tS /Cr^ /^C' THE ANNALS AND MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY, INCLUDING ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, and GEOLOGY. (bfING a CONTINUAIION OF THE 'MAGAZINE OF BOTANY AND ZOOLOGY,' AND OF LOUDON AND CH ARLESWORTh's 'MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.') CONDUCTED BY Sir W. JARDINE, Bart.,F.L.S.— P. J. SELBY,Esq.,F.L.S., GEORGE JOHNSTON, M.D., CHARLES C. BABINGTON, Esq., M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., J. H. BALFOUR, M.D., Reg. Prof. Bot. Glasg., AND RICHARD TAYLOR, F.L.S., F.G.S. LONDON: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY R. AND J. E. TAYLOR. SOLD BY S. HIGHLEY; SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL; SHERWOOD AND CO.; W. WOOD, TAVISTOCK STREET ; BAILLIERE, REGENT STREET, AND PARIS : LTZARS, AND MACLACHLAN AND STEWART, EDINBURGH : CURRY, DUBLIN .* AND ASHER, BERLIN. 1845. ** Omnes res creatse sunt divinae sapientiae et potentise testes, divitiae felicitatis humanse : — ex harum usu bonitas Creatoris ; ex pulchritudine sapientia Domini ; ex ceconomia in conservatione, proportione, renovatione, potentia majestatis eiucet. Eariim itaque indagatio ab hominibus sibi relictis semper aestimata; avere eruditis et sapientibus semper exculta ; male doctis et barbaris semper inimica fuit." — Linn. Co IS- CONTENTS OF VOL. XV. NUiMBER XCV. Page I. On the Anatomy of EoUs, a genus of Mollusks of the order Nu- dibranchiata. By Albany Hancock and Dennis Emeleton, M.D., F.R.C.S.E., Lecturer on Anatomy and Physiology in the Newcastle- upon-Tyne School of Medicine. (With five Plates.) 1 II. Memoirs on Geographic Botany. By Richard Brinsley Hinds, Surgeon R.N., F.R. Coll. Surg 11 III. On the Occurrence of the genus Pollicipes in the Oxford Clay. By John Morris, Esq. (With a Plate.) SO IV. Description of some new species of the genus Ancyloceras. By John Morris, Esq. (With a Plate.) 31 V. Descriptions of a new genus and some new species of Homopte- rous Insects from the East in the Collection of the British Museum. By Adam White, Assistant Zool. Dep. Brit. Mus 34 VI. Descriptions of two apparently new species of Lamellicorn Beetles. By Adam White, Assistant Zool. Dep. Brit. Mus 38 VII. Description of a new species of Melanogaster. By C. E. Broome, Esq 41 VIII. On the Laws which regulate the Geographical Distribution of Littoral Mollusca. By M. Alcide d'Orbigny 42 New Books : — Elements of Comparative Anatomy, by Rud. Wagner, M.D. ; translated from the German by Alfred Tulk, M.R.C.S.E. . 45 Proceedings of the Zoological Society ; Botanical Society of Edinburgh ; Geological Society 46 — 68 Submarine Explorations by M. Milne Edwards; Observations on some Polypes ; Food of the Australian Natives; Mr. Schomburgk's Col- lections in Guiana; Meteorological Observations and Table ... 68 — 72 NUMBER XCVI. IX. Description of some Animals found amongst the Gulf-weed. By Harry D. S. Goodsir, M.W.S. (With a Plate.) .'. 73 IV CONTENTS. Page X. On the Anatomy of Eolis, a genus of MoUusks of the order Nu- dibranchiafa. By Albany PIancock and Dennis Embleton, M.D,, F.R.C.S.E., Lecturer on Anatomy and Physiology in the Newcastle- upon-Tyne School of Medicine 77 XI. Memoirs on Geographic Botany. By Richard Brinsley Hinds, Surgeon R.N., F.R. Coll. Surg. {Continued.) 89 XII. On the Preservation of Objects of Natural History for the Microscope, By the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, F.L.S 104 XIII. A Century of new Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants. Characterized by Professor Lindley 106 XIV. Description of an apparently new species of Longicorn Beetle from Mexico in the Collection of the British Museum. By Adam Whiti:, Assistant Zool. Dep. Brit. Mus. (With a Plate.) 108 XV. Note on a British Shell of the genus Circe. By William King, Curator of the Museum of the Natural History Society of Northumber- land, Durham, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne 112 XVI. Note on the Boring Apparatus of the Carnivorous Gastero- pods, and of the Stone- and Wood-burrowing Bivalves. By Albany Hancock, Esq 113 XVII. On a new species of Plafycercus. By John Gould, F.R.S. 114 XVIII. On the Means by which various Animals walk on the Ver- tical Surfaces of highly polished Bodies. By John Blackwall, F.L.S. 115 XIX. Remarks on the Synonyms of a Homopterous Insect described in the last Number of the * Annals.' By Adam White, Assistant Zool. Dep. Brit. Mus 119 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ; Zoological Society ; Geological Society; Botanical Society of London 121 — 140 Notes in Natural History, by G. Clarke, Esq., Mauritius ; Ehrenberg's Researches on Infusoria ; Occurrence of the Anoplotherium in the lowest layers of the Tertiary period of the Paris Basin, by M. E. Robert ; Description of a new Australian Bird, by J. Gould ; Biblio- graphical Notice; Meteorological Observations and Table... 140 — 144 NUMBER XCVII. XX. Miscellanea Zoologica. By George Johnston, M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. (With a Plate.) 145 XXI. On the British Desmidiecp. By John Ralfs, Esq., M.R.C.S., Penzance. (With a Plate.) 149 XXII. On the Morphology of the different Organs of Zoophytes. By R. Q. Couch, M.R.C.S.L. (With a Plate.).... 161 XXIII. Ornithological Notes. By John Blackwall, F.L.S 166 XXIV. On the " Nigger " or *' Cotton Spinner " of the Cornish Fishermen. By Charles William Peach, of Goran Haven, Cornwall (With a Plate.) 171 CONTENTS. V Page XXV. On the Import of the inferior Paleaj of the Grasses. By Hugo VON MoHL. (With a Plate.) 174 XXVI. Botanical Notices from Spain. By Moritz Willkomm ... 178 New Books : — Die Kieselschaligen Bacillarien oder Diatomeen, von Dr. F. T. Kiitzing.— The Botany of the Voyage of H.M.S. Sulphur, by G. Bentham, Esq.—Algae Hihernicse, by Wm. M^Calla. — Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis, editore et pro parte auctore Alph. DeCandolle 185 — 190, Proceedings of the Linnaean Society ; Zoological Society ; Royal In- stitution ; Geological Society 190—213 Falco Islandicus ; On the Origin of the Corms of Colchicum ; Infusorial Deposits in America; Meteorological Observations and Table 213 — 216 NUMBER XCVIII. XXVII. On the Penetration of the Cuticle into the Stomata. By Hugo von Mohl, Professor of Botany at the University of Tubingen . 217 XXVIII. Researches into the Structure, Functions and (Economy oiiha Araneidea. By John Blackwall, F.L.S 221 XXIX. On the Preservation of Objects of Natural History for the Microscope. By Willtam Reckitt, M.R.C.S.L 242 XXX. On the genera Eleutheria and Synhydra, By P. J. Van Beneden, Professor at the University of Louvain 244 XXXI. Description of a new species of Pecten. By Thomas Ed- MONDSTON, F.B.S.E. & L 250 XXXII. Account of a Dredging Excursion. By the Rev. David Landsborough 251 XXXIII. A Century of new Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants. Characterized by Professor Lindley 256 XXXIV. On the Animal of Spirilla. By J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S. (With a Plate.) 257 XXXV. On Cyanocitia, a proposed new genus of Garrulines, and on C. superciliosa, a new species of Blue Jay, hitherto confounded with C. ultramarina, Bonap. By H. E. Strickland, M.A 260 XXXVI. Note on Mr. W. Thompson's Paper on the Ova of the Large Spotted Dog-fish. By Capt. Portlock, R.E 261 XXXVII. Note on Euplocamus, Triopa and Idalia. By Joshua Alder, Esq 262 XXXVIII. On the Occurrence of Phytozoa in Phanerogamous Plants. ByDr.A. Grisebach 264 XXXIX. On the Rats, Mice, and Shrews of the Central Region of Nepa^ By B. H. Hodgson, Esq., late British Resident at Nepal ... 266 VI CONTENTS. r.ge XL. Contributions to the Fauna of Ireland. By Fredeuick M^Coy, Esq., M.G.S.D. (With a Plate) 270 New Books : — Illustrations of Indian Ornithology, by T. C. Jerdon. — Salictum Britannicum exsiccatum. Fasc. 1. and II., by the Rev. J. E. Leefe 274—277 Proceedings of the Royal Society ; Linnsean Society ; Zoological So- ciety .' 277—292 On the Metamorphoses of the Strepsipterd, by Dr. Siebold ; Descrip- tion of a new species of Nymphon, by H. D. Goodsir, Esq. ; De- struction of the Orange-trees in the Azores ; Meteorological Obser- vations and Table , 293—296 NUMBER XCIX. XLI. Description of a new genus of Calcareous Sponge. By J. S. BowERBANK, F.R.S., L.S. &c. (With a Plate.) 297 XLII. On the Structure of the Cocoon of a Leach. By J. S. Bower- bank, F.R.S., L S. &c. (With a Plate.) 301 XLIII. Description of three new species of Rubus. By T. Bell Salter, M.D., F.L.S 305 XLIV. Additions to the Fauna of Ireland, including descriptions of some apparently new species of Invertebrata. By William Thompson, Pres. Nat. Hist, and Phil. Society of Belfast. (With a Plate.) 308 XLV. On the correct Nomenclature of the Lastr«a spinosa and L. multiflora of Newman. By Charles C. Babington, M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S. &c 322 XLVI. Characters of six new species of Nepalese Birds. By Brian H. Hodgson, Esq., late British Resident at Nepal 326 XLV 1 1. Notice of some Rarities found on the West Coast of Scot- land. By the Rev. David Landsborough 327 XLVIII. Notes on the Synonymy of the Genus ^pon, with Descrip- tions of Six new Species, &c. By John Walton, Esq., F.L S 331 XLIX. Further Notice respecting Cyanocitta superciliosa, a sup- posed new species of Blue Jay. By H. E. Strickland, M.A 342 L. Note on Mr. H. E. Strickland's Paper on the genus Cardinia (Agassiz). By Capt. PoRTLocK, K.E 343 LI. Further Notice respecting the Ova of the Large Spotted Dog- fish (Scyllinm Catulus). By Capt. Portlock, R.E 345 LI I. Generic Characters of Gasterochisma melampifs, a Fish which inhabits Port Nicholson, New Zealand. By John Richardson, M.D., F.R.S. &c 346 New Books : —Recherches sur rEmbryog^nie des Tubulaires, et I'His- toire naturelle des diffdrens Genres de cette Famille qui liabitent CONTENTS. Vll Page la c6te d'Ostende, par P.-J. Van Beneden.— Mycologia Britannica, or Specimens of British Fungi, by Ph. B. Ayres, M.D 346—349 Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh ; Zoological So- ciety 350—371 Abundant Occurrence of Rare Infusoria in the Scallop ; Hcematococcus sanguineus^ Ag. ; Observations on 4he Formation of Capillaries, by E. A. Platner ; Reproduction of Lost Parts in the Articulata ; De- scription of a new species oi Solarium, by R. B. Hinds, Esq., R.N. ; Meteorological Observations and Table 371—376 NUMBER C. LIII. Descriptions of some Gigantic Forms of Invertebrate Animals from the Coast of Scotland. By Harry D. S. Goodsir, M.W.S. (With a Plate.) 377 LI V. A Century of new Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants. Characterized by Professor Lindley 383 LV. On a Monstrosity of Gentiatia campestris. By G. Dickie, M.D., Lecturer on Botany in the University and King's College of Aberdeen. 387 LVI. Notes on the Synonymy of the Genus Apion, with Descrip- tions of Six new Species, &c. By John Walton, Esq., F.L.S 392 LVII. On the British Desmidiece. By John Ralfs, Esq., M.R.C.S., Penzance. (With a Plate.) 401 LVIII. Note on Mr. Bowerbank's Paper on the genus Dmistervillia (Bowerbank), with Remarks on the Ischadites Konigii, the Tentaculites and the Conularia. By Thomas Austin, Esq., F.G.S 406 LIX. On the Formation of Aerial Tubers in Sedum atnplexicaule, DeC. By L. C. Treviranus 408 LX. Anatomical and Organogenical Researches on LathrcBa clan- destina. By M. Duchartre 410 LXI. On the Growth of the Stem of Palms, and on the Decurrence of the Leaves. By M. von Martius 415 LXII. Botanical Notices from Spain. By Moritz Willkomm 417 New Books : — Contributions towards a Fauna and Flora of the County of Cork. — Musee Botanique de M. Benjamin Delessert, par A. Lasegue. — Classification der Saugethiere und Vogel, von J. J. Kaup 419—423 Proceedings of the Linnaean Society ; Botanical Society of Edinburgh j Zoological Society ; Entomological Society 423 — 442 On the Fossil Cycadea in general, and especially on those which are found in Silesia, by Prof. Gceppert; Extract of a Note from J. E. Gray, Esq., relative to his paper on the Animal of Spirula, p. 257 ; Vm CONTENTS. Page * On the Development of Doris, by C. W. Peach ; On the Nidi of Buccinum reticulatumy by C. W. Peach ; Obituary ; Meteorolo- gical Observations and Table 442 — -i 48 NUMBER CI. SUPPLEMENT. LXIII. Notices of various Mammalia, with Descriptions of many new Species. By Edward Blyth, Esq., Curator of the Asiatic Society's Museum, &c 449 Proceedings of the Zoological Society ; Linnsean Society 475 — 408 Index 499 PLATES IN VOL. XV. Plate I.' II. III. >-Anatomy of Eolis. IV. V. J VI. New species of Pollicipes and Ancyloceras. VII. Animals from the Gulf-weed. VIII. New species of Longicorn Beetles. IX. British Nereides. x.-i XI. ^British Desmidicse — Staurastrum. XII.J XIII. Morphology of Zoophytes. — Morphology of Grasses. XIV. The " Nigger." — Development of Doris. XV. Animal of Spirula. XVI. New Irish Echinodermata. XVII. Dunstervillia. XVIII. Structure of the Cocoon of a Leech. XIX. New Irish Mollusca. XX. New British Invertebrata, The Binder is requested to substitute the half-sheet at the end of No. 100, in place of pp. 301— 308. Ami.^- MoQ.Naji.Zist. 'Vol./ 5. Yll. A.EanM>cic del^ ArvaJbom^y o^ Ho Lis. J-D- CSo werhy Ann J Mag. Nat^ Hist. Vol.iO Pi, I Jici/tMOck d/^l. A?iat:(miy o/^'j£oli.s\ J. D. C. tSotrerd v fc. t AruiJ^Mag. Nat. Hist. Vol. SS- VA . UI. /LSartccci (/^. A7ii//i>mj cf F.olis J.lXC.So»rerl AtmA- Jlaif . Hal. Mist. Voi.0 Kl.iV. A Ifaiu'ock.dd . ^natvNty o/' £olz9. jp.r.soivertyr r;A Ann. ,1^M)^. Mzt.mst. Yol/f. YiY. AJTimcoek, deV. tAnatoT?^ ofJ!oli^. t/.D. ('.Sowfrbv.Jb. THE ANNALS AND MAGAZINE OF NVrURAL HISTORY, ♦* per litora spargite museum, Naiades, et circilm vitreos considite fontes ; PoUice virgineo teneros hic carpite flores : Jloribus et pictum, divaj, replete canistrum. At vos, o Nymphee Craterides, ite sub undas ; Ite, recurvato variata corallia trunco Vellite muscosis e rupibus, et mihi conchas Ferte, Dese pelagi, et pingui conchylia succo." P arthenii Ec\. 1. No. 95. JANUARY 1845. I. — On the Anatomy of Eolis, a genus of MoUusks of the order Nudibrancliiata. By Albany Hancock and Dennis Em- BLETON, M.D.J F.R.C.S.E., Lecturer on Anatomy and Phy- siology in the Newcastle-upon-Tyne School of Medicine. [With five Plates.] 1 HE Nudibranchiate MoUusks are divided into two families, the Doridce and the Tritoniadce ; the anatomy of the former was fully investigated by Cuvier, that of the latter, however, was only partially examined by that illustrious physiologist ; and the Eo- lidina^, a very extensive division of it, were left totally unex- plored, but were nevertheless considered to agree in organization with Tritonia Homberffii, the typical form of the group. Recently however the attention of zoologists has been drawn to the subject by M. Milne Edwards, who was the first to point out that the Eolidin(B deviate in a very striking manner from the rest of the family. He found in the genus Calliopaa a ramified digestive apparatus. This curious organ was supposed by that gentleman to perform the double function of digestion and cir- culation, and consequently to have analogy with the gastro- vas- cular system of the Medusidceiiyn the one hand, and on the other with the Nymphon, on account of the csecal prolongations of the digestive organ that penetrate the exterior branchial papillae. Since this discovery there has appeared in the ' Annales des * We use this name to designate the subfainih' of which EvUs is the type. Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist. Vol xv ' /B 2 Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy of Eolis. Sciences Naturelles' a very elaborate article by M. A. de Quatre- fages on what that gentleman considers a new generic form, to which he has given the name Eolidina paradoxum ; this he states differs from the typical organization, not only in its digestive apparatus, but also in many other respects, and in some instances in the most extraordinary manner. The subject of M. de Quatref ages' memoir however does not vary in any external characters from Eolis, to some of the British species of which it is closely allied. We should therefore expect the anatomy of Eolidina paradoocum to coincide pretty accurately with that of Eolis, at least not to deviate from it to any extent in the more important organs ; yet very considerable deviations do exist, if the observations of M. de Quatrefages be correct. Several of these observations however we are disposed to question. Previously to the publication of the memoir just named, we had investigated the anatomy of Eolis in company with Mr. Joshua Alder, and although many of our results were borne out by those of the French naturalist, yet in several important particulars we found that we entirely disagreed with him. We have therefore reinvestigated the matter with much care, and particularly with reference to the points in dispute, and have been able to corro- borate our original views in the most satisfactory manner. The subject is of considerable interest, as it is principally on his views of the anatomy of Eolidina and two other allied species that M. de Quatrefages has proposed his order Phlebenterata. It is therefore desirable that the anatomy and physiology of the Eolidina should be fully ascertained. With a view to this we now publish the results of our researches, hoping that they may have the effect of fixing the attention of others more able than ourselves to inquire into the matter. W^e would premise that, in the following paper, where no au- thority is given after the name of any species mentioned, it must be understood that that species has been described by Messrs. Joshua Alder and Albany Hancock. We have chiefly turned our attention to Eolis papillosa, John- ston, probably E. Cuvierii of French authors, PL I. fig. 1 ; not more on account of its general resemblance in form to Eolidina paradoxum than for the advantages presented by its great size, which has enabled us to ascertain by actual dissection almost every point of importance. Of this species we have had numerous specimens, both alive and in spirits, and in all stages of growth, from two lines to two inches in length. It is slightly depressed, tapering more abruptly than usual to a point behind ; both the dorsal and oral tentacles are simple, short and conical ; the branchial papillae are slightly compressed Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy of Eolis. 3 and taper to a point ; they arc arranged down the sides of the back in about twenty transverse series of from twelve to eighteen papillae each ; the foot is broad, and slightly produced at the sides in front. We have not however confined ourselves to this species, but have extended our inquiries to several others, for the purpose of showing how far the internal organization varies in the group. E. olivacea, PI. I. fig. 3, is thus frequently alluded to. It closely resembles the species described by M. de Quatrefages, and is in fact, according to the generic characters given by him, with the exception of a posterior dorsal anus, an Eolidina. It is generally about half an inch long, has four simple, slightly conical tentacles ; the anterior part of the foot is rounded at the sides, or only slightly angulated ; the branchial papillae are cylin- drical, and arranged down the sides in about seven transverse rows of four or five papillse each. E. coronata, Forbes, PI. I. fig. 2, has also been examined with the same view. This species differs from the two former as much perhaps as any of the genus, and is therefore well calculated for our purpose. It is sometimes one inch and a half long, the body is almost cylindrical, and terminates in a fine point behind ; the anterior lateral angles of the foot are somewhat produced; the oral tentacles are long and simple, the dorsal annularly laminated ; the branchial papillse are cylindrical, and arranged down the sides in six or seven clumps. Besides these three, we have had upwards of twenty other spe- cies, to some of which we shall occasionally refer. A few of these have the anterior angles of the foot produced into tentacular points, as described by Cuvier ; and others have the large vase- shaped branchial papillse resembling those of the genus Ampho- rina of M. de Quatrefages. During our investigations, we have used in the dissection of the organs the simple lens, and for the examination of the mi- nuter parts of the organs, the tissues and fluids, one of Powell and Lealand's best compound microscopes. We have avoided using the compressor as much as possible, being aware that it is a great cause of error in studying the structure of animals so complicated and delicate as the Eolidina. These mollusks invariably contract themselves greatly when subjected to pressure, and the various organs are confusedly crushed together, so that it is quite impos- sible to distinguish any of them with precision. We have never succeeded in tracing in this manner the whole of any of the vis- cera, though we have several times made the attempt, and we can easily conceive that the compressor has led to many of the errors which we believe M. de Quatrefages has committed, though we give him full credit for the amount of information that he has B2 u 4 Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy of Eolis. really gathered from the very limited number and minute size of his specimens. We propose to treat of the anatomy of Eolis by describing suc- cessively the various organs, beginning with those of digestion, which will form the subject of the present article. The physio- logy will be found incorporated with the anatomy. In PI. V. fig. 16, is given a general view of the viscera of E. papulosa, the dorsal skin having been removed. 07'gans of Digestion. These consist of 1st. An outer and an inner lip, leading to 2ndly. A buccal mass, composed of a pair of horny plates, pro- vided with strong cutting-edges, and inclosing a spiny prehen- sile tongue, having strong muscles adapted to produce all ne- cessary movements. From the posterior part of the dorsal aspect of this mass passes backward, 3rdly. A short constricted oesophagus, which ends in 4thly. A ramified digestive cavity ; the ramifications continued into the branchial papillse, and developed into a more or less complicated follicular apparatus for the biliary secretion, being at the same time continued into ovate vesicles which open externally at the apices of the papillse. 5thly. A short intestinal tube coming off from the posterior part of the dorsal aspect of the bulb of the stomach, and ending in an anus placed on the right side of the body. 6thly. Minute salivary glands. The mouth, in Eolis papillosa (an anterior view of which, from a specimen that had been in spirit, is shown in PI. V. fig. 14), opens on the inferior surface of the head and in front of the an- terior border of the foot. It is provided with an external pair of large soft lips, PI. I. fig. 4 a, that divide vertically on the median line. A little within these there is a strong, firm, somewhat com- pressed, muscular layer — the inner lip, PI. I. figs. 4, 6, and 8 b, surrounding an oval vertical space, through which two strong, brown, horny laminae, the cutting-blades of the jaw, PI. II. fig. 2 a, are visible. These blades are seen to be separated by a vertical fissure (PI. V. fig. 14 c) opening into the cavity of the mouth. An inferior view of the mouth of E. olivacea in its natural state is seen in PI. V. fig. 15. The buccal mass itself, PI. I. fig. 7, is composed of a pair of large corneous plates, a tongue, and the muscles necessary for the movements of these organs. It is a large and apparently compact body of a subtriangular form, with the sides a little com- pressed. The corneous plates, PL I. figs. 4 «, 9 « «, PI. II. 5, 7, &c., are nearly co-extensive with the general mass, on the sides of Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy of Eolis. 5 which they are placed, partially imbedded in the muscles. They are of an irregularly elliptical form, slightly concave internally and convex externally, and are gradually thinned to a fine edge at their inferior and posterior margins. From the superior mar- gin of each plate near its anterior part projects inwards a trian- gular process, PL I. fig. 9 b and PI. II. fig. 7a ; these processes are united at their apices on the median line by a strong ligament, forming a hinge-like joint or pivot on which the horny plates move easily. Below and a little in advance of these processes project downwards the two large arched cutting-blades, PI. I. fig. 9 c, PI. II. 5, and 7 b ; these blades form the anterior edges of the corneous plates, and end inferiorly in long pointed pro- cesses, w^hich are kept together by muscular insertions. The upper surface of the processes for the hinge is divided un- equally by a slight ridge, PI. I. fig. 9 a and PI. II. 7 c, into two parts ; these give attachment to transverse muscles which move the horny plates upon the pivot : the muscle in front of the ridge, PI. I. figs. 6 6*', 7d, 10c, and PI. II. 2 b, is also in front of the pivot, and has the ofiice of closing the jaws ; that behind the ridge, PI. I. figs. Q d,7 e and 10 b, is the opponent of the former and opens the jaws. The latter is much larger than the former and consequently stronger, and extends backwards as far as the oeso- phagus. There is however another transverse muscle, PI. I. figs. Qe, \0d and PI. II. 2c, the duty of which is to assist in closing the cutting-blades. This muscle is seen attached to the edge of the horny plates at their anterior inferior aspect below the cut- ting-blades. The closure of the jaws is further materially pro- moted by a sphincter muscle which forms part of the lips, and will be described further on. On the upper aspect of the buccal mass, behind, and partly covered by the transverse muscle that opens the jaws, and run- ning on each side of the oesophagus backwards and then down- wards, is a well-defined muscular layer, PI. I. figs. 5 a, 7 /and 9 e, having its origin from the inner border of the horny plates. The fibres which arise the furthest forward form the inner edge of each muscle, and unite on the median line immediately behind the oesophagus ; those which come off" behind these pass parallel to them, and are united also on the median line at points suc- cessively further behind and below the former, and the fibres which are last in origin are prolonged and become lost upon the under aspect of the buccal mass. All the fibres of this muscular layer, besides uniting with each other, are attached by their an- terior surface to the muscles of the tongue upon which they lie. One ofiice of these muscles appears to be to pull forwards the oesophagus so as to close its orifice; their principal function we will explain when we come to the tongue. 6 Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy of Eolis. On removing these muscles there is brought into view a very thin stratum of ghstening muscular fibres, PI. I. fig. 9/, attached to the opposed edges of the horny plates and converging towards the oesophagus, upon which they pass, forming at once a coating of longitudinal fibres for that tube, and the attachment of it to the skeleton of the mouth. This delicate layer lies upon the lining membrane of the mouth and oesophagus. On cutting through the hinge and separating the horny plates, we obtain a view of the interior of the mouth, PI. I. fig. 8; here we find in the median line the arched prominent ridge of the tongue c, extending from before backwards, formed of seventeen or eighteen transversely curved imbricated plates, PI. II. fig. 1, their posterior free edges thickened, of a dark chestnut colour, and presenting about forty spines slightly bent, and having their points directed backwards. This ridge is supported upon the curved apex of a wedge-shaped muscular mass, PL I. figs. 6/ and 8 dj that rises from the posterior inferior wall of the mouth, and is much thicker behind than before. A lateral view of this mass shows two sets of muscular fibres : one, by far the stronger and larger, arising from the inner surface of the inferior posterior margin of the horny plate, and radiating to all parts of the curved ridge, where they are inserted into the ends of the transversely arched plates which sustain the spines ; the other set, much less strongly marked, and crossing obliquely over the former, arise from the posterior extremity of the curved ridge of the tongue, and thence pass forward to be inserted successively into the ends of all the transverse plates of the ridge from back to front ; the upper fibres are consequently the shortest, the lower the longest. The former set of fibres, when acting as a whole, will carry downwards and backwards the entire ridge of the tongue. When the muscles of the two sides act alternately, the tongue will be moved from side to side; when the anterior and posterior borders of the muscles act alternately, as it may be supposed they can, the alternate advance and retreat of the spiny ridge will be assisted. The degree of curvature of the tongue and the situation of the curve will materially depend upon the former, as well as upon the latter set of fibres. On removing the muscles just described from off one side of the tongue, a very beautiful piece of mechanism is brought into view ; we find, corresponding to the base of the tongue and the under surface of the buccal mass, two strong semicircular bands of muscle ; one, the inferior, PI. I. fig. 5 b, arises from the infe- rior pointed extremity of the cutting-jaws e, directly above the inferior transverse muscle that assists to close the jaws; and thence passes in a curve backwards and upwards, and is inserted into the posterior extremity of the ridge of the tongue. It is to Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy w/Eolis. 