merely a repetition of the observation of Brongniart. The 
pollen-grains being made to burst and emit their granules, 
an obvious distinction at once, between the latter and the 
minute bodies, became apparent. The true granules were 
larger than these bodies, from which they might also be di- 
stinguished by their translucency. Of the nature or uses of 
these bodies I have not been able to form even a conjecture ; 
but that their motion is independent of all external agencies 
I feel quite satisfied. 

Considerable doubt has existed as to the true nature of the 
longitudinal line which exists in most elliptical and spherical 


the Structure of Pollen. 401 


pollen-grains possessing a smooth surface. It was supposed 
by Guillemin to be a slit in the outer tunic intended to faci- 
litate the admission of water into the interior of the grains, 
and the emission of their fovilla. The observations which I 
have made in reference to this point have shown that the Jon- 
gitudinal line has not, in any case, the appearance of a slit, 
as it has greater opacity, when the grain is dry, than any other 
part ; and were it a slit, it would not disappear under the ac- 
tion of water, (which is the case,) but, on the contrary, as the 
pollen-grain enlarged, it would become more patulous. It 
would therefore appear that the true nature of this linear 
marking is, that in the dry state the outer membrane is de- 
pressed and folded in, so as to form a furrow; but that when 
moisture is applied the grain swells, the fold is expanded, and 
finally disappears. This statement is confirmed by the ap- 
pearances which I found to be presented by the pollen of 
Antirrhinum majus. In the dry state its form is cylindrical, 
but under the action of water it swells and becomes spherical ; 
the furrow, at the same time, is seen gradually to unfold and 
at last to disappear (fig. 9, 10, 11, 12). Moreover, in the 
early stages of its development, when surrounded with fluid, 
and being therefore in a moist condition, no furrow is per- 
ceptible. 

Besides the several proximate principles which have been 
shown by chemists to exist in pollen, I have succeeded in de- 
tecting in certain species a very marked quantity of carbo- 
nate of potassa. Whilst making an observation on the pollen 
of Antirrhinum majus immersed in dilute sulphuric acid, the 
field of the microscope became crowded with a quantity of 
acicular crystals. As the fluid gradually evaporated, the pol- 
len-grains were found to act as nuclei, from which the cry- 
stals radiated in all directions (fig. 13.). Their form appeared 
to be that of quadrilateral prisms with obliquely truncated 
extremities. The portion of this salt was of course infinitely 
too small to afford a sufficient quantity for analysis; the only 
method therefore of determining its constitution was to dis- 
cover the form of its crystal, and that of other salts which 
might be formed by its decomposition. It was obvious that 
it must be a sulphate of some base; and as potassa is an 

Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol. 2. No.12. Fed. 1839. 25 


402 Mr. W. Thompson on the British Species of 


abundant base in some of the other vegetable tissues, it was 
probable that this salt was sulphate of potassa. On com- 
paring the form of microscopic crystals of sulphate of potassa 
with that of the crystals derived from the pollen, it was found 
that they were identical; but in order to determine this point 
with greater certainty, a solution of oxalic acid was added to 
the pollenic crystals, which upon evaporation afforded cry- 
stals having the characteristic form of the binoxalate of po- 
tassa (fig. 14.). That the potassa existed in the state of car- 
bonate became probable from the fact, that the water in which 
the pollen had been macerated did not yield crystals upon a 
partial evaporation, the carbonate of potassa being deliques- 
cent. 


Note.—Although the main object of this communication has 
been anticipated by M. Fritzsche, of whose labours, published 
in the Transactions of the Petersburgh Academy, our corre- 
spondent seems to have had no knowledge, it will prove in- 
teresting to many of our readers, inasmuch as the writings of 
Fritzsche are little known in this country, and his views are 
in some degree confirmed by the observations of our corre- 
spondent, both agreeing in their deductions. M. Fritzsche 
has not only discovered a third tunic, but even a fourth, which 
is said to occur, among other plants, in Clarkia elegans, some 
species of Ginothera, and in Encharidium concinnu.—Entt. 


XLVII.— Observations on several British Fishes, including the 
description of a New Species. By Wiiu1aAm THompPson, 
Esq., Vice-President of the Natural History Society of 
Belfast*, 

[ With a Plate. ] 
1. On the British Species of the Genus Monochirus, Cuv. 


By the kindness of Dr. Parnell in supplying me with speci- 
mens of the Red-backed Flounder of Hanmer, ‘ Pennant’s 
Brit. Zool.,’ (v. ii. p. 313. pl. 48. ed. 1812,) and the Mon. mi- 
nutus, Parn., 1am enabled to speak decidedly on some points 
which, in my previous remarks on these species, ‘ Annals Nat, 


* Read before this Society December 5, 1838, and illustrated aid the spe- 
cimens of which it treated. 


the Genus Monochirus. 403 


Hist.,’ vol. ii. p. 19, could only, from a want of specimens, be 
treated of problematically. This I now proceed to do as sup- 
plementary to what appeared in the ‘ Annals ;’ but it may be 
well, in the first place, to give a slight sketch of the British 
Monochiri, in so far as our present knowledge extends. 

The first British Monochirus I am aware of being noticed, 
is that figured under the name of Variegated. Sole in ‘ Dono- 
van’s British Fishes,’ (pl. 117,) the individual represented 
having been purchased. in the London market in April 1807, 
but where captured is not mentioned. In the edition of Pen- 
nant’s ‘ British Zoology’ published in 1812, Mr. Hanmer 
figured and described a species by the appellation of Red- 
backed Flounder, and stated it to be “ common in the spring 
upon the coast near Plymouth.” In the sixth volume of the 
‘ Magazine of Natural History,’ p. 530, a specimen of “ Solea 
variegata”’ is noticed by Dr. Scouler to have been taken at 
Rothsay in the isle of Bute. Mr. Jenyns, in his ‘ Manual of 
British Vertebrate Animals, p. 468, takes his description 
from one procured at Weymouth; and Mr. Yarrell, in his 
‘ History of British Fishes, v. ii. p. 262, figures and describes 
an individual supplied from Cornwall by Mr. Couch, and 
mentions, in addition, from the. MS. of Montagu, that this 
naturalist received a specimen 9 inches in length from Dr. 
_ Leach, who purchased it with two others in Plymouth market 
in August 1808. Thus far our authors, with the exception 
of Mr. Jenyns, (who leaves it to be proved by future investi- 
gation whether there be not a second species,) speak only of 
one Monochirus. 

In the first volume of the ‘ Magazine of Zoology and Bo- 
tany,’ p. 526, Dr. Parnell described a Monochirus, which is 
taken at Brixham, under the specific name of minutus, intro- 
ducing it doubtfully as a new species, but with certainty as 
distinct from the “ red-backed Sole, Mon. Lingula,”’ and, as 
such, an addition to the British Fauna. Lastly, the Septem- 
ber number of the ‘ Annals’ contains observations by myself 
on two species of Monochirus taken on the coast of Ireland. 

To attempt placing the species, of which notices are here 
brought together, in a clearer light, is the object of the pre- 
sent communication ; and although this may to a certain ex- 

2k 2 


404 Mr. W. Thompson on the British Species of 


tent be done, the sequel will show that it cannot be per- 
formed effectively. 

First :—the Variegated Sole as figured and described by 
Donovan and Yarrell, the specimen recorded by Dr. Scouler*, 
and the individual noticed by myself under the name of Solea 
variegata, are identical. ‘The localities in which this species 
has been procured, are the coasts of Cornwall in England» 
of the island of Bute in Scotland, and of Down in Ireland. 
As suggested in my previous paper on this subject, it may 
be worthy of investigation, whether the Mon. Pegusa of 
Risso, obtained from the Mediterranean, be this species, (t- 
iil. p. 258. f. 33. ed. 1826) +. Of the references in Mr. Yarrell’s 
work, those relating to Rondeletius, Willughby and Cuvier 
apply, I conceive, to the species next to be noticed; Duhamel 
I have not for consultation; Fleming merely quotes Donovan 
and: Pennant. 

Spec. cHAR. Mon. variegatus. Pectoral fin about + the 
length of head: scales on lateral line about 85 ; dinuih and 
anal unconnected with caudal fin. 

Secondly :—the Solea Lingula of Jenyns’s ‘ Manual,’ (except- 
ing the short specific characters and colours which are copied 
from Hanmer,) the Mon. minutus of Parnell, and the “ Solea 
Lingula, Rond.,” (Mon. linguatulus) described by me in the 
‘Annals,’ are the same species;—of the identity of these two 
last I judge from a comparison of specimens. Being of opi- 
nion that Mr. Jenyns’s description, so far as taken from the 
individual before him, related to this species; and that, 
rather than describe the colours from a specimen preserved 
in spirits, he had copied them from Hanmer’s description 
of the Red-backed Flounder, believing it the same, though 
it is in reality a distinct species; I communicated with him 
on the subject, and his reply confirmed my views. The op- 
portunity of examining specimens of this latter fish, which 
Mr. Jenyns had not, but through the kindness of Dr. Parnell 


* As this fish is very briefly noticed in the Magazine, I wrote to Dr. 
Scouler respecting it, and was informed in reply that it may be considered 
identical with the Variegated Sole of Yarrell. 

+ The large size of the pectoral fin, as represented in the figure, marks a 
Solea rather than a Monochirus; but it is described as the latter by Risso, 
and the figure referred to as such by Cuvier, Rég. An., t. ii. p. 348, 2nd ed. 


the Genus Monochirus. 405 — 


I have had, could alone have settled this point, the describer 
of it having been silent on such characters as the length of 
the pectoral fins, and number of scales on the lateral line, by 
which chiefly it is distinguished from the present species. 

This is, [consider, the So/ea parva sive Lingula described and 
figured by Rondeletius, and again repeated in the works of 
Gesner (lib. iv. p. 669.), Aldrovandus (p. 237.) and Willughby 
(p. 102. pl. F.8. f. 1.).. With reference to this, the following 
note on three specimens obtained since the publication of my 
‘paper in the ‘Annals’ may be here given. Of these, which are 
from 3 to 34 inches in length, one has the outline of Solea vul- 
garis ; but the other two differ much from it in being narrower, 
and tapering more towards the tail, thus precisely resembling, 
even to the turn of the caudal fin, the Solea parva sive Lingula 
as represented by these authors: the lateral line too approx- 
imates the form given in the figure of this species, but in the 
specimens is placed rather higher on the body; in these it 
originates considerably above the middle, and for some way 
slopes gradually downwards, until it takes a course midway 
between the dorsal and ventral profile*. A figure of this fish 
illustrates Dr. Parnell’s paper before referred to in the first 
volume of the ‘ Magazine of Zoology and Botany.’ 

The two localities in which this species has occurred in 
England are southern: at Weymouth in Dorsetshire, whence 
the single specimen was obtained that served for Mr. Jenyns’s 
description ; and at Brixham on the adjoining coast of De- 
vonshire, where, Dr. Parnell informs us, it is taken in the 
trawl-nets throughout the year. In Ireland it has been pro- 
cured with the trawl or dredge both in the north and south; 
in the month of August in the open sea off Dundrum, county 
of Down; in June and October within the entrance to Bel- 
fast bay, and at Youghal in the county of Cork. (See Annals, 
loc. cit.) Of its occurrence in Scotland I have not seen any 
record. This is described to be a Mediterranean species. 

Spec. cHAR. Mon. linguatulus. Upper pectoral fin about 


* These specimens may further be described as of a red.lish-brown colour, 
minutely freckled over with a darker shade, and having the roundish spots 
of dark brown and of white on the lateral line and on the body some way in- 
wards from the base of the dorsal and anal tins, as had the individuals ob- 
tained in June last. See Annals, vol. ii. p. 21. 


406 Mr. W. Thompson on the British Species of 


one-seventh the length of head; scales on lateral line about 
70; an occasional black ray throughout the dorsal and anal 
fins, this colour not spreading over the adjoining membrane. 

Thus far all seems clear, the British specimens recorded 
being allocated under the two species just treated of, with the 
exception of Hanmer’s Red-backed Flounder obtained at 
Plymouth, and Montagu’s specimen from the same locality. 
All that is wanted to fix the species of the first-mentioned is 
‘an examination of a moderate-sized Mon. variegatus. This 
‘Mr. Yarrell possesses ; and now supplying him with the spe- 
cimens by which I arrived at the above conclusions, I leave 
this point to be determined in the forthcoming Supplement 
to his ‘ History of British Fishes.’ As all the British Mono- 
chirt and Solee are taken on the southern coast of England, 
it signifies little to which of the species Montagu’s specimen 
belonged. 

It may not be useless to mention some of the comparative 
differences between Hanmer’s Red-backed Flounder, (of which 
two specimens, procured by Dr. Parnell at Brixham*, are 
now before me,) the Mon. linguatulus and Mon. variegatus. 
From the M. linguatulus it is at once seen to be specifically 
different, by the greater length of its pectoral fin, (about 4 
that of head, whereas it is about one-seventh in the other,) — 
by its smaller scales (about 85 in the lateral line, the other 
having about 70), and by the conspicuous blotches of black, 
of which part is on the dorsal and anal fins, and part on the 
body of the specimens}. With M. variegatus the Red-backed 
Flounder accords in the length of pectoral fins, the number 
of scales on the lateral line, and in general form; in every 
character indeed, so far as I can judge from comparison with 
a specimen of M. variegatus under three inches in length, ex- 
cept in colour. This difference, in itself certainly not specific, 
is nevertheless very striking; my specimen of M. variegatus, 
22 inches long, Mr. Yarrell’s 5 inches, and Donovan’s 9 inches 


* It was between these or similar specimens that Dr. Parnell, calling 
them Mon. Lingula, clearly showed the characters in which they differed 
from his Mon. minutus. See Mag. of Zool. and Bot., vol. i. p. 528. 

+ The black spots mentioned in my description of the colours of Sol. Lin- 
gula, Rond. (Annals, loc. cit.), differ entirely from these by appearing on 
the body only; they are small roundish spots, generally about a line in dia- 
meter. 


the Genus Monochirus. 407 


in length, all presenting similar variegated markings. The 
colour of the upper side of Hanmer’s fish is described to be 
“a very light brown tinged with red,” and is figured of a 
uniform colour. Such Dr. Parnell’s (preserved dry) likewise 
are, becoming darker at the margin, over which the black 
blotches on the dorsal and anal fins occasionally extend for a 
few lines: this marking, as represented in Hanmer’s figure, 
is characteristic of that in the specimens at present under ex- 
amination; but these exhibit rather more black on the dorsal 
fin. Hanmer’s specimen was 6? inches long, Dr. Parnell’s 
are 7+ and 8? inches. 

The number of denticles and form of the scales of the Mono- 
chiri will not prove to be a positive character, though, relatively 
considered, they may be of service in the elucidation of species. 
On examining one of my specimens of MM. linguatulus as to 
the number of these denticles, I found that a scale taken from 
the lateral line had 21; another from the next row had 22 
and 2 rudimentary points; a third from an adjacent part of 
the body had likewise 22. The outline of these scales was 
different, the first being conspicuously contracted about the 
middle at one side, and straight throughout the other; the 
second slightly contracted about the middle on both sides, 
and the third with the sides quite straight. In each of two 
scales taken from the lateral line of Dr. Parnell’s specimen of 
M. minutus there are 22 large strong denticles, with rudi- 
mentary points between them: outline of these scales differ- 
ent, and as in the individual just described. In my specimen 
of M. variegatus, two scales which touched upon the lateral 
line exhibited only 10 and 13 points; but this paucity may 
be owing to its diminutive size. A scale from the lateral line 
of Dr. Parnell’s smaller specimen of the Red-backed Flounder 
exhibited 19 denticles, one off the third row from it 18. The 
form of scale in all the individuals examined is much the 
same, being broader for its length than that of scales I took 
from Solea vulgaris ; they were generally, but not always, con- 
tracted about the middle, either at one or both sides. The 
scales were all examined separately under the microscope, and 
hence is a different result in the number of denticles from 
what would have appeared, had they been reckoned on the 
body of the fish. 3 


408 Mr. W. Thompson on a new British Fish. 


11. Description of a minute Fish allied to the Ciliata glauca, 
Couch, and Gadus argenteolus, Mont. Plate XVI. figs. 1, 2,3. 


When dredging in Strangford Lough, county of Down, on 
the 2nd of July last, at from one to three quarters of a mile 
off the shore, and the water from ten to twenty fathoms in 
depth, I for upwards of an hour remarked some very minute 
fishes coming singly to the surface. They ascended in a 
somewhat vertical direction, remained but momentarily there, 
and again, generally in a similar manner, descended until lost 
to view. Their back appeared to be of a dark colour, but 
their sides presented the brilliancy of the brightest silver. 
Their size was rather under an inch; their motion, though 
somewhat wriggling, surprisingly rapid; so much so, that al- 
though the boat was scarcely moving, and the sea quite calm, 
their continuance at the surface was so short, that the great- 
est activity had to be exerted to secure them. For this pur- 
pose a small canvas net, otherwise used in the capture of mi- 
nute Meduse, was available. When brought into the boat, 
they at first sight called to mind the Ciliata glauca and Gadus 
argenteolus; but the great size of the ventral fins, which were 
likewise of a pitchy blackness for nearly the last third of their 
length, seemed opposed to their identity with these species. 
The boatmen who accompanied me had not observed this fish. 
before, nor had they heard anything of it. 


Drsc.—General form elongate; belly protuberant. On a close 
examination of all the specimens, nine in number, no cirri can with 
a high power of lens, or on the field of the microscope, be detected 
on either jaw. The largest individual, 104 lines in length, may be 
characterised as having the upper jaw the longer ; strong and pointed 
teeth in both jaws; head occupying rather more than } of the entire 
length: eye equal in diameter to 4rd the length of head: opercle 
rounded at the base, altogether forming a portion of a circle: first 
dorsal fin originating just over the opercle, so sunken, and its rays 
(which are thick and blunt) so short, as to be hardly distinguishable 
in the profile of the fish, not less than 25 rays; second dorsal com- 
mencing close to the first, and before the end of the pectorals, of 
unequal height, extending to the base of the caudal, not less than 
50 rays: pectoral fins rather less than 4th of the entire length, of 
moderate size and rounded, placed very high, somewhat above the 


J Swaine fc 


JS 49. I del 


Mr. W. Thompson on a new British Fish. 409 


opercle, about 20 rays; ventrals placed high, commencing rather in 
advance of the pectorals, somewhat square at the end, occupying 
of the entire length, reaching to the vent, and consisting of about 6 
rays: anal fin commencing at the vent, and extending to the base 
of the caudal, unequal in height, having at least 40 rays: caudal fin 
elongate, occupying +th of the entire length (measured from last 
vertebra of body), somewhat rounded at the end, containing about 
30 rays*: branchial rays about 7: vent midway between snout 
and base of caudal fin. Cotour when recent —: back, rich green 
varied with dots of gold and black: operculum, entire sides and 
under surface bright silver; pectoral, dorsal, anal and caudal fins 
uniformly of a pale colour, ventrals likewise so for rds from the 
base, remainder pitch black ; irides silvery. 

Since the above was written, I have been favoured by Mr. 
Yarrell with original specimens of Ciliata glauca, obtained 
from Mr. Couch, and from these the Strangford species differs 
as follows. My specimens, under 11 lines in length, do not, 
like the Cornwall fish—which is 1 inch 5 lines long—exhibit 
cirri on either jaw. The ventral fins in mine are equal to jth 
of the entire length, in the English specimen to about 1th; 
in the latter the longest rays have a fibrous termination, (to 
the extreme of which the length of the fin was estimated,) 
whereas these fins are somewhat square at the end in the 
Strangford specimens; besides, they are in these of a pitchy 
blackness for the last third of their length, although in the 
other of a uniform pale colour throughout. These differences 
were likewise constant in Cornwall and Strangford specimens 
of similar length. 

On placing the authentic Ciliata glauca and a Motella quin- 
guecirratat of equal size together, the difference is very great ; 


* Although the number of rays in the fins cannot be given with certainty, 
an approximation to it has been thought better than entire silence on the 
subject. 

A One of the two individuals which, judging from their agreement with 
the characters assigned to C. glauca, were noticed as such in the Annals for 
September last (p. 14), at which time I had not seen authentic specimens. 
In colour there certainly was a want of uniformity with the description ; 
but it was considered that this might have been changed by the preserving 
liquor. Compared with the figures of Couch and Yarrell, (chiefly owing to 
their being uncoloured,) no obvious difference appeared. By the accompa- 
nying coloured figures, though taken from specimens long preserved in spi- 
rits, | have endeavoured to show this difference; in such small representa- 
tions it is almost impossible to give more than the general aspect of the fish. 


410 Mr. W. Thompson on a new British Fish. 


the dull hue of the latter presenting quite a contrast to the 
colour of the other, which is of as brilliant a silver as any of 
the Clupeiade. Its general organization too is much more de- 
licate than that of the Motel/a: in the form of the head they 
are different; in C. glauca, the separating line between the 
opercle and pre-opercle, both of which are silvery and some- 
what hard, is conspicuously marked ; in the Mof¢ella the oper- 
cle appears exteriorly undivided, in consequence of its soft 
and fleshy covering. The snout of C. glauca is shorter than 
that of the other, and the mouth smaller; this is differently 
formed from that either of a Motella or Clupea, but possesses 
numerous sharp and curved teeth along both jaws. Its rictus 
is in a line with the first third of the eye ; that of the M. quin- 
quecirrata with its posterior margin. No pores are apparent 
within the posterior line of the opercle, as in the species just 
named, but a row of them surmounting the upper lip. The 
difference in the ventral profile is considerable, all the speci- 
mens of C. glauca being, from the protuberance of the belly, 
very convex anteriorly,—an appearance which the Motella 
does not present. 

When announcing this species in the ‘ Magazine of N wah 
History,’ (vol. v. p. 15) Mr. Couch founded a new genus 
upon it, which he called Ciliata; but subsequently, in the 
works of Mr. Jenyns and Mr. Yarrell, it appeared as a Motedla. 
Although its possessing the very few characters assigned to 
this genus may be considered sufficient to place this fish un- 
der it, the comparison of specimens, of which the result has 
been given, induces me to think that it should constitute a 
new genus. It participates in the characters both of Clupea 
and Motella, resembling the former in its silvery brilliancy*, 
and in almost instantly dying on removal from the water 
(which the latter genus can long survive): its form, posterior 
to the head, is precisely that of Motella, with which it like- 
wise accords in possessing cirri. In selecting a generic name, 
that of Ciliata should, by reason of its priority, be adopted, 
were it not pre-engaged}+. Such being the case, I propose, 


* It has a metallic appearance, as if covered with silver-leaf, wholly un- 
like the silvery whiteness of the lower portion of the body in some of the 
Gadide, as Gad. minutus, Merlangus vulgaris, &c. 

+ Ciliés, which may, I think, be considered equivalent to Ciliata, though 


Mr. W. Thompson on a new British Fish. 41] 


as a compliment well merited by Mr. Couch for his practical 
knowledge of fishes, that the genus be named after him, 
Couchia. To the Strangford species the name of minor may 
be given. 

Generic characters—Covucuia. Body elongate, compressed 
posteriorly: first dorsal fin, like that of Motella, very low, 
composed of soft rays unconnected by a membrane: pectorals 
and ventrals placed high: second dorsal and anal fin long: 
divisions of opercle well defined exteriorly. 

Specific characters.—Couchia minor. (Plate XVI. fig. 1.) 
Lesser Mackerel Midge. Upper jaw the longer: ventrals 
long (from + to +th the length of head), and black at their 
termination: sides silvery*. 

The Gadus argenteolus (Pl. XVI. fig. 2.) of Montagu ‘Wern 
Mem.’, v. ii. p. 449. must be adverted to in connexion with the 
present. species. By its describer, it is stated to be “ nearly 
allied to the three-bearded Cod, Gadus Mustela, in most par- 
ticulars ; but the shape of the head and the colour + are essen- 
tially different.” It was the striking dissimilarity presented 
by a comparison of specimens of C. glauca and Mot. quinque- 
cirrata in these very characters, that led me to re-separate 
them generically ; and consequently the C. glauca and G. ar- 
genteolus may, from agreement in these points, be in the first 
place regarded of the same genus{ as here defined. On 


I know not whether this term itself has been used, appears, from Jourdan’s 
‘ Dict. des Termes,’ &c., to have been adopted in a somewhat similar sense 
by four different authors, 

* The absence of cirri is not given as a character, as better vision than 
mine may yet detect them. 

+ The name of Whitebait (Clupea alba), which Montagu mentions as ap- 
plied to the G. argenteolus by the fishermen, however erroneously, is suffi- 
ciently indicative of its Clupea-like aspect. 

+ Montagu remarks of the G. argenteolus, that ‘the whole fish is of a 
silvery resplendence except the back, which is blue changeable to dark 
green;” and that the three-bearded Cod he has “ taken of all sizes, from 
the most minute to its full growth of 16 or 17 inches, and never ob- 
served it to vary in colour, except as it grows large it becomes more rufous, 
and throws out spots, which is never observed till it exceeds 6 or 7 inches, 
but is invariably rufous-brown in its infant state.” As a general descrip~ 
tion, this is equally applicable to the five-bearded Cod (Mot. quinquecirrata), 
of which I have however taken spotted examples smaller than has been just 
noticed. Specimens now before me of different sizes, from 14 to 53 inches 
in length, are of a tolerably uniform brown colour on the head, back, sides 
and fins, varied only in the larger individuals by yellowish white at the an- 


412 Mr. W. Thompson on a new British Fish. 


looking critically to the detailed description of G. argenteolus 
(fig. 2.), and applying it to the authentic specimen of C. glauca, 
Pl. XVI. fig. 3, there is, with one exception, such a similarity 
in every character which may be comprised under form and 
colour, that I am fully persuaded they constitute but one spe- 
cies. The single discrepancy, like to a specific one, is that of 
three cirri only being attributed to G. argenteolus; but as it is 
much more easy to overlook two than to distinguish all the 
cirri*, I cannot under the circumstances, and at the same time 
not forgetting Montagu’s great accuracy in description, consi- 
der this alone a sufficient reason for separation. The localities 
too, in which only theG. argenteolus and C. glauca are hitherto 
recorded to have occurred, tend further to favour this view ; 
by Montagu the first mentioned was obtained on the south 
coast of Devonshire, where it has not since been observed ; 
but by Mr. Couch the latter was some time afterwards pro- 
cured on the adjoining shores of Cornwall. It is in the pre- 
sent communication that the range of this genus is for the 
first time shown to extend beyond the south-west of England. 
Finally, with a full belief of the identity of Montagu’s and 
Couch’s fishes, although they have hitherto been regarded by 
naturalists without any specific reference to each other, I would 
suggest that the name applied by the former author should be 
retained, and that Couchia argenteola be applied to the species. 

Specific characters.—Couchia argenteola. Upper jaw the 
longer, 5 cirri, four on the upper, one on the lower jaw: ven- 
trals moderate (from 4 to 4 the length of head), and of a 
whitish colour: sides silvery. 


terior part of the under surface cf the body, and in the smaller by the white 
extending to the lower portion of the opercle, and here, as well as beneath, 
faintly tinged with silver. 

* As before stated, cirri could not be detected in any of the Strangford 
specimens: lest this should be owing to want of discrimination on my own 
part, they were submitted to two scientific friends who are well accustomed 
to the use of the microscope ; but neither could they detect any cirri under 
it, nor with the aid of a lens: the specimens, it must be remembered, were 
small. It is only by very close examination that four cirri can be perceived 
on the upper jaw of the large English C. glauca. ‘ Cirri three, two before 
the nostrils and one on the skin,” are Montagu’s words, leaving us in doubt 
on which jaw he perceived the third cirrus. 


On the identity of Trigla Cuculus with T. Gurnardus. 413 


111. On the identity of the Trigla Cuculus, Bl., with the T. Gur- 
nardus of authors; together with Observations on two Spe- 
cies of the Genus Gobius. 


When noticing the 7. Cuculus as an addition to the Fauna 
of Ireland, in the first volume of the ‘ Annals ’* (p. 348), I 
embraced the opportunity of offermg some remarks on the 
confusion that existed about the species. In so far, the ob- 
servations then made may not be useless ; but as it was looked 
upon in the ordinary light of being a species distinct from 
T. Gurnardus, of which it has very recently been shown to be 
merely the young, I feel that a few notes are requisite as sup 
plementary. 

In a paper on some species of British fishes read by Dr. 
Parnell before the meeting of the British Association at New- 
castle, the author stated that an examination of a series of 
specimens, embracing all sizes, had led him to the conclusion 
that 7. Cuculus, Bl., (T. Blochii, Yarr.) is only the young of 
T. Gurnardus ; and to him alone, I believe, is this highly in- 
teresting discovery due, for such, in consequence of the man- 
ner in which it is effected, I conceive it to bet. Having 
lately procured a series of specimens, that I might, for my 
own satisfaction, examine into this question, I shall here give 
the results. The following extract from the ‘ Histoire Natu- 
relle des Poissons’ of Cuvier and Valenciennes, by whom 
they are considered as distinct species, may in the first place 
be desirable. “ Leur téte est la méme, ses granulations sont 
semblables, les dentelures des lobes de leur museau sont tout 


* One oversight was here committed. Mr. Jenyns is mentioned in com- 
pany with other authors as not having described the relative length of the 
first and second rays of the first D. fin to each other; but although this is 
not alluded to in his ‘ Manual’ under the head of 7. Cuculus (a circumstance 
which led to the remark), the relative differences only between this species 
and 7. Gurnardus being described, rendered any observation on this point 
unnecessary, when a similarity was considered to prevail in this character. 
Fora similar reason Cuv. and Val. did not particularize the relative length 
of these rays. 

