^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B t:tTiSZl'. . ■^ni^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l ::tn^-jti^^ll>t|^gp:j, ^^BH^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H iriif^^j^^^^^l^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 'tr^L^^HmBHE^: ^^^"III^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H siiu;il P 3 J\[iji j;' _ " ■^M^rTi^^B / S/00 THE ANNALS AND MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY, INCLUDING ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, and GEOLOGY. (being a continuation of the 'annals* combined with LOUDON AND CHARLESWORTh's 'magazine OF NATURAL HISTORY.') CONDUCTED BY P. J. SELBY, Esq., F.L.S., GEORGE JOHNSTON, M.D., CHARLES C. BABINGTON, Esq., M.A., F.R.S,, F.L.S., F.G.S., J. H. BALFOUR, M.D., Prof. Bot. Edinburgh, AND RICHARD TA^CMgELF.L.S., F.G.S. VOL. X.— SECOND SERIES LONDON: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS. SOLD BY LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS ; S. HIGHLEY AND SON SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO.; PIPER, BROTHERS, AND CO.; W. WOOD, TAVISTOCK STREET ; BAILLlijRE, REGENT STREET, AND PARIS: LIZARS, AND MACLACHLAN AND STEWART, EDINBURGH : CURRY, DUBLIN : AND ASHER, BERLIN. 185^. ** Omnes res creatse sunt divinse sapientise et potentise testes, divitise felicitatis humanae : — ex harum usu honitas Creatoris ; ex pulchritudine sapientia Domini ; ex cEconomia in conservatione, proportione, renovatione, po^en^ea majestatis elucet. Earum itaqiie indagatio ab hominibus sibirelictis semper aestimata; k ver6 eruditis et sapientibus semper exculta ; maid doctis et barbaris semper inimica fuit." — LiNNiEUS. " Quelque soit le principe de la vie animale, il ne faut qu'ouvrir les yeux pour voir qu'elle est le chef-d'ceuvre de la Toute-puissance, et le but auquel se rapportent toutes ses operations." — Bruckner, Theorie du Systeme Animal, Leyden, 1767. The sylvan powers Obey our summons ; from their deepest dells The Dryads come, and throw their garlands wild And odorous branches at our feet ; the Nymphs That press with nimble step the mountain thyme And purple heath -flower come not empty-handed, But scatter round ten thousand forms minute Of velvet moss or lichen, torn from rock Or rifted oak or cavern deep : the Naiads too Quit their loved native stream, from whose smooth face They crop the lily, and each sedge and rush That drinks the rippling tide : the frozen poles, Where peril waits the bold adventurer's tread. The burning sands of Borneo and Cayenne, ^ _. All, all to us unlock their secret stores And pay their cheerful tribute. J. Taylor, Norwich, 1818. FLAMMAM. CONTENTS OF VOL. X. [SECOND SERIES.] NUMBER LV. rage I. On the Nervous System of Ommastrephes todarus. By Albany Hancock, Esq. (With two Plates.) 1 II. A few Notes on the Structure of the Belemnite. By Gideon Algernon Mantell, Esq., LL.D., F.R.S., President of the West London Medical Society, &c •• 14 III. On a supposed new species of Eleocharis. By Charles C. Babington, M.A., F.R.S. &c 19 IV. On some of the rarer British Gasteropodous Mollusca. By William Clark, Esq 22 V. On the Skeleton of the Great Chimpanzee, Troglodytes gorilla. By S. Kneel'a^d, Juu., M.D., Boston, U.S.A 23 VI. On some genera of the Icacinacece. By John Miers, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S 30 VII. Notes on Chalcidites, and descriptions of various new species. By Francis Walker, F.L.S 45 Proceedings of the Zoological Society; Royal Institution of Great Britain ; Botanical Society of Edkaburgh ; Linnsean Society... 49 — 68 Ornithological Notes, by John Alexander Smith, M.D ; Corfiote Shells, by Sylvanus Hanley, Esq. ; On Littorina palUata, by William Thompson ; New Locality for Tulostoma mammosum, by Matthew Moggridge; On the Preservation of the Fecundated Eggs of Fishes, by M. Coste ; Postscript to Mr. Clark's Paper on Rare *• British Mollusca ; Irish Mollusca, by William White Walpole ; On the Sun Column as seen at Sandwick Manse, Orkney, in April 1852, by C. Clouston; Meteorological Observations and Table. 69 — 80 IV CONTENTS. 1 NUMBER LVI. Page VIII. Notes on the Reproduction of the Campanulariadce ; with a description of a new species of Laomedea. By the Rev. Thomas HiNCKS, B.A. (With a Plate.) 81 IX. Contributions to the Palaeontology of the Isle of Wight. By Thomas Wright, M.D. &c S7 X. Descriptions of some newly discovered species of Araneidea. By John Blackwall, F.L.S 93 XI. Note of the Mollusca observed during a short visit to the Canary and Madeira Islands, &c., in the months of April and May 1852. By R. M'Andrew, F.L.S 100 XII. On some genera of the Icacinacece. By John Miers, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S 108 XIII. Upon the Genus DoUolum and its species. By Dr. A. Krohn. (With a Plate.) 119 XW. On the genus Lepion. By William Clark, Esq 129 New Books : — A History of Infusorial Animalcules, Living and Fossil, by Andrew Pritchard, M.R.I. — A Synopsis of the Family of Naiades, by Isaac Lea 134 — 138 Proceedings of the Zoological Society 138 Observations on the Circulation of the Blood in the Arachnida, by M. Emile Blanchard ; On the Distribution of Coluber matrix, by John Henry Gurney ; Uses of the Stillingia sebifera, or Tallow Tree, with a notice of the Pe-la, an Insect- wax of China, by J. D. Macgowan, M.D. j Nymphcea alba var. major, by J. De C. Sowerby; On the Structure of the Belemnite; Meteorological Observations and Table 150 — 160 NUMBER LVII. XV. On the Form and Structure of the Shell of OpercuUna Arabica. By H. J. Carter, Esq., Assistant Surgeon, Bombay Estabhshment. (With a Plate.) 161 XVI. On some genera of the Icacinacece. By John Miers, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S 176 XVII. A Catalogue of British Spiders, including remarks on their Structure, Functions, (Economy, and Systematic Arrangement. By John Blackwall, F.L.S 1B2 CONTENTS. V , ^ Page XVIII. Contributions to British Palaeontology : — Some new Lower Palaeozoic Mollusca. By F. M'Coy, Professor of Geology and Mine- ralogy in Queen's College, Belfast 189 XIX. On some of the Animals of the Chemnitzice which have not been described. By William Clark, Esq 195 XX. On the Sloughing of the Spider-Crab {Maia Squinado). By P. H. GossE, A.L.S 210 New Books ; — Plantse Javanicae Rariores, descriptae Iconibusque illus- tratae, quas in Insula Java, annis 1802-18, legit et investigavit Thomas Horsfield, M.D. ; e siccis Descriptiones et Characteres plurimarum elaboravit Joannes J. Bennett ; Observationes Struc- turam et Affinitates praesertim respicientes passim adjecit Robertus Brown 213 Proceedings of the Linnaean Society ; Royal Society ; Botanical So- ciety of Edinburgh 216—237 Notice of the Occurrence, on the Durham Coast, oi DiphylUdia lineata, by Albany Hancock, Esq. ; Irish Mollusca, by W. W. Walpole ; On the Irritability of the Leaves of Drosera rotundifolia, by Dr. Milde ; Embryogeny of Orchis, Gesneria, and other Phane- rogamia; Meteorological Observations and Table 237 — 240 NUMBER LVIII. XXI. Observations on the Nidification of Gasterosteus aculeatus and Gasterosteiis spinacMa. By Albany Hancock, Esq 241 XXII. A Catalogue of British Spiders, including remarks on their Structure, Functions, (Economy, and Systematic Arrangement. By John Blackwall, F.L.S 248 XXIII. On some undescribed Animals of the British RissocB. By William Clark, Esq 254 XXIV. On keeping Marine Animals and Plants alive in unchanged Sea-Water. By P. H. Gosse, A.L.S 263 XXV. Notes on the Genus Cyclostoma ; and Characters of some new species from India, Borneo, and Natal. By W. H. Benson, Esq. 268 XXVI. Observations on the Natural History of the Water- Snail and Fish kept in a confined and limited portion of Water. By Robert Warington, Esq 2/3 XXVII. Description of a new species of Wart Pig from the Cama- roons. Bv J. E. Gray, Ph.D., F.R.S., V.P.Z.S 280 f VI CONTENTS. Page XXVIII. Description of Sauresia, a new genus of Sc'mcidce from St. Domingo. By J. E. Gray, Ph.D., F.R.S., V.P.Z.S 281 XXIX. Some Account of a Dredging Expedition on the coast of the Isle of Man during the months of May, June, July and August 1852. By T. C. Eyton, Esq., F.L.S., F.Z.S 282 Proceedings of the Linnaean Society ; Zoological Society 285 — 309 On a Parasite which is developed under exceptional circumstances on the surface of certain ahmentary substances and causes them to appear covered with blood, by M. Montague ; Irish Mollusca, by W. W. Walpole ; Directions for Making and Preserving Micro- scopical Preparations, by M. Harting ; Arenaria serpyllifolia, by Samuel Octavus Gray ; Note of the Observation of Cilia in Grantia, by William Murray Dobie, M.D. ; Experimental Re- searches upon the Process of Fecundation in Mosses, by M. H. Phihbert; Meteorological Observations and Table 309—320 NUMBER LIX. XXX. On a new Genus of the Family of Volvocinece. By Dr. Fer- dinand CoHN of Breslau. (With a Plate.) 321 XXXI. Notice of an Australian Diplommatina ; and Characters of new East Indian HelicidxB from Darjiling and Sincapore. By W. H. Benson, Esq 348 XXXII. On the Priority of the Term Polyzoa for the Ascidian Polypes. By George Busk, F.R.S. &c 352 XXXIII. Note on a new species of Clionites. By N. T. Wethe- RELL, Esq., F.G.S., M.R.C.S. &c. (With a Plate.) 354 XXXIV. Description of a species of Belemnite, with Observations on Aptychus. By J. Morris, F.G.S. (With a Plate.) 355 XXXV. On some Crustacea dredged by Mr. Barlee in the Shet- lands. By C. Spence Bate, Esq. (With a Plate.) 356 XXXVI. On a new Arrangement of British Rissoce. By H, and A. Adams '. 358 XXXVII. Description of a new Heraipterous Insect forming the type of a new genus. By W. S. Dallas, Esq., F.L.S. &c. (With a Plate.) 359 New Books : — The Natural History of Animals, by Thomas Rymer Jones, F.R.S. — Parks and Pleasure- Grounds, or Practical Notes on Country Residences, Villas, Public Parks and Gardens, by CONTENTS. Vll Page Charles H. J. Smith.— Revue et Magasin de Zoologie, par M. F. E. Guerin-Meneville 362—366 Proceedings of the Zoological Society 366 The Natural-Histoiy Collections at the British Museum ; On the Ni- dification of the Stickleback, by Albany Hancock ; Fossil Pachy- dermata in Canada, by Thomas Cottle ; Remarks on the Mode of Vegetation of European and North American Trees transported to Madeira, by Prof. Oswald Heer ; Colymbus septentrionalis, by Matthew Moggridge ; On the Structure of the Stem of Victoria Regia, by Arthur Henfrey, F.R.S., F.L.S. &c. ; Meteorological Observations and Table 1 392 — 400 NUMBER LX. XXXVIII. On a new Genus of the Family of Volvocinea. By Dr. Ferdinand Cohn of Breslau. (With a Plate.) 401 XXXIX. On the Tongues of MoUusca. By J. E. Gray, Ph.D., F.R.S., V.P.Z.S. &c 411 XL. Description of Carterodon sulcidens, Lund. By John Rein- HARDT. Translated from the Danish by Dr. Wallich, F.R.S., Vice- Pres. L.S 417 XLI. Contributions to British Palaeontology : — On some new Bra- c^ioj906fa from the Carboniferous Limestone. By Frederick M'Coy, Professor of Mineralogy and Geology in Queen's College, Belfast ... 421 XLII. On a species of Strombus in the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow. By Thomas Gray, Esq., Glasgow 429 XLIII. Experiments on the Transformation of the Cystoid Worms into Tfenias. By C. T. Von Siebold 431 XLIV. Some Account of a Dredging Expedition oflF the coast of the Isle of Man during the months of May, June, July and August 1852. By T. C. Eyton, Esq., F.L.S., F.Z.S 434 XLV. Ynrther ^ote on Atelides centrolineatus. By W. S. Dallas, F.L.S 436 XLVI. Descriptions of several new Genera of Reptiles, principally from the Collection of H.M.S. Herald. By J. E. Gray, Esq., Ph.D., F.R.S., V.P.Z.S. &c 437 New Books : — Revue et Magasin de Zoologie, par M. F. E. Guerin- Meneville 440 Proceedings of the Zoological Society; Royal Society; Linnaean Society 444—463 1 Vlll CONTENTS. Page On a Venomous Fly of Southern Africa, by MM.W.OswellandAmaud ; Experimental Researches upon the Temperature of Reptiles, and on the modifications which it undergoes under various circum- stances, by M. Aug. Dumeril ; Late appearance of the Swallow, by G. Bryant; Meteorological Observations and Table ... 463 — 466 Index 467 PLATES IN VOL. X. yj' y Nervous System of Ommastrephes todarus. III. Reproduction of the Campanulariad£e. — Structure of Doliolum. IV. Form and Structure of the Shell of Operculina Arabica. V. New species of Clionites. — New species of Belemnite. — Hippo- lyte Barleei. — Atelides centrolineatus. VI. Structure and Development of Stephanosphsera, a new genus of the Volvocinese. ERRATUM. Page 351, line 11 from top, /or 1844 read 1849. Uoync-och drl ' 1/ -^'VV J.'Bisi.re so A ^'Ul// ArLn..ScMaci. JVat.JlL^t. S.2.Yol.lO.M.I/. A.Sancock del. THE ANNALS AND MAGAZINE OF iNATURAL HISTORY, [SECOND SERIES.] •' per litora spargite museum, Naiades, et circiim vitreos considite fontes : Pollice virgineo teneros hic carpite flores : Floribus et pictum, divae, replete canistrum. At vos, o Nymphae Craterides, ite sub undas ; Ite, recurvato variata corallia trunco Vellite muscosis e rupibus, et mihi conchas Ferte, Deae pelagi, et pingui conchylia succo." N.Parthenii Giannettasii Eel. 1. No. 55. JULY 1852. I. — On the Nervous System 0/ Ommastreplies todarus. By Albany Hancock. [With two Plates.] 1 HE Cephalopods are undoubtedly the most highly organized of all the Mollusca ; their external organs, however, are of so abnormal a character, that any attempt to trace their homologies in the lower groups of that subkingdom would at first sight ap- pear almost hopeless. Notwithstanding, numerous efforts have been made with that view by able naturalists ; but apparently without much success, for our knowledge on this subject still remains in a most unsatisfactory state. For the purpose of elucidating this difficult problem, I have recently dissected with much care the nervous system of Omma- strephes todarus — the Loligo sagittata of English authors, and now propose to give a detailed description of it, refraining at present from any attempt to arrive at just conclusions respecting the nature and signification of the organs of these active and voracious animals*. * Before making this attempt, it seems desirable to make a close exami- nation of the anatomy of the neighbouring genera. Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. x. 1 2 Mr. A. Hancock on the Nervous System On laying open the ventral region of the head of Ommastrephes todarus, the suboesophageal ganglions were soon ascertained to hold their normal position. In this Cephalopod, however^ they are divided into three masses, one being placed a little in advance of the other two ; but all above the alimentary tube. The an- terior (PL I. figs. 1, 2, 3 «) is a depressed, irregularly circular mass, giving off from the anterior border, on each side of the median line, five large nerves (o, 6) to the arms, and from the posterior margin on each side two small ones (/, t)y which were lost in the muscular mass in front of the eyes. A commissure (c) running backwards connects this with the second or median mass, and is a very thick cord composed of numerous stout fila- ments, most of which pass over the ventral surface of the anterior ganglion, and becoming united to the brachial nerves accompany them into the arms. Thus each arm receives a nerve from the median as well as from the anterior masses. A central filament was lost in the substance of the anterior mass. As soon as the brachial nerves enter the root of the arms they swell out a little, each forming an indistinct oval ganglion (fig. 2, 3p,p); these ganglions are united with each other by nervous cords, and thus a complete chain of nerves and gan- glions encircles the oral channel. The brachial nerves (o', o') are continued on from the ganglions to the extremity of the arms within a central channel, giving off filaments on either side, several of which pass through the substance of the organ and go to the skin. The surface being thus copiously supplied with nerves is probably highly sensitive. Filaments are given off from the ganglionic chain at the base of the arms ; these fila- ments pass inwards and enter the muscular bands that tie the oral lamina to the arms. This lamina arises from the wall of the oral channel, and advancing embraces the fleshy fringe which immediately surrounds the beaks ; it is then turned back upon itself, and forms a broadish scalloped membrane having points or rays which are rather thick and fleshy. These rays corre- spond to the muscular ties ; and on the nervous filaments from the ganglionic chain entering the bases of the rays, they become united to elliptical ganglions {q, q), from which the nerves {q', §') much enlarged are continued to the extreme points of the rays. These ganglions and nerves distribute numerous filaments which ramify over the oral membrane ; the branches are most plentiful towards the points of the rays. This membrane, which corre- sponds very well with the external and internal labial processes in Nautilus, is probably an organ of taste, the sense being more particularly located in the points or rays ; it is moreover supplied with numerous large oval follicles, mostly associated in pairs, and having one of their extremities opening by several pores on the , of Ommastrephes todarus. 3 surface ; these are probably for the purpose of secreting sahva or mucus. The median mass (PL I. figs. 1, 2, 3 Z») is somewhat depressed, long, narrow, and divided by a median depression in the longi- tudinal direction. At the upper surface two large nerves {i) are given off to the funnel ; the«c nerves spread out in the substance of that organ in a radiating manner. Immediately behind the origin of the funnel nerves the auditory nerves [j) come off; each of these is short and passes at once to the auditory sac, which is protected within a cavity in the cartilaginous cranium. The sac completely fills the cavity, and has the inner surface studded with a few tubercles apparently of soft pulpy matter. The minute calcareous otolithe (PI. II. fig. 4), which also ad- heres to the inner surface of the sac, is depressed, rounded, and enlarged at one end, and produced into a slightly curved point at the other. The median mass gives off from the anterior margin the great commissure (c) that connects it to the an- terior mass, and is united above to a broad nervous collar which closely embraces the oesophagus. On the opposite side of the collar, above the alimentary tube, are developed the optic gan- glions (PI. I. fig. 3 /, & PI. II. figs. 1, 2, 3 i) j they are fused into one, rounded and prominent behind, and produced into an obtuse point before ; a slight depression sufiiciently indicates its bilateral formation. Each half gives off from its outer margin a large, broad, depressed nerve (PL I. figs. 2, 3 A;, & PL II. figs. I, 2, 3^), which, as it approaches the posterior wall of the eye, is sur- rounded by a thick fold (PL II. figs. 1, 2 li) of ganglionic matter; this fold, as well as the nerve, is striated ; the former breaks up into numerous filaments (PL II. fig. 3 ti, w), which, spreading over the back of the eye-ball, supply the retina. The optic gan- ghons are also directly connected with the median nervous mass, as can be seen by laying open the oesophageal collar, and removing the membrane or sheath. Thus we find that the anterior and median are in connexion with all the organs of the senses that have yet been clearly determined in these animals, and the curious mode in which they give off the brachial nerves would seem to prove that they form but one centre. If this be doubted, how- ever, it is only necessary to refer to other species to show that such is really the case. In Cuvier's memoir on the Cephalopods it is stated, and the parts are figured, that the nerves of the arms, funnel, and audi- tory organs are all supplied by a single pair of large ganglions, which by commissures are brought into connexion with the optic centres, evidently much in the same manner as in Ommastrephes. And Professor Owen has shown that in the Pearly Nautilus the arms or tentacles, and funnel, derive their nerves from a single 1* 4 Mr. A. Hancock on the Nei-vous System pair of large ganglions, the anterior suboesophageal of that author; these ganglions are also in connexion with the optic centres, although they are stated to come off from the '^ commis- sure or brain ^^ : the auditory organs were not determined. It may therefore be concluded, that however divided in Ommastre- pheSj the anterior and median masses form essentially only one centre. The position of the optic ganglions is also peculiar. In the Gasteropods, when they exist, they are usually attached to the sides of the cerebroids towards their posterior margins, and give off their nerves upwards — the eyes being invariably placed on the dorsal aspect. In the naked Cephalopods they are also inclined towards the dorsal surface, and the ganglions are directly above the alimentary tube, and they as well as the eyes are enormously developed; had these ganglions therefore retained their usual lateral position, the head must have been inconveniently en- larged. In Nautilus, however, the optic ganglions may be said to occupy their normal position, for they are placed at the sides of the " anterior suboesophageal ganglions," and are apparently connected with them as well as with the dorsal commissure or brain. What are here denominated optic ganglions have been called by some writers rudimentary optic lobes, by others the rudiment of a brain. It is pretty evident, however, that they are homologous with the optic ganglions of the Gasteropods, in which the nervous element of the visual organ is divided into three parts as in the Cephalopods. Thus, in Doris for instance, there is first a minute ganglion, generally closely attached to the ccrebroid ; this is succeeded by a nerve, which, on reaching the back of the eye, is in many Gasteropods, particularly in the Nu- cleobranchs, spread out as an accumulation of nervous matter, which, being the third portion, would appear to correspond to the enlargement of the nerve at the back part of the eye in the Cephalopods. The anterior suboesophageal mass of Ommastrephes gives off from its posterior margin above two nervous cords (PI. I. figs. 1, 3 m, & PI. II. fig. 2^), one on each side of the median line ; these passing upwards and forwards, one on each side of the oeso- phagus, go to be united to the posterior margin of a pair of rather small, depressed ganglions (PI. I. fig. \j, & PI. II. figs. 1, %d) adhering to the outer capsule of the buccal masSj forming the buccal retractors, to which these centres send all their nerves (PI. I. fig. Ij9, & PI. II. fig. 2 e, e), which are numerous, and passing forward spread out in a radiating manner. These gan- glions are fused into a transversely elongated mass comprising two lateral lobes, and are interconnected with another pair of similar ganglions (PI. I. fig. I A:, & PI. II. fig. I e) lying on the of Ommastrephes todarus. 5 buccal mass immediately below the origin of the oesophagus ; the cords (PI. I. fig. 1 /) which unite them pass therefore down- wards inclosing that tube, and are joined to the external margins of both pairs. The under pair of buccal ganglions give to the buccal organ four pairs of nerves ; the pair (r) next the median line go to the tongue and the fleshy laminaj on each side of it, which laminse being in connexion with the salivary glands and themselves glandular, must be looked upon, if not entirely, at least to some extent, as auxiliary to them ; the next pair [q] go to the muscles of the under jaw and anterior part of the buccal organ ; the outer or external pair ( lower ditto ; I, commissure uniting the two pairs of buccal ganglions ; m, commissure uniting upper buccal ganglions to anterior suboesophageal mass ; n, com- missure between the same buccal ganglions and optic ganglions ; 0, o, brachial nerves ; jo, nerves to muscles of outer buccal capsule ; q, q', nerves to muscles of buccal mass and jaws ; r, lingual nerves ; s, oesophageal nerves or par vagum ; t, t, two pairs of small nerves lost in muscles in front of the eyes ; u, u', u", nerves to the mantle and its muscles ; v, v, two pairs of nei-ves to skin of head above and behind ; w,w', nerves applied to the anterior aorta ; x, x, great posterior sleeve nerves ; x', x\ nerves to fin -, y, y, sleeve nerves ; z, visceral nerves. Fig. 2. Enlarged view of anterior and median suboesophageal, visceral, and branchial ganglions : — «, anterior mass ; b, median ditto ; c, under commissure of same ; d, d, upper ditto ; e, visceral gan- glion ; /,/, branchial ditto ; h, h, commissure uniting branchial and stellate ganglions ; i, nerves supplying funnel ; j, auditory nerves ; k, k, optic ditto ; o, o, o', o', brachial ditto ; p,p, ganglionic swellings of same; q', q', nerves to oral lamina, exhibiting gan- glionic swellings q, q ; t, t, two pairs of nerves to muscles in front of eyes ; u, u, nerves to mantle ; z, ditto visceral. Fig. 3. Side view of anterior and median suboesophageal, optic, branchial and visceral ganglions : — a, anterior mass ; b, median ditto ; c, un- der commissure of same ; d, upper ditto ; e, visceral ganglion ; /, branchial ditto ; g, g, oesophagus ; h, h, commissures uniting stellate and branchial ganglions ; i, nerves to the funnel ; j, audi- tory nerves ; k, optic ditto ; Z, optic ganglions ; m, commissure between upper buccal ganglions and anterior suboesophageal; n, ditto uniting optic and upper buccal ganglions ; o, o, o', o', brachial nerves ; p, p, ganglionic swellings of same ; v, two pairs of small nerves to skin of head above and behind. Plate IL FHg. 1. View of splanchnic nervous system seen from above : — a, anterior suboesophageal mass ; b, under commissure uniting same to me- dian suboesophageal ; c, c, upper commissure of same ; d, upper buccal ganglions ; e, under ditto ; /, commissure uniting the two c\4i Dr. Mantell on the Structure of the Belemnite. b9f0-j. pairs of buccal ganglions; g, ditto uniting upper buccal ganglions to anterior subcesophageal -, h, ditto uniting upper buccal ganglions U» to optic ditto ; i, optic ganglions J J, optic nerves ; A:, enlargement of 9111 JJi same at back of eye ; I, small round ganglion attached to optic nerve ; Oflt 8 A rriy two pairs of nerves from same ; n, visceral ganglion ; o, branchial taoi ditto ; p,p, cords or commissures from same to stellate ganglions ; ,. visceral nerves ; q', q', nerves to the mantle ; r, pair of visceral nerves applied to intestine, and tube of ink-bag ; s, small ganglion at origin of this pair of nerves ; t, another pair of visceral nerves ^ J ^''■■^ supplying the anterior vena cava ; u, ganglion on the wall of vena Off J io B~ cava; v, v, branchial nerves, each exhibiting a ganglionic swell- -loM to iiig^'j 'iv, w, genital nerves; x, nerve supplying systemic and c jL } j branchial hearts and posterior aorta; y, cord or commissure uni- , ^, ting gastric ganglion to that on vena cava ; z, gastric ganglion ; 3UJ III V ^^ nerve to spiral stomach ; B, B, B, nerves to gizzard ; C, C, ditto to pancreatic organ; D, ditto to pylorus; E, ditto to cardia; F, F, oesophageal nerves or par vagum. Fig, 2. Under view of anterior subcesophageal and optic ganglions : — a, an- y ^'^ terior mass; b, under commissure connecting same to median; gaamiOO ^^ ^^ upper ditto ; d, upper buccal ganglions ; e, e, nerves supply- onw ^3t i ing the outer buccal capsule ; /, commissure between same and <_nofjid!d lower buccal ganghons ; g, commissure from upper buccal gan- ndi moi S^^^^* ^ anterior subcesophageal mass; h, ditto from optic to .,r. . , upper buccal ganglions; i, optic ganglions; j,j, optic nerves; f I, I, small round ganglions on same ; m, m, brachial nerves ; n, two Dfts o tr> pairs of nerves to muscles in front of eyes. {ji%§&oUpper view of optic ganglions : — i, optic ganglions ; j, j, optic -dahfirfO nerves ; h, k, enlargement of same at back of eye ; I, small round ganglions on optic nerves ; m, m, nerves from same to skin of head above and behind ; n, n, filaments from optic nerve ap- Vns Xfio plied to back of eye ; o, eye. Fig. 4. Otolithe from auditory sac. II. — A few Notes on the Structure of the Belemnite. By Gideon ..^.Algernon Mantell, Esq., LL.D., F.R.S., President of the ^,^,^West London Medical Society, &c. ijj To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History, '/ - i;'r^^*Dr. Mantell, who has adopted Mr. Channing Pearce's generic name of Belemnoteuthis for some of these fossils (Belemnites), seems to be disposed to detract from the merit of their anatomical restora- tion, for which the Royal Society awarded the Royal Medal to Pro- fessor Owen in 1848, affirming that the true characters of the animal of the Belemnite have yet to be discovered. But he forgets that a change of name does not change the essence of a thing, and that the essential character of a Belemnite is the phragmocone." — From the Article entitled "Progress of Comparative Anatomy," Quarterly Review, March 1852, p. 383. Gentlemen, The personal imputation, the mystification of the point at issue, and the misstatement respecting the late Mr. Channing Pearce, Dr. Mantell on the Structure of the Belemnite. 15 in the above extract from the extraordinary article misnamed " The Progress of Comparative Anatomy," would not have pro- voked one line from my pen, but for the assertion that " the essential character of a Belemnite is the phragmocone." As the advancement of our knowledge of the organization of the extinct forms of Cephalopods would be seriously impeded were a state- ment so erroneous, and emanating from such high authority, to remain uncontradicted, I beg the favour of being permitted to lay before your readers a concise illustration of such parts of the structure of those two distinct types of the highest order of Mol- lusca — the Belemnite and Belemnoteuthis — which were blended together to form the supposed animal of the Belemnite in the memoir above referred to. The accompanying sketches represent certain fossils from the Oxford clay of Wiltshire, in which the distinctive characters of the two genera are clearly exemplified : the original specimens were examined by many of the eminent foreign naturalists who were attracted to London last summer by the Great Exhibition, and not one of those competent observers dissented from the opinions expressed in my communications on this subject to the Royal Society, and published in the ' Philos. Trans.^ for 1848 and 1850; my statement being merely confirmatory of the original views enunciated by Messrs. Pearce, Cunnington, Charles- worth, &c. I am most anxious, as I have ever been, to abstain from any comments that may lead to controversy, and I therefore restrict myself to a simple description of the specimens, of which figs. 1 and 3 are representations on a reduced scale : the originals in my possession may be seen by any naturalist interested in the inquiry : those in the British Museum are now admirably ar- ranged by the able curator Mr. Woodward*. It is however necessary to state most emphatically, that the essential character of a Belemnite consists, not, as the reviewer affirms, in the pos- session of a " phragmocone " or conical chambered siphunculated shell, which is common to numerous genera of Cephalopods, but of an osselet of a peculiar form and structure which invested the phragmocone, and extended distally beyond the chambered shell in a solid rostrum or guard. It is this mineralized rostrum which was called Belemnite, thunderbolt, or dart-stone, by the ^rly naturalists. ' ^* See my * Hand-book to the Gallery of Organic Remains in the Bri- tish Museum.' The characters of the fossil Cephalopods are succinctly and clearly pointed out in Mr. Woodward's excellent * Manual of the Mol- lusca.' 16 Dr. Mantell on the Structure of the Belemnite. The Belemnite. — In the specimen represented (fig. 1), and in the diagram fig. 2, all the known parts of the structure of the Belemnite are displayed : but slight traces of any portion of the organization of the ori- ginal are preserved, except the sepio- staire, which comprises an external homy capsule, a calcareous osselet of a fibrous structure, and an internal chambered conical shell, termed the phragmocone. 1 . The Phragmocone (fig. 1 b, fig. 2^) occupies the centre of the Belem- nite : this is an inversely conical- chambered shell, composed of a series of shallow concave cells of a nacreous substance, traversed by a siphunculus or tube (fig. 2 c), which is situated on the ventral region of the cone. The phragmocone terminates distally in an elongated apex, and enlarges towards its basilar part, and two elongated flat processes extend from the dorsal mar- gin of the peristome or upper margin, as shown in figs. 1 & 2 «, « : this struc- ture was first detected in a specimen discovered by my son near Trowbridge. The shape of the phragmocone, as it appears when exposed by the re- moval of the part next to be described, is seen in fig. 2 d : the transverse lines indicate the septa of the cells or cham- bers ; the siphunculus which traverses them is shown at c. Belemnites Puzosianus {\ natural size, linear). a, a, the two basilar processes of the phragmocone ; b, the phragmocone, much fractured and collapsed ; c, the rostrum or guard of the osselet, containing within the upper part the distal portion of the phragmocone, as seen in fig. 2. - 2. The Osselet (fig. 1 c, fig. 2h, i). — This body is in the form of a very elongated inverted cone, and surrounds the phragmo- cone throughout its entire length, as shown in section in fig. 2 : the basilar or upper part is extremely thin, and blends with the outer integument or capsule (fig. 2 b,b) : it rapidly increases in thickness as it descends, and closely invests the phragmocone, the delicate elongated apex of which is completely protected by it (fig. 2fjff) : beneath this point it becomes solid, and in most Dr. Mantcll on the Structure of the Beleinnite. 17 species is prolonged into a cylindrical rostrum or beak, which terminates in a conical apex. Yis. 2. Diagram of the known parts of the structure of Belem- nites Puzosianus. a, a, the dorsal basilar processes of the phragmocone. b, b, upward extension of the attenuated osselet. c, siphunculus. d, phragmocone : the transverse lines indicate the septa. e, the capsule or outer investment of the guard. /, the distal part of the phragmocone. ff, the alveolus or cavity in the guard. h, vertical section of the guard. i, the solid part of the rostrum. k, a sulcus or groove on the ventral aspect of the guard. I, shows the continuation of the capsule, in section, continued from e. m, diverging i)arallel striae observable between the dor- sal processes of the ])hragmocone. M, transverse section of half the diameter of the ros- trum, to show its radiated structure. As the solid part of the osselet is generally separated from the upper portion a short space above the apex of the phragmocone, in consequence of the thinness of its walls, the Belemnite is commonly found with a conical cavity in the upper part : this hollow was termed the alveolus, and the solid part the rostrum or guard ; and until shown by the specimen figured in my first memoir on the Belemnites, no one suspected that the osselet was continued upwards, and formed a thin envelope around the basilar termination of the phragmocone*. The osselet of the Belemnite, as is well known, has a radiated structure : it is formed of thin concentric laminae of very minute prismatic trihedral fibres, which are arranged at right angles to the planes of the successive layers : — see the sections, both longi- tudinal and transverse, in fig. 2. The solid part, or rostrum, is * The depression obsei-vable in the specimen fig. 1, midway between the letters b and c, indicates the fracture of the walls of the osselet, and the point where the Beleinnite is usually separated from the other parts. It was by removing large blocks of clay, with the imbedded Belemnites undisturbed, that the instructive examples here figured were obtained. Ann. ^ Maff, N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. x. 2 18 Dr. Mantell on the Structure of the Belemnite. 'ig. very thick and heavy, and invariably mineralized by calc spar : the original structure was probably light and calcareous, like that of the osselet of the Sepia, 3. The Capsule^ or sheath; a thin horny or testaceous case which invested the osselet, and constituted the external envelope of the receptacle ; it is seen partially covering the osselet at c, fig. 1, and in section at e, /, fig. 2. This structure was for the first time demonstrated in my memoir, 'Phil. Trans/ 1848. With the exception of obscure indications of a carbonaceous fibrous structure between the dorsal processes, the above descrip- tion comprehends all the facts re- Yig:. 3. lating to the organization of the Belemnite with which we are at present acquainted : no soft parts, no traces of arms or tentacles, no vestiges- of the eyes or man- dibles, have been discovered. The Belemnoteuthis. — From the extraordinarily perfect state in which some examples of the Be- lemnoteuthis are met with, a brief description will suffice. Fig. 3 (from a drawing with which Mr. Woodward of the British Museum has favoured me) exemplifies the essential parts of the structure of these Cephalopods. The body is of an elongated form, with a pair of lateral fins, two large sessile eyes, eight uncinated arms, and a pair of armed tentacles ; each arm was furnished with from twenty to forty pairs of hooks, placed alter- nately (fig. 4, 4). Like the Sepia it had a pigmental sac or ink-bag, which is generally filled with the inspissated secretion. The inferior part of the body is of a conical form, and contains a brown horny osselet, with a siphunculated phrag- mocone, which terminates in a rostrum of a fibrous structure (fig. 4, 5). The osselet of the a, the uncinated arms and tentacles ; b, remains of the head and eyes ; c, the mantle, with indications of fins ; d, the pigmental sac or ink-bag ; e, the osselet : the transverse lines indicate the septa of the phragmo- cone, which is covered by a horny sheath or capsule ; /, the solid termi- nal apex of the osselet. Belemnoteuthis antiquus (4 natural size, linear). Mr. C. C. Babington on a new species 0/ Eleocharis. 19 Belemnoteuthis appears to have been calcareous, like that of the Sepia. In all essential points of stmcture the Belemnoteuthis is Fig. 4. 1, 3. Detached hooks {natural size). 2. Three hooks with attached horny rings : from a specimen in the possession of Mr. Cunuington. 4. Part of one of the arms, showing four hooked spines. 5. Transverse section of the distal part of the osselet of Belemnoteuthis ^ exposing the apex of the cham- bered shell in the centre, sur- rounded by the radiated osselet, a : {magnified four diameters). Horny rings and hooks of Belemnoteuthis antiquus. related to the Calamaries, but the lateral position of the fins, the presence of a chambered shell or phragmocone, and the peculiar character of the tentacles, establish it as a peculiar type. The distinction between the Belemnites and Belemnoteuthis is too ob- vious to demand further notice ; no one, I presume, will again mistake an osselet of the latter for the phragmocone of the former detached from the alveolus of its guard : and I w^ould fain hope that this attempt to elucidate an important palajonto- logical question, will not again subject me to the imputation of unamiable motives. I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, your faithful servant, Chester Square, Pimlico, GiDEON ALGERNON Mantell. June 1852. III. — On a supposed new species 0/ Eleocharis. By Charles C. Babington, M.A., F.R.S. &c.* My attention has been recently directed by Mr. H. C. Watson to the British species of Eleocharis, and, having been led to con- cur with him in the idea that there is an undescribed plant be- longing to that genus which inhabits the western coast of Scot- land, I purpose pointing out in this paper the respects in which it differs from our known species included in the genus, and adding a few remarks upon them. In the autumn of the year 1844, 1 had the pleasure of accom- panying Professor Balfour of Edinburgh in a tour through the district of Cantyre in Argyleshire. At Tayanloan, on the western coast of that peninsula, he gathered two or three specimens of the plant upon which this paper is founded, but did not observe its difference from Scirpus pauciflorus, in company with which it * Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, June 10, 1852. 2* 20 Mr. C. C. Babington on a neio species o/Eleocharis. was growing, owing to the similarity of their outward appear- ance. Doubtless plenty of it might have been obtained if it had been looked for. To Mr. Watson we are indebted for the knowledge of this new species, as he received two small specimens from Dr. Balfour, and forwarded the fruit of one of them to me, with a request that I would endeavour to ascertain its identity with any known species. Through the liberality of Dr. Balfour I have had an opportunity of examining all the plants belonging to this group which are contained in his herbarium, but have only succeeded in finding one additional specimen of the Tayanloan plant ; for the permission to retain a portion of it I am much indebted to him. The similarity in outward appearance of the species included in the groups named Eleocharis and Bceothryon renders it neces- sary to pay close attention to the structure and form of their several parts : thus the form of the mouth of the sheaths which surround the base of the stem, the form of the nut, that of the base of the style and of the outer glume, and the length of the hypogynous bristles, have been carefully examined, and found to afford distinctive characters when the more conspicuous organs do not present any describable or constant differences. I propose the following as a provisional name and character for the plant, as I have totally failed in finding any described species to which it can be referred. The name is given in com- memoration of the gentleman to whose acuteness of observation we owe its discovery, and who deserves so well of botanists from his researches concerning the geographical distribution of plants. Eleocharis Watsoni ; spicis terminalibus solitariis oblongis, glumis acutis (?) infima obtusiuscula basin spicee circumcingente, stylo bifido, achenio utrinque convexo oblongo obtusissimo basi paululum atteuuato angulis rotundatis tenuissime punctato-striatOy basi styli persistente late depresso, setis hypogynis 4-6 achenio brevioribus, culmis basi vaginatis, vagina abrupte truncata. Radix ignota. Squamae radicales latse, obtusse, rubescentes. Cidmi 3-4 unciales, tenuissime striati, erecti, nudi, tenues, basi vagina viridi infeme rufescente superne fusco-marginata circumdati. Setse hypogynse breves, retrorsum hispidse, achenio dimidio breviores. ip,. Hab. in palustribus maritimis prope " Tayanloan " in com. " Argyle "j Scotise. .(. It might be allowable to stop here, but I think it desirable to add a few remarks concerning the differences between this and the allied plants. 1. The lowest glume is larger than the others, and surrounds the base of the spike in E. uniglumis, E. Watsoni and E. multi- caulis, but does not do so, and is not larger than the others in E. palustris. Mr. C. C. Babiiigton on a new species of Eleocharis, 21 2. The stigmas are two in all except E. multicaulis, which possesses three. They have not been seen in E. Watsoni, but the lenticular nut renders it nearly certain that they are two in number, • '\rtyyc^v 3. The nut is more or less compressed, but variable in shape, in all except E. multicaulis, in which it is acutely triangular and topshaped. In E. palustris it is roundish, with or without a slight narrowing or stalklike point at the base. In E. uniglumis it is pearshaped. In E. Watsoni it is oblong, but a little nar- rowed at the base. In all of them it is smooth, wdth the excep- tion of E. Watsonij where its surface is closely punctate-striate throughout. 4. The nut is shorter than the hypogynous bristles in E. pa- lustris and E. uniglumis ; equals them in E, multicaulis ; and ex- ceeds them in E. Watsoni, 5. The sheath surrounding the base of the stem is transversely truncate, but having a very obtuse point on one side in all except E. multicaulisj where the point is acute. It is thus seen that there are very considerable differences between the several plants under consideration, and it is with them alone that E. Watsoni is likely to be confounded, since its generic character separates it from the group Baothryon. The other European species of Eleocharis are E. ovata and E, atropur- purea, which form the genus Eleogenus of Esenbeck, where the glumes are all equally large and more densely imbricated than in the typical group of species ; and E. carniolica and E. ucicularis (to which our plant shows some resemblance in its short bristles), which constitute the genus Scirpidium of Esenbeck, where the bristles are deciduous, not persistent, as in E. Watsoni. The Scirpidia also are trigynous, and their nuts are obovate, much narrowed below and trigonous ; E, acicularis has a ribbed and transversely striated nut, and E. carniolica, which closely re- sembles it in appearance, has short subulate leaves terminating the sheaths. It does not seem desirable to extend this paper by discussing the distinctions between E. Watsoni and the North American species of Eleocharis ; let it suffice to state that every endeavour has been made to ascertain if our plant could be identified with any of them, but that none such has been found. It is earnestly hoped that Scottish botanists will not long allow this curious plant to continue in the dubious position of a species, founded upon so small a number of specimens as hardly to justify its separation from its allies ; indeed, could it with any probability have been considered as a state of any one of tbem^* this dissertation would not have been*written. 22 Mr. W. Clark on rare British Gasteropodous Mollusca. IV. — On some of the rarer British Gasteropodous Mollusca. By William Clark, Esq. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. Gentlemen, Exmouth, Devon, June 1852. I BEG tlie favour of you to record the discovery of some of the rarer British Gasteropodan Mollusca, which have hitherto either escaped the researches of naturalists, or been mentioned so im- perfectly as to afford little assistance to science. During the present May and June I have met with the animals of the Chem- nitzia fenestrata, Ch. scalaris, Ch. clathrata, Ch. acicula; and seen many specimens of the Ch. elegantissima and Ch. pusilla, men- tioned in the 8th vol. of the 'Annals,^ N. S. p. 112, which con- firm the distinctness of the two, agreeably to M. Philippi. I have likewise reviewed all the Chemnitzice of my two memoirs in the ' Annals,' N. S. vol. vi. p. 451, and vol. viii. p. 108, and ex- amined others of the animals of this genus, which with me in- cludes the OdostomicE and Eulimell(2 of authors, and I can confi- dently state that they do not offer the slightest generic variation ; indeed some of them scarcely present, from their similitude, suf- ficient specific characters. I cannot doubt but the genus Chemnitzia will ultimately com- prise these species and some of those of Aclis. I consider the Chemnitzian family one of the most interesting and classic of our indigena ; nature has stamped it with unmistakeable distinction. I think that a disseverance of its integrity by the distribution of any of its species in other genera, can only be looked on as a disruption of natural affinities. With regard to the Rissocs, I have examined the animal of R. proximo, which has long been a desideratum, to settle the doubts respecting it and Montagu's R. vitrea; and also the R. punctura and R. reticulata of that author : this last discovery solves another difficulty. The R. striata, R. semistriata, R. cos- tata and R. soluta have also been observed. On my return to Bath, I will arrange the minutes of all that are now men- tioned. As these animals have long been sought for, I regret that I cannot at once send the descriptive notes ; but I am so immersed in the examination and acquirement of these difficult minute objects, that I am obliged to solicit this postponement ; and I hope in the interim still further to diminish the number of our rarer desiderata. I am, Gentlemen, your most obedient servant, William Clark. P.S. I may mention that I have taken here a second example Dr. Kneeland on the Skeleton of the Great Chimpanzee. 23 of the Megathyris cistellula, and that Mr. Barlee has met with several. I have also dredged at the same haul^ in the laminarian zone, live Luciiia borealis and L. Jiexuosa, and examined both. June 22, 1852. I have just captured an example of the species known as the Lepton convcxumy which will solve the problem of its distinctness or otherwise from the Lepton nitidum, concerning the animal of which I have full notes. Whilst 1 write, I examine my prize, which is very vivacious, free from rusticity, and I feel confident will aiFord to science the information which has been so long a great desi- deratum. In the same glass I have a live example of the rare Chemnitzia obliqua or C. decorata^ 1 cannot yet say which (if they are distinct), for fear of disturbing the animal, which is a splendid, unrecorded creature, displaying specific characters of more than usual beauty and interest. I will prepare without delay an account of my captures. — W. C. V. — On the Skeleton of the Great Chimpanzee^ Troglodytes gorilla. By S. Kneeland, Jun., M.D., Boston, U.S.A. The Boston Society of Natural History has recently received a valuable addition to its cabinet in a nearly complete skeleton of the Troglodytes gorilla from Western tropical Africa. It consists of a fine skull, with lower jaw and teeth complete ; all the ver- tebrse except the atlas ; the pelvis complete ; both scapulse and clavicles ; the humerus, radius, and ulna of left side, the ulna of right side with humerus and radius broken ; the right femur, tibia and astragalus, the head and upper part of left femur ; all the ribs^ except two on the left side ; the upper part of the ster- num j and a few bones of the hand and foot. The skull is of great size and strength ; the internal capacity is only 27 cubic inches, 8 inches less than in another belonging to the Society. From the great development of the crests, and the massive character of all the bones, this is undoubtedly a male ; the jaws, the complete development and worn appearance of the teeth, indicate an adult, if not an old animal. The sutures are hardly discernible, as usual ; the superciliary ridges and crests are remarkably developed. The specific characters pointed out by Professor Agassiz, in the decreasing depth of the infra-orbitar canal from before backwards, and the projection outwardly of the inner wall of the orbit, are well seen ; there are two infra-orbitar foramina on each side. The nasal bones are united together, in the lower half presenting traces of a median suture, in the upper half a prominent ridge ; the portion of the bone between the inner 24 Dr. Kneeland on the Skeleton of the Great Chimpanzee. orbitar angles of the frontals seems to confirm Dr. Wyman's * opinion that it is an independent piece, having its own centre of ossification ; the foramen existing midway between the incisive foramen of each side and the edge of the alveolus, on the left ^ide is replaced by two as in the Chimpanzee. The zygomatic arches are exceedingly strong, enclosing temporal muscles of immense size. The other anatomical peculiarities of the cranium and face have been sufficiently detailed by Dr. Wyman {op. cit.). The following points are interesting : — the dental formula is the same as in Man ; the median upper incisors are twice the size of the lateral, the reverse of which is the case in the lower jaw ; they are also respectively longer, giving to the upper incisors a convex edge, and to the lower a concave one : in the upper jaw there is an interval of two or three lines between the incisors and canines, and no interval between the latter and the premolars, the reverse being the case in the lower jaw, in which, however, the interval is less : the upper canines extend from the alveolus 1^ inch, the part within the alveolus being at least 2 inches; they are an inch broad and | of an inch thick ; the upper canines are worn anteriorly by the lower, and posteriorly by the first lower premolar, giving to the tooth a triangular shape, with an anterior, a posterior, and an internal cutting edge ; the action of the lower premolar on the upper canine, and of the latter on the lower canine, produces a distinct talon, or heel, at the base of these teeth : the two grooves mentioned by Dr. Wyman as occurring on the inner face are not seen in these canines, probably from the extent of the worn surface ; there is the lower portion of a single groove, however, which is lost in the worn surface beyond : to produce these surfaces there must be some lateral motion of the jaw, which would hardly be expected from the great length of these teeth. The premolars and molars agree with Owen's description in the ' Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and Physiology ' (Art. Teeth) ; the first lower premolar is much larger than the second, the anterior cusp being so strongly developed, and the posterior so little, that the tooth resembles an enlarged human canine ; all the lower molars have three cusps on the outside and two on the inside. The lower jaw is of great strength, the ramus being at right angles with the body of the bone ; the condyle is If inch wide and § of an inch thick, projecting much internally : the coronoid process is higher than the condyle. The external face of the ramus is deeply concave for the masseter muscle, which is nearly 3 inches wide ; the ramus inclines very much outwardly at its lower portion, and is grooved internally for the internal pterygoid muscle : the body of the jaw is If inch high, * Boston Journal of Natural History, vol. v. p. 426. Dr. Knecland on the Skeleton of the Great Chimpanzee. 