7 the under and posterior surface of this band that the muscle [a) we have mentioned, as coming down from the upper part of the buccal mass by the side of the oesophagus, is attached. The use of this inferior band is to pull the posterior end of the ridge of the tongue downwards, and thus assist in the rotatory motion of this organ backwards, by which food is carried to the opening of the (Esophagus. The other, the superior band, PI. I. fig. 5 c, lies within the curve of the former, and has its ends fixed to the ends of the spiny ridge of the tongue, which it will serve to ap- proximate ; but it will more particularly pull downwards and back- wards the anterior end of the tongue, being the main agent in its rotatory motion forwards, on account of the muscles which come down from the upper part along the posterior surface of the buccal mass pulling upon the inferior semicircular band to which they are attached, and thus making the posterior end of the tongue a fixed point. Of the three muscles here last mentioned, the posterior a, and the superior c, are associated together in action, and are opposed by the inferior Z>, which is also in part intermediate in situation between the others. Altogether they are the chief instruments in producing the rotatory backward and forward motions of the tongue, whilst the muscles that overlie them laterally assist in the rotation, and regulate the place and degree of curvature of the ridge, whilst they can depress the tongue in totality. Now, the nearly circular space that is left between the concave border of the upper semicircular muscle and the concavity of the ridge of the tongue is filled up by a mass of stout, short, transverse fibres eformis. AnatinaPandorcBformis,^t\itch- bury, Zool. Journ. vol. v. p. 99 ; Tab. Supp. xliii. f. 3 and 4. Conch. Iconica, Myadora, pi. 1. f. 10. The Myadora striata, brevis, and Pandoraformis are the only spe- cies of the genus at present known to have the clavicle. The Secretary called the attention of the Meeting to a specimen of the Two-toed Sloth, Bradypus didactylus, which was now in the Gardens, and requested Mr. Ball, Secretary to the Royal Zoological Society of Ireland, to communicate such particulars connected with the habits and manners of this curious animal as had fallen under his observation. Mr. Ball regretted that it was out of his power to state the exact locality from which the animal had been obtained ; however, he had reason to believe that it was brought from Demerara. Its general food was sea-biscuit and water; of fruit it partook sparingly, but he had observed it pick the young buds of the haw- thorn flowers and eat them with great avidity. While in the Zoological Gardens at Dublin its favourite position was where it was supported partly by the branch to which it clung, and partly by an adjoining branch on which its back could rest. In lapping water, the great length to which its tongue was pro- truded was very remarkable, thereby showing its affinity to the other Edentata of South America. BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. This Society held its first meeting for the session on Thursday the 12th of December 1844, Dr. Seller in the Chair. Numerous donations to the library and museum were announced, particularly from Dr. Fraser, Algoa Bay, eleven volumes of botani- cal works and specimens of Cape woods and plants. From the Rev. J. E. Leefe, the second Fasciculus of his * Salictum Britannicum Ex- siccatum.' From Dr. Dewar, Dunfermline, plants from the river Congo, &c. From Mr. Charles Lawson, jun., plants from the Rocky Mountains, &c. The thanks of the Society were voted to the re- spective donors. The following communications were read : — 1. •' Notice of the discovery of Alsine striata in Teesdale," by Messrs. J. S. Gibson and J. Tatham, jun. 2. " On the genus SpiruUna," by Mr. Ralfs. One species only, the S. tenuissima (Kutz.) was described. [This paper will shortly ap- pear in the * Annals,* and in the forthcoming series of the Society's Transactions.] 3. ** Notice of the discovery of C/mwm5e/o5wm,Bieb. , near Culross," by Dr. Dewar. [Notices of the discovery of this and of Alsine striata have already appeared in the * Annals of Natural History.'] 4. " Journal of a Tour through part of the United States and the Canadas" (continued), by Mr. James M'Nab. In the last part of this paper, read before the Society, Mr. M'Nab Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 65 gave an account of the botanical features of the country in the neigh- bourhood of Stillwater, and concluded with an examination of the woodland grounds in the vicinity of Whitehall ; the present i^ortion embraces the journey from the latter ])lace to Montreal. " The southern extremity of Lake Charaplain is winding and nar- row, having considerable tracts of level ground extended on each side. The woods for the first sixteen miles are very various, the principal trees being the wild cherry (Prnnus virgimana), elms, wal- nuts, sugar-maple, and the aspen poplar (Po/7m/m5 tremuloides) . The rocky grounds overhanging the lake were densely clothed with the Arbor vitse. After having fairly entered upon the expanse of the lake, the appearance of the lofty white or Weymouth pines {Pinus Strobus), towering above the deciduous trees, along the rising grounds at the base of the hills, was remarkable ; most of them being destitute of branches, which gave them more the appearance of palms than pines. About Essex, half-way along the lake, it widens, and all at once the wooded rocky land by the water's edge is changed for a rich champaign. The fields of the different farms being laid off in squares, and each farmstead having a large orchard attached to it, render this tract very interesting. The soil seemed a light- coloured clay, and the wood on the lower grounds was not very plentiful ; but the rising grounds behind were closely studded with scraggy pines. " Near the northern extremity the lake contracts : by this time we had entered upon Lower Canada. The country here presented a totally different appearance, owing to the dense dark masses of pines, elms and spruces, which covered a vast extent of the country, and having every here and there, along the edge of the lake, rustic but picturesque log-houses, inhabited by French Canadians, employed in felling the timber, dressing and carrying it to the lake for the pur- pose of being floated down to the harbour at Lapraire, on the St. Lawrence river, for exportation. On reaching St. John's, the north- ern extremity of Lake Champlain, the forests presented the same appearance as they did when we first entered the lake, with the addi- tion of the balm of Gilead fir, Abies balsamifera : numbers of this tree were seen covering the drier grounds ; the largest observed did not exceed thirty feet in height and four feet in circumference. On the dry surface of these woods, the spice -root, Dalibarda repens, formed exceedingly beautiful tufts, resembling in its ground-clothing pro- pensity the Epigcea repens, as seen in the New Jersey forests. The sugar-maple, Acer saccharinum, is here in greater quantities, and attains a larger size than hitherto noticed, and notwithstanding the great mutilation to which they are yearly subjected in spring, for their sap, which is here extensively used in the manufacture of sugar, appears in the most perfect state of health. "At St. John's we picked in the swampy grounds and in the shal- low water by the edge of the lake, luxuriant flowering specimens of the sweet flag, Acorns Calamus, Iris versicolor and Utricularia vulga- ris. In drier soil, the Eupatorium verticillatum was the chief plant in flower, and covered a great extent of gi'ound. " Passing onwards to Lapraire, the only tree of any interest and Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist. Vol.xv. F 66 Botanical Society of Edinburgh. deserving of notice was the canoe birch, Betula papyracea. Several compact masses of these trees, evidently of the second growth, oc- cupied the lower grounds ; but from their closeness none had attained a great size. Large trees must exist in the neighbourhood, although we did not fall in with them, as many of the canoes in this district were made from the bark of this tree ; although the greater number were scooped out of the trunks of the fir tribe. " On crossing the St. Lawrence to Montreal, we were much sur- prised to see the great difference which the Canadian winter pro- duces upon the species of ornamental trees : as examples may be mentioned the Ailantus glandulosa, the trees here being quite small and stunted ; the osage orange, Madura aurantiaca^ seemed barely alive ; mulberries were small and unhealthy ; weeping willows are almost always killed in winter, although in the neighbourhood of New York the stem of this tree is seen averaging from eight to fifteen, and sometimes twenty feet in circumference. None of the Catalpa trees and Magnolias, which prove so ornamental in the pleasure- grounds both of New York and Philadelphia, can be made to thrive here, with the exception of Magnolia glauca ; and even these are in a very unhealthy condition. The deciduous cypress, Cupressus disti- cha, is also much dwarfed. Evergreens, with the exception of the fir tribe, were rarely to be seen. On visiting the gardens and nur- series in the neighbourhood, we were much gratified at finding them so well managed. On the garden walls we observed healthy trees of peaches, apricots and nectarines, having well-ripened wood, and every appearance of aflfording plentiful crops. Gooseberries and currants were in great abundance, with high-flavoured fruit, which is seldom to be met with in the gardens of the United States ; apples were plentiful, but pears rather scarce. Vines trained on espaliers had a promising appearance. '* In the nursery-grounds the fruit and flower departments seem to receive the most attention. Few of the indigenous plants are cultivated, although considerable quantities of the genera Cypri- pedium, Trillium, Orchis, Habenaria, Goody era. Calypso, Pagonia and Sarracenia, procured from their native habitats when in flower, lay stored in boxes for sale and barter with the British merchants. " We next proceeded to the Montreal Mountain, situated to the north-west of the town. A number of fine specimens of the sugar- maple were seen,with a great mixture of shrubby plants. The lime- trees, Tilia americana, had a singular and beautiful eff'ect, from the large size of their foliage ; some of the leaves measured thirteen inches long and eleven broad. Very few herbaceous plants were obtained, owing to the penetrating rays of the sun having scorched everything. In very shady places, particularly on the north and east side of the mountain, we procured a few good specimens, in flower, of Orchis macrophylla, Corallorhiza multiflora, Aralia hispida and ra- mosa. Aster acuminata, Aspidium hulbiferum, which, with the Cyperus retro-fractus from the most exposed places, formed the most inter- esting part of our collections. After some difficulty we reached the summit, and the view as seen around was truly grand. We beheld Geological Society. 67 the St. Lawrence winding its way through a vast extent of level country, while in various parts extensive wooded islands were seen obstructing its course. On descending the south side of the moun- tain, which is closely wooded, the thermometer indicated 89° of Fahrenheit. The exertion caused by ascending and descending was severe ; and owing to the parched state of the ground, and the flaccid vegetables with which it was covered, walking was rendered nearly as difficult as over sea-weeds on a rocky shore." At this meeting the election of office-bearers for the ensuing year took place, when Dr. Douglas Maclagan was chosen President ; and Professor Graham, Drs. Lowe, Greville and Seller, Vice-Presidents. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Nov. 20, 1844. — A paper was read " On the Geology of Gibraltar." By J. Smith, Esq., of Jordan Hill. The great rocky masses terminating Europe on the S.W. and Africa on the N.W., and cut through by the Straits of Gibraltar, con- sist of siliceous sandstones, associated with limestone, chert, shale and coal, all apparently of the oolitic formation. The Gibraltar limestone contains casts of Terebratula fimbria and T. concinna, species found in Britain in the lower oolite. The covering of the older rocks consists of soil, river alluvium, post-tertiary marine sands, and local patches of diluvium. Wherever the covering is removed, the surface of the rock beneath is seen to be water- worn. The rock of Gibraltar is 1470 feet high. The southern extremity is marked by a triple series of terraces and inland cliffs, formed by the sea at former levels. Its northern terminates in a perpendicular cliff. 7'he elevated part is divided into three distinct eminences, the effects of different local upheavals. The northern of these (the rock gun) does not appear to have undergone any derangement in its stratification since its first upheaval, although it must have been subjected to many elevations and depressions of level. Its older beds (those of the limestone) dip west at an angle of 20°, and those formed since the elevation are horizontal, remaining in their natural position. In this state the whole of the rock must have remained for a lengthened period, until a second upheaval broke it across, leaving the northern portion in its original position, but lifting the whole of the southern 20° more, so that its beds, which formerly dipped 20° west, now dip 40° ; and the fresh deposits, formerly horizontal, 20°. On these deposits, others, formed after the upheaval, rest unconformably. A third upheaval in the same direction, but still further to the south, lifted the rock there about 20° more, leaving the northern and middle hills in their former position, but inclining the southern 60°. Thus we have four distinct epochs ; of the deposits formed during each we have remains, and at Martin's Cave the whole may be seen in juxtaposition. Immediate- ly under O'Hara's tower, the highest peak, the inclination of the beds to the west is nearly 80°, and a short way to the south of it, they are vertical. Under this point there is, at the height of about F2 68 Miscellaneous. 50 feet, sloping inwards 11°, beds of sandstone in a sea- worn cave, proving at least one other disturbance in addition. Subsequent to these great disturbing changes, there occurred a series of elevations and depressions, indicated by mixed beaches and sea-bottoms at dif- ferent levels and by the surface of the rock perforated by Lithodomi and sea-worn to the very summit, indicating that the amount of change of level in these comparatively modern times— for the fossils in these deposits are in every case identical with species now living in the neighbouring seas — exceeded the height of the mountain, or 1470 feet. There are evidences, also, of a series of movements of depression. All these changes must have preceded the historical period, as previous to the last change, Gibraltar must have been an island, of which there is no record ; the most ancient accounts de- scribing it as it is now. The upheaving forces must have been deep- seated, as there are no erupted igneous rocks near. MISCELLANEOUS. SUBMARINE EXPLORATIONS BY M. MILNE EDWARDS. M. Milne Edwards in a communication to the French Academy- states, that having for some time been occupied in studying the lower marine animals, particularly Zoophytes, Mollusca, Vermes and Crusta- cea, in their living state, on the northern and eastern coasts of France, and being desirous of also entering upon a comparative study of species peculiar to warmer regions, he had visited with this view the shores of the Mediterranean, where their habitats not being rendered access- ible as on the coasts of the Channel and the Atlantic by the alterna- tions of the tide, he had availed himself of the apparatus invented by Colonel Paulin for a course of submarine exploration. He then de- scribes the apparatus, which is a sort of helmet with glass eye- holes, and a flexible tube for a supply of air ; and states, that by its aid, in Provence, Italy, Sicily and Algeria, he often explored the habitations of a multitude of these animals, remaining under water more than half an hour, and at a depth of more than seven metres. "Exploring by these means," he adds, "the rocks and the bottom of the port of Milazzo, I procured an immense number of the eggs of mollusks and annelides whose development I wished to study. Besides, I was enabled to catch in the irregularities of the bottom the minutest animals that remain fixed, and cannot be obtained in any other manner. I saw perfectly all that surrounded me, and it was muscular fatigue alone that hindered me from walking at the bottom of the sea just as I could do on the shore. " The questions to which I had especially directed my attention re- late to the embryology of the Annelida and of the Mollusca, to the circulation of the blood in the latter animals, as also in the Crustacea, and to the organization of the StephanomitE, and of the Ciliograde Acalephse in general ; but whilst following out these investigations I had occasion to make various observations on subjects of secondary Miscellaneous. 69 interest: thus I have succeeded in tracing the mechanism of the sin- gular motions discovered by M. Sieboldt in the interior of the audi- tory capsule of the Mollusca ; I have convinced myself in the most positive manner of the existence of herraaphrodism in the Anatifcs, a fact which had been rendered doubtful by the observations of Mr. Goodsir on the alleged males of the Balani. I have observed that in the Haliotides the sexes are separated as in the PatellcB, and that consequently it is at present less possible than ever in my opinion to admit as the basis of classification of the Gasteropod Mollusca, the distinction of these animals into moncecious, hermaphrodite, and dioecious. I have discovered a new fact which shows how little physiological importance should be attached to the colour of the blood, so constant in the '\"ertebrata, in the inferior animals, a con- clusion which already resulted from my observations on the Vermes. I have found in fact, in the neighbourhood of Palermo, an Ascidia with red blood. I shall in conclusion notice another zoological fact which of itself is of no importance, but will furnish a further proof of the errors which might be committed by placing too much con- fidence in the invariability of the relations which appear to exist be- tween the organization of the lower animals and their external cha- racters. M. Savigny, in showing how much the internal structure of the compound Ascidice differs from those of the Halcyons and other polypes with which they had up to that time been confounded, pointed out the existence of six tentacula in the one and of eight in the others, as being the external character the most fit to distinguish them without the aid of the scalpel ; and in truth never more than six tentacula had hitherto been found round the mouth of the com- pound AscidicB, while the Halcyons and other zoophytes constructed after the same type, always present eight ; but this empirical cha- racter now loses its entire value, for I have found in the Mediterra- nean a compound Ascidia having eight of these appendages." The author promises to give an account in a future communica- tion of his observations on the development of the Annelida. From the Comptes Rendus for Nov. 25, 1844. OBSERVATIONS ON SOME POLYPES. Dr. Reid has detailed several new observations he has made upon certain polypes when carefully examined by the microscope : he men- tions some appendages to the polypidom in the Cellularia scruposa and Cellularia reptans which had not been previously described. At the antei'ior part of the outer side of each cell in the Cellularia scru- posa, and immediately in front of the tooth-like process there attached, are two pretty long spines and a rounded process, which tapers slightly from its fixed to its free extremity. This rounded process is open at the top, and is hollow in dead specimens : but when alive it is full of a contractile substance. In this contractile substance the end of a hair-like curved filament, about the length of the cell, is immersed. This hair-like filament is moved about by the contractile substance attached to it, generally in jerks after intervals of repose, and in its movements sweeps the anterior and posterior surfaces of 70 Miscellaneous. the cell to which it is fixed. These movements continue for a considerable time after the animal inhabiting the cell has been dead. A hollow rounded process, with a hair-like curved and moveable fila- ment projecting from it, is also fixed upon the corresponding part of each cell of the Cellularia repians. I'hese moveable hair-like fila- ments are analogous to the moveable bird-head process attached to each of the cells of Flustra avicularis. — Proceedings of the St. Andrews' Lit. and Phil. Soc, Nov. 1844. FOOD OF THE AUSTRALIAN NATIVES. Mr. Hodgkinson, in his 'Australia, from Port Macquarie to More- ton Bay, with Description of the Natives, their Manners and Customs,' &c., gives a somewhat elaborate account of Australian field-sports, and of the Aborigines. On the immediate banks of the MacLeay river, he says, there are no fewer than six distinct tribes ; besides several others near the sources of the river among the mountains. All these tribes are able to get an abundance of food with very little trouble, and add the reptile kingdom to the ordinary sources : — "All the larger varieties of snakes are eaten by them, but they will never touch one that has been killed by a white man. Guanas,, and a short thick kind of lizard called the dew-lizard, are also much relished by them. However repugnant the idea of eating reptiles seems to us, it is from a real liking for their flesh that the Australian savages eat them, and not from the great scarcity of better food ; for I have on two or three occasions known them, when employed by me in assisting at the cattle-musters, pulling maize, &c., and well- fed on bread and beef, carefully preserve any snake they chanced to kill, and cook and eat it at the next fire. Induced by curiosity, I have on several occasions tasted the flesh of every one of the reptiles just mentioned, and although nothing but the most extreme hunger could make me conquer my aversion so as to dine on them, I must nevertheless own, that not one of them possessed any disagreeable taste. The flesh of the black snake in particular was rich and juicy, somewhat resembling in flavour the flesh of a sucking-pig, whilst that of the guana was whiter and drier, and more approximated to fowl. Besides, these savages are not the only race of men who eat reptiles, for the common water- snake of England (^Natrix torquatd) is eaten in several parts of the continent of Europe ; and every one knows that the guana of the West Indies (a much more hideous ani- mal, by-the-by, than the guana of Australia) is considered very good eating by the planters in some of the islands." MR. SCHOMBURGk's COLLECTIONS IN GUIANA. It appears from the report of the Chev. Schomburgk, read at a recent meeting of the Geographical Society, that notwithstanding the great difficulty of conveying collections of natural history over such a country as that traversed by him, and the frequent loss of objects collected with great pains, he has deposited in the British Meteorological Observations. 71 Museum 2500 specimens of dried plants, 100 specimens of woods, dried fruits, a flower and young leaf of the Victoria regalis, and se- veral other botanical specimens preserved in spirits, a collection of bird-skins, upwards of 100 specimens of fishes in spirits, a geological collection, and an ethnological collection. The Royal College of Surgeons has been presented with some skulls, a perfect skeleton, and a number of plaster casts. The model-room of the Admiralty has received a collection of woods ; the Royal Garden at Kew several living plants ; and presents of curiosities from Guiana have been made to different scientific societies and institutions. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR NOV. 1844. Chiswick. — Nov. 1. Overcast: boisterous. 2. Constant heavy rain : boisterous at night. 3. Cloudy and fine. 4,5. Cloudy. 6. Overcast. 7. Rain: cloudy. 8. Overcast: heavy rain at night. 9. Hazy clouds : fine : clear. 10. Clear and fine: rain. 11. Densely clouded : fine. 12. Kain: drizzly : boisterous, with rain at night. 13. Heavy rain. 14. Rain. 15. Cloudy. 16. Hazy: clear. 17. Foggy. 18,19. Overcast. 20. Hazy : clear and fine. 21. Foggy throughout. 22. Hazy. 23. Foggy. 24. Hazy : cloudy. 25. Cloudy and fine. 26. Clear and frosty. 27. Sharp frost : foggy : clear and frosty at night. 28. Foggy : cloudy. 29, Easterly haze : foggy. 30. Overcast. — Mean temperature of the month 0°'85 above the average. Boston. — Nov. 1. Cloudy. 2. Stormy: rain p.m. 3. Rain: rain early a.m. : rain P.M. 4. Rain : rain early a.m. : showery afterwards. 5. Cloudy : rain early A.M. : showery afterwards. 6. Rain : rain early a.m. : rain a.m. and p.m. 7. Fine. 8. Cloudy : rain P.M. 9. Cloudy. 10. Fine : rain p.m. 11. Fine: rain early a.m. 12. Cloudy : rain p.m. 13. Cloudy : rain a.m. and p.m. 14. Fine. 15. Cloudy : rain early a.m. 16. P'ine. 17 — 20. Cloudy. 21. Fine. 22. Cloudy : first ice this morning. 23. Cloudy. 24. Cloudy : total eclipse of the moon visible 11 p.m. 25. Cloudy. 26, 27. Fine. 28—30. Cloudy. Sandwick Manse, Orkney. — Nov. 1. Cloudy. 2. Damp. 3. Bright: clear. 4—7. Fine. 8. Showers. 9—11. Rain. 12. Cloudy. 13. Frost: fine: cloudy. 14. Frost: fine: cloudy: frost. 15. Rain. 16. Rain : drizzle. 17, 18. Cloudy. 19. Bright: hazy. 20. Showers. 21. Bright: cloudy. 22. Bright : clear : aurora. 23. Bright : clear. 24. Clear. 25. Cloudy. 26. Bright: rain. 27. Cloudy: damp. 28. Cloudy: clear. 29. Rain: clear. 30. Bright : clear. Applegarlh Manse, Dumfries-shire. — Nov. 1. Fair: wind high. 2. Very slight shower. 3. Very slight shower : clear. 4, 5. Fair, but threatening. 6. Cloudy and damp. 7. Fair and fine. 8. Dull a.m. : rain. 9. Fair, but dull. 10, 11. Cloudy A.M.: rain p.m. 12. Rain. 13. Fair and mild. 14. Heavy rain : flood. 15. P'air and fine. 16. Fair and fine, though cloudy. 17. Damp: slight shower. 18. Rain p.m. 19. Fair and fine. 20. Fair and fine : frost a.m. : fog. 21. Fair and fine : frost. 22. Slight rain. 23. Fair, but dull. 24. Fair ; frost. 25. Fair : slight frost a.m. 26. Fair, but cloudy. 27. Cloudy a.m. : rain p.m. 28. Fair, but dull. 29. Shower. 30. Fine: frost a.m. Mean temperature of the month 43°*6 Mean temperature of Nov. 1843 41 '7 Mean temperature of Nov. for twenty years 39 '9 Mean temperature of spring- water 47 '0 Mean temperature of ditto Nov. 1843 ... 44 -2 •^23 *3JU(S -saujiunQ •uojsoa •3[3IMSU13 •3[0tAipUBS •aiiqs -saujiunQ •uoisoa •ui-d I •qoidisiqo •in-d 18 •Ul-B ?6 Is 3 CO •uiM •XBItt •lU-B f8 •uo^soa 6 : 0^ . (O rl<'!t "^ : o o a> oJ : . . oJ o flj . > & ^r ^ ^ fe fe '^ <" 3J OJ g; 5 s s s s s s a « a; s i diii i CO ^- ^* i i i i i i « i i i 6 i a i i i 6 i •uiK •XBJ\[ Hcg ■^B •UI'B f 8 •uo^soa ^ o 2^ tOC*500C^O-.«'^»-<< TS'^(NG0O^00U:)(M00^O'rtO^O^O^>-00(M0000lnO^I iiiffi rf|iN rt!« pji(s rr;^o tot^o CN .lO C< -T" c» o^ o^ o^ — m. rt o G 74 Mr. m. J). Goodsiv on some Animals with punctured lines running almost parallel to one another. Ambulatory legs of considerable length ; the anterior pair large, the arm extending beyond the lateral edge of the carapace, and having its internal edge very much depressed and thinned, at the anterior angle of which are several strong spines ; the remaining legs are all depressed, with the edges of the last three joints armed with long, thick-set hairs, and especially the superior edges. The internal antennse consist of four segments, the last being multiarticulate, and a strong articulated spine arises from the internal edge of the third articulation near its distal extre- mity. The external pair of antennse arise from the internal angles of the orbit, are multiarticulate and very minute. The ex- ternal foot-jaws are large, but have their internal edges so formed as to leave a lozenge-shaped space between them. The abdo- men in the male of this species is narrow and of a triangular shape ; that of the female large, rounded, and covering almost all the lower surface of the body. It appears to have been found in great numbers both by Mr. Williams and Mr. Melville. 2. Hippolyte ensifei'us. PI. VII. fig. 2. H. with one short tooth projecting forwards from the base of the rostrum; rostrum slightly curved upward with four or five spines at the tip, the third of which from the dorsum is longest. Peduncular scale of external antennse not so long as the rostrum almost by one-third. External foot-jaws not so long as the peduncle of the external antennse ; with the terminal joint flattened, serrated at the apex and on its internal edge. Description. — The whole animal about 1 inch in length, of an ochrey yellow colour except the tips of the eyes, which are black. The internal antennse with the peduncle 3 -jointed ; the scale of the external pair very thin and narrowed at the tip, which is also bifurcated. The external foot-jaws have the external edge of the last joint smooth and rather thickened. The first pair of thoracic legs are short, thick, smooth and didactyle ; those of the second pair are long, filiform, spined, and also didactyle ; the third arti- culation is very slender. The last three pairs of legs are much longer than any of the preceding, filiform and spined. The mid- dle plate of the tail not so long as the second, armed with two pairs of spines at the tip. Found in considerable abundance between the parallels of 25° and 30° north, and 4° west long., by Mr. Williams. Almost every specimen infested with Bopyrus squillarum. 3. Palcsmon natator. PI. VII. fig. 3. P. with the rostrum lanceform, having eleven or twelve large distinct spines on its superior edge, and two small rather indi- found amongst the Gulf-weed. 76 stinct ones on its inferior edge near the tip. Two spines on each side of the carapace near or on the anterior edge. Middle plate of the tail with three obsolete spines on each side and two long spines from the extremity. Description. — The whole animal of a yellow colour ; rather more than an inch in length and very robust. Rostrum about the same length as the peduncular scales of external antennae, lanceolate^ being rounded and narrowed at the base and dilated near the extremity before ending in a point. The peduncular portion of the superior antennae 4-jointed, the basal joint being large and hollowed out superiorly for the reception of the eyes ; each of the segments of the peduncle end externally and ante- riorly in a spine which projects forwards and outwards. The outermost of the three terminal filaments is the thickest. The peduncular scale of the external antennae does not terminate in a pointy but is obliquely truncated ; the terminal filament is longer than those of the superior anteiyase. First pair of legs very slender^ reaching a little beyond the peduncle of external antennae, didactyle. Second pair much stronger, and although the first four joints are delicate, the hand is large and ovate, didactyle ; claws slender and almost straight. The last pair of legs slender. 4. Amphitoe pelagica. PI. VII. fig. 4. A. with peduncle of superior antennae about half the length of the inferior antennae, being almost the same length as the first three joints of the peduncle of the lower antennae. First pair of legs small, second pair with the wrist very much enlarged, and the claw sickle- shaped and moveable, inferior edge having a small tooth with a slight notch on either side of it near the distal ex- tremity ; claw as long as the wrist and tapering very gradually to a point. 5. Bopyrus squillarum. PL VII. figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. B. with posterior edge of last abdominal segment perfect. Description. — Male minute, about 1 line in length or hardly so long, linear. Head small, and about half as long as its greatest breadth. First thoracic joint larger than any of the succeeding. Ambulatory legs very short and chelate. Female broad, flat- tened and pyriform, very much contracted posteriorly and dilated anteriorly. Young almost globular. From beneath carapace of Hippolyte ensiferus. 6. Anatifa sulcata. PI. VII. fig. 13. The peduncle of this Anatifa is so short as not to be seen without separating the animal from its attachment. The shape is triangular, and the peduncular extremitv of the animal is G2 76 On some Animals found amongst the Gulf -weed. slightly concave, with the posterior edges of the latero-peduncu- lar divisions serrated ; the posterior and abdominal angle of this part of the shell is incurvated and pointed, and its external sur- face is deeply sulcated, the sulci all radiating from the posterior abdominal angle to the dorsal edge of the division, where they form small but very distinct serrations. Dorsal division of the shell smooth, extending almost the whole length of the dorsum, and reflected upon the posterior dorsal angles of the latero-pe- duncular division. A small obsolete tooth may be observed upon the dorsal edge near its anterior extremity. The antero-lateral are much smaller than the peduncular divisions of the shell, and are also sulcated, the sulci radiating from the anterior point to- wards the abdominal edge : the ridges formed by these sulci are armed in both divisions with minute teeth, the points of which in the peduncular portion all project towards the dorsum, those in the anterior towards the abdomen. Attached to a portion of Fucus nutans. The species now described differs in some points from the figure given by Quoy and Gaimard in the ' Voyage de TAstro- labe,' which beautiful work I have been able to see through the kindness of Mr. Grut ; I thought it unnecessary however to give another specific name. Several specimens of Scyllcea pelagica were in the bottle, and the spawn (PL VII. fig. 14) of this animal was attached in several places to the Fucus in rather irregular coils ; the central extre- mity adhered to a stem of the Fucus, the succeeding parts sur- rounding it in coils, the external extremity being attached in the same manner as the central one. EXPLANATION OF PLATE VIL Fig. 1. Nautilograpsus miriutus, nat. size. Fig. 2. Hippolyte ensiferiis, mag. three times. Fig. 3. PalcBmon natator, mag. twice. Fig. 4. Amphitoe pelagica, enlarged. Fig. 5. Bopyrus sguillarum, female, magnified. Fig. 6. , young. Fig. 7. , male. Fig. 8. The abdominal surface of the head of male Bopyrus. Fig. 9. One of the ambulatory legs of male Bopyrus. Fig. 10. One of the ambulatory legs of female. Fig. 11. Last abdominal segment of female Bopyrus, showing the entire segment. Fig. 12. Drawing of an ovum, a cluster of which were attached to the Fucus. Fig. 13. Anatifa sulcata, magnified, attached to a portion of the Gulf-weed. Fig. 14. Spawn of Scyllaa pelagica. Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy o/Eolis. 11 X. — On the Anatomy of Eolis, a genus of Mollusks of the order Nudibranchiata. By Albany Hancock and Dennis Em- bleton, M.D._, F.R.C.S.E._, Lecturer on Anatomy and Phy- siology in the Newcastle-upon-Tyne School of Medicine. [Concluded from p. 10.] The oesophagus , PI. 1. figs. 4 c, 6 and 8 h, PI. II. fig. 9, and PI. III. figs. 1, 3 and 4 c, passes from the posterior dorsal aspect of the buccal mass, and is a much-constricted canal. It is short, longitudinally plicated, and usually bent into the form of an S, so that the apparatus of the mouth can be advanced with facility. It is generally colourless, but in E. coronata and two or three other species it is of a deep rosy hue, appearing as a stain of that colour, immediately behind the dorsal tentacles. It consists of lon- gitudinal and circular fibres, the former of which have been no- ticed in the description of the muscles of the buccal mass. The plicse seem to be formed by the lining membrane, which we take to be a mucous one, and by the muscular coat. The stomach, PI. II. fig. 9, and PI. III. figs. 1,2 and 4^d, through- out the entire group is a large pyriform pouch which lies diagonally in the body, the lower end approaching the left side; it is continued in the form of a wide, tapering canal, PI. II. fig. 9, and PI. III. figs. I, 2 and 4^, along the median line immediately below the dorsal skin, and terminates near the posterior extremity of the body in a blind sac. From the pouch and its continuation branches are given ofi'in pairs, not however in perfect symmetrical order, but always more or less alternating. These branches give off" smaller tubes which are continued into the branchial papillae. From the upper surface of the posterior extremity of the stomach, just where it is continued into the great central canal, is given off a short intestine, PI. II. fig. 9, and PI. III. figs. 1, 2 and 4 e, which passes backwards, outwards and to the right side, then running for a short distance along the side, turns outwards and upwards and ends abruptly in a nipple-like anus /, generally concealed among the branchial papillse. In E. papulosa, PI. 11. fig. 9, the anus is situate immediately behind the ninth row of papillse, and the intestine is considerably dilated a little before its termination : this dilatation is not so conspicuous in other species. In E. coronata, PL III. fig. I, the anus is placed amidst the papillse in the second clump and close behind the fourth row, and in E. olivacea, PI. III. fig. 2, the nipple is seen about midway between the third and fourth rows. In E. despecta, Johnst., PL III. fig. 4, it is between the first and second branches. This portion of the digestive apparatus, i. e. the intestine and 78 Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy of Eolis. the anus, appears to have been entirely overlooked by M. de Qua- trefages in his Eolidina paradoxum, in which he says there is a very small anus at the termination of the central channel. In all the species we have examined we have not been able to detect such an orifice, but have found the true anus and intestine as above described in at least fifteen examples of the Eolidince. The stomach, PL III. fig. 7, is composed of three coats, a mu- cous, a muscular, and an external one, which we suppose to be serous. The inner surface of the bulb, of the great central channel, and of the primary and secondary branches, is beset with fine numerous longitudinal rugae or plicse, that appear to be formed by projections of the muscular coat covered over by the mucous membrane. In specimens that have been some time in spirits, the mucous coat presents merely a minutely granular ap- pearance ; but we have every reason to think that in the living state it is lined with a layer of ciliated epithelium. The mus- cular coat consists of minute flattened fibres, passing in nearly all directions, the longitudinal and transverse fibres being most distinct. The serous coat appears to be of more homogeneous texture than the others, and much thinner. In E. papillostty PI. II. fig. 9, the branches forming the ante- rior pair arise from about the middle of the dorsal surface of the gastric pouch, and are the only ones which come off anterior to the intestine ; they soon bifurcate, the anterior portion is subdi- vided into four branches, the posterior is continued on without further division ; the second pair have their origin in the upper posterior surface of the stomach, and bifurcate like the first pair ; the anterior portion remains undivided, the posterior bifurcates : the two anterior pairs of branches however are not always sym- metrical, as will be observed by referring to the diagram ; indeed we have scarcely seen them alike in any two individuals. The remaining four pairs of branches arise from the central canal, and simply bifurcate. These branches at their origin are all pointed more or less backward ; after their bifurcation they in- cline obliquely forward along the side of the body, lying nearly parallel to each other. From the whole of these branches con- stricted ducts lead into the interior of the branchial papillae. In this species there are from twelve to twenty of these ducts given ofi^ from each row or branch. In E. coronata, PI. III. fig. 1, the ramifications of this curious digestive apparatus are somewhat modified. The anterior pair arise from the superior aspect of the lower extremity of the sto- machal bulb, close in front of the origin of the intestine, and each trunk passing forward gives ofi* seven branches, the poste- rior of which is the largest and supplies about seven papillae. There are five or six other pairs, all of which originate in the Messrs. Hancock and Embleton 07i the Anatomy of Eolis. 79 great central trunk, and divide in the same way as the anterior pair, but the branches diminish in number and in size towards the posterior extremity of the body. It may be remarked, that the first and second pairs of branches in this and in most other species are more widely separated than the rest, and in the in- terval the heart is usually placed. Another modification is seen in E. olivacea, PI. III. fig. 2; in this species there are six pairs of branches, all of which are sim- ple except the first or anterior pair ; these arise as usual from the stomach, and are each divided into three branches. In E. de- specta, PL III. fig. 4, the arrangement is still more simplified : after the branches of the first pair come off in the ordinary way from the stomach and pass on undivided, each to a single pa- pilla, the central trunk passes to its termination in a zigzag di- rection, giving ofi" a branch at each angle to a large clavate pa- pilla. There are in all four of these papillse on each side ; they are not in pairs however, but alternate. Other slight variations might be cited, but the above are the chief modifications, and are perhaps sufficient to show to what extent the digestive system varies in the genus Eolis. We have searched in vain for the lateral vessel described by M. de Quatrefages, and have little hesitation in pronouncing its non-existence in the genus. We have seen several species with the ramifications coloured, and in none of them have we observed the slightest indications of such a vessel. In dissecting E. pa- pulosa we made every endeavour to detect it, but without success ; and in a small specimen of that species we have since seen the very terminations of the branches, and are quite satisfied that they are isolated : the branches mostly ended in free blind sacs of va- riable length ; others had their ends prolonged, bent outwards and received into small papillse, which seemed to be in process of de- velopment ; hence we inferred, that the glandular apparatus in the interior of the papillae was formed originally from the free ends of the branches from the stomach. We are also of opinion that when the animal is mature, the ends of all the branches will be found to enter papillae. We have observed the termination of branches in papillae in a species which had their minute ramifi- cations coloured : this species belongs to that portion of the ge- nus of which E. coronata is the type. It is therefore probable that M. de Quatrefages has been deceived by the doubhngof the skin at the sides of the body, caused by the pressure necessarily used during the mode of investigation adopted by that gentle- man : we have seen under such circumstances what might be readily mistaken for a vessel. The prolongations of the branches from the gastric cavity that are continued into the papillae are considerably modified in form 80 Messrs. Hancock and Embleton 07i the Anatomy of Eolis. in the various species, and from the variety and brilHancy of their colouring form the chief attraction of these very elegant animals. These prolongations appear on a superficial examination to be caeca, but when investigated under favourable circumstances and with a lens, they are found to be tubes with more or less compli- cated folHcular walls, PI. IV. fig. 9« : the upper extremity of the tube, where the follicular structure ceases, becomes suddenly deli- cate, transparent and minute, fig. 9 Z>, and is continued on to com- municate with a minute ovate vesicle, fig. 9 c, which lies within the extreme apex of the papilla, and opens externally by a minute circular foramen, fig. 9 d : the inner surface of the follicular or glandular part, which we take to be the liver, is lined with a gra- nular matter. The simplest form of this peculiar organ is met with in E. con- cinna, PI. IV. fig. 1. In this species it is a mere dilated tube with its wall slightly waved, and having the inner surface sprinkled with darkish granules. In E. Farrani, fig. 2, it still maintains a considerable simplicity of structure, but becomes decidedly sac- culated, and with some degree of regularity. The complexity of this organ is however much increased in E. olivacea, fig. 3, in which it is deeply and regularly produced into follicles or sacculi, which are much and variously puckered ; but in E. papillosa, fig. 4, it appears to attain its highest development. The central channel is somewhat tortuous, and gives off on all sides variously sized, irregularly shaped blind sacs, which are crowded with little compound follicles. The whole of the inner surface of this com- plicated biliary organ is lined with a thickish layer of what ap- pears to be a granular substance through an ordinary magnifier, but which on examination with the microscope is found to be composed of large irregular vesicles or globules, PI. V. fig. 7, disposed without any manifest arrangement, and filled with nu- merous granules. These last when submitted to a still higher magnifying power are seen to be transparent, rounded, and of various sizes, and nucleated, fig. 8. The larger bodies or glo- bules have a diameter of yjo o^^ ^^ ^^^ inch. The largest of the granules measure about jqVo^^ ^^ ^^ mch. in diameter. The compound follicular nature of this gland is best observed in the living papilla fresh plucked from the animal, and submitted to a slight action of the compressor. In papillae that have been some time in spirits the gland is somewhat contracted, its divi- sions approximated, and thus a more uniform surface of follicles is presented. In describing this gland or liver M. de Quatrefages has the following passage : " Mais les csecums qui partent des branches de Pintestin pour penetrer dans les cirrhes s^entourent, en en- trant dans leur cavite d^une espece de fourreau irregulier forme Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy o/Eolis. 81 d^une substance granuleuse bien moins transparente que le reste des tissus. II m^a semble reconnaitre en outre Fexistence de tres petits orifices s^ouvrant dans Finterieur du caecum/^ Now in the numerous species we have examined, we have seen nothing to war- rant the idea here laid down. From our statement above it will be seen, first, that we believe these prolongations of the branches of the digestive cavity not to be cseca, and secondly, that they are not simple tubes having a granular substance coating them, but we find that the walls of the tubes are more or less bulged or thrust outwards into the form of simple or compound follicles, and that the walls are lined throughout by the granular matter we have already described; in fact, that each papilla contains a perfect gland of distinctly follicular type. PI. IV. fig. 5. shows a lon- gitudinal, and PL IV. fig. 7. a cross section of a papilla of E. pa- pulosa ; a in each represents the great central channel from which on all sides branch ofi" large canals that end in small imperforate diverticula. The whole internal surface of this compound gland is furnished with minute vibratile cilia, as likewise the small canal that leads to the oval vesicle ; the cilia do not appear to be continued into the vesicle. We have however seen, on examining these parts under pressure, small granules which had accidentally passed into the tube, driven by the ciliary motion into the vesicle. Having described the glandular apparatus, we now pass on to the vesicle at the extremity of the papilla. This vesicle is of an ovoid form ; its long diameter in the largest specimens measures about 2^ gths of an inch, its narrow end lying within the very apex of the papilla ; both ends are perforated ; the narrow end opens ex- ternally through a round aperture in the skin covering the apex of the papilla, the opposite extremity communicates with the gland by means of the slender tube, of variable length, which has already been noticed. The walls of the vesicle, which are seen of an opake white in those species which have transparent skin, is fused with the inte- gument of the papilla round the external orifice ; and below this stout muscular bands, PL IV. fig. 9 e, attach the vesicle to the skin, so that during the contractions of the papilla the vesicle is held secure in its position. In E. papillosa the wall of the vesicle, PL V. fig. 12, consists throughout of a strong thick layer of finely interwoven circular muscular fibres. The contents appear to be arranged in longitudinal masses, as represented in the longitu- dinal section, PL V. fig. 1, which in a cross section, PL IV. fig. 8, have a triangular outline, the apices not quite reaching the axis of the vesicle. There is therefore a free space corresponding to the long axis. If we take out a portion of the contents of the vesicle and place it under the ^th-inch object-glass of the micro- 82 Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy of Eolis. scope, we find it to consist of numerous transparent, long, narrow, slightly bent, elliptical bodies, PI. V. fig. 11, having a double longitudinal faint marking extending from one end nearly to the other ; and globules of various sizes, PI. IV. fig. 6, containing either one nucleus or several small granules in their interior. These are imbedded and adhere to a tenacious, obscurely granular mucus-like matter. The largest elliptical bodies measure in length y^^Q ^ths of an inch, the smallest 2 ouo^^ ^^ ^^ inch. The largest globules have a diameter of ^jo 0^^ ^^ ^^ inch. On placing a papilla recently severed from the livmg E.papillosa in a compressor, and establishing a slight degree of pressure, there were observed to be ejected at intervals from the terminal ori- fice, little transparent ellipsoidal membranous bags, PL V. fig. 9, containing half a dozen or more of the elongated bodies already spoken of. Immediately after expulsion most of these bags burst, and the contained bodies becoming scattered, each shot forth from the end that first appeared a slender hair-like filament, fig. 10 a a, with astonishing velocity to a length far exceeding the diameter of the field of the microscope. Other bags did not become rup- tured till a second or two after their expulsion ; from these the filaments proceeded very slowly and in a perfectly regular serpen- tine line, so that their advance could be followed by moving the stage of the microscope, and was observed to resemble closely the progression of many small Annelida. These filaments becoming stationary retained a serpentine form, fig. 10b b; other filaments were minutely spirally twisted at their junction with the elliptical ^body, fig. 10 cc. The faint double line seen in the interior of the elliptical body we suppose to be the part that contains the filament. The elliptical bodies pressed out from papillse which had been in spirits were never observed to emit filaments ; we presume therefore that this phsenomenon is a vital manifestation. These bodies we find to differ in form in difierent species : thus in E. coronata, PI. V. figs. 2 and 3, they are slightly bent, but shorter and thicker than in E. papillosa, and enlarged at their posterior extremity ; they are provided with a similar filament at one end. The bags, fig. 6, contain a considerable number of these, and also numerous other bodies of much larger size, of elliptical form, flattened and transparent, but having in their interior a peculiar marking which is represented in fig. 5. InE. olivacea the bodies with filaments, fig. 4, are rather stouter, but strongly resemble those of E. coronata. On several occasions we have witnessed the expulsion of these bodies from the living animal, which at the time was suiFering slight pressure, so slight indeed that the animal was able to move Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy o/EolIs. 83 its papillae, and in one instance an E. Drummondi crawled from one side of the compressor to the other. The expulsion was ef- fected by the walls of the vesicle, and recurred at intervals; small masses of the bodies were ejected with considerable force, and to some distance. We do not feel ourselves at present in a position to decide upon the true nature of these bodies, but we may say that they resemble Spermatozoa more than anything else ; we may add, that we have obtained bodies to all appearance Spermatozoa from the genital organs of E. papillosa, which dif- fered only from those obtained from the papillae in being more rounded as to their bodies, and altogether inferior in size. They are shown in PI. V. fig. 13, as seen under deficient magnifying power. We shall now revert to the follicular gland of the papilla. We think there can be no doubt of its being a secreting organ pour- ing its secretion into the digestive cavity, and we agree with M. de Quatrefages in the opinion that the entire series of these glands represents the liver, which in the Mollusca is characteris- tically large, but in the Eolidince has disappeared from the abdo- minal cavity. The central canal of the gland opens inferiorly by a short duct, PI. IV. figs. 2, 3, 4 a, into one of the ramifications of the digestive cavity, and superiorly by the delicate canal before described into the ovate vesicle. We have no doubt that by the lower opening the secretion of the gland finds its way into the gastric ramifications ; but as to the nature of the communication or connexion between the gland and the ovate vesicle, we confess our entire ignorance. -.^>^ To give a general idea of the digestive apparatus, we should say f that the compound follicles of the papillae represent the liver ; the small tubes leading from them are their ducts, by which their secretion is carried into the gastric organ consisting of the pyri- form pouch, the great central canal, and their main branches. In some species however the structure and functions of the se- veral parts seem somewhat modified. In E. despecta the central canal, all the ramifications and the glands of the papillae are co- loured and granulated alike ; it is therefore probable that the whole of these parts perform the same function. The stomach and intestine are the only parts that are transparent in this re- markable species. In E. gracilis y E. rufibranchialis, E. Northum- hrica and others, either the extremity of the great central canal or the ends of the lateral ramifications are slightly coloured like the glands of the papillae. This view of the matter is somewhat corroborated by what is observed to take place during digestion. The food enters the stomachal bulb in large masses, and is there broken up and mixed 81 Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy o/Eolis. ^ with the fluids of the digestive cavity. In this state it is di'iven 1 throughout the ahmentary system by the alternate contractions of the pyriform pouch and the great trunks leading from it. These contractions are only of a nature to produce an oscillatory motion which serves to promote that intimate mixture of the ali- mentary matters with the hepatic and other secretions neces- sary to the process of digestion. We have watched this action with great care in E. coronata, and have observed on several occasions in individuals that were free and moving about at pleasure, and in which the action of the parts was natural, currents passing rapidly backwards and for- wards through the stomach, and larger ramifications obeying the various contractions of the parts, and holding in suspension large, crude, irregular particles varying in size and shape. We had the satisfaction also to see more than one individual take its food, which we have found to be always of an animal nature, and could perceive the lumps as they were lopped ofi'by the jaws pass along the oesophagus and enter the stomach. We have likewise fre- quently seen the track of the true intestine marked out by the dark colour of the fseces it contained, and have witnessed also the expulsion of the same from the anus. M. de Quatrefages supposes that the refined products of di- gestion pass into the branchial caeca as he terms them, and also into the ovoid vesicle, though in the latter he has seen no float- ing corpuscles. Through the walls of the C3eca, and especially through those of the vesicle, he believes that the chyle for the support of the body transudes. Again, he makes the branchial cseca surrounded by a granular mass performing the office of liver, thus cumulating in the same organ function upon function. We have already stated that we agree with M. de Quatrefages in taking the glands of the papillse, as we term them, to represent the liver, and we now subjoin, that we see no reason to believe them to be also the organs by means of which the chyle is con- veyed from the digestive to the circulatory system. We have our- selves seen crude particles of the alimentary matters mixed with regular corpuscles pass into the glands of the papillse, and on one occasion even a large angular fragment was forced through the narrow duct at the base of a gland, entering its cavity and after- wards passing out again. But in all these cases, our specimens, as well as those of M. de Quatrefages, were suffering considerably from the action of the compressor, and consequently the fluids of the stomach and other parts may have been forced into unnatural channels. We do not put much faith in examinations conducted in this way, and indeed the only satisfactory method of investi- gating this subject is to watch the progress of digestion when the Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy of Eolis. 85 animal is moving freely about ; and until this be done, all theo- rizing appears to us idle, and likely to lead to error and confu- [ sion. Salivary glands. — These in Eolis are very small and difficult to detect; they lie concealed between the corneous plates and the muscular mass of the cheek, as previously noticed. On removing either of the corneous plates in E. papulosa^ the gland will be found lying exposed in a depression on the upper third of the external surface of the cheek-mass, corresponding to about the centre of the corneous plate, PI. III. fig. 6 a. The gland is composed of a small cluster of roundish, yellow, irregular folli- cles, fig. 5, and frequently a little way in advance of this there is a smaller one made up of two or three follicles. The two parts are connected by a long slender duct, which passing backwards opens into the mouth at the commencement of the oesophagus. We have likewise detected this gland in E. coronata. This gland differs conspicuously in size, position and character from the same organ in Eolidina, figured and described by M. de Quatrefages. All we can say is, that in our researches we have observed nothing like the representation given by him of the salivary glands of that species. It is certainly not likely that in animals so closely allied these organs should be so widely different. We would suggest therefore the possibility of that naturalist having mistaken some portion of the generative organs for them. We are inclined to do this the more since he has entirely mis- understood the sexual apparatus, and figured and described only a small portion of it, and since we have sometimes observed, when examining these animals in the compressor, portions of that ap- paratus not altogether unlike M. de Quatrefages^ figure of the salivary glands of Eolidina paradoxum. Since wiiting the above, we have had much satisfaction in gathering from the Observations of M. Souleyet on the Gaste- , ropod Mollusca, forming the proposed order Phlehenterata of M. de Quatrefages, translated in the November Number of the 'An- nals,' that our views have been almost altogether verified. With respect however to the anatomy of the gland of the pa- pillse, M. Souleyet appears to adopt the opinion of M. de Qua- trefages, w^ho states that the prolongation of the digestive cavity into the papilla is coated with a granular layer — the liver. We have shown above that this view is inaccurate, and in confirma- tion of this we may as well state, that on the papillae being sub- jected to pressure, the granular structure of the gland invariably becomes ruptured internally; but if the view taken by these gentlemen be correct, we should apprehend that the rupture would take place externally into the vascular canal surrounding the gland. 86 Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy o/Eolis. EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. Plate L All the anatomical figures in this plate are from E. papillosa. Fig. 1. Eolis papillosa, Johnst., a little above natural size. Fig. 2. E. coronata, Forbes, nearly double natural size. Fig. 3. E. olivacea, Alder and Hancock, four times natural size. Fig. 4. Section of the lips with buccal mass attached : a, outer lip ; b, inner lip ; c, oesophagus; d, corneous plates of buccal mass ; e, channel of mouth ; /, circular belt of muscle at the attachment of outer lip ; g g, muscles passing from the circular belt to foot and skin of head ; h, muscular bands passing from circular belt to posterior margin of horny plates ; i, foot. Fig. 5. Vertical section of buccal mass, showing the muscles of the tongue, the external layer being removed : a, muscle which assists in ro- tating tongue forwards, arising from upper margin of horny plate, and passing downwards to inferior surface of 6, muscle which ro- tates the tongue backwards, being inserted by its ends into the posterior end of tongue and into the inferior extremity of cutting blades e ; c, muscle attached to both ends of tongue, which it will approximate ; it will also assist a in rotating the tongue forwards ; d, stronglayerof short transverse muscles which bind together the external layers of muscle, and form a fulcrum for the semicircular rotators ; /, oesophagus ; g, corneous plates ; h, ridge of the tongue ; i, cutting-jaws; k, the hinge or fulcrum of horny plates; /, anterior extremity of muscular cheek-mass. Fig. 6. Nearly vertical section of buccal mass • a, horny plate ; a', cutting- edge ; b, inner lip ; c, hinge or fulcrum ; c', transverse muscles that close the jaws ; d, transverse muscles that open the jaws ; e, inferior transverse muscles that assist in closing the jaws ; /, wedge-shaped mass of tongue, supporting spiny ridge and showing the two ex- ternal layers of muscles ; g, muscular cheek-mass ; h, fold of lining membrane of mouth; ii, outer lip; k k, circular muscular belt at base of outer lip ; I, oesophagus. Fig. 7. Upper aspect of buccal mass : a a, corneous plates ; 6, muscular bands on the external surface ; c, oesophagus ; d, transverse muscles be- fore fulcrum ; e, transverse muscles behind fulcrum ; the dark line between the two sets of muscles indicates fulcrum ; //, muscles arising from upper part of horny plates, and passing down behind mass of tongue marked a in fig. 5. Fig. 8. View of cavity of buccal mass from above, the fulcrum being divided, and the horny plates a a drawn apart ; a' a\ cutting-edges of jaws ; b, inner lip; c, spiny ridge of tongue; d, wedge-shaped muscular mass of ditto ; e, muscular cheek-mass ; /, flat upper border of ditto ; g, anterior attachment of ditto to cutting-jaws ; k, folds of lining membrane of mouth ; i, fulcrum of horny plates ; k, ante- rior and posterior transverse muscles ; /, oesophagus. Fig. 9. Upper aspect of buccal mass with superficial muscles removed : a a, corneous plates ; b, triangular process forming fulcrum ; c, cut- ting-edges of horny plates ; d, ridge dividing surface of fulcrum into anterior and posterior parts ; e, muscle of left side which passes down to be attached below to tongue-mass, fig. 7//;/, thin layer of muscular fibres which pass from edge of horny plate, con- verging to form longitudinal fibres for oesophagus, g. Fig. 10. Lateral aspect of buccal mass obliquely viewed, with part of the muscles removed : a, exposed surface of corneous plates; b, poste- Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy of Eolis. 