+ In the number of specimens of each species, independently of the beau- 
tiful manner in which they are preserved, Dr. Parnell’s collection of British 
fishes stands quite unrivalled. In these 77igl@ is a notable instance of the 
advantage of a series of different sizes, the young and old fish being so dif- 
ferent, that without having traced the changes from youth upwards, we could 
hardly believe in the modification which really takes place, 


414 Mr. W. Thompson on the identity of 


aussi distinctes, et les points de leurs piéces operculaires et 
de leur épaule tout aussi aigués; mais les trois premiéres 
épines de leur dorsale n’ont pas, comme dans le gurnard gris, 
les cétés granulés ou chagrinés: on ne voit qu’une dentelure 
a peine perceptible sur le tranchant antérieur des deux pre- 
miéres. Les crétes des écailles qui garnissent leur fossette 
dorsale sont entiéres et sans crénelures, et se terminent cha- 
cune par une simple pointe. Celles des écailles de leur ligne 
latérale ne sont pas non plus crénelées comme dans les gur- 
nards gris, mais ont deux a trois dents de scie, dont une est 
plus saillante et plus aigué que les autres. Tout le reste est 
parfaitement conformé de méme dans les deux espéces.”— 
Article T. Cuculus, tome iv. p. 68. 


T. Cuculus. 

No. 1.=23 inches long. Colour red, ‘‘ with a conspicuous black 
spot on the upper part of the first dorsal,” extending from the 3rd 
to the 5th ray. A few denticles on the Ist D. ray only; all the 
scales on the D. ridge entire, each being a sharp spine directed back- 
wards; scales of the lateral line not crenated, but consisting of a 
series of hooked spines similarly directed. 

Nos. 2. and 3.* =3 and 33 inches long. Colour red, a conspicu- 
ous black spot from 3rd to 5th ray of Ist D. fin. Scales of D. ridge 
and lateral line as in No. 1; no dentieles on D. rays in No. 2; the 
rays in No. 3. imperfect. 


Intermediate between T. Cuculus and 'T. Gurnardus. 


No. 4. = 7 inches long. Colour dark grey, black spot of 1st D. 
fin very conspicuous. ‘Two anterior scales of D. ridge slightly den- 
ticulated, the remainder simple; scales occupying the anterior part 
of lateral line for about an inch in extent, crenated; remainder as 
in Nos. 1.—3.: first D. ray denticulated, and to a greater extent 
than in No. 1. : 

No. 5.=9 inches long. Male, colour greyish-red, a conspicuous 
black spot on 1st D. fin. The few anterior scales only of the D. ridge 
slightly denticulated; anterior portion of every scale on the lateral 
line crenated, but each terminating in a hooked spine: lst and 2nd 
D. rays denticulated, points on the 1st increasing in number t. 


* The specimens described as 7. Cuculus in the ‘ Annals,’ vol. i. 348. 

+ Since this was procured, Dr. Parnell has favoured me with a specimen 
of similar size, and which, being in the transition state, admirably shows 
the characters of both species. 


Trigla Cuculus with T. Gurnardus. 415 


T. Gurnardus. 


No. 6.=11 inches long. Female, colour blackish-grey, a black 
spot on D. fin. Scales on D. ridge all crenated, points directed up- 
wards; those on the lateral line all crenated, occasional scales 
throughout its length terminating in a hooked spine, 3 anterior D. 
rays crenated. 

No. 7.=11} inches long. Male, colour greyish-red, black spot 
on Ist D. fin. Scales throughout D. ridge crenated, but nearly all 
of them having the terminal hooked spine ; scales on lateral line all 
crenated, but, as in the D. scales, all except those occupying the 
anterior inch terminated by a spine; 1st and 2nd anterior rays only 
of 1st D. granulated. 

No. 8.=133 inches long. Colour blackish-grey, with a slight tinge 
of pale-red over it; Ist D. fin generally dusky. Scales of D. ridge 
crenated, all the points directed upwards; scales throughout lateral 
line crenated, many of them on the hinder 2rds of its length termi- 
' nating in a spine; Ist 3 D. rays granulated ‘diuaghout almost thet 
entire length; 4th and 5th rays partially granulated. 

No. 9.= 13} inches long. Female, colour dark-grey, varied with 
yellow; D. fis’ generally blackish, but of a darker hue where the 
black spot usually occurs. Scales on D. ridge crenated throughout, 
points directed upwards; D. scales as in No. 8.; Ist and 2nd D. 
rays granulated nearly throughout their length, 3rd and 4th slightly 
so about the middle. 

No. 10=14 inches long. Female, colour grey, varied with yel- 
low, lst D. fin with a black spot. Scales on D. ridge and lateral 
line as in last, four anterior rays of 1st D. fin conspicuously granu- 
lated, 5th partially so about the middle. 

No. 11=15 inches long. Female, colour dark-grey, varied by 
yellow; 1st D. fin generally, pale dusky*. Scales on D. ridge and 
lateral line as in last; 3 anterior rays of Ist D. fin strongly granu- 
lated throughout almost their entire length, 4th and 5th granulated 
for more than half their length; 6th granulated on one side. No. 6., 
11 inches long, was considerably darker in colour than the three last. 


Thus the 7. Cuculus may be traced gradually passing into 
the T. Gurnardus, until this species appears fully developed. 
It may further be perceived, that as this fish increases in size, 
the granulations extend over the rays of the first dorsal fin, 
and are not confined, as described by authors, to the three or 


* The recent colours of all but Nos. 1-3 are here given. 


416 Mr. W. Thompson on the identity of 


four anterior ones only. So far as my observation extends, 
the red colour assigned to the 7. Cuculus is not peculiar to 
the species at any age; and individuals of this hue may be 
looked upon as occasional varieties :—from 24 up to 124* 
inches in length, I have seen specimens of a reddish colour. 
Considered relatively to the length of body, the pectoral fins 
are larger in young than in adult individuals ; in those of con- 
siderable size they often extend so far as to be on a line with 
the vent. 

The Grey Gurnard, commonly known by the name of 
knoud in the north, is a common species on the Irish coast: 
specimens from the northern, eastern, and southern shores are 
in my possession. It is chiefly taken in the summer and au- 
tumn; to Belfast market it is sometimes brought from the 
beginning of March until the end of October. Not being in 
much favour for the table with those who can afford a choice, 

-it becomes a cheap food to the poorer people. 

At Dundrum, on the coast of Down, where I have seen it 
captured, sand-eels and the fat of meat were successfully used 
as bait; and once, in my presence, a slice taken off the side 
of one the moment it was brought into the boat, had hardly 
reached the bottom before another was taken with it; this I 
learned was a common bait. The food that has generally oc- 
curred to me in their stomachs was crustacea and small fishes, 
chiefly of a silvery colour, as Ammodytes and Clupea. The 
Grey Gurrard, when taken from the water, emits before dying 
a kind of snoring noise like others of the genus, and hence 
the name of Piper bestowed on T. Lyra. 


Gobius niger, Cuv. and Val.? and G. Britannicus, Thomp. 


When recording a species of Goby in 1837+ as new to the 
British Fauna, I stated my opinion, judging merely from de- 
scription, that it was the species described as G. niger by Cuv. 


* This specimen may be described as tinged with red over the ordinary 
grey colour which appears on the back and upper part of the sides in 7. Gur- 
nardus; on the lower part of the sides, and to near the ventral profile, it 
was of a deep-rose colour; all the fins too had reddish markings. 

+ See ‘ Proceedings of Zool. Soc. of London,’ 1837, p.61. The G. niger, 
Cuv. and Val. is the addition to the Fauna; Britannicus is applied to the 
G. niger of Mont., &c. The reasons for this allocation of names are fully 


stated in the work just cited, p. 63. 


Ce 6 
> » 


Trigla Cuculus with 'T. Gurnardus. 417 


and Val. ‘ Hist. des Pois.,’ t. xii. p. 9, and that it was at the 
same time distinct from the G. niger of Montagu ‘ Yarr. Brit. 
Fish.,’ v. i. p. 252, and Jenyns, and probably from that of 
‘Yarrell. Of the former species I had then seen but the one 
native specimen—captured by myself in the bay of Galway— 
and therefore it was considered injudicious to draw up the 
specific characters. Having now obtained from Mr. R. Ball 
of Dublin two other specimens for examination—from the 
coasts of Galway and Cork—I can do so with more confidence. 
Although an easy task to point out the relative differences, it is 
not so with the absolute characters ; these may be described as 


G. niger, Cuv. and Val. ? G. Britannicus. 

Teeth on the outer rows of both | Teeth of the outer rows not very 
jaws very much larger than the much larger than the others, 
others, and curving inwards. and, like them, straight and 

truncated at the summits. 

Scales small, with long cilia on | Seales rather large. 
their free margins. D. 6—14; P.18; V.1+5 each; 

D. 6—16; P. 20: V.5 each; A.12; C.15, and some short *. 


A.13; C.14, and some short. 

On comparison, the largest G. niger, Cuv. and Val., 3 
inches 2 lines long, and the G. Britannicus, 3 inches in length, 
present the following appearances :— 

Viewed from above, the head is more equable in breadth in G. Bri- 
tannicus ; in the other it approaches more to a conical form. When 
placed on the side, the G. niger is rather the deeper, carrying greater 
breadth to the base of the caudal fin; the scales are much smaller 
in G. niger, yet the cilia on their margins are longer than in the 
other: from some of the scales being wanting, their number cannot 
be accurately given ; but reckoned from the opercle in a straight line 
along the middle of the body—for the lateral line is inconspicuous 
in both species—to the base of the caudal fin, there are about 10 
more in G. niger than in G. Britannicus; about 45 in the one, and 
55 in the other may be mentioned as an approximation: pecten-like 
striet on the scales of both species. In G. niger, the outer row of 


* The examination of more specimens has shown that there is but little 
disparity between these species in the dorsal sulcus and the comparative 
length of jaws, although a difference did, in these respects, appear in the in- 
dividuals first compared (See Zool. Proc.). The jaws may in both be called 
equal. Of four specimens of G. niger, one had a more depressed line from 
the head to the first dorsal, another a broad groove, and the remaining two 
displayed neither appearance. 

+ See Cuv. and Val., t. xii. p. 12. 


Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol.2. No. 12. Feb. 1839. QF 


418 Mr. W. Thompson on the identity of 


teeth in both jaws is considerably the largest, and they differ entirely 
in form from those of G. Britannicus, this being the most obvious 
differential character between the species; of the large hooked 
teeth, there are about 16 in the outer row of each jaw; no teeth 
apparent either on vomer or tongue*: in addition to the very nu- 
merous card-like teeth in both jaws of G. Britannicus, the anterior 
part of the vomer is paved with them; on the tongue none are ap- 
parentt. The dorsal fins contiguous in both, the 2nd D. is ob- 
viously higher than the lst in G. niger than in G. Britannicus, as 
in the latter the two or three longest rays are equal to the general 
length of those in the 2nd D., a size which they do not attain in 
G. niger. In colour these specimens differ considerably, (but in this 
we need not look for constancy,) the G. niger, from the general 
blackish or dusky hue of the body and fins, (these much darker than 
in its congener, ) well meriting its specific name: along the base it 
is of a dull yellow (in other specimens pale lilac-grey): the general 
hue of the G. Britannicus is much lighter and more varied, the head, 
body above, and a short way beneath the lateral line marbled with 
yellow and brown, and points of black scattered along the lateral 
line; yellowish on the under parts. 


1v. On the identity of Crenilabrus multidentatus, Thomp., 
and Labrus pusillus, Jenyns: with Notes on the Irish Core- 
gon. 

In the month of June 1837, I with some doubt character- 
ized a Crenilabrus as new, under the specific name of multi- 
dentatus (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1837, p. 56), and subsequently 
gave a more detailed account of it, ‘ Mag. Zool. and Bot.,’ v. ii. 
p- 449. From the species possessing some of the principal 
characters of Lab. pusillus, I lately felt desirous of comparing 
specimens of this fish with mine; and for this purpose Mr. 
Yarrell very obligingly forwarded to Belfast, for my examina- 
tion, the only specimen‘of it he possessed, and which is one 
of the original individuals described by Mr. Jenyns. A com- 


* Cuv. and Val. thus describe the teeth: ‘“‘ Chaque machoire a une large 
bande de dents en crochets, qui dépassent les autres, et dont on compte 18 
ou 20 a chaque machoire,” t. xii. p. 10. The similarity in the teeth chiefly 
led me to believe this species and mine to be identical. 

+ Montagu remarks of the teeth, that ‘the under jaw is roughened by 
them like a rasp.” Mr. Yarrell describes the lower jaw ‘‘ with fine carding- 
like teeth in several rows” (v. i. p. 258). Mr. Jenyns notes “ fine card-like 
teeth in several rows, the inner rows much smaller than the outer,” p. 385. 


Crenilabrus multidentatus with Labrus pusillus. 


419 


parison of this specimen, 2} inches in length, with my own, 
proved the species to be the same. 

It must be stated that C. multidentatus was not considered 
a distinct species, without even critical attention having been 
given to the description of LZ. pusillus. The following are the 
chief differences that led to the belief of their non-identity. 


C. multidentatus. 

“ Teeth numerous and large, two 
rows in the upper, one in the 
lower jaw, number in lower 
26, outer row of upper jaw 20*. 

Upper jaw the longert. 

Colour (in spirits) very pale green- 
ish brown on the back, olive- 
green on the sides becoming 
paler beneath, sides with dark- 
er longitudinal bands through- 
out; 3 blackish spots, one on 


L. pusillus. 
‘« Teeth of moderate size, conical, 
regular, about 16 or 18 in each 
jaw. 


Jaws equal. 

Colour (in spirits) yellowish- 
brown, with irregular trans- 
verse fuscous bands : dorsal ir- 
regularly spotted with fuscous: 
anal light brown; the other 
fins pale.” 


the pre-opercle behind and ra- 
ther below the centre of the 
eye, a second on the body at 
the base of the caudal fin and 
at its lowermost portion, and 
the third at the base of the last 
ray of the dorsal fin.” 


Mr, Yarrell’s specimen, which is in excellent preservation, 
has no appearance whatever of transverse fuscous bands, like 
the individual described by Mr. Jenyns :—it is also free from 
spots, thus differing again from minef. 

When looking over Mr. R. Ball’s collection of native fishes 
in June last, I had the pleasure of seeing among them a ‘C7e- 
nilabrus, which accorded better, in some respects, with Mr. 
Jenyns’ description of L. pusillus than the smaller specimens, 
and, compared with them, differed in several points of view 
to be hereafter noticed. . 

* My specimens, with the teeth more numerous, were nearly one-half 
smaller than the one which (from the length of 4 inches being assigned to 
the species) I presumed served for Mr. Jenyns’ description. 

' + The difference in the length of jaws is very trivial. 


* t See an excellent figure in the Mag. Zool. and Bot., vol. ii. pl. 13, to 
which draughtsman and engraver did equal justice. 


or? 


420 Mr. W. Thompson on the Irish Coregoni. 


This individual—4 inches 11 lines in length—is larger than any 
of this species recorded in the ‘ Manual of British Vertebrate Ani- 
tals.’ Excepting that the ascending margin of the pre-opercle is 
not “‘ very oblique,” it agrees with the specific characters there at- 
tributed to that species, and generally with the detailed description 
of dimensions. So far as the brief description of colours in the 
‘Manual’ enables a judgement to be formed, there is a similarity 
between them. The specimen before me (preserved in spirits) pre- 
sents considerable variety of colours. Two-thirds of the upper por- 
tion of the sides and entire body, from origin of anal to base of cau- 
dal fin, of a pale but rich brownish-red, with faint indications of se- 
veral transverse dusky bands; remainder of anterior portion to ven- 
tral profile, yellowish-grey. Head variously coloured in stripes, &c., 
somewhat in the manner of Labrus variegatus, Gmel., and others of 
the Labride; iris bright red, lips orange; dorsal fin pale, varied 
with red and dusky tints; of this latter colour from the first to be- 
tween the third and fourth rays: a black spot, partly on the body 
and partly on the base of the two last rays terminating this fin: 
pectorals reddish, with a black band at the outer base of the rays 
(similar to that in the variety of Crenilabrus Tinca called C. Cornu- 
biensis): ventrals pale, with reddish markings: anal fin with faint 
dusky and reddish markings alternating; caudal fin pale dusky, ir- 
regularly tinged with a reddish colour. 

D. 19 +11 (last double); A.349; P.14; V.145; C. 18 or 
14 conspicuous (21 altogether) = Br. 5. ., 

This individual has the ascending line of the pre-opercle less ob- 
lique than the smaller specimens; the teeth, instead of the uniform- 
ity of arrangement described in C. multidentatus, increasing some- 
what gradually in size towards the centre, 21 in the lower, and a 
similar number in the outer row of upper jaw; a dark brown mark- 
ing appears down the centre of many of them; those of the other 
individuals are uniformly transparent. Scales three or four fewer 
in number on the lateral line in the large specimen than in the others, 
and the tubular projections on those throughout it less developed ; 
in it likewise the concentric stri@ of the scales are less strongly 
marked, and the lineated-appearance (produced by the stri@ of each 
scale being more deeply cut along the centre than elsewhere) less 
apparent than in the others. The colour already described is very 
different from that of the smaller specimens. This individual, as 
well as those described as C. multidentatus, was obtained at Youghal. 


Mr. W. Thompson on the Irish Coregoni. 421 


Coregonus clupeoides, Nilss.? Plate XVI. fig. 4. 


By the continued kind attention of the Rev. C. Mayne 

(Vicar-general of Cashel), a second specimen of this fish, taken 
In the river Shannon near Killaloe, was forwarded to me on 
the 9th of November last. This individual, being quite per- 
fect, enables me now to supply a figure of the species, and to 
offer some further remarks upon it. On comparing it in every 
character with my description of the individual first obtained 
Annals’ for Dec., p- 267, which was divested of its scales, 
and injured in some of the fins, I find very few additional ob- 
servations to be requisite. Its length is 42 inches, depth 103 
lines; number of scales on lateral line, and from it to dorsal 
and ventral profile as described in last, judging in that in- 
stance from their impressions merely; the scales rounded at 
the posterior margin, and smaller than in any other British 
Coregonus. D.14; P.16; V.1+11;A.14? C.2012=Br. 9. 
In the dorsal, the 4th and 5th rays longest, and of about equal 
length; the few anterior rays of the pectorals about equal, 
the 1st much the stoutest; 4th and 5th longest in the anal, 
and about equal; axillary scale of ventrals rather more than 
one-third their length. Colour of specimen (from spirits) ; 
body above lateral line and a short way below it pale yellow- 
ish-olive when viewed in the shade, but with the light striking 
on it, of a delicate silvery blue, thence to the belly silvery ; 
dorsal and caudal fins marked over the rays and membrane 
with black points, imparting to them, when closed, a blackish 
tinge ; pectorals, ventrals, and anal, excepting a very few black 
points on last, colourless. 

It is desirable to institute a comparison of the chief differ- 
ences between this species and Cor. Willughbeti, the only 
other British fish of the genus having the lower jaw exceed- 
ing the upper in length. The C. clupeoides differs from this 
in the mouth being less obliquely cleft, or in having the lower 
jaw less ascending (when the mouth of C. Willughbeizis closed, 
the point of the lower jaw is so elevated as to be on a line 
with the upper margin of the pupil of the eye; in the other 

- jt is on a line with the centre of the pupil); opercle broader 
and less rounded off at the base, and with the ascending mar- 


422 Mr. W. Thompson on the Lrish Coregoni. 


gin more oblique in C. clupeoides*; its scales very much 
smaller; outline of dorsal fin very different, the membrane in 
this falling considerably short of the points of the rays, and 
its outline from the longest ray to the extremity of the fin 
being somewhat rounded. This comparison was made be- 
tween two specimens of C. clupeoides? from 4 to 5 inches in 
- length, and two of C. Willughbeii about 6 inches long. 

From the continental species, Cor. Marenula, as described 
by Bloch, (and which, like the C. Willughbeii, agrees with 
that under consideration in the lower jaw being the longer,) 
the C. clupeoides differs chiefly in having a greater number of 
rays in the dorsal fin (14 or 15 to 10), in having teeth im the 
under jaw, (on this difference alone I should not lay any 
stress, the teeth being so small as to be easily overlooked,) 
and in the negative character of wanting such an appearance 
on the lateral line_as would come under the description of 
“garnie de cinquante-huit point noirs:” the scales on the 
back and greater part of the sides are dotted with very mi- 
nute black points visible under a lens, and of which those on 
the lateral line have share, but not so many as the row just 
above, the number of these points gradually decreasing from 
the back downwards. 

Should this fish eventually prove to be distinct from the 
C. clupeoides of Nilsson, I would suggest that the specific 
name of elegans be applied to it. 


Coregonus Pollan. Plate XVI. fig. 5. 


In connexion with the figure of C. Polian now given to ac- 
company that of Cor. clupeoides, the following remarks are 
offered. ‘The characters in which the Pollan differed from 
the two British species known at the time it was announced, 
were pointed out in the original description. From the two 
species since recorded, it may in the first place be stated to 
differ from C. microcephalus, the Loch Lomond fish, in having 
the head longer, the fins less, (and of a lighter colour,) and 
the scales rather smaller; from the C. clupeoides the Pollan 

* The difference in this respect between these two species is not greater 


than we sometimes see in different sexes of the same species of Salmo: the 
Coregoni not having been dissected, their sexes are unknown to me. 


Mr. W. Thompson on the Irish Coregoni. 423 


differs in being much larger, in the jaws being equal*, the 
scales rather larger and in the form of the dorsal fin. (See ac- 
companying figures.) 

Of a female Pollan, 11? inches in length, procured from 
Lough Neagh on the 28th of November last, the entire 
weight was 9 oz., that of the ova subsequently extracted 2 oz. 
3 drachms; of this, which was just ready for exclusion, I had 
a drachm weighed, and reckoned the number of ova it con- 
tained; taking for granted that this would be alike in each 
drachm throughout the whole, (and from the uniform size of 
the ova, each a line in diameter, there can be very little dif- 
ference,) the number of ova altogether would be 6156. This 
too I should consider about the average produce of the spe- 
cies, as the specimen was of ordinary size, and contained a 
similar quantity of ova with several others dissected at the 
same time. Of the stomachs, &c. of twelve Pollans examined 
on this occasion, the greater number were empty, but two or 
three contained minute Entomostraca, two Pisidia, and a 
Limneus pereger—this last was three lines in length. 2 

Jan. 1, 1839. I received from the Rev. C. Mayne a full- 
grown specimen of the Cor. Pollan, taken near Killaloe, either 
on the river Shannon or its expansion, Lough Derg. 


REFERENCES TO PLATE XVI. 


Fig. 1. Couchia minor. Fig. 2. Couchia argenteola. Fig. 3. 
Couchia glauca. ‘Fig. 4. Coregonus clupeoides. Fig. 5. Coregonus 
Pollan. 


* This seems to be the best general character ; I have seen some indivi- 
duals with the upper rather exceeding the lower jaw, others with the lower 
slightly projecting beyond the upper, and the difference was not sexual. It 
is perhaps unnecessary to observe, as it would apply to fishes generally, that 
other individuals examined vary much in relative proportions from those 
which served for the original description : the proportion of head to depth 
of body, it is obvious, must vary in the sexes at particular periods; that of 
head to entire length I have found to be as 1 to 5, as well as “1 to 33,” and 
the vertebree 60. The two following characters were before unnoticed : 
axillary scale of ventral fins about one-third their length—about 84 scales on 
the lateral line: this is the number attributed by Dr. Parnell to both of the 
Loch Lomond Coregoni; in a specimen of one of these, C. microcephalus, 
under 10 inches in length, (much less than the size they attain,) with which 
I have been favoured by its describer, there are but 76? scales on this line. 
This induced me to examine various sized Pollans, to see whether there 
might be any difference in this respect, when none appeared in the indivi- 
duals inspected, which were from 9} to 13 inches in length. 


424 Dr. Johnston on the British A phroditacee. 


XLVIII.—Miscellanea Zoologica. By GrorGe JOHNSTON, 
M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edin- 
burgh. With Plates XXI., XXII., and XXIIL* 


VI. Tur British APHRODITACES. 
Class ANNELIDES. Order ERRANTES. 


CuaractTer. Head distinct, antenniferous: proboscis in 
general with four jaws in adjunct pairs: feet well developed, 
not uniform in structure, for some are furnished with a supe- 
rior cirrus and usually with branchiz, but without scales; while 
others, usually squamous, are neither branchial nor cirriferous, 
and these alternate, for a definite space, along the sides: 
branchie sometimes obsolete, always rudimentary and con- 
cealed, in the form of crests or tubercles situated on the upper 
part of the dorsal branch of the foot above the cirrus. 


Generai Observations t. 

Of the Annelides furnished with a distinct head, there are 
some which are flattish and of an oval form ; others are slender, 
cylindraceous and almost filiform. The former constitute the 
genus Aphrodita of Linneus, the latter his Nereis, but these 
genera embrace animals too dissimilar to be so closely asso- 
ciated, Bruguiére, who saw this, began the reform and led 
the way toa more natural classification : he divided the Aphro- 
dite into two groups, to one of which he preserved the Lin- 
neean name, and he called the other Amphinome. For the time 
this was considered a sufficient subdivision ; and Bruguiére 
was followed implicitly, in the first instance by Cuvier and 
Lamarck ; but when Savigny, with richer materials and a 
deeper knowledge of them, had raised the Aphrodite to the 
rank of a family with its several subordinate genera, his ar- 
rangement and nomenclature were readily adopted by La- 
marck, Latreille, and Blainville, and, we may add, are now un- 
disputed, 

The Aphroditacee possess all the characters of the order to 
which they belong: the head is distinct, they have eyes, an- 
tenne, a fleshy retractile proboscis, and feet to every ring of 

* [These Plates will be found in the SurpLement published with the pre- 


sent Number.—Epr. | 
+ Translated, but not literally, from Audouin and M. Edwards. 


British Aphroditacee 


- OF. ad nat. del? 


Ann. Nat. Hist. Vot.ll. Plate XA, 


J Baswré, 8c. 


% Jd) 
S AWN 


—_ go) 


MIN 


Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol Plate XXT. 


\ 


ill 


ee ODD DD 


tin 


Y 


uy) 


t 


\/ 


355 


Vi 


ft 
\ 


\ 


Yii\ 
AW 


WA YA | Wy } Y ip y) 


AY A 


perbees 


AI 
Vs 


J 
<a 
SS 


CSS 
S 


carTrrata. 


P 


2 
ce 
oo? 


0-* 
Fo 
oe 


oe 


British Aphroditacee. 


SJ. Baswre, $e. 


del 


EF 


Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol I Plate Xi. 


British Aphroditacee. 


Dr. Johnston on the British Aphroditacee. 425 


the body, armed with spines (aciculi), bristles (festuc@) more 
or less retractile, and with soft appendages highly developed, 
but in no instance with the crotchets (wncinuli) which belong 
to less typical orders. In form the Aphroditacee are in ge- 
neral very unlike the majority of Annelides, for the body in 
most of them is short, flattened, and more or less inclined to 
oval, although there are among them some which are slender, 
elongated, and nearly as cylindrical as the Nereides. But there 
is nothing more remarkable in the external structure of the 
generality of the Aphroditacee than the large membranous 
scales or elytra, as Savigny calls them, which lie along the 
back in a double series and cover it like a coat of mail. These 
organs are affixed to the base of the superior branch of the 
feet by means of a short pedicle, and are formed of two cu- 
taneous or epidermoid layers applied the one against the 
other, but capable of being separated so as to become vesi- 
cular, and at certain seasons of the year they appear to be 
filled with ova. There are, however, in all Aphroditacee a 
certain number of feet which carry no scales or elytra, and 
which alternate with those that are provided with them. The 
first, the third, and the sixth pairs are almost constantly de- 
fective in this respect, and of the feet which follow, the alter- 
nate pairs for a more or less considerable extent of the body ; 
but after the twenty-third, the twenty-fifth, or the twenty- 
seventh segment this regular alternation ceases, for posterior 
to one or other of these segments the feet may be either all 
squamous or all entirely naked, or the elytra may continue to 
appear and disappear alternately, but in an altered series ; for 
it is now not every other but every third foot which bears an 
elytron. Instances, however, occur in which the binary alter- 
nation of squamous and naked feet prevails throughout the 
whole length of the body, as in the genus Acéefe ; and in the 
Palmyre of Savigny there are no elytra at all. 