25 and nearly an inch thick ; the height and width at the symphysis is 2 inches, the thickness \^ inch ; the chin is convex and re- treating, its convexity measuring 3| inches. The skull measures from the posterior plane of the occiput to margin of incisors 13i inches ; the diameter of face across zygomata is 6| inches ; from the posterior plane of occiput to fronto- nasal suture 7^ inches ; from this suture to margin of incisors 6^ inches ; breadth of zygomatic fossa 2 inches ; length of bony })alate 3|^ inches ; inter-orbitar space 1^ inch ; lateral diameter of orbit If, vertical If inch. Trunk. — Of the vertebrae, only the atlas is wanting. The odontoid process of the axis, instead of being almost perpendi- cular, as in Man, inclines backwards at an angle of nearly 50° : the spinous process is an inch long, spreading out at its apex to nearly the same width, with an evident disposition to fork as in the human type ; it is also somewhat concave at the end of its under surface. The bodies of all the cervical vertebrse are higher, but narrower than in Man, and received deeply one in the other. The spinous processes are horizontal, long, and (excepting the third, which is sharp-pointed) are swelled or club-shaped at the end ; the fourth is the longest, the third the shortest ; their lengths are, from the posterior face of the spinal canal, as fol- lows : — the third, 2^ inches; the fourth, 3f inches ; the fifth, 3f inches ; the sixth, 3^ inches ; the seventh, 3 J inches : the use of these long processes is sufficiently obvious, being required for the ligamentum nuchse necessary for the support of the ill- balanced head. The transverse processes are very long, the pos- terior an inch in length ; the anterior or cervical ribs begin to be seen at the fourth, increasing to the sixth and seventh, which last are of equal size — there being, as a general rule, no cervical ribs to the seventh vertebra of the mammal neck. All are pierced for the vertebral artery on each side; the transverse processes are directed obliquely downwards. ' i' The dorsal vertebrse are fourteen in number, as in the Chim- panzee (according to Cuvier ; Vrolik gives this last only thirteen). They much resemble the human in shape and size ; the last two are rather larger, and more like human lumbar vertebrse ; the spinous and transverse processes are much more developed. The spinous process of the first is like the cervical, and 2 J inches long; the spinal canal is less in this and the remainder of the column ; the spinous processes of the second and third are com- pressed laterally at the end, and 2|^ inches long. At the fourth the spinous processes begin to descend, as in Man, to the ninth ; below this they resemble the lumbar spines, though pointing more downwards. The last dorsal has its rib on the right side firmly anchyloscd to the body. 26 Dr. Kneeland on the Skeleton of the Great Chimpanzee. The lumbar vertebrse are only three in number, — less than in any of the higher mammals ; but taking in the dorsals, there is in both the same number as in Man. The bodies are larger and thicker than in Man ; the vertical diameter is less anteriorly than posteriorly, making an anterior concavity, and showing that the erect position is as unnatural for this as for the other Quadru- mana. The sacrum, which has a slight lateral deviation to the left, consists of eight bones, firmly joined together, the intervertebral spaces being obliterated except between the first and second. The first bone resembles very much a lumbar vertebra, and on one side its transverse process, though bearing the upper portion of the articulating surface for the right ilium, is not connected with the lateral portion of the sacral wing below ; on the left side the bony union is complete, and the spinous process is conti- nuous without interruption or foramen with the median sacral crest ; this crest at its upper portion is 2 inches high, gradually decreasing, and lost entirely on the sixth bone, where also the sacral canal terminates. The sacrum is long and narrow, having a very decided concavity anteriorly. The articulating surface for the ilium is confined to the first three vertebrae. Whether any coccygeal vertebrae are anchylosed in the sacrum it is not easy to say; from the uncommonly large number of sacral vertebrae, viz. eight, it would seem probable that these also include the coccyx ; the terminal bone ends in a rounded projection, which has some- what the appearance of an articulating surface. In Dr. W. Lewises description of a Gibbon (Boston Journal, vol. i. p. 35) it is stated that the coccyx consisted of a single bone ; in our specimen this single rudimentary coccyx may have been attached to the sacral terminal surface. The bodies of the second and third cervical vertebrae incline backwards ; the direction becomes perpendicular in the fourth, and in the last three a little inclined forwards : at the upper dorsal region the spine is slightly convex, in the lower dorsals and lumbar concave; at the last lumbar and first sacral it is again convex, and in the lowest portion again concave. The whole number of vertebrae is 32, and possibly 33 ; the length of the cervical, dorsal and lumbar regions is 22 inches : from this it would appear that the spinal column is very nearly as long as the human, which it also comes nearer to in its curves than any of the Quadrumana. The pelvis departs widely from that of the Chimpanzee and Orang, and approaches that of Man in the greater spread of the ilium, its deep anterior concavity, and corresponding posterior convexity, on which a well-marked longitudinal ridge indicates the origin of the glutseus maximus ; and a fainter semicircular Dr. Kneeland on the Skeleton of the Great Chimpanzee. 27 line, extending from the sciatic notch to near the rudimentary anterior inferior spinous process, about 2| inches above the ace- tabulum, the probable origin of the gluta3us minimus ; the ante- rior superior spinous processes are fully 6 inches in advance of the plane of the sacrum. The sacrum extends only to the spine of the ischium, about 4 inches from the tuberosities of this bone, so that the pelvis has somewhat of the lengthened narrow form peculiar to the Quadrumana, though it projects far more from the line of the spine than in any other members of the group. The superior aperture has not the narrow elongated shape of the Orang's, the antero-posterior diameter being only half an inch greater than the transverse, these being respectively 6^ and 6 inches ; in the female, according to Dr. Wyman's measure- ments, the difference is 3 inches. The tuberosities of the ischia are very thick and broad, and the rami of the pubes very wide ; the whole lower portion indicates great strength and solidity. It is the portion of the pelvis between the acetabulum and the lower edge of the sacro-iliac articulation which is so much shorter than in the Chimpanzee, and which gives to the pelvis its more human aspect. The length of the sacrum is Q^ inches, the width 4j breadth of pelvis between spinous processes of ilia 16| inches; breadth of ilium 9; length of os innominatum 14|^ inches ; from outside of one tuber ischii to the other 7*15 inches. At first sight the scapula has much the appearance of the human, having very much its shape, but somewhat enlarged ; it more nearly resembles that of the Orang than that of the Chim- panzee, but is more like that of Man than either in its more equilateral form. The spine is nearly in the middle of the bone, making the supraspinous nearly equal to the infraspinous fossa ; after about one-third of its length it ceases to have the broad thick edge of the human spine, reaching nearly to the posterior border, but is continued by a sharp well-marked ridge quite to the edge, as in the Orang ; the spine is also more perpendicular to the plane of the dorsum than in Man, and its direction more that of the axis of the trunk. The acromial process is longer and less curved than in Man, and wants the strong angle on its posterior surface, a little in advance of the plane of the glenoid cavity ; its arch over this cavity belongs also to a much larger circle. The coracoid process has a greater inclination down- wards than in Man and the Chimpanzee ; this direction, in the Orang, Vrolik considers a sign of inferiority. The glenoid cavity is much the same as in Man, the upper half being less narrow in proportion. The subscapular fossa is very deep, and divided by prominent ridges into five or six smaller depressions. There is no deep suprascapular notch as in the human scapula ; but there is a decided concavity at the base of the coracoid pro- 28 Dr. Kneeland on the Skeleton of tJie Great Chimpanzee. cess, without the narrowness of a notch, contrasting strongly with the nearly straight line of the upper border of the bone in the Orang. Length of scapula along the base 10 inches ; broade^^, , part 7\ inches. ^^ The clavicles are shorter and stronger than in Man, and less curved ; the edges are more angular ; their length in a straight line is 6^ inches ; their circumference in the middle 2 inches, thence increasing to each end. The subclavian ridge is well marked. ,,tR The sternum, at its upper portion, is 4 inches wide, and about half an inch thick ; there is a decided semilunar notch, but less than in Man ; the lower portions are wanting. There is no sign of division into lateral halves in this upper portion, which is 3 1 inches long. The articular surface for the clavicles is less curved and more horizontal than in Man. The ribs are fourteen pairs ; of these two are wanting on the left side, at about the middle of the series. . They much resemble, those of Man, and form a very capacious thorax -, they are, how*^/ ever, longer and thicker, and the curves less complicated. Some of them bear marks of old injuries. The angles are very well marked ; the last rib is united both to the body and to the tran^rl J verse process of a single vertebra. V\ The humerm is 3 inches longer than that of Man, and 2 inches greater in circumference at the middle, the latter measurement being 5 inches ; the length is 16^ inches ; around the middle of the head, horizontally, 8^ inches j greatest width at lower extre- mity 4i\ inches. The bone is of very compact structure and very heavy. It resembles that of Man, but is less twisted on itself; the bicipital groove is deep and wide, having on its sides very large tuberosities for muscular insertions ; the ridges for the pec- toralis major and latissimus dorsi are well marked, as is also the insertion of the deltoid ; the anterior face is rather convex than concave, even more so than in Man. Both the condyles and the condyloid ridges are more developed than in Man ; the trochlear portion is less excavated, and the internal ridge less prominent ; there is a deep groove between the trochlea and the surface for the head of the radius, which is very slight in Man. The lower extremity is perforated on the right side, but not on the left ; the cavity for the olecranon is an inch in width and half an inch deep, while that for the coronoid process, on the anterior surface, is hardly sunk beneath the level of the bone : this difference is much less in Man. ...ii The ulna is more curved than the human, as is also the r sniJi Stemonurus. There can exist no doubt that the genus Stemonurus, proposed by Professor Blume in his ' Bijdragen ' in 1826, is the same as the Gomphandra of Dr. Wallich, although they have hitherto been considered as distinct ; but at the same time there is every reason to conclude, that both are again identical with the La- sianthera of Pal. de Beauvois, established as far antecedently as 1805, in his 'Flora Owariensis,' and placed by DeCandolle in his ' Prodromus ' (i. p. 636) as a doubtful genus of the Ampe- lid(E : in such case, the latter name, on account of its priority, ought to claim the preference. As however it is contrary to the rules of science to form a compound generic term from both Greek and Latin roots, the name would necessarily require to be modified into Lasiandra, one that has long been preoccupied. Besides this, we have to consider the confusion likely to arise from increasing a list of consimilar names, already too numerous, as Lasiandra, Lasianthcea, Lasiantha, Lasianthus, and Lasianthera, and also, that in reality the latter name is untenable, because of the incorrectness of its signification, for in the present case it will be seen, that it is not the anther, but the filament which is villous. For all these reasons, 1 strongly recommend the pre- ference to be given to Stemonurus^ the next in priority, as the most appropriate designation of this genus. Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese, 31 Its most marked peculiarity consists in the character of its stamens ; the filaments sometimes shorter, often longer than the petals, are generally very broad, extremely thick and fleshy, obtuse at their summit with a small apical point, to which the anthers are attached, and they have a somewhat prominent in- ternal keel down the middle : the margins of their broad summit and the upper part of the keel are fringed with long transparent white hairs, clavate at their extremity and bent, so as to form a crest over the anthers : from this character both the names of Beauvois and Blume originated. The flowers, sometimes herma- phrodite, are frequently polygamous in the same plant, that is to say, either the anthers are void of pollen, or the ovarium is deficient of any ovules, or both these imperfections occur at the same time : it does not appear to me that they are constantly unisexual, as generally stated. The analysis of the structure of this genus has been attended with much difficulty, because of the frequent abortion of some of its parts, especially the ovarium, which is often deficient of cells or ovules ; and even when the ovules exist, it is not easy to detect their presence, on account of their extreme minuteness, in an early stage of the flower. I was for a long while unable to solve the anomalies of its struc- ture, and almost gave up the matter in despair, but patient exa- mination at length overcame the difficulties : not one in twenty instances exhibits the smallest trace of an existing ovule, nothing but a fleshy mass appearing to constitute the ovarium, which is always comparatively small : indications of the existence of more cells than one are sometimes observable, but these are not large enough to be well defined ; and even in the case where a single distinct cell exists with two suspended ovules, these are so mi- nute that they might readily be overlooked. After the period of fecundation, however, the petals and stamens fall away, when the ovarium attains a rapid growth, and soon displays itself as an oblong cylindrical body of many times its former dimensions, seated on its small persistent calyx and crowned by a large pul- vinate disk : it now unmistakeably exhibits to the naked eye a single cell containing two large suspended ovules and conforming to all the usual characters of the order. With one exception I have never met with flowers in an intermediate stage, and it is not therefore surprising that Stemonurus and Gomphandra should have been so long considered as two distinct genera. The nature of the pulviniform gland that forms so prominent a feature on the summit of the ovarium, and which evidently suggested the name given by Dr. Wallich, is not altogether manifest. On making a longitudinal section of a pistillum in its early stage, when it consists of a very small, 4- or 5-lobed, short cylinder, it will be seen crowned by a fleshy glandular ring of the same 3?l Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinaceae. shape, but of a different colour from the lower and central por- tions, where the ovuligerous cell is seen, whenever discernible : this glandular appendage is sometimes in a small degree conical towards the centre, but more generally deeply umbilicate, and in the middle of this depression is seen a conspicuous prominence consisting of the real style and stigma : this is in the form of a very short hollow tube, crowned by four or five very minute teeth, corresponding in number to the lobes of the ovarium. On the growth of the pistil, in the manner before described, the gland just mentioned also expands, assuming the form of a large pulvinate disk, more or less lobed, which often exceeds in diameter, and therefore overhangs the summit of the ovarium, while the style and stigma become withered into a small central umbilicated depression. This early stage of the ovarium is tolerably well depicted in plate 953. fig. 5. of Dr. Wight^s 'Icones,' while its subsequent clavated appearance is shown in plate 954. fig. 6. of the same work. I have frequently quoted instances of the ex- istence of a similar epigynous gland upon the summit of an inferior ovarium, but I know of no instance in which it forms so prominent a mark as in this case. At one time [huj. op, ix. p. 224) it appeared to me desirable to unite the Phlebocalymna of Griffiths, as well as the Platea of Blume, with Stemonurtcs, which differ in no respect from the last-named genus, except in the absence of the villous fringe that forms such a remarkable crest overhanging the anthers : from Dr. Wight's ^ Icones ' I was at first led to believe that this was only a sexual dif- ference, but careful observation does not confirm this conclusion. I find it a constant character in particular species, and on this account it will probably be better to keep Stemonurus distinct ; but in this case Phlebocalymna and Platea will merge into another separate genus, the preference being given to the latter name on account of its priority : the differences which are observable between them will be discussed when we come to consider that genus. I propose to unite with them a species which I had placed in Stemonurus, under the name of >S^. laxijlorus (Cuming, no. 189, from the Philippine Islands), and also Dr. Wight's variety of S, polymorpha, figured in plate 953 of his ^ Icones.' The structure of the putamen bears much analogy to that of Pennantia : it is covered with a very small quantity of pulp, and is strongly ribbed by several longitudinal irregular lines : it is more coriaceous than osseous, and is of an oblong form, somewhat flatter upon the ventral face, on which side, a little below the summit, is seen a caruncular prominence, beneath which is a foramen communicating with the interior of the cell. On the same side near the base is another foramen ; this however does not penetrate into the cell, but it pierces the substance of the Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. 33 shell obliquely by a hole which comes out in the point of its at- tachment to the calyx. Between these foramina is a deep groove filled with a thick chord of fibres : this chord, issuing from the interior of the nut, out of the upper perforation, descends through the basal passage just described, and terminates in the torus of the persistent calyx. By making a careful incision through each side of the shell, the cell is seen filled with an oblong seed, which is suspended from a thick funicular support, continuous with the raphe on one hand and with the chord before mentioned on the other : in Pennantia these parts are attached to one another, but here the bundle of fibres is continuous with the raphe, as well as with the external chord, that terminates in the basal torus. The raphe does not descend along the centre of the dorsal face of the seed, as in Pennantia, but takes a somewhat lateral course towards nearly the bottom, when it makes a sudden turn, and curving in a hippocrepical form ascends the opposite side of the same face, terminating in a caruncular prominence upon the apex of the seed. The thin integumental covering apparently con- sists of two adherent membranes, in which the raphe is imbedded ; but there is no thickening of these membranes at the base, nor any appearance of a chalaza, unless the caruncular swelling at the apex can be so considered. The albumen is fleshy, and its embryo almost divides into two nearly equal portions, interposing a vacant space between them, and leaving on the edges only a very narrow solid rim of its albuminous substance to connect them ; the embryo entirely lines this space, and consists of two extremely thin, almost pellicular cotyledons, which are oblong, nearly the size of the albumen, cordate at the summit, with a short terete radicle in its sinus. I have had an opportunity of examining only a single seed, and I can affirm with confidence that its structure was that above described. A result so greatly at variance with other recorded observations will naturally create a suspicion that the seed so examined may have been a malfor- mation, but there appeared in this case no indication of any ab- normal deformity : how then can we account for the existence of an embryo so different in size and form from that figured by Dr. Wight ? Is it possible that this distinguished botanist, or more probably his draughtsman, can have mistaken the radicle for the entire embryo ? This will appear probable when we care- fully examine fig. 10 of his plate 954 above referred to, which gives a transverse section of the seed, where exactly the same lunated space is shown across the middle, which I found to exist, lined with the two thin membranes above described, and which I conceive can be nothing but cotyledons ; and again, if we com- pare this with fig. 1 1 of the same plate, which is a longitudinal section of the same, we perceive a line or long* space descending Ann. S,; Mag. N, Hist. Ser. 3. Vol.x. 3 34 Mr. J. Miers on some yenera of the Icacinacea;. from the supposed embryo at the summit to the base of the albumen, a fact which precisely accords with what 1 have de- scribed in the preceding analysis. Upon such grounds I am inchned to believe, that what I have detailed above is the real structure of the seed in Stemonurus. In anatropal suspended seeds with a superior radicle, it is usual to observe the raphe ter- minate at the opposite extremity to the point of suspension ; but in this case we find an exception to this general rule, which seems opposed to the established theory : here the direction of the raphe would seem to indicate a double retroversion of the ovule : so singular a fact may be of more frequent occurrence, but I confess that I have never met with, nor seen the record of, any such development. On the other hand, again, we have an ana- lysis given by Blume of the seed of Stemonurus secundiflorus in his ' Mus. Lugd. Bat.,' in which the embryo is small in the sum- mit of the albumen, as represented by Dr. Wight, the radicle being terete and the cotyledons exceedingly small, f- ,The flowers of Stemonurus are sometimes 4-, often 5-merous, but I am not aware whether this can be depended on as a good specific character ; all I can affirm is, that in those specimens I have seen, where 4-merous flowers prevail, I have occasionally met with some that are 5- or even 6-merous. Generally, the inflorescence is so short, as often to appear like a cluster of ax- illary fasciculated flowers; in other species it consists of long branching panicles, in which the flowers are sometimes secundly disposed. The flowers are always glabrous, and each articulated upon its separate pedicel, which is often pubescent. I have seen but few of the species on record, and those mostly imperfect spe- cimens. In the following enumeration the characters are therefore given as described by their several authors ; they require doubt- lessly a more careful revision, for as they generally resemble each other so much in the appearance of the leaves, the shape of which often varies in the same species, it is probable that better and more valid characters may be found in the inflorescence. The outline of generic features here ofi'ered is founded wholly on my own observation. Stemonurus, B1. Lasianthera, Pal. Beauv, Gomphandra, Wall. ' , , — Flores hermaphroditi vel abortu polygami. Calyx parvus, ■ brevissime cupularis, limbo fere integro, 4-5-denticulato, vel 4-5-fido, immutatus et persistens. Petala 4-5, hypogyna, ob- longa, carnosa, summo marginibus mucroneque apicali pro- pendenti inflexis, sestivatione valvata, libera, vel interdum mar- ginibus imo cohserentibus, simulque cum filamentis adhsesis *^;'in tubum cylindraceum sic leviter agglutinatis, e medio liberis et reflexis. Stamina 4^-5, cum petalis inserta, iisdem altema; Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. 35 filamenta ssepe aucta et demum exserta, crasso-camosa, lata, - * compressa, incuiTula, summo truncato ac breviter repente ^' acuto, carinaque interna mediana, pilis longis albidis apice clavatis munita j anther ce istis sequilatse^ ovatse, introrsse, plus minusve cordatae, 2-lobse, lobis singulatim 2-locellatis demnm septicidis et longitudinaliter evolutim dehiscentibus. Pollen acute 3-gonum. Ovarium globoso-conicumj 4-5 -sulcatum, disco parvo insitum, glandula crassa sub-annulari aut sub- lobata coronatum, ssepissime sterili_, quandoque fertili et tunc cito multoties elongatum et cylindricum^ l-loculare^ ovula 2 anatropa juxta apiceni loculi subcollateraliter superposita, podospermio crasso suspensa. Stylus brevissimus, conicus, 4-5-sulcatus_, summo cavus, dentibusque 4-5 erectis stigma- tosis terminatus, et simul cum glandula (in ovario fertili) in discum magnum pulvinatum sub-lobatum epigynum demum auctus. Drupa oblonga, parcissime carnosa, olivseformis, in- terdum elongata^ monopyrena, calyce persistente sufFulta, et r^'ipulvino coronata: putamen lignosum, ovato-oblongum, dorso i' convexius, uniloculare, monospermum^ ad faciem ventralem planiusculam infra apicem foramine parvo (loculo attingente) perforatum, hinc extus fere ad imum longitudinaliter profunde canaliculatum, illinc usque ad fundum introitu diagonali (loculo evitante) pertusum. Semen conforme, funiculo infra apicem ■loculi suspensum ; funiculus crassus, fibrosus, e rapheo dorsali / ortus, per foramen apicale loculi trajectus, tunc canalem i> ' externum pervadens, et introitum basalem penetrans, denique *i'^ in toro amissus ; testa submembranacea, cum integumento "anterno cobserens; raphe bippocrepicus in faciem dorsalem •' 'testae immersus, primum ex apice versus latus fere ad imum •'"decurrens, hinc repente deflexus, per latus adversum fere ad ^ '^apicem accurrens, et in carunculam apicalem desitus. Embryo inversus, rectus, cotyledonibus magnis, cordatis, textura tenuis- simis, latitudine curvatis, in medio albuminis camosi fere '^^^quanti immersis, radicula brevi, tereti, supera, 6-plo lon- ' ■ gioribus. [Ex iconibus et descriptionbus clar. Wight et Blume embryo in apicem albuminis immersus, brevis, radicula tereti, fiupera, cotyledonibus minutissimis, compressis.] — Arbores vel '^^frutices Indice Orient alis et Archipelagi Asiatici indigence : folia '^^^klterna, elliptica, vel lanceolata, co7iacea, glaberrima, petiolata ; I flores parvi, flavo-viriduli, odoratissimi, in racemos spicatos scepe '^"■i'lateralesj vel in cymas axillares rarius oppositifolias dispositi, ''^'%nterdum {prcesertim in ovuligeris) fasciculato-aggregati -, fructus ''^^']burpureus. J^^^^^^temonurus pauciflorus, Bl. Bijd. 648 ; — foliis oblongis, acumi- natis, basi acutis, glabris ; pedunculis brevibus apice 2-3-fidis, 2-3-flori8. — Java. 3* 36 Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. 2. Stemonurus secundiflorus, Bl. Bijd. 649 ; — arbor 10-pedalis ; foliis oblongis, acutis, basi angustatis,, coriaceis, glabris, aveniis, apice spicis 3-4-fidis, floribus secundis, filamentis carnosis, linearibus, petalis sequilongis_, pilis longissimis clavatis ciliatis ; drupa valde elongata, apice attenuata. — Java. 3. Stemonmms Javanicus, Bl. /. c. ; — foliis oblongis, utrinque acu- minatis^ coriaceis, glabris^ venosis ; cymis solitariis geminisve densifloris. — Insul. Nusa Kambanga. /S. foliis ovalibus, utrinque acuminatis^ submembranaceis, glabris, junioribus ad costam infra puberulis; cymis dicbotomis soli- tariis. 4. Stemonurus quadrifidus, Bl. Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. 249 ; — foliis e basi acutiusculis, oblongis v. oblongo-lanceolatis, obtuse acu- minatis_, membranaceis, cymis umbellato-4-fidis, multifloris. — Sumatra. — Folia 3| ad 6 poll, longa, 1-lf poll. lata. 5. Stemonurus prasinus, Bl. /. c. S. Javanicus, Krthls.-, — foliis e basi acutiuscula ellipticis, v. elliptico-oblongis, longiuscule acuminatis, membranaceis ; cymis 3-furcatis, multifloris. — Sumatra. — Folia 4^-6 poll, longa, lf-3 poll. lata. 6. Stemonurus macrocarpus, Bl. /. c. ; — foliis e basi acutiuscula ellipticis, v. elliptico-oblongis, obtuse acuminatis, subcoriaceis ; "^"^pedunculis solitariis paucifloris, fructibus elongato-ellipsoideis. ' — Ins. Borneo. — Folia 4^-6 poll, longa, 2|-3 poll, lata (evi- denter $). 7. Stemonurus macrophyllus, Bl. /. c. ; — foliis e basi acuta ellipticis, obtuse acuminatis, coriaceis; racemis geminis confertisve; fructibus cylindraceis. — In Archip. Indico. — Folia 51-9 poll. 4 longa, 2f-4J poll. lata. 8. Stemonurus parviflorus, Bl. /. c. ; — foliis e basi acuta vel obtusa oblongis vel elliptico-oblongis, acuminatis, membranaceis, cymis brevissimis densifloris, drupis cylindricis. — Sumatra. — - Folia 5-10 poll, longa, 2-4 poll. lata. 9. Stemonurus ? littoralis, Bl. /. c. ; — foliis e basi acutiuscula v. obtusa ellipticis, acuminatis, coriaceis. — Nova Guinea. — Folia 6-9 poll, longa, 31-4 poll. lata. 10. Stemonurust memhranaceus, Bl. I. c, — foliis e basi acuta elliptico-oblongis vel oblongo-lanceolatis, acuminatis, mem- branaceis. — Java. — Folia 6-10 poll, longa, 2^-3^^ poll. lata. 11. Stemonurus Africanvs. Lasianthera Africana, Pal. BeaWo, Fl. Owar. i. 85. tab. 51 ; D.C. Prodr. i. 636 ;— sufFrutex scaiii' Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. 37 dens, foliis lanceolate- vel ovato-oblongis, cuspidatis, imo ro- tmidatis, apice longe acuminatis vel cuspidatis, cyma oppo- sitifolia, apice unibellatim ramosa, ovarii stylo brevi, stig- mate obtuso. — Africa tropica; Chama, fl. St. Jago. — Folia 6 poll, longa, 2 poll, lata, petiolus 1-pollicaris : inflorescentia 2-pollicaris, ramis4-5-umbellatis, floribus apice agglomeratis. 12. Stemonw^s coriaceus. Gompbandra coriacea, Wightj III. Tnd. Bat. i. 103 ; — dioicus^ foliis coriaceis, ovalibus, utrinque attenuatis vel obovato-cuneatis, floribus 4-andris, cymis (^ axil- laribus, 4 floris ; ? floribus solitariis vel 2-3, racemosis, fruc- tibus oblongis, cylindraceis, — Ind. Oriental. 13. ^temonurns polymorphus. Gompbandra polymorpha, Wight, III. Ind. BoL i. 103; Icon. PI. tab. 953-954;— glaber, foliis oblongis vel obovato-lanceolatis, acuminatis, membranaceis, subtus glaucis, breviter petiolatis; cymis axillaribus solitariis vel geminis petiolum sequantibus, masculis plurifloris, foemineis 2-5 -floris,- calyce integro minute 4-5-dentatis, petalis 4-5, gla- bris, staminibus exsertis, cristato-pilosis, fructibus ovoideis. — India orientalis. Var. a. acuminata, jS. oblongifolia, 7. angustifolia, S. longifolia, €. ovalifolia. This species is described as being commonly difixised over the whole Peninsula of India, and subject to many varieties of form, but I suspect that if these were more carefully examined, several specific difierences would be found to exist among them. I have copied the character from Dr. Wighf s description, omitting how- ever three features, viz. "dioicus^^ — "petalis basi in corollam tubulosam coalitis '* — and " antheris minute cristato-pilosis." I find in all cases the petals are quite free, although strongly agglutinated by their edges, and that they do not open even at the summits until some time after impregnation, and then they gradually become separated at their edges to the base, after which, in time, they fall ofi^. There seems to have been a general conviction among botanists, that in Gomphandra the anthers are pilose ; this is so stated by Endlicher and Wight, but in every instance I have found the clavate hairs that form a hooded crest over the anthers all spring from the filaments. Dr. AVight, in his ' Icones,' represents the male plant in this species as having beardless stamens (see figs. 1 & 4. tab. 953), and it is worthy of note that the ovarium is here depicted as being ovuligerous (see fig. 6) : the female plant in plate 954 has bearded stamens with a fertile ovarium, the progress of the development of which, to the state of ripened fruit, is here shown : it has hence been inferred by that distinguished botanist, that the occurrence of bearded or beardless stamens constitutes a true sexual distinc- 3S Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. tion. My observation upon dried specimens leads me to an opposite conclusion, for I find in every instance I have examined, that the stamens are bearded even in the male flowers, that is to say, where the ovarium has been quite sterile : and even in what are called female flowers, that is, where the ovarium is ovuli- gerous, the stamens are equally barbed, w^hether the anthers be charged with pollen or filled only with a grumous mass. I am therefore led to the irresistible conclusion, that the plant figured by Dr. Wight as the male plant of Gomphandra polymorpha belongs to a distinct genus, being a species of Blume^s Plateay which will be hereafter described. As additional evidence in favour of this conclusion, I may mention the fact, that Dr. Wight describes the male plant in plate 953 as flowering in the months of March and April, and the female plant in plate 954 as having its fruit ripened in the same months : this would occur probably alone on the supposition that the fruit was the production of a previous yearns growth. Among the Ceylon collection of the late Mr. Gardner (no. 102) is a plant which I take to be the variety longifolius of this spe- cies : it is certainly difierent from the longifolius of Dr. Wallich^s collection, which will be presently described ; the leaves are here of a light pallid green ; two or three short dichotomous racemes grow out of each axil ; the calyx is entire, but the petals and sta- mens have all fallen away ; the ovarium is long and cylindrical, and is terminated by a flattened 5-lobed disk, which considerably exceeds in diameter that of the ovarium; it is 1 -celled, with two large ovules suspended from near the summit of the cavity : on account of the clavate form of the ovarium this afibrds a good illustration of Dr. Wallich's genus Gomphandra, and is well represented in Wight^s ' Icones,^ tab. 954. figs. 6 & 7. The remarks offered upon the development of the ovarium in 8. affinis will equally apply to the present instance*. 14. Stemonurus Gardneri, n. sp. ; — glaber, ramulis teretibus, subflexuosis ; foliis ellipticis, utrinque acutis, apice obtusius- culo breviter lineari-angustatis, glaberrimis, valde coriaceis, uti-inque eveniis, costa nervisque supra impresso-sulcatis, subtus prominentibus, inferne subferrugineis margine revo- luto, petiolo longiusculo, tereti, superne hand sulcato ; racemo oppositifolio, petiolo longiori, floribus masculis paniculatis 5-meris, staminibus in alabastro petalis brevioribus, pilis cla- vatis antheris brevioribus munitis; fructu oblongo, disco 10- lobo umbilicato coronato. — In Mont. Neilgherrensib. The plant here described was sent to me by the late Mr. Gard- ner as the Gomphandra polymorpha^ being collected by him as * The analysis of the structure of the flowers and of the seed of this species will be shown in plate 13 of the * Contributions to Botany,' &c. Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. 89 such, in company with Dr. Wight, in the Neilgherry Hills : it might therefore be considered as an authentic sample of this species. Its characters however will be seen to be quite at variance with those given by Dr. Wight of otter plants of this species_, collected by him in the same neighbourhood, where the leaves are said to be membranaceous and shortly petioled : here, on the contrary, they are extremely opaque and thickly coria- ceous : the inflorescence is not only there described, but figured as being axillary ; here, on the contrary, it is always opposite to the leaves. It is not easy to say whether this plant is referrible to any of the varieties mentioned by Dr. Wight, but from the differences here shown, it certainly claims the rank of a species distinct from his Gomphandra polymorpha. The leaves are 2|- 3^ inches long, I^-l^^ inch broad, on a petiole half an inch in length ; the male panicle is branching, nearly an inch in length, with flowers oval in bud, about 1| line long ; both the male and female inflorescence, as in the following species, spring from the side of the stem opposite to the petiole : the calyx is cupshaped, with a 5 -denticulated margin ; the five petals are oblong, with in- flexed margins and apex ; the stamens, shorter than these, have fleshy filaments, with glandular hairs scarcely longer than the anthers : the ovarium is oblong, glabrous, sterile, with a conical hollow style. The fructiferous raceme is f of an inch long, bearing an oblong drupe, 7 lines in length, surmounted by a depressed, umbilicated, lO-lobed disk, and supported upon its minute, persistent calyx. The internal structure of the fruit has been already described in a foregoing page. 15. Stemonurus Penangianus, Gomphandra Penangiana, Wall. ; — ramulis teretibus, pallide ferrugineis ; foliis oblongo-lanceo- latis, imo cuneatis, apice lineari-angustatis, coriaceis, glaber- rimis, subtus pallidioribus margine revoluto, petiolo brevi, crassiusculo, profunde canaliculato ; cyma oppositifolia, sub- umbellatim et 2-3-4-chotome ramosa, floribus hermaphroditis, secundis, cum pedicellis articulatis, valde deciduis, carina interna petalorum in appendice longe propendenti inflexa maxime producta, filamentis longe ciliatis, antheris polliniferis, ovario brevissimo, 5-gono, apice pulviniformi et umbilicato, stylo conico, sub-brevi, tubuloso, dentibus 5 erectis acutis terminato. — Penang. — {v, s, in herb, Soc. Linn. Wall Cat, 7204.) This species is very distinct on account of its singularly branching racemes, with long rows of secund flowers, which are always placed on the side of the stem opposite to the insertion of the petiole. The stems are quite glabrous and of a dull light brown colour. The leaves are about 5^ inches long, lj-1^ inch 40 Mr. J . Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. broad, on a petiole 3 or 4 lines in length. The primary peduncle is 3 to 6 lines long, branching somewhat umbellately into from three to six branches, which are again dichotomously, or some- times umbellately subdivided into lengthened curving branchlets, from 6 to 9 lines long, closely and pectinately beset with pedi- cels, from which the articulated flowers have fallen off, all being quite glabrous and of an ochreous colour. The calyx is small, cupshaped, minutely 5-toothed; the petals adhere by their mar- gins below in a tubular form, the summits being quite free; the stamens are the length of the petals, but the long ciliated crests are far exserted ; the filaments are thick and fleshy, having their margins and apices charged with very long clavate white hairs ; the upper part of the inner keel interposes between the lower part of the two lobes of the anthers, which are oval, deeply separated at their base, the lobes being attached dorsally at their junction to the apical point of the filament ; they are pollini- ferous, the granules of pollen being sharplj^ 3-angular : the ova- rium is distinctly ovuligerous. 16. Stemonurus longifolius. Olax longifolia. Wall.; — ramulis- teretibus, gracilibus, glabris, ochraceis ; foliis valde lanceolatis, utrinque acutis, apice lineari-angustatis, glaberrimis, flavo- virentibus, subtus pallidioribus, petiolo gracili ; panicula pau- ciflora, glaberrima, petiolo vix longiori, floribus glabris, petalis 4, staminibus 4, filamentis crassis, dilatatis, longe ciliolatis, an- theris effcetis, ovario sterili, 4-sulcato, stylo conico tubuloso 4-5-dentato coronato. — Sylhet. — {v. s. in herb. Soc. Linn. Wall Cat. 6782 A. et B.) This species is remarkable for its very long narrow leaves, which are attenuated at their apex into a lengthened linear ex- tension ; they are of a pale colour above, of a glaucous yellowish hue below, about 6 inches long, including the linear apical ex- tension of an inch in length, and ^ of an inch broad, upon a slender petiole 3 or 4 lines in length. The inflorescence seldom exceeds 4 lines in length, several flowers about 2 lines long being almost fasciculated on an axillary peduncle of 2 lines in length, all quite glabrous : the calyx is small, cupshaped and 5-toothed ; petals 4, linear ; stamens 4, with very fleshy filaments nearly the length of the petals, furnished on their margins and apex with a dense fringe of long clubshaped hairs ; the two anther lobes are each 2-celled, sterile, and filled with grumous matter ; the ovarium is smooth, cylindrical, \ ov ^ the length of the stamens, sterile, and terminated by a hollow, tubular, conical style, divided at its apex into four acute erect teeth. 17. Stemonurus Heyneanm. Olax Heyneanus, Wall. ; — ramulis Mr. J. Miers on some genei^a of the Icacinaceae. 41 subflexuosis, glabris ; foliis oblongis, utrinque acutis, apice breviter repente angustatis, glaberrimis, opacis, petiolo gra- cili ; racemo axillaris petiolo sublongiori, bifido, vel subdicho- tome ramoso, floribus secundis, vel subaggregatis ; ealyce cupuliformi, 5-denticulato, petalis 4-5^ linearibus, apicula in- flexa longe propendenti, staminibus 4-5, crassis, demum elon- gatis et exsertis, pilis clavatis antberis fertilibus 2-plo longi- oribus mmii'tis ; ovario sterili, subgloboso, 4-5-sulcato, apice pulviniformi, subumbilicato, stylo brevissimo, fere obsoleto. — India. Orient. — [v. s. in herb. Soc. Linn, et Hook., Wall. Cat. 6780.— Ceylon, Gardner, 102.) This plant bears much the aspect of Stemonurus polymorphus ; the leaves are of a pale green, of nearly the same hue on both sides ; the specimens in the herbarium of the Linnaean Society are oblong, with parallel sides, or sometimes tapering a little towards the base from the upper part, where they are broadest, and then suddenly contracted into a narrow and obtuse point; they are 3 to 3^ inches long, \^ inch broad, on a slender petiole about 4 lines in length. In the Ceylon specimens the leaves taper more regularly to each extremity, and are somewhat nar- rower. The flowers are generally 5-, rarely 4-merous ; sometimes the hairs of the stamens are short and nearly obsolete, at other times double the length of the anthers ; the cells of these are in some specimens replete with perfect pollen, in others filled with grumous matter : the ovarium is generally depressed or globose, and I have never met with a single instance of their possessing ovuligerous cells. 18. Stemonurus axillaris. Gomphandra axillaris. Wall. Lasi- anthera tetrandra. Wall. Flor. Ind. Or. vol. ii. ; — ramulis tere- tibus, flexuosis, substriatis, glabris ; foliis oblongis, utrinque acuminatis, apice angustato-attenuatis, glabris, opacis, subtus pallidioribus, margine revoluto ; panicula ramosa, petiolo pauUo longiori, glabra, flonbus crebris, subsecundis, 4-5-meris, ealyce cupuliformi, 5-denticulato, petalis margine inflexis, apice longe propendenti, staminibus fertilibus, longissime ciliolatis, ovario saepe sterili, interdum ovuligero, oblongo, vel subgloboso, 4-5-gono, stylo conico, tubuloso, apice 4-5-dentato. — Sylhet. — V, s. in herb. Soc. Unn. Wall. Cat. 3718.) As in S. Penangianus, I have observed that in many cases where the ovarium is ovuligerous, the anthers have been charged with perfect pollen, so that such flowers may be said to be truly hermaphrodite : in most instances, however, the ovarium is ste- rile. The leaves are from 3^ to 4i inches long, including a nar- row and almost linear apical point of half an inch in length ; they are 1^ to 1^ inch broad, on a petiole half an incli long: the 42 Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. racemes^ f ^o f ^^^^ long, have numerous crowded flowers which do not exceed 3 lines in length : the hairs of the filaments are three or four times the length of the anthers, and arch over them in a very graceful manner : the pollen-grains are acutely 3-gonous. 19. Stemonurus CumingianuSj n. sp. ; — ramulis flexuosis, tereti- bus, ferrugineo vel flavido-tomentosis ; foliis oblongis, utrin- que acutis, apice repente attenuatis, supra glabris, subtus brunneis et sparse pubescentibus, costa nervis petioloque ferrugineo-pilosulis, margine subrevoluto; panicula ramosa, petiolo tenui vix longiore, pubescente, floribus S crebris, sub- capitatis, 5-meris; calyce brevissimo, 5-denticulato, piloso, petalis glabris, oblongis, summo marginibus apiculaque longa propendenti inflexis ; staminibus iisdem brevioribus, latis, crassis, pilis clavatis longissimis ciliolatis; ovario oblongo, piloso, dentibus 5 coronato. — Insul. Philip. — v. s. in herb. Hook, et Lindl. (Cuming, 796) . The leaves here are 5-6i inches long, and 2J-3 inches broad, on a petiole 5-7 lines in length ; the panicle is trichotomously branched, with crowded 5-merous flowers, which are still in bud; the upper margins of the petals are deeply inflected, together with their long apical points, which are all closely agglutinated into a long process that hangs down in the centre of the anthers ; the filaments are rather short and broad, fringed with extremely long glandular hairs ; the ovarium, seated on a short glabrous disc, is cylindrical, and altogether very pilose, growing smaller and more conical towards the summit, where it is hollow and 5 -toothed. 20. Stemonurus Cei/lanicus, n. sp. ; — ^ramulis glabris, ochraceis ; foliis oblongis, utrinque virentibus, subtus pallidis, costa mediana prominenti ; paniculis axillaribus, geminis, dichotome ramosis, petiolo brevi 3-plo longioribus, pubescentibus, floribus in ramis secundis, crebris, calyce 5-denticulato, glabro, petalis linearibus, sicco aurantiacis, staminibus iisdem sequilongis, apice carinaque interna longissime ciliolatis; ovario sterili, glabro, depresso-10-lobato, apice profunde umbilicato, stylo brevissimo in cavitatem incluso. — Ceylon. — v. s. in herb. Lindl. et Honk. (Macrae, 428). This species differs from S. Penangianus in the axillary origin of its inflorescence, in its much shorter and geminate panicles, in which the flowers, though somewhat secund, appear almost aggregated. The leaves, which are thin and almost membrana- ceous in texture, appear when dried of a darkish green above, and of a very pale green beneath, with prominent nervures and veins ; they are about 6 inches long, and nearly 2 inches broad. Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. 43 on a petiole barely exceeding 3 lines in length. The panicles are scarcely 9 lines long ; the calyx is small, obsoletely 5 -toothed ; thefive petals are linear, with a long inflected apex; thefive stamens are equal to them in length, with broad, thick, fleshy filaments, the internal keel, upper margins and summit being closely fringed with very long clavated hairs, which are three times the length of the anthers; these consist of two oval lobes, fixed together by a point near the apex, where they are attached to the filaments, the lobes below being separated by the summit of the keel, so that they rest in two cavities in the apex of the filaments, as occurs in most species of this genus ; the ovarium is globular, somewhat 10-lobed, depressed at the summit, and deeply umbilicated in the centre, in the cavity of which, the ob- solete style and stigma, forming a depressed lobe, lie concealed ; the body of the ovarium is fleshy, with no apparent cells*. 21. Stemonurus Walkeri, n. sp.; — ramulis teretibus, subdicho- tome divisis ; foliis oblongis, imo vix acutis, apice valde ob- tuso et hinc subito attenuatis, utrinque glaberrimis fuscis et concoloribus, crasso-coriaceis, supra nitido-opacis, costa sul- catis, nervis immersis, subtus costa crassiuscula nervisque tenuissimis prominentibus, margine subrevoluto, petiolo bre- viusculo ; racemo axillari, brevi, paucifloro, floribus ^ 4-meris, 9 5-meris, filamentis crassis, apice sub-breviter ciliolatis. — Ceylon. — v. s. in herb. Hook. ( ^ Col. Walker, ? Gardner y 101). This species is distinguishable by its much darker and more fleshy, smooth leaves, which are nearly 4 inches long, and 1^ inch broad, on a rather stout petiole, about 4 lines in length ; the calyx is small, and rather deeply 5 -toothed; the male flowers have oblong petals, with an internal longitudinal keel, and a long inflexed apical joint, four stamens equal to them in length, with very broad, thick, fleshy filaments, which are furnished on the upper margin with a row of clavate hairs, scarcely longer than the anthers; the pollen is acutely 3-angular; the ovarium is sterile, oblong, with a rather long, conical, hollow style, toothed at its apex. The female flowers have five thick fleshy petals, and five stamens formed like the others, but the cells are filled with grumous matter; the ovarium is nearly the length of the stamens, somewhat 5 -grooved, globular in its lower moiety, smaller and cylindrical in its upper half, which presents here somewhat excentrically, a single cell with two distinct ovules suspended from near the summit, on the side towards the axis : the apex of the very short ovarium is crowned with a conical, 5-lobed, * A representation of this species, with the details of its floral structure, will be given in plate 13 of the ' Contributions to Botanj',' &c. 44 Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. disciform process^ equal to it in diameter, the summit being ter- minated by five very minute teeth*. 