87 rior transverse muscles to open jaws; c, anterior ditto to close jaws ; d, inferior ditto to close jaws. Fig. 11. Same view as fig. 10 : a, corneous plates; b, muscles of inner lip ; c, inner lip. Plate II. All the anatomical figures in this plate are from E. papillosa unless other- wise stated. Fig. 1. Two views of transversely arched plates from ridge of tongue, mag- nified, to show the spines. Fig. 2. Anterior aspect of buccal mass, with lips and lateral muscles re- moved: a, cutting-edges of jaws ; h, superior anterior transverse muscles ; c, inferior ditto ; d, tongue appearing between cutting- blades. Fig. 3. Lateral view of buccal mass of E. coronata. Fig. 4. Muscular cheek-masses inclosing o, the tongue ; the horny plates have been removed ; h, flat upper free border of masses ; c, ante- rior pointed extremity of muscular masses attached to lower end of cutting-blades ; d, oesophagus. Fig. 5. External lateral view of horny plate, all muscles removed : a, ridge giving origin to muscles of inner lip ; c, portion of same giving origin to muscles of outer lip ; &, cutting-blade. Fig. 6. Same view of horny plate oiE. coronata. Fig. 7. Interior view of horny plate of E. papillosa : a, fulcrum or hinge ; b, cutting-blade ; c, line dividing the origin of the anterior and posterior superior transverse muscles. Fig. 8. Front view of horny plates of E. coronata. Fig. 9. Digestive apparatus of £. papillosa, the glands of the papillae re- moved : a, buccal mass ; b b, corneous plates of same ; c, oesopha- gus ; d, bulb of stomach ; e, true intestine ; /, anus; g, great central canal leading from stomach and ending posteriorly in a blind sac ; hf a primary branch from digestive cavity ; i, secondary branches ; k, ducts from glands of papillae. Fig. 10. Teeth of E. nana. Fig. 11. Spiny ridge of tongue ofE. alba. Fig. 12. Upper aspect of three plates of same. Fig. 13. Portion of spiny ridge of E. olivacea. Fig. 14. Upper aspect of two plates of same. Plate III. Fig. 1. Digestive apparatus of E. coronata; the letters correspond to those offig. 9, PI. II. Fig. 2. Digestive apparatus of E. olivacea ; letters as above. Fig. 3. Upper aspect of two plates of spiny ridge of tongue of E. nana. Fig. 4. Digestive apparatus of ^. despecta; letters as in fig. 9, PI. II. Fig. 5. Salivary gland and duct of E. papillosa, highly magnified. Fig. 6. Lateral view of buccal cavity and cheek-rnass of E. papillosa, one horny plate removed : a, salivary gland ; b, horny plate ; c, part of cheek-mass attached to horny plate ; d, flattened upper border of cheek-mass ; e, anterior extremity of cheek-mass passing to its attachment to inferior points of cutting-blades ; /, free part of ex- ternal surface of cheek-mass. Fig. 7. Stomach of E. papillosa laid open, showing rugae of internal sur- face of bulb, central canal, primary and secondary branches. Plate IV. Fig. 1. Papilla with gland of E. concinna. 88 Messrs. Hancock and Embleton on the Anatomy o/Eolis. Fig. 2. Papilla with gland of E. Farrani, Fig. 3. Ditto ditto of E. olivacea. Fig. 4. Ditto ditto of E. papillosa. Fig. 5. Longitudinal section of papilla of E. papillosa, showing interior of gland, &c. : a, great central channel ; b, diverticula therefrom. Fig. 6. Globules from ovate vesicle, highly magnified. Fig. 7. Transverse section of gland of papilla of E. papillosa : a, great cen- tral vessel ; b, diverticula from it. Fig. 8. Transverse section of ovate vesicle. Fig. 9. Highly magnified representation of a papilla of^. papillosa: a, the gland ; b, fine vessel leading from gland to ovate vesicle c ; d, ori- fice at apex of papilla ; e, muscles attaching vesicle to wall of pa- pilla ; //, external wall of space in which the blood circulates in contact with the external surface of. the gland; g g, muscular bands inclosing cellular spaces between // and the skin of the papilla ; h, skin of papilla; i, vibratile cilia on external surface of ditto; kk k, circular and longitudinal muscular fibres of skin. Plate V. Fig. 1. Longitudinal section of ovate vesicle. Figs. 2 and 3. Spermatozoid bodies from ovate vesicle of E, coronata. Fig. 4. Spermatozoid bodies from ovate vesicle of E. olivacea. Fig. 5. Elliptical bodies inclosed in bags or utriculi with the spermatozoid bodies of E. coronata. Fig. 6. Utriculus or bag from ovate vesicle of E. coronata, containing the two kinds of bodies mentioned under fig, ^5. Fig. 7. Vesicles or globules containing granules from the gland of papilla of E. papillosa. Fig. 8. The granules more highly magnified. Fig. 9. Utriculi from ovate vesicle of E. papillosa, containing the sperma- tozoid bodies. Figs. 10 and 11. Spermatozoid bodies from same : aa aa, b b, cc, different appearances presented by the filaments or tails of the spermatozoid bodies of E. papillosa. Fig. 12. Part of a transverse section of the wall of ovate vesicle of E. papil- losa, showing the interlacing muscular fibres. Fig. 13. Spermatozoa from generative oi'gans of E. papillosa. Fig. 14. Anterior view of Eolis papillosa from spirits: c, cutting-jaws; b, inner lip ; d, folds of lining membrane, &c. of channel of mouth ; e, outer lips ;/, fold of integument external to outer lips ; g, labial tentacles ; h, dorsal tentacles ; i, anterior margin of foot. Fig. 15. Inferior view of head of Eolis olivacea in its natural state. The letters in this fig. as far as they go are as in fig. 14. Fig. 16. General view of viscera, &c. of Eolis papillosa from above, the dorsal skin alone having been removed : a, buccal mass ; b, cere- bral ganglia with the nerves passing off from them ; c, ganglia at the base of dorsal tentacles, supposed to be olfactory ; d, oesophagus ; e, stomachal bulb ; /, great central canal; g g g, primary and se- condary branches from ditto ; h, true intestine ; i, anus ; k, por- tions of male generative organs ; I, ovarium ; m, ventricle of heart, with aorta passing forwards from it ; n, auricle of heart. Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geographic Botany. 89 XI. — Memoirs on Geographic Botany. By Richard Brinsley Hinds, Sm-geon, R.N., F.R. Coll. Surg. [Continued from p. 30.] If it has been ever the reader^s fortune to traverse an extensive ocean, he must have felt at the end of the voyage that all his previous ideas respecting space had undergone a considerable modification. During the voyage he has often gone on deck to view the vessel hastening through the water, and to gaze on the unchanging horizon ; day after day he beholds the vessel hurrying on, but the scene around remains the same. As his observations extend, he compares the velocity of his ship and the unchange- able nature of the scene, till he becomes insensibly impressed with the extent and vastness of the surface over which he has travelled. He has had a practical proof of a circumstance, which it is very true his reason might have partially displayed to him, but it has made a much firmer impression on his mind than any effort of intelligence could have produced, and the importance is proportionately increased. In fact, he concludes his voyage with his ideas of space greatly enlarged, and the world he inhabits seems to him larger than he ever thought it was before. A very similar feeling possesses the traveller as he penetrates an extensive forest. Every morning he commences his journey, patiently pursuing the winding pathways through interminable multitudes of trees and shrubs, till, when evening arrives, he is hardly less fatigued with the monotony of the scene than with the exertions of the day. His feelings are the same as those at sea, — he is surprised at the interminable character of the scene, and his ideas of space are measured by a greater standard. He wonders at the vast multitudes of vegetable beings ; whence they could possibly have drawn nourishment to rear such solid struc- tures ; he speculates on their age, and lastly on their use. In both cases the ideas of space are the same, but they have received an impulse from the novelty of the scene ; perhaps assisted also by the perfect stillness which reigns so completely in deep forests, and during the heat of the day the silence is more painful than on the wide ocean. The chief difference between the two is, that one is a sea of waters, the other a sea of trees. The reader who has confined his travels to his own country, I would reconmaend to open a map of the two Americas. Let him trace them throughout from north to south, and he will scarcely find a spot which does not support a vegetation of some kind or other; the deserts and ungenial spots being few and limited. A great part is covered with forest-trees of unequalled growth, and where a smaller vegetation prevails, the number of individuals is greater than ever. It is not merely the tropic regions which Ann. &^ Mag. N. Hist. Vol xv. H 90 Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geographic Botany. are prolific; the temperate regions liave also their dense and gloomy forests ; in fact it is beyond all human possibility to form any numerical estimate of the amount of the vegetable kingdom ; it would be like counting the sands of the Great Sahara. Let the imagination picture all it can of multitade^ space, and prolific increase, and some conception may be conveyed to the mind. Every botanical region of the globe possesses a flora having features which proclaim relations with other regions ; these vary according to the nature of the relationship and the circum- stances under which the respective floras exist. The value of the points of connexion fluctuates as the comparisons are drawn from groups of plants united by general characters, or from others less common and more intimately connected with their existence. The modes of relation are three in number, corresponding in a general manner with the three assemblages of vegetable forms known as families, genera, and species. By the families are esta- bUshed the most distant and general resemblances, constituting analogy ; by the genera a closer approximation, or affinity ; and by the species the most perfect accordance of characters, or identity. Generally these modes of resemblance coincide with the paral- lel groups ; but there are instances of analogy and afiinity, which must be admitted as such, and yet are not so closely limited. As an instance of this kind, as regards analogy, may be men- tioned the existence of Ficoidece chiefly in South Africa, and of CactecB almost entirely in the two Americas. The analogical re- semblance arises from the great succulence met with in these two families, together with a certain correspondence in their organic structure. A further illustration occurs in the alpine flora of the Canaries and Mount Etna ; in the former Semper- vivum has numerous species, and not one is indigenous to the latter, where Sedum is nearly equally abundant. Whilst then it is admitted that there is some difficulty in fixing the precise limitation of these terms, they may be considered, as a rule, to display the coincidence expressed above. Whenever an analogy exists, it by no means follows that there should be a further connexion by affinity or identity, for the na- ture of the analogical resemblance does not require this. On the other hand, when there is an affinity between two regions, it presupposes also an analogy ; and when the relation is so intimate as to estabhsh an identity, there is necessarily both an analogy and an affinity. The sources of analogy being derived from natural families, and the latter as we have seen usually widely diff'used, they are abundant in all vegetable regions, founded on latitude, which approach each other. In the tropical regions throughout, there is a great similarity in the families, those existing in one or more being often common to the others. In the subtropic and other Mr. R. B. Hinds 07i Geographic Botany, 91 regions it is the same, from the general similarity of controlling circumstances. Sometimes an analogy will be established be- tween two regions not parallel, when external circumstances are peculiar: the temperate (Iroquois) region of North America presents some analogous features to the subtropic portion of Europe ; the tropics also establish an analogy with temperate and subtropic Europe and America, by the latter possessing indige- nous species of Palmce and CinchonacecRy these families being chiefly tropical. Between corresponding regions in the north and south hemispheres the analogy is also great, since under similar circumstances we everywhere find a similar assemblage of plants. When tracing affinity, a closer view of vegetable organization is required, since its existence is drawn from genera. Generally it is found to follow analogy in similar regions ; thus we find it strongly developed in parallel regions in the same hemisphere, and in analogous regions in difi*erent hemispheres. The latter offer some highly interesting comparisons, as also do the resem- blances of affinity between regions which are not parallel. Punica granatum, originally indigenous on the northern shore of Africa, though since spread over the warmer portions of the globe, acknowledges a congener from Guiana, P. nana, the former being an inhabitant of the European subtropic region, the latter of the American north tropic. In this instance the value of the relation is increased, since none are found elsewhere and the means of affinity are few, Punica having but two species. Nowhere is affinity so admirably maintained as between different mountain ranges, the resemblances in their diff*erent alpine floras being so extensive and so similar in widely-spread ranges. The genera existing on one of these is frequently repeated by kindred species on others, whilst the whole contents of a zone will bear a close comparison with those of a similar zone elsewhere. Alpine vegetation, always fascinating, is again linked by interesting affi- nities with various regions : if on elevations within the tropics, the zones passed through in ascent will respectively resemble the subtropic, temperate, and arctic regions. Draba has several species in the mountains of Mexico, connecting the flora with the temperate regions of Europe and Asia where the species are abundant. In the relation of identity we possess the closest resemblance in the productions : as the word implies, it consists in the co- existence of some of exactly the same forms in different regions, some of the species of one being indigenous to another. Between parallel regions the identity is of course greatest, but the different parallel regions vary in the intensity of this character. From ob- servations on a great number of species, the average of duplicates H2 92 Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geographic Botany. in the six great divisions or provinces is 1 in 325, and the amount fluctuates in different countries on both sides of this estimate, ac- cording to physical circumstances. Within parallel tropical regions the amount is smallest, and increases as we advance tov^^ards the north, through the subtropic and temperate regions, till the max- imum is attained in the arctic. This progressive increase in the northern hemisphere is no doubt due to the configuration of the land, the large continental masses here closely approximating, and forming almost a continuous surface about the arctic circle, assisted also by the great similarity of climate. In the southern hemisphere there is precisely an opposite distribution of land and water, the continents gradually growing narrower towards the south, and yielding to the ocean of waters, which at the ant- arctic circle is scarcely broken by land. Of 233 species col- lected in Kotzebue^s Sound one half are found in Europe, whilst a similar proportion crosses Behring^s Straits, and are repeated in Siberia. Though the affinity between similar regions in the two hemispheres, or between distant mountain chains, is strongly characterized, the relations of identity are extremely slight ; in the latter particularly so, where it is rare to meet with species identically the same as those of the plains. It is by these three methods of relation that the flora of one region or country is to be compared with another, and an ana- lysis established, conclusive and satisfactory, whence its import- ance as an isolated flora, or compared with others, is ascertained. Alpine vegetation judged by these characters loses some of its importance, its relation being chiefly that of affinity, the species belonging to genera whose maximum exists near the level of the sea; hence peculiar groups, as genera and families, are very rarely limited to them. The features of the vegetation of the lowlands are repeated in accordance with controlling circum- stances, marked and peculiar characters being seldom met with. To illustrate more fully these different relations, we will sketch an outline of the flora of the Sandwich islands, which, from their solitary situation in a wide ocean, are well adapted for this pur- pose. These islands, eleven in number, including two which are scarcely more than rocks, stretch obHquely across a point inter- sected by 21° N.L. and 157° W.L. They are distant 2900 miles from America, 3500 from Asia, and nearly the same from the most projecting part of New Holland. Numerous islands intervene be- tween the two latter of these continents, but those towards the Sandwich islands are mostly small and unimportant. The climate is extremely equable and not disagreeably warm; in 1838 the mean temperature was 77°, and the range of the thermometer from 85° to 66°, being nineteen degrees. IMuch rain falls in some of the Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geographic Botany» 93 deeper valleys, but varies greatly in quantity in different situations and different islands. On the plain on which the capital is built, twenty-one inches fell in the above year ; but this is considerably less than what falls more towards the interior of the island, and on the elevated parts. The surface is very irregular, has but little level land, and consists chiefly of mountain ranges of moderate height, intersected by numerous deep and fertile valleys ; the superficies of the whole is about 7000 square miles. The soil, resulting from the decomposition of several varieties of lava, is very fruit- ful, but requires much water ; supplied with plenty of the latter, its productiveness is unlimited. Their geographical position bestows on them a tropical flora, whilst the irregularities of surface ensure variety. For the present, however, we are confined to the plains. Cinchonace(B, Guttifercey Sapindacea, arborescent Euphorbiacea, tree-ferns, and a solitary representative of PalmcEy omitting the cocoa-nut, with other families equally tropical, but not quite so abundant, stamp its general features. The relations of the flora to the American and Asiatic tropic are so nicely balanced, that it is difficult to decide of which it most partakes ; the sources of analogy are perhaps most numerous with the Asiatic. With more distant regions it has also relations through some members of CrucifercBy Saxi- frageae and Umhellifera, families abounding in temperate regions, and presenting an analogy the tropics do not often display. Each of these families is but feebly represented: Cm«/er« has two species of genera belonging to the European temperate region, hence an affinity with that portion of the globe : this is further supported by an umbelliferous plant, Hydrocotyle interruptay which is regarded in the islands as originally a native plant, and is also widely diffused elsewhere : the genus supplies another affinity to temperate regions, whilst the species acknowledges an identity with several others. The saxifrageous plant, Broussaisia arguta, supplies an analogy alone; the genus and species are found only in the Sandwich islands. Like other islands they have a multitude of ferns. An analogy, stronger than usually prevails in tropical countries, is established with subtropical re^ gions through shrubby Compositce, Labiafa, and some others. The affinities are numerous, and very equally distributed be- tween New Holland, Asia and America. In common with Asia are the genera Cyrtandra, Santalum, and Elceocarpus ; with Ame- rica, Clusia, Brunellia, and Heliotropium ; and with New Holland, Metrosideros, CyathodeSy Pittosporuniy and Exocarpus. Few of their species are the same, the relations ceasing chiefly with the genus. The repetition of species indigenous elsewhere is also consider- able : taking one hundred and sixty-five of the phsenogamous^ 04 Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geographic Botany. fourteen were found to be American, twelve Asiatic, thirteen common with New Holland, twenty with the other Polynesian islands, and thirteen with Europe. Some of the ferns are Ame- rican, a few Asiatic. Of the whole flora, about a moiety of the species are found beyond the islands. Much of the vegetation is thus identical with other countries, but is distributed among them v/ith surprising impartiality. The grounds on which its peculiarities rest, and on which its individuality as an independent flora depends, may be briefly hinted. The islands are without any plants which are likely to confer on them an exclusive natural family. Cyrtandracem and Sccevolece they possess in comparatively greater intensity than others. Their only considerable genus is Kadua ; it has eight or nine species. There are besides a few other genera limited to the islands, but they have chiefly a solitary species each, rarely as many as two or three. About one half the species as yet known are confined to their own shores, but as a further acquaint- ance is gained with the flora, this number will be most probably increased. Those extensive compact forests of bulky and lofty trees, which it is customary to find in tropical countries, have no existence in the Sandwich islands. Their trees are not usually of large growth, and they crowd up the sheltered and moist val- leys. The plains are comparatively bare or only thinly wooded, the trees preferring the precipitous sides of the mountains. Nor has the vegetation that variety of shades of green to be expected ; the leaves are of a dull lurid colour, generally they are small in size, and more or less entire. The flowers are equally inconspi- cuous for size, and do not possess much richness of colours : the xanthic varieties greatly prevail, often rendered dull by a greenish hue. LeguminoscB are said to be proportionately rare in the Polynesian islands; in this group they are far from abundant. As far as is yet known, no OrchidacecB are indigenous, a circum- stance the more remarkable, since they are not uncommon in the Society islands. We look in vain to these islands for evidence of the migration of their flora. Though their own proper vegetation is below the average, and is mixed largely with species common to other lands, the number still remains sufficiently great to place any ideas of its individuality beyond a doubt. They must be regarded as possessing an original vegetation, which, whilst it has received species from other countries, has sent occasionally some of its members abroad to colonize the coral islands as they gradually emerge from the ocean. In all probability, the solitary species of Kadua found on Romanzofi* island has wandered from its na- tive soil ; and Chamisso collected fifty-two species on the Radack chain, a third of which are found on the Sandwich islands. Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geographic Botany. 95 The part which vegetation performs in the economy of nature is in every way capable of exciting our admiration at the harmony and mutual dependence existing among the several kingdoms. In the connexion of the latter with each other, it is not easy to discover a point where it can be said these cease or begin. We learn that a portion of the earth became dry land, and was thus prepared for the clothing of vegetation with which it was imme- diately invested. The heavenly bodies were rolled into their sta- tions, and that variety of light and temperature required by plants was bestowed on them. The vegetable kingdom left in this con- dition would have flourished in boundless luxuriance, but without any very apparent use, and another host of organized beings was soon added, to keep its vigour in check, and to derive nutriment from it. Among the countless myriads of animals now called into existence, it is impossible to say how far they depress the exube- rance; the multitudes of insects constantly feeding on the foliage, the flocks of birds always on the search for seeds, and the herbaceous animals tearing the branches from the trees and the roots from the soil, must cause vast quantities to disappear. Even with all these, however, a very slight impression can ever be made, and a limit to its excess is derived from the property of all plants to run through a certain com'se and then die. Plants, like all organized beings, have a determinate period to their existence. This varies greatly ; some scarcely survive be- yond a few hours, others a few months, and some extend through many years, even through ages, each in its existence performing an assigned set of functions. Every species is endued with a certain period of vitality which it receives from its organization. Among trees, the ash and the elder do not attain the longevity of the oak. Individuals, besides the specific attributes conferred on them, are liable to casualties which may extend or contract their duration. Among the natural causes are, the varying influence of climate within the range of their growth, situation, whether in the interior or margins of forests, and certain injuries to which they are exposed from animals. The removal of plants from one climate to another is capable of converting annuals into biennials and the reverse, and cultivation will sensibly protract the life of others. The larger vegetation when assembled in masses will be observed to carry with it certain appearances indicative of age, and in this state of things climate seems the chief agent. Two spots on the same latitude, and with coeval forests, may in one have every appearance of great age and longevity, and in the other all the signs of youth and vigour. Dissolution at length overtakes all organized beings, the prin- ciple of life is withdrawn, and they are resolved into their consti- tuents. With the removal of life organization ceases, chemical 96 Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geographic Botany. affinities assume activity, and the inorganic kingdom claims the rest : this is now the magazine whence future plants are to draw their food, and derive vigour to pursue their functions. With regard to the chemical effects it is capable of producing, these are perhaps but slight. Vegetation has a salutary influence over the atmosphere by the removal of carbon ; this agency is confined to the green organs, those parts coloured giving it out, but not in the same proportion. A positive prejudicial action is sometimes exerted over the health of man : the rank luxuriance of the vegetation of warm climates, where there is abundant moisture, creates a malarious atmosphere which fully balances its otherwise good effects. It cannot be concealed that some countries are so extremely fatal to human life, as to make them almost uninhabitable. When the vegetation of an unhealthy spot is removed, and the soil exposed for a time to the sun^s heat, it becomes comparatively healthy, as has been the case at Sierra Leone. Man has without doubt been powerfully affected by the nature of the vegetation. It is so often combined with climate that it is not easy to estimate the power of each separately, and yet there is a wide difference between the herbivorous man of the South who scarcely ever touches animal food, and the carnivorous being of the North, whose fi'ame requires the stimulus of a large pro- portion of meat. The Indian of the Pampas lives on horse-flesh, and sometimes beef; his disposition is as untameable as his food is gross. The Hindoo is usually content with vegetable food, and presents in every respect a strong contrast of character. The pastoral habits of the tribes of Asia Minor, the adjacent countries, and of some portions of North America, are forced on them by the nature of the vegetation. To prevent the chances of starva- tion for themselves and their flocks and herds, they traverse the plains in pursuit of vegetation. But how much does this imply ! every circumstance around them must be adapted to their migra- tory habits — limited personal property, hardihood, patient en- durance, skilfulness in resources, and a recklessness which emi- nently fits them for the vicissitudes of their checkered life. We shall now conclude by referring briefly to some of those external characters of vegetation which contribute towards its physiognomy. The surface of the globe presents a great diversity in its fea- tures, attributable to the extremely irregular physical distribu- tion of its parts, and its unequal exposure to the heavenly bodies, especially the sun. Throughout the kingdoms of nature this variety is distinctly marked, and the general impression conveyed is so universally acknowledged, that any person, totally unac- quainted with the principles of natural history, feels no hesitation Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geographic Botany. 97 in pointing out tlie native country of any quadruped, bird, or insect, with distinctive general characters. With plants it is the same ; only a little closer observation is required, since they do not fix themselves so firmly in the mind as the animal kingdom. Still a well-informed person will form a correct judgement of the part of the globe whence many of the plants in a collection of exotics may have been obtained; he will easily separate the plants of the tropics from those of colder regions, and not un- likely will discriminate between the plants of different continents in the same parallels. The varieties which are thus so generally evident become multiplied in the eyes of a botanist after a little examination, and he can trace certain points of distinction and resemblance, which render them highly interesting and often important to our subject. In the vegetable kingdom, the peculiar organization which gives rise to this diversity of appearance in different regions does not originate in those characters which are taken for the purposes of classification, but is due to others of a more general kind, and which we shall attempt to explain. It depends also on a more extensive view of the flora, influenced by the method of grouping, the general outlines of individuals, and their shades of colour. The impressions conveyed by these constitute what has been termed the physiognomy of vegetation ; expressive of its powers of giving a bias to a scene or landscape. It must be con- fessed, that though the eye catches any peculiarities, and can convey to the mind a correct impression of the same, it is often extremely difficult to express them in language, and in fact they are so deficient of positive characters, that any words we have cannot express them. Who is there that would pretend to de- scribe in language the exact grouping of a mass of clouds, or give a shape to the waves of the ocean, or to the foam they dash from their crests ? The painter however can do this ; he can closely represent the clouds and waves, whilst he also can express on canvas the physiognomy of a landscape. If we turn to the rural scenes of our best artists, what delight do they convey from their correctness, and from portraying to us so exactly what we may every day see in nature ! How faithful are the landscapes of Titian and Claude Lorraine, and how happily have they caught and expressed the outlines and groupings of vegetation ! Not merely have artists succeeded in representing a particular land- scape, but certain species of trees and shrubs with such correctness, that they are evident on the slightest inspection. But it must be acknowledged, that while the artist does seize many of these features with his brush, which the naturalist is unable to describe with his pen, the former is enabled Jto select his subjects from the 98 Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geographic Botany. whole vegetable world, whilst every plant claims equally the atten- tion of the latter. It may be interesting to mention a difficulty of this kind which I experienced ; and I shall give it in the same words I used at the time, when a luxuriant tropic vegetation was before me, and the impressions were fresh on the mind. After some experience among tropical vegetation, the duties of my profession removed me to high northern latitudes, and I thought a return to the tropics a particularly favourable opportunity of seizing the more prominent features, without the mind being induced to picture too freely from the novelty of the subject. A portion of my remarks was as follows : — " After looking on the vegetation of high lati- tudes for some months past, I felt more alive on our return to the tropics to the characteristic features of their vegetation. It is very plain that this has peculiarities easily distinguishable by the eye, but which it has puzzled me to find adequate language to express. The most prominent circumstance is its superior denseness, added to which there is, when looking on distant masses, a roundness and fullness of outline not shared with floras of other regions. Of course I now speak only of its pictorial characters as seen from a distance, and the general features it is capable of giving to a landscape. What are generally called tropical views contain some near representation of particular ob- jects, as palms, tree-ferns, &c., and form no part of what I wish to express. I expected to find a greater richness of colouring, but I do not discover that the tropical forests surpass in the least the rich deep-green fir-forests of North-west America illumined by a mid-day sun. The only ground of surpassing excellence is the occasional variety of tints, and the green generally presents that shade which artists obtain by a greater admixture of yellow.