In some of the Nereides (Phyllodoce) we find on each side 
of the body a series of foliaceous lamellae which resemble the 
scales of the Aphroditacee, but these are really very different 
organs, and never disposed in the alternating manner of the 
latter, the feet of Phyllodoce being all alike. No other Anne- 
lide offers any similar structure, so that the presence of feet 


426 Dr. Johnston on the British A phroditacee. 


garnished with scales which alternate with other feet desti- 
tute of that appendage is unquestionably one of the most im- 
portant characters of the present family and its leading pecu- 
harity. 

The elytra are very variable in number, and their shape is 
not always alike. From their structure it appears probable 
that they are subservient to respiration, yet we see them often 
associated with organs to which the name of branchiz has 
been given. These are concealed below the elytra, and have 
the form of small crests or cutaneous nipples ; they occupy the 
upper part of the base of the feet and are always placed within 
and above the cirrus of the dorsal branch. Sometimes these 
little appendages are scarcely visible, and they are very rarely 
to be detected on the squamigerous feet,—that is, on the feet. 
of the second, the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, the ninth 
segments, and so on. This binary alternation of branchial 
with abranchial feet is to be observed even in the species 
which have no elytra (Palmyre); but it is not. so constant as 
has hitherto been believed, for in the genus Acéete branchial 
tubercles exist on all the feet, their number being only fewer 
on the segments which carry the elytra. 

In the families allied to Aphroditacee there are species 
which present no visible branchize, but when these organs 
exist, their form or their position is essentially different. Thus 
in the Nereides they affect the form of little fleshy tongue-like 
processes placed at the end of the foot between the superior 
and inferior cirrus ; and although in the Huniceacee and the 
Amphinomenacee they have nearly the same position as in the 
Aphroditacee, their configuration is very dissimilar; being in 
the form of filaments more or less pectinated, of tufts, of ar- 
buscules, or of pinnatifid leaflets. 

In the majority of Aphroditacee the presence of ioe 
coincides with the absence of superior cirri, that is, we find 
the latter only on such feet as carry branchiz and do not bear 
scales. But this character, like the preceding, is liable to ex- 
ception, for in Sigalion there is a superior cirrus to every seg- 
ment of the body whether elytrous or not, and this fact ap- 
pears to invalidate the opinion of those who maintain, with 
Blainville, that the cirri are the analogues of the elytra, or mo- 


Dr. Johnston on the British A phroditacee. 427 


difications of the same organs, in those Annelides which are 
not shielded with dorsal scales,—an opinion which from the 
dissimilarity of their position on the body we might otherwise 
have hesitated to adopt. The feet of the Aphroditacee are 
divided into two branches, each furnished with a spine, with 
bristles, and with cirri, whose figures vary according to the 
species. We have spoken above of the superior cirri: the in- 
ferior are found on all the feet and offer nothing remarkable 
for notice, unless on the first segment, where they are very 
large, and with the superior, constitute tentacular cirri, a sort of 
antennzform filaments placed at each side of the head. But the 
true antennz, however similar in appearance, are readily distin- 
guished from them by their insertion on the head itself: of these 
we generally reckon three*, a middle one and one on each side; 
and under and exterior to them there are two larger setaceous 
filaments, which may without impropriety be denominated 
palpi, since they are used to feel the way during the creature’s 
progress. The eyes are black points on the upper surface of 
the head, usually four in number, sometimes only two, and in 
Sigalion their existence is doubtful. From the mouth a pro- 
boscis is at pleasure evolved, which is armed with four jaws 
united in pairs, two above and two below, opposed the one to 
the other by their cutting edge ; and this disposition is one of 
the peculiarities of the family, for in the Luniceacee there are 
never less than seven jaws, and in the Amphinomenacee there 
are none. Such also is the case with many of the Nereides, 
although several genera in this family have two jaws, and a 
few even four; but the pairs, unlike those of Aphroditacee, 
are perfectly distinct and widely separate. 

The British species of this family are few in number, so far 
as has been ascertained, and are referable to the four following 
genera. 

1. ApHRopITA. Body squamous, the scales and superior 

cirri not coexistent on the same foot, but alternating; 


* Savigny and Audouin and Milne Edwards say five ; but if we limit, as 
I think we ought, the term antenne to those filaments which are strictly 
cranial, there are only three; and what these celebrated naturalists call ex- 
ternal antenna, | have, in the following descriptions, called palpi, since they 
originate under the head, and are obviously different in structure, as they 
appear to be, also, in their functions, 


428 Dr. Johnston on the British Aphroditacee. 


proboscis with rudimentary and cartilaginous jaws or 
none; antenna one only; palpi two, large; eyes two. 
(Scales concealed in the British species.) 

2. Potynok. Body squamous, the scales exposed and al- 
ternating with the superior cirri; proboscis with corneous 
jaws; antenne three, unequal; palpi two, large; eyes 
four. 

3. Puotor. Body squamous, the scales placed over every 
alternate foot ; cirri none or rudimentary ; proboscis with 
four corneous jaws, the orifice plain; antenne five un- 
equal, distinct ; palpi two, large ; eyes two. 

4, Sicauion. Body squamous, the scales and superior 
cirri coexistent on the same feet, the former placed over 
every alternate foot until the twenty-seventh segment, 
whence they follow uninterruptedly to the end of the 
body; proboscis with corneous jaws; antenne rudi- 
mentary ; palpi large; eyes none. 


1. ApHropiTa*, Linneus. — 

The Aphrodite are broader and more oviform than the rest 
of this family, and the segments of the body do not exceed 
thirty-nine. The head, more or less concealed by the scales 
or by the bristles, carries two somewhat pedunculated eyes, 
and a solitary small subulate antenna, but the palpi are com- 
paratively very large. The orifice of the proboscis is encircled 
with penicillate tentacula and armed in general with thin car- 
tilaginous jaws. ‘The feet are distinctly bifid, and garnished 
with three bundles of bristles, two of which belong to the 
dorsal, and the third to the ventral branch; the first pair are 
small and furnished with long tentacular cirri; but the pos- 
terior do not differ observably from the rest. The bristles of 
the dorsal branch are sometimes very complicated ; those of 
the ventral simple or forked: the cirri are subulate,—the in- 
ferior small, the superior long. The scales are large, and, 
in our native species, concealed by a coarse felt formed by the 
bristles of the dorsal branch of the feet ; there are fifteen pairs 

* Aphrodite—the Greek name of Venus. In its application to a sea-worm, 


there may be some allusion to the supposed derivation from e&Qed¢, “ foam 
of the sea.” Hesiod calls Venus éQeoyévere, “ foam-sprung.”’ 


Dr. Johuston on the British Aphroditacee. 429 


of them, and the thirteenth are always attached to the feet of 
the twenty-fifth segment,—the pairs which precede this * al- 
ternate on every other ring with the superior cirri, and the 
pairs which succeed it are placed on every third ring. The 
branchie consist of tubercles sometimes indistinct, often 
broken on their edges, disposed in transverse rows, and, like 
the dorsal cirri, they cease to appear and disappear alternately 
posterior to the twenty-fifth pair of feet : they sometimes differ 
very little from the protuberances which afford attachment to 
the scales. 

1. A. aculeata, scales concealed, blotched with black ; hair- 
like bristles green and golden, the spine-like bristles dark 
brown. Sea Mouse. Plate XXI. 

Eruca marina Rondeletii pilis in dorso instar Colli Columbini variegatis, 
Sib. Scot. Ill. pars sec. lib. iii. p. 32. Scolopendra marina, Molyneux 
in Phil. Trans. abridg. iv. 133. and 368. pl. 3. fig. 6, 7.—Aph. nitens, 
Lin. Faun. Suee. 367. no. 1284.—Aph. aculeata, Lin. Syst. 1084. 
Pallas Mise. Zool. 77. tab. 7. fig. 1—138. Bast. Opusc. Subs. ii. 62. 
pl. 6. fig. 1\—4. Pen. Brit. Zool. iv. 86. tab. 25. fig. 1. Mull. Zool. 
Dan. prod. 218. no, 2641. Turt. Gmel. iv. 79. Stew. Elem. i, 387. 
Turt. Brit. Faun, 136. Home Comp, Anat. pl. 39. fig. 1,2. Blumenb, 
Elem. Nat. Hist. 245. Jameson in Wern. Mem. i. 557. Bosc Vers, 
i, 181. Cuv. Rég. Anim. iii. 206. Audouin and M. Edwards in Ann, 
des Sc. Nat. xxvii. 402. pl. 8. fig. 7. Edin. Journ. Nat. and Geogr. Se. 
iii. 51. Roget Bridgew. Treat. ii. 102. and 298.—Aphrodite hérissée, 
Brug. Encyclop. Méth. vi. 85.—Halithea aculeata, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. 
v. 307. and 2de édit. v. 542. Rissol’Europ. Mérid. iv. 412. Stark 
Elem. ii. 140. Edin. Journ. Nat. and Geogr. Se. iii. 246. 

flab. Common on most parts of the British coast. Found at Leith, Sir 
Robert Sibbald. Coast of Berwickshire, not common. 

Desc. Body from three to five inches long, oval, narrowest 
behind, convex dorsally, the back of an earthy colour, rough- 
ish with a thick close felt of hair and membrane forming a 
sort of skin which entirely conceals the scales, the sides 
clothed with long silky green and golden hairs clustered in 
fascicles and glistening like burnished metal, with blackish- 
brown spiniform bristles intermixed: ventral surface flat, often 
light coloured and dotted, sometimes dark brown, obsoletely 
ribbed across. Head small, entirely concealed, roundish, with 
two round clear spots or eyes on the vertex: antenne minute; 


* The fourth and fifth segments, however, are both squamiferous, 


430 Dr. Johnston on the British Aphroditacee. 


palpi large, subulate, flesh-coloured or dusky, jointed at the 
base, where they approximate, but are separated by a black 
membranous crest. Mouth inferior, with a large retractile 
edentulous proboscis ; the orifice encircled with‘a short even 
thick-set fringe of compound penicillate filaments divided 
into two sets by a fissure on each side: each filament has a 
short stalk with a tuft of numerous forked papillz on its sum- 
mit; exterior to the orifice of the proboscis there are four 
fleshy tubercles placed at the angles. Scales fifteen pairs, 
roundish, smooth, thin and vesicular, blotched with black 
stains and specks, the first pair small, laid over the head, the 
anal pair oval: Feet, thirty-nine pairs*, largest and most de- 
veloped near the middle of the belly, very small and approxi- 
mate at the anus, biramous, the branches wide asunder ; the 
superior carries, in a sort of crest-like fashion, the long flexi- 
ble brilliant coloured bristles which form the silky fringe on 
each side of the body, and above them some still more deli- 
cate hairs, which by their intertexture constitute the membrane 
covering the scales, and with which the strong spiniform 
bristles are intermixed, placed in a sort of cross series: the in- 
ferior branch is armed with three rows of stout short bristles, 
in the upper row only two or three which are longer and 
stouter than those of the next row in which there are five or 
six, and which again are stouter but less numerous than those 
in. the lowest row: spine golden yellow, conical, smooth: su- 
perior cirrus long, subulate, bulged at the base; the inferior 
short and conical: anus large, with a dorsal aspect, encircled 
with several tentacular cirri. 

The very vivid iridescent hues which the hairs of this re- 
markable worm reflect, render it an object of wonder and sur- 
prise to the most incurious: they are not equaled by the co- 
lours of the most gaudy butterfly, and rival the splendour of 
the diamond beetle+. It creeps at a slow pace, and in its 
progress a current of water is projected at short intervals, 


* Pallas says, “constanter 40—41. Horum 2 primi minuti, compressi 
submutici, ex oris quasi palato antrorsum producti, villo barbati, at setis et 
cirrho destituti.” 

+ “The Aphrodita aculeata reflecting the sun-beams from the depths of 
the sea, exhibits as vivid colours as the peacock itself spreading its jewelled 
train.” Linneus in Smith’s ‘ Tracts relating to Nat. History,’ p. 32. 


Dr. Johnston on the British Aphroditacee. 431 


and with considerable force, from the anus. When placed 
in fresh water the creature gives immediate signs of its painful 
situation and soon dies, first ejecting a white milky fluid, 
and in the agony of death a large quantity of a blackish-green 
turbid liquor. The size and strength of the proboscis is 
remarkable, and not less so the structure of the filaments 
which garnish the orifice. The cesophagus is short; the sto- 
mach and intestine seem to be alike and inseparable—together 
they form a straight intestine, sometimes with a wide dilata- 
tion in some part of its canal, with a velvety inner surface 
folded into longitudinal plaits near the termination at the anus. 
Although apparently planted round with offensive arms of 
considerable strength, the worm is said to be a favourite prey 
of the codfish, in whose stomach specimens, in a perfect con- 
dition, may be sometimes obtained. Baster tells us that the 
sexes are distinct. “ Hz Aphrodite eodem, quo pisces, modo 
generarevidentur; et si quis earum quasdam Junio mense disse- 
cuerit, mares lactibus, foemellas multis ovis instructas yidebit.” 


Puare XXI. Fig. 1. ph. aculeata of the natural size. 2. The head 
uncovered. 3. The head detached and somewhat magnified. 4. Under 
view of the anterior part of the body. 5. The orifice of the proboscis. 6. 
The proboscis laid open by a longitudinal section. 7. A few of the peni- 
cillate filaments magnified. 8 and 9. Two views of the feet. 10. Various 
bristles. 11. The spine. 


2. Potynog*, Savigny. 

Polynoé is readily distinguished from Aphrodita by the 
number of the antennz, by the more powerful armature of the 
mouth, and by the part of the body at which the scales cease 
to alternate with the cirri. The form of the body, and the 
number of its component rings, varies much; all our known 
native species are linear or elliptic-oblong, but there are fo- 
reign species of a linear and worm-like figure. The back is 
either entirely covered with the scales or naked in the middle, 
the scales in the latter being less developed and not meeting 
on the mesial line. 

The head of the Polynoés is large and corneous, with four 
eyes on its upper convex surface arranged in pairs: the an- 
tenne are rarely two only, three being the usual number, of 
which the central one is longer than the lateral, and it again 


* Polynoé—one of the Nereids. 


452 Dr, Johnston on the British Aphroditacee. 


yields in strength and longitude to the palpi. The mouth has 
a projectile proboscis with a circle of little tentacula round its 
orifice and four large horny jaws curved at their points. The 
scales or elytra are always exposed, and are very variable in 
number, but the first twelve pairs regularly alternate with the 
superior cirri on the twenty-three first segments, and if more 
elytra exist they alternate in a different series, or on every 
third segment: they are lamellar or sometimes vesicular, and 
either smooth orcovered with little granulations. The branchiz, 
which are simple and obscure, exist only on the non-elytrous 
feet, and follow consequently the same alternating order. The 
feet are bifid, but the superior branch is small and almost con- 
fluent with the inferior, which is greatly developed. The su- 
perior cirri are long, the inferior short and conical: the bristles 
of the superior branch short and almost always slenderer than 
those of the inferior, subulate and smooth at the point, or like 
the inferior bristles, somewhat thickened and serrulate along 
the edge. The spines present no peculiarity. The first pair 
of feet are destitute of bristles, but are terminated by two 
long tentacular cirri, which advance on each side of the head 
and resemble antennz; while on the last segment we find 
filiform appendages formed by a nutation of the superior cirri, 
and constituting in general terminal styles, 


* Scales immovably fixed. 


1. P. squamata, scales twelve pairs, ovate, imbricate, gra- 
nulous, ciliated on the external margin. Plate XXII. fig. 1. 


Aphrodita squamata, Lin. Syst. 1084. Pallas Misc. Zool. 91. tab. 7. fig. 
14. a—d. Bast. Opusc. Subs. ii. 66. pl. 6. fig. 5. Pen. Brit. Zool. iv. 
tab. 25. fig.2. Turt. Gmel. iv. 80. Stew. Elem. i.387. Turt. Brit. 
Faun. 136.—Aph. scabra, Penn. Brit. Zool. iv. 88. Turt. Gmel. iv. 80. 
Stew. Elem. 1.387. Turt. Brit. Faun. 136. Jameson in Wern. Mem. 
i1.557.—Aph. pedunculata, Pen. Brit. Zool. iv. 87. tab. 26. fig. 2.— 
Aph. longirostra, Brug. Encyclop. Méth. vi. 86. Bose Vers, i. 182.— 
Aph. clava? Montagu in Lin. Trans. ix. 108. tab.7. fig. 3.—-Aph. 
punctata, Bose Vers, i. 182.. Jameson in Wern. Mem. i. 558.—Polynoé 
squamata, Lam. Anim. s. Vert. v.309. Stark Elem. ii. 189. Audouin 
and Edwards in Ann, des Sc. Nat. xxvii. 416. pi. vii. fig. 1O—16.—Po- 
lynoé scabra, Johnston in Zool. Journ. iii. 331. 

Hab. In deep water, frequent on the coast. Brighthelmstone and ‘Ane 


glesea, Pennant. Leith shore, and Orkney and Shetland Islands, ited 
Jameson. Berwick Bay, G. 7. 


Dr. Johnston on the British Aphroditacee. 433 


Desc. Body generally about one, rarely two, inches. long, 
depressed, linear-oblong, of equal breadth at both ends, of a 
uniform cinereous colour, rough: scales twelve on each side, 
rather large, ovate, imbricate, rough, with brown granulations, 
ciliated on the external margin, the overlapped smoother than 
the exposed portion, for the granules on the former are more 
minute than on the latter ; the anterior scales are smaller and 
rounder than the others and completely cover the head, which 
is a subtriangular pink or purplish corneous plate, furnished 
with four small eyes: antenne three, the central one largest, 
bulbous near the point: palpi two, longer than the antenna, 
swollen near the apex; the ¢entacular cirri similar to the su- 
perior cirri of the feet; these are white with a blackish ring 
at the bulb where the acumination commences, retractile, ori- 
ginating from above the dorsal branch of every alternate foot 
and under the scales; the three last pairs of feet each with a 
cirrus: feet twenty-five pairs, obtuse, subbifid, the dorsal 
branch shorter and less than the ventral, each terminated with 
a brush of stiff brown bristles, and under the ventral branch 
there is a small setaceous cirrus and also a fleshy spine at its 
junction with the belly: bristles when removed golden yellow, 
those of the dorsal branch slenderest, gently curved, acutely 
pointed, and serrulate for about half their length ; those of the 
-ventral branch stouter, slightly bent near the top, and serru- 
lated with a double series of teeth on the outer side of the 
bend; each tuft of bristles inclosing a dark brown straight 
spine, the inferior stouter than the upper one: ventral surface 
straw-colour, prismatic, marked with the viscera, and some- 
times spotted with black near the base of the feet. 

This species differs remarkably from those which follow in 
the tenacity with which the dorsal scales adhere to their tu- 
bercles of attachment, from which they cannot be separated 
except by the dissecting knife; and this fact determines the 
species to be almost certainly the Aphrodita sguamata of 
Linneus. His Aph. scabra must ever remain in uncertainty, 
for no Polynoé has twenty scales, as he states them to be in 
that species. The Aph. scabra of Otho Fabricius is said to 
have fifteen pairs of scales; and overlooking this important 
fact, 1, on.a former occasion, much too confidently identified 

Ann. Nat. Hist, Vol.2. No.12. Feb. 1839. 26 


434 Dr. Johnston on the British Aphroditacee. 


it with the present, but the description is otherwise so very 
applicable, that, I must acknowledge, a suspicion of their being 
the same species still remains. That this is the Aph. seabra 
of British authors scarcely admits of a doubt. Itis much less 
certain whether it is the Aphrodita clava of Montagu ; but as 
he has himself suggested their possible identity, and as his 
description and figure are both of them too imperfect to cha- 
racterize a species, we see no harm in reducing his to a con- 
jectural synonym. In the description the scales are stated 
to be “twelve or thirteen pairs,” but the figure shows thirteen 
scales on one side and fourteen on the other, with a naked 
space between the rows. Audoum and M. Edwards conjec- 
ture that Aph. clava may be the same as their P. levis charac- 
terized by having fourteen pairs of perfectly smooth scales. 
Prate XXII. Fig.1. Polynoé squamata, nat. size. 1a. The jaws, 


slightly enlarged. 106. A scale magnified. 1c. A spine magnified. 1 d. 
A bristle from the ventral branch of the foot magnified. 


** Scales deciduous. 
2. P. cirrata, scales 15 pairs, ovate or kidney-shaped, im- 
bricate ; bristles of the dorsal branch of the feet shorter than 


those of the ventral branch. Plate XXII. fig. 2. 

Aphrodita cirrata, Mull. Zool. Dan. Prod. 218. no. 2644. Fabr. Faun. 
Greenl. 290. tab. fig. 7. Bosc Vers, i. 183.—Aph. squamata, Penn. 
Brit. Zool. iv. 87. (excl. fig.)—Aph.imbricata, Penn. Brit. Zool. iv. 88. 
Stew. Elem. i. 388. Jameson in Wern. Mem. i. 558.—Aph. violacea, 
Mull. Zool. Dan. prod. 218. no. 2645. Turt. Gmel. iv. 81.—Aph. 
plana, Stew. Elem. i. 388.—Polynoé imbricata, Johnston in Zool. Journ. 
iii. 332.—P. cirrata, Audouin § Edw. iw Ann. des Sc. Nat. xxvii. 422. 

Var. With a dark red fascia along the back.—Aphredita lepidota, Pallas 
Misc. Zool. 94. tab. 7. fig. 15 a, b. and tab. 8. fig. 1,2. Mull.Zool. 
Dan. prod. 218. no, 2643. Turt. Gmel. iv. 81. (exclus. syn.) Stew. 
Elem. i. 388. Bosc Vers, i. 183.—Polynoé lepidota, Johnston in Zool. 
Journ. iii. 333. 7 

Hab. Under stones between tide marks, common. “ Taken off Angle- 
sey,” Pennant. Leith shore, and Orkney and Shetland Islands, Jameson. 
Berwick Bay, common, G. J. 

Desc. Body elliptic-oblong, somewhat narrowest poste- 
riorly, about 14 inch long, 3 lines broad, variously coloured, 
of a uniform olive, brown, or mottled, often marked with a 
series of pale spots along the sides, one to every scale, some- 


times with a red band down the back, and sometimes pied 


Dr. Johnston on the British Aphroditacee. 435 


with lighter and dark shades; belly perlaceous, with a red 
central line from a blood-vessel appearing through the skin: 
head mostly concealed by the anterior scales, cordate with an 
impressed line in the middle, pink-coloured or reddish, with 
four eyes placed wide asunder: antenne three, the medial 
largest, all bi-articulate, swollen near the apex, which is acutely 
pointed: palpi two, setaceous with a suddenly acuminated 
point, paler coloured, stouter and twice as long as the antenne, 
somewhat annular: fentacular cirri two pairs, similar to the 
medial antenna, the bulb ringed with black, the acute points 
pale: scales fifteen pairs, imbricate, ovate or kidney-shaped, 
the anterior nearly circular, variously coloured and::dotted, — 
convex towards the centre, smooth to the naked eye, but really 
roughish with scattered short spines or processes visible only 
in certain lights or near the margin; they are attached to the 
Qnd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 21st, 
23rd, 26th, 29th, and 32nd segments by mammillary tuber- 
eles, considerably larger than the alternating branchial ones, 
and when removed the back appears spotted over the base of 
the feet, the spots becoming quite distinct and regular near the 
tail, which is terminated by two styles: superior cirri eighteen, 
bulbous near the apex, which is pointed, with a dark ring at 
Ahe bulb and blackish about the base: feet thirty-six pairs, 
‘each with a small inferior cirrus and garnished with numerous 
straw-yellow bristles, those of the dorsal braneh shorter than 
those of the ventral, all slightly bent near the apex, which is 
minutely serrulate and acute: spines simply conical. 

The animal moves quickly by means of its feet in a some- 
what undulating manner, the medial antenna being held erect 
and reverted, the palpi stretched forwards and inclined to the 
ground, which it examines by their aid. When thrown into 
fresh-water it dies almost instantly, and the scales drop off; 
and even during life these organs are removed with so slight 
a friction that it is not easy to take up a specimen without de- 
priving it of one or more of them. 

Of his Aphrodita Lepidota Pallas says, “ Certe in mari inter * 
Angliam et Belgium satis copiose occurrit hee species, et ex 
fascia plerumque longitudinali nigra facile adgnoscitur.”. A 
Polynoé marked in this fashion is common on our shore, which 

262 


436 Dr. Johnston on the British Aphroditacee. 


answers well also to Pallas’s figure, but our worm is certainly 
nothing more than a variety of the P. cirrhosa. Pallas, how- 
ever, says that his Lepidota has only fourteen pairs of scales, 
and were this point found to be correct, it would certainly de- 
termine it to be a distinct species. We leave it to future in- 
quiry. 

Polynoé cirrata, it seems necessary to remark, is not iden- 
tical with the Aphrodita cirrhosa of Pallas, for he expressly 
‘says that the bristles of the dorsal branch of the foot are 
longer than those of the inferior branch. Misc. Zool., p. 96. 
The species are otherwise very nearly allied. 


Prats XXII. Fig. 2. Polynoé cirrata, nat. size. 2a. The head; ! the 
antenne; "the palpi; ’’ the tentacular cirri. 2c. Ascale. 2d. The 
proboscis laid open. 2e. A foot, with a tentacular cirrus. 2 f. A foot, 
without the tentacular cirrus. 


3. P. impar, scales thirteen pairs, imbricate, rough ; tenta- 
cular cirri clothed with short spinous filaments. Plate XXII. 
fig. 3—9. . 

Hab. Under stones between tide marks. In Berwick Bay with the pre- 
ceding, but rare. 

Desc. Body linear-oblong, narrowing insensibly from the 
head to the tail, depressed, slightly convex on the back, of a 
freckled or mottled brownish colour. Head concealed by the 
anterior scales, square, sinuated in front, pale. Eyes very di- 
stinct, the posterior pair most approximated. Probdoscis with 
four rather large corneous hooked maxille, the orifice encircled 
with a single series of simple filaments. Antenne five, the 
central one setaceous, elongate, of a pink or flesh-colour; the 
middle pair very small; the outer pair as long and rather 
thicker than the odd one, but pale-coloured, all of them ap- 
pearing roughish when highly magnified. Scales thirteen 
pairs, imbricate, covering the back entirely, some of them 
roundish, others subquadrangular, and others kidney-shaped, 
rough with miliary granules excepting on the covered side, 
the external margin fringed with short cilia. Fee¢ uniramous, 
armed with two fascicles of very stout bristles, the superior with 
the most numerous and longest bristles. Briséles all of them 
simple, the longest formed like a lance, the shorter curved like 
a sword towards their points, which are concave and serrulate 


~ 


Dr. Johnston on the British Aphroditacee. 437 


along each margin: a single conical acuminate spine to each 
brush of bristles. Tentacular cirri alternating as usual, covered 
with short fleshy obtuse spines, the point of the cirrus sud- 
denly acuminate, naked, and frequently spathulate at the apex. 
Tail with two of the filaments disproportionally elongate. 

Puate XXII. Fig. 3. Polynoé impar, nat. size. 4. Head uncovered and 
magnified. 5, 5*, 6. Scales magnified. 7, 8. Two views of two feet, mag- 
nified ; 6. the tentacular cirrus. 9. Three bristles. 

4, P. viridis, scales eighteen pairs. 

. Aphrodita viridis, Montagu in Lin. Trans. xi. 18. tab. iv. fig. 1. 

Hab. South coast of Devonshire, Montagu. - 

Desc. Body long, greenish, with about thirty-six fasciculi 
on each side, and covered with eighteen pairs of squamz, which 
appear a little speckled by reason of their being somewhat ru- 
gose: the fascicles are much divaricated, and between each 
scale is a fleshy filiform appendage terminated by an extremely 
fine fibre: ¢entacula four, setaceous : eyes four, small and black. 
Length three-fourths of an inch. Rare. : 

** Possibly this is the cirrosa of Pallas, as it nearly accords 
in the number of feet; and probably some of the scales of his 
were lost, as it is usual for them to be in number about half 
those of the feet.”” Montagu. , 

Obs. In the figure there are only fourteen scales on each 
side. 

The two worms described below are so obscure that we can 
say of them no more than that they appear to be referable to 
this genus : 

Aphrodita annulata, “oblong, fusiform, annulated, smooth, 
excepting a row of minute spines (one on each ring) running 
along the back; feet small; size two inches and a quarter ; of 
a pale yellow colour.” Pen. Brit. Zool. iv. 87. tab. 26. fig. 3. 
Stew. Elem. i.388. Turt. Brit. Faun. 136. 

Aphrodita minuta, “ with small scales ; slender ; not an inch 
long. Taken off Anglesey.” Pen. Brit. Zool. iv. 87. tab. 26. 
fig. 4.—Aph. lepidota, Turt. Brit. Faun. 136. 


| 3. Puoior*, Johnston. 
1. Ph. inornata. Plate XXIII. fig. 1—5. 


* A Nereid : 
: “As Pholoé, most that rules the monsters of the main.” 
Drayton, Polyolbion, Song xx. 


! 