22. Stemonurus affinis, n. sp. ; — ramuHs tortuosis, nodosis ; foUis elhpticis, utrinque subacuminatis, apice obtusiusculo attenua- tis, opacisj supra in costam sulcatis, subtus palUdioribus, costa nervis venisque prominulis, margine subrevoluto, petiolo tenui teretiusculo superne sulcato ; panicula axillari, pauciflora, petiolo vix longiore, pedicellis pubescentibus, calyce 5-dentato petalisque oblongis breviter apiculatis glabris, staminibus iisdem vix sequilongis, filamentorum apicibus carinaque interna longissime ciliatis, ovario fertili, longitudine staminum, longe cylindrico, paullulo incurve, apice pulvinato. — Malacca. — v. s. in herb. Hook. (Griffiths). This species is near S. polymorpha, but differs in several particulars. It appears to be a remarkably knotty and scrubby tree; its leaves are about 3|^ inches long, 1^ to If inch broad, on a petiole 4 or 5 lines in length ; its panicles are 6 or 8 lines long, and its flowers offer a very instructive exemplification of the development of the ovarium ; the last-mentioned species ex- hibiting an intermediate stage, between that described in >S'. Pe- nangianus, and this, which offers another manifest instance of Dr. Wallich^s genus Gomphandra. Here the fleshy petals are linearly oblong, with a comparatively short inflexed apex ; the stamens are not equal to them in length ; the filaments exceed the anthers in breadth, but are not quite so thick as in other species ; they are suddenly contracted to a sharp point at the apex, and have a less prominent internal keel, the summit of which, together with the upper margins of the filaments, are fringed with very long clavate hairs; the anthers are 2-lobed and sagittate from near the almost apical point of their attachment ; the lobes are membranaceous, each longitudinally split open and quite void of pollen or other matter, so that it is not apparent whether they have been fertile or sterile. The ovarium is the length of the stamens, is cylindrical, a little curved, and rather thicker towards the apex ; in diameter it is scarcely broader than the fila- ments, quite smooth, and surmounted by a short, compressed, umbilicated, and somewhat 5-lobed disciform process, which partly overhangs the summit ; the body of the ovarium exhibits only a single large cell, of nearly its whole length, from one side of which, near the summit, two ovules, that almost fill the cavity of the cell, are suspended, each from a short cupshaped strophiolef. * A figure of this species, and an analysis of its floral structure, will be shown in plate 14 of the ' Contributions to Botany,' &c. t This species, and the details of its floral structure, will be exhibited in plate 15 of the ^Contributions to Botany,' &c. Mr. F. Walker on some neiv species o/Chalcidites. 45 VII. — Notes on Chalcidites, and Descriptions of various new species. By Francis Walker, F.L.S. [Continued from vol. ix. p. 43.] Perilampus maurus, mas. Ater, antennis apice ferrugineis, t arsis fulvisy alis limpidis. Body black : head as broad as the chest, nearly smooth, slightly shining ; hind part slightly striated across ; front shining, very deeply excavated, extending on each side of the face and of the epistoma which are small and rhomboidal ; epistoma larger than the face : mouth pitchy : feelers nearly filiform, black, ferruginous towards their tips which are conical : chest coarsely and deeply punctured, dull, hairy : abdomen smooth, shining ; ventral plate dull, slightly striated : legs black, clothed with short tawny hairs ; feet tawny : wings colourless, very pubescent ; veins pitchy ; humerus at some distance from the fore-border, less than half the length of the wing ; ulna about one-third of the length of the humerus ; radius rather more than half the length of the ulna ; cubitus full one-third of the length of the radius ; brand small, not furcate. Length of the body 2-i lines ; of the wings 5 lines. Port Natal. In the British Museum. Eupelmus basicupreus, fem. Viridis, axillis et scutello nigris, metathoracis lateribus auratisy abdomine cupreo basi micante, antennis nigris, pedibus fulvis, femoribus viridibus, alis sub- Body green : head very little narrower than the chest, coarsely punctured ; crown black ; channel for the reception of the first joint of the antennae very deep, finely squamous, bright green with a blue disc : eyes large : feelers black, slender, filiform, more than half the length of the body ; first joint green, very long, slightly curved ; second bright green : axillae and scutellum black ; axillae very large, nearly contiguous ; scutellum obcordate, with a very slight longitu- dinal suture : sides of the hind-chest golden green : abdomen cu- preous black, nearly spindle-shaped, depressed above, keeled beneath, bright cupreous at the base, rather less than twice the length of the chest; sheaths of the oviduct black, ferruginous towards the tips, extending beyond the abdomen to - one-fourth of its length : legs tawny ; thighs bluish green ; fore-shanks black at the base ; a ferru- ginous band near the base of each hind-shank : wings slightly tinged with tawny ; veins tawny ; humerus rather more than one-third of the length of the wing, slightly widened towards its tip ; ulna a little shorter than the humerus ; radius much shorter than the ulna ; cubitus about one-fourth of the length of the ulna, slightly curved ; brand very small. Length of the body 2i lines ; of the wings 4^ lines. Para. In the British Museum. 46 Mr. F. Walker on some new species of Chalcidites. Sparasion Sinense, mas. Viridi-cyaneum, ahdomine cyaneo-pur- pureo, antennls pedibusque nigris, femoribus cyaneis^ tibiis tar- sisque anticis piceis, alls subfuscis. Body convex, rather hairy : head and chest dark greenish blue, roughly punctured : eyes and eyelets piceous : feelers black, nearly filiform, shorter than the chest ; first joint long, stout, shining ; second short, cup-shaped ; third very long, subclavate ; fourth and following joints to the tenth short, transverse, nearly equal in size, but gra- dually decreasing in length and breadth towards the tips of the feelers : fore-chest extremely short, forming a narrow line in front of the middle shield, the sutures of whose parapsides are distinct; scutcheon obconical : hind-chest obconical, declining : breast smoother than the chest ; the punctures being fewer and smaller : petiole very short : abdomen long spindle-shaped, thickly striated, bluish purple, bluish green at the tip, narrower than the chest and about twice its length ; sides nearly smooth or having only a few indistinct punctures : legs black, hairy ; hips and thighs shining, the former dark blue ; fore-shanks and fore-feet piceous : wings slightly brown, somewhat darker along the fore-borders from the middle to the tips ; veins brown. Length of the body 4 lines ; of the wings 6 lines. Fou-chou-fou, China. In the British Museum. Smiera torrida, fem. Fulva nigra varia, capite antico fiavo, an- tennis nigris subtus ferrugineis, pedibus fulvis, femoribus an- terioribus flavis, tibiis posticis nigra vittatis, alis ad castam sub- cinereis. Body tawny, roughly punctured, thinly clothed with short tawny hairs : two black spots behind the head ; front and face yellow : feelers black, filiform, ferruginous beneath and at the tips ; first joint tawny : three black stripes on the shield of the middle chest ; the inner one obconical ; the side pair oblique, slightly waved, taper- ing towards the fore-border ; axillae black, parted by near one-third of the breadth of the scutcheon, which has a triangular black spot resting on its hind-border : propodeon smooth, shining : petiole slender, cylindrical, a little longer than the propodeon, with a short black stripe on each side : abdomen spindle-shaped, smooth, shining, punctured towards the tip, more than twice the length of the petiole ; metapodeon large ; octoon about half the length of the metapodeon ; ennaton, decaton and protelum together as long as the octoon ; para- telum and telum of equal length, together longer than the octoon ; ventral segments concealed : legs tawny ; anterior thighs yellow ; a black stripe on each hind-hip ; hind-thighs armed beneath with seven teeth whose tips are black ; first and second very small, the other five large ; a black stripe on each hind-shank : wings very pubescent, slightly gray along the fore-border ; veins tav/ny ; supplementary veins distinct as in other large species ; humerus much more than one-third of the length of the wing ; ulna less than half the length of the humerus ; radius as long as the ulna ; cubitus not more than one-sixth Mr. r. Walker on some new species of Clialcidites. 47 of the radius ; brand very small. Length of the body 4^ lines ; of the wings 8 lines. Para. In the British Museum. Smiera nigro-rufa, mas. Rvfa, nigra varia, petiole nigro, abdomine rufoy antennis nigrisy alis limpidis. Body red, roughly punctured : head black ; sides of the front tawny : mouth tawny : feelers black : breast, hind-chest, paraptera, axillee and sides of the middle chest black : three black stripes on the shield ; the side pair broad and oblique ; a three-lobed black mark on the scutcheon : petiole black, slender, cylindrical, smooth, shining : abdomen smooth, shining, short, globose, less than twice the length of the chest : legs red ; hips black ; anterior thighs black at the base ; middle shanks striped with brown towards the base ; hind-shanks at the base and at the tips and hind-feet black : wings colourless ; veins brown ; humerus near half the length of the wing ; ulna not one-third of the length of the humerus ; radius much longer than the ulna ; cubitus about one-fourth of the ulna; brand rather large, slightly forked. Length of the body 2\ lines ; of the wings 5 lines. East Indies. In the British Museum. Callimome cyaneus, Kollar, fem. Purpureus cyaneo viridique varius, antennis nigris, pedibus fulvisy femoribus purpureis, metatibiis piceis, alis limpidis. 'S^Fem. Body purple, pubescent, varied with green and blue : feelers black, subclavate, a little shorter than the thorax ; first joint fulvous : head and thorax punctured, in structure like the other species of Cal- limome : podeon very short : abdomen purple, smooth, shining, nearly as long as the thorax ; metapodeon blue, green at the base : legs fulvous ; coxae and thighs purple ; metatibise piceous ; tips of the tarsi picepus : wings limpid, rather short ; nervures fuscous ; ulna much shorter than the humerus ; radius very short ; cubitus a little shorter than the radius ; stigma very small ; oviduct fulvous, much longer than the abdomen ; its sheaths black. Inhabits Germany. .gniffiif^ Chalcedectus, n. g. ^ l^upehno affinis, at quoad pedes posticos Chalcidi similis. ^^Chalcedectus maculicornis, fem. Viridis, cupreo cyaneo et pur- pureo varius, antennis nigris, articulo b" supra albo, tarsis piceis, tarsis intermediis nigris basi flams, alis fusco subnebu- if "!Body brilliant green, narrow : head a little narrower than the chest : crown narrow ; front largely and deeply punctured, with a very deep almost smooth bluish green channel for the reception of the first joint of the feelers ; face broad : mouth pitchy : eyes rather large : feelers black, filiform, slender, as long as the chest ; first joint very long ; second linear, long, nearly half the length of the first ; third 48 Mr. F. Walker on some new species of Chalcidites. and fourth indistinct; fifth white above, a Httle shorter than the second; the following linear, very compact, successively decreasing in length: chest spindle-shaped : fore- chest broader than long, rounded in front, much lower than the middle-chest, very finely shagreened : shield and scutcheon of the middle-chest very largely and deeply punctured : shield rather flat, adorned with a broad coppery band whose edges are tinged with blue and purple ; sutures of the parap- sides distinct ; axillae parted by about one-third of the breadth of the chest ; scutcheon obconical, with a coppery spot at its base : hind- chest small, subquadrate, finely punctured, with two or three slight cross ridges : propodeon and podeoi\ short : abdomen lanceolate, longer and a little narrower than the chest, slightly pubescent, trans- versely and very finely striated, almost flat on the disc towards the base, adorned above with coppery purple and blue colour ; metapodeon of moderate length ; octoon shorter ; ennaton longer ; decaton shorter ; the three following segments short ; underside finely punctured, not keeled, dorsal segments approximate beneath, parted only by two linear, parallel, very slender plates which extend along the whole length of the body : legs green, slightly pubescent, adorned with blue and purple colour : fore-thighs rather thick ; fore-shanks purple, armed at the tips with a slender curved spine ; fore-feet pitchy, tawny at the base ; middle thigh long and slender, grooved beneath ; tip of each middle shank armed with a stout straight tawny spine ; middle feet black, pale yellow at the base ; hind-legs formed like those of Chalcis ; hips long ; thighs very large, armed beneath with seven oblique teeth, those towards the tips are small ; shanks very much curved, widening from the base to the tips ; hind-feet pitchy, with a slight metallic tinge : wings almost colourless, fore-wings slightly clouded with brown in the disks and with gray at the tijDS ; veins black ; humerus much more than one-third of the length of the wing ; ulna about one-third of the length of the humerus ; radius nearly as long as the humerus, extending almost to the tip of the wing ; cubitus straight, very slanting, less than one-fourth of the length of the radius, widening from its source to the brand which is small ; a few supple- mentary veins in the disk, as is usual in the large species of the tribe. Length of the body 5 lines ; of the wings 6 lines. Para. In the British Museum. ' '^ This is one of the tropical forms whose characters are more com- pound or complicated than those of any genera which inhabit more temperate regions ; and may be considered either as a connecting link between families, or as a common and governing centre, repre- senting various remote groups, and associating them together. It comes between the PteromalidcB and the Eupelmidce, and is one of the Cleonymidce, and is most allied to Lycisca ; but it has the head of Perilampus, the thoracic sculpture of the PeriIa7npid(E and the Eurytomidce, and the hind-legs of the LeucospidcB and of the ChaU cidce. ~--'i'i^. Zoological Society. 49 PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. November 26, 1850.«— R. H. Solly, Esq., F.R.S., in the Chair. An Account of Fishes discovered or observed in Madeira SINCE THE year 1842*. By THE Rev. R. T. Lomte, M.A. Family Zenid^, 1. Zeus conchifer. Lilacino-cinereuSy capife inermi ; thorace pinnaque dorsali analiqiie utrinque scutatis ; spinis dorsalibus anterioribus brevissime Jilamentosis ; pinnis ventralibus 1 -f- 5- radiatis ; caudalilunata. D. 9 V. 10 + 25 v. 26; A. 2 + (1 + 25 v. 26); P. 13 ; V. + 5 ; C. ^"^^-"^^V ; M. B. 7 ; Vertebrae, 13 abd. + 21 caud. = 34. l+I.+VI. An example of this very fine new Dory was communicated, with a short notice, to the Zoological Society in 1845 f. The row of large and remarkable naked bony scutellse on each side, at the base of the dorsal and anal fins, and along the breast or ventral line, afford a very striking character. They resemble the depressed shells of a Fissu- rella seen in profile, and are beautifully radiato-striate, with a bright iridescent rose or lilac lustre, like the inside of a Trigonia. The umbo forms a smooth short strong spine or recurved prickle. The dark thumb-mark on the middle of the sides is present, as in Z. GaU lus, L. Three examples only have occurred, measuring from eighteen inches to a little more than two feet in length. The supposed affinity between Zeus and Oreosoma, Cuv.^, is much corroborated by this fish. 2. Argyropelicus Olfersii. {Sternoptyx Olfersii, Cuv. R. An. (2nd edit.) ii. 316. t. 13. f. 2.) A single example, caught with a boatscoop on the surface of the water in the Bay of Funchal, June 6, 1845. The name of Pleurothysis^ proposed in the * Fishes of Madeira,* p. 64, for this portion of the Cuvierian genus Sternoptyx, has been anticipated by that of Argyropelicus, previously assigned to a Medi- terranean species by the Italian naturahst Cocco, and adopted in the * Fauna Italica * by the Prince of Canino. I have now succeeded in obtaining both the Cuvierian species of Sternoptyx in this part of the Atlantic ; though St. diaphana (Le St. d' Herman, Cuv.) cannot, like Arg. Olfersii, be perhaps fairly claimed at present to belong to the Madeiran fauna §. The Atlantic and Mediterranean species of Argyropelicus may be thus distinguished : 'O' Arg. Olfersii, Cuv. Corpore altiore, altitudine dimidium lon- , * Ann. Nat. Hist. S. 1. vol. xiii. p. 390. t Proc. Zool. Soc. part 13. p. 103. t Fishes of Madeira, Preface, p. xii. § Ann. Nat. Hist. vol. xiii. p. 393. Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. x. 4 60 Zoological Society. . gitudinis {dempta pinna caudali) superante ; parte postica {caudali) ahbreviata ; capite duple altiore quam longo ; sterna JO postice in forcipem^ pr B.M.5; Squamse lin. lat. 42 — 45. In general appearance, shape, and the peculiar straightness of the lateral line, this fine species much resembles CossyphusDarwini, Jen. ; but it is a true Labrus, with the dorsal and anal fins naked, and the preopercle quite entire. Its nearest allies are therefore i. mixtusandi L. Scrofa ; from which however, besides other characters, the nume- rous strong teeth distinguish it. A single example only has occurred, measuring seventeen inches and a quarter in length. 4* 62 Zoological Society. Fam. CHEIRONECTIDiE. Gen. Chaunax, Lowe. Gen, Char. Corpus subcubico-oblonffum, sufflabile^ nuduniy cute prcBsertim ad ilia ventreinqueflaccidissima laxa ; antics obesum, postice nbrupte attenuatum subcompressum. Caput osseum mag- num subtetrahedrum, superne nuchaque latum planatum, utrin- que s. ad genas declive ; oculis lateralibus, spatio interoculari convexo ; ore rictuque amplissimis transversis plagio-plateis s. depressis. Denies intermaxillares vomerinique palatinique parvi scobinati. ^sxes simplices (nee pedicellatcE nee tubulosre). Spi- racula (foramina branchialid) postica s. ad ilia pone pinnarum, pectoralium axillas. Pinna dorsalis unica ; pectoralibus (pedi- cellatis) carnosis J ventralibus jugularibus spathulatis carnosis; analis postica ; caudalis simplex truncata. Cirri, prcjeter uni- cum infossula internasaliy nulli. 9. Chaunax pictus, Lowe in Trans. Zool. Soc. iii. part 4. p. 340. t. 51. D. 11; A. 5; P. 11; V. 4 ; C. ^^^ ^o^\l\ Species adhuc unica. Hab. in mari Maderensi. I have nothing to add to the full account of this curious fish above referred to, except by way of correction to the second paragraph in p. 344, which has been erroneously printed, and should stand thus : ** Whilst Cheironectes seems its most natural, Halieutcea is its near- est technical ally. x\greeing with Lophius in the wide transverse mouth, and in the backward position of the breathing orifices in the flanks, but with Cheironectes more in shape, in the granular or velvety roughness of the skin, and in colour ; it differs from both, and ap- proaches Halieutcea, in the absence of crests or cilia on the back, and in the single dorsal fin. In these last two points, and in the rough- ness of the skin, it agrees with Halieutcea, but differs in its Diodon-like shape, and in the position of the breathing-holes considerably behind, instead of above or before, the axils of the pectoral fins." v,ai&\ Fam. ScoPELiDJS. ,3^u*iiii6»qqB bn& Gen. Ph^nodon. Gen. Char. Caput magnum compressutn, oculis magnis, rostra brevissimo obtuso, rictu magno pone oculos longe diducto, mento subtus ad symphysin cirro barbato. Dentes intermaxillares uni- seriati ; anteriores (5 v. 6 utrinque) validi tenues prcelongi la- niarii subrecurvi remoti distincti, extrorsum supra labia invi- cem claudentes ; ossibus palati dentibus minoribus uniseriatis, lingua biseriatis, armatis, Opercula simplicia plana. Corpus elongatum compressum nudum? s. exsquameum; abdomine punc- tis argenteis (ut in Scopelo) seriatis. Linea lateralis recta pinnceque fere ut in Scopelo, pectoralibus brevioribus. Zoological Society. 53 10. Ph^nodon RiNGENS. (^Scopelus barbatus^ Tkoh.'M.^. oXucL.) imap. 16. 2d3D.O; A. 16; V. 7; P. 9; C. / V'^.r\^'r ? M.B.? 0-t-l' + Vili. Closely allied to Scopelus, but with the head and teeth of Echio- stoma, which it also resembles in its single cartilaginous beard or barbule. A single example occurred in May 1845, and was placed by me in the collection of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, under the MS. name of Scojpeliis harbatus. It was seven inches long, and the above fin-formula is taken from it. I have been favoured by the Due de Leuchtenberg this winter with the opportunity of examining a second individual, procured from a fisherman. It agreed in all important details with the former, but was only from five to six inches long, and had a much shorter barbule. Both these examples were entirely devoid of scales, but from cer- tain appearances I am inclined to attribute this defect to injury. The colour is a uniform brownish or coal-black, except the silver pits, which are disposed in rows along the throat and belly, exactly as in Scopelus. 1 1 . ScoPELUs MADERENSis (Suppl. in Traus. Zool. Soc. iii. part 1 . p. 14). Appears to be distinguished from Sc, Humboldti by the forwarder (medio-dorsal) position of its first dorsal fin, and by the long pec- toral fins, which are contained from four to four and a half times in the whole length, and reach to the end of the base of the first dorsal fin. The anal fin has fourteen rays. Examples have occurred of two other forms or species, with shorter pectoral fins, in one of which the anal fin has fourteen, and in the other twenty-two rays. In the first of these, the length of the pec- toral fin is one-sixth of the whole length of the fish ( P=";^ ) ; in the second it is one-fifth and four-sevenths of the same ( P=tt I ; «'• ^' (-If)' rather longer. But further investigations will be requisite before these can be safely proposed as species. In general habit, colour, and appearance, they agree with S. maderensis. 12. Metopias typhlops (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1843, vol. xi. p. 90). Another example has occurred of this most curious and anomalous little fish. It was brought to me in May 1849, from the same place, -.> Magdalena, at which I obtained the former. It is of much larger size, measuring three inches and a half in length. I find nothing whatever to correct in the account above referred to, except that the .maxillary teeth, instead of being " uniseriate,'* are in a scobinate or g brush-like band in both jaws; narrow in the upper, broader in the . lower jaw. j^ The acquisition of a second example, confirming the peculiar cha- racters before set down, is the more satisfactory, from the former 54 Zoological Society. having been unfortunately destroyed by the wasting of the alcohol in which it was kept. Fam. Gadid^. 13. Phycis furcatus, Flem. (not Bowdich) ; Yarr. Brit. Fish, ed. 1. ii. 201. {Le Merlus barhu, Duham. Cuv. R. An. ed. 2. ii. p. 335.) A single example occurred May 8, 1845 ; not quite agreeing with the figure in the * British Fishes/ yet certainly distinct from the com- mon "Abrotea" of Madeira (P. mediterraneus, Lar.), of which, on the other hand, the P. furcatus of Bowdich (Excurs. p. 122. f. 28) was unquestionably a mere accidentally fork-tailed individual. Fam. ECHENEIDiE. 14. EcHENEis viTTATA, Suppl. to Syuops. in Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. iii. part 1. p. 17, and Hist. Fish. Mad. p. 77. t. 11. The acquisition of an adult example measuring 2 feet Q\ inches in length, has proved the fish above described to have been a young in- dividual of ^. vittata, Riippell (Neu. Wirbel. p. 82). It is fortunate that the happy coincidence of name necessitates no change or con- fusion in rendering justice to my learned friend's prior claim in the establishment of this well-marked species. The lateral dark band or vitta becomes indistinct in adult individuals. In the large full-grown example above mentioned it had disappeared entirely. Fam. MuR^NiDJE. Gen. Leptorhynchus, nob. Gen. Char. Caput scolopaciforme, callo elongato distinctum ; maxillis in rostrum tenue productis, utraque dentibus minutissi- mis limcB instar scabra ; rictupone oculos diducto. Nares oculis contiguce approximatce, simplices nee tentaculatce. Oculi magni. Corpus nudum anguilliforme compressum, gracile, elongatum ; postice longissime attenuato-productum filiforme, apice aeuto. Aperturse branchiales sat magncB, ante pinnas pectorales ob- lique deorsumfissce. YixmBi pectorales distinctcB lanceolatce, sat magnce ; pinna dorsali ad nucham paullo ante, anali ad gulam paullo post pinnas pectorales incipiente ; utraque usque ad api- cem caudce continuata, membranacea^ nee cute cooperta, sed ra- diis sat validis distinctis. ^ 15. Leptorhynchus Leuchtenbergi. {The Snipe-Eel.) I am indebted for an opportunity of describing this interesting new type of Murcenidce to the favour of His Imperial Highness the Due de Leuchtenberg, to whom an example was brought by a fisherman in January last. It approaches the Anguillidce by its well-developed pectoral fins. The prolonged beak-like muzzle also reminds one of that of Leptognathus, Swainson. The unique individual examined, which measured 2 feet 9 inches in length, scarcely half an inch in height, and four lines in thickness, is included in the extensive col- Zoological Society. 55 lections formed with so much scientific ardour and discrimination by His Imperial Highness the Due de Leuchtenberg, during his late six mouths' residence in Madeira. Fam. Balistid^. 16. MoNACANTHUS AURIGA. HispiduSj cttudtt utHnque dense hispido-villosa ; pallide olivaceo-murinus, sublutescens^ fusco- luioso-maculatus v. interrupte longitudinaliter subfasciatus ; fasciis luteis inconspicuis evanescentibus 3 2^. 4 «6 oculis antice.^ oblique radiantibus ; radiis \ v, 2 anticis dorsalis primce all', quando in Jilamentum productis. 1">»D. 1; 2daD. 31; A. 30 V. 31; P. 13 v. 14; C. l + X. + l. From eight to ten or eleven inches long. On each side, towards the base of the caudal fin, is an oblong patch, like plush or velveteen, of close thickset hairs or bristles. The occasional production of the second or first two rays of the second dorsal fin is perhaps sexual. Such examples have the muzzle rather longer and more produced be- fore the eyes than those which have not the elongated dorsal fila- ment. They are perhaps the M. filamentosus of M. Valenciennes, to whose figure and description, however, in MM. Webb and Berthe- lot's * Canarian Fishes,' I regret I have not access. Several examples have occurred, chiefly in the autumn, during the last five or six years, of this previously in Madeira unobserved or un- recorded species. lilteQUALIDiE. Fam. ALOPECiDiE. 17. Alopias vulpes, Buon. {The Fox Sharks Yarr. ii. 379.) An example occurred this spring of unusual size, measuring eighteen feet in length, of which the tail was ten feet. The skin was preserved by the Due de Leuchtenberg. Fam. SpiNACiDiE. 18. Centrophorus squamosus, Miill. und Henle, p. 90, with a figure. The Ramudo or Raimudo of Madeira, not unfrequently taken off the Dezertas at a depth of twelve or fourteen "linhas,'" i. e. from 350 to 400 fathoms, belongs apparently to the above species, the habi- tat of which was unknown to its describers, MM. Miiller and Henle. I have only examined female examples, and the fishermen profipss themselves to be entirely unacquainted with the male, which I have however formerly (March 10, 1838) once seen, though without oppor- tunity for a close or accurate examination, and so perhaps without re- marking any spine near the tips of the claspers or ventral fin-append- ages. The individuals examined were five or six feet long, but the fish is said to grow to a much larger size. Madeira, May 25, 1850. 66 Zoological Society. December 10.— Prof. Owen, V.P., F.R.S., in the Chair. Description of several new species of Entomostraca. By W. Baird, M.D., F.L.S. etc. Genus Lepidurus, Leach. 1. Lepidurus viRiDis, Baird. Body of animal, including the flap of tail segment, about two inches long and one broad. The carapace and whole body are of a fine green colour, the carapace covering about two-thirds of the abdomen ; the edges of the notch in the posterior part of the carapace are strongly toothed, and those of the inferior half of the carapace are very finely serrated ; these teeth are of two sets, the one much larger than the others ; the larger teeth are of a green colour, tipped at the point with dark brown ; they are about eleven in number, and between each there are two or three much smaller ones interspersed. The appen- dages of the first pair of feet are very short and small, scarcely ex- tending beyond the edge of the carapace. The segments of the abdo- men are each studded with a row of stout, slightly curved spines of a green colour tipped at their edges with dark brown. The tail flap is oval, keeled down the centre, the keel being beset with short sharp spines, and the edges of the flap are finely serrated. The long setae of the tail are nearly the length of the whole animal, and are covered with short hairs. Hab. Van Diemen's Land. British Muggu m. Genus Cypris, MtHK 1. Cypris Donnetii, Baird. Carapace valves elongate oval. Anterior extremity narrower than posterior, and considerably flatter ; posterior extremity rounded and very convex ; dorsal edge arched ; ventral slightly reniform. The surface of the valves is smooth and shining, of a brown colour, varie- gated with patches of a darker shade. The pediform antennae are provided with about six bristles of considerable length. Hab. Freshwater ponds, Coquimbo ; collected by — Donnet, Esq., Surgeon R.N. Brit. Mus. ; from the collection of H. Cuming, Esq. 2. Cypris cuneata, Baird. Carapace valves wedge-shaped, much broader at anterior than poste- rior extremity. Dorsal margin highly arched ; ventral deeply sinuated in the centre, giving the shell a reniform appearance. Valves very convex in the centre, and surrounded by a prominent margin, which at the anterior extremity, when highly magnified, is seen to be mi- nutely and finely serrated. The whole carapace is of a deep green colour, and covered with fine hairs. Hab. Duddingston Loch, near Edinburgh; August 1850. Genus Candona, Baird. 1. Candona lactea, Baird. Carapace valves oblong ovate, convex. Dorsal margin nearly Zoological Society. 57 straight ; ventral slightly sinuated in the centre. Anterior and poste- rior extremities of nearly equal size. Surface of valves smooth and shining, and of a dull white colour. This species resembles in shape the Candona reptansy but is only about one-fourth the size, and is of a uniform dull white colour. Hab. Freshwater pond at Charing, Kent ; collected by W. Harris, Esq., to whom I am indebted for specimens. Regent's Park (T. Ru- pert Jonesy Esq.). Genus CytAere, Miiller. 1 . Cythere Tarentina, Baird. Carapace valves obovate. Anterior extremity much broader than posterior, and having a broad flat margin striated on the surface and toothed round the edge ; posterior extremity pointed, having the same margin, but not so broad, and with much fewer teeth. The valves are very convex in the middle, of a greyish colour, with a white patch in the centre, and are slightly pitted all over. Dorsal and ventral margins both somewhat prominent. Hab. Tarentum. In Mr. Williamson's collection. 2. Cythere setosa, Baird. Carapace valves oval. Anterior extremity narrower than poste- rior. Dorsal margin arched ; ventral sinuated about its anterior third. Surface of valves shining white, and studded all over with short stiff hairs. Hab. Moreton Bay, Australia, and Tenedos. Mr. Williamson's collection. Genus Cythereis, Jones. 1. Cythereis australis, Baird. Carapace valves somewhat quadrilateral. Dorsal and ventral mar- gins nearly straight. Anterior extremity broader than posterior, and finely toothed ; teeth numerous. Posterior extremity emarginate on upper or dorsal edge, and toothed on ventral ; teeth few, and stronger than those on anterior margin. Surface of valves roughened with small asperities, and having one tubercle on about the anterior third of its length. A raised margin encircles the whole valve. Approaches very near Cypridina hieroglyphica of Bosquet, Ento- most. Maestricht, t. 3. f. 4. Hab. Moreton Bay, Australia. Mr. Williamson's collection. 2. Cythereis runcinata, Baird. Carapace valves ovate, flat. Anterior extremity broader than poste- rior, and rounded ; posterior extremity emarginate on upper or dor- sal margin. Surface of valves very flat and rugose ; a flat projecting border surrounds each valve, which is serrulated at anterior extremity and toothed on posterior ; a high raised sharp ridge runs across the centre of the valve somewhat in a diagonal direction, which is serru- lated along its whole length, and a smaller similar ridge is seen near the ventral margin. Hah. Tenedos. Mr. Williamson's collection. 58 Zoological Society. 3. CyTHEREIS FISTULOSA, Baird. Oi;-i-; Carapace valves nearly quadrilateral, elongate. Anterior extremity a little more rounded than posterior, and armed with seven or eight small teeth ; posterior extremity armed with five or six larger teeth. Dorsal and ventral margins nearly straight. Surface of valves gra- nular and ornamented by four elevated straight ridges, which are per- forated near their margins with small round holes. Hab. Manilla. Mr. Williamson's collection. 4. Cythereis prava, Baird. Carapace valves subquadrangular. Anterior extremity considerably broader than posterior, rounded, smooth round the edge, and having a broad flat margin beset on inner edge with small round tubercles ; posterior extremity emarginate, and furnished on inferior half with several short teeth. Valves extremely gibbous in centre, and the surface very rough, wrinkled, and tubercled. Hab. Tenedos. Mr. Williamson's collection. 5. Cythereis deformis, Baird. Carapace valves ovate, short and gibbous ; the two extremities of nearly the same size. Dorsal and ventral margins nearly straight. Surface of valves very coarsely granulated and tubercled ; roughly ridged, but the ridges not perforated as in the preceding species. Hab. Manilla. Mr. Williamson's collection. 6. Cythereis senticosa, Baird. Carapace valves flat, ovate. Anterior extremity broader than poste- rior, and rounded. Dorsal margin sloping towards posterior extre- mity; ventral nearly straight. The surface of the valves is very rough, wrinkled, and beset all over, but especially near the margins, with strong spinous lacinise. Hab. Tenedos. Mr. Wilhamson's collection. Genus Cypridina, M. -Edwards. 1. Cypridina Zealanica, Baird. Carapace valves of an oval form, somewhat flattened, but convex in the centre and striated; the striae are numerous, close-set, and of a waved appearance. Surface of valves covered with minute punc- tations, which probably give origin in the fresh state to short hairs, though they are not visible in the dried specimens. The anterior ex- tremity is slightly narrower than posterior. The whole carapace is of a uniform white colour. Natural size one-fourth of an inch long and one-fifth of an inch broad. Hab. New Zealand. Two specimens were sent to the British Mu- seum by the Rev. R. Taylor, of Waimati in New Zealand, along with a collection of marine and freshwater shells, but without any history attached to them. 2. Cypridina interpuncta, Baird. Carapace valves oval. Anterior extremity narrower than posterior ; Royal Institution. 59 the notch near anterior extremity very wide, and its anterior margin blunt and projecting in form of a beak straight upwards ; posterior extremity obtusely rounded, and terminating near the ventral margin in a short blunt point. Dorsal and ventral margins nearly straight or slightly arched. The surface of the valves is of a dull white colour, and is densely and rather coarsely covered with impressed punctations. The carapace is convex, but much less so than in C, M'Andreit and is of a much more oval shape. Hab. Near the Isle of Skye ; collected by R. M* Andrew, Esq., August 1850. 3. Cypridina Marine, Baird. Carapace valves elongate oval, of exactly the same size at each ex- tremity ; extremities rounded. Dorsal and ventral margins nearly plane, or very slightly arched. Surface of valves of a white shining colour, mottled with a few spots of a dull white, and covered with minute superficial punctations. Notch or ventral margin of anterior extremity blunt, leaving the upper and lower margins of the notch very obtuse. Approaches Asterope elliptica of Philippi somewhat in figure of carapace, but is much more elongate, and is one-third larger. Hab. Off the Isle of Skye ; collected by R. M^Andrew, Esq., Au- gust 1850. ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN. Friday, May 7, 1852.— W. R. Grove, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., Vice-President, in the Chair. On the Supposed Analogy between the Life of an Individual and the Duration of a Species. By Prof. Edward Forbes, F.R.S. In Natural History and Geology, a clear understanding of the rela- tions of Individual, Species, and Genus to Geological Time and Geographical Space is of essential importance. Much, however, of what is generally received concerning these relations will scarcely bear close investigation. Among questionable, though popular notions upon this subject, the Lecturer would place the belief that the term of duration of a species is comparable and of the same kind with that of the life of an individual. The successive phases in the complete existence of an individual are. Birth, Youth, Maturity, Decline, and Decay terminating in Death. Whether we regard an individual as a single self-existing organism however produced, or extend it to the series of organisms, combined or independent, all being products of a single ovum, its term of duration can be abbreviated, but not prolonged indefinitely, nor can the several phases of its existence be repeated. Conditions may arrest or hasten maturity, or prematurely destroy, but cannot, how- ever favourable, reproduce a second maturity after decline has com- menced. Now, it is believed by many that a species (using the term in the sense of an assemblage of individuals presenting certain constant 60 Royal Institution. characters in common, and derived from one original protoplast or stock) passes through a series of phases comparable with those which succeed each other in definite order during the life of a single indivi- dual, — that it has its epochs of origin, of maturity, of decline and of extinction, dependent upon the laws of an inherent vitality. If this notion be true, the theory of Geology will be proportionately affected ; since in this case the duration of species must be regarded as only influenced, not determined, by the physical conditions among which they are placed ; — and, thus, species should characterize epochs or sections of time, independent of all physical changes and modify- ing influences short of those which are absolutely destructive. Now, geological epochs, as at present understood, are defined by peculiar assemblages of species, and the amount of change in the organic contents of proximate formations or strata is usually accepted as a measure of the extent of the disturbances that affect them. Yet this latter inference, involving as it does the supposition that the spread and continuity of species in time are dependent upon physical influ- ences, is adverse to the notion of a Life of a Species as stated above. If we seek for the origin of this notion, we shall find that it has two sources ; the one direct, the other indirect. It is not an induc- tion, nor pretended to be, but an hypothesis assumed through appa- rent analogies. Its first and principal source may be discovered in the comparison suggested by certain necessary phases in the duration of the species with others in the life of an individual, such as each has its commencement, and each has its cessation. Geological research has made known to us, that prior to certain points in time certain species did not exist, and that after certain points in time certain species ceased to be. The commencement of a species has been com- pared with Birth, the extinction with Death. Again, many species can be shown to have had an epoch of maximum development in time. This has been compared with the maturity of the individual. Between the birth of an individual and the commencement of a species in the first appearance of its protoplast, the analogy is more apparent than real. We know how the former phaenomenon takes place, but we have no knowledge of the latter. Between the maturity of the individual and the maximum develop- ment of a species there is no true analogy, since the latter can easily be proved to be entirely dependent on the combination of favouring conditions, and during the period of duration of a sjjecies there may be two or more epochs of great or even equal development, and two or more epochs of decline alternating with epochs of prosperity. The epoch of maximum of a species may also occur during any period in its history short of the first stage. Geological and geographical re- search equally show that the flourishing of a species is invariably coincident with the presence of favouring and its decline with that of unfavourable conditions. Hence there is no analogy between the single and definite phase of maturity of the individual, and the varia- ble and sometimes often-repeated epochs of luxuriant development in the duration of a species. Between the death of the individual and the extinction of a species Royal Institution. 61 there is an analogy only when the former event occurs prematurely through the influence of destroying conditions. But in their absence, an individual after its period of vitality has been completed must necessarily die ; whereas we have no right to assume that such would be the fate of a species so circumstanced, since in every case where we can either geologically or geographically trace a species to its local or general extinction, we can connect the fact of its disappearance with the evidences of physical changes. [The Lecturer illustrated these points by diagrams and special de- monstrations, selecting for explanation two local cases, the one marine and the other freshwater; the former taken from the geological pheenomena of Culver Cliif and the neighbouring bays in the Isle of Wight, of which a beautiful and original model had been communi- cated by Capt. Ibbetson for the purpose, and the latter from his own recent researches (unpublished) on the succession of organic remains in the Purbeck strata of Dorsetshire, conducted as part of the labours of the Geological Survey of Great Britain.] The second and more indirect source of the notion of the life of a species may be traced in apparent analogies, half-perceived, between the centralization of generic groups in time and space, and the limited duration of both species and individual. But in this case ideas are compared which are altogether and essentially distinct. The nature of this distinction is expressed among the following propositions, in which an attempt is made to contrast the respective relations of individual, species, and genus to Geological time and Geographical space. A. The individual, whether we restrict the word to the single organism, however produced — or extend it to the series of organisms, combined or independent, all being products of a single ovum — has but a hmited and unique existence in time, which, short as it must be, can be shortened by the influence of unfavourable conditions, but which no combination of favouring circumstances can prolong beyond the term of life allotted to it according to its kind. B. The species, whether we restrict the term to assemblages of individuals resembling each other in certain constant characters, or hold, in addition, the hypothesis (warranted, as might be shown from experience and experiment), that between all the members of such an assemblage there is the relationship of family, the relationship of descent, and consequently that they are all the descendants of one first stock or protoplast — (how that protoplast appeared is not part of the question) — is like the individual in so much as its relations to time are unique : once destroyed, it never reappears. But (and this is the point of the view now advocated), unlike the individual, it is continued indefinitely so long as conditions favourable to its diffusion and prosperity — that is to say, so long as conditions favourable to the production and sustenance of the individual repre- sentatives or elements are continued coincidently with its existence. [No amount of favouring conditions can recall a species once destroyed. — On this conclusion, founded upon all facts hitherto '^ Botanical Society of Edinburgh. observed in palaeontology, the value of the application of Natural History to Geological science mainly depends.] C. The genus, in whatever degree of extension we use the term, so long as we apply it to an assemblage of species intimately related to each other in common and important features of organization, appears distinctly to exhibit the phsenomenon of centralization in both time and space, though with a difference, since it would seem that each genus has a unique centre or area of development in time, but in geographical space may present more centres than one. a. An individual is a positive reality. b. A species is a relative reality. c. A genus is an abstraction — an idea — but an idea impressed on nature, and not arbitrarily dependent on man's conceptions. i a. An individual is one. - /3. A species consists oi many resulting from one. y. A genus consists of more or fewer of these manies resulting from one linked together not by a relationship of descent but by an affinity dependent on a divine idea. And, lastly, a. An individual cannot manifest itself in two places at once ; it has no extension in space ; its relations are entirely with time, but the possible duration of its existence is regulated by the law of its inherent vitality. b. A species has correspondent and exactly analogous relations with time and space, — the duration of its existence as well as its geogra- phical extension are entirely regulated by physical conditions. c. A genus has dissimilar or only partially comparable relations with time and space, and occupies areas in both having only partial relations to physical conditions. The investigation of these distinctions and relations forms the subject of a great chapter in the Philosophy of Natural History. That Philosophy contemplates the laws that regulate the manifestation of life exhibited in organized nature, and their dependence upon and connection with the inorganic world and its phsenomena. None teaches more emphatically the difficulties with which man's mind must contend when attempting to comprehend the wisdom embodied in the universe, and none holds out a more cheering prospect of future discovery in fresh and unexpected fields of delightful research. BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. Thursday, 8th April, 1852. — Dr. Seller, President, in the Chair. Dr. Murchison exhibited some curious specimens of Extract of Tea, prepared in the form of lozenges by the Chinese. These lozenges were of various forms, and had impressed upon them mottos in Chinese characters, and the figures of different insects, musical in- struments, and other objects. They had been brought from Pekin in the year 1812, and were stated to be used by the Chinese when Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 68 trarelling ; when introduced into the mouth, they were said to dissolve slowly, preventing thirst, and proving very refreshing. Though it was forty years since they had heen brought from China, they still retained a very perceptible flavour of tea. The following papers were read : — 1. "On the (Economic Uses of Chicory {Cichorium Intyhus, L.)," by Mr. James Fulton. The author, after giving a general account of the history of the Chicory plant, and alluding to the antiquity of its cultivation, proceeded to point out the wide range of oeconomic uses to which it might be made applicable, and urged the importance of extending its cultivation. Its extensive use as an ingredient in coffee is well known. As a forage plant, it forms some of the best meadows in the south of France and Lombardy, succeeding in all seasons; while its use as a salad is likewise extensive. Since 1835, large quantities of the root have been imported from the continent ; it is now cultivated in several parts of England. It had occurred to Mr. Fulton that the bitter of the chicory root might be employed as a substitute for hops, and he had accordingly used it with success, and found that the root not only communicates a pleasant bitter, but that it is likewise in some measure a substitute for the malt by possessing a large amount of saccharine matter. 2. "Analysis of the Sabal umhraculiferay as grown in the Botanic Garden," by Mr. Allan B. Dick. The following is Mr. Dick's analysis : — Organic matter. Inorganic, ft Lamina 91*90 8*10 Petiole 95-00 5*00 Silica 37-00 Sulphuric Acid 11*15 , ,,, Lime 15-90 ;•' *;^ , Potash 8*65 Soda 2*50 Chloride of Sodium 8*45 Phosphoric Acid 1*70 . ' 'f ^ ; ' Oxide of Iron 1*30 . ^ a a » Manganese 1*40 ^mtxit^o Magnesia . , .^ 4*75 '" Carbonic Acid 0*99 Charcoal 5*95 99*74 3. "On Plants found in the neighbourhood of Ripon, Yorkshire, in March 1852," by Mr. James B. Davies. 4. "Report on the state of Vegetation in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, from 10th March till 8th April 1852, as compared with the years 1850 and 1851," by Mr. M'Nab. 5. " Notice of Plants found in flower at Bowhill, Selkirkshire, on 23rd March," by Dr. Balfour. 64 Botanical Society of Edinburgh. May 13th, 1852.— Dr. Seller, President, in the Chair. Dr. Balfour read a letter from Dr. Dickie, mentioning that he had added two mosses to the Flora of Ireland, viz. Polytrichum hercyni-' cum and Hypnum rufescens. The following papers were read : — 1 . " Notice of Chinese Vegetable Products transmitted for the Museum of (Economic Botany," by Mr. Robert Fortune. 2. *' On Plants found in Yorkshire, Westmoreland, and Cumber- land, in April 1852," by Mr. James B. Davies. Mr. Davies gave a complete list of the plants observed by him, with their dates of flowering. Professor Balfour exhibited a young plant of Victoria Regia, from one of the hothouses in the Botanic Garden, showing the remarkable difference in the form of the leaves produced in its early stage of growth from those afterwards formed. The plant showed the first- formed linear leaf, followed by the sagittate form, after which, leaves of a more or less rounded-cordate form are produced. June 10, 1852. — Dr. Seller, President, in the Chair. The following papers were read : — 1. "On a supposed new species of Eleocharis,*' by Charles C. Babington, M.A. This paper will be found in the present Number of the * Annals.' 2. "Analysis of the Fluid (known as Gram Oil) from the leaves of Gram (Cicer arietinum)" by Thomas Anderson, Esq. This paper consisted of an analysis. made by Mr. Russell Aldridge : — " On eva- poration it yielded a black residue which would not dissolve in cold water, but did so readily when heated ; and on cooling it became turbid, showing the presence of oxidizable extractive. To a small portion of the fluid chloride of calcium was added, and a precipitate of oxalate of lime obtained, showing the presence of oxalic acid ; it was then filtered, and to a portion of the filtrate potash was added, no precipitate was obtained, therefore no tartaric acid. To the remainder of the filtrate ammonia was added, which gave no precipitate when cold ; but upon boiling it a slight one was obtained, showing a trace of citric acid. The remainder of the original solution was evaporated down, and the residue taken up with alcohol, a small quantity of gummy matter separated ; on evaporating the alcoholic fluid, it left some sugar ; the residue was then placed in a platinum capsule and subjected to red heat, the ashes (which were of a brown colour) were then taken up with water, and a few drops of hydrochloric acid added, which gave to the fluid a yellow colour, showing the presence of oxide of iron. It was then filtered, and carbonate of ammonia added, which gave a distinct trace of lime, again filtered, and to the filtrate phosphate of soda added, which gave a trace of magnesia. Potash and soda were present in minute quantities. " The results thus are : — " Oxalic acid (copious), citric acid (traces), oxidizable extractive, gum, sugar, lime, magnesia, iron, potash and soda." 3. " Notice relative to the Transmission of Foreign Seeds in Soil," Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 65 by TMr. M*Nab. The author stated that he had been long in the be- Hef that the transmission of fruits and seeds in a fit state for germi- nation would be better accomplished by being packed in soil than by any other known method. This experiment was fully tested by him- self during 1834, when he brought over the seeds of many of the rarer American oaks and other trees in boxes filled with soil, while portions of the same kinds of seeds packed, both in brown paper and cloth bags, were in many instances totally useless. 