^^ Perhaps it is owing to the variety in the shades of green, in plants of difierent latitudes and places, that artists have suc- ceeded so well in representing them. Every region will offer some difference in this, to some extent confined to itself. The deep-green forests of the North are peculiar to them ; those of the tropics have a yellower or more autumnal tint ; in the sub- tropic regions the shade of colour of the leaves is of an olive-green; maritime vegetation also has its glaucous hue. Physiologists have attempted to account for these different tints : Mustel, Chevreul, and Senebier represent that, though carbon is apparently black, on examination it will really be found to be blue. The latter also maintains that the vegetable tissue is not exactly white, but of a pale yellow ; hence, as in similar cases, it is easy to comprehend how the mixture of the blue and the yellow produces the green. To support this opinion, he cites the green which is obtained by Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geoyraphic Botany. 99 mixing together China ink and gamboge, and that by vaiying the proportions, all the shades of green are produced which are found in the foliaceous organs of plants. DeCandolle adds, that though this explanation is somewhat mechanical, it is very likely to be correct. The Chinese, with that practical application of facts to pur- poses of utility which so pre-eminently distinguishes them as a nation, have availed themselves of some of these features in their landscape gardening. To convey the appearance of distance, trees of the loftiest and largest growth with foliage of the deepest green are selected for the foreground. Others of smaller stature and more subdued shades are placed in the distance ; whilst to vary the surface and increase the apparent extent, groups of suitable trees, selected also with a due regard to the influence of the seasons, are judiciously scattered about. To aid the effects produced by vegetation, representations of old ruins, receding walls, and time-worn rock-work, are all made available. All the species which enter into the flora of a country do not equally assist to give a certain physiognomy ; and they will vary considerably among themselves as to their power of doing so. Trees and shrubs from their size will surpass herbaceous plants, whilst these also will excel each other according to any pecu- liarities of organization they may possess. The prevalence of certain families in particular regions will often be highly charac- teristic : none would feel at a loss when surrounded by Cruciferce and Umbelliferce ; or when traversing a plain covered with Eri- cacecSj a grove of Chamcerops palmetto, or a thicket of Melastoma. When plants become gregarious, especially those of larger growth, they deeply impress features on the scenery around them. An impression of this kind is also liable to occur from an opposite cause. Supposing in a forest where the trees possess a similar aspect and manner of growth, there occur one or two, or more individuals of a totally different character; these latter will obtain a prominence which is not due to them from their num- bers, but from their peculiarities. A circumstance of this kind strongly impressed me in the Brazilian forest, when encountering a few individuals of Ai-aucaria hraziliensis in the midst of trees not distinguished for their physiognomy. To obtain some numerical value for those plants which appeared to give a character, I assembled a number of different species in Devonshire, and after carefully examining them, and making the freest allowances, I came to the conclusion that in 100 species, forty-eight might be considered as contributing to the physio- gnomy of the flora, and fifty- two were too insignificant to assist in this. It occurred to me to repeat the observation within the tropics, where I found the numbers very similar, though the pro- 100 Mr. R. B. Hiads on Geographic Botany. portions were reversed : in 100 species they were respectively fifty-three and forty-seven. The general contour of the stems of trees^ with the mode of division of their ramifications, often present peculiarities. In tem- perate regions there are many trees thus distinguished, as the species of Quercus, Populus and Salioo, to which may be added Pinus and Cupressus, which are so eminently expressive in a land- scape. Omitting the more tropical forms, as palms, huge her- baceous EndogencBj and others which are equally unique, this region contains trees of singular habits of growth. It would be difficult to fix on the most marked. Some might select many of the species of Ficus, and point out the complex appearance of their main stems, the immense horizontal extension of their branches, with the great proportionate lowness of the whole tree; and what seems more curious than all, the immense number of smaller stems in every stage of development, some just pro- truding from the horizontal branches, others pendent midway between the canopy and the soil, displaying on each thick rounded extremity an enormous spongiole ; many too have reached the soil, and having attained strength and size, act as columns to support the whole structure. The tropical forest abounds with these in every variety of growth and apparent distortion. Again, there is the gigantic Bombax ceiha : the trunk of this tree re- sembles a cone greatly elongated, and stretching above the sum- mits of all the other trees, whilst from its base spread huge processes diverging on all sides, and taking a powerful hold of the earth ; where these are lost in the trunk it is of great girth, and continues upwards gradually diminishing in size, and some- times enlarging for a space, till high in the air it sends forth its branches, chiefly in a horizontal direction. The greater part of the year these are destitute of leaves, and support a number of pendent pods, filled with the silky threads surrounding the seeds. Humboldt speaks of a forest of Cactus, not mere herbaceous plants, but tall trees with stems yielding wood suitable for do- mestic purposes. Equally characteristic and far more beautiful is a forest consisting of bamboos. There is one kind of palm which must present a strange appearance to the botanist, accustomed to regard the straight naked stems of this tribe : this is the dourn palm [Cucifera thebaica) of Egypt and Abyssinia, whose trunk is branched in a dichotomous manner. I should perhaps hardly appreciate the novel feature this must present to the traveller, had I not seen in Mexico a tall full-grown palmetto, forked at about the middle of its length, and remember the mo- mentary surprise I felt at the circumstance. Subsequently, in New Ireland, 1 twice noticed this circumstance in a Cycas. Leaves are characteristic from several circumstances :— Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geographic Botany. 101 1. They vary greatly in tlieir size or dimensions. — The largest leaves are found among Endogena, where they are frequently distinguished for their extent of surface. Aquatic plants have often large leaves. Among terrestrial plants, some of the species of MagnoliacecBy Melastomace<2 and Solanece are remarkable. Lappa glabra, Heracleum spondylium, and Panax horridum have large leaves for high latitudes. Within the tropics a great num- ber of the leaves of shrubs and trees are compound, and veiy frequently composed of a multitude of small leaflets, which give a most pleasing appearance ; the numerous species of Mimosa and Acacia usually possess them. In others these organs hardly deserve the name of leaves : in Erica they are much contracted, and in Pinus and Abies more resemble petioles destitute of laminae, being in fact needle-shaped. In Tamariscinece, Casua- rina and Ephedra, the leaves are reduced to scales or mere points. 2. The outline, or method in which they are separated into lobes or divisions. — Very striking is the appearance of that useful tree the Artocarpus incisa, with its large leaves divided into deep and numerous lacinise. Clustered as this tree is in groves around the habitations of the natives, it conveys an aspect to the scenery strictly Polynesian. As further instances may be mentioned the species of Platanus, some Sterculice, and the characteristic Carica papaya. 3. As to consistence. — The leaves of herbaceous plants, espe- cially those of the wet season of warm climates, are frequently very soft and flaccid, and filled with a quantity of aqueous juice. Evergreen trees have their leaves chiefly of a tough and leathery consistence ; many of the trees and shrubs bearing this kind of leaves are natives of subtropical regions, as the evergreen oaks, many Phillyrecs, and Olea europcea. In some the mesophyll is more than usually developed, as in Hoya carnosa ; and in the members of Crassulacea and Ficoidece it is carried to excess in their shapeless and succulent leaves. 4. It would be difficult to describe the numerous shades of green, though, when masses of vegetation are contrasted, they are thrown out and become prominent. During the vigour of vege- tation other shades are occasionally developed. In some species of Fuchsia, Begonia and Amaranthus, the leaves possess a very decided pink. Some have a silvery hue on their under surface, though this appearance may be sometimes dependent on the presence of hairs. It is chiefly in the autumn that leaves take on their dififerent colours, and which are often excessively varied ; but as Vitality is then ceasing, these appearances are rather attendant on disorganization. 5. As to the direction of their surfaces. — It is usual with ex- 102 Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geographic Botany. ogenous plants to have their leaves horizontal, thus forming a right angle with the stem, or with their points inclining towards the horizon. Some depart from this, as the Salioc bahylonica, and the weeping variety of Fraxinus excelsior. In endogenous plants, on the contrary, the leaves generally tend towards a vertical po- sition, which perhaps their weight prevents them from attaining ; so that it is customary to find them forming an angle of 45*^ with the horizon. The mixture of the large herbaceous Endogence with a vegetation chiefly exogenous, conveys a remarkable character to the physiognomy. Besides the peculiar features offered by leaves, there are others which will be occasionally prominent. They may be found in the unusual development, or some idiosjmcrasy, of the various organs, and are perhaps only discoverable in particular instances. Sometimes the inflorescence is the source ; at others the flowers, fruit, or floral appendages. Very different is the appearance of the trees of some species of Cassia laden with their long slender black pods and light pale foliage, from a grove of Hibiscus and Psidium in the Pacific, or of Melastoma in the Brazils. A general impression is conveyed by the prevalence of certain colours in flowers ; in some situations nothing but yellow flowers are seen, in others only white or blue, till the repetition is almost tiring. The varieties of colours, being dependent on the presence of heat and light, alter with the latitude ; hence a relation between the two can be established. For the same reason there will exist a similar relation with the seasons of the year. Colours have been arranged by Schubler and Funk under two series which they have called oxidized and deoxidized ; but DeCandolle pro- posed to call them respectively xanthic and cyanic, from the ge- neral prevalence of the colours in each. This arrangement * ap- pears to have been chosen with considerable happiness, since most flowers range themselves under one or the other, and it aff^ords a basis by which colours can be compared and their re- lative importance ascertained. There is one variety of coloration which they take no notice of further than to give their reasons for not assigning it a place in their series, and this is white. The reasons seem good and philosophical in theory, but in practice it will sometimes be impossible to assign every white flower to some particular colour, as is recommended ; I shall therefore venture to use it as a colour for the present, according to general opinion. White or pale-coloured flowers prevail over all others ; they are * These series are developed in their * Untersuchungen liber die Farben der Bluthen,' 1825. Some details may be met with in DeCandolle's * Phy- siologie Vegetale/ torn. ii. pp. 901-924, and in the Library of Useful Know- ledge, Bofany, pt. 4. pp. 120-124, by Dr. Lindley. Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geographic Botany. 103 abundant in all latitudes particularly high ; among the plants of the spring they are more numerous than those of the autumn. Though common in the tropics they are rarer than in northern latitudes, and are more frequent in alpine situations than in the plains. The xanthic series of colours are most numerous in situ- ations exposed to the heat and brilliancy of the sun^s rays ; hence their comparative abundance within the tropics in the autumn, and in the plains over the mountains. This latter circumstance seems to have been noticed by the inhabitants of Peru, for we are told that in referring to the colours of the flowers, it is com- mon for them to say, Oro en la costa, plata en la sierra (gold on the coast, silver in the mountains) ; in the truth of which they are borne out by nature. Yellow is frequent in some natural families, as Composites, where it very generally prevails. Though flowers of the cyanic series are plentifully mixed with the xanthic, their preponderance is in other latitudes or diff'erent seasons. Some of the intense blues and violets delight in the clear skies of subtropic regions, whence might be inferred a partiality to a clear transparent atmosphere over one, though warmer, yet often teem- ing with aqueous vapour. Myrtacea, essentially a tropical family, has not a single blue flower. Fruits, coloured branches or stems, the internal woody structure, can all be ranged under these two heads ; thus the number of xanthic woods within the tropics is considerable. I could not neglect the opportunities which have occurred to me to obtain some statistical details respecting the colours of flowers, and a portion of my observations are subjoined in the Table. Colours. Central America, L. 10° N. Sandwich Islands, L.21°N. Alashka, L. 57° N. Califor- nia, L. 25° N. New Guinea, L. 3° S. Hong Kong, China, L. 22° N. Green January. June. July. 8 4 1 12 Nov. August. 1 2 1 7 February. 2 2 1 8 3 4 5 11 4 10 1- 2" r Greenish-blue ... Blue 1 2 2 1 7 1 1 4 3 12 10 7 5 5 3 12 1 4 3 11 Violet-blue Violet 1 10 2 1 4 5 14 4 8 I Violet-red Red o "Orange-red Oransre. 3 6 7 7 15 C3 Orange-yellow... Yellow 4 6 3 11 X .Yellow-green ... White 6 50 50 50 50 50 50 Xanthic. 30 White. 8 31 7 13 .... 11 19 6 23 ... . . 15 27 .... 10 104} On the Preservation of Objects of Natural History. Or— Cyanic. Central America 12 Sandwich Islands 12 Alashka 26 California 25 New Guinea 12 Hong Kong 13 In a practical view these colours may be regarded under the three heads of cyanic, xanthic, and white or blanched. The last will be found to bear an unusual proportion in New Guinea, even among its autumn flora, and at a season when the xanthic series is predominant ; and this is also important at Hong Kong, but there the month of the year must be taken into considera- tion. In the high latitude of Alashka, as might be expected, the blanched flowers are numerous, and the cyanic series prevails, though in the midst of summer. In Calilbrnia the superiority of the cyanic series over the xanthic is worthy of remark, consi- dering the time of the year, the briUiancy of the atmosphere, its general dryness, and the exposed character of the vegetation; and still more, as some limited observations made two degrees to the south give an excess to the xanthic series. In Central America January is a month of the dry season and the xanthic colours prevail ; and the same occurs at the Sandwich islands, notwith- standing the general tameness of the flowers of their flora. XII. — On the Preservation of Objects of Natural History for the Microscope. By the Rev. M. J. Berkeley. To Richard Taylor, Esq. My dear Sir, King's Cliffe, Dec. 28, 1844. I HAD an opportunity a few days since of inspecting Mr. Thwaites' collection of Algae at Bristol, and as his mode of preparing the specimens is not perhaps generally known, and as regards utility, is far superior to any other I have seen, I think it may not be disagreeable to some of your readers to have a short notice of it in your Journal. The distinguishing peculiarity of the collection is, that the specimens are ready mounted for the microscope, and preserved in a liquid which retains all their characters perfectly, so that at a moment^s notice any species is ready for inspection in as great perfection as when it was first gathered ; and if any un- usual structure occur, the portion of the plant may be set up and re-examined at pleasure, a point which was impossible in many cases before. The value of this method will at once be appre- ciated by all practical algologists, who know that scarcely any On the Preservation of Objects of Natural History. 105 tribe of plants suffers so much by drying as Algae, especially the freshwater Algse. The complicated endochrome, for instance, of Zygnema and allied genera is entirely destroyed by drying; whereas byMr.Thwaites^ method every peculiarity of structure is admirably preserved, even to the cytoblasts which occur in some species. The method is simple and requires only a little delicacy of ma- nipulation, which indeed may be said of all microscopical prepa- rations. Slips of plate glass of a size convenient for the micro- scope are the best recipient for the specimens. On the centre of these a little square area is insulated with gold size, which must be laid on of greater or less thickness, so as to build up a little wall according to the thickness of the specimen to be mounted. A number of these should be prepared ready for use. A solution is then to be made consisting of 1 part alcohol, 14 parts water, and to be accurately saturated with creasote. This should then be filtered through prepared chalk, and the solution allowed to stand for a month in case any precipitate should form ; it must then be decanted for use and kept in a stoppered bottle, and the small portion wanted from time to time should be passed through a piece of linen to prevent any impurity from spoiling the clearness of the preparation. When then it is requisite to mount a specimen, a drop or two of the fluid is placed in the insulated area, the edge having been first lightly retouched with gold size and the specimen floated in the fluid, care being taken to remove all air-globules ; a slip of talc, or, what is better, microscopic glass, a little exceeding the size of the area, is then dropped upon it and pressed gently upon the size, by which means the specimen is hermetically sealed ; a coat or tw^o of gold size is then put round the edges for greater security, and when the whole is perfectly dry, a coat of sealing-wax varnish. Care of course must be taken that the glass, especially that which covers the specimen, is perfectly clean. The slips are all made precisely of the same size, and are placed vertically in little drawers, on the sides of which grooves are made for their recep- tion. A box of the size of a common writing-desk will hold about 250 specimens. Mr. Thwaites finds this solution answer best for freshwater Algse ; for marine Algae he uses generally Goadby's solution, the formula for which is given in the ^Microscopical Journar for 1842, p. 183. It consists of 4 ounces of bay salt, 2 ounces of alum, 4 grains of corrosive sublimate, 2 quarts of boiling water. Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xv. ^ I 106 Prof. Lindley on new Orchidaceous Plants. This does not answer however for freshwater Algse. Some of the specimens of marine Algse, mounted in Goadby's solution, such as Codium tomentosum, Helminthocladia vermicularis, &c., are admi- rable. This method of preparing Algse certainly requires some little expenditure of care and patience, but it will be found so satisfac- tory in its results as amply to compensate any additional pains ; and when once the requisite arrangements have been made, the trouble in the case of individual specimens from time to time will not be found so great as might be expected. It may be remarked that the method is equally applicable to other microscopical objects, and especially to those of vegetable physiology. I am, my dear Sir, faithfully yours, M. J. Berkeley. XIII. — A Century of new Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants. Characterized by Professor Lindley. [Continued from vol. xii. p. 398.] Decade 3. 21. Pleurothallis Hartwegii ; caule medio laxe et longe vaginato, folio oblongo sessili amplexicauli, spatha obtusa carinata coriacea, spicis plurimis erectis rigidis secundifloris folio subsequalibus, se- palis disjunctis falcatis intus pubescentibus, labello cordato ovato obtuse basi auriculato (v. trilobo lobis lateralibus brevibus rotun- datis) juxta sinus bilamellato. Popayan (Hartweg). Very like P. macrophylla. Stem a foot and more high. Leaf a span long. Spikes eighteen to twenty. 22. Pleurothallis Icevigata ; caule angulato medio laxe et longe vaginato, folio oblongo sessili amplexicauli vernice quasi inducto, spatha acuta carinata coriacea laevigata, spicis plurimis erectis ri- gidis secundifloris folio brevioribus, floribus omnino P. Hartwegii sed duplo majoribus. Popayan (Hartweg). Very like P. Hartwegii, but the leaves are more polished, the spikes often shorter, and especially the flowers are twice as large. Perhaps it is a mere variety. 23. Stelis maxima ; folio oblongo obtuso, spica recta basi spathacea triple longiore, bracteis amplexicaulibus cuspidatis internodiis brevioribus, floribus ventricosis disepalis, sepalis multistriatis con- cavis, At the foot of Mount Tunguragua, at the height of 11,000 feet (Hartweg). Prof. Lindley on new Orchidaceous Plants. 107 A beautiful species, with flowers almost half an inch long, and apparently purple. It would be a Pleurothallis if its petals were not truncated and dwarf. 24. Stelis hrevilabris ; caulescens, folio lineari-lanceolato mucro- nato, spicis quadruplo longioribus solitariis erectis secundis strictis, bracteis cuspidatis internodiis brevioribus, sepalis lateralibus acutia suj^remo oblongo brevioribus. Popayan (Hartweg). Related to St. ascendens and lamellata, but easily distinguished by the drooping, ringent, almost 2-lipped flowers. Can it be St, elon- gata, H. B. K. } but the description does not agree. 25. Pleurothallis convoluta ; folio coriaceo convoluto, spicis plu- ribus folio brevioribus erectis, floribus Isevibus, sepalis marginatis lateralibus ultra medium connatis, petalis duplo brevioribus obtusia diaphanis, labello longiore complicato apice spathulato acuto infra medium utrinque dilatato rotundato. Popayan (Hartweg). 26. Pleurothallis galeata ; caule medio longe et laxe vaginato, folio petiolato cordato-oblongo obtuso, spatha subcoriacea obtusa, spicis filiformibus plurimis nutantibus folio brevioribus, sepalis la- teralibus semiconnatis angustis erectis dorsali antico galeato mem- branaceo, petalis linearibus sepalis paulo brevioribus, labello cucul- lato rhombeo angulis rotundatis utrinque bilamellato apice crasso calloso. Popayan (Hartweg). Near PL macrophylla. 27. Pachyphyllum squarrosum ; foliis recurvis squarrosis, labello obsolete trilobo callo a marginibus longe distante. Popayan (Hartweg). Much like P. distichum, except in the leaves and the form and callosity of the labellum. 28. Diahssa, gen. nov. Steli proximum. Calyx tubulosus, bilabiatus, antice ventricosus ; labio altero bifido revoluto. Petala nana. La- bellum indivisum, rectum. Columna nana, recta, biauris. Pol- linia 2. Dialissa pulchella. Spithamaea et ultra, cgespitosa. Caules teretes, monophylli, vaginis tubulosis membranaceis glabris vestiti. Fo- lium petiolatum, lanceolatum, striatum, acutissimum, tridentatum ; racemo striato, basi distanter vaginato triplo brevius. Bracteae 5 pollicares, falcatae, acutissimaj, perfoliatse, canaliculatse, glabrae, distichae, floribus glabris sequales. Sepalum supremum subcorda- tum, erectum. Petala rhombea. Labellum spathulatum, rotun- datum, linea transversa elevata. Popayan (Hartweg). 29. Gastropodium violaceum. Ramosum, distiche foliosum, foliis carnosis linearibus obtusis mucronulatis, vaginis striatis transverse 12 108 Mr. A. White on a new species of Longicorn Beetle, rugosis. Racemi breves, sessiles, terminales, cernui. Flores parvi, membranacei, violacei. Bractese subulatse, membranacese. Sepala conniventia, ovata, libera. Petala lanceolata duplo minora. La- bellum c. columna connatum, ventricosum, ovatum, callo tripar- tite ad basin. Columna brevis pyramidalis, partis liberse margi- nibus latis crassis truncatis. Clinandrium nudum. Anthera plana, membranacea, 4-locularis. PoUinia 4, oblonga, collateralia, om- nino sejuncta, filis totidem rectis. nee replicatis, leevibus, apice con- natis colligata. Ovarium cuniculatum, antice ventricosum. Popayan (Hartweg). This genus is near the true species of Diothonea, and like it in habits. It differs in its naked anther-bed and in the structure of the pollen masses. 30. Restrepia cucullata ; foliis oblongo-linearibus coriaceis acutis pedunculis filiformibus erectis brevioribus, sepalis lateralibus in unum lineari-lanceolatum connatis supremo angustissimo, petalis duplo brevioribus linearibus acuminatis, labello carnoso oblongo laevi tricarinato, columna cucullata. Popayan (Hartweg). XIV. — Description of an apparently new species of Longicorn Beetle from Mexico in the collection of the British Museum* By Adam White, Assistant Zool. Dep. Brit. Mus. [With a Plate.] In M. Delesserf s ' Souvenirs d^un Voyage k PInde/ a very in- teresting account has been given by M. Perrotet, his companion, of the habits of the Dorysthenes montanus of Guerin, with which I shall commence this paper, more especially as the insect about to be described would be arranged close to it by many authors (such as Laporte de Castelnau), although at present we have no means of ascertaining whether the Prionacalus of this memoir, and Psalidognathus of Mr. G. R. Gray, like the East Indian genus alluded to, and unlike the majority of the group to which they belong, live on the ground in elevated places destitute of large trees. The D. montanus begins to appear above the surface of the ground about the end of April, and comes up in immense numbers till the beginning of the rainy season, which lasts from the end of May or during June. They appear in such swarms that the highways and by-paths are covered with them in some places, and it is said that the bears of the country, at the season when they abound, get up to the mountains to feed on them. They have been observed by MM. Delessert and Perrotet coming out of their holes in the ground, especially in the neighbourhood of Coonoor,Kotirgherris and other places amongst the Neelgheries, where they may be seen white, yellow and brown, accordingly as thin. A: Jhui. ,Mc( ./list .fol. 1.5. /'I YM. 1'W Caraiws (Frocrashcu^J Taz^fou , Wkite. ^ CL (XwivthvLs) Trvorm (iHomcLCCblusJ Cauzcus White Mr. A. White on a new species of Longicorn Beetle. 109 they have been for a short or long time out of the pupa state ; they always keep to the ground and walk slowly. Amongst the Prionidce this group, containing Dorysthenes, CyrtognathuSy Cacoscelis, and perhaps Acanthinoderus, Psalidognathus and Prio- nacalus, resembles in habit Dorcadion and allied genera among LamiadcB, as Guerin-Meneville very justly remarks (/. c. Mag. de Zool., and Kev. Zool. Cuv. 1840, p. 39 Cyrtognathus) . I may here add, that the curiously curved jaws and very strong legs with their slender elongated tarsi seem to fit them particularly for getting into the ground, escaping from it and walking on its surface*. In a small collection of insects from Mexico, purchased last year by Mr. Gray for the British Museum from M. Hartweg, there are three specimens of a subgenus of Prionidce, at first sight with very considerable resemblance to the Psalidognathus modestus, Fries, Vetensk. Akad. Handl. 1833, p. 327. t. 9. f. 3, agreeing with that species in many particulars, but to me appear- ing distinct. From the genus Psalidognathus of Mr. George Gray (Griff. A. K., Insects, ii. p. 115. t. 6. f. 14), as characterized both by Mr. Gray and M. Fries, it differs in many particulars, sufficient, if the established subgenera of PrionidcB be valid, to constitute a new subgenus closely allied to Psalidognathus : in my description any comparisons refer to this latter genus. Prionus, subg. Prionacalus, White. c?. Head behind the eyes without a prominent spine; the la- teral margin behind produced into a slight process directed back- wards. ? . Head midway between the eyes and the posterior edge, with a strong broad spine on each side. (^ $ . Cheeks where jaws are inserted, without strong tooth on the outside. (See PI. VIII. fig. 1 b.) Labium very short (in Psa- lidognathus the labium is elongated). Jaws very strong (in female widest), with the upper surface rounded, the ends bent downwards, the edges strongly toothed and notched, the terminal tooth fitting into a groove in the other, and the ends probably lapping over each other. Palpi very prominent (PI. VIII. fig. 1 « c and 2ab). Maxillary with terminal joint largest, securiform and much dilated, penul- timate joint much shorter than the third. Labial palpi with the terminal joint much dilated. Antenna 11- jointed, with first joint * The Euchroa dinndiata of Gvierin- Menevilln, Delesseit, Voyage, p. 57. 1. 14. f. 1, and Mag. de Zool., is the iWr• >7'c>i90-;-999.-(>i : ^ i?? •ajiqs -saujuina ? i o : 6 6 O 6 to 6 •uojsoa 2 o ^? : i \^ o •jiDiMSiqo !? i i? :^? m to !• 1 •5[DtJttpUBS -5 ^ -• i ^* i i i i s* s' i - « « - - s i '>? • i i i s s g i \ c ^' •aiiqs -saujuina i i 3f -• i i » « i i cj ^ - « i «j i s i « «>• « «• i « s i an •uoisog sas^sss . . .as . .a.as^asaaaaaaaase 111 2111 ^'^''I'S"^^ 1S2111111111111 — •ui-d I •jlDtiasiqo i i i i i ^ ^ iiii^ooi « <^ g ^ i s i i ^ «• «• g i i i g 1 o 1 •ra-d f8 H« -^le» H« -i|« hI« Hw Hle» rtl« H« H '^'fif OD CO •ra"B 16 do CO Sic •uijVF -Iff) rt|(S MlffJrt^ rt^ r-C000'^tOmOa^00OC^00'-<'-Or^00OrotO .