438 Dr. Johnston on the British Aphroditacee. 


Palmyra ocellata, Johnston in Zool. Journ. iii. 829. 
Hab. Amongst Confervz between tide-marks. Berwick Bay, rare. 


Desc. Worm half an inch in length, scarcely a line in 
breadth, almost linear but a little narrowed behind, rounded 
at the extremities, flattened, of a yellowish-brown colour, 
dusky along the sides, and marked there with a series of paler 
round spots indicating the point of fixture of the scales: head 
small and obscurely defined, corneous : eyes two, very distinct, — 
black, placed backwards: palpi, long, conical, smooth, jointed 
at the base, pointing forwards: antenne five, the outer pair 
larger than the three intermediate, and fringed on the inner 
sides with a few fleshy spines ; the odd antenna superior and 
small: mouth inferior, provided with a firm cartilaginous pro- 
boscis armed with two pairs of jaws similar to those of the 
Sigalion, but the orifice appears to be plain: body with about 
forty pairs of feet, which seem to be all alike and destitute of 
tentacular cirri, but we find two minute fleshy papillae near 
their bases on both the dorsal and ventral sides: the feet are 
not distinctly divided into two branches, but there is a fleshy 
fold behind the apex, and within which the apex can be re- 
tracted: from this fold there originate two bundles of simple 
bristles, one dorsal and the other ventral, the bristles short ; 
the apex itself is armed with a bundle of compound bristles, 
jointed near the point and fashioned like those of a Polynoé : 
to each brush of bristles there is a conical spine placed in the 
centre of the brush. The back of the worm is partially co- 
vered with a row of scales placed over the bases of the feet 
down each side, but the middle of the back is naked: there 
are fourteen pairs of scales, some of them round, others oval, 
all spinous on the outer edge, smooth, raised in the centre: 
belly smooth, flesh-coloured: posterior extremity without 
styles. 


Piate XXIII. Fig. 1. Pholoé inornata, of the natural size. 2. The ante- 
yior portion of the body, magnified. 3. The elie a laid open, magnified. 
4, Two of the dorsal scales. 5. The foot. 


4. SigALion*, Audouin and M. Edwards, 
This genus is distinguished from every known Annelide by 


* Perhaps formed from osyeAcess—curiously or anomalously made—but 
Sigalion is a name of Harpocrates, the companion of Esculapius and Hygeia, 
by whom physicians were obliged to swear that they would observe a reli- 
gious silence in their profession. See Sprengel, Hist. de la Médecine, i. 136. 


Dr. Johnston on the British Aphroditacee. 439 


the co-existence of superior cirri and scales on the same foot. 
The body is elongate, depressed, almost linear, and formed of 
_ numerous segments, The disposition of the cephalic extre- 
mity is singular ; for the head, in place of being exactly termi- 
nal, is overtopped by the first pair of feet, which are lodged 
underneath it and more or less approximated to the mesial 
line. In our native species there are three cranial tentacula, 
but in a foreign species the odd one is wanting, and the lateral 
are always small and lie upon the peduncles of the first feet. 
The palpi on the contrary are long, and are placed outside and 
under these feet, of which the two terminal cirri are pointed 
forwards and may be mistaken for true antenne. There ap- 
pear to be no eyes. The mouth is inferior, and is the outlet 
to a proboscis similar to that of Polynoé, but armed with less 
powerful jaws. At the superior base of every foot there isa 
rounded protuberance which gives origin to a cirrus, and which 
also carries a scale on such feet as have this appendage, a fact 
inconsistent with the theory which maintains that the scales 
are mere modifications of the cirri. On the anterior part of 
the body the scales appear and disappear on every other seg- 
ment, but subsequent to the twenty-sixth pair of feet there is 
one to each segment, and two or more to the two last segments, 
so that their number is always considerable. The feet are 
distinctly divided into two branches ; the superior branch ter- 
minated with a single brush of bristles, the inferior sometimes 
with one and sometimes with two, but the bristles are shorter. 
The inferior cirrus is very obvious and is inserted far from the 
extremity of the foot. The appendages of the anal ring form 
two tentacular styles. As tothe branchiz, there is no trace of 
them at the base of the feet, and when Audouin and Edwards 
inform us that they seem to be replaced by the frmges which 
garnish the external margin of the elytra, they surely forget that 
these fringes are not more developed than they are in Polynoé, 
and their structure is very unlike that of a respiratory organ. 

1. S. Boa, scales entirely covering the back, reniform ; an- 
tennz three, the odd or medial one twice as long as the late- 
ral; palpi elongate. Plate XXIII. fig. 6. 


Sigalion Boa, Johnston in Mag. Nat. Hist. vi. 322. fig. 42. 


Hab. Under stones near low water mark; not uncommon in Berwick 
Bay. 


440 Dr. Johnston on the British Aphroditacee. 


- Desc. Body seven or eight inches long, linear, flattened, 
slightly tapered towards the tail, the anterior extremity obtuse 
and somewhat rounded, the beak covered with two rows of 
scales of an ash or sometimes reddish-brown colour, but as 
some of the scales are often paler or whitish, the body then 
appears piebald: head small, convex, corneous, concealed by 
the rounded anterior pair of scales, terminated in front with 
three short setaceous two-jointed antennz, the central one 
larger and longer than the others: eyes none, but at the base 
of the least antennz there are two depressed punctures very 
like eyes : palpi two, setaceous, half an inch long, arising above 
and at the sides of the mouth : mouth inferior, furnished with 
a retractile cartilaginous proboscis about an inch long, armed 
with two pairs of sharp horny teeth plain on the margin, the 
aperture encircled with a double series of papillary tentacula, 
the outer series much longer than the inner, which however 
is the most numerous: scales imbricate, kidney-shaped, con- 
vex, roughish, the concealed portion pale, the outer and larger 
margin fringed with very delicate hairs and some short ano- 
malous processes; there are about 140 scales on each side, 
each affixed to a fleshy tubercle, from the end of which a ten- 
tacular filament is extended, equal to the feet in number, and 
placed exactly above them : feet extremely numerous, obtuse, 
bifid, the superior branch papillary with a brush of long un- 
equal bristles curved upwards, the inferior branch truncate, 
somewhat sinuate, with two brushes of short bristles, and un- 
derneath with a setaceous cirrus equal to the superior: bristles 
of superior branch, setaceous, unjointed, serrulate on their 
upper half, with a spine in the centre of the brush; the 
bristles of the inferior branch are most of them stout, enlarged 
near the top, and terminated with a sort of claw toothed on 
the inner side; some of these are marked with a few circular 
striz below the joint, and there is a spine in their centre; 
there are other more slender bristles which are two-jointed, 
the apical joint longish, acute, and smooth: ventral surface 
pale, perlaceous, marked down the middle with a red vessel : 
tail terminated with two short filaments. When killed in fresh- 
water the scales readily drop off, and the relaxed body of a 
large specimen will then measure ten or twelve inches. Young 


Plants collected by Mr, Schomburgk in British Guiana. 44}. 


individuals are generally of alight grey colour. When placed 
in a basin of sea-water it appears sluggish, but it burrows in: 
loose sand with much rapidity, pig enabled to do so by the 
play of its innumerable feet. 


Puate XXIII. Fig. 6. The proboscis of Sigalion Boa removed and laid 
open. Fig. 7. The head and anterior segments seen from above. Fig. 8. 
The head on the ventral aspect to show the mouth and origin of the palpi. 
Fig. 9. A scale from near the middle of the body. Fig. 10. A side view of 
a foot. Fig. 11. A bristle from the dorsal ramus of the foot, unjointed but 
finely serrulated on one side. Fig. 12. Another bristle from the same ra- 
mus, slenderer and quite smooth. Fig. 13. A bristle from the indentation 
of the foot between the dorsal and ventral rami. Fig. 14. A bristle of the 
ventral ramus. Fig. 15. Another bristle of the same, situated under the. 
former and consequently next the ground. 


XLIX.—EKnumeration of Plants collected by Mr. Schom- 
burgk, British Guiana. By Grorce Bentuam, Esq., 
F.L.S. 

[Continued from p. 111.] 
COMPOSITE. 
-°37. Leria nutans, DC. Prod. vii. p- 42.—British Guiana. Schomburgk, 

n. 689. 

Since the publication of my former article on Mr. Schomburgk’s 
plants another package has been received from him, in which the 
Wulfa platyglossa has been again sent under the number 705, and 
the following additional species : 

38. Porophyllum latifolium, n. sp., herbaceum, erectum, foliis longe pe- 
tiolatis lato-ovatis obtusis grosse sinuatis ad sinus pellucido-glandulosis, in- 
volucri squamis mucrone calloso-acuminatis.—Dry Savannahs on the Upper 
Rupunoony. Schomburgk. 

Differs from P. ellipticum in the upper leaves being scarcely longer 
than they are broad, and rounded, not narrowed at the base. 

39. Baccharis erioptera, n. sp., caule subramoso pluri-alato, foliis ovatis 
alisque supra arachnoideo- subtus dense albo-tomentosis, spicis densis subin- 
terruptis, capitulis sessilibus, involucris § tomentosis squamis subulato-acu- 
minatis.—Dry Savannahs on the Upper Rupunoony. Schomburgk, n. 709. 

GENTIANE. 

In the arrangement of this order I have followed the excellent 

monograph lately published by Dr. Grisebach of Berlin, under the 

title of ‘ Genera et Species Gentianearum.’ 

40. Schultesia stenophylla. Mart. Nov. Gen, et Sp. 2, p. 106, t. 182. 
Griseb. Gent. 126.—Exacum Guianense. 4ub/. Pl. Guian.i. p. 68. t. 26. 
f. 1. Moist Savannahs, British Guiana. Schomburgk.—French Guiana. 
Leprieur and Herb. Par. n. 143. 


442 Mr.G. Bentham’s Enumeration of the Plants 


It is also Gardner’s n. 1065 from Pernambuco, and Blanchet’s 
n. 2722°from the Serra Jacobina. 

41. Schultesia brachyptera, Cham. Griseb.Gent. p. 128.—British Guiana. 
Schomburgk.—French Guiana. Leprieur and Herb. Par. n. 141. 

42. Coutoubea spicata. Aubl. Pl. Guian. i. p. 72. t.27. Griseb. Gent.’ 
p. 130.— Banks of the Rupunoony. Schomburgk, n. 152. 

43. Coutoubea reflexa, sp. n., caule herbaceo annuo stricto ramoso tere- 
tiusculo, foliis lanceolatis acutis basi angustatis margine revolutis, spicis ax- 
illaribus terminalibusque, floribus oppositis distantibus, corollz laciniis re- 
flexis.—Moist Savannahs, British Guiana, Schomburgk. 

Not so tall as C. spicata, leaves shorter and thicker, flowers larger, 
sepals broader, style shorter, with larger stigmates, anthers much. 
larger. 

44. Schuebleria tenella, Mart. Nov. Gen. ii. p.117. Griseb. Gent. p. 
162.—Exacum tenuifolium. ubl. Pl. Guian. i, p. 70, t. 26. f. 2.— 
Schuebleriat enuifolia. G@. Don. Gard. Dict,4.—French Guiana. Le- 
prieur and Herb. Par. n. 176. 

45. Schuebleria coarctata, sp. n., caule filiformi subsimplici, foliis oppo- 
sitis linearibus, cyma coarctata, corolle flavescentis calycem dimidio supe- 
rantis lobis oblique ovatis acutis tubum subzequantibus, stigmate lineari- 
clavato.— Arid Savannahs on the Rupunoony. Schomburgk, n. 167. . 

_ Very near S. tenella, but besides the dense cyme and linear stig- 
mate, the sepals are longer, spreading at the maturity of the capsule, 
and the flowers are occasionally, but very seldom, tetramerous. 

Grisebach had unfortunately only seen a specimen past flower of 
this plant, which he referred to the Exacum tenuifolium of Aublet, 
and trusting to that author’s figure and description, established it as 
a distinct genus, under the name of Apophragma, and characterized 
chiefly by the supposed bilamellate stigma and appendiculate stamina. 
But to me it appears evident, that although Aublet’s principal figure 
exactly represents the Schuebleria tenella, yet that the details are taken 
from a Coutoubea or a Schultesia; at any rate none of the Guiana 
specimens before me offer anything like what he describes and fi- 
gures. If the above supposition be correct, Aublet’s species and 
Grisebach’s Apophragma must be suppressed altogether. 

46. Lisianthus uliginosus B guianensis. Griseb. Gent. p. 182.—Moist 
Savannahs, British Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 265. ‘Flowers light blue.” 
(Schomb.) 

47. Lisianthus chelonioides, Linn. Griseb. Gent. p. 184.—British Guiana. 
Schomburgk. 

48. Irlbachia ceerulescens. Griseb. Gent. p. 195.—Lisianthus cceru- 
lescens. Aubl. Pl. Guian. i. p. 207. t. 82. Mart. Nov. Gen. et Sp. 2. p. 
99. t. 178. f. 2.—Moist Savannahs, British Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 164. 
—French Guiana.. Leprieur and Herb. Par. n. 140. 


collected by Mr. Schomburgk im British Guiana. 443 


SCROPHULARIACEX. - 

49. Bacopa aquatica. Aubl. Pl. Guian. i. p. 128. t. 49. spiiaile 
stellarioides 6 Cayennensis. Benth. in Hook. Comp. Bot. Mag. ii. p.57. 
—Swampy situations on the Essequibo and Rupunoony. _ Schomburgk, n. 
532.—French Guiana. Leprieur and Herb. Par. n. 178. 

This remarkable genus is so exactly a Herpestis in everything but 
the stamina, that in my enumeration of the genus Herpestis, having 
a meagre Cayenne specimen before me, without corolla or stamina, 
there did not appear to me to be any decided character to distinguish 
it even as a species from the H. stellarioides; and I had excluded 
Bacopa from the order on account of the regular pentandrous flowers. 
Having now, however, had opportunities of examining good flowers, 
I am convinced that it is one of those plants which show that the 
absence or sterility of the fifth stamen is not an essential character 
of the Scrophulariacee, and Bacopa must take its place next to Her- 
pestis in my tribe of Gratiolee. The following are the generic and 
specific characters I should propose :-— 

Calyx 5-partitus sepalis imbricativis, postico maximo foliaceo, 2 anticis 

_ pariter foliaceis at minoribus, 2 lateralibus interioribus lineari-carinatis. 
Corollas ubrotata v. campanulata, equaliter 5-fida, estivatione imbrica- 
tiva. Stamina 5, equalia, laciniis corollinis alternantia. Antherz lineari- 
sagittatz, biloculares, loculis subparallelis, rima longitudinali dehiscenti- 
bus. Ovarium biloculare. Stylus simplex. Stigma bilamellatum. Capsula 
membranacea, vix dehiscens, bilocularis, dissepimento membranaceo fere 

_ per totam superficiem placentifero. Semina numerosissima, horizontalia, — 
oblongo-ovoidea, acuminata, testa reticulata, albumine copioso, em- 
bryone crassiusculo recto, radicula ad hilum spectante.—Herbze Ame- 
rice tropice, paludose, glabra, Herpestidibus pluribus sectionis Bramie 
similes. Folia opposita. Pedunculi axillares, solitarii vel fasciculati, 

| uniflori, bracteis 2 setaceis aucti. Corolle: coerulescentes v. albe. 

1. B. aquatica (Aubl.), foliis lanceolatis, bracteis a calyce remotis, sepalis 
exterioribus in pedunculum subdecurrentibus, corollz calycem subdimidio 
superantis laciniis ovali-oblongis. 

2. B. grandiflora (Mart.), foliis lanceolatis, bracteis calyci approximatis, 
sepalo postico basi cordato, corolle calycem duplo superantis laciniis late 
obovatis.—In inundatis et aquis stagnantibus inter Alegre et Olho d’Agoa, 
in provincia Brasiliz Piauhi inferiori legit cl. Martius. 

50. Herpestis sessilifiora. Benth. in Hook. Comp. Bot. Mag. ii. p. 58. 
—French Guiana. Leprieur and Herb. Par. n. 180. 

51. Beyrichia ocimoides. Cham. et Schlecht. Linnea, iii. p. 21.--Sands 
of the Essequibo and Rupunoony. Schomburgk,n. 528. 

52. Conobea aquatica. Aubl. Pl. Guian. ii. p. 639. t. 258. —Demerara. 
C. S. Parker.— French Guiana. Leprieur and Herb. Par. n. 179. 

53. Vandellia crustacea. Benth. Scroph. Ind. p.35.—French Guiana. 
Herb. Par. n. 177, : 


444 Mr.G. Bentham’s Enumeration of the Plants 


54. Vandellia diffusa. Linn, Mant. p. 89.—Borders of the Essequibo 
and Rupunoony.. Schomburgk, n. 516. ‘ Flowers white with a blush of 
rose.”” (Schomb.) ae 

This appears to be a common plant on the eastern coasts of tro- 
pical America. It is Sieber’s n. 305 from Martinica, and his n. 170 
from. Trinidad, and Gardner’s n. 1097 from Pernambuco, and is 
also in Salzmann’s and other Bahia collections. 

55. Torenia parviflora, Hamilt. Benth. Scroph. Ind. p. 39.—Rich soil 
along the large rivers in British Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 335. It is also 
Gardner’s n. 213. from Rio Janeiro. 

The three last species belong to East Indian genera, and two at 
least, Vandellia crustacea and Torenia parviflora, are very common 
East Indian species, which have evidently been introduced from 
thence to the American coasts. This may also be the case with the 
Vandellia diffusa, although I have not atiyself yet seen any specimens 
from the old world. 

56. Buchnera palustris, Spreng. Benth. in Hook. Comp. Bot. Mag. i. p. 
365.—Piripea palustris, 4ubl. Pl. Guian. ii. p. 628. t. 253. Moist Savan- 
nahs, British Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 419.—French Guiana. Leprieur 
and Herb. Par. n. 184. : 

57. Buchnera lavandulacea. Cham. et Schlecht. Linnea, ii. p. 589.— 
Dry Savannahs, amongst rocks, British Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 99. 

This is also Cuming’s n.1100 from Panama. It should probably 
be referred either to B. longifolia or to B. lithospermifolia of Hum- 
boldt and Kunth, which may indeed be varieties of one species. 

58. Scoparia dulcis. Linn, Sp. p.168.—British Guiana. Schomburgk, 
n. 622. 

It is also Gardner’s n. 90, from Rio Janeiro; Cuming’s n. 1000, 
from Lima; and occurs in most collections from tropical America 
and the West Indies. 

59. Gerardia hispidula. Mart. Nov. Gen. et Sp. iii. p. 13. t. 207.— 
Benth. in Hook. Comp. Bot. Mag. i. p. 207.—Sandy swamps, British Guiana. 
Schomburgk, n.674.—French Guiana. Leprieur, Herb. Par. n. 183. 

‘“« The whole plant assumes a purplish tint, the calyx is deep pur- 
ple, the corolla whitish, with a purple tint.” (Schomb.) The bractez 
rub easily off after the flowering is over, but may almost always be 
observed on the young pedicels. 

60. Glossostyles aspera. Cham. et Schl. Linnea, iii. p.22.. Benth. in 
Hook. Comp. Bot. Mag.i. p. 212.—French Guiana. Leprieur, Herb. Par. 


n, 182. 
LABIATAE. 


61. Hyptis recurvata, Poit. Benth. Lab. Gen. et Sp. p, 81.—Sands of 
the Essequibo, British Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 605. 


collected by Mr. Schomburgk in British Guiana. 445 


62. Hyptis paludosa, St, Hil. Benth. lc. p. 82.—Moist Savannahs, 
British Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 686. 

63. Hyptis lantanefolia, Poit. Benth. l.c. p. 101.—British Guiana, 
Schomburgk, n. 188. é 

64. Hyptis brevipes, Poit. var. 6. Benth. l.c. p.105; forma capitulis 


majoribus subsessilibus.—Moist Savannahs, Upper Rupunoony. Schom- 
burgk. , 


65. Hyptis Parkeri. Benth. 1. c. p. 108.—Sands of the Essequibo, Bri- 
tish Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 598. 

66. Hyptis pectinata, Poit. Benth. l.c. p.127.—French Guiana. Herb. 
- Par. n. 175. 


67. Marsypianthus hyptoides, Mart. Benth. 1.c. p.64.—British Guiana. 
Schomburgk, n. 215. 


VERBENACEZ. 


Tribe VERBENEZ. 


The order of Verbenacee has been divided by Bartling, according 
to the inflorescence, into two tribes, and by Endlicher into three, ac- 
cording to the degree of adherence of the carpellary elements and the 
consistence of the pericarp. Of these systems Bartling’s would ap- 
pear at once better characterized and more natural, but requires con- 
siderable modification in the details. 

The Verbenee, which may be considered as the first tribe following 
the Labiate, to which they are closely allied, would be characterized 
by the simple spicate inflorescence (the flowers solitary, sessile, or 
rarely borne on short simple pedicels, along a simple rhachis), and 
the ovules straight, anatropous, and erect from the base of the cells. 
They are herbaceous, or more frequently shrubby, but seldom if ever 
really arborescent. Theleaves are often divided, but never compound. 
The calyx remains herbaceous or membranous, nor does it appear 
to acquire any remarkable extension after the fall of the corolla. 
The cells of the ovary are often diverging at the base, especially 
during the growth of the fruit, so as to leave between them a space, 
either empty in the dry-fruited genera, or filled with pulp in the suc- 
culent ones, which space is often described as one or two additional 
empty cells. 

The Verbenee would comprehend among the genera with a bilo- 
cular ovarium : Spielmannia, with axillary solitary flowers ; Crypto- 
calyx, Lippia, Riedelia, Dipterocalyx, Lantana and Camara, with im- 
bricate capitate flowers; and Aloysia, Bouchea and Stachytarpheta 
- with spicate flowers. Of the genera with a quadrilocular ovarium 
it would contain Verbena, Dipyrena, Chascanum, Tamonea, Priva, 
Casselia, Monochilus (?) and Chloanthes. 


446 Mr. G. Bentham’s Enumeration of the Plants . 


68. Cryptocalyx nepetefolia, sp. n.—British Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 
694. - . 
Also Trinidad, Anderson, and Pernambuco, Gardner, n. 1049. 
The following are the characters I should propose for this new 
genus and species :— ee 
- Cryprocaryx, gen. n. Calyx membranaceus, tenuissimus, obsolete den- 
tatus. Corolla tubulosa, bilabiata, labiis erectis, superiore brevissimo bi+ 
fido, inferiore elongato trifide. Stamina 4, didynama, inferiora longiora, 
omnia antherifera, antheris oblongis bilocularibus. Ovarium biloculare, 
loculis uniovulatis, ovulis a basi loculi erectis anatropis. Stylus in- 
clusus. Stigma obliquum capitatum. Fructus sponte bipartitus, peri- 
carpio calyceque subevanidis, pyrenis oblongis monospermis. Semina, 
testa duriuscula tenui, exalbuminosa, embryone recto, cotyledonibus 
magnis. 

C. nepetefolia. Herba annua, ramosa, basi procumbens szpe radicans, 
apice adscendens, Rami crassiusculi, obscure tetragoni, glabri vel pilis 
appressis paucis onusti. Folia opposita, petiolata, ovato-rhombea, grosse 
dentata, basi cuneato-truncata et integerrima, 1—14 pollicaria, utrinque vi- 
ridia et glabra vel pilis appressis paucis pubescentia. Spicee ovoideo-ob- 
long, axillares, pedunculatz, solitarie vel glomeratz, petiolo breviores. 
Flores numerosissimi, minuti, sessiles, seriebus circiter 12 densissime imbri- 
cati. Rhachis post flores delapsos cicatrizata. Bractez cuneate, acuminate, 
membranacee, complicato-carinate, margine ciliate, flores parum exce- 
dentes, Calyx corollz tubo dimidio brevior, sub lente minutissime pube- 
scens. Corolla alba, glabra, vix ultra semi-lineam longa. Pyrenes matu- 
ritate omnino liberi, graniformes, 4 lin. longi. me 

The extreme tenuity of the calyx, the small erect limb of the co- 
rolla, and the more complete separation of the fruit, together with - 
the habit, distinguish this genus from Lippia. It is apparently an 
old plant in herbaria, but I cannot find it described among Verbe- 
nacee. Its habit is rather that of many Composite. 

69. Lippia mierophylla. Cham. et Schlecht, Linnza, vii. p. 226. Fructus 
calyce inclusus bipartibilis sed yix sponte secedens, globosus v. pyrene al- 
tero abortiente oblongus, pericarpio tenui sicco.—Stony places in Savan- 
nahs, British Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 75. - 

The genus Lippia, as far as I have examined it, appears best li- 
mited by Chamisso and Schlechtendal. The pericarp is thicker than 
in Cryptocalyx, and the pyrenes, though easily separable, are yet 
held together by it. In Riedelia the fruit is rather that of Lantana, and 
must therefore be kept distinct from Lippia, unless indeed this genus 
be joined to Lantana. Dipterocalyx appears also from Chamisso and _ 
Schlechtendal’s description to be distinct. Aloysia is too natural a 
group to be united to Lippia, unless nearly the whole of Verbenee 


be considered as one genus. 


collected by Mr. Schomburgk in British Guiana. 447 


70. Lantana salviefolia. Jacq. Hort. Schomb. iii. p. 18, t. 285 ?—-British 
Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 730. 

71. Lantana annua. Linn. Sp. Pl. 784?—British Guiana. Schomburgk, 
n. 207. 

If Lippia be kept apart from Lantana, the two sections of the lat- 
ter genus proposed by Chamisso and Schiechtendal must be adopted 
as distinct genera. It is for the section Callioreas of those authors 
that I have retained the name of Lantana. Init the ovarium is more 
fleshy than in Lippia, less so than in Camara. The structure of the 
fruit is as in Lippia, only that the endocarp is harder and woody, and 
the pericarp is thicker and somewhat fleshy. The species of this 
genus are in a state of too great confusion to determine the speci- 
mens before me with accuracy, without a detailed review of the 
whole group. 9 | 

72. Camara tiliefolia.— Lantana tilizfolia. Cham. et Schl. Linnea, vii. 
p. 122.—British Guiana. Schomburgk, n.196. 

In Camara the ovarium only differs from that of the preceding ge- 
nera by being rather more fleshy even than in Lantana, but.the fruit 
is very different. It is a complete berry, and the pyrenes diverging 
near the base leave between them an interstice filled with pulp, or 
perhaps sometimes empty, which has been improperly described as a 
third sterile cell. 

73. Stachytarpheta elatior, Schrad. Hort. Gott. Reichb. Icon. Exot. t. 
59.~-Swamps on the Upper Rupunoony. Schomburgk. It is also Gardner's 
no. 1106 from Pernambuco. 

74. Stachytarpheta cajenensis, Vahl, Enum. i. p. 208 .— British Guiana, 
Schomburgk, n. 262, 

This species, which I have also from Trinidad, agrees with Vahl’s. 
description in every respect, except that Schomburgk states it to be 
herbaceous, and Vahl describes his as shrubby; but this difference 
may arise from the age of the plant, or from the difficulty in ascer- 
taining the point from dried specimens. | 

Endlicher reunites Stachytarpheta with Verbena; ; but independ- 
ently of the habit and stamina, the difference between the bi-ovu- 
lated and the four-ovulated ovarium is surely of importance in this 
tribe, where the genera are all closely allied, though numerous in 
species. Melasanthus of Pohl appears to have been.rightly joined 
to Stachytarpheta as a section by Chamisso and Schlechtendal. With 
Bouchea of those authors I am unacquainted. Dzpyrena of Hooker 
is not a natural genus, the single species which composes. it having 
the inflorescence and flowers of Verbena juncea, and the foliage nearly 
of V. aspera; yet the difference in the fruit, already perceptible in 


448  Mr.G. Bentham’s Enumeration of the Plants: 


the ovarium, is so marked, that the genus cannot but be preserved. 
Chascanum of E. Meyer, formed of some old Buchneras, and which 
I had erroneously referred to Selaginea, is a distinct group correctly 
placed by E. Meyer and by Endlicher next to Verbena. 

75. Tamonea spicata. Aubl. Pl. Guian. ii. p. 660, t. 268.—British Gui- 
ana. Schomburgk. French Guiana. Leprieur, Herb. Par. n. 169. Also 
Bahia. Gardner, n. 899, and Blanchet, n. 2566. 

Among the remaining Verbenee, Casselia is a very marked group, 
so also Priva; but it is surely by inadvertence that Phryma has 
been joined to it; for notwithstanding some general resemblance in 
habit, the structure of the fruit and convolute cotyledons are so very 
singular, that it can only be considered as an isolated genus not 
‘really belonging to any of the great tribes of Verbenacee. I am un- 
acquainted with Monochilus of Fischer and Meyer, which is probably 
‘allied to Casselia, or with Buchia of Humboldt and Kunth, which is 
surely no true Verbenacea, perhaps a Polemoniacea. Chloanthes of 
R. Brown, the only four-ovulated genus with a simple axillary in- 
florescence, is somewhat anomalous in appearance; but the ovarium 
is that of the true Verbenee. The central cavity of the fruit is here 
intersected by the axis, which gives the appearance of two additional 
empty cells. 

Tribe DuranTEZ. 