4. " On a variety of the Orchis mascula (O. speciosa. Host), found in the county of Wicklow," by Mr. D. Moore of Glasnevin. This communication consisted of parts of two letters from Mr. Moore ad- dressed to Mr. N'Nab : — "27th May 1852. — I have just been looking over a proof figure of Orchis speciosa, Host. It was discovered by me and another per- son last year in the county of Wicklow, where I went again a few days ago and found two more plants. Koch makes it a variety of O. mascula, which it probably ought not to be kept separate from ; the difference being more in appearance than in well-defined cha- racters. It is however a noble-looking plant, growing nearly 1 8 inches high." "28th May 1852. — I herewith send you one of the smallest spe- cimens of the Orchis speciosa, Host, which I will thank you to show to Dr. Balfour. Some of the flowers in the rachis are imperfect, wanting the labellum. The specimen figured had also imperfect flowers, which would appear to be characteristic of the species. I confess I cannot find good characters to distinguish it from O. mas- cula, though it differs so widely in general appearance.*' In regard to the Orchis, Dr. Balfour read the following communi- cation from Mr. Babington : — " I see that Mr. Moore has sent you a paper upon the supposed Orchis speciosa of the county of Wicklow, and that it is to be brought before the Botanical Society on Thursday next. He has been so good as to send me a specimen of the plant, and I have informed him very recently that I could not concur in the opinion that it is the O. speciosa of Host. I believe it to be nothing more than a very luxuriant state of the O. mascula. A few days since I found two spe- cimens, exactly corresponding with the Wicklow plant, in the wooded part of the Devil's Ditch, in this county of Cambridge. They pos- sess the remarkable size of Mr. Moore's plant, and the rather acuter segments of the perianth, such as he finds on his specimens. The true O. speciosa (which is itself only a variety of the O. mascula) has very much more attenuated segments of perianth. It is figured by Reichenbach in his recent elaborate volume upon the Orchidacese (forming * Icon. Fl. Germ.' vols. xiii. & xiv.), and I have lately re- ceived a plant which is much more like it than is the Irish plant, from Mr. Keys of Plymouth. Our English O. mascula is noted by conti- nental botanists as an obtuse-petaled form of the species. Mr. Moore's plant is far nearer to the continental type of the species. 5. " On Plants observed in Westmoreland and Cumberland in May 1852," by Mr. James B. Davies. Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. x. 5 6^ Linnaan Society. LINN.EAN SOCIETY. « February 4, 1851. — Robert Brown, Esq., President, in the Chair, The President exhibited specimens of stems of Kingia australis, R. Br., and Xanthorrhoea arbor ea, R. Br., together with drawings of the former, illustrative of its structure, especially of the siliceous covering of the vascular fasciculi of the persistent bases of the leaves ; and in both genera, the means by which the. stems are pro- tected from the scorching fires of the natives. lisd.t in sm X'^^^ Read the following " Notice concerning Linnseus's Iter Dale- carlicum," extracted from a letter of Mr. Charles Hartman, M.A,, to the Secretary of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Stockholm, in which he gives a report of his examination of the collections and manuscripts of Linnaeus in the possession of the Linnean Society of London ; which letter is printed in the Academy's Proceedings at the Meeting on the 12th September 1849 (being No. 7 of the 6th year), p. 185. Translated from the Swedish by N. Wallich, M..iet Phil.D., V.P.L.S. &c. ,3 After mentioning the library of Linnseus, Mr. Hartman proceeds as follows : — But what especially interested me was to find a manuscript of Linnaeus, consisting of 176 folio pages, containing a complete ac- count of his journey in Daleoarlia in 1734, arranged according to the plan adopted in his other published Travels, and enriched with remarks on divers subjects, marginal notes of contents, such as • OEconomica, Geographica, Botanica,' &c. After the proper diary follows a small appendix of the names, and an extremely short but graphic character of clergymen and other persons in the parishes of the Dalas (valleys, Dalecarlia) which were visited ; a faithful chart executed by the geographer to the party ; and lastly, a seem- ingly jocose warrant, issued to their mineralogist, in the handwriting and under the sign manual of Linnaeus himself. As this journey has never, as far as I know, been published, or even noticed, it may not be improper to give here a transcript of its title and pre- face, which will best serve to give an idea of the contents of the MSS., and the plan and object of the journey itself. The writing as well as the whole report being in Swedish, in the not always very legible handwriting of Linnaeus, I have had some difficulty in deciphering it, and have been obliged to omit some words in two places. The title is as follows : — Caroli Linnaei, P.S.R. Iter Dalekarlicum jussu 8r impensis Viri Generosissimi et Excellentissimi Dni Nicolai Reuterholmi Gubernatoris Provincia Dalekarlicce institutum per Dale- karlicam Suecice provinciam quoad orientalem, Alpinam «^ occidentalem partem, observationibus constans Geographicis, Physicis, Mincralogicis, Botanicis, Zoologicis, Domesticis S; Oeconomicis quotidie collectis a mensis Julii die 3 ad Augusti d. 11 Anni 1734. Lanncean Society. 67 The first page contains the following preface, relating to the ex- tent of the journey, &c. "L. B. " Having been charged, last summer, by Governor Reuterholm to make a tour through the Eastern and Western Dalas (valleys) in his province, I proceeded to Fahlun, where I enjoyed that distinguished gentleman's hospitality, and obtained a generous stipend for the journey. As soon as the time and objects of the journey became known, I was visited by some of the cleverest and most zealous Students of the Academy of Upsala, who were anxious to accom- pany me at their own expense. I very thankfully accepted of their prompt offer ; and in order that everything might be properly regu- lated, my companions formed themselves into a Society, with laws and statutes to be kept conscientiously : e. ^.* C. Linnaeus Smoland Praeses publice et privatim. Reinh. Nasman Dalekavl Geographus Pastor. Carl Clenberg Helsing Physicus Secretarius. Ingel. Fahlstedt .... Dalekarl Mineralogus .... MasteroftheHorse. Claud Sohlberg Dalekarl.' .... Botanicus Quartermaster. Eric Emporelius .... Dalek Zoologist Huntingmaster. Petr. Hedenblod .... Dalek Domesticus Aide-de-Camp. Beniam. Sandal Americ Oecouomius .... Accountant. "Thus organized, the journey commenced on the 3rd July, 1734, from Fahlun through the Eastern Dalar, the hills, the Western Dalar, through Biursas, Lexan, Rattvik, Ore, Orsa, Mora, Elfdahl, Serna, Fiell, Roras in Norway, Lima, Malung, Nas, Floda, Gagne, Ahl, ending at Fahlun the 17th Aug. ej. anni. Observations were made daily, as far as possible, according to the subjects assigned to each of our party, by which the duties of the undertaking were facilitated. Thence it may be seen that much remains still unknown in the country and ; that each province possesses its advantages and how they may be developed ; that it would be of incredible advantage to Sweden were all her provinces similarly examined, and that one pro- vince might thus be assisted by another. Should the reader approve, thanks are due to him who originated the journey, without whose aid it could not have been undertaken, and who deserves to be looked to as a pattern to all, who love, pursue and patronize studies, who excels in reasoning powers, and who deserve to To the Great God, who has ordered this world in such an indescribable manner, and has created and preserved us to be its ... . and Spec- tatores, be praise and thanks for our having performed our journey in safety. ** Dabam Fahlu Kongsgard " Carl Linnaeus." 1734 Aug. 25." * Consult Egenhdndiga Anteckningar af Carl Linnaeus (C. L.'s own Annotations), p. 107. 5* 68 Linncean Society. The following list of acquaintances made during the journey, with remarks on each, is placed at the end of the journal : — Biursas Pastor Lundvall, Mr. Joh juvenis, fidus. Rattvik Dean Humblaeus, Mag. Olaus. . sublimis, 6()genarius. ■ Accountant. Olof Laresu simplex, Mineralogus. Cirsa Pastor Schedevin, Mag. Dan. . . doctus, oeconom. Commander Olof Laresu simpl., bonus. Mora Dean Emporelius, Mag. Joh. . . 70genarius. Adjunctus . Wistblad, Mag. Tob sibi sapiens. Elfdahl .... Pastor .... Nasman, Eric hospitalis. Serna Pastor Floraeus, Mr. Gabr adustus. ^'^^ \ . . Director . . Bredahl, Mr. Land | humanissimus Norveg. J ^ omnmm. Hyttskrifv. Irrgens, Mr. Hennig bonus & astutus. Overstigare.Bortgrevin, Mr. Leonh. . . /bonus animus ger> I manic. ^^^l^ Lima Pastor .... Gezelius phlegmat. t j,- ,; {curiosiss. pauperri- m.us, abjectiss. doc- tissimus. ^ . Malung .... Pastor .... Harkraan, M. Vindikt . . phlegmat. Nas Pastor .... Dicander, M. Eric doctus, sapiens. r Floda Pastor .... Rabenius, Mr. Job humaniss., sapiens. Gagne .... Comminist, Biorkman, Mr. Sven .... bonus vir,non hospitalis. Ahl Pastor .... Lundberg, Mr. Joh simplex. Lastly is added a copy of the warrant alluded to above, which is furnished with the seal and signature of Linnaeus: — *• We praeses and membra of the Reuterholmian Travelling Society through Dalecarlia make known by this letter patent to all con- cerned, that we have nominated and appointed our master of the horse, Mr. Ingel. Fahlstedt, at his own request and on account of his science, as our ordinary Membrum Mineralogicum, and as such to be as industrious as is in his power, to attend to his branch of re- searches as regards the province of Halecarlia for the good of the public and the honour of our country, and to consider himself re- sponsible to the Society for the due execution thereof. Done at Fahlun Kongsg. 1734 July 2. Carl - * ? • '^-^ Linnaeus. <^I to fkM (Sigill.) C. Clenberg. '^^ Secret. Societ. - Warrant for Ingel. Fahlstedt, '•''■'^V Mineralogist. ^'^^ ao (L.S.) The cost of Charta Sigillata 1 Rtdr. Speue paid into the Treasury. Ben. Sandel, Account." Miscellaneous. 69 *■" ■^^'""^' '* ^'"' MISCELLANEOUS. Ornithological Notes. By John Alexander Smith, M.D.* 1. O/" Me Woodcock (Scolopax rusticoluy Linn.), breeding in PertJishire and Moray shir Cy ^c. — It is scarcely necessary for me to remind the Society that the Woodcock {Scolopax rusticola) is one of our regular winter visitors, arriving in Britain from the north gene- rally in the beginning of October, and leaving again on its northern journey in March and April. And although this is beyond all doubt the general rule, still a good many instances have occurred from time to time of their remaining to breed both in England and Scotland ; and these have apparently become more frequent of later years, or perhaps from the increased number of observers they are now more carefully watched than formerly. But although we have notes of the occurrence of their nests at various times in Scotland, still the young birds have been very rarely seen by our Edinburgh naturalists, so that I have thought it of sufficient interest to call your attention to the subject by exhibiting this couple of young ^ooc?coc^5 which were taken in the neighbourhood of Dunkeld in the end of the month of April last. Judging from their appearance they seem to be about a month, or perhaps six weeks old ; and they closely resemble the old bird in their mottled plumage : the first primary however has the outer web edged with a very light-coloured brownish stripe, while the others have the triangularly shaped brown spots like the adult ; the bill is rather more than If inch in length, and the whole bird about 9 inches ; whereas the bill of the adult is nearly 3 inches in length, and the whole bird about 14 inches. These birds I have been in- formed were come upon, when the whole family party were busily engaged catering for food ; and on their being disturbed, the parent birds, strange to say, attempted to fly off with their young in their claws, dropping some of them however in their flight, when the young birds were caught by two men who witnessed the whole pro- ceedings : three young birds were caught, but the fourth was believed to have been safely carried off ; they were kept alive for a short time, but they soon pined away and died. The Woodcock has been ob- served to breed at various times in this district around Dunkeld ; it is however by no means a common occurrence. Mr. Muirhead, Queen Street, tells me, that when in Morayshire last summer, about the 18th or 19th of June, one of the Earl of Moray's gamekeepers, at Darnaway Castle, assured him that some of the Woodcocks occa- sionally remained and bred in the neighbourhood, and on Mr. M. (who had never heard anything of the kind before) hinting a doubt on the subject, the keeper offered to show him one of their nests, and remarked that what was far more extraordinary was the fact, that occasionally on coming near a Woodcock's nest, he had seen the old bird rise from it carrying one of her young brood in her claws. And accordingly on going with him to a piece of dry grassy ground, co- * Read before the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh, April 7, 1852. 70 Miscellaneous, vered with copse wood, where there was a Woodcock's nest with young birds, and carefully approaching the place, they heard the old bird, as they supposed, give a peculiar cry or '* squeel," and saw it immediately fly up with a young bird in its claws ; and Mr. Muirhead declares he could not have made any mistake, as the bird was not above ten or twelve yards from him, so that he saw it most distinctly ; they then went forward to the nest, and found another fledged young bird still remaining squatted in it, which he was prevented handling, by the keeper informing him that if he did so, it would in all proba- bility be removed, and not brought back again to the nest. He was told that there were generally three or four eggs in the nest. I have the pleasure of also exhibiting an effff of this bird which was taken from a nest near Durris, Kincardineshire ; it is about 1 inch 1 lines in length, and 1 inch 4 lines in breadth ; of a yellowish white, blotched and spotted with gray and various shades of yellowish brown ; the spots being more frequent towards the larger end. We have in these in- stances another detailed account of the curious and extraordinary cir- cumstance of birds attempting to rescue their young from anticipated danger, and in the Woodcock these are by no means to be considered as solitary examples ; some three instances of a similar kind occurring in this country being quoted in Yarrell's * British Birds ' (vol. ii. p. 591), from that valuable storehouse of facts in zoology, the * Ma- gazine of Natural History.' Cases of this kind however seem to be so very strange, that we are inclined to give various explanations be- fore we can persuade ourselves of their possibility, and to one of these I may in passing allude : for example, a bird-fancier told me he had seen instances where the presence of an addled or unhatched egg in the nest of some of his breeding birds, had given rise to the appearance at least of the old bird carrying a young one out of its nest. The bird was sitting very closely on her recently hatched young, the addled egg being accidentally broken, its contents spreading over the breast of the mother as well as over one of the young birds ; and on her rapidly leaving the nest to feed, the young one, having become adherent to its mother's breast, was carried out with it ; the heat of the mother while in the nest helping to dry the albumen, and in this way glue the two together, and in some instances so closely, that he had been obliged to seize the mother for the purpose of removing the young one, while in other instances it dropped off shortly after the bird left the nest : and this he had seen to occur both in pigeons and canaries. I am not aware how far a similar cause may be considered as explaining any of the instances described as occurring among birds in their state of native freedom ; although i» many cases I should suppose it impossible to be perfectly certain how the young bird was carried by the mother, whether accidentally or by manifest design. And I suspect it will require more extended and carefully minute observation before we shall be quite able to ex- plain them ; still in the several instances noticed by Yarrell, as well as in those to which I have alluded, there seems no reason for doubt- ing the fact of the young bird being actually carried off in the claws of the anxious parent bird. From these young Woodcocks being Miscellaneous, 71 hatched so early in the season as the middle of March, if not earlier, and the others in the month of June, one would be inclined to suppose that these birds may occasionally rear two broods in the year (?) ; or it may be explained merely by some accidental circum- stances retarding the nidification of some individuals until such a late period. 2. I also take this opportunity of exhibiting to the Society this very peculiar specimen of the Common or Corn Bunting {Embe' riza miliaria, Linn.), which at first sight has more the appearance, in colour at least, of an overgrown mealy canary. Its whole upper and under parts being of a pale yellow, with the exception of a very few brownish spots or feathers scattered over it ; these spots consist apparently of the darker colour along the quill of the feather, still remaining in a few instances ; the wing-coverts are pure white, but the quills are of the usual brown colour, edged with lighter brown, with the exception of the second quill in each wing, and two or three of the secondaries of one wing, which are also pure white. The tail- coverts are yellowish white, and the lateral tail-feathers are white, the central ones being of a very pale brownish colour ; indeed only three feathers retain their usual colour. The under mandible is also pale yellow ; but the eyes were of their ordinary dark brown or black, con- trasting strangely with its light-coloured plumage. The bird is an adult female, being fully 7 inches in length, and was in plump and well-fed condition. It was shot on the 7th of February last, to the north of the village of Maxton, Roxburghshire. The Common Bunting, as it is called, is by no means a very common bird in this locality, and indeed it would seem to be now much rarer than formerly, as, unfortunately for its peace and safety, the quill- feathers are highly esteemed by the anglers in the district for making a very killing variety of artificial fly for trout-fishing. I have brought with me a specimen of the bird in its ordinary plumage, that those of you who are not very familiar with its usual appearance may see the great contrast exhibited by this pale yellow specimen, where the dark colours are almost entirely obliterated, and the naturally yellowish tinge of the lighter brown parts has become extended over the whole bird and transformed into a pale yellow or yellowish white. 3. I exhibit also a specimen of the Lesser Redpole {Frinyilla linaria, Linn.), shot near Stirling, which has the upper and back parts of the head and sides of the neck pure white, and there are also a few white feathers thinly scattered over other parts of its body. It shows very well the more usual extent in which this accidental white- coloured variety of plumage is generally found. 4. I shall next notice this specimen of the Siskin (Carduelis spinusy Cuv.), which was taken on Arthur's Seat, about the middle of last September ; and my reason for doing so is that some of our natu- ralists seem to me to consider it much rarer in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh than it really is. Our bird-catchers I am informed are in the habit of taking considerable numbers in this neighbourhood by means of their call-birds and nets, all through the winter months ; in 72 Miscellaneous. some seasons however they catch them in much greater numbers than in others ; and although it is one of our winter visitors, still some of them undoubtedly remain to breed, of which indeed several instances have been recorded ; and I have myself seen a specimen of the bird which was shot in this neighbourhood in the end of the month of April. 5. I am indebted to my young friend Mr. "W. Dumbreck for being able to exhibit to the Society a Scottish specimen of a very rare bird, the Black-winged Stilt, or Long-legged Plover {Himantopus melanopterus, Tem.). It is one of the accidental visitors to Britain which are met with now and then at very uncertain intervals, and of which only some two or three instances are recorded of its occurrence in Scotland. This I hope will be a sufficient apology for exhibiting it ; although it was killed a good many years ago, and no notice has ever been given of its capture. It was shot in the breeding season on the south bank of the river Clyde, nearly opposite to Dumbarton Castle, and when seen was squatting on the ground, so that it was at first supposed to be merely a young Lapwing, or some such bird. It is easily distinguished hy its extremely long stilt-like legs, with three toes in front and none behind ; and it appears to be a young bird ; the back part of the head and neck being dusky, the scapulars brownish black, the rest of the wing greenish black ; and the length of the primaries from the carpal joint to their extremity being only b\ inches, instead of 8 inches as in the adult, in which they extend considerably beyond the tail ; whereas in this specimen they do not reach to within 1^ inch or so of its extremity. The tail is ash- coloured, and the rest of the body is white. It measures about 13 inches in length, and from the termination of the feathered part of the tibia to the foot it is 7i inches long. Q k 7. I am also informed that the person who shot this bird was fortunate enough when a young man to capture other two of our rarer birds, which may be worth a passing notice ; the one is the Wryneck {Yunx torquillai Linn.), of which an individual was killed in the neighbourhood of Glasgow ; and the other (which I have seen) is the Rose-coloured Pastor {Pastor roseus), which was shot in a garden near Caldwell, Renfrewshire. I allude to these birds, as I am anxious to impress upon the Mem- bers of the Society the propriety of recording all the instances of the occurrence of any of our rarer birds which may happen to come to their knowledge ; as it is only in this way that anything like a cor- rect idea of the ornithology of a particular district, or of our country itself, is to be obtained. 8. Through the politeness of Mr. Dickson, of the well-known firm of John Dickson and Co., Gunmakers, Princes Street, I am enabled to show this beautiful specimen of the very rare Great-Billed or Surf Scoter (Oidemia perspicillata, Flem.). It is a fine adult male, and was shot in Musselburgh Bay on Friday last the 2nd of April. The Scoters are true sea ducks, seeking among the waves and surf for their varied molluscous diet. Three species are described as being found occasionally on our coasts during the winter months ; MiscellaneoiLS. 73 the Black, the Velvet, and this, the Surf Scoter ; but the last of these is only a very rare visitor. They are dark or black plumaged ducks, the females being brown ; and this species is easily disthiguished from the others by the rounded patch of white on its forehead, between and in front of its eyes ; and the somewhat shield-shaped patch, square above, and pointed posteriorly, on the nape and running down the neck. The rest of the plumage is deep bluish black tinged with brownish on the quills and the wedge-shaped tail. The appearance of the bill is singular: prominent in the middle over the nostrils, which are pervious (and to which point the feathers come down), then sloping with a concave outline to the slightly rounded nail at its point ; and it is also very prominent at the lateral parts of its base. Its colour is of a reddish orange, paler at the sides, and becoming yellowish towards the nail ; and there is a very strongly defined square-shaped black patch on each of the two lateral protuberances, edged with the reddish orange of the bill, except at its superior and anterior angle, and in front, where it is succeeded by a triangularly-shaped spot of bright bluish white, terminating at the nostril. The under mandible is of a much paler reddish colour. The bill measured on the side is nearly 2f inches in length by \^ inch in height, and about the same in breadth across the lateral protuberances at its base. The eyes are placed high on the head, not far indeed from the top, about 1^ inch above and slightly behind the angle of the mouth. The iris was of a beautiful white, reminding one almost of white china ware. The tarsi are of a reddish orange colour in front and dusky behind, and the toes are also reddish orange with dusky spots at the joints, the inter- vening membranes being of a dusky black ; the claws are small and black. The whole bird is about 21 inches in length ; and from the carpal joint to the extremity of the first and second primaries which are the longest, it is 9f inches, the wing reaching only to a very little beyond the base of the tail. Fleming in his * British Animals * mentions that the Surf Scoter is said by Temminck to have occurred in Orkney. And I shall quote a short passage from Sir W. Jardine's interesting ' Ornithology of Great Britain,' part iv. p. 162 (Naturalist's Library), which seems to give the best summary of its occurrence ; he says, — " The Surf Scoter is an extremely rare bird in Britain, and even in Europe ; the coasts of North America (where it is plentiful) being its real habitation. It has been stated by most of our modem British ornithologists, that specimens of this bird occur now and then in the vicinity of the Orkney and Shetland Islands, but we are not aware of any being lately procured there. In the * Birds of Europe,* a specimen is stated to have been killed in the Firth of Forth, and Mr. Yarrell records another instance of a recent specimen coming into the possession of Mr. Bartlett of London : all these in this country have occurred in winter. It is of nearly equal rarity on the continent, and few notices of it occur either in any of the recent works devoted to natural history, or in those books of tours which lately, under the apology of sport, have recorded some interesting anecdotes on the habits of little-known species." So that this beautiful adult male is to be considered apparently as the second instance of the bird's occur- 74 Miscellaneous. ring in the Firth of Forth, and only the third or fourth time that it has been observed in Britain. 9. And in conclusion I may call your attention to a fine specimen of the Pink-Footed Goose (Anser hrachyrhynchuSi Bail.), or Anser phoenicopus, Bart., which seems to be not very uncommon in this district at this time of the year. It was only pointed out as a new species in this country so recently as 1839, and is easily known by its short bill and pink feet, which the names given to it point out, and which distinguish it from the Bean Goose {Anser segetum), which it much resembles. The whole bird measured some 28 inches in length, the narrow bill being (along the side) little more than \\ inch long, and much shorter than the head; its colour is black, except a band across its middle which is bright reddish pink. Legs and feet reddish pink, in some parts brighter than in others, with the claws dusky. I have observed a few specimens of this bird in the poulterers' shops lately, said to have been shot towards the west country. This specimen was killed in the Carnwath district, adjoin- ing this county to tbe south-west. I have had sent me the following note, giving notice of these geese occurring in the neighbourhood of Midcalder (Edinburghshire), by the friend who shot this one on the 4th of this month : this you may perhaps consider of some little interest, as not much appears to be known of the habits of this parti- cular kind of goose ; and with it I conclude : he says, — " At this season yearly, the geese come in considerable numbers for the purpose of feeding on the sown fields, particularly in the moorland districts, where the country is open and they see about them ; they are very shy and easily disturbed ; where they are in numbers today, there are none tomorrow ; they rarely settle near the same place after being disturbed ; the evening about dusk is the time to creep upon them, when they are arranging their sleeping berth commonly at the side of some out-of-the-way bit of water — ^lakes, ponds, not running streams. About a hundred of them passed over this house on Sunday evening a little before 8 o'clock ; they speak much to each other, and very loud, giving ample notice of their approach to bed ; those on Sunday evening were within shot, and must have gone to sleep at some short distance at the Curling Ponds. The bird you got was shot about nine miles from this, in the Carnwath district ; and was one of a con- siderable flock, in the act of taking up their sleeping quarters. They are sometimes got by laying in wait for them about the sown fields. I sent the bird for a roast — the culinary qualities are much prized — mode of proceeding, see * Meg Dodds.' I was on the look-out for them till 9 o'clock last night, but no success. The getting them is quite a matter of chance. — April 6th, 1852." CORFIOTE SHELLS. BY SYLVANUS HANLEY, ESQ. Although the accompanying list of species contains nothing re- markable, yet being, I believe, the only published catalogue of the shells indigenous to that most beautiful island, it m.ay possibly prove not devoid of utility to those who study the geographical distribution Miscellaneous, 75 of the MoUusca. The want of a dredge forbad any extended re- search, and the time of year (January) was most adverse to any suc- cessful search for the land or freshwater kinds : consequently the list is most imperfect, the whole of the marine shells having been col- lected, on the shore, within three miles of the capital of Corfu. Those distinguished by an asterisk were evidently washed up, and were untenanted. As the ' Enumeratio MoUuscorum Sicihse ' of Philippi is in the hands of every conchologist, the names adopted by him, in his second volume, have been accepted, for faciUty of reference. dant under stones in shallow but decidedly salt water). Haliotis tuberculata ! (not our Bri- tish shell, but the laraellosa of Reeve's Monograph). Vermetus gigas*. Trochus articulatus. fanulum. divaricatus. Venus decussata. Cardium rusticum(=edule var. glau- cum). Cardita sulcata*. Spondylus Gaedaropus*. Area Nose*. barbata*. Chiton Siculus. Patella Lusitanica (= punctata of Lamarck). Tarentina. cffirulea. Helix aspersa. striata. Carthusianella. Corcyrensis (of Pfeiffer, Monog. Helic). Bulimus acutus. Achatina acicula. Cochlicopa Algira. Clausilia papillaris. Cyclostoma elegans. tessellatum (as figured in Sower- by's Thesaurus). Rissoa Montagui. costata. elata. Bruguieri. Truncatella truncatula (most abun- varius. Adriaticus. Phasianella pullus. Littorina Neritoides. Cerithium vulgatum. lima. fuscatum. Pleurotoma Ginnanianum. Murex brandaris*. trunculus*. Ranella lanceolata. Buccinum variabile. D'Orbignyi. scriptum. pusio (maculosum of Lamarck). corniculum. Columbella rustica. Mitra Savignyi. Conus Mediterraneus. It is not unworthy of remark, that the plicated and dwarf varieties of Buccinum corniculum are found intermingled with the ordinary form, without any diminution of their varietal peculiarities. ON LITTORINA PALLIATA. BY WILLIAM THOMPSON. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. Weymouth, June 6, 1852. Gentlemen, — Messrs. Forbes and Hanley in their account of the Littorime, at page 52. vol. iii. of the ' British MoUusca,' state their conviction that the result of a completed knowledge of this genus would be a reduction of the number of true British species ; and in 76 Miscellaneous. page 53 they feel almost sure that Littorina palliata will fall under L. littoralis. A curious fact has lately come under my observation, which is evidence in favour of Messrs. Forbes and Hanley's opinion. On the 19th of December 1851, whilst searching the region of Fucus nodosus and F. vesiculosus, I obtained several examples of the male Littorina rudis in copulation with Littorina littoralis (formerly Nerita litto- ralis) : in every instance rudis was the male. What will their pro- geny be like ? I think we find it in Littorina palliata ; the characters of the two former are so intimately blended in L. palliata. It may be described as a littoralis with the convex whorls and rounded body, and I may add, the spire of rudis, whilst the smaller size and the nar- rower basal confluence of the lips may fairly enough be considered as the effect of hybridism. From these circumstances I infer Littorina palliata to be the hybrid progeny of L. rudis (male) and a female L. littoralis. The only doubt in my mind as to this inference is, that I have not as yet found any specimens of L. palliata on this coast ; but neither have I found any other shell that might in any way be considered as the produce of rudis and littoralis. I found in all eight couples ; and I think, that the copulation being only chance, the probability of the unfruitfulness of some (which probability is greater than in cases where both are of the same species), and the further probability of the hybrids not being prolific — taking all these together, — will, I think, form just grounds for the rarity of the species. Should this prove to be the case, it will be a question whether L. palliata is entitled to be considered a species or merely a variety. If it be capable of reproducing like MoUusca, I think it should be retained as a species ; it may be a question, however, whether a hy- brid incapable of reproduction is entitled to be considered a species. Gentlemen, yours obediently, William Thompson. new locality for tulostoma mammosum. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. The Willows, Swansea, June 9, 1852. Gentlemen, — Believing the plant mentioned below to be some- what rare, I shall be obliged by your insertion of the following : — Tulostoma mammosum, near Pennard Castle, Glamorganshire. Found only on one spot — not very plentiful there. Your obedient servant, Matthew Moggridge. On the Preservation of the Fecundated Eggs of Fishes. By M. CosTE. I communicated to the Academy, at a previous meeting, the result of an experiment tending to prove that it was possible to preserve the eggs of salmon and trout out of the water a sufficient time to trans- port them to great distances and to make them hatch in places where it was desired to introduce these fish. The following fact shows that Miscellaneous. 77 these eggs can be preserved during more than two months without losing the power of development. If this fact be confirmed, we shall possess the means of procuring species living in distant parts of the globe and acclimatizing them in regions which they have never yet inhabited. This result, obtained by MM. Berthot and Detzem, is evidently of great importance ; the following are the means adopted by these gentlemen. Eggs of salmon artificially fecundated were placed in a deal box in layers alternating with damp sand. The box was then placed, /or two months, in a cold room, the temperature of which, however, was sufficiently high to preserve them from freezing. At the expiration of this time the eggs were shrivelled, and before taking them out of the box they were placed in water so that they might become moistened through the sand with which they were covered ; for when this precaution is neglected, they perish. Some of these eggs were sent to me by MM. Berthot and Detzem. I placed them in my apparatus, where they have since hatched. The experiment has therefore succeeded. — Comptes Rendus, April 5, 1852, p. 507. POSTSCRIPT TO MR. CLARk's PAPER ON RARE BRITISH MOLLUSCA AT PAGE 22. June 23. — The Chemnitzia I mentioned yesterday turned out to be the Chem. obliqua, with a perfectly smooth shell ; and after 1 had despatched my postscript note I met with the Chem. decorata, an animal of more modest pretensions, having the basal volution of the shell finely and superficially striated. This discovery settles the di- stinctness of the two, which I doubted, having stated in vol. vii. p. 394 of the N. S. of the * Annals,' that the C. decorata is the C. obliqua : I make this admission with the reservation that my pre- sent shell is the obliqua, if such a species is in esse. And this morn- ing I captured the rare Chem. insculpta alive. I have notes of the three animals of this peculiar little section of the Chemnitzice. IRISH MOLLUSCA. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. Windsor Lodge, Monkstown, co. Dublin, May 22, 1852. Gentlemen, — The following MoUusca have been obtained by me off the Dublin coast, some of which are new to that locality : will you please at your earliest convenience to publish their occurrence ? Teredo megotara, Hanley. Drift wood, Killiney Bay. Xylophaga dorsalis, Turton. Some very fine live specimens were trawled off the Skerrie Islands. Sphcenia Binghami, Turton. In the thick valves of Ostrea edulis : dredged in Dalkey Sound, 14 fathoms. Thracia villosiuscula, Macgillivray. Dredged in about 14 fathoms, Dalkey Sound. T. convexa, Wood. Trawled off Skerries. Solecurtus coarctatus, Gmelin. Same locality as the last. 78 Miscellaneous. Psammobia teUinella, Lamarck. Dredged in Dal key Sound. Tellina pygmcea, Philippi. Same locality as the last. Cytherea Chione, One valve : dredged in about 14 fathoms, Dalkey Sound. Circe minima^ Montagu. Two odd valves : same locality as the last. Astarte sulcata^ Da Costa. Same locality as the last. Cardium nodosum, Turton. Same locality. C.fasciatum, Montagu. Same locality. Lucina spinifera, Montagu. Trawled off the Calf of Man. Leda caudata, Donovan. Two live specimens with some odd valves dredged in 1 3 fathoms, Dalkey Sound. Lima Losc.ombii, Sowerby. Dredged in a live state from 12 to 14 fathoms, Dalkey Sound. Lima Mans, Gmehn. A beautiful live specimen was dredged last month in Killiney Bay in about 15 fathoms. Anomia striata ?, Loven. Dredged in Dalkey Sound. Chiton Icevis, Pennant. Same locality. Trochus exiguus ?, Pulteney. South Bull, Dublin Bay. . T. granulatus, Born. Trawled off the Calf of Man. T. Montaguiy Gray. Dredged in from 12 to 14 fathoms, Dalkey Sound. Fusus propinquus, Alder. Trawled off the Skerries ; but I have obtained much better specimens last summer off the Saltees. Mangelia gracilis , Montagu. Trawled off Skerries, in company with M. turriculay Trophon clathratus and Nassa incrassata. Yours truly obliged, William White Walpole. On the Sun Column as seen at Sandwich Manse, Orkney y in April 1852. By C. Clouston. The perpendicular column of light which appeared repeatedly at sunset and sunrise during April, deserves a more particular account than the usual monthly report contains, as this is the most northern locality in which I have yet heard of its appearance. When seen in the evening, it was generally immediately after the sun had sunk either below the horizon, or behind a bank of clouds there. It was rather wider than the apparent diameter of the sun, and extended upwards for about 15°, widening a little towards the top, and becoming fainter, so that there was no defined boundary ; but it was sometimes much shorter, and could be distinctly seen, when it was less than the semidiameter of the sun above the horizon, either when vanishing by descending, as it generally did, or as it last appeared on the 3rd of May, without rising more than about 1°. Though at first it seemed to be a law that it must descend as the sun descended below the horizon, yet on one occasion, at least (on the 26th), it vanished by ascending, or the base disappeared first. It was generally remarkably perpendicular, but sometimes had a perceptible inclination to one side, and followed the course of the suu northwards. Meteorological Observations. 79 It had periods of greater and less brightness, but for the most part was steady, something Uke a sunbeam among the clouds, and never had any approach to the rapid motion of the aurora. Its colour was pale or whitish in its upper portion, or when it ap- peared contrasted with the dark sky ; but in passing through the red, copper, or orange-coloured sky that prevailed lower down, it partook of its shade, and tinged the thin strata of cloud that lay across it with a brighter hue of their own colour. Fifty-five minutes was the longest period that it was visible any evening. I am told that it also appeared very bright some mornings before sunrise. If the phsenomenon was uncommon, so was the state of the atmo- sphere when it occurred. The drought was unprecedented ; only about J^th of an inch of rain falling in April, which is about yoth of the average quantity in that month in previous years. The atmo- spheric pressure was great, the mercury never being lower than 30*07, nor higher than 30*32. The temperature was also high for the month, being 47°" 64, or more than 4° above the average for April. The atmosphere was very calm, and the sky near the horizon of that red or copper colour which generally indicates dry and warm weather, so that at last we could anticipate its appearance. I do not presume to explain the mode of its production, but these circumstances may assist others in so doing. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR MAY 1852. Chiswick. — May 1. Overcast: cloudy: clear. 2. Cloudy and cold: frosty at night. 3. White clouds : fine : clear and frosty. 4. Dusky clouds : clear and frosty. 5. Densely clouded : clear and frosty at night, 6. Cloudy : clear. 7. Overcast: very fine. 8. Cloudy: fine. 9. Fine. 10. Fine: rain at night. 11. Boisterous, with heavy shovk^er, partly hail. 12. Heavy rain : thunder. 13. Cloudy : overcast : boisterous at night. 14. Showery and boisterous : clear. 15, 16. Very fine. 17. Slight drizzle : overcast : thunder, lightning and rain at night. 18. Very fine: rain at night. 19. Very fine. 20. Hazy: fine: showers. 21. Overcast. 22. Cloudy : clear. 23. Cloudy. 24, 25. Overcast : fine. 26. Rain. 27. Over- cast. 28. Densely clouded. 29. Rain. 30. Fine: cloudy. 31. Fine: cloudy: clear and cold. Mean temperature of the month 51°'45 Mean temperature of May 1851 51 "16 Mean temperature of May for the last twenty-six years ... 54 "07 Average amount of rain in May l'74inch. Boston. — May 1. Cloudy. 2. Cloudy : rain a.m. 3, 4. Cloudy. 5. Cloudy : rain a.m. 6. Cloudy. 7. Fine. 8. Cloudy. 9, 10. Fine. 11. Cloudy. 12— 14. Cloudy : rain a.m. 15, 16. Fine. 17. Cloudy. 18. Cloudy : rain a.m. and p.m. 19. Cloudy : rain a.m. 20. Fine. 21. Cloudy : rain a.m. and p.m. 22 — 25. Cloudy. 26. Cloudy : rain p.m. 27—29. Cloudy. 30. Fine. 31. Cloudy. Sandwick Manse, Orkney. — May 1. Cloudy: fine. 2. Clear: fine. 3. Cloudy : fine: clear: fine. 4. Cloudy: fine. 5. Drops: fine: cloudy: fine. 6. Clear: fine : cloudy : fine. 7. Drops : rain : clear. 8. Drops : showers. 9. Rain : clear. 10. Drops: clear: aurora. 11. Cloudy: showers. 12. Bright: clear. 13. Rain: clear : fine. 14. Bright : showers. 15. Clear: cloudy. 16. Clear. 17. Clear: fine. 18, 19. Clear : fine : aurora. 20—23. Clear : fine. 24. Bright : fine : clear : fine. 25. Clear: fine. 26. Cloudy. 27. Cloudy: fine. 28. Bright: cloudy: showers. 29. Bright : showers : cloudy : hail-showers. 30. Sleet-showers. 31. Sleet-showers : showers. — This month lias been fine, warm and dry. Mean temperature of May for twenty-five years previous ... 47°*88 Mean temperature of this month 50 '49 Average quantity of rain in May for six years 172 inch. 1 o o t< ; to to N r ? : s* ." M : p» to to . W to M t» Ti- ' H : ^ : ^ : C» VO VO t^ to 1 •uo^soa O O . o : o • O 1- o o 'i- O ^ "-> ON to H n : to w o M to w to to M : '4- •JlDtAVsiqO p p p _t< p p : to tH r r' ? ? t^ ? ' a •JfDmpOBS -i ii sii^ii«^iii«^««s-- \a Uiii •uo^soa ^a^^aiiiiii.iii.iiiiiiiiiilaiil •ui'd I '^iiiiii'iii^im^i^si^i'iiiiiiii S m|(hH=' -^I" '^te' '^iN -^iis VO "M o. VO t-. lo M f< li^oo M ON O t^ r^OO v£) o O M O 0> OsOO rnvo 00 OO m m u-, ro u-,vo OO fi ^ •io.^Tl-Ti-^ to 5^ s «i« He" He r-|«-<|« .H|ei to ci O O f^ O •H w->o >^cOTl-t^ M t^ONO w rh-- to 1 t^ 1 •ra-B f 8 W-> IT) lO U-l •uo^sog f-. ■* t^OO O w li^ en t^OO vi-,vr,M ■+vr>OSTl-M ovo O <-> H rJ-NO O fJ NOO M to to .3 ■* tr^oo r-. O Ti-OO to O to^O On M OO O, t-. «>- vr, tv^oo VO l^ W-, ON ON 0\ t^vO irioo ■+ On t< 1 rot^ c< H cocomTt-ri-- vo i/^ lO r^vo t^vO VO NO vovO vO t^^O t~^ t^VO VO VO vovo VO w-> vri w-i u") lovo ^ VO s 00 Vi-iOO ONtJ-O C» t^O ovo O rOOO O VO to to C» »i- w-iOO moo i-iOOOO COfOOVO M VO .M ON 11 t« M c» OnOO m t-. cl H. rj- ri- Ti-VO T^VO OOWMt^cliirjMOON t-^VO VO o. OnO O O O OnOnOnOnOnOnOnOnOnOsOnOnO O O O O O O O O O 0>OnOnOn S^ 1 ^ tJtocococoMMHc)erO OnVO On tJ- rJ-VO t^OO OO VO 00 O On M OO VO OOONNNMOOVO TJ-VO M to tJ- Tj> t^ to tooo OO'-'Mt^'-lMi-.i-i OnOO tovo o a ON b b b b b On b\ On ON On OS On C> ON On On On O O O O O O O O O On On Ox On ON i o» t»rototncotncJc^c- r^vo toT^tocJ M 11 ONtocototi roioio vovo VO to'^ri-'^torj to 9 OnOnOnOnONCnOnOnOnOnOnON OsOO OnOnOxOnOnOxOnOnOnOxOnOnOnOSOnOnOn ON , 1 c»t«t«cNtrf ai Thomas HiN€^fiSaie atftc^feja^tnioq amoa esiic^i'r 'iiBytdBsiq P.S. — In a paper entitled ^' Notes on British Zoophytes,'^ which was published in the ^ Annals' for November 1851, I de'-;^ scribed a species of Farrella as new, under the name of F. pro- ducta. Since that time Mr. Wyville Thomson has directed my attention to Van Beneden's figure and description of Laguncula elongata, which I had not previously seen, and I have now no doubt of the identity of the two species. The name F. producta must therefore be cancelled, and I w ould substitute for my former note under this heading, a record of the occurrence of the Laguncula elongata of Van Beneden {Farrella elongata it should be) as a British species. v -liv Dr. T. Wright on the Palceontology of tlie Isle of Wight. 87 EXPLANATION OF PLATE III. Fig. 1. Vesicle of Campanularia Syringa. ^vii iifodfi feiix&Juoo aloifeiiv — 2. The same in an earlier stage. ^ — 3. The same, highly magnified, to show the details of structure. — 4. " Compound vesicle " of Sertularia argentea from Sir J. G. Dalyell. — 5 a, Medusoid of Campanularia volubilis. b. Two of the tentacles and the intermediate tubercles, c. A tentacle and its bulb. •—6; Laomedea laceruta (highly magnified),' '«; The same in the young 'ill r state. ^ii ot h' IX. — Contributions to the Palceontology of the Isle of Wight. By Thomas Wright, M.B. &c.* >"* ' It has been supposed that the tertiary beds of England/ when compared with those of the continent of Europe, are deficient in mammalian remains ; this opinion, like many other hasty gene- ralizations, if it be not entirely fallacious, requires modification. The valuable series of mammalian remains obtained from time to time from the lacustrine strata of Kyson, Hordwell, and the Isle of Wight, lead us to believe that if similar facilities existed in these localities for working the beds from whence mammalian bones and teeth are obtained, as is the case in the neighbour- hood of Paris, the richness of the English tertiaries in these re- mains would no longer be a doubtful question. We have been led to this conclusion from facts which have come under our observation during the two consecutive summers we were en- gaged in drawing up a description of the coast sections of Hamp- shire and the Isle of Wight, and which have already appeared in the pages of this Journal. Until last summer no remains of the new genus Dichodon had been found, except in one spot in the Hordwell section, when T had the good fortune to discover, near Alum Point, Isle of Wight, a portion of the lower jaw of this singular genus with the true molars " in situ " in beautiful preservation. This jaw fortunately supplies some points in the anatomy of this rare mammal, which were absent in the only specimen hitherto found, and which it is the object of this note to furnish. Dichodon cuspidatus, Owen. The dental formula of the lower jaw of Dichodon cuspidatus, according to Professor Owen, consists of three incisors, one ca- nine, four premolars, and three true molars, arranged in a con- tinuous series in each ramus, and it is inferred that these were * Read at Cheltenham at a Meeting of the Cotteswold Naturalists' Club, May 4, 1862. 88 Dr. T. Wright on the Palaeontology of the Isle of Wight. opposed by the same number of teeth in the upper jaw. " There are wanting therefore to establish ex visu the entire dental series, only the first and second premolars of the upper jaw and the last true molar of the lower jaw, the germ of which had not been sufficiently calcified at the time of the animaFs death to yield satisfactory evidence of its true form*.^' Having recently dis- covered a portion of the left ramus of the lower jaw of this rare mammal in the low er freshwater formation of the Isle of Wight, containing the three true molars in an admirable state of pre- servation, I am enabled to supply a description thereof. ,^ The crowns of all the true molars exhibit a double series of sharp conical lobes ; the teeth are fixed obliquely in the jaw, their crowns having a direction forwards, inwards and upwards, the obhquity of the inclination increasing from before back- wards j the first and second molars are nearly alike in size, form and structure ; the first, however, is somewhat smaller than the second ; the crown of each tooth rises high above the ramus of the jaw ; it consists of four semiconical-shaped lobes, two ex- ternal and two internal, separated from each other by a deep transverse and a shallow longitudinal valley; the two external lobes are sharply lanceolate ; each has a median ridge of enamel and two sharp supernumerary processes or cusps, situated at the external sides of the base of each lobe ; the inner surface is con- vex and smooth, and as the apices of the lobes are not worn, the double fold of enamel, with its intermediate dentine, is beauti- fully shown in our specimen. The internal lobes are larger and more fully developed than the external pair, but their apices do not attain the same height as those of the external lobes ; their internal surface is smooth and convex, their external surface is moderately concave, and inclined to a high angle ; at the base of the external surface of each of the internal lobes there are two small tubercles or rudi- mentary cusps : the posterior marginal surface of all the lobes is slightly polished by dentrition, whilst their sharp lanceolate points are not worn, from which circumstance it may be logically inferred, that the lobes of the teeth of the lower jaw locked into corresponding spaces in those of the upper jaw, as in the hedge- hog {Erinaceus europcBus), the mole [Talpa vulgaris), and other Insectivora. The third true molar differs from the first and second in pos- sessing six instead of four lobes ; the four anterior lobes are of the same form and structure as those of the second molar, only they are somewhat larger ; the third or posterior pair are smaller than either of the others, and they have a more xudi- - to Klium/ * Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. iv. p. 42. ■^^^'^k I Dr. T. Wright on the Paleontology of the Isle of Wight. 