— c^c^'^C'-^^i-- — 9cx)^^•7tu:)■^co<^coc^cr)c^c^'-7H9o^(»^oooc^9 66^666666666^6^c^6^c^^^•a^6^6666666c^6^6^6^6^6 OS OS 1 :^^2^S§^2 2^g2S>S:7i^:j;^gS2^^?^^2>2i;s?ici[a^^ 1 ^^^kP-^^k^P-^^^^^^^^^^kkkkkP^^^^^^^^ •ra-B f 8 •uojsoa An (-t\ OS cr> CTi OS o CTi 0^ Os CTi CPi o> 0^ Os 0^ os os Os O o O Os O os Os os 0^ os o^ Os 1 2 moo c^ososcooo 00 -rfrfrN o coo^oo m— too t oelo^oSc.os'^OM:^criO — mo S'7'9(^^■;-9C^0^a^0^9 -ococrsfocorrjoicsiojoio ■• CO • ^ o p5 a; Jnn.JjMag.JaX. /lu-c.Yol 15. H/JX iJ.JohnsCojvMDdcL Glj'cerxc. .W.rS'pmf/'VScf THE ANNALS AND MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY, No. 97. MARCH 1845. XX, — Miscellanea Zoologica. By George Johnston, M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. [With a Plate.] British Nereides. Syllis, Savigny. Char. Body linear-elongate, slender : head small, lobed more or less in front : eyes four : antennce three, cranial, filiform, submo- niliform, similar to the tentacular cirri j of which there are two pairs : proboscis divided into two distinct portions, the aperture plain, edentulous : segments numerous : feet undivided, armed with jointed bristles ; the superior cirrus elongate, submoniliform, the inferior short, unjointed : tail with two moniliform styles : branchiae none. 1 . /^, armillaris ; pale yellowish-brown, unspotted ; head deeply lobed in front, the lobes papillary; superior cirri four times longer than the breadth of the body, submoniliform. (Plate IX. figs. 1,2, 2 A.) Nereis armillaris, Midi, Wurm, 150. tab. ^.fig. 1 — 5, copied in Encyclop. Method, pi. 55. fig. 13 — 17. Base, Vers, i. 168. Turt. Gmel. iv. 86. Hah. Among shells and stones in deep water. Berwick Bay. Desc. Animal of a pale yellowish-brown colour, dusked in some places from the earthy contents of the intestine, very slender, linear-elongate, tapered at the tail, somewhat compressed. Head distinct, small, deeply lobed in front ; the lobes porrect, papillary, coalescent behind, but separated by a line from the antenniferous portion, which is rounded and slightly convex : antennce slightly tapered, submoniliform, the medial originating from the vertex and rather longer than the lateral : eyes placed in a semicircle, the posterior pair more approximated than the anterior : proboscis long, the outer portion shorter than the basal, smooth : post- occipital segment not larger than the following, with two tentacular Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xv. M 14^ Dr. Johnston on British Nereides. cirri on eacli side, the superior longer than the inferior, submo- niliform : segments very numerous, short, or about as broad as long ; the foot obtuse, undivided, furnished with a single fascicle of colourless bristles, which are jointed and curved near the pointed apex ; the spine conical, straight : superior cirrus at least three times the breadth of the body in length, becoming gra- dually shorter near the tail, slightly tapered, submoniliform : in- ferior cirrus not projecting much beyond the foot, conical, undi- vided : styles of the tail elongate. Length 2 inches ; breadth about a line. This worm is not uncommon. The specimen figured was found among some shells and stones which had been brought up from deep water by the lines of the fishermen. It may be compared, so far as external appearance goes, with the subterranean Geo- philus : its motion is moderately quick and efiected in the usual way. To the Scyllis monilaris of Savigny this species is evidently nearly allied, and indeed I find no characters to distinguish it excepting the deeply-lobed front, and the greater comparative elongation of the superior cirri, which, in the figure of S. monilaris given by Audouin and Edwards (Hist. Nat. du Litt. de la Prance, ii. pi. 4 B. fig. 1 — 5), scarcely exceed the breadth of the body. By the same characters S. armillaris is separated from the S. fulgu- vans. I have no opportunity of comparing ours with figures of any of the other species of the genus indicated by Audouin and Edwards. Miiller^s figures of this species are very good. Any one acquainted with Annelides will at once be led, from their great development and form, to conjecture that the frontal lobes of this worm are analogous to the exterior antennae of the Nereis ; and it may be considered as giving support to the opinion of Blainville, who had come to this conclusion from the exami- nation of species in which their development is much less re- markable, and where there was little coincidence in their figure. Plate IX. fig. 1. Syllis armillaris, natural size. Fig. 2. The same mag- nified. Fig. 2 h. The head more highly magnified. 2. S.prolifera ; yellowish-brown, unspotted ; head semicircular in front, entire ; superior cirri scarcely twice the breadth of the body, very obscurely jointed, not moniliform. (Plate IX. figs. 3, 4.) Nereis prolifera. Mull. Zool. Dan. tab. ^2. fig. 5 — 9, copied in Encyclop.Meth. Vers, pi. 56. fig. 12 — 15. Turt. Gmel. iv. 90. Bosc, Vers, i. 174. Audouin et Edw. in Ann. des So. Nat. xxix. 231. note 3 ; and Hist, du Litt. de la France, ii. p. 209. note 3. Hab. Amongst corallines in deep water. Berwick Bay. Desc. Body rather more than half an inch in length, scolo- pendriform, roundish, of a yellowish-brown colour : head small, Dr. Johnston on British Nereides, 147 distinct, rounded and entire in front, with four eyes placed in a square, the anterior pair more widely set than the posterior : antenncE three, elongate, filiform, clothed with minute cilia, un- jointed : proboscis apparently without teeth or other armature : segments numerous, narrow, incised at their junctions ; the post- occipital with a pair of tentacular cirri on each side, one-half the length of the antennse ; the cirrus of the following segment elon- gate, antenniform : feet uniramous, short, entire, armed with a single fascicle of retractile simple unjointed bristles ; the superior cirrus longer than the breadth of the segments, obscurely marked with a few transverse lines or wrinkles, but not in any degree moniliform ; the inferior cirrus small, and not projecting much beyond the foot : tail tapered, tipped with a pair of styles. This little worm always kept its antennae twisted up in a spiral manner, so that it was not easy to get a distinct view of their number and location : they differ remarkably from those of the preceding species in their greater development ; and it was easy to see, with a magnifier of no high powers, that they were clothed throughout with fine cilia. Plate IX, fig. 3. Syllis prolifera of the natural size. Fig. 4. The same magnified ; 4 h, the head and anterior segments ; 4 *, the middle segments ; 4 t, the posterior extremity and styles. Glycera, Savigny. Char. Body lumbriciform, attenuated at both ends, the rings numerous, narrow : head conical, bulged at the base, prolonged into a sort of annulated horn with four minute equal antenna on the apex: tentacular cirri none: mouth inferior; the proboscis very large, clavate, two-jointed ; the terminal joint smooth, the basal joint elongate, villose with minute papillse : feet uniform, obsoletely biramous, setigerous, with a short superior and infe- rior cirrusy and sometimes branchial papillary processes : tail with a pair of short styles. In all the Nereides which we have hitherto described, the head is to be readily distinguished by its enlarged form and its dissi- milarity from the first segment ; but in the Glycera there is no marked line of separation between these parts. The head has the appearance of a small pointed horn, and is indeed so like the an- terior end of the earth-worm, that we cannot but perceive, in this sameness of character, a certain approximation to a junction be- tween the families to which the Glycera and earth-worm respec- tively belong. Yet though this is unquestionable, still the Gly- cera is not the nearest connecting link, for there are other Anne- tides errantes which partake more of the habits and character of the TerricolcB. 1. G. alba ; body most attenuated anteriorly ; jaws four ; supe- M2 148 Dr. Johnston on British Nereides. rior ramus of the foot pointed on the dorsal aspect, rather longer than the cirrus ; branchise none. (Plate IX. fig. 1 — 9.) Nereis alba, MlllL Zool Dan. Prod, 217. Zool.Dan. tab. 62. Jigs. 6, 7. Aud. et Edw. Litt. ii. 243. Turt. Gmel. iv. 89. Bosc, Vers, i. 172. Hab. In sandy places between tide-marks under stones. Berwick Bay, not uncommon. Desc. Body vermiform, round, or rather somewhat flattened on the ventral surface, tapered anteriorly to a sharp point, less ta- pered at the tail, 2^ inches long, smooth, indistinctly annular, of a yellowish- white colour, stained with the contents of the intes- tine, and marked with a red vessel down the back. Head cor- nuted, the apex surmounted with four minute antennce only visible with a magnifier. Proboscis very large, faintly striate in a lon- gitudinal direction ; the teeth brownish-black, corneous, falcate, divided into three processes at the base, inserted into a sort of tubercle forming a square round the plain oral aperture. Seg- ments very narrow, equal and numerous. Feet papillary, obscurely biramous, obtuse, pointed above at the outer angle; the cirri short, the inferior almost obsolete : bristles colourless, jointed near the apex ; the spines straight, setaceous, pellucid. Anal segment rounded, apodal, terminated with two minute styles, which are frequently cast off in the animaFs struggles. Glycera alba lives under stones, sometimes buried in the gravel or sand, but the worm never penetrates far below the surface. Its motions in the water and in the sand are slow, but when irritated the contortions of the body are violent, and it very often twists itself so as to form a short spiral column, as we have attempted to show in the first of our illustrative figures. Savigny considers his G. unicornis to be identical with the Nereis alba of Miiller. It is more probable, however, that the British species is the same as the Norwegian; the more especially as there is nothing in the description to create any doubts of their identity. The G. unicornis is remarkable for its want of jaws, affording a striking proof that organs of vast importance in the higher classes are here only of secondaiy consequence, and do not even afford a good generical character. Plate IX. fig. 1. Glycera alba, natural size, and in a favourite position. Fig. 2. The same, with the proboscis protruded. Fig. 3. The head mag- nified. Fig. 4. A view of the proboscis fully extruded. Fig. 5. The apex of the proboscis viewed in front to show the jaws. Fig. 6. Three views of a jaw detached and magnified. Fig. 7. A side-view of a foot from near the middle of the body slightly compressed. Fig. 8. A view of two feet from above. Fig. 9. A bristle highly magnified. Fig. 10. The tail magnified. [To be continued.] Ann. &Ma^. JSTat.fftytNoV.idni^. StaMra>9trii.my. £.,renncr AkT-RcOT^ del. J^.D-CScrwerbySc ^k"^fjv,^\\<,\\ ■.v\\'-'.v\;>\'' Ami lMg.^'atMst. Aol. 15. rU'li Iff ^JP^ f f S tuiuristn/jrty DesrrddiiiJn q iicLdTangidatJim. jrHalfsdel. .J.D.C-Soncrf?)' jcf \ Mr. J. Ralfs on the British Desmidiese. 149 XXI. — On the British Desmidiese. By John Ralfs, Esq., M.R.C.S., Penzance*. [With a Plate.] Staurastrum, Meyen. Fronds simple, constricted in the middle ; end view angular, or circular with the margin lobato-radiate, or in a few instances compressed with a process or mucro at each extremity. Fronds minute, simple, more or less constricted in the middle, so as to form two segments, which are often somewhat twisted, generally broader than long, and in most of the species elongated laterally into a process, so that the constriction on each side is a roundish or angular sinus ; in other respects the front view shows the segments quite entire. The end view varies in form ; in most of the species it is tri- angular or quadrangular, and the angles are either rounded or elongated into rays ; in a few it is circular, with five or more pro- cesses forming marginal rays; and in three species it is compressed, and the extremities terminate in either a process or a mucro. Ehrenberg in his great work has distributed the plants which I shall describe here among different genera, according to the number of angles or processes seen in an end view. Thus he refers those with three angles to Desmidium, and those with four to Staurastrum. He formed his genus Pentasterias for the recep- tion of a plant with five rays, and placed one with two processes in his new genus Arthrodesmus. But this arrangement appears unnatural, not only because it separates nearly allied forms, but also because the number of rays are not constant even in the same species, as Meneghini remarks; whilst Professor Bailey says, when describing an American species, " The number of arms is usually three, but 1 have met with specimens in which one cor- puscle had three and the other four arms, others in which both had/owr, and others again in which both had /ve arms;^^ I have myself seen a frond of Staurastrum paradoxumy one segment of which had four and the other only three rays. I have generally found the Pentasterias margaritifera of Ehrenberg having six rays, but not unfrequently five, and occasionally indeed even seven rays to each segment. In the following description of this genus I have taken as my guide Meneghini^s ' Synopsis Desmidiearum,^ the best work on this family which I have seen. Besides the species placed in this genus by Ehrenberg, I have included in it his Pentasterias, and those plants which he has improperly united with Desmidium, and * Read before the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, May 9, 1844. 150 Mr. J. llalfs on the British Desmidiese. also a plant which he refers to Arthrodesrmis. This last plant I was at first inclined to keep distinct, but am unable to do so, as one undoubted species [S. tetracerum) has also compressed fronds ; whilst another compressed form added by Meneghini [S. Incus) in its front view so much resembles Staurastrum mucronatum, that I am not sure it may not be a variety of it. A little care will distinguish Staurastrum from the other ge- nera in this family, although some of its species appear at first sight to approach forms which belong to them. It differs from JDesmidium in never forming a filament ; the species with com- pressed fronds differ from Cosmarium in the front view by having a process or mucro at each side of the segment. Some species have a considerable resemblance to species oi Xanthidium, but in Xan- thidium the spines are always situated on the convex surface of the segments, whilst in this genus the rays are elongations of their angles. I have divided Staurastrum into four sections. In the first, the front view is truncate at the ends, and the an- gles of each segment, prolonged in straight processes, diverge from each other. In the second, the front view shows the processes, if any, of the one segment, either parallel to or converging with those of the other ; the end view is triangular or quadrangular. In the third, the front view also shows the processes, if any, parallel or converging ; but the end view is circular, with five or more marginal rays or lobes. This section also has the central circular portion more distinct from the rays and slightly pro- duced beyond them. In the fourth, the processes, if present, are in the front view converging ; but the end view is compressed, and terminated at each extremity by a process or mucro. * In the front view the elongated processes of one segment diverge from those of the other. 1 . S. tetracerum. Fronds rough ; front view with four slender di- verging processes which are entire at the apex ; end view com- pressed, with a process at each extremity. Staurastrum paradoxum, Ehr. Infus. p. 143. tab. 10. %. 14 ; Pritch. Infus. p. 185. figs. 102, 103. Micrasterias tricera and tetracera, Ktz. Synop. Diatom, in Linnsea 1833, p. 602. figs. 83, 84 and 85. In pools, Dolgelley and Penzance. Fronds very minute; front view nearly square; the angles elongated into straight, slender processes, which diverge from each other ; frequently, however, a segment may be so twisted that one of its processes is situated behind its companion, and is not seen until carefully looked for ; in this case the frond ap- Mr. J. Ralfs on the British Desmidiese. 151 pears to have only three processes in a front view, which seems to have misled Kiitzing, who has made another species of it. The end view is much compressed, and terminated both ways by an elongated process. The frond is rough with minute granules, which form transverse lines on the processes, and give them a jointed appearance. The colouring matter is veiy pale. Ehrenberg and Meneghini unite the ^' Micrasterias tetracera^' of Kiitzing to the " Staurastrum paradoocum," Meyen ; but the latter plant has four processes at each end, whilst the present has only two, which, if I am correct in my view of the following spe- cies, differ also in their entire extremities. Plate X. fig. 1. Staurastrum tetracerum : a, front view ; b, end view ; c, side view. 2. S. paradoxum, Meyen. Fronds rough; front view with elongated diverging processes which are minutely trifid at the apex ; end view quadrangular or sometimes triangular. Meyen, Nov. Act. Leop. Holm. vol. xiv. p. 43. figs. 37, 38; Menegh. Synop. Desmid. p. 227. Micrasterias Staurastrum, Ktz. /. c. p. 599. In pools and slow streams, Dolgelley and Penzance. Fronds very minute, green, generally much constricted in the middle, the ends truncate ; each segment has generally four elon- gated processes diverging from the processes of the other seg- ment. The end view is sometimes trilateral, but generally qua- drilateral, and shows the angles elongated into rays ; I have also seen a specimen in which one segment had four and the other only three rays. In the front view the frond generally rests on one of its sides, when each segment appears to have only two processes, as the other two are covered by them ; sometimes only one process is thus hidden, and occasionally all four may be seen at the same time. The processes are elongated, colourless, and being rough with minute granules arranged in transverse lines acquire a jointed appearance ; each terminates in three minute points. When only two processes are seen at each end in the front view, this species bears much resemblance to the preceding; but its frond is more constricted, larger, of a deeper green, and its processes are thicker and not entire at the apex. In the newly-formed segment the processes are merely conical projections. Plate X. fig. 2. S. paradoxum : .a, front view ; 6, newly-formed seg- ment ; c, end view ; d, end view of new segment ; e, front and end views of three-rayed variety. 3. iS. Ufidum. Frond smooth ; front view with thick diverging pro- cesses which are deeply trifid at the apex ; end view triradiate. Desmidium bijidum, Ehr. Infus. p. 141. tab. 10. fig. 11. In boggy pools : rare. Dolgelley and Penzance. 152 Mr. J. Ralfs on the British BesmidiesEf. Fronds minute, smooth, scarcely constricted in the middle, truncate at the ends ; each segment has three elongated, straight processes, which diverge from those of the other segment ; fre- quently in the front view only four processes are visible, as one of those at each end is concealed behind another. The end view is triradiate, the rays hyaline, stout at their base and gradually tapering. In this view, as the frond is generally twisted, the rays of the lower segment may be faintly seen between those of the nearer one. The processes are really deeply trifid at the extre- mity, though in certain positions they appear bifid, in which case the diverging points are forked like the tail of a swallow. This species, even in the ft*ont view, may always be known from the two preceding ones by its smooth and divided processes. Plate X. fig. 3. S. hifidum: a, front view; h, frond dividing; c, end view ; d, newly-formed segment. ** Front view without diverging processes ; end view triangular or quadrangular. 4. S. orbiculare, Mgh. Fronds smooth: front view suborbicular ; end view bluntly triangular. Mgh. I. c. p. 225. Desmidium orbi- culare, Ehr. Infus. p. 141. tab. 10. fig. 9 ; Pritch. Infus. p. 183. In pools and slow streams. Weston Bogs near Southampton ; Rackham Common, Sussex, and Jack's Wood Spring near Tun- bridge Wells, Mr, Jenner ; Dolgelley and Penzance. Fronds rather large, smooth, deeply constricted in the middle ; the segments, broader than long, are generally in close approxi- mation for their entire breadth, and hence by their union form a suborbicular frond; their sides are rounded and have no processes. The end view is triangular, with sides straight or slightly concave and angles rounded. Staurastrum orbiculare may be recognised by its smooth frond, angles very blunt and destitute of processes, and the orbicular form of its front view. Plate X. fig. 4. S. orbiculare : a, front view ; b, end view ; c, frond di- viding. 5. S. mucronatum. Fronds smooth ; end view three-lobed; lobes in- flated, blunt, mucronate. a. In the front view the segments are transversely elHptic, and the mucro straight. /3. Segments lunate, mucro curved outwards. y. Mucro curved inwards. In shallow pools, not uncommon. Weston Bogs near Southamp- ton ; Ashdown Forest, Sussex, Mr. Jenner ; Dolgelley and Penzance. Fronds smooth, deeply constricted in the middle ; segments broader than long, rounded at the sides, which are furnished with Mr. J. Ralfs on the British Desmidiese. 153 a mucro. In a. and 7. the segments are transversely elliptic, but in /8. they are lunate. The end view shows three mammillate lobes or rays, each of which is terminated by a hair-like mucro. The smooth frond, the peculiar inflated or mammillate form of the lobes in the end view, and the terminal hair-like points, well characterize this species. P.S. — During the past summer I several times observed, scat- tered amongst various Desmidiea, orbicular spinous bodies, the colouring matter of which formed a dense green mass, which tested by iodine assumed a dark blue colour, showing its vege- table nature. On careful examination I found that each of these bodies was usually accompanied by two empty fronds of Stauras- trum mucronatum, and was placed between them, though not in actual contact. Still it appeared so unlike any sporangium I was acquainted with, that I arrived at the conviction that it was the reproductive organ of the Staurastrum, only after repeated obser- vations and tracing the formation from the commencement. I then transmitted specimens to Mr. Jenner. He also at first doubted the connexion between the fronds and the spinous body, but after a minute inspection he confirms my observations in the following words : " I think I can say positively that I have traced them from the first conjugation to the full-formed spinous body, and I now feel satisfied that they are the spores or sporangia of the Staurastrum.'^ The difficulty in detecting the connexion between the empty fronds of the Staurastrum and the sporangium depends upon the tenuity of the connecting membrane ; the fronds also are gene- rally at a considerable distance, and soon become detached. In the conjugated specimens the fronds are always smaller than usual ; I have already noticed a similar fact respecting 75?/- memorus granulatus. In Staurastrum mucronatum the conjugated fronds are at first closely connected by the formation of a bag-like receptacle which is colourless and very thin, and therefore difficult of detection. As this enlarges the fronds become more remote from each other, their segments partially separate at the constriction on the inner side, the endochrome of both passes out, unites and forms an or- bicular body between them. In this state it resembles the spo- rangium formed in some species of Closterium. At first it is in- closed in an orbicular membrane larger than itself, but as it in- creases in size and density, fine hairs make their appearance on the surface and gradually become stout spines, the membrane lastly disappears and the sporangium acquires its perfect state, covered with conspicuous acute spines. In this stage the empty fronds of the Staurastrum seem scarcely connected with the sporangium ; except that they are on 154 Mr. J. Ralfs on the British Desmidiese. opposite sides of it^ have an opening towards it, accompany it in its movements, and always retain the same relative position. The fronds of the Staw^astrum in an end view had sometimes three and sometimes four rays ; in conjugating a four-rayed va- riety would often unite with one having three rays, and occa- sionally a frond might be seen having four rays on one segment and three on the other. These facts are another proof that the number of rays on a segment cannot constitute a generic di- stinction in these plants. It is probable that, under favourable circumstances, conjugation takes place in all the BesmidiecB. It is not uncommon in various species of Closterium ; I have seen it in this genus and in Tetme- moruSy and Meneghini mentions its occurrence in Desmidium^. That the sporangia are not more frequently detected may be partly owing to their minuteness, but I beheve that once formed they descend to the bottom of the pool and become mixed with the mud. It is well known that in the Conjugatce, when all the sporangia are formed, the plant sinks to the bottom ; and I may remark in support of the opinion I have advanced, that in a small pool at Dolgelley after a shower I could not obtain a single spe- cimen of the Staurastrum in a conjugated state, although the day before the sporangia were abundant. In a few days the Stauras- trum was again plentiful, but I no longer met with any conju- gated specimens, although I frequently sought for them. Plate X. fig. 5. S. mucronatum : a, front view ; h, end view. Fig. 6. a, fronds conjugated ; h, endochrome uniting between the fronds in order to form the sporangium ; c, d and e, different stages of the sporangium ; f, per- fect state. 6. S. muricatum, Breb. Fronds muricated ; end view triangular with convex sides. Mgh. /. c. p. 226. Binatella muricata, Breb. Alg. Fal. p. QQ (1835). Desmidium apiculosum, Ehr. Infus. p. 142 ; Pritch. Infus. p. 184. /3. Fronds furnished with numerous short spines. Xanthidium del- toideum, Corda, Observ. Microscopiques sur les Animalcules de Carlsbad, p. 29. pi. 5. figs. 38, 39. In small pools. Cheshunt, Mr. Hassall ; Weston Bogs, Hants ; Rackham Common near Pulborough ; Piltdown Common near Uck- field ; Mayfield and Heathfield, Sussex, Mr, Jenner ; Dolgelley and Penzance. /3. Sussex, Mr. Jenner ; Dolgelley. Fronds deeply constricted in the middle; segments broader than long, transversely elliptic, but frequently both are in close apposition for their entire breadth, and by their union form a * Speaking of the joints he says, " demum Diatomatum more secedant, hasque simul e latere copulare in speciebus nonnullis detexit cl. Br^bisson." — Menegh, I. c. p. 203. Mr. J. Ralfs on the British Desmidiese. 165 suborbicular frond ; the sides are rounded and have no processes. The end view is bluntly triangular, with convex sides and rounded angles. In both views the frond is copiously furnished with scattered apiculi ; when it is young these are merely rough points, but in the mature plant they resemble short hairs or bristles. The former state may be mistaken for Staurastrum tricorne by those not familiar with that plant, but the convex sides in the end view distinguish S. muricatum at all stages of its growth. In this and the two preceding species, as the segments are not much twisted, the angles only of the adjacent segment are seen in the end view ; they also agree in having rounded angles which are not prolonged into processes in either view. At Dolgelley I once gathered the conjugated state of this spe- cies before the sporangium was formed. Plate XI. fig. 1. S. muricatum : a, front view ; &, end view ; c, fronds conjugated ; d, empty frond ; e, front and end view of variety, 7. S. tricorne, Mgh. Fronds rough ; end view triangular with con- cave sides and blunt entire angles. Menegh. /. c. p. 225. Bina' tella tricornis, Breb. Alg. Fal. p. 57 (1835). Desmidium hexaceros, Ehr. Infus. p. 141. tab. 10. fig. 10; Pritch. Infus. p. 184. fig. 99. In shallow pools. Weston Bogs, Hants ; Rusthall Common near Tunbridge Wells ; PHtdown Common near Uckfield ; Rackham Com- mon near Pulborough ; Ashdown Forest and Mayfield, Sussex, Mr. Jenner ; Barmouth, Rev. T. Salwey ; Dolgelley and Penzance. Fronds rough with minute granules, deeply constricted in the middle, the constriction forming a rounded sinus on each side ; segments obtuse at the sides, about twice as broad as long, trans- versely oblong. The segments are twisted, and in the front view one of them appears shorter and thicker at one of its sides in consequence of the blending together of two of the angles. The end view is triangular, with concave sides and very obtuse entire angles. The conic granules, arranged in transverse lines at the angles, are generally very minute, but in some Sussex specimens gathered by Mr. Jenner they are large, and on the margin produce a den- tate appearance. Staurastrum tricorne connects the three preceding with the two following species. It agrees with the former in having rounded entire angles, but in other respects more nearly approaches the latter. It may be known from all states of S. muricatum by the rounded sinuses of its front view. Plate XI. fig. 2. S. tricorne : a, front view ; b, end view ; c, empty seg- ment. 8. S. gracile. Fronds rough ; segments in the front view elongated on each side into a slender process, which is terminated by three 156 Mr. J. Ralfs on the British Desniidiese. minute points ; end view triradiate. Euastrum, No. 13, Bailey in American Bacillaria, pi. 1. fig. 2 — 5. Boggy pools, Dolgelley and Penzance. Fronds rough witli minute granules^ deeply constricted in the middle ; segments two or three times longer than broad, and taper- ing on each side into a slender, straight and colom-less process, which is terminated apparently by three minute points : Mr. Jenner, however, informed me that the processes really terminate in four points, although this can only be ascertained when a process is so situated as to present its extremity to the observer. On the pro- cesses the granules are more conspicuous and arranged in trans- verse lines. The end view is triradiate, and the colouring matter is confined to the centre, and forms three rays which often appear bifid. Staurastrum gracile differs from S. tricorne in its slender pro- cesses, minutely trifid at the apex. The end view somewhat re- sembles that of S. paradoxum, but this species is easily distin- guished by the parallel processes of its front view. Plate XI. fig. 3. -5*. gracile : a, front view; 6, end view ; c, empty seg- ment. 9. S. aculeatum, Mgh. Fronds spinulose ; segments in the front view with a process on each side, terminated by three minute spines ; end view triradiate. Mgh. I. c. p. 226. Desmidium acu- leatum, Ehr. Infus. p. 142. tab. 10. fig. 12 ; Pritch. Infus. p. 184. /8. End view quadrangular, with four distorted rays. In pools and slow streams. Cross- in- Hand, Sussex, Mr. Jenner ; Dolgelley. /3. Woking Common, Surrey, and Piltdown Common, Sussex, Mr. Jenner', Penzance. Fronds spinulose, much constricted in the middle ; segments broader than long, and having at each side a hyaline process which is terminated by three minute spines and frequently dis- torted. The end view is triradiate. The acute, conic spines, scattered over the surface, sufficiently mark the present species. Platii; XI. fig. 4. S. aculeatum : «, front view; h, frond dividing; c, end view ; d, end view of four-rayed variety ; e, empty frond. 