These are allied to Verbenee by their inflorescence, to Viticee by 
their more arborescent habit, and by the position of the ovula, which 
are laterally attached to the fleshy axis of the ovarium, either at their 
base or above it, but always below the middle. The ovule is thus 

frequently more or less amphitropous. The-calyx generally grows 
after the flowering is over, and either incloses the fruit at its matu- 
rity, or forms an expanded cup under it. 

76. Petrea macrostachya, sp. n., arborea, foliis ovali-ellipticis breviter 
acuminatis scaberrimis, racemo elongato, pedicellis fructiferis tubo calycis 
brevioribus, calycis laciniis lineari-oblongis subspathulatis acuminatis aristu- 
‘latis. Folia semipedalia. Racemus 14—2-pedalis, pendulus. Calyces flo- 
-rigeri subsessiles, longiores et tenuiores quam in plerisque speciebus.—On 
the brook Currassawaak. British Guiana. Schomburgk, n. 158, 

Besides Petrea, the Durantee comprehend Citharerylum, Duranta 
and Péppigia (Bertero, not Presl.), which last genus has been alter- 
nately united with Citharerylum and with Duranta, having some of the 
characters of each, but with flowers different from either. There appear 
to be two species, differing from each other in the size of the flower, 
the form and size of the berry, and, in some respects, in the form of 
-the leaf, one from Chili, the other from the isle of Juan Fernandez. 


collected by Mr. Schomburgk in British Guiana. 449 


“Tribe ViTIcEz. 


This group is readily distinguished from the two preceding ones 
by the cymose inflorescence. The ovarium is that of Durante, and 
in some genera there is the same tendency of the calyx to augment 
after the flowering. The habit is often arborescent, and compound 
leaves are not uncommon; but no accurate circumscription of the 
tribe can be attempted until the numerous heterogeneous plants col- 
lected under Clerodendron, Premna and Callicarpa, and many little 
known Asiatic genera, shall have been more carefully examined. 

77. Pyrostoma ternatum, C. F. W. Meyer. Flora Esseq. p. 219.—British 
Guiana. Anderson. Calyx tubulosus, 10—11 lin. longus, tubo basi 10- 
nervio minute tomentoso, superne ampliato 5-plicato glabro, limbo 5-lobo, 
laciniis lanceolatis foliaceis acutis. Corolla hypogyna, calycem subeequans, 
tubo basi glabro, supra insertionem staminum extus ferrugineo-villoso et 
parum ampliato, limbo bilabiato, labio superiore bilobo, inferiore trilobo, 
lacinia intermedia majore emarginata. Stamina 4, exserta, didynama, fila- 
mentis basi pubescentibus. Ovarium obovoideum, hispidum, 4-loculare, lo- 
culis uniovulatis, ovulis basi lateraliter affixis. Stylus filiformis. Stigma 
bipartitum. 

78. Vitex capitata. Vahl, Ecl. ii. p. 50, t. 18, var. foliolis latioribus sub- 
tus pubescentibus.—British Guiana. Schomburgk. 

I have received from Sir W. J. Hooker specimens gathered in 
Trinidad by Mr. Lockhart, answering precisely to Vahl’s description 
and figure. M. Schomburgk’s specimens agree with them in every- 
thing but the points noted above. 

79. Vitex umbrosa. Sw. FI. Ind. Occ. ii, p. 1076.—On the Essequibo. 
Schomburgk. 

A single specimen answering perfectly to Swartz’s description, 
except that the panicle is rather shorter than the leaves. 

80. Agiphila arborescens, Willd. Sp. i. p. 616. Manabea arborescens, 


Aubl. Pl, Guian. i. p. 64, t.24.—Savannahs, British Guiana. Schomburgk, 
n. 404. 


81. Lgiphila laxiflora, sp. n., frutescens, glaberrima, foliis brevissime 
petiolatis ovali-ellipticis obtuse acuminatis basi angustatis, paniculis laxis 
terminalibus basi foliatis, calycis limbo ampliato breviter quadrifido, corollz 
infundibuliformis tubo calyce plus duplo longiore.—British Guiana. Schom- 
burgk, n. 772. 

Near 4. elata, Swartz; but it does not appear to be a climber, 
the leaves are narrower at the base, the panicle is more glabrous, 
looser and fewer flowered, and the colour is, according to Schom- 
burgk, white, not yellow. 

82. Aigiphila salutaris. Humb. et Kunth, Nov. Gen. et Sp. ii. p. 249.— 
British Guiana. Schomburgk. 


Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol.2. No.12. Feb.1839. 2n 


450 Plants collected by Schomburgk in British Guiana. 


Chamisso and Schlechtendal have already remarked upon the di- 
oical nature of this genus. My specimens of each of the above three 
species have all exserted stamens and short included styles, and are 
consequently probably all male and sterile, although the ovules 
exist in the ovarium. 

83. Clerodendron fragrans. Vent. Malm. p. et t. 70.—‘ Sandy soils by 
the sides of hills, British Guiana.” Schomburgk, n. 475. 

- There is, however, probably some mistake in the locality. The 
flowers are all perfectly double and sterile, and it is only a cultivated 
plant in America. 


Tribe AVICENNIES. 

In this tribe the inflorescence is generally irregularly racemose, 
the upper pedicels being usually simple, and the lower ones cy- 
mosely trifid. The ovules are attached very near the apex; and as 
the radicle is always as in other Verbenacee pointing to the base of 
the carpels, the ovules are amphitropous, or nearly orthotropous. 
Besides Amasonia and Avicennia, I have observed this structure 
in Gmelina. 
~ 84, Amasonia erecta (Linn. Fil. Suppl. p. 294) perennis v. suffruticosa, 
erecta v. basi decumbens, pubescenti-scabra v. glabriuscula, foliis elliptico- 
oblongis grosse dentatis basi angustatis, bracteis ovatis acutis basi in petio- 
lum brevem angustatis, calycibus corollisque breviter pubescenti-hirtis. ‘T'a- 
ligalea campestris, Aubl. Pl. Guian. ii. p. 625, t. 252. Amasonia punicea, 
Vahl, Ecl. ii, p. 51.—Savannahs of the Rupunoony Schomburgk, n. 228. 

Folia inflorescentia et calyx. ut in descr. Vahliana. Corolla 9-10 lin. 
longa, tubo incurvo, fauce parum ampliata, limbi quadrifidi laciniis reflexis 
ciliato-fimbriatis,. superiore breviore latiore emarginata, lateralibus latis ob- 
tusis, infima acutiuscula. Stamina 4, infra medium tubi inserta. Fila- 
menta basi dilatata puberula, czeterum glabra, adscendentia, apice declinata, 
exserta. Anthere et stylus ut in descr. Aubletiana. Ovarium quadrilocu- 
lare? quadri-ovulatum, ovulis ex apice axeos amphitrope pendulis. Bac- 
cam maturam non vidi; junior dipyrena videtur globosa, pyrenis dispermis. 

Notwithstanding the discrepancies in the descriptions given by 
the authors above quoted, it seems most probable, as Vahl suspected, 
that the three are but one species. ‘The pubescence and the brac- 
teze are very variable. The corolla is said by Schomburgk and Vahl 
to be red, by Aublet to be yellow; but as the bracts are in all cases 
red, the more or less yellow in the corolla may be of no importance. 
The flowers are so much pressed in my specimens, that I could not 
satisfactorily ascertain whether the ovarium was two- or four-celled. 

The following new and very distinct species has been gathered in 
Brasil by Pohl and by Langsdorff. 


On the Metamorphosis of Syngnathus lumbriciformis. 451 


. A. hirta, perennis v. suffruticosa, erecta, foliis obovato-oblongis basi longe 
angustatis cauleque hirsutissimis, bracteis oblongis acuminatis villosis, caly- 
cibus amplis coloratis corollisque longe pilosis.—Tota pilis flavicantibus ob- 
tecta. Calyces coccinei. Corolle tubus ultrapollicaris, limbi laciniis acuti- 
usculis. 


L.—Metamorphosis observed in the Small Pipe-fish (Syngna- 
thus lumbriciformis). By Pror, B. Frizes*. With Plate 
XII. : 


WueEn I had the honour some time since of presenting to-the 
Royal Academy of Sciences an addition to our knowledge of 
the Scandinavian species of the genus Syngnathus, I did not 
expect that I should so soon again have further occasion to 
return to the same genus, and to show in another point of 
view that it merits the attention of Ichthyologists. Such an 
‘ opportunity has however been afforded by the unexpected dis- 
covery of a kind of metamorphosis which.I have observed in 
the smallest of our pipe-fish, S. dumbriciformis. In all probabi- 
lity this is not the only species of the genus which undergoes 
this metamorphosis, but the same may probably occur in all 
those belonging to the division of Syngnathi Ophidii+. As pre- 
viously I had had no opportunity of convincing myself of this 
fact, it may be well to publish the preliminary notice of what 
I have observed, in order to direct the attention of other na- 
turalists to the subject. 

After having satisfied myself by some successful trials of 
the possibility of keeping species of pipe-fish alive for a short 
time in reservoirs filled with water—which will not in ge- 
neral succeed with our sea fish—it was my intention to in- 
quire into the relation subsisting between the young of the 
pipe-fish in their tender age and their parents ; that is to say, 
I wished to learn whether the pipe-fish, also, afford their young 
the protection and care which, as experience has shown, the 
marsupial pipe-fish extend to their progeny ; and, if it were so, 
in what manner nature had effected this, as the former are not 
furnished with the marsupial sac which in the latter affords 

* Translated from the Swedish into German by Dr. Gans of Stockholm, 
and inserted in Wiegmann’s Archiv, Part III. 1838, whence this is taken. 

+ For the terms ophidial pipe-fish and marsupial pipe-fish, see Prof. Fries’s 
paper on the genus Syngnathus, a translation of which appeared at page 96 
of this Journal.—Eprr. 


2H 2 


A52 Prof. Fries on the Metamorphosis 


to the young so sure a place of refuge. That such a relation 
must exist between the pipe-fish and their young, analogy ap- 
peared to require; and another circumstance which I had 
noticed seemed to indicate the means by which this was 
accomplished. The marsupial pipe-fish and ophidial pipe-fish 
exhibit, as is well known, a great difference in their motions 
and change of positions. The Marsupiales, which possess a 
stiff short tail, provided with a fin, swim like other fish chiefly 
by the help of the strokes of the tail. The Ophidii, on the 
other hand, with a long roundish tapering and very flexible 
tail, without any fin, receive little or no help in their progress 
through the water from this organ, which is generally kept 
still during swimming, and may rather be regarded as a helm 
than as an oar. When the marsupial pipe-fish rests, or re- 
mains still, it sks extended to the ground, and lies on its 
belly with its tail extended, while the ophidial pipe-fish with 
great dexterity entwines its flexible tail around any object that 
may be present. We always see them holding fast in this man- 
ner, when they find anything that may be encircled ; and even 
when no such object presents itself, but several individuals 
kept in the same vessel, frequently the tails are seen entwined 
round one another, and thus forming groups which in a certam 
degree resemble the old figures we see of the so-named “Rat- 
kings.” This peculiarity in the ophidial pipe-fish suggested the 
idea that probably the young might possess this property in 
a still higher degree, and by this means might fix themselves 
to the male parent when any danger threatened them. In 
order to learn whether this was really the case, I procured a 
living male with eggs attached to the vent, placed it in a se- 
parate glass vessel filled with fresh water, and resolved to at- 
tempt to keep it alive until the eggs should be hatched and 
the young should have made their appearance. Chance would 
have it, that it was just our rarest species, S. lumbriciformis, 
which first fell into my hands, in a condition suitable to my 
intended purpose. It was towards the end of September that 
the fish was. placed in the vessel with water. He appeared 
at first to thrive very well, although he refused all nutriment 
of whatever kind that I offered to him. The water was changed 
twice a day, morning and evening, when I carefully examined 
my prisoner. At the commencement of the observations, the 


| of Syngnathus lumbriciformis. 453 


eges were already so far advanced in development, that the 
embryons might be plainly distinguished with the lens ; but 
in the course of a few days the outer membrane became so 
opake, that the changes, going on within, could not be observed 
any further; and since for my purpose I merely had in view 
and waited for the hatching of the young, I would not venture 
to disturb the fish and to deprive him of any of the eggs for 
closer examination. 

After six days my little fish was evidently exhausted, and the 
eggs began in many places to have a changed morbid appear- 
ance, so that I entertained some fear for the result. However, 
it still lived for some days, and as, on the morning of the 
ninth day of its imprisonment, I performed the usual exami- 
nation, I was agreeably surprised to find at the surface of the 
water three hatched young. They swam in an erect position, 
very little concerned about one another, and had still less to do 
with the father, who lay quite still at the bottom. Through 
the whole forenoon I constantly watched all their motions, 
but could not perceive the least inclination in them to ap- 
proach or hold on to the father, nor did he pay them the least 
attention ; in a word, they were all strangers to one another. 
Somewhat displeased at this coldness of theirs, which destroyed 
beforehand the whole of my projected theory, I took a lens 
and observed the young as they were swimming freely about 
in the water. To my great astonishment I then first perceived 
that they were provided with locomotive organs quite dissi- 
milar to those which the parents possess. The entire tail was 
surrounded by a fin-like membrane, and pectoral fins were di- 
stinctly perceivable, which were in a constant vibratory mo- 
tion, as in the marsupial pipe-fish. As none of our Ophidii 
in their complete development possess any trace of pectoral 
fins, and are without -caudal fins, this discovery that these 
organs occur in them in their young state came quite unex- 
pectedly upon me; however the fact itself was clear and un- 
deniable. Hence it follows, that these fish, like tadpoles, 
lose their tail and throw off caudal and pectoral fins at a 
fixed, but as yet unknown period; a circumstance that has 
hitherto never to my: knowledge been observed in the fish 
tribe. In the course of the afternoon, a fourth young, and 


454 On the Metamorphosis of Syngnathus lumbriciformis. 


on the following morning a fifth and sixth, made their appear- 
ance ; several were not hatched. The whole egg substance 
exhibited itself in a half dissolved condition, separated itself, 
together with the adherent cellular substance, from the body, 
and fell in pieces. The fish died on the same day towards 
the evening. I now sacrificed two of the young for observa- 
tion, and endeavoured by constant renewal of the water to 
retain the others alive,in order to observe their metamorphosis. 
The experiment, however, did not succeed. On the seventh 
day of their life they died one shortly after the other. What I 
observed during theshorttime they lived was their rapid growth 
from scarcely three Swedish lines in length to five; otherwise 
no change occurred in them. 

In the annexed plate, M. W. v. Wright has figured with his 
accustomed accuracy one of these young. PI. XII. fig. 1. isa 
side view of it magnified. Fig. 2. from above, and the interme- 
diate small figure indicates the natural size. The entire body 
is white and transparent, so that the vertebral column and the 
intestinal canal in the ventral cavity appear through. The 
head, very large in proportion to the rest of the body, oc- 
cupies about a sixth of its whole length, has true and di- 
stinct eyes, and also the turned-up snout which characterizes 
S.lumbriciformis. The length of the snout in proportion to the 
other parts of the head is larger in the young than in the old 
fish. It is also worthy of remark, that while the border of the 
gill covering in all older Syngnathi is connected by a mem- 
brane, and the common epidermal covering with the rings of the 
shoulder, and leaves behind at both sides of the neck merely 
a small aperture by which respiration is effected, the young 
have the same border of the operculum entirely free, by which 
the gill apertures are greater than is generally the case in fish. 
Fig. 2. shows it quite distinctly. The anal aperture, which 
occupies its right position relatively to the dorsal fin, lis, 
however, somewhat nearer to the caudal extremity than in old 
individuals, i.e. a portion nearly equal to half the length of 
the body. This aperture in the young fish is more distin- 
guished by the projecting posterior angle which the ventral 
line forms at this place. The scale plates which in the form 
of rings cover the whole body in the old fish appear not. yet 


Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 455 


to be formed; but when the young is observed from above, 
along both sides of the body a series of fine serrated teeth are 
seen to project, which can be nothing else than the processus 
transversi proceeding from the vertebrze, which exist in the 
old Syngnathi, and afford direct points of support for the said 
rings. I think I could count about eighteen such points be- 
tween the head and anus, and at least 50 between the anus and 
caudal extremity. The ventral fins, which occupy the same 
place as in the marsupial pipe-fish, are very small, but di- 
stinct; they have an expanded somewhat rounded termination, 
and only rudimental rays. The motions of these organs are 
particularly lively. The dorsal fins may also be plainly di- 
stinguished, although their rays appear to be merely indicated ; 
from this fin proceeds as prolongation, both forwards and back- 
wards, a somewhat lower fin-like membrane, without the least 
trace of rays; the anterior continuation gradually decreases in 
height, and disappears about half-way between the neck and 
dorsal fin; the posterior prolongation continues, however, 
along the entire back of the tail, with the same height unto 
the extremity of the tail, turns round this, and then extends 
on the under side of the tail to the anus. The caudal fin in 
the young Syngnathi has also the same formation and shape 
as in the eel, and forms one of its chief natatory organs. 

Such dissimilarly formed locomotive organs as we meet with 
in the small pipe-fish, as young and as old individuals, are ex- 
plained by the different kind of locomotion which it employs 
at these various periods of life, and this again seems to indicate 
quite a distinct habit. To inquire more accurately into this 
point, as also to determine the period and kind of the meta- 
morphosis, remains yet for future observations. 

I take this opportunity of mentioning that the delicate young 
Syngnathi are perhaps of all things the best suited for micro- 
scopical examinations on the circulation of the blood. 


LI.—Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 
Again, on June 8th, Mr. Gardner writes thus from Pernambuco *: 
“« Ever since my return from the Rio San Francisco, I have been 
anxiously expecting the parcels and letters of which this day has 


* In continuation of the extracts given in our last Number, p. 365. 


456 Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 


put me in possession; and their receipt having set my mind at ease ~ 
respecting the welfare of my friends, and the safety of those collec- 
tions which I had sent home, I sit down to write a few lines. Since 
I returned hither, I have collected about a hundred species of plants” 
almost entirely different from anything I had found before. Among 
them are some very noble Grasses. I have secured seeds of the fine 
new Melocactus which I mentioned in my last letter; so that if the 
living plants should fail, I still hope it may be reared. There are 
also two pods of a large leguminous tree from the banks of San 
Francisco among the articles which are immediately to be despatched 
for England; several specimens, in a living state, of an Orchideous 
plant that I believe to be Monachanthus fimbriatus, growing ina 
box, together with a large-flowered Hpidendrum. 

*« The rains here continue very heavy; it is impossible to stir abroad 
without being drenched. I have been waiting some time for a ves- 
sel to convey me to Avacati, which is to sail in a few days; thence 
I intend to go to a place called Ted, about 200 miles inland, where 
I shall remain some time, and if all be well, go across the mountains 
into the province of Piauhy. I find that it is requisite to purchase 
four horses at least, which, with their trappings, cost about 50/. A 
very good black servant; who has already been in my employ for 


five months, will accompany me. 
Pernambuco, July 18th. 


«« After many delays, in consequence of being unable to finda 
vessel bound to Avacati, in the province of Ceara, I have the satis- 
faction to tell you that my arrangements are finally made to sail in 
a few hours; as, however, there has been one incessant pour of rain 
for the last two months, I could have done nothing in the way of 
collecting, which partly reconciles me to the delay in starting. 
From Avacati I still intend to make my way as quickly as possible 
to Ted, 240 miles inland, where, if I find a good field for botany, I 
may stay for a few months, and shall then probably pass into the 
province of Piauhy. At all events, I do not think of returning to 
Pernambuco for eight or ten months, if any more; but shall not fail 
to seize every opportunity of letting you know how I! get on. A 
long time may elapse ere I can again have the satisfaction of re- 
ceiving news from Europe.”’ G. GARDNER. 

In Southern Africa, our valued friend, the Honourable W. H. 
Harvey, is zealously devoting his leisure hours to acquiring a more 
perfect knowledge of the botany of that extensive and yet but par- 
tially explored country. He is printing at Cape Town an account 
of the genera hitherto discovered, and is giving every possible en- 

; couragement 


Information respecting Botanical Travellers. 457 


couragement to the German botanist and collector Zeyher, to con- 
tinue his researches in the more remote parts of the colony where 
the has already been very successful, especially in Uitenhage and 
Albany. It was intended that he should have proceeded to the 
eastward, much beyond the colony; but this is now out of the ques- 
tion. ‘‘ Any excursion beyond the boundary,” our correspondent 
observes, ‘‘ the state of the country forbids. You will have seen by 
the papers, that many thousands of Dutch boors, not satisfied with 
our government, emigrated in the course of last year into the Zoo- 
loo country to seek ‘peace and quietness,’ as they said, from the 
mild and paternal sway of the Zooloo chief, Dingaan, who was civil 
enough at first, for they did not alarm him—coming, as he said, zn 
fews and fews; but when the main body arrived, the savage took 
his measures, and succeeded in cutting off the leader of the boors, 
and many of his chosen men. Since that, the whole country has 
been disturbed, and actions have taken place between the parties 
with various success. The population of Port Natal is almost massa- 
cred to a man, the Missionaries and Captain Gardner have fled, and 
the property of white persons in that country has been carried off by 
Dingaan. It will take a long time to restore matters to a steady footing. 
The main body of the boors, though having twice lost their leaders, 
still hold out; and till they or Dingaan be completely crushed, Zeyher 
must keep within bounds. I hope to settle him this coming season 
among the mountain districts of George, Auteniqualand, Zivarts- 
berg, &c.; Kuysna to be his head-quarters, where Mr. Rex, who is 
still living and well, will gladly afford him hospitality. It is now, 
however, (August) about four months too early for that country, 
and these cannot be better spent than in Uitenhage and Albany, 
where, I have no doubt, he will find out many plants that have 
escaped others ; in fact, I have boundless confidence in the resources 
of novelty still in this country. He has already found a new Myrtus 
(not Memecylon Capense), a tree 30 feet high, which I have called 
Myrtus Zeyheri; and from his present quarters (Uitenhage), he 
sends me almost by every post something or other interesting, and 
is most ready to poke out every little oddity I call for, or to send 
fruit and seeds for dissection, buds for zstivation, and such like; 
in fact, he spares no pains to please me.”’ 

The collections of such a man, and from such a country, cannot 
fail to be valuable to the botanists in Europe ; and we have requested 
that several sets may be sent to England, which he will (Mr, Zey- 
her) be able to afford at the price of 2/. the 100 species. 


Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol. 2. No. 13. Feb. 1839. 21 


458 Bibliographical Notices. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 


Ornithological Biography, or an account of the Habits of the Birds of 
the United States of America. By John James Audubon, F.R.S. 
L. & E., &c. Vol. iv. 1838. Royal 8vo. London, Longman. 
Edinburgh, A. and C. Black. 


For a very long period the illustrated works devoted to Natural 
History in Great Britain were considered inferior in their execution, 
and in the scope of their plan, to those published in France and Ger- 
many. The splendid works of Levaillant and Vieillet, of Meyer and 
Wolfe, and of Humboldt, in Zoology and Botany, mostly published 
either immediately previous to, or about the commencement of, the 
present century, were looked upon as the height of finish which 
plates of this character could be brought to, and as the models which 
future naturalists were to endeavour to equal. At the period alluded 
to, the continent still continued to advance in its beautiful volumes 
published at the national expense, which accompanied every voyage 
of discovery, and without which, indeed, the record of the expedi- 
tion was looked upon as incomplete. They combined the progress 
of science with the improvement of the arts which a few years gra- 
dually carries with them; but it was perhaps not much before the 
year 1820 that British naturalists began to revive the character of 
their illustrated works, by attention to the pictorial department. At 
the present time this will bear the palm both for execution and com- 
position, while it approaches very near to the minute accuracy for 
which the productions of the continent are still deservedly famed. 

The illustrations of Mr. Audubon’s remarkable work were com- 
~ menced in Edinburgh, so far as we can recollect, about 1826, at first 
under comparatively little encouragement, from the circumstance of 
subscribers thinking that the requisite expense and labour could not 
be continued with regularity ; and it is a proud thing for the metro- 
polis of Scotland to say, that this gigantic work was undertaken 
there, after having passed the cities of America and France and En- 
gland, while it is equally gratifying to know that the plates exe- 
cuted there can bear comparison with the best of those which have 
been elsewhere engraved. This part of the work, “ comprising four 
hundred and thirty-five plates, with one thousand and sixty-five 
figures, was finished on the 20th of June last ;” and although some 
of the plates might be justly criticised, we should be illiberal indeed 
were we to endeavour to pick out the minor faults of a series so ex- 
tensive, and containing many pictures beautiful both in drawing and 
composition. 

The descriptive portion of the work, or the ‘ Ornithological Bio- 


Bibliographical Notices. 459 


graphy,’ is also nearly completed. ‘The third volume was published 
immediately after an arduous voyage to the coasts of Labrador, for 
the purpose of examining the breeding stations of the northern birds ; 
and after returning to England, and spending the time requisite for 
arranging the materials derived from that journey, another expedi- 
tion is again undertaken to the southern states of America, and we 
have many of the results now before us, in the first part of the con- 
cluding volume of the work. 

Mr. Audubon’s previous volumes have been so frequently ex- 
tracted from for the amusement and information of the general 
reader, that the manner in which he treats his subjects is familiarly 
known, and we shall now interfere with little criticism. The style 
is undoubtedly peculiar ; and from the pen of any other, or from that 
of an imitator, it would read and sound extremely affected ; but 
knowing the man, and thinking that we hear him tell the tale while 
we read it, every feeling is lost in the freshness of the picture, and 
in the truthfulness of the detail. A little want of courtesy is some- 
times manifested towards those whom he may think do not possess 
sufficient knowledge of the North American Fauna, and some dis- 
dain is exhibited towards the opinions of systematists ; but while he 
points out those traits of habit which frequently confirm the “ sus- 
picions”’ of the theorist he condemns, he cannot resist generalising 
himself, according to the manners of the birds which he has had such 
ample opportunities of studying, and which he has so often beauti- 
fully described ; and if he would bear this in mind, he might perhaps 
find some apology for the ornithologist who mourns that various 
causes do not permit him to enjoy the advantages of the ‘‘ woods- 
man,” and who only ventures to turn his recorded practical know- 
._ ledge to the formation or support of his own opinions. 

The volume before us is scarcely so original as its predecessors, 
owing to many of the species having been procured from other tra- 
vellers, and the accounts of their habits taken from the notes which 
they furnished. It was scarcely to be expected that one individual 
could personally examine the habits of all the birds of so vast a tract, 
and a general history would have been incomplete without the in- 
troduction, so far as known, of every species. We miss also the 
‘ Episodes’ which gave such vivid accounts of scenery,—the forest 
and prairie, the flood and war of elements, the chase, and the man- 
ners of the squatter and woodsman. This part is here occupied with 
anatomical details by Mr. Macgillivray. Mr. Audubon, during his 
last journey, having brought over many specimens in spirits, they 

have been dissected, and their anatomy is now illustrated by bold 
212 


460 Bibliographical Notices. 


wood-cuts, which has added to our limited stock of facts on this 
branch of ornithology. Several new species are also described in 
this volume, but on which we dare scarcely venture an opinion, 
without having the birds before us; some of these are the acquisi- 
tions procured during the journeys undertaken by American travel- 
lers, and are very interesting. The reader will also find the descrip- 
tions of some of our native birds during the season of incubation, 
which do not breed in our own islands. We shall add a few notices 
of some of the latter, and also of those for which Mr. Audubon 
claims both an American and British parentage, but which other or- 
nithologists have considered distinct. We take them as they occur 
in the volume. 

The Turnstone, Strepsilas Interpres, is plentiful on the southern 
coasts of the United States, and was observed in April and May in 
Texas and Mexico; it was however looked for in vain on the Labra- 
dor coast, and its breeding-places were not discovered. Mr. Audu- 
bon makes the following remarks on its affinities: ‘‘I have always 
looked upon the Turnstone, while at its avocations, as a species very 
nearly allied to the Oyster-catcher ; and although it certainly differs 
in some particulars, were I to place it in a position determined by 
its affinities, I should remove it at once from the Tringa family. Its 
mode of searching for food around pebbles and other objects, the 
comparative strength of its legs, its retiring disposition, and its loud 
whistling notes while on the wing, will, I think, prove at some pe- 
riod, that what I have ventured to advance may be in accordance 
with the only true system.” We have little doubt that our author 
is here right; and this bird and Hematopus have elsewhere been 
shown to be the medium by which the connexion was wrought out 
between the Ardeade, Scolopacide and Charadriade. It is a bird. 
easily tamed, and like the Oyster-catchers, thrives well where access 
ean be given to a supply of water. 

The Great Northern Diver, Colymbus glacialis. ‘The American 
range of this bird is very extended ; it has been “‘ met with in win- 
ter on all the water-courses of the United States. I have seen it 
along the whole of our Atlantic coast, from the Maine to the extre- 
mity of Florida, and from thence to the mouths of the Mississippi 
and the shores of Texas. It occurs on the waters that fall into the 
Pacific, and has been observed on the Columbia rivers; in the fur 
countries it is plentiful.” In its incubation it resembles the black- 
throated species, placing the nest sometimes near the water, and 
sometimes a short way distant, in the latter case having a path 
wrought by the passage of the bird to and from it. The eggs Mr, 


Bibliographical Notices. 461 


Audubon considers to be most frequently three in number; he has 
experienced and confirms the speed and excellence of their diving 
and progressing under water, and acknowledges himself ‘‘ outdone 
by aloon.” We consider that this bird, if unhurt, can beat any 
oared boat without rising from the waters. 