89 mentary form ; the anterior cusp is absent at the base of the external lobe, and the posterior cusp is a small process which rises between the external and internal lobes. Locality. — I found this rare fossil in a bed of greenish tough tenacious clay, being No. 35 of my section*, and which stratum I have shown to be the equivalent of No. 14 of my section of Hordwell, Beacon, and Barton Cliffs f, from whence Mr. Falconer obtained the specimen which formed the subject of Professor Owen^s paper. It is important, therefore, to note that these mammalian remains have been found in precisely the same geo- logical horizon on both shores of the Solent sea ; thus affording another link in the chain of evidence which proves the former union of these tertiary beds. I have promised the loan of this specimen to Professor Owen, who will figure it in the forthcoming new edition of his ' British Fossil Mammalia / for this reason I have not figured it here. -^ • ■• ym Tooth of an unknown Saurian. '^^^^ ^* ^ ^H ^'^^ I had the good fortune to meet with a very perfect reptilian tooth in the Wealden clay of Brixton Bay; the accompany- ing figure, of the natural size, was drawn on wood by Mr. W. H. Baily, as it is important that palaeontologists should possess a faithful drawing of its singular form, to enable them to com- pare future discoveries with the subject of this note, and even- tually to determine the genus of Saurians to which it belonged. I had the pleasure of showing this tooth to Professors Forbes, Ger- vais and Owen, Dr. Mantell, and Messrs. Waterhouse and Wood- ward, who were all unacquainted with the form. Dr. Mantell thought it had some resemblance to a tooth found in the Wealden of Tilgate Forest, and which he imagined belonged to the Hy- laosaurus. " These teeth,^' he observes, " are about 1^ inch in height, and commence at the base with a cylindrical shank, which gradually enlarges into a crown of an obtusely lanceolate form, convex in front, slightly depressed, and terminating in an angular rounded apex, the margins of which are generally more or less worn, as if from dentrition. The crown is solid, but the fang encloses a small pulp- cavity ; the surface is enamelled, and covered with very fine longitudinal strife ; the base in every spe- cimen appears broken transversely, and has not a smooth sur- face, as if it had been loosened by absorption and shed natu- rally J. ^^ The Doctor has given a figure of this tooth which dif- * Dr. Wright, Geology of the North-West coast of the Isle of Wight (Annals of Nat. Hist. S. 2. vol. vii. p. 14). t Annals of Nat. Hist. S. 2. vol. vii. p. 433. X Hand-Book of the Fossils of the British Museum, p. 326. 90 Dr. T. Wright on the Palceontology of the Isle of Wight, fers so much from our specimen, that we cannot suppose .(i^jv belonged to a reptile of the same genus. Description. — Our new tooth is divisible into the crown and the root : the line of demarcation between these parts is clearly defined by the terminal undulation of the enamel. The crown is somewhat of a bayonet-shape ; from the frontier line of the enamel to the apex, it measures in front 1 inch and |^f ths ; behind % inches and g^Qth ; the antero-posterior diameter at its widest part exceeds 1 inch, and its transverse diameter is -jj^ht/ ■01'I3Jnj8 -XXHib X f.qqij \diu 10 gwoi /idbnooaa vfljsxibBig .r8£iiffloiq m bsifgia The crown [d, h, c) is unequally convex in front and concave (a) behind. The general form of the crown is shown in a,b,c; the anterior side thereof {a, h) is convex and sabre-shaped, and the posterior border (a, h) is slightly concave ; the external Dr. T. Wright on the Paleontology of the Isle of Wight. 91 convex surface [b) is covered with smooth enamel, which forms four blunt ridges on its most prominent part, and terminates inferiorly in a delicate rugous structure, forming a well-de- fined arch (6), the convexity of which is directed towards the apex ; the posterior surface of the crown [a) is flat below and con- cave above ; the enamel is smooth above and rugous below, as on the anterior surface, but it extends much farther down the crown (nearly half an inch) and forms an arch, the convexity of which is directed towards the root ; the internal surfaces of the anterior and posterior borders (a) are abruptly truncated, appa- rently by dentrition, and near the base of the posterior border there is an oblique fold or depression, close to which are marks of abrasion by dentrition : the unequal extent of the enamel on the external and internal surfaces of the crown proves that the external plate of the ramus of the jaw was deeper on the external than on the internal side. The root («, b, c, e) is nearly cylindrical ; from the external ter- minal fold of enamel to its fractured part, it measures 1 inch and Y^oths ; its surface is much concealed by the matrix, and has masses of pyrites adhering thereto ; it forms a hollow cylinder [e) which inclosed a pulp-cavity ; the structure and form of the root is that of a tooth which was implanted in a distinct alveolus of a large and powerful jaw. Part of the apex is broken off, the position of which we have indicated by dotted lines ; there can be no doubt that it was sharply pointed, and that this tooth was an instrument destined to pierce the soft structures of other ani- mals, and consequently that it belonged to an extinct genus of carnivorous reptiles. Diadema Autissiodorense, Cotteau. Syn. Diadema Autissiodorense, Cotteau, Cat. Method, des Echi- nides dans I'^tage Neocomien, p. 5. Test pentagonal, depressed ; interambulacral tubercles a little larger than those of the ambulacral areas, more especially as they approach the ovarial disc ; interambulacral areas with two rows of primary tubercles, and two incomplete series of secondary tubercles at the ambulacral sides thereof, which gradually disappear on the upper surface ; ambulacral areas prominent, with two rows of primary tubercles much dimi- nished in size at the upper surface. Pores in a double series near the ovarial disc and at the circumference of the mouth. .Height y%ths of an inch ; transverse diameter ^§ths of an inch. l Description. — In its general outline this beautiful Urchin re- sembles D, depressum of the Inferior Oolite, but the details of its 92 Dr. T. Wright on the Paleontology of the Isle of Wight, structure are very distinct from that form. The circumference is pentagonal from the convexity of the ambulacral arese, and the base and summit are much depressed. The interambulacral areas are one-third bl-oader than the ambulacral ; two rows of primary tubercles occupy the centre of the plates ; there are about ten pairs of tubercles in each area, which are of a moderate magnitude, and gradually diminish in size from the circumference to the base and summit ; the mani- millary eminences are small, their summits are deeply crenulated, and the tubercles, of proportional size, are deeply perforated; at the circumference six rows of granules separate the tubercles from each other, but towards the upper surface the four central rows are absent, which leaves a naked space in the middle of the area ; three rows of granules in like manner separate the tubercles from the poriferous valleys ; at the base of the area, and extend- ing as far as the circumference of the test, are incomplete rows of secondary tubercles ; these gradually diminish in size and dis- appear at the upper surface, which is occupied with an unequal- sized, close-set granulation about three rows deep ; the ambu- lacral areas are one-third narrower than the interambulacral, they are however very prominent and convex, and are occupied with two rows of primary tubercles about ten in a row ; the lower six pairs of tubercles are nearly as large as the corresponding tubercles in the interambulacral areas, but the upper four pairs are much smaller, so that whilst there is a great uniformity in the size and form of the tubercles on the base and circumference of the test, there is a very marked difference between those of the ambulacra and those of the interambulacra in the vicinity of the ovarial disc ; the intertubercular space is occupied by a zig- zag band of granulation, which is narrow below where the tu- bercles are large, but becomes broader above where they are small. The pores are arranged in double pairs near the summit and mouth, but in the other part of the avenues they are in single pairs ; the apical disc is absent in our specimen, and the mouth is large and decagonal. Affinities and differences. — This species nearly resembles D. Bourgueti, Ag., but differs from it in the rudimentary condition of the upper tubercles of the ambulacra, and in having the pores in double pairs above and below ; the intermediate granulation is likewise less homogeneous than in J). Bourgueti. ,'\ X, [-.Locality. — I collected this Urchin from the lower greensand at Atherfield, in No. 4 of the Cracker group of Dr. Eitton^s section : it must be very rare, as none of the cabinets of Atherfield fossils hitherto examined by me contain a specimen of this Diadema. It has been collected by M. Cotteau from the Neocomien stage at Auxerre, where it is likewise very rare. Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered species of Araneidea. 93 History, — Discovered by the author in the Isle of Wight in 1850, and by M. Cotteau in France in 1851, but first described by the latter in his ' Catalogue Methodique des Echinides recueillis dans Fetage Neocomien/ and which brochure I received since I read this communication. As there is no figure of this Urchin extant, I intend giving one of the beautiful specimen before me, along with some other new forms of that group which I hope shortly to publish in the ' Annals of Natural History/ ,hrKti>iif' X. — Descriptions of some newly discovered species o/ Araneidea. By John Blackwall, F.L.S. In November 1850, Francis Walker, Esq., of Amo's Grove, Southgate, afforded me an opportunity of inspecting an exten- sive collection of spiders made by him in England and Switzer- land in the summer of the same year ; and a request that I might be permitted to describe the following species comprised in the collection, which appear to be new to science, was most obligingly complied with by Mr. Walker. Tribe OCTONOCULINA. •gfiibiiCi Family LycosiDiE. Genus Lycosa, Latr. 1. Lycosa calida. Length of the male Jth of an inch ; length of the cephalo- thorax -^^ ; breadth y^^j ; breadth of the abdomen -^-^ ; length of a posterior leg /-g- ; length of a leg of the third pair y^^ . Cephalo-thorax large, convex, glossy, compressed before, with a slight longitudinal indentation in the medial line of the pos- terior region ; its colour is dark brown, approaching to black at the anterior part ; a broad band of reddish brown extends along the middle, another occurs on each side, and a narrow one of the same hue is situated immediately above each lateral margin. Four of the eight eyes are minute and form a transverse line in front, the two intermediate ones being somewhat larger than the lateral ones ; the other four are large, and are situated on the sides and in front of the cephalo-thorax, constituting a quadri- lateral figure, whose anterior side is rather the shortest ; the anterior eyes of the quadrilateral are the largest of the eight. Falces conical, perpendicular, armed with a few teeth on the inner surface, and of a pale reddish brown colour, with two ob- scure, longitudinal streaks of dark brown in front. Maxillae strong, short, straight, somewhat enlarged and rounded at the 94 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered species of Araneidea. extremity, and of a pale yellowish brown colour. Lip nearly quadrate, dark brown at the base, but paler at -the apex. Ster- num almost circular, with blackish spots on the margins, and a longitudinal streak of the same shade extending from its anterior part, on each side of the medial line, more than half of its length. Legs long, slender, provided with hairs and sessile spines ; they are of a pale reddish brown colour, the femora of the anterior pair being dark brown at the base ; each tarsus is terminated by three claws ; the two superior ones are curved and pectinated, and the inferior one is inflected near its base. The humeral joint of the palpi is dark brown ; the cubital and radial joints are red- dish brown, the latter, which is much the stronger, being abun- dantly supplied with black hairs ; the digital joint is brown, of an oblong oval form, convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs, which are moderately developed, not very complicated in structure, rather prominent, with a short, projecting, pointed process near the outer side, and are of a brownish black colour tinged with red. The concavity of the digital joint does not extend to its termination, which is compact. Abdomen slender, oviform, convex above, projecting a little over the base of the cephalo-thorax ; it is of a light orange-brown colour, with an irregular band of black on each side of the me- dial line ; these bands converge towards the spinners, where they meet, and on the anterior part of the light orange-brown space comprised between them there is a narrow oval figure of orange- brown circumscribed by a fine black line ; the sides are spotted with brownish black, and a longitudinal line composed of con- fluent spots of the same hue occurs on each side of the under part, the intermediate space being densely covered with white hairs. _ '^^ This species was captured in June at Interlacken in the c^t-^ ton of Berne. ...-h^.^. ^o^d. -, ., c, n0a 98i9Y8nfiTt owi ^^^^ly Salticid^. ^^ .^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^.^ "h Genus Salticus, Latr. ''^^^^i ^^^ .^b-isdn* fi ^01 loiistnfi 9ffi 2. Salticus notatus. f,-, yn ..-rvn o^-jsl Length of the female ^^th of an inch ; length of the cephal(^^ thorax ^^ ; breadth -^-^ ; breadth of the abdomen -^-^ ; length of #^ posterior leg -g- ; length of a leg of the second pair ^. '^ ^uoIb Legs robust, provided with hairs and sessile spines ; they are of a pale yellow colour, the coxae of the posterior pair having a black spot on the upper side ; the fourth pair is the longest, the first and third pairs are equal in length, and the second pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by two curved claws, below which there is a small scopula. The palpi resemble the^^ Mi^^ J« Blackwall on newly discovei'ed species 0/ Araneidea. 95 legs in colour. Cephalo-thorax nearly quadrilateral, and spa- ringly clothed with black and whitish hairs ; it slopes abruptly in the posterior region, and is prominent in front, projecting be- yond the base of the falces, which are small, vertical, and armed with a few teeth on the inner surface : the sternum is oval. These parts, with the maxillae and lip, are of a brown-black colour, the last two, which are the palest, having a reddish tinge, particularly at their extremities. Eyes disposed in three rows, constituting three sides of a square, in the front and on the sides of the cephalo-thorax ; the intermediate eyes of the an- terior row are greatly larger, and the intermediate eye of each lateral row is much smaller than the rest. Abdomen oviform, pointed at its posterior extremity, convex above, projecting over the base of the cephalo-thorax ; it is of a brown-black colour, with short whitish hairs thinly distributed over its surface ; a pale yellowish brown band, broader in the posterior than in the anterior region, extends along the middle of the upper part, and an obscure, narrow band of whitish hairs is curved round the anterior part and produced on the sides nearly to the spinners;, the sexual organs are reddish brown. ibnofg xiacciobdA An adult female Salticus notatus was found isd.JiiaeeaBaioxi^it herbage in a wood at Southgate. I'.'^Tn an ihvu .^iuoIod piij Dioiivv ^ 389f{i J anil Ijsib soeqa nwo-j' Family Thomisid^. -^^ ^0 ^hb ^issra -s^HBio ^o 9'[0.git if]7 I bagiiqinoo b9itoq« 9T« 8obi. ^l^enus Thomism, Walck. y^iio nwoid -noo lo bsaoqn 3. Thomisus umhratilis, irrfroid dibfr ^^Jicngth of the male 2%ths of an inch; length of the cephalqjj^j thorax y^ ; breadth -^^ ; breadth of the abdomen y^^ ; length ofj an anterior leg j- ; length of a leg of the third pair |. Eyes disposed on the anterior part of the cephalo-thorax in two transverse curved rows, forming a crescent, whose convex side is in front ; the eyes of each lateral pair, which are seated on a tubercle, are much larger than the intermediate ones, those of the anterior row being the largest of the eight. Cephalo-thorax large, convex, abruptly sloping behind, compressed before, glossy, and of a brownish black colour, with a longitudinal band of red- brown on each side, and a broad one of the same hue extending along the middle. Falces short, strong, subconical, vertical, of a dark brown colour, with reddish brown extremities, and an ob- scure spot of the same hue in front. Maxillae convex near the base, pointed at the extremity, and inclined towards the lip ; they are of a pale reddish brown colour, and have a dark brown spot at the base on each side. Lip triangular and reddish brown, the apex being the palest. Sternum oblong, heart-shaped, approach- 96 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered species of Araneidea. ing to oval ; it is of a pale reddish brown colour^ with dark brown spots on the margins, opposite to the insertion of the legs. Legs robust, provided with hairs and spines ; they are of a pale red- dish brown colour, the entire femora of the anterior pair, the anterior extremity of those of the other pairs, a spot on each side of the genual joint, and one on each side of the tibiae of the pos- terior legs being brownish black ; the first and second pairs are decidedly longer and more powerful than the third and fourth pairs, the first pair being the longest, then the second, and the third pair the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by two curved pectinated claws. The palpi are short; the humeral joint is brownish black, and the cubital, radial and digital joints are of a pale reddish brown colour marked with a few dark brown spots ; the radial joint is stronger than the cubital, and projects two apophyses from its anterior extremity ; one on the outer side, which is long, slender and pointed, and the other, which is strong, prominent, obtuse, with a protuberance at its base, on the outer side, is situated underneath ; the digital joint is oval, con- vex, and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal organs; they are moderately developed, rather complicated in structure, and are of a dark reddish brown colour. Abdomen depressed, corrugated on the sides, broader at the posterior than at the anterior extremity, the latter, which appears as if cut in a straight line across, projecting over the base of the cephalo-thorax ; its colour is dark brown tinged with olive and freckled on the upper part with minute yellowish brown spots, those on the pos- terior part, being confluent, form a few obscure transverse bars ; five circular yellowish brown depressions occur on the upper part ; the three anterior ones are much the most conspicuous, and describe a triangle whose vertex is directed forwards ; imme- diately before this vertex there is a small yellowish white spot ; a narrow band of the same colour, spotted with brown, extends along each side, and a short, obscure, curved, yellowish white line is situated near the outer side of each branchial operculum. This spider was taken at Interlacken in June. Genus Philodromus, Walck. 4. Philodromus vivax. Length of the female ^th of an inch ; length of the cephalo- thorax jQ ; breadth -^^ ; breadth of the abdomen ^ ; length of a leg of the second pair f ; length of a posterior leg /^. Cephalo-thorax short, broad, slightly compressed before, con- vex and glossy ; it is of a dark brown colour, with a large yel- lowish brown oval in the cephalic region, comprising an oblique ^ro,^n,l^ne directed backwards from each lateral eye of the pos- ^Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered species of Araneidea. 97 terior row ; these lines converge towards the posterior extremities of two fine and nearly contiguous lines of the same hue origi- nating immediately behind the intermediate eyes of the anterior row, the four lines presenting the form of a small anchor ; on each side of the medial line of the posterior part of the cephalo- thorax there are several short, oblique, yellowish brown streaks, and the lateral and frontal margins are yellowish white. Falces short, subconical, vertical, and yellowish brown in front, except at the base, which, with the outer side, is dark brown. Maxillae gibbous at the base, inclined towards the lip, convergent at the extremities, and of a pale yellowish brown colour. Lip oval, dark brown, \\dth a yellowish tinge at the apex. Sternum heart- shaped ; it is of a yellowish brown colour, the lateral margins and an obscure, narrow, longitudinal line in the middle being dark brown. Legs long, moderately robust, provided with a few sessile spines ; they are of a yellowish brown colour, with spots and longitudinal streaks of dark brown ; the second pair is the longest, then the first, and the fourth pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by two curved claws, and has a climbing apparatus on its under side. The palpi are short and resemble the legs in colour. Eyes disposed on the anterior part of the cephalo-thorax in two curved, transverse rows, forming a crescent whose convexity is directed forwards ; the lateral eyes of each row are seated on distinct prominences, and the intermediate eyes of the anterior row, which are nearer to each other than those of the posterior row, are rather the smallest of the eight. Abdomen somewhat depressed, broader in the posterior than in the an- terior region, but rather pointed at the spinners, projecting a little over the base of the cephalo-thorax ; on the upper part and sides it is of a dark olive-brown colour, spotted with numerous irregular, yellowish white spots; those on the sides are the largest, several small ones, forming a row immediately above the spinners, being angular, with their vertices directed forwards; the under part is yellowish white, three brown bands extend- ing along the middle and uniting in a point at the base of the inferior pair of spinners ; the sexual organs are of a deep reddish brown colour. This interesting Philodromus was captured at Interlacken in Family DRASSiDiE. dj Genus Drassus, Walck. . . . ; ' -olfidqaJ 5. Drassus reticulatus. •- ' "" Ijength of the female, not including the spinners, |ths of an inch ; length of the cephalo-thorax ^ ; breadth ^ ; breadth of the Ann. &^ Mag. N. Hist, Ser. 2. Vol.x, 7 98 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered species of Araneidea. abdomen j- ; length of a posterior leg y% i length of a leg of the third pair j^-^. I The eyes are rounds and are disposed on the anterior part ^- Of marine shells, between what were collected on the shore 102 Mr. R. M<^ Andrew on the Mollmca observed during a and those dredged, I got ninety- eight species ; of which fifty-four - are common to the British seas, ninety are known to inhabit the Mediterranean, one [Psammobia rugosa) the south coast of Por- tugal, one (a Kellia or Galeomma, but genus not ascertained) the coasts of Algarve and Asturias, one {Marginella glabella) Senegal and the Canaries, five (two small MarginellcB, a Chiton, a Buc- cinum, and Mitra zebrina) I met with in the Canaries, and one (a Turbo) is new to me. '' LaminaricE are as abundantly developed in Mogador harbour as on our own coasts, the prevailing species apparently identical with the common tangle, but of a paler colour j numerous speci- mens of Patella pellucida are found upon it. * Two days^ sail from Mogador brought us to Lancerote, one of the Canaries. Among these islands we spent exactly a month, which allowed time for only a partial examination of a small, portion of the coasts of Lancerote, Grand Canary and Teneriife, and I appropriated a full fortnight to the latter island. 1 have reason to think that Fuerteventura, and the smaller islands of Graciosa, Alegranza, and Monte Claro, which I did not visit, would have furnished results of greater interest. \ The marine MoUusca described in the costly work of Webb and Berthelot on the Natural History of the Canaries, comprise 138 species, of which eight are Cuttle-fishes, and six naked Mol- lusca, leaving 124 species of marine shells, of which a list was furnished to me by my friend Prof. Edw. Forbes. Of these I did not succeed in taking Argonauta Argo. Scissurella Berthelotii. Planaxis laevigata. Mytilus elongatus. Conus betulinus, Prometheus and Area Nose. ''tnoljofqiO guinaicus. Cardium costulatum. m\['>^ Cymba Neptuni, porcina and pro- Cardita corbis. oiboM boscidalis. Crassatella divaricata. Marginella lineata. Lutraria rugosa. Cassis flammea and testiculus. Mitra ebenea. Cerithium nodulosum. Trochus, two or three species Murex trunculus. doubtful. But as several of these are known African shells, and were re- ceived from fishermen, it is possible that some may have been^ obtained from the coast of Africa, the great Canarian fishing-^ ground. .„,..,. ,y ^iB-^sji lereao . i , . vrtslfi. hue ,«^Mm-j Gastrochsena .1 ^ / a /r Saxicava .... 1 . . arctica. '^< "'''" "' ^'^'"^ Veiierupis . . 1 . . irus. Corbula *.:.w I .. nucleus. Neaera. .-xroiaffl/i 2 .. cuspidata and costulata. '^^^^ Pandora .... 2? .. obtusa, rostrata? . a^m Thracia .... 2 . . phaseolina, pubescens. ay^b owT Solecurtus . . 2 . . candidus, coarctatus. " .mO qAI Solemya .... 1 . . mediterranea. i: rfoidw Psammobia . . 3 . . vespertina, costulata, ferroensis. j^q Tellina .... 4 . . depressa, distorta, balaustina, serrata«-j^jp ^""l?? } ■ • ^'"f ""« ■ tfiriJ iln.'d3 oi noa«9i Ervillia .... 1 .. castanea. ,.„.,.>, ^/ .. .;.w 1 Mactra .... 2 .. subtruncata ?, stultorumr " "'>«ii Cytherea .... 3 . . chione, one new?, one undescribed. ,'^!^^^ Venus 3 . . verrucosa, casina, and one? ^'^-*- Circe 1 . . minima. -"^^ bflB Astarte .... 2 or 3 . . incrassata, compressa?, triangularis. H8 1 Cardita .... 1 . . calyculata. cul Cardium .... 5 or 6 . . echinatum, rusticum, papillosum, Isevitf't gatum, fasciatum, and one? ^o-. Lucina .... 8 . . Adansoni, leucoma, flexuosa, divaricata, pecten, spinifera, transversa ?, and one, (minute). '^^} Diplodonta . . 2 .. rotundata, apicalis. ^ Kellia 2 . . rubra?, suborbicularis. ^^ ,^ Modiola .... 2 . . tulipa, and one (costulata of W. ^ JSff,^ but nearer M. petagnse of Scacchi ; inhabits masses of nullipore, pre- serving its communication with the j>4« 3eti external world by means of a trumpet- shaped prolongation of the epider- f( hiih .- mis). Crenella/fifl.vR!, 2 .. rhombea, marmorata. Chama I .^j^^'j.^^, 1 .. gryphoides. Area ...... 4 . . lactea, tetragona, antiquata, imbricata. Pectunculus. . 1 . . glycimeris. Avicula .... 1 . . tarentina. Pinna ...... 1 . . rustica. Lima 3 . . squamosa, hians, subauriculata. Pecten . Pi^XX 7"*'' 8 . . Jacobfcus or maximus, opercularis ?, co- 1 f^^* ' 'f rallinoides, pusio, pes felis, gib bus. and another. '''''^ 104 Mr. R. M^ Andrew on the Mollusca observed during a Species. .aaiosqg Spondylus .. 1 .. Gsedaropus. ^ .. Ostrea 1 or 2 . - not identified. iiifxjJL Orthis 4 . . truncata, and three not identifiedyoii/j3 Hyalsea .... 3 . . trispinosa, and two others. rgqoiilihaO SpiriaUs .... 1 uj r.j;vwjiij- ^LfonuH Cleodora .... 3 \'.s«»Cl Atalanta .ytiiin .jilinBwb3! ^8«niI[Bto;j g -.u » /onrIA Cuvieria io .Qwt icA siio bus ,8i{iiB Chiton 4 . . fascicularis, canariensis, and two others. Patella .... 4 . . crenata, guttata, Lowei, and one new ? Dentalium .. 3 .. dentalis,rubescens,andoneundescribed. Umbrella vO'.^f.'W 1 . . (small). *Lottia .... 1 Calyptraea . . 1 . . vulgaris. Fissurella .. 2 .. reticulata, gibba. iffifoQ Emarginula . . 2 . . elongata, reticulata ? Haliotis .... 1 .. tuberculatus. id'j^oT Trochus .... ^12or 13 .. exiguus, striatus, magus, conulusi'grd- 3ao bfiB ^l aiffSOBJna ^STB^iiq jnoTiulatus, ziziphinus, Sauleyii, and fi^e .'Hfuffi.T .Rjfifohia .ii^^oit'id or six species not identified. ^ MonodonlwiuinumfKl ^ro^h Berthelotii. Solarium . ;• ;; • ' 2' . . *luteum, and another. Bifrontia .... 1 . . zanclsea. ^mioioiuot*! Turbo 2 ? . . rugosus, and another ? ... B'ltiM Phasianella . . 1 . . pullus. •IlydiiujloO lanthina 2 .. fragilis, and one (small). iisnoO Littorina .... 3 . . striata, affinis, neritea. '^'^m^ Jiissoa 14 .. canariensis, costata, parva?, purpurea, elata?, textilis?, striata?, punctata, i)-jiid L and about six species not identified. Jeffreysianmnrtf ^ 1 ? J Skenea , 1 Turritella. ... 1 . . triplicata. HflirH Caecum ^u>i^ u^j i2 Jit* '>^>- Cerithium . . 5 , . vulgatum, fuscatum, perversum, Uma, and another. /^i Scalaria .... 10 ., pseudoscalaris, Webbii, cochlea?, eti- nata, clathratula, and five not id^ii- tified. .: _ IjlJ Aclis ? 2 ^ ^^jyii'j anhsi^A Eulima 3 . . distorta, nitida?, and one. ^-^"isimoD Stilifer 1 v)^&dA Chemnitzia . . 4 or 5 .. rufa, elegantissima, pusilla?, 'fefli- stincta ?, and one undescribed. Odostomia . . 5 or 6 . . conoidalis, and four or five. . ... Eulimella. ... 1 . . scillse. ^' ^^' ^^ ' ^^B. ^"^^ .ii'^«^"' Truncatella . . 1 ' ' " ^ ^'"'^'""^ Natica 5 . . porcellana, millepunctata, sericea, bical- losa ?, and another. short visit to the Canary and Madeira Islands, ^c, 103 Species. Neritina .... 1 . . (marine) viridis. ' xj^i Lamellaria . . 1 or 2 i-O Cancellaria .. Lor 2li bisn . iM) Ceritliiopsis . . ' i' f^ h'n (hip tuberculatus. 'IT Ranella .... 1 . . abbreviata 1 o^ W. ^^ B. — leevigata, Lam.1 Murex 4 or 5 . . corallinus, Edwardsii, *Brandaris, *sax- atilis, and one or two of doubtful (>wj hn& jfei8irjniJii«o ,7/(31 ,j^jiiUnjb8ema8toma, viveratoides, andone? .^I Buccinum 2 . . minus, and one new ? Nassa 7 . . reticulata, incrassata, mutabilis, varia- bilis, canariensis, prism atica, scalari- formis ? Dolium .... 1 . . *perdix, and fragments of species not identified. Terebra .... 1 .. senegalensis. nil Fusus .iiiu;. , Mi;> )3 .. maroccauus, rostratus, pulchellus. '^ Triton .,iiv;»Liir>8 ,^(4 .. nodiferum, pileare, cutaceum ?, and one. Mangelia . . . . 9 or 10 .. purpurea, Lefroyii, striolata, Vauque- lina, lineata, Ginniniana, gracilis, teres, and one or two more. ,^. Pleurotoma . . 2 . . elegans, balteata. ifl Mitra 4 . . columbellaria, nigra, zebrina, littoraliS? Columbella . . 2 or 3 . . rustica, cribrella, and another ? ; I Conus 2 ,. mediterraneus, papilionaceus. s-A Cypraea .... 6 . . spurca, *lurida, pyrum, *moneta, lul- lex?, candidula? isoeaiH Ovula 1 . . spelta ? Marginella . . 5 . . glabella, guancha, and three others. Cylichna .... 5 . . cylindracea, truncata, mammillata,-inie imdescribed, and one new 1 fl9n9Jl8 Bulla 2 .. ampulla, hydatis. i^jrnuT Aplysia .... 2 or 3 . . hybrida, and one or two (large)r«iJ0980 Auricula 1 ..uiffiriaO Spirula 1 loHjo/Peronii. Octopusiwvj . ,M ,.r,l/ ,ehu\&:^^ "^nfaoB Ditrupa a/ii J)iri5 Ai^imdiRh . Echinus 6 Asterias .... 3 or 4 . , canariensis, &c. Comatula . . 1 >_: Acasta 1 i-j\\i-'.^:- Pollicipes. ..,i[ li.^l r.iijmmuiIJ In the foregoing list the species marked * were not found by myself, but given to me as native ; those mentioned as " unde- scribed '' I had previously obtained in the Mediterranean. It is to be remarked that the genera Nucleus and Leda are,iK>t represented in the Canary or Madeira Islands. 106 Mr, R. M^ Andrew on the Mollusca observed during a Marginella glabella and "1 are common in Lancerote and Grand Ca- Conus mediterraneus J nary, but were not observed in the mofft i westerly island of Teneriffe. aills^ Of land and freshwater shells fifty- seven are enumerated in the. work already referred to ; — of these I did not procure above ^^.}i they are generally of a peculiar and interesting character. , i,r>f-/A Of Vitrina I believe there are two species ; one of them, the smaller, found under stones in dry situations ; the other I met with living in moist wood of laurel-trees not far from Laguna. An adult specimen of the animal measured fully 1^ inch in length when living. In the same locality I found dead a very; thin, pellucid shell of a green colour, and carinated like a Cara^ colla. It differs from any that I am acquainted with. * On our way from Teneriffe to Madeira we landed for some hours on the Great Salvage, an island of about a mile in extent in either direction, uninhabited, except for a few weeks in thei year, when it is visited for the collection of barilla, feathers, &c. ^ We found upon it a few goats, and rabbits in vast abundance, i so that our people were able to catch some in their hands ; also \ sea fowl, which quietly allowed themselves to be taken from under', the ledges of rock, and innumerable lizards. After diligent search I could only find one species of land moUusk, a snail allied to Helix pisana, but apparently distinct from it. On the rocks of the shore were Littorina striata, three or four species of Patella, and a Trochus, all of large size, and in great abundance. 16th May. — Arrived at Madeira: dredged three times in* Funchal roads and once in the bay of Porto Santo : obtained » Gastrochsena Saxicava . Venerupis Neaera . . . Poromya . Lyonsia . Thracia . Solecurtua Tellina. . . Psammobia ErviUia . . Cytherea . . Venus . . . . Circe .... Cardium . . Cardita . . Lucina . . Species. 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 5 1 1 2 2 1 5 1 4 arctica. , riiilB-jg irus. funilua costulata, cuspidata. iusiixirnddO granulata. i\\hmi\a'3i striata. ix-nUVi phaseolina. ibifsK candidus, coarctatus. i >ofrBr) depressa, distorta, donacilla, balaus4iJiitt/L and another. ?h^n'^ costulata. .^ uoioDna castanea. , GSSfiTI chione, and one undescribed. , uih-^nRV verrucosa and casina. minima, echinatum, rusticum, papillosum, leevi- gatum, and another ? calyculata. ; spinifera, divaricata, pecten, and another. short visit to the Canary and Madeira Islands, ^c. 107 2 1 Diplodonta . Kellia Modiola , , . . 1 ^ Area ..,;'r?""'°r" . Pectunculus. . 1 Avicula .... 1 Lima 1 Pecten . . . . , . 9 .fiiin^fiJ moi'i Tfil Jo •• ■•• ■- ir ^M f)'».. - Ostrea . .\^ly Brmol 1 vjj Argiope ^^[ j),,l or 2 Hyalaea ...^+;,„ 4 Cuvieria .... Chiton .... Patella Dentalium Calyptrsea Fissurella . . Emarginula Trochus . . Solarium . . Bifrontia . . lanthina .... 3 Turbo 1 Phasianella . . 1 Rissoa 4 or 5 Cerithium . . 3 Turritella . . 1 Scalaria .... 3 or 4 Eulima .... 3 Chemnitzia . . 3 Eulimella . . 1 Natica 2 Neritina .... 1 Cancellaria . . 1 Murex 3 Cassis 1 Bucciuum . . 1 Nassa 3 Mangelia .... 5 or 6 Mitra 2 Cyprsea .... 2 Columbella . . 1 or 2 Marginella . . 1 Ringuicula . . 1 vulgaris, reticulata. ai flommoo sn& J boa R\h6&[-% flllani^TBM rotundata, apicalis. 'iBnoiibaaf buaoO rubra. gtydmerij;^" '' ' ' ^^^^'^^7 tarentina.''""'^^ ' ''^^ ^^^ squamosa. maximus or Jacobseus, pusio, simili^'^ coralloides, polymorphus, pes felis, opercularis ?, gibbus, and another. . . xof tridentata, trispinosa, and two others.; ^^., / IJiO llC) id^ no 811X0x1 's ifloiladiif) I9if;)i9 m : M.jjigiv 81 :ti xtodw JB9Y j1 « il jfioqiJ hmioi aW iiuft 08 crenulatus, laevigatus, ziziphiiiui/''iiH?5l'i%jd'i ^IdfiJo-iq ai ifoiilw ^ijjoIoo pa angus . . b^j^iijjjfg^g £)aB jnaiBqenjsii aioin tfidwamoa s'ib DitruDa ^^'^^^^"^ y«Dfri:f8iI) aiom «i x^Ibo Sffi ^^vs-^mioiw^^^ ni nsdi Of the foregoing species (about 125) 58 inhabit Britain, 98 to 100 the Mediterranean or coasts of Portugal (including all the British species) ; of those remaining, 16 are common to the Ca- naries, 1 (a Tellind) to Mogador, leaving 3 species of Rissoa, 2 of Emarff inula, 1 of Scalaria, 2 of Argiope, and 1 of Turrit ella, sup- posed to be new. ii o>^ jum The land shells of these islands having been well worked out by other parties, it is unnecessary to say anything upon them. I was much stru^ by.tl^pir great abundance \ix,ih^Jh^^tm\Wi'^ Porto Santo. poro-MfB bn: [b J/bixfl omi^^ 3iYY Beaumaris, Julys, 1852f.^'^''^'^' '''i -^^ ijduiji odi gr, iiooa 8B lol iji bai ' ijjj r ju tjvfii:] io[.t?fifi nSmmttir^^ ^^^^ ^ewera of the Icacinacese. By John Mier^, , ■Mi '\: xnjjiu4>..c ^^^^ r.R.S., F.L.S. ^^.,,^,j ^^,^^1 \^^ 89ob ii daidw lo , r^ .■ j i- ^.« i ^'^f hbo ifiBras-i r, rOontmued irom p. 44. J .^ . ~oiq nmu o'lo ^ f j ,;(|j iBoqqf? Jon 8tni3- ..• ^^^^^^ .It ^Bdl 9fdBd dan. rd b'jonUi In- commenting upon the genera of the Icacinacea, I "kmk fre- quently spoken of Phlebocalymna, a manuscript name proposed by Mr. Griffiths for a plant collected by him in the Malacca Peninsula, but as I am unable to discover that any of its cha- racters are appreciably distinct from the Platea of Blume, the former must necessarily merge into the latter genus, which was first established by that distinguished botanist in his ' Bijdra- gen,' and more lately recorded in his ^Mus. Bot. Lugd.,' where he enumerates another new species. In describing the characters of Stemonurus, I have stated {ante, p. 32), that the chief or perhaps only feature that can distinguish Platea, is the absence of the glandular hairs, that form a beautifully fringed crest over the anthers in the former genus, and as this was believed only to be a sexual difference, I had considered Platea as identical with Stemonurus. In the former, as also occurs in many species of the latter genus, the filaments are said by Blume to be short and broad (whence probably the generic name from irXareia, amplus), while in Phlebocalymna, although when in bud they are short and broad at base, they become afterwards long and Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinaceae. 109 linear: the differences in regard to their relative length and breadth are probably only specific, as we find them to occur in Stemonurus. After desiccation, the flowers oiPhlebocalymna appear of ah orange colour, which is probably retained from the living state ; they are somewhat more transparent and agglutinated at their edges than in Stemonurus, the calyx is more distinctly 5-lobed, and the segments are imbricated in aestivation, a feature also recorded by Blume in his character oiPlatea : in Griffiths's plant from Mergui, the calyx is furnished at its base, at the point of its articulation with the pedicel, with a distinct bract. In this plant, and in another from Moulmein, the flowers are axillary, and almost fas- ciculated in a very short raceme, but in Cuming's plant from Manilla, the inflorescence is in a spreading panicle, with numerous flowers upon lengthened pedicels. Blume, in his generic cha- racter of Platea, states that the flowers are dioecious, and that in the female flowers the corolla and stamens are altogether wanting. The same might almost be said of several species of Stemonurus^ for as soon as the fertility of the ovarium is clearly discernible, the petals and stamens will be found to have fallen off, and from analogy we may safely conclude the same to have occurred in Platea. Mr. Griffiths in his manuscript note on Phlebocalymna says, " genus novum Icacinearum, familia singularis ob albumen in lobos divaricatos et tegumen seminis vasculosissimum : " this remark can hardly apply to his proposed genus, of which it does not appear that he had seen the seed, and it is more than pro- bable that the allusion was made to Bursinopetalumy a genus placed by Dr. Wight (Icon. tab. 956) in the Olacacede, of which the Icacinece had been universally held to be a tribe : in that genus, by the growth of the placentary column of the abortive cells, and its protrusion into the cavity of the fertile cell, the albumen becomes hippocrepically folded, and somewhat divided into two lobes, in the manner clearly demonstrated in the figure referred to. I have elsewhere shown that Bursinopetalum belongs to the Aquifoliacece. Blume in his ' Mus. Bot. Lugd.^ gives a new generic character of Platea : this will require some modifica- tion, if we include in it Phlebocalymna, and with this view I now offer the following diagnosis : — ^»4\vo^<^ 'io giyJOB'ifiii'j Platea, Blume. Phlebocalymna, Griffiths. — Flores hermaphro- diti vel saspissime abortu polygami : an unquam vere dioici ? Calyx brevissimus, cupularis, 5-dentatus, dentibus in prseflora- !, tionem imbricatis, persistens, sed non augescens. Petala 5, linearia, carnosula, sestivatione valvata, apice propendenti in- > flexo, marginibus rorido-glandulosis, imo in tubum laxe ad- ,; haji'eotibus, e medio hbera et reiiexa, in flor. fern, fertil. cito decidua. Stamina 5, cum petalis inserta, iisdem alterna, ///a- 110 Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. : menta interdum brevia, ssepe petalis fere sequilonga, linearia, compressa, imo cum petalis laxe adhserentia : antherce ovato- oblongse, basi breviter bifidai_, dorso affixse^ 4-loculares, S-lobae, lobis singulatim 2-locellatiSj demum septicidis^ et longitudina- liter evolutim dehiscentibus. Pollen globosum^ reticulatum. Ovarium sterile disco 5-gono 10-striato piloso immersum ; fer- tile liberum^ conicum, pilosulum, disco annulari glabro insitum, abortu 1-loculare, ovula 2 juxta apicem loculi sub coll ateraliter suspensa. Stylus brevis^ sulcatus, pilosus^ dentibus 3 stig- matosis erectis terminatus^ demum in discum magnum sessile pulviniforme fructus coronans auctus. Drupa baccata^ mono- pyrena, putamen oblongum, lignosum^ angulato-rugosum, i*^^l -sperm um. Semen structuram Stemonuri semulans ? — Arbores '^ Asia tropiccB, folia elliptica, coriacea, glaberrima^ vel juniora interdum subtus lepidota, breviter petiolata, flores perpauci in cymas vel racemos breves axillares dispositij interdum fasciculati, sicce aurantiaci : fructus atro-purpureus. l,.JPlatea excelsa^ Bl. Bijdr. 646; — arbor 80-100 ped., foli|^ ^. pblongo-lanceolatis, acuminatis, integerrimis^ subtus cinere^r, gjyirentibus. — Java. %\^matea latifolia, Bl. Bijdr. 646 ;— arbor 40-60-ped., foliis ^^6valibus, acuminatis^ basi parum attenuatis, integerrimisj, '^^eostatis, subtus griseo-lepidotis. — Java. 3. Platea Sumatrana, Bl. Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. 249 ; — foliis e basi obtusata vel rotundata elliptico-oblongis, acuminatis, sub- coriaceis, venosis, subtus cinereo-virescentibus. — Sumatra. 4. Platea Griffithianay n. sp. ; — ramulis substriatis, subrugosis^ foliis oblongo-ovatis, e medio inferne pauUo angustioribus, apice obtusiusculo breviter ac lineari-angustatis^ coriaceis, utrinque pallidis et concoloribus^ nervis inferne prominentibus, margine revoluto, petiolo brevi, canaliculato, racemo axillaris petiolo vix longiori, pedunculo pedicellisque aspero-pilosulis, floribus cum pedicellis articulatis, et bine bracteatisj calycis glabri lobis ciliatis, petalis carnosulis, glabris, filamentis line- aribus, compressis, imo latioribus, ovario brevissimo, sterili, disco pentagono immerso, stylo conico, piloso, dentibus tribus stigmatosis pnbe celatis. — Mergui. — v, s. in herb. LindL et Hook. (Griffiths, 849). '- - The leaves are 5| inches long, nearly 3 inches broad, to & deeply channelled petiole 4-5 lines in length; the raceme is about 7 lines long, few- flowered ; the lobes of the calyx are di- stinctly imbricated; the petals conjoin by their margins in a tubular form, leaving the upper portion free and reflexed ; the Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinaceae. Ill filaments for half their length adhere to the petals, but are easily separated, they are narrow^ linear, compressed, and three- fourths of, tha length of. tha petals; the anthers are filled with pollen, jaol is ^fubMq^?^ mnmab ,^ . .. ,. i,.!,. .,\\.-..a 5. Platea Lobbianttj n. sp. ; — ramulis angulatis; foliis ellipticis ^,i^mo subacutis, apice obtusiusculo subito attenuatis, glaber- -j^y^imis, coriaceis, supra lucidis, utrinque pallidis et concolo- ,,ribus, costa supra sulcatis, nervis utrinque prominulis, venia .^i^imniersis, margine valde revolutis, pagina inferiori minute ^Qi^avo-punctatis, petiolo brevi, tereti, flavescenti, transverse ru- iiigoso, superne paullo canaliculato ; racemo brevissimo, axillari, ^^.petiolo vix longiori, floribus subfasciculatis, sicce aurantiacis, jj.^Jiermaphroditis, calyce piloso, petalis linearibus, glabris ; ovario „\piloso, ovuligero, disco annulari glabro insito. — Moulmein. — ^\^ .5. in herb. Hook, et Lindl. (Lobb, 385). The leaves in this species are 4{ to 5| inches long, and If to 2J inches broad, on a rather slender terete petiole about ^ inch in length : the flowers are hermaphrodite ; the lobes of the calyx are imbricated; the petals adhere by their margins in a tubular form, leaving the upper portions free and reflexed ; the filaments for half their length cohere to the petals, but are easily separated, they are narrow, linear and compressed, nearly the length of the petals ; the pollen is globular and reticulated ; the style is hollow, terminated by three erect obtuse teeth ; the ova- rium is conical, hairy, seated on an annular glabrous disk ; it is 1 -celled, with two ovules collaterally suspended from near the summit of the cell. 6. Platea Wightiana. Gomphandra polymorpha, var. Wight, Icon. tab. 933;— foliis oblongis, apice obtusiusculo repente attenuatis, glabris ; panicula axillari, divaricatim dichotomo- ramosa, folio 4-plo breviori, floribus aggregatis, staminibus exsertis, filamcntis linearibus, apice latioribus. — Coonoor in Mont. Nielgherrensibus, This is the plant to which I alluded when speaking of Ste- monurus {ante, p. 37) : although figured as the male plant of Gomphandra polymorpha, it would seem to be hermaphrodite, for the ovarium, as shown in the section given in fig. 6, is repre- sented as ovuligerous. -, sdjiiir 7. Platea laxiflora, olim Stemonurus laxiflorus, n. sp. ; — ramis flexuosis, nodosis, ramulis teretibus, subglabris, rugoso-stri- atis ; foliis oblongis, utrinque acutiusculis, apice repente atte- nuatis, utrinque glabris et concoloribus, venis subtus promi- nulis, petiolo subtenui canaliculato; paniculis solitariis vel 112 Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinaceae. geminis, axillaribus, 3-cliotomo-ramosis, et laxe divaricatis, pedunculis pedicellisque gracilibus parce pubescentibus, calyce corollaque glabris. — Ins. Philip. — v. s. in herb. Hook, et Liadl. (Cuming, 891). ;-l The leaves are about ^~ inches long and IJ inch broad, ori*li petiole 5 lines in length; the panicles are about 1^ inch long, the peduncle and its widely spreading branchlets being long, slender, and nearly glabrous ; the persistent calyx is smooth, with five small teeth ; the petals are linear and thin in texture ; these in the greater number of instances, together with the sta- mens, are wanting, having fallen away, as almost universally oc- curs in the female flowers of Stemonurus found in herbaria ; and it is probably owing to this circumstance, that Prof. Blume, in his generic character of Platea, states that the female flowers are deficient of corolla and stamens. The stamens are the length of the petals, the filaments being quite free, very compressed and broad at the base, tapering above, thin, and almost mem- branaceous in texture, somewhat inflexed at their summit, where they are terete and afiixed near the dorsal sinus of the anthers, which are oblong, 2-lobed, bifid and sagittate at base, and emar- ginated at the apex; the lobes are membranaceous, opened by a longitudinal fissure, the cells being quite void. The ovarium is cylindrical, as long as the stamens, and crowned with a sessile 5-lobed pulvinated disk, which is slightly umbilicated in the centre, where a short prominence is seen, this being the withered style and stigma : its single cell contains two large suspended ovules. It is worthy of remark, that in all the flowers retaining the corolla, I could find no instance in which the petals presented any appearance of opening, so that it is very probable that these, together with the stamens, in falling away retain the cylindrico- cupular form they present in the bud. Sarcostigma. 'vThe following obseiTations on the structure and afiinities of Sarcostigma were completed in readiness for the press, when the last part of the ' Plantse Javanicse Rariores ' made its appearance : in that important work we are favoured with an interesting ac- count and an excellent figure of a new species of this genus from Java. The remarks there off'ered, in regard to the afiinities of Sarcostigma, will be seen to be greatly at variance with my own deductions ; and hence it becomes necessary that I should ofier a few explanatory words on the subject. It would be pre- sumptuous in me to attempt to contravene the inferences there deduced by the most profound botanist of our time, showing the relation which that genus bears to Phytocrene, Nansiatum, and Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. 113 lodes ; but fully acknowledging all that is there affirmed, I may venture to show, that a yet stronger and much closer extent of analogy will be found to exist in the structure and deve- lopment of the floral parts, as well as a greater approximation in habit, to what we find in Stemonurus and Pennaniia. From the facts shown below, it will be seen that Sarcostigma accords with nearly all the essential characters I have endeavoured to establish in the preceding series of memoirs, as the leading fea- tures of the IcacinacecBj viz. trees with alternate, glabrous, coria- ceous, petiolated, exstipulate leaves ; an axillary racemose inflo- rescence, with small flowers, more or less polygamous, and di- stinctly articulated on a short pedicel ; a small cupshaped, per- sistent calyx supporting the fruit, and unchanging with its growth ; a corolla of four or five fleshy, linear petals, with val- vate aestivation, arising from the hypogynous or stipitated sup- port of the ovarium; free stamens, equal in number to, and alternate with the petals ; introrse 2-lobed anthers ; an ovarium presenting a similar form, the same internal structure, and the subsequent development of that seen in Stemonurus and Pen- nantia, and a fruit, in all appearance, closely analogous to that existing in those genera. Hence it seems evident from the facts here shown, that wherever Pennantia, Stemonurus^ and Platea are placed in the system, Sarcostigma should follow in juxta- position with them, unless the evidence now wanting, of the structure of its seed, should tend to a diff'erent location. If therefore Sarcostigma be found to hold a relation with the Phy- tocrenecBy the questions will naturally arise, whether this hitherto dubious family should not be brought into a more proximate position in the system with the IcacinacecBj or whether I have been in error in referring the genus under consideration to the latter family. The group of the Phytocrenea was first proposed by Endlicher as a suborder of the Menispermacece, a family with w*hich they hold little relationship. Prof. DeCaisne, if I mistake not, first pointed out the identity of Phytocrene with the Gyno- cephala of Blume, a genus placed among the Artocarpacece : hence Phytocrene and Nansiatum were removed by Prof. Lindley and other botanists to that family. This conclusion appears to me to have been too hastily drawn, for the Artocarpacece differ from them essentially in their stipular leaves, the presence of only a single floral envelope, which is often imperfect or altogether wanting, in their having fewer stamens than the number of the lobes of its perianthium, in their bifid style, which is often basilar, in their ovarium, with only a single suspended ovule, which is amphitropal or orthotropal, and an exalbuminous seed, often erect, though sometimes pendulous, with a thickened testa, and thick, fleshy cotyledons, often unequal in size. Phytocrene is Ann.^ Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol.Ji. 8 ri4 Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. very different in habit from any of the Artocarpacecey having ex- stipulate leaves, flowers with a regular and symmetrical calyx and corolla, stamens equal in number to the petals, an ovarium with two anatropal ovules, suspended from the summit of the cell, and a seed with a considerable quantity of albumen, en- closing an embryo with large foliaceous cotyledons, and a small inferior radicle. In regard to the structure of the seed of Phyto- crenSj our evidence is yet quite uncertain. Prof. Lindley (Veget. Kingd. p. 274) describes and figures an albumen of a very gra- nular, or rather ruminated texture, enclosing two large foliaceous cotyledons, with a very small inferior radicle ; and Mr. Brown, in his generic character, greatly confirms this view, by stating it to possess an embryo with large foliaceous cotyledons, enclosed in albumen. Prof. Blume, on the contrary (Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. p. 41. tab. 7), describes and figures the embryo as being quite exalbuminous, with large foliaceous crumpled cotyledons of a rugosely granular texture, possessing a short superior ra- dicle : he here acknowledges Fhytocrene to be identical with his Gynocephala, the fruit of which he describes as consisting of an aggregation of several elongated drupes, upon a fleshy receptacle, forming a globe as big as a man's head. It must at the same time be acknowledged, that the extremely villous habit of Phy- tocreney the peculiar structure of its woody stem, its closely ag- gregated flowers in globular heads, the membranaceous texture of its calyx and corolla, both clothed externally with very dense long hairs, and its peculiar stamens, present characters to which little resemblance can be traced in Sarcostigma. I urge these reflections, however, with extreme hesitation, in deference to the conclusions of an authority, whose determinations all botanists will regard with the highest consideration. It is to be regretted, however, that Mr. Brown has not favoured us with his views, and the reasons on which they are based, in regard to the real affinities of the Phytocrenece ; but he says decidedly that Sarco- stigma, which in his opinion " so obviously belongs to " this group, bears no relation to Hemandiacece, to which family that genus had originally been referred by Drs. Wight and Arnott. We may, however, infer something more tangible on this point from his admission of '^its near relationship" to Pyrenacantha, a genus with a single floral envelope, and other characters, that have led to its position near the Antidesmea. The genera Phy- tocreney Nansiatum, and lodes form a very natural group, pos- sessed of consimilar features, offering constantly a regular calyx and corolla, divided into segments equal in number to the sta- mens, all alternating with each other in distinct series; they have therefore every claim to rank among the Dialypetalae of Endlicher j but this disposition does not exist in Miquelia, a ge- Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. 115 nus carefully figured and described by Prof. Blume {loc, ante citat.), and placed by him and Mr. Brown among the Phyto- crenecB'. this genus^ with a very different habit, offers only a single floral envelope, with stamens alternate with its segments, and a 1 -celled ovarium with two suspended ovules, characters similar to those of Pyrenacanthaj from which it differs in its ex- albuminous seeds : these two genera are therefore clearly refer- able to the Apetalce of Endlicher, which are nearly equivalent to the MonochlamydecB of DeCandolle. If Sarcostigma then be related to the Phytocrenea, — an affinity which, if we accept, we must admit has not yet been demonstrated, — it is clear that it cannot bear any relation to the two genera before mentioned, which appear to have been associated with that group upon very insufficient grounds ; and if, as above indicated, the Phytocrenece be allowed to rank among the Dialypetal(je., it appears to me their position would not be far from the Tiliacece or DipterocarpecBf to which families they offer many analogous characters : from Prof. Blume^s analysis, they would much resemble the latter in the structure of the seed ; under Prof. Lindley's view, they would more nearly approach the former. The observations that now follow were written several months ago, and as they are confined wholly to the description of facts, there is no occasion to retract anything there advanced in coQr sequence of what is said above. The genus Sarcostigma, to which I have alluded [huj. op. ix. p. 223) as belonging to the SarcostigmecBy one of the tribes of the Icacinacece, was founded in 1832 by Drs. Wight and Arnott, on an Indian plant collected by Dr. Klein, and described by them in the 14th volume of the ' Edinburgh New Phil. Journal.' Like Desmostachys, it is somewhat scandent in its habits, but it has large oblong leaves upon very short petioles, and, as in that ge- nus, it has an extremely long and slender spicated inflorescence, studded at close intervals with fascicles of small flowers, which in drying retain their bright yellow colour, and are very deci- duous, being articulated upon very short and almost obsolete pedicels. The flowers, in the only case I have seen, are all female, and their stamens, which are sterile, are alternate with the petals; the internal structure of the ovarium corresponds with the usual character of the order : in the form of its epigy- nous stigmatoid summit it resembles Stemonurus, and what I have stated concerning the nature of this part in that genus ap- pears confirmed by the circumstances that occur here : in some cases this appears like a flat, glabrous, fleshy disk, with a depres- sion in the centre, as in the following genus Discophora, but it seems afterwards to attain the form of a somewhat conical um- braculiform process, overhanging the ovarium, with a crenated 8* |.jl6 Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. margin, and hollow in the centre. This process therefore, as in Stemonurus, would seem to be a growth subsequent to the period of impregnation : it will be remembered that a somewhat analogous succeeding development on the summit of the ovarium has been described in the case of Apodytes. In the rugous sur- face of its putamen, as recorded in the manuscript of Dr. Klein, it resembles Mappia and Stemonurus. Dr. Vogel collected another species, now iirst described, at Cape Palmas, on the Guinea coast of Africa ; in its general appearance, the size and shape of its leaves, and in its singularly long, slender, spicated inflorescence, it bears a striking resemblance to Dr. Klein^s plant and to that from Java, and although all the flowers have fallen off at the articulations with the pedicels, the identity of the genus cannot be mistaken. The following generic character has been derived, partly from my own observations as far as the specimen I have seen has afforded evidence, partly from Dr. Klein^s original notes, and I have since added other features from Mr. Brown's de- scription : — ......... ,,. , ^ . .. „. r.-'^. -iiaa 6xiJ fbiflwm) iKif tot 3ti=^oqqo ffl^ , . Sarcostigma, w, & A. — Flores polygami. Calysc mmimus, breviter cupulatus, obtuse 5-dentatus, persistens. Petala 5, lineari-oblonga, glabra, imo disci stipitati adnata, sestivatione valvata, sub anthesi patentim reflexa, marcescentia et persis- tentia. Stamina 5, cum petalis inserta, iis alterna et sequi- longa, in flor. fern, sterilia et subbreviora ; filamenta linearia, - compressa, in sterilibus apice antheris fere obsoletis 2-loba, (in fertilibus antherce ovales, versatiles, loculis parallelis, ap- proximatis, longitudinaliter dehiscentibus, sec. eel. R. Br.). Ovarium in flor. masc. parvura, sterile, pubescens, in flor. feii|. cylindricum ventricosum pubescens, disco seu gynophoro breyi tereti stipitatum, 1-loculare; ovula 2 ex apice loculi subcolla- teraliter superposita, podospermio carnosa suspensa: {stylus brevis crassus et stigma capitatum sec. Klein) : in ovario ado- lescente, stylus nullus, nisi id quod videmus in discum sessilem stigmoideum umbraculiformem margine crenatum centro ca- > jvum demum mutatum, et stigma verum centrale proinde obso- .onietum. Drupa oblonga, compressa, monopyrena; put amen ^ofq^ugosum ; csetera ignota. — Frutices Asia meridionalis, Java, et 'iRoAfrica tropicce, subscandentes ; folia majuscula, altei-na, oblonga, ^'^"iGoriacea, glaberrima, breviter petiolat a ; racemi longissimi, gra- ciles, simplicite?' spicati e fasciculis \-4i-floris alternis ; flores [^rx;Jiqii8 iJOiyJ 2. Sarcostigma Vogelii, n. sp. ; — sufirutex glaberrimus, ramulis teretibus, subrugosis; foliis majusculis, oblongis, utrinque acuminatis, apice acute et breviter attenuatis, coriaceis, gla- berrimis, supra pallidis, subtus flavescentibus, nervis venisque reticulatis et transversis prominentibus, petiolo brevissimo, canaliculato, rugoso ; racemo spicato, extra-axillari, longissimo, gracili, floribus subaggregatis, articulatis, caducis ; di'upa car- nosa, inibra, pendula. — Guinea ad Cap. Palmas. — v. s. in herb. , Hook. (Vogel, 25, 27 et 68). ' This plant was collected in the Niger Expedition by Dr. Vb^el, who describes it as a shrub [strauch) : it bears very much the .t^iti^i^^. appearance of the^fonn^r ^epiesy but the leaves are ,f, * A drawing of this plant, with details of the structure of its female iSowers, will be given in plate 18 of the ' Contributions to Botany,* &c. 118 Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. d'\ not quite so thick in texture ; they are smooth, somewhat undu- lating on the margins, 7 to 10 inches long, and 3 to ^~ inches broad, on a very short, channelled and rugous petiole, about 3 lines in length ; the raceme is distantly extra-axillary, and in- serted on the opposite side of the stem, as in the former species ; it is 12 or 13 inches long, very slender, slightly pubescent and angular at base, for the length of about 3 inches, and in the remainder is glabrous and beset with alternate nodules, consist- ing of single or aggregated, very short pedicels, left bare by the falling away of all the articulated flowers. The fruit, according to Dr. VogeFs notes, is red, fleshy, oval and pendulous, and from his rough sketch of a transverse section it would appear to be somewhat compressed and to contain two seeds : if this be the case, it would bear out a still stronger analogy to the in- stance I have recorded in Pennantia *. 3. Sarcostigma Horsfieldii, R. Br. PI. Jav. Rarior. 241. tab. 47. ' — Java. ^ ; DiSCOPHORA. ^; The characters that warrant the estabhshment of this genus are few, but when taken in conjunction with the peculiar habit of the plant and the difierent country of its origin, they serve to mark its place. The specimen upon which it is founded is a native of Guiana, with ovuligerous flowers which are far ad- vanced, for the petals and stamens are fallen away, leaving only the calyx and ovarium, which is crowned with a discoid process : in the internal structure of the ovarium, and the form of its per- sistent calyx, articulated on its pedicel, it is strictly conformable with other genera of this family; and in the peltoid disk that crowns the ovarium it resembles Sarcostigma, Pennantia, and StemonuruSy all of Asiatic origin ; but in this case this process is much smaller and somewhat reniform. In one instance 1 found a single petal remaining, just sufficient to mark its character. As it cannot be referred to any one of the genera above mentioned, I propose to call it Discophora, from hlaKo^, discus, (f>ep(o,fero. The few characters known may be designated in the following manner : — 'o '^-^b DiSCOPHORA, gen. nov. — Calyoc minimus, brevissime cupuli- formis, fere integer, obsolete 5-denticulatus, persistens. Pe- tola 5, linearia, glaberrima, textura tenui, nervo mediano lon- gitudinali notata, cito caduca. Stamina ignota, mox decidua. Ovarium liberum, cyhndricum, glabrum, 1-loculare; ovula 2, juxta apicem loculi superposita, podospermio crasso subcolla- * This plant will be figured in plate 19 of the ' Contributions to Botany,' Dr. A. Krohn on the genus Doliolum and its species. 119 teraliter suspensa, anatropa. Stylus cum stigmate confusus, ' demum subreniformi-discoideus, parvus, subconcavus. Fructus t. ignotus. — Frutex Guianensis -, folia alterna, oblong a, majv^cula, glaherrima, petiolata-, racemi axillares, divaricatim ramosi; Hores parvi, cum pedicellis articulati. L Discophora Guianensis ; — omnino glaberrima, ramulis tere- tibus, substriatis ; foliis oblongis, utrinque acuminatis, apice lineari-angustatis, coriaceis, supra nitidis, nervis sulcatis, venis immersis, subtus fuscis, nervis rubentibus cum venis transversis prominentibus, punctis minutis resinosis notatis, margine revolutis^ petiolo incurvo canaliculate ; racemis axil- ' laribus petiolo 2-3-plo longioribus, dichotome et divaricatim < ramosis, pedicellis bracteatis, bractea oblonga obtusa crassi- uscula pubescenti, floribus cum pedicello articulatis. — Deme- rara. — v. s. in herb. Hook. {Parker). The branches are terete with a smooth bark ; the axils are 1 ^ to 2 inches apart ; the leaves are quite smooth, thick, and coria- ceous, 8 inches long, 2^ inches broad, on a petiole of |^ to f inch in length : a raceme about 1^ inch long springs t)ut of each axil, sending out from the base upwards several alternate branches at nearly right angles, which are again divided ; the branchlets and pedicels are slightly pubescent and furnished at their base with a short, obtuse, fleshy bract, covered with short fine hairs ; the ovarium is 4 lines long, 1^ line diameter ; the stigmatiferous disk is about one-third of the diameter of the ovarium ; the calyx and petals are quite glabrous; the latter are linear, submembranaceous, marked with three parallel nervures, and are of a reddish yellow colour when dry*. ban .y> ' ___ . XIII. — Upon the genus Doliolum and its species. . , By Dr. A. Krohn f. " ^^'"''•'^'^"'' [With a Plate.] QuoY and Gaimard describe and figure in their work, the ' Voy- age of the Astrolabe' (p. 599. pi. 89. figs. 25-28), a small cry- stalline Tunicary not 2 lines long, which they first discovered at Amboyna, and subsequently found again on the coast of Vani- koro. For this animal they created a genus, to which they gave the very appropriate name of Doliolum, placing it in the near *''*'^A representation of this species, with analytical details, will be seen in plate 20 of the * Contributions to Botany.' t Wiegmann's Archiv fur Naturgeschichte, 1852. — Translated by Thomas H. Huxley, F.R.S., Assistant Surgeon R.N. 120 Dr. A. Krohn on the genus Doliolum and iU species, neighbourhood of Salpa. The species was called D. denticulatum. J am not aware whether this animal has been since examined by other naturalistSj although it occurs not unfrequently in the Mediterranean. Once_, on a previous occasion, 1 found it at Messina ; but in the course of last spring I took it frequently at Naples, and per- suaded myself that not only in point of structure (not very per- fectly made out by Quoy and Gaimard), but also in development^ it is decidedly an Ascidian. It is a free swimming Ascidian, which in many respects closely resembles the Salp(2, and so far forms an interesting transition between the two orders of the Tunicata. The genus, however, is not limited to this one species, as I discovered three other kinds at the same place and time. Before proceeding to describe the different species, it. will. he desirable to consider what they all have in common, ii noqU The genus Doliolum is mainly characterized by the ' cireum- istance, that the body of the animal (as the name indeed indi- cates) resembles a cask open at each end. The anterior some- what broader end is prolonged into a very short, often hardly j)erceptible tube, which answers to the ingestive or respiratory siphon of other Ascidians, and, like this, has its lip divided into a number of segments. These lobes, generally about ten in number, are somewhat pointed. At the opposite end, whose aper- ture represents the cloacal aperture of other Ascidians, the body becomes gradually narrower*. The mantle is relatively very thin, and contains scattered gra- nules in its substance. The second layer of the body {Leibes- schicht) is, as in all Tunicata, that which supports the nerves and muscles. ; The nervous centre consists of a round ganglion placed in the middle of the dorsal surface ; from it three anterior and as many posterior branches proceed. Two of these pass divergingly to the sides of the body, the third runs along the median line. The muscular apparatus closely agrees with that of Salpa in its ar- rangement. It consists, according to the species, of either eight or nine fiat bands, which, like hoops, encircle the body at tole- rably regular intervals, and ^ftigiYfliitjftStiU' stronger resemblance to a little cask. nrv)H(|i * The anterior band surrounds the t)ase of the respiratory siphon, the posterior immediately encircles the margin of the posterior aperture. Both are less strongly marked than the other bands. With regard to the internal organs, the respiratory apparatus - . * The two apertures are diametrically opposite likewise in the Pyroso- mata ; and here also the cloacal aperture, which opens into the cavity of the common mass, has a smooth edge (see Savigny, Mem. sur les Anim. sans Vertehres)! r>'>ti?rin isTrff^ s^o ^*Wli«« »h ftOfjii b'iAmm gaiad /d amh Dr. A. Krohn on the genus Doliolum and its species. 121 presents the most striking deviation from the ordinary arrange- ment. Instead of a sac, it forms a partition stretched across the cavity of the body, flat in one species, bent at an angle in another ; and dividing the space into an anterior and a posterior compartment. Its structure is much simpler than that of the compound Ascidians, since it is pierced by only two series of symmetrical, transverse, or somewhat oblique clefts {" stiff mates branchiaux" Milne-Edwards), the edges of which are, as in all Ascidians, beset with ciha. In the median portion of the branchial membrane the clefts are wider, beyond it they narrow again. - "^^ k- Description of Species. u mVi^ 4''8' Al "Species with eight muscular bands and the gemmarium j ventral. , jp • >VT, 1. Doliolum denticulatum^ {Q.8iD G.), AC, V. ',Ai ni The branchial membrane is bent into a sharp angle projecting backwards, and extends further than in the succeeding species. Its upper half reaches as far as the second muscular band, and at times beyond it ; the lower half extends as far as the third muscular band only. The mouth is placed upon the lower half of the branchial membrane ; from it the oesophagus passes in a curved direction backwards and downwards to the deeper- seated stomach. The intestine describes a wide arc, passing at first backwards and * This specific denomination is unfitting, since in the other species the anterior aperture is toothed. I propose therefore for this species the name of D. Ehrenhergii. ,,^j tog-^ff^ris •/ Dr. A. Krohn on the genus Dolioluin and its species. 123 eventually upwards upon the right side of the cavity of the body. I?/7£!'3'iO 9i;2,fTi« ii'^fV^ •>1 b'JV/Oljji In the sexual individuals of this sped^S I have only befetr able' to discover the males, and I thence presume that the sexes are separate. The male apparatus lies upon the left lateral wall of the posterior cavity, and consists of a testis and a relatively long and wide seminal canal. This canal is commonly distended with spermatozoa, and extends as far as the fourth muscular band. The testis is composed of single rounded lobes, which, like the folioles of a rosette, are grouped round the commencement of the seminal canal. As to the asexual individuals, the change in the arrangement of their muscular bands produced by the development of the gemmarium, consists in the separation of the ends of the penul- timate band ; the narrow and pointed extremities of which run for some distance upon the base of the gemmarium. Fully de- veloped individuals of this kind attain the length of 5i lines w-a little more. 'T '^^^ '!<> '^cro x^ ♦ ;, 2. Doliolum Millleri (Krohn). '\o This species is wider in the middle, and thence resembles a more squat cask. The mantle is very soft and almost mucila- ginous, so that foreign bodies readily become imbedded in it. The branchial membrane has the form of a vertical' partition placed in the posterior part of the cavity of the body and slightly convex behind ; there are about twelve pair of clefts. The mouth seemed to be nearer the lower half. The alimentary canal, on the other hand, is in the middle of the cavity, remote from either wall. The oesophagus descends towards the stomach, to which the short intestine succeeds, descending at first and then curving upwards in a loop. The sexual individuals of this species are hermaphrodite. Close to the stomach and intestine we distinguish three structures closely applied to one another. The largest, the testis, is pyri- form, and lies with its narrower end near the anus. The two other bodies are spherical ; the one is filled with clear nucleated vesicles, which I consider to be germs ; whence the whole must be regarded as an ovarium. The other body is unquestionably a fully developed ovum, in which we easily recognize the outer investment, the granular yelk and the germinal vesicle with its spot. In some individuals I found it free, in the posterior cavity of the body. With regard to the asexual individuals I will only observe, that their penultimate muscular band is arranged similarly to that of the preceding species. Varieties of this very common species, which is often met with 124 Dr A. Krolin on the genus Doliolum and its species. in swarms in March and Aprils have a red-spotted body, and the aUmentary canal blue or pale red. \-^"^y\* a Fully grown individuals reach the dimensions of l^ltine'in length. cis^oAc^•<>'« 'fij m uimoi iyfV ^vff.t *>o 3?vra{ od:^ ni iedi gjiii fiviiii 31!) 3. DoUolum Troschelii (Krohn). no xib 8b tgijssq inaveiDut rarely observed this species. It is liiuctf ftti^r than that just described, as I have met with individuals more than 3 lines in length. Upon the whole it resembles D. denti- culatum and Nordmanni, only that the body is more elongated. It is especially remarkable from its singularly broad muscular bands*. The alimentary canal is quite similar to that of the preceding species ; but of the branchial membrane I can say nothing, since it was accidentally absent in all the specimens, having been probably injured and torn off in some manner. J * Upon superficial examination, this species, on account of its broad muscular bands, might readily be taken for a very yoxm^ proles solitaria of Salpa punctata (Forskahl). Among the Salpce observed by me at Messina (Annales des Sciences Nat. 1846), this solitary Salpa-form is the only one all whose muscular bands form complete and relatively very broad circles. Dr. A. Krohn on the genus Doliolum and its species. 125 Sexual individuals were not seen. In the asexual ones the aiite-penultimate muscular band has the same arrangemeiit as in D. Nordmanni * . Development and Metamorphosis, .df^tiQi "fi The development of the buds was observed in D. MUlleri, but presented no remarkable feature. The buds shoot one after another, as it seems, from the gemmarium, for the outermost is always the largest, and often already changed into a young Ascidian, whilst the others are far behind in their development, and indeed the more, the greater their distance from it. Buds which are so far developed as to allow the majority of the organs, and among the rest the swiftly pulsating heart, to be distin- guished, are placed vertically (like those of the Compound Asci- dians and Clavelinidse according to Milne-Edwards), with the anterior extremity forwards, and are attached to the gemmarium by a short pedicle. This pedicle is inserted upon the abdominal surface close below the alimentary canal ; when the bud is de- tached it falls with it, and subsequently wholly disappears. Such recently detached budded forms may be so far confounded with young asexual individuals, inasmuch as their pedicle may be readily taken for the little-developed and as yet budless gemma- rium, which has the same form and position. More close exa- mination, however, will eliminate this error, since all free bud- forms already exhibit the rudiments of the sexual organs. The asexual individuals developed from ova are born, as has been said, in the form of Cercaria-like larvae, and therefore un- dergo a metamorphosis. This metamorphosis is characterized, however, by many peculiarities, whose explanation is only to be found in the mode of life of the adult animal. It is well known that in the larvae of the fixed Ascidians, the tail very soon disap- pears, as an organ which has become useless, when the larva has found a fitting locality in which to fix itself. Only after this has taken place does its body become gradually changed into the perfect animal. In Doliolum, on the other hand, which, as we have seen, is a free swimmer, there is no need for the tail to disappear so soo^j-; * I must leave it undecided whether the cask-like Tunicary with eight muscular bands, but much larger than D. denticulatum, which is described by Quoy and Gaimard as D. caudatum {I. c. p. 601, pi. 89. fig. 29. & 30), really belongs to this genus. In the figure the one end of the body is indeed siphon-like, but its lip is without lobes. From the opposite extremity a dense pyramidal process projects, like the processes of many associated SalpcB. I should be inclined to regard the animal rather as a Salpa than as a Doliolum, especially since the completely circular muscular bands which it possesses;, are,^as we haye seen abov^, no ^^cisiye c^kmc^ qf the eenus 126 Dr. A. Krohn on the genus Doliolum and its species. it persists during almost the whole period of development of the new creature, serves as an organ of locomotion, and begins to wither away only when the young has reached its perfect deve- lopment and independence*. The tail, however, dies aw^ay quite as Milne-Edwards has already observed in the course of metamorphosis of Amouroucium proliferum, and as I a short time since observed in larvae of Phal- lusia mammillata obtained by artificial fecundation. The contractile central portion or axis of the tail, composed of a simple series of rectangular, nucleated cells, is gradually re- tracted from its sheath into the body of the young animal and^ so becomes gradually shorter and shorter. Soon the young ani- mal casts off its larval investment, and only slight traces of the tail are left upon its ventral surface, close under the digestive canal, in the form of a round body which soon disappears. The following observations will afford more detailed evidence of the above view ; they were made upon separate, not yet fully developed individuals of D. Nordmanni. To all these individuals the tail was still attached ; in some it remained in all its integrity, while in others it had begun to dis- appear. The whole, tail and animal, was surrounded by the lar- val tegument, a very thick, glassy membrane, which must not be confounded with the mantle, which is closely applied to the body of the young animal. This could be readily distinguished from the homogeneous larval tegument by the granules imbedded in its substance. The larval tegument was about a line long, and drawn out at each end into a tolerably acute point. The rela- tively short and very thin tail, or rather its wasted axis, appeared articulated from the presence of the above-mentioned cubical cells, and external to these a thin muscular layer was perceptible, whose fibres ran longitudinally from the root to the point f. The root projects far into a vesicular appendage attached close under the intestinal canal, and filled with a clear fluid, which is pro- bably only a dilatation of the second tunic {Leibes-schicht), and diminishing pari passu with the tail, collapses, and at length dis- appears. The young animal appears in most specimens to be already so far developed, that all the organs and the lobes of the anterior aperture (which are at first turned inwards, and only * The animal described by Joh. Miiller as Vexillaria flabellum (Archiv, 1846), and considered by him to be probably the larva of Amouroucium. proliferum, is, according to my observations, an incompletely developed Ascidian, whose tail, as in Doliolum, appears to persist until the perfect form is nearly assumed. The perfect, as yet unknown animal will probably be found to agree with Doliolum in its mode of life. t This layer of fibres seems to be wanting in no Ascidian larva. In the tail of the Vexillnrice it has been already quite correctly described by J. Miiller, It perfectly accounts for the rapid movements of the tail. ='ii'>;' Mr. T. H. Huxley on the genus Doliolum. 127 subsequently unfold themselves and project) are visible. Upon the dorsal surface the rudimentary gemmarium had already made its appearance in the form of a conical projection. The young animal was not capable of any independent movement, and its tail was only seen at intervals slightly twitching and vibrating. Final Remarks, In the course of the preceding observations, the analogies which connect the genus Doliolum with the Salpa have been re- ferred to. These analogies consist not only in the similar mode of life, the similar diametrical opposition of the apertures, and especially in the similar muscular apparatus of each, but also, as I have endeavoured to show, in the similar mode of propagation, according to the laws of the Alternation of Generations, by which, as in the Salpa^ sexual and asexual generations occur in regular succession. Yet, in the genus Doliolum the typical cha- racters by which the Ascidian is separated from the Salpa pre- dominate ; such are distinctly seen in the absence of the respi- ratory siphon, in the structure of the respiratory apparatus, and in the metamorphosis. By their approximation to the SalpcB, and by the simpler struc- ture of their branchiae, however, Doliolum seems to me to stand lower than the Compound Ascidian s ; although, like the higheif' Ascidians, it is solitary, and, unlike them, it is free. r^ The Ascidians then, according to their mode of life, may be divided into fixed and free. To the former belong the numerous genera of simple and compound or aggregated Ascidians, to the latter the solitary genus Doliolum and the aggregate genus ~ )ma. ®^J '"' Note by the Translator. ' '' ■ •' ■ ^ ,0" Dr. Krohn does not appear to have met with a memoir uptai* Doliolum and Appendicularia ( Vewillaria) published in the ' Phi- losophical Transactions ^ for 1851. I have there described and figured D. denticulatum, and I am delighted to find that in all essential points, what 1 have stated is confirmed by one of th^e. most accurate and careful of the German observers. f ^ Dr. Krohn does not seem to have been more successful than myself in making out the ovaries of D. denticulatum ; but I should hardly be inclined to adopt his supposition, that this species, iri opposition to its immediate congeners, is dioecious ; the explana- tion I have suggested {loc, cit. p. 601) seems to me still to be the more plausible. !^!lt will be observed that Dr. Krohn considers what I hajye called the testis to be the vas deferens, and vice versd. 1 feel quite 12S Mr. T. H. Huxley on the genus Doliolum. sure, however, that in the specimens I examined the relations of the organ were as I have described and figured them. From the excellent description of the development of Doliolum given in Dr. Krohn's memoir, it seems highly probable that my guess as to the nature of the " shrivelled tubular process,^' p. 601, is correct, viz. that it is the remains of a pedicle of attachment. In common with all previous observers, Dr. Krohn appears to have confounded what I have called the '' endostyle " with the true " dorsal folds ^^ of Savigny. Recent careful examina- tions of many species of Ascidians have convinced me that the distinction which I drew between these structures (on Salpa and Pyrosoma, 'Phil. Trans.' 1851, p. 572) is well founded. The " endostyle '^ invariably exists at the base of the " dorsal folds " in ordinary Ascidians, and consists essentially of a band of thick, cylindrical, elongated cells, arranged round a common axis. Two similar accessory bands are in the ordinary Ascidians developed upon the folds on each side of the " endostyle.^' Dr. Krohn does not seem to have noticed the ciliated sac, or the peculiar manner in which the anterior ciliary bands termi- nate at this part. I have described similar bands in Salpa and Pyrosoma {loc. cit, § 17-52), and I find that such exist in all Ascidians. The " accessory part of the same apparatus " men- tioned by Dr. Krohn is the " tubercule anterieure '' of Savigny. It is not, as Dr. Krohn supposes, a mere appendage of the ciliated bands, but it is a very peculiar structure placed in the space be- tween the ciliated bands and the tentacular circlet (in ordinary Ascidians), and is always in more or less close connexion with the ganglion. It is the same organ as the "ciliated sac" of Salpa, Pyrosoma, and Doliolum, and is, I think, very probably an organ of sense. I have found it varying very remarkably in shape and size in species of Boltenia, Cynthia, Molgula, and Phallusia. The existence of a well-developed testis in Appendicular ia (Vexillaria) [loc. cit. § 84) appears to me to present an insu- perable difficulty to Dr. Krohn's hypothesis, that this creature is an incompletely developed Ascidian ; and in addition to this cir- cumstance, there is the absence of a cloaca (the anus opening directly on the dorsal surface (§ 82)), which stamps the form as altogether peculiar. With regard to the muscular apparatus of the tail of Ascidian larvae, I may here state as a fact, which I believe to be alto- gether new, that it is composed of a layer of large, elongated, thick walled cells applied end to end. The cells contain a large clear nucleus with a nucleolus. Their walls present a delicate fibrillation^ which is continued from one cell to another, so that it appears at first as if the cells were inclosed within a bundle of Mr. W. Clark 07i the genus Lepton. 129 fibres ; resembling exactly the embryonic muscular fibres of the frog described by KoUiker. The larvae in which I observed this belonged to a very peculiar small Cynthia, in the Collection of the British Museum. Contrary to the usual course, the larvae had attained a very considerable degree of development in the space between the inner tunic and the outer wall of the branchial sac, and had so become preserved with their parent. Another point of great interest about the larvae may be men- tioned here. The integument of the tail and of the body of young larvce, in which the body contains nothing but a mass of cells, and offers no trace of any organs or apertures, presents clear and un- mistakeable signs of the presence of cellulose. The determination of this point is one of the desiderata left by Lowig and KoUiker (Annales des Sciences, 1846), and it shows, I think, very clearly that the Ascidians do not necessarily get their cellulose, as they suppose, from the Diatomacea or other ingesta. Do the cells of the tail of the foetal Ascidian secrete cellulose as the " Primordial- schlauch " in plants secretes it ? If so, they must fix carbon ; and the physiological distinction between animals and plants will; disappear, as the anatomical ones have already disappeared. -a In referring to the analogies between the Salpce and Doliolunt', Dr. Krohn appears to uphold the doctrine of the fundamental difference between the Salpce and other Ascidians. In the me- moirs referred to, I have endeavoured to show, on the contrary, that there is but one type of Ascidian structure, and that the variations upon this type pass insensibly into one another. Sub- sequent investigations, which I hope to make public at no distant period, have to my mind demonstrated the truth of this propo- sition. The great difficulty I have found among the Ascidians has been^ indeed, to discover any good anatomical distinctions among the genera. DESCRIPTION OF PLATE III. B. Fig. 1 . DoUolum Miilleri, asexual individual, from the ventral side : a, gem- miferous tube or " gemmariura ;" b, penultimate muscular band with its ends inserted into the gemmarium. Fig. 2. Larva of D. Nordmanni : c, larval tegument ; d, young DoUolum ; e, vesicular appendage ; /, axis of the tail. Fig. 3. The same further developed and more magnified. Letters as before. — — lju:»^j[ r^fiJi-'^^o l i g XIV. — On the genus Lepton. By William Clark, TTsq.; To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. Gentlemen, Exmouth, July 5, 1852. I HAVE stated in the July 'Annals' for 1852, that the discovery of the animal of the Lepton convexum has put it in my power .|Ojj Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. x. 9 130 Mr. W. Clark on the genus Lepton. settle the disputed identity or distinctness between it and L. ni- iidum, and that after due examination I would communicate the result. I redeem my pledge by presenting a short memoir on the genus Lepton. Though the L. squamosum, the type, has been mentioned by authors, I have thought that it would be desirable to give my account of the animal, with some additions and a few observations on the natural position of the genus. Lepton, Turton. '^ Lepton squamosum, auct. ; Solen squamosus, Mont. Animal inhabiting a very flat, subrhomboidal, white, porcel- lanous, punctured shell ; its ground colour is a clear white : the mantle is very large, having the margins sinuated, often puckered into two or three folds at the will of the animal ; they extend be- yond the shell more than one-third of the vertical measure at its centre, from which spring a row, on each side the middle of the ventral range, of twenty-five rather long, slender, milk-white ten- tacular pointed filaments ; but the mantle thus clothed is only pro- truded largely beyond the shell, from the middle of the anterior side, throughout the ventral range, to the same level at the pos- terior end j from these points to the umbones it is never seen, being either closed or not protruded, but its suture or edges are furnished with about forty long, strong, blunt, frosted white, rather close-set cirrhi varying in length ; a part of these range at the posterior side of the beaks, above the sessile anal orifice, which occupies a small space without cirrhi, between the termination of the protrusion of the margin and the commencement of the larger filaments on the broader, larger, and posterior side ; of that part of the filaments at the anterior side of the beaks, one is thicker, broader at the base, and double the length of the others; this is the last of the larger ones, which at one time I thought was tubular and might be an oviduct, but further exa- mination seemed to disprove this idea. None of the filaments show much motion ; the long one only, when the animal ad- vanced a step, made an arcuated contraction, similar to that of the fore-finger in extenso when quickly brought down to the palm of the hand ; it then resumed the straight position to await another step : all the other cirrhi are either retractile or con- tractile, separately or en masse. The foot is hyaline azure, with a broad longitudinal medial line of intense snow-white, and a still intenser flake at the ante- rior end ; it is fixed to the centre of the body by a moderately long pedicle ; on first protrusion it takes a vertical position, and Mr. W. Clark on the genus Lepton. 131 has a linguiform tapering aspect, but this part almost imme- diately, after feeling about, ranges itself anteriorly and hori- zontally ; and at the same time, on the other side of the pedicle, a bevelled, attenuated, pointed portion issues, somewhat shorter than the first ; this is longitudinally cloven as far as the pedicle, and can form a sort of oval disk, but on the march it is rarely expanded : at the base of the cleft is the byssal gland, which oc- casionally pours out a glutinous red filamentous matter, that in confinement is copious, and discharged anteriorly, which at first I thought was faecal matters, and was puzzled to account for such an issue anteally, but the subsequent view of the single sessile posteal anal conduit and the ejection of pellets cleared up the difficulty. This foot is in every respect similar in miniature to that of the Pedunculus pilosus and of the Arcadce. The animal is vivacious, and allowed itself to be examined many times daily ; it marched with quickness, but I only once saw it progressing in a vertical position ; the usual posture of the shell is to rest on one of the disks, which is frequently changed for the other ; the adductors did not appear to allow of a greater opening of the valves than the ordinary extent. The animal, when placed at the bottom of a glass, always crawled up and moored itself by a filament at the side ; sometimes, however, it slipped its moorings and floated free on the surface of the water with the umbones downwards, and after an interval refixed itself by spin- ning a byssal thread. I cannot speak at present of the branchiae and palpi, as the animal and shell are in my collection, and are thus preserved to show that the shell, though usually described by conchologists as gaping, can, in consequence of the flexibility of the thin laminar valves, be completely closed. There is no branchial siphon ; but there are mantellar folds, which, with the great ventral opening, amply provide for the admission of the water. The animals of this interesting group exhibit, in the tentacular filaments and curious foot, as well as in the sculpture of their shells, very considerable variation from Kellia rubra and Kellia sub orbicularis ; the types of one of the genera of the family in which they have been located by authors, doubtless from the want of knowledge of the animal. Taking into consideration that the Leptons have many of the attributes of the Arcada, and especially giving due weight to the remarkable similarity be- tween the foot of Lepton squamosum and the Pectuncnlus pilosus, I am almost induced to believe that it is in a false position, in connection with the Kelliada, and that it ought to follow or pre- cede Galeomma, which, with me, is an undoubted genus of the Arcada. The punctures of this species and of L. conveomm are in the 9* 132 Mr. W. Clark on the genus Lepton. test ; with respect to its congener, the L. nitidum, it has been stated that it is smooth and without punctures : this is a mistake, as I can show fifty specimens not only well-marked on the greenish epidermis, but in the substance of the shell. I have the satisfaction to state, that I have observed another live L. squamosum, and also obtained full notes of the animal of one of our great desiderata, the L. nitidum, from a most lively animal, which for several days gave me every facility for exami- nation. The jL. squamosum, just alluded to, was kept thirty-four days in a glass of sea-water, changed daily, and was apparently as vigorous as when first placed in captivity ; it thus appears that the Conchiferse can exist for a long time in pure sea-water, on the animalculse it contains, though that aliment may not be their sole resource in freedom. I may observe, that the habitude of crawling and swimming with the foot uppermost in Lepton, and in several other minute bivalves, perhaps in all, shows the close alliance of the Acephala with the Gasteropoda, all of which, in their minute condition, have precisely the same peculiar system of dorsal natation. I ought to have mentioned that the liver is light green and mixed up with a flake-white ovary ; but from the extreme tenderness of the branchiae, I cannot speak of them and the palpi with certainty as to form and number. July 2nd. — As I had just finished the above, a lively specimen of this species was met with, which, on being placed in water, at once unfurled its long and beautiful fringes, and exserted the ample niveous mantle and foot. This is certainly the Prince of British bivalves ; the snow-white colour of both animal and shell sheds over this interesting creature the inexpressible charms of purity and elegance. It now lives in the same vase with its pigmy congener, the L. convexum. Lepton nitidum, Turton et auct. The animal inhabits a light greenish yellow or pure white, subrhomboidal, moderately convex, more or less punctured shell. The mantle is frosted white with the margins plain, but as much proportionately protruded beyond the edge of the shell as in L. squamosum', it is in like manner clothed with cirrhal filaments of about the same length, and of pruinose white, but unlike that species, they are rather less developed dorsally than ventrally ; each filament at its terminal edge is studded with four or five white points or cilia, so sharp and minute as to require a powerful lens to see them. There is no conspicuous leading pro- cess, as in the preceding species, but the mantle, at the same anterior point, forms a visible projection or fold. In this spe- Mr. W. Clark on the geniLS Lepton. 133 cies, and contrary to L. squamosum, the longer and broader end is anterior, but the beaks are so central, that there is little dif- ference in the sides ; the single sessile anal tube is exactly as in the last species ; there is no branchial siphon, — the water enters at the extensive ventral aperture. The foot is almost in every respect similar to that of its congener ; it is perhaps larger in proportion, of pale azure hue, marked with intense but irregular flake-white minute blotches ; the posterior extremity is as long as the portion anterior to the pedicle; its termination is per- fectly aciculate, and like its congener deeply grooved as far as the junction with the body, at which point is the byssal gland, and the superabundant filamentous matter is similarly discharged. The L. squamosum is a lively creature, but this, not one-third of the size, is far more active, creeping up a glass as easily as a Gasteropod ; but the posterior portion of the foot is not expanded ; perhaps in freedom it is deployed on the march ; in confinement both shell and foot are carried laterally. The liver is light green, united to a flake-white ovarium, now, in June, full of ova. Transverse length ^, vertical y^^, diameter y^ of an inch. It would appear that this species in every essential is identical with the L. squamosum, and it settles the position of the yet undis- covered L. conveocum. This is the first record of this rare animal that has appeared. Exmouth, June 20, 1852. I have this day the pleasure to state, that the problem is solved as to the identity or distinctness of the Lepton nitidum and L. conveocum by the capture of a live specimen of the latter, having the shell sculptured with the rough and intensely marked characteristic punctures of that species. On putting the animal into water it instantly deployed its organs ; and for their descrip- tion I have only to refer to the preceding account of the L. niti- dum, which in future will take the appellation of a variety of its old associate. The two are so identical, that after ten days' exa- mination I can make no alteration in the minutes, except the having seen the animal march on the disk of the foot, more than once, with the shell in a vertical position ; it has all the same habitudes as the L. squamosum, and of course differs in no re- spect from its smoother variety, the late L. nitidum. It is now alive, and probably by changing the water daily it will live as long or longer than the L. squamosum mentioned above. It is therefore evident that the punctures of this species are very variable, ranging from the most minute granules that scarcely interrupt its smoothness to the coarsest sculpture. As the specific appellation of nitidum is obviously improper, the more significant one of convexum ought now to be adopted. 134 Bibliographical Notices. ''^' Exmouth, July 18. Since the above was written I have taken two examples, one this morning, of the smoothest variety of the ' convexum/ late the 'nitidum^ ; both are in the vase with the highly punctured one captured 20th June last, now quite vigorous, in company with the L. squamosum alluded to as taken 2nd July ; this capture has given me the advantage of a live examination of the two completely opposite conditions of the ^ conveccum/ whereas the one above was only referable in comparison with an account of a live ' nitidum ' taken last year. And I can again state that the two varieties are identical. Lepton Clarkia (nova species). Annals Nat. Hist. New Series, vol. ix. pp. 191 & 293. The above references give every particular of the shell of this new species, of which it is probable I may detect the animal ; but the hinge is so completely identical with that of the L. convexum, that it may be presumed its organs will not greatly differ from it. : . I am, Gentlemen, your most obedient servant, '^^'^'' William Clark. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. A History of Infusorial Animalcules, Living and Fossil. By Andrew Pritchard, M.R.I. 8vo, pp. 704. Whittaker & Co. A NEW edition of the only English version of the laborious investi- gations which have made Prof. Ehrenberg's name famous among micro-naturalists (if we may for the nonce coin a word as good as micro-mammalogists), must be looked upon as a praiseworthy and creditable undertaking. So far as mere facts are concerned, so many have accumulated during the fourteen years that have elapsed since the publication of the great work, to which we have been indebted for the first im- pulse to investigation, and for the first guidance in the confused and difficult task, that the gathering them into one place, and making them all accessible to the English reader, is a service of no small merit. Again, however much Prof. Ehrenberg may condemn them as heretical, it is indubitable that a large body of Fathers of greater or less authority have added their writings to his Canon. Indeed, they have not unfrequently ventured to impugn and protest against the statements of the head of the church microscopical himself. Mr. Pritchard has with a laudable eclecticism gathered all these, wheat and tares, poppy and clover, into one sheaf (a very consider- able sheaf too) ; but thrashing and winnowing is evidently in his view Bibliographical Notices. 135 no part of the editorial duty ; or to speak without a metaphor, the book has been collected, not edited at all. We by no means make these remarks in a spirit of detraction. The book is a very useful one, and will be of great service to those who are at work upon the Infusoria. To publish such a book at all involves a great risk to any one who undertakes it, and our sole regret is, that such a risk having been incurred, the opportunity should not have been seized for building an edifice, instead of merely filling a large cart with materials ; some of them very rough stones indeed, as for instance the following : — " It will be sufiicient therefore to say, that since the time of their discovery (1676) up to the present period, all that we know of the true spermatozoa of animals is, that they are not distinguishable from Cercaria found in the liver of snails, the animal organization of which has been made out by Bauer, Wagner, and Ehrenberg." (p. 4.) '* 28. The power of infusorial organization is instinctively shown by the strong chewing apparatus with teeth which they possess, and their exhibition likewise of a complete mental activity." (p. 7.) A tap or two with the editorial hammer would, we think, have shown Mr. Pritchard that these two blocks are very much cracked and quite unfit for his purpose. In fact, the former statement is formally repudiated at pp. 61 and 177 of his own work. "Ih almost all ages of the world there has been evinced a restless desire within us to pry into the nature or principle of life, and the precise conditions on which it is retained ; and notwithstanding that our bodies, its present abiding-place^ are confessedly frail and perish- able, the unravelling of an invisible and immaterial agent has been sought for by a reference to them." (p. 26.) We quite agree with the author, that those who have been trying ^^ to unravel an invisible and immaterial agent ^^ might have been better employed. The occupations of Sisyphus and the Danaides were encouraging in comparison. Mr. Pritchard tells us in the preface that the work has been pre- pared in conjunction with Mr. Arlidge. There is internal evidence enough indeed, without this assurance, to show that two heads have been employed upon it. It is no business of ours to draw invidious comparisons, but as we have given a Specimen of the productions of the one head, we must in justice lay before the reader a more cre- ditable sample, evidently the work of the other. *' It would be but an exercise of the imagination to seek after re- semblances between the majority of the Infusoria and higher animals ; the resemblances could be but fanciful, existing only in external form. In studying the Infusoria, the mind should be unbiassed by a know- ledge of the organization of the higher animals ; we ought not to set out with the assumption, that such living atoms must be furnished with the organs of superior existences, and then indulge the imagina- tion by accommodating appearances observed to our preconceived notions ; but we should rather endeavour to learn under what simple conditions and contrivances animal life can be manifested and con- tinued." (p. 60.) 