10. S. dilatatum, Ehr. Fronds rough ; end view with four short, broad, truncate and entire rays. Ehr. Infus. p. 143. tab. 10. fig. 13 ; Pritch. Infus. p. 185. figs. 100 and 101 ; Menegh. /. c. p. 227. In pools amongst aquatic plants. Rusthall Common near Tun- bridge Wells, and Rackham Common near Pulborough, Sussex, Mr, Jenner; Dolgelley. Fronds very minute, rough, with minute granules, deeply con- stricted in the middle, the sinuses rounded; segments trans- Mr. J. Rails on the British Desmidieae. 157 versely oblong, twice as broad as long, obtuse at the sides and not elongated into processes. In the end view, which is qua- drangular, the sides are concave, and the angles form short, very broad, truncate rays, on which the granules are arranged in transverse lines. All the specimens of S. dilatatum which I have examined have agreed with the above description, but Meneghini describes the end view as showing from three to five rays. The broad, trun- cate and entire rays of this plant will always distinguish both its three-rayed state from all the preceding species and its five-rayed variety from S. margaritaceum, Plate XI. fig. 5. S. dilatatum : a, front view; h, end view ; c, empty frond. *** Front view without diverging processes ; end view circular, with five or more marginal rays or lobes. 11 . iS^. Arachne. Fronds rough ; segments suborbicular with elon- gated, slender, incurved processes ; end view with five slender rays. Boggy pool near Dolgelley : very rare. Fronds minute, deeply constricted in the middle; segments about as long as broad, having on each side an elongated process which is hyaline and incurved, and appears as if transversely striated on account of the minute granules. When the frond is viewed obliquely, so that three or four of the long cui'ved pro- cesses are seen at the same time, its resemblance to an insect is considerable. The end view is circular with five slender rays. This plant is remarkable for its slender processes, which will easily distinguish it from S. margaritaceum. It cannot be a five- rayed variety of S. gracile, for the rays are longer, more slender, remarkably incurved, and also entire at the extremity. Plate XI. fig. 6. S. Arachne : a, front view; b, end view. 12. S. margaritaceum, Mgh. Fronds rough; front view with short, lateral, converging processes which are entire at the apex ; end view with five or more narrow, short, obtuse rays. Mgh. /. c. p. 227. Pentasterias margaritacea, Ehr. Infus. p. 144. tab. 10. fig. 15 (1838) ; Pritch. Infus. p. 185. fig. 104. a. Rays five. j3. Rays six. y. Rays seven. In peat pools near Dolgelley, /. i2. ; Ashdown Forest, Sussex, Mr. Jenner. Fronds rough with minute granules ; in the front view the segments are convex at the ends and slightly attenuated where they are connected, and on each side is a short, linear, obtuse and 158 Mr. J. Ralfs on the British Dcsmidiese. entire process which is generally somewhat incurved. The end view is elevated in the centre, and has from five to seven short, narrow, obtuse marginal rays. In the front view this species differs from all the preceding by its segments being of a subglobose form and attenuated at their junction, and by the short, linear, obtuse, lateral processes which also appear more distinct from the body of the segment ; its end view may be distinguished from that of their many-rayed varie- ties by the elevation of the centre, and the short, narrow, entire rays. Plate XL fig. 7. a^. margaritaceum : a, front view j h, end view. 13. 5^. Jenneri. Segments in the front view with a toothed angle at each side ; end view circular, with five or six broad, short, toothed lobes or processes. Mayfield, Sussex, Mr. Jenner. Fronds large, rough, with conic granules which give a den- tate appearance to the outline ; segments about as broad as long, produced into a toothed angle on each side, where also a trian- gular sinus is formed between the angles. The end view is cir- cular and elevated in the centre, and has five or six broad, short, toothed marginal lobes. The transverse view has a large central opening surrounded by a row of large granules. Plate XI. fig. 8. S. Jenneri: a, front view; b, end view; c, transverse view of empty frond. **** Front view without diverging processes ; end view compressed, and having a process or mucro at each extremity. 14. S. convergens, Mgh. Fronds smooth ; in the front view the seg- ments are elongated at each side into a conic spine which is curved inwards ; end view compressed with a spine at each extremity. Mgh. I. c. p. 228. Arthrodesmus convergens, Ehr. Infus. p. 152. tab. 10. fig, 18; Pritch. Infus. p. 190. figs. 112 and 113. Eu- astrum, Bailey, American Bacil. pi. 1. fig. 11. In pools. Brambletye near East Grimstead, and Rackham Com- mon near Pulborough, Sussex, and Rusthall Common near Tunbridge Wells, Mr. Jenner ; Dolgelley and Penzance. Fronds smooth, deeply constricted in the middle ; segments broader than long ; their spine4ike processes, by curving inwards, converge towards each other on the same side. This plant was placed by Ehrenberg in Arthrodesmus {Scene- desmus) ; but it has no affinity with the true species of that genus. Plate XII. fig. I. ^S*. convergens : a, front view; h, end view. 15. S. Incus, Mgh. Fronds smooth ; in the front view the segments are lunate and have a mucro at each angle ; end view elliptic, with Mr. J. Ralfs on the British Desmidieae. 159 a mucro at each extremity. Mgh. l. c. p. 228. Euastrum, Bailey, Amer. Bacil. pi. 1. fig. 12 .? Shallow pools. Weston Bogs near Southampton ; Rackham Com- mon near Pulborough, Sussex, Mr. Jenner ; Dolgelley and Penzance. Fronds very minute, smooth, deeply constricted in the middle ; segments externally lunate, about twice as broad as long, their angles with a mucro which is generally curved outwards. The end view is elliptic with a mucro at each extremity. The front view of this species bears a considerable resemblance to that of Staurastrum mucronatum, but the end view is very different. Plate XII. fig. 2. S. Incvs : a, front view; b, frond dividing; c, end view. 16. S.} octocorne. Fronds smooth, compressed ; segments broader than long, with four angles, each terminating in a spine ; end view subelliptic, with a spine at each extremity. Arthrodesmus octO" cornis, Ehr. Infus. p. 152. Boggy pools near Dolgelley : rare. Fronds minute, deeply constricted in the middle; segments broader than long, having four angles, each of them terminated by a slender spine, the intervals between them concave. The spines diverge from each other. Endochrome pale. The newly-formed segments at first have only two spines, and in this state somewhat resemble those of Staurastrum Incus j of which indeed this plant may eventually prove a variety. But S, Incus has only two spines on each segment, and its end is not concave but truncate. Meneghini refers the Arthrodesmus octocornis, Ehr., to Micras- terias ; but if the plant above described be identical with Ehren- berg^s, of which I have little doubt, it cannot be placed in a ge- nus distinguished by its deeply lobed and incised fronds, and I therefore presume the Micrasterias octocornis, Mgh., must be a different plant from the Arthrodesmus octocornis of Ehrenberg*. The characters of Staurastrum are not strictly applicable, but I have placed this plant in that genus because it cannot be sepa- rated from >S^. Incus. Further examination has indeed led me to doubt whether the two preceding and allied species do not equally require removal, but as their description is already in the press, I must here content myself by stating the change in my views respecting them. * " Arthrodesmus octocornis. Corpusculis viridibus, leviter compressis qua- drangulis binis singulis quadricornubus," Ehr. " Micrasterias octocornis, ceHuhs inciso-radiatis, radiis quatuor, attenuatis, acutis, divergentibus ; e latere elongato-ellipticis, medio compressis, super- ficie Isevi." — Mgh. I. c. p. 216. 160 Mr. J. Ralfs on the British Desmidieae. In all three species the frond is compressed, and the acute subulate spines seem more like those present in some species of Xanthidium than the processes which terminate the angles in Staurastrum. They may therefore form a section of Xanthidium, or what is perhaps better, a distinct genus, for which Ehrenberg's name Arthrodesmus should be retained. Plate XII. fig. 3. -5". octocorne : «, front view ; b, frond dividing; c, end view. 4 {Front view with straight, diverging processes 2 Front view with the processes, if any, parallel or con- verging 4 r Processes smooth, deeply divided at the apex hijidum. 2. < Processes rough with minute granules, entire or ter- L minated by three minute points 3 End view compressed and having an entire process at each extremity tetracerum. End view with three or four rays, each terminated by three minute points paradoxum. r End view compressed and having a spine or mucro at 4.-< each extremity 5 L End view with five or more angles or rays 6 K r Segments with four spines octocorne. * \ Segments with two spines 5* r Segments transversely elliptic ; spines incurved convergens. 5* -< Segments with truncate ends; spines generally directed L outwards Incus. {End view with three or four angles or rays 7 End view circular, with five or more marginal rays or lobes 13 {End view with four broad, truncate, entire rays dilatatum. End view with three angles or rays, each of which is either rounded or else terminated by minute spines. 8 ^ r Each ray terminated by three minute spines 9 ' I. End view with rounded and entire angles 10 Q J Fronds spinulose aculeatum. ' "1, Fronds rough with minute granules gracile. ,^ r Fronds muricated, or rough with minute granules 11 * t Fronds smooth 12 ,, r End view with convex sides muricatum. '\ End view with concave sides tricorne. 12 r Angles inflated, mucronate mucronatum. '\ Angles neither inflated nor mucronate orbicular e. ,„ rEnd view with broad, toothed lobes Jenneri. * \ End view with entire rays 14 ,. J Processes short, stout tnargaritaceum. * \ Processes long, slender Arachne. ATUv.&MoM.Mcut.Itust. Vol. J 6. Fl.Xm. M.Q. Couch del. A Morp/bolo^T/ oj-" ^bopkyte^s MoU del. J'-.Basirf ,cr. Ji£o/p/bolo^2/ of 6r'ra^s. es Mr. R. Q. Coiic'h on the Morphohgy of Zoophjtes, 161 XXII. — On the Morphology of the different Organs of Zoophytes, By R. Q. Couch, M.R.C.S.L * [With a Plate.] The subject which I have to bring under the notice of the So- ciety today is, if it proves true, one of great beauty and unusual interest, inasmuch as the lowest forms of animal life will in the development be found to be governed by the same laws that govern the growth of flowering plants. The vegetable law to which I refer is the metamorphosis of the leaf into the various organs which constitute the perfect plant. This law is now so well established and so generally allowed that nothing is required to be said of it ; on the present occasion I shall therefoi^ proceed to discuss its application to the animal kingdom. To Professor E. Forbes belongs the merit of first promulgating the theory of the morphology of the reproductive system of the Sertularian Zoophytes and its analogy with the reproductive organs of flow- ering plants. This he did at the late meeting of the British As- sociation held at Yorkf. It is an opinion I have long enter- tained, and in elucidation of which I have for some time been examining almost all the species found on our shores. The views were so new that I hesitated to adopt them, and had I not found that they were held and published by others, I should not now have brought them before this meeting. I do so to show how far the theory of Professor E. Forbes is supported by inductive ob- servations ; and that though we pursued in a great measure dif- ferent paths, we yet arrived at similar conclusions. As Professor Forbes confined his observations to the genera Sertularia and Plumularia, they are the ones which will be referred to here, though the same observations may be extended to several genera of the Ascidian Zoophytes ; Crisia and Cellularia for instance. In making these observations I shall refer to their growth ab ovo, and trace the different parts through their development to the fully formed character. These creatures resemble plants in their ar- borescent appearance, rooted character, and the transient nature of their reproductive organs. The Sertularian genera have an external horny, elastic and irritable sheath, and this incloses a central granular pulp which extends into all the ramifications and from which all the other parts are formed. On the branches are numerous variously shaped and variously arranged cup-like cells ; but their arrangement and shape are always alike in the same, but difi'erent in different species. These are the polype cells, in * Read before the Natural History Society of Penzance, Dec. 3, 1 844, and communicated by the author. t As reported in the Athenaeum. The entire paper, illustrated by a plate, was inserted in our Number for December 1844. Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xv. N 162 Mr. R. Q. Couch on the Morphology of Zoophytes. which the polypes or prehensile portions are situated. The polypes are attached inferiorly to the central granular pulp which ramifies through the centre of the trunk and branches, and are indeed formed of it. These are the only portions of the creatures exposed to the influence of the surrounding water, and by these the food is taken, digested, and the nourishment distributed to all the other parts. In many species the polypes are exceedingly numerous, but though they are entirely independent of each other as regards their individual life and nourishment, yet they can- not be considered as distinct animals ; for the whole production seems to be but one compound creature, derived from the same source, the pulp and all tending to carry out the same object. In this respect they resemble trees ; each branch is independent of all the others and may be cut off without injury to the whole, and yet all together they constitute the perfect polypidom. At particular seasons, extending from the middle of summer to autumn, and in fine weather to the early parts of winter, there are other and differently shaped cells developed, which are larger than those previously mentioned as containing the polypes. These are the ovigerous vesicles, which after having performed their function drop off and disappear. In this they differ from most other animals, in which the reproductive organs are, in duration, coextended with the lives of the creatures, and offer a remark- able analogy to similar parts in plants both in their decay and periodical re-appearance. " These organs,^^ Professor Forbes says, " in their nature, have often been discussed but never explained." By their natm-e the Professor cannot mean the function they perform in the oeconomy of the creature^s existence, since that is established by numerous and accurate observations ; but rather I presume the nature of the type from which they have undergone their ideal metamorphosis. In this he is certainly correct, and the present observations are intended to elucidate this, and in some measure to extend it. The reproductive gemmules are very minute globular bodies, surrounded by numerous vibratory cilia which are in constant action. The mode in which they are formed will be briefly described hereafter. As soon as they have escaped from the ovigerous capsule into the surrounding water, they move about with great rapidity in a revolving manner, like the earth on its axis. While examining them in a bottle I could perceive that they occasionally stopped, and then again would rapidly move from spot to spot. In this way they move about from one hour to nearly two days, depending apparently on the temperature and the nature of the surrounding surfaces. They would occasionally rest on the glass for a few minutes, and then, as if the spot was an unfavourable one, again start off and revolve as rapidly as before, frequently changing their form from the cir- cular to the oval ; sometimes acquiring an hour-glass contraction, Mr. R. Q. Couch on the Morphology of Zoophytes. 163 and at others assuming the appearance of having an enlarged head and a narrow and contracted tail. But having once fixed itself, it remains rooted ever after. From the period it first be- comes fixed it speedily undergoes a change in tint, but this how- ever would hardly be perceptible except to a practised eye. When this has taken place small fibres are given out from the base, or all that portion in contact with the glass. These consti- tute the roots by which the creature becomes fixed. From this point it quickly rises into the arborescent form of the adult. This is a remarkable change ; for here we see a creature in its youngest form moving about with almost the irregularity of voluntary mo- tion, yet in a short time becoming rooted and taking on so much of the vegetable form and appearance, as to have required, at the hand of Ellis, repeated observations and accurate demonstrations to persuade us to the contrary. The seed being fixed, the upper portion becomes elongated without any distinction of parts, and the first joint of the creature is formed. Taking the sea- thread, Laomedea geniculata, as an example best calculated to show the analogies between the formation of the polype cells and ovarian vesicles, the central pulp of the seed becomes the central gra- nular pulp of the adult. After the ovule has become superiorly elongated to a distance equal to the usual length of the cell and its footstalk, it enlarges and becomes bulbous. All is now one undefined mass ; but in the course of a few hours the stalk be- comes shrivelled, and the bulbous termination acquires a deeper tint towards the centre and lighter towards the circumference. At first this central shade is slight and indistinct, but it soon be- comes darker and more defined. As this condensation or orga- nization advances, the pulp becomes more transparent at its cir- cumference, and darker towards the centre. At this stage the transparent circumference appears to be drawn into transverse folds, as if from a force acting towards the centre, and leaves be- hind a transparent horny covering which eventually forms the walls of the future cell. In this way the whole of the pulp be- comes separated from the investing sheath. This being eff'ected, the upper edge of the bulbous portion of the pulp acquires a ser- rated edge, which in a short time becomes more and more di- stinct and enlarged, and finally is produced into finger-like pro- longations forming the tentacula of the polype. It is by an ex- tension of development that the horny cell is opened, and not by any mechanical pressure as has been supposed, since the only source of pressure is from the polype, and that is not in contact with it at the time. In this the polypes are formed from the central granular pulp in all the Sertularian species, having but very slight modifications in the difi'erent genera. The prolon- gation of the stem is formed in precisely the same manner, but N2 16 i Mr. R. Q. Couch on the Morphology of Zoophytes. without a bulbous termination. The granular matter or pulp, which is at first diffused, becomes condensed or organized to- wards the centre, leaving the investing sheath in its annular form, and no further development goes on. It is this cessation of growth for the purposes of organization that regulates the length of the internodes both of the trunk and branches. Hence also arise many of the irregularities so frequently observed. If growing in a variable situation, some of the internodes are short, while others are nearly double the usual length, depending on the vigour with which each portion is developed. These varia- tions are more observable in Sert. pumila than in the Sea-thread [Laomedea) . The formation of the ovarian vesicle, in this genus at least, occurs in a very similar manner to what has been described in the polype cell and trunk. The ovarian vesicles are cells formed during the summer and autumn in situations varying with the diiferent species ; and these having performed their function of reproduction are periodically shed, to be replaced by others at some future time. Their first appearance are small protube- rances or elongations of the part on which they rest. At first a darker appearance of the pulp and sheath is observed on the part in which the vesicle is about to be produced. This is prolonged precisely in the manner noticed in the formation of the polype cell and trunk, and the separation of the pulp from the sheath occurs also in the same manner. It increases in length to the usual length of the vesicle, and with the exception that its axis is larger, resembles a branch in everything. But instead of being produced into a polype as in the polype cell, the surface becomes marked with circular lines, which, as development goes on, as- sumes the form of small grains or globules, more or less em- bossed according to the stage of advancement. They rapidly become more and more defined arid separated from each other, but remain attached to the central pulp by an umbilical cord. This also becomes more attenuated and finally gives way, and the gemmule remains free in the horny case. These gemmules have a central granular pulp surrounded by a semitranslucent zone or case, and have their surfaces covered from a very early stage of their formation with numerous vibratory cilia. In this free state they remain in the case a short time, for the upper portion of the vesicle opens and the remarkably active gemmules revolve rapidly from spot to spot, as has been previously described. From this it will be perceived that the function of these periodic vesicles is reproduction, and therefore, when Prof. Forbes says that their nature is unknown, he can mean only the ideal form, from which he supposes them changed during their develop- ment. Mr. R. Q. Couch on the Morphology of Zoophytes. 165 From the foregoing observations it will appear, that in the earliest stages of growth, the stem, the polype cells and the ovarian vesicles of the Sea-threads, Laomedea, are precisely alike, and that at a particular point of their development each assumes its indi- vidual character. The stem advances to one point and is there arrested in its organization ; the polype cell advances to the same point, but instead of being arrested, the pulp becomes developed into a polype and the sheath into a cell. This however seems to be only the case when the termination is bulbous ; for in many instances I have seen that where the pulp was not bulbous, but of the same diameter throughout, and about the size of the stem, that no polype has been developed, but merely a distorted branch. Where specimens grow in unfavourable situations, such distor- tions are not unfrequently to be found ; and most of them I be- lieve are attributable to this cause. This malformation is most frequently to be seen in Sert. polyzonias, rosacea, and a few other kindred species. The ovarian vesicle also advances as the branch and cell, but instead of being of equal diameter throughout, as the former, or bulbous at its extremity, as the latter, it is enlarged or bulbous throughout its extent, and is united to the branch or trunk by a narrow and short peduncle. Instead of the vesicle being arrested in its growth at the same point as the stalk, or organized into a polype as in the cell, it becomes developed into numerous minute globes covered with vibratory cilia as previously mentioned. Here then we see a great similarity between the different organs of these creatures, — a similarity so great as to warrant the supposi- tion of their primary identity and subsequent individualization, even if there were no others. In Sertularia polyzonias I have several times seen a polype cell terminate in a distorted branch ; and on the other side I have seen a branch terminate in a polype cell, showing a convertibility Into each other. In all my examinations I have never seen the ovarian vesicle occupied by a polype. Ellis, however, has figured something like this with the polype protruding, but he says nothing of the kind in his text, and I am unacquainted with any one who has wit- nessed anything of the sort, though observers have become nu- merous since Dr. Johnston^s work has been published. I have however seen a cell, apparently designed for a vesicle, small in its growth and occupied by a polype. This form of vesicle has been selected for my illustration, because, if I understand Prof. Forbes, it is the one about which he had doubts. At some future time, when I have a little more leisure, I should like to offer a few observations on others and diversified forms of these transitory cells. 166 Mr. J. BlackwalPs Ornithological Notes. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XIII. A. Fig. 1. Earliest state of branch. Fig. 2. Earliest state of polype cell. Fig. 3. Earliest state of ovarian ve- sicle. Fig. 4. A second state of fig. 1. Fig. 5. A second state of fig. 2. Fig. 6. A second state of fig. 3. Fig. 7. Perfect state of branch fig. 1. Chapel Street, Penzance, Dec. 3, 1 844. Fig. 8. Perfect form of fig. 2. Fig. 9. Perfect form of fig. 3. Fig. 10. Showing a cell of Sert. poly- zonias converted into an imperfect branch. Fig. li. An abortive branch of -Ser^. polgzonias converted into a polype cell. XXIII. — Ornithological Notes, By John Blackwall, F.L.S. The Osprey, Pandion Haliaetus. On the 3nd of November 1844^ Lord Edward Thynne obligingly sent to me a specimen of the osprey, which had been shot by Mr. Griffith Jones of Glyn, on the same day, near the banks of the Lleder, a small river in Caernarvonshire, which flows past the village of Dolwyddelan. It was a male bird, and measured five feet and an inch from tip to tip of the extended wings ; twenty- two inches from the point of the bill to the extremity of the tail ; and weighed three pounds and a quarter, after the remains of a bull-trout, which, when newly captured, must have weighed about two pounds, had been taken from its craw. Several days previously to the 2nd of November this bird had been seen flying about the river Conway in the vicinity of Bettws y Coed, and it is a remarkable fact, that three years since another individual of the same species was killed within a hundred yards of the spot where this was shot. The Tawny Owl, Symium Aluco. A hole in a decayed tree is usually selected by the tawny owl for the reception of its eggsj but in the neighbourhood of Llanrwst, where this species is numerous and decayed trees are comparatively scarce, it frequently deposits its eggs in an old nest of the carrion crow. In May 1844 one of a brood of young owls bred in a crowds nest accidentally fell to the ground before it was fledged, and was as carefully attended to by the parent birds under this change of circumstances as those were which remained in the nest, being abundantly supplied with mice and small birds. When any per- son approached the spot where the young owl stood, one of the parent birds, probably the female, invariably made its appearance, and with looks and gestures expressive of the utmost solicitude reiterated a loud sharp cry, and snapped its mandibles together by way of menacing the unwelcome intruder. Mr. J. Black wall's Ornithological Notes. 