Common Tern, Sterna Hirundo. ‘“ Although the Prince of Mu- 
signano states that the bird named the Common Tern in America 
differs from that bearing the same name.in Europe, and has, in con- 
sequence, changed its appellation to that of Wilson’s Tern, I am of 
opinion that no difference exists between the Terns of the two con- 
tinents.” If we have read the prince’s works aright, we think this 
is not the case. The prince, in his observations on Wilson’s no- 
menclature, considers the European and American species identical ; 
in the ‘ Osservazione sulla seconda edizione del Regno Animale,’ 
Wilson’s plate only is said to be quoted as referring to another spe- 
cies, the St. Wilsoni, Bonap.; and in the latest work, ‘ Comparative 
List of the Birds of Europe and North America,’ published in 1838, 
St. Hirundo, Arctica and Dougallii are all given as common to both 
continents, while St. Wilsoni (the St. Hirundo, Wilson, not Lin- 
nzus,) is marked as American only, and St. minuta is represented 
by St. argentea, Nuttal. This seems the real state of the species, 
and Mr. Audubon has taken unnecessary trouble in making compa- 
risons for this purpose, though they may be of use in teaching us 
the range of variations to which species may be subject. 

Spotted Sandpiper, Totanus Macularia, occurred abundantly from 
Texas to the shores of Labrador, breeding and rearing their young 
in the whole range. This species seems to be more careful than 
usual in the building and selecting a station for the nest: in an 
island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, they were placed among the tall 
slender grass; and in Labrador they were concealed under ledges of 
rocks extending several feet over them, were made of dry moss from 
six to nine inches high, and well finished with slender grasses and 
feathers of the Eider Duck. 

Long-tailed Duck, Harelda glacialis. Ranges as far south as 
Texas and the mouth of the Columbia river, and breeds by the fresh- 
water lakes on the coast of Labrador. ‘The nests were placed under 
bushes eight or nine feet from the edge of the water, and were 
formed of rather: coarse grass, with a layer of finer weeds, covered 
with the dowa of the birds. 

The Knot, Tringa cinerea. Found ranging along the coast far 
south, but was unsuccessful in finding its breeding stations, which 
seem yet among the desiderata of the European ornithologist. Cer. 


462 Bibliographical Notices. 


tain countries are given as retired to during the season of incuba- 
tion, but we fear, in most instances, without sufficient authority. 

Lesser Tern, St. minuta. Mr. Audubon gives the bird of America 
under the foregoing name without comment. Mr. Nuttal places it 
distinct as St. argentea, and the Prince of Musignano follows the 
latter ornithologist, and keeps it also distinct. At present we can- 
not judge of the correctness of these opinions; the habits of the 
birds in both continents seem extremely similar, and a curious fact 
is mentioned regarding the structure of their nests. In the south- 
‘ern and middle districts it scoops merely a slight hollow in the sand, 
as it does in Britain, where we have seen’ the nests; but on the 
coast of Labrador they “‘ form very snug nests,” formed of dry moss 
well matted together, and nearly as large as that of the American 
Robin, T. migratorius. 

Little Sandpiper, Tringa pusilla, Wils. Under this title the Lit- 
tle Sandpiper figured by Wilson, pl. 37, is described without any 
European synonym ; and the whole small species mentioned by Tem- 
minck and others are disclaimed as American,—an opinion counte- 
nanced by that of Bonaparte, who has omitted them in his last com- 
parative sketch; we, however, yet think it requires investigation to 
show that the European birds are not found in, or are not identical 
with, that of America. The little bird in question was found breed- 
ing abundantly on the moss-clad crests of the highest rocks on the 
coast of Labrador, within a short distance of the sea. 

Solan Goose or Gannet, Sula Bassana, is considered by Mr. Au- 
dubon as identical in America with the bird of the Bass-rock. The 
Prince of Musignano, in his last work, gives it as different, under 
the title of S. Americana, but has not mentioned the differences. 

Gooseander, Mergus Merganser. During the season of incuba- - 
tion closely resembles the Red-breasted species, M. Serrator, so 
abundant on our northern lochs. The former has not yet been dis- 
covered breeding in Britain; but in America, the interior of the 
states of New York, Massachusetts and Maine, are much frequented 
by it. The nest is generally placed on a small island, is very large, 
sometimes raised seven or eight inches on the top of a bed of all the . 
dead weeds which the bird can gather in the neighbourhood; it is 
rather neatly formed of fibrous roots, lined round the edge with the 
down of the bird. The eggs seven or eight in number, and of a 
uniform dull cream colour. 

Golden-Eye, Clangula vulyaris. 'The habits of this bird in Ame- 
rica seem exactly similar to those which frequent the lochs and 
streams of Britain during the winter; and the fact of the species 


Bibliographical Notices. 463 


breeding in the hollows of trees, as recorded by Mr. Hewitson, is 
here confirmed; the only specimen seen by Mr. Audubon, while in- 
cubating, being discovered in the cavity of a large broken branch. 
It is a curious situation to be selected, in all the instances we know 
of, by a duck so decidedly and expertly aquatic in its habits; but 
Mr. Audubon also states that, to his great amazement, he once saw 
a small flock, on being disturbed, fly to some distance, and alight on 
the large branches of a sycamore tree which hung over the creek. 
Bonaparte gives the bird of America as distinct, under the name 
of C. Americana. 

Hen-Harrier, Circus cyaneus, is said to be identical in both con- 
- tinents, contrary to the latest decision of the Prince of Musignano. 
The habits of these birds in the different countries seem to vary very 
little, and we incline to consider them alike; at the same time there 
are one or two varieties in the plumage which are pretty constant. 

Sand-Martin, Hirundo riparia. Described as identical with the 
British birds, but still placed by Bonaparte with a query. Fellow- 
ing the description of this swallow we have that of another closely 
allied and considered new, under the name H. serripennis ; it is pe- 
‘culiarly marked by having the outer webs of the quills elongated 
into hooks, to judge from the wood-cut of the parts, similar to what 
we observe in some of the owls and night-breeding birds. 

Many of the other descriptions in the volume may be perused 
with much interest, particularly those of the Brown Pelican, Snake 
bird, Avocet, Black Skimmer, &c., where we have minute relations 
of the manners, such as none but an observer, and one devoted to 
his subject, could relate. 


Genera Plantarum secundum Ordines Naturales disposite ; auctore 
Stephano Endlicher. Vienna. 1836, &c. 


Of this valuable publication, which may be considered a new edi- 
tion of the ‘ Genera Plantarum’ of Jussieu, and of which we gave 
an announcement in the ‘Companion to the Botanical Magazine,’ 
v. li. p. 191, seven parts are now before us, and an eighth, we be- 
lieve, has also reached this country. Here, as in the work just al- 
luded to of Jussieu, the arrangement is begun with the least perfect 
plants, and the vegetable world is divided into kingdoms (regiones), 
sections, cohorts, classes, orders, sub-orders, tribes, genera. The 
characters are copious, drawn up with great care. The first regio 
is entitled TuaLttopuyra, and includes what are familiarly known 
as Alge, Lichens and Fungi. 

The second regio is entitled Conmopuyra ; in it we have the He- 


464 Bibliographical Notices. 


patice, Mosses, Equisetacee, Ferns, with their allies, the Zamie, Rhi- 
zanthee, Glumacee, Restiacee, and the rest of the monocotyledonous 
plants included in the first four sections. The section AcrampuHI- 
BRYA, we presume, corresponds with the Dicotyledones, of which 
the first cohort is GymNnosPERM4, including the Conifere, &c.; the 
second cohort ArgraLa#, (including Monochlamydee,) and the third 
cohort is GamopeTaL#; commencing with Plumbaginee, which is 
immediately followed by the class called Acerrcarz, comprising 
Vailerianeea, Dipsacee and Composite, which latter occupy a good 
part of the fifth, the whole of the sixth, and a portion of the seventh 
part, which breaks off with the Rubiacee. 

As an accompaniment to the above work, the same learned author 
is editing an 

‘Iconographia Generum Plantarum,’ of which we regret that only 
the first fasciculus, with twelve plates in 4to, has reached our hands ; 
but three parts, we understand, if not four, are published. Under 
the superintendence of so accomplished a botanist as M. Endlicher, 
and with engravings from the drawings of the late Frederic Bauer, 
the companion of Mr. Brown during his researches in Australia, it 
will not surprise our readers if we speak of this work as of first-rate 
importance in the botanical world. The figures are in outline, and 
the analysis very fuil and satisfactory. ‘Tab. 1. represents a most 
remarkable Fungus (one of the Gasteromycetes Phalloidei), Ascrie 
pentastictina, Endl. ‘Tab. 2. Calachne pulchella, Br. ‘Tab. 3. An- 
guillaria dioica, Br. Tab. 4. Eustrephus latifolius, Br. Tab. 5. 
Gastrodia sesamoides, Br. Tab. 6. Eriochilus autumnalis, Br. Tab. 7. 
Lyperanthus nigricans, Br. Tab. 8. Caleya major, Br. Tab. 9. Gym- 
nostachys anceps, Br. Tab. 10. Doryphora Sassafras, Endlich. (one 
of the Atherospermee). Tab. 11. Pimelea punicea, Br. Tab. 12. 
Symphyonema montanum, Br. 


Icones Flore Germanice, sive Collectio compendiosa Imaginum cha- 
racteristicarum omnium Generum atque Specierum quas in sua Flora 
Germanica recensuit Auctor Ludovicus Reichenbach. 


Under this title Dr. Reichenbach has long been conducting at 
Leipzig a very extensive work, of which twelve centuries are com- 
pleted, and which contain an immense number of coloured figures, 
with ample dissections, of German plants; and seeing how nearly 
the Flora of Britain is related to that of the German empire, we 
cannot but regret that this valuable publication is not so well known 
among our countrymen as it deserves to be. As far as the tenth 
century, the plates were generally each devoted to a single species, 


Bibliographical Notices. 465 


sometimes two or more, so that they contain but 1331 species; and 
these are published without any systematic arrangement, though 
accompanied with very complete indices. With the eleventh cen- 
tury an important change has taken place, and the first 110 plates 
are devoted to the illustration of all the German Grasses, here esti- 
mated at 402 species. The twelfth century illustrates, in an equally 
satisfactory manner, a scarcely less difficult family, the Crucifere. 
These occupy 98 plates, and embrace 233 species. The following 
four plates are devoted to the Resedacee. Were are thus an im- 
mense quantity of plates, and a great number of analyses brought 
forward in a small compass, and yet so well arranged, as to present 
no confusion to the eye. Whatever may be thought of the propriety 
of making. in several instances, so many species upon very slight 
grounds, the accuracy of these figures, whether of species or vari- 
eties, cannot fail to throw much light upon this difficult department 
of botany ; and the price is extremely moderate. 


Icones Fungorum hucusque cognitorum. Auctore A. C. J. Corda. 
Prage, 1838. 

The second number of this valuable work has appeared. The exe- 
cution of the figures is even better than that of the first part, noticed 
at page 61 of this Journal, and it is no less full of interest and in- 
formation. We are happy to observe that he has figured several spe- 
cies from the specimens published by Fries in the ‘ Scleromycetes 
Suecie,’ on the structure of which he has thrown quite a new light, 
asin Agyrium rufum, &c. We hope that he will continue this useful 
practice, as the illustration of described species is of far greater im- 
portance than the putting forth of new and hastily formed genera. 


Linnea, ein Journal fiir die Botanik, &c. Vol. XII. Parts 2, 3, 4, 5. 

1838. 

[Continued from vol. i. p.477.] 

On the genus Laurophyllus, Thbg., or Botryceras, Willd. ; by Prof. 
Bernhardi.—On Mammillaria Lehmanni and. some allied forms ; by 
Dr. Pfeiffer.—Appendix to the Essay on the genus Canna; by P.C. 
Bouché.—Remarks on Lycopodium lepidophyllum, Hook. and Grev. ; 
by Dr. Meissner.—On the influence of Climate on the limit of na- 
tural Floras; by Dr. Grisebach._—-On Mexican Plants; by D. F. L. 
Schlechtendal.—Genera and species of Ericee; by J. F. Klotzsch. 
—On the poisonous effects of the Manchineel tree ; by R. Schom- 
burgk.—On a new genus Alberta; by Ernst Meyer.—Some remarks 
on the roots of plants; by H. F. Link. —On Mexican plants; by D. 


466 Zoological Society. 


F. L. Schlechtendal.—Corrections and additions towards the know- 
ledge of Ceratophyllee; by Dr. Schleiden.—On a new species of Se- 
rapias ; by Dr. Parlatore.-—On three new Mexican mosses; by E. 
Hampe.—Extract from a letter to the Editor on the hot baths of 
Atonilco el grande in Mexico.—Reliquie Schraderianze.—Observa- 
tions on some European species of Gladiolus.—Cursory intelligence 
respecting Mexican Conifere ; by the Editor.—Additions and cor- 
rections to the genera and species of Hricee; by J. F. Klotzsch.— 
On the development of stomata; by Prof. Mohl.—Additions and 
corrections concerning the Hercynian Flora; by Hampe.—On Mex- 
ican plants; by Schlechtendal.—Contributions towards the know- 
ledge of monstrosities in plants; by Hampe. 


Work in the Press. 

Mr. James F. Stephens, author of the ‘ Illustrations of British In- 
sects,’ is preparing for publication a series of Manuals descriptive of 
all the species of British Insects. The first volume is to contain the 
whole of the British beetles. 


PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 


ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
April 24.—R. C. Griffith, Esq., in the Chair. 

Mr. Waterhouse exhibited a new species, from the Society’s Col- 
lection, of Gerdillus, and a new Herpestes, which were accompanied 
with the following descriptions. 

Herpestes rusca. Herp. fusca; pilis nigro flavoque annulatis, ad 

basin fuscescentibus ; guld fusco-flavd ; caudd, quoad longitudinem, 
corpus fere equante, pilis longissimis obsitd. 


une. lin. 

Longitudo capitis corporisque ...... 18 O 
—— Cele: Ae AA ORT Oe 
tarsi digitorumque ...... 3 6 


Hab. India (Madras ?) 

«This species is about equal in size to the Herpestes major or 
urinatriz of the Cape, and hence is larger than any of the Indian 
species hitherto described. It approaches in colour nearest to Herp. 
brachiurus of Mr. Gray, but may be distinguished by its very long 
and bushy tail. ‘The claws of the fore feet are remarkably large and 
of a brown colour; the longest claw measures upwards of three 
quarters of an inch; the feet are blackish. Each hair of the back 
is grayish brown at the base, then pale brown, and the apical half is 


Zoological Society. 467 


black, generally with about three or four yellowish rings. Ata little 
distance the animal appears to be of a deep brown colour. 

“The skins from which the above description was taken were 
purchased at a sale of zoological subjects, the greater portion of 
which were from Madras. As, however, there were some from the 
Nilgherries, it is possible these specimens may have come from that 
quarter. 

Gersittus Cuvisri. Gerb. supra colore flavescenti-cinnamomeo ; 

guld, abdomine, pedibusque niveis; auribus mediocribus; caudd 
longissimd ; tarsis longis. | 


une. lin 
Longitudo ab apice rostri ad basin caude .... 7 1 
PEO Ey SCAR gS ta beetles lou boa A 
wa ab apice rostri ad basin auris...... ge 
— tarsi digitorumque ............ .. 1 832 
— SOM 20s salt hed da iwi abla s Serbs D9 


Hab. India. (No. 478. in Catal. of the Mammalia in the Zoolo- 
gical Society’s Museum.) 

«General colour very bright cinnamon yellow; the hairs of the 
upper parts of the body gray at the base; cheeks whitish, a white 
spot above, and extending behind the eye; the feet and the whole 
of the under parts of the animal white; the hairs of the same colour 
at the base as at the apex; tail brownish above, dirty-white be- 
neath, the apical third furnished with long blackish hairs; ears 
blackish, sparingly clothed with white hairs; hairs of the moustaches 
black, some of those nearest the mouth white. 

“This species of Gerbillus, which I have great pleasure in naming 
after M. F. Cuvier, who has published so excellent a monograph on 
the group to which it belongs, I have reason to believe has long been 
confounded with the animal described by Major-General Hardwicke, 
in the eighth volume of the Linnean Transactions, under the name of 
Dipus Indicus. The chief character which induces me to consider 
it as a distinct species, consists in the comparatively great length of 
the tarsus. In aspecimen of Gerb. Indicus, which exceeds the present 
animal in size, I find the farsus to be only 1 inch and 6 lines in 
length; and in a specimen in the Paris Museum the foot was only a 
quarter of a line longer, this animal being likewise larger than the 
specimen which furnished the above description. In the same mu- 
seum there is also a specimen of the present species, in which the 
tarsus measured | inch 9 lin.; the length of the animal being 7 inches 
10 lin. In the specimen of Gerd. Indicus, and that of Gerb. Cuvieri, 
belonging to the Zoological Society’s Museum, there is a consider- 
able difference in the colouring, the latter being paler, and of a much 


468 Zoological Society. 


brighter hue than the former; but whether this difference is constant 
I am not aware.” 


May 8, 1838.—The Earl of Sheffield in the Chair. 


Mr. Waterhouse brought before the notice of the Meeting an ex- 
tremely interesting series of skins of Mammalia, which had recently 
been given to the Society’s Museum by George Knapp, Esq., who 
had received them from the Island of Fernando Po. The collection 
included the following seven species, which were considered by Mr. 
Waterhouse as hitherto undescribed; namely, two new Colobi, form- 
ing a most important addition to that group of Quadrumana of which 
our knowledge is so extremely limited, from the small number of skins 
brought to Europe ; two new species of Cercopithecus; a new An- 
telope, a new Otter, and a new species of the genus Genetta. 

These were severally named by Mr. Waterhouse, and the follow- 
ing descriptions and specific characters communicated. 

Cotosus Pennanti1. Col. supra nigrescens, ad latera fulvescenti- 

rufus ; subtis flavescens ; caudd fusco-nigricante ; genis albis. 

Longitudo capitis corporisque, 27 unc.; caude, 29 unc. 

Hab. Fernando Po. 

«The prevailing colour is bright rusty-red ; the head, back of the 
neck, and the central portion of the back, are black; the cheeks and 
throat are white or dirty white; chest, fore part of the shoulders, 
the under parts of body and inner side of the limbs are dirty yellow; 
inner side of the thighs whitish ; the hairs of the tail are brownish 
black. The fur is long and not very glossy; that on the head and 
fore parts of the body being the longest. There is no soft under 
fur; the hairs are of an uniform colour to the base, or at least in a 
very slight degree paler at that part. The portion of the back which 
is described as black partakes slightly of the rusty hue which prevails 
over the other parts of the body; it occupies but a narrow portion 
of the back, and blends indistinctly into the rust colour. The lower 
parts of the limbs are removed, butvas they are black at the knee, 
and also assume a deep hue below the elbow, it is probable the re- 
maining portions are black externally ; but internally, as far as can 
be seen, the limbs are yellowish or yellow-white. 

«« There was scarcely any perceptible difference in the colouring in 
all the specimens examined by me, from Fernando Po, amounting to 
about eight in number. ‘They invariably had white or dirty-white 
cheeks and throat. igs 

‘« This species is the nearest yet found to the Bay Monkey of Pen- 
nant, but differs in having the throat and cheeks white, and in ha- 


Zoological Society. 469 


ving three distinct shades of colour on the body; Pennant’s animal 
having the cheeks of a pale bay colour, and the body deep bay above, 
and pale bay beneath. It might be argued that by ‘deep bay’ 
Pennant meant to designate the peculiar colour described by me as 
black with a rusty hue: if so, he could scarcely apply the term ‘ very 
bright bay’ to the parts which I call yellow. If, however, even this 
were the case, there is still another distinct tint which he has not 
mentioned, and that is the bright rusty-red colour of the sides of the 
body and limbs. On the whole, therefore, I think I am right in ap- 
plying a name to the animal here described, which it must be remem- 
bered is from a different locality; that of the Bay Monkey being 
Sierra Leone. There is another circumstance which should lead us 
to be cautious in pronouncing any species which differs as niuch as 
that here described, as identical with Pennant’s animal, since it so 
happens that each red Co/obus discovered has in its turn been re- 
ferred to the Bay Monkey, or to the Simia ferruginea of Shaw, which 
is the same animal, and has had one or both of these names applied, 
but has been changed upon the discovery of the next species; in 
consequence of which much confusion has arisen. I think we had 
better let the Bay Monkey stand until we can find an animal agree- 
ing with Pennant’s description, 

Cotosus Satanas. Col. niger ; vellere longissimo. 

Longitudo capitis corporisque, 31 unc. ; caude, 36 unc. 

Hab. Fernando Po. 

‘‘Of this species I have seen three skins from the same locality; 
one of these was very imperfect; the other two were perfect, with 
the exception of the hands and feet. Its uniform black colour will at 
once distinguish it either from Colobus leucomeros, or Col. ursinus, 
the former having white thighs and a white throat, and the latter 
having a white tail, and long grey hairs interspersed with the black 
on the neck. The longest hairs on the back measure ten inches. 
The fur is but slightly glossy, and the hairs are of an uniform colour 
to the base. There is no under fur. 

Crrcoriturecus Martini. Cerc. pilis corporis supra nigro et 
flavescenti-albo annulatis; capite supra, brachiis cauddque ni- 
grescentibus ; guld abdomineque griseo-fuscescentibus. 

Longitudo capitis corporisque, 22 unc. ; caude, 26 unc. 

Hab. Fernando Po. 

‘*Of this animal I have seen but two skins: both very nearly agree 
in colouring but differ slightly in size ; the dimensions are from the 
larger specimen. The face, hands, and feet, are unfortunately 


470 Zoological Society. 


wanting. It appears to be most nearly allied to Col. nictitans ; the 
hairs of the upper parts of the body, however, are more distinctly. 
annulated, and the general tint is somewhat greyish. Each hair is 
grey at the base, and has the apical portion black, with, generally, 
three yellowish-white rings. The crown of the head and the fore 
legs are black; the hind legs are blackish, the hairs being but ob- 
scurely annulated. The throat is dirty white, the belly and inner 
side of the legs at the base are of a brownish colour. The tail is black 
above, and somewhat grizzled at the sides. At the base of the tail 
beneath there are some deep reddish-brown hairs. The naked cal- 
losities are small. The hairs on the fore part of the crown of the 
head are black, annulated with brownish-white, and so are those 
on the side of the face immediately below the ear. The fur is tole~ - 
rably long, and but loosely applied to the body. In the smaller 
specimen the under parts of the body are somewhat paler than those 
in the larger, being brownish-grey. 

‘«‘T have named this species after my fellow curator Mr. Martin. 

CercopirHEcus ERYTHROTIS. Cerc. griseus ; pilis corporis supra 

flavo nigroque annulatis; guld genisque albis; brachiis ni- 
grescentibus; cauddé splendidé rufa, lined nigrescente per par- 
tem superiorem excurrente, apice nigrescente; regione anali 
auribusque rufis. 

Longitudo capitis corporisque, 17 unc.; caude, 23 unc. 

Hab. Fernando Po. 

** This beautiful little species is about the same size as the Mou- 
stache Monkey (Cerc. cephus), andhas undoubtedly a close affinity to 
that animal; it may, however, be distinguished by the bright rusty- 
red hairs which cover the ears internally, its brilliant red tail, and 
by the hairs in the region of the anus being also of a bright red. 

«The hairs on the upper parts of the body are black annulated 
with yellow; on the hinder part of the back the yellow assumes a 
deep golden hue, but, unlike the Moustache Monkey, the black pre- 
vails over the yellow. On the sides of the body and the outer side 
of the hinder legs, the hairs are greyish; and on the belly and inner 
side of the limbs, they are greyish-white. The fore legs are blackish 
externally ; a dark mark extends backwards from the eye to the ear ; 
below this, on the cheeks, there is a tuft of white hairs, beneath 
which the hairs are grizzled black and yellow,—in these respects 
bearing a close resemblance to the Moustache Monkey. The face 
is imperfect, and the feet have been removed from the skin; these 
parts, therefore, cannot be described. 


Zoological Society. 471 


Genetta Pornsis. Gen. fulvescenti-fusca; dorso lineis nigris 
confluentibus et irregularibus notato; lateribus maculis nigris 
crebré adspersis ; caudd nigrd, annulis fulvis interruptis. 

Longitudo capitis corporisque, 26 unc.; caude, 18 unc. 

Hab. Fernando Po. 

** This species probably approaches nearest in affinity to the Ge- 
netta Pardina, Is. Geoff., but is distinguished from all the African 
species with which I am acquainted, by its deep rich yellow-brown 
colouring, and by the great number of dark markings and spots with 
which its body is adorned. 

“On the back of the neck there are three or four slender longitu- 
dinal black lines, which are irregular and indistinct, especially near 
the head. On each side of these slender lines there is a broad, ir- 
regular black mark, which commencing behind the ear runs back- 
wards and outwards over the shoulders; here the slender black lines 
appear to divide, for as many as seven can be traced; the outer- 
most of these diverge, and are soon broken into irregular spots, 
which are scattered over the sides of the body. ‘The intermediate 
lines are also broken into oblong spots, excepting that line which 
runs along the spine of the back, which is uninterrupted, and be- 
comes broader on the middle of the back. On the hinder half of 
the back there are, on each side of and parallel with the spinal 
black mark, two lines formed by confluent spots. ‘The sides of the 
neck are adorned with numerous oblong spots. The muzzle is black; 
there is a slender black line between the eyes, a yellow spot below 
the anterior angle of each eye; the tip of the muzzle is also yellow. 
The lips are blackish, and the eyes are encircled with black hairs ; 
the hairs of the moustaches are brown, black and brown. ‘The ears 
are black at the base externally; internally they are covered with 
yellowish hairs. The limbs are brownish-black. The tail is black ; 
on the basal half there are five narrow yellowish rings, and on the 
apical half there are about four rings of a brownish colour, and 
somewhat indistinct. The fur is short, glossy, and adpressed. 

Lotra Pornsis. Lut. nitidé fusca; genis mento guldque fulves- 
centibus. 

Longitudo capitis corporisque, 24 unc. 3 lin. ; caude, 13 unc. 

Hab. Fernando Po. 

« The only specimen of this Otter which I have seen is smaller 
than the common European species (Lutra vulgaris); its colour is 
much brighter, being of a rich yellowish-brown; the sides of the 
face (immediately below the ears), the sides of the muzzle, and the 
throat, are of a rich deep golden-yellow with a faint brownish hue. 


472 — Zoological Society. 


The ears are small, and covered with hairs of the same colour as 
those on the top of the head. The tip of the muzzle is bare. The 
moustaches and long bristly hairs on the sides of the face are brown, 
paler at the base, and blackish at the aper. The tail is about equal 
to half the whole length of the animal. The fur is short, and the hairs 
are nearly erect; the under fur is of a brownish-white colour, glossy 
silk-like nature, and tolerably abundant. There are no feet to the skin. 

AntiLorE OciByi. Ant. splendidé fuscescenti-aurata, subtis pal- 

lidior, lined dorsali nigra ;,collo fusco lavato; caudd brevi et floc- 
cosd, ngrescente, pilis albis sublis interspersis. 

Hab. Fernando Po. 

“«' The small bushy tail, the character of the fur, which is short and 
closely adpressed, and the colouring, all indicate in this species, I 
imagine, an affinity to the Ant. scripta, with which it appears to agree 
in size. The brown neck, deeper and richer colouring, and the ab- 
sence of white markings on the body, however, will serve to distin- 

guish it from that species. As in Ant. scripta, there is a black line 
along the spine of the back. 

_.. ‘The skin from which the above description is taken is without 
~ head or limbs. The length from the shoulders to the root of the 
tail is about two feet eight inches. The tail is about four and a 
half inches. 

“If my conjectures regarding the affinities of this animal prove 
correct, it will belong to the sub-genus Tragelaphus of Hamilton 
Smith, or to the more extended group to which Mr. Ogilby has ap- 
plied the name of Calliope. 

‘«T have taken the liberty of naming this animal after the author 
last mentioned, whose careful researches in the Ruminant animals 
have thrown considerable light on the affinities of the species.” 

Mr. Waterhouse then proceeded to notice two skins which had been 
just brought from Sierra Leone by Major Henry Dundas Campbell, 
(late Governor of that Colony,) and sent by him for exhibition at 
the Society’s evening meeting, with a promise on the part of Major 
Campbell to present them to the Museum, in the event of his being 
able to make an arrangement with a party to whom he had parted 
with them as an article of commerce. One of these specimens was 
a remarkably fine skin of a species of Colobus, described by Mr. 
Ogilby in the Society’s Proceedings under the name of Col. ursinus ; 
the skin, however, upon which Mr. Ogilby founded his species was 
imperfect, and until the opportunity afforded by the inspection of 
the present specimen, nothing was known of the colour of the head 
and face, which prove to be greyish white. 