136 ^ Bibliographical Notices, No one who regards the modern progress of zoology can fail to agree with the view here expressed ; but how does it harmonize with Prof. Ehrenberg's main and fundamental doctrine, that organization has no relation to size, and that the Infusoria have all the organs which characterize the higher animal ? Indeed, while we can conscientiously recommend the present work as a very useful assistant to those who are working for themselves, we must caution our readers against the very unphilosophical sub- servience to the authority of a name which it too often exhibits. Thus, after a discussion of the polygastric theory of Ehrenberg, we find it said of subsequent observers — " With Van der Hoeven, all coincide in denying the existence of an inclosing wall to the vesicles, and of an intercommunicating tube be- tween them ; and all assert the ever- varying number and disposition, as well as the movements (even rotatory) of these supposed stomachs." And yet we are told further on — " From the preceding conflicting opinions and observations no satisfactory deduction can be made ; Ehrenberg's opinions, however, are entitled to great respect, although the theory of a polygastric structure may not admit of demonstration." We have every respect for Prof. Ehrenberg, but we are really at a loss to imderstand why his opinions, if they be '* incapable of demon- stration," are more " entitled to great respect " than those of any one else, especially when these opinions are at variance with those of an unanimous host of at least equally competent observers. Authoritative assertion in science, it is well to remember, is not evi- dence ; it only affords a presumption, better or worse founded ac- cording to the real value of your authority, that evidence may exist. Great authority may be a good ground for a temporary suspension or judgement when opposed to less authority, but it is valueless when opposed to good evidence. A great authority, whose " opinions are incapable of demonstra- tion," is a sort of scientific balloon, brilliant to look at and much gaped at of the multitude ; but containing nothing but gas and sand, and liable to come down with a crash at the touch of the first critical penknife. A Synopsis of the Family of Naiades. By Isaac Lea. Third edition, greatly enlarged and improved. Philadelphia, 1852. 4 to. By the title of this work we might be led to suppose it would afford the conchologist the means of determining the species of this very interesting family of freshwater bivalve shells, or at least give a re- ference to the books where the species are figured and described, and the countries they inhabit. Unfortunately the author has not thought this desirable. The work simply consists of a list of 7^7 species, each followed by the names by which other authors have described it, accompanied by an abbreviation of the name of the author. Then follows a list of the species of each subgenus, arranged in alphabetical order, under Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, and New Holland, as they happen to inhabit. Bibliographical Notices. 137 The author, who has been studying these shells for many years, appears to have set out with the determination to make the * Synopsis ' afford the collectors of these shells as little assistance as possible Thus, he does not mention in which of the works of the various authors cited for the names, the shell under consideration is described or figured, or refer to any general work on the subject in which they are described, nor even to the very numerous species which he has himself described and figured for the first time (more than half the species in the * Synopsis ') in the Transactions of the American Aca- demy, which have been collected together into five quarto volumes, under the title of * Observations on the genus Unio.' He merely adds "Lea" after the name, without making any reference to the volume or page or plate of the * Transactions ' or * Observations * in which they are figured and described, so that the student has to look out each species through the various volumes, where the shells are arranged without order as they occurred to hand. In the same manner the names in the " Geographical Distribution of the Species " are not accompanied by a reference to the page in which the species occur in the * Synopsis.' Their place in the Syste- matic List can only be found by turning to the *' Index of Spe- cies," which carefully abstains from referring to the place where the species can be found described in the ' Transactions ' or ' Observa- tions,' though this edition of the ' Synopsis ' is now printed of the same size as those works, and may be regarded as a sixth volume of the * Observations.' We had hoped that as the author became more acquainted with the difficulties of the subject, he would have obliterated the ill-natured observations he had made on Rafinesque, Say, Barnes, Conrad, Deshayes, and other authors, but his dislike appears to have increased with his knowledge, and in every page we have some special pleading why Mr. Lea's name should be adopted, and that of some other author rejected, forgetting that his successors, not having these per- sonal feelings, will examine the question for themselves and do jus- tice to his predecessors and contemporaries. Mr. Lea informs us in this edition, that he has doubled the number of species in his * Synopsis ' by the new species he has described : if only a tithe of the 300 species which he has described as new prove good, which we venture to doubt, knowing how exceedingly variable these shells are in our European rivers, Mr. Lea's name will be handed down to posterity as an active collector and describer of these mutable shells. Mr. Lea appears to have no other idea of arranging the spe- cies, than by taking some leading character, as the general form and kind of surface, and applying it artificially for the divisions of the species of each of the subgenera : — the result is most unsatisfactory and artificial. If the shells do not afford good sectional characters, we believe it would have been preferable to have arranged the species in each sub- genus geographically, dividing the numerous American species ac- cording to the two sides of the continent they inhabited, and subdi- viding them according to the great river-system to which they be- 138 Zoological Society. longed ; at any rate it would have been putting to the test the geo- graphical characters of the species, and this arrangement can only be made by an American acquainted with the branches and creeks of the different rivers. Mr. Lea uses this test for the European species, and reduces all the Anodons to a single species, but believes that a very little stream in America affords at least one, and often many, distinct species of these animals! — J. E. G. PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. December 10, 1850.— -Prof. Owen, V.P., F.R.S., in the Chair. Observations on the destructive species of Dipterous Insects known in Africa under the names of the Tsetse, Zimb, and Tsaltsalya, and on their supposed connexion with the Fourth Plague of Egypt. By J. 0. Westwood, F.L.S., Pres. Ent. Soc. etc. The species of insects which attack the larger of our domestic qua- drupeds may be divided into two chief classes ; first, those which do so in order to obtain a supply of food for their own support ; and second, those which do so with the object of depositing their eggs in such a position, that the larvse, when hatched from them, will be cer- tain of finding a proper supply of food derived from some part of the animal, either external or internal. The insects composing the first of these two classes require for the performance of their dreaded functions an organization of the parts of the mouth especially fitting them to pierce the skins and hides of the quadrupeds upon the blood of which they subsist, and we accord- ingly find that it is precisely these insects which have the mouth- organs most fully developed in the different families to which they respectively belong. The Stomoxys calcitrans, and especially the different species of Tahanus, are pre-eminent in this respect ; and the formidable array of lancets in the mouth of one of the latter insects is not to be met with elsewhere among the whole of the flies composing the order Diptera, to which they belong. The effects of the attacks of these insects upon the horse are perceived by the drops of blood which flow from the orifices caused by their bites, and sometimes these wounds are so numerous, that the beasts " are all in a gore of blood." A still smaller species, named by Linnaeus the Culex equinus, also infests the horse in infinite numbers, running under the mane and amongst the hair, and piercing the skin to suck their blood. This insect, although given by Linnaeus as a Culex ^ appears from his description to belong to the genus Simulium, to wliich genus also belongs an insect of fearful note, which attacks the horned cattle in Servia and the Bannat, penetrating the generative Zoological Society. 139 organs, nose, ears, &c. of these animals, and by its poisonous bite de- stroying them in a few hours. A species of the same genus of minute TipulidcB is common in marshy districts in England, and I have often experienced its attacks, which have resulted in the raising of a tu- mour on the part of the flesh which has been attacked, attended by a considerable amount of local inflammation ; and hence we may readily believe the well-authenticated efi^ects produced upon the cattle above described. There are various other insects which attack the horse and ox, such as the Hippoboscce, various species of ticks, Anthomyice, &c, ; and if these do not, from their smaller size, cause a discharge of blood like the large Tabanidce, it is certain that the irritation which they produce not only by their presence upon the skin, but also by the sharpness of their bite, must be very irritating to the quadrupeds which they infest. The insects which do not themselves feed upon our cattle, but simply infest them for the purpose of depositing their eggs in some convenient place or other upon their bodies, are in no instance that I recollect provided with an increased development of the mouth organs ; on the contrary, the (Estridce are either entirely destitute of a mouth, or have only very small rudiments of some of the ordinary parts of the mouth, so as to be entirely unfitted for biting or wound- ing cattle. The effects however which some of these species pro- duce are as annoying as those caused by the bites of the Tabani. The female fly of the common horse hot, (Estrus Equi, it is true, instils no dread into the horse round which she is intently engaged in flying, depositing her eggs here and there in particular spots where the horse is certain to lick the hairs, by which means the eggs are introduced into the mouth and pass into the stomach. So little indeed is the horse afl'ected by the presence of this insect, that I have often stood close to one round which the (Estrus Equi has been flying, until the latter has come within reach of my hand, when I have caught it with- out trouble. Another species, (Estrus hcemorrhoidalis^ is however much more troublesome ; depositing her eggs on the lips of the horse, and producing in her endeavours to eff'ect this such an excessive titil- lation, as to cause great uneasiness to the horse, which tosses its head about to drive off its enemy, gallops about, and as a last resource takes refuge in some neighbouring water, where the (Estri never fol- low it. The same kind of effect is also produced in rein deer by the (Estrus Tarandi *, and in oxen by another species of (Estrus, (Est. Bovis, respecting which however much difference of opinion has arisen. At certain seasons, the whole terrified herd, with their tails in the air, or turned upon their backs, or stiffly stretched out in the direction of the spine, gallop about the pastures, finding no rest till they also get into the water. This (Estrus is asserted by some writers to make a strong humming noise, and hence it has been supposed that the herd of cattle are alarmed at the noise ; but this must surely be an ineor- * At the present time (April 1851) some of the rein deer in the Gardens of the Society, which were imported last autumn from Lapland, are infected to a re- markable extent with the tumours of this species; there must, I think, be from fifty to a hundred tumours on one of these animals. 140 Zoological Society. rect conjecture, as the CEstri, if they make any hum at all, are far out- stripped in this respect by many other insects which instil no dread into oxen. Neither are they alarmed in consequence of being sub- jected to the same kind of attack upon so sensitive a part as the lips, as is the case with the horses attacked by (Estrus hfBmorrhoidalis. It is however asserted by some writers, that the dread is produced by the pain inflicted by the (Estrus in depositing her eggs, her ovipositor being represented as constructed like an auger or gimlet, only having several longer points it can wound with more effect. When it is stated, however, that the female CEstrus Bovis does not occupy more than a few seconds in depositing each egg, we may fairly doubt whether, with her long, fleshy, tubular ovipositor, she has been able to pierce the hide of an ox ; or whether, as Mr. Bracy Clark suggests, she only makes use of this long instrument to thrust the egg down to the sur- face of the skin, which she does not pierce, but only glues its eggs to it, the young larvae when hatched burrowing into the flesh. If this be the case, the act of oviposition must be unattended with pain, as in the case of the deposition of the eggs of CEstrus Equi, and we must search for the cause of the alarm of the herd, either in an instinctive knowledge that a certain insect flying around them is the parent of a grub which at a future time will be a torment to them, or in the attacks of some other insect ; and I confess that I am inclined to consider that Virgil's beautiful description of the annoyance caused by '* Myriads of insects fluttering in the gloom, {(Estrus in Greece, Asilus named at Rome,) Fierce and of cruel hum " — has a Tabanus rather than an (Estrus for its origin. The larva of the (Estrus Equi resides beneath the skin of the back of the ox, causing large tumours, and having the extremity of its body constantly placed at the orifice of the wound, where it was in- troduced as an egg, or introduced itself as a grub, the openings of its respiratory apparatus being placed at that part of the body. These introductory remarks on the different modes in which insects attack our horses and oxen, and the different effects which they pro- duce, will enable us the better to estimate the effects produced by an insect, or several species of insects, of tropical Africa upon the horses of travellers who have lately returned from that part of the world, where their enterprising researches have been rewarded by the disco- very of the great central lake Tchad. Captain Frank Vardon, a gen- tleman who has travelled far in the interior of Africa, has placed in my hands some fragments of Dipterous insects which attacked his horses, causing the death of one of them. The following is an ex- tract from his note to me in reply to my inquiry as to the mode of its attack : — " 33 Oxford Terrace, Hyde Park, May 1850. "Dear Sir, — I had always heard that the fly of South Africa so destructive to cattle was a large gad-fly, the size of a bee or hornet. This is quite erroneous : it is not very much larger than the common house-fly, but a longer and more 'rakish '-looking insect, and easily distinguished by the transverse black bars on its body. Zoological Society. 141 " I fancy it is not met with south of the Tropic of Capricorn. It is usually found on hills, plains being free from it. I have ridden up a hill and found the Setse increasing at every step, till at last forty or fifty v^^ould be on my horse at once. The specimens you saw cost me one of the best in my stud. He was stung by some ten or a dozen of them, and died in twenty days. I myself have been bitten by the Setse ; you would almost fancy it was a flea biting you. Some parts of South Africa are, I should say, rendered inaccessible by the presence of this pest ; I mean of course to a man who travels in the usual way, with his oxen and horses. " How far the Setse extends in the interior is of course as yet un- known, but I have certain information as to its being 200 miles north of the *Great Lake' recently discovered by my friends, Messrs. Living- ston, Oswell and Murray. " Yours faithfully, "Frank Vardon." *'J. O. Westwood, Esqr The various specimens forwarded to me by Captain Vardon have enabled me to determine that the insect is a new species of Wiede- mann's genus Glossina, which may be thus characterized : — Glossina morsitans, Westw. Luteo-albida, thoracis dorse subcastaneo, griseo subtomentoso, vit- tis quatuor longitudinalibus in medio interruptis nigris, scutelli apice punctis duobus parvis fuscis ; abdomine pallide lutescentiy segmento basali utrinque macula parva laterali nigra, singula segmentorum quatuor proximorum ad basin fascia nigricanti, in medio interrupta, notatis ; alis parum infumatis. Long. Corp. hn. 5 ; expans. alar. lin. 8^. The head is of a dirty buff colour, narrower than the thorax, vdth large eyes ; the epistoma is paler coloured and clothed with whitish hairs ; the proboscis is rather longer than the height of the head ; it consists of a slender, horny seta or compound bristle, chestnut- coloured in its chief length, but dilated at the base into a large oval bulbous horny lobe, and upon maceration I was enabled to withdraw from the upper side of the seta (which is consequently grooved), two very delicate styles as long as the proboscis ; the sides of this instru- ment are defended by a pair of elongated, slender setose palpi, as long as the proboscis itself; these are concave on the inside and blackish at the tips, and the setse with which they are clothed are also black, as well as the branched setse with which the arista of the antennae is furnished; the outer surface of the arista itself, under a powerful microscope, is evidently villose. The antennae are inserted in a de- pressed obconic space between the eyes, rounded above, and there are two dark spots on the upper part of the epistoma ; the two basal joints of the antennae are dark in front, and the large third joint is dirty buff-coloured. The thorax is chestnut-red, clothed with a very delicate grey tomentosity and finely punctured ; it is impressed across the middle of the dorsum, and is marked with four longitudinal broad 142 Zoological Society. black bars, abbreviated in front and behind, the two central ones being longest in front, and the two lateral ones longest behind ; the two former are united in front by a black streak from the front margin. The scutelhim is dirty buff, with two dark dots at its extremity, from which, as well as from various dark dots at the sides, arise long black setae ; the hal teres are nearly white. The wings are slightly stained with dusky ; the veins black, except at the base of the wing, where they are dirty-buff. The legs are dirty-buff, with the outside of the thighs stained with dark brown. The last two joints of the tarsi are black, with large pul villi. The abdomen is flat, oval in outline, and dirty fulvous buff in colour, clothed above with numerous minute black setae, which are greatly elongated at the base of the abdomen and the extremity and sides of each segment ; the first segment is marked at each side close to the anterior angle with a round black spot, and each of the four following segments has a broad basal fascia of dark brown, interrupted in the middle. The sides and under sur- face of the thorax are varied with black patches ; the abdomen is pale-coloured beneath, with a large terminal oval plate, down the middle of which runs a pale longitudinal line, preceded by two small oblique oval patches, thickly clothed with minute black setae. The peculiarities of the genus Glossina, whereby it is at once distin- guished from Stomoxi/s, to which it is nearly allied, consist in the dilata- tion of the extremity of the discoidal cell, the rounded horny bulbous base of the proboscis, which is not angulated at its base, and the long and slender flattened palpi, which together form a sheath protecting the proboscis. Wiedemann's typical species (which has remained unique to the present time), Glossina longipalpis, (subsequently de- scribed by Robineau Desvoidy under the name of Nemorhina pal- palis,) is a native of Sierra Leone, where it was collected by Afzelius. M. Macquart, judging from the structure of the mouth, considers it probable that it does not live upon the blood of animals, like Sto- moxgs, but upon the nectar of flowers ; the two setae which are en- closed in the proboscis and compose the sucker being so slender, that it is diflicult to conceive that they can pierce the skin, the palpi being also elongated so as to form a protection to it, and thus further indi- cating its weakness. There is however so great a difference between the structure of the proboscis in these insects and Stomoxys, that I do not doubt that they are able to pierce the skin of a horse, the proboscis of Glossina being a long, straight, horny, needle-like instrument, and not elbowed, with fleshy lips, as is that of Stomoxys. Moreover, the bulbous dilated base of the proboscis must evidently play an import- ant part in the economy of the insect, either by giving additional support to the proboscis when in the act of piercing the skin, or by containing powerful muscles for the action of the enclosed setae ; or, as suggested to me by Prof. Owen, this dilated base may be analogous to the dilated base of the sting of the Scorpion, and like it contain a reservoir of some powerfully poisonous liquid. The account of the irritating powers of the Glossina given by Cap- tain Vardon is, it is true, not so detailed as could have been desired, but we learn suflicient to arrive at the conclusion that its effects are, Zoological Society. 143 to a certain extent, exactly like those of the Tahanidce ; how far the attacks may be attended with tumours, similar to those produced by the Simulium, and whether a tropical climate may not extend the effects of the attack, producing inflammatory action upon animals perhaps never before in those latitudes, are questions which have yet to be answered. One thing however appears to me evident, that the Setse is no other than the Zimb of Bruce, (an insect respecting whose real family and even existence so many doubts have been expressed,) or at least that that insect is a larger species of Glossina, to whose real habits Bruce has added those of a species of CSstrus. With the view of establishing this assertion, as well as of clearing up what I consider the inconsistencies of Bruce' s account, I shall beg to intro- duce his description of the Zimb. "Nothing was more opposite than the manners and life of the Cushite and of his carrier the shepherd. The mountains of the Cush- ite and the cities he built afterwards were situated upon a loamy black earth, so that, as soon as the tropical rains began to fall, a wonder- ful phenomenon deprived him of his cattle. Large swarms of flies appeared wherever that loamy earth was, which made him absolutely dependent in this respect upon the shepherd ; but these affected the shepherd also. This insect is called the Zimb * in modern or vulgar Arabic ; it has not been described by any naturalist. It is in size very little larger than a bee, of a thicker proportion, and the wings, which are broader than those of a bee, are placed separate, like those of a fly. They are of pure gauze, without colour or spot upon them ; the head is large ; the upper jaw or lip is sharp, and has at the end of it a strong pointed hair of about a quarter of an inch long ; the lower jaw has two of these pointed hairs, and this pencil of hairs, when joined together, makes a resistance to the finger nearty equal to that of a strong hog's bristle; its legs are serrated on the inside, and the whole covered with brown hair or down. As soon as this plague appears and its buzzing is heard, all the cattle forsake their food and run wildly about the plain till they die, worn out with fa- tigue, fright and hunger. No remedy remains but to leave the black earth and to hasten down to the plains of Atbara, and there they re- main whilst the rains last, this cruel enemy never daring to pursue them farther. " What enables the shepherd to perform the long and toilsome journeys across Africa is the camel, emphatically called by the Arabs the ship of the desert. Though his size is immense, like his strength, and his body covered with a thick skin defended with strong hair, yet still is he not capable to sustain the violent punctures the fly makes with his pointed proboscis. He must lose no time in removing to the sands of Atbara, for when once attacked by this fly, his body, head and legs swell out into large bosses, which break and putrefy to the certain destruction of the creature. Even the elephant and rhino- ceros, who, by reason of their enormous bulk and the vast quantity of food and water they daily need, cannot shift to desert and dry places as the season may require, are obliged to roll themselves in * " See Appendix. It is the same name as Zebul in Hebrew. — E." 144 . Zoological Society. mud or mire, which when dry coats them over hke armour, and en- ables them to stand their ground against this winged assassin ; yet I have found some of these tubercles upon almost every elephant and rhinoceros that I have seen, and attribute them to this cause. All the inhabitants of the sea- coast of Melinda, down to Cape Gardefan, Saba, and the south coast of the Red Sea, are obliged to put them- selves in motion and change their habitation to the next sand in the beginning of the rainy season, to prevent all their stock of cattle from being destroyed. " Of all those that have written upon these countries, the prophet Isaiah alone has given an account of this animal and the manner of its operation (Isaiah, vii. 18, 19) : ^ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt .... and they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.' " (Travels, ii. pp. 314-317.) " Tsaltsalya, or Fly. — We are obliged with the greatest surprise to acknowledge that those huge animals, the elephant, the rhinoceros, the lion and the tiger, inhabiting the same woods, are still vastly this fly's inferiors; and that the appearance of this small insect, nay, his very sound, though he is not seen, occasions more trepidation, move- ment and disorder, both in the human and brute creation, than whole herds of these monstrous animals collected together, though their number was in a tenfold proportion greater than it really is. Provi- dence from the beginning it would seem had fixed its habitation to one species of soil, being a black fat earth, extraordinarily fruitful. " We cannot read the history of the plagues which God brought upon Pharaoh by the hands of Moses, without stopping a moment to consider a singularity, a very principal one, which attended the plague of the fly. The land of Goshen, the possession of the Israelites, was a land of promise which was not tilled or sown, because it was not overflowed by the Nile. But the land overflowed by the Nile was the black earth of the Valley of Egypt, and it was here that God confined the flies. — I have magnified him about twice the natural size. — He has no sting, though he seems to me to be rather of the bee kind ; but his motion is more rapid and sudden than that of the bee, and resembles that of the gad-fly in England. There is something par- ticular in the sound or buzzing of this insect. It is a jarring noise, together with a humming, which induces me to believe that it pro- ceeds, at least in part, from a vibration made with the three hairs at his snout. ** The Chaldee Version is content with calling this animal simply Zebub, which signifies the fly in general as we express it in English. The Arabs call it Arob in their translation, which has the same gene- ral signification. The Ethiopic translation calls it Tsal tsalya, which is the true name of this particular fly in Geez, and was the same in Hebrew. The Greeks have called this species of fly Cynomyia, which signifies the dog-fly ; in imitation of which, those I suppose of the church of Alexandria that, after the coming of Frumentius, were cor- recting the Greek copy and making it conformable to the Septuagint, Zoological Society. 145 have called this fly Tsal tsalya Kelb, in answer to the word Cynomyia. Salal in the Hebrew signifies * to buzz ' or ' to hum/ and as it were alludes to the noise with which the animal terrifies the cattle ; and Tsal tsalya seems to come from this by only doubling the radicals : t'Tsalalou*, in Amharic, signifies *to pierce with violence/ " — Ajppendixy vii. 284 et seq. From this account we learn that it is the sound of this insect which produces a great amount of trepidation in the cattle of Abyssinia. This accords with Bracy Clark' s ideas of (Estrus Bovis. Bruce' s description of the position of the wings clearly indicates a Dipterous insect, and his figure shows a bee-like insect, with a long straight porrected pro- boscis exactly like that of Glossina. Bruce adds, that the insect punctures the thick skin of the camel with its proboscis, the parts attacked breaking out into large bosses, which are also occasionally found upon the rhinoceros and elephant. It will be observed how- ever that Bruce merely supposed these tumours to arise from the attack of the Zimb. I think we have suflScient grounds for believing that Bruce has here jumbled together the notion of the buzzing of the Oestrus instiUing dread into a herd of cattle, his knowledge of the piercing powers of the proboscis of the Setse, and his knowledge of the tu- mours caused by the presence of the larvae of (Estri under the skin of the camel f , rhinoceros and elephant. The College of Surgeons possesses a specimen of the larva of the (Estrus of the rhinoceros, and the camel is also subject to the attacks of a species of the same genus ; whilst I consider that Bruce' s figure is made up from memory, taking the statement of its resemblance to a bee and its possession of a proboscis together:}:. No instance, in fact, is known of a spe- cies which attacks these animals with its proboscis, forming tumours upon their backs such as are described by Bruce, which agree on the whole with the tumours caused by the larvae of (Estrus Bovis ; and we have already seen that no (Estrus is capable of inflicting a wound with the organs of the mouth, of which in fact all the known species are destitute, whilst the boring powers of their ovipositors are very questionable. The accounts given by Mr. R. Gordon Camming of the destructive powers of the Tsetse fully confirm the opinion here advanced, and prove that although "its bite is certain death to oxen and horses," it causes no dorsal tumours like an (Estrus. "This hunter's scourge," he says, " is similar to a fly in Scotland called Kleg §, but a little smaller ; they are very quick and active, and storm a horse like a * *' The name of this fly is undoubtedly derived from a word signifying ' to buzz * in Hehrew and Ethiopic. t Pliny was aware of the attacks of (Estri upon the camel, and he informs us that the merchants of Arabia were in the habit of anointing their camels witli whale- and fish-oils. (Hist. Mund. lib. xxxii. p. 302, et lib. xi. cap. 16. p. 36. edit. Pancoucke.) I It is evident from the note added by the editor of the 8vo edition, from which the above extracts have been made, that the drawing of the insect was not a bond fide one made on the spot, but was manufactured at home. § Kleg is the local name for the Hcsmatopota pluvialis. Ann. &^ Mag. N, Hist. Ser. 2. Vol.x, 10 146 Zoological Society. swarm of bees, alighting on him in hundreds and drinking his blood. The animal thus bitten pines away and dies, at periods varying from a week to three months, according to the extent to which he has been bitten.'* . . . . " The next day one of my steeds died of the ' Tsetse.' The head and body of the poor animal swelled up in a most distress- ing manner before he died ; his eyes were so swollen that he could not see, and in darkness he neighed for his comrades who stood feed- ing beside him *." The Marquis di Spineto, in a memoir published " On the Zimb of Bruce as connected with the Hieroglyphics of Egypt f," endeavoured to ascertain the characters of this insect, and came to the conclusion that it belongs to the order Diptera, notwithstanding Bruce says that it very much resembles the Bee genus, and that it has " several of the properties of the Bombylius, the Tabanus, the (Estrus, and the Hip- pobosca, without belonging to any of them. In some of its generic and even specific characters it is like the Bombylius and CEsh'us, in others like the Hippobosca and the Muscidce, in a few like the Taba- nus and the Dog-fly, whilst in the aggregate it differs from every one of these insects." The Marquis points out the various relationships which the insect, as described by Bruce, presents to these different genera, considering that the porrected hairs or bristles foi^ming the mouth "perform the office of suckers, simply because it does not lay its eggs in the flesh of animals ; for according to the account which Bruce gives of the evils attending the attacks of this fly, the bosses which are produced swell, break and putrefy, but never exhibit any larvae or maggots," thus differing from the habits of the (Estri ; to which however he adds, by some curious misconception, that " the larvce of the (Estrus live in wood, which does not seem to be the case with the Zimby The Marquis however identifies the Zimb with the \\.vv6\ivia or * Dog-fly' of the Greeks, the *Tsal tsalya Kelb' of the Alexandrian Church, the *Af an ouhor' of the ancient Egyptians, the *Arob' or *Oreb' of Exodus viii. 21, and the * (Estrus' of Aristotle; and con- siders that it is the precise species of fly which caused the fourth of the plagues of Egypt J. As such, he also regards it as the insect represented on the Egyptian monuments at the head of the cartouches which enclose the hieroglyphical titles of the Pharaohs, and as a sym- bol of Lower Egypt (where only the insect occurs), the preceding figure being intended for a sceptre, in contradiction to the opinion of M. ChampoUion, who regards the figure of the insect as that of a bee ; and consequently the signification of the two symbols as that of "King of an obedient people." I can by no means however agree with this opinion of the Marquis Spineto, since an examination of various Egyptian monuments in the British Museum and elsewhere * Five Years of a Hunter's Life in the Far Interior of South Africa, ii. pp. 220, 227. t Lond. and Edinb. Phil. Mag. 1834, vol. iv. p. 170. X In the Article "Musquitoe" (Brit. Cyclop. Nat. Hist. iii. 299), I have sug- gested various reasons for supposing that the fourth plague of Egypt was caused by some species of Culicidee, which, although not disproved, are certainly weakened by the knowledge now obtained of the real habits of the I'setse or Zimi. Zoological Society. 147 (in all of which the insect is represented under precisely the same form) has convinced me that it is intended to represent a Hymeno- pterous insect, and not one of the Diptera. It is in fact more like the figure of a common Wasp than any other ordinary insect ; the appendages of the head, which are obliquely porrected, are evidently intended for antennae, and not for a bipartite proboscis ; the wings, it is true, are only represented as two in number, but as the two on each side of the body in the Hymenoptera are hooked together, they would, by common observers, be regarded as but one ; while the con- tracted form of the base of the abdomen is precisely that of some of the Vespidce figured in the great French work upon Egypt. The Polistes represented in pi. 8. fig. 2 J", of that work indeed might al- most be considered as the identical species intended to be represented on the monuments. Mr. S. Birch indeed informs me that there is a coloured represen- tation of this hieroglyphic figure on one of the Egyptian monuments in the British Museum, and that the banded colours of the abdomen leave no doubt that it is intended for a Wasp. Moreover the Egyptian name of this insect was the same as that of Upper Egypt, whilst the preceding figure was intended for a reed as emblematical of Lower Egypt, and consequently the two figures indicated the power of the monarch over both these parts of the empire. To render this article more complete, I have added descriptions of two more tropical African species of Glossina, from the Collection of the Rev. F. W. Hope, together with that of another remarkable hitherto undescribed genus allied to Glossina, but distinguished by the very singular recur\^ed proboscis and long styliferous abdomen, also from tropical Africa. Glossina Tachinoides, Westw. Cinerea, faciei striya longitudinali media fulva, epistomate ar- genteo-sericeo, thoracis dorso brunneo-maculatOy scutello griseo maculis diiabus brunneis punctisque duobus minutis apicalibus nigris, abdominis dorso carneo-griseo segmento singulo maculis duabus maximis fuscis, pedibus luteo-albidis, tarsis supra nigris. Long. Corp. lin. 4 ; expans. alar. lin. 8^. Hab. in Africa occidentali tropicali. (Mus. D. Hope.) This species is smaller than the preceding and differently coloured. The terminal joint of the antennae is more lunate in form and dusky coloured in front ; the palpi are dusky coloured at the tip and clothed with black hairs. The upper surface of the thorax is ash-coloured, divided across the middle by an impressed line ; the anterior half is marked on each side towards the fore angles with an oval brown spot, extending laterally and backwards into a lunate line, enclosing a smaller oval spot on each side towards the hinder angles : in the middle are two slender abbreviated brown lines, and two minute spots resting upon the transverse impressed line over which they are extended and dilated into a pair of somewhat larger spots in the middle of the upper surface of the thorax, each with a slender transverse line 10* 148 Zoological Society. extending from it to the sides of the thorax, where it meets a curved lateral brown Une enclosing a fainter oval spot, the hind extremity of each of which nearly joins, at the hinder angles of the back of the tho- rax, a straight line running forwards into the disk, where it vanishes. The upper side of the abdomen may be described as of a brown colour, with the lateral and posterior edges and an ill-defined longitudinal central band of fleshy ash : it is thickly clothed with minute black hairs on the disk, and wdth long ones at the base and sides. The wings and their veins are coloured as in Gl. morsitans. Glossina Tabaniformis, Westw. Griseo-fusca epistomate sericeo, thorace fusco-maculato, abdomine fusco-rufescenti apice sensim ob/uscato, pedibus fusco-luteis tibiis tarsisque nigra lineatis alls f usee infumatis. Long. Corp. lin. 6 ; expans. alar. lin. 13j. Hab. apud httus aureum Africse tropicalis occidentalis. (Mus. D. Hope.) This species is very much larger than either of the preceding. The head is comparatively much smaller and the wings much larger ; the front of the head is dusky ; it, as well as the basal joints of the an- tennae, is rather thickly clothed with black hairs ; the arista of the antennae is luteous, with a dark line behind, and the branding setse with which it is furnished are black ; the palpi are thickly clothed externally with short black setse ; the thorax is dark greyish brown, also very thickly clothed with short black setSe and long curved lateral bristles ; the back of the thorax is marked with a dark central lon- gitudinal line, having a less distinct one on each side of it, between which and each side are two large brown spots, one behind the other ; the scutellum is paler, and marked with two ill-defined dusky spots ; the wings are stained brown ; the legs are dirty luteous buff ; the tibiae marked with one, and the tarsi with three very delicate longi- tudinal black lines ; the tibiae are compressed, and the black line occu- pies the superior compressed ridge. Tribe Myopari^, Macquart, Hist. Nat. Ins. Dipt. ii. 29. Genus Stylomyia, Westw, {Stylog aster, Wlk. nee Macq.) Corpus subelongatum capite thorace" parum latiori, facie antice dimidio super o carinato, dimidio infer o valde concavo. An- tenncB porrectcB articulo basali minimOy 2do obconico, 3tio sub- ovali prcecedentis longitudine, vel prcecedenti multo longiori compresso parum curvato, arista versus apicem marginis superi insert a, porrecta. liaustellum capite et thorace conjunctim triplo longius, porrectum, in medio geniculatum, dimidio basali parum dejlexo et ad ejus apicem crassiori, dimidio apicali valde incurvato. Thorax brevis quadratus. Abdomen supra subconvexum parum curvatum, apice pone segmentum 5um in sty- lum elongatum (longitudine quinqne articulorum prcecedentium cequaleni), defexum valde angustum, contractor hujus styli apice supero in uno sexu, oblique truncato ; seta elongata supra hirsuta, lobo breviori compresso filamentisque duobus Zoological Society. 149 elongatis simplicibus in cavitate tifuncata irmdentibus. Alee breves cellula \ma postica clausa pediculata et postice dila- tattty vena obliqua cellulam postice contiguam claudente sub- obsoleta ; cellula anali brevissima vix pone pseudalvlum ex- tensa vena brevissima transversa clausa. Pedes elongati gra- cillitnif calcaribus duobus tibiarum parum elongatisy tibiis posticis difformibuSy unguibus pulvillisque minutissimis. This genus is very close to the American genus Stylogastery but especially differs from the description given thereof by M. Macquart, in the very minute condition of the anal cell of the wings. The form of the head and the unequal division of the haustellum, as repre- sented in M. Macquart' s pi. 13. fig. 15, are also characters at variance with those of the insects of which I have composed the present ge- nus. The anal cell is of small size in Stachynia, Mcq. {Dalmannia, Rob. D.), but it is still more minute in Stylomyia. The long slender legs and minute claws and pul villi are also unlike those of all the other Myoparice. Stylomyia Leonum, Westw. Rufo-fulva, facie argenteo-sericea antennis rufo-fulvis arista nigra, vertice subplano macula ovali nigra ocellos postice includente, haustello nigro basi subtus parum pallidioriy thorace scutello abdomineque rufo-fulvis stylo concolori fascia lata fere apicali nigra^ pedibus fulvis tarsis apice fuscis, tibiis duabiis posticis dimidio basali fusco, apicali albido ; tarsis nigris. Long. Corp. lin., stylo excluso, 4 ; expans. alar. lin. 6. Hab. in Sierra Leona, Africae. (In Mus. D. Hope.) The facets of the middle portion of the inner margin of the eyes are rather larger than the posterior ones. The wings are but slightly tinged with grey, and the veins are blackish. The extremity of the anal style with its filaments are fulvous coloured. The two posterior tibiae are very slender at the base ; the apical half is dilated on the upper edge, the under edge not being quite straight. — Note. All the details are taken from the species figured. Stylomyia confusa, Westw. Fulva, facie argentea, vertice om- nino nigro; antennis fulvis articulo Stio antennarum longitu- dinem 2di vix superanti, ovali-conico, arista tiigra; tuberculo antennifero pallide fulvo, haustello nigro basi fulvo ; thorace supra nigro marginibus lateralibus angulisque anticis distincte et irregulariter luteis setis longis nigris. Scutello fusco setis duabus longis terminalibus nigris^ pedibus quatuor anticis om- nino luteo-albidis tibiis apice obscuris, femoribus duobus posti- cis fascia angusta ante alteraque pone medium fuscis ; tibiis dimidio basali fusco fascia lata media alba^ tertia parte api- cali fusco ^ tarsis fuscis ; abdomine fulvo segmentis 2do — hto margine postico tenui obscuro ; styli dimidio basali fulvo-rufo ; apicali nigro, genitalibus exsertis fulvo-rufis ; corpore subtus fulvo-albido. Prcecedenti e tertia parte minor. Hab. ? (In Mus. Brit.) 150 Miscellaneous* Although in general form and proportion of its parts, especially of the terminal style of its abdomen, the specimen of this species in the British Museum agrees exactly with ^S*^. Leonum, yet the short third joint of the antennae, and the extraordinarily enlarged size of the middle facets of the inner margin of the eyes, might indicate it to be the opposite sex of the preceding. The second segment of the abdo- men is furnished on each side with a small fascicle of elongated black hairs. This species is introduced by Mr. F. Walker into his ' List of the Dipterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum' (part iii. p. 680), under the name of Stylogaster stylatus ; but it appears to me that it neither accords with Macquart's generic characters oi Sty- logaster y nor with the concise Fabrician specific description of Conops stylata (Syst. Antl. 177), nor yet with Wiedemann's more detailed observations, especially with reference to the sexual difference in the form of the antennae (Auss. Eur. Zw. Ins. ii. 245). MISCELLANEOUS. Observations on the Circulation of the Blood in the Arachnids. By M. Emile Blanchard. Until very lately the circulatory apparatus of the Arachnida re- mained nearly unknown. It was supposed, indeed, that the pulmo- nary Arachnida would resemble the Crustacea in their mode of cir- culation, whilst the tracheary Arachnida, on the other hand, would resemble insects ; but observations on this subject are still almost en- tirely wanting, and all the peculiarities belonging to the type remained unknown. The question, however, made a great step, as far as regards the ScorpionidcB, in consequence of the researches of Mr. Newport ; and in a memoir published three years since, I described the course of the principal arteries in the AraneidcBy in which they had not as yet been traced. Notwithstanding the appearance of these works, many points remained to be cleared up. A new examination of this circu- latory apparatus has recently led me to ascertain its details in a tole- rably complete manner. I had made my previous researches on spe- cies found in France, which are of very small size ; but, during last autumn, a very lively specimen of a Mygale of the largest dimensions {M. Blondii), which inhabits South America, having been received at the museum, I have derived considerable assistance from it, in the investigation which I have long been pursuing, on the anatomy and physiology of the Arachnida. I injected this Mygale, intro- ducing the injection by the heart, and succeeded by this means in following, and isolating by dissection, all the arteries distributed to every organ, even to their most delicate ramifications. In this short abstract of my labours, I abstain from describing the course of these numerous arteries in detail, as the description will ap- pear shortly in my work entitled ' L' Organisation du Regne Animal.' I content myself here with indicating the general result; a result which does not apply only to the species which has served me in a Miscellaneous. 151 special maimer in my researches, b^t equally, to ajl the Araneidce, as I have since convinced myself. r .if jKroijifR ,t, i,. ,; / , In these Articulata, the heart, usually divided into five chambers, offers four pairs of auriculo- ventricular orifices; the aorta, which springs from the anterior chamber, penetrates into the thorax and furnishes two arteries on each side, the branches of which are distri- buted to the posterior diverticula of the stomach and to the thoracic muscles. Beyond this the aorta divides into two great trunks, which above give off the arteries of the first diverticula of the stomach and of all the muscles of the anterior portion of the thorax. The oph- thalmic arteries spring from the inner part of each of these trunks. Below, they are prolonged to form the arteries of the mandibles {antennes pinces), and about their median portion they furnish a voluminous artery which divides immediately to form the arteries of the legs and of the ventral portion of the abdomen. All these vessels present a number of branches and ramifications not inferior to those which are generally seen in vertebrated animals. Besides these, each of the chambers of the heart furnishes a large artery on each side, the branches of which are distributed to the liver and intestines. For the return of the blood the circulatory apparatus is much less perfect ; in general there only exist canals, the walls of which are in- capable of being isolated by dissection. Nevertheless, the legs and the mandibles {antennes pinces) are penetrated by a very distinctly limited venous canal ; but in the thorax the principal passages are merely circumscribed by the bundles of muscles. On the other hand, in the liver, we observe, at various points and principally on the sides, vestiges of membranous walls. All the venous blood collected from the different parts of the body is conducted into the lower region of the abdomen, where it is intro- duced into the respiratory organs, by means of two large pulmonary canals formed by a delicate membrane ; arrived at the organs of re- spiration, the nutritive fluid soon passes into the pulmono-cardiac ves- sels, which are equal in number to the auriculo-ventricular orifices of the heart, into which they empty themselves. These vessels, of a very delicate consistency, are always adherent to the inner walls of the abdominal teguments. Thus the circulation of the blood in the Arachnida is executed by means of an arterial system of the most complete description ; and a venous system, which, although no doubt very imperfect when compared with that of the Vertebrata, offers, nevertheless, in the re- gularity of its course and the well-circumscribed limits of most of its passages, a degree of complication of which naturalists hitherto could have formed no idea. — Comptes llendusy March 15, 1852, p. 402. ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF COLUBER NATRIX. Referring to Mr. Gray's article in the June Number of the * An- nals of Natural History,' on the distribution of the Coluber natrix, I beg to state that it is a mistake to suppose that this reptile is not found in Norfolk. I have seen specimens from two localities in East Norfolk, and I have heard of them in West Norfolk. I have also 1^3 Miscellaneous. heard of them at Fritton m East Suffolk, where I am informed that they are frequently observed in summer to swim across a lake from a quarter to half a mile in breadth *. — John Henry Gurney. Easton, Norfolk, July 5, 1852. XJses of the Stillingia sebifera, o?