167 Possessing a voice susceptible of considerable modulation, the calls of the tawny owl are, perhaps, more varied than they are generally supposed to be ; the cry termed hooting, by which it is most familiarly known, may be heard to the distance of a mile and a half or even two miles under very favourable circumstances, and is attended by a peculiarity deserving of notice. In the first instance a plain hoot is ejaculated, which is soon followed by a tremulous one, and in the interval between the two a low abrupt note occurs, which immediately precedes the latter ; such is uni- formly the order of succession w^hen nothing unusual happens to interrupt it. Some years ago a pair of barn owls reared their young in the deserted nest of a magpie, built in a spruce fir growing in a wood at Blackwall, the family estate, in Derbyshire. The Pied Flycatcher, Muscicapa luduosa. In my ' Researches in Zoology,^ p. 166, I have succinctly no- ticed the fact that the pied flycatcher breeds in Gwydir woods, near Llanrwst. From more extended observations subsequently made in the same district, I may now add, that this interesting species is to be seen every summer sparingly dispersed throughout the entire extent of the valley of the Conway. For a long series of years a pair of pied flycatchers had incu- bated their eggs and nurtured their young in security in a small aperture close by the portico to the principal entrance of my father's residence, Hendre House, Denbighshire, undisturbed, apparently, by the frequent passing and repassing of its inmates. The lively effect of the well-defined and strongly-contrasted black and white plumage of the male, his short but pleasant song, and the confiding habits of both sexes rendered them objects of great interest to all the members of the family, who did not allow them to be molested on any pretext whatever. Unfortunately, on the 18th of June 1843, a swarm of bees discovered the aperture, which then contained a brood of nestlings nearly fledged, and by hurrying in and out of it and flying about the entrance in large numbers, seemed determined to dispossess the rightful owners. Whenever the parent birds attempted to approach the spot for the purpose of feeding their young, they were instantly attacked and repelled by the excited bees, from which they took refuge among the branches of an oak growing near, and there mani- fested their anxiety by notes and actions expressive of extreme uneasiness. After having been severely stung, the nestlings fluttered to the mouth of the aperture and descended to the ground, where they all perished, their bodies being much swollen. Towards the close of April 1844, the same pair of birds re- 168 ^Ir. J. Black vvalFs OrnitJwlogical Notes. turned to their favourite breeding haunt, and repeatedly visited the aperture so long occupied by their nest ; but being again as- sailed by the bees, which had removed to a parallel aperture on the other side of the portico, it is probable that the incident re- called the destruction of their progeny in the preceding year, for they eventually deserted the place, and selected a hole in a low stone wall by the side of the avenue leading to the house, in w^hich they constructed a nest and brought up their young. This instance, and other cases might be adduced, evidently tends to show that the pied flycatcher resorts annually to the same locality for the purpose of continuing its species, and that, like its congener the spotted flycatcher, it is a very familiar bird during the breeding-season. The Carrion Crow, C&rvus Cor one. It is evident from repeated inspections of the indigestible part* of objects swallowed by the crow as food, which, like the magpie and birds of the order Raptor es, it ejects from the mouth, that vegetable substances form no inconsiderable portion of its ali- ment ; it devours fish also, particularly eels, in pursuit of which it wades into the shallow water of rivers and brooks that flows over beds of stone and gravel, seizing the object of its search with the bill and conveying it to land, where it is eaten at leisure^ Crows thus occupied may frequently be seen by the salmon-fisher w^hen following his exciting diversion on the banks of the Conway in the picturesque valley which derives its name from the stream. The Rev. John Boulger of Llanrwst informs me that in June last he saw a crow on the wing with a fine living eel in its bill ; the contortions of the fish as it endeavoured to escape from its formi- dable enemy and the varied gesticulations of the bird, occasioned by its efforts to retain a prey so muscular, flexible, and slippery, W' ere very grotesque and amusing ; at length the eel extricating^ itself from the grasp of the crow fell to the ground, and as there was not any water in the immediate vicinity, Mr. Boulger availed himself of the opportunity to examine the fish and satisfy his mind that it was not a snake. Though of a much less social disposition than the rook, never- theless the crow is not so solitary in its habits as it is generally represented to be in works on ornithology. When the breeding- season is over, and the young birds are capable of providing for themselves, the crows belonging to this district assemble in large flocks about the close of day, preparatory to repairing to their roosting-haunts in the higher parts of Gwydir woods; they are very clamorous on these occasions, and do not finally retire to rest till it is nearly dark, but frequently after they seem to have settled for the night, rise suddenly in a body, renewing Mr. J. BlackwalPs Ornithological Notes, 169 their vociferous calls and wheeling about in involved curves^ as they are joined by newly-arrived groups, or even without any apparent cause whatever. This habit of congregating in an evening continues till the next breeding season, and 1 have some- times observed betwen 100 and 200 individuals in a flock. The Rook, Corvus frugilegus. Bewick, in treating upon the rook in his ' History of British Birds,' vol. i. p. 71, has remarked that he is inclined to consider the naked condition of the base of the bill and the anterior re- gion of the head in this species as an original peculiarity, appa- rently intending to intimate thereby a belief that at no period of its existence are the parts in question covered with feathers, a construction of the passage which is countenanced by his having omitted to notice the fact that young rooks, before their first moult, do not exhibit this deficiency of plumage. Now as young rooks, when they quit the nest, have the base of the bill and the anterior part of the head amply provided with feathers, the ques- tion naturally arises, How is the nudity of these parts in old birds occasioned ? On referring to my ' Researches in Zoology,' p. 174-175, it will be seen that in the year 1834 I advocated the opinion pre- valent among ornithologists, that the loss of the feathers alluded to above is attributable to the habit which the rook has of thrust- ing its bill into the ground in search of food. An extensive examination and comparison of specimens had led me to observe that the nudity extends further and is more com- plete in some individuals than in others ; that the more promi- nent and exposed parts are first deprived of feathers, and that short filiform processes, bearing a close resemblance to new feathers enveloped in membrane, frequently occur on the less prominent and less exposed parts, particularly on the flaccid skin which occupies the angle at the base of the lower mandible. In addition to these facts, I may remark that an opportunity had presented itself of inspecting a rook whose mandibles were so greatly curved in opposite directions, and, consequently, so much crossed at the extremities, that it could not possibly thrust its bill into the ground, and the base of that organ and the anterior part of the head did not manifest the least deficiency of plumage. With such evidence in its favour, I was induced to adopt the popular hypothesis, which I now abandon in consequence of having recently proved by experiment that it is erroneous. Being supplied by George Davies, Esq. with two young rooks taken from a nest in his rookery at Cyffdu on the 17th of May 1843, I put them into a large wooden chicken -pen, purposing, when they could take their food without assistance, to remove one of them to a garden enclosed with walls, where it might have 170 Mr. J. BlackwalPs Ornithological Notes. an opportunity of employing the means of procuring sustenance common to the species, and to let the other remain in the pen. This plan was frustrated by the unexpected death of one of the young birds soon after it came into my possession ; but the re- sult of the experiment, as will be seen in the sequel, was not at all affected by this untoward circumstance. In the month of August the surviving rook lost only a few feathers from various parts of its body, but did not moult regularly till July and August 1844, when the feathers at the base of the bill and on the ante- rior region of the head were cast off, and have not been renewed to the present hour, though the bird has always been remarkably healthy and has never on any occasion been suffered to leave the pen for a moment. That rooks in a state of liberty usually moult in the autumn of the year in which they are disengaged from the e^^ may be inferred from the fact, that although numerous indi- viduals, whose shrill voices evidently denote that they are young birds of the season, may be seen in the months of June and July with the base of the bill and anterior part of the head abundantly supplied with feathers, yet for several months prior to the breed- ing-season not one can be perceived, at least as far as my own observations extend, which has not those parts denuded. From what has been stated, it is evident that the phsenomenon under consideration has a physiological, not a mechanical cause, though the removal of the plumage may be facilitated by the frequently repeated act of thrusting the bill into the ground, and the circumstances which seemed to support the opposite conclu- sion admit, for the most part, of an easy explanation upon this view of the subject. The difference observable in the extent and completeness of the nudity at the base of the bill and the anterior part of the head of the rook probably depends upon the progress which has been made in moulting, especially among the younger birds ; and the earlier denudation of the more prominent parts may be occasioned by the friction consequent upon the manner in which the bill is employed in procuring food. The short fili- form processes so common on the depressed and less-exposed parts present a difficulty of which no satisfactory solution sug- gests itself; but the state of the plumage on the head of that rook whose mandibles were greatly crossed may be accounted for on the supposition that it was a young bird which had not moulted. Had the experiment recorded by Mr. Waterton in his ' Essays on Natural History,^ p. 136-139, been successful, this question, upon which public opinion has been so long divided, would have been settled some years earlier ; unfortunately, however, both the young rooks selected for the purpose of deciding it met with un- timely deaths, one before it had begun to moult, and the other soon after it had commenced moulting. On Mr. Waterton's re- turn from Bavaria, his gamekeeper, to whose care the latter bird (AUAAi?- r. If. }\urh, M< J. Bastre- . (iL/,, Mr. C. W. Peach on the ''Niggei^" or ''Cotton Spinner.^' 171 had been consigned, informed him that at the period when its existence terminated " the lower mandible had begun to put on a white scurfy appearance, while here and there a few feathers had fallen from the upper one." It is to be regretted that the issue of this experiment was not more satisfactory, as from the nature of the case it was impossible to determine whether the feathers lost from the base of the bill would be renewed or not, though feathers shed from other parts in the act of moulting are known to be reproduced. The rook visits orchards and gardens when cherries and wal- nuts are ripe, for the purpose of feeding on those fruits ; it also devours grain of various kinds, and frequently commits depreda- tions in potato-grounds by abstracting the newly-planted sets ; but I entirely concur with those naturalists who maintain that the injuries it inflicts on the farmer and gardener are vastly more than compensated by the benefits it confers upon them by the destruction of noxious insects. XXIV. — On the ''Nigger" or " Cotton Spinner " of the Cornish Fishermen. By Charles William Peach, of Goran Haven, Cornwall*. [With a Plate.] Through the kindness of Mr. Couch of Polperro, some time ago, I was gratified with a sight of Professor Forbes' s ' History of the British Echinodermata.' In that interesting work, at page 341, he says, " We have as yet no representative of the typical Holo- thuria with twenty tentacula in the British fauna." It is gra- tifying to me to be able to present to your notice that link, which was then wanting, — a Holothuria with twenty tentacula ; and as it is a new and interesting subject, I trust I shall be pardoned in giving you a lengthened history of its appearance, habits, &c. This Holothuria is very common in deep water ofi" the Dead- man in certain localities (rocky ground), and is called by the fisher- men a " Nigger," and at times a " Cotton Spinner" ; it is held by them in great detestation, from its throwing out what they call " cotton," of which more by and by, and from its slimy nature, and also because where the " Niggers " are numerous and get into the crab-pots, it is very rarely that either crabs or lobsters are caught, and therefore they kill all they come near with their knives, because they do not like to touch them. This is not wonderful, for their appearance is anything but prepossessing ; yet they are interesting objects to me, and no doubt will prove so to others, after I have described them. * Read before the Royal Polytechnic Institution of Cornwall, and com- municated by the author. 172 Mr. C. W. Peach on the " Nigger " or " Cotton Spinner'' First, then, their appearance, when closed up, very much re- sembles a small cucumber, the back being dark — almost black at times — and the under part light yellowish green, which, with the thorn-like appendages on the back, make the appearance more complete. On being handled they stain the hand light green : this colour is not easily washed out. The head is furnished with twenty tentacula, which surround the mouth ; the opening is to- lerably large, and can be very much expanded ; and it is amusing to watch the motions of the tentacula acting as feeders ; they place them one by one over the mouth, and when one is about to leave the mouth another may be seen bending to supply its place. The tentacula vary in colour as well as the animals. Some are very dark brown, and indeed all shades from sienna to rose-colour and delicate pink. If the tentacula are viewed from the upper part they are club-shaped on the top, this club being placed on a foot-stalk an inch in length, which is retractile, and is invariably of a lighter colour than the top. When seen from the under side, (PI. XIV. fig. 2,) they appear like the umbels of the elder, and are beautifully branched and tipped, much in the manner of the elder flowers ; indeed they might be mistaken (if large enough) for that flower, only the foot-stalk is so much thicker in proportion. There is a dark spot at the junction of each fork of the umbel, each di- vision is thrice-branched, and a similar dark spot may be ob- served at the lower part of each tentacle. They can completely close in their tentacula, which they do on being disturbed ; and they use them at times as organs of locomotion. Outside the ten- tacula is a border of spines like processes on a skin, which reaches a short way up the tentacula, and serves as a covering when these are withdrawn. These spines very much resemble the thorns of the brier ; the back and sides are covered with similar ones, but not in rows. Near the tip of each spine is a small calcareous piece which is again tipped with dark. The under side is fm-- nished with feelers in very great numbers ; these feelers are in four rows, the two centre ones being nearest together. The feelers being in four rows only is singular, being a departure from the usual numbers in the Echinodermata, namely five. Still I saw only four rows in several. It is a most difficult matter to be able to count the rows, from the slimy and decomposing nature of the animal. I will follow this up and try to set the matter at rest ; at present I am satisfied they have only four rows. They very much resemble those of an Echinus, but are not in equal num- bers in each row, being from one to four, side by side, across the row. These feelers they stretch out to a great length, and attach themselves firmly by them ; so much so, that in trying to detach them the feelers have been frequently left behind. Each feeler has a small, round, calcareous plate at the tip, which, under the of the Cornish FisJierinen. 173 microscope, shows that it is composed of innumerable plates, an object of great beauty ; these plates effervesce with acid, and so do the plates of the mouth and tips of the processes. When the softer parts of the feelers are cut transversely, they are composed of fine tubes, and when magnified have very much the appearance of some of the corals. The animal is covered with a dark slimy mucilaginous skin, which peels ofi" freely ; under- neath this it is light gray, and has a reticulated appearance, re- sembling bird^s-eye maple. They are of various sizes and lengths, often nearly a foot in length and thick in proportion ; they some- times draw themselves almost into a ball, at others are much inflated in the centre. At times they lie motionless, but generally they are in motion. So much for the external appearance. The jaws are composed of five strong calcareous plates, to these the tentacula are attached, and from the under side in the inte- rior of the animal extend five broad muscles, which reach the whole length. These are again held together by a great number of smaller ones placed transversely, until nearly reaching the lower part, when they are diagonal, no doubt for the pm'pose of closing the opening at the opposite end to the mouth. They eat portions of dead fish, shells, &c. (I have reasons for believing Terebella) . I have found in their intestines a Buccinum incrassatum, with the animal in it, portions of Balani, Echini, Nullipora, sand, &c. The faeces are thrown out with a jerk, and are of an oblong-oval shape, strung together like the eggs of a snake, and are of a dark mud-colour. There is one circumstance connected with these things of in- terest, — they are enveloped in a film so tenacious that it is a dif- ficult matter to rub them to pieces in the water j on exposure to air they lose their tenacity and crumble to pieces. The circum- stance I allude to is, that this tenacious covering will explain in some measure the preservation of the coprolites of the ancient Saurians found in the blue lias ; for in all probability they were enveloped in a similar tenacious covering. In Professor Forbes^s work there is a question how the water which is found in the interior enters. If I understand it right this is a doubtful matter ; probably the following may in some measure explain it: — Theyraise the opening at the opposite end to the mouth, open it wide, and I expect create a vacuum ; the water then flows into it freely. After a short time they close this, and by a muscular motion it may be observed as if passing towards the head. This taking in the water is repeated several times with short intervals, and after a little rest the whole of the water, by the same orifice, is thrown out in a continuous stream. It then commences again to take in more. It is extremely irritable, and on being touched or disturbed, throws out a bunch of white tapered threads about an inch in 174 l^rof. Mohl on the Import of the » length and one-eighth in thickness ; these soon become attenuated, either by the agitation of the water or the coming into contact with something, and are drawn into very long threads of great tenacity ; they stick to everything they touch, and from these the animals are called " cotton spinners " by the fishermen. This small bunch is drawn into a large mass of threads, so small that the finest sewing-cotton is not equal to it, and is no doubt one of the means of defence provided for its preservation ; for I have seen a crab so completely entangled in it as not to be able to move, and a fish only able to get away after a long struggle. If much irritated they throw out the whole of their intestines ; this is invariably the case after being kept in confinement two or three days ; and even after they have done so they have lived three days, and their tentacula performed all their offices as if the animal was strong and healthy. They soon decay when dead if left out of the water, and from their peculiar construction it is a difficult matter to preserve or dissect them. To the physiologist they offer a rich treat. I know nothing of this science ; I regret it : my object has been to watch their actions and habits, and I fear I have too long occupied your time. I would here just mention that this Holothuria differs from the P solus Forbesii of Mr. Couch, noticed in the second part of his ' Cornish Fauna,^ in having twenty tentacula instead of eighteen, and the suckers are in rows, which was not the case in his. I therefore claim it as new to the British fauna, which latter circumstance Professor Forbes con- firmed at the late meeting of the British Association at York. The annexed engraving, Plate XIV., represents the " Nigger '* of the natural size ; fig. 3, the head with the mouth downwards, showing the tentacula spread out. XXV. — On the Import of the inferior Palece of the Grasses. By Hugo von Mohl*. [With a Plate.] There are few points in vegetable morphology respecting which so great a difference of views prevails as that relating to the origin of the floral envelopes of the Grasses. To remove this dif- ference of opinion, at least with respect to one of the points in question, it is above all requisite to ascertain with certainty whether the inferior palea takes its origin from the same axis as the superior palea (or, according to Robert Brown's view, the two leaves composing the upper palea), or whether the two result from different axes. In the first case we undoubtedly accede to • From the Botanische Zeitnng for Jan. 17, 1845. Translated and com- municated by W. Francis, Ph. D., F.L.S. infeiior Paka of the Grasses. 175 the representation of the inflorescence of grasses which Robert Brown (General Remarks^ p. 580) has advanced, — not, it is true, as the only one possible, but as the most probable, — viz. that the two leaves which have cohered to form the superior palea and the inferior palea, notwithstanding the oblique direction of its in- sertion, form a trimerous verticil and the outer leaf circle of a perigonium, the inner circle of which is constituted by the scales (lodiculse) ; but if, on the contrary, it can be proved that the infe- rior and superior palese belong to two distinct axes, it is thus shown that the inferior palea must be considered a bract from whose axis the floral axis takes its origin ; a view which has been adopted with various modifications by several authors, and which has been explained in a most lucid manner by Doll (Rhein. Flora, p. 58). The circumstance that a diff'erence of opinion has prevailed on this fundamental point in the morphological consideration of the inflorescence of the Graminece, undoubtedly proves that the exa- mination of the normal flowers of grasses does not afford suf- ficiently certain and convincing proofs to decide with positive certainty the question respecting the derivation of the palese ; it appears, therefore, to be safest in this case, as in so many other morphological questions, to look out for monstrosities from which we may be able to deduce the normal structure ; and if I am not very much deceived, the variety vivipara of Poa alpina, so widely diff'used in the Alps, is fully adapted to solve the doubt existing on the above question. I trust, therefore, that a description of this monstrosity, drawn up with reference to the morphological relations of the spicula of grasses, will not be without interest. In the viviparous spikes of the Poa alpina I have found the two calycine valves (PI. XIII. B, fig. 1 to 4 c c) always perfectly normal, and only the palese deformed; the deviation from the normal structure is generally less in the most inferior flower than in the succeeding one, so that frequently the lowest is still per- fectly normal (fig. 3), or approaches more to the normal structure than the flower situated higher up (fig. 4) . The axis of the spicula exhibits the least variations. It is, as far as it bears abnormal flowers, more or less thickened, full of sap, presents an unlimited growth superiorly, and frequently small rootlets shoot out from its inferior internodes ; in short, it has assumed the characters of an axis of vegetation, and perfectly resembles with its leaves a small culm of grass (PI. XIII. fig. 1) ; while its inferior portion, which bears the calycine valves and forms the petiole of the spicula, is of the same small diameter as in the normal spicula, and, like the fruit-bearing spicula, dries up after the flowering season, which admits of the falling off" and independent vegetation of the upper deformed portion. In the monstrous flowers the inferior palea presents an increase 176 Prof. Mohl oi the Import of the in size, and a more or less perfect metamorphosis into the form of a vegetative leaf. Generally, and especially upwards from the second flower, this metamorphosis into a leaf provided with sheath, ligula and lamina is perfect (fig. 4jo", fig. 5y); while even when the lowermost flower is partially abnormal, its inferior palea (fig. 4 jo', fig. 5y) frequently forms an intermediate stage between the nor- mal form and that of a vegetative leaf. The latter cases are na- turally best suited for allowing us to obtain an insight into the manner in which the metamorphosis of the palea into the vege- tative leaf takes place. It is seen by the comparison of several such intermediate stages that the normal palea does not solely correspond, as we might at first be inclined to admit, to the sheath of the vegetative leaf, and that the metamorphosis of the palea into a leaf does not consist in a budding forth of the lamina from the apex of the palea, but that a separation of the various parts of the palea, which are intimately fused together, takes place, and a dismemberment of them one from the other re- sults. The normal palea possesses five nerves, of which the central one extends to the apex of the palea, while the lateral nerves are lost within the transparent scarious membrane. On its meta- morphosis into a leaf the palea becomes elongated ; its inferior portion surrounds the superiorly-situated portion of the spicula in the form of a vagina, while its upper portion bends more or less outwards and becomes changed into the lamina of the leaf (PI. XIII. B, fig. I, fig. 2 to 5y). In those palese in which this metamorphosis is merely indicated, the palea still retains nearly its proper form and the reddish colour which is difiiised over the normal palea, and it is only its apex which has become thicker, of a greenish colour, uncinate and recurved superiorly (fig. 4 jo', fig. 5jE)') : a separation into vagina, ligula and lamina is not yet indicated. When the metamorphosis has advanced further, the whole palea is lengthened considerably, its upper portion has be- come thicker, green and leaf-like, while the lower portion has re- tained its more delicate texture, transparency, and likewise fre- quently the reddish colouring ; the nerves, which are still present to the number of five, have acquired a more parallel position in consequence of the elongation of the leaf, and become confluent towards the uncinately- curved apex of the latter. The margin is scarious as in the normal palese. The separation into the various parts of the vegetative leaf now begins, and is terminated by the development of the ligula and the transverse separation between the upper green and the lower brighter-coloured parts of the palea. The formation of ligula frequently occurs only at one part of the leaf, in its central line, or on one of the lateral halves, or on a part of one of these, while in the other portion lamina and vagina inferior Paleee of the Grasses. 177 still pass immediately into each other (fig. 6 — 8). The ligula is formed by the elevation of a transparent scale on the upper sur- face of the leaf in a transverse or somewhat oblique direction. Very frequently it is developed only on the central portion of the leaf, and has then usually a crescent shape (fig. 7) ; in other cases this incipient ligula is only met with on one of the sides of the leaf (figs. 6, 8) ; very frequently it docs not extend to the margin of the leaf, and every trace of its auricle is still wanting (figs. 7, 8) ; in other cases the auricle is developed without the central portion of the ligula being present. The development of the auricle takes place in the following manner : the scarious margin of the leaflet, which extends at a less advanced stage of transformation to its apex, retracts itself as it were from above downwards, and instead of gradually becoming acute and dis- appearing in the green-coloured margin of the leaf (fig. 6), now projects in the form of a rounded prominence on the margin of the leaflet, and passes into a scale projecting on the upper sur- face of the leaflet (fig. 6 a) . In this manner the ligula appears, not as a part foreign to the leaf and adnate with it, but as an ex- uberant growth from it like the corona of the petals of a pink. Simultaneously with the perfect development of the ligula occurs the formation of the node between the vagina and lamina, and thereby a distinct separation of the two parts of the leaf. Far more important is the consideration of the base of the metamorphosed palese, as regards the question which principally occupies our attention. While the base of the normal palea al- ways surrounds only a portion of the axis, and consequently leaves it doubtful whether the palea is the product of the primary axis of the gramineous flower, or whether it forms a verticil with the two leaves composing the superior palea, not the least doubt can exist respecting this point in the metamorphosed palea ; for not only does its base surround the stem entirely, but both its mar- gins cohere towards its lower extremity (fig. 5 p') . Now it is perfectly evident in this case, that the axis which is surrounded by the leaflet, and from which this takes its origin, is the pri- mary axis of the spicula, and that the superior palea belongs to the floral axis, situated in the axis of the inferior palea ; conse- quently that the inferior palea must not be considered as a peri- gonial leaf, but as a bract. In proportion as the above-described metamorphosis of the palea into a vegetative leaf advances, the flowering organs de- crease in size. In the axis of the palea of the lowest flower of a spicula, we generally find the whole of the floral parts in a crip- pled state ; the superior palea is generally still very large in com- parison to the other flowering organs, and bifurcate at the apex, but not separated into two distinct leaflets. In the axis of the Ann, S^ Mag. N, Hist. Vol.xv. 1 78 Botanical Notices from Spain. palese transformed into perfect vegetative leaves of the flowera situated higher up, all the flowering organs have generally disap- peared without leaving a trace behind them. XXVI. — Botanical Notices from Spain. ByMoRiTzWiLLKOMM*. No. I. Valencia, middle of May 1844. On the first days of my stay in Valencia, where I arrived on the 5th of May, my operations were confined to making acquaintance with the scientific institutions and the surrounding neighbourhood of the town. I was the more invited to do this, since the continued rainy weather offered an obstacle to longer excursions. Indeed the Valen- cians themselves could scarcely remember it to have rained so abun- dantly and uninterruptedly, and this weather was even a subject of public discussion in the newspapers. The temperature was almost to be called cool ; since at this time of year the mean daily tempe- rature is usually 20° C, and it amounted then barely to 15° — 17° C. One of my first walks was to the Botanical Garden by the Puerta de Cuarte : into this you enter through a rather insignificant building in which the lectures on botany and agriculture are delivered. The garden, laid out in a magnificent style, occupies a very large space, and considering the glorious climate and the uncommon fertility of the soil, might, under the direction of an able man, become one of the most important gardens in Europe, if the government would do something for its maintenance. It has it is true the appearance of a botanical garden, since one sees many rows of labels, but the plants are wanting. What plants there are, are the remnant of those placed there through Cavanilles, and exotic shrubs and trees of a still earlier date. The fault of this lamentable decline of so well-arranged an institution is partly to be laid to the deficiency of interest on the part of the government in all that relates to science, partly and chiefly to the want of a well-informed director. Considering how luxuriantly everything grows up in this happy land in a few years, without any care, much might be accomplished with very little money. Of plant-houses there is no trace ; they are indeed super- fluous, since a great number of tropical plants may be cultivated very well here in the open ground ; at the utmost only a green-house would be necessary in the short winter. The present director of the garden is named Don Jose Pezcuerda, so far as I may judge, a tole- rably ignorant man, whose whole knowledge of literature is confined to little more than the works of Linnaeus, Cavanilles, Clemente, Lagasca, Buflfon and DeCandolle. Of Germany he knew almost nothing ; neither does he possess a herbarium. Nevertheless the garden is in somewhat better condition in his hands than under the direction of his predecessor, the present Cathedratico of agriculture, Don Joaquin Carrascosa, formerly Archdeacon in Alicant. Although • Translated from the Botanische Zeitung, Aug. 9, and Oct. 18, 1844, and communicated by A, Henfrey, F.L.S. Botanical Notices from Spain. 179 Don Antonio Blanco, the occupant of the post before him, a younger but very well-informed man who had prosecuted his studies partly in Paris, had begun to arrange the plants according to DeCandolle, Car- rascosa re-introduced the sexual system, which Pezcuerda has re- tained, and has here displayed his ignorance in the grossest blunders against system, since, for instance, he arranges Leguminosa in the nineteenth, Cruciferm in the sixth class, &c. At last, as Carrascosa had suiFered two show-plants of the garden, a very large old specimen of Sophora japonica and Siuother of Parkinsonia aculeata, to be cut down — he having taken them for mulberry- trees (!), it was too out- rageous, and Carrascosa was removed from the directory of the gar- den. The directory was taken from Prof. Blanco last year on political grounds, which is much to be lamented. Of the present condition of the garden, little can be said. The interior is divided into regular compartments, surrounded by orange-hedges ; these are sufficiently watered by means of stone water-courses, and separated from each other by an elegant trellis-work of Spanish cane. Each plant, or place where once one has been, is furnished with a label of fire-glazed white clay, on which the number stands, but no name. The names of the classes and orders of the sexual system are marked on larger labels in the Spaaish language. There is a special quarter for water- plants, where however I saw only Canna indica and one other appa- rently determined as a fern,