Zoological Society. 473 


- The other skin was a new species of the genus Cercopithecus, for 
which the name of Cerc. Campbelli was proposed, with the following 
character. 

Cercoriruecus Camppexu. Cerc. vellere perlongo, subsericeo, 
per dorsum medium diviso; capite corporeque anteriore grises- 
centi-olivaceis, pilis nigro flavoque annulatis ; corpore posteriore 
Semoribusque extis intensé cineraceis; guld, abdomine, artubus- 
que internis albis ; brachiis externé nigris ; caudé pilis nigris et 
sordidé flavis indutd, apice nigro, pilisque longioribus instructo. 

Longitudo capitis corporisque, 20 unc.; caude, 28 unc. 

Hab. Sierra Leone. 

‘This species appears to be most closely allied to the Cercopithecus 
Pogonias of Mr. Bennett; it has not, however, the black back which 
serves to characterize that animal. 

«The most remarkablecharacters in this animal are its long fur, 
and the hairs being divided on the back, as in most of the species of 
the genus Colobus. The average length of the hairs of the back is 
about two and a half inches; on the hinder half of the back, how-. 
ever, they exceed three inches. ‘These hairs are grey at the base, — 
and the remaining portion of each hair is black, with broad yellow 
rings, the latter colour prevailing. On the posterior half of the 
body, and the outer side of the hinder legs, the hairs are of a deep 
slate grey, and almost of an uniform colour; some of those on the 
middle of the back are obscurely freckled with deep yellow, and 
those on the thigh are very indistinctly freckled with white. The 
belly, inner side of limbs, fore part of thigh, chest and throat are 
white. The hairs of the cheeks and sides of neck are very long, and 
of a greyish-white colour, grizzled towards the apex with black and 
yellow; some whitish hairs tipped with black are observable across 

the fore part of the forehead. The inner side of the ears is fur- 
- nished with very long hairs of a greyish-white colour, obscurely an- 
nulated with grey and pale yellow; these hairs vary from three 
quarters to one inch in length. The fore legs are black externally, 
and the hairs on this part are comparatively short. The hairs on 
the upper side of the tail are grizzled with black and dirty yellow, 
and on the under side with black and brownish-white. The apical 
portion of the tail, which is furnished with longish hairs, (as in Cerc. 
Pogonias), is black, the black hairs occupying about one third of 
the whole length of the tail. 
_ ‘Thave named this animal after the late Governor of Sierra Leone, 
Major Campbell, that gentleman being its discoverer.” 

Mr. Ogilby exhibited and described various species of Kangaroo 
Ann. Nat. Hist. Vol.2. No.13. Feb, 1839. 2k 


474 Zoological Society. 


Rats (Hypsiprymnus) from the Society’s Collection, and read extracts 
relating to them from a paper which he had prepared upon the sub- 
ject so long ago as the year 1832; and which, though partly read 
before the Linnean Society at that time, had never been madepublic, 
owing to the imperfection of the materials then in this country for 
the perfect illustration of the genus. Reserving the detail of his 
observations for an express monograph, Mr. Ogilby briefly charac- 
terized the following species :— 

1. Hyp. setosus: described in the Proceedings for 1830-31, 
p. 149. , 

2. Hyp. my6surus: easily distinguished from all the other species 
by its much shorter tail and tarsus; the former organ being scaly, as 
in the true Rats. 

3. Hyp. melanotis : a large species with longer ears than its con- 
geners, and readily distinguished by the dark brown colour of the 
hair which covers the organs, as well as by its superior size. 

4. Hyp. formosus: a beautiful small species of a light russet- 
brown colour, the latter half of the tail white. 

5. Hyp. Phillippi: pale brown, with a slight shade of russet above, 
dirty white beneath ; tail long, cylindrical, covered with short, ad- 
pressed yellowish-white hairs beneath, and with reddish-brown 
woolly fur on the upper surface, terminated by a tuft of dirty yel- 
lowish-brown; ears elliptical; head small and attenuated; tarsus 
long, and ofa pale greyish white colour; middle upper incisors not 
so much longer in the lateral as in Hyp. murinus, and lower shorter 
and slenderer ; the canines are nearly in contact with the lateral in- 
cisors, and of the same form and size. This is the species described 
in Governor Phillipp’s Voyage: that figured by White appears to 
be Hyp. myosurus. 

6. Hyp. Cuniculus : in size and colour something resembling Hyp. 
Phillippi, but of a clearer grizzled brown colour, something like that _ 
of the wild rabbit ; a dark brown patch marks the nose; tail long, 
cylindrical, and terminated by a tuft of coffee-coloured wool ; upper 
middle incisors very large, separated from one another and truncated ; 
the lower of the same form, but considerably shorter than in any 
other species, and the canines much smaller than the contiguous 
lateral incisors, and separated from them by a distinct bar or vacant 
space ; by all which characters this animal differs from Hyp. Phillippi, 
as well as by its larger and thicker head and clearer grey colour. 

7. Hyp. murinus : of nearly the same colours as the last two spe- 
cies, but readily distinguished by its short, thick head, blunt, unat- 
tenuated muzzle, and very short ears bordered with red: the teeth 


Zoological Society. 475 


also afford a very distingtive character; the lower incisors are twice 
as long as in the last species, the upper.not much longer than the 
lateral, and the canine only half the size of the contiguous incisor, 
and nearly in contact with it, being separated only by the third part 
of a line; the tail is furnished with an erect crest of black hair for 
three or four inches towards the tip: this is the ‘‘ Potoroo” of the 
French Zoologists, as Mr. Ogilby had verified by comparison. with 
the Paris specimens. 

Mr. Martin then brought before the notice ie. the Meeting three 
species of Chameleon from Fernando Po, forming part of Mr. Knapp’s 
donation, and upon which he proceeded to offer the following obser- 
vations. 

‘** Among the collection of specimens from Fernando Po lately pre- 
sented to the Zoological Society are three chameleons of peculiar 
interest. One of them is the Cham. tricornis, or Qweni of Mr. Gray ; 
the second is the Cham. cristatus of Mr. Stutchbury, described and 
figured in the 3rd Part of the 17th Vol. of the Linn. Trans. The 
third appears to me to be undescribed. 

“With regard to the specimen of Cham. cristatus, I may be per- 
mitted to point out some trifling differences between it and. the 
figure given by Mr. Stutchbury, The crest ceases to be elevated 
over the loins and base of the tail, degenerating into an acute ridge ; 
whereas in the figure it continues for a considerable distance along 
the upper aspect of the tail, and is as elevated over the loins as over 
the chest. The tail is shorter in proportion in the present specimen; 
the indentations which margin the casque are less bold and decided, 
and the casque itself is less produced posteriorly. The dorsal crest 
is supported by only ten spinous processes. The colour is slate gray, 
with a yellow abdominal line, but without the orange and dark reti- 
culated lines observed by Mr. Stutchbury in his specimen. Length 
of head and body 34 inches: tail, 2? inches. 

‘«« Asthespecimen described and figured by Mr.Stutchbury came from 


_- the river Gaboon, Western Equinoctial Africa, and the specimen be- 


longing to the Zoological Society from Fernando Po, it is possible that 
they may be examples of permanent varieties; but [ am rather in- 
clined to attribute the difference to age or sex, or to both combined. 
Mr. Stutchbury’s specimen is probably an adult male; that belonging 
to the Zoological Society is a young female. The Cham. Oweni, Gray 
(Cham. tricornis, Gray), differs from a specimen from Fernando Po, 
(collected by Lieut. Allen) in the possession of the Society, only in 
having the horns less developed. With respect to the species I regard 
as undescribed, I beg to offer the following observations :— 
2K 2 


476 Zoological Society. 


« Ata first glance this Chameleon might be confounded with Cham. 
Senegalensis, or with Cham. dilepas ; the grainlike scales of the body 
and the general contour of the head and body being much alike in 
each. When, however, we come to examine more closely, we shall 
find sufficient reason to regard it as entirely distinct. Both in 
Cham. Senegalensis and its immediate ally (if it be truly a separate 
species), Cham. dilepas, the dorsal ridge and also the median line: of 
the throat and abdomen are strongly denticulate. In this, however, 
neither the dorsal ridge,'nor the abdominal or gular median line, 
present any such character. In Cham. Senegalensis the tail is re- 
markably stout at the base, the skin behind the knee-joint is close, 
and there is a sort of heel, or angular projection (at least in the 
specimens before me), at the posterior junction of the two portions 
of the hind-foot. In the Chameleon which I regard as undescribed 
the tail is slender at the base and long, the skin behind ‘the knee- 
joint is loose and fanlike, and there is no angular projection or heel. 
The granulations of the body, it may also be observed, are much 
less acutely elevated (being smaller and rounder) than in Cham. 
Senegalensis. 

“The casque between the eyes is comparatively narrower, being 
there contracted ; it is broader and more rounded however posteriorly, 
and is less produced. ‘The middle line or keel is a little more dis- 
tinct ; and between the eyes the casque is more deeply and abruptly 
concave ; a very small flap or ear, which indeed might easily be over- 
looked, is produced from the posterior part of the casque, and lies on 
each side of the neck, as in Cham. dilepas; but as we have said, in 
this species the dorsal ridge and the median line of the throat and 
belly are strongly denticulate, or as Daudin said of its ally the 
Cham. Senegalensis, ‘ dentelés en scie.’ 

“Regarding then this species as hitherto undescribed, I propose for 
it the name of Chameleon Bibroni, as a tribute of respect to M. Bibron, 
of the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle of Paris. 

‘“‘ The characters of Cham. Bibroni may be summed up as follow: 
Casque (or upper surface of the skull) flat, with a very slight occi- 
pital keel; contracted and concave between the eyes, rounded pos- 
teriorly : superciliary ridge very little elevated, and becoming obso- 
lete over the nostrils; a small flap on each side from the posterior 
edge of the casque lies on the neck; the dorsal ridge and median 
line, both of the throat and belly, destitute of a denticulated crest. 
The grains of the body and limbs small and close-set, those of the 
casque flat and angular. 

CuaM& LEON Bipronti. © Galed pland ; vix fe occiput carinatd ; 


Wernerian Natural History Society. 477 


inter oculos angustd et concavd ; posticé rotundatd, et lobo par- 
vulo utrinque instructd ; margine superciliari param elevato, et 
super nares obsoleto ; culmine dorsali, linedque medid per gue 
lam et abdomen tendente, absque denticulis ; corpore granis par- 
vis et confertis tecto ; galed lamellis angularibus. 

Longitudo corporis cum capite, 4 unc. ; cade, 54. 

Hab. in Insula Fernando Po. 

“In proportion to the size of the body the head of Cham. Bibroni 
is short, and particularly the muzzle, which is very acute at the apex. 
Viewed from above the helmet it would present an elongated oval, 
rounded behind and acute anteriorly, were it not for its contraction 
between the eyes, which is not the case in Ch. Senegalensis. The 
accessory lobes at its posterior part are very small, and might easily 
be overlooked. Perhaps, however, they may be larger in the male, 
(for the present individual, it is to be observed, is a female,) but of 
this I have no means of judging. ‘The length and slenderness of 
the tail are remarkable. The granulations of the body are small 
and even. The general colour is purplish black, passing on the 
sides of the belly, on the loins, and posterior limbs, into olive-green ; 
the inside of the limbs, and the median line of the abdomen, are pale 
reddish-yellow.” 


WERNERIAN NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 


The first meeting of the Session took place on Saturday, Dec. 15, 
1838, Dr. Greville, V.P. in the Chair. 

The first communication read was upon ‘“ The Geology of the 
neighbourhood of Kelso, by C. Le Hunte, Esq.’’ There was next 
read a paper by Sir John Graham Dalyell ‘“‘ On a singular mode of 
Propagation among the Lower Animals,’ by which last phrase the 
Zoophyte group is to be understood. The communication was ac- 
companied by beautiful and delicate engravings, preparing for a 
splendid work on the Zoophytes with which Sir John has for years 
been engaged. The following modes of propagation among differ- 
ent members of the group were referred to,_-by means of ova; 
through the medium of an animal discharged from an external cyst 
of the parent, which, after enjoying active motion for a time, be- 
comes stationary, is metamorphosed, and thus attains its perfect 
state. It was likewise remarked, that from the Hydra tuba, which 
is a Hydra proper, prominences bud externally, which are at first 
shapeless, and on being detached become perfect animals; and also, 
that an animated moving corpuscule, which may, as such, be arti- 
ficially liberated from Actinia, will become a perfect foetus if retained, 


478 Miscellaneous. 


and will be produced by the parent from the mouth in its own simi- 
litude. From the several details, Sir John remarked that it may be 
deduced, first, that two different modes of propagation carry on the 
race of Actinia ; one whereby the embryo, a shapeless corpusculum, 
endowed with locomotion within the parent, is produced symmetri- 
cally by the mouth, but is then deprived of the power of motion, 
or nearly so; the other, whereby a fragment buds externally from 
the base, thus generating after the fashion of the Hydra tuba. Second, 
that the Aplidium verrucosum, a compound Ascidia, is originally an 
inert ovum, next an embryo endowed with an active locomotive fa- 
culty, and in the third stage is converted into an animal of a form 
absolutely different, riveted to one spot. Third, that the Zoophytes 
of certain genera pass through imtermediate stages towards perfec- 
tion, of which that stage exhibiting them endowed with the faculty 
of locomotion is not the first. 

Dr. Trail then made a verbal communication concerning the traces 
of the (so-named) Cheirotherium occurring in the New r Red Sand- 
stone in Cheshire, near Liverpool, illustrated by specimens, casts, 
and engravings. This communication gave rise to an animated dis- 
cussion, in which Dr. Trail, Professor Jameson; Mr. Stevenson, and 
Dr. Greville took a leading part, and in which on the one side 
doubts and scepticism were expressed as to the evidence satisfacto- 
rily establishing the unequivocal traces of the foot-marks of any 
guadruped whatever. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 
ON THE FUR SEAL OF COMMERCE. 


In the December Number of the ‘ Annals,’ Mr. J. E. Gray has 
noticed my paper * on the “‘ Fur Seal of Commerce ”’ which appeared 
in October last +. Mr. Gray considers that the figure and informa- 
tion given are insufficient to recognise the animal, and requests 
me to.extend my description, that he may be enabled to ascertain 
whether the Fur Seal is the same with his Leptonyx Wedellii, which 
he described in 1837 from two specimens presented to the British 
Museum by Capt. Fitzroy. 

With regard to my allusion to the figure, it was introduced in a 
note, and not in the body of the paper, as a compliment to a very 
deserving artist; and until Mr. Gray has seen the drawing, and com- 
pared it with a specimen of the Mur Seal either alive or dead, we 


* Page 309 of the present volume. 7 p. 81. 


Miscellaneous. 479 


can scarcely consider him as competent to judge of its merits or de- 
merits. 

With regard again to the scientific characters of the animal as 
they are given in the body of the paper, Mr. Gray desiderates further 
information respecting ‘‘ the teeth, the whiskers, the ears, and vari- 
ous other parts.” But of ‘‘ the teeth” I could say nothing, my de- 
scription being taken from the stuffed specimens of the animal desti- 
tute of the crania; of ‘‘ the whiskers,” I stated that “‘ the whiskers 
are brownish-black, five rows being present ;” of ‘‘ the ears,’ that 
“‘ they are black, narrow and pointed, one inch in length, and situate 
5 inches 6 lines from the tip of the snout;” and of the other parts 
and members of the animal I gave descriptions and measurements 
so detailed as might have exposed me to the risk of being considered 
needlessly prolix. In common with Mr. Gray, I regretted the abs- 
ence of the crania, and professed to give the specific characters only 
*‘so far as my opportunities permitted.” 

But while my description was thus. avowedly and necessarily de- 
fective—in regard more especially to the teeth and crania—I am 
happy to think that it is still amply sufficient to satisfy the leading 
and immediate object of Mr. Gray’s inquiries, which is whether the 
Fur Seal is the same with his ‘‘ Leptonyxr Wedellii.”” Whatever else 
is done by my description, it at least establishes (as Mr. Gray him- 
self observes), that the Fur Seal “is an Otary or Eared Seal.”’ Now 
upon turning to the description of his ‘‘ Leptonyx Wedellit”’ referred 
to by him, as contained in the ‘ Magazine of Natural History’ for 
1837, I find, according to the statement there given, that i¢ belongs 
to a group which have “ grinders with many roots, ears none, toes 
simple, soles and palms hairy.” The Fur Seal then being “an 
Otary or Eared Seal,” and the Leptonyx Wedellii having “‘ ears none,” 
how is it possible that they should be the same animal? It will be 
observed too, that the Leptonyx Wedellit has ‘‘ soles and palms hairy,” 
whereas my description of the Fur Seal bears, ‘‘ the under portion of 
both extremities—to the extent of two-thirds of the anterior, and 
nearly the whole of the posterior—are naked, being quite destitute of 
both hair and fur.’ There are other marks of obvious distinction ; 
but when it appears that the one seal is an Otary and the other not, 
it may justly be deemed superfluous to insist on any other distinctive 
features ; and Mr. Gray’s immediate purpose may be held to be suf- 
ficiently attained.—Roserr Hamitron. 


CURIOUS HABIT OF EARTH-WORMS. 


While staying at Whitley, near North Shields, Mr. Fryer pointed 
out to me that the worms (Lumbrici), which are abundant on the south 


480 Miscellaneous. 


side of his gravel walk, just under the shade of the tuft, where the 
walks are seldom used, gather together in a head all the loose stones 
within 6 or 8 inches of their hole, and heap them over its opening, 
sometimes to a considerable height. The holes when the stones are 
removed are large, and there are often also a few straws projecting 
from them. Ido not recollect to have observed any similar habit in 
the worm in the neighbourhoed of London; they are probably a 
different species.—J. E. Gray. 


OCCURRENCE OF ATRIPLEX ROSEA. 

Atriplex rosea, lately added by Mr. Babington to the Flora of the 
Channel Islands, is I apprehend not uncommon on most of the coasts 
of England ; it is mentioned in Dillenius’s edition of Ray’s Synopsis, 
as growing near Maldon, in Essex, and near Selsey, in Sussex, in 
both which counties I have known it more than fifty years, and ha- 
ving cultivated it, have always with Samuel Dale considered it as 
distinct from Atripler patula, though in opposition to the great 
names of Ray, Petiver, Hudson, Smith, &c. I am much pleased 
now to find my opinion confirmed by that of so able an investigator 
of British plants as my friend Babington.—Epw. Forster. 


THE ANIMAL OF MODIOLUS DISCREPANS. 

The mantle lobes of this animal are free all round, except at the 
hinder edge, in the upper part of which they emit a short truncated 
contractile tube. The hinder part of the lower edges of the mantle, 
when the animal is expanded, is slightly produced, and folded on the 
edge of theshell. The foot is rather large and moveable, extensile, 
becoming strap-shaped, extended in front, with a small flattened disk 
at the end, and keeled along its lower edge. This foot is sometimes 
bent back to the hinder opening of the mantle lobes, but it is gene- 
rally produced in front, and the animal uses the disk at the end of 
it to enable it to turn itself from side to side, and to place itself in 
an erect position when it walks by extending its foot to its utmost. 
length, and thus advancing the shell and body along the whole ex- 
tent of the foot at each move. It also creeps with the foot on the 
surface of the water, with the shell downwards like a Cyclas ; and it 
has the power, like that genus, of crawling up the smooth surface 
of glass or china. When the animal slides on the surface of the 
water the gills can be distinctly seen; they extend quite to the base 
of the tube. I could not observe the course of the water in their 
shell, but in the young of the common Modiolus (Modiolus barbatus) 
it entered in currents, coming from all sides of the shell into the 
spaces between the two lobes of the mantle, in the middle of the in- 


Meteorological Observations. 481 


ferior side of the shell, and was emitted, but without any force, at 
the opening on the middle of the hinder end of the shell.—J. E. 
Gray. 


VESPERTILIO LEISLERI, 
Since the account of the Vespertilio Leisleri appeared in the 
‘ Annals of Natural History,’ the bat has been examined by the Rey. 
L. Jenyns, who is of opinion that it is not a specimen of V. Leisleri, 
but is at present undecided whether it is the young of the Noctule 
or a distinct species—Tuomas Parng, Jun., Great Yarmouth. 


We have to state, that with regard to our note at page 349 in Mr. 
Babington’s Paper ‘ On the Botany of the Channel Islands,’ that it 
was founded on a misapprehension originating from a misprint. On 
referring to Mr. Babington’s manuscript, we find that the word “con- 
firmed’’, rather hastily and indistinctly written, was mistaken by the 
compositor for ‘‘ conferred” ; and that Dr. Boott had merely pro- 
nounced it to be Carer punctata, Gaud., and not that he gave a 
name to it already applied to another species, an oversight very un- 
likely to have been made by one so thoroughly acquainted with the 
genus, and whose monograph is anxiously looked for.—Eprr. 


METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR DECEMBER 1838. 


Chiswick.— Dec. 1. Clear: rain. 2. Fine : heavy showers, with strong wind 
and thunder and lightning at night. 3,4. Fine. 5. Drizzly. 6. Fine. 7. 
Rain. 8. Clear: frosty. 9. Frosty and foggy. 10. Frosty: fine. 11—13, 
Hazy. 14, 15. Foggy in the mornings: fine. 16—J9. Hazy and cold. 20. 
Frosty: fine. 21. Hazy. 22—24. Rain. 25. Very clear. 26. Frosty: 
heavy rain at night. 27. Clear. 28. Frosty. 29. Overcast: rain. 30. Rain, 
31. Clear and fine. 


Boston.— Dec. 1. Fine: rainr.m. 92. Fine: rain early a.m. 3. Fine. 4. 
Fine: rain early a.m. 5. Cloudy. 6. Fine. 7. Cloudy: rain early a.m. 
8—10. Fine. 11—13. Cloudy. 14—16. Fine. 17,18. Cloudy. 19. Cloudy : 
rain p.m. 20,21. Cloudy. 22—24. Rain. 25. Fine: snow early a.m. : snow 
pM. 26. Fine: rainep.m. 27,28. Fine. 29,30. Cloudy. 31. Fine. 


Applegarth Manse, Dum/fries-shire.—Dec. 1. Dull and cloudy: wetr.m. 2. 
Frequent showers. 3. Dulland cloudy: temperate. 4. Cleared up: very mild, 
5. Clear sunshine. 6. Dull and cloudy: shower r.m. 7. Generally clear : 
shower p.m. 8. Fine day: frosty p.m. 9. Dry, but cloudy. 10. Cloudy and 
moist. 11, Clear and frosty. 12. Thick fog a.m.: cleared: moist. 13. Cloudy 
and raw. 14. Clear and sharp. 15. Dull and threatening. 16. Fog: cleared 
up p.m. 17. Dulland cloudy. 18. Cloudy a.m., but cleared up. 19. Cloudy 
and threatening: rain. 20. Raw afterrain preceding evening. 21. Cleared 
and cold: wet p.m. 22. Dry and cold, but threatening rain. 23, Dry: still 
looking dull, 24. Dry a.m.: moist p.m. 25, Dry and clear: freezing p.m. 
26. Wet and stormy till evening. 27. Frosty: ground very slippery. 28. 
Frost a.m.: thawed p.m. 29. Clear, but stillsoft. 30. Wet and stormy all day. 
31. Showery and unsettled. 


“uve |L8.% 6L-0GL-1 “ung | | ble gt LLe L-Z€ |SV-PP S.LE | G-€f| 9-68 | $96-62 8h6-6%| 96-62 | ZP0-0€ | IgT-oF | SL0.0€ | ‘uvary 
eee es oul a SS | + [Po | | aa pean ae | SS 

GE] ott | coe | ee PPO. “MSM cUTRO) oy paca m Loh! 9¢| OF) of | FF z-9€ | L-09 | 8:9€ | PE-O€ | PE.o€ | 16-62 | Lev-0€ | 109.0€ | 96h-0€ | *1¢O 

ey 1 Fog. | Gg. | 28 oh oe oe ce. Shp. 8h) ZE | 1S | z.07|z-gh | 7-LP | -S0-0€ | 99.6% | 25-62 | 691-0£ | E1E-08 | Zer-0F | “ok 

bere | Ok fee g0- tee MH | tM ems! cs Sep ivy LE) €b | 6Y ace] g.oF 6-6£ | 66-62 | $8.62 | 02-6%.| SEz-08 8bZ-08 | ZZZ-OL | *6% 

1) 20} es fe s+ ems" lunpes| «a | ew - Eee we, SE) GZ} OV | g.ce| g.oF | SEE | S0.0€ | g1.08 | 64-62 | LbZ-0F | EgE-0€ | O€z-0F | *9z 

1} pe. fs | cpp. | om feuyea! ea | ems bE| SE S-SE) La} PV | o.0¢|z.6€| 8-PE| 18.6%.) 99-6z | 92-62 | 902-62 | $90-0€ | 299-62 | “Lz 

L& (08-1 | ++ | oz. see |saNSS |UTBO) «g 's foe ze; gti Z| IP 8-66 | @-VE L-6Z | G£.6z | 996% | 8-62 | ZLP-62 | 6P6.6z | 816-62 "9% 

ZE | tee | wee | eee QT0. | “IN | cas ‘N | ‘MN | 63 f08 GE) 13 | LE |z.pe)\ L.cE| SPE) 96.62 | $9.62 | 62-62 004-62 | £56-6z | 9f9-6z | °ez 

LE | * | £0. | 10. LO. | |S | sas) a | op for, OF If | EF lgipl Ppp] SIV) 66.62 | £v-62 | $0.62 318-62 | gLP.6z | 018-62 | “Fs C 

9€ " {Ot (£001 Te. | 94 tae | ng | ove bh 6€ 2) a! OF \ 0.98) L-ep| 8-2" | c-62 | 68-6z | £2-6% | 98E-6Z | £6.62 | ZLS.6% "€ 

cf |" 1G0. 10g. | c+ frame | eas | we | sg ¢ Le & | LE! OF | z.pele.ge| BSE) 19-62 | $6-6z | $L-6% | 886-62 | L6E-0€ | Fo1.0€ | *ze 

GE | see fate | nee | cuts lonyeo ‘as | ‘HS | of OV G.9F Of | 8 | 7.¢¢| L.9¢| BSE! co.0¢g | $z-06 | -0€ 012-08 | L6E-0€ | FOF.0¢ | “Iz 

CE 1 loo. | ce | tee fom | om sad ‘Ss | 6€ Ob SE gt] EV lErele.ze| 49) oz-08 | 96.6z | 08-62 | £2z-0€ | gFE.0€ | Z61-0€ | ‘oz 

OF [80-0 | «++ | eee nee [HST | Ml as | cass iEpe| te] sf) 0% | oP r.ce|¢.9€ | OVE | 66.6z | So.0€ | $8-64 | Zos-0€ | 1Gz.0€ | bzz-0€ | °61 

Ze nae eee eee ee ‘as ‘wayeo ‘aN “ASS ce oe ¢.c¢ fe gt 6.0E 9-96 €-¢¢ C1-0¢ £Z-0€ 66-62 [6z-0£ eVve-o£ 91€.0€ “ST 

ve ah an wae «ahs “MS juuyeo °N “aS €¢ | L¢ 9f ce Lg P.Se 9-6£ 9.S¢ 0£.0¢ ZE.0F [6-62 GS£-0€ 96£-0£ 99€.0€ ‘Li® 

ce ne For ete 8 ies *s yea) — “" ov LE S.0%) 1€ | gF Z-RE | ELF V-ge C£.0€ 64-08 Of | €g£-0£ | 11 P-0€ | 09.0 ‘91 

ge Mag eee eee eee "MS oe § “aS "—aIN@ OP ce G.9£ QZ cv 0-17 o-OP 9-07 CZ-0F Ze.0F L6-62 9re.0£ CLE-0F 99£.0€ ‘SI 

BE ff ee | see | dee oot len ‘N | “MN ize) 1€ 8) Z€ | OV | g.zh | 6.ch| 8-2" | oF.0€ | PH-0F | 16-62 | 90-08 | 1zb-0€ | .O1P-0F Re! 

gt ree eee eee eee “AS ‘aryeo| °M *s cP CP cv L¢ Ov 0-17 L.¥P oC Lt-0€ LL-o€ 06-62 cee.o£ C1v-0€ 9ZE.0£ eI 

OE 110.0 | «0+ | Hens coe | Ooms ‘wipe | ‘ms| cms | ch! oP SRE) 6E | SF 9.6¢ | £.PF C17 ST-0£ | 0@-0€ | Z6:6Z.| OSE-0£ | goe-.o€ | ZPE-0€ ol 

VE | to | cee | eee | eee | ea mie?) sms | “Ms | 6 'F/% 6€) SE) SP | 7.¢¢] 9.07 | 9-68 | 9z.0¢ | o€-0€ | £8.62 | 12£-0€ | LoP-0€ | $8z-08 tt 

| ee oe oman aw Le; 1b 2 Z| bP io. e.ge | LEE) St.o€ | St-0€ | $8-6%  zz-0F | o1€-08 | 0gz-0F ‘Ol 
PRE pt tt] oe | ct jompea) ace} Same | gel ce! pe] oe | se 6-2 0.17 | SEE | 6z-0€ | LE-0E | £0-0€ 198-08 | 1hP-0€ | ZIP-0F | °6 

th Se ere ee Zor. | MS ume wy | my rel og €f! 92! FF 9.LE | L.gh 8-8f | Cp.o€ | SP-0€ | 86-62 OLE-0€ | [oF-0€ | ZOE-0€ 8 ») 

EV | 72 | 90- |60- | got. Nm wes ewe | san foe FLE OV) 2) LP | Goplo.gp | 44P | o€.0€ | $2.08 | 08-62 ZLz-0€ | 6LE-0€ | 9Sz-0€ | *L 

9f |" | log. | geo. | °s PTS?) a | *s | Ob | SP $98! 62 | LP 3.07 |z-Lb| SIV 60-0€ | a1-0€ | 9.6% 94Z-0€ | Pok-0€ | 9Sz-0F 9 

OV (26-0 | * 10. | s+ |N-ms Wun] cm | Sogzp Eb ce | eF 6.96 |9.gh | 6-97 | o1-0€  $8.6z | E€-6%  129-6@ | 1€1-0€ | PE8-6z “$ 

TV | °** joo. | cs | cee | ems wae “ma | “Ms | OE for GIP) VE | OF | ozpl gop | Ze | ¢¢.6z GV-6% | 0-63 BSS-66 | LE6.6z | P9S-6% b 

PE | ott |e | ao, Lic.1 = jeunes) hoon *s oP Lop cy 6¢ | €¢ 0.97 | 0.5 L-OV | G1.6z | Z1-6% | 06:8% | LSV-62 | 9LD-6% VOP-6z * 

OV |r [fo |S: | pet. | °S lames) ems! +s isgpl zp) 19) Ph | oS ZF | £5 | 42 | G0.6z | $0-6% | 06-86. ZEP-6z | C6P-6z | PO-6z | *% 
(Biakee 1 ae (GB. | oct | "AAS unpRa! ‘ms| ts Ash ier LY | -9P- 9S |2.6h 0.26 Lor £0-6z 62-6% | 20-62 | SVE-6e | LSS.62 766.66} “I O 
‘res | 9 FB | ureg | omue| | 8} ce, prdohurng ote “wie eee | ape cac bates cca, | Ge uve to | UN | PN | cures | 
Pepuoye ee |e A ‘20g "0H ou "wom jE ac ee ae: ee -say1Sor-yog | UA = a = Pst dey ‘younstyg. | 20S ou ert 

- ez S| & |:uopuoy q) Be ‘uopuo’y -sayyuing) BS | MSU | 596 -koxy : wopuorz | OPUS SeHIUING, | vie * pues ‘qquopy 
“JUL : * ge 
ar “Urey ‘PULA ‘sayoMIOULIEY,L emo bie 


‘aurys-sasfuncgy ‘asunyy yptvsajddpy yo avanag ‘AjN Ag pup ‘uozsog yw Tiva A‘tIN 29 


MIPID) IY} JO NOSANOHY, “IJ AQ ! NoLUTGOY “I ‘Aunjasoag qunpsisspy ayy hq fyar 


fuopuoT tvau ‘ynmsiyy yw hjarz0g younzynaysopzy ay fo 


o0g yohoy ay3 fo suaujzindy ayg yo apou suorwasasgQ p00130j0409;2 7 


: 


+ Ee BEaS. 


fo OMI +S 


INDEX TO VOL. II. 