- Tallow Tree, with a notice of the Pe-la, an Insect-wax of China-^. By J. D. Macgowan, M.D. The botanical characters of this member of the Euphorbiacese are too well known to require description ; but hitherto no accurate account has been published of its varied uses, and although it has become a common tree in some parts of India and America, its value is appreciated only in China, where alone its products are properly elaborated. In the American Encyclopaedia it is stated that this tree is almost naturalized in the maritime parts of South Carolina, and that its capsules and seeds are crushed together and boiled, the fatty matter being skimmed as it rises, hardening when cool. Dr. Roxburgh in his excellent * Flora Indica,' says : — " It is now very common about Calcutta, where, in the course of a few years, it has become one of the most common trees. It is in flower and fruit most parts of the year. In Bengal, it is considered only an orna- mental tree ; the sebaceous produce of its seeds is not sufficient in quantity, nor its qualities so valuable, as to render it an object worthy of cultivation. It is only in very cold weather that this substance becomes firm ; at all other times it is in a thick brownish fluid state, and soon becomes rancid : such is my opinion of the famous vegetable tallow of China." Dr. Roxburgh was evidently misled in his experiments by pursuing a course similar to that which is described in the * Encyclopaedia Americana ' (and in many other works), or he would have formed a very different opinion of this curious material. Analytical chemistry shows animal tallow to consist of two proxi- mate principles — stearine and elaine. Now what renders the fruit of this tree peculiarly interesting is the fact that both these principles exist in it separately, in nearly a pure state. By the above-named process, stearine and elaine are obtained in a mixed state, and conse- quently the mass presents the appearance described by Dr. Roxburgh, Nor is the tree prized merely for the stearine and elaine it yields, though these products constitute its chief value : its leaves are em- ployed as a black dye ; its wood being hard and durable may be easily used for printing-blocks and various other articles ; and finally, the refuse of the nut is employed as fuel and manure. The Stillingia sehifera is chiefly cultivated in the provinces of Kiangsi, Eougnam, and Chehkiang. In one district, near Haugchan, the inhabitants defray all their taxes with its produce. It grows alike on low alluvial plains and on granite hills, on the rich mould at the * Two other friends have made the same correction of Mr. F. Edwards's- observations. — J. E. Gray. t Drawn up for the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India. Miscellaneous. 1 53 margin of canals, and on the sandy sea-beach. The sandy estuary of Haugchan yields little else ; some of the trees at this place are known to be several hundred years old, and though prostrated, still send forth branches and bear fruit. Some are made to fall over rivulets, forming convenient bridges. They are seldom planted where any- thing else can be conveniently cultivated — in detached places, in corners about houses, roads, canals, and fields. Grafting is performed at the close of March, or early in April, when the trees are about three inches in diameter, and also when they attain their growth. The * Fragrant Herbal ' recommends for trial the practice of an old gardener, who, instead of grafting, preferred breaking the small branches and twigs, taking care not to tear or wound the bark. In mid-winter, when the nuts are ripe, they are cut oif with their twigs, by a sharp crescentic knife, attached to the extremity of a long pole, which is held in the hands, and pushed upwards against the twigs, removing at the same time such as are jfruitless. The capsules are gently pounded in a mortar to loosen the seeds from their shells, from which they are separated by sifting. To facilitate the separation of the white sebaceous matter enveloping the seeds, they are strained in tubs, having convex, open wicker bottoms placed over caldrons of boiling water. When thoroughly heated they are reduced to a mash in the mortar, and thence transferred to bamboo sieves, kept at an uniform temperature over hot ashes. A single operation does not suffice to deprive them of all their tallow, and the steaming and sifting is therefore repeated. The article thus procured becomes a solid mass on falling through the sieve, and to purify it, it is melted and formed into cakes for the press. These receive their form, from bamboo hoops a foot in diameter and three inches deep, which are laid on the ground over a little straw. On being filled with the hot liquid the ends of the straw beneath are drawn up and spread over the top, and when of sufficient consistence are placed with their 'rings in the press. This apparatus, which is of the rudest description, and constructed of two large beams placed horizontally so as to form a trough, is capable of containing about fifty of the rings with their sebaceous cakes ; at one end it is closed, and at the other adapted for receiving wedges, which are successively driven into it by ponderous sledge-hammers, wielded by athletic men. The tallow oozes in a melted state into a receptacle below where it cools ; it is again melted and poured into tubs, smeared with mud to prevent its adhering. It is now marketable, in masses about 80 pounds each — hard, brittle, white, opake, without taste, and without the odour of animal tallow; under high pressure it scarcely stains bibulous paper ; it melts at 104° Fahrenheit. It may be regarded as nearly pure stearine ; the slight difference is doubtless owing to the admixture of oil ex- pressed from the seed in the process just described. The seeds yield about eight per cent, of this vegetable stearine, which sells for about five cents per pound. The process for pressing the oil, which is carried on at the same time, remains to be noticed : it is contained in the kernel of the nut, the sebaceous matter which lies between the shell and husk having 154 Miscellaneous. been separated in the manner described. The kernel and the husk covering it are ground between two stones, which are heated to prevent clogging from the sebaceous matter still adhering. The mass is then placed in a winnowing machine, precisely like those in common use in other countries. The chaiF being separated exposes the white oleaginous kernels, which after being steamed are placed in a mill to be mashed. This machine is formed of a circular stone groove, twelve feet in diameter, three inches deep and about as many wide, into which a thick solid stone wheel, eight feet in diameter, tapering at the edge, is made to revolve perpendicularly by an ox harnessed to the outer end of its axle, the inner turning on a pivot in the centre of the machine. Under this ponderous weight the seeds are reduced to a mealy state ; they are then steamed in the tubs, formed into cakes, and pressed by wedges in the manner above described, the process of mashing, steaming, and pressing being repeated with the kernels likewise. The kernels yield above thirty per cent, of oil, and it sells for a little more than three cents per pound. It is called Tsing-yu, and answers well for lamps, though inferior for this purpose to some other vegetable oils in use. It is also employed for various purposes in the arts, and has a place in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, because of its quality of changing gray hair black, and other imaginary virtues. The husk which envelopes the kernels, and the shell which incloses them with their sebaceous covering, are used to feed the furnaces, scarcely any other fuel being needed for this purpose. The residuary tallow cakes are also employed for fuel, as a small quantity of it remains ignited a whole day. It is in great demand for chafing dishes in the cold weather. And finally, the cakes which remain after the oil has been pressed out are much valued as a manure, particularly for tobacco fields, the soil of which is rapidly impoverished by the Virginia weed. Artificial illumination is generally procured in China by vegetable oils, but candles are also employed by those who can afford it, and for lanterns. In religious ceremonies no other material is used. As no one ventures out after dark without a lan- tern, and as the gods cannot be acceptably worshiped without candles, the quantity consumed is very great. With an unimportant exception, the candles are also made of what I beg to designate as vegetable stearine. When the candles, which are made by dipping, are of the required diameter, they receive a final dip into a mixture of the same material and insect-wax, by which their consistency is preserved in the hottest weather. They are generally coloured red, which is done by throwing a minute quantity of alkanet root {An- chusa tinctoria), brought from Shangtung, into the mixture, which forms the coating of the candle : verdigris is sometimes employed to dye them green. The wicks are made of rush, coiled round a stem of coarse grass, the lower part of which is slit to receive the pin of the candlestick, which is more economical than if put into a socket. Tested in the mode recommended by Count Rumford, these candles compare favourably with those made from spermaceti, but not when the clumsy wick of the Chinese is used. They cost about eight cents per pound. Miscellaneous, 155 Prior to the thirteenth century, bees' -wax was employed as a coating for candles ; but about that period the white insect-ivax was dis- covered, since which time that article has been wholly superseded by the more costly but incomparably superior product of this insect. It has been described by the Abbe Grassier, Sir George Staunton, and others ; but these accounts differ so widely among themselves, as well as from that given by native authors, as to render further inquiry desirable. From the description given by Grassier, entomologists have sup- posed the insect which yields the Pe-la, or white wax, to be a species of Coccus. Staunton, on the contrary, describes it as a species of Cicada {Flatalimbata). As described by Chinese writers, however, it is evidently an apterous insect ; hence the inference, either that there are two distinct species that produce white wax, or that the insect Staunton saw was falsely represented as the elaborator of this beautiful material. This, hke many other interesting questions in the natural history of this portion of the globe, must remain unsolved, until restrictions on foreign intercourse are greatly relaxed, or wholly removed. In the mean time, native writers may be consulted with advantage ; and from the chief of these, the Pun-tsau and Kiunfangpii, two herbals of high authority, the subjoined account has been prin- cipally derived. The animal feeds on an evergreen shrub or tree, Ligustrum lucidum, which is found throughout central China from the Pacific to Thibet, but the insect chiefly abounds in the province of Sy'Chuen. It is met with also in Yunnan, Hunan, and Hupeh. A small quantity of a superior description is produced in Kinhwa, Chehkiang province. Much attention is paid to the cultivation of this tree ; extensive districts of country are covered with it, and it forms an important branch of agricultural industry. In planting, they are arranged like the mulberry in rows about twelve feet apart, and l?oth seeds and cuttings are employed. If the former, they are soaked in water in which unhusked rice has been washed, and their shells pounded off : when propagated by cuttings, branches an inch in diameter are recommended as of the most suitable size. The ground is ploughed semi-annually, and kept perfectly free from weeds. In the third or fourth year they are stocked with the insect. After the wax or insect has been gathered from the young trees, they are cut down, just below the lower branches, about four feet from the ground, and well manured. The branches which sprout the follow- ing season are trimmed, and made to grow in nearly a perpendicular direction. The process of cutting the trunk within a short distance of the ground is repeated every four or five years, and as a general rule, they are not stocked until the second year after this operation. Sometimes the husbandman finds a tree which the insects themselves have attained, but the usual practice is to stock them with the nests of the insect, which is effected in spring. These nests are about the size of a "fowl's head," and are removed by cutting off a portion of the branch to which they are attached, leaving an inch each side of the nest. The sticks, with the adhering nests, are soaked in un- tiusked rice-water for a quarter of an hour, when they may be sepa- rated. When the weather is damp or cool, they may be preserved in 156 Miscellaneous. jars for a week ; but if warm, they are to be tied to the branches of the trees, to be stocked without delay, being first folded between leaves. By some, the nests are probed out of their seat in the bark of the tree without remo\ing the branches. Xt this period they are particularly exposed to the attacks of birds, and require watching. In a few days after being tied to the tree, the nests swell, and in- numerable white insects, the size of ''7iits," emerge, and spread themselves on the branches of the tree ; but soon with one accord they descend towards the ground, where, if they find any grass, they take up their quarters. To prevent this, the ground beneath is kept quite bare, care being taken also that their implacable enemies, the ants, have no access to the tree. Finding no congenial resting-place below, they re-ascend and fix themselves to the lower surface of the leaves, where they remain several days, whence they repair to the branches, perforating the bark to feed on the fluid within. From nits they attain the size and appearance of ''pediculus ko7mnis." Having compared it to this, the most familiar to them of all insects, our authors deem further description superfluous. Early in June they give to the trees the appearance of being covered with hoar frost, being changed into wax ; soon after this they are scraped oif, being previously sprinkled with water. If the gathering be deferred till August, they adhere too firmly to be easily removed. Those which are sufl^ered to remain to stock trees the ensuing season, secrete a purplish envelope about the month of August, which at first is no larger than a grain of rice ; but as incubation proceeds, it expands, and becomes as large as a fowl's head, which is in spring, when the nests are transferred to other trees, one or more to each, according to their size and vigour, in the manner already described. On being scraped from the trees, the crude material is freed from its impurities, probably the integuments of the insect, by spreading it on a strainer covering a cylindrical vessel which is placed in a caldron of boiling water ; the wax is received into the former vessel, and on congealing is ready for the market. The Pe-la or white wax in its chemical properties is analogous to purified bees' -wax, and also spermaceti, but difl'ers from both, being in my opinion an article perfectly sui generis. It is purely white, transparent, shining, not unctuous to the touch, inodorous, insipid, crumbles into a dry inad- hesive powder between the teeth, with a fibrous texture, resembling fibrous calc-spar ; it melts at 100° Fahr., is insoluble in water, dis- solves in heated essential oils, and is scarcely affected by boiling alcohol, the acids, or alkalies. The aid of analytical chemistry is needed for the proper elucidation of this most beautiful material. There can be no doubt it would prove altogether superior in the arts to purified bees' -wax. On extra- ordinary occasions the Chinese employ it for candles and tapers. It has been supposed to be identical with the white lac of Madras ; but as the Indian article has been found useless in the manufacture of candles*, it cannot be the same; it far excels also the vegetable wax {Mytica cerifera) of the United States. * Dr. Pearson's Philosophical Transactions, vol. xxi. Miscellaneous. 157 Is this substance a secretion ? There are Chinese who regard it as such, some representing it to be the saliva and others the excrement of the insect. European writers take nearly the same view, but the best authorities expressly say that this opinion is incorrect, and that the animal is changed into wax. I am inclined to believe that the insect undergoes what may be styled a ceraceous degeneration, its whole body being permeated by the peculiar produce in the same manner as the Coccus cacti is by carmine. Its cost at Ningpo varies from 22 to 33 cents per pound. The annual produce of this humble creature in China cannot be far from 400,000 pounds, worth more than ^100,000. — Silliman's American Journal, July 1851. Ningpo, August 1850. NYMPHiEA ALBA VAR. MAJOR. Botanic Gardens, Regent's Park, July 21, 1852. Dear Sir, — A white Water Lily, found growing somewhere not far from London, has been brought to me as a new species. I have doubts about its being any more than a large variety of the Nymphcea alba, but I inclose you a description of it, which, if you think it worth while to draw the attention of botanists towards it at this season, you will oblige me by inserting in the ' Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.' It was brought to me quite fresh by Mr. Rich. About a month ago the flowers were imperfect and small, some having five sepals to the calyx, and being more or less irregular ; but a perfect one brought on the 17th was at least 7 inches in diameter, and Mr. Rich has had larger. I remain, dear Sir, yours truly, Wm. Francis, Esq. J. De C, Sowerby. NijmpTicea alba var. ? major. Flower large, all its parts more elongated than in the ordinary form of N. alba. The disk of the stigma very concave ; the appen- dages of the radii cylindrical, three times as long as wide. Petaloid stamens broad-lanceolate, attenuated towards the apex, much longer than the next row of stamens. Anther-cells diverging at the base. Petals numerous, rather pointed, the innermost longer than the sta- mens. Sepals of the calyx ovate-elongated. Leaf broad ovate, nar- rowed towards the point. Ribs or primary veins ten on each side of the central one ; on the back of the leaf they are narrow, raised and rigid ; the secondary veins also are raised and firm. In other points it agrees with the ordinary N. alba : they both grow in the same piece of water. In the common N. alba the disk of the stigma is nearly flat ; the appendages to its radii are ovate, only one and a half times as long as wide. The petaloid stamens are ovate-lanceolate, the same length as the next stamens, with the anther-cells parallel. The inner petals are shorter than the stamens, ovate and obtuse. The sepals oval. 158 Miscellaneous. pointed. The leaves broad oval, not narrowed towards the emargi- nate apex ; the primary veins nine on each side the central one ; on the back of the leaf convex, soft ; secondary veins concave on both sides.— J. De C. S. ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE BELEMNITE. To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History. Gentlemen, — When a disputant affirms a statement ' most em- phatically,' it may be suspected that the emphasis is added to supply the want of inherent truth. This is the case with Dr. Mantell when he so affirms that the " phragmocone is common to numerous genera of Cephalopods," — a statement which is made to appear true only by attaching to the term * phragmocone ' a meaning peculiar to the asserter. iV * conical chambered siphunculated shell ' is no doubt com- mon to numerous genera of Cephalopods : before Owen's anatomy of the Nautilus, Belemnites, and Spirula, it was deemed to characterize all that section of the class which Cuvier grouped together under the wide Linnaean term of Nautilus, and with which the " Sipho7iifera" of F^russac and D'Orbigny is synonymous. The term ' phragmo- cone ' was first proposed by Professor Owen, and applied by him to a particular modification of the * conical chambered siphunculated shell ' ; to that viz. in which the cone is short and straight, the chambers very shallow, and rapidly enlarging, uniformly concave to- wards the outlet, with the siphuncle marginal and ventral, and the whole invested by a partly horny, partly calcareous layer continuous with the sheath protecting the more advanced parts of the Belemnite (Phil. Trans. 1844, pp. 68, 69). This modification of the * conical chambered siphunculated shell ' is common to all the subgenera into which the * Belemnites ' of Cuvier have since been divided, and it is 'peculiar' to them. The most variable and therefore least important part of their com- plex shell is the ' dart,' * guard,' or * osselet ' ; its different forms and proportions afford, indeed, the characters of most of the species, and in the Bel. hrevissima, Duv., e. g., it is reduced to the size of the similarly solid calcareous terminal mucro of the shell of Beloptera, Sepia, &c., to which, according to Cuvier, Buckland, and other emi- nent naturalists, it is answerable. So much, therefore, for Dr. Man- tell' s other affirmation that the part which he chooses to call * osselet ' is the essential part or character of the Belemnite. I shall not tres- pass on your space by any notice of Dr. Mantell' s views of the value of Professor Owen's researches on the extinct Cephalopods possessing the * phragmacone,' or of my own opinion of the influence of the Pro- fessor' s works in general on the progress of Comparative Anatomy : and I limit myself to a single sample of the nature of the discoveries to which Dr. Mantell vaunts his peculiar claims. The part, e. g., which he calls the capsule or sheath is the part so called by Buck- land, together with other parts subsequently pointed out by Owen. The author of the 6th Bridgewater Treatise (p. 372) describes — *' A conical thin horny sheath, or cup, commencing from the base of Meteorological Observations. 159 the hollow cone of the fibro-calcareous sheath, and enlarging rapidly as it extends outwards to, a considerable distance. This horny cup formed the anterior chamber of the Belemnite, and contained the ink-bag and some of the viscera.'* Owen subsequently traced a similarly organized membrane continued backwards from the margin of the alveolus, where Buckland's * capsule ' commences, " to line the alveolar cavity of the spathose guard," and to cover the exterior sur- face of the guard itself ; the first description of which latter struc- ture we find in the following words of his memoir, * Phil. Trans.' 1844, p. 69 : — "The exterior surface of the spathose guard of the Belem- nites of the Oxford clay, though smoother than in some other spe- cies, is minutely granular, and occasionally presents faint traces of vascular impressions, proving it to have been invested by an organized membrane of the living Cephalopods." With his usual cautious ex- actitude he forbears to extend to this investing organized membrane the term ' capsule,' which his predecessor had correctly restricted to that part which, so far as it truly performs the function of a capsule, commences, as Dr. Buckland describes, where the fibro-calcareous sheath terminates. Every fact has its value ; but this varies inde- finitely, and does not become greater, when, by an abuse of terms, a small particular is laid claim to by a self-asserted discoverer. I am. Gentlemen, your obedient servant, The Quarterly Reviewer. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR JUNE 1852. Chiswick. — June 1. Clear and fine. 2. Cloudy : fine : rain. 3. Cloudy. 4. Overcast : fine : clear. 5. Very fine : slight rain. 6. Rain : clear at night. 7. Constant rain. 8. Thick whitish haze : low fog in the evening : heavy rain. 9. Excessively heavy rain throughout. 10. Rain: cloudy: clear. 11. Overcast. 12. Slight rain: overcast. 13. Fine: rain at night. 14. Showery. 15. Fine: showery: clear. 16. Rain: uniformly overcast. 17. Cloudy throughout. 18. Rain : showery : heavy rain. 19. Heavy clouds : clear and fine. 20. Overcast : rain. 21. Rain : cloudy. 22 — 24. Fine. 25. Uniformly overcast : fine : rain at night. 26. Rain: heavy showers. 27. Overcast: heavy showers. 28. Fine: densely overcast. 29. Overcast : cloudy : clear. 30. Fine : rather windy : clear at night. — More rain fell on the 7th, 8th, and 9th, than on any three consecutive days for at least twenty-six years near London. Mean temperature of the month 58°-01 Mean temperature of June 1851 59*21 Mean temperature of June for the last twenty-six years ... 60*61 Average amount of rain in June 1*77 inch. Boston. — June 1. Fine. 2. Fine: rain p.m. 3. Cloudy: rain a.m. 4. Fine rain a.m. 5. Fine. 6. Rain : rain a.m. 7, 8. Cloudy. 9. Cloudy : rain a.m: 10, 1 1. Cloudy : rain a.m. and p.m. 12. Cloudy : rain a.m. 13. Cloudy : rain p.m. 14, 15. Cloudy : rain a.m. and p.m. 16. Rain : rain a.m. and p.m. 17. Fine . rain a.m. and p.m. 18, 19. Cloudy : rain a.m. 20. Cloudy : rain p.m. 21. Rain : rain a.m. 22. Cloudy : rain a.m. and p.m. 23—25. Fine. 26. Cloudy : rain a.m.: 27. Cloudy. 28. Cloudy : rain p.m. 29, 30. Cloudy. Sandwick Manse, Orkney. — June 1, 2. Showers. 3. Rain: showers. 4,5. Bright : clear : fine. 6. Hazy. 7. Hazy : clear : fine. 8. Bright : fine. 9. Cloudy : damp. 10. Drizzle. 11. Drizzle: showers. 12. Damp: bright. 13. Clear: fine : cloudy. 14. Showers: cloudy: fine. 15. Bright: fine: clear: fine. 16. Bright : fine : cloudy. 17. Clear : fine : cloudv. 18. Damp : fog. 19. Bright: clear : fine. 20. Damp. 21. Damp : fog. 22, 23. Rain. 24, 25. Bright : showers. 26. Bright : rain. 27. Bright : showers : fine. 28. Clear : fine : drops : fine. 29. Clear : fine : cloudy : fine. 30. Rain. •uo^sog VO OO 00 H f< »0 lO CO •Jiomsiqo •ijOT.\ipnBS •uojsoa ^ « ^ ^ (U ^ cnvo oovo tJ-hoo t^l^CNCoO c^vo w O O Ooovooo cnr^ voc< iooncom vovo ri-t^ONONO ONf-vVO lOVO Ti- rj- u-i •+ vo t^OO lo -^i- M vooO tr--VO vo vo CO •^ •TO'B ?8 •uo;soa O I'^vo vo vo t^ CO CO O »ovD r~»0 coon^Ooo •«4-0 ^ CO M c< ,'!*■ c< _»-< M *■< o p^^^^p^p^pp^y^ 0^o^0^0^0^0^0^o^o^ ovoo On Ovoo oooo ctvOnOvOiOvononOnonOnOnCTvCvon c^Ne0nOv0nOvOn0v t4-'>^t~^'+>-< noooo co 00 OO OO On OvOO vovo vovovoc^t^covo^j-'^vot^ r--vo t^OO O O 00 oo t^ t-^ On 0\0'\0\0\0\OsO^O'\0>i^\0\0\0\^\0\0\OsO^^\0^0\OsO\0 O 0\ o\ o\ o^ o^ «c the septa nor on the margin of the shell. The large papilla? appear to be imperforate, while the small ones appear to present each a puncture in the centre. The septal spaces, as well as the central cell, are semitransparent, and the former have a single, beaded line of semitransparent papillae along their course. The internal surface of the chambers merely presents the small 170 Mr. H. J. Carter on the Form and Structure papillse with their puncta ; there are no large papillae on it, and their cavities are otherwise complete, with the exception of the channels of intercameral communication, and some minute vas- cular apertures which will be presently mentioned. The septa (fig. 5 b, b) occupy, transversely, about l-6th of the breadth of the chambers, and each septum incloses within its walls two calcareous tubes or vessels, one on each side, some little distance below the contiguous surface of the shell (fig.7«,«); these we shall call interseptal vessels. They are irregular both in their size and course, though generally about 1-1 900th of an inch in diameter, in the last-formed septa of a shell having the dimensions of the one described, and diminish in calibre back- wards or towards the first- formed whorls. Each vessel com- mences in the centre of an intricate network of smaller ones, spread over its own side of the margin of the preceding whorl, and under the layers of the shell (/,/,/) ; these networks, which are joined together, we shall call the marginal pleomis. In its course each interseptal vessel gives off two sets of ramusculi, and the marginal plexus one set. Of those coming from the inter- septal vessel, one set terminates on the surface of the shell, par- ticularly about the borders of the septum {d,d) ; the other goes into the walls of the shell, and through the septum, to open probably on the inner surface of the chamber {e, e, e) ; while the set from the marginal plexus opens on the margin (^, g^ g). As this vascular system appears to extend throughout every part of the shell, and must be for the cii*culation of some fluid, we will call it the interseptal circulation. It would have been more pro- per to have commenced with the ramusculi, as we shall see here- after that they appear to absorb the fluid which is subsequently transmitted into the larger vessels, but at this period of our de- scription it would not have been so intelligible. We have now to examine the internal structure of the shell, and commencing with that part forming the walls of the cham- bers, we observe, that it is pierced by innumerable tubes, which pass directly downwards from the small papillse on the external, to the small papillse on the internal, surface of the chambers (fig. 3 djd). I could see no tubes passing down from the large papillse, which I have before stated to appear imperforate, like those over the septal spaces. These tubes are about l-9000th of an inch in diameter, and about the same distance apart ; they are vertical over the centre of the area of the chamber, and slope outwards at its boundaries, but do not pass through or extend over the margin of the shell, neither over the septal spaces, nor over the central cell; hence the semitransparency of the two latter, and the fringy, beaded appearance which the tubes pre- of the Shell of Operculina Arabica. 171 sent at these parts, particularly around the central cell, where they assume the form of rays. Besides these tubes, a vertical section of the shell presents a series of horizontal lines 7-8 or more in number, parallel to each other, but not equidistant (fig. 3 c, c) ; these appear to be the lines of contact of the layers of which the shell is composed. Lastly we come to the margin, which exhibits a very curious and interesting structure. It is almost entirely composed of calcareous spicula, arranged parallel to, but overlapping each other (fig. 4). These spicula are l-237th inch long, and l-900th of an inch broad, transparent, apparently hollow, and pointed at each extremity; they appear to be straight, although from their position one would be inclined to think that they must be a little curved. When a transverse section is made of the margin, we observe that it consists of upwards of 100 of these spicula, which form a triangular bundle or cord (fig. 6 a)y the apex of which is directed inwards or towards the chambers, and the base {a) outwards to form the free, rounded margin of the shell ; while its sides are overlapped by an extension of the walls of the chambers, which open as it were to receive it. Its base presents a regularly wavy outline (when viewed in the trans- verse section) from the longitudinal arrangement of the spicula, which do not appear to be covered by a layer of the shell ; and parallel to its sides run the papillary tubes of the chambers (5), becoming more vertical as they increase in distance from this position ; while towards its apex appear the divided large vessels of the marginal plexus (c). In the transverse section also, when reduced to a thin layer, transparent intervals appear in the form of zigzag lines radiating from the apex to the circumference of the cord, which would seem to indicate that the spicula were arranged in it in more or less horizontal planes, dipping towards the apex. It will naturally now be asked, how this spicular cord (fig. 5 hj h)y which commences with the first cell, terminates; but I regret that there is not a single specimen in my possession to afford the information. This arises probably from the extreme thinness of the last-formed chamber ; for with the two or three preceding ones, it is almost always broken or absent. All I can state in connection with this is, that there are always more or less vessels of the marginal plexus cut through or broken in a transverse section or fracture of the spicular cord, and frequently a large one close to its apex, which, after the shell has been filled with a solution of carmine and then laid in pure water, purges it almost completely from the colouring matter with which it had been filled ; — a broken interseptal vessel will also do this. Hence it is not impossible, that a natural opening of the 172 Mr. H. J. Carter on the Fo?'m and Structure kind may exist at the termination of the spieular cord, for this purpose ; but, then, it has nothing to do with the spieular cord itself, of the natural termination and uses of which I am equally ignorant. It should here also be mentioned, that when a thoroughly empty shell, which may be known by its pearly whiteness, is gently laid on the surface of a solution of carmine, so as to float there, the latter is seen, first to colour the margin, then the interseptal vessels become filled, and lastly the walls of the chambers; none of the semitransparent parts of the shell become colom'ed. This will take place sometimes in a few hours, but with some shells it requires a day or two for its completion. By keeping one side of the shell dry the air is enabled to pass out of it, while the solution enters the depending side, and in this way the whole of the hollow structure of the shell becomes coloured. When the shell is washed and dried in this state, the carmine is seen to be chiefly in the interseptal vessels, and this is perhaps the best way of tracing out the terminations, or rather origins, of the ramusculi. On the other hand, when the shell is placed in pure water and watched with a magnifying glass, a stream of carmine particles will be seen slowly issuing from the vessels of the marginal plexus, at the broken end of the spieular cord, or from any other part of the large whorls, where an inter- septal vessel may have been broken ; and after a time, according with that which the shell has taken to imbibe the colouring matter, it will become perfectly white again. Whether this be owing to the watery distension of the gummy fluid suspending the carmine, or a natural consequence of the structure of the shell itself, further observation must determine. The fact of the carmine accumulating at the orifices of the ramusculi, as it would in a filter, seems also, with what has just been stated, to point out the course of circulation in them ; and if we may be allowed to carry out the analogy still further, which is now seen to exist so strikingly between Foraminifera and Porifera, we might compare the interseptal circulation in the former to the aqueous circulation in the latter, and thence might infer, that the water entered by the ramusculi or small pores, and came out by the larger ones, gathered together into one vessel, opening in its natural state at the end of the spieular cord ; but, until a perfect specimen be obtained to determine this, all must of course re- main conjectural. Growth. — From what I have stated respecting the existence of a substance, resembling the cuticle of shells, over the external surface of Operculina Arabica, and the presence of innumerable puncta, which appear to be connected by tubular communica- tions with the chambers beneath, it is not unreasonable to infer, that by this arrangement successive additions may be made to of the Shell of Operculina Arabica. 173 the external surface of the shelly and the laminated structure, which it presents on a vertical section, thus formed ; while the addition of chambers would appear to commence from the open- ing in the septum close to the preceding whorl, and an inter- septal vessel, arising as before described from its marginal plexus, to extend outwards, on either side, pari passu with the chambers to the circumference, which it may fall short of or not, as already stated. Again, it would appear that this addition does not take place singly, but that there are always two or more chambers (fig. 8 b, by b) in process of formation, the last being the smallest, and that, one after another, they gradually reach the margin. I have come to this opinion, not from the recent specimens of Operculina in my possession, in which, as before stated, all the last-formed chambers are broken, but from having observed the ochraceous casts of microscopic nautiloid species of Foraminifera which have been fossilized, to present this form, when dissolved out from their matrix. Analogy to Porifera. — When Dujardin, guided by the sug- gestion of Bory St. Vincent, was struck with the analogy which exists between the filamentous prolongations of Foraminifera and those of the Amoeba or Proteus, he could have little thought, that however nearly the latter might be allied to the Sponges, the former would be found so similar to them in their compact structures. Who, indeed, looking at the nautiloid form of a foraminiferous shell and an amorphous piece of sponge, would say, that they bore the least resemblance to each other ? Yet they are, as we have seen, most intimately allied, both in their fleshy and their compact structures. It must be now generally allowed, that the rhizopodous nature of Foraminifera is identical with that of the Amoeba or Proteus, and through the latter with the sponge-cell ; and in addition to this, we have the former, at least the genus Operculina, still more nearly allying Foraminifera to the Sponges, by possessing a spicular structure, if not a cir- culating system also, like that of sponges. It is curious too, that without any reference to the use of the pores in these two orders of animals, they should have received names of the same signi- fication, as if the intimate relationship which is now found to exist between them was instinctively anticipated, before it was proved by demonstration. The genus of Porifera to which Operculina comes nearest is, of course, the calci-sponges, that called Grantia, after their distinguished discoverer Dr. Grant ; and of this genus, it would seem to approach nearest to the tubular species, which have but one vent. Structure of the Shell of Operculina compared with Nummulites. — It will be very gratifying to those whose investigations of the structure of Nummulites must have been attended with so much 174 Mr. H. J. Carter on the Form and Stmdure labour, difficulty and doubt, to see, how satisfactory the exami- nation of a recent foraminiferous shell, so nearly allied to Num- mulites as that of Operculina, confirms and elucidates their ob- servations. The vertical tubes passing from the surface of the shell to the interior of the chambers (see Dr. Carpenter's illus- trations, fig. ] 5, loc, cit.) ; the intercameral communication [id. fig. 7 b) ; the linear markings or grooves immediately under the latter {id. fig. 7 c), which appear to have been produced by the previous existence of a spicular cord in this position ; and the radiating lines {id. fig. 15 6, Z>), caused by the arrangement of the spicula in horizontal layers inclined towards the apex of the cord, with the sloping papillary tubes on each side of it. — The " mi- nute apertures " (id. fig. 7 «), which only penetrate one layer of the septum, and others which open on the internal surface of the walls, are probably the orifices of the ramusculi of the interseptal vessels which go in this direction. — And the "perforations of considerable size, which pass directly downwards from the exte- rior through the superposed investing layers of the successive whorls " " until they reach the floor of the chambers of the cen- tral plane which they do not penetrate ^' {id. fig. 8 a) ; — the ver- tical interseptal vessels, or an enlargement and union into one tube of the ramusculi^ which pass upwards and downwards from the horizontal interseptal vessels as seen in Operculina. The latter, that is, the union of the vertical with the horizontal interseptal vessels, I have been able to make out in some speci- mens of Nummulites acuta, Sow. (Geol. Trans. 2nd Ser. vol. v. pi. 24. fig. 15), which have had their cavities thoroughly infil- trated with ochraceous oxide of iron ; as well as everything else mentioned by Dr. Carpenter ; and with the exception of the spi- cula themselves, everything that I have seen in Operculina. MM. Joly and Leymerie seem to me to have described one thing and to have figured another. They describe the papillary tubes, and seem, from the distance between them, to figure the orifices of the vertical interseptal vessels (pi. 11. op. cit.), which Dr. Carpenter has particularly described. The columns represented by Sowerby in Lycophrys ephippium (Geol. Trans, loc. cit. fig. 15), and to which Dr. Carpenter has alluded [loc. cit. p. 26), appear, to me^ to be made up of the pa- pillary tubes which descend from chamber to chamber (fig. ^ g,g), and which in purely calcareous fossils are filled with a white opake matter, but in those infiltrated with oxide of iron, with ochraceous matter; while the intervening parts are composed of the septal substance, through which the interseptal vessels pass to the surface and margin in Orbitoides as well as in Num- mulites. The same system of circulation would also appear to be car- of the Shell of Operculina Arabica. 175 ried on in Orbitolites, where the mass is made up of spheroid or ovoidal cells : for if the nearly flat Indian species, which has a papillary eminence in the centre of the convex side, be rubbed down, the latter presents a ramification of transparent substance like that filling the septal spaces of Nummulites and Orbitoides ; which, radiating upwards and outwards from this eminence, passes into the general structure of the shell. The transitionary forms of the chambers in Operculina, through Nummulites and Orbitoides to Orbitolites, would, when viewed in a vertical section, appear to be thus : — In Operculina there is a single plane of spear-head shaped chambers ; in Nummulites a central plane of conical chambers with layers of compressed ones above and below it ; in Orbitoides, a central plane of quadran- gular chambers with numerous layers of compressed ones above and below it ; and in Orbitolites, a mass of circular or ovoidal cells more or less definitely arranged. Hence, if these be their respective peculiarities, Orbitoides Mantelli will, from Dr. Car- penter^s illustration (fig. 31, loc. cit.), belong to the latter, and would therefore be now more properly named Orbitolites Man- telli. One other observation I would here make with reference to geology, viz. the natural union which now seems to be pointed out between the Chalk and the Nammulitic series, by the great prevalence of the same class of animal remains in each — that is to say, the abundance of flints which indicate the previous ex- istence of siliceous sponges in the former, and the myriads of Foraminifera which are closely allied to the calci-sponges in the latter. Bombay, May 12, 1852. EXPLANATION OF PLATE IV. Fig. \. Operculina Arabica, natural size. Fig. 2. Large and small papillae on the external surface of the shell, highly magnified. Fig. 3. Vertical section of the shell over the chambers, highly magnified, showing : — a, a, large papillae ; b, b, small ditto ; c, c, horizontal lines indicative of the layers of the shell ; d, d, vertical tubes. Fig. 4. Spicula in situ, highly magnified. Fig. 5. Diagram of horizontal section of three large chambers of the shell, showing the interseptal vascular system and spicular cord : a, a, a, chambers ; b, b, b, septa ; c, c, c, interseptal vessels ; d, d, d, ra- musculi coming to the surface of the shell ; e, e, e, e, ditto, going to the walls of the shell, &c. through the septa, the dotted lines indicating those branching out into the former; /,/,/, marginal plexus ; g, g, g, ramusculi of margin ; h, h, spicular cord ; i, half- formed septum with termination of interseptal vessel. Fig. 6. Diagram of vertical section of the shell to show the form of the spi- cular cord : a, margin or free surface of spicular cord ; b, vertical 176 Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinaceae. or papillary tubes, here sloping outwards on each side the cord ; c, truncated vessels of the marginal plexus ; d, d, small channels of intercameral communication ; e, grand semilunar or crescentic channel of ditto ; /, septum. Fig. /• Diagram of vertical section to show the situation of the interseptal vessels : a, a, interseptal vessels ; h, septum ; c, grand channel of intercameral communication ; c?, part of spicular cord. Fig. 8. Enlarged view of first-formed chambers of Operculina Arabica : a, central cell or chamber ; b, b, b, probable forms of last cham- bers in process of development. Fig. 9. Diagram of vertical section of Nummulites acuta, Sow. : a, spicular cord ? ; b, truncated vessels of marginal plexus ; c, c, chambers of central plane; d, d, vertical interseptal vessels (the "perforations," &c. of Dr. Carpenter) ; e, e, horizontal interseptal vessels ; /, /, /, chambers on each side the central plane ; g, g, g, vertical tubes. XVI. — On some genera of the Icacinacese. By John Miers_, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. [Continued from p. 119.] Emmotum. This neglected genus was proposed by Desvaux in 1825 upon a plant from Guiana. By Endlicher it was referred to Leretia of the ' Flora Fluminensis/ with which it neither accords in the appearance of the leaf nor the mode of its inflorescence : Hamil- ton's character as given in his ' Prodromus/ notwithstanding its brevity, is sufficiently well marked to show that it does not differ from Poffopetalum, founded by Mr. Bentham in 1840 ; indeed the Emmotum fagifolium J Desv., corresponds with Pogopetalum acu- tuMj Benth., both from Guiana, so as to leave no doubt of their identity : according therefore to the austere rule of science, the latter name must give way to the former. Mr. Bentham in establishing his genus recorded two species, and has since de- scribed two others, and I have now to add a fifth. All the spe- cies, which are from Guiana and intertropical Brazil, seem to form good-sized trees, with very thick coriaceous leaves of a peculiar appearance ; their inflorescence is in axillary crowded fascicles of rather small flowers, which are distinguished by having petals densely beset on their inner face with long red silky hairs arising from an elevated costal nervure. Their chief peculiarity, however, consists in the unusual structure and sin- gular mode of dehiscence of their anthers, which are formed of two opposite, unilocular, valveless, and separate cells, the pollen being discharged extrorsely through a fissure arising from the secession of the dorsal margin of each boat-shaped cell from the very fleshy connective, features that have hitherto escaped obser- Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinaceae. 177 "vation. Emmotum offers also another peculiarity in its ovarium with three radiate cells, placed excentrieally on the somewhat gibbous and anterior side of the ovarium. These points of struc- ture are so different from the development met with in other genera of the Icacinacece, as naturally to lead to the suspicion that Emmotum may not belong to this family; but we must remember that in other respects it accords, viz. in its exstipulate alternate leaves, small flowers with a persistent unchanged calyx, petals with valvate aestivation, alternate stamens, simple style, and suspended collateral ovules. I have therefore retained the genus doubtfully, as a separate tribe of the Icacinacea {ante, S. 3. vol. ix. p. 223), until its true place in the system can be ascertained, which will be determined by a knowledge of the structure of the fruit and seed and the form and position of its embryo. The name, I presume, has been derived from £v and jjbOTo^j linteum, on account of the densely intertwined hairs that line the petals, a character that also suggested the name of Pogopetalum. These hairs, when examined under the microscope, appear flattened and covered with numerous promi- nent transparent glandular dots as in Lereiia, The following is sxi outline of its generic features : — Emmotum, Desv. Pogopetalum, 5ew#A. — F/ores perfecti. Calyx brevissimus, 5- rarius 4-dentatus, liber, fructifer immutatus. Petala 5, rarius 4, lineari-oblonga, carnosula, intus ad cari- nam longitudinalem pilis rufis ssepius longis et crispatis den- sissime barbata, sestivatione valvata, mucrone apicali introflexo. Stamina 5 vel 4, petalis alterna, iis vix breviora, omnino libera ; filamenta carnosula dilatata, incurva, apice repente acuta ; an- ther ce 2-loculares, connectivo crasso, interdum loculis utrinque sejunctis breviores, vel ssepe in mucronem subulatum incur- vulum ultra loculos subantrorsim positos producto, imo cor- dato affixee, loculis membranaceis, cymbseformibus, evalvibus, margine posteriori a conjiectivo omnino soluto hinc extrorsim dehiscentibus. Pollen ovale, longitudinaliter sulcatum. Ova- rium liberum, oblongum, subgibbum, pilosum, disco hypogyno parvo sistens, 3-loculare, loculis excentrice radiantibus ; ovula in quoque loculo 2, juxta apicem appensa et subcoUateraliter superposita. Stylus excentricus, erectus, teres. Stigma e den- tibus 3 brevissimis erectis minutum. Drwpa globosa, abortu 1-locularis; csstera ignota. — Frutices Guianenses et Brasi- lienses sempervirentes ; folia alterna, exstipulata, coriacea, In- tegra, nitida, subtus tomentosa ; cymse fasciculatce, axillares, multiflorce ; flores parvi, aggragati, cum pedicellis brevissimis articulati, bructeati. Ann. ^ Majg, N. Hist, Sen 2, Vol x. 12 178 Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. 1. Emmotvm orhiculatum. Pogopetalum orbiculatum, Benth. Linn. Trans, xviii. 685. tab. 43 ; — arbor 2-orgyalisj ramulis cinereo- vel fulvo-tomentosis_, foliis ovato-orbiculatis^ apice bre- vissime ac obtusissime acuminatis, coriaceis, nitidis, supra lucidisj rachi tomentoso, nervis parallele incurvo-divaricatis, venis creberrime transversis immersis, subtus cum petiolo crasso profunde canaliculate incano- vel fulvo-tomentosis ; ovario hispido, fructu globoso, calyce immutato suffulto. — In Guiana Brasilia3 ad fluv. Padauri, confl. fiuv. Nigri. — Schom- burgk. — [v. s. in herb. Mus. Brit, et Hook, fructu immaturo^ Rio Preto, Prov. Pernambuco. — Gardner, n. 2941.) This species is remarkable for the shape of its leaves, which are almost orbicular at the base and summit, are 2f to 3J inches long, 2~ inches broad, on a deeply grooved petiole 6 or 7 lines in length ; they are thick and coriaceous, very polished above, with a finely shagreened surface, and densely covered beneath with short yellowish tomentum : the simple racemes with a few immature drupes are about f inch long. 2. Emmotum acuminatum. Pogopetalum acuminatum, Benth. he. supr. cit. 685 ; — arbor 5-orgyalis, foliis ovatis oblongisve, apice longissime et anguste attenuatis, mucronulatis, coriaceis, fusco -rufulis, supra lucidis et glaberrimis, in costam sulcatis, nervis paucioribus vix prominulis, venis transversis immersis, subtus pallide ferrugineis, glandulis minutis creberrime punc- tatis, pube rara instructis, petioloque sulcato leviter pubescen- tibus, demum glabris; racemis geminis, fioribus aggregatis griseo-pilosis, petalis ovali-oblongis, intus in carinam pilis longis rufis lanatis, marginibus utrinque glabris ; ovario pilis destitutis et e glandulis minutissimis asperis glauco-pruinoso, disco glabro insito ; stylo excentrico elongato, stigmate obso- lete 3-dentato. — Rio Negro, Brasilise (Schomb. 970). The branchlets are somewhat compressed and angularly striated : it is however distinguished from the other species by the long attenuated summit of the leaves, which are also of a remarkably dark copper or reddish colour when dried ; they are about 4 or 4| inches long, including the suddenly narrow apex of half an inch in length ; they are If to 2|^ inches broad, on a petiole 5 lines long ; the nervures, about seven pairs, are parallel, very divergent, curving, with finely reticulated transverse veins ; the upper surface is polished and finely shagreened ; beneath they are of a ferruginous hue, dead, almost glabrous, and when viewed under the lens seem covered with minute raised glandular dots : generally two racemes spring out of each axil, from g^ to f Mr. J. Miers on some genera of the Icacinacese. 179 inch long, which, when younger, appear Uke a crowded globular axillary fascicle. The anthers in structure resemble those of the following species. The long red hairs that densely spring from the inner keel of the petals under the lens appear marked by large prominent glands in two uneven series, so that they seem almost torulose. 3. Emmotum fagifoliumy Desv. in Ham. Prodr. Fl. Ind. Occid. p. 29. Pogopetalum acutum, Bcnth., Hook. Lond. Journ. Bot. ii. 377; — ramis angulatis, rufo-tomcntosis ; foliis oblongis, ovatisve, apice repente lineari-attenuatis, basi rotundatis vel truncatis, valde coriaceis, supra sublucidis, glaberrimis, nervis divaricatis, pubentibus, approximatis, incurvo-parallelis, sul- catis, venis transversis immersis, subtus prsesertim in nervis sparse sericeo-pubescentibus, nervis tenuibus subprominulis, petiolo canaliculato tomentoso; racemis geminis, axillaribus, petiolo vix longioribus, floribus aggregatis, aurantiaco- vel cano-tomentosis, petalis lineari-oblongis, intus pilis longis rufis in carinam lanatis, lateribu