—_—_~<>_—_—- 


ABIES, remarks on the cultivation of 
some species of, 163. 

Acalypha ciliata, description of, 111, 

Achatina, new species of, 253. 

Ackama, description of the new genus, 


Acontiade, new genera and species of, 
336. . 
Aigocerus niger, description of, 144. 


_ Alseuosmia, description of the new ge- 


nus, 209; affinities of, 210. 
Amblypterus, a new genus of Caprimul- 
gide, 76. 
Anguilla latirostris, habits of, 22. 
Animalcules, great fertility of, 123 ; mode 
of increase of, 123; origin of paramou- 
dras from, 161; formation of flint by, 
192." 


. Annelides, observations on, 424. 


Antelope, on a new species of, 143. 

Aphroditacez, observations on the Bri- 
tish, 424. 

Apteryx, anatomy of, 377. 

Arachnida, on some new forms of, 1. 

Araliacez, New Zealand species of, 213. 

Aranea venatoria, singular habits of, 8. 

Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte, noticed, 135, 
223. 

Arion ater, curious habits of, 310. 

Arnott, Dr. G. W., on the genus Langs- 
dorftia, 36. 

Arnott and Wight, Drs., illustrations of 
Indian Botany, 111. 

Artocarpez, remarks on the family of, 
294. 

Asclepiadez, on a new genus of, 298. 

Asteroidez, new species of, 126. 

Atriplex rosea, note on the occurrence of, 
480. 

Babington, C. C., on the British species 
of Lotus, 260; on the Botany of the 
Channel Islands, 348, 481. 

Ball, J., Botanical notes of a Tour in Ire- 
land, with notices of some new British 
Plants, 28. 

Bat, notes on the hairy-armed, 181. 


.. Bateman’s, J., Orchidacez of Mexico and 


Guatimala, notice of, 157. 


Bell, Sir C., on the nerves of the spine 


* and those of the encephalon, 68. 

Bennett, J. J., observations on the Gra- 
minee, 215; on Polypodium papil- 
losum, 218; historical notice of the 


poison tree of Java, 295 ; history of the 
genus Gunnera, 297. 

Bentham, G., Commentationes de Legu- 
minosarum Generibus, noticed, 63; 
enumeration of the Plants collected by 
Mr. Schomburgk in British Gypiana, 
105, 441. . 

Benthophilus, characteristics of the ge- 
nus, 135. 

Bevan’s, Dr. E., Honey-Bee, its natural 
history, physiology, and management, 
reviewed, 293. 

Bibron, M., on two species of Triton, 229. 

Bignoniacez, on a new genus of, 377. 

Birds, figures, and descriptions of new 
and interesting species, noticed, 222. 

Blyth, Mr., on a peculiarity in the struc- 
ture of the feet in the Trogonide, 227. 

Botany of the Islands of New Zealand, 
44, 125, 205, 356; of the Channel 
Islands, 348, 481; Illustrations of In- 
dian, 111 ; works of Goethe relative to, 
316. 

Botanical Notes of a Tour in Ireland, 
with notices of some new British Plants, 
28. 

Botanical Society of Edinburgh, proceed- 
ings of, 140. 

Botanical Society of London, proceedings 
of, 233. 

Botanical Travellers, information respect- 
ing, 57, 360, 455. 

British Association for the Advancement 
of Science, notice of the Meetings of, 
156. 


~ Brown, R., observations on the genus 


Polypodium, 215 ; on Ataxia, 218; on 
two remarkable Orchideous plants,220; 
on the family of Artocarpez, 294. 

Brunner, Dr., notice of the collections 
made by, 363. 

Buffalo, description of a new species of, 
285. 

Buonaparte, Lucian, Prince of Musignano, 
on the Long-tailed Trogon, 72. 

Campanulacez, new species of, 49. 

Caoutchouc, on the occurrence of in 
plants, 27. 

Caprimulgidz, on a very singular form 
among the, 176; Monograph of the, 
noticed, 222. 

Cardamine sylvatica, occurrence of, in 
England, 235. ' 


- 484 


Carnivora, on the dentition of the, 225. 

Carpenter, Mr., on the reproductive 
system of vegetables, 142. 

Cassinia, description of the genus, 128. 

Cathartes aura, habits of, 257. 

Catogenus, on several new species of, 
396. 

Catophractes, description of the new ge- 
nus, 375. 

Cattle, Wild, of Chillingham Park, de- 
scription of the, 274, 284. 

Ceratophyllacea, affinities of the, 236. 

Chalcidites, description of British, 198, 
350. 

Chameleon, description of a new species 
of, 475. 

Cheirotherium, doubtful nature of the 
traces of in the new red sandstone, 478. 

Christison, Prof., on the preservation of 
fruits in the moist state, 141, 

Cichoracez, new species of, 125. 

Closterium, formation of double gems 
in, 123. 

Coleoptera, new species of, 112. 

Composite, new species of, 107. 

Conferve conjugate, formation of double 
gems in, 123. 

Convolvulacez, new species of, 44. 

Cook, Capt. S. E., on the genera Pinus 
and Abies, 163. 

Cooper, D., on a large variety of Ranun- 
culus Flammula, 233 ; on a new princi- 
ple of fencing, 234. 

Corda’s, M., Icones Fungorum, reviewed, 
61, 465; on the anatomy of Hydra 
fusca, 78. 


Coregoni, remarks on, 268; notes on 


Trish, 421. 

Cotula, description of the genus, 127, 

Couch, J., observations on Wilson’s Pe- 
trel, 372; Cornish Fauna, noticed, 
305; description of a new Gull, 381; 
of the Coronated Lump-fish, 382. 

Couchia, description of the new genus, 
411. 

Crangon vulgaris, metamorphoses of, 178. 

Crustacea, metamorphoses of, 178. 

Cryptocalyx, description of the genus, 
446. 

Cunningham, Allan, on the Flora of the 
Islands of New Zealand, 44, 125, 205, 
356. dj 

Curtis’s, J., British Entomology, noticed, 
367. 

Cuvier, Frederic, notice of the late, 238. 

Cygnus, on a new species of, 155. 

Cyprinid, notices of new species of, 
135. 

Dalyell, Sir J. G., on a singular mode of 
propagation among the lower animals, 
477. 

Dassen, M., on the motions of plants, 
138, 223. 


INDEX. 


Deinopis, description of the genus, 8. 

Delphinus, on a new species of, 229. 

Denny, H., Essay on the British species 
of Parasitic Insects, notice of, 139. 

Dentition of Carnivora, 225. 

Diptera, new species of, 183. 

Don, Prof., on a new genus of plants be- 
longing to the Bignoniacex, 375. 

Dreissing, M., on the genus Tristoma, 77. 

DuCane, Capt., on the metamorphoses of 
Crustacea, 178. 

Dufour, Leon, on the industry and me- 
tamorphoses of the Odyneri, 158. 

Echinops, description of the new genus, 
153 


Ehrenberg, Prof., on fossil and recent In- 
fusoria, 121; on the organic origin of 
the Paramoudras of Norwich, 161. 

Eichwald, Prof. E., on the Fauna of the 
Caspian Sea, 135. 

Ergot, observations on the cause of, 373. 

Ericez, new species of, 49. 

Eriosoma, remarks on Leach’s genus, 
189. 

Eupatorium, description of a new species 
of, 108. 

Evadne Normanni, anatomy of, 136. 

Eyton, T. C., on the Fauna of Shropshire 
and North Wales, 52. 

Falco islandicus, occurrence of in En- 
gland, 159. 

Falcons, remarks on the Greenland and 
Iceland, 241. 

Ferns, hybridity in, 236. 

Fibres of the muscles and nerves, forma- 
tion of the, 191. 

Fishes, descriptions of new British, 39, 
266, 382, 408; of new Irish, 14, 270; 
on the osseous structure of, 69 ; occur- 
rence of fossil scales of, in flint, 194. 

Fishes of Madeira noticed, 369. 

Flint, on the organic remains in, 191. 

Forbes, E., on the specific claims of Pri- 
mula acaulis veris,,and elatior, 141-; on 
the land and freshwater Mollusca of 
Algiers, 250. 

Forster, Edward, on Ononis antiquorum. 
of Linnzus, 95; on the occurrence of 
Atriplex rosea, 480. 

Freycinetia, description of a new species 
of, 220. 

Fries, Prof., on the genus Syngnathus, 
96; on a metamorphosis observed in 
the worm Pipe-fish, 225, 451. 

Fritzsche, M., on the structure of pollen, 
402. 

Fruits, on their preservation in the moist 
state, 141. 

Fungi, oily fluid in the cells of, 62; hy- 
menomycetous structure of, 63. 

Fur Seal of Commerce, observations on 
the, 81, 309, 478. 

Galago, on a new species of, 147. 


INDEX, 


Gardens of the ancient Hebrews, remarks 

- on, 141. 

Gardner, Mr., travels in Brazil, 32, 455. 

Geniostoma, description of the new ge- 
nus, 45. 

Gentianex, new species of, 44, 442. 

Geological Society, proceedings of, 64. 

Gervais, M., on a representative of the 
order of -insectivorous - Mammalia, 
237. 

Giraffe, notes on the anatomy of the Nu- 
bian, 148, 227. 

Giraud, H., on some peculiarities in the 
structure of pollen, 399. 

Goethe, notice of his writings relating to 
Natural History, 313. 

Gould, J., description of the new genus 
Amblypterus, 76; on new species of 
Ibis and Platalea, 77 ; monograph of 

- the Caprimulgide, noticed, 222; on 
two new species of Ptilotis, 230. 

Gray, J. E., on perforations made by Pa- 

‘tella and Pholas, 72; on the walking 
of the Seal, 78; on a new species of 
Perameles, 143; note on the Wild 
Cattle of Chillingham Park, 284; on 
new or little known Mammalia, 284 ; 
on the Slender-tongued Saurians, 287, 
331; on the New Holland Gerboa Rat, 

- 8073 on the Fur Seal of Commerce, 
309 ; Mr. Hamilton’s reply to,478 ; on 
the habits of Arion ater, 310; on the 
animal of Modiolus discrepans, 480. 

Griffith, W., on caoutchouc ~in plants, 
237. 

Gull, description of a new British, 381. 

Gypaétos, on a new species of, 235. 

Haliday, A. H., descriptions of new Bri- 

* tish insects, 112, 183. 

Hamilton, R., on the Fur Seal of Com- 
merce, 81,478; on the gardens of the 

‘ ancient Hebrews, 141. 

Hancock, J., on the occurrence of Lestris 
parasiticus, and of Falco islandicus, 159 ; 
of Regulus modestus in Britain, 310; 

-remarks on the Greenland and Iceland 
Falcons, 241. 

Hapalotis albipes, remarks on, 307. 

Harris, Capt., on a new species of Ante- 

- lope, 143. 

Harvey, W. H., on two species of a new 
South African genus of Rhizanthee, 
385; letters from, 456. 

Haxtonia, description of the genus, 127. 

Hectarthrum, monograph of the genus, 
391. 

Hedgehog, on a new species of, 73. 

Helix, new species of, 251. 

Hemiptera, new species of, 183. 

Hindmarsh, L., on the Wild Cattle of 
Chillingham Park, 274. 

Hoeven, Prof. van der, on the genus Me- 

~s nopoma, 230. 


‘485. 


Hogg, J., on the action. of light on the 
colour of the River Sponge, 370. 

Honey-Bee, its natural history, physio- 
logy and management, reviewed, 293. 

Hooker, Sir W. J., on two new Orchi- 
deous plants, 329; Icones Plantarum, 
noticed, 367; on the occurrence of 
Viola lactea, 383. 

Hornschuch and ‘Schilling, Drs., on the 
specific difference between Limosa 
Meyeri and L. rubra, 136. 

Horsfield’s, J., Plantee Javanicze rariores, 
reviewed, 214, 294. 

Hydra fusca, anatomy of, 78. 

Hyena, observations on the, 236. 

Hymenoptera, new species of, 112. 

i et description of the sub-genus, 


Icones Fungorum hucusque cognitorum, 
reviewed, 61, 465. 

Infusoria, fossil and recent, 121; mode 
of increase of, 123; flint, partly com- 
posed of, 192. 

Insects, descriptions of new British, 112, 
183; essay on the British species of 
Parasitic, notice of, 139. 

Isaacson, J. J., observations on the 
striped Hyzena, 236. 

Jardine’s (Sir W.) Natural History and 
Illustrations of the Scottish Salmonide, 
noticed, 138. 

Java, historical notice of the Upas or 
poison tree of, 295, 

Jenyns, Rev. L., Notes on the British 
Shrews, 43; notes on some German 
Shrews, 323. 

Johnston, G., on the occurrence of Car- 
damine sylvatica, 235; of Nasturtium. 
anceps, 235; on the British. Aphrodi- 
tacez, 424. 

Jones, Prof. R., on the interior organiza- 
tion of the polygastric Infusoria, 123 ; 
Prof. Ehrenberg’s reply to, 121. 

Kangaroo, on a new species of, 229. 

Lampronota, description of the new ge- 
nus, 120. 

Langsdorffia, some account of the genus, 
36 


Larch, cultivation of, as an improver of 
the soil, 177. 

Latreillea, new species of, 109. 

Leguminose, Mr. Bentham’s work ‘on, 
notice of, 63. > 

Lepidosiren paradoxa, remarks on, 309. 

Lepidosperma, account of a new species 
of, 375. 

Lepus Hibernicus, description of, 71. 

Lestris parasiticus, occurrence of, 159. 

Lhotsky, Dr. J., on a new species of Le- 
pidosperma, 375. 

Liber, formation of the tubes of the, 190. 

Light, action of, on the colour of the 
River Sponge, 370, 


486 


Limnoria terebrans, ravages of, 181. 

Limosa Meyeri and L. rubra, specific 
difference between, 136. 

Lindley’s, Prof., Sertum Orchidaceum, 
notice of, 157. 

Linnean Society, Proceedings of, 372. 

Lotus, observations on the British spe- 
cies of, 260. 

Lovén, M.,on the new genus Evadne, 136. 

Lowe’s, Rev. R. T., History of the Fishes 
of Madeira, noticed, 369. 

Luminosity of the sea, an act of animal 
life, 122. 

Macaulay, Mr., on the effects of vegeta- 
tion on the atmosphere, 141. 

Macdonald, Dr., on the osseous structure 
of Fishes, 69. 

MacLeay, W. S., on some new. forms of 
Arachnida, 1. 

Mammalia, notices of new and rare spe- 
cies of, 146. 

Marchantia polymorpha, existence of 
Spermatozoa in the anthers of, 138. 
Martens, M., on hybridity in Ferns, 236. 
Martin, Mr., description of a new Rhi- 
nolophus, 72; on a new species of 
Hedgehog, 73 ; on the new genus Echi- 
nops, 153; on the anatomy of the 
Spotted Cavy, 380; on three Chame- 

leons, 475. 

Meteorological Observations and Tables, 
79, 159, 239, 311, 383, 481. 

Meyen, Prof., on vegetable Spermatozoa, 
138; on the formation of the fibrous 
cells in Plants, 190. 

Mikania, description of a new species of, 


Modiolus discrepans, animal of, 480. 

Mollusca, on the land and freshwater, of 
Algiers, 250. 

Monochirus, on the British species of, 
402. 

Moseley, Rev. H., on the geometrical 
forms of turbinated and discoid shells, 
370. 

Mosses, Scottish and American, notice of, 
157. 

Motella cimbria, a new British Fish,. de- 
scribed, 39. 

Muscicapide, natural arrangement and 
relations of the family of, noticed, 64. 

Myrmarachne, description of the genus, 
10. 


Myrsinez, new species of, 47. 

Mysis Fabricii, observations on, 178. 

Mystropetalon, description of the new 
genus, 385. 

Nasturtium anceps, occurrence of, 235. 

Natterer, Dr. J., on a new anomalous 
reptile, 309. 

Newcastle Meeting of the British Asso- 
ciation noticed, 156. 

Newman, E., on the synonymy of Passan- 


INDEX. 


dra, with descriptions of some new 
species, 388. 

Nops, description of the genus, 2. 

Odyneri, industry and metamorphoses of 
the, 158. 

Ogilby, Mr., notices of new and rare spe- 
cies of Mammalia, 146; on the pecu- 
liarities in the structure of the hand of 
a new species of Galago, 147; ona 
new species of Kangaroo, 229; on the 
genus Cheeropus, 232; on some spe- 
cies of Kangaroo Rats, 474. 

Ononis antiquorum, observations on, 95. 

Ooclinium, deseription of a new species 
of, 108. 

Orchidacee of Mexico and Guatemala, 
notice of, 157. 

Otiothops, description of the genus, 12. 

Owen, R., description of Pleiosaurus 
macrocephalus, 64; notes on the ana- 
tomy of the Nubian Giraffe, 148, 227 ; 
on the organs of deglutition of the 
Giraffe, 376; on the anatomy of the. 
Dugong, 300; of the Apteryx, 377. 

Paine, T., notes on the hairy-armed bat, 
181, 481. 

Palemon variabilis, metamorphoses of, 
178. 

Paludina, new species of, 254. 

Panopea australis, description of the ani- 
mal of, 158. 

Patamsecium Aurelia, circular motion of 
the inner cells in the, 123. 

Paramoudras, organic origin of, 161. 

Parnell, Dr. R., on a new species of Bri- 
tish Fish, 39. 

Passandra, monograph of, 388 ; descrip- 
tions of new species of, 393. 

Patella and Pholas, on perforations made 
by, 72. 

Perameles, on a new species of, 143. 

Physiology, history, and management of 
the Honey-Bee, reviewed, 293. 

Pictet, M., on the writings of Goethe re- 
lative to Natural History, 313. 

Pinus and Abies, remarks on the culti- 
vation of some species of, 163. = * 
Pipe-fish, observations on, 96; remark- 
able peculiarity existing in the sexes 
of, 97; metamorphosis observed in, 

451. 

Pisidium Lumstenianum, description of, 
255. 

Planorbis, new species of, 254. 

Plante Javanice Rariores, reviewed, 214, 
294. 

Plants, notices of new British, 28; col- 
lected by Mr. Schomburgk in British 
Guiana, descriptions of the, 105, 441; 
on the motions of, 138,223; repro- 
ductive system of, 142; occurrence 
of copper in, 159; formation of the 
fibrous cells of, 190; observations on 


ees 


INDEX. 


the solid materials of, 192; action of 
carbonic acid on the nutrition of, 235 ; 
existence of caoutchouc ‘in, 237; de- 
scriptions of two new Orchideous, 329. 

Pleiosaurus macrocephalis, description of, 
64; structure of the vertebra of, 66; 
affinities of, 68. 

Pleurothallis aristata, description of, 329. 

Podocarpus, remarks on the genus, 220. 

Pollen, on some peculiarities in the struc- 
ture of, 399. 

Polypodium, observations on the genus, 
215. 

Potstones, on the organic origin of, 161. 

Primula acaulis, veris and elatior, specific 
claims of, 140. 

Procellaria Wilsoni, account of the, 372. 

Quintinia Sieberi, »arasitical growth of, 
356. 

Rallus aquaticus, nest and eggs of the, 78. 

Reade, J. B., on some new organic re- 
mains in the flint of Chalk, 191. 

Regulus modestus, occurrence of, in Bri- 
tain, 310; editor’s remarks on, 311. 

Rhizanthez, description of a new South 
African genus of, 385. 

Rhodona, description of the new genus, 


Ronabea, description of the genus, 207. 

Royal Irish Academy, proceedings of, 70. 

Royal Society, proceedings of, 370. 

Royal Society of Edinburgh, proceedings 
of, 68. 

Rubiacez, descriptions of new species of, 
2 


Salamander, observations on the gigantic, 
of Japan, 230. 

Salmonide, natural history and illustra- 
tions of the Scottish, notice of, 138. 

Sarcorrhamphus papa, habits of, 255. 

Saurians, catalogue of Slender-tongued, 
287, 331. 

Saxifragacex, new species of, 356. 

Scales, fossil in flint, 191. 

Schimper, M., particulars respecting his 
Abyssinian journey, 157, 360. 

Schleiden, Dr., on the action of carbonic 
acid on plants, 235; on the affinities 
of the Ceratophyllacez, 236. 

Schomburgk, R. H., on Bertholletia ex- 
celsa, 253; on the habits of the King 
of the Vultures, 255. 

- Seincidee, new genera and species of, 
287. 

Seals, walking of the, 78; observations 
on, 81, 309, 478 ; habits of the, 87. 

Selenops, description of the genus, 5. 

Senecionide, new species of, 127. 

Shells, on the geometrical forms of tur- 
binated and discoid, 370. 

Shrews, notes on the British, 43; notes 
on some German, 323. 

Shropshire, Fauna of, 52. 


487 


Siebold, Dr. C. Th., observations on the 
female generative organs of the Ta- 
chine, 137. 

Smith, J., on the nest and eggs of the 
Water Rail, 78; on the cause of Ergot, 
373. 

Sigalion Boa, description of, 439. 

Smith’s, A., Illustrations of the Zoology 
of South Africa, noticed, 133. 

Snails, curious habits of, 310. 

Sowerby’s, J. DeC.,Supplement to English 
Botany, noticed, 368. 

Spermatozoa, remarks on vegetable, 138 ; 
of the Tachine, 137. 

Spiders, characteristics of the class of, 
and notice of new forms of, 1; certain 
species of, devoured by flies, 4. 

Spongia fluviatilis, action of light on the 
colour of the, 370. 

Squirrel, description of a new species of, 
226 


Stelis foliola, description of, 330. 

Swainson’s, W., Natural Arrangement 
and Relations of the family of Fly- 
catchers, noticed, 64. 

Syngnathus, observations on the genus, 
96; S. lumbriciformis, metamorphosis 
observed in, 225, 451. 

Tachinze, observations on the female ge- 
nerative organs of the, 137; Sperma- 
tozoa in, 138. 

Tankerville, Earl of, on the Wild Cattle 
of Chillingham Park, 274. 

Thompson, W., on Fishes new to Ireland, 
14, 270; on the Irish Hare, 70; on 
new British Fish, 266, 408; on the 
breeding of the Woodcock in Ireland, 
337; on the genus Monochirus, 402 ; 
on the identity of Trigla Cuculus with 
T. Gurnardus, 413; observations on 
two species of Gobius, 413; on the 
identity of Crenilabrus multidentatus 
with Labrus pusillus, 418; notes on 
the Irish Coregoni, 421. 

Tijdschrift voor natuurlijke Geschiedenis 
en Phsiologie, noticed, 368. 

Tiliqua, descriptions of several new spe- 
cies of, 291. 

Trogonide, on a peculiarity in the struc- 
ture of the feet of the, 227. 

Umbelliferze, new species of, 210. 

Upas or poison tree of Java, historical 
notice of, 295. 

Valenciennes, M., on the animal of Fa- 
nopea australis, 158. 

Van der Hoeven, Prof., on the genus 
Menopoma, 230. 

Vegetables, reproductive system of, 142; 
on the cause of the motions in, 138, 
223; effects of carbonic acid on, 235. 

Vegetation, effects of, on the atmosphere, 


Verbenacez, affinities of the, 445; de- 


A 
Bs 


488 


scription of anew genus and some spe- 


cies of, 446. 

Vernoniacez, new species of, 125. 

Vespertilio Leisleri, notes on the occur- 
rence of, 181,481. 

Viola lactea, occurrence of, 383. 

Vittaclinia, description of the genus, 127. 

Vultures, on the habits of the king of the, 
255. 

Wales, North, Fauna of, 52. : 

Walker, F., on British ‘Chalcidites, 198, 
350. 

Water Rail, nest and eggs of the, 78. 

Waterhouse, Mr., on two species of Kan- 
garoos, 74; on a new species of Mouse, 
76; ona new species of Squirrel, 226; 
on a new species of Delphinus, 229 ; 
on a new species of Herpestes, 466; 
on a new Gerbillus, 467; on several 
new Mammalia, 468; on a new Ante- 
lope, 472. 

Wedelia, new species of, 110. 

Wernerian Natural History Society, pro- 

ceedings of, 376, 477. 


INDEX. 


Wiegmann, Prof., Archiv der Naturge- 
schichte, notices of, 135, 223; on the 
dentition of the Carnivora, 225, 

Wiegmann, M., sen., on the occurrence 
of copper in plants, 159. 

Wight, Dr. R., Icones Plantarum Indize 
Orientalis, 369. 

Wight and Arnott, Drs., Illustrations of 
Indian Botany, 111. 

Wood, occurrence of coniferous in flint, 
227; 

Woodcock, on the breeding of the, in 
Ireland, 337. 

Xanthidium, occurrence of several spe- 
cies of in flint, 162, 194. 

Yarrell, Mr., on a new species of Swan, 
155; on the occurrence of the Red- 
band Fish, 307. 

Zoological Society, proceedings of, 72, 
143, 226, 300, 376, 466. 

Zoology of South Africa, reviewed, 133. 

as singular mode of propagation 
of, 477, 


END OF THE SECOND VOLUME, 


ALERE 


FLAMMAN,. 


PRINTED BY RICHARD AND JOIN E. TAYLOR, 


RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET, 


™. 


b 
tla 
cin? om! 

SOU 


cpa 
RATE ae 
vag ete es 


ae Neat ALE 
fy ates bot 
a re eer rs 


: ms ‘ 
o 
epee @ 
Siar 
{eles 


we et eet 
pera? fs 


Lait Pt of 
ores 
Sotehatg\ 


a 
* 
> 


LSP t 
eta t ay 
Haig Pt 
po gh pare: 
FaR gtd ak 
pee 


ae SERS 


+ Nig. Yen, 


tf